The Otago University statement on free speech is stunningly good. The drafts from VUW, Massey and Auckland are full of weasel words that will allow universities to suppress unpopular views. But the Otago one is so good, it should be a template for the other seven universities. Some extracts:

Free speech is the lifeblood of a university. It enables the exploration of ideas, the challenging of assumptions, and the uncovering of truth through open exchange. It allows students, teachers and researchers to know better the variety of beliefs, theories and opinions in the world. Only through a preparedness to challenge, question, and criticise ideas can progress in understanding take place. …

The University affirms that it will not restrict debate or deliberation simply because the ideas put forth are thought by some to be offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed. It is for the members of the University community – its students and staff – to make those judgments for themselves. The University is not a place for safety from ideas – it is a place to engage in critical thought and debate in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Our students will not be prepared for a complex and challenging world unless they have experience negotiating conflict and disagreement.

What I love about this section is they explicitly rule out that the university’s role is to keep people safe from ideas. The other universities all talk about how they do need to keep people safe from speech or ideas.

The University therefore guarantees all members of its community, including invited visitors, the right to advance ideas in the spirit of free and open enquiry. Furthermore, in its role as critic and conscience of society, the University provides a space in which contrary and unpopular positions can be advanced free from political interference or suppression.

The inclusion of invited visitors is also important.

This commitment to free speech does not mean that any utterance is appropriate in a university setting. The University may properly restrict expression which violates the law. Moreover, the University accepts no duty to provide a space for those who are not members of its community to advance their ideas or theories in ways which fundamentally undermine the University’s character as an institute of higher learning. The University may also reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the University.

These are all reasonable. There is no inherent right for me (for example) to speak on campus or book a room. However if I am invited by a staff member of affiliated club or society, then as an invited visitor I would have a right to speak.

Although students, staff, and visitors are free to criticise, contest, and condemn the views expressed on campus, they should not obstruct, disrupt, or otherwise interfere with the freedom of others to express those views.

Protest is not the same as disruption. Again great to be explicit on that.

I am normally so depressed by what is happening in universities with free speech, that this is like a ray of sunshine. It is better than what I thought any NZ university would adopt.

I do wonder why Otago’s is so good. I may be wrong, but I suspect Grant Robertson as VC may be part of the reason. Maybe he wasn’;’t involved as he has just started, but one advantage Grant brings to the role is he hasn’t been cloistered in academic groves for decades, where 95% of conversations are people agreeing with you and 5% where they are too scared to disagree. He comes from a background where he is constantly exposed to speech he disagrees with.

I suspect Grant understands that NZ universities are at some risk of losing their social licence. 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, the vast majority of NZers would say universities are unambiguously good as they are key institutions in top level research, in training up graduates and professionals and in forming part of a vibrant civil society.

But today many on the centre-right of politics are now regarding universities in a very negative way. Research is also impossible now without making it relevant to the Treaty of Waitangi and universities have become hostile to dissenting views time and time again. I don’t think enough vice-chancellors realise how precarious their position has become. With the Government facing a hard task getting the books back into surplus, cutting funding to universities which are seen as inimically hostile to non-left views becomes rather attractive. A growing number see universities as actually bad for New Zealand (I disagree, but I worry greatly about their direction).

So the Otago University statement goes a long way to regaining that social licence. They of course need to live up to its great words, but the statement makes me proud to have attended Otago University.

The ODT also reports:

Otago University philosophy professor James Maclaurin, who helped lead the engagement process on the statement, said it had been several months in the making.

“A lot of universities have statements on free speech — we think it’s an essential thing for the university to be a champion of free speech.

“We also thought it would be good to get out in front of the government’s plans to require universities to have policies on free speech.”

Prof Maclaurin said the meetings and engagements were “oversubscribed”. …

Prof Maclaurin said the university could develop a course or offer workshops on free speech.

“I think it’s going to be a great thing.”

Well done Professor Maclaurin.

Rugby is by no where near a key in terms of school quality – but the major boys schools do put a lot of emphasis on it and see success as a form of prestige.

Last Saturday St Peter’s in Epsom 1st XV (1306 students) beat Auckland Grammar (2,600 students) – at Auckland Grammar – 13 to 10. This was even after having to bring benches for their reserves from their own school.

There are other criteria to learn from too – especially academics.

Both schools have almost the same Equity Index number (EQI) – the measure that replaced deciles. In terms of ethnicities that struggle in our system St Peter’s has 13% Maori and 23% Pasifika. For AGS those numbers are 9% and 8%.

And yet – Education Counts (the Ministry of Education’s statistical arm) lists:

• 94.2% of St Peter’s 2022 LEAVERS achieving University Entrance (the top Boys’ school result by approx 10%)
  
• 74.9% of Auckland Grammar LEAVERS achieving University Entrance.

Anyone interested in improving education in NZ would do well to think about how the very successful schools are doing what others are failing to do.

Alwyn Poole
Innovative Education Consultants Ltd
www.innovativeeducation.co.nz
alwynpoole.substack.com
www.linkedin.com/in/alwyn-poole-16b02151/

ps: Had these two articles up this week:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/structured-literacy-school-testing-three-lessons-to-restore-nzs-education-system-alwyn-poole/3DXP3RCDW5AOBLLTEH3MMMEKAA/

www.localmatters.co.nz/health/charter-school-founder-sets-sights-on-south-warkworth/

The Herald reports:

The Herald can reveal the Government is considering a “reconciliation package” to hapū Patutokotoko, after the group raised red flags about the commercialisation of the Tūroa family name on Mount Ruapehu.

Company Pure Tūroa has officially taken over assets on the Tūroa side of the skifield for this year’s season.

Documents from Te Arawhiti state Patutokotoko has “consistently raised concerns” about the commercial use of the name Tūroa. Around the 18th and 19th century, Te Peehi Tūroa was a rangatira of the Whanganui-based hapū and was deemed an influential leader.

I’ve got a much better idea than having taxpayers hand over money because a private company uses the name Turoa.

How about no money is handed over, and they just stop using Turoa? Call the ski field Ruapehu South. That won’t cost a cent, especially for taxpayers.

Stuff reports:

ACT leader David Seymour says a Ministry of Education decision to shut down a Manawatū kindergarten appears to be “acting against the will of the community”.

In comments made to Stuff, Seymour said he would be asking ministry officials to explain why they were closing Country Kindy, when he met with them on Monday.

“I am very concerned by this action. It would appear that the ministry is acting against the will of the community, rather than upholding standards on its behalf,“ he said.

Country Kindy, between Feilding and Palmerston North, had been stripped of its licence over curriculum issues, a decision the Early Childhood Council described as an “overreach”.

This is unusual. Normally you only close an institution if it is unsafe. So what are the sins done by Country Kindy:

A 2022 Education Review Office report found children’s culture, language and identity at the kindergarten were not consistently reflected in the curriculum.

It also found learning partnerships with tamariki and whānau Māori were not evident, and the kindergarten had not made clear progress with previous recommendations.

So they close down the only Kindy in the area, despite the support of parents.

UPDATE: The closure is delayed for at least 12 weeks, which is good.

BBC reports:

Reformist Massoud Pezeshkian has been elected Iran’s new president, beating his hardline conservative rival Saeed Jalili. 

The vote was declared in Dr Pezeshkian’s favour after he secured 53.3% of the more than 30 million votes counted. Mr Jalili polled 44.3%.

This is somewhat hopeful.

Dr Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon, is critical of Iran’s notorious morality police and caused a stir after promising “unity and cohesion”, as well as an end to Iran’s “isolation” from the world. 

He has also called for “constructive negotiations” with Western powers over a renewal of the faltering 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for an easing of Western sanctions.

As I said, better than the alternative.

The Herald reports:

NZ First, a coalition Government party, posed the extraordinary question on X yesterday about what might have gone wrong.

“Is it true that the Aratere ran aground when someone put the autopilot on, went for a coffee, and then couldn’t turn the autopilot off in time when that someone came back…?”, the party posted.

Maritime New Zealand has cautioned that “conjecture” about the cause of the incident is unhelpful while an investigation continues, and KiwiRail says the “regulated number of qualified people” were on the ship’s bridge on the night of the grounding.

This is not a denial, and it is something that could be easily denied. Now generally one should be sceptical of anything Winston claims, especially about the Interislander, but maybe NZ First are on to something here.

UPDATE: They were right, reports The Post:

One mistakenly-pressed button sent the 17,816-tonne Aratere ferry off-course – but crew on the bridge couldn’t wrestle back control from autopilot before running aground was inevitable, a leaked internal safety bulletin shows.

It is understood that a key part of the investigation into the Interislander ferry’s grounding in the Marlborough Sounds on June 21 will be whether the bridge crew knew how to disengage the autopilot when using a recently-installed steering system.

So the ferry did not break down. It was crew error, yet the normal suspects howled that somehow this was the fault of the Government for not proceeding with the $3 billion+ new ferry project.

Stuff reports:

Police officers have responded with anger after their union reduced their pay offer to the Government at the eleventh hour of negotiations.

The union and the Government have entered into “final offer arbitration”. It’s an all-or-nothing, winner takes all dispute resolution process – where an independent arbitrator will pick either the Government or Police Association’s pay offer.

After more than a year of pay negotiations, police entered into arbitration – a unique process designed to ensure police officers don’t strike.

Police Association president Chris Cahill emailed unionised staff on Thursday evening to tell them the offer sent to the arbitrator was lower than the final offer put to the Government during negotiations in April.

“Because it is final offer arbitration in which the winner takes all, the assessment of your pay advisers and directors was to revise down our offer,” he said.

This is basically an admission that the Government’s offer was more likely to be found by the arbitrator to be fairer than what the Police Association was demanding. That is the only reason you would suddenly lower your offer for arbitration.

I’m not surprised officers are upset, because arguably the Police Association has misled them as to how generous the Government’s offer really was (first ever overtime penal rates).

It will be very interesting to see what the arbitrator decides, and what the actual gap is between the two final offers.

• Labour got 64% of the seats off 34% of the vote
• Conservatives got 19% of the seats off 24% of the vote
• Lib Dems got 11% of the seats off 12% of the vote
• SNP got 1.4% of the seats off 2.5% of the vote
• Sinn Fein got 1.1% of the seats off 0.7% of the vote
• Reform got 0.8% of the seats off 14.3% of the vote
• Greens got 0.6% of the vote off 6.8% of the vote

The comparisons between the pre-election polls and results for vote share was:

• Labour 33.7% result vs 38.8% polls
• Conservatives 23.7% vs 21.8%
• Reform 14.3% vs 16.4%
• Lib Dems 12.2% vs 11.0%
• Greens 6.8% vs 6.3%
• SNP 2.5% vs 3.1%

So Labour well under the polls, but the rest not too far off.

The seat differences are

So main difference between exit poll and results was Conservatives and Reform did worse and Lib Dems better.

The next Green MP in on the List is Benjamin Doyle. This is his MA thesis:

Here is a Master’s thesis crafted with, by, and for Rangatahi Takatāpui. It represents a labour of love for the community to which I belong, and seeks to generate understanding about the factors that enable LGBTQI+ Māori youth to embody and enact Tino Rangatiratanga. Principles of Kaupapa Māori Theory provide a paradigm through which this research is conducted, with particular attention paid to the Indigenous Research Agenda. Importantly, this rangahau seeks to offer an alternative to the conventions of hegemonic empirical academia by centering the voices and lived experiences of those who have historically been subjected to the dehumanising objectification of Western research practices.

I am amazed he was only ranked No 18 on the Greens List. I would have thought he would be a clear shot at No 3, with his exposure of the dehumanising objectification of Western research practices.

Ultimately, this research present nine key factors to be addressed and implemented in order to achieve this aspiration, including a call for conscientisation (both the self and the collective), resourcing and support, the removal of barriers to access, community intersectional reflexivity, space for collective Indigenous dreaming, and an ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti justice.

Community intersectional reflexivity!

A Christchurch-based group, PFLP Solidarity Aotearoa, has reinstated its website (https://www.pflpsolidarityaotearoa.net/). It is raising funds for PFLP, a  a terrorist organisation. The PFLP is a designated terrorist organisation in USA (since 1997), Canada, the European Union, and in some other Western democracies (but not in NZ). 

According the website, 100% of the funds deposited into the organisation’s NZ-based Kiwibank bank account go directly to the PFLP (a designated terrorist entity in USA, Canada, EU). 

This is rather ironic. As readers know I was recently in Ukraine and before my trip I did a 12 Euro bank transfer to pay for health insurance in Ukraine. My bank froze the transaction in case it was a breach of international sanctions and it took several e-mails to get it released.

Meanwhile Kiwibank is accepting donations for a known terrorist group. The PFLF (a Marxist-Leninist group) pioneered armed aircraft hijackings in the 1960s. They oppose both the Camp David and Oslo accords and any two state solution. The Canadian Government describes them as:

Formed in 1967, the goals of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a communist government in Palestine. During the 1970s, the group took part in some of the boldest terrorist attacks of the period, such as hijacking three civilian airliners in one day and storming the Vienna headquarters of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In 2000, the PFLP turned increasingly to the use of suicide bombers, guerilla tactics, car bombings, and mortar strikes. The PFLP was also responsible for the first assassination of a cabinet minister in Israel’s history, killing Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001. In 2014, the PFLP claimed responsibility for a November gun and knife attack at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in West Jerusalem that killed 6 people. On June 16, 2017, two coordinated attacks targeting Israeli police officers were carried out near the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s walled old city. In September 2019, the Israeli security forces arrested four PFLP members allegedly responsible for remotely detonating an improvised explosive device in the West Bank that killed an Israeli teenager and seriously wounded two family members.

The US Government notes:

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is a terrorist group based in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It combines Arab nationalism with Marxist-Leninist ideology, viewing the destruction of Israel as integral to the struggle to remove Western capitalism from the Middle East and ultimately establish a Communist Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. 

And this is who Kiwibank is happy to act as an effective banker for!

1 News reports:

The $180 million central city convention centre opened just over a year ago, with Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau saying after it was complete that the building would be “the first step in the rebirth of Wellington”.

But documents released under the Local Government Official Information Act show the Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition and the Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Exhibition failed to meet targets.

The Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition ran from June 3 to October 16, 2023 and featured a range of dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park film series made of Lego.

The documents state that the exhibition had an attendee target of 144,000 but attracted only 92,109.

So they fell short by 36% – now even close. And this means ratepayers will again be the losers.

I have actually attended both the Jurassic World and Marvel exhibitions. It is nice to be able to take the kids to them. But you don’t need a 18,000 square metres convention centre just to host exhibitions – there are other venues.

Tauhu David MITAI-NGATAI is a Third Striker.  He repeatedly sexually assaults women.

He has over 100 criminal convictions as an adult and is believed to be a gang associate.

His daughter has a protection order against him according to the Judge who sentenced him on his Third Strike.

He has been assessed by probation at a high risk of re-offending and a high risk of causing harm to others.

Under the Government’s proposed re-introduction of Three Strikes 2.0, he will be on a clean slate.  His prior strike offences count for nothing, and he is a zero striker.

Just as bad, under the Government’s proposed Three Strikes 2.0, Mr Mitai-Ngatai would not qualify as a Third Striker if he did it all again!

This is because it is proposed that a person would only be a striker if they had been sentenced to more than 24 months imprisonment for all strike offences.

For Mr Mitai-Ngatai’s first strike offence – an indecent assault – he was only sentenced to 1 year and 3 months imprisonment.  For his second strike offence – another indecent assault – he was sentenced to 1 year and 1 month imprisonment.

Neither meet the Government’s threshold to be considered a striker AT ALL!

Mental health Minister Matt Doocey announced:

• Faster access to specialist mental health and addiction services:target of 80 percent of people accessing specialist mental health and addiction services are seen within three weeks
• Faster access to primary mental health and addiction services:target of 80 percent of people accessing primary mental health and addiction services through the Access and Choice programme* are seen within one week
• Shorter mental health and addiction-related stays in emergency departments: target of 95 percent of mental health and addiction-related emergency department presentations are admitted, discharged, or transferred from an emergency department within six hours
• Increased mental health and addiction workforce development:target of training 500 mental health and addiction professionals each year
• Strengthened focus on prevention and early intervention: target of 25 percent of mental health and addiction investment is allocated towards prevention and early intervention

Annoyingly it is hard to locate what the current data is, so it is hard to assess how much of an improvement achieving these will be. But again good to see a Government commit to improved outcomes and outputs.

On the basis of the report into Darleen Tana, the Green Party have excluded Tana from their caucus and asked her to resign as an MP. So far she has not, so she is now an Independent MP.

I will give credit to Chloe Swarbrick who was very good at the press conference making it clear how unacceptable Tana’s behaviour had been, and how the whole investigation wouldn’t have been needed if Tana had been truthful to then.

If Tana refuses to resign (as is likely), then the Greens will need to decide whether to use the wake jumping law to expel her from Parliament.

The NY Times reports:

President Biden told a gathering of Democratic governors that he needs to get more sleep and work fewer hours, including curtailing events after 8 p.m., according to two people who participated in the meeting and several others briefed on his comments. …

Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said of the president’s comments about more sleep and less late work: “President Bush went to bed at 9, and President Obama made dinner at 6:30. Normal presidents strike a balance, and so does Joe Biden. 

President Bush would get up at 5 am and be working before 7 am. It is because of that he would usually go to bed by 9 pm.

Obama did always do dinner at 6.30, but would often work through until 2 am.

Bill Clinton was known to ring cabinet members after 1 am.

These are not the same as someone whose own staff say he is only good for six hours a day.

This is Ranapera Taumata.

His three strikes are:

• 1st: aggravated robbery – he was sentenced to 8 months home detention
• 2nd: robbery (which he committed while on prison release conditions) – he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.
• 3rd: murdered his girlfriend in 2019 by beating her to death with his bare hands.

Now what the Government’s new Three Strikes law does is firstly wipe all three of his strikes. Yep he is back to zero strikes. Unbelievable.

But even worse is this new law means he would have even got a first or second strike. As both got sentences of under 24 months, he would not have even got strikes for them. So his murder conviction would be a first strike, not a third strike.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said:

Mayor Tory Whanau says: “Pōneke is going through a huge transformation at the moment – and all the work we are doing now is setting the city up for generations to come.

“This survey will continue to help Wellington City Council make informed decisions about what residents want and need.

“It’s such a great sign that people are increasingly finding it easier to get around the city using public transport and cycleways, and that they are satisfied with our community facilities that serve so many Wellingtonians.

Here’s the actual data, and the changes:

• Wellington’s city centre is lively and attractive 37% (-51% from 2017)
• I feel a sense of pride in the way Wellington looks and feels 50% (-35% from 2017)
• 20% satisfied with the process by which Council makes decisions
• Overall Council satisfaction 29% and dissatisfaction 56%
• Feeling safer in CBD after dark 43% (-33% from 2019)

Only 1 in 3 think the city centre is attractive, and it used to be almost 9 in 10. Most Wellingtonians do not feel safe in the CBD after dark, and it used to be 4 in 3 did feel safe.

Those who want Joe Biden to stay in:

• Donald Trumo
• Donald Trump Jr
• Eric Trump
• Lara Trump
• Hunter Biden

Those who want Joe Biden to drop out:

• NY Times Editorial Board
• Nate Silver
• New Yorker
• The Economist
• Chicago Tribune
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Nicholas Kristof
• Thomas Friedman
• Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) 
• Rep Seth Moulton (D-Mas)
• Rep Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
• Former congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)
• Former housing secretary Julián Castro
• Former DNC vice chair R.T. Rybak
• Former senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
• Billionaires Christy Walton, Michael Novogratz and Reed Hastings
• Paul Krugman
• David Ignatius
• Joe Scarborough
• James Carville
• Andrew Yang