Archive for May, 2009
Will your house get bulldozed?
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, May 14th, 2009 - 15 comments
Labour’s just launched an interactive Google map showing National’s plans for the Waterview connection. Click the map below to check it out.
Lee down, under; about to be reborn
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, May 14th, 2009 - 34 comments
Melissa Lee’s recent interviews on Q+A, TV1, TV3 and RNZ proved once and for all that being able to read an autocue doesn’t mean you’re any good at handling the media. When Lee put her hand up to rob the hapless Ravi Musuku of any chance of ever being rewarded for standing in Mt Albert, I […]
Lee implodes
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 14th, 2009 - 73 comments
And the ticking timebomb goes off. From Not PC on last night’s Mt Albert candidates’ debate: Most of what every mainstream candidate had to say on the night was both instantly forgettable and intended only for short-term political advantage. But there was one thing one candidate said that is now going to dog her through the […]
Boring into the numbers 2
Written By: - Date published: 6:32 am, May 14th, 2009 - 15 comments
National has released its Waterview plan. Basically a trench rather than a tunnel, and a few hundred more homes knocked down. They reckon it will cost $1.4 billion. What’s missing from the costing? Financing costs were included in the cost of the tunnel to inflate it to $2.77 billion but are excluded from the trench option. […]
Why so afraid?
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 30 comments
Labour asked for an urgent debate in the House today on the Waterview announcement. Smith denied it because the announcement hadn’t then taken place. A minute later Joyce made the announcement. Labour then asked leave of the House for an urgent question to Joyce, Brownlee denied leave. What are they so afraid of? When did […]
Melissa keeps on digging
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 15 comments
Here’s Melissa Lee explaining on Checkpoint how her staff volunteered their time to produce a video for National Party list candidates: LEE: Well we were doing a launch, you know, for the Asian campaign and I thought it might be a good, fun thing to actually have a video to put onto Youtube or Facebook, […]
TVNZ stuggling to accept the election result
Written By: - Date published: 5:46 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 10 comments
I must say, TVNZ’s belt tightening is certainly having an impact on their journalism, at least in the online presence. It was one thing for them to still think Richard Prebble is a Member of Parliament in a piece on Saturday (for the record, Richard Prebble hasn’t been an MP since 2005). But noting today […]
Going Backwards II
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 8 comments
A recent piece in the New York Times highlights the absurdity of going backwards with the apparent reorganisation of the Families Commission around nuclear families. Gender involves a lot of gray area. And efforts to legislate a binary truth upon the wide spectrum of gender have proven only how elusive sexual identity can be. The […]
The Nats’ campaign vid that you and I paid for
Written By: - Date published: 2:14 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 54 comments
I figure the very least the Nats could do after spending our money on their asian-voter campaign video is to share it with us. Strangely, I couldn’t find it on the National Party website as referenced by last night’s Campbell Live piece. Fortunately the YouTube user “NationalAsianTeam” still has their copy up – it’s embedded […]
Big numbers, Crazy ideas
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, May 13th, 2009 - 6 comments
Most of us work for a living, and worry about money measured in tens, hundreds, or thousands of dollars. For myself, I find the numbers involved in the economic crash and the bailouts to be so insanely huge as to be meaningless. This article summarises some of the numbers involved in America, and actually manages […]
For the kids
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, May 13th, 2009 - 8 comments
A mate put me onto the “story of stuff” the other day. It’s an excellent Green-Left critique of our economic system pitched toward kids. After all, they’re the ones who are going to have to deal with the mess. The youtube version is below or you can view the high res version here (recommended). The […]
Melissa’s election expenses returned?
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, May 13th, 2009 - 50 comments
An interesting story on TV3 last night about potential for conflict of interest relating to Asia Down Under, a broadcasting company owned by Melissa Lee which produced a political documentary during the last election. Even more interesting was what was revealed about a video about Asian candidates made for the National Party and published on […]
Fyfe’s model for the future
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, May 13th, 2009 - 9 comments
Despite four days of strike action and growing public outrage over Air New Zealand’s treatment of its Zeal320 flight attendants, CEO Rob Fyfe is still refusing to even start closing the glaring pay gap between these workers and those employed directly by AirNZ. Why is Fyfe willing to force these workers into even more strike […]
Joyce Trashes Mt Albert
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 13th, 2009 - 41 comments
Yesterday the long wait for a decision on the Waterview Connection somewhat ended. The full picture will become more obvious today, once NZTA release their prefered alignment for the route, and how much of it – if any – will be trenched or tunneled. For now, we know that the full tunnel option is off […]
Boring into the numbers
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, May 13th, 2009 - 32 comments
Here’s a trick you can all play at home. You’ll need several different plans for a major motorway project produced by NZTA and a compliant Treasury ready and willing to alter figures to make your preferred option look better than it is. Now, you want to save a little money by going for the cheapest […]
Going backwards
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 pm, May 12th, 2009 - 46 comments
I don’t know about you guys but when Family First says something is great I get worried. So when those reactionaries say NACT has strengthened the Families Commission with its new appointments it’s worth having a second look at what’s going on. The Families Commission is Peter Dunne’s baby he wanted it to protect the ‘family’ by […]
New rules
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, May 12th, 2009 - 5 comments
Makes you wish we had some good political satire here.
Worth the while?
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, May 12th, 2009 - 17 comments
We got a guest post a fortnight ago that we keep meaning to put up with the title “Worth fails to cock-up for a week, apologises to PM”. Lucky we didn’t speak too soon. The background is this. Chris Hipkins, like any good MP does, has been asking written questions to the minister for his […]
Calling it a day
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 12th, 2009 - 48 comments
When I first started writing for The Standard way back in August 2007 I never envisaged it would become what it is today, nor that it would take up anywhere near as much of my time as it does. A year and half later, I’ve decided I want my life back. Contrary to the conspiracy […]
“We have got a problem with Maori”
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 12th, 2009 - 86 comments
Now before you start thinking the Standard has started spruiking for the National Front I should make it clear that the title quote of this post comes from Christine Rankin in 2007. She was talking about child abuse and claiming that Maori are the problem. Now, in a move akin to putting Garth McVicar in […]
Have your say, make them listen
Written By: - Date published: 5:03 am, May 12th, 2009 - 14 comments
The government has announced its legislative plan for the supercity in a press release from John Carter, rather than Rodney Hide whose arrogant mishandling of the issue is privately blamed by National for the growing unrest in Auckland. The press release says: Now that the Government has announced our position on the Royal Commission’s Report into […]
CCD Myths – East Antarctica
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, May 11th, 2009 - 20 comments
In east Antarctica, the sea ice sheets have been larger recently. Predictably this has been seized on by the scientifically simple-minded climate change deniers (CCD’s) as evidence that climate change models are incorrect. This is despite it being predicted very closely by the same climate models well before it happened. I remember it being pointed […]
Clean Start rally – Thursday
Written By: - Date published: 3:53 pm, May 11th, 2009 - 8 comments
If you’re in Auckland on Thursday pop along to this in your lunch hour and help support low-paid cleaners: Hat tip: The Hand Mirror.
Hopeless
Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, May 11th, 2009 - 25 comments
Anyone remember Helen Clark’s announcement during Labour’s election campaign that there would be no new significant spending promises: “We have judged it not prudent at this present time to make those sort of commitments.” We’ve now got Key justifying his inevitable-looking betrayal of his campaign tax cut promises: “There’s no getting away from the fact that […]
What would Key the Investor do?
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, May 11th, 2009 - 15 comments
Here’s a question for Mr Key but you can play along too. What if you could buy into an asset that performs well usually but had a very bad year last year? Because of that bad year, the price is now at historically low levels but the outlook over the short and long term is […]
Bosses ‘using recession’ to squeeze staff
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, May 11th, 2009 - 10 comments
Well that didn’t take long. Bosses ‘using recession’ to squeeze staff: Bosses being accused of using the recession to exploit workers by driving down wages, forcing unrealistic productivity targets on staff and creating an environment where stressed staff will leave without waiting to collect redundancy pay. As evidence mounts of increasing employer pressure on staff, […]
Disconnect
Written By: - Date published: 10:43 pm, May 10th, 2009 - 47 comments
As Labour learned to its cost last year you can’t keep on insisting that something is true if the public’s opinion has hardened against it. Once the disconnect is in place, not only do you fail to bring people to your point of view, your efforts make you look aloof or unlistening, hurting your popularity. […]
Thinking about a referendum on MMP
Written By: - Date published: 5:54 pm, May 10th, 2009 - 21 comments
There is an interesting paper by Mai Chen in NZ Lawyer Online about the pros and cons of the referendum on MMP that National has promised by 2011 – “Is the MMP referendum likely to result in electoral reform?” The current position is that MMP has managed to operate effectively in the NZ environment. Both […]
Blerta
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, May 10th, 2009 - 2 comments
Di Mackey of Woman Wandering had this video in a post. Looks like someone had a lot of fun making the video to Blerta‘s Dance All Around the World. Hat-tip: indirectly from the hand-mirror
Garrote them for shagging sheep
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, May 10th, 2009 - 39 comments
The strange Sensible Sentencing Trust three-strikes bill put up by ACT’s David Garrett aka ‘Garrote‘ has some strange implications. Scott at Imperator Fish points out this one. Even if lawmakers could accept the principle that after three serious offences you’re a goner, getting them to agree on what those offences should be would be next […]
Another nail in the neo-liberal coffin
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, May 9th, 2009 - 32 comments
Neoliberal economic policy has taken a bit of a beating lately. Unregulated financial markets have exploded spectacularly and the wreckage is dragging the real economy down with it. The whole edifice is being propped up with trillions of dollars worth of taxpayer bailouts – as ever big business likes to privatise the profits and socialise […]
- MP Jamie Arbuckle to keep two jobs – and two salaries
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...6 days ago - Tense office dynamics draining your soul? Kink can help with that
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...6 days ago - Old, more polluting ships serving NZ could be a barrier to climate goalsThe Climate Change Commission is floating the idea of bringing international shipping into New Zealand's carbon-cutting targets. ...6 days ago
- A week on, the school phone ban is (mostly) winning praiseEven if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...6 days ago
- Could Wellington be the next region to ink a water deal with the government?Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...6 days ago
- Award-Winning Musician Ria Hall Announces Candidacy For Mayor Of Tauranga
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...6 days ago - Teachers don’t want the new histories curriculum to be ‘rebalanced’The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...6 days ago
- At last! The kiwi is getting its comeuppance For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...6 days ago
- Political donations: people power no match for big business
Analysis: Experts are renewing their calls for a cap on donations as the gap between the left and the right widens The post Political donations: people power no match for big business appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 MayLoading…(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, Monday 6 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- New Kiwi gymnast flips for Olympic dreamFor the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...6 days ago
- Rent controls are far from being ‘economically illiterate’Opinion: There are many ways to regulate for rental increases, depending on the market conditions The post Rent controls are far from being ‘economically illiterate’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Southland stream life wiped out by single contaminant dumpAn investigation is underway into how freshwater crayfish, trout and thousands of eels were killed when pollution from private land ended up in a healthy stream The post Southland stream life wiped out by single contaminant dump appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- An incident at Glenmark station in CanterburyLate one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...6 days ago
- An obscure climate accounting decision with billion-dollar consequencesOpinion: For a country that trades on its reputation as a trustworthy international counterpart, we must follow through on our climate commitments – or face serious financial risks The post An obscure climate accounting decision with billion-dollar consequences appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Officials set aside environmental benefits of waste-to-energy facilityA $350 million waste incinerator is a step closer, but questions marks remain over its environmental benefits The post Officials set aside environmental benefits of waste-to-energy facility appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Auckland’s decades-old stadium shuffleIf building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...6 days ago
- Federated Farmers’ support for fast-track bill ‘ambiguous’Fed Farmers’ oral and written submissions on the fast-track bill contain no definitive indication of the group’s support. Board member Mark Hooper clarifies. The post Federated Farmers’ support for fast-track bill ‘ambiguous’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- How advertising, not social media, killed traditional journalismComment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 6 MayThe post Daily crossword, Monday 6 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- GCSB foreign spying capability under scrutinyThe Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...7 days ago
- Auckland's new water plan unveiled by Mayor Wayne Brown and Local Government Minister Simeon Br...The government claims Aucklanders will avoid a projected 25.8 percent water rates increase with the coalition's Local Water Done Well plan. ...1 week ago
- 'Māori Seabed, For Shore!' – Two decades on from the largest hīkoi in a generationTwenty years has passed since the historic hīkoi against the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act reached Parliament. ...1 week ago
- An Ode to .. Julie Anne GenterGenterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...1 week ago
- National aims high while struggling to take offPolitical conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...1 week ago
- Real journalists can lead the war against deepfakesComment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...1 week ago
- Meet the cast of Married at First Sight NZ for 2024Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...1 week ago
- New Zealand signs deal with Germany on Antarctica cooperationThe memorandum of understanding with Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute is expected to foster cooperation between the two polar science bodies. ...1 week ago
- NZ food safety agency monitoring Indian spice mix recallsNew Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...1 week ago
- The Boy in the Water: ‘I just can’t do this anymore’We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...1 week ago
- 'Data is the new oil': Call to save jobs of data security guardsNew Zealanders' data is at risk with the government's "unintelligent" proposal to cut information security jobs, the Privacy Foundation says. ...1 week ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Coalition Sheriff LuxonMONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...1 week ago
- Liam Hewson seeks answers in natureKeen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...1 week ago
- Dan Carter won’t stop kickingAfter a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...1 week ago
- ‘Everybody rolls their eyes’: Dame Susan Devoy’s guilty TV pleasureDame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...1 week ago
- Dunedin’s secondhand bookshops, ranked and reviewedHera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard. Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...1 week ago
- Review: High Country is the ideal crime drama for a cold winter nightThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...1 week ago
- Welcome to The WeekendIntroducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...1 week ago
- Tips and tricks for when your therapist looks like your dadTip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...1 week ago
- The Sunday Essay: The books that electrify and consume youI didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...1 week ago
- The Enhanced games, where drug use isn’t cheatingFormer Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...1 week ago
- Short story: The boat in the shed, by Kyle MewburnEveryone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...1 week ago
- Public health expert urges govt to focus on disease preventionThe government needs to step up in the wake of a report showing a third of Kiwis have unmet health needs, Professor Boyd Swinburn says. ...1 week ago
- Free speech debate back on as Victoria University expands diversity on panelA perceived right-wing bias and concerns about panellist diversity have pushed Victoria University to reformat its debate. ...1 week ago
- Week in Politics: Polls, pay rises and a Green MP in troubleAnalysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...1 week ago
- Māori win customary title over Tokomaru Bay on East CoastThe entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...1 week ago
- National raised $10.4m in donations in 2023Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...1 week ago
- Don't 'mistake' Pacific leaders 'quietness' on AUKUS as support for NZ'...A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...1 week ago
- Florist says Julie Anne Genter exchange was 'massive imbalance of power'The Wellington woman says she felt degraded and humiliated after being confronted by the Green MP. ...1 week ago
- National returned $200,000 donation day after Newsroom storyNational returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...1 week ago
- Greens have 'historically bad' start to the year – political scientistThe party has had faced a challenging set of circumstances over the past five months, Lara Greaves says. ...1 week ago
- HWPL Calls For Peace Amid Rising Tensions Between Israel And IranHeavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...1 week ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Mātou’ by Tessa KeenanA 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); ...1 week ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 3The 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 ...1 week ago
- Marriages, Civil Unions, And Divorces: Year Ended Dec 2023Marriage 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 ...1 week ago
- Marriages, Civil Unions, And Divorces: Year Ended December 2023Marriage 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. ...1 week ago
- ‘There was life in the old girl yet’: Dame Susan Devoy on taking reality TV by stormIn 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, ...1 week ago
- Auditor-General criticises way University of Waikato contracted Steven JoyceJohn Ryan says the University of Waikato did not invite multiple contractors and reached out to the former finance minister directly. ...1 week ago
- 'Not my first legal rodeo' – Winston Peters on defamation threatForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says he will not be cowed by threats of legal action, having received a legal letter from Bob Carr. ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- Winston Peters gives China speech amid legal drama and AUKUS questionsThe Foreign Minister spoke about the NZ-China relationship amid lingering questions about the AUKUS security alliance . ...1 week ago
- Gone By Lunchtime: Mojo machine misfires, honeymoon cancelledWhat’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 ...1 week ago
- The Waitangi Tribunal’s latest report is about far more than just child protectionThe 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 ...1 week ago
- Live Winston Peters gives China speech amid legal drama and AUKUS questionsThe Foreign Minister was speaking at the New Zealand China Council while questions linger about the AUKUS security alliance . ...1 week ago
- 'We weren't informed': Apprentice working on school unaware of asbestosThe Education Ministry is promising to do more about asbestos problems in schools, with tighter controls over detection and removal. ...1 week ago
- New Treasury Paper On The Productivity SlowdownThe 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 ...1 week ago
- The prison slushy story is back, baby, and it’s less nutritious than everWhat’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 ...1 week ago
- Winston Peters receives legal letter from Bob Carr after defamation threatBob Carr has confirmed his intention to take legal action against the NZ First leader. ...1 week ago
- Legal action and bullying allegations: Peters and Genter knock government agenda off its perchBob 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 ...1 week ago
- New law looks to shake up insuranceThe Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs says insurance laws are too complicated and change is long overdue. ...1 week 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. ...1 week ago
- Where is she now? Sally ClarkIn 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 ...1 week ago
- Pay equity taskforce disbanded, 'no longer required' – MinisterThe government is being accused of "misdirected priorities" after it disestablished the pay equity taskforce. ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
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