Matt Smith
@smithmatt.bsky.social
Comics enthusiast, policy wonk at He Pou a Rangi - the NZ Climate Commission, focusing on the NZETS and targets. Cat/dog person, PC Gamer, avid devourer of politics and legal ephemera. Opinions my own, not my employer. Pōneke. He/him. PFP @exocomics
Reposted by Matt Smith
READ: Palestinian Christians released a powerful new document calling Zionism "a theology of racism and ethnic supremacy" that has produced genocide. The document demands churches worldwide repudiate Zionist theology. mondoweiss.net/2025/12/what...
‘What is the Christian word in the face of genocide?’: new Kairos Palestine document calls for repudiation of Zionism
“What is happening [in Palestine] today is the true face of Zionist ideology . . . turning Palestinian existence into an unbearable hell,” declares the recently released Kairos Palestine document, “A…
mondoweiss.net
December 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM
READ: Palestinian Christians released a powerful new document calling Zionism "a theology of racism and ethnic supremacy" that has produced genocide. The document demands churches worldwide repudiate Zionist theology. mondoweiss.net/2025/12/what...
Reposted by Matt Smith
Yeah... yeah... but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they *could*, they didn't stop to think if they had forgotten something before rushing to the airport to meet the publisher & ... 𝙊𝙃 𝙈𝙔 𝙂𝙊𝘿! 𝙆𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙉!!
December 24, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Yeah... yeah... but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they *could*, they didn't stop to think if they had forgotten something before rushing to the airport to meet the publisher & ... 𝙊𝙃 𝙈𝙔 𝙂𝙊𝘿! 𝙆𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙉!!
Reposted by Matt Smith
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
December 22, 2025 at 10:07 AM
My kid is 14. He uses discord to talk to friends when playing Minecraft and dnd. He has no interest in FB or instagram or TikTok, but a social media hard-cap of age 16 would limit his social life unnecessarily with no benefit. Ffs, direct policy at platforms not users. Or ban boomers as well.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Watching the Prime Minister doco and the March 19 mosque attack and reminded how David Seymour was the ONLY MP who voted against the gun reforms.
December 18, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Watching the Prime Minister doco and the March 19 mosque attack and reminded how David Seymour was the ONLY MP who voted against the gun reforms.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Extremely evocative of stealing jpgs from the NFT people
December 21, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Extremely evocative of stealing jpgs from the NFT people
Reposted by Matt Smith
The White House has been caught.
The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims.
In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.
The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims.
In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.
December 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
The White House has been caught.
The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims.
In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.
The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims.
In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Reposted by Matt Smith
Having a cat is so cool. There is a little creature in my bed who loves me and vibrates like a tiny motorcycle and is so fuzzy and wants to snuggle. How could I want anything else
December 20, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Having a cat is so cool. There is a little creature in my bed who loves me and vibrates like a tiny motorcycle and is so fuzzy and wants to snuggle. How could I want anything else
Reposted by Matt Smith
Remember when the NZ media went through its archives deleting racist outrage bait targeting Muslim immigrants? Remember what the ‘emotional junior staffer’ thing was in relation to? Actual things that happened. We have learned zero lessons about racism and violence and it’s disgraceful.
December 20, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Remember when the NZ media went through its archives deleting racist outrage bait targeting Muslim immigrants? Remember what the ‘emotional junior staffer’ thing was in relation to? Actual things that happened. We have learned zero lessons about racism and violence and it’s disgraceful.
Reposted by Matt Smith
How are THREE PARTIES out of credible-sounding ideas after LESS THAN ONE TERM
Lol. Our plan must avoid just looking busy and really get to grips with focussing on outcomes, and that's why I have created this list of things we will focus on talking about, defining, and developing that we can work on and implement, perhaps, in the fullness of time.
December 20, 2025 at 3:17 AM
How are THREE PARTIES out of credible-sounding ideas after LESS THAN ONE TERM
Reposted by Matt Smith
Grinder and Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee and PATHA interim relief and the Corrections mandamus case and (not fitting with the meme because it was on the Crown side) LCANZI and probably others I'm missing.
December 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Grinder and Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee and PATHA interim relief and the Corrections mandamus case and (not fitting with the meme because it was on the Crown side) LCANZI and probably others I'm missing.
Reposted by Matt Smith
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
December 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
Reposted by Matt Smith
Remember when you censored Judith Butler for calling the gender-critical movement fascist? Or when you ran an editorial both sides-ing gender identity reform? Or when you quoted a transphobic hate group as a neutral source? Or when you basically republished one of their press releases verbatim?
With the world in flux, our commitment to clear, agenda-free reporting has never been stronger.
Back factual reporting by supporting the Guardian today. theguardian.com/support/eoy-sc
Back factual reporting by supporting the Guardian today. theguardian.com/support/eoy-sc
December 15, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Remember when you censored Judith Butler for calling the gender-critical movement fascist? Or when you ran an editorial both sides-ing gender identity reform? Or when you quoted a transphobic hate group as a neutral source? Or when you basically republished one of their press releases verbatim?
Reposted by Matt Smith
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,
in fact,
a tortology
in fact,
a tortology
December 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Learned today that “Galápagos” comes from a Spanish word for tortoise, meaning that “Galápagos Tortoise” is,
in fact,
a tortology
in fact,
a tortology
Reposted by Matt Smith
With the single exception of the demographic group "white teenage girls", higher levels of social media use are associated with higher self-esteem and greater self-confidence in teens of every single racial and gender category.
December 12, 2025 at 11:32 PM
With the single exception of the demographic group "white teenage girls", higher levels of social media use are associated with higher self-esteem and greater self-confidence in teens of every single racial and gender category.
Reposted by Matt Smith
I was NORML NZ's political nerd in the 2000s when I researched and submitted to the Health select committee when they were looking at roadside drug testing. I recommended a 9 nanogramme threshold for cannabis impairment. Around three times what is proposed. This is drug snobbery.
"impairing drugs"?
Police conflating presence with impairment, just like the politicians told them to.
Police conflating presence with impairment, just like the politicians told them to.
Doctor’s note can’t be used to avoid a roadside drug test for cannabis, police say
Drivers will be screened for recent use of these drugs in a process similar to roadside alcohol testing, police said.
www.stuff.co.nz
December 13, 2025 at 7:08 AM
I was NORML NZ's political nerd in the 2000s when I researched and submitted to the Health select committee when they were looking at roadside drug testing. I recommended a 9 nanogramme threshold for cannabis impairment. Around three times what is proposed. This is drug snobbery.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Me so old, I remember sitting in Nandor Tanczos' Parliamentary office discussing the saliva tests available at the time and their false positive rates. From memory, a shittonne of these saliva tests were made by a fundamentalist Corporate Christian backing.
December 13, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Me so old, I remember sitting in Nandor Tanczos' Parliamentary office discussing the saliva tests available at the time and their false positive rates. From memory, a shittonne of these saliva tests were made by a fundamentalist Corporate Christian backing.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Wellington huh
NZ racism hits different: ‘I’m not even going to try to pronounce the next name’
NZ racism hits different: ‘I’m not even going to try to pronounce the next name’
After swapping Wellington for London, Preyanka Gothanayagi was surprised to find people treated her like an actual person....
thespinoff.co.nz
December 12, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Wellington huh
Reposted by Matt Smith
“One of the biggest waves of censorship”
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks:
https://bit.ly/4rRJTFV
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks:
https://bit.ly/4rRJTFV
Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content
More than 50 organisations report sites being restricted or removed, with abortion hotlines blocked and posts showing non-explicit nudity triggering warnings
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:21 PM
“One of the biggest waves of censorship”
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks:
https://bit.ly/4rRJTFV
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks:
https://bit.ly/4rRJTFV
Reposted by Matt Smith
Kind of interesting: I thought the thing where the word "capitalism" is so vague it can mean anything from consumerism cronyism to the right to own private property was relatively recent, but here's Chesterton complaining about it in 1927
December 11, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Kind of interesting: I thought the thing where the word "capitalism" is so vague it can mean anything from consumerism cronyism to the right to own private property was relatively recent, but here's Chesterton complaining about it in 1927
Reposted by Matt Smith
The social media ban is the Platonic ideal of contemporary politics:
An ill-conceived, superficial "we must do something" response to a serious systemic issue
The real harm it will cause terrifies me
Can it inspire us to create a better politics?
in-between-days.ghost.io/the-social-m...
An ill-conceived, superficial "we must do something" response to a serious systemic issue
The real harm it will cause terrifies me
Can it inspire us to create a better politics?
in-between-days.ghost.io/the-social-m...
The social media ban and the end of politics
The Albanese government's teen social media ban, which came into effect this morning, is perhaps the Platonic ideal of contemporary politics.
It should make us all very angry. And then it should insp...
in-between-days.ghost.io
December 10, 2025 at 1:11 AM
The social media ban is the Platonic ideal of contemporary politics:
An ill-conceived, superficial "we must do something" response to a serious systemic issue
The real harm it will cause terrifies me
Can it inspire us to create a better politics?
in-between-days.ghost.io/the-social-m...
An ill-conceived, superficial "we must do something" response to a serious systemic issue
The real harm it will cause terrifies me
Can it inspire us to create a better politics?
in-between-days.ghost.io/the-social-m...
Reposted by Matt Smith
Reposted by Matt Smith
Welp, looks like we're teaching the LinkedIn grindset people what The Onion is the hard way.
December 10, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Welp, looks like we're teaching the LinkedIn grindset people what The Onion is the hard way.
Reposted by Matt Smith
The worst charts I've ever seen at work
December 10, 2025 at 9:39 AM
The worst charts I've ever seen at work
Reposted by Matt Smith
This is terrible policy that likely forces all users to identify themselves to online services, and fails to recognise the reality of the world in which modern teenagers exist and communicate.
It is a knee jerk policy response to a poorly understood issue defined by people who don't talk to kids
It is a knee jerk policy response to a poorly understood issue defined by people who don't talk to kids
December 8, 2025 at 1:16 AM
This is terrible policy that likely forces all users to identify themselves to online services, and fails to recognise the reality of the world in which modern teenagers exist and communicate.
It is a knee jerk policy response to a poorly understood issue defined by people who don't talk to kids
It is a knee jerk policy response to a poorly understood issue defined by people who don't talk to kids