Posts by Russell Brown
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I've been trying to come up with words for you, Emma. But in the end, I'm letting Mavis Staples do the talking.
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Legal Beagle: Coalition of Losers, in reply to Bart Janssen,
That it has failed to achieve that in NZ is sad and as long as folks like you continue to suggest that parties be allowed enact the laws they campaigned on (without compromise) then we will remain a country of domination with a 3 year refresh.
That wasn't what Graeme said, and "folks like you" sounds unnecessarily pejorative.
The basic principle -- that parties elected to government have a mandate to implement the policies on which they campaigned -- is a core feature of democracy. That's why parties publish policy manifestos.
That's not the same thing as being able to legislate policy without scrutiny or expert advice. The present government's abuse of urgency -- most notably to escape scrutiny of its populist National Standards policy -- was an affront. But I don't think that means there is no such thing as a policy mandate.
When Labour introduced the civil unions bill, there was a great deal of wailing and gnashing about it being sprung on a unsuspecting nation. But it had been in the manifesto since 1999. They'd been elected twice with it there, and that gave it some legtimacy.
Even so, along with the companion legislation, it still was subject to debate and amendment. I really can't imagine a good system in which the voice of the voters carried no weight in policy.
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to BenWilson,
That's why basic swimming lessons are not sufficient for real water safety, you really need a lot more exposure than she's had, the musculature and confidence build up quite slowly. I actually think if you don't get it young, you'll probably never get it at all.
It amazes me to recall my confidence as a teenager, swimming and body-surfing with my mates in big surf on Canterbury beaches. Occasionally I'd get in a place I didn't like, but I never really got into anything I couldn't get out of. I must have been a fit little bastard.
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to recordari,
Man, I wish I knew you were going there, we were probably on the same beach on the same day, could have met up.
Was this last weekend, and we mainly swam at Palm Beach, with one swim at Onetangi on Sunday before coming home. Still a fantastic place to holiday, and so close to town.
Nah, really? We were at Palm Beach early afternoon on Saturday, after the market. Then we had a really refreshing high-tide dip over at Rocky Bay before getting back on the ferry. Wonderful day.
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to recordari,
Hope this doesn’t come across as smug, but one of the most joyous memories this summer, which has otherwise been a bastard, all things being treacle, was catching a wave alongside my child and body surfing into the beach.
Hearing you 100%. I've had really golden moments of fatherhood when I've nailed the same wave as one (or both) of the boys and we've raced up the beach together on the boogie boards, whooping for joy. It's just pure, unencumbered fun.
We did a Muriwai trip this month and it was fun, but not quite the same as it used to be. I'm getting too old for it, frankly -- every time I get dumped I think, not without cause, that I've hurt my back or something. Ah, well ...
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to Alastair Jamieson,
To clarify, I wasn’t referring to Pt Chevalier as a location where a sandy beach never existed
No, it was more that I was startled to see quite how sandy it once was.
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to Islander,
And look! Lotsa babies/toddlers right in there, learning about water – and swimming-
It certainly looks that way.
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Couple more 1920s pics of the Chev, because they buzz me out.
The Dixieland cabaret from the sea. Calling Chris Bourke!
And people taking camping holidays there.
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to Alastair Jamieson,
There seem to be a growing number of locations with residents demanding the construction of sandy beaches where none ever existed.
It appears that you can count Pt Chevalier beach out of that, then. I've read Keith Sinclair waxing lyrical about his childhood days there.
And I did an image search and found this absolutely amazing picture of the beach in the 20s.
It appears that there used to be a hell of a lot of natural sand there. Far, more, indeed, than there is now. What happened? Or were they re-sanding 90 years ago?
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Hard News: Floating the idea, in reply to BenWilson,
This is what they have at Pt Erin, I’ve been going for a couple of weeks. My wife got in free, because she was a “non-swimming guardian”, meaning she was basically looking after my 1-year old. Both the under 5s got in free, and I had to pay for myself. So the whole family cost under $5. Awesomeness.
I think Pt Erin dodged a bullet several years ago when it was going to be turned into a leisure centre more in keeping with the desires of the wealthy folk who live around it, but for some reason stayed as pools.
And yes, for as long as I've been going, there have always been lots of brown folks there, as families. But I was quietly glad to stop going -- it seems less fun when you're not there with young children, and it's certainly not as relaxing as jumping on my bike and riding down to the beach for a dip.