Author Archive
The future dystopia
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, January 21st, 2025 - 55 comments
He’s baack. The man least suited to running the world’s most powerful country is now President again.
Luxon’s panicked reshuffle
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, January 20th, 2025 - 61 comments
Christopher Luxon has conducted a major Cabinet Reshuffle with the stand out feature the demotion of Shane Reti and the transfer of Health from Reti to Simeon Brown.
The World has too many Oligarchs
Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, January 19th, 2025 - 14 comments
In his final speech Joe Biden has warned the world about the dangers posed by Oligarchs supporting the right into democratic power. He is right.
Latest opinion poll – Labour overtakes National
Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, January 17th, 2025 - 62 comments
That grinding noise you can hear from the Parliamentary precinct is the sound of National backbenchers sharpening their knives getting ready for a change of leadership. Because the latest Curia poll shows National has fallen behind Labour in the preferred party stakes.
Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco
Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, January 16th, 2025 - 35 comments
A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.
The Los Angeles fires – could they happen here?
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, January 11th, 2025 - 20 comments
With large parts of Los Angeles burning and the right still trying to divert attention and blame the question arises, could the same thing happen here?
Who funds the Taxpayer’s Union?
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, January 8th, 2025 - 31 comments
Six months late and in the middle of the Holiday Period the Tax Payers Union has filed its election year accounts suggesting that it received $2,628,721 in donations that year. And there is no indication of who from.
Costello hands out free vapes
Written By: - Date published: 5:43 pm, January 5th, 2025 - 11 comments
The Government has announced that it will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop smoking services. It is not known who will be the suppliers of these kits or on what terms.
2024 in review
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, December 31st, 2024 - 25 comments
It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.
The absurdity of National’s Gang Patch ban
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, December 29th, 2024 - 61 comments
It did not take long for the first example of the absurdity of the Government’s gang patch ban to appear.
The Pogues wrote the best Christmas song ever
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, December 25th, 2024 - 16 comments
It is Christmas time and the eternal debate about who wrote the best Christmas song ever is being debated yet again. For me there is only one possible contender.
Government sabotages its Emissions Reduction Plan
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, December 23rd, 2024 - 7 comments
Under its latest Emissions Reduction Plan the Government is placing major reliance on processing of orgnic waste and landfill gas capture. But it has quietly recently cut funding for the Waste Minimisation Fund by $177 million over 4 years.
Much ado about nothing
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 21st, 2024 - 18 comments
There has been recent controversy because a District Court Judge and a renowned surgeon in a private setting chose to criticise NZ First policies.
Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy
Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 47 comments
The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.
When publicity stunts go bad
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 17th, 2024 - 16 comments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.
Labour loses confidence in the Speaker
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, December 14th, 2024 - 14 comments
Gerry Brownlee has performed linguistic summersaults to conclude that private entities having their pet projects listed for preferential treatment in the Fast Track Approvals Bill do not constitute a private benefit.
Clusterfreak
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, December 12th, 2024 - 46 comments
Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.
The unusual feature of Taxpayers Union’s latest Curia poll
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, December 11th, 2024 - 14 comments
Unlike two other recent polls the latest Taxpayer’s Union poll reports a surge to Act happening during the time the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced.
Unacceptable
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, December 7th, 2024 - 29 comments
It appears that the Government’s intent to politicise youth offending by making an elite few dress up in army uniforms and march around in an effort to solve a lifetime of neglect is not working out so well.
Creative accounting
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, December 5th, 2024 - 26 comments
It has emerged that Health NZ attempted to include hundreds of millions of dollars in redundancies and holiday pay remediation chargeable this year in last year’s Health accounts and this would have made the current deficit smaller but last year’s deficit larger.
AT is to be gutted
Written By: - Date published: 6:35 pm, December 4th, 2024 - 3 comments
The Government announced reform of AT, effectively conceding that the behemouth National created in 2010 was the wrong structure.
Reti secretly wants to privatise Health
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, November 30th, 2024 - 23 comments
Shane Reti has said publicly that privatising health is not his overt policy. Which suggests strongly that it is his covert policy, especially given that he wants to increase the relationship with and outsourcing to private operators.
National’s dodgy health announcements
Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 18 comments
National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.
If Seymour succeeds what happens to Ngāpuhi’s Treaty claim?
Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 3 comments
If David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill is passed it may complicate Ngapuhi’s outstanding claim.
A guide to making a submission on the Treaty Principles Bill
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, November 23rd, 2024 - 10 comments
Want to make a submission opposing David Seymour’s dog whistle Treaty Principles Bill? Here’s how.
The great gaslighter
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, November 19th, 2024 - 44 comments
In the gaslight to end gaslights David Seymour is suggesting that anyone opposed to his Treaty Principles Bill is also opposed to fundamental human rights.
Blowout in costs of Roads of National Significance
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 17th, 2024 - 33 comments
There has been a major blowout in the cost of the Roads of National Significance with the cost being potentially $10 billion more than National claimed during last year’s campaign.
Justified outrage
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 15th, 2024 - 46 comments
There were some dramatic scenes in Parliament yesterday with Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke leading a fiery haka during the count of Act’s Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill.
This Government’s day of shame
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, November 14th, 2024 - 63 comments
David Seymour thinks that opponents to his bill cannot explain what it is they are opposed to but ignores the clear advice of 40 Kings Counsel who have written to the Government telling it that the bill is itself a breach of the treaty.
Government bars Journalist for asking tough questions
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, November 11th, 2024 - 28 comments
The Government has prevented journalist Aaron Smale from attending the Crown apology to victims of abuse in state care because his questions are too tough.
What happened?
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, November 10th, 2024 - 120 comments
Why did America vote for the least suitable candidate imaginable? And what are the implications for New Zealand politics?
- Maxing out – next steps for progressives
Max Harris and Max Rashbrooke discuss how we turn around the right wing slogans like nanny state, woke identity politics, and the inefficiency of the public sector – and how we build a progressive agenda. From Donald Trump to David Seymour, from Peter Dutton to Christopher Luxon, we are subject to a ...6 days ago - Bernard’s Soliloquy for the week to March 16
The Government dominated the political agenda this week with its two-day conference pitching all manner of public infrastructure projects for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest in our political economy this week: The Government ploughed ahead with offers of PPPs to pension fund managers ...6 days ago - Eating Like Kings
You know that it's a snake eat snake worldWe slither and serpentine throughWe all took a bite, and six thousand years laterThese apples getting harder to chewSongwriters: Shawn Mavrides.“Please be Jack Tame”, I thought when I saw it was Seymour appearing on Q&A. I’d had a guts full of the ...6 days ago - David now turns to Rodney with a stricken face
So here we are at the wedding of Alexandra Vincent Martelli and David Seymour.Look at all the happy prosperous guests! How proud Nick Mowbray looks of the gift he has made of a mountain of crap plastic toys stuffed into a Cybertruck.How they drink, how they laugh, how they mug ...7 days ago - Fact brief – Is waste heat from industrial activity the reason the planet is warming?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is waste heat from industrial activity the reason the planet is warming? Waste heat’s contribution to global warming is a small fraction of ...7 days ago - On why complaining about incompetent David Seymour’s School Lunches is the only rational respo...
Some continue to defend David Seymour on school lunches, sidestepping his errors to say:“Well the parents should pack their lunch” and/or “Kids should be grateful for free food.”One of these people is the sitting Prime Minister.So I put together a quick list of why complaint is not only appropriate - ...1 week ago - Whistling Past The Graveyard.
“Bugger the pollsters!”WHEN EVERYBODY LIVED in villages, and every village had a graveyard, the expression “whistling past the graveyard” made more sense. Even so, it’s hard to describe the Coalition Government’s response to the latest Taxpayers’ Union/Curia Research poll any better. Regardless of whether they wanted to go there, or ...1 week ago - Jane Kelsey – Transforming neoliberalism
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...1 week ago
- Ain’t No Use
See I try to make a differenceBut the heads of the high keep turning awayThere ain't no useWhen the world that you love has goneOoh, gotta make a changeSongwriters: Arapekanga Adams-Tamatea / Brad Kora / Hiriini Kora / Joel Shadbolt.Aotearoa for Sale.This week saw the much-heralded and somewhat alarming sight ...1 week ago - Bernard’s Pick ‘n’ Mix on Saturday, March 15
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...1 week ago - Is the New Zealand Healthcare System Doing Badly?
By international standards the New Zealand healthcare system appears satisfactory – certainly no worse generally than average. Yet it is undergoing another redisorganisation.While doing some unrelated work, I came across some international data on the healthcare sector which seemed to contradict my – and the conventional wisdom’s – view of ...1 week ago - Europe can still prevent a Russian victory
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he knew that he was upending Europe’s security order. But this was more of a tactical gambit than a calculated strategy ...1 week ago - Labour draws a clear line in the sand on National’s privatisation binge
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Over the last year, I’ve been warning about Luxon’s pitch to privatise our public assets. He had told reporters in October that nothing was off the cards:Schools, hospitals, prisons, and ...1 week ago - Australia’s disaster response should build resilience
When ASPI’s Cyclone Tracy: 50 Years On was published last year, it wasn’t just a historical reflection; it was a warning. Just months later, we are already watching history repeat itself. We need to bake ...1 week ago
- Making it up as they go along
1. Why was school lunch provider The Libelle Group in the news this week?a. Grand Winner in Pie of The Yearb. Scored a record 108% on YELP c. Bought by Oravida d. Went into liquidation2. What did our Prime Minister offer prospective investors at his infrastructure investment jamboree?a. The Libelle ...1 week ago - Arbitrary or worse
Back in December, Lands Minister Chris Penk rejected proposals to recognise the proper names of Manawatū and Pito One. Both proposals were strongly supported by their communities and so recommended by Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa / New Zealand Geographic Board. Despite this, Penk rejected them. I was curious about ...1 week ago - The problems with PPPs
Here’s the excellent explainer on PPPs from over at that this chat was based on.Government's Investment SummitThis week, the Government is hosting a grand event aimed at trying to interest big foreign capital players in financing capital works in New Zealand, particularly its big rural motorway programme.Greater ...1 week ago - South Korea has acted decisively on DeepSeek. Other countries must stop hesitating
South Korea has suspended new downloads of DeepSeek, and it was were right to do so. Chinese tech firms operate under the shadow of state influence, misusing data for surveillance and geopolitical advantage. Any country ...1 week ago
- PPPs are more expensive, slower & riskier than Govt DIY
Previous big infrastructure PPPs such as Transmission Gully were fiendishly complicated to negotiate, generated massive litigation and were eventually rewritten anyway. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesLong stories shortest: The Government’s international investment conference ignores the facts that PPPs cost twice as much as vanilla debt-funded public infrastructure, often take ...1 week ago - Friday 14 March
Woolworths has proposed a major restructure of its New Zealand store operating model, leaving workers worried their hours and pay could be cut. Public servants are being asked how productive their office is, how much they use AI, and whether they’re overloaded with meetings as part of a “census”. An ...1 week ago - Weekly Roundup 14-March-2025
Midway through March already? The years flying by. Here’s some things we saw this week that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at AT’s Upper Harbour Bus changes. For Wednesday we had a guest post by Malcolm McCracken exploring what ...1 week ago - Bookshelf: technology, globalisation and civilisational decline
Robert Kaplan’s book Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis paints a portrait of civilisation in flux. Drawing insights from history, literature and art, he examines the effect of modern technology, globalisation and urbanisation on ...1 week ago
- Birds and Bees Grounded
Sexuality - Strong and warm and wild and freeSexuality - Your laws do not apply to meSexuality - Don't threaten me with miserySexuality - I demand equalitySong: Billy Bragg.First, thank you to everyone who took part in yesterday’s survey. Some questions worked better than others, but I found them interesting, ...1 week ago - Shit Yourself Happy
Hi,I just got back from a week in Japan thanks to the power of cheap flights and years of accumulated credit card points.The last time I was in Japan the government held a press conference saying they might take legal action against me and Netflix, so there was a little ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to March 14
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 Donald Trump’s wrecking of the post-WW II political landscape; andHealth Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Lisa ...1 week ago
- Bernard’s pick n’ mix at 6am for Friday, March 14
Here’s my selection of the top scoops, news, analysis, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$$$, The Press-$$$, Newsroom & NZ Herald on Friday, March 14.Top Six at 6amExclusive: 'Shake-up is necessary' - NZME's biggest shareholder backs board cleanout NZ Herald-$$$’s Shayne CurrieGovt considers gett… ...1 week ago - Snapshots from Tokyo
Hi,I just got back from a short trip to Japan, mostly spending time in Tokyo.I haven’t been there since we shot Dark Tourist back in 2017 — and that landed us in a bit of hot water with the Japanese government.I am glad to report I was not thrown into ...1 week ago - Why I Regret Going Paid On Substack
I’ve been on Substack for almost 8 months now.It’s been good in terms of the many great individuals that populate its space. So much variety and intelligence and humour and depth.I joined because someone suggested I should ‘start a Substack,’ whatever that meant.So I did.Turning on payments seemed like the ...1 week ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2025
Open access notables Would Adding the Anthropocene to the Geologic Time Scale Matter?, McCarthy et al., AGU Advances: The extraordinary fossil fuel-driven outburst of consumption and production since the mid-twentieth century has fundamentally altered the way the Earth System works. Although humans have impacted their environment for millennia, justification for ...1 week ago
- For a waterbombing reserve, adapt ADF aircraft
Australia should buy equipment to cheaply and temporarily convert military transport aircraft into waterbombers. On current planning, the Australian Defence Force will have a total of 34 Chinook helicopters and Hercules airlifters. They should be ...1 week ago
- Join us at 5pm for this week’s Hoon
Photo by Gareth Davies 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 , and special ...1 week ago - Indonesia has cut funding for counterterrorism programs. Australia should step in
Indonesia’s government has slashed its counterterrorism (CT) budgets, despite the persistent and evolving threat of violent extremism. Australia can support regional CT efforts by filling this funding void. Reducing funding to the National Counterterrorism Agency ...1 week ago
- Drawn
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Resource Management (Prohibition on Extraction of Freshwater for On-selling) Amendment Bill (Debbie Ngarewa-Packer) The bill does exactly what it says on the label, and would effectively end the rapacious water-bottling industry ...1 week ago
- Fabian Fundraiser – Twilight Time
Twilight Time Lighthouse Cuba, Wigan Street, Wellington, Sunday 6 April, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Twilight Time looks at the life and work of Desmond Ball, (1947-2016), a barefooted academic from ‘down under’ who was hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”, as he proved the fallacy ...1 week ago
- It’s time to rethink foreign aid
Foreign aid is being slashed across the Global North, nowhere more so than in the United States. Within his first month back in the White House, President Donald Trump dismantled the US Agency for International ...1 week ago
- Thursday 13 March
Nicola Willis has proposed new procurement rules that unions say will lead to pay cuts for already low-paid workers in cleaning, catering and security services that are contracted by government. The Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill passed its third reading with support from all the opposition parties and NZ ...1 week ago
- Personal Link: The Cool One is Gone.
Most KP readers will not know that I was a jazz DJ in Chicago and Washington DC while in grad school in the early and mid 1980s. In DC I joined WPFW as a grave shift host, then a morning drive show host (a show called Sui Generis, both for ...1 week ago - Who Are You?
Who are you?Who, who, who, who?Who are you?Songwriter: Peter Townshend. Read more ...1 week ago - IMF calls for Capital Gains Tax or land tax
Long stories shortest: The IMF says a capital gains tax or land tax would improve real economic growth and fix the budget. GDP is set to be smaller by 2026 than it was in 2023. Compass is flying in school lunches from Australia. 53% of National voters say the new ...1 week ago - 5 Reasons Labour Are Doing Well
Last year in October I wrote “Where’s The Opposition?”. I was exasperated at the relative quiet of the Green Party, Labour and Te Pati Māori (TPM), as the National led Coalition ticked off a full bingo card of the Atlas Network playbook.1To be fair, TPM helped to energise one of ...1 week ago
- Visualizing daily global temperatures
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink Good data visualizations can help make climate change more visceral and understandable. Back in 2016 Ed Hawkins published a “climate spiral” graph that ended up being pretty iconic – it was shown at the opening ceremony of the Olympics that year – and ...1 week ago
- How Russia will reassess its ties with North Korea after Ukraine
An agreement to end the war in Ukraine could transform Russia’s relations with North Korea. Moscow is unlikely to reduce its cooperation with Pyongyang to pre-2022 levels, but it may become more selective about areas ...1 week ago
- Government’s Investment Summit
This week, the Government is hosting a grand event aimed at trying to interest big foreign capital players in financing capital works in New Zealand, particularly its big rural motorway programme. Financing vs funding: a quick explainer The key word in the sentence above is financing. It is important ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell On Winston Peters’ Battle Against The Phantom Legions Of The Woke
In a month’s time, the Right Honourable Winston Peters will be celebrating his 80th birthday. Good for him. On the evidence though, his current war on “wokeness” looks like an old man’s cranky complaint that the ancient virtues of grit and know-how are sadly lacking in the youth of today. ...1 week ago - Haul from the 2025 Regent Booksale
As noted, early March has been about moving house, and I have had little chance to partake in all things internet. But now that everything is more or less sorted, I can finally give a belated report on my visit to the annual Regent Booksale (28th February and 1st March). ...1 week ago - The threat spectrum
Information operations Australia has banned cybersecurity software Kaspersky from government use because of risks of espionage, foreign interference and sabotage. The Department of Home Affairs said use of Kaspersky products posed an unacceptable security ...1 week ago
- My life as a dog
1 week ago - Understanding ’ndrangheta operations in Australia
The ’ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, plays a significant role in the global cocaine trade and is deeply entrenched in Australia, influencing the cocaine trade and engaging in a variety of illicit activities. A range of ...1 week ago
- How to fight back against Trump’s tariffs
In the US, the Trump regime is busy imposing tariffs on its neighbours and allies, then revoking them, then reimposing them, permanently poisoning relations with Canada and Mexico. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on agricultural goods, which will affect Aotearoa's exports. National's response? To grovel for an exemption, ...1 week ago
- Global & Corporate Takeover of New Zealand Continues In Plain Sight
Troy Bowker’s Caniwi Capital’s Desmond Gittings, former TradeMe and Warehouse executive Simon West, former anonymous right wing blogger / Labour attacker & now NZ On Air Board member / Waitangi Tribunal member Philip Crump, Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon who used to run vaccine critical, Treaty of Waitangi critical, and trans-rights ...1 week ago - Fixing school lunches
The free school lunch program was one of Labour's few actual achievements in government. Decent food, made locally, providing local employment. So naturally, National had to get rid of it. Their replacement - run by Compass, a multinational which had already been thrown out of our hospitals for producing inedible ...1 week ago
- New procurement rules hurt low-income workers
New draft government procurement guidelines will remove living wage protections for thousands of low-paid workers in Aotearoa New Zealand, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. “The Minister of Finance Nicola Willis has proposed a new rule saying that the Living Wage no longer needs to be paid in ...1 week ago
- Member’s Day
Today is a Member's Day. First up is the Auckland Harbour Board and Takapuna Borough Council Empowering Act Amendment Bill, a local bill to alter the purposes for which some land in Auckland can be used. Following that is the third reading of Camilla Belich's Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment ...1 week ago
- The US dividing Russia from China? Forget about it
The Trump administration’s effort to divide Russia from China is doomed to fail. This means that the United States is destroying security relationships based on a delusion. To succeed, Russia would need to overcome more ...1 week ago
- Wednesday 12 March
Māori workers now hold more high-skilled jobs than low-skilled jobs with 46 percent in high-skilled jobs, 14 percent in skilled jobs, and 40 percent in low-skilled jobs. Resource teachers of literacy and Te Reo Māori are “devastated” by a proposal from the Education Minister to stop funding 174 roles from ...1 week ago
- Power of persistence: Australian technology addresses challenge of space monitoring
Knowing what is going on in orbit is getting harder—yet hardly less necessary. But new technologies are emerging to cope with the challenge, including some that have come from Australian civilian research. One example is ...1 week ago
- Maximising the value from our investment in the City Rail link
This is a guest post by Malcolm McCracken. It previously appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible and is shared by kind permission. New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project, the City Rail Link (CRL), is expected to open in 2026. This will be an exciting step forward for Auckland, delivering better ...1 week ago
- Luxon wants media to celebrate National’s homelessness achievements more
“The reality is I'm just saying to you I'm proud of the work we're doing. We're doing a great job”, said Luxon, pushing back at Auckland Council’s reports of rising homelessness and pleas for help. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest: Christopher Luxon denies his Government caused a ...2 weeks ago - Travel Advisory
Should I stay, or should I go now?Should I stay, or should I go now?If I go, there will be troubleAnd if I stay, it will be doubleSo come on and let me knowSongwriters: Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer.Christopher,Tomorrow marks seventeen months since the last election. We’re ...2 weeks ago - Auckland homelessness up 53% in 4 months, Wellington up 40% year on year
Homelessness in Auckland has risen by 53% in 4 months - that’s 653 people living in cars, on streets and in parks.The city’s emergency housing numbers have fallen by about 650 under National too - now at record lows.Housing First Auckland is on the frontlines: There is “more and more ...2 weeks ago
- More than ever, airpower will depend on sharing data. Watch Sweden
A growing consensus holds that the future of airpower, and of defense technology in general, involves the interplay of crewed and uncrewed vehicles. Such teaming means that more-numerous, less-costly, even expendable uncrewed vehicles can bring ...2 weeks ago
- All in all another brick in the wall of money
Only two more sleeps to the Government’s Jamboree Investor Extravaganza! As a proud New Zealander I’m very much hoping for the best: Off-shore wind farms! Solar power! Sustainable industry powered by the abundant energy we could be producing!I wonder, will they have a deal already lined up, something to announce ...2 weeks ago - Australia needs to manufacture change to ensure national security
After decades of gradual decline, Australia’s manufacturing capability is no longer mission-fit to meet national security needs. Any whole-of-nation effort to arrest this trend needs to start by making the industrial operating environment more conducive ...2 weeks ago
- This is why we have juries
Back in October 2022, Restore Passenger Rail hung banners across roads in Wellington to protest against the then-Labour government's weak climate change policy. The police responded by charging them not with the usual public order offences, but with "endangering transport", a crime with a maximum sentence of 14 years in ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon’s economy focus at odds with voters
Luxon’s popularity continues to fall, and a new survey shows voters rank fixing the health system as the top priority. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesLong stories shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy this morning: National’s pollster finds Christopher Luxon has fallen behind Chris Hipkins as preferred PM for the first ...2 weeks ago - Tuesday 11 March
The CTU is calling for an apology from Nicola Willis after her office made a false characterisation of CTU statements, which ultimately saw him blocked from future Treasury briefings. New data shows that Māori make up 83% of those charged under new gang laws. Financial incentives are being offered to ...2 weeks ago
- Protected: Fight Back Together May Day 2025 Resources
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below: Password: The post Protected: Fight Back Together May Day 2025 Resources appeared first on NZCTU. ...2 weeks ago
- Australia needs to prevent cybercrime, not just react to it
Australia’s cyber capabilities have evolved rapidly, but they are still largely reactive, not preventative. Rather than responding to cyber incidents, Australian law enforcement agencies should focus on dismantling underlying criminal networks. On 11 December, Europol ...2 weeks ago
- The National Hurricane Center set an all-time record for forecast accuracy in 2024
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Finally, there’s some good news to report from NOAA, the parent organization of the National Hurricane Center, or NHC: During the highly active 2o24 Atlantic hurricane season, the NHC made record-accurate track forecasts at every time interval (12-, ...2 weeks ago
- Societal resilience is the best answer to Chinese warships
The Australian government has prioritised enhancing Australia’s national resilience for many years now, whether against natural disasters, economic coercion or hostile armed forces. However, the public and media response to the presence of Chinese naval ...2 weeks ago
- Upper Habour Bus change a step towards rapid transit
It appears that Auckland Transport is finally set to improve Auckland’s busiest non-frequent bus route, the 120. As highlighted in my post a month ago on Auckland’s busiest bus routes, the 120 is the busiest route that doesn’t already run frequently all day/week and carries more passengers than many other ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Stubborn Refusal To Invest For Growth
Economists have earned their reputation for jargon and tunnel vision, but sometimes, it takes an someone as perceptive as Simplicity economist Shamubeel Eaqub to identify something simple and devastating. As he pointed out recently, the coalition government is trying to attract foreign investment here to generate economic growth, while – ...2 weeks ago
- 5 Extraordinary Revelations From Deloitte’s Health NZ Review
Opinion & AnalysisSimeon Brown, left, and Deloitte partner David LovattIn September 2024, Deloitte Partner David Lovatt, was contracted by the National Government to help National ostensibly understand “the drivers behind HNZ’s worsening financial performance”.1 i.e. deficit.The report shows the last version was dated December 2024.It was formally released this week ...2 weeks ago - All the Toey Horses
This cobbled-together government was altogether more the beneficiary of Labour getting turfed out than anything it managed to do itself. Even the worthless cheques they were writing didn't buy all that much favour.How’s it all looking now?Shall we take a look at a Horizon poll?The Government’s performance is making only ...2 weeks ago - Aotearoa should sign the Disappearance Convention
There's horrible news from the US today, with the Trump regime disappearing Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student, for protesting against genocide in Gaza. Its another significant decline in US human rights, and puts them in the same class as the authoritarian dictatorships they used to sponsor in South ...2 weeks ago
- Release: PSA survey proves Govt’s cuts are hurting patients
The National Government’s decision to cut jobs and freeze recruitment of health care workers is hurting frontline services and harming patients. ...3 weeks ago
- Finance Minister Nicola Willis warns job market won’t pick up just yet
But the finance minister is optimistic New Zealand's GDP will continue to grow. ...1 day ago - The viability of some charities could rest on how they’re taxed – we should be cautious about ch...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Juliet Chevalier-Watts, Associate Professor, Law School, University of Waikato Ground Picture/Shutterstock There have long been calls for New Zealand’s charity-linked businesses to lose their tax exemption status. Under the current rules, companies such as Sanitarium, which is wholly owned by the ...1 day ago - Vengeful ghost cat, divorce lizard, phantom horse: the animals that haunted Ancient Rome and Greece
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Willis, PhD Candidate, Classics and Ancient History, University of Newcastle djkett/Shutterstock You wake up at night sensing a weight on your legs that you thought was your pet dog – only to remember they died years ago. Or perhaps you ...1 day ago
- Council may seek $25m to bring panda pair to Auckland Zoo
Mayor Wayne Brown’s ‘panda diplomacy’ must first be approved by foreign affairs officials, Newsroom reveals The post Council may seek $25m to bring panda pair to Auckland Zoo appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 day ago - Better-than-expected GDP data raises hopes of an economic recovery
New Zealand is officially out of recession, but the chaos of Trump’s tariff policy remains a threat to medium-term growth, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. We’re officially out of recession You might not have known it ...1 day ago - Govt refusing visa-free transit for Chinese is ‘CIA bullshit’, says Akld mayor
Immigration minister Erica Stanford’s response was ‘the dumbest letter I ever got’, says Wayne Brown The post Govt refusing visa-free transit for Chinese is ‘CIA bullshit’, says Akld mayor appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- World War II era shipwreck could trigger $200m oil spill cleanup
The ship is thought to be carrying "furnace oil", described as dark thick, and when spilled, pernicious - but the government has rejected advice to carry out a survey. ...2 days ago
- Shane Jones looks to convince iwi of geothermal potential under Maori-owned land
A hui with 40 iwi groups today is so Māori land owners get an early notice of what the Crown is proposing to do, Jones says. ...2 days ago
- Defence focus on Luxon’s last day in India
The prime minister hit back at criticisms of his coalition's investment in defence as he stood aboard HMNZS Te Kaha, docked in Mumbai. ...2 days ago
- Ratings of government performance hit new low – Ipsos survey
New Zealanders have given the government a rating of 4.2 out of 10 in the latest Issues Monitor survey, the lowest on record. ...2 days ago
- Upper Hutt is on the rise, but its healthcare has never been worse
Lyric Waiwiri-Smith reports from a public meeting held in Upper Hutt on the state of healthcare in a city where residents worry they could die before seeing a GP. An eight-week wait time to see a GP, closed books, no local hospital, primary birthing unit or after-hours care facility and ...2 days ago
- Western Springs Speedway’s final race after 96 years
Tomorrow night, the unmistakable scent of petrol and mud will hang in the air at Western Springs Speedway for the last time. The floodlights will beam, the engines will roar and fans will gather for one final night of high-speed spectacle. For 96 years, Western Springs has been the ...2 days ago
- Magic in the maunga: the mid-sized stadium that could
Good things keep on happening out in Penrose in the crater of the Rarotonga volcano.Mt Smart – or Go Media Stadium – a place with deep physical, cultural and sporting heritage in Auckland, is in a sweet spot for fans, professional teams and its owners.It’s now the country’s busiest stadium, ...2 days ago
- This week’s bestselling books – March 21
NONFICTION1 Hastings: A Boy’s Own Adventure by Dick Frizzell (Massey University Press, $37)Probably the most illustrious and attractive pairing at the Auckland Writers Festival in May is the event where I chair Dick Frizzell for an hour at the Aotea Centre. I’ll attempt to interrogate his childhood memories – the ...2 days ago
- The physical toll of nine months on the space station
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have captured the world’s attention for their drawn-out drama on the International Space Station.Back on earth after nine months, their bodies and minds will continue to be under scrutiny by scientists including New Zealand space medicine researchers looking for ways to fight cancer and ...2 days ago
- Industry divided over health of Bluff oyster stocks
The fishing arm of South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu has blown the whistle on the state of the Bluff oyster fishery and cancelled its harvest – but some in the industry claim it’s shaping up to be the best season in years.The Bluff oyster/tio season traditionally runs from March 1 to August ...2 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 21 March
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, Friday 21 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Bars sit empty as law change enables liquor licence naysayers
The Springs Tavern has sat empty for months as its directors grapple with objections to their licensing The post Bars sit empty as law change enables liquor licence naysayers appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- The old world order is dying – long live the new?
Analysis: Concern about the state of the world mixes with cynicism about the old rules at India summit The post The old world order is dying – long live the new? appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 21 March
The post Daily crossword, Friday 21 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Too costly to hear illegal gold-mining case on West Coast, says judge
Attempts to move a court hearing over allegations of illegal gold mining have been dismissed The post Too costly to hear illegal gold-mining case on West Coast, says judge appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Taking flats from lease will ‘destroy’ farm station
A high country station’s battle to retain a block of land reserved for national park purposes more than a century ago has hit the Court of Appeal.In 2021, the Commissioner of Crown Lands decided to renew Mt White Station’s 40,000ha pastoral lease, but excluded a 1000ha block, known as Riversdale ...2 days ago
- New Zealand’s greatest invention: a monetary policy framework?
RBNZ chief economist Paul Conway joins Bernard Hickey to talk monetary policy, quantitative easing, the state of inflation and the RBNZ’s relationship with the government. This week on When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey chews the monetary policy fat with returning guest Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway. Was ...2 days ago
- Australia’s PBS means consumers pay less for expensive medicines. Here’s how this system works
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bonny Parkinson, Associate Professor, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University The United States pharmaceutical lobby has complained to US President Donald Trump that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is damaging their profits and has urged Trump to put tariffs ...2 days ago
- PNG and Bougainville to hold more talks on independence issue
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist The parties involved in talks aimed at resolving an impasse over Bougainville’s push for independence are planning to meet several more times before a deadline in June. The leaders of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville have been meeting all week in Port Moresby, ...2 days ago
- Will the US trade war push up the price of medicines in Australia? Will there be drug shortages?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Scott, Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Talks of a trade dispute between the United States and Australia over the cost of medicines have no doubt left many Australians scratching ...2 days ago
- Grattan on Friday: Dutton says he could handle Donald Trump, but can any Australian PM?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the Trump age, how the next government, whether Labor or Coalition, will handle foreign affairs, defence and trade is shaping as crucially important. It’s a weird time when your friends become almost as ...2 days ago
- ‘Declare your city genocide free’ – lessons from NZ’s nuclear-free movement
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Today I attended a demonstration outside both Aotearoa New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Israeli Embassy in Wellington. The day before, the Israelis had blown apart 174 children in Gaza in a surprise attack that announced the next phase of the genocide. ...2 days ago
- What are New Zealand’s international climate targets and do we really have to meet them?
Analysis - Most New Zealanders support the country meeting its international climate targets, according to a poll commissioned for the environment ministry. ...2 days ago
- PM stresses the value of sports diplomacy as he bats a few balls at the iconic Wankhede stadium in M...
New Zealand and India will be celebrating 100 years of sporting relations this year. ...2 days ago
- PM stresses value of sports diplomacy as he bats a few balls at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai
New Zealand and India will be celebrating 100 years of sporting relations this year. ...2 days ago
- Nuclear free Pacific – back to the future, Earthwise talks to David Robie
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – Pacific Media Watch Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths of Plains FM96.9 radio talk to Dr David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report, about heightened global fears of nuclear war as tensions have mounted since US President Donald Trump has ...2 days ago
- How can you tell if your child’s daycare is good quality?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Victoria Minson, Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Australian Catholic University PhotoMavenStock/Shutterstock This week, we heard claims of shocking abuse and neglect in Australian childcare centres on ABC’s Four Corners program. While 91% of services met or exceeded the national ...2 days ago
- PSNA Wants Government MPs To Speak Out On Gaza Attacks, Since Foreign Minister Won’t
“New Zealanders want sanctions on Israel for genocide but Mr Peters refuses to say anything, let alone impose any form of sanction at all. That is appeasement,” Minto says. ...2 days ago - Adelaide Festival gives a hopeful vision for the future of Australian contemporary dance
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Brannigan, Associate Professor Theatre and Performance, UNSW Sydney Mass Movement. Morgan Sette/Adelaide Festival I arrived at Stephanie Lake’s premiere of Mass Movement a little late on my first day at Adelaide Festival. Walking down the hill from King William road ...2 days ago
- Cosmic dark energy may be weakening, astronomers say, raising questions about the fate of the univer...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rossana Ruggeri, Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow, Queensland University of Technology KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURAB / Tafreshi The universe has been expanding ever since the Big Bang almost 14 billion years ago, and astronomers believe a kind of ...2 days ago
- Company directors can sit on boards for decades. Are term limits the answer?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Elms, Senior Lecturer, School of Accountancy, Queensland University of Technology Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Steering a large company successfully is no mean feat. As companies grow more complex in an increasingly turbulent business environment – so, too, do the responsibilities of their board ...2 days ago
- What exactly was Winston Peters’ mission in Washington DC?
Analysis: Peters heads home from Washington DC armed with fresh intel on what the new US administration is thinking, and the impact it might have on New Zealand and the wider Pacific. ...2 days ago
- PSA Takes Probation Officer Pay Equity Claim To The Employment Relations Authority
The application to the ERA asks it to decide rates of remuneration for probation officers that are free from gender-based discrimination. The ERA has the power to fix those rates. ...2 days ago
- You can catch the ‘nocebo’ effect from family, friends – even social media. But what is it, ac...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cosette Saunders, PhD candidate, Sydney Placebo Lab, University of Sydney Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock In 1998, shortly after arriving for work, a Tennessee high-school teacher reported a “gasoline-like smell” and feeling dizzy. Soon after, many students and staff began reporting symptoms of chemical poisoning. ...2 days ago
Recent Comments