New Zealand First or America First?

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 9:41 pm, December 19th, 2018 - 37 comments
Categories: Africa, China, nz first, us politics, winston peters - Tags:

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.

Bolton’s speech on Trump’s foreign policy was made at the right wing Heritage Foundation. He said among other things:

Our new foreign assistance strategy will ensure that all U.S. foreign aid, in every corner of the globe, advances U.S. interests. Our goal is to move recipient states toward self-reliance, and prevent long-term dependency.

Structural reforms will likely be critical, including practicing fiscal responsibility, promoting fair and reciprocal trade, deregulating economies, and supporting the private sector.

In addition, we should target resources toward areas where we have the most impact to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Countries that repeatedly vote against the United States in international forums, or take action counter to U.S. interests, should not receive generous American foreign aid.

He makes no bones about the fact that advancing American interests means countering Russia and China.

Great power competitors, namely China and Russia, are rapidly expanding their financial and political influence across Africa. They are deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage over the United States.

Pepe Escobar summarises the options for Africa in his piece “It’s Africa’s choice: AFRICOM or the New Silk Roads” – US military bases or Chinese infrastructure investment. He quotes a speech from Xi Jinping:

Apart from letting the numbers speak for themselves, Xi deftly counter-punched the current, massive BRI demonization campaign: “Only the people of China and Africa have the right to comment on whether China-Africa cooperation is doing well … No one should deny the significant achievement of China-Africa cooperation based on their assumptions and speculation.”

And once again Xi felt the need to stress the factor that does seduce, Africa-wide – Chinese non-politicization of investments, and Chinese non-interference in the internal affairs of African nations.

So far America’s involvement in the Pacific has been a major military base in northern Australia and an unwelcome proposal to build another in one of Papua New Guinea’s offshore islands.

Militarisation of the Pacific is the last thing we need. In my opinion Winston Peters should not be pushing his own agenda on our behalf.

37 comments on “New Zealand First or America First? ”

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SPC 1

19 December 2018 at 10:38 pm

Leveraging opposition to China’s tactic of hegemony through debt bondage to realise greater American/Australian/New Zealand foreign aid in the Pacific is a good thing for those in the Pacific.
- garibaldi 1.1
  
  20 December 2018 at 7:44 am
  
  You miss the point SPC. I suspect it is because you automatically think “USA good – China bad”. I hope you might reconsider this in light of what American hegemony has detrimentally done to so many countries.
  America is not a force for good, it is quite the opposite. Rapacious greed and subservience.
  - SPC 1.1.1
    
    20 December 2018 at 8:25 am
    
    No you missed the point.
    
    Peters want more foreign aid to the Pacific. The increase in foreign aid to the Pacific in our budget was his doing. He wants the US, EU Oz and Japan to be doing more as well.
    
    Placing this in the America is bad, so more foreign aid from them in the Pacific is bad is simply stupid. And from that inferring those who do not agree, are simply pro American, is well deranged.
  - soddenleaf 1.1.2
    
    20 December 2018 at 11:23 am
    
    Rapacious greed… …sorry.. …but so is Nz, it’s called capitalism. Subservience, really, you kissing up at the moment. Any diplomat can walk around the US easy, the commonwealth nations for a start, the eu, the west isn’t a U.S. lapdog. Sure they are monolithic, but its not like they do Nuance well.
  - Unicus 1.1.3
    
    20 December 2018 at 9:32 pm
    
    More PRC crap
    
    America built NZ into its sphere of economic influence in the 1800’s with its sealers and whalers.
    
    Kiwis understand very clearly who are our friends and who are our enemy’s
    
    The Americans are our freinds always have been always will be
    
    Have a nice Xmas then p…..ss off back to China
- Mark 1.2
  
  20 December 2018 at 9:24 am
  
  Are the terms of Chinese loans any more onerous than those made by the US and other Western countries?
  
  Would be good to clarify exactly what you mean, or are you just getting your information from Mike Pence?
  
  In the experience of most people around the world, the US has traditionally been far more forceful and into “twisting the arms” of states which “don’t do what we need them to do,” (Barack Obama), than China ever has been.
  - SPC 1.2.1
    
    20 December 2018 at 9:40 am
    
    By traditionally, you mean nations which have held greater power have had the greater opportunity to be a…….
    
    You are not aware that nations that have been unable to pay back the loans have been asked to provide use of territorial assets such as ports ….
    
    The EU and USA are not known for lending large amounts of money to nations, nor of using debt as leverage. They do offer aid and have been known to tie this up with strings – up front (sometimes human rights and democracy shock horror).
    
    Whereas operating like loan sharks to exploit need and then follow up with control over assets is more like racketeering.
    - francesca 1.2.1.1
      
      20 December 2018 at 10:30 am
      
      I don’t know.. The IMF , a western institution, seems to be the kiss of death with its onerous conditions…mass privatisations, dismantling laws that prevent foreign ownership, preferential treatment for foreign corporations, in general a total capitulation to neo liberal principles
      As far as humanitarian tit for tat goes, Ukraine’s failure to deal to corruption(,in fact IMF money has found its way in to private banks in Cyprus) and increasing reliance on far right support has not prevented tranches of IMF payments
      
      https://off-guardian.org/2015/09/01/how-kolomoyskyi-siphoned-off-1-8-billion-of-imfs-rescue-money-for-ukraine/
      
      https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-s-got-a-real-problem-with-far-right-violence-and-no-rt-didn-t-write-this-headlinehttps://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-anti-semitism-racism-and-the-far-right
      - SPC 1.2.1.1.1
        
        20 December 2018 at 10:46 am
        
        The World Bank input is the development aid … the IMF is a neo-liberal outfit that believes that its economic assistance will work best given its preferred policy settings … it’s contribution to good governance is that no sane nation now wants to be in the position of needing IMF help …
        
        There is the classic case of Malaysia deciding to withdraw from IMF help back in the late 1990’s and superceding its neighbours by getting out of a regional recession the fastest.
        
        francesca 1.2.1.1.1.1
        
        20 December 2018 at 11:27 am
        
        So as far as the Pacific goes, where is the AIIB (which we’re signed up to , and was initiated by China)in all of this?
        Its widely seen as an alternative to the IMF and World Bank
        
        SPC …
        
        20 December 2018 at 11:46 am
        
        https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/No-debt-trap-with-AIIB-president-vows
    - Mark 1.2.1.2
      
      20 December 2018 at 6:25 pm
      
      The EU and USA are not known for lending large amounts of money to nations, nor of using debt as leverage.
      
      WTF? That’s not even worth answering.
      
      The West also sends bomb the shit out of countries that don’t do as they are told and send the troops in. China has never done any ‘arm twisting’. Indeed it is the leaders of many countries who are desperate for and seek economic ties, including loans, with China. This includes NZ. If the countries don’t want anything to do with China that is their choice.
      
      As Samoa’s prime minister said: “Pacific Island states only have themselves to blame if they fall into debt problems and criticism of China’s surging lending in the region by rival powers has been patronizing, Samoa’s Prime Minister said on Thursday. “
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pacific-debt-samoa/lenders-not-to-blame-for-ballooning-pacific-debts-samoa-pm-idUSKCN1LF1BP
      
      “They do offer aid and have been known to tie this up with strings – up front (sometimes human rights and democracy shock horror)”
      
      Disgustingly racist patronising nonsense. No country has a right to dictate to others how to run their internal affairs. Period.
      - SPC 1.2.1.2.1
        
        20 December 2018 at 7:00 pm
        
        It was you who wrote.
        
        “Are the terms of Chinese loans any more onerous than those made by the US and other Western countries?”
        
        If you do not want a question answered, don’t ask it.
        
        Your claim that taxpayer funded aid is racist and patronising, when by western nations is noted. Your lack of respect for human rights and democracy is as well.
        
        If you thing behaving like a loan shark – lending to those who cannot afford to pay it back and then taking over assets is a higher standard, that is your call.
        
        Each individual has the sovereign right to be totally wrong.
        
        Mark 1.2.1.2.1.1
        
        21 December 2018 at 1:00 am
        
        Yeah, like the West brings such great things to the Pacific:
        
        *testing nuclear weapons over the homes of Pacific islanders, who have “endured burns that reached to the bone, forced relocation, nightmarish birth defects, cancers in the short and long term”
        
        https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/11/27/a-ground-zero-forgotten/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.327c4b1e00a7
        
        * Blackbirding: “Indigenous persons of nearby Pacific islands or northern Queensland were recruited or coerced by blackbirding colonial Europeans. In the early days of the pearling industry in Western Australia at Nickol Bay and Broome, local Aborigines were blackbirded from the surrounding areas”
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbirding
        
        *How NZ took influenza to Samoa, killing a fifth of its population
        https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/375404/how-nz-took-influenza-to-samoa-killing-a-fifth-of-its-population
        
        *Terrorism: Rainbow Warrior
        
        *Tyrannical rule of Niue
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/opinion/102876570/murder-of-new-zealand-commissioner-on-niue-revealed-colonial-flaws
        
        China has done none of the above. And has not compelled any country whatsoever to do what it does not want to do.
        
        SPC …
        
        21 December 2018 at 9:16 am
        
        Just as with the poor who take loans they cannot repay, nations choosing to take loans they cannot pay back should know the risk (why Malaysia pulled out of Chinese loan funded developments) what can happen, and they could well reap the consequences.
        
        If loan financed projects realised the return, there would be commercial loan finance.
        
        Loans for development projects should have been financed by either nation to nation aid or the World Bank, or now via the new Asian Bank. That they are via debt to China suggests the motive is not altruistic.
        
        Dependence on aid, or unrepayable loans, is dependence on continued goodwill. There is a possible/likely loss of sovereignty. Which is in keeping with Chinese third tier ambition to have hegemony in the western Pacific.
    - aj 1.2.1.3
      
      21 December 2018 at 7:10 am
      
      SPC at 9:40 pm.
      Completely wrong. One word – Greece.
      - SPC 1.2.1.3.1
        
        21 December 2018 at 8:54 am
        
        The topic was loans to developing nations.
        
        The Greek debts were not to the EU, the EU bailed out Greece because they could not pay their debts to banks (the EU helping keep the banks solvent, more than Greece – as the Greeks well know).
  - alwyn 1.2.2
    
    20 December 2018 at 10:24 am
    
    I’m afraid they are.
    Here is an example from Sri Lanka.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/world/asia/china-sri-lanka-port.html
    
    Countries should follow the example of Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad in Malaysia. Just about the first thing he did when he took office again this year was to scrap Chinese projects that his predecessor had approved.
    https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/05/news/economy/malaysia-china-rail-project-suspended/index.html
  - Lettuce 1.2.3
    
    20 December 2018 at 4:59 pm
    
    Are you referring to loans made by the most honourable Chinese Communist Party that’s been busy locking up 85 year old grannies because it’s scared of what they have to say?
    
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/20/the-last-time-i-saw-granny-pu-85-year-old-mother-of-chinese-dissident-seized-by-police
  - KJT 1.2.4
    
    24 December 2018 at 5:26 pm
    
    China has just taken over an African port for non payment.
    
    They do predatory capitalism, at least as well as the West.
Dennis Frank 2

20 December 2018 at 7:13 am

Did Winston call for militarisation of the Pacific by the US? I doubt it. You seem to assume that will be an inevitable consequence. I’d rather assume he wants targeted economic assistance by the US to counter China’s strategy.

Bribery as foreign policy is as traditional as empire. The trick for small nations is to be not bought and sold. Safety in numbers suggests all small Pacific countries will prosper via a united front: their aid policy ought to solicit aid from interested great powers, while making it subject to annual review on a cost-benefit basis.

If Russia offers too, the choice between the three providers could be rotated regularly so that none of them gets preferential leverage. That’s a suitably non-traditional design. Necessity is the mother of invention. Innovative foreign policy is the way to go. Winston, take note!
- francesca 2.1
  
  20 December 2018 at 8:39 am
  
  I have the feeling the US doesn’t play that game anymore. They’ve been reducing their aid packages and prefer economic and military threats to maintain their hegemony
  They will be increasing their military bases and trying to bring every Pacific nation’s military in line with their own..
  Winston’s keenness to pursue the FT deal with Russia (hastily abandoned in 2014 after no doubt US pressure over Crimea)was probably to reduce our dependence on China
  God knows what manner of “arm twisting” our politicians are subjected to
  - SPC 2.1.1
    
    20 December 2018 at 8:53 am
    
    You are of course quite right about the low level of US foreign aid, but the effort by Peters to leverage fear of “developing nations becoming dependent vassals of China through loan debt” to boost US aid to the Pacific is the right approach.
    
    Nothing else would work in the America first era.
- Mike Smith 2.2
  
  20 December 2018 at 5:47 pm
  
  Militarisation in the Pacific is already under way in PNG’s Manus Island https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46247446 and https://eurasiafuture.com/2018/09/20/australias-naval-base-in-papua-new-guinea-is-a-power-play-in-the-south-pacific/. The island’s governor wasn’t consulted and “slams the deal.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-21/manus-governor-slams-australia-over-naval-base-plans/10515910
- Mark 2.3
  
  20 December 2018 at 6:27 pm
  
  If the outcome really does mean more countries vying to provide the Pacific with development assistance, including loans, that is indeed a good thing.
  
  The Pacific countries then have a choice, if they are actively courted by various cash rich powers. That is a good thing for them.
  - francesca 2.3.1
    
    20 December 2018 at 7:33 pm
    
    After the Fijian peacekeepers were captured by Al Nusra while on duty at the Golan Heights in 2014 , it became apparent how lacking in equipment they were
    When Russia provided container loads of arms in 2016, at first Key just shrugged, and said “Fiji can have dealings with whoever they like”
    
    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2016/02/russia-sells-19m-in-arms-to-fiji.html
    
    but 2 days later McCully scurried off to Fiji , the first visit since 2014.
    NZ sanctions after the coups led Fiji to look “North” to Russia and China.
    
    Good on Bainimarama for playing the field, NZ thought it had Fiji all wrapped up
    This an interesting article on Russia’s deal with Fiji
    
    https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Russian-arms-deal-with-Fiji-prompts-regional-concerns
greywarshark 3

20 December 2018 at 12:03 pm

I find the image of Winston interesting. I remember him saying that he was very possibly related to Taiwanese. He looks in the image, possibly Asian; it is a an apt choice for the post.
- alwyn 3.1
  
  20 December 2018 at 12:21 pm
  
  There are, apparently, matches in the genes of Maori and the indigenous tribes of Taiwan. They separated about 10,000 years ago.
  https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/genetic-link-brings-indigenous-taiwanese-and-maori-together
  Most of the Taiwanese population (around 98%) are of course Han Chinese today.
- SPC 3.2
  
  20 December 2018 at 12:33 pm
  
  The Polynesians have common female ancestry, linked to some (pre Han) Taiwanese tribes that migrated southward through Micronesia and into Polynesia – they were joined by male lines migrating in from the west.
- Robert Glennie 3.3
  
  20 December 2018 at 4:40 pm
  
  Winston ratcheted the aid up in the South Pacific because he wanted a stronger New Zealand flavour there. It was not to appease anyone – Beijing, Washington or anyone else.
  
  We do not necessarily need to support either super power. Whilst not being one, we could simply say to both that we will take the lead in the South Pacific, which I think is a good idea. We do not want and for all we know, nor do the island nations, a foreign military build up in our area.
- Gabby 3.4
  
  21 December 2018 at 9:06 am
  
  Obsession with race is a bit of a yanker trait greysy. Are you very possibly related to yankers?
Jenny - How to get there? 4

22 December 2018 at 12:03 pm

‘

US ‘has duty to protect South Pacific interests”
Fiji Times – February 5, 1987

Even if that means fomenting coups and military takeovers.
Jenny - How to get there? 5

23 December 2018 at 8:54 am

Loyal poodle thrown into confusion, not knowing what to do, when owner takes off without letting it know..

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/109559083/plans-to-remove-american-soldiers-from-afghanistan-have-not-been-shared-with-nz
- Exkiwiforces 5.1
  
  24 December 2018 at 7:42 pm
  
  Because the Yanks are replacing it’s troops with Mec’s from Blackwater and including its own organic Air Support (Close Air Support) etc . Hence why everyone who is an Allie of US has gone WFT atm and including me as this only to end bad in one way or another when one looks at the Congo and Biafra in the 60’s- 70’s.
- Draco T Bastard 5.2
  
  24 December 2018 at 9:11 pm
  
  Ephraim
  I think it was a surprise to the whole world, including the American military. Trump probably got a surprise when he heard himself say it.
  
  This is probably true.
- Jenny - How to get there? 5.3
  
  25 December 2018 at 4:17 pm
  
  Don’t want to be an American idiot
Jenny - How to get there? 6

25 December 2018 at 4:19 pm

Winston Peters to rename his party in the new year.

America First

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2 days ago

Taking Tea with 42 & 38.
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
2 days ago

Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Winding back the hands of history’s clock
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
2 days ago

Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
2 days ago

New HOP readers for future payment options
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
2 days ago

2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
3 days ago

At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
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

Road photos
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
3 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
3 days ago

NZDF is still hostile to oversight
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
3 days ago

Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

A clear warning
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
3 days ago

Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
3 days ago

Listening To The Traffic.
It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

Ending The Quest.
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Skeptical Science
3 days ago

Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
3 days ago

Webworm LA Pop-Up
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
3 days ago

“Feel good” school is out
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
3 days ago

6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
exhALANtBy exhalantblog
4 days ago

Bread, and how it gets buttered
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
4 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
4 days ago

Justice for Gaza?
The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
4 days ago

If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
4 days ago

FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
4 days ago

Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
4 days ago

Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
4 days ago

Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
4 days ago

Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
4 days ago

Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
5 days ago

2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Skeptical Science
5 days ago

Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
5 days ago

Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 days ago

Winston remembers Gettysburg.
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
5 days ago

25
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
5 days ago

Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Skeptical Science
6 days ago

Policing protests.
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
6 days ago

Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
6 days ago

Release: National gaslights women fighting for equal pay
National has scrapped the pay equity taskforce that fights for equal pay for women and looks at ethnic pay gaps. ...
Labour Blog
21 hours ago

Release: More job cuts, fewer houses under National
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
Labour Blog
21 hours ago

Release: Children fall deeper through the cracks in Govt cuts
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
Labour Blog
23 hours ago

Release: Labour honours memory of Sir Robert Martin
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour Blog
1 day ago

Release: 130,000 cattle saved from live export
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Central Bank makes clear Government is pouring fuel on housing crisis fire
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
Greens
2 days ago

New unemployment figures paint bleak picture
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Greens
2 days ago

Release: National’s job cuts already starting to bite as unemployment rises
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: National hiking transport costs for families and young New Zealanders
Weekly expenses will grow for more than 1.6 million New Zealanders as the Government ends free and half price public transport fares tomorrow. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Labour welcomes EU free trade agreement
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Surprise: Landlord tax cuts don’t trickle down
The Green Party is renewing its call for rent controls following reports of rental prices hitting an all-time high. ...
Greens
3 days ago

Release: $1.7b for no increase in access to medicine
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: National should heed Tribunal warning and scrap coalition commitment with ACT
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: More accountability for preventable workplace deaths this Workers’ Memorial Day
Labour is calling for more accountability for preventable workplace deaths because everybody who goes to work deserves to come home safely. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Gaza: Aotearoa Must Support Independent Investigation into Mass Graves
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Māori Party
1 week ago

Release: Working together on consistent support for veterans this Anzac Day
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Penny drops – but what about Seymour and Peters?
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Another ‘Stolen Generation’ enabled by court ruling on Waitangi Tribunal summons
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
Māori Party
1 week ago

Release: Budget blunder shows Nicola Willis could cut recovery funding
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Further environmental mismanagement on the cards
The Government’s resource management reforms will add to the heavy and ever-growing burden this Government is loading on to our environment. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: RMA changes will be a disaster for environment
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Labour supports urgent changes to emergency management system
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Labour calls for New Zealand to recognise Palestine
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Three strikes law political posturing of worst kind
The Government is bringing back a law that has little evidential backing just to look tough, Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Government cuts unbelievably target child exploitation, violent extremism, ports and airpor...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Three strikes has failed before and will fail again
Resurrecting the archaic three-strikes legislation is an unwelcome return to a failed American-style approach to justice. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Environmental protection vital, not ‘onerous’
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Ferris – Three Strikes targets those ‘too brown to be white’
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Māori Party
2 weeks ago

Release: Govt cuts doctors and nurses in hiring freeze
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
2 weeks ago

Oranga Tamariki cuts commit tamariki to state abuse
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
Māori Party
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
2 weeks 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
3 weeks 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
3 weeks ago

Te Pāti Māori to visit Queensland to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
Māori Party
3 weeks ago

Decision allows for housing growth in Western Bay of Plenty
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 hours ago

Speech to New Zealand China Council
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 hours ago

Modern insurance law will protect Kiwi households
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
21 hours ago

Government recommits to equal pay
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
24 hours ago

Transforming how our children learn to read
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

NZ not backing down in Canada dairy dispute
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Stronger oversight for our most vulnerable children
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Streamlining Building Consent Changes
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Accelerating airport security lines
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Community hui to talk about kina barrens
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Mining resurgence a welcome sign
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Government to boost public EV charging network
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Independent review into disability support services
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Speech – Eid al-Fitr
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Government saves access to medicines
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Pharmac Chair appointed
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 days ago

New sports complex opens in Kaikohe
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 days ago

Diplomacy needed more than ever
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 days ago

Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

PM announces changes to portfolios
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

New catch limits for unique fishery areas
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Overseas decommissioning models considered
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

The Friday Poem: ‘Mātou’ by Tessa Keenan
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The SpinoffBy Tessa Keenan
43 mins ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 3
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25) The masterful Irish writer ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
44 mins ago

Marriages, Civil Unions, And Divorces: Year Ended Dec 2023
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Scoop politics
48 mins ago

Marriages, Civil Unions, And Divorces: Year Ended December 2023
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Scoop politics
51 mins ago

How effective are domestic violence advertising campaigns for preventing violence against women?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Waller, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney shutterstock Cristina RasoBoluda/Shutterstock Domestic violence is a significant personal, community and social issue attracting much attention. After several recent horrific cases, media discussion, calls for a royal commission to end the violence and ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
55 mins ago

Taiwan is experiencing millions of cyberattacks every day. The world should be paying attention
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
55 mins ago

‘There was life in the old girl yet’: Dame Susan Devoy on taking reality TV by storm
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
The SpinoffBy Susan Devoy
1 hour ago

Auditor-General criticises way University of Waikato contracted Steven Joyce
John Ryan says the University of Waikato did not invite multiple contractors and reached out to the former finance minister directly. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 hours ago

'Not my first legal rodeo' – Winston Peters on defamation threat
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says he will not be cowed by threats of legal action, having received a legal letter from Bob Carr. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 hours ago

Can the Green Party’s holy mission survive its fallible disciples?
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
The SpinoffBy Duncan Greive
3 hours ago

Vanuatu’s Kalsakau resigns, calls for delay on constitutional referendum
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
3 hours ago

Winston Peters gives China speech amid legal drama and AUKUS questions
The Foreign Minister spoke about the NZ-China relationship amid lingering questions about the AUKUS security alliance . ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Gone By Lunchtime: Mojo machine misfires, honeymoon cancelled
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff
4 hours ago

The Waitangi Tribunal’s latest report is about far more than just child protection
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The SpinoffBy Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown
4 hours ago

Live Winston Peters gives China speech amid legal drama and AUKUS questions
The Foreign Minister was speaking at the New Zealand China Council while questions linger about the AUKUS security alliance . ...
Radio NZ – political
5 hours ago

'We weren't informed': Apprentice working on school unaware of asbestos
The Education Ministry is promising to do more about asbestos problems in schools, with tighter controls over detection and removal. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

New Treasury Paper On The Productivity Slowdown
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
Scoop politics
6 hours ago

The prison slushy story is back, baby, and it’s less nutritious than ever
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it. Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
The SpinoffBy Madeleine Holden
6 hours ago

AI can now generate entire songs on demand. What does this mean for music as we know it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Oliver Bown, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney PeamDesign / Shutterstock In March, we saw the launch of a “ChatGPT for music” called Suno, which uses generative AI to produce realistic songs on demand from short text prompts. A few weeks later, a ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Domestic violence disclosure schemes may not improve safety for victim-survivors of intimate partner...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Clearing the elective surgery backlog will take more than one budget. It’ll need major reform
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Why is cancer called cancer? We need to go back to Greco-Roman times for the answer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Electric vehicles will start to cut emissions and improve air quality in our cities – but only onc...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

4 things our schools should do now to help prevent gender-based violence
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Becoming a landlord while still renting? ‘Rentvesting’ promises a foot on the property ladder, b...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Season two of Heartbreak High makes diversity feel ‘banal’. This is its strength
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
6 hours ago

Winston Peters receives legal letter from Bob Carr after defamation threat
Bob Carr has confirmed his intention to take legal action against the NZ First leader. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

Legal action and bullying allegations: Peters and Genter knock government agenda off its perch
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
The SpinoffBy Anna Rawhiti-Connell
6 hours ago

New law looks to shake up insurance
The Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs says insurance laws are too complicated and change is long overdue. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

Winston Peters' comments about former Australian minister 'unstatesmanlike' – L...
David Parker says he has never heard a current minister speak about a senior, retired politician from another country in such a way. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

Where is she now? Sally Clark
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
NewsroomBy Adam Julian
7 hours ago

Despite a tenfold increase in ADHD prescriptions, too many New Zealanders are still going without
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Pay equity taskforce disbanded, 'no longer required' – Minister
The government is being accused of "misdirected priorities" after it disestablished the pay equity taskforce. ...
Radio NZ – political
9 hours ago

How bad at reading are New Zealand children?
There are more bad readers among our 10-year-olds, but the picture has improved for teenagers, international testing has found. ...
Radio NZ – political
9 hours ago

Knocked Up, American Pie, the Bean movie: A brief history of NZ music in Hollywood
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
The SpinoffBy Alex Casey
10 hours ago

Why I told a cop about my lasagne and what it’s got to do with the media
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin. Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
The SpinoffBy Anna Rawhiti-Connell
10 hours ago

Low levels of ‘forever chemicals’ doesn’t mean we can wash our hands of them
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NewsroomBy Lokesh Padhye and Shailja Data
10 hours ago

This week’s biggest selling books – May 3
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
NewsroomBy Steve Braunias
10 hours ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 May
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,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 3 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
10 hours ago

Daily crossword, Friday 3 May
The post Daily crossword, Friday 3 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
10 hours ago

A cry of help for the James Bond of the bird world
Secretive and shy, the nationally critical, native bitterns are on the edge in Canterbury, a researcher says The post A cry of help for the James Bond of the bird world appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy David Williams
10 hours ago

Drama as the knife hovers over Kiwi soap
A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
NewsroomBy Sharon Brettkelly
10 hours ago

Fast-track bill is a lolly scramble for deep-pocketed applicants
Opinion: There’s nothing transparent about the fast-track bill despite what ministers say The post Fast-track bill is a lolly scramble for deep-pocketed applicants appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Shay Schlaepfer
10 hours ago

Electoral donations under the microscope with full disclosure imminent
Government consenting and fisheries policy has seen large donations and those directly to MPs scrutinised – full donations will be released as soon as Friday The post Electoral donations under the microscope with full disclosure imminent appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin
10 hours ago

Fire and Emergency payroll plan scrapped after spending $29m
After three years and millions of dollars, Fire and Emergency’s payroll replacement project is back to square one The post Fire and Emergency payroll plan scrapped after spending $29m appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Emma Hatton
10 hours ago

The Crown versus Māori Children
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Aaron Smale
10 hours ago

OPM’s Bomanak accuses UN of failing to uphold decolonisation role over West Papua
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
14 hours ago

Grattan on Friday: O’Neil and Giles dodge the spotlight shining on blunders over ex-detainees
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

Bob Carr confirms intention to launch legal action against Winston Peters
Carr has confirmed his lawyers have written to Peters, informing him they intend to launch legal action against him. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

A lot to learn from kura kaupapa Māori – Education Minister
Despite low literacy rates in mainstream schools amongst Māori, the results are the complete opposite in kura kaupapa, Stanford says. ...
Radio NZ – political
17 hours ago

Julie Anne Genter: Greens had 'no prior knowledge' of fresh complaint against MP
A florist says she felt intimidated during a heated exchange with the MP. ...
Radio NZ – political
18 hours ago

Insurance law overhaul passes first reading
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
Radio NZ – political
18 hours ago

NZ Foreign Minister Peters accused of ‘entirely defamatory’ remarks about ex-Australian minister
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
18 hours ago

How much time should you spend sitting versus standing? New research reveals the perfect mix for opt...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Brakenridge, Postdoctoral research fellow at Swinburne University, Centre for Urban Transitions, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute The Conversation, Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy – standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
19 hours ago

Into The Deep End – Karori Lifeguard Up For Challenge As Reserve Force Soldier
The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
Scoop politics
19 hours ago

Brazilian couple's residency case taken up by minister after advisor forgets to apply for visa
After multiple pleas and petition, an Auckland couple's residency case is being looked at by the Associate Minister of Immigration. ...
Radio NZ – political
19 hours ago

Fast Track Approvals Bill: None from first day of hearings support bill in current form
None of the groups that spoke to Parliament's environment committee on Thursday supported the bill as it stands. ...
Radio NZ – political
20 hours ago

Australia will trial ‘age assurance’ tech to bar children from online porn. What is it and will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan University Daniel Jedzura/Shutterstock Responding to a resurgence in gender-based violence and deaths in Australia, the National Cabinet has committed almost A$1 billion to a range of strategies. Tackling “online harms” was among the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
20 hours ago

Government Cuts Put 130 Jobs On The Line At Kāinga Ora, And 40 At HUD
"The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff," Fitzsimons said. ...
Scoop politics
20 hours ago

Jeremiah Manele is new Solomon Islands PM with ‘100 day plan’
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
20 hours ago

Will Solomon Islands’ new leader stay close to China?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priestley Habru, PhD candidate, public diplomacy, University of Adelaide Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. The result is a mixed bag for ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
22 hours ago

A clock in the rocks: what cosmic rays tell us about Earth’s changing surface and climate
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Eaves, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamey Stutz, CC BY-SA How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt? For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
23 hours ago

Watch: PM's pre-Budget education announcement for teaching reading
From next year, the government expects all public schools to take a "proven structured literacy approach". ...
Radio NZ – political
23 hours ago

Multiple parties complain over Green MP Julie Anne Genter's conduct
Speaker Gerry Brownlee won't say which parties have taken issue with Julie Anne Genter's outburst. ...
Radio NZ – political
24 hours ago

Aggressive? Homophobic? Stoic? Here’s what thousands of Australian men told us about modern mascul...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Most young adult men in Australia reject traditional ideas of masculinity that endorse aggression, stoicism and homophobia. Nonetheless, the ongoing influence of those ideas continues to harm men and the people ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
24 hours ago

Watch live as the PM makes pre-Budget education announcement
From next year, the government expects all public schools to take a "proven structured literacy approach". ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

NZQA Jobs To Go As Government Education Cuts Roll On
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

The star-studded New Zealand movie you need to see as soon as possible
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
The SpinoffBy Alex Casey
1 day ago

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to cut 40 jobs, NZQA to cut 35
The total number of job losses in the public services has now gone over 3500. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Renters and realtors upset at scrapping of bill to regulate property managers
Renters and realtors are upset with a government decision to scrap a bill meant to regulate property managers over concerns about unethical and unlawful behaviours. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

You’ve been ‘volun-told’ to coach junior sport – here’s how to best handle the parents inv...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Do we really need to burp babies? Here’s what the research says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

ASB Workers To Strike As Bank Proposes An Effective Pay Cut
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Where else should phones be banned? The most unruly classroom of all – parliament
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next. New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The SpinoffBy Tara Ward
1 day ago

Winston Peters accused of 'entirely defamatory' remarks about ex-Australian minister
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

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