A tale of two journalists

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:59 am, March 2nd, 2014 - 111 comments
Categories: broadcasting, david cunliffe, john key, news, poverty, tv - Tags:

All is not well in the current state of NZ broadcasting. Trisha Dunleavey of Victoria university has a very good article on Open Democracy (24 February 2014), on the past and possible future of NZ public broadcasting. The article is promoted thus:

In the sorry book on Public Service Broadcasting’s travails world-wide in the age of neo-Liberalism, New Zealand occupies chapter one. There the undermining of the BBC look-alike NZBC began early. The attack really got underway with a wave of reform in 1988-1991. And it ain’t over yet.

Dunleavy ends the article looking towards the election later this year, hoping that public broadcasting will become an election issue, with Labour and the Greens leading the way.

Nowhere is the public service broadcasting ethos more needed than in the realms of mainstream news and current events. A tale brief tale of two journalists provides an indication of everything that is wrong with the current state of NZ’s television news.

Patrick Gower is an example of all that is wrong: desperate for sensationalist type headlines. Gower does little to enlighten viewers about the important issues. Yesterday David Cunliffe did an excellent job of responding to Gower’s questions.

Rob Salmond nails it on his Polity blog, with this brief statement:

My only concern with the Cunliffe interview was that so much time was spent exploring post-election coalition minutae, which I’m sure Paddy knew no leader was going to get into on live TV before the election had been held. That left precious little time to discuss Labour’s wide-ranging plans to improve life for New Zealand families, which I think is a shame.

Cunliffe did manage to provide some clear statements on the values and issues important to him: for instance, about being different for John key even though both are very well off: Cunliffe will not pull the ladder up after him, unlike Key, and will continue to work for those struggling on low incomes.

Around 11.50 minutes into the video, Gower asks Cunliffe about his house:

CUNLIFFE: Well, that was in relation to John Key. Probably not my best line, because the fact is we’ve both done bloody well. And we both started from humble beginnings. My dad was a country parson. he grew up in a state house. I benefitted from the opportunities that a good state education system gave me. And a health care system that looked after my dad when he had a series of heart attacks and nearly died. [Gower tries to interrupt – Cunliffe continues] But the difference between us is this: I’m not knocking the Salvation Army; I’m not cancelling state houses [Gower tries to interrupt again] in my own electorate. What I’m doing is saying I want the ladder there for everybody else [Gower: “Yeah and no-one is…” ] and Mr Key’s government is pulling the ladder up.

GOWER: No one is denying that. But what you also are doing is attacking the prime minister for living in a nice house in a nice street

CUNLIFFE: Look, if I had my time again, Paddy, honestly, that would not be a line that I would use. So fair cop, I’ve learned from that. It was in the context of a debate, in the House, where the prime minister was dumping on the Salvation Army’s annual report on poverty, and I thought it was a bit rich. That’s why I got tempted. I shouldn’t have.

Later that day, on TV3’s evening news, Gower then, went on to do a misleading and misrepresentative report drawing on his earlier interview. He focused on Cunliffe’s wealth, and his alleged hypocrisy in criticizing John Key for being wealthy. The TV3 News anchor begins by framing the report saying Cunliffe has been “forced” to admit he made a mistake. Then Gower:

Cunliffe admits that he got it wrong for attacking the prime minister with his nice house when he’s got one himself.

Then there’s very edited clips of Cunliffe saying the line about Key was not a good one to use. However, any reference to the context of Key’s attacks on the Salvation army’s report on poverty have been deleted. Gower makes it all about Cunliffe’s house. Ultimately, Gower is running National Party lines for them.

Contrast Gower’s approach, with that of Rachel Smalley. Smalley was once tipped as a tough but fair interviewer, who probed politicians on significant issues when she started on TV3 news and current events shows. This week on the NZ Herald, she explains her reasons for leaving TV3:

“I didn’t feel that there was any desire to invest in women in senior primetime roles and I knew I couldn’t keep doing those hours. So I was at a real crossroads. I was frustrated.

[…]

“The reality with TV is it can sometimes be like working in a crack den because there’s so much paranoia swirling around the corridors and there’s a lot of patch protection. And that’s quite exhausting.” She attributed that to new shows and uncertainty in the world of current affairs. “And that’s the environment you’re going into every day. It can be quite lonely, I think, working in television.”

She described herself as “purist journo” who was in the business because she loved knowing things – not the recognition – which in her opinion isn’t always the case in television.

“There’s a lot of people coming into media now, particularly TV … and the reality is a lot coming into TV now really should apply for X-Factor because they want the celebrity and the fame that goes with it,” Smalley said.

When need true public service broadcasting, where the likes of Smalley can does interviews that enlighten and inform the public, not, as Gower seeks to do, manipulate views.

111 comments on “A tale of two journalists ”

Comments are now closed

mickysavage 1

2 March 2014 at 9:10 am

Good post Karol. I thought the interview itself showed Cunliffe at his best and he really dominated Gower. Then when I saw the clip and the story I could not believe it. The spin is strong in this one …
- Saarbo 1.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 9:58 am
  
  Gower’s 6.00pm news article was cynical but very much par for the course for Patrick Gower. I expect this type of thing from Gower after what I witnessed at the 2012 Conference debacle.
  
  Also what was interesting was the host of The Nation(al) stated at the start of the show that “The Nation(al) was NEW AND IMPROVED”…which I think was a veiled attack on Rachel Smalley who everyone knows is FAR superior to Patrick Gower. Gower is a disgrace to New Zealand journalism, Key’s little lap dog.
  - phillip ure 1.1.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 10:49 am
    
    really..a pox on both their houses..
    
    ..in many past reviews of the nation..i have found good reasons to castigate smalley for woefully inept performances..
    
    ..and gowers’ effort in this one i reckon should go into media schools..
    
    ..as an example of how not to conduct an interview..
    
    ..phillip ure..
    - karol 1.1.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 6:15 pm
      
      Smalley looked really promising when she started for TV3, Newsline and The Nation, but her performance after that was patchy. I wonder if it was due to the guidelines she was given from her managers? I’ll be watching to see how she goes in her new job.
      
      However, I also thought her article about why she left TV3 goes some way to explaining Gower’s dodgy journalism. As Smalley explains, it doesn’t seem to be about informing people, but is more like some, individualistic, reality TV ethos.
      - phillip ure 1.1.1.1.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 6:35 pm
        
        yeah..i also thought smalley ‘showed promise’ at first..
        
        ..i dunno what happened..
        
        ..but her pitiful/pandering-to-govt-ministers/look-at-me!-i’m-a-well-behaved ‘acceptable-gatekeeper’/i-won’t-ask-any-awkward-questions! efforts on the nation last yr..
        
        ..pretty much had me bouncing off the walls..
        
        ..phillip ure
- David H 1.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 10:20 am
  
  Is there no way to complain about the ‘editing of the story’ to give a totally different outlook.. Or can Cunliffe just Ban Gower from ALL Labour news conferences. But TV3 really need to detract and apologise to him for the misleading story.
  - Karen 1.2.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 10:48 am
    
    You need to complain to TV3 that this is a breach of Broadcast Standards.The only way this sort of stuff gets stopped is if their bias is exposed.
  - karol 1.2.2
    
    2 March 2014 at 6:18 pm
    
    Well, I complained last night @ Gower and TV3 on Twitter – called it skewed and disgraceful. I woke up still angry this morning.
    
    For myself, I think it’s important to keep letting the various MSM news outlets know we are watching their performances for fairness.
    - David H 1.2.2.1
      
      3 March 2014 at 7:59 am
      
      As did I. Then somehow my son was playing with my mouse and loaded this site TV3 I was going to wipe it but then I started reading the comments, and I immediately felt way better.
      
      http://www.3news.co.nz/Opinion-Labour-Greens-willing-to-free-Dotcom/tabid/1382/articleID/331730/Default.aspx
      
      And as it’s a Gower opinion (read Hatchet job) he got called.
      - karol 1.2.2.1.1
        
        3 March 2014 at 8:09 am
        
        Heh. Not such a popular journalist is Mr Gower, then.
BM 2

2 March 2014 at 9:32 am

Cunliffe has obviously done something to really piss off Gower.
What ever it is he needs to get it sorted other wise he’s boned.

With the witch hunt which is currently happening within tvnz, labour will be struggling to get any positive media output.

Not the best situation to be in, especially in a election year.
- Ant 2.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 9:48 am
  
  I think he just wants a scalp, he got a taste of some success when he ran the story at the conference and got Cunliffe demoted. Now he thinks he can go all the way.
  
  Similar to Garner’s vendetta against Chris Carter.
- Lanthanide 2.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 9:55 am
  
  “Cunliffe has obviously done something to really piss off Gower.”
  
  Lead a party that is against National, presumably. TV3 has always shown clear bias in their political reporting, first with Duncan Garner and now his understudy Gower.
  - BM 2.2.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 10:00 am
    
    What about Campbell live, that’s heavily biased to the left.
    
    I do remember that Clark got a fairly easy ride and they were’nt particularly harsh on Shearer either.
    
    So I don’t think you can say TV3 has always shown clear bias in their political reporting
    - Saarbo 2.2.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 10:03 am
      
      Don’t know about that, what did Helen Clark call Campbell after the Corn Gate ambush?
      - BM 2.2.1.1.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 10:06 am
        
        One rough interview in nine years = fairly easy ride.
        
        Lanthanide 2.2.1.1.1.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 10:17 am
        
        It’s very easy to wave your hand and say “oh, they had an easy time with the media” from a vantage where you were never specifically monitoring the media coverage they received during the time. It was 5+ years ago, after all.
        
        phillip ure …
        
        2 March 2014 at 10:59 am
        
        @ lanth..
        
        ..i do monitor the media..
        
        ..and have done so pretty much every day since 2005..
        
        ..and the clark govt..(tho’ i could criticise it for a raft of perceived ‘sins’/fails..and often do..)..
        
        ..it was not given an easy ride by the media..
        
        ..especially in contrast with the craven/unquestioning-obeisance shown to key/this govt..
        
        ..by almost all the media..
        
        ..for going on six years now..
        
        ..and this historical/institutional-knowledge from this media-monitoring –
        
        is also why i was so gobsmacked recently at the calls for trawling back thru the interviews for hints/evidence of ‘leftwing-bias’ by the recently fired head of the maori tv dept @ tvnz..
        
        ..i mean..f.f.s..!!
        
        ..how could they possibly have kept straight faces..
        
        ..while making those calls/claims..?
        
        ..phillip ure..
    - Lanthanide 2.2.1.2
      
      2 March 2014 at 10:05 am
      
      I was referring to TV3 news rather than the entirety of TV3, should have made that clearer.
  - Saarbo 2.2.2
    
    2 March 2014 at 10:00 am
    
    3ox News.
  - Blue 2.2.3
    
    2 March 2014 at 3:52 pm
    
    Actually, I don’t think Paddy is a partisan National hack. I don’t think he really cares about politics per se, and he doesn’t have the brains for it. He’s just a sensationalist drama queen.
    
    It’s much easier to score hits on the Opposition than the Government, and Paddy is just going for the free hit. John Key doesn’t have to talk to him, Cunliffe does. It’s far easier to line up the bat with Cunliffe’s head.
    
    It’s not exactly responsible to kick the shit out of the Opposition while giving the Government of the day a free pass, but that doesn’t seem to bother Paddy’s bosses.
    - felix 2.2.3.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 5:47 pm
      
      This.
    - karol 2.2.3.2
      
      2 March 2014 at 6:21 pm
      
      Gower is more about his own ego and career ambitions.
      
      However, now he also has some history re-Cunliffe, having thought he’d seen him off after the Labour Party conference reporting the year before last. He seems to keep looking for some (relatively trivial) angle to smear Cunliffe with, and seems to have little interest in policies and the general values of various parties.
      - North 2.2.3.2.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 10:19 pm
        
        Poor Potty Gower having failed painfully in the “fine-figure-of-an-individual” stakes allays his lifelong burden with an extraordinary narcissism which says he is a major part of every story. All of this manifested in his cheap obfuscating tabloidism. A dangerous fool.
ianmac 3

2 March 2014 at 9:43 am

At the start of that TV3 News item they played the wrong (accidentally?) clip which showed David getting his point across. Then suddenly the screen goes blank for half a minute. Followed by the heavily edited Gower anti-Cunliffe clip.
And yes having watched the full interview Gower/Cunliffe, it was almost criminal for a supposedly neutral supposed journalist, to edit so unprofessionally.
- ianmac 3.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 9:50 am
  
  I notice that the official link does not show the initial clip that was shown in error which showed David giving good account of himself.
Tim 4

2 March 2014 at 9:50 am

Clever lady that Trish D – I hope she’s one involved when it comes time to reconstruct Public Service Television in NZ
- TightyRighty 4.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 11:46 am
  
  you mean sell it? it’s not public service if it’s riddled with partisan lefties.
David H 5

2 March 2014 at 10:24 am

Or a blanket ban on TV3 until it’s sorted out. No interviews or anything and the same reason given, the lying Gower MUST apologise. I expect Matt Macarten will be on this very quickly.
- TightyRighty 5.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 11:48 am
  
  hahahaha. great media strategy you have there. you are a fucking genius. that will absolutely help Labour win this year, by shutting out the largest non publicly owned broadcaster in the country as he gave your leader a rough ride. toughen up.
  
  It’ll be interesting to see russell norman take cunliffes place in the TV3 leaders debate. better for cunliffe though, seeing russell get taken down by john key instead of him self.
- PapaMike 5.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 2:33 pm
  
  Is Matt the new Labour Leader already ?
  Why is the media taking the shine off David C in favour of Matt ?
  Or is Matt not Chief of Staff ?
newsense 6

2 March 2014 at 11:00 am

If you want to make the news you must do something controversial…either clock Gower if you want the publicity or get Matt to do it later if you don’t…
Clemgeopin 7

2 March 2014 at 12:13 pm

It is a shame that the so called ‘journalists’ like Gower are so shallow in their job. They should be presenting issues related to economic, social and environmental policies of the parties, so that the voters have a better understanding of how to vote more effectively in a democracy. Voters depend on the news provided by the journalists.

When these two bit media personalities spend their time with trivialities and headline grabbing crap news stuff, it is a sad disservice from the important branch of democracy, the fourth estate, and not a worth while service at all. A pity!

Gower has turned into a biased, shameless, nasty vermin masquerading as a ‘journalist’. He is doing much harm to himself, to journalism, to news and to TV3. I am sure most people will soon realise, if they haven’t already, that Gower is just crap.
aerobubble 8

2 March 2014 at 12:26 pm

Key attacks Labour about hiring a unionist and how Cunliffe lives in top notch
home. Sorry, is Key attacking Labour for being too far left or too far right?

Cunliffe was there when Labour went neo, McCarten was there with the Alliance.
Geez, and Key knows what exactly? That Labour have the widest possible church
and Key only represents glib vain envy — oh pooh pooh Cunliffe lives in a better
house than poor little Key.
- tamati 8.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 3:58 pm
  
  So everyone who lives in a flash house is a Tory and every who lives in a scummy flat is a socialist?
Clemgeopin 9

2 March 2014 at 12:56 pm

Here is the actual interview if you haven’t seen it yet:
http://www.3news.co.nz/How-can-Cunliffe-beat-Key/tabid/1348/articleID/334196/Default.aspx
- Rodel 9.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 11:10 pm
  
  Clemgeopin
  Thanks for that.
  Full marks to Cunliffe for keeping his cool and chuckling at Gower.
  Easy interview for Cunliffe though so I guess Gower had to edit it to salvage the ego.
  I think just laughing at him as DC did is a good strategy.
  - Clemgeopin 9.1.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 11:36 pm
    
    You are welcome.
    It was an interview that Mr Cunliffe did very well and the Gower sewer rat of a journalist did very badly.
    
    Mr Cunliffe=8/10
    Nasty Gower=1/10
    TV3=0/10
    - Rodel 9.1.1.1
      
      3 March 2014 at 10:16 pm
      
      Watched the interview and later Gower’s edited version. It really was shameful. Sadly we seem to be growing another mini Fox News unethical channel in New Zealand .
      - Clemgeopin 9.1.1.1.1
        
        3 March 2014 at 10:47 pm
        
        Yes, that is a shame, because in the past, it has had and still has some quite credible journalists, intelligent and erudite commentators with balanced opinions such as Bill Ralston, Colin James, Rachel Smalley, Brian Edwards, John Campbell etc. Unfortunately they also have some biased, completely nasty crap sewer vermin, pricks like Patrick Gower amidst them!
anker 10

2 March 2014 at 1:04 pm

Yes I watched David’s superb performance on yesterdays the Nation. Perfection.

I was gobsmacked to see the edited version on t.v. news that night. I emailed tv 3 news and made a complaint. Probably will have new impact at all, but felt at least I was doing something. I would encourage others to so as well.

I am hoping enough people saw the full interview to have a good impact. I have never doubted for a moment that Cunliffe it the one to lead Labour. His appointment on McCarten and the Nation interview just confirmed it.

Is there anyway we could gather up all of Gowers interview’s with Cunliffe etc and make a complaint to the broadcasting standards?
- Paul 10.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 2:13 pm
  
  An online petition?
- Skinny 10.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 2:24 pm
  
  Here is the funny thing and I know this to be true. Paddy was so annoyed Cunliffe dominated his grand entrance debut, fronting The Nation as interviewer, he tried getting his own back by editing the main 6pm New item himself. His sidekick who does the dirty editing wasn’t around was he Paddy! He was off to the Boss concert, that little glitch had me wondering and now the truth gets leaked out of TV3.
  
  Seems not everyone approves of ya style aye young Paddy my son. I hope someone films him entering TV3 HQ tomorrow. I bet his bottom lip will be hanging low to the ground. In trouble I hear, especially after a high number of formal complaints have been made to TV3. Maybe an apology is coming tonight or tomorrow? Watch this space!
  - felix 10.2.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 8:51 pm
    
    Enjoying your observations from inside the sausage factory. Keep them coming…
  - Clemgeopin 10.2.2
    
    3 March 2014 at 10:39 am
    
    I don’t think there was any apology or correction last night. Was there? I did not see the full news.
blue leopard (Get Lost GCSB Bill) 11

2 March 2014 at 2:06 pm

Thanks Karol for the excellent article – highlighting a real problem we are having here in NZ. A true public service broadcasting is what I would like to see too.

I don’t like what TV3 News are doing and strongly recommend people to switch off or over to TV1 News – who do not show things in as much detail – yet at least manage some semblance of passing on the basic political issues going on in the country.

in 2011, prior to the last election, I spent a hell of a lot of time viewing political shows on TV – the ‘experts’ on both sides of the political spectrum spent a lot of time sharing shallow opinions that anyone could muster up – and as you comment in your article – did not bother to focus the viewer on the policies or any ramifications of policies that any party was putting forward.

I can have the types of discussions I viewed on TV within my own social circles – I switched on to view programmes to gain more knowledge and insight into what exactly I would be voting for – and I viewed programmes that were more akin to some opinionated commentary on the clothes, debating and personality styles of each politician, completely devoid of focus on what these politicians were planning to do to our country if elected.

This was a really stink experience, this continues to be a really stink experience and I fail to understand the merit of such an approach to politics when sound democracy requires we make informed choices not those based on trivialities conjured up by the few apparently very shallow and easily distracted types who TV bosses deem to be mainstream enough to make it onto their pathetic ‘entertainment-masquerading-as-information’ shows that appear to be only really be aired to fill the gaps inbetween the advertisments.
Clemgeopin 12

2 March 2014 at 2:50 pm

TV3 RESPONDS!

I sent an email to TV3 news this morning stating my disgust at their 6 pm coverage of Cunliffe’s interview.

To my surprise, I just received a fairly long reply/explanation/excuse from them!
Unfortunately, I can not reproduce it here as there is a warning at the end of the letter that says,

“This message is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited”.

So, I suggest if you are interested, do complain about the news and Gower’s shocking coverage and read their response.

Here is their complaint box:
http://www.3news.co.nz/TVShows/3News/Contact.aspx
- Zorr 12.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 4:32 pm
  
  Actually, that means that you are allowed to post it here. Just no-one else is. It is your information to do with as you wish.
- Bill 12.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 4:34 pm
  
  Well, you are the intended recipient, yes? And the retransmission etc by anyone other than the intended recipient only pertains to confidential and/or privileged info. I’d suggest that since it ain’t no lawyers letter, that the ‘privileged’ can be dispensed with. And as for ‘confidential’, redact any email addresses (such as your own).
  
  Failing that, carefully (ie, accurately with intent to meaning) paraphrase the damned thing.
  - Clemgeopin 12.2.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 4:42 pm
    
    Ok, ok!
    
    Here is my letter to TV3:
    
    Hi,
    
    The interview on the Nation by Patrick Gower of Mr Cunliffe was good, but the news report of it on TV3 6 pm news was a shocker, being biased and nasty as though Gower has a personal vendetta against the Labour leader.
    Please look into this and rectify matters if TV3 were to preserve any credibility and value. TV3 is my favourite station and I hope its values do not go down the toilet.
    
    I would appreciate a reply from you.
    
    Thank you,
    Clem,
    
    Here is their response:
    
    Thanks for your email.
    
    There was a technical error on air last night which meant that the introductions for the two stories based on David Cunliffe’s interviews on “The Nation” did not get played before the stories were shown on the 6pm news.
    
    While this may not change your views about the stories, the introductions often provide context and detail that is an integral part of the story. Because of a series of highly unusual technical breakdowns, the stories ran without commentary and introduction.
    
    The corrected versions are on line.
    
    Shorter news items can never provide the full context and detail that a long interview can include. Reporters need to select a single “subject” or angle to cover in the item, and I’m sorry on this occasion you did not agree with the selection.
    Our reporters cover a wide range of subjects and certainly do not hold “personal vendettas”, or “biases” in the way you suggest.
    
    I hope you will continue to watch 3 news.
    
    Regards
    - Ant 12.2.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 4:55 pm
      
      They’re so full of shit…3 News bend over backwards to cut out the context of stories, like erasing any mention of the Salvation Army.
      - Clemgeopin 12.2.1.1.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 5:23 pm
        
        Yes, technical error, my foot!
        
        The point was the BIASED nasty piece, not the ‘introduction’ she claims was missing due to ‘technical’ reasons.
        
        The report by the vermin Gower could have been and should have been a factual summary of the interview, not just a silly unimportant crap about their house values! And even that piece he did not report factually, completely ignoring the very important ‘Salvation Army’ put down by Key that caused Cunliffe to respond in the first place.
        
        I expect and we should expect journalists who are basically reporters to report fairly and factually and not try to create their own mischief and mislead the public. Gower has been very unjust, unfair, nasty and utter crap so far towards Labour and Cunliffe.
        
        TV3 news is after all a news reporting outlet and not a toilet blog for Gower’s personal power trip.
      - Clemgeopin 12.2.1.1.2
        
        2 March 2014 at 11:41 pm
        
        I just replied to TV3’s response. Here it is:
        
        Thank you.
        
        I appreciate your reply.
        
        The point was the BIASED nasty piece, not the ‘introduction’ you said was missing due to ‘technical’ reasons.
        
        The report by Gower could have been and should have been a factual summary of the interview, not just a silly unimportant crap piece about their house values! See the interview and his report again. I don’t believe you honestly think that was fair to Mr Cunliffe or the Labour party and its supporters. And even that piece he did not report factually, completely ignoring the very important ‘Salvation Army’ put down by Key that caused Cunliffe to respond in the first place.
        
        I do not care if Gower likes National and supports it. But I expect and we should all expect journalists on National TV, who are basically reporters to report fairly and factually and not try to create their own mischief and mislead the public. Gower has been very unjust, unfair, nasty and utter crap so far towards Labour and Mr Cunliffe.
        
        TV3 news is after all a news reporting outlet and not a toilet blog for Gower’s personal power trip.
        
        What I mind is his blatantly biased constant unfair nasty reporting of the opposition leader or party as if he has a personal vendetta, even though you say he doesn’t have that. He is supposed to be a ‘reporter’ or ‘journalist’ and not a filthy mouth piece of propaganda in favour of Key or National.
        
        Why would TV3 want to be unjust to half the population of the country due to the vain vagaries of a single crooked front man masquerading as a powerful ‘journalist’?
        
        Kick him out of TV3 or make him understand how nasty he has been.
        
        Cheers,
        
        Regards,
        
        Clem
    - Skinny 12.2.1.2
      
      2 March 2014 at 7:39 pm
      
      The glitch was Gowers editing ‘which he usually does on a laptop’ I have stood watching him him frothing and foaming in a self gratifying way as they mince footage into ‘selected clips and sound bites. I’ve worked in the film industry it’s quite amazing what you can mash together if you have plenty of footage.
      - Saarbo 12.2.1.2.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 8:17 pm
        
        interesting!
      - ghostwhowalksnz 12.2.1.2.2
        
        3 March 2014 at 12:20 pm
        
        Do you mean ‘much licking of lips with a slight drool’
anker 13

2 March 2014 at 4:12 pm

That’s so good (the letter from TV3). I’ll await mine with interest.

Lets complain every time we see biases like this, especially by PG.

And just in case you are trolling this website Paddy, try being fair, try really challenging John K and try asking questions about things that matter i.e. policy. Who knows you might even get a bouquet!
- phillip ure 13.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 5:03 pm
  
  next weekend is a watershed one for gower..
  
  ..on the back of this attempted hatchet-job on cunnliffe..
  
  ..he is going to interview key..
  
  ..and he will either:
  
  1)..just allow key to get away with all the usual bullshit he has been peddling for so long to seemingly credulous/unquestioning/unthinking hacks/repeaters –
  
  masquerading as journalists…
  
  .i.e..key-stock-answer to child-poverty questions:..
  
  ..’throwing money at it won’t work..but arbeit macht frei!’…
  
  2)..he will call key on all this bullshit..
  
  ..will he fawn…or will he bite..?
  
  ..and this twinning of these two interviews..and how he handles this key one..
  
  ..could well be the making or the breaking of his ‘reputation’..
  
  ..this is the big one..
  
  ..for him more than for key..
  
  and i am leaning towards the first outcome..and not only for that moment in gowers’ interview of cunnliffe..
  
  ..when he spoke with his wallet..
  
  ..wide-eyed in his articulation of ‘the opposition by most’ – to any idea of raising the top-tax rate..(!)
  
  ..(um..!..paddy..!..no..!..factual-error there..!..’most’ of those top-earners..certainly..otheres..?..not so much..eh..?..)
  
  ..and of course there gower touches on the self-interest motivating..even if only subconsciously..the articulated views of most corporate/access-media hacks..
  
  ..which of course..is why they were all jonesing for key to get into power..
  
  ..that his first broken promise was halving those promised-cuts..for these hacks/top-earners..
  
  ..seems to have put them into a stunned silence/unawareness..
  
  ..from which they are yet to awake..
  
  ..phillip ure..
Colonial Viper 14

2 March 2014 at 4:30 pm

So…why does Gower still have top tier priority access to stab Cunliffe in the back?
- Ant 14.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 5:02 pm
  
  Because if he didn’t he’d probably be more of a little shit.
  - Colonial Viper 14.1.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 5:06 pm
    
    If you’re a reporter with no access, you’ve got no stories to report.
    - Ant 14.1.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 6:20 pm
      
      Don’t know if that will stop him, he’ll just use archival or parliamentary footage of Cunliffe while using John Key interview/persser soundbites about the topic, much like the initial ‘Battle of the Mansions’ story he cut together.
Old Tony 15

2 March 2014 at 4:56 pm

If Gower is biased, which I doubt, good luck to him. It might redress the imbalance created by National Radio and John Campbell’s obvious kink to the left and Labour’s spawning ground in TVNZ.
- Colonial Viper 15.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 5:11 pm
  
  So your answer to bias is more bias?
  
  That’s a pretty thoughtless and unworkable approach mate.
  - Old Tony 15.1.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 5:44 pm
    
    If it lacks integrity does it lack any more than countless words of antagonism towards PG without a mention of the need to ensure balance across the MSM generally? Or could it be that in fact what you seek is not balance but only one kind of bias? I note that the pleas for a rebuilt public broadcasting system are all cast in the context of antagonism to PG, which pretty much proves that point. Please Patrick just go, and leave us to dominate all forms of journalism as we long to do….
    - Clemgeopin 15.1.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 5:51 pm
      
      What nonsense you spout. You don’t even understand the specific issue being discussed here re the 6 pm crap TV3 news reporting by Gower yesterday. Watch the interview and then its reporting to see for yourself.
    - phillip ure 15.1.1.2
      
      2 March 2014 at 5:55 pm
      
      good that you are speaking up for the poor persecuted corporate/access-media hacks..there..old tony..
      
      ..they don’t have a ‘voice’..do they..?
      
      ..and just ‘cos campbell..goes ‘um!..i look over there..i think we have some poverty-issues..!’..
      
      ..this does not indicate a ‘kink to the left’..eh..?
      
      ..and just on that issue for a mo’..
      
      ..you..old tony..would rather the media just shut up about stuff like that..eh..?
      
      ..it might mean you have to pay a few more dollars in tax..eh..?..old tony..?
      
      ..just another greedy old boomer-arsewipe..aren’t ya..?
      
      ..eh ‘old tony’..?
      
      ..phillip ure..
    - Skinny 15.1.1.3
      
      2 March 2014 at 7:53 pm
      
      Come on Old Tory your taking the piss now. Key-National have had a soft run ever since elected. Your shrill fools no one on here.
      - swordfish 15.1.1.3.1
        
        2 March 2014 at 11:06 pm
        
        Spot on, except for a very brief interlude following Key’s cuppa with young master Banks late 2011.
- Lanthanide 15.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 10:07 pm
  
  Does Campbell have an obvious kink to the left, or is he actually just reporting the reality of life in New Zealand for many people?
- ghostwhowalksnz 15.3
  
  3 March 2014 at 12:25 pm
  
  The newspapers are Nationals recruit school.
  
  Don Brash’s Chief of staff was the former Editor of the Dominion
  
  Keys office is full of former newspaper political reporters, then there is Maggie Barry, a former Radio NZ political reporter , now an MP- for National of course
anker 16

2 March 2014 at 5:36 pm

Still haven’t received a letter from TV3.

Sorry Clem, I wrote my post before I saw what your letter contained. Bs..t.

PG has very, very obviously got it in for DC.

I think we need to brain storm a strategy.

Any thoughts?
- JK 16.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 7:24 pm
  
  Anker, and Clemgeopin – I’ve just watched the Nation replay, and last night’s TV3 news and I totally agree with you. When you get your letter from TV3 Anker, reply politely and then send your complaint onto the Broadcasting Standards Authority. And Clem – do that too !
  Paddy Gower needs taking down a peg or two …… more than two….. his news item after the Nation interview was just OTT and WRONG.
  I’m going to complain, first to TV3 News, and then to Broadcasting SA. That’s the way to get some attention to it, and him.
  - Anne 16.1.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 8:00 pm
    
    Complaints work! You won’t win the case. The Board of the BSA are a bunch of timid wankers. But it will give Gower a fright. Don’t be fobbed off with TV3’s reply to your complaints – of which you will get a copy. Bullying tactics couched in nice legalese are not uncommon in these cases. Take it to the bitter conclusion where the w—–s have to make a decision.
    
    I did it to Paul Holmes over and outrageous Q&A interview. I was the only one who took it to the very end. I lost on hugely laughable grounds, but won’t repeat them because it would identify the interview and possibly me.
    
    The amusing part was the extreme care Holmes took with subsequent political interviews.
    
    Edit: I might add it was well before he became ill the second time.
    - Lanthanide 16.1.1.1
      
      2 March 2014 at 10:11 pm
      
      I complained to the BSA about a segment on The Edge morning show where 3 of the hosts tried to get another one to eat a marijuana cookie. I complained on the basis of it being between 8 and 8:30 so kids could easily be listening, and that they were promoting drug use.
      
      They narrowly rejected my complaint.
      
      I realised later that if I’d emphasised the peer-pressure aspect of what was happening, again with children potentially listening, I may have won.
- Clemgeopin 16.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 8:21 pm
  
  When you notice any biased unfair reporting, post everywhere and complain to TV3 management and to the BSA as commented by JK above.
  
  Just tell the vermin off. I don’t mind if he supports National or other Tories. He still needs to be balanced, factual and fair in his reporting. What I mind is his blatantly biased constant unfair nasty reporting of the opposition leader or party as if he has a personal vendetta. After all he is supposed to be a ‘reporter’ or ‘journalist’ and not a filthy mouth piece of propaganda in favour of Key or National.
  
  Why would TV3 want to be unjust to half the population of the country due to the vain vagaries of a single crooked front man masquerading as a powerful ‘journalist’?
TightyRighty 17

2 March 2014 at 6:27 pm

@clem – original docs or it’s bollocks. You could have typed anything
- Clemgeopin 17.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 6:49 pm
  
  I could have, but I didn’t.
  I don’t believe I have low standards or a lack of conscience like you generally find in many right wing nasty spinners and their gutter worthy toilet blog. Rest assured.
  - TightyRighty 17.1.1
    
    3 March 2014 at 1:27 pm
    
    on the internet no one knows your a dog. so without dox, it didn’t happen. it’s just your word which is hiding behind anonymity while having the ability to easily back it up makes me think you are full of it.
felix 18

2 March 2014 at 6:45 pm

Not excusing Gower’s cretinous behaviour here, but David was wrong to admit to something he didn’t actually do.

The correct answer to Gower’s infantile line of questioning is

Well Patrick, if I’d known you and your mates weren’t able to understand my remarks in the context in which they were made then I would have used smaller words and spoken more slowly. But what I said was that John Key has no business describing the Salvation Army as out-of-touch with poverty, and he doesn’t. It’s the truth, and I said it, and I stand by it.

And the correct answer to the inevitable bleating that follows is

Yes I know that’s not how you reported the story Patrick but my statements are a matter of record published in the Hansard and recorded on video. And anyone who cares to look can see my version lines up with the record whereas yours simply doesn’t.

Never apologise for something you haven’t done. Cretins can not be appeased.
- Clemgeopin 18.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 6:52 pm
  
  Well said. Good post.
- BM 18.2
  
  2 March 2014 at 7:02 pm
  
  To be a successful politician you need the media on your side, otherwise you’re going no where fast.
  
  It’s taken a while but I think the penny has finally dropped for David and he maybe regretting some of the comments and actions he made earlier in his career.
  - RedLogix 18.2.1
    
    2 March 2014 at 7:26 pm
    
    To be a successful politician you need the media on your side, otherwise you’re going no where fast.
    
    Which is an interesting thing to say BM. I invite you to think through the implications of it.
  - Lanthanide 18.2.2
    
    2 March 2014 at 10:15 pm
    
    Yes, because Winston Peters definitely has the media on his side.
Benghazi 19

2 March 2014 at 7:12 pm

From now on let’s refer to Gower, the gutter journo, as ‘Ratty Gower’.
- Clemgeopin 19.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 7:49 pm
  
  Gutter Rat Gower. [GRG]
  
  Seriously Lousy Underhand Tool.
  Secretly Handpicked Instrument of Tories.
  - TightyRighty 19.1.1
    
    3 March 2014 at 1:30 pm
    
    as opposed to how many long term sleeper labour agents at TVNZ? oh no, there is one good journalist who is giving dear leader cunliffe a hard time. He must be a tory agent. what about the never ending stream of labour pollys coming out of presenting positions at tvnz? thats just good public service right?
    - felix 19.1.1.1
      
      3 March 2014 at 7:39 pm
      
      “what about the never ending stream of labour pollys coming out of presenting positions at tvnz?”
      
      Eh? can you rattle off a few names to refresh my memory? Just the first half dozen or so of the “never ending stream” please.
      
      ps if what you say were true (it’s not), why would you be surprised? In what universe do you imagine that anyone with an interest in public service would be attracted to National?
Whatever next 20

2 March 2014 at 9:43 pm

If Patrick Gower was simply competing in “top real estate agent” or the like, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.His relentless promotion of a self serving regime, at the cost of decent people is unforgivable, how does he sleep at night? Does he EVER consider the long term ramifications of his actions?
Frank Macskasy 21

2 March 2014 at 10:10 pm

Having watched the interview, in my ‘umble opinion, it wasn’t so much the questions (trivial though they were) that were pointless – but Gower’s constant interuption of Cunliffe’s attempt to answer.

The Labour leader could barely get an incomplete single sentence in, before Gower interjected and talked over him.

“Just answer the question!” seemed to be his refrain.

“Well, I’d love to,” Cunliffe should’ve said, “if you shut the f**k up and draw breath, Paddy!”

That wasn’t an interview so much as an interogation, with Gower trying to show he could talk over Cunliffe.

As such, it was a pointless exercise as no one came away any wiser from the event.

Gower. Needs. To. Shut. The. F**k. Up.

As an aside; it’s a shame that Rachel Smalley is no longer “The Nation’s” host – she is far superior to Gower.
- Clemgeopin 21.1
  
  2 March 2014 at 10:25 pm
  
  TV3 is doing a great injustice and disservice to itself and to NZ by keeping an absolute #@$% hole as their political front man. The nasty unfair biased prick needs to be given the marching orders.
- karol 21.2
  
  3 March 2014 at 8:19 am
  
  Yes Gower’s interruptions made for very poor viewing. Underlying this and the choice of questions is that Gower is not aiming to inform the general population, but to influence them.
  
  I do have a problem also with most of Gower’s line of questioning. Polls, post-election strategies etc dominated, with very little interest in enlightening viewers about what Cunliiffe and Labour plan to do in office – their priorities, policies, etc – along with the focus on personality politics (Key’s house vs Cunliffe’s).
  
  This is very much the (so-called) “beltway” focus, plus a bit of celebrity culture. Kathryn Ryan took a pretty similar, horse-race-focused line in her questions to Cunliffe on RNZ recently – except she did it better than Gower, without all the interruptions etc.
  
  The “horse race” obscures the significant issues. And it’s a focus that puts loads of people off politics. My guess is that the horse race focus is likely to appeal more to the “neoliberals” than to potential left voters.
- fender 21.3
  
  3 March 2014 at 12:38 pm
  
  “Gower. Needs. To. Shut. The. F**k. Up.”
  +1
  
  But he won’t will he, his over inflated ego won’t allow it. Gower is the main reason I don’t watch 3News any more, I’m not interested in a reporter that makes me feel violent..
xtasy 22

3 March 2014 at 12:20 am

Yes, this is a timely post, Karol.

Paddy Gower is an embarrassment for any media outlet, as he ensures gutter standards. He is a “hunter” with low lying instincts, it seems, and it indeed seems like he has a personal dislike or even hatred for David Cunliffe.

But he is just one of too many, who are clearly biased, who do not report objectively and who do not inform. It is scandal, emotive and hitting headline stuff, that he is after, nothing much worth paying attention to. If there is a lack of something that may sound exciting, he just kind of makes it up, by whipping up something out of next to nothing. Sadly the MSM have almost all descended to low levels, just listen to breakfast radio on 1ZB and Radio Live, where moderators and reporters constantly bring in their own personal views and reactions.

What really astonished me was Rachel Smalley’s move to work for 1ZB to do their morning show. I have not bothered listening in, as I HATE the ads they drum into you, the news there actually do not even start with news, they start with an aggressive ad, usually that is!

How does Rachel feel there, amongst the mostly right wing radio hacks at that station, predominantly male, I ask?

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/byline/rachel-smalley

But perhaps she has gone there for only temporary employment, as she apparently is going to co-host Q+A on TVNZ.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/rachel-smalley-joins-tvnz-5822538

So all those who cherish her journalistic skills may feel relieved that she is staying in current affairs, now it seems for TV One. Personally I find her a bit of a mixed bag, when it comes to interviews and so. Sometimes she has impressed with her performance, at other times the opposite.
- ghostwhowalksnz 22.1
  
  3 March 2014 at 12:28 pm
  
  The money is in radio.
  
  Plus she will probably be promised stand ins for that old aussie buzzard Leighton Smith or Hoskings.
  
  Then one day she will have her own show
Papa Tuanuku 23

3 March 2014 at 11:30 am

How can Labour go on the attack over this?
- karol 23.1
  
  3 March 2014 at 11:37 am
  
  Labour (and the Greens) can campaign for the development of a digitally connected true public broadcasting service.
Clemgeopin 24

3 March 2014 at 12:20 pm

I have now made a FORMAL complaint to media works. They are OBLIGED to investigate and respond within 20 days. After that, depending on their response, I can drop the matter or lay a formal complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

Here is the link for Formal complaints.
http://www.mediaworks.co.nz/Default.aspx?tabid=288

Cheers!
Murray Olsen 25

3 March 2014 at 6:40 pm

I complained to TV3 about Gower. Unlikely to do any good, but……..
- Skinny 25.1
  
  3 March 2014 at 7:33 pm
  
  Good work Murray, just watched TV3 News no sign of Gower probably laying low for a day or two, however their reporters appeared nervous especially O’Brian who was all over the shop getting her blurb out. Brooke ‘snake’ Sabin started off playing a straight bat but sniped a cheap shot at the end. Frontman Mc Robert held the ship steady, he always keeps his cards close to his chest in a true professional manner.
- Clemgeopin 25.2
  
  3 March 2014 at 8:59 pm
  
  Good on you.
  
  I think when we see injustice or unfairness we should take some action and let the nasty scoundrels get away with crapping to the public. Otherwise the bastards will continue their dirty tricks with impunity.
  - Clemgeopin 25.2.1
    
    4 March 2014 at 4:23 pm
    
    Oops, the word ‘not’ is missing in line 1.
    It should read ‘not let the nasty scoundrels get away’ etc
Whatever next 26

3 March 2014 at 6:52 pm

Mediaworks would need to be impartial to hear any complaints, or it is like complaining to JK about Judith Collins Twitter comments, but very good on you Clemgeopin for doing something
poem 27

3 March 2014 at 6:53 pm

As always, another great post Karol !!

I find Patrick Gower totally repugnant. What was seen on The Nation wasn’t even a real interview, it was more of an exceedingly lame attempt by Patrick Gower to try and crucify David Cunliffe in a mindless political point scoring exercise, and thanks to a confident, capable and eloquent speaking David Cunliffe, it back fired on Gower beautifully. Gower couldn’t look more of a petty little fame seeking dork if he tried harder, and his twisted skewered piece on it later was disgraceful AND disgusting and I have made a complaint to TV3 as well.

Never saw Smalley as being much better, was pleasing when David Cunliffe had her floundering like a fish out of water too.
- Clemgeopin 27.1
  
  3 March 2014 at 9:20 pm
  
  I was informed by the ‘Broadcasting Standards Authority’ that it is no use using TV3 their ‘informal feedback’ box found under ‘contact’ to complain because if they do reply to you, that response will be an informal response which does not count if you want to later proceed to the broadcasting Standards Authority to complain that you are unsatisfied with their excuse or explanation.
  
  So, you should use the ‘formal’ complaint process using the following link:
  http://www.mediaworks.co.nz/Default.aspx?tabid=288
  
  TV3 are OBLIGED to investigate and respond within 20 days. After that, depending on their response, you can decide to drop the matter or lay a formal complaint with the Broadcasting Standards Authority. You can not complain to the BSA without first getting a formal response from TV3 which they are legally required to give within 20 days.
  
  After that, you can, if you wish, complain to the BSA through this link:
  http://bsa.govt.nz/complaints/how-to-complain
  
  Cheers!
JK 28

3 March 2014 at 9:47 pm

Thanks for this, Clemgeopin. I was wondering why TV3 hadn’t responded to my complaint on their website. I’ve now re-written it and sent it to MediaWorks – and following their response, it will go to the BSA. (I’ve kept a copy so I know what I’ve sent !) Hope you’ve done the same ….. tedious stuff, doing all of this …. but worth doing if we can get Gower, TV3, and other like-minded hicks to pull their sox up and behave more objectively.

Please keep us informed of ongoing conversations you have with mediaworks/BSA etc – I’ll do the same. Might have to move it across to Open Mike if it takes 20-days or so to get a response.
- Clemgeopin 28.1
  
  3 March 2014 at 9:54 pm
  
  Yes, thanks. I will let you know what happens.
  - karol 28.1.1
    
    4 March 2014 at 8:31 am
    
    Thanks, guys. Will watch for your updates.
floyd 29

4 March 2014 at 10:23 am

There is online under THE DIARY by Rachel Glucina an article about the bromance between key and gower accompanied by photo of them in pool in Indonesia. Need to be made of stern stuff to look at it. Two rats in a swamp! Also in the pool was… a security guard! I wonder where he kept his gun???? What was going to happen to key in a pool with only three people in it.? Needy much.
Bet this is where it all started. gowers desparation to abuse and denigrate and leave false impressions of the Opposition parties under the guise of journalism is palpable. He should be followed to see how many times he goes to keys tacky mansion to get his weekly orders and training. Mind you it would be very hard to track a rodent.

pg is an insult to all real journalists
- Clemgeopin 29.1
  
  4 March 2014 at 4:19 pm
  
  Thanks. I googled and found the link. Here it is. Very interesting!
  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10800105

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How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
Skeptical Science
1 day ago

Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Climate Change: Turning the tide
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
1 day ago

How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
2 days ago

Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
2 days ago

Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
2 days ago

Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
2 days ago

Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
2 days ago

Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
2 days ago

Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
2 days ago

Despair – construction consenting edition
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

What happens after the war – Mariupol
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Open ParachuteBy Ken
2 days ago

Babies and benefits – no good news
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
2 days ago

Meeting the Master Baiters
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
2 days ago

How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
Skeptical Science
2 days ago

Backbone, revisited
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
3 days ago

Ministers are not above the law
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
3 days ago

What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
3 days ago

Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

A TikTok Prime Minister.
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
3 days ago

Texas Lessons
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
3 days ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
3 days ago

Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

At a glance – Is the science settled?
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Skeptical Science
3 days ago

Apposite Quotations.
How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Bowalley Road
4 days ago

What’s a life worth now?
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
4 days ago

Howling at the Moon
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Newshub is Dead.
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
4 days ago

Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
4 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
4 days ago

Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
4 days ago

Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
4 days ago

Long Tunnel or Long Con?
Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
4 days ago

Smoke And Mirrors.
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
4 days ago

What is Mexico doing about climate change?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
Skeptical Science
4 days ago

State of humanity, 2024
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
5 days ago

Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
5 days ago

The case for cultural connectedness
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 days ago

Useful context on public sector job cuts
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 days ago

Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
5 days ago

Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
5 days ago

True Blue.
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
5 days ago

Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
5 days ago

Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
Greens
13 hours ago

Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Labour Blog
13 hours ago

Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect them
News that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunches
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals bill
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Government throws coal on the climate crisis fire
The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...
Greens
4 days ago

Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project instead
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Labour Blog
5 days ago

Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priority
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Labour Blog
5 days ago

Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful law
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homes
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on media
The action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters
The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Opportunity to build a more sustainable economy
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust past
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environment
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to Government
Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention Office
Labour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

CCC issues warning over further climate delay
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets are lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt priorities
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Methane target review is dangerous duplication
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled students
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: National must take mental health seriously
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwards
The Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cuts
New Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing plan
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do list
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this April
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

$41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
13 hours ago

Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
15 hours ago

Judicial appointments announced
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
16 hours ago

Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
17 hours ago

Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
17 hours ago

Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
17 hours ago

Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
20 hours ago

Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Taupō takes pole position
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Government backing mussel spat project
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Government focused on getting people into work
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Inflation coming down, but more work to do
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Roads of National Significance planning underway
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Navigating an unstable global environment
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Joint US and NZ declaration
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Rousing farewell for Kiwi doctors flying out to Gaza aid flotilla
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
7 hours ago

Communities Against The Fast-track Heartened By ‘Overwhelming’ Public Response; Disgusted By ‘...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

Renters Rights To Drastically Reduce Under Landlord Government
The Government’s announced changes around tenancy rules set renters’ rights back by nearly a decade. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

NZPI Submission on Fast Track Approvals Bill
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

Fast Track Invite List Includes Most Destructive Industries In New Zealand
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

Eugene Doyle: Helen Clark on why AUKUS isn’t in New Zealand’s national interest
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
9 hours ago

Government releases list of organisations shoulder-tapped for fast-track consents
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Radio NZ – political
10 hours ago

The Week in Politics: Job cuts surge and Waitangi Tribunal trouble
Analysis - It's been a grim week for public servants, while trouble is also brewing between the government and Waitangi Tribunal. ...
Radio NZ – political
11 hours ago

It never rains but it pours: intense rain and flash floods have increased inland in eastern Australi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Watch: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
The PM has defended how he's talked up NZ trade on his trip to Southeast Asia, after criticism from his own delegation. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development Bank
The government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
14 hours ago

Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'
Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...
Radio NZ – political
14 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding Squeeze
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Scoop politics
15 hours ago

I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

How the coolest little capital is shrinking
It's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...
Radio NZ – political
15 hours ago

Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

Ministers accused of Cabinet Manual breach with threats to Waitangi Tribunal
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
15 hours ago

Good news: midlife health is about more than a waist measurement. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

The Friday Poem: ‘Mitochondrial Problem’ by Evangeline Riddiford Graham
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The SpinoffBy Evangeline Riddiford Graham
15 hours ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) Hot off the press, this debut ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
15 hours ago

Department of Conservation closing Dunedin centre, but no jobs lost
Visitor habits are changing and DOC needs to adapt in a financially sustainable way, its operations director says. ...
Radio NZ – political
15 hours ago

Unions Collaborate With Thousands Of Job Cuts
With New Zealand officially in recession, a swathe of mass sackings is currently sending shockwaves through the entire working class. ...
Scoop politics
16 hours ago

Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters in Manila after pledging greater defence cooperation with the Philippines. Watch live. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

Government sent please explain letter to Wellington City Council over transport disagreement
The contents were revealed in correspondence from Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop to Wellington's Mayor. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

Some families push back against journalists who mine social media for photos – they have every rig...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
16 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation staff cuts loom, with funding falling behind rising costs
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

The ‘devil comet’ 12P/Pons-Brooks has finally become visible from Australia. What can we expect?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024. James Peirce/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND If you’re a fan of all things space, you’ve doubtless heard about the “devil comet”, which has been captivating keen-eyed observers in the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Rugby stadiums are sold as an economic asset – but NZ needs to ask if they’re really worth it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hamlin, Senior Lecturer in Marketing , University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Auckland dog attacks: Callouts for attacks on other animals going up
Roaming dogs are responsible for more than a thousand attacks on animals each year, and the number is growing. ...
Radio NZ – political
17 hours ago

What access to puberty blockers means for trans young people and their whānau
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
The SpinoffBy Julia de Bres
17 hours ago

NZ and Philippines pledge defence cooperation amid rising tensions
The commitment came after a sit-down meeting between Christopher Luxon and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr overnight. ...
Radio NZ – political
19 hours ago

How superblocks can help reimagine city life
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
The SpinoffBy Ellen Rykers
19 hours ago

Fire engineering expertise may take a big hit with job cuts at MBIE
The public sector cuts are poised to take out a big chunk of expertise at the country's building regulator. ...
Radio NZ – political
19 hours ago

“Fast-track Law To Kill Kiwi”: Students Say Fight Against Anti-democracy Legislation Is Only Jus...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Scoop politics
20 hours ago

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
20 hours ago

Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
20 hours ago

Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period products
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
The SpinoffBy Kristin Kelly
20 hours ago

Rip It Up And Start Over – Fast-Track Approvals Bill Needs To Be Scrapped
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
Scoop politics
20 hours ago

Maori Authority Warns Government On Fast Track Legislation
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Scoop politics
21 hours ago

Why the government’s haste in changing the health system could come back to haunt it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
21 hours ago

Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
21 hours ago

Things that go buzz in the night – our global study found there really are more insects out after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
21 hours ago

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
21 hours ago

‘Character’ And Its Impact On Immigration Status
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
Scoop politics
21 hours ago

20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last year
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
22 hours ago

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
The SpinoffBy Zoë Mills
1 day ago

Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation fees
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously. The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The SpinoffBy Stewart Sowman-Lund
1 day ago

Missy rustles to stardom in Canada
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
NewsroomBy Aiden McLaughlin
1 day ago

Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace
Official figures confirm New Zealand produced less climate pollution in 2022 than in any other year in the 21st century The post Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
1 day ago

Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved
Shane Jones says people voted for change, but opponents say small cuts such as ending a special oceans secretariat are starting to add up The post Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin
1 day ago

Defence deal to counter Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
NewsroomBy Laura Walters
1 day ago

Wellington’s ebb and flow of public servants
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
NewsroomBy Tom Kitchin
1 day ago

New Zealand transport planning has gone off the rails
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
NewsroomBy Dr Timothy F Welch
1 day ago

Daily crossword, Friday 19 April
The post Daily crossword, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
1 day ago

Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows
The transport sector is currently in the slow lane The post Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Emma Hatton
1 day ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
1 day ago

Financial literacy should be on all of us
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Bryce Marsden
1 day ago

Grattan on Friday: Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Group plans work to improve safety of female MPs
New research shows harassment of elected officials - especially women - is on the rise. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's Prime Minister says his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

PSA astonished Education Minister expects hiring of contractors to review curriculum
Hiring contractors is an appalling solution when people who could do the work are losing their jobs, the PSA says. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Crown lawyers attempt to block Waitangi Tribunal summons to Minister for Children
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Luxon refuses to guarantee public consultation on AUKUS Pillar 2
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it's "far too premature" to be confirming whether the public would be consulted on joining AUKUS Pillar 2. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs fo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Choice and control: will NDIS reforms mean people with disability don’t get to decide who they liv...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground Picture Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Asbestos in playground mulch: how to avoid a repeat of this circular economy scandal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Could Albanese’s bet on homegrown green industries be the boost our regions deserve?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Cloudy Designs/Shutterstock Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up. In 2022, America launched its mammoth Inflation Reduction Act and the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Watch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon won't say if government will consult public on joining ...
Asked multiple times if the public will be consulted on joining the defence pact, Luxon repeatedly said that was yet to be worked through. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Watch live: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks in Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters on the third leg of his Southeast Asia trip, from Manila in the Philippines. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Māori lawyers call Shane Jones' Waitangi Tribunal comments 'inappropriate'
The Māori Law Society says his comments breach the principle of the separation of powers and the Cabinet Manual. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Abortions Increase 25% Since Law Change
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

Over Half Of New Zealanders Feel That The Country Is In Decline And That Our Society Is Broken
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

A tale of two journalists

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