Archive for November, 2014
Elective surgery waiting lists
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, November 7th, 2014 - 29 comments
The Nats have been manufacturing “good news” stories in health by creating a system that turns away one third of the patients in need.
Noel Pearson remembers Goff Whitlam
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 7th, 2014 - 9 comments
A wonderful speech given by Noel Pearson given at the State Memorial Service for Gough Whitlam. Well worth a watch.
Nats’ selective science
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, November 7th, 2014 - 87 comments
Dita De Boni in the Herald takes the Nats to task for their selective use of science, and Sir Peter Gluckman proposes gagging scientists.
Open mike 07/11/2014
Written By: - Date published: 6:35 am, November 7th, 2014 - 158 comments
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
NRT: Betrayal at Pike River
Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, November 6th, 2014 - 80 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on the Pike River decision.
Paid parental leave bill faces defeat
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 6th, 2014 - 9 comments
The first repercussion of the election result is the almost inevitable defeat of Sue Moroney’s Paid Parental Leave private member’s bill. The Government is clearly determined to prevent her from getting credit for raising and highlighting an issue of importance to Kiwi families.
Million Mask March
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, November 6th, 2014 - 9 comments
On the other side of the world the Million Mask March is underway.
Reds under the beds
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, November 6th, 2014 - 82 comments
Governments have always used external threats (real or not) to expand their powers. Supposedly “small government” types seem the most keen to grab more powers, for some strange reason.
Open mike 06/11/2014
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, November 6th, 2014 - 124 comments
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Turei for peace & freedom: rejects politics of fear
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, November 5th, 2014 - 102 comments
Metiria Turei delivered a very strong speech in response to Key’s ministerial statement on national security. I give her a standing ovation! Update #1: link to video of Turei’s speech. #2 -YT video Turei’s speech. Link to Kennedy Garham’s speech
Key on ISIS
Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, November 5th, 2014 - 136 comments
Key’s much heralded speech on terrorism / ISIS is a mixed bag. As expected it will be used to justify unnecessarily increased surveillance powers. But at least we aren’t sending combat troops.
Campbell Live on ‘Feed the Kids Bill’
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, November 5th, 2014 - 14 comments
The main message from Campbell Live last night is we really need the “Feed the Kids” Bill to pass it’s first reading: then the Bill will go to Select Committee, so everyone can have a conversation. Update: reading postponed ‘cos Key’s war statement debate gets priority.
One News promoted climate crank
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, November 5th, 2014 - 183 comments
After a strong reaction, TVNZ has taken down video and an article featuring a climate change denialist crank.
Partially Privatised Power Companies Chief Executives’ salaries surge
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, November 5th, 2014 - 13 comments
Chief executive remuneration packages in the privatised power companies have surged post float.
NRT: Wealth transfer
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, November 5th, 2014 - 11 comments
John Key’s latest answer to the housing crisis: bigger subsidies for private landlords! Subsidies to private landlords simply result in rent increases. It doesn’t increase the housing supply. But ole JK just likes screwing over young first home buyers..
Housing policy shambles
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, November 5th, 2014 - 30 comments
National’s sale of state housing assets and other aspects of housing policy is stupid at all levels. Which is probably why they are confused themselves about it.
Open mike 05/11/2014
Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, November 5th, 2014 - 144 comments
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Feed the Kids Bill – act today
Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, November 4th, 2014 - 9 comments
Only one day to support the Feed the Kids Bill.
Bilateral mobility a bad idea
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, November 4th, 2014 - 166 comments
Who wouldn’t want the option of easy access to Britain, and hence Europe? But, hang on…
Campbell & Gould on neoliberalism
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, November 4th, 2014 - 49 comments
Yesterday’s Werewolf contained a fascinating discussion between Gordon Campbell and Bryan Gould on neoliberalism and the economy. It should be required reading for Labour leadership contenders!
Open mike 04/11/2014
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, November 4th, 2014 - 120 comments
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
ImperatorFish: A plea for help
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 pm, November 3rd, 2014 - 35 comments
I don’t usually ask for help, but this is different. I have made a lot of enemies, and some of them are determined to destroy me. I have managed to clad some of the roof of my house with aluminium foil, but funds are tight. If you don’t give me money it will make you a bad person
Polity: Newsflash: Houses are assets
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 pm, November 3rd, 2014 - 34 comments
Prime Minister John Key, in his capacity as Prime Minister, promised no asset sales this term in the run up to the last election. But now they are selling assets – state houses.
About climate change …
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, November 3rd, 2014 - 162 comments
The IPCC has released a further report refining previous research and announcing with practical certainty that climate change is happening because of the production of greenhouse gasses. It proposes that we stop burning fossil fuels, and change the electricity generation system so that by 2050 the vast bulk of the world’s power is produced by renewable means. The diagnosis is clear as are the remedies. And meanwhile Tim Groser thinks the Greens are to blame for the recent drop in the milk price …
Where would you spend $26 million?
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, November 3rd, 2014 - 52 comments
If you were the NZ government, with $26 million to spend, what would you spend it on?
Labour leadership hustings video
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, November 3rd, 2014 - 12 comments
In case you haven’t been able to make it to any of the leadership hustings, here’s the speeches from the Nelson meeting last week.
Open mike 03/11/2014
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 3rd, 2014 - 170 comments
Open mike is your post. The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Moving away from the politics of fear
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, November 2nd, 2014 - 53 comments
Politics from a position of fear is never going to be successful. Politics based on conviction and the ability to put forward a sound argument is a much better strategy. Yes, anyone selected is going to be subject to attack. But there’s no point in allowing that to cloud our judgement.
Grant Robertson live Q&A
Written By: - Date published: 5:59 pm, November 2nd, 2014 - 135 comments
Grant Robertson will be joining us live here tonight at around 7:30pm. As usual all comments / questions will be strictly moderated.
The bad blogger
Written By: - Date published: 5:27 pm, November 2nd, 2014 - 183 comments
It looks like Cameron Slater has finally woken up to the costs of walking over legal boundaries. Rather than dealing with the numbers of people who don’t like him or his actions. He instead has concocted a paranoid conspiracy theory. Oh, and he wants others to pay for his mistakes. Typical.
- Israel orders patients, staff to ‘evacuate’ last two hospitals in northern Gaza siege
Asia Pacific Report Israel is forcing two hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate under threat of attack as its ethnic cleansing campaign continues. Israeli forces have surrounded the Indonesian Hospital, where many staff and patients sought shelter after nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was destroyed in an Israeli raid last week, ...5 days ago - Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year
Navigating the shared challenges of climate change, geostrategic tensions, political upheaval, disaster recovery and decolonisation plus a 50th birthday party, reports a BenarNews contributor’s analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatu’s devastating earthquake and dramatic political developments in Tonga and New Caledonia at the end of 2024 set the tone ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what do these Sierra Leone developmen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what two Sierra Leone developments a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘You’ll love it, but you’ll hate it’: Christian Cullen on becoming CTI’s most unlikely sta...
Summer reissue: Former All Black and recent Celebrity Treasure Island castaway Christian Cullen looks back on his life in TV. First published October 12, 2024. Every season of Celebrity Treasure Island brings with it a surprise breakout star, and often it’s the person you know the least about or have ...6 days ago - Mike Johnson elected speaker of US House as Trump’s Republicans unite behind him
Two Republican opponents switched their votes to support him after more than half an hour of negotiations. ...6 days ago - My emotion is my strength – Karen Chhour
“People comment a lot on how emotional I am.”The children’s minister says she’s always been an emotional person. It’s her way of coping with trauma.“Because if you bottle that up it turns into something quite nasty, right? It turns into anger, it turns into frustration, and you start to look ...6 days ago - Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: There are times when fiction anticipates life, and dystopian nightmares become real.Who would have thought that in New Zealand, a relatively wealthy country that was once proudly egalitarian, a version of The Hunger Games would play out?That a government would cut thousands of jobs, deny desperate families emergency food ...6 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. New Year’s Resolutions
Christopher LuxonWell, what I’d say to you about my New Year’s resolutions is that this year is going to be better than the last, probably, I mean I should think there’s a good chance of that happening, an even chance, there’s a narrow window, the odds are against us but ...6 days ago
- ‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed
Summer reissue: The meltdown in the relationship between the key players in the fourth Labour government can be charted in an extraordinary exchange of correspondence. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...6 days ago
- How many goddamn words should I be saying to my baby?
Summer reissue: I read yet another study about toddlers, screen time and language development, and it sent me off the deep end. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...6 days ago
- What it takes to be an Olympian, and why you don’t have it
Summer reissue: This year Tori Peeters competed at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way – and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...6 days ago
- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...6 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan, what can two Sierra Leone development...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...6 days ago
- ‘Suspend Israel ties’ plea to global medical professionals – Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on “medical professionals worldwide” to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than “1000 colleagues of yours” killed in Gaza over the past 14 months. Countless ...6 days ago
- A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...7 days ago
- Honouring Kahurangi Tariana Turia:
...7 days ago - ‘She believed in people’ – Tributes from across political parties for Dame Tariana...
A stern but loving auntie, a woman of unshakeable principle, the very definition of a wāhine toa - those are just a few of the tributes flooding in for Dame Tariana Turia. ...7 days ago
- A year in The House: Law and order, deregulation and repeal
In its first year this Parliament has passed 46 new laws, with another 37 underway. We outline some of the government's major changes. ...7 days ago
- ‘Crime against journalism’: Gaza journalists slam PA’s Al Jazeera ban
By Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Journalists gathered at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital expressed outrage and confusion about the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in the occupied West Bank. “Shutting down a major outlet like Al Jazeera is a crime against journalism,” said freelance ...7 days ago
- Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab: The Palestine tragedy – why it should matter to you and our world
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab As 2024 came to a close and we have stepped into a new year overshadowed by ongoing atrocities, have you stopped to consider how these events are reshaping your world? Did you notice how your future ...7 days ago
- Cook Islands ‘not qualified’ for UN membership, says prime minister
By Talaia Mika of the Cook Islands News The Cook Islands will not pursue membership in the United Nations and the Commonwealth due to its inability to meet the criteria for UN membership and existing relationship with New Zealand, which fulfils Commonwealth membership requirements. Prime Minister Mark Brown has clarified ...7 days ago
- Obit: Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former Labour Party MP and Te Pāti Māori co-founder was recognised for her commitment to Māori. ...7 days ago
- Division, abuse and rates pain: Local politics year in review
A rising tide of abuse, escalating costs and the clash between central and local government - Marika Hill looks back at local politics in 2024. ...7 days ago
- Dame Tariana Turia has died
The former politician suffered a stroke earlier this week. ...7 days ago
- ‘One of the most important species for science’: how the humble fruit fly transformed 4 fields o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ary Hoffmann, Professor, School of BioSciences and Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne Drosophila melanogaster. Deep Scope/Shutterstock The common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), more correctly called the vinegar fly, is a frequent visitor to ripe fruit in households around the world, where ...1 week ago
- Genius or charlatan? The strange tale of a 19th-century polymath who left a trail of controversy acr...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Ludewig, Professor and Head of the School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia The Burra Burra Mine, 1847. Samuel Thomas Gill / State Library of NSW About 20 minutes’ drive north of Geraldton, on Australia’s west coast, lies a hill ...1 week ago
- Summer holidays haven’t changed much since ancient Greece and Rome (except maybe the sand wrestlin...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, The University of Melbourne Imagine a summer holiday at a seaside resort, with days spent sunbathing, reading books, exploring nature and chatting with friends. Sounds like it could be anywhere in Australia or ...1 week ago
- The elimination of cervical cancer in NZ is within reach in our lifetime – but not without funding...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francesca Storey, Deputy Director Te Tātai Hauora o Hine – National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington After committing to a global plan to eliminate cervical cancer, New Zealand is lagging behind Australia and ...1 week ago
- Why do some people’s hair and nails grow quicker than mine?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Moscova, Adjunct Associate Professor, Anatomy, UNSW Sydney Jari Lobo/Pexels Throughout recorded history, our hair and nails played an important role in signifying who we are and our social status. You could say, they separate the caveman from businessman. It ...1 week ago
- Monarch butterflies are in decline in NZ and Australia – they need your help to track where they g...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myron Zalucki, Professor in Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Kathy Reid, CC BY-SA Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) appear to be declining not just in North America but also in Australiasia. Could this be a consequence of global change, including ...1 week ago
- Australia needs better ways of storing renewable electricity for later. That’s where ‘flow batte...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, Professor Emeritus, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney As more and more solar and wind energy enters Australia’s grid, we will need ways to store it for later. We can store electricity in several different ways, from pumped hydroelectric ...1 week ago
- Unlocking the past: how NZ’s first jail tells a complex story of colonial identity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine McCarthy, Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington View of Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands, 1845, by George Thomas Clayton. via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY New Zealand’s first jail was a simple affair, just ...1 week ago
- Is it important to read the explanatory labels next to artworks? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Noor Gillani, Digital Culture Editor Shutterstock You’re standing at the centre of an expansive art gallery, overwhelmed by what’s in front of you: panel after panel of stupendous works – densely-written labels affixed next to each piece. These labels may offer ...1 week ago
- Te Pāti Māori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori suffered a stroke earlier this week and was said not to have long left.A press release from Te Ranga Tupua said she had died in the early hours of Friday morning. “A mother ...1 week ago
- DoC’s big donation drive gets mixed reviews
An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...1 week ago
- Rust Belt vs the beltway: Vance’s memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
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