File photo (Getty Images)
File photo (Getty Images)

The BulletinSeptember 9, 2020

The Bulletin: Culture change and the new sexuality education guidelines

Staff Writer
File photo (Getty Images)
File photo (Getty Images)

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New sexuality and relationship education guidelines announced, things happen and announcements made on campaign trail, and reason for massive health funding shortfall in South Auckland revealed.

New guidelines for sexuality and relationships education in schools have been released, with the aim of making them more inclusive places. It’s an area of culture that has changed a lot over recent decades, and the strong impression given by these changes is that the education system is now catching up with that. An in-depth report on internal affairs minister Tracey Martin’s announcement of the changes was put together by Stuff’s Laura Wiltshire. I feel comfortable making that point above about culture change, because the announcement took place at Onslow College. That’s a Wellington school in which the students quoted in the piece speak completely differently and seemingly have very different attitudes to how I remember the school I left a bit over a decade ago – even if it was widely considered a liberal school then too.

The main theme of the changes is that they’re aimed around teaching kids how to have healthy relationships, says Martin. The Onslow principal quoted in the story also said it would give schools “a mandate to have conversations about diversity and inclusiveness at school, and within school communities.”Family Planning put out a release saying the new education guidelines are welcome, but nationally consistent implementation was now needed – something that hasn’t necessarily happened with sexuality education in the past. “My worry is that it’s close to 20 years since we first developed guidelines and we’ve had no meaningful change since then. The guidelines alone won’t deliver the fundamental change we need – we’re going to need more from the Ministry to support schools to deliver this work,” said chief executive Jackie Edmond.

Some changes will be controversial. I don’t mean that in the sense they’re the wrong thing to do – rather in the literal sense that there will be noise generated around them. Without wanting to do the job of talkback producers around the country, the headline on this NZ Herald article – “Schools have been told to let students choose their own gender identities and names” – would probably get the phones ringing. Some on the more socially conservative edge of politics see this sort of thing as a form of social engineering – I have been in plenty of public meetings where it is described in the terms of being a top down ideological project, aimed at shaping the next generation away from values held by their parents. But again, I’d come back to the point up the top of this Bulletin – the changes appear to reflect a shift in culture that has already taken place on the ground, rather than the other way around.

We got a whole lot of the usual campaign announcement sort of stuff yesterday (I’m going to write this a lot over the coming weeks) and you can read all about it on our live updates. Among the top-line announcements: Labour intend to extend the small business cashflow scheme and took aim at paywave costs for their small business policy, National has promised funding to upgrade Hawke’s Bay hospital, along with the repeal of some of the more pro-renter recent changes to tenancy law, and NZ First has promised more support for prisoner rehabilitation. Keep your eyes peeled today for a biggie – Labour will be making an ‘economic announcement’ at 11am today, which is probably going to be their long-awaited tax policy.

Successive censuses worth of population undercounting have resulted in South Auckland DHB having a massive funding shortfall, reports Justin Latif. The story is a deep analysis of how funding decisions work, and how that then impacts on facilities that are on the wrong end of such calls. In total it is estimated that the shortfall is about $300 million over 10 years, in an area where there is already high need for health services.

Data from the ministry of social development shows that Māori and Pasifika people are getting less in disability allowances on average than Pākehā. Radio NZ’s Sarah Robson reports that the process for accessing it is described as “onerous”, and requires a lot of hoops for applicants to jump through, even if they qualify for the entitlements. Pacific disability advocate Kramer Hoeflich said it’s not surprising, with many in the community unsure how to go about getting the support they need.

Further accusations have been made about a culture of sexism, bullying and harassment at Weta Digital, reports Kristin Hall for One News. Eight current or former workers have now spoken out, and several have now spoken out about the existence of pornographic mailing lists that were sent around the office. A quote that sums it up: “They work people until they burn out or quit. The culture is a mixture of boys club mentality, bullying gone wild and casual sexism … I wouldn’t recommend anyone work there.”

Good news for the diminishing share of the population who already own houses: Bank economists are predicting big price rises over 2021, reports Greg Ninness for Interest. The current low interest rates are seen as good for both owner occupiers, and for property investors. There is however a warning for those who are heavily indebted – the currently very low interest rates might not last for longer than a few years, meaning there could be a crunch down the line. Meanwhile, in the shorter term there is the prospect of negative interest rates – Business Desk’s (paywalled) Rebecca Howard has explained what that would mean, and why it might put even more fuel on the fire.

I’m once again asking for your event recommendations for the election campaign: Now that it’s back on again, I’m heading out in the Jucy van to chat to people and see the politicians do their thing in the regions. If you’ve got event suggestions or public meetings going on, I’d love to hear about them – email thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Drop us a line at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz

Image: Tina Tiller

Right now on The Spinoff:Duncan Greive reports on the awkwardly large profits being announced by many companies right now, after they took the wage subsidy. Jihee Junn reports on criticism from Consumer NZ for milk brand Lewis Road Creamery after jumping on the collagen craze. Nina Hall writes about the need for New Zealand to reinvigorate its approach to foreign affairs in the post-Covid world. Geoff Simmons criticises a change in the TVNZ minor party debate rules that still exclude The Opportunities Party. Gareth Shute maps the important Auckland music venues of the 80s. Madeleine Chapman returns with another week of important news told through memes.

The news of the coup in Mali was only briefly marked in The Bulletin, so for a feature today it’s worth sharing this piece about the aftermath. Despite some half hearted noises of opposition, it has largely been allowed to stand – maybe for good reason, maybe not, I’m not an expert on the politics of the country. What this piece on the IPI Global Observatory does is set out well how international observers respond to coups, and why some are basically allowed to proceed unhindered. Here’s a typically pointy excerpt:

There have been hints that a hard rejection of the CNSP would have been conceivable, but at the cost of substantial harm to ordinary Malians. ECOWAS has imposed serious restrictions on the Malian economy, but the Central Bank of West African States could have gone even further in cutting off the money supply and triggering economic pain that might have forced the CNSP out of power. Additionally, the US could have immediately declared the takeover a coup in the legal sense and begun cutting off aid. And France and ECOWAS could have declared that no negotiations were possible with an illegal authority. All these paths would have had pitfalls and consequences, but the point is that Western and regional powers’ soft acceptance of the CNSP was not the only possible choice.

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The question remains whether soft acceptance is ultimately good. What seems most problematic is the lack of imagination, introspection, and self-criticism on the part of Western powers as well as Malian elites. If the only truly negotiable element of Malian politics now is who rules and for how long, rather than the utility of the foreign presence or the Algiers Accord or the Constitution of 1992, then what many observers are predicting—namely, that Mali will remain stuck in a cycle—appears justified.

In sport, some bold optimism from the International Olympic Committee: The Japan Times reports they are vowing to go ahead with the 2021 games in Tokyo regardless of the situation with Covid – in fact going so far as to say they will be “the light at the end of the tunnel” and the “games that conquered COVID”. Just one in four Japanese people currently back the games going ahead next year, which seems like a fairly significant problem.

That’s it for The Bulletin. If you want to support the work we do at The Spinoff, please check out our membership programme

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Matariki: written in the stars
Matariki: written in the stars

The BulletinSeptember 8, 2020

The Bulletin: Ardern shoots for the stars as the campaign corpse reanimates

Editor-at-large
Matariki: written in the stars
Matariki: written in the stars

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Today: Jacinda Ardern promises a new holiday, Winston Peters’ uphill challenge, and New Zealand’s biggest privately owned broadcaster has been snapped up by the Discovery Channel.

The discombobulating 2020 campaign lurched back into action yesterday, with leaders scattered about the country. Judith Collins is in Hawkes Bay, where she announced the National Party policy to tackle meth addictions. Jacinda Ardern is basing herself for most of the week in an unlikely campaign hub: Morrinsville. Yesterday she shuttled to Rotorua to offer some stardust – almost literally – in the form of a pledge to introduce a new public holiday for Matariki. It wouldn’t, however, be introduced until 2022.

You know you’re in a campaign proper when the press releases fly like an asteroid field. As Stewart Sowman-Lund surveyed in yesterday’s Election Live, the Greens said thanks for coming around to our way of thinking and the rest said an economic crisis is no time to add a holiday. A quick tour of the subject headers. “Greens pleased with Labour’s support for Matariki Day.” National: “Labour’s economic plan – another public holiday.” NZ First: “Additional public holiday unneeded” (no mention of the word “Matariki” in theirs). And Act: “Jacinda Ardern is in la la land.”

Ardern would be delighted at the dissenters, reckoned NZ Herald political editor Audrey Young. “The more that Labour can typecast its campaign as positive, and the rest as the knockers the better.”

A couple of reads from the back catalogue on the tide that has made a Matariki public holiday so likely: Laura O’Connell Rapira wrote in July about “how Jacinda Ardern could make Matariki this generation’s ‘Māori Language Act moment’”. And Alex Braae, a couple of years ago, “A public holiday for Matariki is inevitable”.

Compare the main parties’ policies on Matariki, and just about everything else, on the country’s only truly credible comparison tool, Policy, here.

The Winston Peters battlebus swung into Dunedin yesterday, with visits to the Octagon, Otago University and, of course, Mosgiel. The NZ First leader, a scarfie at heart, played a little table tennis on campus, and got snapped hooning a cheeky durry.

His task this election is as steep as Baldwin Street, however. Writing on The Spinoff this morning, Ben Thomas considers NZ First’s plight. Alighting on the lack of a coherent strategy, and that incendiary interview on Q+A on Sunday, he concludes: “Never write off Winston Peters, the saying goes, echoing through the ages. But against the ropes, it’s hard to see which of his traditional reserves the veteran can draw on in the month before polling begins.”

He’s not rolling over, mind you. Peters told RNZ’s Jo Moir in Dunedin that he could make inroads despite the limitations on gathering sizes. “No one is out there going to all the small parts of this country and by the time they wake up the campaign will be over,” he said, while openly questioning why the government of which he is a part had the South Island still in level two.

Richard Harman is also with Peters on the trail. Of NZ First, he writes this morning on Politik: “Their strategy is obviously to hope that the polls will show a Labour-Greens government is inevitable and that the electorate will turn to them as the handbrake. But they might feel more confident if their leader could hold a rally or two.”

A big, appreciative shout out to Spinoff Members. Honestly, without the support of Spinoff Members we’d be a sliver, if that, of what we are today. If you’re not already signed up and you’re able to, please consider joining. Donations from Spinoff Members make it possible for us to focus on meaningful, unflinching and resource-demanding journalism. Whether it’s Covid, or the misinformation peril, or the stories that you just won’t see elsewhere, Member contributions are mission critical. Plus: a tea towel to lift your mood and dry your dishes. Have a look here.

For the first time since the 2016 exit of Mark Weldon, there were reports of lunchtime champagne corks popping at Mediaworks’ Flower Street base yesterday, upon news that the long rumoured sale of the financially troubled broadcaster to the US giant Discovery was all but a done deal.

“It brings to an end a saga that has run for nearly a year, since news broke the channel was for sale, and in some ways since at least the Mark Weldon era – when TV3 began a period of rapid transformation that saw some of its most popular stars leave and its public-facing emphasis shift from news, local drama and comedy towards multi-night locally made reality TV,” writes the Spinoff’s Duncan Greive, who spoke to senior figures at MediaWorks and Discovery yesterday to find out what it means for NZ’s largest private broadcaster.

“Discovery is essentially backing itself to take the long-term loss-making TV business and turn it around, presumably by filling out much of the schedule with content it already owns and creates elsewhere, and is therefore low-to-no cost.”

The biggest immediate relief for people who care about news and New Zealand content, which almost certainly means you, is this: “What it has said it will not do is abandon its commitment to news, or to local productions … According to [outgoing MediaWorks CEO] Michael Anderson, Discovery ‘has been very clear about the value of news’ throughout the process, [saying] news was core to the brand’s value.”

Duncan’s unhealthy fixation with the machinations of the media business is medicated in the form of a podcast called The Fold. The most recent episode, exploring the latest NZ on Air report into the national media audience, has no guests; it’s just Duncan, on his own. One day, when the flames of the media crisis reduce the Spinoff to a pile of ashes, the only thing left will be Duncan, talking alone, animatedly and at length, into a microphone about the media. Anyway, though it pains me to say it, it’s extremely good. Listen here.

New rules that require decent heating and insulation of rental properties kick in next year, but given the National Party has suggested they might repeal them, landlords might want to hold off for now. That’s the advice from Andrew King of the NZ Property Investors Federation, as reported by the NZ Herald.

His argument: some tenants would rather pay less than have a heat pump. Which may be true. But as Hayden Donnell argues in The Spinoff this morning, that’s a pretty horrifying equation. “The reality is, many of our most vulnerable people don’t actually get to choose where they live. They don’t get to pick between a nice, warm house and a cold garage,” he writes. “They’d all like a heat pump. They’d all like ventilation and insulation. They just don’t get any of that if it’s not legally required. The only choice they’re offered is between accepting dire living conditions, and possible sickness, and being forced onto the street or into their cars, which is really no choice at all.”

The long-running battle between a Christchurch couple and Southern Response has inched closer to closure with the Court of Appeal largely dismissing the state-owned insurer’s appeal against a ruling that it was guilty of misleading and deceptive behaviour in its dealings with Karl and Alison Dodds, whose home was written off after the 2011 earthquake.

The case centres on the Dodds’ claim that they had been deceived into agreeing to a cash offer from the insurer, which had failed to disclose another estimate to repair their home. The Dodds’s lawyer, Peter Woods, told RNZ: “The Court of Appeal was absolutely clear Southern Response had made representations that were false, that the Dodds had relied on those, they were induced to enter into an agreement based on those misrepresentations, that the misrepresentations were also misleading and deceptive, and the Dodds were entitled to almost their full claim, so it totals up to about $250,000.”

Why is the case so important? John Campbell, who has pursued the story across roles at Three, RNZ and now TVNZ, laid it all out in a longread last year.

A happy blizzard of new reading on The Spinoff: Gwen Isaac on making a film about Siouxsie Wiles at the peak of the first Covid outbreak in NZ. Alex Braae on what can Facebook comments tell us about the official NZ Covid-19 response. Paul Spoonley on what the sudden end of immigration means. Annie Te One explains what’s up with Māori seats on councils. Sam Brooks reviews the new Charlie Kaufman film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. And Tara Ward with all you need to know about the return of The Farmer Wants a Wife.

To finish: I fear it might be breaching an ancient Spinoff dictum, but I nevertheless recommend to you … a Twitter thread. Marc Daalder, who has proved himself one of New Zealand’s most thorough and insightful journalists across the Covid crisis, has picked apart the arguments put forward by Simon Thornley (skipper of the sloop Plan B, who you may have seen often and just about everywhere complaining that he never gets any coverage). On Sunday, Thornley was on Q+A, reading a statement from a sheet of paper, and speaking up for the Swedish approach. Marc’s calm dismantling of it all begins here.