Author Archive
Future Green Wins Will Be Hard
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, July 25th, 2023 - 5 comments
It does not mean they are not worth trying; it means they will be fights against entrenched power.
Year of the Long Grind 2
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, July 22nd, 2023 - 26 comments
There will be no respite for any of us this year and National has no cure for it.
Is Manasseh Sogovare Ungrateful, Greedy, or Just Playing Us All?
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, July 17th, 2023 - 27 comments
The Solomon Islands signed an agreement with China on law enforcement and security matters suggests that New Zealand should review the decades of support given to the Solomon Island Government.
How Hipkins Can Still Win
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, July 13th, 2023 - 28 comments
Hipkins being himself is his election-winning attribute.
Prime Minister Hipkins on the Trade Price of Everything
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, July 9th, 2023 - 2 comments
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins spoke this week on how the Government is acting to protect and advance the safety and security of New Zealand and New Zealanders while dealing with those countries that have most influence over us.
Proper Race Politics In Your Face
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, June 28th, 2023 - 12 comments
Who has the better take on the Treaty of Waitangi? Julian Batchelor or Sir Apirana Ngata?
Hipkins in China
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, June 27th, 2023 - 38 comments
A weakened Russia is a Russia made more dependent on China. New Zealand is also deeply reliant on China.
Why Public Ownership Is Great
Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, June 25th, 2023 - 10 comments
In the absence of any political party stating clearly that public ownership of major infrastructure is a very good idea, here’s 10 good things public ownership of infrastructure does that private ownership doesn’t.
Dumber
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, June 18th, 2023 - 34 comments
New Zealand is not an intellectual or innovation powerhouse but the rapid decline of our entire tertiary education is a tragedy.
Luxon Aeterna
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, June 16th, 2023 - 48 comments
Ad reports on Christopher Luxon’s meeting in Wanaka.
Stop Defending Regional Rail
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, June 5th, 2023 - 51 comments
Regional rail is a perpetual makework gig servicing the wrong economy and just needs to stop.
Our Great De-Leveraging
Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, June 4th, 2023 - 13 comments
Debt is the most destructive and addictive form of economic behaviour we have in New Zealand. And mortgages are New Zealand’s very high grade heroin and we are being forced to come down off a most spectacular high into a rage-inducing forced withdrawal.
How come government doesn’t improve our economy?
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 21st, 2023 - 41 comments
When we continue to spend our money on stupid stuff, we get a dumb country.
What Do The Maori Party Want Anyway?
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, May 12th, 2023 - 174 comments
Since they’re touted as 2023’s electoral ‘Kingmakers’, it’s time to understand what the Maori Party really want.
Really Small States in Really Big Conflicts
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, May 9th, 2023 - 16 comments
In case we just missed it, New Zealand really has picked a side. Prime Minister Hipkins will head to the NATO summit in Lithuania together with Australia, Japan and South Korean leaders. Also Vladimir Zelinskyy is intending to go as well.
Yes, A Constitution
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 6th, 2023 - 50 comments
We are mature enough to have our own leader. Own our own shit.
Late Game Bench
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 6th, 2023 - 8 comments
Last minutes of this parliamentary term and all teams are subbing out.
How Labour Does Less And Still Wins
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, May 4th, 2023 - 21 comments
Prime Minister Hipkins has put Labour on course to win a third term. Here’s how.
Where Is New Zealand Extremism Going?
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, April 28th, 2023 - 78 comments
I’ve worked my way through two books recently, both on extremist sects, one about New Zealand groups and one about those in the United States of America. It’s startling.
Poor Regulation Is Burning This Government Down
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, April 28th, 2023 - 37 comments
This government has within its power the ability to alter the crippling cost of living increases we now face. If they don’t do the political job they can do with prices, they will lose power at the election.
Really Small States in Really Big Conflicts
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 pm, April 20th, 2023 - 10 comments
We didn’t need the Russian invasion of Ukraine to tell us that great power competition is back, since China and the United States and Russia had been going at it well before even COVID temporarily messed up the multilateral trade system upon which we had built our little country. But it’s made it worse, and so we’re picking a side, and that side is NATO.
Will Australia Hear The Voice?
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 pm, March 6th, 2023 - 10 comments
Australia’s Prime Minister Albanese is trying to get actual indigenous representation into the Australian Parliament with a referendum. Going to be tough.
But How Do You Pay For It?
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 5th, 2023 - 27 comments
To pay for recent flood damage Grant Robertson has to decide on what proportion of this will be paid by new debt, what proportion by reallocation of expenditure, and what proportion by special tax levies. Is an Australian style levy under consideration?
How Activism Dies
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, March 4th, 2023 - 40 comments
If anything progressive is to come out of this current government other than disaster recovery, really focused protest must prevail. It isn’t.
China’s Peace Initiative for Ukraine
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, February 27th, 2023 - 86 comments
China has proposed a 12 point peace plan to start discussions towards ending the war by Russia against Ukraine. And Ukraine’s leader wants to meet Xi Jinping to hear more.
What To Do About Climate Change
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, February 25th, 2023 - Comments Off on What To Do About Climate Change
West Auckland’s activism, through such examples as the Arc in the Park sanctuary to the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area through to the protection of the environment provided by the South Titirangi Neighbourhood Network, provides examples of the sort of activism that may be needed if Aotearoa New Zealand is to deal properly with climate change mitigation.
Towards National Recovery
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 20th, 2023 - 42 comments
Just over seven months from the election the Labour government has been granted as great a political momentum as that leading into the 2020 election.
2023: Year of the Long Grind
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, February 1st, 2023 - 30 comments
There will be no respite for any of us this year; it’s a politics and a society of endurance.
Your Mindset and Your Money
Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, January 18th, 2023 - 48 comments
Mega property owning entrepreneur Graeme Fowler thinks we can all be rich if we just changed our attitude.
The one thing Jacinda Ardern can do is speak to our hearts
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, December 18th, 2022 - 134 comments
Mawkish sentiment running up to Christmas perhaps, but imagine Luxon or Willis speaking hours after the Christchurch massacre. Only Ardern of the entire Parliament has the ability to govern for calm in the name of the calm we all need.
Push Back Against Tyranny and Win
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, December 17th, 2022 - 136 comments
Australia is showing New Zealand how to resist the authoritarian Xi Jinping’s pressure and stay prosperous at the same time.
- The Mars search for meaning
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is resolute in his determination to establish a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars and is actively developing technology to achieve his mission. It’s an intriguing prospect, and if achieved, humans would only be able to potentially survive in some kind of biodome, but it once again raises ...2 days ago - Hīkoi mō te Tiriti supporters invited to honour Dame Tariana Turia at tangi
Dame Tariana Turia's advocacy for Māori rights was the inspiration behind the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, organiser says. ...2 days ago - What I learned (and didn’t learn) from four years of home education
Summer reissue: For four years, Shanti Mathias learned at home, with her siblings as her only classmates. How did it affect her? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...2 days ago - An insomniac’s guide to getting to sleep when it’s hot and muggy
Summer reissue: It is not easy, but it is possible. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. Ah, sleep. Those six to eight gorgeous ...2 days ago
- ‘I need to make you suffer’: My near decade of violent harassment by a man I barely know
Summer reissue: Zeni Gibson has been stalked and harassed for nearly nine years by a man she rejected when she was 17. This is her story. As told to Madeleine Holden. Cover Stories are longform journalism supported by Spinoff Members. Support this work here. Spinoff Cover Stories are now available ...2 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...2 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 6 January
The post Daily crossword, Monday 6 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- This past year saw policing get ‘back to basics’ – Minister Mark Mitchell
RNZ sat down with Police Minister and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell for a year in review, across his portfolios. ...3 days ago
- Tangi for Dame Tariana Turia welcomes figures from throughout the motu
Visitors and dignitaries from around the motu have been welcomed onto Whangaehu Marae, near Whanganui, as the tangihanga for the co-founder of Te Pāti Māori enters its second day. ...3 days ago
- Countering Foreign Interference Bill A Dramatic Attack On Free Speech And Rights
We know that the impact of this kind of legislation is to silence legitimate political activity. In particular this is likely to be the case where people are advocating for policies that are contrary to the position of the current government. ...3 days ago - Abducted Gaza doctor’s life in danger due to torture – call for immediate international interven...
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor The fate of Palestinian Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was “arrested” by Israeli forces last month after defiantly staying with his patients when his hospital was being attacked, featured strongly at yesterday’s medical professionals solidarity rally in Auckland. ...3 days ago - The Wāhine Māori leading NZ’s largest education union
Ripeka Lessels (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa)Ripeka Lessels had been an educator for 20 years before she decided to become involved in NZEI Te Riu Roa’s Māori governance body, Te Reo Areare. It’s here she believed she could do the most good for tamariki Māori.As someone who had ...3 days ago
- Four myths of career breaks
Opinion: Why is it that whenever we meet someone new, we default to asking about their job?We could ask almost any question about their interests, background, or values, but still we ask “So, what do you do?”It turns out, this common, seemingly innocuous phrasing carries much deeper undertones of perceived ...3 days ago
- When the flood came for South Dunedin, this time it was ready
Summer reissue: Flat and surrounded by hills and rising tides, it’s no surprise that South Dunedin is at risk of flooding. But nine years of preparation meant last week’s deluge wasn’t as bad as it could have been – and a future here still seems possible. The Spinoff needs to ...3 days ago
- The most miserable and fucked-up children’s authors, rated
Summer reissue: You don’t have to live a haunting life of unparalleled grief and sorrow to be a great children’s author, but it helps. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...3 days ago
- ‘Primary school LOTR’: The principal giving Peter Jackson a run for his money
Summer reissue: Alex Casey meets the Southland principal who wrote and directed a feature length fantasy epic starring the whole school. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...3 days ago
- The Sunday Essay: Will I hurt my baby?
Summer reissue: Madeleine Holden writes about her agonising first year of motherhood. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. This essay contains descriptions of violence ...3 days ago
- What’s behind the rise in smaller iwi?
Summer reissue: Increasing numbers of Māori are affiliating with tribal groups of under 1,000 members. What does it mean for Māoridom? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Sunday 5 January
The post Daily crossword, Sunday 5 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Sunday 5 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...3 days ago
- Fiji police charge man with rape and sexual assault of Virgin Australia crew member
Fijivillage News A man has been charged with the rape and sexual assault of one of the Virgin Australia crew members in the early hours of New Year’s Day, near a nightclub in Martintar, Nadi. Police confirm he has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one count ...4 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what do these Sierra Leone developmen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...4 days ago
- Israel orders patients, staff to ‘evacuate’ last two hospitals in northern Gaza siege
Asia Pacific Report Israel is forcing two hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate under threat of attack as its ethnic cleansing campaign continues. Israeli forces have surrounded the Indonesian Hospital, where many staff and patients sought shelter after nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital was destroyed in an Israeli raid last week, ...4 days ago
- Pacific 2025: Vanuatu quake, Tongan and Kanaky shakeups, Trump questions set tone for coming year
Navigating the shared challenges of climate change, geostrategic tensions, political upheaval, disaster recovery and decolonisation plus a 50th birthday party, reports a BenarNews contributor’s analysis. COMMENTARY: By Tess Newton Cain Vanuatu’s devastating earthquake and dramatic political developments in Tonga and New Caledonia at the end of 2024 set the tone ...4 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what do these Sierra Leone developmen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...4 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan: what two Sierra Leone developments a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...4 days ago
- ‘You’ll love it, but you’ll hate it’: Christian Cullen on becoming CTI’s most unlikely sta...
Summer reissue: Former All Black and recent Celebrity Treasure Island castaway Christian Cullen looks back on his life in TV. First published October 12, 2024. Every season of Celebrity Treasure Island brings with it a surprise breakout star, and often it’s the person you know the least about or have ...4 days ago
- Mike Johnson elected speaker of US House as Trump’s Republicans unite behind him
Two Republican opponents switched their votes to support him after more than half an hour of negotiations. ...4 days ago
- My emotion is my strength – Karen Chhour
“People comment a lot on how emotional I am.”The children’s minister says she’s always been an emotional person. It’s her way of coping with trauma.“Because if you bottle that up it turns into something quite nasty, right? It turns into anger, it turns into frustration, and you start to look ...4 days ago
- Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: There are times when fiction anticipates life, and dystopian nightmares become real.Who would have thought that in New Zealand, a relatively wealthy country that was once proudly egalitarian, a version of The Hunger Games would play out?That a government would cut thousands of jobs, deny desperate families emergency food ...4 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. New Year’s Resolutions
Christopher LuxonWell, what I’d say to you about my New Year’s resolutions is that this year is going to be better than the last, probably, I mean I should think there’s a good chance of that happening, an even chance, there’s a narrow window, the odds are against us but ...4 days ago
- ‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed
Summer reissue: The meltdown in the relationship between the key players in the fourth Labour government can be charted in an extraordinary exchange of correspondence. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...4 days ago
- How many goddamn words should I be saying to my baby?
Summer reissue: I read yet another study about toddlers, screen time and language development, and it sent me off the deep end. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...4 days ago
- What it takes to be an Olympian, and why you don’t have it
Summer reissue: This year Tori Peeters competed at the Paris Olympics in the javelin. Ten years ago, Madeleine Chapman thought she might be in the same position. She talks to Peeters about what it takes to go all the way – and mulls her own life decisions in the process. ...4 days ago
- Remembering Young George, the barber who cut Auckland’s hair forever
Summer reissue: He earned 5c for his first cut in 1955, and $35 for his last in March. Duncan Greive recalls the life of his late barber, ‘Young’ George Dyas, who never stopped snipping. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these ...4 days ago
- Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January
The post Daily crossword, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 4 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- From a colonial hill town to Idris Elba’s island masterplan, what can two Sierra Leone development...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milo Gough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester An artist’s impression of Idris Elba’s planned eco-city, Sherbro Island City. Greenfield Planners Sdn Bhd / Sherbro Alliance Partners Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is celebrated as a city founded to resettle freed slaves in ...4 days ago
- ‘Suspend Israel ties’ plea to global medical professionals – Auckland hospital protest vigil o...
Asia Pacific Report The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, has called on “medical professionals worldwide” to suspend ties with Israel in an act of solidarity with the more than “1000 colleagues of yours” killed in Gaza over the past 14 months. Countless ...5 days ago
- A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori and architect of Whānau Ora will be remembered as a skilled political tactician who dedicated her life to the wellbeing of Māori, writes Miriama Aoake. Part of the hesitation of entering politics for any sane person is surely compromise. Compromise is essential in the ...5 days ago
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