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Comment: Open mike 08/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 9:24 am, February 8th, 2025
Mmm...not sure there Ad. Israel is now a pariah state. Netantahi is widely accepted as a war criminal. Massive international response rejecting Trump's simplistic and knee jerk suggestion to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Massive support for a Palestinian state ...Comment: Open mike 07/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 3:53 pm, February 7th, 2025
Surely that is CEO Mike Fudge?Comment: Open mike 07/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 8:27 am, February 7th, 2025
Agree 100% on basic income needed.....something people can live on with dignity.Comment: Open mike 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 2:09 am, February 6th, 2025
Trotters credibility plummets. It's a badge of honour not to be invited/go.Comment: Moving beyond wtaf?
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:08 pm, February 5th, 2025
The American election system is totally crap when you can elect a leader 49.9 to 48.4 and that leader then has so much random power. Third Reich anyone? This system needs to be changed.Comment: Daily review 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:00 pm, February 5th, 2025
Each train taking 600 tonnes off the roads and saving 6 tonnes of carbon while making the roads safer and last longer. What a far sighted agreement, and ray of light in comparison with all the pro-road anti-rail stuff this government promotes . Labour ...Comment: Daily review 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:50 pm, February 5th, 2025
Excellent Joe. Those debt to GDP figures say it all. And NZ had 18000 fewer deaths than the UK on a pro rata basis despite reining in spending much better than the UK during Covid. This needs to be said at the election. I really must join Bluesky.Comment: Daily review 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:42 pm, February 5th, 2025
Don't hold your breath. Now if Jacinda had still been PM.....Comment: Open mike 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:11 am, February 5th, 2025
Well said Morrissey....we can only hope he is hounded remorselessly. But Blinken is so arrogant, self-important and thick-skinned that unfortunately he will not notice.Comment: Open mike 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:06 am, February 5th, 2025
Comment: Open mike 05/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 9:45 am, February 5th, 2025
I see Dennis's name and scroll down as fast as possible.Comment: Open mike 04/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:13 pm, February 4th, 2025
Even the dog food isn't arriving on time....listen to RadioNZ Checkpoint.Comment: Tim Jago is part of a bigger ACT Party issue
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 3:24 am, February 3rd, 2025
Puckish....the media suppressed/lied about the fact that the summer camp couple had been in a relationship for a year before the summer camp events. Pullya Benefit and Tova OBrien should hang their heads in shame.Comment: Open mike 02/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:35 pm, February 2nd, 2025
Exactly tWig....I have stopped wasting my time with his extreme RW nonsence.Comment: Open mike 02/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:32 pm, February 2nd, 2025
Comment: Open mike 02/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 8:21 am, February 2nd, 2025
No surprise really. Shane Jones' "burning mountains of Indonesian coal" was always bollocks. Coal has on average supplied 7 per cent of NZ'selectricity over the last 10 years Almost all of the rest is renewable. With the mass of solar with storage attached ...Comment: Open mike 01/02/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 3:15 am, February 2nd, 2025
I worked with USAID people in Indonesia. Much of that 60 billion is paid to Americans working for USAID as generous salaries and per diem. Effectively much of the 60 billion "aid" stays in America in other words There will be a very strong lobby by these ...Comment: Open mike 31/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 9:17 am, January 31st, 2025
So what if Deepseek uses stolen data and stockpiled chips? So what if it has links to the Chinese Communist Party? Nobody really cares about this. What Deepseek has done, brilliantly, is show that the AI propaganda based-boom is built on sand and will ...Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:34 pm, January 30th, 2025
Locals are ropeable about the stupidity and waste of money resulting from increasing the speed limit from 80 back to 100 on the very windy road to Milford Sound.Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:30 pm, January 30th, 2025
Trotter also hates the Greens with a vengeance.Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:27 pm, January 30th, 2025
Agree totally weka about your comments re the post. But the logic that one man makes an idiotic post means all men are idiots is even dafter. Please don't tar us all with the same brush.Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:22 pm, January 30th, 2025
Surely a couple of warning shots over their heads would have sufficed?Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 11:20 pm, January 30th, 2025
The second to visit will be Starmer according to the Guardian. Fitting really.Comment: Open mike 30/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 7:46 am, January 30th, 2025
There is a cartoon floating around on social media showing the IDF walking out of the door to Gaza and through the door to the occupied West Bank. Look out for flimsy pretexts to massacre West Bank Palestinians. (Not Jewish so-called "settlers" of course.)Comment: Open mike 29/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 2:47 am, January 30th, 2025
The estimated costs for Onslow that I saw a while ago were 17 billion NZ dollars. Probably 19billion now. I did a back of envelope calculation based on the cost of solar with battery storage attached (both of which have got much cheaper and efficient in ...Comment: Open mike 24/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:39 pm, January 24th, 2025
If both Starmer and Trump are hanging their hats on AI that confirms my feeling that AI will never deliver. It's all hot air. Tbe many billions being spent on AI is going to cause the biggest tech crash in history.Comment: Open mike 24/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:34 pm, January 24th, 2025
I think that destroying the public health system, much beloved by the plebs and by anyone with a sense of fairness, is a step too far. If Luxon doesn't come out against this clearly his poll numbers will continue to tank.Comment: New Zealand’s worst leadership speech since 2008
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 10:26 pm, January 24th, 2025
Brilliant. It's only so good because it's true. Though it should be "unlike you bottom feeders"Comment: Open mike 23/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 9:56 am, January 23rd, 2025
What few seem to have noticed is that the Republican HOR majority was reduced from 9 to 5 in the election. The Democrats could easily take this in 2 years which would help stymie Trump. (And as I keep posting Trump won 49.9 to 48.4....he is not that loved ...Comment: Open mike 22/01/2025
Written By: Bearded Git - Date published: 8:20 am, January 22nd, 2025
It would be good to see Hipkins attacking Trump with all guns blazing for the things he has done on day one. For instance: Climate change (drill baby drill and axing EV targets, withdrawing from Paris accord) Gender Identity (there are only two genders, ...
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- Kieran McAnulty is severely underrated: How Chris Bishop Got Away with Blowing Up Kāinga Ora & ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...4 hours ago - The Condundrum of David Seymour
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...6 hours ago - All your dreams are on their way
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...9 hours ago - Fact brief – Is methane the largest driver of recent global warming?
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...17 hours ago - Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for Feb 8
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...1 day ago - Home Time
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...1 day ago - My Decision on Mountain Tui After The Poll
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...2 days ago - The Yes Prime Minister
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...2 days ago - Let It Be Said – Loudly & Clearly!
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...2 days ago - On the DOGE data sweep..
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...2 days ago - Oh, Jokerman
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...2 days ago - Weekly Roundup 7-February-2025
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...2 days ago - Govt grasping at economic growth straws
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...2 days ago
- The quiet Waitangi that said a lot
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...2 days ago - Review: The Narnia books, by C.S. Lewis (1950-1956) – Part Two
Last time round, I took a look at the first two Narnia books (chronologically speaking): https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2025/01/14/review-the-narnia-books-by-c-s-lewis-1950-1956-part-one/ Time to take a look at the next two books of the series – The Horse and His Boy, and Prince Caspian. The Horse and His Boy The Horse and His Boy ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #6 2025
Open access notables Doing better rather than promising more: A basic principle applicable to both climate modelling and climate policies, Douville, PLOS Climate: A growing number of scientists are expressing concerns about the inadequacy of climate change policies. Fewer are questionning the dominant climate modelling paradigm and the IPCC’s success ...3 days ago
- Fake Seizure Guy Has Been Arrested
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...3 days ago - The fossil fuel industry spent $219 million to elect the new U.S. government
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...3 days ago
- Right Where We Belong
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...3 days ago - Snippets: Backs Turn on Seymour, The USA Coup continues & Employment Falls by the Highest Rates ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...4 days ago - Unemployment climbs above 5%
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...4 days ago - 34,000 unemployed under National
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...4 days ago - Govt to sell billions of dollars worth of state housing land
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announced Kāinga Ora would be stripped of ...4 days ago - Trains are back but slower
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Epic Fails In Jobs And Housing
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...5 days ago - Sabin 33 #14 – Do we have sufficient mineral resources for solar development?
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...5 days ago
- Te Tiriti needs a guardian
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...5 days ago
- An incoming leader’s onslaught of depredations
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...5 days ago - Dear Mum and Dad
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...5 days ago - An appropriate process?
Back in December Energy Minister Simon Watts appointed John Carnegie and Vijay Goel to the board of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. The appointments looked dubious - Carnagie is chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa, previously known as the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand: basically, an ...5 days ago
- NZ jobs contracting as Australia’s expands
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...5 days ago - NZ mirrors the US in significant ways
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...5 days ago - Gondolas for mass transit?
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...5 days ago
- January sets an unexpected temperature record
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink Both 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...5 days ago
- Flooding The Zone With Shit
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...5 days ago - There are better ways to get hospitals
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...6 days ago - Balancing Act.
6 days ago - ACT’s problem is Luxon’s problem
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...6 days ago
- Going Up the Country
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...6 days ago - Waitangi Day events across the motu
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...6 days ago
- Can you please share your ideas and suggestions with me, Brain Trust?
6 days ago - The Kākā’s weekly roundup on politics and economics to Feb 3
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...6 days ago - Monday 3 February
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...6 days ago
- Going for growth…..perhaps
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...6 days ago - How Donald Trump’s tariff shock will change our political economy
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...6 days ago - The Kākā’s diary for the week to Feb 9 & beyond
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...6 days ago - Gordon Campbell On Trump’s Tariff Wars
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...7 days ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #05
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...7 days ago
- The politics of cruelty.
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...7 days ago
- Standing for Auckland
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...1 week ago - A little good news
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...1 week ago - Tim Jago is part of a bigger ACT Party issue
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...1 week ago - Fact brief – Is global warming promoting biodiversity?
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...1 week ago
- The chart deck calling bullshit on Luxon’s ‘just drive faster & work longer’ economic grow...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...1 week ago - Nikki Noboats, Digital Nomads, Totally Noclue
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...1 week ago - No, Mr Dunne. A Grand Coalition Wouldn’t Work.
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ... 1 week ago - 2025 Reading List: January (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...1 week ago - The Proposed Regulatory Standards Bill
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...1 week ago - The Real State of the Nation: Fear, Anger, and a Demand for Change
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...1 week ago
- Is the BSA rejecting too many complaints?
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...1 week ago - What happened to the Curia Market Research suspension?
Last year, I wrote that Curia Market Research was found in breach of professional research standards by the independent industry group.If you like my work, please do subscribe and consider supporting. Thank you.At the time, David Farrar, co-founder of Taxpayers Union, close affiliate of Jordan Williams, and National Party pollster, ...1 week ago - Better Late than Never?
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...1 week ago - Govt sets ‘shockingly unambitious’ new climate target
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...1 week ago - Weekly Roundup 31-January-2025
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...1 week ago
- DeepSeek, And Ye Shall Find.
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...1 week ago
- Telepathic Children Do Not Exist
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to January 31
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...1 week ago
- Treasury sinks key National election promise
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Beyond irresponsible
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #5 2025
Open access notables Revisiting the Last Ice Area projections from a high-resolution Global Earth System Model, Fol et al., Communications Earth & Environment: The Last Ice Area—located to the north of Greenland and the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago—is expected to persist as the central Arctic Ocean becomes seasonally ice-free within ...1 week ago
- Join us at 5pm for this week’s Hoon
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...1 week ago - Luxon for growth growth growth
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...1 week ago - The SIS and the “mosaic effect”
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...1 week ago
- Which Sort of People? Liberal versus Populist Democracy.
With The Stroke Of A Pen: Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...1 week ago
- Reviewing Covid experiences and policies
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...1 week ago
- MP Views: Waitangi Day 2025
Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...2 days ago - Release: Health leadership in disarray while Kiwis miss out
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...2 days ago - PM must condemn Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...2 days ago - Public Works Act overhaul fails to protect Māori land
The Government’s so-called overhaul of the Public Works Act will fail to prevent further injustices around the confiscation of Māori land. ...4 days ago
- Release: Māori and Pacific people hit hardest by lack of jobs
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...4 days ago
- Govt’s lack of a plan shows in soaring unemployment stats
The latest labour market figures confirm unemployment has risen to levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. ...4 days ago
- Release: Unemployment soars as Government fails Kiwis
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Kiwis hard, with unemployment reaching 5.1%—a four-year high. ...4 days ago
- Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven – Shane Jones
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...4 days ago
- Release: Still no commitment to build more public houses
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...5 days ago
- Government plan fails on growing public housing stock
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...5 days ago
- MP Views: Tough on crime, water storage, Easter trading laws, and vocational training
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...1 week ago
- Marama Davidson to mark return to politics at Waitangi
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...1 week ago
- Our Tamariki Deserve Better than Seymour’s Slop
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...1 week ago
- Release: Mining plan offers false promises with real damage
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...1 week ago
- Release: Dunedin wins, hospital build continues
The people of Dunedin have won in an almost year-long battle to have their hospital confirmed, but National’s delays have cost dearly. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand with Coromandel locals against Luxon’s destructive mining policy
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...1 week ago
- Where’s the “culture of yes” on climate ambition?
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...1 week ago
- Taranaki Maunga Granted Legal Personhood
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...1 week ago
- Release: Frontline providers deserve certainty, not name-calling
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...1 week ago
- Release: Seymour’s school lunch cuts already failing kids
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...1 week ago
- Open season on renters begins with no-cause evictions
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt soft on prosecuting migrant exploitation
The National Government’s big talk on combatting the exploitation of migrant workers has been exposed as a sham today. ...1 week ago
- Release: More road deaths likely if evidence not followed
Any road deaths as a result of increased speed limits will now be on the Government’s hands. ...2 weeks ago
- Raising speed limits on undivided highways invites trouble
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Luxon misleading on the economy
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is misleading the public by falsely claiming the economy has been in recession for three years. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis prioritises visitors over everyday Kiwis
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon waves goodbye to record number of NZers with no plan in sight
Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech today offered no real hope nor vision for a unified and prosperous Aotearoa New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s sanctions regime fails us all
The Government’s newly released data paints a damning picture: the sanctions regime targeting beneficiaries is an abject failure. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis has a new job while she oversees New Zealanders losing theirs
There are still struggles ahead with rising rents, rates, insurance and high unemployment, despite today’s inflation data. ...3 weeks ago
- Government spin won’t pay the rent
The latest Consumer Price Index figures show rents rising almost twice as fast as general inflation. ...3 weeks ago
- Aotearoa must step up as Trump plays with climate fire
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Cabinet reshuffle a futile exercise from failing government
National's Cabinet reshuffle is a futile attempt to turn around a failing government. ...3 weeks ago
- 98 per cent of potholes repaired within 24 hours
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...1 week ago - Decision reached on Dunedin Hospital
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...1 week ago
- First Plunket site begins delivering childhood immunisations
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...1 week ago
- Government confirms international commitment to disability community
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...1 week ago
- Major milestone reached with launch of Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...1 week ago
- A new direction for the minerals sector to grow the economy
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...1 week ago
- Tax policy proposal would boost NZ racing
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...1 week ago
- Business confidence signals progress
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...1 week ago
- Hawke’s Bay patients to benefit from new and improved radiology and cancer treatment services
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...1 week ago
- Setting New Zealand’s second international climate target
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...1 week ago
- Major negotiations with iwi of Taranaki conclude
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...1 week ago
- Relentless focus on literacy & numeracy at school
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...1 week ago
- Ministers welcome Kāinga Ora’s revised approach to wool carpets
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...1 week ago
- New school lunch programme serves up first healthy lunches
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...1 week ago
- Barnardos decision reversed
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...1 week ago
- Customs’ levies bill passes first reading
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...2 weeks ago
- Citizenship applications completed up 54 per cent in December
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...2 weeks ago
- Speed limit reduction reversals begin
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...2 weeks ago
- Budget will be delivered on 22 May
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...2 weeks ago
- PM emphasises importance of growth in 2025
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...2 weeks ago
- Students are back at school
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...2 weeks ago
- Going for Growth: New rules for visiting tourists
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...2 weeks ago
- Housing Minister opens new Epuni development
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...2 weeks ago
- Trade and Investment Minister to hold trans-Tasman discussion
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...2 weeks ago
- New podiatry clinic brings much-needed service to Wairoa
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...2 weeks ago
- Commissioner recommends panel inquire into Judge’s conduct
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...2 weeks ago
- Schools to accelerate maths achievement
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...2 weeks ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...2 weeks ago
- Emergency Housing target achieved five years early
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...2 weeks ago
- Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development opens
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...2 weeks ago
- New Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...2 weeks ago
- State of the Nation 2025
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...2 weeks ago
- Invest New Zealand opens doors to the world
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...2 weeks ago
- Reforms to boost science sector and economy
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...2 weeks ago
- Economic growth the key to better days ahead
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...2 weeks ago
- Runaway spending growth checked
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...2 weeks ago
- Welfare that Works making a difference
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...2 weeks ago
- Two new appointments to Film Commission Board
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...3 weeks ago
- Drop in domestic inflation hailed
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...3 weeks ago
- New appointments bring business expertise to the Employment Relations Authority
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...3 weeks ago
- Changes to business investor visa announced
The government is overhauling its so called 'golden visa' scheme to lure wealthy investors to New Zealand. ...16 minutes ago - PSNA’s Minto hits back at Gaza ‘genocide hotline’ critics, insists NZ should deny Israeli sold...
Asia Pacific Report A national Palestine advocacy group has hit back at critics of its “genocide hotline” campaign against soldiers involved in Israel’s war against Gaza, saying New Zealand should be actively following international law. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) dismissed a “predictable lineup of apologists for Israel” for ...52 minutes ago - David Seymour says letter to police on Philip Polkinghorne was due to role as MP
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...2 hours ago
- Mediawatch: NZ media in the middle of Asia-Pacific diplomatic drama
MEDIAWATCH: By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...2 hours ago
- Mark Brown on China deal: ‘No need for NZ to sit in the room with us’
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...3 hours ago
- Victorian byelections: Liberals gain Prahran from Greens and Labor ahead in Werribee
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...3 hours ago
- The House: The summer of 300,000 submissions
Behind the scenes ...4 hours ago
- The highest peak: a eulogy for Brian Turner
A long time ago, Brian Turner wrote a poem in which, among the mountains, as he slept on a river flat … My speechless ancestors played like mice among my dreamsand he woke to the river running over my bed of stone. I have come to know that where a ...9 hours ago - ‘Journalism has become a blood sport. It is harder and harder to tell the truth’
A investigative journalism programme — Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) — that has pubiished exposes about the South Pacific and has not been impacted on by the “freeze” of USAID funding has hit back in an editorial calling for support of independent media. EDITORIAL: By the OCCRP editors ...16 hours ago
- Trump’s foreign aid freeze throws independent journalism into chaos
Pacific Media Watch President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and ...18 hours ago
- New Zealand must make Gaza stance clear, ‘stop tip-toeing’ around Trump, expert says
Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman says New Zealand should provide a robust response to Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and also "should stop tip-toeing" around Trump. ...21 hours ago
- Government backpedals on some automatic speed reversals, says consultation now possible
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...1 day ago
- Trump’s memecoin drops in value, and critics aren’t surprised
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...1 day ago
- Guy Williams delivers a cautionary tale for armchair journalists
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...1 day ago - The Chinese origins of Sāmoa’s most popular dish, chop suey
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin Fellet If you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...1 day ago
- ‘I felt terrible’: The Jono and Ben prank that still haunts Jono Pryor
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...1 day ago
- The Spinoff Essay: The celebration you’re looking for is just around the bend
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...1 day ago
- The freshest fits from the Treaty Grounds on Waitangi Day
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...1 day ago
- Short story: Pōneke Ghosts, by Devon Webb
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...1 day ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Tim Jago
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...1 day ago
- ‘My story with taonga begins in 1984’: an excerpt from Books of Mana
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value. For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...1 day ago
- Dog of the month: Tara, who doesn’t really care if she’s dog of the month or not
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...1 day ago
- Margie Apa resigns: ‘Impossible task’ to lead Health NZ with systemic issues – med...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...2 days ago
- Margie Apa resigns: ‘Impossible task’ to lead Health NZ with systematic issues – m...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...2 days ago
- Govt Select Committee Process In Its Hearings On The Oranga Tamariki Serious Youth Offending Bill Un...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...2 days ago - Rebels are continuing their march in eastern Congo – what is their long-term goal?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...2 days ago
- Misleading and false election ads are legal in Australia. We need national truth in political advert...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member. ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...2 days ago
- Cook Islands PM on China deal: ‘No need for NZ to sit in the room with us’
Mark Brown says NZ is asking for too much oversight over its deal with Beijing which is expected to be signed next week. ...2 days ago
- Next group of public submissions on Treaty Principles Bill announced
There are almost 500 people named, from the general public to former MPs, academics and Māori leaders. ...2 days ago
- Are eggs good or bad for our health?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...2 days ago
- Treaty principles bill hearings, day three: The Justice Committee works from home
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...2 days ago
- What is botulism? How this ‘nerve-paralysing illness’ can be linked to dodgy botox
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...2 days ago
- Taking the ‘forever’ out of ‘forever chemicals’: we worked out how to destroy the PFAS in ba...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...2 days ago
- Belle Gibson built a ‘wellness’ empire on a lie about cancer. Apple Cider Vinegar expertly unrav...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...2 days ago
- An ‘earthquake swarm’ is shaking Santorini. It could persist for months
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...2 days ago
- WA Labor has thumping Newspoll lead a month before election; federal Labor improves
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...2 days ago
- Miriam Margolyes is in New Zealand, and her timing couldn’t be better
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...2 days ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Real Poet’ by Jordan Hamel
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...2 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending February 7
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 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...2 days ago
- List Of Submitters To Be Invited To Make Oral Submissions— Principles Of The Treaty Of Waitangi Bi...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...2 days ago
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