Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
@rgjones.bsky.social
Ngāti Kahungunu. He/him/ia. Public health doc. A/Prof at Waipapa Taumata Rau.
Mai i te awa ki te moana #FreePalestine 🇵🇸
Mai i te awa ki te moana #FreePalestine 🇵🇸
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 7:58 AM
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Tomorrow is the Fifth of November – but let’s forget Guy Fawkes and his actions against an arrogant Protestant king and instead look to our own history: the unlawful attack on Parihaka and, by extension, Māori sovereignty.
🧵
#kikorangi
🧵
#kikorangi
November 4, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Tomorrow is the Fifth of November – but let’s forget Guy Fawkes and his actions against an arrogant Protestant king and instead look to our own history: the unlawful attack on Parihaka and, by extension, Māori sovereignty.
🧵
#kikorangi
🧵
#kikorangi
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
our govt wants to spend 327 times more on a single road ($18b) than they are currently spending yearly on all of basic science in new zealand ($55m) #nzpol
The Northern Expressway we were told would cost $10 billion is now priced at $18 billion, or six times the Cook Strait crossing we were told was unaffordable. This is fantasy stuff. www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-adv...
Game-changer: New $18b expressway endorsed to boost jobs and road safety
The Northland Expressway from Te Hana to Whangārei is expected to boost Northland.
www.nzherald.co.nz
October 26, 2025 at 7:55 PM
our govt wants to spend 327 times more on a single road ($18b) than they are currently spending yearly on all of basic science in new zealand ($55m) #nzpol
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Instead of spending billions on fancy new roads, the government should actually consider REMOVING some of the big roads from our cities as well as building more bike lanes and public transport.
#NZPOL
#NZPOL
October 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Instead of spending billions on fancy new roads, the government should actually consider REMOVING some of the big roads from our cities as well as building more bike lanes and public transport.
#NZPOL
#NZPOL
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
This story was devastating to write. Imagine what it was like to live it.
'He begged for pain relief': The story of a boy who was failed by his carers before he died
Oranga Tamariki apologises to the family of a teenager: “There were failings in how we cared for you”
www.stuff.co.nz
October 24, 2025 at 4:45 PM
This story was devastating to write. Imagine what it was like to live it.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
NZ public health, GP and paediatric folk have been warning about this longer than the WHO…
World Health Organisation warned New Zealand of measles immunisation gap www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
World Health Organisation warned New Zealand of measles immunisation gap www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
World Health Organisation warned New Zealand of measles immunisation gap
Latest stats show 72 percent of Māori under-fives are vaccinated, compared to 82 percent for the whole population.
www.rnz.co.nz
October 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
NZ public health, GP and paediatric folk have been warning about this longer than the WHO…
World Health Organisation warned New Zealand of measles immunisation gap www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
World Health Organisation warned New Zealand of measles immunisation gap www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Our university has decided to pander to racists rather than living by its stated values. The new Waipapa Taumata Rau course, which was designed as a core foundation for Tiriti-based learning, will now be optional for most students. This is a shameful and spineless decision.
Waipapa Taumata Rau course changes – University of Auckland
Thursday 16 October: From 2026, the Waipapa Taumata Rau (WTR) courses will no longer be a core requirement for a number of programmes.
www.auckland.ac.nz
October 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Our university has decided to pander to racists rather than living by its stated values. The new Waipapa Taumata Rau course, which was designed as a core foundation for Tiriti-based learning, will now be optional for most students. This is a shameful and spineless decision.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Mind blowing.
The Luxon Government has confirmed it will rewrite NZ’s once bipartisan climate change law to dilute methane reduction targets and PERMANENTLY exclude dairy from the Emissions Trading Scheme – a move Greenpeace says amounts to full-blown climate denial.
#nzpol
The Luxon Government has confirmed it will rewrite NZ’s once bipartisan climate change law to dilute methane reduction targets and PERMANENTLY exclude dairy from the Emissions Trading Scheme – a move Greenpeace says amounts to full-blown climate denial.
#nzpol
October 11, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Mind blowing.
The Luxon Government has confirmed it will rewrite NZ’s once bipartisan climate change law to dilute methane reduction targets and PERMANENTLY exclude dairy from the Emissions Trading Scheme – a move Greenpeace says amounts to full-blown climate denial.
#nzpol
The Luxon Government has confirmed it will rewrite NZ’s once bipartisan climate change law to dilute methane reduction targets and PERMANENTLY exclude dairy from the Emissions Trading Scheme – a move Greenpeace says amounts to full-blown climate denial.
#nzpol
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
“In this 50th anniversary year, the Tribunal and Te Tiriti are under a sustained attack from perhaps the most anti-Tiriti government that we’ve seen since the Tribunal was established.” — Carwyn Jones.
Fifty years of the Waitangi Tribunal | E-Tangata
“In this 50th anniversary year, the Tribunal and Te Tiriti are under a sustained attack from perhaps the most anti-Tiriti government that we’ve seen since the Tribunal was established.” — Carwyn Jones...
e-tangata.co.nz
October 4, 2025 at 6:45 PM
“In this 50th anniversary year, the Tribunal and Te Tiriti are under a sustained attack from perhaps the most anti-Tiriti government that we’ve seen since the Tribunal was established.” — Carwyn Jones.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
A tragedy as long in the making as it was probably statistically inevitable.
It started with lies, planted as disinformation into the vulnerable mind of anyone susceptible.
Those that create the lies, spread the lies, reinforce the lies are as responsible as those who aided him.
🧵
#nzpol
It started with lies, planted as disinformation into the vulnerable mind of anyone susceptible.
Those that create the lies, spread the lies, reinforce the lies are as responsible as those who aided him.
🧵
#nzpol
September 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
A tragedy as long in the making as it was probably statistically inevitable.
It started with lies, planted as disinformation into the vulnerable mind of anyone susceptible.
Those that create the lies, spread the lies, reinforce the lies are as responsible as those who aided him.
🧵
#nzpol
It started with lies, planted as disinformation into the vulnerable mind of anyone susceptible.
Those that create the lies, spread the lies, reinforce the lies are as responsible as those who aided him.
🧵
#nzpol
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Important commentary on Gaza from my colleague Ritesh Shah, around the nonsense (in both senses) that is the silence of "political neutrality" articulated by universities in the face of genocide, scholasticide, and the requests from staff for divestment.
Is this a 1980s Apartheid moment for our universities?
Academic Ritesh Shah wonders if universities staying neutral on human rights abuses in Gaza achieves the opposite of their desired preservation of academic independence.
newsroom.co.nz
August 31, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Important commentary on Gaza from my colleague Ritesh Shah, around the nonsense (in both senses) that is the silence of "political neutrality" articulated by universities in the face of genocide, scholasticide, and the requests from staff for divestment.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Among all the many reasons to support Gaza, and push for ceasefire, sanctions etc., is scholasticide...
Surely as academic communities and professions, we must rally around the attacks on, and obliteration of infrastructure for, our academic peers and students in Gaza.
Surely as academic communities and professions, we must rally around the attacks on, and obliteration of infrastructure for, our academic peers and students in Gaza.
‘Too hungry to think, too weak to sit upright. Concentration slips away’: the struggle to stay focused as an academic in Gaza
It is hard to keep the mind sharp when the body is thin and dehydrated, but solidarity is teaching starving students their thoughts still matter
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Among all the many reasons to support Gaza, and push for ceasefire, sanctions etc., is scholasticide...
Surely as academic communities and professions, we must rally around the attacks on, and obliteration of infrastructure for, our academic peers and students in Gaza.
Surely as academic communities and professions, we must rally around the attacks on, and obliteration of infrastructure for, our academic peers and students in Gaza.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
I direct NZers attention to who was asking in the House if politicians had backbone in 2008
August 13, 2025 at 6:21 AM
I direct NZers attention to who was asking in the House if politicians had backbone in 2008
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
These pictures will be remembered for centuries.
Future generations will ask:
"Who did what, and when?
Who made this abomination possible?
Who spoke out - and who remained silent?"
Make sure you have good answers.
Future generations will ask:
"Who did what, and when?
Who made this abomination possible?
Who spoke out - and who remained silent?"
Make sure you have good answers.
July 25, 2025 at 11:36 AM
These pictures will be remembered for centuries.
Future generations will ask:
"Who did what, and when?
Who made this abomination possible?
Who spoke out - and who remained silent?"
Make sure you have good answers.
Future generations will ask:
"Who did what, and when?
Who made this abomination possible?
Who spoke out - and who remained silent?"
Make sure you have good answers.
Sumud: Palestinian resilience and its impact on the world 🇵🇸
Free events including lectures and panel presentations, film screenings, and artistic performances.
Every Thursday from 6-8.30pm, from 31 July to 21 August at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland.
Free events including lectures and panel presentations, film screenings, and artistic performances.
Every Thursday from 6-8.30pm, from 31 July to 21 August at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland.
Sumud: Palestinian resilience and its impact on the world | Event series
Featuring lectures and panel presentations from world-leading scholars and journalists, film screenings, and artistic performances.
www.eventbrite.co.nz
July 21, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Sumud: Palestinian resilience and its impact on the world 🇵🇸
Free events including lectures and panel presentations, film screenings, and artistic performances.
Every Thursday from 6-8.30pm, from 31 July to 21 August at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland.
Free events including lectures and panel presentations, film screenings, and artistic performances.
Every Thursday from 6-8.30pm, from 31 July to 21 August at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
the problem is that the first premise - that people on the so-called Right of politics are Decent Sorts who hold similar values to the rest of us and just have Different Opinions - isn't really true, and becomes less true all the time
July 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
the problem is that the first premise - that people on the so-called Right of politics are Decent Sorts who hold similar values to the rest of us and just have Different Opinions - isn't really true, and becomes less true all the time
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
This coalition government is making #nz a global laughing stock
New Zealand used to make headlines for its bold climate commitments. The gutting of those commitments is equally bold, but not getting much attention outside NZ. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read @roycerk2.bsky.social for @drilledmedia.bsky.social drilled.media/news/new-zea...
“Ideological Sludge”: How New Zealand Is Quiet Quitting Climate Action
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
drilled.media
July 17, 2025 at 6:58 PM
This coalition government is making #nz a global laughing stock
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Zionist apologists being more outraged by a chant at a concert than by children being burned alive & people being starved then shot queuing for food tells you everything you need to know.
#gaza #genocide #eyesongaza
#gaza #genocide #eyesongaza
June 30, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Zionist apologists being more outraged by a chant at a concert than by children being burned alive & people being starved then shot queuing for food tells you everything you need to know.
#gaza #genocide #eyesongaza
#gaza #genocide #eyesongaza
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Political analogy:
You can't balance the right leaning see saw by
sitting in the middle, you must be on the far left
cause sitting in middle just keeps you sliding right. #Nzpol
You can't balance the right leaning see saw by
sitting in the middle, you must be on the far left
cause sitting in middle just keeps you sliding right. #Nzpol
June 27, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Political analogy:
You can't balance the right leaning see saw by
sitting in the middle, you must be on the far left
cause sitting in middle just keeps you sliding right. #Nzpol
You can't balance the right leaning see saw by
sitting in the middle, you must be on the far left
cause sitting in middle just keeps you sliding right. #Nzpol
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Video by Dr Cassandra Mudgway @legallyfeminist.bsky.social on current debates around misogyny in the context of drastic changes to pay equity legislation. V. useful frame of ref. in study of commentary targeting journalist Andrea Vance, & also MP Willis. 1k+ views on Instagram. Worth posting here.
May 13, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Video by Dr Cassandra Mudgway @legallyfeminist.bsky.social on current debates around misogyny in the context of drastic changes to pay equity legislation. V. useful frame of ref. in study of commentary targeting journalist Andrea Vance, & also MP Willis. 1k+ views on Instagram. Worth posting here.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
OK, this is wild.
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
May 12, 2025 at 3:20 PM
OK, this is wild.
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them.
It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*.
What the HELL?
1/
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
A few things to note about the PR spin currently happening:
The term "sex-based discrimination" is a rhetorical shield.
It positions pay equity changes as being rooted in moral clarity - “we’re against discrimination in principle” while steadfastly ignoring the reality of equality in practice.
🧵
The term "sex-based discrimination" is a rhetorical shield.
It positions pay equity changes as being rooted in moral clarity - “we’re against discrimination in principle” while steadfastly ignoring the reality of equality in practice.
🧵
May 12, 2025 at 5:52 AM
A few things to note about the PR spin currently happening:
The term "sex-based discrimination" is a rhetorical shield.
It positions pay equity changes as being rooted in moral clarity - “we’re against discrimination in principle” while steadfastly ignoring the reality of equality in practice.
🧵
The term "sex-based discrimination" is a rhetorical shield.
It positions pay equity changes as being rooted in moral clarity - “we’re against discrimination in principle” while steadfastly ignoring the reality of equality in practice.
🧵
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
“We defeated a well-funded, bad-faith attempt to turn our country against our founding agreement.” — Kassie Hartendorp.
Why the Treaty principles bill had to go down | E-Tangata
“We defeated a well-funded, bad-faith attempt to turn our country against our founding agreement.” — Kassie Hartendorp.
e-tangata.co.nz
April 12, 2025 at 8:06 PM
“We defeated a well-funded, bad-faith attempt to turn our country against our founding agreement.” — Kassie Hartendorp.
Reposted by Rhys Jones 🇵🇸
Posts like this often come across as helpful advice, but they miss the deeper issue. They shift responsibility away from those operating the deadliest machines on the road.
Safety shouldn't depend on someone's fashion choices. It should start with those behind the wheel.
Safety shouldn't depend on someone's fashion choices. It should start with those behind the wheel.
April 6, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Posts like this often come across as helpful advice, but they miss the deeper issue. They shift responsibility away from those operating the deadliest machines on the road.
Safety shouldn't depend on someone's fashion choices. It should start with those behind the wheel.
Safety shouldn't depend on someone's fashion choices. It should start with those behind the wheel.