Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 7h

Yes, not convinced of that either. And as you say there are lots of options!

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 7h

Hopefully astronomical bills (rent, housing prices, food prices, electricity prices) are a pillar of Labour’s election platform due out shortly - there has to be some movement here if they want anyone to actually reach retirement with any kind of good health or actual savings 🫠

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 19h

Contact Energy prices are rising AGAIN.
This feels particularly despicable when so many people barely got through winter this year with astronomical electricity bills - and because it was recently reported their full year net profit is up 41% to more than $331 million, & underlying profit is $774m.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 7h

100% - honestly if solutions like this aren’t part of Labour’s platform shortly I don’t know what we’re doing 🫠

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Mark @maetl.bsky.social · 15h

If any journos or researchers want a big story, see if you can dig out any information on the increases in power bills for large institutions (hospitals, universities, etc). What you find may shock you. This scale of profit extraction combined with govt austerity is directly eroding our economy.

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 19h

Contact Energy prices are rising AGAIN.
This feels particularly despicable when so many people barely got through winter this year with astronomical electricity bills - and because it was recently reported their full year net profit is up 41% to more than $331 million, & underlying profit is $774m.

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Reposted by Hayley

Kent Duston @kentduston.bsky.social · 18h

At the 2026 election it will be worth remembering that National did nothing about excessive power company or supermarket or bank profits, despite all the rhetoric about being focused on the cost of living

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 19h

Contact Energy prices are rising AGAIN.
This feels particularly despicable when so many people barely got through winter this year with astronomical electricity bills - and because it was recently reported their full year net profit is up 41% to more than $331 million, & underlying profit is $774m.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 17h

Absolutely - it shouldn’t be this abysmally hard to have a warm, dry home in New Zealand.

We’re all battling to survive while these companies are experiencing record profits - something is very deeply wrong.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 19h

Contact Energy prices are rising AGAIN.
This feels particularly despicable when so many people barely got through winter this year with astronomical electricity bills - and because it was recently reported their full year net profit is up 41% to more than $331 million, & underlying profit is $774m.

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Reposted by Hayley

Stephanie... In New Zealand @bootstheory.bsky.social · 3d

"We dismantled all the social support structures and then people sought out the only social support structures available, this is a mystery" - Mark Mitchell, apparently

Mountain Tui @mountaintui.bsky.social · 3d

Gang numbers reach record highs under National - but could be even higher, as police can no longer easily identify members.
Meanwhile gang profits double too. Too bad most Kiwis will never realise in the absence of right wing media dominance & not enough funding on the other side #nzpol #kiwi

Police Minister says record high gang numbers "highly concerning" July 29 1News article

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 3d

"They missed the whole point - there's something fundamentally wrong with this behaviour, we actually felt it was no longer safe to send her to the school."

When this kind of deeply unsafe & toxic behaviour is normalised at the highest political levels it’s absolutely no wonder this is the culture.

Byron C Clark @byroncclark.bsky.social · 3d

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

13 year old girl changes schools due to misogynistic bullying in class | RNZ News

The teen says the behaviour of some of the boys at school was racist, homophobic and sometimes explicitly sexual.

www.rnz.co.nz

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NinjaKitty 忍者キティ🥷🐈‍⬛ @ninjakitty.bsky.social · 4d

The Family Boost policy was always designed to have the least amount of eligible people accessing it #nzpol

henry cooke @henrycooke.bsky.social · 4d

Amelia Wade dives into the Family Boost policy, which was designed in a hurry using guesswork, and is now so complex one Kindergarten has hired a staffer explicitly to help parents navigate it:

www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

Families miss out on FamilyBoost after being caught by quarterly income rule

Parents hoping to claim childcare rebates have been rejected because their quarterly incomes are too high ‒ despite being told it was based on what their households earned yearly.

www.thepost.co.nz

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Reposted by Hayley

♿ hiding from plagues - Always masked - N95 or bust @smollestbunny2.bsky.social · 5d

They and other outlets keep doing this with important information. If someone has access to their full stories without the paywall, please upload it to wayback machine and post the link

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Putting up barriers to access a public good is an incredibly unethical decision by Stuff.
Apart from valid questions about use of data & complete lack of choice given to consumers about signing up, there’s a data literacy component which means people may not get vital info (emergencies, elections) 🫠

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Yep 🫠🫠🫠

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

This too 👇👇👇

Kieran @nug.monster · 5d

Also, the only way it "helps fund journalism" is if they're also selling your data.

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Especially in these times, we should be wary when access to public good services is restricted.
Journalism is vital and there is absolutely a funding crisis in play in a world full of bad actors, but imo a decision like this makes things worse in a landscape where the removal of choice is a tactic.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Putting up barriers to access a public good is an incredibly unethical decision by Stuff.
Apart from valid questions about use of data & complete lack of choice given to consumers about signing up, there’s a data literacy component which means people may not get vital info (emergencies, elections) 🫠

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Yes, that too for sure 🫠

Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

This is the kind of approach we should also be wary of as national election platforms are firmed up shortly.

David Clegg @delphijunkie.bsky.social · 5d

It still saddens me to my core that so many of us are OK with asking the majority if the minority should have a voice. Talk about stacking the deck. #nzpol

Nandor Tanczos @nandortanczos.bsky.social · 5d

MĀORI WARDS
40% of areas chose to keep Māori wards. Some by a wide margin.

A better result than I expected, given the demographics and embedded racism in our country.

In areas that lost, I'd love to know whether the numbers have improved since any previous referendum.

Aotearoa on the move.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

For sure! Hopefully Stuff reconsider their all or nothing stance.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Not everyone has an email address to sign up with, or a smartphone to remember passwords. I know people who know how to access Stuff but will now be excluded from accessing content for these reasons. There’s no choice for consumers to opt out - “give us your data to access a public good” seems fine🫠

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 5d

Digital literacy challenges affect one third of Aotearoa - not cool that Stuff are doing this.
What happens in an emergency?
What happens with information about elections?(🫠)
There’s something deeply broken about the way we value journalism but imo restricting access isn’t the way to solve that.

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Paul_BarlowNZ @paulbarlownz.bsky.social · 5d

6) the same people who vote in this election every time clearly did so again this year and low turnout got them what they wanted.
7) 9 elected Act candidates is 9 too many
8) if the left don’t mobilise, next year is going to be a shitstorm
9) the whole local government system needs an overhaul:

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Paul_BarlowNZ @paulbarlownz.bsky.social · 5d

Ok after an afternoon of results, texts, calls, messages on other apps and emails, I have some thoughts on today’s Local Election results

1) Voter turnout is depressing. 32%ish on average across AoNZ is pathetic.
2) The Māori Wards referendum should never have happened - it was a racebaiting farce…

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emily moonlight @threnody.bsky.social · 5d

it would probably be sorta hard for just anyone to do it *this well* because it requires you to actually be normal about trans people, but still it feels important to state for the record that WE ARE NOT HARD TO STAND UP FOR AND ANY OF THEM COULD DO IT.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 5d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · 6d

I remember when asset sales were gonna lead to mum and dad shareholders and now we just have mum and dad paying $500 power bills in the winter. The right wing ideology is a scam. It’s a pyramid scheme. It’s useless. It improves nothing.

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Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 6d

“How does one boycott and strike in a country where the government wants the economy to collapse?”

An excellent question, and relevant for countries beyond the US.

(cc New Zealand 🫠)

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · 6d

New Q & A answers are up! Readers sent in thoughtful questions on city raids, digital surveillance, the disappearing internet, and much more: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/panopticon...

PanoptiCon Artists: Your Questions Answered

On digital surveillance, ICE city raids, the need for new parties, and more.

sarahkendzior.substack.com

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