Author Archive
When politics and music video collide
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 pm, February 9th, 2008 - 2 comments
From CNN earlier in the week – Jeanne Moos presents her very own Super Tuesday Political Video Awards. A good summary of some of the hottest and some of the most cringe inducing items on the download circuit. What will be our NZ equivalent? Meantime fresh controversy is set to rage with the news that […]
TV3 poll presents challenge
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 pm, February 5th, 2008 - 38 comments
The latest TV3 poll comes hot on the heels of Labour MPs gathering for their first caucus meeting of the year. “National can govern alone in the latest 3 News poll at 49 percent. It has shed two points, from what was an artificial high.But Labour drops to 35 percent, the lowest it has been […]
Key and crabs
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, January 16th, 2008 - 52 comments
Now I know many of us are still in holiday mode for awhile longer but did it strike anyone else as a little odd to see Mr Key speak out against someone earning their living (presumably) – wanting crab pots banned at his exclusive beach resort? “Mr Key said residents approached him late last month […]
What you can do with this gadget is up to you
Written By: - Date published: 11:09 pm, January 10th, 2008 - 3 comments
Spotted in the NY Times (6 Jan 2008) this new gadget looks like it takes the concept of open source one step further (article has some photos too). “HACKERS, welcome! Here are detailed circuit diagrams of our products — modify them as you wish.” That’s not an announcement you’ll find on the Web sites of […]
The Politics of New Hampshire
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 pm, January 10th, 2008 - 9 comments
For those of you following the presidential primaries this opinion piece by Dan Balz in the Washington Post (9 Jan) provides some interesting observations on the Clinton/Obama result which flew in the face of polls and political pundits: “Hillary Clinton’s stunning victory here on Tuesday night was another powerful reminder of something that is taught […]
Political intermission
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, December 21st, 2007 - 1 comment
If like me you are thinking “why?” to the issue of attack billboards at the time of year when everyone just wants to escape from work and not even think about politicians then here’s something you might enjoy. From Creature Comforts – a unique perspective on the Christmas season… (includes a pensive turkey who feels […]
Spain bans parents from smacking children
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, December 21st, 2007 - 61 comments
Yesterday we saw a report from Police Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope saying claims that the repeal of section 59 would lead to the prosecution of parents and the removal of children from their homes have been proven wrong. This follows another report which indicates that the law change has not led to a big rise […]
Leadership style & Clinton v Obama
Written By: - Date published: 3:50 pm, December 19th, 2007 - 3 comments
Leadership is a quality that everyone can recognise but a whole suite of academic debate has emerged over its definition. For an example check out these Q&As from the NZ Leadership institute. Here, between the leaders of our two major parties we see the positioning between the experienced Helen Clark, and the untested John Key […]
Turning attention inward: looking at the media
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, December 14th, 2007 - 8 comments
Some interesting observations from Steven Price on DomPost editor Tim Pankhurst’s keynote address at the Jeanz conference called “The Power of Print”. His speech included this interpretation on the NZ Herald’s Electoral Finance Bill campaign: “He was a bit bemused. “Good on them,” was his attitude. But he thought it would be boring the Herald’s […]
National reopens Selwyn race
Written By: - Date published: 11:53 am, December 14th, 2007 - 2 comments
Local Nats don’t want David Carter as their candidate for Selwyn. Looks like the threats, intimidation and bullying tactics used to get him the candidacy have backfired for him. Carter (himself a three time loser to Labour’s Ruth Dyson in Banks Peninsula) has a history of bagging other candidates within his party. He said of […]
What is the price of believing?
Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, December 12th, 2007 - 15 comments
Oprah is a global brand, so when she went public with her campaign to support Barack Obama it was part of our news cycle. But we haven’t seen much follow-up on what it means for the Democrats and impact on the African American vote as they primaries beckon. For those taking an interest in US […]
Argentina gets first elected female president
Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, December 11th, 2007 - 13 comments
We’ve been writing about Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark (btw – yesterday was the 8th anniversary of signing Ministerial warrants for the first term Labour ministers). Now Argentina has an interesting twist – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the first woman to be elected president in Argentina, succeeded her husband, Nestor Kirchner. From the NY Times: […]
Xmas trees & when all that glitters
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, December 11th, 2007 - 11 comments
It was once a matter of personal preference. Now it’s part of the sustainability story. Do you prefer the uniform shape, colour, ease of the plastic fantastic, or was the distinctive aroma of pine sap and rustle of pine needles a defining characteristic of your Xmas experience? Well now there’s the ethical question to add […]
A decade since Shipley
Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, December 10th, 2007 - 34 comments
How remiss of us! Our pals over at Kiwiblogblog have just pointed out that we’ve just missed the 10 year anniversary since Jenny Shipley first took the reins on 8 December 1997. Some of my personal favorites from her time in the sun: The Code of Social and Family Responsibility. At the time the Wesley […]
Political correctness gone Möbius
Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, November 1st, 2007 - 4 comments
In the wildly twisty turny inverted think of Rodney Hide it is both possible to say all violence is wrong and that smacking isn’t violence so that’s OK. Mr. Hide’s October media release states: “violence in any circumstance is unacceptable” In May Mr. Hide stated that: “I think the issue of the smacking of children—not […]
Growing poverty across the Tasman
Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, October 26th, 2007 - 6 comments
The Australian Council of Social Services has highlighted an update on the numbers living in poverty. New figures released by Australia Fair show that the number of Australians in poverty increased from 9.8% to 11.1% of the population between 2003-04 and 2005-06. This is based on the standard measure used extensively in OECD countries, 50% […]
National’s challenge
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 pm, October 24th, 2007 - 1 comment
With the British conservatives looking strong (and Labour embarassed by the costs of an election that never was) and the fresh new blood surging ahead across the Tasman (noting that the polls continue to be against Howard despite their proposal for a massive tax cut) I suspect National here will be feeling pretty pleased with […]
Deja vu: alle par dejeuner
Written By: - Date published: 3:34 pm, October 12th, 2007 - 9 comments
Reading Hager’s observations in his select committee testimony got me thinking. That big business lobby which used to sit behind Dr Brash now sits behind Mr Key. I’m sure McCully has explained to those monied types that National has to be careful about how to describe the true policy agenda. But Mr Key and his […]
Tough but fair
Written By: - Date published: 5:08 pm, October 9th, 2007 - 1 comment
Listening to Nine to Noon on RNZ yesterday I thought there was some useful insight into the bigger picture behind Key’s “the war in Iraq is over” gaffe: Laila Harre: What this really demonstrates is a real lack of depth in terms of John Key’s own understanding not just of foreign policy issues or grasp […]
- Kiwi pilot kidnapping in West Papua leads to police raids in Australia
By Duncan Graham An alleged plot involving firearms and threatening the life of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens when held hostage in Papua this year is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. The case involves “advancing a political cause by the separation of West Papua from Indonesia . . ...4 days ago - 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...4 days ago - Political finance law reforms will reduce big money in politics, but will rich donors be the ultimat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Political funding in Australia has long been shrouded in secrecy. It is also dominated by large donations and unrestrained spending, courtesy of laissez-faire federal political finance laws. The Albanese government has ...4 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...4 days ago - ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – hīkoi ends with peaceful pr...
The capital turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te tiriti overflowed Parliament's grounds and onto the streets. ...4 days ago
- Bunnings breached privacy law by scanning customers’ faces – but this loophole lets other shops ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margarita Vladimirova, PhD in Privacy Law and Facial Recognition Technology, Deakin University Nils Versemann/Shutterstock Hardware giant Bunnings breached the privacy of “likely hundreds of thousands” of Australians through its use of facial recognition technology, the Privacy Commissioner ruled today. “Individuals who ...4 days ago
- Could keeping native species as pets save them from extinction? Here’s why it’s not that simple
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meg Edwards, Lecturer in Wildlife Science, University of Southern Queensland Captive squirrel glider Author provided, CC BY Humans have been turning wild animals into pets for thousands of years. Pets – animals kept for companionship, not for food or work – were ...4 days ago
- Why did the US change its mind on Ukraine firing missiles into Russia? And will it impact the war?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Richardson, Visiting Fellow, Centre for European Studies, Australian National University The lifting of US restrictions on the use of ATACMS ballistic missiles by Ukraine may help it repel Russian forces trying to retake Russian territory seized by Ukraine earlier this year. ...4 days ago
- Albanese government gives firm ‘no’ to joining UK-US agreement to advance nuclear technology
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has been put on the spot by a new agreement – which it has declined to join – signed by the United Kingdom and the United States to speed up the deployment of ...4 days ago
- The government wants to keep cash alive for buying essentials. Here’s why it’s such a challenge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Worthington, Adjunct Professor, Swinburne University of Technology Cre8tive Images/Shutterstock Cash usage has fallen off a cliff in Australia, but the federal government says it must have a future. So, it’s going to mandate one. The Australian government will require ...4 days ago
- Time for soldiers to do civilian work extended until mid-February
The government has notified Parliament it is extending the time soldiers will be filling in for their striking non-uniformed colleagues until Valentines Day. ...4 days ago
- Live: 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi day 9: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill protest reaches Parliament
RNZ News More than 35,000 people today gathered as Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed from Parliament’s grounds and onto nearby streets in the capital Wellington Pōneke. Eru Kapa-Kingi told the crowd “Māori nation has been born” today and that “Te Tiriti is forever”. ACT leader David Seymour ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi not representative of New Zealand, David Seymour says
Seymour came out of the Beehive today to acknowledge the hīkoi and wave at the protesters - but retreated inside after just a few minutes. ...4 days ago
- Alan Jones once seemed unassailable. What ended it was a peculiarly Sydney story of media, politics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne For decades it seemed Alan Jones was unassailable. A finding against him of professional misconduct by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (2000); a finding that he incited hatred, serious contempt ...4 days ago
- Daily smoking rates flat-line, youth vaping keeps rising – NZ Health Survey
Daily smoking rates have flat-lined after dramatic falls in previous years, while vaping among younger people continues to rise. ...4 days ago
- Watch: Traffic-stopping haka breaks out during hīkoi to Parliament
Vehicles were barred from entering the intersection as a group of men performed the haka to a crowd of hundreds of onlookers. ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi to Parliament: The families taking part and why
The hīkoi is a family affair, with tamariki everywhere; pepe sleeping in carts and buggies or tugging their cousins' hair. ...4 days ago
- The best signs from the final day of the Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi
How many ways can you say you’re pissed off? A good protest sign signifies all the things you want to say at a demonstration: I’m here, I care and I’ve found the most fed up/witty/creative way to express this. And after a week of nationwide protests for the Toitū Te ...4 days ago - Pike River: 14 Years On And Far Too Many Of Us Are Being Injured At Work
"The Minister’s actions on health and safety show the Minister has failed to understand the lessons of Pike River. Instead of boosting health and safety at work, her party and her Government are looking for ways to water down the protections it has delivered." ...4 days ago
- Live: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti is heading for Waitangi Park and heavy traffic through the CBD is expected ahead of the evening commute. ...4 days ago
- Dunedin Hospital protesters rally to support campaign
About 1000 people turned up to hear why building the hospital as planned, was important. ...4 days ago
- Watch: ‘Kill the bill, kill the bill’ – David Seymour walks out, waves to proteste...
The ACT leader was met with chants of "Kill the bill, kill the bill" when he walked out of the Beehive, before waving to the crowd and returning inside. ...4 days ago
- Livestream: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
The Treaty Principles Bill's architect made a brief appearance, and was met with chanting, as 35,000 people protesting overflowed from Parliament's lawn. ...4 days ago
- Public humiliation is still a common teaching tool in medical education. Here’s how it leaves pati...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Heward, Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, James Cook University Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Imagine being questioned about complex technical knowledge in front of your peers, supervisors, and members of the public – knowing that a wrong answer could lead to public ridicule. ...4 days ago
- Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti: The final day march to Parliament in photos
It was an early start for thousands as the hīkoi sets off for its final destination - the grounds of Parliament. ...4 days ago
- It’s clear footy has an Indigenous participation problem, and the AFL draft is only part of the so...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chelsey Taylor, PhD Candidate, Swinburne University of Technology From revolutionary Geelong ruckman Graham “Polly” Farmer, to the electrifying Krakouer brothers (Phil and Jim) at North Melbourne, through to modern stars such as Charlie Cameron, Adam Goodes, Lance Franklin and Eddie Betts, Indigenous ...4 days ago
- What our politicians’ signatures tell us about their personalities
We asked a handwriting expert to analyse the scrawls of our elected officials. Here’s what they said. Recently I received a press release from the trio of ministers – Simeon Brown, Shane Jones and Chris Bishop – tasked with overseeing the government’s controversial fast-track consenting bill. The press release itself ...4 days ago
- Livestream: 19,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
'The energy, the power-it's palpable here on the ground,' an MP says as a sea of red, black and white flags sorrounds the Beehive. ...4 days ago
- Education minister says kids should be in school instead of at hīkoi
But the son of a haka expert, travelling down with students from Huntly, says "this is all part of our learning, this is their school". ...5 days ago
- Basic rules for screen time at a young age can help reduce childhood obesity – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ladan Hashemi, Senior Research Fellow in Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Childhood obesity is a growing concern worldwide. But in New Zealand it’s a particularly pressing issue. With one of the highest rates in the OECD, about one ...5 days ago
- Livestream: Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi mō te Tiriti at Parliament
Thousands have marched through the streets of a capital and to the Beehive. ...5 days ago
- Kanaky Aotearoa Solidarity Says “Toitū Te Tiriti!”
Kanaky Aotearoa Solidarity supports te hikoi and says Toitū te Tiriti! Māori never ceded sovereignty! ...5 days ago
- Video: Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...5 days ago
- Livestream: Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi at Parliament
'The energy, the power-it's palpable here on the ground,' an MP says as a sea of red, black and white flags makes its way to the Beehive and crowds line the streets. ...5 days ago
- Review: Camping is the hyper horny, extremely silly play we need right now
Almost a decade ago, Camping dazzled with four relative unknowns in a tiny venue. Now it returns, with an all-star cast on a bigger stage. Does it still deliver? The original run of Camping, on stage at The Basement, is the funniest and most kinetically bizarre show I’ve seen in ...5 days ago
- ‘We don’t even have a CT scan here’: Dunedin Hospital protesters rally
About 1000 people turned up to hear why building the hospital as planned, was important. ...5 days ago
- Biggest Ever Community Petition, With Over 200,000 Signatures, Opposes Treaty Principles Bill
The country has spoken. This Bill is a bad faith attempt to revoke the Government’s commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it’s visible to not just Aotearoa, but the world. ...5 days ago
- Justice Committee Calls For Submissions On The Principles Of The Treaty Of Waitangi Bill
The committee is intending to complete hearings by the end of February 2025. Further decisions about hearings will be made and communicated in due course. ...5 days ago
- To build support, it might be time for the Greens to hang up their movement-style approach to politi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Narelle Miragliotta, Associate Professor in Politics, Murdoch University State and territory elections held in 2024 have not delivered the electoral and legislative gains the Greens would have hoped for or expected. Of the elections conducted this year, the Greens’ performance was, ...5 days ago
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