Kaimataara

@kaimataara

History, philosophy and politics through a Māori lens... or whatever my hyperfocus is at the current moment.

477 Siguiendo737 Seguidores1399 Publicaciones

YouTube Bluesky

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Kaimataara@kaimataara· 2d

Christopher Luxon in an egg carton alongside three other eggs

Kaimataara@kaimataara· 3d

*Don't vote for 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴, it will make Bluesky very mad and upset.* Merry Chrismass!

A four-panel collage of New Zealand politicians in formal suits, arranged in a 2-by-2 grid: Christopher Luxon at top left, Chris Hipkins at top right, Chris Bishop at bottom left, and Chris Penk at bottom right.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· 7d

When people look at Māori non voters and say "why don't you get involved in politics, you know it will get involved in you" I tend to look at it the other way. How many people actually know that we actually do vote every 3 years even if we don't vote in local elections or general elections?

Kaimataara@kaimataara· 19d

A meme featuring a suited Chris Hipkins standing on the left against a red and white Labour Party campaign-style background. Large white text on the right reads: "INTENDING TO INTEND TO MOVE FORWARD."

A meme showing a suited Chris Hipkins speaking against a red background. Large white text at the top and bottom reads: "REST ASSURED THIS ELECTION I WILL BE GIVING 110% OF MY UNDIVIDED HESITATION."

Kaimataara@kaimataara· 24d

Harry Holland, the guy who first led NZ Labour to become a major party once said [it's] far better for a Labor Party to remain in a fighting minority and keep to their objective than to become a majority and simply take over the State and then do nothing." Hipkins appears to want to do both. #nzpol

A black-and-white newspaper clipping that reads: "Comrade Holland gave the A.L.P. a good lesson in stating that it was far better for a Labor Party to remain in a fighting minority and keep to their objective than to become a majority and simply take over the State and then do nothing." The clipping is slightly cropped along the edges and shows the aged print of a historical newspaper.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jul 5

Well, all viewpoints except for those of the Greens of course. #nzpol

A chicken crosses the road. Chris Hipkins announces a cross-party working group to determine whether the road was crossed in a way that respects all viewpoints.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 23

There are some on here that say they'll leave the party if Labour go with NZF. That's dandy for them but they don't have as much to lose as we do, particularly those of us who are disabled Māori trans and poor. What feels like a betrayal to those people will feel like the end of the world for us.

Two-panel Drake meme featuring New Zealand opposition leader Chris Hipkins edited in place of Drake. In the top panel, Hipkins turns away and raises a hand in rejection. Text reads: “RULE OUT WORKING WITH NZF IF THEY PUSH THEIR ANTI TRANS POLICIES”. In the bottom panel, Hipkins smiles and points approvingly. Text reads: “RULE OUT WORKING WITH GREENS IF THEY PUSH THEIR WEALTH TAX POLICIES”.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 23

Hell, a lot of us critiquing Hipkins on here were recent Labour supporters, my last vote was for Labour, but Labour and their sycophants want to keep doing the "am I so out of touch" meme instead of actually LISTENING to anyone. The only upside about Hipkins is his betrayal in 23 pushed me left.

A three-panel Wojak meme. In the first panel, a stern-looking character labelled “HIPKINS” asks another character labelled “EX LABOUR SUPPORTERS,” “Who radicalized you?” In the second panel, the two face each other silently. In the third panel, the ex-Labour supporter leans in and quietly replies, “You did.” Hipkins looks surprised and slightly unsettled.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 12

Most here know about Shane Jones' activism in the 80s but did you also know that way before he became a right-wing sellout Shane Jones would sing and narrate Sesame Street in te reo Māori for Aotearoa kids? #nzpol

Screenshot of two cropped excerpts from a printed article. The upper excerpt shows part of a headline containing the words “Sesame Street” and “learning experience.” The lower excerpt is a column of text describing how a Māori word was presented in a Sesame Street segment through a montage, animations, a waiata (song), and a story. The name “Shane Jones” is highlighted in yellow within the text. A quoted passage below states that the story is completely in Māori and that children who do not understand the words can follow the pictures.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 7

Did you know that the guy who founded David Seymour's Atlas Think Tank Frontier Centre for Public Policy — Peter Holle also helped introduce neoliberalism in New Zealand in the 80s? Atlas has been interfering in New Zealand even before David Seymour. #nzpol

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 6

Because this belief led in part to the revision of many 20th-century socialist movements. Including the WCL here in NZ who found their previous behaviour tarnished the reputation of the word Communist here and opted to drop it. #communism #marxism #anarchism #socialism

Photograph of a printed pamphlet titled “Left Currents.” The text describes Left Currents as a New Zealand organisation of activists working for social change through mutual support, political discussion, education, and organising.
A history section explains that the group emerged after the dissolution of the Workers Communist League (WCL), a Marxist–Leninist organisation active in anti–Vietnam War and other social movements. It states that the WCL broke with orthodox communism by rejecting one-party monopoly on political power and by treating women’s liberation and Māori self-determination as equally important to class struggle. The organisation adopted the name “Left Currents” in 1990.
Under “What do we believe in?” the pamphlet says Left Currents seeks to build an alliance of workers’, women’s, and Māori struggles for social liberation. It advocates a socialist, feminist, decolonised Aotearoa where resources are shared for the benefit of all, without exploitation of people or the environment. It states that liberation must be achieved by people themselves, not by any single political party.
The “What do we do?” section says members participate in campaigns for reforms while promoting a broader vision of social change and building links between different social movements, including alliances between unemployed and employed workers.
The final section, “How do we relate to the communist movement and tradition?”, says the group identifies with liberationist tendencies within communist movements but rejects bureaucratic and reactionary tendencies. It acknowledges contributions from Marxism while arguing that the word “communist” is unsuitable for describing the organisation because of its associations with authoritarianism, patriarchy, racism, nationalism, environmental exploitation, and because it does not fully reflect commitments to women’s liberation and Māori self-determination. The photograph is slightly blurry but the text is mostly readable.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 5

Yup! Here's the docudrama bsky.app/profile/kaim... And here's a pic of Seymour and Hillary together presumably around the time of filming or releasing the docudrama:

Young David Seymour stands beside Sir Edmund Hillary outside a building entrance. Hillary wears a suit and patterned tie, both smile at the camera, and an autograph is visible across the top of the photograph.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 5

Completely useless and random fact of the day: #newzealand

Two-panel meme using screenshots of the cartoon villain Skeletor. In the top panel, Skeletor reclines dramatically and the text reads: “Did you know that the syllables of Tino Rangatiratanga can be sung in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme tune?” In the bottom panel, Skeletor runs away into a cave while the text reads: “Until we meet again.” The joke is that “Tino Rangatiratanga” matches the rhythm of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” theme song, and Skeletor shares this random fact before disappearing.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 3

Peggy Seeger warned us about being complacent in the face of fascism. If you are complacent, you are complicit. #nzpol #music #politics

Screenshot of a lyrics by Peggy Seeger on a plain light background. The song warns against ignoring the rise of fascism and criticizes passive conformity. It begins, “It's alright for you if you run with the pack” and describes a “fascist's party” slowly returning while people dismiss the danger because it has not yet affected them. The second stanza compares fascism to weeds spreading in the wind and warns that silence may eventually cost people their lives. The final stanza sarcastically suggests closing one's eyes, ears, and mouth and believing “they'll never come for you,” ending with the line, “Because they'll know you really didn't care.” The poem is credited at the bottom: “By Peggy Seeger.”

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 2

Labour's political strategy since 2023: #nzpol

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 1

The neoliberal hairline. #nzpol

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Jun 1

It's the seesaw analogy. Trying to balance a right leaning seesaw by sitting in the middle will just keep you sliding right. In other words centrists aren't as balanced as they think they are. When the world is leaning towards the far right the balanced ones are the ones furthest left. #nzpol

Three-panel political cartoon using a seesaw to illustrate political positioning. In the first panel, a figure labeled “Labour” sits in the middle of a balanced seesaw while a figure labeled “National/ACT” sits at one end. Text above Labour reads: “I don't want to be seen as too radical like Greens and TPM, so I'll be balanced and sit in the middle.”

In the second panel, Labour remains seated near the centre while National/ACT stays on the right. The seesaw tips sharply toward the National/ACT side, causing Labour to slide rightward. National/ACT says, “Thanks!”

In the third panel, the seesaw is balanced again, but now a figure labeled “Māori/Green” sits on the left end opposite National/ACT on the right. Text reads: “In the face of far right fascism, the far left are the balanced ones who stop things reaching the tipping point.”

The cartoon argues that when politics shifts significantly to the right, a position once considered left-wing can function as the balancing force rather than a centrist position.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· May 31

Kaimataara@kaimataara· May 30

Labour: "We are unsure if we can *afford* to give disabled people their lives back, but vote for us anyway" For Labour to not have a higher capital gains tax, a wealth tax, a land value tax and so on to be able to afford to reverse this is a political decision, not a lack of options. #nzpol

Screenshot of a Facebook post by verified New Zealand Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan at New Zealand Parliament, posted 18 hours ago.
The post says that at 11:15 p.m. a bill had passed its third and final reading after being debated since noon. She states the government passed it under Budget urgency, meaning there was no select committee process and no official advice. She says the minister could not explain the urgency.
Radhakrishnan argues the bill is problematic because it allows the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to use automated decision-making broadly. She compares it to a similar system used in Australia that had harmful consequences and says a recent Australian Royal Commission recommended stronger safeguards. She criticises the government for not adopting similar protections.
The post says the bill will affect people receiving benefits, including disabled people and those with significant health conditions, and argues it will make life harder for people already struggling. She finishes by saying she is proud to be part of the Labour team that scrutinised the bill as best they could.

Screenshot of a Facebook comment thread beneath the post.
A commenter asks: “Can you reverse it when you get into government? Or will you be too busy reversing all the other damaging changes brought in by these guys?”
Priyanca Radhakrishnan replies that there are many changes Labour would like to reverse, but some may be difficult because the money has already been spent. She says this legislation will allow the government to save $158 million at the expense of people who are already struggling. She argues that when savings are used for things such as tax breaks for property speculators, it becomes harder to find the money needed to reverse those decisions later. She concludes by saying elections are important and encourages people to vote the government out to prevent further cruelty and poor decisions.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· May 22

Lifelong Labour voters, including my whanaunga, are switching to Greens for the first time in their voting lives. Even people at Young Labour called out Hipkins last year for alienating their base. It is not just the "far left" (as Labour stans try to claim) who have a major problem with Labour now

Kaimataara@kaimataara· May 21

Hold the same standards to our literal leaders who have way more sway than random people on Bluesky. Points to sign: #nzpol

A picture with Lisa in front of a screen that says "If criticising Hipkins in front of a handful of people on Bluesky is apparently going to lose us the election because it could turn away voters. Then what is Hipkins doing other than losing the the election when he does the same thing to TPM & Greens except in front of millions of people?"

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 25

Been seeing a lot of AI action figure memes this year so I decided to try my hand making a non AI one of Winston Peters #nzpol

Satirical image styled like a blister-pack action figure. The packaging reads "Wind up toy!" and "Say ‘Aotearoa’ to activate!" with a comic-style "Wow!" burst and the headline "Full Plastic Winston Peters!" Inside the clear plastic is a formally dressed Winston Peters in a black suit and white shirt, posed like a collectible figurine. To the left are three accessories: a bottle of alcohol, a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, and a small toy horse. At the bottom of the packaging, small text reads: "Principles and morals not included."

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 18

I'm not gonna lie, it's disappointing being shadowbanned while simultaneously watching big profiles share things I've discovered about our politicians without crediting me. I'm very disabled and go through SO much mahi to discover these things: #nzpol

A collection of all the articles I had to read for a David Seymour deep dive political video

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 17

Like the TVNZ one was I believe it's an outlier, especially considering the poll company doesn't even have an office in New Zealand. In saying that, the trends are what really matter and so far every other poll has Nat and Lab neck and neck, TPM losing support, Greens and NZF gaining and ACT losing

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 16

Hipkins said he once thought the Māori Party would never work with National under Don Brash, yet they later backed John Key. Yet omits Labour’s foreshore and seabed bill & Labour leaving Māori Party no choice by saying in 2006 the Māori Party would be Labours last choice of coalition partner #nzpol

The paragraph discusses New Zealand coalition negotiations after an election where National won 48 seats. It notes NZ First and United Future would negotiate with the largest party but not with the Greens. A highlighted sentence states that Labour publicly said its last preference for forming a government would be with the Māori Party, which had four seats.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 16

Yup, also he worked in the oil and gas industry for Todd Energy and Todd Corporation is a NZ Initiative member

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 16

I decided to draw Hipkins in the Invincible "That's the neat part, you don't" meme after his recent atrocious messaging strategy #nzpol

Two-panel animated meme. Top panel shows a Mark Grayson indoors near a staircase, looking concerned. On-screen text reads, “So Chris, when are you going to inspire people and try to win the election?” Bottom panel shows Chris Hipkins smiling and pointing to the side. Large caption reads, “That’s the neat part, you don’t

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 15

Seymour is so full of shit, he talks about how he's fighting for democracy and equality when he loathes both, he wrote a book with a chapter called: "Democracy, too much of a good thing?" And quoted OWH saying "I have no respect for the passion for equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy"

Cover page of a policy report titled ‘Five Single Rate Tax Thoughts’ in the Frontier Centre for Public Policy Policy Series, number 68, dated September 2009. The author is David Seymour. The design includes the word ‘PolicySeries’ at the top, a large pencil with a percent symbol above it, and two contrasting photos: on the left, a well-dressed person posing confidently near a house and scooter with shopping bags; on the right, a casually dressed person climbing outdoor steps beside a brick building. The layout visually contrasts wealth and everyday living.

Interior page from the report ‘Five Single Rate Tax Thoughts,’ page number 13. The headline reads ‘Progressive Taxation and the Tyranny of the Majority.’ The page contains dense two-column text arguing against progressive taxation and in favor of a single-rate tax, including numerical examples of flat tax calculations. A large highlighted quotation on the right reads, ‘I have no respect for the passion for equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy,’ attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. The Frontier Centre branding appears at the bottom.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 15

They model demographic differences while controlling for other factors, meaning the model estimates the effect of education while holding age constant You only need to manually correct for age with raw percentages; once age is in the model as its own variable, that correction is already being done.

Kaimataara@kaimataara· Dec 15