Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

Danielle, Petty Hate Machine @dimsie.bsky.social · 2d

"calling parents to accountability" sounds like we're all a bunch of wastrels because we can't feed four adults (or more) on two adults' shitty wages. Infuriating #nzpol

3 11 87

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · 1d

When they signalled this in the budget we @dpanz.bsky.social raised concern because of the dangerous & detrimental position this also puts disabled, queer, and young adults experiencing abuse in.

Absolutely wild that young *adults* are now forced to be financially tied to parents at 18 & 19yo.

Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 3d

#nzpol The government has announced that 18/19 year olds, who live in a household where the parents earn $65,529 or more, can't claim jobseekers support. If both parents work 27 hours on the minimum wage - $634 a week - they will be expected to now financially support their adult offspring. A 🧵

10 16

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

Terry Baucher @trabaq.bsky.social · 2d

Spotted this gem in a footnote on page 62 of Treasury's He Tirohanga Mokopuna

"Between 25% and 30% of everyone born in New Zealand is living overseas by age 30, and emigration rates are even higher among those with tertiary qualifications"

Radical idea here - how about stop shitting on our young?

Footnote from Treasury's 2025 He Tirohanga Mokopuna

"See Hughes, (2025a) and Hughes & Crichton (2025). Between 25% and 30% of everyone born in New Zealand is living overseas by age 30, and emigration rates are even higher among those with tertiary qualifications. Student loan holders living overseas commonly cease repayments, and these loans are sometimes written off as a result. Ministry of Education (2023)."

He Tirohanga Mokopuna is Treasury's long-term fiscal statement and it's full of woe about the funding of NZ Super. Not enough about maybe trying a LOT harder to keep people here.

2 28 95

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 2d

CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true

40 2.9K 10K

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 13d

And during all of this, we have fewer disability reporters at national publications than when we started the year.

It's ME(Jaime) @exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social · 14d

Our current admin hates disabled people 🌈
www.afge.org/article/cdc-...

CDC Removes Disability as Reasonable Accommodation for Remote Work, Backtracks After Union Pressure

Leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said employees with disabilities would no longer be approved for telework or remote work as a reasonable accommodation – a stunning vio...

www.afge.org

3 120 310

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · 16d

Finally! 900 days of Arabic, with a little Japanese, Spanish, and French thrown in.

I completed the Arabic course about a month ago but am actually finding the revision lessons better than the main course!

#LeanArabic #DuoLingo

DuoLingo graphic that reads “I’m on a 900 day learning streak!”

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · 29d

Oh damn it’s frustrating huh. Luckily I’m finding a few and able to work backwards from there but it’s been such a while profile pics and names have changed so it’s not always easy to find people!

1

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · 29d

Oh wicked kia ora Raine!

1

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

James Youngman @jyoungman.bsky.social · Sep 1

And that's assuming that the technology can do the work of a junior at the quality of a junior.

If it can't, that only speeds up the destruction because now seniors have to babysit the sabotage machine, reducing the amount of senior-level work getting done.

Gen AI can't do junior work.

5 64 530

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

James Youngman @jyoungman.bsky.social · Sep 1

I don't get how people don't realize that a technology that replaces junior and entry level positions in a field destroys that field.

There's no skipping steps. You have to be a junior before you can be a senior, and if you don't have senior people, you don't have a field.

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Aug 31

Remember, kids: A real big goal of "AI" is to entirely sever capital from labor, and no, there will be no universal basic income, you can all just starve and die, thanks

www.axios.com/2025/08/26/a...

AI is already taking jobs away from entry-level workers

Software and customer service are most at risk right now and could be the canary in the coal mine.

www.axios.com

63 2K 5K

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

I know I’m super late to the party but I’m so enjoying finding old Twitter mutuals on here ☺️

When I first joined it was with an awesome group but there were still a lot of folks and the vibe missing.

Now it’s like a nice nostalgic treasure hunt seeing people pop up whose yarns I have missed!

2 3

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

What the actual… okay this is maybe showing how out of touch I am since moving South but I was thinking at $4mill surely it must have been like Ponsonby or Herne Bay type of situation. That’s absolutely wild 🤯

1

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

nzjanette @nzjanette.bsky.social · Sep 1

That’s an insultingly pathetic offer.

Pay equity claims have been dismissed so there’s no path to a more reasonable pay scale, and now they’re being offered three years of effective pay cuts because inflation will significantly outstrip the rises.
#nzpol

Melanie D. @melulater.bsky.social · Sep 1

NZEI members considering industrial action.

Too right we are.

When school support staff are only being offered a $1 raise over THREE YEARS - 60c year one, 15c year two & 25c year three - and teachers, principals & MOE staff are offered 1%, I say 🖕🖕🖕.
share.google/11NDtb6pnFnK...

NZEI members considering industrial action

NZEI will consider whether to ballot members on industrial action following two-weeks of stop-work meetings for primary teachers and principals.

share.google

19 36

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Also, I’m sorry you had to go to ED, I hope you / loved ones are okay. And a 10 hour wait is horrific

1 2

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

JFC. I love me some early 2000s era George Clarke and architecture shows, but I didn’t realise this was a thing on NZ Tv let alone $4mill????

I’ve only been gone from Akl for 4 years but that’s wild. Where TF are they trying to buy??

2 2

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Agreed - this is also why I hated the whole declaring a state of “climate emergency” push because we know what shitty govts like to do under urgency 🙃

Grumpy @grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social · Sep 1

This govt must have abused 'urgency' more than any other, which is particularly galling when we haven't had a single crisis, natural disaster, pandemic, etc.

Imagine how much they'd shit the bed if they ever had to deal with a genuine issue that impacted folk beyond their donors?

Wankers

Mountain Tui @mountaintui.bsky.social · Sep 1

Let's not forget. Not only is Peters and NZ First selling us out to foreigners for chump change, this govt intends to pass this bill under urgency - bypassing standard democratic countries in their continued abuse of Parliamentary processes #nzpol

2

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Pretty sure for the ENT one that I waited almost as long (since I had to keep rescheduling on account of not having the money) as I would have had to under public too.

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

my appt come up I ended up with a ~$1k bill for imaging and a literally 10 min appt where the specialist barely let me say what I was concerned about.

It’s bad enough that we have such expensive dental, we absolutely cannot afford as a country to make this switch to private. It will be fuuuucked.

1 1

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

It’s so worrying. Never before did I think I would have medical debt in this country, but my GP kept referring me private for a couple of things because there were no options here in public… it was crap but manageable when I had some well paying projects on but the second those finished and I had

1 1

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Oh interesting, may I ask what your PhD was on?

At this stage I also need help narrowing down as I have several things I’ve thought in the past could be interesting research, but I wonder if a Ma would help me figure out what I do actually like after so long away

1 2

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Totally! I think that’s also what makes me a bit nervous, I have a few relationships in the field I’d go (back) to but I’ve been out of the Pol Sci / Law adjacent space academically since like 2013 lol

And Medschool scarred me soooo much worse than I thought even though I had awesome mentors

1

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Ooh that’s a good point!

I’m apprehensive to go back to uni as my most recent study was literally ghosting my medical degree (health etc) and just never going back or converting it into a BMedSci or anything.

But I’ve always wanted to do a PhD at some point so maybe starting small could be good

1 1

Reposted by Kera O’Regan

Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · Sep 1

Just remembering that scandal episode where the president was incapacitated but they kept it from the public.

6 2 19

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

I know exactly the episode you mean. Love me some Kerry Washington lip quivering badassery to get me going on an unmotivated day, but it would be nice if real life politics didn’t take such direct inspiration from that Show eh

1

Kera O’Regan @keraoregan.bsky.social · Sep 1

My favourite dish! If I had the skills to actually make this I would make it every day. Looks delicious and very impressive!

2 2