Exclusive: Rights group expresses concerns as it emerges US spy tech company has been lobbying UK ministers
The US spy tech company Palantir has been in talks with the Ministry of Justice about using its technology to calculate prisoners’ “reoffending risks”, it has emerged.
The proposals emerged in correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act which showed how the company has also been lobbying new UK government ministers, including the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
A former New Zealand prime minister, Dame Jenny Shipley, has warned the ACT Party is “inviting civil war” with its attempt to define the principles of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi in law.
National has said its MPs will vote against it at the second reading, after only backing it through the first as part of the coalition agreement with ACT.
Voting on the bill was interrupted when Te Pāti Māori’s Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up a copy of the bill and launched into a haka, inspiring other opposition MPs and members of the public gallery to join in.
Dame Jenny, who led the National Party from 1997 until 2001 and was prime minister for two of those years, threw her support behind Maipi-Clarke.
“The Treaty, when it’s come under pressure from either side, our voices have been raised,” she told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.
“I was young enough to remember Bastion Point, and look, the Treaty has helped us navigate. When people have had to raise their voice, it’s brought us back to what it’s been — an enduring relationship where people then try to find their way forward.
“And I thought the voices of this week were completely and utterly appropriate, and whether they breach standing orders, I’ll put that aside.
“The voice of Māori, that reminds us that this was an agreement, a contract — and you do not rip up a contract and then just say, ‘Well, I’m happy to rewrite it on my terms, but you don’t count.’
Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipa-Clarke led a haka in Parliament and tore up a copy of the Treaty Principles Bill at the first reading in Parliament on Thursday . . . . a haka is traditionally used as an indigenous show of challenge, support or sorrow. Image: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone
“I would raise my voice. I’m proud that the National Party has said they will not be supporting this, because you cannot speak out of both sides of your mouth.
“And I think any voice that’s raised, and there are many people — pākeha and Māori who are not necessarily on this hikoi — who believe that a relationship is something you keep working at. You don’t just throw it in the bin and then try and rewrite it as it suits you.”
Her comments come after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the bill “simplistic” and “unhelpful”, and former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson — who negotiated more settlements than any other — said letting it pass its first reading would do “great damage” to National’s relationship with Māori.
The Treaty Principles Bill reading vote. Video: RNZ News
Dame Jenny said past attempts to codify Treaty principles in law had failed.
“While there have been principles leaked into individual statutes, we have never attempted to — in a formal sense — put principles in or over top of the Treaty as a collective. And I caution New Zealand — the minute you put the Treaty into a political framework in its totality, you are inviting civil war.
“I would fight against it. Māori have every reason to fight against it.
“This is a relationship we committed to where we would try and find a way to govern forward. We would respect each other’s land and interests rights, and we would try and be citizens together — and actually, we are making outstanding progress, and this sort of malicious, politically motivated, fundraising-motivated attempt to politicise the Treaty in a new way should raise people’s voices, because it is not in New Zealand’s immediate interest.
“And you people should be careful what they wish for. If people polarise, we will finish up in a dangerous position. The Treaty is a gift to us to invite us to work together. And look, we’ve been highly successful in doing that, despite the odd ruction on the way.”
She said New Zealand could be proud of the redress it had made to Māori, “where we accepted we had just made a terrible mess on stolen land and misused the undertakings of the Treaty, and we as a people have tried to put that right”.
“I just despise people who want to use a treasure — which is what the Treaty is to me — and use it as a political tool that drives people to the left or the right, as opposed to inform us from our history and let it deliver a future that is actually who we are as New Zealanders . . . I condemn David Seymour for his using this, asking the public for money to fuel a campaign that I think really is going to divide New Zealand in a way that I haven’t lived through in my adult life. There’s been flashpoints, but I view this incredibly seriously.”
‘Equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights’ In response, David Seymour said the bill actually sought to “solve” the problem of “treating New Zealanders based on their ethnicity”.
“Te Pāti Māori acted in complete disregard for the democratic system of which they are a part during the first reading of the bill, causing disruption, and leading to suspension of the House.
“The Treaty Principles Bill commits to protecting the rights of everyone, including Māori, and upholding Treaty settlements. It commits to give equal enjoyment of the same fundamental human rights to every single New Zealander.
“The challenge for people who oppose this bill is to explain why they are so opposed to those basic principles.”
On Thursday, following the passing of the bill’s first reading, he said he was looking forward to seeing what New Zealanders had to say about it during the six-month select committee process.
“The select committee process will finally democratise the debate over the Treaty which has until this point been dominated by a small number of judges, senior public servants, academics, and politicians.
“Parliament introduced the concept of the Treaty principles into law in 1975 but did not define them. As a result, the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal have been able to develop principles that have been used to justify actions that are contrary to the principle of equal rights. Those actions include co-governance in the delivery of public services, ethnic quotas in public institutions, and consultation based on background.
“The principles of the Treaty are not going away. Either Parliament can define them, or the courts will continue to meddle in this area of critical political and constitutional importance.
“The purpose of the Treaty Principles Bill is for Parliament to define the principles of the Treaty, provide certainty and clarity, and promote a national conversation about their place in our constitutional arrangements.”
He said the bill in no way would alter or amend the Treaty itself.
“I believe all New Zealanders deserve tino rangatiratanga — the right to self-determination. That all human beings are alike in dignity. The Treaty Principles Bill would give all New Zealanders equality before the law, so that we can go forward as one people with one set of rights.”
The Hīkoi today was in Hastings, on its way to Wellington, where it is expected to arrive on Monday.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Te Pāti Māori’s extraordinary display of protest — interrupting the first vote on the Treaty Principles Bill — has highlighted the tension in Aotearoa New Zealand between Māori tikanga, or customs, and the rules of Parliament.
When called on to cast Te Pāti Māori’s vote, its MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke instead launched into a haka, ripping a copy of the legislation in half.
She was joined by other opposition MPs and onlookers, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to temporarily suspend Parliament and clear out the public gallery.
Brownlee subsequently censured Maipi-Clarke, describing her conduct as “appallingly disrespectful” and “grossly disorderly”.
Maipi-Clarke was named and suspended, barring her from voting or entering the debating chamber for a 24-hour period. She also had her pay docked.
Te Pāti Māori about to record their vote. Video: RNZ/Parliament
‘Ka mate, ka mate’ – when is it appropriate to perform haka?
The Ngāti Toa haka performed in Parliament was the well-known “Ka mate, Ka mate,” which tells the story of chief Te Rauparaha who was being chased by enemies and sought shelter where he hid. Once his enemies left he came out into the light.
Ngāti Toa chief executive and rangatira Helmut Modlik told RNZ the haka was relevant to the debate. He said the bill had put Māori self-determination at risk – “ka mate, ka mate” – and Māori were reclaiming that – “ka ora, ka ora”.
Haka was not governed by rules or regulation, Modlik said. It could be used as a show of challenge, support or sorrow.
“In the modern setting, all of these possibilities are there for the use of haka, but as an expression of cultural preferences, cultural power, world view, ideas, sounds, language – it’s rather compelling.”
Modlik acknowledged that Parliament operated according to its own conventions but said the “House and its rules only exist because our chiefs said it could be here”.
“If you’re going to negate . . . the constitutional and logical basis for your House being here . . . with your legislation, then that negates your right to claim it as your own to operate as you choose.”
He argued critics were being too sensitive, akin to “complaining about the grammar being used as people are crying that the house is on fire”.
“The firemen are complaining that they weren’t orderly enough,” Modlik said. “They didn’t use the right words.”
Robust response expected
Modlik said Seymour should expect a robust response to his own passionate performance and theatre: “That’s the Pandora’s Box he’s opening”.
Following the party’s protest yesterday, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi told reporters “everyone should be proud to see [the haka] in its true context.”
“We love it when the All Blacks do it, but what about when the ‘blackies’ do it?” he said.
Today, speaking to those gathered for the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti in Rotorua, Waititi said the party used “every tool available to us to use in the debates in that House”.
“One of those tools are the Māori tools we take from our kete, which is haka, which is waiata, which is pōkeka — all of those things that our tīpuna have left us. Those are natural debating tools on the marae.”
What does Parliament’s rulebook have to say? Parliament is governed by its own set of rules known as Standing Orders and Speakers’ Rulings. They endow the Speaker with the power and responsibility to “maintain order and decorum” in the House.
The rules set out the procedures to be followed during a debate and subsequent vote. MPs are banned from using “offensive or disorderly words” or making a “personal reflection” against another member.
MPs can also be found in contempt of Parliament if they obstruct or impede the House in the performance of its functions.
Examples of contempt include assaulting, threatening or obstructing an MP, or “misconducting oneself” in the House.
Under Standing Orders, Parliament’s proceedings can be temporarily suspended “in the case of any grave disorder arising in committee”.
The Speaker may order any member “whose conduct is highly disorderly” to leave the chamber. For example, Brownlee ejected Labour MP Willie Jackson when he refused to apologise for calling Seymour a liar.
The Speaker may also “name” any member “whose conduct is grossly disorderly” and then call for MPs to vote on their suspension, as occurred in the case of Maipi-Clarke.
Members of the public gallery can also be required to leave if they interrupt proceedings or “disturb or disrupt the House”.
‘Abusing tikanga of Parliament’
Seymour has previously criticised Te Pāti Māori for abusing the “the tikanga of Parliament,” and on Thursday he called for further consequences.
“The Speaker needs to make it clear that the people of New Zealand who elect people to this Parliament have a right for their representative to be heard, not drowned out by someone doing a haka or getting in their face making shooting gestures,” Seymour said.
Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith told RNZ the rules existed to allow rational and sensible debate on important matters.
“Parliament makes the laws that govern all our lives, and its performance and behaviour has to be commensurate with that responsibility.
“It is not just a stoush in a pub. It is the highest court in the land and its behaviour should reflect that.”
Sir Lockwood said he respected Māori custom, but there were ways that could be expressed within the rules. He said he was also saddened by “the venom directed personally” at Seymour.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
An estimated 10,000 people have marched through Rotorua today as part of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti protesting against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill.
Due to the size of the group, Fenton Street was blocked temporarily as the Hīkoi went through, police said.
It is anticipated that this afternoon the main Hīkoi will travel via Taupō to Hastings, where participants will stay overnight.
Tuesday, November 19 will mark day 10 of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and kotahitanga o Ngā Iwi ki Waitangi Park — everyone will meet at Waitangi Park on Wellington’s waterfont before walking to the steps of the parliamentary Beehive.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Hīkoi treaty bill protest heads south from Rotorua. Video: RNZ News
With the protest hīkoi from the Far North moving through Rotorua on its way to Wellington, it might be said ACT leader David Seymour has been granted his wish of generating an “important national conversation about the place of the Treaty in our constitutional arrangements”.
Timed to coincide with the first reading of the contentious Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill yesterday — it passed with a vote of 68-55, the hīkoi and other similar protests are a response to what many perceive as a fundamental threat to New Zealand’s fragile constitutional framework.
With no upper house, nor a written constitution, important laws can be fast-tracked or repealed by a simple majority of Parliament.
As constitutional lawyer and former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer has argued about the current government’s legislative style and speed, the country “is in danger of lurching towards constitutional impropriety”.
Central to this ever-shifting and contested political ground is te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi. For decades it has been woven into the laws of the land in an effort to redress colonial wrongs and guarantee a degree of fairness and equity for Māori.
There is a significant risk the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill would undermine these achievements, as it attempts to negate recognised rights within the original document and curtail its application in a modern setting.
But while the bill is almost guaranteed to fail because of the other coalition parties’ refusal to support it beyond the select committee, there is another danger. Contained in an explanatory note within the bill is the following clause:
The Bill will come into force if a majority of electors voting in a referendum support it. The Bill will come into force 6 months after the date on which the official result of that referendum is declared.
Were David Seymour to argue his bill has been thwarted by the standard legislative process and must be advanced by a referendum, the consequences for social cohesion could be significant.
The referendum option While the bill would still need to become law for the referendum to take place, the option of putting it to the wider population — either as a condition of a future coalition agreement or orchestrated via a citizens-initiated referendum — should not be discounted.
One recent poll showed roughly equal support for and against a referendum on the subject, with around 30 percent undecided. And Seymour has had success in the past with his End of Life Choice Act referendum in 2020.
He will also have watched the recent example of Australia’s Voice referendum, which aimed to give a non-binding parliamentary voice to Indigenous communities but failed after a heated and divisive public debate.
The lobby group Hobson’s Pledge, which opposes affirmative action for Māori and is led by former ACT politician Don Brash, has already signalled its intention to push for a citizens-initiated referendum, arguing: “We need to deliver the kind of message that the Voice referendum in Australia delivered.”
The Treaty and the constitution ACT’s bill is not the first such attempt. In 2006, the NZ First Party — then part of a Labour-led coalition government — introduced the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill.
That bill failed, but the essential argument behind it was that entrenching Treaty principles in law was “undermining race relations in New Zealand”. However, ACT’s current bill does not seek to delete those principles, but rather to define and restrain them in law.
This would effectively begin to unpick decades of careful legislative work, threaded together from the deliberations of the Waitangi Tribunal, the Treaty settlements process, the courts and Parliament.
would reduce the constitutional status of the Treaty/te Tiriti, remove its effect in law as currently recognised in Treaty clauses, limit Māori rights and Crown obligations, hinder Māori access to justice, impact Treaty settlements, and undermine social cohesion.
If this Bill were to be enacted, it would be the worst, most comprehensive breach of the Treaty/te Tiriti in modern times. If the Bill remained on the statute book for a considerable time or was never repealed, it could mean the end of the Treaty/te Tiriti.
Social cohesion at risk
Similar concerns have been raised by the Ministry of Justice in its advice to the government. In particular, the ministry noted the proposal in the bill may negate the rights articulated in Article II of the Treaty, which affirms the continuing exercise of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination):
Any law which fails to recognise the collective rights given by Article II calls into question the very purpose of the Treaty and its status in our constitutional arrangements.
The government has also been advised by the Ministry of Justice that the bill may lead to discriminatory outcomes inconsistent with New Zealand’s international legal obligations to eliminate discrimination and implement the rights of Indigenous peoples.
All of these issues will become heightened if a referendum, essentially about the the removal of rights guaranteed to Māori in 1840, is put to the vote.
Of course, citizens-initiated referendums are not binding on a government, but they carry much politically persuasive power nonetheless. And this is not to argue against their usefulness, even on difficult issues.
But the profound constitutional and wider democratic implications of the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, and any potential referendum on it, should give everyone pause for thought at this pivotal moment.
Kremlin critics fear move is part of Russia’s efforts to whitewash Soviet past and shut independent cultural institutions
Moscow’s award-winning Gulag History Museum announced its surprise closure on Thursday, a move critics attribute to the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to whitewash Russia’s Soviet past.
The closure was officially put down to alleged violations of fire safety regulations but comes amid an intense campaign by Russian officials against independent civil society and those who question the state’s interpretation of history.
A UN special committee has said that Israeli policies and practices in Gaza are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.
The committee, set up in 1968 to monitor the Israeli occupation, also said in its annual report that there were serious concerns that Israel was “using starvation as a weapon of war” in the 13-month-old conflict, and was running an “apartheid system” in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Pact hailed as EU migration breakthrough in tatters after judges rule asylum seekers must be transferred to Italy
A multimillion-dollar migration deal between Italy and Albania aimed at curbing arrivals was presented by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, as a new model for how to establish processing and detention centres for asylum seekers outside the EU.
The facilities in Albania were supposed to receive up to 3,000 men intercepted in international waters while crossing from Africa to Europe. But it seems neither von der Leyen nor Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, had taken existing law into account.
As thousands take to the streets this week to “honour” the country’s 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, the largest daily newspaper New Zealand Herald says the massive event is “redefining activism”.
The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been underway since Sunday, with thousands of New Zealanders from all communities and walks of life traversing the more than 2000 km length of the country from Cape Reinga to Bluff and converging on the capital Wellington.
The marches are challenging the coalition government Act Party’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill, introduced last week by co-leader David Seymour.
The Bill had its first reading in Parliament today as a young first time opposition Te Pāti Māori MP, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, was suspended for leading a haka and ripping up a copy of the Bill disrupting the vote, and opposition Labour Party’s Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson was also “excused” from the chamber for calling Seymour a “liar” against parliamentary rules.
After a second attempt at voting, the three coalition parties won 68-55 with all three opposition parties voting against.
In its editorial today, hours before the debate and vote, The New Zealand Herald said supporters of Toitū te Tiriti, the force behind the Hīkoi, were seeking a community “reconnection” and described their kaupapa as an “activation, not activism; empowerment, not disruption; education, not protest”.
“Many of the supporters on the Hīkoi don’t consider themselves political activists. They are mums and dads, rangatahi, professionals, Pākehā, and Tauiwi (other non-Māori ethnicities),” The Herald said.
‘Loaded, colonial language’ “Mainstream media is often accused of using ‘loaded, colonial language’ in its headlines. Supporters of Toitū te Tiriti, however, see the movement not as a political protest but as a way to reconnect with the country’s shared history and reflect on New Zealand’s obligations under Te Tiriti.
“While some will support the initiative, many Pākehā New Zealanders are responding to it with unequivocal anger; others feel discomfort about suggestions of colonial guilt or inherited privilege stemming from historical injustices.”
“Seymour argues he is fighting for respect for all, but when multiculturalism is wielded as a political tool, it can obscure indigenous rights and maintain colonial dominance. For many, it’s an unsettling ideology to contemplate,” the newspaper said.
“A truly multicultural society would recognise the unique status of tangata whenua, ensuring Māori have a voice in decision-making as the indigenous people.
“However, policies framed under ‘equal rights’ often silence Māori perspectives and undermine the principles of Te Tiriti.
“Seymour’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill prioritises Crown sovereignty, diminishing the role of hapū (sub-tribes) and excluding Māori from national decision-making. Is this the ‘equality’ we seek, or is it a rebranded form of colonial control?”
Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke . . . led a haka and tore up a copy of Seymour’s Bill in Parliament. Image: TVNZ screenshot APR
Heart of the issue
The heart of the issue, said The Herald, was how “equal” was interpreted in the context of affirmative action.
“Affirmative action is not about giving an unfair advantage; it’s about levelling the playing field so everyone has equal opportunities.
“Some politicians sidestep the real work needed to honour Te Tiriti by pushing for an ‘equal’ and ‘multicultural’ society. This approach disregards Aotearoa’s unique history, where tangata whenua hold a constitutionally recognised status.
“The goal is not to create division but to fulfil a commitment made more than 180 years ago and work towards a partnership based on mutual respect. We all have a role to play in this partnership.
“The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti is more than a march; it’s a movement rooted in education, healing, and building a shared future.
“It challenges us to look beyond superficial equality and embrace a partnership where all voices are heard and the mana (authority) of tangata whenua is upheld.”
The first reading of the bill was advanced in a failed attempt to distract from the impact of the national Hikoi.
RNZ reports that more than 40 King’s Counsel lawyers say the Bill seeks to “rewrite the Treaty itself” and have called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” the draft law.
The journalist Mélissa Cornet and the photographer Kiana Hayeri met more than 100 Afghan girls and women in seven provinces, and found resistance and defiance but also despair
Earlier this year, I spent 10 weeks travelling with the photographer Kiana Hayeri across seven provinces of Afghanistan, speaking to more than 100 Afghan women and girls about how their lives had changed since the Taliban swept back to power three years ago.
Hayeri and I both lived in Afghanistan for years, and remained here after the Taliban took control in August 2021. In the past few years, we have seen women’s rights and freedoms, already severely curtailed, swept away as Taliban edicts have fallen like hammer blows.
Mitra plays with children in Yamit district, near the Wakhan mountains. Her daughter and her cousin, who were both grade 11 pupils aged about 17, took their own lives in these pools last year
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) has written to the Minister for Space Judith Collins and Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck to warn that satellites being launched from the Māhia Peninsula are “highly likely” to conduct surveillance for Israel.
And also to assist in the commission of war crimes in Gaza and in Lebanon, said PSNA national chair John Minto.
“Three companies are of particular concern to us: BlackSky Technology, Capella Space, and HawkEye 360,” Minto said in a statement.
“In particular, BlackSky has a US$150 million contract to supply high temporal frequency images and analysis to Israel,” Minto said.
“We believe it is highly likely that BlackSky provides data to Israel which it uses to target civilian infrastructure across Gaza and Lebanon.”
Minto said that PSNA understood that Rocket Lab had launched satellites for BlackSky since 2019.
The advocacy group also aware that by the end of 2024, Rocket Lab was expected to begin deploying BlackSky’s constellation of next generation earth observation satellites, with improved capability.
Asking for suspension
“We are asking the minister and Rocket Lab to suspend all further satellite launches for BlackSky, full stop,” Minto said.
“For Capella Space and HawkEye 360, we are asking that the minister suspend satellite launches from the Māhia Peninsula until an investigation has taken place to assure New Zealanders that further launches will not put us in breach of our commitments under international law.
“New Zealanders don’t want our country used to support war crimes committed by Israel or any other country”, he said.
“If we are serious about our responsibilities under international law, including the Genocide Convention, then we must act now.”
Stopping the satellite launches was the “least we can do”.
A PSNA support lawyer, Sam Vincent, said: “New Zealand has solemn responsibilities under international law which must trump any short-term profit for Rocket Lab or the convenience of our government.”
He said that all three companies were sponsors of a geospatial intelligence conference in Israel taking place in January 2025 [Ramon GeoInt360], of which the Israel Ministry of Defence and BlackSky were “leading partners” and HawkEye 360 and Capella Space were sponsors.
Minto added: “All the alarm bells are ringing. These companies are up their eyeballs in support for Israel.”
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
New Zealand’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today and will now go to the Justice Committee for consideration as the national Hīkoi continued its journey to the capital.
Opposition Te Pati Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the House following a haka.
Maipi-Clarke interrupted the vote on the Bill’s first reading with the Ka Mate haka taken up by members of the opposition and people in the public gallery.
A huge crowd earlier stopped traffic in Hamilton as the national Hīkoi made its way through the city.
During the haka by Maipi-Clarke, Speaker Gerry Brownlee rose to his feet.
When it finished, he suspended Parliament and asked for the public gallery to be cleared.
First vote attempt disrupted
It caused enough disruption that the Speaker suspended Parliament during the vote on the first reading.
Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson was ejected from the House after calling the Bill’s sponsor ACT leader David Seymour a “liar” — breaking parliamentary rules.
When the House returned, Brownlee said Maipi-Clarke’s behaviour was “grossly disorderly”, “appallingly disrespectful”, and “premeditated”.
The government parties voted in favour of the Bill, with opposition parties voting against.
The bill passed its first reading in spite of the opposition Greens calling for its MPs to be allowed to vote individually on their conscience.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Labour MP Willie Jackson “excused” from the House. Video: RNZ
Human Rights Watch says it has evidence that suggests ‘the war crime of forcible transfer’ of civilians
Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.
The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.
Thousands of people are continuing their North Island hīkoi as the legislation they are protesting against, the Treaty Principles Bill, gets its first reading in Parliament today.
The hīkoi enters day four and headed off from Huntly, destined for Rotorua today, after it advanced through Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau yesterday.
Traffic was at a standstill in Kirikiriroa Hamilton and the hīkoi has filled the road from one side to the other.
Meanwhile, members of the King’s Counsel, some of New Zealand’s most senior legal minds, say the controversial bill “seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself” and are calling on the prime minister and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” it.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Hundreds of former employees of Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, StandWithUs and CAMERA are working in top newsrooms across the United States, writing and producing America’s news — including on Israel-Palestine, reports a new investigation.
These outlets include MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox News, says the MintPress News inquiry written by Alan MacLeod.
“Some of these former lobbyists are responsible for producing content on Israel and Palestine — a gigantic and undisclosed conflict of interest,” MacLeod writes.
“Many key US newsroom staff were also formerly Israeli spies or intelligence agents, standing in stark contrast to journalists with pro-Palestine sentiments, who have been purged en masse since October 7, 2023.”
This MintPress News investigation is part of a series detailing Israel’s influence on American media.
An earlier report exposed the former Israeli spies and military intelligence officials working in US newsrooms.
“The fight for control over the Israel-Palestine narrative has been as intense as the war on the ground itself,” writes MacLeod.
Criticised for ‘distinct bias’
“US media have been widely criticised for displaying a distinct bias towards the Israeli perspective.”
However, MacLeod said this new investigation had revealed “not only is the press skewed in favour of Israel, but it is also written and produced by Israeli lobbyists themselves”.
“This investigation unearths a network of hundreds of former members of the Israel lobby working at some of America’s most influential news organisations, helping to shape the public’s understanding of events in the Middle East.
“In the process, it helps whitewash Israeli crimes and manufacture consent for continued US participation in what a wide range of internationalorganisations have described as a genocide.”
The report author, Alan MacLeod, is senior staff writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017, he published two books, Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent and writes for a range of publications.
Buckingham Palace accused of ‘burying’ news of GCVO bestowed on King Hamad, whose regime is accused of torturing opponents
King Charles has been asked by exiles from Bahrain to rescind an honour he bestowed this week on the ruler of the Gulf kingdom.
Charles was told in a letter by the exiles: “It is personally difficult for us to view this honour as anything other than a betrayal of victims who have suffered at the hands of King Hamad and his brutal regime.”
An exiled West Papuan leader has called on supporters globally to show their support by raising the Morning Star flag — banned by Indonesia — on December 1.
“Whether in your house, your workplace, the beach, the mountains or anywhere else, please raise our flag and send us a picture,” said United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda.
“By doing so, you give West Papuans strength and courage and show us we are not alone.”
The plea came in response to a dramatic step-up in military reinforcements for the Melanesian region by new President Prabowo Subianto, who was inaugurated last month, in an apparent signal for a new crackdown on colonised Papuans.
“The situation in occupied West Papua is on a knife edge,” said the UK-based Wenda in a statement on the ULMWP website.
He added that President Prabowo had announced the return of a “genocidal transmigration settlement policy”.
Indigenous people a minority
“From the 1970s, transmigration brought hundreds of thousands of Javanese settlers into West Papua, ultimately making the Indigenous people a minority in our own land,” Wenda said.
“At the same time, Prabowo [is sending] thousands of soldiers to Merauke to safeguard the destruction of our ancestral forest for a set of gigantic ecocidal developments.
“Five million hectares of Papuan forest are set to be ripped down for sugarcane and rice plantations.
“West Papuans are resisting Prabowo’s plan to wipe us out, but we need all our supporters to stand beside us as we battle this terrifying new threat.”
The Morning Star is illegal in West Papua and frequently protesters who have breached this law have faced heavy jail sentences.
“If we raise [the flag], paint it on our faces, draw it on a banner, or even wear its colours on a bracelet, we can face up to 15 or 20 years in prison.
“This is why we need people to fly the flag for us. As ever, we will be proudly flying the Morning Star above Oxford Town Hall. But we want to see our supporters hold flag raisings everywhere — on every continent.
‘Inhabiting our struggle’
“Whenever you raise the flag, you are inhabiting the spirit of our struggle.”
Wenda appealed to everyone in West Papua — “whether you are in the cities, the villages, or living as a refugee or fighter in the bush” — to make December 1 a day of prayer and reflection on the struggle.
“We remember our ancestors and those who have been killed by the Indonesian coloniser, and strengthen our resolve to carry on fighting for Merdeka — our independence.”
Wenda said the peaceful struggle was making “great strides forward” with a constitution, a cabinet operating on the ground, and a provisional government with a people’s mandate.
“We know that one day soon the Morning Star will fly freely in our West Papuan homeland,” he said.
“But for now, West Papuans risk arrest and imprisonment if we wave our national flag. We need our supporters around the world to fly it for us, as we look forward to a Free West Papua.”
The chair of the government’s equality watchdog, who was appointed by Liz Truss and investigated after a series of complaints by staff members, has been given a 12-month extension in the role, ministers have announced.
The decision to reappoint Kishwer Falkner as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), first revealed by the Guardian, has left some staff members angry after they had hoped a Labour government might change the organisation’s leadership.
Members of the King’s Counsel, some of New Zealand’s most senior legal minds, say the controversial Treaty Principles Bill “seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself” and are calling on the prime minister and the coalition government to “act responsibly now and abandon” it.
More than 40 KCs have written to the prime minister and attorney-general outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill and its wider implications for the country’s constitutional arrangements.
“I can see why they don’t like the Treaty Principles Bill. Everyone gets a say, even if you’re not a KC,” Seymour said in a statement.
“The debate over the Treaty has until this point been dominated by a small number of judges, senior public servants, academics, and politicians.”
He said the select committee process would finally “democratise” the debate.
Co-governance, ethnic quotas “The courts and the Waitangi Tribunal have been able to develop principles that have been used to justify actions that are contrary to the principle of equal rights. Those actions include co-governance in the delivery of public services and ethnic quotas in public institutions.
“The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for New Zealanders — rather than the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal — to have a say on what the Treaty means. Did the Treaty give different rights to different groups, or does every citizen have equal rights? I believe all New Zealanders deserve to have a say on that question,” Seymour said.
The senior members of the independent bar view the introduction of the bill (and the intended referendum) as “wholly inappropriate as a way of addressing such an important and complex constitutional issue”.
The letter states the existing principles (including partnership, active protection, equity and redress) are “designed to reflect the spirit and intent of the Treaty as a whole and the mutual obligations and responsibilities of the parties”. They say the principles now represent “settled law”.
The letter said the coalition’s bill sought to “redefine in law the meaning of te Tiriti, by replacing the existing ‘Treaty principles’ with new Treaty principles which are said to reflect the three articles of te Tiriti”.
The hīkoi passing through Dargaville yesterday. Image: Layla Bailey-McDowell/RNZ
The lawyers say those proposed principles do not reflect te Tiriti, and, by “imposing a contested definition of the three articles, the bill seeks to rewrite the Treaty itself”.
The Treaty Principles Bill, they say, would have the “effect of unilaterally changing the meaning of te Tiriti and its effect in law, without the agreement of Māori as the Treaty partner”.
Historical settlements
The proposed principle 2 “retrospectively limits Māori rights to those that existed at 1840”, they said, and the bill states that “if those rights ‘differ from the rights of everyone’, then they are only recognised to the extent agreed in historical Treaty settlements with the Crown”.
The lawyers said that erased the Crown’s Article 2 guarantee to Māori of tino rangatiratanga.
“By recognising Māori rights only when incorporated into Treaty settlements with the Crown, this proposed principle also attempts to exclude the courts, which play a crucial role in developing the common law and protecting indigenous and minority rights.”
They also explained the proposed principle 3 did not “recognise the fundamental Article 2 guarantee to Māori of the right to be Māori and to have their tikanga Māori (customs, values and customary law) recognised and protected in our law”.
They said it was not for the government of the day to “retrospectively and unilaterally reinterpret constitutional treaties”.
“This would offend the basic principles which underpin New Zealand’s representative democracy.”
They added that the bill would cause significant legal confusion and uncertainty, “inevitably resulting in protracted litigation and cost”, and would have the “opposite effect of its stated purpose of providing certainty and clarity”.
In regards to the wider process and impact of the bill, they pointed to a lack of meaningful engagement as well as the finding by the Waitangi Tribunal that the Bill was a breach of the Treaty.
The ACT Party has long argued the original articles have been interpreted by the courts, the Waitangi Tribunal and successive governments — over decades — in a way that has amplified their significance and influence beyond the original intent.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Thousands of supporters of Aotearoa New Zealand’s hīkoi mō te Tiriti — a march traversing the length of Aotearoa in protest against the Treaty Principles Bill and government policies impacting on Māori — have crossed the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
RNZ reporters with the march said it was swaying and rocking as the protesters descended on the Westhaven side of the bridge.
Earlier, Auckland commuters were advised to plan ahead as the hīkoi makes its way over the Harbour Bridge.
Waka Kotahi and police say the two outer northbound lanes closed from 8.30am on Wednesday and would not re-open until around 11am. Some other on- and off-ramps will also be closed until further notice.
The hīkoi begins the Harbour Bridge crossing. Video: RNZ News
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Associated Newspapers argued it was ‘excessive’ for such fees to be added to the costs of people who had sued it
The publisher of the Daily Mail has won a court battle after arguing that its human rights were breached by a requirement for it to pay “success fees” to lawyers representing people it had paid damages to.
Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) complained to the European court of human rights that it was “excessive and unfair” for it to have to pay such fees to plaintiffs who have engaged lawyers to take cases on a no win, no fee agreement.
The series was assisted by Pacific journalist David Robie, author of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior; and editor Giff Johnson, Eve Burns and Hilary Hosia of the Marshall Islands Journal; along with many Marshall Islanders who spoke to the podcast crew or helped with this project.
We have been busy on multiple fronts. As Memria continues to attract new users such as libraries, historical societies, and museums, we have also been developing new ways to tell stories and make people and communities more visible.
At the Visibility Initiative, for example, we highlight changemakers of all genders and sexual identities, with a primary focus on women. This was an editorial choice; women’s contributions are often overlooked more frequently than men’s. By centering women’s stories, we discover new approaches to leadership that challenge common perceptions. Leadership is often imagined as an individual pursuit of a singular vision yet the women featured in this edition of Squeaky Wheel bring about change through deep integration with their communities, not by standing above them. Consider Filipino-American nurses Luisa Blue and Zenei Triunfo-Cortez. They brought their nursing skills—compassion, resilience, and patience—into union activism to push for better working conditions. Rather than pursuing personal ambition, they lead by collaborating, caring for fellow advocates, and prioritizing collective well-being. We also share the stories of three remarkable Senegalese women transforming their communities through the arts and public policy. Christiane Agboton Johnson, for example, has shown that women bring unique strengths to peace negotiations, bridging divides and conveying messages in ways that men often can’t. This edition also includes the work of a Viva Voz fellow from our Colombian program, who navigated the Pacific rivers to explore the connection between these waterways and Black communities—preserved by midwives, elder women, and healers. In these communities, women safeguard essential knowledge. These women’s stories offer new models of leadership and ways to address today’s most pressing issues. – Miguel BoteroEditor in Chief, The Visibility Initiative Photo: RN Luisa Bluo in front of a picket line. Positively Filipino.Healing and Advocacy: How Filipino-American Nurses Transformed Healthcare Through ActivismAs Filipino-American History Month wraps up, we looked into an overlooked story: the activism of Filipino-American nurses in the U.S. We may have heard about their essential role in healthcare, but their impact goes much deeper. Leaders like Zenei Triunfo-Cortez and Luisa Blue have fought tirelessly for fair wages, better working conditions, and equal rights, challenging discrimination head-on. Their journey from patient care to union leadership shows how their compassion and resilience extend beyond the bedside and into the fight for systemic change. Their inspiring work is part of Filipino Americans’ long legacy of social justice.Read MoreOshúm and the shades of water in the COP16 COP16 will take place from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia. This biodiversity summit gathered representatives from 196 countries to discuss global efforts to protect nature and stop biodiversity loss. The International Forum on Women and Biodiversity featured clips from Oshúm and the Shades of Water, a project Memria co-produced through the Viva Voz Fellowship, our program with the Ford Foundation’s Bogota office and other partners to support Colombian storytellers. For this project, fellow Lyann Cuartas and her team from the Las Jaibas Collective navigated three rivers on Colombia’s Pacific coast. There, they interviewed women and queer individuals who hold deep spiritual connections to the rivers. Their stories blend childhood memories, songs, and firsthand accounts of environmental crimes against one of the most biodiverse places on earth. This photo and audio project offers an intimate look at communities that have lived by these rivers and jungles for centuries.You can read more about the project on Global Voices
WEDO will celebrate the 11th Anniversary of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on November 15th at the United Nations Delegate Dining Room in New York City. The event will be live-streamed Among the event’s remarkable changemakers is Angeline Zimbwani Mikiri, a pioneering African publisher dedicated to making storytelling across the continent more accessible and diverse. She founded Zimbabwe’s award-winning publishing house Tariro Books, which has become known for amplifying African voices and perspectives in children’s literature, educational materials, and adult fiction. Committed to fostering a culture of reading in Africa, Mikiri has emphasized stories that reflect the unique experiences, traditions, and challenges African communities face.Join the event to hear from her and other inspiring entrepeneurs who have transformed their communities.Follow this link for more information
Read about some of the most remarkable women in SenegalStarting in September, we began translating and republishing stories from our partner, Géantes Invisibles, on The Visibility Initiative. These stories mark our origins, as the initiative grew from our alliance with Coumba Toure, Senegalese feminist activist and Géantes Invisibles founder. She started this storytelling project to honor the women of Africa and its diaspora who have transformed their communities—often silently, without much recognition from governments, media, or philanthropic organizations. We joined forces because we share a mission: to shine a light on changemakers whose impactful stories deserve more attention. These stories are rich with lessons on how leaders develop, think, and make things happen in their communities against great odds. These stories highlight well-known figures, like Germaine Acogny, the mother of modern African dance, and Madeleine Devès Senghor, a key architect of Senegal’s post-independence state. They also feature lesser-known giants like Christiane Agboton Johnson, an advocate for disarmament, who emphasizes women’s critical role in peacebuilding. These stories create a vibrant mosaic of West African women’s activism.
Established jointly by the Ministry and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov in 2023 this prize honors the work of reporters and photojournalists who are continuing their vital mission of spreading free, reliable, quality information in crisis and conflict areas. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was working in Russia for Novaya Gazeta, whose investigations into corruption, attacks on human rights and the war in Chechnya cost the lives of six of its reporters. Despite the threats she received, she never stopped working to inform the public. Despite the risk to his life, AFP reporter and photojournalist Arman Soldin helped inform the entire world about the reality of the Russian aggression in Ukraine through the photos he took on the front lines of the conflict, starting in February 2022.
The second Anna Politkovskaya-Arman Soldin Prize in 2024 has been awarded to Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra for their whole body of work on the Israeli occupation and settlement-building in the West Bank and in Palestinian territories.
Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra belong to an Israeli-Palestinian collective that made the documentary, No Other Land, which won an award at the 2024 Berlinale. In it, the Palestinian journalist Basel Adra filmed evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank over five years and meets the Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham. The film tells the story of their friendship that was built over the years of their collaboration.
The first 2023 Anna Politkovskaya-Arman Soldin Prize for Courage in Journalism, was awarded to the Mexican journalist Marcela Turati for her commitment to reporting on violence related to drug trafficking and the social consequences of the war waged against cartels, despite the risks that have often cost Mexican journalists their lives.
Survivors of abuse in care arrived at Parliament today to hear the formal apology from the state which oversaw and inflicted harm on children.
Public sector leaders from Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Health, New Zealand Police, and Ministry of Education also apologised, as did the public service commissioner and the solicitor-general, at an event preceding Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s national apology in the House.
By the afternoon, many survivors were still trying to absorb what had been said and what it meant, with some saying it was a “PR stunt,” some calling the speeches “hollow” and others not willing to believe the words until they saw action.
Abuse in state care — survivor reactions. Video: RNZ
During his apology, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said many survivors did not want to engage with the current compensation process — but more than 3500 were — and he signalled there would be an extra $32 million funnelled into that system “while we work on the new redress system”.
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said he formally joined with the government in its apology, saying the day was a significant step forward.
“Today is a hugely important day for all of you, to finally hear what the Crown has failed to give you for all of these years, an apology.”
Ken Clearwater, a long-time advocate for survivors, was at the event, saying he heard some great words but it was about “what action needs to go with it”.
“Everyone’s saying the right things, but if you look at the policies and stuff we have at the moment, that’s not helping our children.”
He believed National, leader of the coalition government, was going to have to change a lot of their policies.
“So we’re apologising for what happened in the past, but the policies are still in place that are making it no different than when we were in the past.
‘Hollow words .. . dangerous’
“To have hollow words at this stage would be, would be pretty dangerous.”
Signs from protesters sit outside Parliament during the apology for abuse in state care today. Image: VNP/ Louis Collins/RNZ
He said there had to be a belief the government would look into things, “but there’s got to be a survivor voice”.
He mentioned Tu Chapman, a survivor who spoke at the event, who pointed out only having five minutes to speak as a survivor at an apology for survivors.
“So once again, the survivor voice is not forefront, and I think that that’s what they’re going to have to look at, is how they get more more of the survivor voice in whatever policies they look at.”
Another survivor, Reihana Tahau, who had been in state care in the 1980s, agreed, saying he found it ironic there was an apology on one hand while the government goes through the process of appealing Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.
For him, he said, “that’s the opposite, that’s counterintuitive” because 7AA was helping to stop bringing children into care.
“I can’t understand why they would appeal something that is actually working.
‘Mistrust, systematic trauma’
“And for me, my mistrust and systematic trauma, I can’t help but feeling that they’re not genuine in that, because if they were genuine, they wouldn’t be taking a thing which would potentially set up another generation for trauma.”
He acknowledged the apology was a step in the right direction, but “it still feels like a PR thing”.
“I do find it hard to trust people that read off a paper, because I talk from my heart.”
He said the speech from the prime minister was “part of his job” and he did not know how “authentic that is”.
Reihana Tahau questioned how genuine Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s apology was. Image: RNZ
Another survivor, Nicky, also said it was a “PR stunt”, and would not provide closure.
“This is a PR stunt for the prime minister to look good.”
Ardern thanked
She acknowledged Dame Jacinda Ardern for initiating the apology.
“We’d like to thank her for starting it, but they’ve sat on things, you know, for a quarter of a century we’ve been battling.
“We’re old, we’re broken but we’re still fighting.”
She called specifically for Salvation Army orphanages to be investigated and for their charitable status to be investigated.
“The government paid them to abuse me. We want that money.
“Where did that money go? It didn’t go in our care, it didn’t go in our food, and they worked us like child labour, just like Gloriavale [a small and isolated Christian community located on the West Coast of the South Island].”
Survivors in the room muttered or called out during the speeches, reacting — but saved their strongest reaction for Solicitor-General Una Jagose.
Boos, cries of ‘shame’
As she rose to speak, she was met with boos, and cries of “shame” and “disgrace”. One woman stood and turned her back. Another shouted: “You wanted us dead.”
Another survivor, who listened quietly and intently throughout the proceedings with tears streaming at times, said he wanted to hear what the public sector leaders had to say.
He said what Jagose said needed to be said.
“I’m disappointed, because I’m a lawyer, I’m disappointed that she was howled down and I couldn’t hear all that she said.”
He said he thought Jagose would be used by the government as a scapegoat.
“Us lawyers have to speak for the people we represent, whether they’re good or bad.
“And we shouldn’t be hung drawn and quartered because we’ve been instructed to say something or do something or fight something.”
Clearwater said he could not believe she was there.
‘Nobody wanted her there’
“By the noise there, nobody wanted her there, and so that was a bad choice on the government’s part.”
Tu Chapman spoke on behalf of survivors at the event, and did not think the chief executives should have been at the event apologising.
“It’s like putting the cart before the horse so to speak.”
Chapman was angry the prime minister left before hearing some speeches, saying it was “tokenistic”.
“I think he should have been there to listen to us, so that he could actually, authentically and genuinely apologise to us in the House this afternoon or early this morning.
“And it might have been a little bit more meaningful, because quite right now, it just feels tokenistic.”
Another survivor said the speeches today were “very empty, hollow”.
‘Carbon copy’ speech
He said the prime minister’s speech seemed to be a “carbon copy” of when he had been there for the tabling of the report.
In regards to the solicitor-general, he acknowledged “she was able to take what was getting handed to her and listen to it”.
“She actually took it on and then spoke when she could.”
He said the others seemed to want to get over with the speech fast, “that’s not how you do apologies”.
“You take what’s coming, surely they knew there was going to be some heckling going on.”
His message to the prime minister was not to wait, “take action now”.
Survivors representing mothers and adopted children said they felt they had been missed out of the equation.
More about abuse victims
One acknowledged today was more about abuse victims, but there could be a separate apology for mothers and their children that were “taken from them unlawfully and unwilling”.
“We would like the history of losing our children told in this country.
“I’ve flown from Australia for this and for the few words that were said, I really thought it was pretty poor.”
They want a full inquiry into what happened and an apology.
Another said in regards to the apologies, there were “some people who probably needed a brandy after getting up and speaking and apologising for the departments they worked for”.
“There was one in particular who shouldn’t have been there at all, who shouldn’t represent anybody, let alone the Crown.”
Healing process
Piiata Tiakitai Turi-Heenan said today was needed as part of the healing process for survivors, “this is a start”.
She also did not think the speeches were authentic.
“The words that were authentic came from the survivors themselves.”
She said if the government was looking for answers, they will come from “sitting down with the survivors and sorting everything out with them, rather than around a table with people who have had no experience of surviving”.
On the disruption of the speeches, she said “those were emotions”.
“The focus was on silencing those emotions, but that’s exactly why we are where we are today, because they were silenced in the first place.
“You have permission to not be silent anymore.”
Heart ‘on sleeve’
Another survivor said his heart was “on his sleeve at the moment”.
He had been speaking to various MPs after the event who assured him there was support across the House to make changes.
“I believe they’re sincere, but I’m still, I’m still thinking that I might get let down, but I’m hoping I’m wrong. I’m hoping that it does go ahead.
“Where to for me from here is that I’m gonna keep on doing what I do, until further notice, until I know for a fact, well, this is real.”
Chapman added the journey was only just beginning again for the survivor community.
“Another mechanism for us now is to actually encourage our survivor community to be more intentional about their engagement with the Crown, with ministers, and hold them to account.”
The new redress scheme The minister in charge of the government response, Erica Stanford, told RNZ Checkpoint the current redress system was not perfect but the announced $32 million of funding to increase capacity and get through claims faster would help.
While some survivors queried why redress could not be addressed sooner, Stanford said nobody expected the government would be able to “turn on a dime” and deliver something straight away.
“We will have something up and running next year,” Stanford said, but she could not commit to an exact date.
Outbursts from survivors during the apology had been expected, Stanford said, due to the amount of “raw emotion” in the room.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Prop 6, which would have banned involuntary servitude in prisons, fails in blow to criminal justice reform advocates
California voters have rejected a ballot measure to prohibit forced prison labor, in a major disappointment to advocates of criminal justice reform and many of the 90,000 people incarcerated in state prisons.
Proposition 6 would have amended the state’s constitution to ban involuntary servitude for people in prison. The proposition would instead have allowed people in prison to chose their jobs, with a related proposal that would have created voluntary work programs within the prison system.
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to accept and implement recommendations on improving press freedom conditions and guaranteeing the safety of journalists during the United Nations’ upcoming review of its human rights record.
Earlier this year, CPJ submitted a report assessing Ethiopia’s press freedom and journalist safety record from 2019, as part of the country’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)scheduled for November 12. During the UPR, the United Nations Human Rights Council peer reviews the human rights record of a country, and considers recommendations on how a country can better fulfill its international human rights obligations.
CPJ’s report to the U.N. detailed the arbitrary detention, physical violence, harassment, and severe legal restrictions Ethiopian journalists face. CPJ made several recommendations including promptly releasing detained journalists, investigating attacks on the press, ensuring accountability for violence against journalists, and amending repressive laws to align with international human rights standards.
CPJ’s UPR submission on Ethiopia is available in English here.
From the misty peaks of Cape Reinga to the rain-soaked streets of Kawakawa, Aotearoa New Zealand’s national hīkoi mō Te Tiriti rolled through the north and arrived in Whangārei.
Since setting off this morning numbers have swelled from a couple of hundred to well over 1000 people, demonstrating their opposition to the coalition government’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill and other policies impacting on Māori.
Hundreds gathered for a misty covered dawn karakia at Te Rerenga Wairua, the very top of the North Island, after meeting at the nearby town of Te Kāo the night before.
Among them was veteran Māori rights activist and former MP Hone Harawira. He says the hīkoi is about protesting against a “blitzkreig of oppression” from the government and uplifting Māori.
Harawira praised organisers of the hīkoi and set out his own hopes for the march.
“It’s been a great start to the day . . . to come here to Te Rerenga Wairua with people from all around the country and just join together, have a karakia, have some waiata and start to move on. We’re ready to go and Wellington is waiting — we can’t keep them waiting.
“One of our kuia said it best last night. The last hīkoi built a party — the Māori Party — [but] let’s make this hīkoi build a nation. Let us focus on that,” Harawira said.
Margie Thomson and her partner James travelled from Auckland to join the hīkoi.
She said as a Pākeha, she was gutted by some of the government policies toward Māori and wanted to show support.
The national hīkoi passes through Kaitaia. Image: Peter de Graaf
“The spirit of the people here is really profound . . . if people could feel they would really see the reality of the kāupapa here — the togetherness. This is really something, there is a really strong Māori movement and you really feel it.”
By lunchtime the hīkoi had reached Kaiatia where numbers swelled to well over 1000 people. The main street had to be closed to traffic while supporters filled the streets with flags, waiata and haka.
Tahlia, 10, made sure she had the best view, as people lined the streets as Te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti drew closer to Kawakawa, on the first day, 11 November, 2024. Image: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
The hīkoi arrived in Whangārei this evening after covering a distance of around 280 km.
Kākā Porowini marae in central Whangārei was hosting some of the supporters and its chair, Taipari Munro, said they were prepared to care for the masses
“Hapu are able to pull those sorts of things together. But of course it will build as the hīkoi travels south.
“The various marae and places where people will be hosted, will all be under preparation now.”
Hirini Tau, Hirini Henare and Mori Rapana lead the hīkoi through Kawakawa today. Image: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Three marae have been made available for people to stay at in Whangārei and some kai will also be provided, he said.
Meanwhile, the Māori Law Society has set up a phone number to provide free legal assistance to marchers taking part in the hīkoi.
Spokesperson Echo Haronga said Māori lawyers wanted to support the hīkoi in their own way.
“This helpline is a demonstration of our manaakitanga as Māori legal professionals wanting to tautoko those people who are on the hīkoi. If a question arises for them, they’re not quite sure how handle it during the hīkoi then they know they can call this number they can speak to a Māori lawyer.”
Ngāti Hine Health Trust staff and others wait to welcome Te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, as it drew closer to Kawakawa today. Image: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Haronga stressed that she did not anticipate any issues or disturbances with the police and the helpline was open to any questions or concerns not just police and criminal enquiries.
“It’s not actually limited to people causing a ruckus and being in trouble with the police, it also could be someone who has a question . . . and they wouldn’t know otherwise where to go to, you can also call us for that if it’s in relation to hīkoi business.”
Hīkoi supporters will stay in Whangārei for the night before travelling to Dargaville and Auckland’s North Shore tomorrow.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Photo: RN Luisa Bluo in front of a picket line. Positively Filipino.Healing and Advocacy: How Filipino-American Nurses Transformed Healthcare Through ActivismAs Filipino-American History Month wraps up, we looked into an overlooked story: the activism of Filipino-American nurses in the U.S. We may have heard about their essential role in healthcare, but their impact goes much deeper. Leaders like Zenei Triunfo-Cortez and Luisa Blue have fought tirelessly for fair wages, better working conditions, and equal rights, challenging discrimination head-on. Their journey from patient care to union leadership shows how their compassion and resilience extend beyond the bedside and into the fight for systemic change. Their inspiring work is part of Filipino Americans’ long legacy of social justice.
Oshúm and the shades of water in the COP16
