Media taken to task over Luxon’s te reo lessons
In the absence of any quality opposition from across the House, it seems that the media are taking it upon themselves to drive opposition to the new government.
An example is the RNZ item in most mainstream media, including the ODT, (19.12.23) entitled "Luxon’s te reo lessons paid for by taxpayer".
The article berates the PM for legitimately using money (while in Opposition) from a fund set up for support and training of the Leader of the Opposition by comparing it with his criticism of bonuses paid to public servants to incentivise them to learn te reo.
Many readers might have thought it quite laudable that he chose to use the funds in this way when he could have chosen anything else, but not the main media who have decided it was seriously hypocritical.
Nowhere in the article is there any mention of it being raised by the opposition (they apparently only picked up on it in the House on Tuesday, after it was published), so this seems to be a case of the media helping the opposition along a bit.
Messiah needed
Ongoing divisive drivel from Metiria Stanton Turei (ODT 15.12.23), taking the coalition to task for more perceived insults to Māoridom and a pathetic assertion that the three musketeers are "drunk with power".
After the decisive defeat of the unlamented Labour government I’d thought that the grievance purveyors might have gone into merciful recess. Fat chance.
The electoral drubbing of Labour was clear proof that Kiwis had had, amongst other concerns, enough of this cultural nonsense being jammed down their throats on a daily basis. It achieved nothing and was an unwelcome distraction from the real problems facing New Zealand.
Māoridom needs a Messiah to heal these unnecessary wounds and to rid the country of the rabid stirrers whose negative policies have caused such division . Bringing everyone together again will be the focus.
Ferry furore
If there is a more poor/stupid decision being made by our new government, I find it hard to find. For commercial, public and tourist travel between our two main islands, the ferry service is a must. The Interislander service has already had mighty struggles during the past couple of years keeping our ageing ferries in service, with multiple mechanical problems, and all nearing their use-by dates.
It is so obvious that we, as a nation, will need new vessels to provide the needed services for Cook Strait. It is an integral part of our roading needs on so many levels. It really makes me wonder if this new government has a clue about anything.
Is this real life?
Christopher Luxon was reported by various media as having stated "In the real world . . . people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves." Given that his te reo lessons were paid for by taxpayers it would seem that he has confirmed that he really doesn't live in the real world.
Flipping polarities
Joe Bennett's observations (ODT 21.12.23) that the sun's magnetic field reverses its polarity every 10.7 years, reminded me of something else. The polarity of Earth’s magnetic field also flips periodically but on a much more extended time-scale. Research into that phenomenon in the 1960s by a group of students came up with data which simply did not add up. The only way to reconcile the figures had been to proceed on an assumption that it was surrounding land masses themselves which were on the move; a fact that had seen former vague assumptions of "continental drift'’ consolidated into today's science of plate tectonics.
On the matter of the sun's on-going process of nuclear activity something we tend to overlook is that as an inheritance from our sun, our own planet is kept at a relatively stable temperature by a similar nuclear fusion continually taking place in the Earth's molten mantle beneath our feet. It is a balance of that "central heating’' assisted by the warmth from the sun acting on the surface, which makes our planet habitable. That makes something of an anomaly of our "nuclear free’' posturing.
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