Notes from the CATA Conference: keynote address by Stella O’Malley
The Child and Adolescent Therapists Association hosted a conference recently on children, adolescents and gender identity.
Social issues
health
Was This The Change We Needed?
Crises that profoundly test a small developed state like New Zealand have required huge growth in state strength and policy power. But was it the change we needed?
Should therapists and counsellors speak about the medicalisation of gender non-conforming children?
Is there a connection between the closure of the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service in the UK, and a conference being held 12,000 miles away in Nelson, Aotearoa?
Chris Bishop supports AND opposes vaccine mandates
Remember when National’s Chris Bishop thought that Labour was not being staunch enough of mandates? He now thinks that Labour is being too staunch.
Wear your #$%^& mask properly
Although we still compare favourably to the vast majority of Western nations in terms of our Covid response our performance has been eclipsed by Japan and Singapore, two nations which strong mask mandates and cultural norms supporting the wearing of masks.
Luxon is still struggling to understand Mask rules
During January of this year Christopher Luxon described the traffic light system as confusing. This week he described it as “very, very confusing”. It is of concern that he appears not to have learned about what the rules require in the meantime.
Complaint about RNZ use of Bryce Edwards article upheld
The Media Council has upheld a complaint against a Bryce Edwards article published on RNZ’s website that incorrectly stated that Labour went into the 2020 election promising to break up the supermarket duopoly and bring down the cost of food and that the policy was essentially dead when the policy only promised to conduct a market study using the Commerce Commission.
Covid – time for red?
With a second wave of Covid infections starting and with new potentially more serious variants emerging it may be time for the Government to consider a return to the Covid red setting.
Luxon has been Susied on National Radio
This morning on Morning Report Christopher Luxon was well and truly Susied as Susie Ferguson asked him how can we have tax cuts yet improved public services.
National’s policies don’t add up
In 21 tweets Clint Smith has set out why National’s tax cut policies and its rhetoric are absurd and how the media is doing us a disservice by not asking the hard questions like what will be cut and how the promised tax cuts will be paid for.
What If Roe v Wade is Really Reversed?
It is no mere hypothetical to inquire whether States, as soon as the reversal of Roe v Wade is confirmed, start to aggressively go after kinds of contraception.
Paula Bennett’s rewriting of Pharmac history
Paula Bennett has forgotten history by advocating for a significant increase in spending on Pharmac while at the same time forgetting that under the National Government she was a senior member of Pharmac’s funding stagnated.
What Can Be Saved?
The tide of this government is running out. There’s 18 months left in the term. What would you save?
UK government signals urgent inquiry into overmedicalisation of gender non-conforming children
This is a medical scandal affecting children and teens, and the left is still largely in denial of it.
RNZ’s weird take on MIQ
RNZ’s recent shock horror reporting on a memo from November 2021 proposing a wind back of MIQ is severely deficient. The framing is one sided and ignores the subsequent emergence of Omicron as a variant of concern.
The battle lines for the next election
Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines. And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.
Why trust in the media is declining
A recent study into New Zealand’s media suggests that trust in what the media says is declining and that views of what is good and bad media is more and more dependent on the participant’s world view.
Go well Ashley Bloomfield
With a sense of regret for many of us this week Ashley Bloomfield announced his pending resignation as Director General of Health.
Why in the middle of a pandemic an immediate change to Orange is magical thinking
National’s friends are in unison complaining that the Government should be announcing now when we will be back into Orange. But our exemplary performance compared to other nations suggests strongly that the Government should continue to respect the medical advice it is receiving.
Covid and political capital
Jacinda Ardern has burned significant political capital on dealing with Covid. But it is something that a responsible Political leader, of which there are few, would do.
Can This Government Be Saved?
Can Labour win a third term? Here are some pathways up, and some pathways down.
Government announces significant changes to traffic light settings and mandates
The Government has announced changes to Covid policies relating to traffic light settings and mandates.
National’s politicisation of Covid over the past two years
A slightly deeper review of National’s response to the Covid epidemic over the past two years. The overwhelming impression is that they have always complained about supposed Government incompetence in handling the pandemic and have always argued for the loosening of restrictions no matter how justifiable.
Why Sweden is changing its gender transition policy for children and young people
In the last couple of weeks, Sweden has joined a small, but growing number of countries that have changed their policies regarding medical gender transition for children.
Convoy protest aftermath 5/3/22
A general discussion post.
Real protestors do not burn kids playgrounds
Wellington protestors recent activities in torching a 100 year old Pohutukawa, burning a kid’s playground and threatening to occupy Wainuiomata Marae suggests they are being given PR advice by Vladimir Putin.
Convoy protest aftermath 4/3/22
A general discussion post.
Convoy protest 3/3/22
A general discussion post.
Convoy protest 2/3/22
A general discussion post.
Two years of living dangerously
Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the first Covid case in New Zealand. What a time it has been.
Convoy protest 29/2/22
A general discussion post.
Convoy protest 28/2/22
A general discussion post.
Don’t give up New Zealand: omicron, vaccination protection, and why it’s the wrong time to ‘let it rip’
Act as if you have Covid, and look to protect others around you – Ashley Bloomfield
New research shows vaccination protects against omicron. Along with all our other tools – what we do now matters.
This is the knife edge for New Zealand: do we lapse into neoliberal “I’m ok Jack”, and not worry about others? Or do we step up and act collectively to protect us all?
Convoy protest 27/2/22
A general discussion post.
The difference between the Wellington protests and the pro Ukraine protests in Russia
Currently in this world there are two significant protests occurring, both similar but at the same time completely different.
Convoy protest 26/2/22
A general discussion post.