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Police brutally attack Papuan journalist in Timika, says human rights group

November 24, 2017

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Journalist Saldi Hermanto … attacked for making social media criticisms of police conduct in Timika, Papua. Image: Tabloid Jubi

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has condemned a brutal attack against journalist Saldi Hermanto in Timika, Papua, and called for a campaign of letter protests.

Hermanto was attacked by the police after he criticised on Facebook the police handling of security at an entertainment show he attended.

Although the Mimika police chief pledged to “properly settle” the case, the public and media should monitor and ensure that the case was not merely settled by the internal police mechanism, AHRC said in a statement.

“The perpetrators must be criminally prosecuted,” it said.

AHRC’s case narrative said that on Saturday, 11 November 2017, at 10:50 pm, journalist Saldi Hermanto and his child were enjoying an entertainment show in the night market of Timika Indah, Papua.

As the show was going on, suddenly there was chaos among the audience. Subsequently, Hermanto wrote on his Facebook wall criticising the police failure to secure the entertainment show and guarantee security for visitors.

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Hermanto’s criticism angered the police officers, some of whom felt he had humiliated and offended the police institution.

Search for journalist
Some six to eight police officers of Mimika Police Office (Polres Mimika), then searched for Hermanto.

Finally, they found him in a small post where many journalists usually gather and send news to various media, located in front of the Mimika Traffic Police Unit of Mimika Police Office (Kantor Satuan Lalu Lintas Polres Mimika).

The police officers then brutally attacked Hermanto, they beat him repeatedly and brought him inside the integrated police post, the AHRC report said.

“The brutal attack caused serious injuries on Hermanto’s face and right rib, and Hermanto had difficulty breathing after the attack,” the report said.

On November 13, at 9 a.m. Timika journalists from the Association of Online Media (IWO) Timika and from the Association of Journalist Photo Indonesia (PFI) Timika organised a peaceful protest in front of the Mimika Police Office in Cendrawasih Street.

The protesters demanded that the chief of oolice of Mimika Police Office, Police Superintendent (AKBP) Viktor Dean Mackbon, “fairly and properly investigate” the brutal attack and violence against Saldi Hermanto, a journalist of Salam Papua and Okezone.

In responding to the protest, AKBP Dean Mackbon stated that nine of 13 police officers who had been examined, were detained for further investigation related to the attack.

Two investigations
In addition, AKBP Victor stated that the there would be two investigation processes, both internal and criminal prosecution. He also apologised to the journalists and promised to settle the case.

The AHRC notes that violence against journalists continues in Indonesia.

Another recent case occurred on 20 October 2017, when police brutally attacked Panji Bahari, a journalist of Banten Post in Banten province.

According to the Independence Journalist Alliance (AJI) Indonesia, in 2016 there were 78 cases of violence and attacks against journalists. This is a higher number compared to 2015, in which 40 cases of violence and attacks against journalists were recorded.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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IFJ blasts ‘press freedom attack’ on Iranian-Kurdish journalist in PNG

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 23, 2017

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Two PNG police officers led away Behrouz Boochani in handcuffs on Manus Island earlier today. Image: Aziz58825713/Twitter

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) in condemning the reported arrest of Iranian-Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani by Papua New Guinea police earlier today.

The IFJ and MEAA have deplored the arrest as a targeted attack on press freedom by Papua New Guinea’s police.

A police operation was launched on Manus Island with PNG police and immigration officers entering the former Australian detention centre.

The centre was closed three weeks ago, but refugees have refused to leave, due to concerns over their safety.

Large numbers of officers, including the paramilitary police mobile squad unit entered the grounds and told the refugees they had an hour to leave. They tried to confiscate mobile phones and reportedly damaged personal belongings.

Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian-Kurdish journalist, was arrested during the raid, with reports that officers were specifically looking for him.

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Silencing a critic
He was led away in handcuffs by two police officers.

Boochani has been in the detention centre on Manus Island since August 2013.

Boochani has been a main source of factual information about the conditions inside Manus Island detention centre, with his reports been published in Australia and internationally.

Earlier this year he was shortlisted in the journalism category for the 2017 Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards and just three weeks ago he was awarded the Amnesty International Australia Media Award for his journalism from Manus Island.

Earlier this year, MEAA and the IFJ launched a campaign with IFEX calling on the Australian government to resettle Boochani in Australia.

MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy said: “If, as the case appears to be, he has been targeted and arrested because of his profile and his role as a journalist in an attempt to silence him, this is an egregious attack on press freedom that cannot be let stand.

“We call on the Australian and PNG governments to release him from custody, assure his safety, and not to hinder him from continuing to perform his role as a journalist.”

The IFJ said: “The arrest of Behrouz Boochani, if it is because of his work as journalist, is a blatant attack of press freedom and an attempt to silence a critical voice. We join MEAA in calling for the Australian and PNG governments to release him for custody immediately, and guarantee his safety.

“Journalists should never be stopped from doing their work.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Philippines under Duterte – acute impunity and fettered information

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 23, 2017

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Eight years later, families of the 58 people massacred in Maguindanao – including 32 journalists – continue to wait for justice. Image: UCANews

ANALYSIS: By Malou Mangahas in Manila

Eight years ago on 23 November 2009, 32 journalists were among the 58 who were killed in what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, until then the worst and most tragic incident of media lives lost in a single day.

Multiple murder charges have been filed against more than 100 people for the incident but to this day, the presentation of defence witnesses has not finished, and about 80 other respondents remain at large.

Indeed, acute assaults on journalists and media freedom should not pass with impunity.

Today, as the nation marks the 8th anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, this composite report of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, illustrates why the press in the Philippines would do well to understand the severity of the challenges it faces under the Duterte administration — a situation of benign and acute impunity, and fettered flow of information.

While we remain a free community in law and theory, and blessed with a Constitution that enshrines protection, a tectonic shift has moved the ground and the foundation of the practice of journalism in the last 16 months.

The press in the Philippines has been described to be among the freest in Asia if not in the world, robust, almost rambunctious in its practice. But in the first 16 months of the Duterte administration, its status and practice have been diminished, shaken down by supporters and trolls of the President who would not tolerate critical coverage.

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No less than the President has struck at the heart of the institution with threats of action against major news organisations. He has cursed journalists in public for raising testy questions about his health, catcalled a female reporter, and averred without serving proof that journalists are killed because they are corrupt.

Toxic mix
This toxic mix — over-reaching executive power, the threat of violence and public censure, and divided and fettered newsrooms — has left the flow of information unfree, convoluted, and constrained under the Duterte presidency.

To be sure, the administration has taken steps early in its rule to address the attacks and threats, and a string of unsolved murders of Filipino journalists from earlier years.

Duterte signed Administrative Order No. 1, Creating The Presidential Task Force On Violations Of The Right To Life, Liberty And Security Of The Members Of The Media (PTFoMS), on 11 October 2016. But the agency that is also called PTFoMS lacks resources and personnel to have genuine impact.

The cases of assaults on the media under the Duterte presidency turned bad in succeeding months, however. From May to October this year, the number of casualties among members of the press began to rise again.

In the first 16 months of the Duterte presidency:

Six journalists have been killed, including the three that had been listed by the Task Force;
Eight have survived slay attempts and received death threats;
Three libel cases have been filed, even as a libel case filed in 2015 has led to the arrest of the accused. Other libel cases filed in previous years ended in an acquittal and two convictions; and
Six major cases of verbal and online threats from local officials or pro-Duterte bloggers have been reported.

Journalists killed under the Duterte administration in 2016. Image: PCIJ

These acute and direct attempts to harass and muzzle journalists and media freedom have unfolded alongside more benign but equally grave threats to the practice of journalism and the free flow of information in the Philippines today. For instance:

Access to information remains problematic for journalists and media agencies covering the war on drugs. Getting information, especially on sensitive and controversial cases, remains constrained;
Against their will, media personnel are sometimes compelled by police officers to sign on as witnesses in police anti-drug operations, supposedly as mandated by the law;
Newsroom protection for the safety of journalists covering the war on drugs remains lacking; and
Psychological trauma overwhelms media coverage teams assigned to the war on drugs on account of their repeated first-hand exposure to revolting images of the dead, the maimed, the enraged, as well as the tremendous grief of the family members of the victims.

Malou Mangahas is executive director of the Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism(PCIJ). She will be in Auckland next week to address the Pacific Media Centre’s 10th Anniversary seminar on Thursday.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Vital progress in dealing with the Pike River mine tragedy

By Bryce Edwards -

November 23, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Vital progress in dealing with the Pike River mine tragedy

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Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] The Pike River mine disaster shook New Zealand politics and society. The circumstances that led to the preventable death of 29 men, and the denial of justice to their families, means it remains politically fraught. The government’s announcement of a new agency to deal with the unresolved issue is a big step forward and a strong statement about what this government hopes to stand for. Why action on Pike River is so important It might seem strange that seven years after the event, the Pike River mine disaster has re-emerged at the top of the political agenda. In another piece today I’ve tried to explain Why action on Pike River is so important to this government. I argue it’s become a litmus test for any progressive political party that wants to be considered pro-worker: “The death of 29 men at the Pike River mine in 2010 has become a symbol of what is wrong with politics and economic power in our society… What happened that day wasn’t some kind of natural disaster – it was a preventable accident caused by the unsafe business practices of the mine owner, which operated under extremely lax health and safety practices that previous National and Labour governments had implemented and subsequently failed to tighten up.” This was all verified by the release of the Pike River Royal Commission report back in 2012, which I described as “a compendium of political and corporate negligence.” For coverage of this at the time, see two political roundup columns, Pike River’s political implications, and Labour’s role in Pike River. Yet, even after the Commission’s report came out, there continued to be an unsatisfactory response from authorities. In fact, there’s never been any sort of proper justice for the families of the victims. As I outlined in another column earlier this year, New Zealand is very good at allowing The unaccountability of elites. But in the years since then there’s been a rising public pushback against elites and authorities, and “against capitalism”. This anti-Establishment mood means politicians – especially those of a leftwing or populist persuasion – are now more inclined to tap into this discontent. For more on this, see John Moore’s blog post, Pike River and the anti-Establishment zeitgeist. He argues “New Zealand politicians are very aware of how the Pike River mining disaster has taken on a symbolic value of representing the ugly face of ‘peak capitalism’, and of the general failures of ‘neo-liberalism’.” This is all pushing the Labour Party to the left. Although the NBR’s Rob Hosking takes a more cynical view: “The Pike River issue has become talismanic – it involves mining on the West Coast, and today’s inner-city, villa-living Labour politicians like to wax nostalgic over such symbols. In other words, it has become yet another part of Ms Ardern’s brand management approach to government” – see Hosking’s column, Pike River the latest piece of Ardern brand management (paywalled). Action over Pike River On Monday, the coalition government announced the establishment of the new Pike River agency tasked with re-entering the mine. The agency will be set up in January, headed by a chief executive who will report to Andrew Little, the Minister Responsible for Pike River. It will receive funding of $23 million over three years. Yesterday’s New Zealand Herald editorial explains the new agency’s role: “The Cabinet has agreed to place the abandoned mine under the management of a new agency that will be given three objectives. The first, gather evidence about what may have caused the explosion. The second, give victims’ loved ones “closure and peace of mind”. Third, “if possible recover any human remains”.” – see: Involving Pike families a crucial move. Gordon Campbell says the new course of action is fitting: “This new effort is the least that can be done, given the role that successive National and Labour governments played (in legislative changes made in 1993) that fatally weakened the framework of health and safety protections available to New Zealand workers. Subsequently, the Pike River Royal Commission found those regulatory changes led directly to the disaster” – see: On the new Pike River agency. Campbell points to the lack of justice for the victims’ families. Even when it came to compensation “secured creditors like the BNZ got paid in full ($50 million) from the insurance proceeds, while the Pike River families received a comparative pittance”. And he argues National was negligent in the way it dealt with the families: “The Key/English administrations effectively excluded the families, discounted their experts, and strung the families along about the potential for re-entry, with no closure date in sight. By contrast, the new agency’s approach will be inclusive, all available expertise will be drawn upon and the families will be regularly advised of progress, with fixed dates for decision.” Campbell says it is ” somewhat ironic” that Andrew Little will lead the new agency “given that in the immediate aftermath of the disaster in 2010, Little – then head of the EPMU – had initially defended the mine’s health and safety record.” Little himself acknowledges the portfolio is very personal to him – see Claire Trevett’s profile: Andrew Little: The Renaissance Man. She reports “At the moment, the only thing that has made it on to the wall in his office is a piece of paper with photos of the 29 miners who died in the Pike River Mine disaster seven years ago.” She quotes his explanation: “That’s to remind me that that’s what I’m there for. They’re the guys who’ve lost their lives and they are what this is all about ultimately.” In the same article, Little also deals with the issue of Winston Peters’ promise to be the first to re-enter the mine: “in my view it is specialist work. I don’t detract from his enormous skills and talents and expertise in a lot of matters, however there is a level of danger attendant on this and I want the full risk assessment to happen.” How “new” is the Government’s approach? Some commentators and politicians are questioning how the new approach outlined by the Government is all that different from National’s. After all, the prime minister and Andrew Little are stressing that they can’t guarantee entry to the mine will happen, and that they will have to rely on experts to determine whether it is safe to do so. Tuesday’s Dominion Post editorial says: “in the end the result might prove to be the same: that the mine cannot be safely entered, and the families will again be left high and dry. In which case the grief and the outrage will go on… So how is that different from what the last lot of governing politicians said? Former National Prime Minister John Key said he would do everything possible to get the bodies out. Labour politicians promised to do something similar” – see: New rulers but the same old problem at Pike River. Similarly, see Barry Soper’s column, Every chance Pike River situation will remain same for years. And the National Party might be forgiven for feeling that the parties of the new Government dished out the criticism while in Opposition, but have now adopted a similar stance on re-entering the mine. National’s spokesperson for Workplace Safety and Pike River, Amy Adams, says: “It seems to me that there’s a considerable softening on the position they expressed repeatedly and quite emphatically during the campaign – that they already had clear advice that they could re-enter and that they would be absolutely doing so… Now it seems what they are saying is far more in line with what the previous government had consistently maintained which is that it absolutely wasn’t opposed to a manned re-entry but that it would have to be done in a way which was safe” – see Benedict Collins’ National accuses govt of back peddling on Pike pledge. National Party supporter Ele Ludemann suggests that perhaps the politicians were Mining personal grief for political ends: “Little will be criticised for his safety-first stance, but this time it’s the right one. The wrong one was making a promise that he and the other politicians, including his leader, Jacinda Ardern, should never have made. Those politicians were mining personal grief for political ends. It was despicable behaviour.” Another National-aligned blogger, David Farrar, questions whether the money might be put to better use by giving it to the families: “$23 million is a lot of money. I don’t begrudge it, if a re-entry can be done safely. But it does make me wonder whether the families would appreciate an offer of spending that $23 million on them directly, rather than a re-entry attempt that might not even be successful” – see: Would the families rather have $1 million each or re-entry? And the difficulty of the re-entry task is reiterated by the “geologist who warned of the dangers of Pike River three years before the tragic explosion”, who now “says it will be impossible for the new government agency to safely reach the guts of the drift” – see the Herald’s Geologist Murray Cave: Re-entry to guts of Pike River ‘impossible’. The big difference in the new government’s approach Ultimately, as the Dominion Post editorial points out, the big difference in the approach of the new government is the way it is involving the mine victims’ families: “Perhaps the main political difference right now is that Little is working alongside the families and involving them in the project.” Barry Soper goes further, suggesting “what it comes down to is whether the previous National Government was completely forthcoming with all of its information on Pike. The discovery of the 36 hours of footage of the mine’s drift this year suggests perhaps it wasn’t. That’s what cast doubt on the handling of the situation again seven years on”. And the Herald’s editorial also presses the importance of this inclusive approach: “It will not be enough to give them briefings in Greymouth as the previous Government did when it had progress (or lack of it) to report. The families will need to be treated almost like a board of directors for the agency, not with the power to tell it what to do but to be part of its discussions in deciding what to do.” The families themselves seem to be on board with this type of suggestion. Nicholas Jones reports “It was possible a family representative would be on a selection panel for the new Pike River Recovery Agency chief executive and other key staff such as the on-site manager” – see: Winston Peters confident of Pike River re-entry. Furthermore, “The families had also discussed making the decision process more transparent to the wider public, including the possibility of hearings, and releasing documents and materials.” Finally, political journalists at TV3’s Newshub have long championed the Pike River mine families and their campaign, and in September when a memorial was established at the mine, Lloyd Burr wrote passionately about the place and what had happened: “But there’s something in the air. It’s injustice. The memorial is a reminder of the injustices the families have had to endure. The injustice of the disaster, the injustice of way the attempted rescue was carried out, the injustice of the failed recovery efforts, and the injustice of failed re-entry bids. It’s a reminder of the injustice of Pike River bosses flouting laws, and escaping charges, and getting away scot free. To the families, it’s a reminder of the injustice of John Key’s broken promise, and his Government’s treatment of those who’ve given up everything to fight for answers” – see: Injustice in paradise at Pike River.]]>

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 23 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 23, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 23 November 2017 – Today’s content Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Education Jessica Long (Stuff): Education Ministry turns down teachers’ call for immediate 5pc pay rise Peter Lyons (Herald): Treating education as football unfair and wasteful Toby Curtis (Herald): Charter schools worth preserving Simon Collins (Herald): NCEA Level 1 maths exam ‘not that hard’ John Gerritsen (RNZ): Girls outclass boys as NZ ranks top 10 for collaboration Nicholas Jones (Herald): Government reverses rule allowing kids to start school at 4 Mei Heron (RNZ): Fifth birthday school starts back on table 1News: Children won’t be able to start school until they’re five under planned changes by new Government Jo Moir (Stuff): Government to take away option for children to start school at four years old Jo Moir (Stuff): Politicians fight it out over children starting school eight weeks before they turn five Herald Editorial: No fees will mean fewer places for foreign students Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Labour bars Australians from fees-free study Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Govt reveals costings for student allowances boost Laura Walters (Stuff): Student allowance and living cost rises come in at $200m a year Herald: Labour releases costings on university plans Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Increase to Student Allowance to cost $700m Jenna Lynch (Newshub): How much will the boost to student allowances cost? Newshub: Govt needs to front up with policy costs – Steven Joyce 1News: ‘There’s more to life than paying rent’ – $50 student allowance increase a relief, but not the ‘silver bullet’ Government Liam Fitzpatrick and Casey Quackenbush (Time): Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s 37-Year-Old Leader, Rolls Up Her Sleeves Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Understanding New Zealand First through the power of poetry Laura Walters (Stuff): Former Labour chief of staff moves to left-wing lobby firm after four years Bryce Edwards (Newsroom): What’s happened to the Greens? Housing John Edens (RNZ): How can rates go up in a market slowdown? Laura Dooney (RNZ): Rates bill concern spreads to regions Hayden Donnell (Spinoff): Please pray for these Aucklanders whose homes are making too much money Tim Brown (RNZ): Landlord relieved after court rules against tenant Newshub: Farmers want Pukekohe housing growth stopped Migration and refugees 1News: Watch: Jacinda Ardern says Government’s immigration plan will serve Kiwi workers and students Liam Dann (Herald): Migration over the peak – tipped to fall further RNZ: High migration numbers curbed by departures Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Boosting labour inspectorate a priority – Minister Rosemary McLeod (Press): Treading warily in aftermath of Tampa RNZ: UN urges Australia to solve Manus Island crisis Economy and Forbes article Liam Dann (Herald): What Recession? Local economists pick good growth Herald: NZ ‘recession likely’, says Forbes contributor Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Communist In All But Name! Is Jacinda About to Oversee the Second Peaceful Transition to Kiwi Socialism? Mike Hosking (Herald): Why Forbes is right and wrong about an NZ recession Michael Daly (Stuff): Steven Joyce sticks to $11.7 billion hole in Government budget Health John Campbell (RNZ): Murray spent 140k on travel at Canadian health authority Karen Brown (RNZ): Waikato DHB withholds draft audit report Karen Brown (RNZ): Second manager at Waikato DHB resigns Herald: Put sugar levels on the label, advocates tell Government Northern Advocate: Failure to listen delaying diagnosis of deadly illness, says GP Herald: Strawberries with hint of funds cream Environment Richard Harman (Politik): Greens and NZ First likely to have water fight Herald: Govt denies backtracking on planting 1 billion trees No Right Turn: Climate change: Fudging on trees RNZ: Toxic smelter waste must go – campaigner No Right Turn: Against the Te Kuha mine Adriana Weber (RNZ): Dairy strategy prioritises environment, animal welfare Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Is it time to end big Dairy in New Zealand? Employment RNZ: Worker perks on offer as labour market tightens Mark Hathaway (1News): ‘We definitely need them’ – older employees important, but at higher risk of suffering workplace injuries Media Sam Hurley (Herald): ‘Insulting’ newspaper cartoons prompt legal debate over racial friction Michelle Duff (Stuff): Controversial Fairfax Media cartoons could have made racism against Māori worse, panel member says Bryan Gould: Why is Mike Hosking so hard to watch? Kylie Klein Nixon (Stuff): Tony Veitch announces his return to TV after bashing his girlfriend got him fired Madeleine Holden (Spinoff): Why is Sky bringing Tony Veitch back to our TVs? Joel MacManus (Critic): Sky ‘Not Concerned’ About Convicted Abusers On TV Auckland RNZ: Council luxury travel spend could go to Auditor-General RNZ: Business class trips for staff irks Auckland councilor Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Travelling mayor means business James Pasley (Stuff): Auckland producing more greenhouse gas emissions as a whole, but less per capita RNZ: Auckland Council could avoid fuel tax – National Party Tim Murphy (Newsroom): Wharf’s $10m ‘dolphin’ back to bite Goff 1News: ‘This is ocean sprawl’ – concerns over $10m extension to Queens Wharf so mega cruise ships can berth in Auckland harbor America’s Cup Simon Wilson (Spinoff): Why is Grant Dalton so unpatriotic? And other vital questions about the America’s Cup Todd Niall (RNZ): America’s Cup: Big decisions due today Mike Hosking (Herald): Don’t dare turn this into the America’s cock-up Joel Cayford (Herald): Team NZ’s option biased to private development Matthew Theunissen (Herald): ‘If we don’t extend into the harbour, we lose the Cup’ Ellen Read (Stuff): America’s Cup: Yacht race versus all other council spending Zimbabwe Dominion Post Editorial: Will Zimbabwe just trade one butcher for another? Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Robert Mugabe’s brutality understated Nicholas Jones (Herald): New Zealand looks forward to return of democracy in Zimbabwe 1News: Watch: ‘Pleasing to see change afoot’ – Jacinda Ardern welcomes ousting of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe Christchurch David Williams (Newsroom): Bargain builds are over, government warned Press Editorial: An opportunity in set-back for Christchurch’s metro sports facility Offensive message and Hamilton Council 1News: Hamilton Councillor believes Mayor needs to have ‘honest conversations’ with elected members over inappropriate workplace incidents Herald: Hamilton city councillor Mark Bunting’s sexual joke leads to disciplinary hearing Libby Wilson and Phillipa Yalden (Stuff): Council’s cringe crew – lewd message the latest in string of embarrassing Hamilton City Council moments Andrew McRae (RNZ): Explicit joke reignites claims of sexism on council Melanie Bracewell (RNZ): A handy guide to sending ‘funny’ messages to women Destiny Church Anna Loren (Stuff): Destiny Church charities to be removed from Charities Register after failing to file annual returns Dubby Henry (Herald): Destiny charities to be stripped of tax-exempt status RNZ: Destiny Church charities deregistered Other Alexander Gillespie (Herald): We get good and bad grades on global rankings Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Six years after then Commerce Minister Simon Power detailed extensive problems with NZ shell companies, the problem persists Nicholas Jones (Herald): Winston Peters confident of Pike River re-entry John Moore (Liberation): Pike River and the anti-Establishment zeitgeist Edward Gay (RNZ): Crown seeks third murder trial for Malcolm Rewa Mikaela Collins (Northern Advocate): Ngapuhi express views to new Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little Phil Pennington (RNZ): NZ fire officials using scare tactics – engineer Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Baby boomers buck ‘self indulgent’ beliefs Stuff: Jordan Williams might be victim of his own success in defamation case]]>

HRW condemns failure to end abusive ‘virginity tests’ in Indonesia

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 23, 2017

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Women members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta, last year. Image: Human Rights Watch/Reuters

Human Rights Watch

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should order Indonesia’s police chief and armed forces commander to immediately ban so-called “virginity tests” of female applicants, says Human Rights Watch.

By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would be abiding by its international human rights obligations and honouring the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Saturday – November 25.

Senior military and police officers with knowledge of the “virginity testing” policy told Human Rights Watch that the security forces continue to impose these cruel and discriminatory “tests,” which are officially classified as “psychological” examinations, for “mental health and morality reasons.”

“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director.

“These tests are degrading and discriminatory, and they harm women’s equal access to important job opportunities.”

Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice.

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In November 2014, the World Health Organisation issued guidelines that stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.”

Testing exposed
Human Rights Watch first exposed the use of “virginity tests” by Indonesian security forces in 2014, but since then the government has failed to take the necessary steps to prohibit the practice.

An Indonesian military doctor told Human Rights Watch that senior military personnel were well-aware of the arguments against “virginity tests,” but were unwilling to abolish them.

The doctor suggested that stopping the tests required the direct and explicit intervention of Indonesian Armed Forces commander General Gatot Nurmantyo to order an end to the practice.

“The military is a top-down organisation. We have to follow orders.”

Jokowi should declare an immediate prohibition of “virginity tests” by the military and police and create an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure that security forces comply.

The testing includes the invasive “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact, findings that are scientifically baseless.

While Human Rights Watch found that applicants who were deemed to have “failed” were not necessarily penalised, all of the women with whom we spoke with described the test as painful, embarrassing, and traumatic.

‘Two-finger test’
Several Indonesian military and police officers told Human Rights Watch that both security forces have also sought to justify the “two-finger test” as means of determining if applicants are pregnant.

The “two-finger test” cannot determine pregnancy status, and employment discrimination based on pregnancy status is in any event a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Indonesia’s international legal obligations.

All branches of the Indonesian military – air force, army, and navy – have used “virginity tests” for decades and, in certain circumstances, also extended the requirement to the fiancées of military officers.

In May 2015, then-commander of Indonesia’s armed forces, General Moeldoko, responded to criticism of “virginity tests,” by saying to the media, “So what’s the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticise it?”

Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya that same month asserted that “virginity tests” are a means of screening out inappropriate female recruits.

“If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good,” Basya told The Guardian.

Current Indonesian Armed Forces chief Nurmantyo has taken no steps to ban the practice.

Abuses documented
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of abusive “virginity tests” by security forces in Egypt, India, and Afghanistan as well as in Indonesia and criticised calls for “virginity tests” for school girls in Indonesia.

“Virginity tests” have been recognised internationally as a violation of human rights, particularly the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture, both of which Indonesia has ratified.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, states in a General Comment that the aim of article 7 is “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual.”

Coerced virginity testing compromises the dignity of women and violates their physical and mental integrity.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women.

Because men are not subjected to virginity testing, the practice constitutes discrimination against women as it has the effect or purpose of denying women on a basis of equality with men the ability to work as police officers.

“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory ‘virginity test’ to do so,” Varia said.

“The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks.”

A Human Rights Watch special report.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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‘Embalming’ hampers autopsy finding in death of PNG journalist

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 22, 2017

By Staycey Yalo in Port Moresby

The final autopsy report on Post-Courier journalist Rosalyn Albaniel Evara, handed to the Papua New Guinean Coroner’s Court last week, has an “undetermined death” finding.

PNG journalist Rosalyn Evara (left) on assignment. Image: EMTV News

Chief Pathologist Dr Seth Fose conducted the full autopsy and compiled the report, saying the cause of death was undetermined due to embalming, which had restricted the evidence at the time of autopsy, despite there being a reported history of domestic or physical violence.

While police investigations continue, Coroner Mekeo Gauli, said the journalist’s death earlier this month would not be taken lightly, as there was a huge public outcry for justice.

Evara died on 15 October 2017 at her company residence in the Port Moresby suburb of Boroko after she had complained of severe headaches.

The report of her death and the circumstances surrounding it received widespread calls for further investigations when her aunt, Mary Albaniel, revealed disturbing images of her bruised body during her funeral.

-Partners-

The pictures, according to Albaniel, were taken a day after her death, before the deceased’s body was taken to the funeral home.

The body then underwent embalming, the process of preserving the human flesh after death to delay decomposition.

Common sense
Medical practitioners say it is common sense that the autopsy must take place before the embalming.

This is the basis for Dr Fose’s medical opinion. He stated that based upon the autopsy of tissue microscopy analysis and police report to the coroner, a cause of death could be determined.

Adding that the contributing factor in limiting identification and interpretation of evidence of injuries, trauma, and natural disease was embalming artefacts and changes present at time of autopsy in spite of the history of domestic or physical assault.

However, as the funeral pictures revealed, the issue has not been taken lightly.

Coroner Gauli said that because of the keen public interest in this case, the matter will not be taken lightly.

He told EMTV that in a situation where nobody is charged, it would be up to him to call an inquest for all involved parties to come forward and give evidence before the National Court.

Public outcry
When the police concluded their investigations, the death would go before the coroner to give his decision.

Detective Chief Sergeant Ulagis Mantu of the police Homicide Division said investigations were still ongoing because of public outcry.

He said that while the coroner himself will give his opinion on the matter of the final report, he was calling on Rosalyn Evara’s family to come forward and give him their statements.

Staycey Yalois is an EMTV News journalist. Asia Pacific Report republishes EMTV News reports with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 22 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 22, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 22 November 2017 – Today’s content Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Pike River Herald Editorial: Involving Pike families a crucial move Herald: Geologist Murray Cave: Re-entry to guts of Pike River ‘impossible’ Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On the new Pike River agency, and the air strike wing David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Would the families rather have $1 million each or re-entry? 1News: National accuses government of winding down pre-election Pike River mine promise Benedict Collins (RNZ): National accuses govt of back peddling on Pike pledge Greg Presland (Standard): Labour accelerates action on Pike River re-entry Ardern-Trump encounter Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern needs to drop her guard a little Herald: Jacinda Ardern’s backstage gossip on President Trump big news across the globe David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Ardern’s gaffe goes global John Drinnan (ZagZigger): Jacinda Should Not Confide In Comics Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): In defence of Jack Tame: Why that interview best sums up threat to new Government Liam Hehir (Medium): The arrogance of Jack Tame knows no bounds Education Nicholas Jones (Herald): Australians to be blocked from free study Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Tertiary sector in limbo over free fees Anna Bracewell (Newshub): What the new Government means for students Newshub: Rent increase will soak up most of allowance boost – students Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Government boosts student allowances and loans by $50/week Laura Walters (Stuff): Tertiary students’ loans and allowances will be lifted from January 1, 2018 Herald: 130,000 tertiary students to get an extra $50 next year RNZ: Govt confirms $50 rise in allowances for tertiary students Newstalk ZB: National putting the boot into Labour’s student loan plans Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): ‘Outdated’, ‘unfocused’ Lincoln Uni gets blueprint for change John Gerritsen (RNZ): Major course cuts ahead for Lincoln Uni Simon Collins (Herald): Minister orders report on ‘too hard’ maths exam Herald: Education minister to investigate ‘impossible’ maths exam Herald: Level 1 NCEA maths exam gets fail mark from teachers RNZ: NCEA maths exam ‘absolutely absurd’ – student Mike Hosking (Herald): There’s no doubt schools are forced to do parents’ jobs Housing and rates John Edens (RNZ): FOMO, messy markets, and the future Anusha Bradley (RNZ): Properties valuations may already be out of date Simon Wilson (Spinoff): A tale of property, rates and bullshit Brian Rudman (Herald): Gently weeping for my bungalow’s bill Robin Martin (RNZ): For Rent’ deemed too low-rent Erika Altmann (The Conversation): Foreign ownership of housing – how do Australia and New Zealand compare? Environment Rachel Stewart (Herald): Dairy industry spin makes me sick RNZ: Farmers ‘fed up’ with environmental commotion Doug Edmeades (Stuff): Time for New Zealand to rethink its water plans RNZ: West Coast mining project given green light Sam Strong (Stuff): Buller mayor hopes change of Government won’t stop planned open-cast coal mine Health 1News: ‘Shocking figures’ – Adults are helping make Kiwi children fat, says professor Marianne Quinn (ODT): Rage against the machine or hope for a new dawn? RNZ: Former MP warned health board over CEO Natalie Akoorie (Herald): Waikato health board director mysteriously resigns ODT Editorial: Stubbing out bad habits Newshub: Young New Zealand teens still drinking at ‘hazardous levels’ Immigration and refugees RNZ: Gerry Brownlee on Manus asylum seekers Greg Presland (Standard): National on the Manus Island crisis Matthew Phillips (Herald): Nothing prepared me for Australia’s refugee camp RNZ: Manus Island refugees health in peril, say advocates Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Strained immigration tribunal calls for support Andrew Whiteford (Infometrics): Will a cut in migration choke the provinces? Government Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Labour poach Vernon Small & Alex Tarrant as Press Secretaries Wyatt Creech (Pundit): How goes the revolution? Too soon to say Brian Easton (Pundit): How far right is New Zealand? Stuff: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern lets us in on a secret Spinoff: I ran the Paddles the Cat Twitter account Parliament 1News: Watch: ‘Feel pretty gross about it’ – Chloe Swarbrick says politicians overpaid in regards to the rest of society Ewan McQueen (Stuff): Using te reo to trash our spirtual heritage is an insult to Māori Zac Fleming (RNZ): Tamati Coffey uninvited from awards gala after winning election Local government Ryan Bridge (Newshub): Auckland Councillor fails to start debate over expensive international trips RNZ: Western BOP Council votes for Māori ward Danica MacLean (Northern Advocate): Whangarei woman gets 39 voting papers for Denby byelection America’s Cup Herald: America’s Cup and APEC will cost up to $277m Matthew Theunissen (Herald): Does the cost of America’s Cup tally up for Auckland? 1News: Hosting America’s Cup could bring $1 billion to NZ economy Christchurch David Williams (Newsroom): Woods: Brace for more budget blowouts RNZ: Further Christchurch Metro Centre delays frustrate sports fans RNZ: Metro Sports Facility blowout prompts drastic changes – Minister David Williams (Newsroom): Budget blowout for Christchurch anchor project Newshub: Government overhauls major Christchurch build plan Liz McDonald (Press): Christchurch’s long wait for its sports and swimming venue Justice Colin Williams (Stuff): Corrections lease deal in Upper Hutt may also lead to mock prison training centre Andrea Black (Let’s talk about tax): Moral and Fiscal Failure – the extended dance remix Animal welfare Deirdre Sims (Daily Blog): Mainland Poultry expose Herald: Lions Clubs told to give rodeo a wide swerve ODT: Cowboys mull defamation action Road Toll and Transport Dominion Post Editorial: There are no quick fixes for the rising slaughter on our roads Benedict Collins (RNZ): Transport Agency $100k salaries jump Stuff: Phil Twyford says 10 cent Auckland fuel tax will be in place by July RNZ: Auckland fuel tax to be in place by mid-2018 Herald: Protesters ‘kayak’ through Wellington city, call to save trolley buses Online abuse and sexism Eva Corlett (RNZ): Journalist on explicit message: ‘I’ve reached my limit’ RNZ: Hamilton City Councillor Mark Bunting apologises for inappropriate message to journalist Spinoff: ‘Open your mouth’: 20 examples of sexism in the workplace in New Zealand 1News: Appalling stats show one third of Kiwi women victim to online abuse, including death and rape threats Other Stacey Kirk (Stuff): External spy agency on a mission for gender diversity, equal pay Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Why does online shopping turn us all into rabid libertarians? John-Michael Swannix (Newshub): Government to review building code Martin Johnston (Herald): Mt Erebus Antarctic disaster families upset by national memorial delays Herald: How did imported butter become cheaper than NZ butter? RNZ: Colin Craig defamation case back in court Stuff: Appeal starts in Jordan Williams v Colin Craig defamation case Thomas Coughlan (Newsroom): NZ’s approach to sex work under fire Mani Dunlop (The Wireless): Apology after Customs seizes whale bone taonga]]>

PMC to put spotlight on Asia-Pacific ‘journalism under duress’

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 21, 2017

20160915_112146-pcij-meeting-malou-david-680wide-jpg — ]]>

The Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology is highlighting the threats to media freedom in the Asia-Pacific region in an event next week marking its 10th anniversary.

The Philippines is the country with the largest single massacre of journalists – 32 on the island of Mindanao in 2009, where a three-month urban siege against jihadists in Marawi City has recently ended with a toll on many newsrooms.

The deadly crackdown on drugs reportedly eased up last month when President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the police to leave action to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), saying the shift was to target “big fish”.

Human rights advocates had accused Duterte of waging a “war on the poor”, but Mangahas argues that there has been no real change in strategy.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last week in Manila the deaths “require investigation”.

Tabloid Jubi editor Victor Mambor with Johnny Blades. Image: RNZ Pacific

Tabloid Jubi editor Victor Mambor (at wheel) with Johnny Blades in West Papua. Image: RNZ Pacific

-Partners-

Johnny Blades, a senior journalist of RNZ International, will also speak about his challenging experiences in West Papua, especially during an “official” visit to the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian provinces in 2015.

Media freedom
The panel will be chaired by founding PMC director Professor David Robie, who has campaigned for many years on media freedom issues and was in Jakarta for the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference in May.

A former Pacific Affairs Minister, Laumanuvao Winnie Laban, who launched the PMC a decade ago this year, will also be attending.

Professor Berrin Yanıkkaya, head of the School of Communication Studies at AUT, will launch a graphic new media book, Conflict, Custom & Conscience: Photojournalism and the Pacific Media Centre 2007-2017, edited by Jim Marbrook, Del Abcede, Natalie Robertson and David Robie.

The new Pacific Media Centre photojournalism book.

She will also launch the latest edition of Pacific Journalism Review research journal.

A special video by Sasya Wreksono highlighting the PMC’s achievements over 10 years will be screened along with a photographic exhibition of the research centre’s evolution.

Seminar: “Journalism under duress in Asia-Pacific”
Thursday, November 30, 2017 5.30pm-8pm
WG126, School of Communication Studies, AUT
55 Wellesley St, Auckland
Refreshments will be provided
Admission free
RSVP by November 24 to:
communicate@aut.ac.nz

More information and invitation

The event on Facebook

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Horse trading over waka jumping

By Bryce Edwards -

November 21, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Horse trading over waka jumping

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] The Green Party was briefly in the headlines late last week when one of its internal strategy documents was accidentally emailed to the media. The document contained the suggestion that the party is considering voting in favour of party-hopping legislation that the Greens strongly oppose. It might seem like a minor, if embarrassing, hiccup. However, the issue raises questions about integrity, and in all likelihood the Greens are probably going to have to vote for the legislation anyhow. [caption id="attachment_15463" align="alignleft" width="188"]

Waka Waitangi. Image: Wikimedia.[/caption] The Waka-jumping fiasco The Green Party has a long-standing problem with so-called “Waka-jumping” laws, that seek to expel from Parliament any MP who parts ways with their political party. They see such rules as anti-democratic and impacting negatively on politicians and political representation. The problem for the Greens right now, is they have joined a government based on an agreement negotiated between Labour and New Zealand First to implement such a law. The fiasco went public when a Green politician – presumably new MP Golriz Ghahraman – accidentally sent a strategy paper to parliamentary press gallery journalist Jo Moir, who then reported on it – see her scoop: Horse trading between Labour and Greens to get NZ First’s ‘Waka Jumping’ bill across the line. The gist of the story is that the Greens have been trying to decide whether to vote for the bill they disagree with and, if they do so, what policy they could get out of their coalition partners as a trade. Here’s the full introduction to Moir’s article: “An obtained email and caucus briefing note from Green MP Golriz Ghahraman reveals the party’s plans to try and get support for one of their own bills in exchange for their backing of the Government’s ‘Waka Jumping’ bill. Labour, NZ First and National have all decried a Green Party MP’s suggestion that horse trading could be used as a negotiating tactic to get a national ‘Parihaka Day’. The Green Party is considering opposing NZ First’s ‘Waka Jumping’ bill – a deal struck in coalition talks – unless Labour gives it a national ‘Parihaka Day’.” The Greens’ strategy document is explicit in recognising that “The Government won’t have the numbers to pass the legislation without us”, and that “Opposing the bill would cause political tensions given the inclusion of the bill in the Labour-NZ First coalition agreement and the apparent importance the Government is placing on it.” Greens under-fire for “selling out” The Greens’ paper acknowledges that whatever they decide, their spin-doctors are going to have to work hard to justify the decision: “We will need a strong communications plan to either explain a changed position, or to front foot any political tension or risk of being seen as an unstable part of Government, if opposition went public.” When the story broke, the Greens’ PR professionals ran the line that there was nothing unusual about what was going on. Here’s what a Green Party spokesperson said: “It’s not surprising that Labour Party and Green Party MPs are having these kinds of constructive conversations and working together; in fact, that’s what New Zealanders expect of government parties”, and “It’s commonplace for ministers and MPs to have these kind of conversations – that will continue”. Party leader James Shaw, was also on message, downplaying the horse-trading over the issue, saying “It doesn’t sound like a terribly big deal to me” – see the Herald’s Greens seeking concessions is ‘no big deal’ – Shaw. The Greens’ own strategy paper acknowledges that voting for the party-hopping bill would cause criticism: “Supporting the bill would be seen as changing and weakening a long standing and public Party position. It would risk criticism from our core supporters and commentators.” Rightwing political commentator, David Farrar was quick to oblige, saying: “Nice to know what price they put on electoral law. The proposed waka jumping bill is odious as it gives party leaders huge power, effectively to expel MPs from Parliament who challenge them. If the Greens are willing to support a waka jumping bill in return for Parihaka Day, what would it take for them to support extending the term of Parliament to five years – a statue of Hone Heke?” – see: Greens will sell out electoral law for a Parihaka Day! In contrast, blogger No Right Turn, was more relaxed about the bill and the horse-trading: “I don’t think this is worth dying in a ditch over. It sounds as if there’s been some additional limits on the ability of parties to throw out members, and if they sunset clause it for the end of the Parliamentary term, then it’s something that can be accepted in the name of getting along. And that said, the Greens should not let themselves be taken for granted, and its entirely right that they ask for something in exchange” – see: Horse Trading. The Greens’ government coalition partners were less forgiving. Winston Peters condemned the Greens’ pragmatism, saying “We don’t sell our principles, we don’t either half-way in or half-way out. If something is sound we’ll back it … but I think horse trading on matters of principle are thoroughly bad”. Similarly, Justice Minister Andrew Little, who is responsible for the waka-jumping legislation, described Greens’ idea as “cheap horse-trading”. On Friday morning, I went on TVNZ1’s Breakfast programme to analyse the situation. I argued that the leak of the strategy document was of great public interest, because it’s not often that the public gets to see how politicians operate and think behind the scenes – we are normally only privy to their polished speeches and parliamentary debating. Given all the political spin and carefully choreographed political communication, voters don’t often know how politicians really make decisions. That makes the leaked paper about how the Greens are thinking about one of the government’s core 100-day programme priorities fascinating and useful. Furthermore, I said that the core message of the Green’s strategy paper is the lack of integrity in how the party has been dealing with the problem of the coalition government introducing a piece of legislation they disagree with. It suggests that the Greens are willing to “sell out” their principles quite easily – see the four-minute interview on TVNZ1 Breakfast’s Facebook page: Is the honeymoon over for the new coalition? Can the Greens really vote against a founding policy of their own government? The leaked strategy document suggests the party is free to vote against their own government whenever they like: “our Confidence and Supply Agreement gives us the independence to choose to vote against it”. And this assertion is in line with other public statements by the party about their involvement in the coalition. James Shaw has even blogged about this, in an attempt to clarify the party’s role in the new government: “Put simply confidence and supply means we will vote for the Government’s budget and super important changes to NZ law, votes on the policy wins we achieved, and some technical ones – like the big set piece debate happening next week called the Address in Reply. We also agreed that Green Ministers will be bound by ‘collective responsibility’, in their portfolios and in areas where there has been full participation in policy development. Basically we won’t criticise Government policy that we had a part in making! In other areas, we may agree to disagree.” Shaw also says “We still have the room to retain our identity and disagree with the government when we differ. We can stay true to our values while also having the opportunity to make real change” – see: Confidence and Supply = ??? There are two questions about this: how often will the Greens be able to vote against their own government without causing instability? And, does the “agree to disagree” clause in their coalition agreement actually apply to the core policies adopted in establishing the new government? On the frequency with which the Greens can afford to vote against Labour and/or New Zealand First, Shaw himself says it will be very rare. According to Stacey Kirk, Shaw sees the “agree to disagree” clause as a “safety valve” and “he anticipates the valve would only be for extreme options” – see: Greens policy grab-bag: Where are they rousing for a shakeup? Kirk reports that, although such clauses have been commonly used in previous governments, “it might be exercised a bit differently to previous iterations. It’s the nuclear option if things got really bad.” And Shaw is quoted arguing that the Greens might in fact never vote against government legislation, because bills of such a contentious nature simply wouldn’t be introduced to Parliament without the Greens approval: “I also don’t think that they will, that they’ll get to that point. Because in this arrangement, you actually need all three parties to agree before legislation can even make it to the house.” There have also been suggestions that the fine print of the coalition agreement obliges the Greens to act in a way that allows the Labour-NZ First agreement to be implemented. This is best conveyed by Claire Trevett who explains that, while Greens believe they are free to pick and choose what they want to support, “Labour has a rather different view of that. For when the Green Party signed up with Labour, it promised to ‘act in good faith to allow [other] agreements to be complied with.’ It had effectively signed up to support everything in NZ First’s agreement, as indeed has NZ First to the Greens’ agreement” – see: Return of Jacinda Ardern a relief for Coalition Red. Trevett also suggests that the waka-jumping discord might be the first sign of ongoing problems for Labour: “This one will not necessarily ease with time for it involved the first of what is likely to be a number of policy conflicts between NZ First and the Green Party.” Finally, it’s worth clarifying whether the Green Party is actually part of the coalition government, given that its ministers are outside of Cabinet and the party only has a “Confidence and Supply” agreement with Labour. Because of this ambiguity, many commentators and politicians have been inclined to refer to the government as a Labour-NZ First government, or even a “minority government”. But this is nonsense according to Dean Knight, a constitutional law expert at Victoria University of Wellington. See his authoritative article, Clearing up some coalition confusion.]]>

NZ urgently needs to take more Rohingya refugees

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 21, 2017

Protests against the Rohingya “genocide” have spread globally. With more than 1 million Ronhinga refugees in Bangladash, the authors argue that New Zealand needs to act now and take in more. Image: Clickittefaq

OPINION: By Sharon Harvey and Sorowar Chowdhury

The plight of the Rohingya people has hit the international headlines again. Following the August clashes in Rakhine State between Myanmar police and army and an armed opposition group, Myanmar has seen an accelerated exodus of Rohingya people into Bangladesh.

There are estimated to be about one million Rohingya in Bangladesh with between 500,000 to 700,000 left in Myanmar. Moreover, since the late 1970s, 350,000 Rohingya have fled to Pakistan, 200,000 to Saudi Arabia and 150,000 to Malaysia to escape persecution.

Others are in Thailand and countries of resettlement such as New Zealand and Australia.

The most recent situation is so tragic that a recent Times Higher Education article called for some of the world’s top universities to cease educational partnerships in Myanmar until human rights abuses, especially towards the Rohingya people have ceased.

Rohingya are Muslims living in Northern Rakhine State (formerly Arakan) in Myanmar (formerly Burma) who constitute an ethnic, linguistic and religious minority. They were stripped of citizenship in 1982 and, subsequently, have been the victims of severe discrimination and persecution.

For the last few years, there has been evidence of Rohingya risking their lives and fleeing Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh and other countries. In August this year, with the insurgence of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, the Myanmar army began a “clearance operation”, characterised as “ethnic cleansing” by the United Nations, that lasted for several weeks.

-Partners-

Amnesty International published a report on October 18 claiming the Myanmar Army operation which involved “widespread and unlawful killing” including rape and other sexual violence and the burning of Rohingya villages, constituted “serious human rights violations” and “crimes against humanity”.

Tragic situation
The situation is tragic and needs urgent international attention.

The underlying problem for the Rohingya people is that Myanmar refuses to accept they are a recognisable ethnic minority and therefore citizens of Myanmar.

While scholars are divided over the Rohingya’s earliest settlement in Rakhine, the 2017 Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, maintained the Rohingya people are an integrated population of Muslims who have lived in Rakhine since at least the Kingdom of Mrauk U, the final Rakhine kingdom (1429-1775), and possibly 600 years earlier.

Others are 19th and 20th-century migrants from Bangladesh and West Bengal of India.

In any case, all Rohingya have been living in Rakhine state for at least several generations and many of them much, much longer. To put this into perspective, Rohingya have been living in Northern Rakhine in some cases perhaps before the Māori settlement of Aotearoa and at least as long as European settlement here.

Moreover, in light of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights conventions relating to statelessness (Article 3) and reduction of statelessness (Article 1), the Rohingya people are entitled to citizenship, their human rights should be upheld, and they are entitled to non-discrimination.

Above all, in no way ought they or anyone else be the victims of ethnic cleansing.

From the UNHCR’s perspective, there are three durable solutions for refugees: repatriation, local integration, and resettlement.

Since Bangladesh is already hosting close to a million Rohingya and is a low-middle income country, it may not be feasible to integrate all the new Rohingya who have fled Rakhine state since August.

Repatriation very slow
As for repatriation, Bangladesh and Myanmar recently agreed to form a joint working group by the end of November. However, with current documentation issues outstanding for the Rohingya, repatriation could take a very long time.

In the meantime, global leaders, including from the United States, European Union, and UN Security Council, have expressed extreme concern over the Rohingya situation. International pressure on Myanmar needs to be reinforced to expedite the repatriation.

Regarding resettlement, although Bangladesh did not ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, it started a third-country resettlement programme in 2006 and this continued until the Bangladeshi government suspended it in November 2010.

However UNHCR, being the global refugee-resettling facilitator, may approach Bangladesh and mediate with refugee-resettling countries to open a special quota for the Rohingya and extend the opportunity to resettle them in third countries.

Because New Zealand is a refugee resettling country and some Rohingya have been successfully resettled here, New Zealand needs to urgently create provision for a special intake of Rohingya refugees, as it has done recently for the Syrian refugees.

The new government has the opportunity to demonstrate its credibility to the world by extending compassion to a community in deep crisis and thereby upholding Labour’s election slogan “Let’s do this”.

Associate Professor Sharon Harvey is head of the school of language and culture at Auckland University of Technology. Sorowar Chowdhury, a PhD student from Bangladesh, is researching the resettlement of Rohingya in New Zealand. This article has been republished by Asia Pacific Report with the permission of the authors and was originally published by The New Zealand Herald.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 21 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 21, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 21 November 2017 – Today’s content Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.Parliament[/caption] Manus Island and AUS-NZ relations John Armstrong (1News): Opinion: Manus Island differences show Aus-NZ ‘special relationship’ not so special anymore Dennis Grant (Stuff): Dark mutterings in Canberra over NZ’s refugee criticism Tracey Barnett (Stuff): Australia’s Manus media machine hits Kiwi shores RNZ: Manus refugees tell Australia to accept NZ offer Tony Wright (Newshub): Time for some humanity’: Helen Clark calls for action on Manus Island Ardern-Trump encounter Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): ‘Not that orange’: New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern regrets gossip about Donald Trump BBC: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern ‘regrets Trump story’ Claire Trevett (Herald): Mrs Trudeau, I presume? PM Jacinda Ardern clearly needs better work stories 1News: ‘I see what you’re doing there’ – Jacinda Ardern shuts down reporter over whether Trump mistook her for Trudeau’s wife Derek Cheng (Herald): Jacinda Ardern: Mistaken identity ‘nothing to do with Trudeau’ Stuff: He said she said: Jack Tame grills PM Jacinda Ardern on Trump story Kylie Klein Nixon (Stuff): Jack Tame v The Prime Minister: What the hell did I just watch? Rachel Smalley (Herald): Jacinda Ardern, not Jack Tame, at fault in Trump gaffe John Drinnan (ZagZigger): Jack And Jacinda Went Up The Hill … Pike River Dominion Post Editorial: New rulers but the same old problem at Pike River Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Every chance Pike River situation will remain same for years Newshub: Pike River re-entry a ‘dangerous task’ – Andrew Little Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern: Pike River re-entry the goal but not at any cost Laura Walters (Stuff): Pike River mine recovery should be completed by March, 2019 – PM RNZ: Pike River: Stand-alone agency to plan manned re-entry Derek Cheng (Herald): Cabinet approves establishment of Pike River Recovery Agency Anna Bracewell-Worrall and Emma Hurley (Newshub): Government to establish new Pike River agency 1News: Watch: ‘Everything within our power to try’ – Jacinda Ardern can’t guarantee bodies will be retrieved from Pike River mine RNZ: Little to present Pike River re-entry options Herald: Pike re-entry could be next year, and only if safe – Andrew Little Newshub: Government has wound back Pike River re-entry promise – National Trade John Minto (Daily Blog): Why would any self-respecting New Zealander oppose the TPPA when National was in government and then excuse Labour for signing up to it? Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Building an “Active Democracy” through “Constructive Engagement”. Chris Trotter responds to John Minto. Damon Rusden (Daily Blog): The kinda-new TPPA: We should have cautious optimism Government Richard Harman (Politik): Government cracks down: foreign farm sales on hold Colin James (ODT): Has service to the public become servility to ministers? Bryce Edwards (Newsroom): Unfettered lobbyists under suspicion Julienne Molineaux (Briefing Papers): An unlikely political football Liam Hehir (Stuff): New Government makes the most of mythical first 100 days Liam Hehir (Medium): Well, they did warn me not to vote National No Right Turn: Unnatural partnerships Housing and rates Chris Trotter (Stuff): Is the talented Mr Twyford talented enough? Corazon Miller (Herald): Auckland becoming the city of million-dollar homes Alice Peacock (Herald): Auckland’s cheapest house a 1-bedroom shack at South Head, Auckland Council valuations reveal Eva Corlett (RNZ): Auckland homeowners frustrated at rates uncertainty Liam Dann (Herald): Rates warning as commercial values rocket in Auckland Herald: Ardern’s home rises more than her salary as leader of Opposition Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Houses ‘valued’ at less than they cost to build Don Rowe (Spinoff): What would you need to do to out-earn your Auckland property? Environment Jamie Gray (Herald): Fonterra launches charm offensive on water quality No Right Turn: Climate change: Eliminating coal Newshub: Cloud of plastic bags fly away from Dunedin landfill Tom O’Connor (Waikato Times): 1080 nonsense harmful and cruel Education Simon Collins (Herald): Child who didn’t get mumps injection told to stay home Vicki Carpenter (CPAG): A richer New Zealand Curriculum is possible without National Standards Mike Hosking (Herald): On industry, hand-wringing elites, and paying the bills Northern Advocate: Hapu member threatens rahui for entire Kaikohe Intermediate over classsroom’s name Simon Draper (Herald): We aren’t recognising Asian children’s potential Health RNZ: Waikato DHB chair: I’m not to blame for spending scandal 1News: Dental expert says dental care in NZ treated like ‘luxury’, calls for funding overhaul 1News: ‘The government does need to step up’ – Calls for age of free dental care to be raised Emile Donovan (RNZ): Older workers among highest ACC claimants – report Newshub: Tax hikes are stubbing out smoking – Turia Eric Crampton (Offsetting Behaviour): More drinking stats Media Colin Peacock (RNZ): Peters’ pursuit of Super story sources rings alarm bells Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): NZME-Fairfax Media merger terms should be up for rethink – analyst Local government RNZ: Manawatū District Council votes in favour of Māori wards Newshub: Blowing ratepayer money on overseas trips ‘indefensible’ – Auckland councillor Sarah Harris (Herald): Auckland Council CEO Stephen Town rejects motion to scrap business-class travel No Right Turn: Restoring democracy to the RMA 1News: Worms and old tyres – Auckland Council building hailed as a world-leader in sustainability Simon Wilson (Spinoff): After the West Lynn debacle: a better way to plan Auckland’s suburbs Inequality Stuff: Poor families priced out of modern-day necessity – the internet Alex Penk and Danielle van Dalen (Spinoff): The too hard basket: Breaking the link between disability and poverty Press Editorial: Homeless deserve compassion and help – but not your spare cash Justice and police Newshub: Police took 3700 illegal DNA samples Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): Judges highlight cultural context for offending David Garrett (Kiwiblog): Prison the only option for repeat violent offenders Other Phil Pennington (RNZ): Fast-tracking new fire rules will cost building industry ‘hugely’ James Morley (The Conversation): Why New Zealand can’t outsource employment policy to its central bank Brad Flahive (Stuff): Less than half of Kiwi kids trust adults and world leaders, survey says Laura Walters (Stuff): What’s happening with the road toll and how will the Government fix it? Bernard Orsman (Herald): Battle of America’s Cup bases down to three options Alastair Lynn (Newshub): Gun policy expert likens Kiwi gun laws to United States Newshub: One-third of Kiwi women experience abuse online Newshub: Domestic violence opponents want social media crackdown Rob Stock (Stuff): Online tool launches showing the bite fees take from KiwiSaver returns Tāmati Kruger (E-Tangata): We are not who we should be as Tūhoe people Jihee Junn (Spinoff): The battle over a chicken-alike label is a sign of the meat wars to come 1News: How much! Cost of butter continues to skyrocket, up 62 per cent in a year Mike Yardley (Press): Taxpayers getting royally screwed by Greens’ plan to repeal ‘excessive’ benefit sanctions Andrew Gorman-Murray (The Conversation): New Zealand experience shows same-sex marriage could provide huge economic boost for Australia]]>

PMC focuses on Asia-Pacific ‘journalism under duress’ for 10th birthday event

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 20, 2017

Pacific Media Centre

Monday, November 20, 2017

The Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology is highlighting the threats to media freedom in the Asia-Pacific region in an event next week marking its 10th anniversary. Following the International Day of Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists earlier this month, the PMC is hosting two guest speakers in a panel addressing the so-called “war on drugs” in the Philippines and the extrajudicial killings estimated by officials as more than 7000 while human rights agencies claim the figure is higher; and also human rights violations in West Papua. The event features Malou Mangahas, executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, speaking on journalist safety and the culture of impunity. The Philippines is the country with the largest single massacre of journalists – 34 on the island of Mindanao in 2009, where a three-month urban siege against jihadists in Marawi City has recently ended with a toll on many newsrooms. The deadly crackdown on drugs reportedly eased up last month when President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the police to leave action to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), saying the shift was to target “big fish”. Human rights advocates had accused Duterte of waging a “war on the poor”, but Mangahas argues that there has been no real change in strategy.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said last week in Manila the deaths “require investigation”. Johnny Blades, a senior journalist of RNZ International, will also speak about his challenging experiences in West Papua, especially during an “official” visit to the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian provinces in 2015. Media freedom
The panel will be chaired by founding PMC director Professor David Robie, who has campaigned for many years on media freedom issues and was in Jakarta for the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference in May. A former Pacific Affairs Minister, Laumanuvao Winnie Laban, who launched the PMC a decade ago this year, will also be among the attendees. Professor Berrin Yanıkkaya, head of the School of Communication Studies at AUT, will launch a graphic new media book, Conflict, Custom & Conscience: Photojournalism and the Pacific Media Centre 2007-2017, edited by Jim Marbrook, Del Abcede, Natalie Robertson and David Robie. She will also launch the latest edition of Pacific Journalism Review research journal. A special video by Sasya Wreksono highlighting the PMC’s achievements over 10 years will be screened along with a photographic exhibition of the research centre’s evolution. Seminar: “Journalism under duress in Asia-Pacific”
Thursday, November 30, 2017 5.30pm-8pm
WG126, School of Communication Studies, AUT
55 Wellesley St, Auckland
Refreshments will be provided
Admission free
RSVP by November 24 to: communicate@aut.ac.nz

More information

The event on Facebook

PCIJ’s executive director Malou Mangahas with Professor David Robie, director of the Pacific Media Centre, in Manila … Philippines impunity against journalists. Image: PCIJ

Report by Pacific Media Centre ]]>

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The rise of the hyper-partisan lobbyists in Wellington

By Bryce Edwards -

November 20, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The rise of the hyper-partisan lobbyists in Wellington

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] Last month, Labour’s Neale Jones was part of the team carrying out coalition negotiations with NZ First and the Greens. On Friday, he finished work as Jacinda Ardern’s Chief of Staff. Today, he is a lobbyist – beginning work as the New Zealand director of Hawker Britton, an Australian political lobbying firm that’s just reopened its doors in Wellington. For the latest story on this, see Laura Walters’ Labour chief of staff Neale Jones takes up job with lobby firm Hawker Britton. While this swift transition from Labour insider to lobbyist may raise ethical questions, right now there is absolutely nothing illegal about it. [caption id="attachment_15455" align="aligncenter" width="440"]

Lobbying and influence.[/caption] Laws exist in many countries to restrict this behavior. An example is a rule against the “revolving door”, whereby officials and politicians go from being part of the government one day to a new lobbying job the next. Many countries require a mandatory “cooling off” period, which makes this behaviour slightly less compromising. Political lobbying is a growth industry in New Zealand. And lobbyists are going to be particularly busy over the next year. I’ve written about this today – see: Unfettered lobbyists under suspicion – saying “It’s a great time to be a lobbyist. Not only are lobbyists in more demand at the moment, they have more opportunities to find influence. They can thank Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters for this. Because, whenever there’s a change of government, it’s a time of rapid reform.” And that means all sorts of vested interests are keen to employ lobbyists to try and achieve some influence over changes being made. But at the same time, I caution lobbyists that their days of unfettered operations might be limited, due to increased interest in their activities and influence. People see the professional lobby firms in particular as being ethically dubious. And when former politicians and political staffers switch from democratic politics one day to lobbying careers the next, this shows the profession in a very poor light. The new hyper-partisan lobbyists Hawker Britton is an especially interesting lobbying company because of its unique business model, in which it is overtly partisan. Normally professional lobbying firms attempt to work with whatever political party is in power, and hence try to be non-partisan. But Hawker Britton – which is primary based in Australia – has pioneered a new type of “hyper-partisan” influence-seeking that only concentrates on one side of the political divide. In Australia the firm typically employs staff and politicians from that country’s Labor Party, and its staff often go on to become Labor MPs. There is no great divide between between the lobbyists and the politicians, with the firm also providing strategic advice and donations to the party. And so it will be interesting to see to what extent that same model is used in New Zealand – see Laura Walters’ Australian left-wing lobby firm Hawker Britton hiring in New Zealand. The firm has operated in Wellington before, under the Helen Clark Labour Government, but departed when National gained power. Hawker Britton’s rightwing “sister company”, Barton Deakin, now run by former National ministerial staffer Jenna Raeburn, was tasked with lobbying the then National government. In Australia these “sister companies” refer clients to each other and operate in harmony. Raeburn set up the New Zealand division of Barton Deakin last year, which was covered by Sam Sachdeva at the time: “Raeburn spent more than five years working for the National Party, most recently as a ministerial staffer for Gerry Brownlee. Her turnaround from government to lobbying was swift – she was in Brownlee’s office one week, and at Barton Deakin the next” – see: Arrival of Australian political lobbying firm in NZ raises questions about oversight. For the best and most critical account of the history of the “hyper partisan” Barton Deakin and Hawker Britton, see Mike Seccombe’s Barton Deakin, the Coalition’s ‘evil twin’ lobby firm. Revolving doors and conflicts of interest Raeburn is not only an ex-ministerial staffer, but is also a National Party activist. For example, she managed her partner, Chris Bishop’s, election campaign in Hutt South. And she plays a strong role in party electioneering. When questioned about the potential conflicts of interest for the lobbyist and the politician, Sachdeva’s reported that Raeburn said she was aware of this, but didn’t believe it would be a problem: “We did talk about it: I don’t think it will reflect unfavourably on him, as long as we are sensible about it… We’ve both always worked in and around politics, and Wellington’s a very small place … you both understand there are things you can and can’t talk about at home.” Of course, Bishop is also a former lobbyist – for tobacco giant Phillip Morris – and also a former senior ministerial staffer, so the couple have plenty of experience with juggling these transitions to different roles. In addition, Raeburn has a role as a political commentator, appearing frequently in the media, and there have been questions about the appropriateness of this – see Colin Peacock’s Pundits with skin in the campaign game. The article explains the problem with so many lobbyists being used as political commentators: “viewers, listeners and readers are usually in the dark about the vested interests the lobbyists and PR consultants may have.” Lobbyists and Labour under scrutiny In terms of the possible conflicts of interest of former party staffers shifting over to lobbying, blogger No Right Turn once summed it up like this: “these people are leveraging relationships built in government service for private gain. That is not only ethically dubious; it degrades the reputation of Parliament, and raises the question of whether the advice they gave in their previous position was affected by their desire to gain outside employment (a question which also arises about members of the Parliamentary press gallery when they move to better-paid positions as political spindoctors). Granting them the special favour of free access to Parliament degrades it even further, and raises questions about what other favours they are getting from Ministers” – see: The revolving door. Similar questions about ethics, power, and conflicts of interests should of course now be raised about Jacinda Ardern’s former Chief of Staff now lobbying and assisting the Labour-led government. Jones’ counterparts in Australia, have come to be seen as running the “the privatised wing of the Labour Party”. It’s easy to see how someone with insider knowledge about which coalition policies were contentious during negotiations only a few weeks ago could be of great benefit to a company wanting to stymie or promote a particular policy. And Labour will no doubt come under scrutiny as to whether it is succumbing to other lobbyists. In the recent past, Andrew Little got into trouble for dinning with pharmaceutical lobbyists – see Vernon Small’s column from last year: Labour may not like it, but private dinners with drug lobbyists is a valid news story. In the weekend, a story broke about the involvement of Medicines NZ in the recent election campaign – see Stacey Kirk and Laura Walters’ More than $150,0000 spent on mysterious ‘Election 2017 project’ by drug lobby group. Although little is known about the election activities of this lobby group, the article notes, “Prior to the election, Medicines NZ strongly supported a Labour Party policy to adopt an interim drugs fund.” Of course, with plenty of new government programmes and law changes, there will be a lot of work for lobbyists. And that means there will need to be increased media and public scrutiny of what is going on – especially when it comes to some of the bigger projects being developed like housing and regional development. In this regard, see Hamish Rutherford’s Regions begin to lobby minister for cash from new $1 billion a year provincial fund. Another lobbying group to watch out for is the US Chamber of Commerce, which surprisingly operates in New Zealand, and has a very close relationship with the government and, in particular, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For more on this, see the recent investigative article by Branko Marcetic, The influence machine: how an American neoliberal lobby group operates in NZ. Finally, Stuff’s Laura Walters is doing some very good work on the power of lobbyists and other vested interests. This month she published a very good overview of the state of the industry, including its lack of regulation – see: Lobby groups have power but not on the same scale as US.]]>

Chris Trotter: Catastrophic loss of trust over Canberra’s Manus provocation

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 20, 2017

malcolm-evans-cartoon-manus-680wide-png — ]]>

OPINION: By Chris Trotter

You have to go a long way to find anything remotely resembling Australia’s current treatment of New Zealand.

For a supposedly friendly government to deliberately inject inflammatory disinformation into the political bloodstream of its supposedly closest neighbour is an extraordinarily provocative act. Not quite an act of war, but the sort of intervention that can all-too-easily provoke a catastrophic loss of trust.

It’s the sort of thing that the Soviets and the Americans used to do to one another all the time during the Cold War. Except, of course, those two superpowers were ideological and geopolitical rivals of the first order. It takes a real effort to re-cast the relationship between New Zealand and Australia in similar terms. Nevertheless, it’s an effort we are now obliged to make.

So, what is it that Australia has done? Essentially, its national security apparatus (presumably at the instigation of their political leaders) has released, mostly through media surrogates, a number of related stories calculated to inflame the prejudices of a certain type of New Zealander.

Like Australia, New Zealand harbours a frighteningly large number of racists. Politically-speaking, such people are easily aroused and have few qualms about setting-off ugly, racially-charged, debates on talkback radio, in the letters columns of the daily newspapers and across social media. These individuals are trouble enough when all they have to fight with are their own stereotypes and prejudices. Arm them with the carefully assembled disinformation of “fake news” and they instantly become quite dangerous.

Planting stories
And yet, this is exactly what the Australian authorities have done. Planting stories in their own press (knowing they will be picked up almost immediately by our own) about at least four boatloads of illegal immigrants that have set out for New Zealand only to be intercepted and turned back by the ever-vigilant officers of the Royal Australian Navy and their Coast Guard comrades.

-Partners-

The purpose of this story (unsourced and lacking in detail, making it, almost certainly, fake news) was to paint New Zealand’s prime minister as an ill-informed and ungrateful diplomatic naïf: an inexperienced young idealist who doesn’t know which way is up when it comes to dealing with real-world problems.

This, alone, was an extraordinary intervention. To gauge how extraordinary, just turn it around. Imagine the reaction in Australia if some unnamed person in New Zealand’s national security apparatus leaked a memo to one of this country’s daily newspapers in which the negative diplomatic and economic consequences of being tainted by association with Australia’s flouting of international law is set forth in clinical detail. If the memo also contained a collection of highly critical assessments of Turnbull’s cabinet colleagues, allegedly passed-on by a number of unnamed western diplomats, then so much the better!

Canberra would not be impressed!

If the Australians had left it at just one intervention, then perhaps New Zealanders could simply have shrugged it off as yet another case of bad behaviour from the land of the under-arm bowlers. But when have the Aussies ever left it at “just one”?

Former guard’s ‘intervention’
The next intervention came in the form of “Ian” – formerly a guard (or so he said) at both the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres. For reasons it has yet to adequately explain, RNZ’s Checkpoint programme provided “Ian” with nearly ten, largely uninterrupted, minutes of air-time during which he poured-forth a stream of accusations and characterisations which, to put it mildly, painted the protesters occupying the decommissioned Manus Island facility in the most lurid and disquieting colours. The detainees were criminals, drug-dealers – paedophiles even! Not at all the sort of people New Zealanders would want in their country.

“Ian”, it turns out, is a “witness” well-known to the many Australian NGOs that have taken up the cause of the detainees on Manus and Nauru. They have noted the curious similarities between “Ian’s” supposedly personal observations and experiences, and the inflammatory talking-points constantly reiterated by Australia’s hard-line Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton. A cynic might describe the grim “testimony” of “Ian” and Dutton as mutually reinforcing.

No matter. New Zealand’s racist, Islamophobic and militantly anti-immigrant community had been supplied with yet another truckload of Australian-manufactured ammunition.

Enough? Not hardly! Only on Friday morning New Zealanders were fed the shocking “news” that the protesting Manus Island detainees are harbouring within their ranks an unspecified number of men guilty of having debauched and prostituted local girls as young as 10 and 13!

Too much? Over the top? Redolent of the very worst instances of the murderous racial-incitement for which the Deep South of the United States was so rightly infamous? It sure is! Which is why we must hope that the internet does not operate on Manus Island. Because, if the local inhabitants were to read on-line that the detainees were responsible for prostituting their daughters, what might they NOT do?

Disinformation campaign
One almost feels that the Australian spooks behind this extraordinary disinformation campaign would actually be delighted if the locals burned down the Manus Island detention centre with the protesting detainees inside it.

“This is what comes of 37-year-old Kiwi prime ministers meddling in matters they know nothing about!” That would be the consistent theme of the right-wing Australian media. It would not take long for the same line to be picked up here: first on social media, and then by more mainstream media outlets.

Right-wing outrage, mixed with a gleeful “we told you so!”, could not, however, be contained within the news media for very long. Inevitably, the more outré inhabitants of the Opposition’s back bench would take possession of the controversy, from there it would cascade down rapidly to Opposition politicians nearer the front.

Before her enemies could say: “It’s all your fault!”, Jacinda would find herself under withering political fire from both sides of the Tasman. Canberra would register her increasingly fragile government’s distress with grim satisfaction.

As the men and women responsible for organising “Operation Stardust” deleted its final folder, and fed the last incriminating document into the paper-shredder, one or two of them might even have voiced a judiciously muted “Mission Accomplished!”

This essay, by Chris Trotter, was originally posted on the Bowalley Road blog of Saturday, 18 November 2017, under the title: “Not quite an act of war: Analysing Australia’s push-back against Jacinda’s Manus Island outreach. It is republished by Asia Pacific Report with the permission of the author.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 20 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 20, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 20 November 2017 – Today’s content

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). Manus Island and refugees Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern’s risky new foreign policy RNZ: NZ, Aus officials have had ‘conversations’ over Manus Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Not Quite An Act Of War: Analysing Australia’s Push-Back Against Jacinda’s Manus Island Outreach Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): Best mates don’t pick fights Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Why Australia makes us look good 1News: Manus Island: ‘It’s as simple as doing the right thing’– PM Laura Walters (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern: It’s more important to do what’s right than what’s popular Herald: Ardern ‘not dissuaded’ on Manus stand, despite upsetting Australia RNZ: Immigration NZ backs vetting over Manus resettlement RNZ: Manus refugees reject allegations of criminal activities Martin van Beynen (Stuff): New Zealand’s dangerous moral high ground on Manus Island John Roughan (Herald): Manus Island: Kiwis are not busybodies Mei Heron (RNZ): NZ refugee offer stands, despite new allegations Benjamin Robinson-Drawbridge (RNZ): Australia accused of medical negligence on Manus Island Newshub: New Zealand refugee offer a future possibility – Malcolm Turnbull 1News: ‘It’s a possibility’ – Aussie PM changes harsh tune on NZ’s Manus Island refugee offer Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): A leak and a warning: Australia’s bloody diplomacy Herald: Australia says NZ offer over Manus Island refugees a ‘waste of money’ Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Activists occupy Jacinda Ardern’s office over Manus Island refugee crisis Corin Dann (1News): ‘There’s an enormous need’ – NZ following ‘diplomatic channels’ on Myanmar crisis Craig Hoyle (Stuff): Accused in the deaths of 353 asylum seekers, Maythem Radhi faces extradition International relations Ella Prendergast (Newshub): NZ ready to step in over North Korea – Jacinda Ardern Megan Gattey (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: North Korea is a ‘real threat’ Corin Dann (1News): Full video: Jacinda Ardern returns from first trip as PM having raised contentious issues Corin Dann (1News): ‘Yes I do take a different perspective’ – Jacinda Ardern on being a young leader on the international stage Newshub: New Zealand can do more on nuclear issue – Jacinda Ardern Robert Patman (Noted): How should New Zealand tackle rising tensions in Asia-Pacific and Europe? Laura Walters (Stuff): US Ambassador Scott Brown on representing the US, Donald Trump, and life in NZ Newshub: NZ Govt stepped in over Peru’s military jet flyover Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern retorts to Donald Trump: ‘No one marched when I was elected’ Don Franks (Redline): Marching for Jacinda Andrew Gunn (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern’s war stories from APEC with Donald Trump and Winston Peters Newshub: Did Donald Trump really think Jacinda Ardern was Justin Trudeau’s wife? Herald: Did Trump mistake Jacinda for Justin Trudeau’s wife? Toby Manhire (Spinoff): ‘You’ve done well for yourself’: Did Trump mistake Jacinda Ardern for Trudeau’s wife? Newshub: Trump thought Jacinda Ardern was Justin Trudeau’s wife – Tom Sainsbury John Drinnan (ZagZigger): NZ “Asleep At Wheel” over Chinese Whispers Government Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): A report card on Labour’s first month Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Genter, Little & Twyford follow Jacinda’s leadership – so why am I still nervous about new Government? Jo Moir (Stuff): Labour has a problem – the trainwreck of acting prime minister Kelvin Davis David Farrar (Kiwiblog): The Kelvin trainwreck Claire Trevett (Herald): Return of Jacinda Ardern a relief for Coalition Red Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Talk is cheap in Opposition – walking the walk can be costly Herald: Greens seeking concessions is ‘no big deal’ – Shaw Claire Trevett (Herald): Andrew Little: The Renaissance Man Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Settling In: How Was The Last Labour-Led Government Doing Two Months Out From Election Day? Herald: Raymond Huo says he was falsely accused of corruption & criminal record Parliament Stuff: Below the Beltway: Who’s up and who’s down in politics this week? Peter Wilson (Newswire): Parliament’s weird first week David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Select Committee memberships Health Stacey Kirk and Laura Walters (Stuff): More than $150,0000 spent on mysterious ‘Election 2017 project’ by drug lobby group RNZ: Nearly a third of adult NZers now considered obese Press Editorial: NZ smoking less, but getting fatter and sadder Warwick Brunton (ODT): Put people’s health above party politics Megan Gattey (Stuff): Rising depression and anxiety among Kiwi youths Ella Prendergast (Newshub): New Zealand’s suicide rates will rise – Mike King Kelly Dennett (Herald): Coroner criticises Ministry after teen let down by carers RNZ: Weedkiller chemicals linked to antibiotic resistance Herald Editorial: DHB boss must explain himself Natalie Akoorie (Herald): DHB boss spent half the year travelling on taxpayers RNZ: Nearly $150k spent on Waikato DHB investigation Herald: Former PM Helen Clark asks if dental care should be a basic right Cherie Howie (Herald): Youth smoking rates plummet – Ministry of Health figures RNZ: Huge drop in number of NZ teens smoking RNZ: Push for respite facilities to have trained doctors Herald: Pricing floor for alcohol would punish responsible drinkers – Govt Eric Frykberg (RNZ): False UV protection claims not good enough for sunbathers Lucy Swinnen (Stuff): Terminally ill Kiwis to have their say on euthanasia Graham Adams (Noted): Euthanasia referendum: Are opponents afraid of what the public might decide? Housing Jessica Mutch (1News): Watch: ‘We inherited a mess’ – Phil Twyford outlines how Labour-led govt will build 27 houses a day Laura Walters (Stuff): Housing Minister Phil Twyford doubles Labour’s pre-election promise of extra state houses Herald: Phil Twyford wants to double number of state homes Govt has promised to build 1News: Waiting list for state houses continues to grow, hitting 7300 Liam Dann (Herald): Good news, there’s a property slump! Shamubeel Eaqub (Stuff): The debt that banking owes the housing market Jonathan Milne (Stuff): House valuations are out this week and everyone’s a winner, right? Mike Hosking (Herald): Paying rates based on the value of our house is insane Interest: Auckland Council’s rating valuations have tended to rise the most in the cheaper parts of town, which will probably also face the heftiest rates increases Lydia Lewis (Newshub): Auckland’s housing problem puts pressure on rural towns Herald Editorial: Next move on housing hard call for Govt RNZ: Foreign buyer ban ‘not going to be the panacea’ RNZ: Twyford not worried about Chinese real estate promo Julie Iles (Stuff): Chinese website pushes NZ house sales ahead of Government crackdown Ged Cann (Stuff): Wellington could be heading for its worst rental crisis ever, property experts warn Dianna Vezich (Newshub): Auckland homeowners may have rates rise as property values skyrocket Todd Niall (RNZ): Revaluations set to rock Goff’s rates rhetoric Environment Rod Oram (Newsroom): Fonterra’s climate change fudge The Economist: Dairy farming is polluting New Zealand’s water RNZ: Economist blames cows for state of NZ’s rivers and lakes Nathan Ross (Newsroom): Climate migrants will need more than ‘dignity’ Newshub: NZ eyes climate refugee visa Herald: Shaw to UN conference: NZ now a leader in climate change Laura Walters (Stuff): New Zealand tells the world of its plan to join the fight against climate change RNZ: Greenpeace issues warning to seismic survey ship David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Greenpeace wants to increase global emissions Isobel Ewing (Newshub): Predator Free 2050 goal needs ‘reality check’ – Conservation Minister Paid Parental Leave Newshub: Jacinda Ardern ‘likes’ National’s shared parental leave policy Herald: Paid parental leave for fathers likely next year – Ardern Dominion Post Editorial: Labour should accept National’s parental leave idea Emile Donovan (RNZ): Calls for partner-specific paid parental leave Duncan Garner (Stuff): Pathetic, petty and poor form, Labour. 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Indonesian president recognises land rights of nine more indigenous groups

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 19, 2017

president-jokowi-and-tribal-domain-png — ]]>

ANALYSIS: By Basten Gokkon in Jakarta

The Indonesian government has relinquished control over nine tracts of forest to the indigenous communities that have lived there for generations, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced at a recent conference on land tenure in Jakarta.

The move follows the government’s recognition last December of nine other communities’ rights to their ancestral forests, in line with a 2013 decision by Indonesia’s highest court that removed indigenous peoples’ customary forests from under state control.

“The spirit of agrarian reform and community forestry program is how lands and forests, as part of natural resources in Indonesia, can be accessed by the people, and provide economic justice and welfare for the people,” the president said in a speech to open the conference on October 25.

The nine newly designated “customary forests,” or hutan adat in Indonesian, cover a combined 33.4 sq km, on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi.

The move is consistent with Jokowi’s campaign pledge to give indigenous and other rural communities greater control over 127,000 square kilometers of land, which helped him earn the first-ever presidential endorsement of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) ahead of the 2014 election.

Three years into his presidency, however, the programme is running behind schedule. The administration has rezoned just 10,800 sq km of community forests, of which 164 sq km are customary forests, according to data from the Presidential Staff Office. The latter figure includes the nine customary forests the administration recognized at the beginning of the year and the nine last month.

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Dozens of other indigenous communities are hoping to secure rights to their ancestral lands, too. The day after Jokowi’s speech, three groups from Enrekang district in South Sulawesi province submitted their own proposals to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The proposed customary forests there would cover 4.04 square kilometers.

“The government hasn’t really been performing in making this promise happen,” AMAN researcher Arman Mohammad said.

Land mapped out
AMAN has mapped out 19,000 sq km of land, home to 607 indigenous communities, which it says must be rezoned as customary forests. These groups have already obtained the required documents from district and provincial governments for state recognition of their rights, Arman said.

The official recognition last month represented just a fraction of what AMAN had proposed, he said.

As the agrarian reform conference wrapped up, a senior official said the president would issue a decree by year’s end to help indigenous groups like that in Enrekang obtain control of their forests. Yanuar Nugroho, a deputy at the Presidential Staff Office, told reporters that the decree would lay out the framework for regulation, bureaucracy and accountability.

Details of the decree were not immediately available. However, Yanuar said at the time that one of the key points was to iron out overlapping authorities between related ministries.

For instance, he said, the environment ministry would concentrate on recognizing land rights inside forests, while the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning would oversee those outside forests. Currently, the matter is handled by those two ministries as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Villages, Underdeveloped Regions and Transmigration.

“The country is returning sovereignty to the people, and I believe this program for community forestry and agrarian reform is the spearhead,” Yanuar said.

Some observers welcomed the promise of a decree, saying it would help streamline the process for indigenous communities in obtaining state approval of their land rights.

Single agency
“There should be a single agency focusing on the land reform program so that the people don’t get confused,” said Dewi Kartika, general secretary of the Agrarian Reform Consortium, an NGO.

Arman called on the government to involve NGOs in drawing up the decree in order for it to be effective once implemented on the ground.

But even with a decree in place, the government may miss its target.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar noted at the conference that the government would only realistically be able to approve a total 43,800 sq km, just over a third of the promised total, for community forestry schemes by 2019, when President Jokowi will stand for re-election.

To achieve even that pared-down goal, the minister called on local governments to accommodate indigenous groups, who depend on district chiefs and local legislatures to issue decrees that recognise them as indigenous.

“We must now push for getting more areas that will potentially be appointed as customary lands in order to reduce conflicts,” Siti said on the sidelines of the conference.

Observers say the Jokowi administration’s actions and policies in general have failed to resolve land conflicts, which have led to the wrongful eviction of indigenous communities from their homes over the years.

Agrarian conflicts
“The locations that the government has been targeting so far are not the ones with agrarian conflicts or where there are overlapping claims between local communities,” Dewi said.

She added that policies issued by the federal government often failed to be implemented at the local level.

“A clean and just bureaucracy is our top concern,” said Rukka Sombolinggi, AMAN’s general secretary. “We have trust in the president and the ministries, but not quite in [officials at] the regional levels.”

Others also highlighted land conflicts resulting from other government programs, including its flagship infrastructure development projects and issuance of plantation permits. Efforts at land reform have also been criticized for overlooking communities in coastal areas.

“The president must take groundbreaking actions so that land reform will truly happen, otherwise it’s just a fake agrarian reform,” Rukka said.

A list of the new customary forests (from the Presidential Staff Office):

Hutan Adat Tawang Panyai (Sekadau district, West Kalimantan province, 0.4 sq km)

Hutan Adat Marena (Sigi district, Central Sulawesi province, 7.6 sq km)

Hutan Adat Batu Kerbau (Bungo district, Jambi province, 3.2 sq km)

Hutan Adat Belukar Panjang (Bungo district, Jambi province, 3.3 sq km)

Hutan Adat Bukit Bujang (Bungo district, Jambi province, 2.2 sq km)

Hutan Adat Hemaq Beniung (West Kutai district, East Kalimantan province, 0.5 sq km)

Hutan Adat Baru Pelepat (Bungo district, Jambi province, 8.2 sq km)

Hutan Adat Bukit Pintu Koto (Merangin district, Jambi province, 2.8 sq km)

Hutan Adat Rimbo Penghulu Depati Gento Rajo (Merangin district, Jambi province, 5.3 sq km)

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Strong leadership needed to drive COP Pacific climate goals, says Greenpeace

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 19, 2017

“Together, we must take action to protect our world” – Shalvi Shakshi’s inspirational climate story. Video: UNICEF

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

Greenpeace has called for climate leadership to emerge from the Pacific COP, saying leaders must listen to the need for urgency and transform their energy and land-use systems.

The Trump administration failed to stop the global climate talks from moving forward, despite its announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

But the world is still in urgent need of action, says Greenpeace.

Jens Mattias Clausen, head of Greenpeace’s political delegation in Bonn, Germany, said:

“Leaders must now go home and do the right thing, prove that they have listened to the voices of the Pacific, with all their hurt and hope, and understand the urgency of our time. Talk is not good enough and we still lack the action we need.

-Partners-

“We call on France, Germany, China and others to step up and display the leadership they claim to stake. Clinging to coal or nuclear power and parading as climate champions while failing to accelerate the clean energy transition is nothing but bad faith.”

Failed to deliver concrete support
This year’s COP placed heightened attention on climate impacts and the need for accountability, but failed to deliver the concrete support that a small island COP should have, Clausen said.

“We welcome the focus on enhanced ambition and the inclusion of pre-2020 climate action in the design of next year’s stocktake, the Talanoa Dialogue. This will form part of Fiji’s legacy and it is imperative that the dialogue will not just be a discussion but actually lead to countries ramping up their climate targets.

“Bonn still leaves a daunting task of concluding the Paris rulebook next year. Countries need to rediscover the political courage they had in Paris to complete the rulebook on time.”

A deal to break a deadlock in Bonn over the languishing pre-2020 climate action from developed countries and to anchor it in coming climate talks must now prove pivotal in forging additional ambition.

Country and region views:

The Pacific
“The Pacific has been dealing with the devastating impacts of climate change for years so time is a luxury we do not have. While leaders talk, we face the effects. It’s time for leaders to live up to their promises,” said Pacific Island representative activist Samu Kuridrani.

United States
“We have seen the true face of America here, exposing how Trump and his regressive fossil fuel agenda are outnumbered by those who proclaim with one voice, ‘America is still in’. It’s been abundantly clear here that despite Trump, climate action continues. World leaders must now categorically reject any proposed weakening of America’s commitments and hold the US administration to account if it reneges,” said Greenpeace USA climate campaigner Naomi Ages.

Germany
“This COP saw Germany drastically lose credibility and leadership on climate action. Chancellor Merkel’s disappointing speech failed to align Germany with a coalition of progressive nations stepping away from coal, raising doubts if Germany is committed to the ambition of the Paris agreement. Only by deciding on a coal phase out will the new government be able to reach its climate targets for 2020 and 2030,” said Greenpeace Germany executive director Sweelin Heuss.

China
“The Pacific COP has been a way-station in China’s aspiration to become a climate leader. The transformation from a developing country to a responsible global power takes time and courage, but climate leadership demands urgency. In 2018, eyes will increasingly turn to China to enhance the country’s climate ambition and help conclude the Paris rulebook,” said Greenpeace China climate policy adviser Li Shuo.

Southeast Asia
“The voices from the climate frontlines have spoken in the Pacific COP. But how much have those who are historically most accountable for climate change listened? Those least responsible for climate change are suffering the worst impacts and this great injustice must be addressed. Governments and corporations must urgently change their policies and practices to avert climate-related human rights harms,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Yeb Saño.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Tiny Timbulsloko fights back in face of Indonesia’s ‘ecological disaster’

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 18, 2017

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Drone views of the village of Timbulsloko showing the scale of coastal erosion and sinking flatlands in an area that once used to to be rice fields on the edge of the Central Java city of Semarang. Mangroves are being rapidly re-established. Drone footage source: CoREM. Video: David Robie’s Café Pacific

By David Robie in Semarang, Indonesia

A vast coastal area of the Indonesian city of Semarang, billed nine months ago by a national newspaper as “on the brink of ecological disaster”, is fighting back with a valiant survival strategy.

Thanks to a Dutch mangrove restoration programme and flexible bamboo-and-timber “eco” seawalls, some 70,000 people at risk in the city of nearly two million have some slim hope for the future.

An area that was mostly rice fields and villages on the edge of the old city barely two decades ago has now become “aquatic” zones as flooding high tides encroach on homes.

Onetime farmers have been forced to become fishermen.

Villagers living in Bedono, Sriwulan, Surodadi and Timbulsloko in Demak regency and urban communities in low-lying parts of the city are most at risk.

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Residents have been forced to raise their houses or build protective seawalls or be forced to abandon their homes when their floors become awash.

The lowland subsidence area in north Semarang leading to the volcanic Mt Urganan and Mt Muria/Medak. Source: CoRem (UNDIP), 2017.

Environmental changes in Semarang have been blamed by scientists on anthropogenic and “natural” factors such as tidal and river flooding – known locally as rob, mangroves destruction since the 1990s, fast urban growth and extensive groundwater extraction.

Climate change
This has been compounded by climate change with frequent and extreme storms.

It has been a pattern familiar in many other low-lying coastal areas in Indonesia, such as the capital Jakarta and second-largest city Surabaya.

The Jakarta Post headline on 2 February 2017. Image: PMC

In February, The Jakarta Post reported that both Jakarta and Semarang faced environmental crises.

Citing Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) researcher Henny Warsilah, a graduate of Paris I-Sorbonne University in France, who measured the resilience of three coastal cities – Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya – the Post noted only Surabaya had built sufficient environmental and social resilience to face natural disasters.

Jakarta and Semarang, Warsilah said, “were not doing very well”. Although Surabaya was faring much better with its urban policies.

The National Geographic Indonesia banner headline in October 2017. Image: PMC

The fate of some five million people living in Indonesia’s at risk coastal areas – including Semarang — was also profiled in the Indonesian edition of National Geographic magazine last month under the banner headline “Takdir Sang Pesisis” – “The destiny of the coast”.

The introduction asked: “”The disappearance of the mangrove belt now haunts seaside residents. How can they respond to a disaster that is imminent?”

Ongoing reclamation
According to The Jakarta Post, Semarang “has ongoing reclamation projects in the northern part of the city, which threaten to submerge entire neighbourhoods in the next 20 years”.

Urban erosion and land subsidence in Semarang city. Note the raised house second from left, the other sinking dwellings on either side have been abandoned to the tidal waters. Image: David Robie/PMC

“The more [the city] is expanded, the more land will subside because the region is a former volcanic eruption zone, and it is a swamp area,” says Warsilah.

“With the progression of the reclamation projects, the land is not strong enough to withstand the pressure.”

With a team of international geologists and researchers attached to Semarang’s Center for Disaster Mitigation and Coastal Rehabilitation Studies (CoREM) at Diponegoro University, I had the opportunity to visit Timbulsloko village earlier this month to see the growing “crisis” first hand.

City planners might see the only option as the residents being forced to leave for higher ground, but there appear to be no plans in place for this. In any case, local people defiantly say they want to stay and will adapt to the sinking conditions.

An unnamed local shopkeeper who has three generations of her family living in her Timbulsloko home and she doesn’t want to leave in spite of the sea encroaching in her house. Image: David Robie/PMC

One woman, a local shopkeeper, who has a three-generations household in the village with water encroaching into her home at most high tides, says she won’t leave with a broad smile.

I talked to her through an interpreter as she sat with her mother and youngest daughter on a roadside bamboo shelter.

“I have lived here for a long time, and I am very happy with the situation. My husband has his work here as a fisherman,” she said.

A local storekeeper with her mother and youngest daughter – three generations live in her Timbulsloko village home. Video: David Robie’s Café Pacific.

‘We don’t want to leave’
“We live with the flooding and we don’t want to leave.”

A raised house at low tide in Timbulsloko. Image: David Robie/PMC

She also said there was no clear viable alternative for the people of the village – there was no plan by the local authorities for relocation.

Later, she showed me inside her house and how far the water flooded across the floors. Electrical items, such as a television, had to be placed on raised furniture. The children slept on high beds, and the adults clambered onto cupboards to get some rest.

The village has a school, community centre, a mosque and a church – most of these with a sufficiently high foundation to be above the seawater.

However, the salination means that crops and vegetables cannot grow.

The community cemetery is also awash at high tide and there have been reports of eroded graves and sometimes floating bodies to the distress of families.

Timbulsloko’s village cemetery. Video: David Robie’s Café Pacific

We were warned “don’t touch anything with your hands” as the flooding also causes a health hazard.

Research projects
The situation has attracted a number of research projects in an effort to find solutions to some of the problems, the latest being part of the 2017 World Class Professor (WCP) programme funded by the Indonesian government.

Two of the six professors on the University of Gadjah Mada’s WCP programme, in partnership with Diponegoro University, are working with local researchers at CoREM.

WCP programme professors Dr David Menier (centre) and Dr Magaly Koch (right) talk to CoREM director Dr Muhammad Helmi on the Timbulsloko village wharf, near Semarang. Image: David Robie/PMC

They are geologists Dr Magaly Koch, from the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University, US, and Dr David Menier, associate professor HDR at Université de Bretage-Sud, France, who are partnered with Dr Muhammad Helmi, also a geologist and director of CoREM, and Dr Manoj Mathew. Both Dr Mathew and Dr Menier are of LGO Laboratoire Géosciences Océan.

The stages of flooding in the Semarang study area. Source: Ramkumar & Menier (2017)

“At the regional scale, the rate of subsidence is related to the geological and geomorphological context. North Java is a coastal plain that is very flat, silty to muddy, influenced by offshore controlling factors (e.g., wave, longshore drifts, tidal currents, etc.) and monsoons, and surrounded by volcanoes,” explains Dr Menier.

Controlling factors along the Semarang coastline. Source: CoRem, (UNDIP)

“Locally, anthropogenic factors can play a serious role as well.”

He says that coastal plains are dynamic. However, human activities are fixed – “the first contradiction”.

“Humans want to control and continue their livelihood, and are reluctant to accept changes related to their own activities or natural factors.”

Dr Menier says the subsidence is due to many factors, but some key issues have never been studied.

On a long term scale, the active faults of the area need to be examined in a geodynamic context and also volcanic activity with Mt Urganan and Mt Muria/Medak.

“We need to have a better understanding of the age of the coastal plain in order to reconstruct the past, explain the present-day and predict the future,” he says.

“Colonisation in the 17th century-Dutch period probably led to destruction of ecosystems (mangrove) and fine sediment usually trapped by plants has been stopped.”

Dr Koch adds: “Subsidence rates and their spatial distribution along the coastal plain need to be studied in detail using InSAR techniques. Groundwater abstraction (using deep wells) is probably happening in the city of Semarang but not necessarily in Demak.”

Expanding mangroves protection at Timbulsloko, Demak regency. Image: David Robie/PMC

Mangrove restoration
Mangrove restoration and mitigation has been used successfully to restore coastal resilience and ecosystems in Timbulsloko.

While noting that “high failure rates are typical” due to wrong special being planted and other factors, Dr Dolfi Debrot, of a Dutch project consortium, argues “given the right conditions, mangrove recovery actually works best without planting at all.”

The consortium involves Witteveen+Bos, Deltares, EcoShape, Wetlands International, Wageningen University and IMARES.

However, community planting is also a strategy deployed in the lowland villages.

Mangroves revitalise aquaculture ponds for crab and shrimp farming.

A “growing land” technique borrowed from the muddy Wadden Sea in the Netherlands has also been used successfully at Timbulsloko and other villages.

Semi-permeable dams are built from bamboo or wooden poles packed with branches to “dampen wave action”. In time, a build up of sediment settles and allows mangroves to grow naturally.

CoREM director Dr Muhammad Helmi … praises the contribution of flexible “eco” seawalls. Image: David Robie/PMC

“These eco-engineering seawalls are better than the concrete fixed barriers,” says Dr Helmi. “The permanent seawalls in turn become eroded at their base and eventually fall over.”

Dr David Robie is on the WCP programme with Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Women must be at centre of global climate solutions, says Fiji minister

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 18, 2017

Minister Mereseini Vuniwaqa … “important to emphasise the traditional roles and functions women in the Pacific play”. Image: Mereoni Mili/Wansolwara

By Mereoni Mili in Bonn, Germany

It is important that women and girls remain in the centre of climate solutions.

These were the words of Fiji’s Minister of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa during the Gender Day event at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, this week.

She said it was important to have specific objectives for women in any economic or investment programme responding to climate change whether it involved mitigation, adaptation or resilience.

“If we understand the special place women have in our communities and act accordingly we would create strong programmes, have more effective responses, build better and resilient communities”, she said.

She added that climate change was harsh for women largely because women were over-represented among the world and were exposed to these dangers.

“Women typically are critical to keeping communities together, they care for the children, and they maintain traditions and give stability to villages”, she said

-Partners-

Vuniwaqa said talanoa dialogue on the topic of economic case for gender responsive climate action would highlight the compelling economic reasons why governments were seeking and investors were funding climate policy.

Highlighting gender
It would also highlight actions that had gender as a core element.

Vuniwaqa reminded delegates that they needed to put women and girls at the centre of all climate efforts in order to succeed.

The Fijian Presidency at COP23 has emphasised the importance of equitable involvement of women in sustainable development and the implementation of climate policy, including the Gender Action Plan.

The Gender Action Plan had been finalised to recognise the role of women in climate action.

Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa, Flame Mata’fa, said that full participation and mainstreaming of gender issues was important and it was a step the Samoa government had taken.

“It is important to emphasise the traditional roles and functions women in the Pacific play so that people come to a common understanding and objectives,” she said.

Mereoni Mili is a student journalist on Wansolwara newspaper at the University of the South Pacific. She won a scholarship to attend COP23.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Pōhiva rejects ‘secret agenda’ claims that he wanted to seize royal power

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 18, 2017

akilisi-pohiva-tonga-elections-kn-680wide-jpg — ]]>

‘Akilisi Pōhiva speaking to hundreds of his constituents at a meeting in Kolomotu’a on Tuesday. Image: Kalino Lātū/Kaniva News

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva told his supporters that if he had really wanted to take away people’s land and the royal powers he would have made himself Minister of Defence and Minister of Land at the last election.

Pōhiva made the revelation on Tuesday night when he spoke in front of hundreds of his Tongatapu 1 constituents at the Uaiselē Hall at Sipu Road in Kolomotu’a before Thursday’s snap general election, which boosted the Democrats with a landslide win.

He was rejecting claims by his political opponents that he had a secret agenda to take away people’s rights to their land and give it to the nobles.

Kaniva News was unable to publish anything on his speech immediately because of Tonga’s electoral law which prohibited the publication of any material that could promote a candidate within 24 hours of Thursday’s election.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said he struggled in 2014 to choose a minister for the Ministry of Land and His Majesty’s Armed Forces.

Pōhiva, who was re-elected to Parliament in Thursday’s election, said he lay down at home at night and “thought deeply” about the problem.

-Partners-

‘Fragile’ future
He said he knew how “very fragile” the future of land and the defence services seemed in some people’s minds, especially the nobility and the royals while he – a man who had called for significant changes to the status quo in the past 30 years – was leading the country.

He finally made up his mind to appoint Lord Ma’afu from the nobility to the posts.

He thought the noble’s appointment could show the nation his ambition to bring about reforms that could bring more stability to Tonga.

He said politicians who campaigned against him during the snap election misled the people by telling them he was trying to unnecessarily remove the king’s power.

“That was not right,” Pōhiva said.

Protecting His Majesty
Pōhiva, whose critics accused him of wanting to “become king”, said he understood the way he wanted to protect the king put him and his government in a delicate situation.

The Prime Minister was referring to submissions from Cabinet to amend the constitution, including a proposal to reinstate the former Privy Council structure in which the king met with cabinet ministers in Privy Council.

The move was described by the Minister of Justice Vuna Fā’otusia as an attempt to make sure the king was directly informed first hand about government matters by the ministers because they were the ones who did government’s administration work.

Fā’otusia said the current structure was not secure because the Privy Council was filled with people who were not elected by the people and were not accountable to the public.

Pōhiva explained that amending the law would benefit the king and the people, but unfortunately his critics had twisted and demonised their intentions.

‘Dirty politics’
He described it as “dirty politics” and thanked his followers for helping defeat his rivals in the three decades he had been involved in Tongan politics.

Tuesday night’s meeting was repeatedly interrupted by applause and yells of support from the audience.

As Kaniva News reported on Friday, Pōhiva and his Democratic Party won 14 parliamentary seats which enabled them to form the next government without needing the help of the nobility or the independents.

It is understood Pōhiva and his cabinet were due to meet this weekend, although the line-up of the cabinet has not been announced yet.

Asia Pacific Report republishes Kaniva News stories with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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PMC’s David Robie chalks up many kms, experiences in WCP research programme

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 17, 2017

AUT’s Pacific Media Centre director Dr David Robie jetted into Yogyakarta earlier this month on a hectic Indonesian World Class Professor (WCP) programme that swept him across three cities and many hundreds of kilometres.

The two-week whirlwind research and publication collaboration had him giving public lectures and guest seminars, discussions with young emerging scholars, and talks with communication students considering a journalism career.

“The hospitality of our hosts, director Dr Hermin Indah Wahyuni and her Center of Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) team was out of this world,” he says. “And the organisation and logistics for a complex itinerary were also exemplary.”

At one stage, the visit to Universitas Gadjah Mada, one of Indonesia’s largest universities with some 56,000 students, had seemed doubtful after Professor Robie suffered a serious accident at the end of July, breaking his right leg in multiple places and requiring surgery.

“But thanks to UGM’s patience and my rapid recovery, I was able to go to Yogyakarta at the end of October after PMC and AUT had earlier hosted 6 Indonesian researchers for two weeks,” he says.

He praised Dr Wahyuni for her vision, and Apriline Widani and colleagues for their organisational skills.

Dr Robie was accompanied by his wife, Del Abcede, who is a volunteer and publication designer at the PMC.

“It was a godsend for me to have Del there as well – hugely helpful, and she also contributed to a number of the workshops.”

Semarang highlight
One of the highlights was driving 130km across Central Java to the northern and historical city of Semarang, where climate change and a sinking coastline is threatening the lives of a third of the population of almost 2 million.

Two of the professors on the programme — scientists Dr Magaly Koch, from the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University, US, and Dr David Menier, associate professor HDR at Université de Bretage-Sud, France — are based at the partner Diponegoro University, and are developing a research programme in an effort to seek some solutions for the problems.

“This is a massive environmental problem and it was great to see the impact first hand in a field trip to Timbulsloko village on the outskirts of the city,” Dr Robie says.

“It was also interesting to see the use of a drone in this project.”

Dr Robie, Dr Wahyuni, Fitri Handayani and Andi Fitrah are collaborating on a joint research study into the media and the “social impact” of the Aceh tsunami, Semarang coastal flooding and Fiji tropical cyclones.

The WCP collaboration also included a visit to the city of Solo, where two of the last ancient sultanates continue today, alongside the sultanate of Yogyakarta, which is a special administrative region.

After arriving in Indonesia, Dr Robie and Abcede were welcomed at CESASS and delivered the first of the seminars, about research strategies for climate change and maritime disasters, to a lively audience.

Borobodur sunrise The following day involved a dawn hike to the top of the massive 9th century Buddhist temple Borobodur to see the sunrise and then visits to a spiritual retreat and weddings centre, and a Javanese museum in honour of the “first feminists” in traditional times.

A public seminar held jointly by Professor Robie and Pak Muhadi Sugiono in UGM’s huge library about ICAN, the Nobel Peace Prize and a world “without nuclear weapons”.

This proved popular and Del spoke about the role of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), funded in 1916 during the First World War and one of the original global peace advocacy groups.

Following the weekend-long field trip to Semarang, Dr Robie delivered a public address on academic publishing strategies and journal publishing jointly with the university’s publishing house.

Later, Dr Robie gave an inspirational talk to first year UGM communication studies journalists about being a journalist.

One of the final workshops involved talking to communication students and journalists about investigative journalism in the “post-truth era” in a session chaired by Associate Professor Budi Irawanto.

A local journalist and advocate for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Bambang Muryanto, also offered some revealing experience on the state of journalism in Indonesia.

Although the two weeks finally came to an end, both CESASS are actively planning ongoing collaboration projects.

Research journals collaboration
Already, the PMC’s Pacific Journalism Review and UGM’s IKAT journal of Southeast Asian research have launched a joint collaboration on climate change and maritime disaster.

The other three professors involved in the WCP programme are Dr Thomas Hanitzsch, chair and professor of Communication Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, Germany; Dr Judith Schlehe, professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Freiburg, Germany; and Professor Hermann M. Fritz from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US.

+ Indonesia’s WCP programme in New Zealand
+ Kendall Hutt profiles the UGM team’s ‘social impact’ research
+ David Robie’s analysis on Indonesian development and ‘green journalism’

Report by Pacific Media Centre ]]>

Renewed Papuan independence call amid alleged ‘hostage’ standoff

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 17, 2017

West Papuan protesters for independence in Jakarta this week. Image CNN Indonesia

By Lalu Rahadian in Jakarta

Conflicts in Papua province will not be resolved until the Indonesian government provides the Papuan people with an opportunity to determine their future through an international forum, says a leading advocate.

Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) spokesperson Surya Anta says that the root of the Papua problem is Indonesia.

According to Anta, the government must allow the Papuan people to determine their own future instead of continuing its “colonisation” there.

“West Papua is under Indonesian colonialism. If we go back historically, at the time of [Indonesia’s] proclamation [of independence on August 17, 1945], the territory of Papua was not part of Indonesia,” Surya said during a press conference at the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) this week.

Anta expressed this view in response to the reemergence of conflict in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Papua.

The Indonesian police say that in these districts — using police terminology — the activities of an Armed Criminal Group (Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata, KKB) have resulted in access to the villages of Banti and Kimbely being “disrupted”.

-Partners-

Papua police chief Inspector-General Boy Rafli Amar has responded to the activities of the KKB by issuing declaration Number B/MKMLT/01/XI/2017 dated November 12, 2017, calling on the KKB to surrender.

‘Disarm yourselves’ call
Amar has asked that all civilians who control, carry, own or use firearms illegally to disarm and surrender them to the authorities.

Amar also claimed that the KKB was holding hundreds of local people “hostage” in two villages in Tembagapura.

According to Anta, the police’s claims about the residents in the villages in Tembagapura are untrue, issuing a counter claim and saying no one had been taken hostage there.

“What we did immediately was communicate with civilian groups there. They confirmed that that no residents had been taken hostage,” he said.

In Anta’s view what has been done by the Free Papua Movement-National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM) in Tembagapura has a clear political basis — to wrest sovereignty from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Nevertheless, said Anta, labelling the TPN-OPM an “armed criminal group” was an attempt to discredit them and labelling the group in Tembagapura KKB also obscured the roots of the problem in the “Land of Cenderawasih” (Bird of Paradise, West Papua).

“Their political basis is winning sovereignty for the West Papuan nation which is under the colonialism of the NKRI,” he said.

Anta also called on the government to immediately withdraw all security forces from Papua, close the PT Freeport gold-and-copper mine, release all political prisoners and open up access to journalists so that the problems in Papua could be clearly seen.

Infrastructure not the solution
The Papua Student Alliance (AMP), meanwhile, believes that the ambitious infrastructure development programme in the Land of Cenderawasih does not answer the basic problems of the people there.

According to the AMP and FRI-WP, the main problem in Papua is a political one.

Speaking in the same vein as Anta, AMP activist Frans Nawipa says that the frequent conflicts that take place in Papua can only be resolved if the government allows the Papuan people to leave Indonesia (NKRI).

“The root of the problem is [Papua’s] political status which was manipulated by Indonesia and the military in the 1960s. No matter how long the government pursues the development approach, it will not have the potential to answer to the problems in Papua,” said Nawipa.

Nawipa claims that no one in Papua has asked the government for this development.

Because of this therefore, the efforts by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to develop the country from Papua would not have any significant impact.

Surya Anta added that the construction of the Trans-Papua highway in the Land of the Cenderawasih would not be able to replace the lives that had been lost as a result of the “slaughter” by security forces.

“What is needed is political freedom, freedom from all types of colonialism, self-determination as a national entity”, said Anta.

Since Widodo became president in 2014, infrastructure development in Papua and the country’s borders has been one of his priorities.

Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article on CNN Indonesia website was “Desakan Papua Merdeka Kembali Mengemuka”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The case for diplomacy over refugees

By Bryce Edwards -

November 17, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The case for diplomacy over refugees

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] Is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s campaign over the Manus Island refugee situation causing serious damage to Trans-Tasman relations? And is it even in the best interests of refugees? Yesterday I looked at the arguments for the New Zealand government taking a harder line on the refugee crisis – see: The case for less talk, more action on Manus Island refugees. But many are making the opposite case – warning that New Zealand should be more cautious and constructive in dealing with the issue. Below are the arguments for the New Zealand government backing away from its increasingly vocal and strident approach. [caption id="attachment_15434" align="aligncenter" width="797"]

Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull [second from left] (Image: Wikimedia.org).[/caption]Warnings and threats from Australia The Australian Government continues to push back at New Zealand’s diplomatic intervention over the Manus Island refugees and appears increasingly irritated by Ardern’s campaign to take 150 of the refugees (which was an offer originally made by her predecessor, John Key.) The latest pushback is from Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who has talked frankly about the situation. He is reported saying that New Zealand is technically free to directly negotiate with Papua New Guinea so as to take some of the refugees, but this would come at the cost of a diminished relationship with his country. For the best report on this, see Stephen Dziedzic’s ABC article, Manus Island: Peter Dutton takes swipe at NZ’s offer of funding for services. Dutton states that New Zealand “would have to think about their relationship with Australia and what impact it would have”, and “They’d have to think that through, and we’d have to think that through.” Dutton was also disparaging about New Zealand’s announcement of aid money to help with the situation in Manus Island and Nauru: “Well, it’s a waste of money in my judgement, I mean give that money to another environment somewhere, to Indonesia for example”. That article also reports that Dutton is heavily pushing the line that New Zealand is being hypocritical criticising Australia’s refugee policy while at the same time being the beneficiary of it: “He also took a thinly veiled swipe at New Zealand by arguing it benefited from Australia’s tough border protection policies without paying for them.” The minister said: “We have stopped vessels on their way across the Torres Strait planning to track their way down the east coast of Australia to New Zealand… We have put many hundreds of millions of dollars into a defence effort to stop those vessels… We do that frankly without any financial assistance from New Zealand… If new boats arrive tomorrow those people aren’t going to Auckland, they’re going to Nauru.” Australia use the media to retaliate In speaking out for the abandoned refugees on Manus Island, and others in detention centres, New Zealand is going to have to endure some hostile and powerful retaliation from Australia. The Australian Government is clearly striking back by leaking information to the media in a bid to undermine Ardern’s position. The latest, today, involves allegations of sexual abuse involving some of the refugees – see Luke Malpass and Stacey Kirk’s news report, Australian intelligence leak on Manus Island details allegations of underage sex crimes. The article states “It is understood the Turnbull Government is furious with what it views as Ardern’s ‘moral posturing and naivety’ on the matter.” Similarly, RNZ interviewed a “New Zealand man who worked at the Manus Island refugee detention facility” who is “warning the government against taking any refugees, saying the ones still at the centre are dangerous men”, and “They are not the calibre of people you want to come into a country and try and re-establish themselves” – see: Don’t take them – warning from a former Manus Island guard, as well as RNZ’s Manus Island refugees refute former guard’s claims. This all follows on from another news story, published earlier in the week in the Australian Courier Mail newspaper, supposedly informed by classified government information and purporting that there was increased “chatter” amongst people smugglers about sending boats of refugees to New Zealand. It was also alleged that at some stage Australia had intercepted four boats headed to New Zealand, with 164 people on board. Vernon Small reports that this tactic “particularly irked Ardern and her team”, and he says “both sides are using back channels to make their anger clear” – see: Behind Apec niceties, Trans-Tasman tensions run high over refugees. Small says there is no doubt tensions are rising: “Make no mistake. Behind the smiles and the Trans-Tasman handshakes, tensions are running high. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s increasingly insistent push for Australia to send 150 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru our way is facing an intensifying push-back.” National’s criticisms Unsurprisingly, the National Party is leading the charge against the coalition government’s refugee stance. Leader Bill English is scathing, suggesting Ardern is simply playing political games over the issue, rather than acting out of principle. He says: “The issue is to what extent is our Prime Minister making a showpiece out of this, knowing full well that the Australians are very unlikely to take up the offer” – see Jane Patterson’s National Party questions PM on Manus progress. English is also quoted saying “We need a constructive relationship with Australia to help manage any potential for boat people to head to New Zealand and the way the Prime Minister’s making a show of trying to put pressure on them isn’t going to help that relationship” – see Jane Patterson’s PM denies NZ becoming a soft target for people smuggling. What could the government stand to gain by its stance over the refugees? English says “I think it’s just part of trying to balance up with her own constituency signing the TPP. A lot of the people who supported the Prime Minister and the Labour Party were opposed to the TPP… This kind of talk, probably, about Manus Island probably makes them feel a bit better” – see Michael Daly’s PM’s Manus Island push a deflection from TPP – Bill English. Similarly, in the latest Listener magazine Jane Clifton suggests that it was only after progress was made on the free trade agreement that “Ardern abruptly revisited her offer to take some Manus Island and Nauru detainees from Australia”. Together with her harder line on Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, Clifton says that this is an attempt at distraction, essentially shouting “Look over here, human rights!” Clifton says that Ardern “was sending a message to CPTTP refuseniks at home: at least this PM is prepared to confront other leaders about uncomfortable issues, even at the expense of souring relations.” (Incidentally, today, William Maley writes in the Herald that Malcom Turnbull’s stance on the refugees is also driven by domestic politics – see: Turnbull plays for One Nation votes by declining NZ’s offer on refugees) National has continued to push the line that the coalition government is being juvenile and petty, with Judith Collins going on The AM Show this morning admonishing the prime minister, saying “It’s not student politics time. This is where she’s going to have to step up a bit. She is going to have to learn from Winston Peters that you actually do have to be a little bit more statesman-like when you’re overseas and representing New Zealand” – see Newshub’s Refugee deal isn’t ‘student politics’ – Judith Collins. Mike Hosking has some similar views, arguing that New Zealand is doing itself no favours by getting offside with Australia: “By bugging Turnbull, by yapping at him over and over, we are looking dangerously like we want to score points. And as Winston Peters pointed out in one of his rare recent forays into the public arena, he quite rightly said our current relationship with our biggest trading partner is at a low ebb” – see: Yapping at Australia over and over will only make our relationship worse. Hosking says the New Zealand government’s approach is unfortunately based on “guilt” and emotions, and “we are running the very real risk of getting up Australia’s nose. The more we push, the worse it gets, because it has a tinge of the embarrassment about it.” Ardern has responded to questions about the state of the Trans-Tasman relationship, saying she still had a “strong” relationship with Turnbull and that the current differences wouldn’t do long-term damage: “New Zealand’s always been in a position of advocating for itself; for its position. That’s nothing new, we have a strong relationship… This relationship has such depth, that it rides above any political issue of the day, that continues to be the case” – see Laura Walters’ Jacinda Ardern says it’ll take more than Manus Island tensions to hurt the trans-Tasman relationship. Direct intervention in PNG could make everything worse How would Australia respond to New Zealand negotiating directly with Papua New Guinea, to take the refugees? According to Chris Trotter, Australia is not a country New Zealand should want to get offside with, as it is “a regime prepared to be almost unbelievably ruthless and brutal in the pursuit of its national objectives” – see: Australia: Seeing what we have to see. For example, he says that it’s “a nation able to break the New Zealand economy at will”. And how would PNG respond to an approach from New Zealand? Trotter paints a picture: “The government of Papua-New Guinea is almost entirely in the thrall of the Australian Government – its former colonial master. Ostensibly a democracy, the country is, in fact, a corrupt kleptocracy whose senior ministers are pretty-much the bought-and-paid-for playthings of Canberra. Were we to ask Port Moresby if it was willing to allow New Zealand to take 150 detainees off their hands, its officials would simply pick up the phone and ask Canberra if that would be okay. Canberra would say ‘No!’ – and that would be that.” There is also an argument that, by taking the refugees, New Zealand would undermine the success of Australia’s policy to discourage refugees and people smugglers from sending the boats. This argument is put well by David Farrar, who says that although the tough refugee policy might seem “nasty”, it has been incredibly effective in stopping the dangerous activity in which many people lose their lives on ill-advised boat journeys – see: The other side of Manus Island. Here’s Farrar’s main point: “The former ‘kind’ policy saw hundreds drown at sea. I’m not sure there is any good way to die, but I am sure that a very bad way to die is in the middle of the ocean in a storm in an over-crowded boat. And many of those drowned were kids. So the ‘kind’ policy saw over 1,200 asylum seekers drown horribly at sea. The ‘nasty’ policy has seen that number reduce to zero. Not ten, Not five but zero. And it has been zero for four years in a row.” Finally, for a satirical take on the whole refugee issue over recent years, see my blog post, New Zealand cartoons about refugees.]]>

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 17 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 17, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 17 November 2017 – Today’s content

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). Manus Island and refugees William Maley (Herald): Turnbull plays for One Nation votes by declining NZ’s offer on refugees Herald Editorial: PM right to keep pushing on Manus Herald: Australia opens door to New Zealand taking Manus Island refugees Dan Satherley (Newshub): Refugee deal isn’t ‘student politics’ – Judith Collins Stephen Dziedzic (ABC): Manus Island: Peter Dutton takes swipe at NZ’s offer of funding for services Michael Koziol (Sydney Morning Herald): Australian minister warns New Zealand against refugee deal with PNG RNZ: Aus senator urges NZ to offer to take all Manus refugees Laura Walters (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern says it’ll take more than Manus Island tensions to hurt the trans-Tasman relationship Herald: PM – strong ties with Australia can weather Manus Island storm Newstalk ZB: Peters quizzed over the safety of letting in Manus refugees Luke Malpass and Stacey Kirk (Australian Financial Review and Stuff): Australian intelligence leak on Manus Island details allegations of underage sex crimes Ben Doherty (Guardian): Decay, despair, defiance: inside the Manus Island refugee camp RNZ: Police hope water shortage forces Manus refugees to move Herald: NZ to give millions more for Rohingya crisis Trade and international relations Mitch Harris (Newshub): Winston Peters poised to be our man on the Korean Peninsula Dan Satherley (Newshub):‘Why wouldn’t we offer him up?’ Judith Collins keen to send Winston Peters to North Korea Laura Walters (Stuff): Anti-TPP groups get assurance Government will consult with public before signing TPP Phil O’Reilly (Herald): Business can come to terms with new Government on trade Sam McIvor (Herald): New TPP preserves the benefits for rural communities Steven Cowan (Against the current): Labour supporters go missing in action Herald: Ardern’s burn on Trump: ‘Nobody marched when I was elected’ Newshub: Jacinda Ardern and Donald Trump exchange friendly fire 1News: Ardern spends quarter of first month as leader discussing issues on world stage Robert Ayson (Newsroom): Big China, weaker America: New Zealand’s options Liam Hehir (Medium): Actually, demagoguery about the Chinese is bad again Greens’ horse-trading Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): What Are The Greens Playing At? Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog):How ill prepared are the Greens for Government? This ill prepared… David Farrar (Kiwibog): Greens will sell out electoral law for a Parihaka Day! Jo Moir (Stuff): Horse trading between Labour and Greens to get NZ First’s ‘Waka Jumping’ bill across the line Herald: Labour calls horse-trading over waka-jumping bill ‘cheap’ Herald: Discontent in the new Government over ‘cheap horse-trading’ No Right Turn: Horse Trading Government Leith Huffadine (Stuff): Why elderly and high income earners are more likely to hate Labour Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): 100 days of action looking like 100 days of driven to distraction Parliament and election Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On the centre right’s love of the ‘nanny state’ label Jane Patterson (RNZ): Fumbles on both sides of House Philip Matthews (Stuff): Duncan Webb: Parliament’s dad-joking socialist Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Adopted MP’s powerful letter to his adopted son: ‘It’s the most selfless act’ Talisa Kupenga (Māori TV): Electoral Commission apologises for releasing personal voter details Health Richard Harman (Politik): How is Robertson’s health? 1News: Up to two-thirds of NZers prescribed anti-depressants don’t need them, mental health professor claims Hamish McNeilly (Stuff): McDonald’s and charity likened to Pablo Escobar drug cartel RNZ: Fluoridation fight taken to Supreme Court Education Karoline Tuckey (Stuff): Palmerston North herald return of free schooling 1News: Government to investigate fixed-term contract use in schools as matter of urgency Hannah Martin (Stuff): Number of teachers applying for jobs in Auckland ‘worst in memory’, STEM subjects hit hardest Kirsty Johnston (Herald): Ruru Specialist School told to apologise after autistic boy put in tiny ‘safe area’ RNZ: School, Ministry criticised over use of seclusion room Mike Hosking (Herald): Education is clearly too singular, and too one-size-fits-all John Lewis (ODT): Principal bemoans threats to schools Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): No post-grad allowances for first semester, no set start date Paid Parental Leave 1News: Watch: Gallant Winston Peters leaps to Jacinda’s defence during heated paid parental exchange leave with Paula 1News: National Party makes second failed attempt to change paid parental leave bill Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): A few questions for Jacinda Ardern… Environment Herald: Mine boss says it’s business as usual despite conservation law change Cameron Madgwick (Stuff): Careful exploration and development of our natural resources can benefit New Zealand Christine Rose (Standard): Minister puts sustainability, and government’s reputation at risk Local government Mānia Clarke (Māori TV): Mahuta says government will consider legislating Māori Council seats Caitlin Moorby (Waikato Times): No Māori wards for Waikato District Council after vote for status quo RNZ: Council pushes for reo Māori in ‘fabric’ of capital Spinoff: Kiwis of Snapchat: A road cone PSA from Auckland Council Tax RNZ: Govt announces GST on online shopping without knowing details Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Revenue Minister jumps the gun on Amazon tax, misfires Employment Katarina Williams and Tom Hunt (Stuff): Train company rep clarifies comments about unionists’ use of ‘Black Power’ salute Laura Walters (Stuff): Wellington train strike could be sign of things to come, Judith Collins says Rebecca McLeod (Southland Times): Whatever is available? Other Catherine Woulfe (Listener): How inequality devastates our economy, health and social relations David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Public polls October 2017 David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Labour to let dead beat dads off the hook with taxpayers to pick up the bill Brad Jackson (Newsroom): A place for leadership David Fisher (Herald): Defence Minister Ron Mark says he is seeking permission to wear foreign medals Murray Rae (ODT): Warmongering a failure of imagination, courage and faith John Drinnan (Herald): Labour mixes its signals to TVNZ Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Māori lawyer says it’s time to abolish prisons Gyles Beckford (RNZ): Shifting port to Northland a ‘dumb’ idea Rob Stock (Stuff): Company directors must do better on ethics, Institute of Directors says Tama Potaka (Spinoff): Why we need a Māori investment fund India Hendrikse (Metro): Actor Tom Sainsbury’s good impressions Newshub: Jacinda Ardern and Lorde meet for the first time Herald: Jacinda Ardern presents Lorde with People’s Choice Award Mikaela Collins (Northern Advocate): Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little to meet Ngapuhi Stephanie Rodgers (RNZ): ‘Revenge porn’: putting women in their place]]>

Migration expert calls for immediate climate action over displaced millions

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 17, 2017

Researchers in Bonn warn Pacific Islanders may be among the first to be forced to migrate due to climate change, as sea level rise threatens to make whole islands uninhabitable. Video: Democracy Now!

At least 23 million people were displaced by extreme weather as a result of climate change.

“If we act now in terms of climate change action, … it means we support for people to stay in their homes. … Let’s not make migration a last resort, a tragedy,” says Dina Ionesco, the head of migration, environment and climate change at the International Organisation for Migration.

Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: We are broadcasting live from the U.N. climate summit in Bonn.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: This year is known as the first “Islands COP,” with Fiji presiding over this year’s summit. The event itself is being held here in Bonn because of the logistical challenges of hosting thousands of people in Fiji at the start of the South Pacific cyclone season. Researchers here at Bonn are warning that Pacific Islanders may be among the first to be forced to migrate due to climate change, as sea level rise is threatening to make whole islands uninhabitable.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, we got a chance to speak with Pacific Islanders who rolled out a red carpet to greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel here at the COP23. The massive banner that went along the floor to the plenary read “Keep it in the ground.” Among those who rolled it out were Pacific warriors Joseph-Zane Sikulu of Tonga and Lusia Feagaiga, a delegate from Samoa. I asked them how climate change is affecting their islands.

LUSIA FEAGAIGA: With the sea levels rising, a lot of our lower-lying atoll countries are being affected. I mean, Marshall Islands is two meters above sea level; Tuvalu, probably three. And once king tides come in, it’s most likely that their villages will be flooded with saltwater because of the rising sea levels. Even in Samoa, places where families, their ancestral homes used to be on the shore, now have to be moved further inland because of the rising sea level. So, it’s affecting way of life. It’s affecting crops and indigenous root crops, because of saltwater intrusion, as well as fresh drinking supplies, as well.

-Partners-

AMY GOODMAN: But island nations are not the only places where climate change is threatening to force people from their homes. Last year, around the world, at least 23 million people were displaced by extreme weather.

For more, we’re joined by Dina Ionesco, the head of migration, environment and climate change at the International Organisation for Migration.

So you just heard people from Tonga and Samoa. What do they face? What is a climate change migrant or climate change refugee?

DINA IONESCO: Well, climate change migration means that the impacts of climate change affect so much the lives of people that they can’t stay in their homes. And very often also, climate change connects to other issues—poverty, for instance, or demographic issues or conflict. And it makes it even more difficult for people to remain. So, climate migration means that people have to move, but also sometimes choose to move, because their environment is degrading. And it can mean, as you said, sudden onset, big storms, floods. There, it’s easier to count who moved because of those causes. But it means also the slow onset, like desertification, sea level rise, land loss. So it’s very complex, many different issues. But the bottom line is that we maybe do not want these people to be forced to move because of climate change. So, this was why we are here.

Climate refugees
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, a few years ago, a man from the island of Kiribati sparked a global debate because he became the first person ever to seek asylum, for him and his family, as climate refugees. So could you tell us about his case and what’s happened with people seeking asylum for climate-related issues?

DINA IONESCO: So, we have to realise that the majority of people who move because of climate change, they move internally. They move within borders. So that means they are under the responsibility of their own states. They are not seeking a climate refugee status, because their own state has to take care of them and respect their human rights. There are some cases—we had the case for these small islands or for Haiti after the earthquake—where people move to across borders, maybe to Brazil or to the US or just across within the same island. And then there’s the question: What right do they have to move, to stay? And there, there are also possibilities to give them a humanitarian visa or a temporary protection that can allow them to stay. You can’t be a refugee for the moment. Maybe it will be, but we don’t know that. It’s very difficult to create a status as a refugee for climate change.

AMY GOODMAN: But what do you think it’s most important for the world to know right now about what the world is doing about climate migrants?

DINA IONESCO: I think one key thing to realize is that if we act now in terms of climate change action, if we take care of the Earth now, it means we support for people to stay in their homes, that they are not forced to migrate. So that’s one key message we have to say. Invest in climate action. It gives people a choice whether to go. They have the right to move if they want to move, but let’s not make migration a last resort, a tragedy, when it’s too late, when there’s nothing else.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Dina Ionesco, we thank you so much.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Tongan Democrat landslide delivers numbers for Pohiva government

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 17, 2017

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva … boosted by stronger Democratic vote than in 2014. Image: Kaniva News

By Philip Cass of Kaniva News

Tonga’s Democrats have won 14 seats today in the snap election in the only Pacific kingdom, giving them enough seats in Parliament to form the next government without needing the support of independents.

Kaniva News editor Kalino Latu, who is covering the elections from Tonga, reports that
supervisor of Elections Pita Vuki confirmed a moment ago that the Democrats had added
five more seats to their tally.

Vuki said the Democrats had won two seats in Ha’apai, two in Vava’u and one in Niua.

The Democrat Party had already won a landslide victory in Tongatapu in today’s elections.

The only seat they lost is Tongatapu 3, which was won by former Deputy Prime Minister
Siaosi Sovaleni who was re-elected as an independent.

The official results:
Tongatapu 1 – ‘Akilisi Pohiva

-Partners-

Tongatapu 2 – Semisi Lafu Sika

Tongatapu 3 – Siaosi Sovaleni (Independent MP)

Tongatapu 4 – Mateni Tapueluelu

Tongatapu 5 – Losaline Ma’asi

Tongatapu 6 – Poasi Tei

Tongatapu 7 – Sione Vuna Fa’otusia

Tongatapu 8 – Semisi Fakahau

Tongatapu 9 – Penisimani Fakahau

Tongatapu 10 – Pohvia Tu’i’onetoa

‘Eua 11 – Tevita Lavumaau (Independent)

Ha’apai 12 – Mo’ale Finau

Ha’apai 13 – Veivosa Taka

Vava’u 14 – Dr Saia Piukala

Vava’u 15 – Samiu Vaipulu (Independent)

Vava’u 16 – Akosita Lavulavu

Niua 17 – Vavatau Hui

Huge support for Pohiva
There has been huge personal support for Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva.

Pohiva won in spite of being challenged by 10 candidates.

A total of 86 candidates stood today, including 15 women, for 17 open seats.

About 146 police officers were assigned to polling stations.

As Kaniva News reported earlier today, all but two of the Noble’s Representatives in Tonga’s Parliament have been re-elected.

Lord Vaha’i took the third Tongatapu seat coin toss after winning a coin toss with Lord Vaea.

Massey University director of Pasifika Dr Malakai Koloamatangi told Radio New Zealand the
importance of the vote could not be overstated.

“The first election was okay, 2010, it was testing the waters and so forth. 2014 was to see whether the mechanisms and machinery was in place,” he said.

“But this election, I think more than the others, even before 2010, will be the real litmus.”

Media academic Dr Philip Cass is a Kaniva News adviser and research associate of the Pacific Media Centre.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time to act on refugee crisis

By Bryce Edwards -

November 16, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time to act on refugee crisis

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] The Prime Minister’s current strategy over the Manus Island refugees is probably not sustainable. Jacinda Ardern’s preferred tactic is to continue with “talking” at the moment. She’s done this by engaging with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and speaking out publicly at the APEC summit in Vietnam about the crisis. Some think this has proved ineffective, and more action is now needed by the New Zealand government. Others argue that all the talk has actually been harmful, and it’s time for the Government to step back from damaging fights with New Zealand’s closest ally. So, what is the best course of action – move from talking to action, or pull back from irritating Australia? [caption id="attachment_15425" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]

Manus Island regional processing facility.[/caption] Below are the arguments for the New Zealand government taking a stronger line. Tomorrow I’ll round up the case for New Zealand pulling back from a campaign that is raising the ire of the Australian government. The case for “less talk, more action” Peace activist Jessie Anne Dennis has put the case for stronger action by New Zealand, saying “Now it’s time to swap compassionate words for life-saving action. The situation for refugees on Manus Island is a humanitarian crisis. The New Zealand government’s response to this so far has been to recycle platitudes while doing as little as it can” – see: Words are cheap. Now Ardern must take real action to save the Manus Island refugees. Dennis argues for New Zealand to cut Australia out of the equation, and directly save the abandoned refugees: “We don’t need to ask Australia’s permission to help these people. Australia has all but abandoned these people after illegally detaining them for years in conditions amounting to torture. New Zealand can bring some sanity back to this situation by helping these people now. The new government likes to talk a lot about compassion and kindness. But what they have done in the last few days is repeat a cynical deal that John Key made with Julia Gillard in 2013.” Similarly, Damon Rusden says this should be Ardern’s “time to shine and walk the talk” – see: The politics of principle. A number of prominent Australians are now calling for New Zealand to take stronger action over the Manus Island refugee crisis. These individuals also want our government to intervene directly, bypassing Australia and working with Papua New Guinea and the United Nations – see the Herald’s Leading Aussies plea with PM Jacinda Ardern to save Manus refugees. Signatories to this open letter include “former ministers, heads of state departments, a former chief justice, professors, barristers, and refugee and surgeon Munjed Al Muderis”. Refugee advocates and politicians in Papua New Guinea are asking New Zealand to intervene. This is explained in depth, in Eleanor Ainge Roy’s Guardian newspaper article, Manus Island: New Zealand urged to bypass Australia to resolve refugee crisis. In this, a representative of the Refugee Council for New Zealand asserts that this country has a “humanitarian obligation” to go directly to PNG. The CEO of the Asylum Seekers Support Trust in Auckland is quoted saying, “We are a wealthy country, we can find that support if we really need to and this is a crisis, so it would be good to see New Zealand step in and show its humanitarian colours… I think the NZ government has made all the right noises. It is a very quick test of whether they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is. I have hope that they will do more.” Blogger No Right Turn has been particularly critical of the lack of progress on the Manus Island situation. Following Ardern’s first trip to Australia, he accused the PM of Rolling over for Australia. He was especially troubled by Ardern’s justification for not taking stronger action due to Malcolm Turnbull’s claim to be considering New Zealand’s offer to take 150 refugees while also dealing with Trump. The blogger pointed out the problem with this: “Australia isn’t ‘actively considering’ anything. Instead it is literally trying to starve refugees to death to force them to give up their claims. Donald Trump is not going to rescue Australia’s victims. So we have to. And if that means going around Australia and negotiating directly with PNG, then so be it – because people are going to die if we don’t. That’s what’s at stake here. A leader with a clear moral vision would see that. Instead, Ardern is giving us mealy-mouthed bullshit. So much for her and her government’s principles.” Following on from this, he blogged that there are no barriers to New Zealand going directly to PNG over the crisis: “The good news is that, in theory (and explicitly in PNG, because they Are Not Being Detained), the refugees are free to leave to any country which wishes to take them. We should call Australia on that. And if they don’t like us offering a new home to 150 people, then we should offer one to 500” – see: Bring them here. See his latest post, We need to do more than this. Can New Zealand take more refugees? Many are now calling for New Zealand to do more generally about refugees, especially given the international scale of the problem. Today, University of Otago political scientist Vicki Spencer writes in the ODT that New Zealand’s refugee policy is not necessarily more progressive than Australia’s: “our inaction contributes to the suffering of refugees, as do the governments they are fleeing from. So let’s not fool ourselves. The cruelty underpinning Australia’s detention policy is just as evident in New Zealand’s refugee quota. Both exacerbate the pain when we can do better” – see: NZ should take more refugees. Spencer points out that New Zealand’s refugee quota – even with announced extensions – compares very poorly to the number of refugees taken by countries like Australia: in New Zealand, the ratio of refugees is 0.02% of New Zealand’s population, and in Australia it’s 0.07%. And today, academics Sharon Harvey and Sorowar Chowdhury suggest we help those people being pushed out of Myanmar – see: NZ urgently needs to take more Rohingya refugees. Some of the arguments against accepting more refugees are dealt with by the head of Amnesty International New Zealand, Grant Bayldon – see: Seeking asylum is a legal right. Could somebody tell Mike Hosking? Will New Zealand intervene in Manus Island? New Zealand’s PM has said that it’s preferable to deal with Australia over the Manus Island refugees, rather than PNG. Vernon Small explains that “Australia had done the initial screening of the refugees”, and therefore Ardern says going direct to PNG would not “add any haste to the issue” – see: Jacinda Ardern steps up pressure on Malcolm Turnbull over refugee offer. Instead, the New Zealand government has decided to donate money to help deal with the situation in the meantime – see Vernon Small’s NZ to give $3m to help Manus Island refugees, PM claims progress on offer. Ardern has publicised her attempts to continue to pressure the Australian government. She has said that she has been seeking a “substantive” meeting with Malcolm Turnbull to follow up on New Zealand’s offer. And while in Asia, Ardern definitely had some sort of meeting in “passing”, but it’s still not clear how “substantive” this was, with journalists reporting that “Ardern has been given the brush-off” – see Audrey Young and Derek Cheng’s Ardern snubbed by Aussie PM over Manus Island talks. Some argue that by going down the path of having more talks and negotiations with Australia, New Zealand might actually get a worse deal. Patrick Gower has reported that by letting the US choose the refugees it wants to take, New Zealand will be left with the remainder: “New Zealand believes the United States will take ‘higher quality’ refugees off Manus first, leaving New Zealand with poorer quality. It’s believed that the need is urgent and should be done now” – see: Revealed: The Manus Island refugee deal that Ardern has offered Turnbull. Furthermore, New Zealand’s talks with Turnbull appear to have resulted in Ardern agreeing that any Manus Island refugees taken by New Zealand would be banned from being able to travel to Australia. Gower reports that “This has previously been resisted, with official concerns that it would create a small group of ‘second-class citizens’ in New Zealand that don’t enjoy free access to Australia.” Finally, to see what former refugees settled in New Zealand think about the current situation, see Abbas Nazari’s As a Tampa refugee, I have seen first-hand the impact when NZ takes moral leadership, and Aziz Al-Sa’afin’s Manus Island is all of our shame to bear.]]>

Lord Vaha’i wins in coin toss as Democrats lead early poll results

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 16, 2017

akilisi-pohiva-elections-680wide-1-png — ]]>

Caretaker Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva … early lead for him and the Democrats. Image: Kalino Lātū/Kaniva News

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

A coin toss was used to decide whether Lord Vaea or Lord Vaha’i today won the third seat of members of the nobility to Parliament in the kingdom of Tonga’s snap election.

Lord Vaha’i won the seat in provisional early results.

Meanwhile, Losaline Ma’asi of the Democratic Party was leading the Tongatapu 5 race by 971–908 votes against sitting MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke. The provisional results from ‘Atatā electorate have yet to be announced to give Tongatapu 5 outcome.

Dr Eke had secured the seat in the last two elections.

Other Democratic Party candidates were leading the race in their Tongatapu constituencies.

They were current Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva (Tt1), Semisi Lafu Sika (Tt2), Mateni Tapueluelu (Ttp4), Poasi Tei (Tt6), Vuna Fa’otusia (Tt7), Semisi Fakahau (Tt8), Penisimani Fifita (Ttp9) and Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa (Tt10)

-Partners-

Former Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has been reelected by Tongatapu 3.

Seven nobles elected
The king’s 33 nobles have reelected seven nobles to Parliament, including the Speaker Lord Tu’ivakano and a minister in Prime Minister’s ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s government, Lord Ma’afu.

Vava’u, Niuas, Ha’apai and ‘Eua people provisional election results have yet to be announced.

More than 59,000 voters were registered for the election and there were 15 women candidates, the largest ever female cohort contesting the vote.

Noble’s Representatives 2017:
Tongatapu:
1. Lord Tu’ivakano 12 votes

2. Lord Ma’afu 11

3. Lord Vaha’i 7

Vava’u
1. Lord Tu’ilakepa 6 votes

2. Lord Tu’i’afitu 5

Ha’apai
1. Lord Tui’ha’angana 5 votes

2. Lord Fakafanua 3

‘Eua
1. Lord Nuku 10 votes

Ongo Niua
1. Lord Fusitu’a 3 votes

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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BNZ Weekly Economic Analysis by Tony Alexander – Thursday November 16th 2017

By Selwyn Manning -

November 16, 2017

Economic Analysis by Tony Alexander – Thursday November 16th 2017

This week’s Overview merely traverses a few of the points discussed at functions around the country then notes that even if the Reserve Bank soon eases LVRs, this won’t spark a new upward leg in the house price cycle. Download document pdf 240kb On The Road I’ve had a busy week rising at all sorts of early hours in order to travel and deliver talks in Rotorua, Taupo, Auckland and Christchurch with more to come tomorrow. Often I don’t get time to have a decent casual chat with people at every function but can get a feel for what people are thinking about from the questions they ask during and at the end of a presentation. In that regard these are the sort of things people are seeking views on. What are the main risks? People generally buy into the scenario pitched by all of us economists that there is some good underpinning to growth in the NZ economy for the next few years. But they wonder what could go wrong. So do we. So do the likes of the IMF and OECD who post-GFC seem to devote more of their outlook summaries to noting things which could go wrong. For NZ the main risk is an offshore disturbance, most notably something involving the China Seas. Brexit? Not really relevant to our immediate economic outlook. European banks? Nope. Trump? No-one has the foggiest. What does the next 30 years hold? This type of question is unusual but we economists love them because no matter what actually happens in 30 years we will be well off doing something else. I like to point out the generally upward trend in NZ’s terms of trade which is supportive of the NZD drifting up, the repricing of the housing stock which may be largely completed but which will not unwind. Also I like to discuss the trend change upward in New Zealand’s net migration flows, plus the growing proportion of the population living and to live in our major cities, particularly Auckland with the hangers-on of Hamilton and Tauranga plus some bits and bobs in between. What can the government realistically do to get more people to live in the regions? No-one ever asks this in the cities, but it crops up in the smaller locations. There seems to be a view that somehow the government can strongly influence where people will live. They can’t – especially in NZ. We are a disloyal bunch who will leave the country at the drop of a hat if things are not going the way we like. Usually we go to Australia. The idea that we will up sticks in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch and relocate to the regions is always embraced by folk in the regions but it is not a realistic expectation for more than a small number of people – who frankly may enjoy better lives than those of us who cannot break away from a focus on maximum wealth growth over extended years through owning big city property. Or more accurately, our FOMO drives us to stay in the cities because everyone has or has heard stories of people who sold up, shifted out, but now bemoan their inability to ever shift back to the city because they missed out on big house price rises. Only one person asked about the sharemarket but that is not unusual. We economists generally steer away from talking about it and of course have to be careful not to sound like we might be giving advice – which is a great excuse to say nothing at all. There does appear however to be some underlying concern about the future of the NZ market which has been spurred by the exit of Xero. But their move is consistent with the longterm trend for the NZ exchange – challenged listing numbers and more of a nursery function than true component of the global capital market. One general theme which has crept into questions at presentations in recent months has been around issues of social equity, homelessness, the health system etc. It’s like people generally accept that the economy is okay, but what about the other stuff? This tone of people’s thinking and concerns at the edges helps explain the comfort with the new government, the hopes people have for it, and the feeling that had Labour not ended up on top this time they certainly would have done in 2020. What is notable with regard to the questions is what is not asked. No-one seems truly interested in where the Kiwi dollar is going. Exporters seem comfortable with current levels. Housing The REINZ released their monthly housing numbers this week. Meh. As pointed out here many times in recent months, the NZ housing cycle has finished its exciting upward bit in Auckland and the rest of the country will join in over the coming year. Monthly data from a variety of sources will get people excited. But in the absence of either a drastic change in net migration flows, sharp sustained change in interest rates, radical shift in the relative strengths of the NZ and Australian labour markets, or sudden big change in Reserve Bank rules nothing truly interesting is likely to happen for some time. Having said that, the Reserve Bank will be making an announcement some time soon regarding their current view on LVRs. There is an increasing chance that they will ease up on the rules because they have been surprised at how quickly the housing market has pulled back. But before some people get excited and start thinking that if they cut the 40% investor deposit requirement to 30% that this will spark a new lift in house prices from an investor surge – think again. First, the RB do not want a new surge. All they ever search for is the sweetspot where their rules (or OCR) have the effectiveness they want. The 40% made effective from the third week of July last year hit that sweetspot at the time but perhaps a bit too much so now. So if and when they reduce the proportion it will simply be to find the new spot where things become stable. Second, banks have tightened up their lending rules this past year over and above what is required by the Reserve Bank. It is very unlikely in an environment of tightened credit availability that there will be an easing in those new rules to match any LVR easing and drive a new rash of lending to investors. Third, FOMO on the upside has gone for this cycle. People do not feel that they must buy any old piece of ex-hospital radioactive land to profit from soaring property prices. And reinforcing that, foreign buyers are to be banned at long last. That can’t help but inject a note of caution into investors generally. If I Were A Borrower What Would I Do? There have been some small reductions in two and three year fixed rates offered by some lenders this past week. Our three year rate has been cut from 5.09% to 4.99%. Our two year rate is 4.69%. Am I prepared to shift what I personally would do if borrowing anew currently away from even splits between 1, 2 and 3 years and a tad floating to more three year fixed? Only a little bit. There is still nothing truly jumping out which says to us that global or NZ inflation is lifting. Sure, wags growth in NZ is set to accelerate because of the planned increases in the minimum wage rate and extra tightening of the labour market to be caused by immigration restrictions, hiring of tree planters one day, and some young people of directionless nature x%#$ing a year away at varsity for free. But can one truly believe that the pre-GFC relationship between jobs growth and wages is reestablishing itself? Every assumption that this has been happening since 2009 has been wrong in every country. I’ll believe it when I see it. On top of that, even if wages growth lifts, businesses outside of sectors such as building materials, local and central government, power companies, petrol companies, and entertainment (including TV) will struggle to get price rises past us consumers. Any lift in the pace of wages growth will more likely generate a reassignment of labour within the economy (which is a polite way of saying some businesses close down) rather than a good old wage/price spiral. The Weekly Overview is written by Tony Alexander, Chief Economist at the Bank of New Zealand. The views expressed are my own and do not purport to represent the views of the BNZ. This edition has been solely moderated by Tony Alexander. To receive the Weekly Overview each Thursday night please sign up at www.tonyalexander.co.nz.

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 16 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 16, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 16 November 2017 – Today’s content

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). International relations and trade Audrey Young (Herald): Q & A with Jacinda Ardern: We have a role in taking a lead Pattrick Smellie (Stuff): A tale of two APECs and Ardern’s international debut Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern adjusts to life at the top Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern keeping her feet firmly planted Bryan Gould (Herald): TPP critics need to understand what has been fixed ODT Editorial: Reinvigorating trade agreements Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Winston Peters’ North Korean connection Jo Moir (Stuff): Winston Peters asked for Government cash to send kapa haka group to North Korea Herald: Former National MP asks Winston Peters to help a cultural group get to North Korea Max Towle (The Wireless): Could Winston Peters hold the key to persuading North Korea to dump its nukes? Mike Smith (Standard): The Yellow Peril? Bevan Chuang: Chinese Invasion – and World Domination Refugees Vicki Spencer (ODT): NZ should take more refugees Sharon Harvey and Sorowar Chowdhury (Herald): NZ urgently needs to take more Rohingya refugees The Wireless: Criminals, torture and the long wait on Manus Island RNZ: Manus Island refugees call for water Jane Patterson (RNZ): National Party questions PM on Manus progress Herald: Bill English to Prime Minister Ardern: Be cautious on Manus Island The Standard: Tampa, Ardern and positioning small countries No Right Turn: We need to do more than this 1News: New Zealand to spend $3 million on essential services for Manus Island and Nauru refugees Government Laura Walters (Stuff): Labour chief of staff Neale Jones takes up job with lobby firm Hawker Britton Jack Edward Effron (The Diplomat): Strange Bedfellows Down Under Laura Walters (Stuff): It’s easy to talk the talk in Opposition, why is it so hard to walk the walk in Government? Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Compare new Government action and National’s reaction Claire Trevett (Herald): Finance Minister Grant Robertson backpedals on ‘ambitious’ Stuart Nash over GST Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Economists see Government debt rising billions more than Labour’s plan RNZ: ‘It will be possible for us to meet our goals’ – Robertson 1News: New Minister for Women insists she’s liberated by her portfolio being dropped from Cabinet Parliament Amber-Leigh Woolf (Stuff): Labour MP Paul Eagle addresses adoption laws in emotional maiden speech Herald: Green MP pays emotional tribute to parents’ sacrifices Newshub: ‘My parents faced tanks for democracy’: The Greens’ new activist MPs Spinoff: How many times can a National MP say ‘socialism’ in one short parliamentary speech? (WATCH) United Future Alex Braae (Spinoff): Why did United Future die? Not enough Damian Lights Press Editorial: A political party’s future is history David Farrar (Kiwiblog): United Future winds up Paid Parental Leave Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Former Labour MP Sue Moroney backs National’s parental leave amendment Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Author of Paid Parental Leave bill wants additional partner leave Herald: Labour supports paid parental leave for partners – but not yet Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Late attempt to squeeze leave flexibility for parents rebuffed by Government Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): Jacinda risks empty promises over denying shared parental leave Farming and environment 1News: Watch: Disturbing moment distressed cow chases after 4WD carrying off her calves in a cage Andrew Hoggard (Stuff): World summit shows importance of green credentials for dairy farmers Amanda Larsson (Stuff): Opinion: Blue whale habitat and seismic blasting do not mix Rowan Quinn and John Boynton (RNZ): Iwi calls for ban on Waitakere Ranges access Education Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Education Minister faces formidable task John Gerritsen (RNZ): Teacher shortage: ‘I’ve had no applicants’ Health ODT Editorial: Suicide: A very personal issue Lois Williams (RNZ): Mayor pleads for suicidal young people to seek help Karen Brown (RNZ): Pharmac replenishes in-demand HPV vaccine Miri Schroeter and Paul Mitchell (Stuff):‘Don’t stop when you’re tired’ – health board encourages working through fatigue Nita Blake-Persen (RNZ): Delay over improved junior doctors’ rosters Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Breastfeeding ‘the first step’ in better health State care of children Mihingarangi Forbes (RNZ): Quiet tears on tattooed cheeks: State abuse survivors await apology and inquiry Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Call for state abuse survivors to shape inquiry Employment Eric Frykberg (RNZ): ‘That is not negotiations – that is a stick up’ Tamsyn Parker (Herald): Union slams ‘grotesque’ pay for bank bosses Greg Presland (The Standard): TVNZ pays Chief Executive a bonus after massive plunge in profits David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Mark Reason on sports pay Food Joel Maxwell (Dominion Post): New Food Safety Minister wades into food-stall bun fight, looks to ease bake sale costs Melanie Vivian (ODT): Palm oil production, management, labelling problematic Transport and roading RNZ: Wellington transport plan proposes new bridges, tunnels Bernard Orsman (Herald): Shane Jones says Northland rail a given from Government’s $1 billion development fund David Aitken (Herald): New Government needs to improve road links as well as rail Herald: Approval given for $1.8 billion road in Auckland Rebecca Howard (Listener): Government and big business are buying into electric cars Same-sex marriage Mike Hosking (Herald): Same-sex great result but what a shabby process Emma Hurley (Newshub): MP behind New Zealand’s marriage equality bill ‘incredibly proud of Australia’ Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Same-sex marriage vote ‘feels a bit hollow’ Other David Fisher (Herald): Medals off Mark for new defence minister – says he will ‘seek advice’ after questions raised Heather Roy (One Sock): Whale Rescuers, Fighting Machines or another way for Defence? RNZ: Whakatāne votes in favour of Māori wards Newshub: Whakatane votes for Māori wards Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Now we have a broadband motorway, it’s time to put the foot down RNZ: Ngāi Tahu announces $126.8m annual profit Alex Casey (Spinoff): ‘Mum’s the word’: The online influencers secretly paid to go on 1News Amanda Cropp (Stuff): Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis says tourism needs to better manage further growth David Williams (Newsroom): Labour will be judged on Christchurch’s red zone Edwards Gay (RNZ): Prison rapist sentenced as bunk review finds failures Harrison Christian (Stuff): Police kidnapping trial: Officers were using kaupapa Māori approach, court hears Joe Higham (Spinoff): Invisible violence: Do we need a hate crime law in New Zealand? Andrew Owen (Stuff): Gaming machine rules welcomed, but ‘need to go further’]]>

‘We need climate, nuclear justice,’ says Marshalls president and poet daughter

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 16, 2017

Gender Day at the UN Climate Change Conference. Democracy Now! talks to the president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, and her daughter, poet and climate change activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner.

This year’s UN climate summit is known as the first “Islands COP,” with Fiji presiding over the event, but hosting it in Bonn, Germany, because of the logistical challenges of hosting 25,000 people in Fiji at the start of the South Pacific cyclone season.

Today is also Gender Day here at the UN Climate Change Conference. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman is joined by the first woman president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, and her daughter, poet and climate change activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. Her new book is titled Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter.

Transcript:
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. We are broadcasting live from the UN climate summit in Bonn, Germany.

We’re joined now by the first woman president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, and her daughter, poet and climate change activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner.

This is Kathy reading one of her poems at a UN climate change gathering in New York City in 2014, only days after the massive People’s Climate March, the largest climate march in history. Kathy’s poem is written as a letter to her child.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER:

-Partners-

dear matafele peinam,

don’t cry

mommy promises you

no one will come and devour you

no greedy whale of a company sharking through political seas
no backwater bullying of businesses with broken morals no blindfolded
bureaucracies gonna push
this mother ocean over
the edge

no one’s drowning, baby
no one’s moving
no one’s losing their homeland
no one’s becoming a climate change refugee

or should i say
no one else

to the carteret islanders of papua new guinea
and to the taro islanders of fiji
i take this moment
to apologize to you
we are drawing the line here

because we baby are going to fight
your mommy daddy
bubu jimma your country and your president too
we will all fight

AMY GOODMAN: That’s Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, back in 2014. Well, less than two years later, her own mother, Hilda Heine, was elected president of the Marshall Islands, becoming the first female president of an independent Pacific nation.

And they’re all still fighting. Climate change and sea level rise poses a particularly devastating threat to low-lying island nations like the Marshall Islands, a chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines.

According to a report by the US Geological Survey, “many atoll islands will be flooded annually, salinising the limited freshwater resources and thus likely forcing inhabitants to abandon their islands in decades, not centuries, as previously thought” .

But climate change is not the first existential threat the Marshall Islands has faced. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted more than 60 large-scale nuclear tests there. The largest, known as the Bravo shot, was a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and vaporized three small islands. The nuclear testing forced people from their homes and caused long-lasting health impacts, including women giving birth to “jellyfish babies”—tiny infants born with no bones.

In 2014, the Marshall Islands launched an unprecedented lawsuit against the United States and eight other countries at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, accusing them of failing to meet international commitments for nuclear disarmament. The lawsuit was rejected in 2016 after the court said it did not have jurisdiction over the case.

Well, for more on climate change and the long legacy of nuclear testing, we’re joined now by the president of the Marshall Islands herself, Hilda Heine, and her poet daughter, climate change activist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Madam President, your thoughts today at this first Islands COP, this first COP summit, the UN climate summit, that is sponsored by another South Pacific island, Fiji? The significance of this?

Important for survival
PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Well, it’s very significant for Pacific Island countries, you know, being our first one. So, it’s important for us to be here to let the world know that everyone has to do their part. We are wanting to be here to make sure that countries increase their ambition, so that the 1.5 degrees can be maintained. That’s the importance for our island country in order for us to survive. So it’s very important. This COP is very important for us.

AMY GOODMAN: And this is the first UN climate summit since President Trump announced that he’s pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accord. What does that mean to you?

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Yeah, that’s why it’s all that more important for us to be here and to gather the support from other countries around the world. We were very disappointed when—of course, when President Trump pulled out the United States from the Paris Agreement. We see them as important leaders in the world and should be taking the leadership role in the climate fight. So when he decided to pull the US from the Paris Agreement, it was a very disappointing act for countries like the Marshall Islands.

AMY GOODMAN: What message do you have for President Trump today? We just played their first—and, it looks like, only—event that they’re holding here at the climate summit, where they were pushing coal, nuclear and gas.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Well, I think we’re all for coal to be kept underground. And we want to make sure that President Trump understands the importance of emission and what’s going on in terms of coal being promoted by his administration. We want to make sure that—oh, we want President Trump to acknowledge the science. There’s no longer debate about the issue of climate change. We need to make sure that, you know, we’re doing all we can to ensure the survivability of all the island countries, especially, and the rest of the world.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about this idea, which, sadly, isn’t an idea, but a reality, of what they call jellyfish babies. Can you talk about the legacy of nuclear testing in the South Pacific, in the Marshall Islands? Talk about—first of all, how many islands make up the Marshall Islands? I don’t think people realise the breadth and scope.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: OK. Yeah, well, we have 33 islands in the Marshall Islands—atolls, actually, with many other smaller islands, about a thousand-some. But the communities, there are 33. We have 24 islands that are inhabited with actual communities in the Marshall Islands.

The legacy of the nuclear testing program brings back the whole issue of colonialism and how the U.S. has colonized the Marshall Islands. To this day, we’re still struggling with the legacy of the—you know, what we call jellyfish babies. We have people who—

‘Babies without bones’
AMY GOODMAN: This is babies without bones.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Babies without bones that were born by women who were—who lived in the islands that were contaminated. And we still have people who have not returned to their homelands after 50 years of being displaced from their homelands. We have islands that were vaporized by the nuclear testing programme. Of course, these islands belonged to people. And those can never be recovered. So we’re still seeking nuclear justice for the people of the Marshall Islands. This is one of the—the legacy of the U.S. presence in our country. And it seems like we’re repeating with the climate change issue coming on, also same force from outside being brought to influence or to impact the livelihood of Marshallese.

AMY GOODMAN: Your grandniece—Kathy, your niece, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner—died at the age of eight of leukemia?

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Oh, talking about Bianca.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Bianca, yes.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Bianca.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Yes, she died at age eight as a result of leukemia.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Yeah.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: And many children like that also. It’s not a—this is one of the common—what do you call?

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Sicknesses.

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Sickness.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: We have some of the highest rates of cancers—

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Yeah.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: —in the world. Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: You suffer the highest rates of cancer in the world?

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Yes.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Yeah, we have some of the highest in the world.

Nuclear health impact
PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: So, this is one of the impacts. The health impact on the people of the Marshall Islands is, you know, beyond our budget to ensure that the people are healthy. Again, a legacy of the nuclear testing programme.

AMY GOODMAN: Now, The Hague—The Hague, the International Court of Justice, said it’s not within its jurisdiction to rule on this suit that you have against the Marshall Islands [sic], and they threw the case out. Are you still asking the United States for reparations? And what does it mean to you that at this COP, COP23, at this summit, the US is pushing nuclear power?

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Well, it’s the same thing as pushing the use of coal, you know, in a world that has acknowledged that climate change is here. And yet, on the face of that, U.S. is here pushing for use of clean coal, if there is such a thing. And it’s the same thing with the nuclear justice. Here we are. We’re still struggling with that. And we don’t see the end of this journey for those people who are impacted by the nuclear testing programme of the United States. So we continue to seek justice. We go to the—we’ll be going to the United Nations. And we’re trying to also get advocates from around the country to help us with the nuclear justice that is required.

AMY GOODMAN: So, on this Gender Day, we’re here with a mother-daughter team. Madam President, you are the first woman president not only of the Marshall Islands, but of the Pacific Islands. And, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, you are her daughter and a longtime climate activist yourself, poet. You wrote a letter to your daughter. We just played a clip of it before, a poem to your daughter. What does it mean to you that your mother has been elected president? And what does it mean for the Marshall Islands?

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Well, to be honest, I didn’t really expect it to happen at all. I mean, I never thought that I would see my mom as—you know, as a leader of a country and as a leader of our country—not because she’s not, you know, perfect for it, not because she’s not worthy, but just because, you know, so much of our society is extremely patriarchal, you know? And I think that’s also a result of colonisation. And I think, you know, seeing her become president tells me that there are actually changes being made and that there is actually hope for a lot of us women to continue to push and continue to take on leadership positions and make changes that we want to see in the world. And I think that’s really—you know, it gave me a lot of hope. And I was extremely proud, of course, yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: Your final comment? I know you’re heading off to yet another meeting. This is part of being president. Your final comment to women of the world, why you see, in particular, the effects of women and children—the effects of climate change, what you see are those effects?

PRESIDENT HILDA HEINE: Well, there is—in the Marshall Islands, we see the effects on women and their life, because they are the caretakers of the homes. So, if there is drought, they’re the ones that will have to go out and look for water for the family, look for food in order to cook the meals for the family. So their life is really upside down when there is these events from climate change. We see that firsthand with our droughts, with inundation of the waves coming over our islands and washing homes away. It’s the women leading the—leading the solutions, looking for solutions for families, like they always do. Climate change is another addition to the work that women continue to do to make their families survive.

Alternative Nobel Peace Prize
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to end with the comments of a previous Marshall Islands political leader. I want to thank you so much for being with us. We’re going to turn to longtime Marshall Islands political leader, anti-nuclear activist Tony deBrum, the late leader. DeBrum was one of the world’s most prominent voices confronting climate change, spent decades organising against nuclear weapons, after having witnessed firsthand the US nuclear testing on his homeland. This is deBrum speaking in 2015 as he accepted the Right Livelihood Award, known as the “Alternative Nobel Peace Prize”:

TONY DEBRUM: Decades after the conclusion of devastating nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, I might be branded by some as a radical for my impassioned conviction against the use, testing or possession of nuclear weapons. But this is not radical. It is only logical. … I have seen with my very own eyes such devastation and know, with conviction, that nuclear weapons must never again be visited upon humanity. … Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 large-scale nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. That is the equivalence of 1.6 Hiroshima shots every day for 12 years.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Tony deBrum, longtime Marshall Islands political leader, accepting the Right Livelihood Award a few years ago, the late leader. And I wanted to end with Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner talking about your NoDAPL solidarity. That’s the Dakota Access pipeline.

KATHY JETNIL-KIJINER: Yeah, I was really inspired by the work of the indigenous protesters in NoDAPL, just because they were fighting for their land and for clean water, in the same way that we are fighting for our islands in the Marshall Islands. And as someone who lives in the US at the moment, I wanted to show my support for the people of their land, and that’s why I wrote that poem for them last year. But for me, really, I think I am really inspired by the work of a lot of indigenous activists around the world, who are trying to fight for their home, for their culture and for their people.

AMY GOODMAN: Thanks so much. Again, our guests have been Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, poet and climate activist, and the first woman president of the Marshall Islands, President Hilda Heine.

Republished on a Creative Commons licence.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Elections crucial, says Commonwealth observer chief ahead of Tongan poll

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 15, 2017

tongan-elections-supervisor-pita-vuki-e1510725753931-png — ]]>

Tonga’s Elections Supervisor … final roll listing some 59,000 voters has been printed. Image: Kaniva Tonga

By Philip Cass

The general election tomorrow is crucial for the people of Tonga, says Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

Baroness Scotland said the elections would strengthen the democratic process in Tonga.

A Commonwealth Observer Group is in Tonga to monitor the election.

The team was invited to observe the elections by the Tongan government.

The group is being led by former New Zealand Attorney-General Margaret Wilson.

Other members of the commonwealth team include Nauru’s Electoral Commissioner Joseph Cain, Fiji’s Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem and a human rights lawyer from Swaziland, Lomcebo Dlamini.

-Partners-

The team will remain in country until November 20.

Forum, US observers
Observers from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the US Embassy in Suva will also be watching the election.

Meanwhile, the kingdom’s Supervisor of Elections, Pita Vuki, has told Radio New Zealand he hoped the election results would be announced on Thursday night.

Polling booths will open at 9am and close at 4pm.

Polling officials from ‘Eua, Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai and the Niua have been trained on what to do on election day and election materials have been sent to the outer islands.

Vuki said the final electoral roll, containing about 59,000 names, had been printed.

At the last election voter turnout was 79 percent.

Thursday’s elections were called after King Tupou VI dissolved Parliament in August and sacked pro-democracy Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva but kept him on as caretaker prime minister.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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New PM Hou in Solomon Islands pledges to fight corruption

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 15, 2017

pm-rick-hounipwela-sibc-680wide-jpg — ]]>

Prime Minister-elect Rick Hounipwela (left centre) with Acting Governor-General Ajilon Nasiu. Image: Lowen Sei/SIBC

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Members of Parliament today elected Rick Houenipwela, MP for Small Malaita, as Prime Minister of Solomon Islands in a 33-16 vote – and he pledged to fight corruption.

John Moffat Fugui, MP for Central Honiara, was the opposing candidate, SIBC reports.

Speaking outside Parliament, Houenipwela said his priority as Prime Minister would be to maintain political stability, rectify the country’s fiscal situation and stamp out corruption.

“I stand here today as your newly elected Prime Minister,” he said with his new government flanking him. “This is an awesome responsibility which I take with sincere humility.

“I would like to thank you for your prayers and your support . . . and for the citizens for maintaining peace and order.

“The road ahead is challenging. I am fully aware of the enormity of the task before us.

-Partners-

“My good people, I can ensure you that our new administration will quickly put in place a strategy that entails a set of priorities deemed achievable in this short period.

Stabilisation a priority
“It is my government’s priority to stabilise our ailing fiscal situation. It is a priority to immediately address the cash-flow situation, to make sure there is fiscal discipline.”

He said his officials had already identified key areas of prioritisation in the short-term.

“Given the limited time frame we will concentrate on those infrastructure programs that are considered achievable in the period, projects that will resuscitate the government’s finances and the economy in general.”

Prime Minister-elect Hou also highlighted the reopening of closed health clinics and the submarine cable as key priorities. He also spent much of his speech addressing the public backlash over the anti-corruption bill.

“Corruption has caused inefficiencies in government operations (and) it has undermined public trust in government,” he said.

“It has robbed vital resources from our schools and hospitals. I can guarantee our administration will deliver this important legislation and we are committed its implementation before the end of the 10th Parliament.”

“In conclusion, I call on all Solomon Islanders to embrace peace and national unity. I call on all members of Parliament to work together in governing our beloved country. We can move the country forward if we put our differences aside and work towards the national interests.”

Experienced record
Houenipwela is a seven-year member of Parliament who has been governor of the Central Bank, minister of Finance and Treasury and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Prior to entering Parliament, Houenipwela worked for the World Bank in the United States where he was a senior advisor to the executive director. He resigned from the World Bank to contest the election for the Small Malaita Constituency in August 2010.

Since then, Houenipwela has been a member of the Bills and Legislation Committee and a member of the Public Accounts Committee.

He was minister of Public Service from April 2011 to November 2011 and minister of Finance and Treasury from November 2011 to September 2014. He was re-elected to Parliament in November 2014.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 15 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 15, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 15 November 2017 – Today’s content

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). International relations and trade 1News: Winston Peters may visit North Korea as a mediator for talks with the West – reports Patrick Gower (Newshub): NZ briefed on secret US action coming in Asia-Pacific Herald: Winston Peters meets with US Sec of State ahead of major US announcement Audrey Young (Herald): NZ-US mystery initiative provides intriguing end to East Asia Summit Vernon Small (Stuff): New Zealand part of mystery initiative at request from United States Richard Harman (Politik): NZ happy with CPTPP – ready to sign it Audrey Young (Herald): PM makes promising start on the big stage Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): PM mixes poise with prose on world stage Wayne Mapp (Spinoff): On the world stage, Ardern is showing NZ just what kind of PM she is likely to be Patrick Gower (Newshub): Rodrigo Duterte to Jacinda Ardern: ‘You don’t have atomic bombs?’ Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Of Iran, fish, and nuclear bombs Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Ardern’s rough start with dishevelled Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern and Rodrigo Duterte chat about travel before the main event Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern stands firm on human rights issues ahead of meeting Rodrigo Duterte Patrick Gower (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern ready for military request from Rodrigo Duterte RNZ: Drug-related killings ‘certainly require investigation’ – PM Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern to tell Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte there have been too many killings Jo Moir (Stuff): Winston Peters will ‘get in line’ and support TPP – according to National David Farrar (Kiwiblog): CPTPP Gordon Campbell (Werewolf):Is This Guy the World’s Most Dangerous Thirtysomething? AUS-NZ relations and Manus Island Vernon Small (Stuff): NZ to give $3m to help Manus Island refugees, PM claims progress on offer Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern hails Manus progress, offers $3m aid RNZ/Reuters: NZ to give $3m for Manus refugee aid Vernon Small (Stuff): Behind Apec niceties, Trans-Tasman tensions run high over refugees Audrey Young and Derek Cheng (Herald): Ardern snubbed by Aussie PM over Manus Island talks Patrick Gower (Newshub): Revealed: The Manus Island refugee deal that Ardern has offered Turnbull 1News: Australian Labor and Greens urge their PM to take up NZ’s refugee offer 1News: Jacinda Ardern gets UN backing in bid to take 150 refugees from Manus Island Tracey Barnett (Herald): NZ can show what compassion looks like RNZ: Manus Island refugees refute former guard’s claims RNZ: Don’t take them – warning from a former Manus Island guard Murray Horton (Evening Report): Root causes of ‘Pacific’ refugee crisis need to be sorted Jane Patterson (RNZ): PM denies NZ becoming a soft target for people smuggling Herald: New Zealand no easy target, says Kelvin Davis Derek Cheng (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern takes aim on people smugglers: We will continue to play role in stopping them Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern rebuffs talk of people smuggled to NZ Newshub: People smugglers looking to cash in on NZ’s stance – report Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): Manus Island: New Zealand urged to bypass Australia to resolve refugee crisis 1News: Jacinda Ardern asked if she’s seen as a ‘soft touch’ with refugees 1News: ‘No food, no water, no medicine’ – Wellington protesters urged govt to intervene in Manus Island Peter Fitzsimons (Sydney Morning Herald): ‘Face the facts Australia – NZ is lapping us’ Matt Burrows (Newshub): Australia ‘lagging way behind’ New Zealand – Peter Fitzsimons Megan Gattey (Stuff): Why Kiwis have a reputation for being progressive China-NZ relations Derek Cheng (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern brushes off call for SIS probe into China’s influence on NZ domestic affairs Newshub: China’s influence over New Zealand at ‘critical level’ – academic Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): Anne-Marie Brady’s new paper Interest: Academic calls on new government to take a fresh look at NZ’s relationship with China & face up to some of the political differences and challenges 1News: Chinese Premier tells Jacinda Ardern he’d like to visit NZ soon as they talk free trade Melissa Davey (Guardian): Author vows book exposing Chinese influence will go ahead after publisher pulls out Paid Parental Leave Ewan Sargent (Stuff): Labour’s parental leave policy puts babies’ health first – midwives Newshub: National fails to change Government’s PPL Bill Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Labour says shared parental leave is ‘not that simple’ David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Labour blocking flexibility for paid parental leave Mike Hosking (Herald): Who the hell is this Government to tell us what’s good for our kids Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Labour pushes ahead on paid parental leave Stacey Kirk (Stuff): National sets the ‘nanny trap’, Labour walks right in over paid parental leave Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Opinion: Shared Paid Parental Leave a no brainer No Right Turn: “Daddy leave” and the parental leave bill Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Labour ‘dogmatic’ over paid parental leave – National Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Confusion in Labour as National pushes for shared parental leave Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour set to reject National move for parental leave for both parents at same time Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Labour says ‘no’ to allowing both parents take paid parental leave at the same time 1News: ‘Back to the nanny state’ – Bid for both parents to take paid parental leave at same time to be blocked by government Government Peata Melbourne (Māori TV): Native Affairs – Prime Minister For a Day Dominion Post Editorial: Winston Peters is wrong to pursue this witch hunt Piers Fuller (Stuff): NZ First backroom stalwarts calling in a day Parliament Jane Clifton (Stuff): Opposition making a sport out of Question Time Herald: New National MP wants cross-party pragmatic solutions Herald: National MP Denise Lee’s tribute to her late son: ‘you are a gift’ Newshub: Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee’s emotional maiden speech United Future Derek Cheng (Herald): Peter Dunne: United Future’s decision to disband the right call given it is no longer in Parliament 1News: United Future’s demise ‘sad but understandable’ – Peter Dunne Interest: UnitedFuture, pointing out it was the party with the longest continuous role in New Zealand government for 100 years, says it’s disbanding Environment RNZ: Petition on mass irrigation presented to government Alexa Cook (RNZ): Farmers urged to act to reduce greenhouse gases Eric Frykberg (RNZ): Fonterra pledges to reduce greenhouse gases Marjorie Cook (Stuff): David Parker plans to reverse Nick Smith’s resource consent non-notification law Rachel Stewart (Herald): Climate of change for the Defence Force Sefton Darby (Spinoff): Do drilling and digging have a future, or are NZ’s mining days over forever? Simon Smith (Stuff): Māori call to ban access to large Auckland regional park to save the kauri Employment 1News: Government working on laws to fix gender pay gap 1 News: NZ women ‘working for free’ from today: Hilary Barry Peter Cullen (Stuff): Shake-up coming for bosses, staff and contractors, but devil will be in the detail Laura Dooney (RNZ): Full-day strike to shut down Wellington trains 1News: ‘Leave it alone’ – Strong warning from law professor as Labour government considers scrapping ‘Hobbit Law’ Phil Duncan (Redline): What the 90 days and Hobbit legislation ‘reforms’ tell us about Labour in power Justice and police Herald: Amy Adams: Extra payout to Teina Pora could open door to other claimants No Right Turn: Opening the floodgates Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Graduate urges lawyers to learn te reo Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): Stuart Nash: ‘It’s our turn’ Catherine Hutton (RNZ): Police didn’t follow ‘all the steps’ in pursuit Māori political representation and treaty Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (RNZ): Prime Minister to meet with Federation of Māori Authorities Mihingarangi Forbes (RNZ): Govt to discuss stalled Ngāpuhi treaty process Housing Benedict Collins (RNZ): Govt, Reserve Bank clash over Kiwibuild numbers Tom Furley (RNZ): Foreign buyers set for rush to beat cutoff Liam Dann (Herald): Auckland house price falls worst since 2010 Health Jessie Chiang (RNZ): Elderly mental health service urgently needed – helpline Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): The ‘brown veneer’ of Māori health research Darren Powell (Newsroom): Can children’s advertising ever be healthy? America’s Cup Todd Niall (RNZ): Who will cheerlead for Auckland? Bernard Orsman (Herald): Protest action on the cards over America’s Cup bases Suzanne McFadden (Newsroom): Plenty of fish hooks in Cup base options Media and broadcasting Chris Bramwell (RNZ): Govt will not sell TVNZ, but ‘explore all options’ Karl du Fresne (Manawatu Standard): State TV news is more about personality than the day’s events Sexuality Maxine Lewis (Newsroom): Same-sex marriage: a tale of two countries Max Towle (The Wireless): A hilarious complaint about the ‘If it’s not gay, it’s not gay’ video has been shot down Education Jo Moir (Stuff): National Standards will no longer exist but schools can still use them – Chris Hipkins Barbara Snook (Newsroom): The Northland school teaching with art Lois Williams (RNZ): Arts suffers under regional plan – Northtec head Child welfare Joel Ineson (Stuff): Government must not limit child abuse inquiry to state care, victim advocates and experts say 1News: ‘Ask us for that help’ – Ministry for Vulnerable Children moves to regain public trust and confidence Herald: National: Welfare changes would let absentee fathers off the hook Other Madison Reidy and Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Government will ‘absolutely’ ensure GST is paid on internet shopping purchases Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Economists see Government debt rising billions more than Labour’s plan David Williams (Newsroom): Behind an Aussie billionaire’s Queenstown buys Eleanor Ainge Roy (Guardian): ‘Do you do a bingo night?’: the New Zealand chatbots designed to scam the scammers Chloe Winter (Stuff): Wicked Campers van depicting gun violence deemed ‘threatening’ by ASA]]>

Indonesia’s development dilemmas – a green info gap and budget pressure

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 15, 2017

Crucial to how Indonesia’s news outlets cover the environment – and its destruction – is the ownership and vested interests of the media landscape. Video: Al Jazeera

ANALYSIS: By David Robie in Yogyakarta

In May, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of Indonesia raised eyebrows across the archipelago when he inspected the Trans-Papua highway while trail blazing with a motorbike.

Tempo magazine, Indonesia’s most authoritative news magazine, remarked that he did this while “wearing only a thick jacket without a bullet proof vest”. Mentioning this lack of a flack jacket was tacit acknowledgement of the uncertain situation given an exponential rise of pro-independence sentiment in Indonesia’s two most eastern-most provinces of Papua and West Papua.

But Jokowi’s unconventional style of launching infrastructure projects didn’t just end there. Earlier this month he cruised along in a four-wheel drive vehicle on the recently completed Becakayu toll road, which had been languishing uncompleted for 18 years until his presidency gave the project a hurry up.

Last month, while giving a speech at Diponegoro University’s 60th Dies Natalis in Semarang, Central Java, Jokowi declared that infrastructure development was vitally important for the future in Indonesia. He wanted the country to become more competitive than its neighbours, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

President Jokowi Widodo checking out progress on the Trans-Papua Highway in May. Image: Repub of Indonesia

“Why is our infrastructure being built?,” he asked rhetorically about the rapid pace and emphasis that he and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla have given the strategy – a marked contrast with other presidencies.

-Partners-

“The answer is that we want our competiveness to be better than other countries. Our global competiveness must be improved,” he said. “This year is pretty good as we have soared from 41st to 36th among 137 countries.”

Tempo magazine: Infrastructure projects: Devil in the details.

The latest edition of Tempo magazine has devoted 38 pages to its cover story on infrastructure projects, headlining the fairly comprehensive report “Devil in the details”.

Few environmental reports
But absent from the range of quality articles was any serious report on the state of the environment in Indonesia — or environmental journalism, given that 2000 of the country’s 17,000 islands and 42 million households in a population of 261 million are at risk of “drowning” by 2050, according to a Listening Post report on Al Jazeera last month.

As Al Jazeera reported, “when you look at the [Indonesian] mainstream media, it is hard to find stories that go beyond catastrophes like forest fires or mudslides, examining who and what is behind them.”

A leading environmental journalism advocate has blamed lack of climate change and environmental reporting skills in Indonesian newsrooms for the lack of coverage.

“It is easier for journalists to cover sports or the economy, because they have scores and numbers,” Harry Surjadi, head of the Indonesian Society of Environmental Journalists, told Listening Post. “Those stories are much easier to write than environmental stories, where journalists have to understand biology, ecology, waste and chemistry.”

Nevertheless, Jokowi was praised by The Jakarta Post in a recent editorial for both his development policies and his concern for the poor of the country with his popularity climbing.

“His overwhelming attention to the basic needs of the people has made him rather obsessive with the objective of keeping the prices of food and other basic necessities stable, thereby keeping inflation below 4 percent,” the Post noted.

However, in its special development edition, Tempo said in an editorial that the Widodo administration was “racing against time” after three years in government to complete its raft of planned infrastructure projects costing an estimated RP4,197 trillion (NZ$415 billion) between 2014 and 2019.

Many ambitious projects with an emphasis on developing the regions, especially eastern Indonesia — including Papua, are being worked on at the same time.

Projects’ sustainability
“All these activities spark public excitement, but also raise questions about the projects’ sustainability,” the magazine said.

“Jokowi’s choice to develop infrastructure is certainly not misplaced. Several studies show that infrastructure development in Indonesia was relatively backward in comparison with neighbours. Even worse: previous administrations spent more on fuel subsidies compared to physical construction,” Tempo commented.

In his Semarang speech, Jokowi said: “Why must we build? Because our country is an archipelago state, the marine foundation base is a must. Airport development was equally important as many islands could not be serviced by ship.

“So, on the remote islands of Natuna, Miangas, we are building an airport. This is just one example because we are building lots of small airports,” Jokowi added.

Tempo seemed to agree with this view by stating in its editorial: “In order to reach a healthy and growing economy, Indonesia needs new roads, bridges, power stations, airports and ports. This in turn requires massive funding.”

Some 42 percent of the required funding — the budget from the 2017 year has been almost tripled from RP177 trillion in Jokowi’s first year in office in 2014 to RP 4011 trillion this year — depends on allocations from the state budget, the magazine noted, plus money from state-owned businesses and private partnerships.

Tempo praised Jokowi for cutting back on energy subsidies, saying this was the right move to make – especially over fuel costs.

Sounding a warning
While also complimenting Jokowi on the boost for several jumbo projects that had stalled in recent years to ensure they get completed, Tempo also sounded a warning.

“Jokowi is racing against time. Infrastructure construction generally takes a while, and its economic benefits are only felt three to five years after construction begins: a time span which does not align with our five-year political cycle,” the magazine said.

“The government should avoid giving the impression that it is impatient to reap its rewards from the projects, especially once the cycle of political succession comes around. Good governance must not be abused for the sake of earning points for the next general elections [in 2019].”

Infrastructure development in Indonesia is a “matter of equality and justice” across the nation, says President Widodo. Image: Al Jazeera

Infrastructure highlights:

National: RP1,320 trillion (two programmes and 12 projects).

Bali and Nus Tenggara: RP11 trillion (15 projects, including the North Timor border crossing and supporting facilities).

Java Island: RP1,065 trillion (903 projects, including the 81km Serang-Panimbang toll road, MRT underground in Jakarta and public trains/railway).

Kalimantan: RP564 trillion (24 projects, including border crossings and facilities and the Serang-Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road).

Maluku and Papua: RP444 trillion (13 projects, including development of the Tangguh Train 3 LNG plant and the Palapa ring broadband).

Sulawesi: RP155 trillion (27 projects, including the Manado-Bitung toll road).

Sumatra: RP638 trillion (61 projects, including five sections of the Trans-Sumatra toll road).

The Jakarta MRT … among the infrastructure projects. Image: Repub of Indonesia

According to a breakdown chart published by Tempo, partnerships with private companies would provide more than half the projected budget – 57.5 percent, with SOEs providing 30 percent and the balance of 12.5 percent from the state budget.

In a four-page interview with the magazine, Jokowi said that after touring across the country, from Sabang to Merauke, “I saw for myself how grave the inequality was”, and he was convinced that an expanded infrastructure would help reduce the gap.

“This is a matter of equality and justice. Besides, our infrastructure development has lagged far behind our neighbours,” he said.

“Infrastructure is a foundation for tackling the problem of inequality. If we want it easy, we just have to allocate the budget for subsidies and increased social assistance, so purchasing power will increase and the public is happy.

“But do we want to continue this kind of strategy? I took the risk by not resorting to this kind of political move, and instead diverted resources to infrastructure development.”

Yet surprisingly nothing in this otherwise comprehensive report addressed climate change and environmental issues, a critical component of sustainable development in Indonesia.

Devastating forest fires in Indonesia in 2015 were caused by a massive burn-off for palm oil plantations. Image: Al Jazeera

Forest fire devastation
Al Jazeera’s Listening Post report stressed how in 2015 huge fires swept through Indonesia’s rainforests. About 2.6 million hectares of forest was set ablaze to make way for palm oil plantations.

“The fires produced – in just three weeks – more greenhouse gases than Germany does in an entire year,” Listening Post said.

“Forest fires have become an annual occurrence in Indonesia, and still, the country’s media seldom devote the column centimetres and airtime needed to explore the causes behind them.”

Merah Ismail, campaign manager for the mining advocacy network JATAM, was quoted as saying: “When [the media] do cover forest fires or the effects of mining, they leave out “subjects like ‘water poisoned due to toxic waste or air pollution’ because they don’t know enough about those subjects”.

While Jokowi had announced in September 2015 that Indonesia would cut the growth of greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent by 2030, the nation’s news media have reported little on the progress, or lack of it, over this pledge — even with global debate on climate change at COP23 ongoing in Bonn this month.

With little media exposure or debate, the issue of the future of the rainforests has been framed as a tough choice – between the economy and the environment.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Murray Horton: Root causes of ‘Pacific’ refugee crisis need to be sorted

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 14, 2017

Papua New Guinea immigration officials last week started dismantling parts of a prison camp housing hundreds of defiant refugees as an evacuation deadline loomed yesterday. Video: Al Jazeera

OPINION: By Murray Horton of the Aotearoa Independence Movement

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to be congratulated for trying to do the decent thing by, in her words, “offering to lend a hand” with regards to Australia’s appalling treatment of refugees detained, then abandoned, on Manus Island (not to forget the others detained on Nauru).

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull tried to swat her away by saying that he has a deal with the US to take the Manus men – I think pigs will fly before Donald Trump honours what he calls “the worst deal ever”, made by Barack Obama.

Nor do I see why there is anything stopping Jacinda from dealing directly with Papua New Guinea. After all, the Manus Island men are being detained in its country and Australia has abandoned them. NZ and PNG are two independent countries, so what’s to stop the two governments sorting out this mess of Australia’s making?

And let’s give credit where credit’s due – the John Key National government made the same offer, namely to take some of the Manus men. It got the same response from Australia. That just goes to show that NZ Tories have got more humanity (in this case, at least) than their Aussie counterparts.

And, to his further credit, Key refused to countenance creating a new category of second class New Zealanders, ones with no rights to travel to Australia. Because that’s why pig-headed Turnbull and co won’t take up NZ’s bipartisan offer.

-Partners-

The excuse given is that the Manus men could then enter Australia through the New Zealand “back door” — i.e. via the free entry allowed to New Zealanders.

That is just so much crap. There is a precedent for New Zealand cleaning up Australia’s refugee mess, namely the Clark government taking in a swag of people from the Norwegian freighter Tampa, which was famously blocked by John Howard in 2001. Not only that, NZ did the decent thing and let their families join them.

‘Back door’ myth
Hands up if you’ve heard of any of those people going to Australia via the “New Zealand back door” and becoming “terrorists”. No, I thought not. Those Tampa refugees made their lives in New Zealand and have become an asset to this country.

Australia needs to hang its head in shame (this crime against humanity has been perpetrated by both Liberal and Labor governments). If you read, heard or saw a news report about civilians imprisoned without charge, trial or hope of release, who were then abandoned without food, water, power or toilets and in imminent fear of attack and/or death by hostile locals, your first reaction would probably be that this was the latest atrocity by ISIS.

And that’s how we need to judge this – Australia is enacting a policy of state terrorism. Its “Pacific Solution” is starting to resemble the Final Solution that Australia and New Zealand fought to defeat in World War Two.

I’ve experienced a little bit of this deprivation myself – no power, water or toilet for several days after the February 2011 Christchurch quake, and it was no fun in a First World society where we had the expectation that somebody would do something about it ASAP. How much worse it must feel then on a Third World island, with no such expectation.

But if our government is serious about “lending a hand”, then it needs to look much further than the (admittedly spectacular) symptoms like Manus Island, and do something about the causes of the global refugee crisis.

Why are these tens of millions of people (of whom only a few hundred are the victims of Australia’s unforgiveable cruelty) fleeing their home countries?

Plenty will be economic refugees, they simply want a better life for their children and themselves. That is a story as old as humanity. That is why several hundred thousand New Zealanders have moved to Australia, after all. It is the same reason why my Australian grandfather moved from Queensland to Wellington – to get a job.

Global poverty, wars
The cause is global poverty and inequality. That’s a very big problem, and tiny little New Zealand can only do so much about that. But we can do our share, and we can start from the recognition articulated by the most unlikely of sources – Winston Peters – that more and more people see capitalism as their foe and not their friend.

He was talking about New Zealanders, so multiply that by the billions of people living at the coalface of global capitalism and you start to get an idea of the scale of the problem. Capitalism is predicated on a few winners and an awful lot of losers.

Not unreasonably, tens of millions of these “losers” want to move to where they think they can join the “winners” (they are bound to be disillusioned by what they discover upon arrival, but that’s another story).

Hand in glove with global poverty as a cause of refugees is war. This is a direct and immediate cause of huge numbers of people fleeing for their lives. There is nothing unusual about people running away from a big disaster, whether man-made or natural – tens of thousands of Christchurch people fled the city in the hours after that February 2011 killer quake (and plenty of them have not come back).

This is an area where the new government can deal with the root cause of the global refugee crisis – get out of other people’s wars that we’re already involved in (such as Afghanistan and Iraq); stay out of the absolute tarpit that is Syria; don’t go haring off after Donald Trump if he goes to war in Korea.

More fundamentally, build on the good work done in the 1980s (which made NZ nuclear free and out of ANZUS) and get out of the Five Eyes spy network and break the remaining military ties that bind NZ to the US Empire. Build a truly non-aligned and independent foreign policy that prioritises peace over war.

There is a direct cause and effect between war and refugees. Our “traditional allies” are very good at creating the mess via war, then expressing indignant surprise when that very same mess comes back to bite them in the bum in the form of a human tide. Libya is a textbook case – NATO military powers, with US assistance, played a vital role in violently overthrowing the Gaddafi regime in 2011 (including being complicit in his being tortured to death).

Even Iraq’s Saddam Hussein got a show trial before his enemies killed him. Funnily enough, Libya has been a failed state ever since and Europe has been inundated with refugees arriving by sea – dead or alive – from Libya. I imagine Gaddafi is laughing in his grave.

‘Charity begins at home’
So, there is self-interest for New Zealand in staying out of other people’s wars and in working to end existing wars and preventing new ones. And for those who say “charity begins at home” – I agree.

We can help our immediate neighbours on tiny Pacific islands that are threatened by inundation due to climate change. These people did nothing to cause that problem but New Zealand certainly did and continues to do – we have an obligation to open our doors to these climate change refugees.

That is not a solution to the problem (at least this government recognises there is a problem and has pledged to do something about it) but it is an amelioration of the dire effects of that problem. Even if we took in all of those affected Pacific islanders, plus the prisoners from Manus and Nauru, it would all only add up to a few thousand people. We bring in more foreigners than that every year to milk them in shonky “education” courses and to supply New Zealand employers with cheap labour.

How about we change the emphasis from bringing people in to exploit and rip them off to bringing them to help them and, as the Tampa experience shows, helping ourselves in the process? Sounds like a win-win to me.

Murray Horton
Spokesperson
Aotearoa Independence Movement (AIM)

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Government’s urgency in repealing the ‘Hobbit law’

By Bryce Edwards -

November 14, 2017

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Government’s urgency in repealing the ‘Hobbit law’

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] Like any sector in society, those who own and operate businesses have a vested interest in influencing governments to make rules that favour their operations. And not only is the power of business extraordinarily strong, many argue it has increased significantly in recent decades, alongside worsening economic inequality in most countries. This is a point made strongly by French economist Thomas Piketty in his best-selling and highly influential 2014 book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Piketty’s book is currently being made into a film by New Zealand documentary-maker Justin Pemberton – see Steven Zeitchik’s news report on this, Cannes: Thomas Piketty, movie star? The documentary is scheduled for international release next year. One of the stories being told to illustrate Piketty’s theories about the power of business is the infamous 2010 “Hobbit crisis”, and “Hobbit law” introduced by the National Government to appease Hollywood and Wellington filmmakers. Last week I gave an interview for the documentary about what happened, and explained how through manipulation, a powerful foreign company had obtained huge government payouts and a change to the law to help them make bigger profits. Why Labour wants to repeal the Hobbit law with urgency The Hobbit law – or “The Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill” – is also now back in the news here, because the new Labour-led government has promised to repeal National’s legislation in its first 100 days in office. In her background profile on what happened, Kylie Klein-Nixon says “How it came about is a convoluted tale which changes, as all good tales do, depending on who’s telling it – the filmmakers or the actors. But in a nutshell: the New Zealand actors union, NZ Equity, used the filming of The Hobbit – a high profile, multimillion dollar internationally funded production – to push for the right to bargain collectively, despite most actors being on individual contracts” – see: Hobbit law repeal: How did we get here? For a much more critical examination of why the Labour Party and the labour movement feel so strongly about repealing the legislation, it’s worth reading an article in the Hollywood Reporter: New Zealand Poised to Repeal Anti-Union ‘Hobbit Law’. The article is by Jonathan Handel, a Hollywood entertainment and technology lawyer who wrote a book in 2012 titled, The New Zealand Hobbit Crisis: How Warner Bros bent a government to its will and crushed an attempt to unionize The Hobbit. The book highlights how the 2010 industrial dispute is “an unusually dramatic example of corporate leverage exerted against a nation-state and its workers.” In Handel’s latest article, he explains how the film business was determined in 2010 to reduce the employment rights and conditions of film workers in New Zealand, and threatened to pull the production of The Hobbit out of the country if they didn’t get their way. They came to New Zealand to lobby the National Government for a law change, as well as for additional subsidies. Handel says: “It was a potent threat against a tiny island nation of then-around 4 million people, particularly in light of the tourist boom sparked by the earlier Lord of the Rings films and expected from the Hobbit prequels — and the law dovetailed with the Kiwi government’s pro-business tilt under the then-prime minister, former Merrill Lynch executive John Key.” The article celebrates the new coalition government prioritising the repeal of the Hobbit law. New Workplace Relations Minister, Iain Lees-Galloway is quoted explaining that the soon-to-be-repealed law “is a breach of International Labour Organization Convention 98 which New Zealand has ratified and must therefore adhere to”. And Equity New Zealand president Jennifer Ward-Lealand is reported saying “This is a law that is deeply unfair for workers, so it is wonderful to see our new Government make its repeal a priority”. The Labour Party and union movement were particularly incensed by the Hobbit crisis because it involved so much duplicity by the film business and the government of the day. This is explained very well by Brent Edwards who points to the fact that the whole crisis was manufactured in order to get the public on side: “That law was rushed through Parliament overnight as the government bowed to the demands of the powerful Hollywood studios. Even worse, the government told the public the Hobbit dispute was unresolved despite knowing that days earlier the actors’ union, Equity, had agreed to lift the international boycott on the film” – see: ‘Hobbit law’ change vindication for late union leader. Edwards explains that evidence was later released under the Official Information Act, which confirmed all this: “the papers showed the government initially had seen no need to change employment law relating to film and television workers. But Sir Peter and the Hollywood studios continued to pressure the government to do so. So late in October it bowed to those demands and changed the law in a day to make it absolutely clear actors and crew were independent contractors, not employees.” Gordon Campbell has also written expertly about the latest developments, bemoaning that “one of our leading digital industries of the 21st century continues to labour under 19th century work conditions” – see: On the TPP outcome, and the Hobbit law. Many on the political left are celebrating the government’s determination to dump the Hobbit law so quickly. On The Standard, Greg Presland declares: “I would like to jump up and down and dance on its grave and remember the victims and curse the villains. And I hope there is a sophisticated analysis by the main stream media of what happened and why repeal is important” – see: The repeal of the Hobbit law. His blog post then goes through in detail what happened. It might, however, seem a little odd that Labour is giving the repeal of the Hobbit law such a priority. After all it’s a law that affects very few people, and is hardly of immediate concern to voters. Martyn Bradbury explains: “This wasn’t going to make the list of things to do in the first 100 days but the symbolism of telling a multi-national corporation that we won’t write our laws for their benefit was too compelling for NZ First” – see: The Hobbit strikes back! Huge win for NZ Actors & workers. Industry and political right respond The National Party hasn’t made much effort to defend the Hobbit law in the wake of the announcement that it’s to be axed. National-aligned blogger David Farrar has blogged to say “This law change will drive productions out of New Zealand, and destroy jobs” – see: Smaug wins, Hobbits lose. Farrar also argues that the film industry is better suited for contract arrangements rather than employing workers, and the repeal of the law is a “huge win for the Australian union that tried to blackmail Peter Jackson with a global boycott.” According to the Herald, “National has previously criticised Labour’s vow to repeal it, saying that would deter major film companies from coming to New Zealand” – see: Film industry heavy-hitters meet as axe hangs over ‘Hobbit law’. The same article reports on the thoughts of Lord of the Rings film producer Barrie Osborne, who disputes that National’s law change led to exploitation: “It’s not like you have a big industrial company coming in taking advantage of the workers. I find in fact the wages here in the film industry are higher than they are in Australia which has a very unionised position.” Similarly, a 1News TV report emphasises that the billion-dollar New Zealand film industry is divided by the proposed repeal of the law – watch: Government reaffirms commitment to scrap ‘Hobbit Law’ which saw an end to collective negotiations for film industry workers. Back down by Labour? The Herald article also explains that since the Labour-led Government announced the urgent repeal of the Hobbit law, film business executives have been lobbying Lees-Galloway to do a U-turn. Film boss Barrie Osborne is quoted saying he had made progress with the Minister after initially being alarmed, saying it was “concerning when you read just the bold print” of Labour’s repeal. Osbourne explains: “We got in to see the minister in his first week in office. So that is encouraging that they are aware of the issues and what is at stake in the industry, and the infusion of dollars some of these big international pictures bring into New Zealand.” Recently Lees-Galloway has been promoting a somewhat different view of what the government is going to do: “What we are absolutely not going to do is repeal what currently exists and leave a vacuum … [the new framework] will recognise that contracting is the normal way of doing things in the film industry, and most importantly provide certainty to producers and people who plan to invest on making films in New Zealand.” And the newspaper reports that Lees-Galloway “told the Herald a repeal of the Hobbit law may not be needed”. On Thursday last week, the Government made it clear that a straight repeal was no longer happening. RNZ reported: “Today, workplace relations minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced he was working with a number of industry groups, including the Screen Industry Guild, to consider options for replacing the legislation. He said the film industry brought millions of dollars to New Zealand and a collaborative approach was being taken to ensure the laws affecting them were fair” – see: Working group formed for ‘Hobbit law’ replacement. According to John Drinnan, Lees-Galloway now says: “A lot of people have said they are really happy with the contracting arrangements. We are fine with that” – see: First ‘The Hobbit’, now for the sequel. And Drinnan cites other businesspeople from the film industry who have been lobbying the government to change their mind. The most definitive announcement that the promise of repeal within the first 100 days is gone is in Simon Smith’s article, Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says replacing Hobbit law will be ‘a joint solution’. This reports that “Lees-Galloway said it was more important to get new legislation right than to do it in 100 days, and that was what industry and unions wanted.” The minister is quoted explaining, “It would be pointless to stick to a manifesto commitment that didn’t actually get us the result that we were looking for.” Mike Hosking is using this Hobbit law repeal back-down as an example of how Labour is less reform-minded than might be expected: “The Hobbit law around the movie industry – they were repealing it. Whoops, no they’re not. Those in the industry have told them they’re nuts, and so to their credit, they’ve put the brakes on” – see: This government is specialising in window-dressing, not reform. Hosking then puts forward three explanations for Labour talking radical but acting moderate. Finally, Helen Kelly’s son, Dylan, now works in the film industry, and has just written about his mother on the anniversary of her death. He also talks about the Hobbit drama, which he says “led to Mum being described as ‘one of the most actively disliked women in the country’ at the time” – see: On a new government, kindness and the (unfinished) legacy of my mother, Helen Kelly. On the repeal of the Hobbit laws, he says, “for those who think this move will kill the film industry… It won’t. Most overseas film industries are heavily unionised. The next 25 Avatar sequels will be just fine”.]]>

NZ protesters lock gates of Australian High Commission in Manus protest

By Pacific Media Centre -

November 14, 2017

The squalor faced by Manus Island refugees in Papua New Guinea. TRT video

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

New Zealand activists have chained themselves to the gates of the Australian High Commission in Wellington while Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has reaffirmed the country’s offer to take some of the refugees and asylum-seekers from Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

News reports said the purpose of the Wellington protest was to prevent anyone inside from leaving, Peace Action Wellington spokeswoman Emma Cullen said.

About 20 protesters were reported outside the high commission yesterday afternoon, of whom three or four were chained to the gates.

The protesters hoped to stop high commission staff leaving last evening, to highlight the plight of the about Manus detainees whose basic services have been cut off by the authorities.

“We’re shutting them down for as long as we can … at least until the evening, to affect these people, and for these people to acknowledge and question what their government is doing,” Cullen said, according to Stuff.

-Partners-

In Manila for the APEC meeting, Prime Minister Ardern has been seeking a meeting with Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull to discuss further New Zealand’s offer to take 150 refugees from Manus.

Turnbull has suffered a disastrous popularity slump, according to The Australian newspaper.

The PNG Supreme Court has forced the closure of Ausytralia’s offshore detention centre for asylum seekers but many have refused to leave in spite of the power, water and food supplies being cut off.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

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Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 14 November 2017 – Today’s content

By Bryce Edwards -

November 14, 2017

Critical Politics Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – 14 November 2017 – Today’s content

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. [caption id="attachment_297" align="aligncenter" width="1600"]

The Beehive and Parliament Buildings.[/caption] Below are the links to the items online. The full text of these items are contained in the PDF file (click to download). Trade and international relations Audrey Young (Herald): Ardern overshadowed by Trudeau at East Asia Summit 1News: Jacinda Ardern having tricky talks with world leaders at East Asia summit Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern, the rock-star life and a lifestyle without parallel Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Jacinda Ardern navigates tantrums and hissy fits at Apec Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern and Peters at centre of TPP confusion Dan Satherley (Newshub): Kelvin Davis ‘wrong’ on TPP – Jane Kelsey Chris Trotter (Stuff): A very lucky escape in Trans-Pacific Partnership debates Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): Muted elation from business hides relief at CPTPP trade deal Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern extends NZ invite to Trudeau Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern meets with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Vernon Small (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern invites Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Justin Trudeau seeks guidance from Jacinda Ardern on ‘indigenous issues’ RNZ: Watch: Bill English on National’s support for TPP Newshub staff: Labour taking credit for National’s TPP agreement – Bill English Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): NZ First support for TPP not guaranteed Jane Patterson (RNZ): Greens oppose new TPP deal Stacey Kirk (Stuff): Greens won’t support new TPP legislation as changes ‘don’t go far enough’ Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern in talks with NZ First over TPP Claire Trevett (Herald): Greens will not support revised TPP trade deal Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Greens will go against Labour in TPP vote Gordon Campbell (Werewolf): On the TPP outcome, and the Hobbit law No Right Turn: Saved by Canada Bryan Gould: Is the TPPA now fit for purpose Liam Hehir (Medium): Actually, the TPP is a good thing now Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): A good point about the international summit “silly shirt” photo tradition Newshub: What Jacinda Ardern thought of Donald Trump’s ‘short and fat’ tweet Patrick O’Meara (RNZ): PM to stress peace in Asia talks NZ-China relationship Audrey Young (Herald): Ardern invited to China by Premier Li Keqiang Newshub: Chinese Premier wants another NZ visit Matt Nippert (Herald): University of Canterbury professor calls for China’s local influence to be curbed David Williams (Newsroom): Govt urged to probe China’s influence 1News: Winston Peters raises ‘issue of corrupt individuals wanted in China’ living in NZ with Chinese counterpart Michael Reddell (Croaking Cassandra): “I’m always very careful what I say to either man” Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Being economically occupied by China, politically owned by America and what EVERYONE is missing about how to defeat TPPA Manus Island refugee crisis Ella Prendergast (Newshub): Australia ‘criminal’ for refusing Manus Island refugees – Golriz Ghahraman Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern sticks to her guns over Manus Island at East Asia summit Newshub: Jacinda Ardern says she’ll be ‘an irritant’ to Malcolm Turnbull on Manus Island Mike Hosking (Herald): Yapping at Australia over and over will only make our relationship worse Michael Daly (Stuff): PM’s Manus Island push a deflection from TPP – Bill English Aziz Al-Sa’afin (Newshub): Manus Island is all of our shame to bear Patrick Gower (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern’s offer a fatal mistake – Australian senator Pat Griffiths (AAP): Ardern’s offer to take refugees a ‘fatal mistake’ No Right Turn:Bring them here Stuff: Manus Island activists locked to gates of Australian high commission in Wellington David Farrar (Kiwiblog): The other side of Manus Island Winston Peters court action Edward Gay (RNZ): Peters targets journalistic privilege in court action RNZ: Peters’ superannuation leak court date set Herald: ‘Political hit job’: Winston Peters’ lawyers claim reporters were part of a ‘set-up’ Laura Walters (Stuff): Winston Peters’ legal attack on journalists could further erode NZ’s press freedom ODT Editorial: Coalition negotiations discredited Karl du Fresne: We want our money back Government Leith Huffadine (Stuff): If you’re old and rich, you’re more likely to hate the new Government Bevan Rapson (North and South): The coalition government’s generation game Peter Skilling (Impolitikal): Jacindamania 2017, hope and fear on the campaign trail Lynn Prentice (Standard): Measuring the honeymoon Bernard Hickey (Newsroom): Labour finds ‘unexpected budget challenges’ Shane Cowlishaw (Newsroom): The OIA is broken, can it be fixed? Alexander Bisley (Vice): Actually, the Far Right Are Not Taking Over New Zealand Action Station (Medium):Nine reasons to be stoked about this new government…and some of the areas we know we need to keep pushing for positive change Parliament Colin James (ODT): Grow up, petty Parliament! Tom O’Connor (Waikato Times): The Opposition needs to grow up Chris Trotter (Bowallley Road): Democratic Engineers, Or Neoliberal Mechanics? Ellen Read (Stuff): The Cabinet has its priorities wrong Gwynn Compton (Libertas Digital): The political week ahead – 13 November 2017 United Future Newshub: United Future leader may set up new party RNZ: United Future to disband Herald: Leaked email: United Future Party to disband after election struggle Michael Daly (Stuff): United Future calls it a day, fears drug reform will lose momentum Pete George (Your NZ): United Future disbanding Greg Presland (Standard): United has no future Environment David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Another win for the fishing industry over marine conservation Bill Hare (Spinoff): Our rating of NZ’s climate target? Not good enough. The heat is now on James Shaw RNZ: Vatican climate change meeting ‘big deal’ for Pacific Child welfare Herald: School bullying levels a disgrace – Human Rights Commission Herald: 30% of children’s needs not being met – Children’s Commissioner Southland Times Editorial: Doing more for our kids Sarah Robson (RNZ): Govt to scrap benefit cuts for mums who don’t name father Aaron Smale (Spinoff): Our stolen generation: a shameful legacy Farming Tess Nichol (Herald): Calves taken, cows made pregnant for milk: Animal welfare protest targets dairy industry Alexa Cook (RNZ): New agriculture minister takes tough stance on cattle disease Employment Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Nats to push for leave for both parents at once Teuila Fuatai (Newsroom): The future of unions Auckland Rod Oram (Newsroom): Twyford chases an illusory pot of gold Todd Niall (RNZ): AKL mayor on course to underspend predecessor America’s Cup RNZ: Goff calls for govt support to host America’s Cup RNZ: Five options for America’s Cup bases, costing up to $190m Todd Niall (RNZ): Auckland councillors consider America’s Cup options Education ODT Editorial: Some restraint of pupils is necessary Martin van Beynen (Stuff): Checkout operators are putting groceries on the table Lois Williams (RNZ): Regional development agency unhappy with Northtec cuts Earthquakes Herald: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern marks quake milestone from Manila Hamish Rutherford (Stuff): The public safety threat hanging over Wellington, a year after the November 14 earthquake Other Simon Wilson (Spinoff): New radicals: the challenge for NZ politics in the time of Corbyn and Trump Dileepa Fonseka, Jackson Thomas, Peter Newport and Paul Mitchell (Stuff): New valuations reveal rich town-poor town divide; strapped families flee housing crisis Jo Moir (Stuff): Māori Party distances itself from Marama Fox’s ‘like a beaten wife’ comments Anne Gibson (Herald): Foreigners get green light for six land deals; three involve majority NZ-owned entities Mihingarangi Forbes (RNZ): Māori woman candidate targeted in billboard attack Stuff: Fairfax NZ appoints Mark Stevens editorial director John Minto (Daily Blog): Capitalism, tax and New Zealand Liam Hehir (Stuff): Western progressives continue to romanticise communism Rob Stock (Stuff): Payday loan interest caps on the way, says consumer affairs minister Kris Faafoi Herald: Jonathan Coleman says he’ll hold new health minister to account over suicide target Lizzie Marvelly (Herald): Forget Guy Fawkes – We’ve a date with our past Daniel Hutchinson and Robert Steven (Stuff): Iwi seeks to enforce Lake Taupō toll Stuff: What NZ Wars? Hamilton mayor apologises over Armistice Day reference]]>

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