Today we have an interesting case being heard in the New Zealand High Court, on the right of a prisoner to vote. Not a prisoner, eh …

… not expecting to be a prisoner anytime soon?

… doesn’t affect me?

Go back to The Rights of Men.

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We often talk about the disposable male; I attribute this phrase to Warren Farrell, but only because that’s where I heard it first.

In being disposable the corollary is that male rights must also be disposable. Just to be clear, I am not talking male rights v female rights (which we often compare on this site) but simply our rights within a civil society.

At this point you’re thinking, ‘can I be bothered getting into this philosophical rubbish’? I just want to get on with my life.

But that’s just it, how can you get on with life when your rights are arbitrarily dismissed, impeded, or removed? (more…)

Sexist or not.

The 2014 lotto promotion for Fathers Day featured 20 prizes…..

The 2014 lotto Mothers Day promotion featured 100 prizes……

I have asked lotto why, but as yet have not received a reply…….

What I have learnt in this life is-

1. Injustice or the the lack of justice is unavoidable.

2. Justice is finite. It is estimated there is only 2 billion tons of justice in the universe.
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The continuing story of John the Grain Farmer and The Drained Man.

It was a small funeral, mostly the grain farmers from the hostel.

The children sat with their mother, listening intently to the few men that got up and spoke about John, hoping they might hear a little about the father they never knew.

The three boys had only ever known what their mother had told them, that he was married to the land and not to her, although they didn’t quite understand how that worked. (more…)

The continuing story of John the Grain Farmer.

John was too old to be a farm labourer now, and nobody wanted to hire him anymore – he had no choice but to move to the city. He didn’t like the city but he hoped he could find work there.

The officer of the city always seemed to know where he was, and called on him once a month demanding the grain he owed the city, always checking to see that he wasn’t hiding anything that could be traded for grain.

He now owed the city more grain than he had ever produced in his best year. (more…)

There was once a grain farmer named John, who worked hard on his land and produced 10 tons of grain a year. His wife became annoyed with him, saying, the land was his mistress and that he did not pay enough attention to her.

She took their children and moved to the city.

John’s wife had no income and asked the city to support her because she had children to raise – she was given a house and money.

At the end of the season an officer from the city came to the farm and without asking took 3 tons of grain, telling John, it was to support his children. (more…)

IRD pursued David Sharp for unrealistic fees and late payments for child support payments. Indeed there are three male suicides the news article. Establishing a pattern perhaps.
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Good Evening Everyone,

I am doing research on fathers, shared parenting, and related areas. I have been working on this area for about 25 years, mainly in Canada. I am now looking at the Global Shared Parenting movement and would like to do interviews with those in Australia and New Zealand. Please let me know if there are those you are in contact with who are interested in being interviewed.
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When STUFF NATION put up their recent assignment, inviting writers to contribute to a debate on Equality in New Zealand (whether women have achieved equality in New Zealand society) I thought it might be interesting to look at this from the point of view of the background-role media play: whether media actually support equality of the sexes and which side of the equality debate they favour; accepting that equality is a collection of concepts as opposed to a defined word.

Media normally detest a culture of denial – it’s the noble cause of the journalist to be vigilant in the disclosure of truth for public consumption. In the face of war it can be somewhere between a challenging and fatal occupation, then at other times it throws up some interesting conflicts. (more…)

A Stuff Nation Assignment running at the moment – Are Women Equal in New Zealand poses questions about equality:

Maybe you think the fight for equality has gone too far the other way and it’s now men who are discriminated against in some areas…?

What do you think it would take, and what should we all be doing, for men and women to be seen as equals?

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You see someone doing something excellent for people and then you see them hurting people ….. which matters to you?
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Tauawhi (Maori) to hug, embrace, support (one another)

Tauawhi Men’s Centre is located in Gisborne and its co-ordinator Tim Marshall has announced via STUFF NATION their intention to hold a hui – a hui promoting a men’s response to violence in Aotearoa. (more…)

My 15 year old daughter was taken to Canada by her mother a few months ago. The Courts allowed this because they allow mothers to do most things don’t they, but I don’t know where she is now.
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When I saw this article the other day it confirmed my thoughts – the ones I’ve been sharing in recent posts – that we are now seeing an overt feminist political-position.

Internet-Mana is a feminist party. No I didn’t say that. They did.

Dr Pani Farvid, an Iranian-born psychologist at AUT, [The Party’s gender issues spokeswoman] proudly told a women’s election forum in Auckland last night that the Internet Party was “a feminist party”.

Any man in the party that had put his hand up for gender issues spokeswoman would have a big ‘D’ clearly visible on his forehead – it could only be a woman.

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Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean today released the provisional annual suicide figures for the year ending 30 June 2014.

The total for the year was 529, which is the lowest number by two since the annual coronial figures were first produced for the 2007/08 year. There were 12 fewer suicides compared to last year, and 29 fewer than the 2010/11 year, which was the highest annual number recorded in the last seven years.

Judge MacLean said, “while it is encouraging to see a slight drop in numbers, the overall rate is still stubbornly high and disappointingly consistent.”

Of the 12 fewer suicides (more…)

Join us on Fathers Day for a Picnic/BBQ at Ambury Farm, on Sunday, September 7th 2014, from 11am – 4pm

Father and Child Trust welcomes families and friends, come and enjoy the animal fun and lambing season.

Low cost sausages, drinks, steak sandwiches, ice-creams and coffee will be available.

Local music, community and dad support resources, all welcome, Happy Fathers Day!

Ambury Regional Park, Ambury Rd, Mangere, Auckland Ph 525 1690 for more info.

The September 2014 issue of M2 magazine features several articles about fathers, “just in time for father’s day”.

One that is likely to be of interest to MENZ readers is by family law researcher Zoë Lawton titled “The Rights Of The Father“.
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A comment from the post – Gendered Justice in New Zealand:

Tell us more about the red fems.
The way to sink em is to get women onside who see this too.
It must be said that all this “system” does is perpetuate and create violence rather than reducing it.

It’s a discussion we need to have. Who exactly are these Red Fems? (more…)

Three years ago I was newly separated in auckland and I joined the single parents trust. I wanted to see how other parents remained close to thier children after separation.
I found support and new friendships and the experience was extremely rewarding. My daughter and I joined in many exiting activities, well organised and without a shred of gender indiference.
An organisation where dads are valued and I highly reccomend it to any single parents.
Julie Whitehouse runs the single parents trust and regularly contributes to topics on this site.
I truely admire Julie as I wonder just how many other men she has helped.
THANKYOU ! Julie Whitehouse. ,

Another fine woman is Lee-Anne Cartier.
She is the sister of phil nisbit who was murdered by his wife helen milner.
Nz police had botched the investigation.
Cartier was tenacious and committed and after huge expence and effort managed to get the case reopened and Milner put to trial.
What a fantastic woman that she took on nz police and refused to be told to go away.
Her brother was murdered and she stood up.and got busy!
Nz police had written it all off as just another male suicide.
Lee-Anne Cartier…has changed the course of history and she did it, not just for her brother , but for all men who mightve been milners next victim.
Lee-Anne Cartier, Lee-Anne Cartier, Lee-Anne Cartier !
Im just so impressed with her!,

Feel free to add yours to the list ive started.

If Robin Williams had been a New Zealander we would not be having a discussion about his suicide, and certainly not publishing the method of execution, but the law in the US state in which Williams died is exactly the opposite – police are required to release all the relevant details of his death.

The media restrictions in New Zealand and the limited discussion is something I have been critical of, but that’s another story; Robin Williams is American and beyond the media eulogies the subject of his suicide is being openly debated.

It’s not a bad thing, to rationalise and make sense of human tragedy.

So, what did kill Robin Williams? (more…)

I’ve seen women’s advocates in the Waitakere Court. They wander around the court like they own it and make the judge look like a clingon to the proceedings. When I saw a news article showing their direct influence in sentencing, I put up the post Women’s Refuge Justice System

I had been waiting for another such case to surface – which it has – and is posted under NZ Judge – Women’s domestic violence and anger ok

We have a tendency to classify such cases, especially within the justice system, simply as a pussy-pass which I have a problem with; not because I am sensitive about the comparison with female genitalia, but because we need to look more closely at the mechanics of what is happening and the likely outcome.

This needs closer analysis. (more…)

This is a staggering article that brings to life the feminist philosophy that many people cannot accept exists in the Family Court.

Worse the article highlights the disparity between what would normally be considered intolerable domestic violence and what is increasingly being considered acceptable female violence. (more…)

In the last post we looked at Robin Williams as a men’s advocate and his political messages.

Here is an article by Christopher Bucktin looking at Williams’ personal life and the cost of his two divorces. (more…)

Yesterday the world reeled from the sudden death of Actor/Comedian Robin Williams.

Today tributes will flow, and rightfully so, from all corners of the earth, from those who knew him and worked with him, to those who respected and enjoyed his immense talent – he was a rare talent that could seize any moment, and turn it into theatre and laughter.

He will be remembered for his many roles, his ability to own the part, to make them unique likeable characters that only he could create.

But beyond this is another Robin Williams, a modern day Charlie Chaplin – both of whom are notable, not just because of their fame, but their political positions. (more…)