Archive for March, 2017
Climate change – beyond the politics and the maths and the fear
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, March 17th, 2017 - 66 comments
Climate change is the most important issue of all time. Beyond the politics and the maths and the fear there is simply doing the right thing.
Mixed result in Netherlands
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, March 17th, 2017 - 18 comments
I guess it’s good that some parts of the world are going nuts at a slower rate than others?
TS Book Club this Sunday
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, March 17th, 2017 - Comments Off on TS Book Club this Sunday
We will be discussing Small is Beautiful – Economics as if People Mattered by E. F. Schumacher.
Nats’ attack on Ardern backfires
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, March 17th, 2017 - 34 comments
National’s nasty, obvious, hamfisted attack on Jacinda Ardern has backfired on them big time.
Open Mike 17/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 17th, 2017 - 58 comments
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Andrew Little’s speech on housing
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 pm, March 16th, 2017 - 47 comments
Excellent speech from Andrew Little in Parliament yesterday, on the government’s willful blindness to the housing crisis.
Daily Review 16/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 16th, 2017 - 7 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Parata overrules Bennett – consent not taught in schools
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, March 16th, 2017 - 33 comments
In the followup to the rape culture protests, Hekia Parata has overruled Paula Bennett, and consent will not be taught in schools.
#Trumpcare
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, March 16th, 2017 - 22 comments
The proposed Republican replacement of Obamacare will, surprise surprise, result in lower benefits, reduced coverage and a tax cut for the wealthy.
Breitbart Bill
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, March 16th, 2017 - 18 comments
Who has been feeding Bill English the latest alt-right attack language?
“All show and no substance”
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 16th, 2017 - 147 comments
The attack on Ardern as “all show and no substance” is a curious one for a party that was led for so many years by John Key.
Open Mike 16/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 16th, 2017 - 106 comments
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 15/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 15th, 2017 - 55 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Murdoch on the tax-cut striptease (NSFW)
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, March 15th, 2017 - 9 comments
Bye John!
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, March 15th, 2017 - 78 comments
Key’s act was was well and truly blown, and he’s moving on without, I suspect, a backward glance, at a job that his heart was never really in.
Dear Izzy
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 15th, 2017 - 27 comments
Married couple, increase after tax $8.36 a fortnight each or $4.18 each a week!!!!! Disposable Income, 0.5971428 each a day !!!! Goes up on April 1st, how the hell did they arrive at this sum?
I find out.
Some flaws of the Resource Amendment Legislation Bill
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, March 15th, 2017 - 10 comments
The Resource Amendment Legislation Bill is being debated in Parliament this week. It is a total re-write of the Resource Management Act 1991. It has some good points in it, but it also includes a number of matters which will have a severe impact. This is a critique of those points.
National’s flawed RMA ripoff still failing
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 15th, 2017 - 13 comments
Maori Party Co-Leader, Marama Fox, is playing hardball over Nick Smith latest attempts to weasel out of commitments on the deeply flawed RMA changes that National has spent the last few years trying to find any support for in Parliament. The bill is crap. The Maori party should just drop it regardless how many baubles they think they will get from it.
Free market efficiency in health – not
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, March 15th, 2017 - 37 comments
The idea of free market efficiency is not nearly as powerful or universal as its (often fanatical) proponents would have us believe. The sorry state of the USA’s health system is yet another compelling example of its limitations.
Open Mike 15/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 15th, 2017 - 70 comments
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 14/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, March 14th, 2017 - 111 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Nick Smith is a disgrace
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, March 14th, 2017 - 32 comments
In a functioning democracy Nick Smith’s handling of the Resource Management Bill should result in him losing his ministerial warrant.
Cat Among the Pigeons
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, March 14th, 2017 - 94 comments
Nicolas Sturgeon to seek the authority of the Scottish Parliament to agree the details of a Section 30 Order that will allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for an independence referendum.
There are no surpluses
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, March 14th, 2017 - 38 comments
There are no surpluses in NZ right now, not in any real sense. There is only debt, negative externalities and deferred costs.
Anthony Rimell – why I am standing for Parliament
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 14th, 2017 - 30 comments
Anthony Rimell is Labour’s candidate for the Ilam seat. In this post he sets out the reasons why he is standing for Parliament.
Call to teach consent in schools
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, March 14th, 2017 - 127 comments
Yesterday evening saw a well attended rally at Parliament to protest rape culture in NZ, and call for the teaching of consent in schools.
Open Mike 14/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 14th, 2017 - 70 comments
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 13/03/2017
Written By: - Date published: 5:39 pm, March 13th, 2017 - 25 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Marwick on dirty politics, leaks and the OIA
Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, March 13th, 2017 - 31 comments
Marwick: “The other thing you can deduce from a three year battle over access to correspondence is that the most senior politician in the land probably had something to hide.”
Welcome newsroom!
Written By: - Date published: 12:53 pm, March 13th, 2017 - 4 comments
The shiny new newsroom website is now up and running. They have a strong team, and a great first scoop on the sale of falsely labelled “free range” eggs.
English flogging National’s one-trick pony
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 am, March 13th, 2017 - 73 comments
Never mind the record debt, the dropped contributions to the Cullen fund, the housing crisis, rising poverty, the deteriorating health system, the costs of quake rebuilds, the filthy water, the need to prepare for climate change – never mind all that, have an election bribe!
- Why you should treat workplace friendships like your diet – aim for balance and variety
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Korber, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images The list of organisations abandoning the option of fully remote work for employees has grown recently, with the likes of Amazon, IBM, JPMorgan and Meta ...4 days ago - Sunglasses reflect more than the light: a brief history of shades, from Ancient Rome to Hollywood
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Maynard, Associate Professor, School of Communication and the Arts, The University of Queensland State Library Victoria Sunglasses, or dark glasses, have always guarded against strong sunlight, but is there more to “shades” than we think? The pupils of our ...4 days ago
- Inside the fast rise and faster collapse of the acclaimed K Road restaurant Cotto
Summer reissue: The Auckland eatery closed its doors with no warning in late 2023, prompting concerned customers to ask the simple question: what went wrong? Stewart Sowman-Lund finds out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read ...4 days ago - Dunedin’s secondhand bookshops, ranked and reviewed
Summer reissue: Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard. 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 be a member ...4 days ago
- Stanford braces herself for a year of cuts – and reform
“Next year is going to be a tough year for me, because I’m going to have to make some very, very difficult decisions,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.That means cuts. Or at least replacements.“This is the problem in education: we never stop doing things.”This leads to a disjointed system, where ...4 days ago - Protecting our democracy by reforming Parliament
Opinion: Aotearoa New Zealand currently exists in an unstable world. Democracies are under challenge across the globe, and we are not immune.As the inhabitants of one of the world’s oldest democracies, New Zealanders are accustomed to electing their Members of Parliament every three years and we value the importance of ...4 days ago
- The Mars search for meaning
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is resolute in his determination to establish a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars and is actively developing technology to achieve his mission. It’s an intriguing prospect, and if achieved, humans would only be able to potentially survive in some kind of biodome, but it once again raises ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi mō te Tiriti supporters invited to honour Dame Tariana Turia at tangi
Dame Tariana Turia's advocacy for Māori rights was the inspiration behind the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, organiser says. ...4 days ago - What I learned (and didn’t learn) from four years of home education
Summer reissue: For four years, Shanti Mathias learned at home, with her siblings as her only classmates. How did it affect her? 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 ...4 days ago
- An insomniac’s guide to getting to sleep when it’s hot and muggy
Summer reissue: It is not easy, but it is possible. 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 be a member today. Ah, sleep. Those six to eight gorgeous ...4 days ago
- ‘I need to make you suffer’: My near decade of violent harassment by a man I barely know
Summer reissue: Zeni Gibson has been stalked and harassed for nearly nine years by a man she rejected when she was 17. This is her story. As told to Madeleine Holden. Cover Stories are longform journalism supported by Spinoff Members. Support this work here. Spinoff Cover Stories are now available ...4 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 6 January
The post Daily crossword, Monday 6 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 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. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...4 days ago
- This past year saw policing get ‘back to basics’ – Minister Mark Mitchell
RNZ sat down with Police Minister and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell for a year in review, across his portfolios. ...4 days ago
- Tangi for Dame Tariana Turia welcomes figures from throughout the motu
Visitors and dignitaries from around the motu have been welcomed onto Whangaehu Marae, near Whanganui, as the tangihanga for the co-founder of Te Pāti Māori enters its second day. ...4 days ago
- Countering Foreign Interference Bill A Dramatic Attack On Free Speech And Rights
We know that the impact of this kind of legislation is to silence legitimate political activity. In particular this is likely to be the case where people are advocating for policies that are contrary to the position of the current government. ...4 days ago - Abducted Gaza doctor’s life in danger due to torture – call for immediate international interven...
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor The fate of Palestinian Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was “arrested” by Israeli forces last month after defiantly staying with his patients when his hospital was being attacked, featured strongly at yesterday’s medical professionals solidarity rally in Auckland. ...5 days ago
- The Wāhine Māori leading NZ’s largest education union
Ripeka Lessels (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa)Ripeka Lessels had been an educator for 20 years before she decided to become involved in NZEI Te Riu Roa’s Māori governance body, Te Reo Areare. It’s here she believed she could do the most good for tamariki Māori.As someone who had ...5 days ago
- Four myths of career breaks
Opinion: Why is it that whenever we meet someone new, we default to asking about their job?We could ask almost any question about their interests, background, or values, but still we ask “So, what do you do?”It turns out, this common, seemingly innocuous phrasing carries much deeper undertones of perceived ...5 days ago
- When the flood came for South Dunedin, this time it was ready
Summer reissue: Flat and surrounded by hills and rising tides, it’s no surprise that South Dunedin is at risk of flooding. But nine years of preparation meant last week’s deluge wasn’t as bad as it could have been – and a future here still seems possible. The Spinoff needs to ...5 days ago
- The most miserable and fucked-up children’s authors, rated
Summer reissue: You don’t have to live a haunting life of unparalleled grief and sorrow to be a great children’s author, but it helps. 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 ...5 days ago
- ‘Primary school LOTR’: The principal giving Peter Jackson a run for his money
Summer reissue: Alex Casey meets the Southland principal who wrote and directed a feature length fantasy epic starring the whole school. 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 be ...5 days ago
- The Sunday Essay: Will I hurt my baby?
Summer reissue: Madeleine Holden writes about her agonising first year of motherhood. 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 be a member today. This essay contains descriptions of violence ...5 days ago
- What’s behind the rise in smaller iwi?
Summer reissue: Increasing numbers of Māori are affiliating with tribal groups of under 1,000 members. What does it mean for Māoridom? 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 be ...5 days ago
- Daily crossword, Sunday 5 January
The post Daily crossword, Sunday 5 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Sunday 5 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. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...5 days ago
- Fiji police charge man with rape and sexual assault of Virgin Australia crew member
Fijivillage News A man has been charged with the rape and sexual assault of one of the Virgin Australia crew members in the early hours of New Year’s Day, near a nightclub in Martintar, Nadi. Police confirm he has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one count ...5 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 ...5 days ago
- 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 ...5 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
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