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
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.
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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.
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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
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“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
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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.
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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
Reposted by Matt Smith
This is one of my favorite Taskmaster things ever and a great example of what raises it from a good show to a great show. There are so many clever and just very impressive little touches that are so go easy to unnoticed. From set design to music choices it all just works to elevate the whole show.
In S17 of #Taskmaster, Nick Mohammed dressed as a vampire for his tasks. The production scrubbed all his reflections when he's dressed like this, but the only way I knew is because someone told me about it. It's subtle and very cool.
December 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
This is one of my favorite Taskmaster things ever and a great example of what raises it from a good show to a great show. There are so many clever and just very impressive little touches that are so go easy to unnoticed. From set design to music choices it all just works to elevate the whole show.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Compare and contrast
RTE: Irelands participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there & the targeting and killing of journalists
BBC: we need to be inclusive
RTE: Irelands participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there & the targeting and killing of journalists
BBC: we need to be inclusive
December 5, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Compare and contrast
RTE: Irelands participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there & the targeting and killing of journalists
BBC: we need to be inclusive
RTE: Irelands participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis there & the targeting and killing of journalists
BBC: we need to be inclusive
Reposted by Matt Smith
That's so something the kwisatz haderach would say
December 3, 2025 at 9:35 PM
That's so something the kwisatz haderach would say
Reposted by Matt Smith
The regime has dropped its new Crimes Amendment Bill, which has its new citizens arrest powers. It also includes a new offence of being _rude_ while robbing someone.
December 3, 2025 at 9:50 PM
The regime has dropped its new Crimes Amendment Bill, which has its new citizens arrest powers. It also includes a new offence of being _rude_ while robbing someone.
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Given the decision on puberty blockers, I do want to note an objective fact that I think has been lost:
Eight MPs voted to keep conversion practices legal.
All were National MPs.
*Every single one* of the five who remained in Parliament after the 2023 election was given a Ministerial warrant.
Eight MPs voted to keep conversion practices legal.
All were National MPs.
*Every single one* of the five who remained in Parliament after the 2023 election was given a Ministerial warrant.
December 1, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Given the decision on puberty blockers, I do want to note an objective fact that I think has been lost:
Eight MPs voted to keep conversion practices legal.
All were National MPs.
*Every single one* of the five who remained in Parliament after the 2023 election was given a Ministerial warrant.
Eight MPs voted to keep conversion practices legal.
All were National MPs.
*Every single one* of the five who remained in Parliament after the 2023 election was given a Ministerial warrant.
Reposted by Matt Smith
wife got a timer for all of our christmas lights so obviously thinking of this
December 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
wife got a timer for all of our christmas lights so obviously thinking of this
Reposted by Matt Smith
Remember, the big argument for AI in the arts is that these “artists” have ideas, hundreds of ideas, thousands, all that was stopping them was the hoards of gatekeeping musicians, writers, illustrators… and not that they were lazy and didn’t want to put in the work.
November 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Remember, the big argument for AI in the arts is that these “artists” have ideas, hundreds of ideas, thousands, all that was stopping them was the hoards of gatekeeping musicians, writers, illustrators… and not that they were lazy and didn’t want to put in the work.
Reposted by Matt Smith
Reposted by Matt Smith
In some good news, today PATHA has finally been able to release the 2025 Guidelines for Gender Affirming Care in Aotearoa New Zealand. You can read them here: patha.nz/resources-an...
Clinical Guidelines | Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa Inc. (PATHA)
patha.nz
November 28, 2025 at 5:21 AM
In some good news, today PATHA has finally been able to release the 2025 Guidelines for Gender Affirming Care in Aotearoa New Zealand. You can read them here: patha.nz/resources-an...
Reposted by Matt Smith
Okay I just need to get these things out of my system:
"Labour are splitting the vote by running against Green candidates!!!" no they aren't, you KNOW how MMP works, and this is a shit argument when it's the other way around, so it's also a shit argument now
"Labour are splitting the vote by running against Green candidates!!!" no they aren't, you KNOW how MMP works, and this is a shit argument when it's the other way around, so it's also a shit argument now
November 23, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Okay I just need to get these things out of my system:
"Labour are splitting the vote by running against Green candidates!!!" no they aren't, you KNOW how MMP works, and this is a shit argument when it's the other way around, so it's also a shit argument now
"Labour are splitting the vote by running against Green candidates!!!" no they aren't, you KNOW how MMP works, and this is a shit argument when it's the other way around, so it's also a shit argument now
Reposted by Matt Smith
Can I just point out that these warnings are far, far from empty alarmism. Look at the states. Repro rights orgs started warning people years ago as the antis chipped away at our rights until finally Roe v Wade fell. We can’t let it happen here. We need a new govt. #nzpol
The banning of gender affirming care/ puberty blockers for trans kids is a TEST. This Luxon-led coalition is seeing how much pushback they receive on this issue to figure out how to ban abortion & contraception next term. They're anti-choice, they will act on this. #nzpol #abortion #pubertyblockers
November 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Can I just point out that these warnings are far, far from empty alarmism. Look at the states. Repro rights orgs started warning people years ago as the antis chipped away at our rights until finally Roe v Wade fell. We can’t let it happen here. We need a new govt. #nzpol