Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
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legallyfeminist.bsky.social
Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
@legallyfeminist.bsky.social
Am a Dr. Not the useful kind. Teach Evidence Law, International Human Rights, Gender & the Law at UC.
Researching online abuse, human rights, law. ASD-Dyspraxia 🌈
Instagram: @legally.feminist
Views are my own.
Pinned
We’ve published an Open Letter calling on NZ leaders to deliver risk-based AI regulation & a national oversight body. AI has huge potential, but harms (deepfakes, gendered abuse, bias) are real and rising. Read the Letter (and sign it if you agree!) #nzpol

regulateai.nz
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A call to the NZ Parliament to regulate AI
regulateai.nz
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
This is the plan that the coalition government says is "not about centralising power". Jesus wept. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
November 25, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Some political parties will literally disestablish entire layers of local government rather than go to therapy (for their entrenched racism)
Regardless of kayfabe comms and Nat equivocation in media, ACT always says the thing to its red-faced griefer audience
November 25, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
I am slightly nervous that no-one has told @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social that I am an idiot with the political nous of a cat chasing the red dot from a laser pointer …
November 25, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little gave a big promotion to controversial rival Ray Chung and opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.

thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
Andrew Little buddies up to the right
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
"Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users mental health, according to unredacted filings in a lawsuit by US school districts against Meta and other social media platforms." www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Changes like this, abolishing regional councils, should require a super majority in the house - end of
#NZPol
November 24, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Crazy how centralizing 3 waters was bad but centralizing everything is good
November 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Yet again, this Government proves it has no respect or care for localism. #nzpol
It is understood reforms to be announced today will mean the dissolving of regional councils, and the first steps could be within this current three-year council term.
End of regional councils tipped in local government reforms
It is understood reforms to be announced today will mean the dissolving of regional councils, and the first steps could be within this current three-year council term.
dlvr.it
November 24, 2025 at 9:02 PM
We can disagree on policy. But promoting someone who spreads misogynistic rumours into a key leadership role? That should be a red line for any council committed to safe and respectful politics. #nzpol

thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
Andrew Little buddies up to the right
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
The thing is, taking a strong stand in defence of trans people's rights isn't just the correct moral thing to do. It's also the politically smart thing to do.
November 24, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
And I can't emphasise enough how much the harassment doesn't stop when you leave.

I lost the election and people were still calling me a cunt.

On here, someone in my replies said I didn't care about Maaori wards, that I didn't get to be upset about the election and I wasn't disabled (!)
The abuse Julie Fairey copped after being HIT BY A CAR is exactly what happens when we treat online harm as background noise. Women in politics bear the brunt, especially women of colour. Until NZ actually regulates platforms properly, this will keep happening #nzpol

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
'It just seems cruel': Councillor shocked by comments after cycling accident
Councillor Julie Fairey has become accustomed to abusive comments - but she was still stunned.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 23, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The abuse Julie Fairey copped after being HIT BY A CAR is exactly what happens when we treat online harm as background noise. Women in politics bear the brunt, especially women of colour. Until NZ actually regulates platforms properly, this will keep happening #nzpol

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
'It just seems cruel': Councillor shocked by comments after cycling accident
Councillor Julie Fairey has become accustomed to abusive comments - but she was still stunned.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Great to see this from individual MPs but when it’s not coming from the top, and there’s no official statement or press release on Labour’s website, this doesn’t bode well for a future where, following this trial balloon focusing on trans youth, further restrictions to healthcare are very likely.
Doctors and parents should make decisions about what is best for their kids health - not politicians. The Government has said doctors cannot give new prescriptions of puberty blockers to children who are suffering from gender dysphoria. That is putting kids at risk.
November 23, 2025 at 3:23 AM
And this is who you'll have to trust with age verification tools when we adopt an age ban too, so think about that. Note that the strongest regulatory rules apply to child sexual exploitation & pornography and Meta can't even manage minimising that on their platforms 🫠
www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
November 23, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Saw a tik tok about how millenials are cheating less and everyone is like oh it’s cause they are marrying later or marrying who they want 🙄 bruh you need 2 incomes for one family how are men gonna afford a second secret family in this economy 😅
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Tonight, Ōtautahi DID gather. On incredibly short notice, we had 50+ trans people, whānau, parents, tamariki, doctors, allies turn out to recognise TDoR and to share their anger. This ban will not last. Thank you, Ōtautahi. I love you, trans people.
Tonight, Ōtautahi will gather to recognise trans day of remembrance and to give our communities a chance to breathe, to share their grief, and to plan our actions. Aotearoa won’t let this stand, because Aotearoa cares for its children - and can see right through the bullshit.
November 20, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
How it How it’s
started going

#nzpol
November 20, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
When the Greens had to vote for the Party Hopping law ‘cos they blindly agreed to support all the Labour-NZ First deal points (🤭), they made it very clear that they were swallowing a dead rat when casting their votes in the House. NZ First on the Regulatory Standards Bill? Not so much …
November 20, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Councillor Jonny Osborne spoke on behalf of Green Councillors (myself, Foon and Rogers) to say that we do not support the appointment of Cr Chung to a Chair role this triennium, due to our concerns about his spreading gendered disinformation. We did however vote for the paper.
November 19, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Here's the submission I made to Wellington City Council regarding the appointment of Cr Ray Chung as chair of the Review and Appointments subcommittee. #gendered #disinformation #nzpol
November 19, 2025 at 10:32 PM
So in a few month's time when the govt is telling you the social media under 16 age ban is to protect children, remember that they don't actually care about children's safety. They don't care about trans kids. They don't care about tamariki Māori. They don't care about feeding kids. #nzpol
November 19, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Similar tools used in trials in the USA had generated text for things which were never said so they need to clearly explain how they prevent this

There's also serious privacy concerns about where the output text is stored, who has access to it and what it can be used for & by who #nzpol
November 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
Restricting the availability of puberty blockers to trans kids but allowing them for cis kids is a blatant violation of NZBORA (1990) and the Human Rights Act (1993).

This will undoubtedly end up in court - very quickly as the subject of a Judicial Review.
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
We did it team! Parliament finally passed the anti-stalking bill tonight. Thanks to all of you that helped this campaign in many different ways! #NZpol
Fear of reprisals if stalkers warned without target's knowledge
An anti-stalking advocate says a proposed new law has a worrying caveat in which stalkers can be warned by police, without the victim first being notified.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cassandra Mudgway
I barely know how to express how sad and angry I am at the politicisation of essential healthcare for trans kids.
Just - this election can’t come soon enough. And when it does, we need to fight as if lives depend on it - because for some, that’s the literal truth.
#nzpol 🏳️‍⚧️
November 19, 2025 at 9:16 AM