Author Archive
Labour’s leadership team
Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, April 15th, 2017 - 54 comments
Big turnouts for Labour meetings. Some commentators just can’t quite get to grips with how well the new leadership team is working.
Good on you Andrew Little
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, April 13th, 2017 - 62 comments
Andrew Little questioned the actions of this government, as he should, and has fronted up and taken personal responsibility for offense taken by other parties, as he should. He has endured a costly and draining leagal process with a result widely hailed as a victory for democracy. But apparently that isn’t enough, so here we go again.
Climate change, political heroes, political culture
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, April 13th, 2017 - 117 comments
How ironic that Parliament is to debate climate change today, as the latest in a torrent of warming-fueled extreme weather events bears down on the country, and as the government charges Russel Norman and the other heroes trying to end oil exploration in NZ waters.
Little’s court win good for democracy
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 12th, 2017 - 111 comments
The defamation case against Andrew Little has been an unwelcome distraction while he should have been free to do his job as leader of the largest opposition party. The consensus is that the process delivered a qualified win for Little, and a clear win for democracy.
Greenpeace’s Taitu confronts oil exploration ship
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, April 11th, 2017 - 27 comments
Thank you Greenpeace, and specifically thank you Russel Norman and the crew of the Taitu, for taking to the seas to fight this little battle in the most important struggle of our age.
Motels are full of homeless so now what?
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, April 11th, 2017 - 83 comments
Ordinary people are priced out of home ownership and increasingly out of renting, the state-housing safety net has been deliberately run down, and now the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff is full. National leaps into action – by asking the Salvation Army for ideas…
Perhaps climate change will go away if we ignore it?
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 am, April 11th, 2017 - 22 comments
That seems to be Bill English’s position.
Mediawatch on Hit and Run
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, April 10th, 2017 - 77 comments
“Has the meaning of book Hit and Run been obscured by all the claims and counter-claims in the media?” – Yes of course it has, and that is a deliberate strategy on the part of people who are desperate to avoid an inquiry.
Property porn vs. reality
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, April 10th, 2017 - 92 comments
Sick of the property porn on the Stuff and Herald websites? It was refreshing to read the truth for a change.
Syria sarin capitalism and war
Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, April 9th, 2017 - 60 comments
The dirty truth behind many of the wars that our political / media world gets itself so excited about is that they wouldn’t be happening without the arms that we (the “western” world) sell so copiously.
MSD and our privacy
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, April 7th, 2017 - 16 comments
National’s plans for our privacy and access to social services are a perfect cocktail of over-reach and incompetence.
Independent media a losing battle
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, April 7th, 2017 - 10 comments
Unfolding in Australia, but obviously relevant here, bad news for Farifax media staff and their editorial independence.
Labour’s leadership team
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, April 6th, 2017 - 40 comments
Labour’s new tactic of featuring a leadership team seems to be working well.
Small on the Nats’ Key deficit on Hit and Run
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, April 6th, 2017 - 24 comments
Vernon Small thinks the B Team is missing Key.
The truth will out
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, April 5th, 2017 - 93 comments
English can squirm and deny, but according to Stephenson there is more Hit and Run to come.
Nurses ask us to vote for our health
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 5th, 2017 - 50 comments
You could vote for three more years of “brighter future”. Or you could listen to the nurses.
Typhoid in Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, April 4th, 2017 - 76 comments
The typhoid outbreak in Auckland is very bad news. Now would also be a good time to reflect on NZ’s generally poor record on child poverty and disease.
Warmongering
Written By: - Date published: 11:15 am, April 4th, 2017 - 36 comments
Right wing agendas seize control in England and America. Talk of war from England and America. Probably just a coincidence.
Land of the long white wash
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 4th, 2017 - 89 comments
In ruling out an inquiry Bill English insults both our intelligence and our integrity. Next stop the International Criminal Court? (Alas the title is not mine, take a bow Finlay MacDonald.)
The NZDF will never clear its name – and neither will Bill English
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 3rd, 2017 - 154 comments
It’s likely that some time this week Bill English will announce that there will be no inquiry into operation Burnham. The NZDF will lose any opportunity to clear its name. Fronting up to the truth, whatever it may be, is better than the perception of a shabby coverup.
Update: And there it is – no inquiry.
Welfare is making Kiwis lazy and unemployable
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, April 2nd, 2017 - 166 comments
This old chestnut is getting another outing on Stuff today.
The neoliberal revolution
Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, April 1st, 2017 - 31 comments
Thirty years old today – the longest April Fool’s joke in history?
Warnings on Auckland Housing
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 31st, 2017 - 60 comments
Warnings on the state of the Auckland housing market are coming thick and fast now. People who bought recently (at the peak of prices and low interest rates) are likely to get burned.
Brexit begins
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, March 30th, 2017 - 81 comments
Here we are then. Article 50 has been invoked, and the 2 year countdown to Brexit begins.
Right-wing American stupidity is now a global crisis
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, March 29th, 2017 - 47 comments
The Trump regime has begun the process of dismantling environmental protections in America, including those designed to limit carbon emissions / climate change.
Isn’t that convenient
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, March 29th, 2017 - 50 comments
A full report into the Havelock North water crisis has been delayed until (surprise!) after the election.
Motels are not state houses
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 28th, 2017 - 39 comments
It’s almost as if deliberately running down state housing stock doesn’t make the need for homes magically go away – who could possibly have predicted that?
NZDF credibility on the line
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, March 27th, 2017 - 80 comments
There were several significant developments on Hit and Run and the NZDF over the weekend. Which version of the NZDF story is it that Bill English backs 100%?
Clifton: Nat MPs getting nervous
Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, March 26th, 2017 - 79 comments
English is down 6% in the latest Colmar Brunton. Jane Clifton sees Nat MPs getting nervous. “For the Nats, having so long taken a fourth term as read, the possibility that their own leader may soon be less secure in his job than Labour’s will be a toughie.”
When right-wing hacks confess the damage that they do
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, March 26th, 2017 - 20 comments
Some right-wing hacks (like Glenn Beck) are recanting their rants and apologising for the damage that they’ve done. I reckon a few more should follow their brave lead.
Jam tomorrow
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, March 25th, 2017 - 85 comments
It’s too hard! We’ll do it later! Auckland airport rail is just the latest example.
- Trump’s shadow looms over major summit
As the PM prepares to attend a major summit for the first time, the most important figure in discussions will be far away The post Trump’s shadow looms over major summit appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago - Daily crossword, Wednesday 13 November
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 13 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- The politics of saying sorry
Comment: Christopher Luxon had the least baggage of almost anyone in senior positions in Parliament, going into his national apology for the abuse of children in state care.He just hadn’t been there. He only came into Parliament in 2020, became National’s leader in 2021 and Prime Minister in late 2023.The ...5 days ago
- A lot of talk but little help for Fijians facing rising sea levels
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa this year, climate change was high on the agenda, the big talking point for politicians and NGOs.After spending a week there, hearing how Pacific Island nations were worst affected, The Detail’s Sharon Brettkelly went to Fiji to see what was being ...5 days ago
- Xero hits record high on hopes of boost from pro-business Trump
Xero has its sights set on the large, but more competitive, US market The post Xero hits record high on hopes of boost from pro-business Trump appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Face-off against surveillance
Opinion: We are constantly being watched and recorded. Thanks to the proliferation of AI facial recognition technologies we are being watched even more: on the street, in the bank, in shopping malls, on public transport, at the supermarket check-out, even our phones are likely watching us. Are AI facial recognition ...5 days ago
- Where are we all going? Our population trends in 10 charts
Opinion: The shape of NZ’s changing regional population profile is always a popular point of discussion. Since we wrote on it last year, population growth has peaked and turned rapidly lower. Here, we take another tour of the regions to see how this slowing has been experienced, and what the impacts ...5 days ago
- Is there a worse way of discussing one of NZ’s founding documents?
Opinion: The select committee needs to call for submissions from people who have constitutional, legal and Indigenous rights expertise The post Is there a worse way of discussing one of NZ’s founding documents? appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Where is the global leadership fighting climate change now?
Opinion: World leaders from more than 100 countries are gathering this week at the United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, at COP29, to discuss the threats of a rapidly warming world.Under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which has been signed by almost every country in the world, there is a requirement ...5 days ago
- Trump has won, but are there any winners in the Middle East?
A week after the ‘shock’ re-election of Donald Trump to the Whitehouse and over a year into one of the most blood-soaked periods of the Middle East’s tortured modern history, the question is, what has been lost and has anything been won, and what impact might Trump II have on ...5 days ago
- The last voyage of the Rainbow Warrior – Rongelap podcast series
ABC Radio Australia and RNZ You probably know about the last moments of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in 1985. But what do you know about the environmental campaign ship’s last voyage before it was bombed by French secret agents in New Zealand on 10 July 1985? Where had it ...5 days ago - Jim Chalmers to announce $900 million fund for states to boost competition and productivity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers will announce a fund of up to $900 million for states and territories to improve productivity and competition, in a Wednesday speech urging an all-out effort to tackle one of Australia’s biggest ...5 days ago
- Despite the national apology, abuse in state care is still happening – only systemic change wi...
Tuesday marks a long-awaited milestone for survivors of the state care system, writes Jennifer Montgomery of Victoria University of Wellington. ...5 days ago - View from The Hill: Albanese plays ‘captain’s pick’ to maximise Labor’s election prospects i...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese prides himself on his eye for a good candidate. In 2020, when he was opposition leader, he drafted Kristy McBain to run for a byelection in the marginal NSW seat of Eden-Monaro. If ...5 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill
Human Rights Commission’s Tino Rangatiratanga leaderJulia Whaipooti explains what has been happening. ...5 days ago - Wellington Airport sale still possible – council’s chief financial officer
But Andrea Reeves stressed it is not their preferred option. ...5 days ago
- Predictably, domestic airfares surged after the collapse of Rex. There aren’t many good solutions
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia Australia’s airline industry is famously duopolistic. Just two companies – Qantas and Virgin Australia – service 98% of the domestic passenger market. That’s not for a lack of other companies having tried to secure a ...5 days ago
- NZ abuse in care apology called PR stunt,’tokenistic’ by some survivors
By Lillian Hanly, RNZ News political reporter Survivors of abuse in care arrived at Parliament today to hear the formal apology from the state which oversaw and inflicted harm on children. Public sector leaders from Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Health, New Zealand Police, and Ministry of Education also apologised, ...5 days ago
- Our new study shows teen vaping is linked to childhood trauma. Here’s why it might be harder to qu...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy-Leigh Rowe, Postdoctoral Researcher in Mental Health and Substance Abuse, University of Sydney sergey koleskinov/Shutterstock If you experience trauma during childhood, there’s a greater chance you’ll use substances such as alcohol, tobacco and other drugs later. But what does the evidence ...6 days ago
- Survivors Must Receive Redress To Have The Opportunity To Heal: Save The Children
Today’s vision shared of New Zealand is of an Aotearoa where every child has their rights understood, respected and upheld ensuring they live good lives now and have a bright future to look forward to. ...6 days ago
- How the federal government’s misinformation bill might impede freedom of speech
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor Emerita in Constitutional Law, University of Sydney The federal government’s proposed legislation on misinformation and disinformation has passed the House of Representatives, but faces a rocky time in the Senate. Opponents have dubbed it the MAD Bill, and ...6 days ago
- As it happened: Hīkoi mō te Tiriti leaves Dargaville, headed for Auckland
Kaipara Māori Ward councillor Pera Paniora urged locals to join the hikoi and take the fight for their rights to Parliament.. ...6 days ago
- Govt Axes Specialist Māori Body Advising Pharmac Without Consulting Māori
"This is another sad indictment of the priority the National-led Government places on improving the health of Māori," said Fleur Fitzsimons, Assistant Secretary for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association. ...6 days ago
- An Apology For The Apology? Blind Survivor Deplores Use Of Ableist Slur By Prime Minister At Histori...
“The phrase "turn a blind eye" is an inherently ableist expression that wrongly equates blindness with ignorance, neglect, or deliberate stupidity. This phrase reinforces the dangerous & outdated stereotype that blind people are less perceptive, capable, ...6 days ago
- Care Experienced Young People Say Apology Means Nothing Without Action
The apologies seemed sincere, but amongst those listening there was disappointment that there is still no redress system; and a sense that unless the apology is followed by action the words will seem hollow. ...6 days ago
- A day when sorry seemed to be the easiest word
A historic day and national apology left survivors wanting more The post A day when sorry seemed to be the easiest word appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago
- Ara Taiohi Calls For Abuse Apology To Be Backed Up By Rangatahi-centred Policies
We must build back better, build a system with rangatahi at its very centre. The legacy of this government will be measured by their ability to respond appropriately, to create a physically safe and emotionally nurturing environment for children and ...6 days ago
- Right now, the Sun is far more active than predicted – and small satellites are paying the price
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kyle McMullan, PhD Candidate in Aerospace Engineering, Curtin University Last week, three tiny Australian satellites from Curtin University’s Binar Space Program burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. That was always going to happen. In fact, Binar means “fireball” in the Noongar language of ...6 days ago
- Despite the national apology, abuse in state care is still happening – only systemic change will w...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Montgomery, Faculty of Health Research Associate, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images Today marks a long-awaited milestone for survivors of the state care system, with the formal apology by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon acknowledging the catastrophic ...6 days ago
- Three rooms, one apology: Survivors gather across the motu for abuse in care reckoning
Joel MacManus reports from parliament as the prime minister delivers the national apology for abuse in state care, while Lyric Waiwiri-Smith in Auckland and Alex Casey in Christchurch join survivors watching the livestream. ‘It’s not enough’ – Wellington As Andrew Bridgman, the acting chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, began the ...6 days ago - ‘The room was aching’: Survivors in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch gather for apology
Joel MacManus reports from parliament as the prime minister delivers the national apology for abuse in state care, while Lyric Waiwiri-Smith in Auckland and Alex Casey in Christchurch join survivors watching the livestream. As Andrew Bridgman, the acting chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, began the speeches at the national apology ...6 days ago
- Hollow Apology Fails To Resonate With Survivors
Today, the Government had an historic and monumental opportunity to start righting decades of wrongs against survivors. Unfortunately, the Government has yet again let down survivors who placed their trust in it. ...6 days ago
- How could Donald Trump target the LGBTQ+ community? Project 2025 is a ready blueprint for discrimina...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Ellis, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US election has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community, given the president-elect’s divisive rhetoric and demonisation of the trans community in particular. ...6 days ago
- Vale Leon Paroissien: the first director of the Museum of Contemporary Art who shaped how Australian...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne Graeme Andrews ‘Working Harbour’ Collection/City of Sydney Archives, CC BY-NC-ND In 1975 when Gough Whitlam opened the Manet ...6 days ago
- Trump win, 1.5 C warming breach weigh on UN climate ‘finance COP’
By Sera Sefeti of Benar News Pacific delegates fear the implications of a Trump presidency and breach of the 1.5 degree Celsius warming target will overshadow negotiations on climate finance at the UN’s annual COP talks that have started in Azerbaijan this week. At the COP29 summit — dubbed the ...6 days ago
- Anticipation in sports: why do some athletes seem to be one step ahead of their opponents?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Kennedy, Casual Academic Performance Psychology and Sports Coaching, The University of Queensland With less than 30 seconds remaining in the Australia-Belgium women’s basketball bronze medal game at the Paris Olympics, Belgium was trailing by three points and on the attack, advancing ...6 days ago
- Fetal monitoring can be essential during labour – but many women don’t realise they have choices
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Levett, Research Fellow University of Notre Dame Australia; Adjunct Fellow (National Institute of Complementary Medicine), Western Sydney University, University of Notre Dame Australia ravipatt/Shutterstock So, you’re about to have a baby. You’ve been to the birth classes – you learned ...6 days ago
- 5 fun podcasts for when you need a break from the news
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan McHugh, Honorary Associate Professor, Journalism, Consulting Producer, The Greatest Menace, Walkley-winning podcast, University of Wollongong Katie Lyke/Unsplash So-called “comedy” podcasts have huge followings, but who gets to say they’re actually funny? Stellar “comedy” hosts such as Joe Rogan have ...6 days ago
- TOAH-NNEST Rejects Choice Of Parliament For State Apology – True Reckoning Is Concrete Reform &...
The national network says the government should have chosen direct engagement at the flaxroots outlining concrete, meaningful actions for survivor restoration and systemic prevention to ensure this never happens again. ...6 days ago
- Home Education: The Baker whānau
Home Education follows the everyday lives of six families in Aotearoa educating their children at home. Today, education among whales and horses with the Baker whānau. The new docuseries Home Education is filmed across Aotearoa, in and around the homes of six families who have taken schooling outside ...6 days ago
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