General Debate 20 June 2026

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artemisia

Of wider interest due to the current attention on regulatory Boards. Update on the mass resignation of Psychotherapist Board members Brenda Levien, Cinnamon Boreham, Juanita Hudson, Lucie Zwimpfer, Michelle Amopiu and Rachel Kent.

The mass resignation of the Psychotherapists Board came days after a letter from the associate health minister expressing concern over accusations from a whistleblower, and considering removing them on the grounds of neglect of duty.

But the board members say no formal investigation ever took place, and they resigned after a breakdown in trust and confidence between themselves and the ministry….. Doocey noted the board had denied what they referred to as “malicious” allegations. Not the Board’s fault then. Those darn whistleblowers, eh. Maybe recent regulator Board events might encourage more whistleblowers.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/601504/minister-wrote-to-psychotherapists-board-about-whistleblower-concerns-ahead-of-mass-resignation
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June 20, 2026 8:10am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Doesn’t sound like they have the courage of their convictions.
  
  Brave Sir Robins, the lot of them.
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:13am
- CJames
  
  In all the reporting, there is not even a hint of what the allegations were all about. Without doing speculation on the exact nature of the issue, “neglect of duty” means they weren’t doing what they were supposed to do. The Ministry must have had compelling evidence for the Minister’s actions.
  How many other boards would be guilty of the same offence?
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:23am
  - Souvlaki
    
    Certainly, some of the professional Colleges have been captured, and are almost obsessed with pushing Maoritanga down professionals throats…much as the just , soon to be removed top two in the NZMC!
    People are too cowed to take them on because of the threat of being unable to continue to practice!
    
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    June 20, 2026 8:39am
    - Jack5
      
      With NZ psychiatric hospitals under huge pressure, the difference between psychotherapy and psychiatry is relevant.
      
      To me, psychotherapy at core is “talk therapy” — talk out the problems, to probe them and correct them.
      
      My AI searcher says psychotherapists typically hold advanced degrees in psychology or counselling.
      
      This is in contrast to psychiatry, which is treatment by medically trained doctors who are able to use medication.
      
      It’s also relevant that Matt Doocey, our Minister of Minister for Mental Health and Associate Minister of Health, comes from practising this side of mental health treatment, notably in England, though he’s partly from an old Canterbury political family.
      
      Here’s Matt’s academic path, as described on the Parliamentary web site:
      
      … a BSc (Hons) in Social Policy, an MA in Healthcare Management from Kingston University in London, and an MSc in Global Politics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
      
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      June 20, 2026 9:03am
- Yvette
  
  Previous news reports had linked the resignations to a government policy change, which some in the industry feared would give the government a new level of control over the board’s decisions.
  
  A linked report –
  The President of the Association of Psychotherapists John O’Connor told Nine to Noon he believed the resignations and the governments proposed changes to the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act of 2003 were linked, something the Ministry of Health denies.
  … He said he understood there were confidentiality requirements on the board, but didn’t know why these confidentiality agreements existed.
  
  O’Connor also said the Minister was also proposing to remove “the demonstration of cultural competency in relation to developing effective working relationships with Māori”.
  “He’s arguing that it’s because cultural competency is nothing to do with clinical competency. In our view you can’t separate cultural competency with clinical competency,” he said.
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/598573/psychotherapists-in-the-dark-over-board-s-mass-resignation
  
  So, if the President of the Association of Psychotherapists John O’Connor is not right in his speculation, it would suggest that this well-being field is unwell in more ways than one – like, at least, two
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:40am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Slaver gets early release and to stay in NZ. Sentenced to 11 years, gets out after 6.

No mention of deportation; presumably he’s a citizen. This case illustrates why NZ needs to retain the ability to boot immigrants out. He candidly admits that his behaviour is rooted in his earlier life in Samoa. That means he came here fully formed; we did not make him. By definition, his declaration as being of good character was wrong, therefore his receipt of NZ citizenship should be void.

I’m sick of people like him dragging our country’s good name through the mud. He is not us. Get rid of him.

But, we won’t. He’ll just go home to the Hawkes Bay and collect his Super. Yay.

Incidentally, he’s 71. If you believed the Otago Health Policy people, it’s a miracle he’s not dead by now.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/605470/hawke-s-bay-enslaver-and-human-trafficker-joseph-matamata-granted-parole
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June 20, 2026 8:12am
Cassandra

Republican senators: “Before the war the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.”

Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, called the MOU “completely out of step” with Trump’s goals and railed against sanctions relief and the unfreezing of funds “in exchange for Iran’s mere agreement to negotiate for another 60 days”.

“The worst foreign policy action in ages”.

Hard to disagree. And note that former VP Pence has also criticised the deal.

Not Trump at his finest but probably good politics, with the midterms approaching.
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June 20, 2026 8:17am
- nz_aj
  
  Pence is in an opposite minority faction to Trump, and has been very anti Trump since the latter stage of Trumps first term.
  Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to renew ceasefire, so the Iran deal will now likely proceed.
  “The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran have agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpile enriched material”.
  Clearly the enriched uranium proves Iran was developing nuclear weapons, and stopping this is the primary goal that has hopefully been achieved.
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:42am
- Simon
  
  The MOU is a very good outcome for NZ. Which if you live in NZ is what really matters, Unless you have loyalty to another country like Israel well ahead of NZ. Which might be the case for some.
  
  If you think the MOU is bad, from a NZ perspective, then probably just get on with it and move to Israel.
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:43am
- Philview
  
  I think Trump had a genuine desire to help the oppressed Iranian people after the massacres. The rest of the world wasn’t interested and only boots on the ground would have worked to take out the IRG.
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:47am
- Damocles11
  
  60 days will pass while much of the US naval force in the area around the Strait dispersed and the Trump administrations appetite for any further action continues to wane. Every day Irans position will strengthen, while the USA’s will become weaker. I don’t think Iran has any good intentions here, they want revenge and will be looking to twist the knife. The saying doing the rounds is that Iran has never won a war but has never lost a negotiation.
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:50am
- David George
  
  Yes Cas. very dissapointing
  More broadly it is a blow to the West’s war against Islam. A war that most of our leaders choose to ignore and are unprepared and unwilling to admit to never mind confront.
  Starmer says he’s all about protecting the children* yet doesn’t care about a quarter of a million English girls raped and trafficked by Muslim rape gangs. Willful blindness; Islam started as a rape gang.
  
  * a reference to his banning of kids from the internet
  
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  June 20, 2026 8:50am
pb

The money lining US politicians pockets is forcing them to ignore reality. The economic catastrophe is weeks away, but they don’t care as their purse is jangling with coin. Bessent the Soros man has been tapping emergency oil reserves to control markets, and the hard wall is coming. Gravity doesn’t care about propaganda.
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June 20, 2026 8:47am
CJames

If one wants to see how education can improve by going back to the basics, look to the USA. There, the average public schoolchild in Mississippi has a higher achievement level that one in California or New York, despite the latter spending a lot more money. New York City spends US$40k per pupil and has the lowest pupil to teacher ratio, just 9!.
Teacher union and DEI influence of the curriculum has driven the collapse. Sounds very similar to NZ.
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June 20, 2026 8:48am
- Yvette
  
  Apparently there is a lack of established evidence that teacher unions or DEI policies caused Mississippi’s gains or New York/California’s weaker outcomes.
  The explanations researchers talk about more often include: Mississippi’s “science of reading” reforms (explicit phonics and early literacy instruction), strong focus on early years literacy, retention/support policies for struggling readers, curriculum coherence, accountability systems, targeted interventions, and the economic / social status of ‘hillbilly’s’ may be better than many metropolis complexity
  
  Meanwhile, high spending alone does not guarantee higher outcomes because spending often reflects: higher labour costs, more support services, higher special-needs populations, urban ramifications, and poverty concentration.
  
  Mississippi’s literacy efforts seem to stand out. That may be a pick-up from looking at the USA education experience and comparisons.
  
  Money matters, but what happens between teacher, child, and curriculum matters more.
  
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  June 20, 2026 9:24am
Nukuleka

Is there some kind of formal agreement among journalists that the tribal affiliation of Maoris is to be mentioned only in feel- good stories? In the daily reporting of gang crime, drug crime, domestic violence and child abuse I cannot recall ever reading any mention of Maori offenders’ tribal heritage. Or is this mere coincidence?
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June 20, 2026 9:18am
- CJames
  
  If it is good, then it is Maori genetic superiority. If it is bad, then it is the effects of colonialism – simple.
  
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  June 20, 2026 9:23am

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