Author Archive
Don’t expect the impossible of Ardern
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 4th, 2017 - 29 comments
I enjoy a ray of hope as much as the next leftie, and Jacinda Ardern is off to an incredible start, but let’s not burden her with impossible expectations.
The Ardern effect – and why this leadership change was different
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 3rd, 2017 - 60 comments
With donations and volunteers flooding in, I think it’s fair to say that reaction to Jacinda Ardern has exceeded all expectations. Why was this leadership change different? Two reasons…
Acclaim for Jacinda Ardern
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, August 2nd, 2017 - 119 comments
Changing leaders this close to an election was a political gamble for Labour, but it has already paid off. The commentary is almost universally positive, the reviews for Ardern are glowing. Donations are flowing in. Activists are energised and people are talking.
Thank you Andrew – go well Jacinda!
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, August 1st, 2017 - 54 comments
Unlike lprent I am not discouraged by Little stepping down. New leadership is a real opportunity for Labour. Little: “As leader, I must take responsibility for these results. I do take responsibility and believe that Labour must have an opportunity to perform better under new leadership through to the election.”
Labour leadership meeting
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, August 1st, 2017 - 169 comments
At 10:30 this morning there is a Labour caucus meeting where the subject of the leadership will be discussed. If Andrew Little decides to step down rumours suggest that a Jacinda Ardern / Kelvin Davis ticket is being considered.
NZF members are lefties – will they get a say in choosing government?
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, August 1st, 2017 - 19 comments
Current polls leave National/minor and Labour/Green both short of majority. The chances of NZF determining the shape of the next government are increasing. I’ve always assumed that Peters would go with National, but maybe not, if NZF members get a say.
Metiria’s gamble pays off in latest poll
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 31st, 2017 - 157 comments
To what must be intense annoyance from angry right-wing pundits, Metiria Turei’s gamble seems to have paid off for The Greens, an indication (though mind that margin of error) that there could be a real appetite for a Corbyn-style political revolution this election.
Digitally shaping the election
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, July 30th, 2017 - 22 comments
Social media offers a rich tool for profiling voters and targeting election advertising or informal messaging. There’s a good piece on RNZ today looking at the issue. How long before we see the methods used by Brexit and Trump campaigns employed in NZ?
American political right -spectacular self-harm
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, July 29th, 2017 - 42 comments
I know that insane news out of America has become predictably ho-hum, but this week has been stunning. There is now a real risk that the Republican administration will break healthcare deliberately and burn their own people out of spite. That’s the level of right-wing politics in America.
Reactions to Metiria – the political and the personal
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, July 29th, 2017 - 181 comments
There are basically two kinds of reaction to Metiria’s bombshell, the practiced “outrage’ of the usual political operatives, and the support of the ordinary people. I think that the louder the operatives shout, the more that people are going to side with the under-dog.
ETS – That’s our coffin they’re talking about
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, July 27th, 2017 - 4 comments
Professor Euan Mason of the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry in response to the proposed changes: “This is the nail in the coffin of our ETS.”
Beneficiary reduction targets, homelessness and suicide
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, July 26th, 2017 - 41 comments
Most people would be shocked to learn that each WINZ case manager is assigned the target of getting a certain number of people off the benefit every month. This is one of the reasons why we have such a punitive and aggressive welfare system. Fewer than half of those removed from the benefit go to jobs. The Nats neither know nor care what happens to the rest, but links to the rising number of homeless and our shocking suicide statistics should be investigated.
The truth behind job numbers
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, July 25th, 2017 - 25 comments
Bruce Munro’s excellent piece in the ODT, looks in to the truth behind the Nats’ job numbers: “It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives”.
Delivering pizza for NZ
Written By: - Date published: 7:19 am, July 24th, 2017 - 16 comments
Full marks to Nathaniel Watson for what Newshub called “an incredible work of graphic design satire”:
Nat U-turn on immigration must include protection from exploitation
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 24th, 2017 - 24 comments
The Nats have U-turned on their immigration restrictions. It must come with better protection for migrant workers. The way we exploit them in NZ is shameful.
Nats won’t follow Australia and UK in crackdown on multinational tax avoidance
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, July 23rd, 2017 - 14 comments
Collins’ excuse is just waffle. Why won’t the Nats follow Australia and UK in a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance?
Synthetic cannabis deaths
Written By: - Date published: 4:29 pm, July 21st, 2017 - 35 comments
We should consider decriminalising real cannabis to provide a safer alternative.
Government admits it has “no idea” on homeless
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, July 21st, 2017 - 61 comments
Today in news that makes you want to scream: “Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett has admitted “in hindsight” the Government’s response to the housing crisis has been too slow.”
Bravo Clare Curran
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, July 21st, 2017 - 48 comments
Labour MP Clare Curran has been camping in Dunedin’s Octagon to protest against the MSD’s treatment of two homeless mothers. Bravo Clare for putting yourself on the line to draw attention to this issue!
Labour’s plan – billions for health and education
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, July 19th, 2017 - 91 comments
Labour has just released costed details of its comprehensive plan to put $8b more over four years into health and $4b into education. Excellent.
Nats’ shameful surrender on suicide
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, July 18th, 2017 - 16 comments
The Nats know all about the importance of monitoring and goals when it comes to effecting change. So naturally: “A goal of reducing New Zealand’s total suicide rate by 20 per cent over 10 years was rejected over fears the Government would be held accountable if the rate didn’t drop.”
Benefit fraud vs white collar crime
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 18th, 2017 - 39 comments
The political hills are echoing with the aftermath of Meteri Turei’s confession of lying to WINZ, and Paula Bennett’s conciliatory and very precisely worded claim of not having done so “deliberately”. A good time to revisit the topic of benefit fraud vs white collar crime / tax evasion.
Nats default to bully mode over Barclay scandal
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, July 17th, 2017 - 26 comments
The ongoing Barclay scandal has taking a familiar turn, with the PM’s office trying dirty tactics on journalists. Meanwhile the pressure builds on English over Barclay’s taxpayer funded disappearing act.
Nats panic over climbing prison population – I have some advice
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, July 15th, 2017 - 70 comments
The government is “seeking advice” over the skyrocketing prison population. I’m happy to oblige – but they aren’t going to like it…
May calls for Corbyn’s help
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, July 14th, 2017 - 13 comments
Theresa May knows that the tories are utterly stuffed over Brexit so she’s calling for ideas / trying to spread the blame. Jeremy Corbyn had the perfect reply.
A clear choice for voters
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, July 14th, 2017 - 62 comments
Herald editorial: “Credit where it is due. It takes courage to say that if elected, you will cancel a tax cut. … In doing so it has presented the voters with a clear choice which, for those without young families or earning above the income limits, will mean deciding whether to take the tax cut or give the benefit to children of the less well off.”
Nat / ACT don’t think poor people should have kids
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, July 13th, 2017 - 129 comments
ACT’s David Seymour thinks that poor people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. If that sounds familiar it should – the Nats have said more or less the same thing over the years.
Trump’s Russia smoking gun
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, July 12th, 2017 - 39 comments
Some of the best tweets on the latest chapter of the Trump tragedy. We never expected the smoking gun to be friendly fire. Will Republicans meekly swallow this too?
Nats’ poll fall 2014 2017
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, July 12th, 2017 - 141 comments
Toby Manhire on The Spinoff has an interesting analysis of the recent Colmar Brunton poll. Comapred to the same poll in 2014 National are 5% down, with the Labour/Green alliance unchanged. The fall in the preferred PM rating from Key to English is huge. The Nats are highly vulnerable.
Brexgrets
Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, July 11th, 2017 - 123 comments
Seems the tide of sentiment in the UK is turning against Brexit. Do the tories have what it takes to turn back from their self-destructive path?
- OzAsia festival 2024: a celebration of Asian culture and art – and what it means to be Asian-Austr...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tets Kimura, Adjunct Lecturer, Creative Arts, Flinders University Xplorer Media/Adelaide Festival Centre The well-documented history of Asian mass migration to modern Australia dates from the gold rush era in the mid-19th century. With a history that is longer a century and ...3 days ago - Major parties making gains in TPU-Curia poll
The major parties have gained - with National regaining 3.9 points - at the expense of the minor parties. ...3 days ago - NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading after Māori MP evicted over haka
RNZ News New Zealand’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today and will now go to the Justice Committee for consideration as the national Hīkoi continued its journey to the capital. Opposition Te Pati Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the House following a haka. Maipi-Clarke ...3 days ago
- Watch: Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from house for calling David Seymour a liar during Trea...
Labour's Māori Development spokesperson was the first to be ejected from the House after calling David Seymour a "liar" - breaking Parliament's rules. ...3 days ago
- There is reliable evidence social media harms young people – debates about it are a misdirection
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Einstein, Adjunct Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University Tanya Gorelova/Pexels The Australian government is developing legislation that will ban children under 16 from social media. There has been a huge public debate about whether there is sufficient direct evidence ...3 days ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: shadow communications minister David Coleman says misinformation leg...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has embarked on a raft of new online safety measures aimed at protecting Australians from the excesses of misinformation and social harm online. However, these policies have been met with backlash. Experts ...3 days ago
- ASIC’s lawsuit against Cbus has put the big super funds on notice
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland Yuri A/Shutterstock Does your superannuation fund also provide you with insurance? Many of us are automatically enrolled without even realising. Now, the way super funds handle such claims has been thrust into ...3 days ago
- Live: The Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading
Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the house for interrupting the vote on the Treaty Principles Bill's first reading with a haka. ...3 days ago
- Uniformed Defence Force Should Not Be Used As Strike Breakers
“In a modern liberal democracy, any deployment of the armed forces in employment relations is a drastic step, and should be avoided at all costs,” said Wagstaff. ...3 days ago - House suspended as haka interrupts first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill
Speaker Gerry Brownlee has suspended the House of Representatives after a haka, led by Te Paati Māori and performed by members in the public gallery, interrupted the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. As thousands continue to protest and hīkoi around Aotearoa, the first reading of the Treaty Principles ...3 days ago - Watch: Haka interrupts vote for the Treaty Principles Bill
As Opposition MPs and the public gallery stood to perform Ka Mate, Speaker Gerry Brownlee suspended the sitting. ...3 days ago
- Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from house for calling David Seymour a liar during Treaty Prin...
Labour's Māori Development spokesperson has been ejected from the House after calling David Seymour a "liar" - breaking Parliament's rules. ...3 days ago
- Waitangi Tribunal demands release of Te Aka Whai Ora documents
A treaty lawyer says she can't recall the tribunal issuing a directive like this before. ...3 days ago
- Live: Labour MP Willie Jackson excused from house after calling David Seymour a liar
A fiery debate has begun as the bill has its first reading in the House, and thousands continue a hīkoi towards Wellington. ...3 days ago
- Australia will impose a ‘digital duty of care’ on tech companies to reduce online harm. It’s a...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University MART PRODUCTION/Pexels In an escalation of its battle with big tech, the federal government has announced it plans to impose a “digital duty of care” ...3 days ago
- To move or not to move: is it cheaper to find a new place or stay when your rent increases by 10%?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Park Thaichon, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Southern Queensland fizkes/Shutterstock Your landlord has just raised your rent by 10% and your mind starts running the numbers – should you cop it sweet or look to move? It’s a familiar scenario ...3 days ago
- What causes the itch in mozzie bites? And why do some people get such a bad reaction?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Arthur Poulin/Unsplash Are you one of these people who loathes spending time outdoors at dusk as the weather warms and mosquitoes start biting? Female mosquitoes need blood to ...3 days ago
- If our hot water heaters ran off daytime solar, we would slash emissions and soak up cheap energy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Baran Yildiz, Senior lecturer in Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney nikkytok/Shutterstock Your hot shower or bath uses 15-30% of your household’s total energy, second only to the heating and cooling of air. More than half of all Australian households rely ...3 days ago
- Live: Parliament sits to debate Treaty Principles Bill
A fiery debate has begun as the bill has its first reading in the House, and thousands continue a hīkoi towards Wellington. ...3 days ago
- Hundreds of Israel lobbyists ‘writing America’s news’, reveals new probe
Pacific Media Watch Hundreds of former employees of Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, StandWithUs and CAMERA are working in top newsrooms across the United States, writing and producing America’s news — including on Israel-Palestine, reports a new investigation. These outlets include MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox ...3 days ago
- Review: Crowded House gets Ōtautahi breaking the rules
Last night at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch, Crowded House did the unthinkable – they got a polite New Zealand concert crowd to break the rules. Here’s something I’ve observed about concert attendance in the north vs the south. Where most Aucklanders will bustle in just as the main act takes ...3 days ago
- Christopher Luxon gives scathing appraisal of Treaty Principles Bill ahead of first reading
The Prime Minister has given a scathing appraisal of the bill on the day of its first reading. ...3 days ago
- The House: It’s all politics
In Parliament, anything and everything can be political including things as innocuous as playground equipment, clothing, colours, and even eating takeaways. ...3 days ago
- Waitangi Tribunal demands release Te Aka Whai Ora documents
A treaty lawyer says she can't recall the tribunal issuing a directive like this before. ...3 days ago
- Christopher Luxon gives scathing appraisal of Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading
The Prime Minister has given a scathing appraisal of the bill on the day of its first reading. ...3 days ago
- Nationalism is surging – changing the way companies do business overseas
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sihong Wu, Lecturer, School of Business, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The resurgence of nationalism across the globe is not just a political issue. It’s emerging as a powerful force that multinational companies cannot afford to ignore. Recent events such ...3 days ago
- Menopause is having a moment. How a new generation of women are shaping cultural attitudes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridgette Glover, PhD Candidate in Media and Communications, University of New England From hot flashes to hysteria, film and TV have long represented menopause as scary, emotional and messy. Recently, celebrities have been sharing their personal menopause experiences on social media, ...3 days ago
- The case for reading books about animals wearing clothes
In light of Gloriavale’s reluctant acceptance of Winnie-the-Pooh, Claire Mabey argues in favour of the wider canon of anthropomorphic animal literature. There is nothing more bleak than the banning of books and the curtailment of reading. Control what people read and you control what they think, and how they behave. ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi day four: Setting off from Huntly on way to Wellington – bill reading
RNZ News Thousands of people are continuing their North Island hīkoi as the legislation they are protesting against, the Treaty Principles Bill, gets its first reading in Parliament today. The hīkoi enters day four and headed off from Huntly, destined for Rotorua today, after it advanced through Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau ...4 days ago
- Coldplay and 57,000 babies at Eden Park
Review: Everything happens all at once at Coldplay’s sold-out show. About 15 minutes into Music of the Spheres, I realised that we were all just big babies. When Coldplay emerged for their first song, our compostable plastic wristbands lit up around Eden Park, delighting us all. Minutes later, Chris Martin ...4 days ago
- Health NZ Commissioner steps in to stop staff losing Milo
The man in charge of the country's public health system has stepped in to ensure all staff can still have a drink of Milo at work. ...4 days ago
- Inland Revenue calls in debt collectors over overseas student debt
Around 1000 Kiwis working in Australia have begun repaying some of their student loan debt in the last three months, an IRD manager says. ...4 days ago
- Incorrect patient data found during system upgrades at Auckland’s hospitals
A team is working to correct and update this, Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says. ...4 days ago
- Dear Donald, here’s why you should cut NZ a break in the tariff torrent
Ten irrefutable reasons for the incoming president to exempt plucky little New Zealand from import tax hikes. The former and future president, Donald J Trump, has been re-elected on a platform pledging new and universal import tariffs of 10%-20%. The challenge for New Zealand politicians and officials is to somehow ...4 days ago
- Donald Trump picks Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general
The congressman, who remains under investigation for sexual misconduct, said it would "be an honour to serve" in the role. ...4 days ago
- A 41-million-digit prime number is the biggest ever found – but mathematicians’ search for perfe...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Voight, Professor of Mathematics , University of Sydney Imagine a number made up of a vast string of ones: 1111111…111. Specifically, 136,279,841 ones in a row. If we stacked up that many sheets of paper, the resulting tower would stretch into ...4 days ago
- Elon Musk has turned X into a globally influential media platform – and there’s more to come
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lewis Mitchell, Professor of Data Science; Director, Adelaide Data Science Centre, University of Adelaide kovop/Shutterstock During the recent United States presidential election campaign, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saw record high usage. The platform – ...4 days ago
- The NZ government’s plan to withhold COVID inquiry findings until 2026 leaves the country ill-prep...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Hendy, Professor of Physics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images The first report from a Royal Commission of Inquiry to review New Zealand’s response to the COVID pandemic was due to be released this month. ...4 days ago
- 6 things to do if your child’s weight is beyond the ideal range – and 1 thing to avoid
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney JPC-PROD/Shutterstock One of the more significant challenges we face as parents is making sure our kids are growing at a healthy rate. To manage this, we take them ...4 days ago
- ‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after f...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University The megafires that tore through Australia’s forests in 2019–20 burnt more than ten million hectares. The tragedy prompted a massive research effort to understand how plants and animals were affected. So what did ...4 days ago
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