Author Archive
Take the oil!
Written By: - Date published: 6:23 pm, January 28th, 2019 - 87 comments
Before he was elected President, Donald Trump’s approach to United States illegal attacks on Iraq and Libya was that their only mistake was that the US didn’t “take the oil.” After becoming President, his approach to oil-rich Venezuela was “can’t we just invade them?”
Update: John Bolton confirms its about the oil.
Peters to Pence on the Pacific – a return to colonialism?
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 pm, January 14th, 2019 - 120 comments
Winston Peters went to Washington last December to see US VP Mike Pence and invited the US to engage more in the South-West Pacific without informing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Patrick Smellie described this apparent oversight as “deeply worrying.” Even more worrying is what Peters said when he was there.
New Zealand First or America First?
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 pm, December 19th, 2018 - 37 comments
In Washington last week Winston Peters urged America to involve itself more in the Pacific, in a speech the Prime Minister was apparently unaware of. Referring to Africa, John Bolton outlined what that involvement would mean – American interests first and only. Dangerous with the neocons in charge of the playpen.
Safe from prying 5Eyes
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 pm, December 8th, 2018 - 62 comments
I like my Huawei phone. Apparently the US National Security Agency can’t break its encryption. That’s presumably the “security” issue why Spark is being blocked from using Huawei, and why Meng Wanzhou is held hostage in Canada at the behest of US neocons.
Yanking our chain
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 pm, December 3rd, 2018 - 46 comments
Tracy Watkins is in Korea paid for by the US to head off any support fro President Moon’s visit here. The US security chiefs are here in Wellington today with the 40-grit sandpaper. A high-ranking Russia “expert” from the UK was here last week because they thought Winston Peters wasn’t sufficiently outraged by the Skripal false flag affair. We’re in the gun in the information wars.
Spooked!
Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, November 29th, 2018 - 29 comments
The GCSB ban on Spark’s use of Huawei technology means this government has gone from “honest broker” to poodle in a very short time. Pressure has been applied by the US and others, apparently fearing we are the “soft underbelly” of the Five Eyes spy network. Maybe its time we got out of that too – it was designed for war.
Political interference
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 pm, November 20th, 2018 - 82 comments
China certainly has interfered in New Zealand politics, most notably by the offer of a free trade deal which delivered huge benefits to our economy. Party and government officials all stressed to us that they were grateful for New Zealand’s support for their accession to the World Trade Organisation, the rule-based trade body. The US and Australia in contrast want to build a military base on Manus Island north of Papua.
The Guns of November 2018
Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, November 10th, 2018 - 188 comments
On 11 November 1918 the guns fell silent across Europe’s slaughter. In the Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman described how that dreadful war started by accident. Daniel Ellsberg warns us now that accidents could happen again, this time in the nuclear age. Ellsberg says first strike is America’s policy, making accidental nuclear winter all the more likely.
Is Politik a propaganda mouthpiece for the UK Embassy?
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 pm, September 8th, 2018 - 29 comments
In Politik’s 7 September issue we are told that Western diplomats in Wellington are surprised that Winston Peters has not accused Russia of the Skripal poisoning or joined some other countries in taking reprisals. Editor Richard Harman quotes a source to tell us that the British in particular were “pissed” at Peters’ response. Well dearie me. I’m with Winston, a wise old owl.
“Creating quagmires” – US policy in Syria
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, September 5th, 2018 - 82 comments
Things are coming to a head in Syria, with a key meeting on 7 August between Syria, Turkey and Russia to discuss future strategy re the Idlib enclave where terrorist groups have been concentrated. The US and its allies want to retain influence, having lost it to Russia. A shooting war based on a false flag is a real albeit disastrous possibility to maintain US “quagmire” policy in the Middle East to date.
The future of the left
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 pm, July 1st, 2018 - 40 comments
Australian Guardian columnist Van Badham writes “the future of the left is bright if it looks like Jacinda Ardern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.” She concludes “We can hope the influence of Jacinda Ardern and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes spread, or we can ensure that it does. The stakes for the marginalised remain life and death.” Very worth a read.
Photoshop Wars?
Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, April 17th, 2018 - 56 comments
The Independent’s Robert Fisk reports from Douma, where he interviewed one of the clinic doctors who said that the images that outraged Trump, May and Macron were real, but the cause was oxygen starvation from dust, not poisonous gas. Could it be that misleading images started a bombing war? What might this say about Western values?
Evidence-based foreign policy
Written By: - Date published: 6:07 pm, April 2nd, 2018 - 99 comments
In the second stage of a false flag attack, facts go out the window and the sole issue becomes “are you for us or against us.” Our media and National Party politicians are well into this stage in the Skripal affair. But as questions mount and skeptics proliferate from all sides, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters may well be wiser than media advisers by not following blindly the western herd. 26 countries is not the whole world. Update: Porton Down unable to establish Novichok of Russian origin.
Underpants not Underarm
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 pm, March 25th, 2018 - 17 comments
In the days of the British Raj unsportsmanlike behaviour was condemned by saying “it isn’t cricket.” Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft hiding ball-tampering sandpaper in his trousers in a forlorn attempt to avoid the cameras showed that for Aussies “it is cricket.” We’ve seen it before of course with the Chappells. Heads must roll.
Russian to Judgment
Written By: - Date published: 5:55 pm, March 16th, 2018 - 517 comments
The possible poisoning of Sergei Skripal and the consequent hysteria have all the signs of another false flag operation, as we saw before the second American invasion of Iraq. The chain of circumstantial evidence has more holes in it than a swiss cheese, and while attempted murder (if that is what it is) is a criminal act Winston Peters and Jeremy Corbyn are sane voices calling for evidence before any attribution still less action.
Tax Haven Man in Town
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 pm, February 20th, 2018 - 11 comments
The Lord Mayor of the City of London is visiting New Zealand. Its not Sadiq Khan, Charles Bowman is a PwC partner leading London’s financial centre lobby. He’s here to talk to business and regulators. He’ll no doubt be talking up more deregulation.
The Dogs of War
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 pm, January 31st, 2018 - 20 comments
At a Union/NDP conference in March 2002 in Ottawa I saw wall-to-wall US TV attacking Iraq in my room. My caucus report that America was going to war was instinctive. Helen Clark stood up immediately and said that we wouldn’t be following. The US war dogs are barking again, this time over Korea. A recent […]
Jac-in-da-Box
Written By: - Date published: 6:58 pm, January 15th, 2018 - 48 comments
“Wedger Wayne” Mapp in todays’s Spinoff does his best to stuff Jacinda Ardern into a Tony Blair “Third Way” box. Too glib by far. True in 2002 Blair did promise to eliminate child poverty by 2020; but poverty’s now the highest in 20 years in Britain. I’d back Jacinda to do much better. Besides, instead of Mandy she’s got David Parker.
The Yellow Peril?
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, November 15th, 2017 - 338 comments
What’s with the academic panic epidemic about China? Two in our media in the same week, referencing each other with vague warnings about the Chinese bogey. It’s not quite Lionel Terry in Haining Street again; more likely in my view a case of singing to someones else’s geopolitical tune. No prizes for guessing whose.
800th Anniversary of Charter of the Forest
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 pm, November 5th, 2017 - 21 comments
Issued alongside the Magna Carta on November 6, 1217, the Charter of the Forest is among the first ecological charters in history and among the first to assert the rights of ordinary people to the right to subsistence. 800 years old tomorrow.
Books but no beds
Written By: - Date published: 6:11 pm, October 18th, 2017 - 19 comments
Most viewed story on the Guardian website today: “New Zealand library cracks case of missing books.” Turns out some of Auckland’s 23,000 homeless were hiding bookmarked books in odd places so they wouldn’t lose their place. The library will now keep their books safe. Good on them. Finding homes for homeless must be a high priority for Aotearoa’s next government.
Passchendaele and Pyongyang
Written By: - Date published: 3:14 pm, October 12th, 2017 - 19 comments
The massive artillery barrage at Passchendaele was supposed to cut the German wire and make advance easy. All it did was churn up the mud though which so many doomed New Zealanders slogged and died. A monument to military incompetence and political disaster. These days they prefer bombs, which are equally deadly and equally futile. Its time we said no more.
Politics or Policy?
Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, October 9th, 2017 - 56 comments
Policy is everything, Winston Peters said today. This should not be a surprise. Before every election, he has refused to give any hint of Party support preference until after the vote. But he will have thought a lot about what he might want, as it has long been clear that his Party would decide the outcome. So what are his policies?
She’s got what it takes
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 am, September 17th, 2017 - 73 comments
Great read in London today – full page Guardian article headlined “I’ve got what it takes, says the charismatic Labour leader taking New Zealand by storm.” Send it far and wide.
Fire and Fury over North Korea
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 12th, 2017 - 60 comments
Donald Trump may not know it but Koreans certainly remember the last time the United States unleashed fire and fury over North Korea. In the 1950s, B-29s used bombs and napalm to flatten every North Korean city. Gen Curtis Lemay boasted that the USAF killed off 20% of the population. That’s why this time they have nuclear weapons.
Politics in the Age of Populism
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 pm, July 6th, 2017 - 3 comments
Bryce Edwards, Stephanie Rodgers and Rob Egan. Connolly Hall, Guildford Street, Wellington, 5:30 pm Friday 7th July.Fabian society, all welcome.
New information on Glenda Hughes?
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 pm, June 28th, 2017 - 43 comments
On 20 June after Melanie Read’s Newsroom interview Andrew Geddis blogged about possible obstruction of justice by a National Party Board member. That was based on new information in the Barclay case, and may be why the Police have since re-interviewed Glenys Dickson.
Follow the money
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 pm, June 22nd, 2017 - 49 comments
Bill English’s texted electorate chair Stuart Davie on 21st February 2016 saying Glenys Dickson was given an extra payout from the Leader’s fund “to avoid potential legal action.” It was the only source available for an extra payout for confidentiality. English said today no-one in February knew there was any issue of illegality. Then what legal action and why an extra payment?
Dirty Politics 2017 style
Written By: - Date published: 4:05 pm, June 8th, 2017 - 27 comments
Latest polls and some anecdotal evidence from the doorstep are showing a move back to the Tories in Britain. If so it may in part be due to last-minute dark and dirty personally targeted Facebook advertising to voters in marginal seats. They cost so will need to be watched later on here.
Hager Hit & Run and NZ’s Asian wars
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 pm, June 5th, 2017 - 13 comments
Nicky Hager will talk about his book Hit and Run, and the issues it raises about New Zealand’s values and role in the world at 5:30pm on Wednesday 7th June at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington. The book is about important events and the incoherence of New Zealand fighting it’s longest ever war in Central Asia. This talk is particularly timely in view of this week’s visit of the American Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
Scots git on Q+A
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, March 27th, 2017 - 12 comments
I went to Q+A yesterday in search of political comment and was astonished to see John McTernan aka “Malcolm Tucker without the charm” given ten minutes to burble. McTernan promotes himself as a former political adviser to Blair and Gillard, but his last real job was chief of staff to Jim Murphy who led the Scottish Labour Party to oblivion in 2015.
- Darwin Dingoes, Canberra Capitals, Cairns Crocodiles? Weighing up the options for the AFL’s 20th t...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney There was plenty of fanfare and goodwill across the Australian Rules football community when the AFL’s 19th team, the Tasmania Devils, officially launched in mid-March. Tasmania’s debut season has been pencilled ...5 days ago - What if whales took us to court? A move to grant them legal personhood would include the right to su...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Evans, Lecturer, Kaupeka Ture | Faculty of Law, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/Konrad Mostert In a groundbreaking declaration earlier this month, Indigenous leaders of New Zealand and the Cook Islands signed a treaty, He Whakaputanga Moana, to recognise whales as ...5 days ago
- The big dry: forests and shrublands are dying in parched Western AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joe Fontaine, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, Murdoch University Author provided, CC BY-NC-ND Perth has just had its driest six months on record, while Western Australia sweltered through its hottest summer on record. Those records are remarkable in their own ...5 days ago
- An education in music makes you a better employee. Are recruiters in tune?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diana Tolmie, Senior Lecturer of Professional Practice, Griffith University Gabriel Gurrola/Unsplash See the word “musician” on a resume and you might not immediately think “stellar employee” or “exceptional leader”. Perhaps the word evokes the image of a rock star, ...5 days ago
- Why are blooper reels so funny?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Rogers, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Ollyy/Shutterstock Blooper reels are very popular, with some videos on YouTube racking up tens of millions of views. It’s a curious thing: why are videos of mistakes sometimes getting as much attention ...5 days ago
- Government investigates 4km tunnel under Wellington
The tunnel would run from north of the Terrace to Wellington Road. ...5 days ago - Couple to leave New Zealand after paying thousands to advisor who forgot to apply for visaNewton Santos and his wife, Nubia, paid over $4000 to an Auckland company for the service. "As far as we knew, everything was all good." ...5 days ago
- Govt was warned Yemeni civilians could be killed during NZ deployment to Red SeaThe defence minister was told there was no way to rule out "collateral damage" if NZ joined a coalition conducting strikes against Houthi rebels. ...5 days ago
- PM eyes new export markets on week-long Southeast Asian tour
As Winston Peters returns from yet another foreign tour, his boss has jetted off to visit the leaders of Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, 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. PM ...5 days ago - Government won't commit to funding emergency housing support services past JuneThe government wants to reduce emergency housing lists, but may cut a service that helps tenants find homes. ...5 days ago
- Young commuters feeling the pinch as government ends public transport subsidyWith half-price fares ending for those aged 16-24, uni students and part-time workers will be "spending an awful lot". ...5 days ago
- Staring down the ‘silent epidemic’ of myopia in childrenShortsightedness in kids is skyrocketing overseas. Is New Zealand next? “Hey bro, are you blind now?” jokes a student, slapping his friend on the back. “Yeah bro, did you not know I’m blind?” his friend replies. Both are eating cereal in the whānau room of Kia Aroha College, a school ...5 days ago
- Flashing your lights to warn other drivers of a speed camera – is it legal?The legal and moral debate around New Zealand’s best unofficial road rule. If you’ve ever driven outside of a city centre, you’ll surely have seen it – the friendly flash of the headlights from an oncoming car. Most of the time it’s to let you know your headlights aren’t on ...5 days ago
- Restored story: Oranga Tamariki’s new wave of trauma
The failings of Oranga Tamariki go beyond the troubled chief executive Grainne Moss – Newsroom has learned the agency’s wholesale taking of Māori children until last year is now being reversed in a blunt instrument policy to return ‘uplifted’ tamariki even when they face new trauma. There are multiple examples ...5 days ago - The brand new hospital with no budget to operateA healing garden with plants reaching up several floors is to be a unique feature of the newly built $320 million surgical hospital at North Shore, with studies showing it brings benefits of faster recovery and reduced stress in patients, and happier staff. Funded by the charity Well Foundation through ...5 days ago
- Markets rattled by increasing geopolitical tensionsThe price of oil could surge above US$100 a barrel if Iran’s missile attack on Israel escalates The post Markets rattled by increasing geopolitical tensions appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- The harmful consequences of partner work visa changesMigrants and advocates says partner work visa changes are having harmful consequences The post The harmful consequences of partner work visa changes appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Lamb, bungy jumping and cryptoComment: Crypto has a regulation problem. But it’s not as obvious as you might think. Sure, it shouldn’t come as surprising that a digital currency designed to operate independently of any government would be challenging to regulate. But that’s precisely what needs to happen. In July 2021, Parliament’s finance and ...5 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 15 AprilThe post Daily crossword, Monday 15 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Restored story: Kelvin Davis to Oranga Tamariki: ‘Please explain’ Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis has asked Oranga Tamariki to “please explain” its actions after a Newsroom investigation into Māori children being taken away from Pākehā foster parents who had provided them with a permanent home. Davis told Newsroom he had watched most of the video – a change from his ...5 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 15 AprilLoading…(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, Monday 15 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Restored: the Newsroom story the Crown and court didn’t want you to see ‘Two wrongs don’t ma...“I told you I’d find you a new place to live. This is your forever home. You’ll never have to leave again.” It was around six years ago, and these were the words of an Oranga Tamariki social worker to three little girls sitting in the lounge of their new ...5 days ago
- New life for trade link plan as McClay visits ChinaHeightened interest in other trade partners isn’t a reflection on the health of NZ-China relationship, minister says The post New life for trade link plan as McClay visits China appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Sydneysiders witnessed horrific scenes on Saturday. How do you process and recover from such an even...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Felmingham, Chair of Clinical Psychology, The University of Melbourne Like many, I watched the reports of the violent attack at Bondi Junction yesterday with shock, horror and disbelief. My heart goes out to the people involved, the courageous first responders and ...5 days ago
- Christopher Luxon touches down in Singapore, kicking off Southeast Asia tourEscalating global tensions are sure to colour engagements during the prime minister's week-long trip. ...5 days ago
- Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel was a strategic miscalculation. Can all-out war now be avert...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ran Porat, Affiliate Researcher, The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University Close to midnight on April 13, hundreds of military drones were launched from both Iran and Iraq toward Israel. Subsequently, several waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and rockets followed, ...5 days ago
- Jim Chalmers seeks to allay fears industry policy will be financial ‘free-for-all’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged substantial public investment, likely tax breaks and other incentives in next month’s budget to encourage industry, while stressing there won’t be a “free-for-all” of public funds. “We’re talking about ...5 days ago
- Fears sick people will 'soldier on' at work with pseudoephedrineMichael Baker said pseudoephedrine masks Covid-19 symptoms, meaning people could go back to work or school when they are still unwell and contagious. ...5 days ago
- RNZ Mediawatch: End of the news in NZ as we know it?This week the two biggest TV broadcasters in Aotearoa New Zealand confirmed plans to cut news programmes by midyear – and the jobs of a significant proportion of this country’s journalists. Many observers said this had been coming but few seemed to have a plan for it, including the government. ...6 days ago
- As Australia reels from the Bondi attack, such mass murder incidents remain rareSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology, Bond University There are few scenes more shocking than random acts of extreme violence against people simply going about their daily lives. Yet this is what Australians are coming to terms with after ...6 days ago
- Scrap the West Australian GST deal set to cost $40 billion – leading economistsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly want Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to scrap a special deal with Western Australia that’s set to deliver it an extra A$40 billion in Commonwealth funding by ...6 days ago
- New Zealand Strengthens Military Alliance With US
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins visited the United States this week for talks to further integrate New Zealand into the expanding US-led military alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. ...6 days ago - ‘One hell of a shock’: Why not everyone wants flowers from David LomasAlex Casey chats to David Lomas about the art of finding needles in haystacks. There are around 100 people scattered all over the world who are members of a very unique and exclusive club. All of them, at some point over the last 16 years, have had a knock on ...6 days ago
- Folkloric magic for all ages: The Grimmelings by Rachael King, reviewedCourtney Johnston reviews a novel of ‘deliciously judged suspense’ that will get you and your kids through the school holidays. In an assured opening chapter, Rachael King opens up the world of her first novel in 12 years, the middle-grade fantasy adventure The Grimmelings: “The same evening Josh Underhill went ...6 days ago
- Luxon puts his money where his mouth is with Southeast Asia visitThe Prime Minister is putting his money where his mouth is with his first round of bilateral visits to Southeast Asia – an area of growing importance as the Government diversifies its trade ties, and attempts to navigate rising geostrategic tensions in the region. Christopher Luxon, with a business delegation, ...6 days ago
- Christopher Luxon readies for 'full-on' Southeast Asia tourChristopher Luxon is determined to prove the scoffers wrong in his promise to "raise the energy" of international engagements. ...6 days ago
- The Sunday Essay: On code switching and finding my voiceFor some people, I sound too Malaysian. For others, not Malaysian enough. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. I am in the heart of Kuala Lumpur at a bustling food hall, ordering a plate of char kuey teow for $3. I have just ...6 days ago
- A complete list of things I only know about because of The OfficeA spider is an arachnid, not an insect… and 48 other fun and obscure facts, names, places and phrases. In my late teens and early 20s one of my defining personality traits was simply “The Office”. I watched it on repeat, memorised large chunks of the script and recited quotes ...6 days ago
- Why China has a grave concern over AUKUS, even Pillar IIRecently, I’ve taken note of the heated discussion over whether New Zealand should join AUKUS Pillar II. Like many other peace-loving countries in the region, China has grave concerns over any attempt to enlarge and upgrade the AUKUS defence cooperation. Here are the reasons behind our position and ...6 days ago
- An Ode to .. Melissa LeeLast Days of the Median Empire King Luxon distributed all the spoils of war To his loyal retainers. Then he realised he had one troublesome land Left to hand over: The Median Empire. He called forth General Lee, and offered her Governorship of the Fourth Estate. General Lee accepted with ...6 days ago
- Senior Labour MP ordered to take down ‘gross’ social media postsPeeni Henare has deleted cartoons he reposted ridiculing government ministers David Seymour and Simeon Brown. ...7 days ago
- Education Ministry workers on tenterhooks awaiting job cuts newsEducation Ministry staff have told RNZ about their crippling anxiety as they and Oranga Tamariki staff wait to learn next week if they have lost their jobs. ...7 days ago
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon looks for Estonian inspirationAnalysis - In his quest to get New Zealand 'back on track', Christopher Luxon has often looked overseas, writes Giles Dexter. ...7 days ago
- Review: Prince Andrew drama Scoop hits a lot of bum notes, but Billie Piper isn’t oneNetflix’s retelling of the events surrounding Prince Andrew’s infamous TV interview has the sheen of a high-prestige drama, but it pays to keep your expectations low, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Prince Andrew bites off the head of a staff member for not arranging his teddy bear collection correctly on his bed. ...7 days ago
- ‘Several hours screaming’: Jess Hong on being cast in Netflix’s most-watched seriesThe 3 Body Problem star takes us through her life in TV, from Spongebob to the prowess of Korean reality shows and why she can’t watch Succession. When she got the call that she had landed one of the lead roles in 3 Body Problem, a Netflix sci-fi series from ...7 days ago
- Short story: Something will change, by Alice TawhaiShe lay very still in the half dark. Snow lay behind her, mimicking her position. His breath sighed over her shoulder as the darkness thinned, like the breeze of the ocean, sighing over a swell. She knew what he looked like without even turning her head. He had coffee skin ...1 week ago
- Advertising largely funds the media. How do ad execs view the current crisis?Above the Fold: Behind the end of Newshub and TVNZ layoffs is a simple truth: neither company is making as much money from advertising anymore. Duncan Greive asks some ad industry CEOs why that is, and what might change it. This is the final entry in Above the Fold: 20 ...1 week ago
- ‘The end of something very special’: A look back at nearly half a century of Fair GoA look back at nearly 50 years of Fair Go championing the underdog. This week TVNZ confirmed that, after 47 years on air, Fair Go will be ending in mid May. While the brand will live on in some form under news and current affairs, this decision marks the end ...1 week ago
- The Detail: On the frontline of Victim SupportVictim Support’s Melissa Gordon has spent more than a decade “walking beside” people who have suffered the most traumatic events in their lives. She’s been on the doorstep with a police officer to give the news everyone dreads – the death of a loved one by accident, suicide or murder. ...1 week ago
- Māori and PI spaces at unis no place for wusses or MP’s reckonsA distinct pleasure of my job as a university lecturer is an annual, four-day marine biology field trip to Whangārei Heads with roughly 40 University of Auckland students. Over the course of these four days, students of Asian, European, Indian, Māori, Pasifika, and South American (and more) descent work ...1 week ago
- Chiefs Manawa have exciting weapon for final, ‘if it works’Mia Anderson (Ngāpuhi) is hoping to join All Blacks Sevens boyfriend Tepaea Cook-Savage on the victory podium this week. Cook-Savage was part of the All Blacks Sevens who won the Hong Kong Sevens on Sunday, defeating France 10-7 in the final. Today Anderson, 22, starts for Chiefs Manawa at blindside ...1 week ago
- ‘Corrosive obsession with a person’s race’: David Seymour on Māori WardsACT Party leader David Seymour would vote against Māori wards if his home council were to hold a referendum on them. ...1 week ago
- NEW POLL: Kiwis want Nicola Willis to hold firm on tax reliefA new Taxpayers’ Union – Curia poll has revealed that 53% of New Zealanders believe that the Government should continue to deliver the tax relief that was promised by the National Party during the election campaign. 29% of respondents thought that ...1 week ago
- Fast-track approvals: Minister's letter states some 'were invited to' applyA letter from Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop shows some project owners had been "invited to" submit to the fast-tracking process. ...1 week ago
- Health NZ chairperson resigns after less than a year in positionDame Karen Poutasi has resigned after just over nine months in the job. ...1 week ago
- Department of Internal Affairs announces cuts, winds up water reform teamsTwenty-eight jobs will be cut at the Department of Internal Affairs' National Library and the Māori, Strategy and Performance branch, the agency has confirmed. ...1 week ago
- Government Spending Cuts Force DIA To Contract Out Critical Legal WorkCommercial work undertaken by a Department of Internal Affairs’ legal team will be fully outsourced to private law firms under proposed job cuts to meet the Government’s drive for spending cuts. "How does fattening the profits of law firms make sense ...1 week ago
- Public Submissions Open On Te Korowai O Wainuiārua Claims Settlement BillThis bill seeks to give effect to certain matters contained in the deed of settlement signed on 29 July 2023 by the Crown and Te Korowai o Wainuiārua. ...1 week ago
- Our supermarket aisles are ‘rife with greenwashing’While New Zealand is yet to even size up the scale of greenwashing, other parts of the world are forging ahead with new rules. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. The loo paper in my shopping basket is “earth smart”. The cotton buds, ...1 week ago
- School attendance held back by sickness – Ministry of EducationJust over half of students regularly attended school in term four last year, up on the same term in 2022. ...1 week ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘狐 fox’ by Lee MurrayA poem from Lee Murray’s new collection Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud. 狐 fox You are running through the streets of a city—Tāmaki Makaurau, or maybe Pōneke—quiet paws scampering over the broken concrete footpaths, where spindly weeds grow from the cracks. You must not be ...1 week ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 12The 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 The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Canongate, $55) Unstoppable! 2 Butter by Asako ...1 week ago
- EDS Calls For Fast-track Approvals Bill To Be Abandoned In Submission To Select CommitteeThe Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has filed its final substantive submission on the Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...1 week ago
- Government warned against repealing Oranga Tamariki's Treaty commitmentsThe Government has been warned against repealing Oranga Tamariki's Treaty commitments. ...1 week ago
- Watercare signals possible 25% increase in water ratesAuckland's water provider chair says she knows struggling residents won't welcome the prospect. ...1 week ago
- The aftershocks keep coming in gripping new psychological drama Friends Like HerSet in small town Kaikōura, Three’s sharp new local drama follows two best friends and a surrogacy pact that goes wrong. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. Kaikōura has never looked better than in new psychological drama Friends Like Her, with its ...1 week ago
- The week in politics: Targets, truants and MPs' pay pickleAnalysis - A look back at "ambitious" public service targets, plans to fix school attendance and pay rises for politicians. ...1 week ago
- Charter Schools establishment board pay revealedThe eight-member board will provide strategic oversight and advice on the model for the schools. ...1 week ago
- Manawatū Tenants Union Condemns Proposed Residential Tenancies Act AmendmentsThe Manawatū Tenants Union has expressed deep concern over the proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act put forward by Housing Minister Chris Bishop. The changes, aimed at revitalising the rental property market, have raised significant ...1 week ago
- 'Devastated': Widow pleads for late husband’s dream to be realisedThe wife of a late Rotorua councillor is pleading with the council not to shelve her late husband's dream of a skatepark. ...1 week ago
- Pseudoephedrine could be back on the shelves as soon as JuneMedsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing the medicine. ...1 week ago
- Annual Food Price Inflation Slows To 0.7 PercentFood prices increased 0.7 percent in the 12 months to March 2024, the smallest increase since April 2021, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. The 0.7 percent increase followed a 2.1 percent increase in the 12 months to February 2024, and is ...1 week ago
- Public Submissions Open On The Te Pire Whakatupua Mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Red...The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for public submissions on the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill. This bill would give effect to certain matters contained in Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo/the Taranaki Maunga ...1 week ago
- When Wellington starred in a Bollywood spy thriller: a scene-by-scene breakdownSubways, palaces, gold heists, rockets on trains and luxury nightlife? You Bollywood in Wellington. I still remember the first Bollywood movie I ever watched. The year was 2001, I was eight years old, and my cousins had just brought home a copy of Khabbie Khushi Khabie Gham that they’d bought ...1 week ago
- Fast-track bill: Which projects could be approved for quicker consent?There is consensus among advocates on which projects are most likely to try their hand at a path of lesser resistance. ...1 week ago
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