Posts by Hilary Stace
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hard News: Budget 2018: The final tick, in reply to Russell Brown,
They bickered a bit about which select committee to send it to but I wasn't sure what that was about. National Party MPs emphasised that they were not in favour of state funding of political parties but that this fund was OK.
-
If you watch Parliamentary TV on Freeview 31 you will also get NZ Sign Language interpretation - a significant first.
Incidentally, yesterday some of us were in Parliament to observe the first reading of the Election Access Fund Bill which was introduced by Chloe Swarbrick but was developed by former Green MP Mojo Mathers. It would create a fund for the additional expenses disabled people might require to stand as candidates (such as interpreters, transport, technology etc). Several MPs from across the House spoke in favour, some even passionately. No one spoke against it and it was sent to a select committee. It was great to see Parliament working cooperatively like this.
-
Hard News: A handful of deeply precious…, in reply to ,
It is not so much the hospice situation that MC is needed as for those living with cancer. It seems it helps relieve chemotherapy induced nausea without noticeable side-effects for adults and children, and helps with pain, eating, sleeping and anxiety. Living with and recovering from cancer can take a long time, and lots of treatment. Far fewer people will have terminal cancer and their hospice experience will be relatively short. Stronger painkillers than MC can then be used.
-
Hard News: A handful of deeply precious…, in reply to Russell Brown,
Of course they still have to persuade a majority of the other MPs who haven't heard all that personal testimony.
-
I wish they had displayed a public list of people making submissions that day as there were many I would have liked to hear and support. It was quite social in the corridor outside the two rooms at times (and did you notice the fabulous art including two McCahons?).
I gave mine earlier in the day to the committee which included two GPs. The impression I got was that liberalisation - including for chronic conditions - was a given but they were particularly interested in practical aspects such as the best way to regulate, how to keep THC levels low, effects on children and what types of MC people were already using. One woman said she found the balm recipe on Youtube and MC was particularly effective when going through the skin.
My particular interest in the potential of CBD for calming autism anxiety and behaviours including for children and young people. This is a new research field but already looks promising. I would really like NZ to do some research on this and other MC trials. We have good ethical frameworks around research with so called vulnerable populations such as children and could do something really significant.
-
There is a fascinating series on the 1970s on Prime TV at the moment. It's actually only about the US in the 1970s and a bit later. There is a lot about American politics. It has been interesting to watch the very slow fall of Nixon (he won a landslide election when the allegations were just starting), and then Ford had to suddenly take over and try and smooth everything. The US didn't appreciate they had possibly their best president ever in Jimmy Carter as the media and Republicans constantly attacked him, and then Reagan got elected saying he was going to 'make America great again'. So is it all just cyclic or is something quite different happening now?
-
Hard News: Big Night Outage, in reply to Nick Russell,
A little bit of a gale and the lights on my road go out - this happens quite regularly and it usually takes a few days to fix them. But not power generally. Can't remember the last power outage in Wellington but it would have been since the Wahine storm (which at three days was the longest I can recall experiencing).
-
Legal Beagle: Voting disqualifications (updated), in reply to Ben Austin,
I remember it as I was there at the time but I'm not sure whether any of this has been formally written up. There have been pieces written about Martyn Finlay as he was a long time Labour Party social justice activist and made a significant contribution to the Kirk Government's reforms.
-
Thank you Paul. Hopefully Stephen Hawking will be quoted and remembered for a long time. I particularly like the comments on special schools and diversity.
-
The Holyoake/Marshall Government arrested people and put them in prison just so they couldn't vote in marginal seats. This happened in 1972 in Wellington Central when people could be jailed for protesting against compulsory military training, and the seat was narrowly won by National.
It took Martyn Finlay to bring some rights and real justice into the system (and of course Kirk got rid of CMT an lowered the voting age). Finlay's reforms were later overturned by another National Government. I see Andrew Little as a potential Finlay so I think Arthur Taylor will win this but maybe by legislation rather than through the court. None of your groups listed will be denied the vote.