FNC: the hits don't stop coming

Hi! Josh here. Emily is away this week for a family commitment so I am hosting Friday Night Chats. Be gentle, it's my first time. A huge thanks to Emily for trusting me with the keys while she's away.

I hate to start this on a sad note but it has not been a good week. Friday Night Chats is meant - at least partly - to be a welcome brain break from the endless terrible things, but it seems wrong to write anything without first acknowledging the tragedy of another climate disaster smashing into the country and taking lives. Our power is still out 36 hours after the storm, but that's nothing in the scheme of things. At the time of writing, there are at least nine known victims of what the press have taken to calling a "weather bomb." It's a bad name; while there has always been bad weather, what we are seeing now are climate disasters. The media needs to tell readers the truth: that the increased frequency and deadliness of extreme weather, as well as increased rainfall, is a direct result of failing to eliminate fossil fuels and raising the global temperature by around 1.5 degrees C.

Instead of being straight with readers, mainstream media is barely making the connection to climate change. Cookers are filling the gap left by the mainstream's neglect: this disaster hadn't even finished before people were filling up Facebook pages with disinformation about "weather modification." (It is weather modification! But by CO2, not racist space lasers!)

Meanwhile, the political editors Stuff acquired from the Atlas Network write pieces begging the government to build fossil fuel infrastructure. Not only does the Coalition Government oblige, it cuts climate emergency response funding.

That reminds me: there's an election this year.

Election Day is November 7, 2026. In an act of blatant voter suppression by the Chaos Coalition, you must now be enrolled to vote by 25 October or you won't be able to vote at all. If you are not enrolled, enrol now. You should also check your enrolment - readers are already reporting wrong details or even total absences from election rolls. I've just checked mine; it took about thirty seconds. You can enrol and check your details at this page:

Enrol or update online

Enrol to vote or check and update your enrolment details. Get ready to have your say in New Zealand’s elections and referendums.

Vote NZ

We'll have much more to say about the election this year at Emily Writes Weekly: it is absolutely vital that we kick these orcs out before they do another three years of damage to our jobs, homes, economy and climate. If you want a fun(?) activity to do this weekend, call 5 friends you haven't caught up with in a while (on the phone if you're so inclined!) and find out if they're enrolled. If we want the treat of a liveable climate and country, we're going to have to do the mahi.