Author Archive
Out of the mouths of babes
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, September 29th, 2016 - 15 comments
Watch five-year old Brook Blair give it to Theresa May about homeless people. Got the right answers too. Brilliant!
“Itching Scratches” on Nine to Noon
Written By: - Date published: 6:27 pm, September 26th, 2016 - 61 comments
Matthew Hooton got carried away on Nine to Noon dissing Andrew Little’s views on political strategy and the centre ground that appeared to differ from Helen Clark’s. Stephen Mills piled in too on Jeremy Corbyn and the “missing millions.” All Little said was that he wants to connect with different groups of voters on issues important to them. Can’t argue with that.
Brendon Bonner supports Living Wage
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 pm, September 22nd, 2016 - 17 comments
Red/Green/Independent Brendon Bonner is a candidate for the Southern Ward in the Wellington City elections. PSA staffer and declared socialist, he would like Wellingtonians to know that he too supports the Living Wage. His campaign video is here and a list of the policies he supports is here. More information on Facebook.
Warren strips cross-selling bank CEO
Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, September 22nd, 2016 - 25 comments
Watch Elizabeth Warren strip Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf alive at a Senate hearing on ‘cross-selling’ of bank products customers didn’t need. Wells Fargo, one of the US’ biggest banks, was fined $185million, and 5300 employees at branch and teller level were sacked. The senior executive in charge was allowed to retire with nearly $100million in stock benefits. Warren thinks the top management should be held accountable. See what you think.
Delivering the Green New Deal
Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, September 18th, 2016 - 2 comments
London-based macro-economist Ann Pettifor will speak on this topic at Wesley Church, 75 Taranaki Street, Wellington, on Tuesday 20 September at 5:30pm. Ann is a member of the Green New Deal Group, whose proposition is designed to power a renewables revolution, create thousands of green-collar jobs and rein in the distorting power of the finance sector while making more low-cost capital available for pressing priorities. All welcome; more info inside.
Eileen Brown for CCDHB
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 pm, September 6th, 2016 - 2 comments
Capital Coast DHB candidate Eileen Brown chairs the Newtown Union Health Service Board, a primary care service for people on low incomes. For the last 10 years, Eileen has worked for the Council of Trade Unions as a senior policy analyst; previously she worked in nursing in many areas including mental health and neuro rehabilitation. Eileen is standing as a Labour candidate. She’d be great on the DHB.
Dr Kate Amore on Homelessness
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, August 24th, 2016 - 17 comments
Dr Kate Amore and Rev Tric Malcolm will discuss this issue on Friday 26th August at 5:30pm at Connolly Hall, Wellington. Amore’s research released today shows “As the housing market gets tighter, single people have more flexibility and potentially more options open to them, whereas families with children don’t. People [landlords] are less likely to want them, and they have more requirements of housing,” she said. All welcome.
Leggett in Gollins’ pocket too!!!
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 pm, August 11th, 2016 - 18 comments
It gets worse – another property developer is rattling the tin for Porirua carpetbagger Nick Leggett for Wellington’s mayoralty. Chris Gollins has been asking for donations, with donors having to submit email addresses to nick@gollins.co.nz. It seems Andrew Little might have been right to warn Stuart Nash MP off association with Leggett’s campaign.
Leggett in Parkin’s pocket?
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 pm, August 9th, 2016 - 55 comments
Former Councillor Chris Parkin interviewed in Wellington’s DomPost shared his ambitions – investing in property in central Wellington, and getting Porirua mayor Nick Leggett elected in Wellington, of all places. Word has it that large billboards for Leggett around the town have been funded by Parkin. The last thing Wellington needs is a mayor who’s in a property investor’s pocket.
Labour’s Centenary History
Written By: - Date published: 4:29 pm, July 26th, 2016 - 12 comments
Covering 100 years in 250 pages, Unity Books’ Tilly Lloyd’s review described Labour’s centenary history by Jim McAloon and Peter Franks as a ‘coherent skim.’ Prefaces and prehistory take 50 pages to get to the starting line. The 23 years from Helen Clark’s accession to the leadership to the present takes as many pages. Of the 32 persons interviewed 28 were Members of Parliament. Surprisingly Mike Williams, the second longest-serving President after Big Jim Roberts, was not included among them.
Rethinking Political Thought – Shamubeel Eaqub
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, July 14th, 2016 - 36 comments
We have many eminently solvable problems facing our society, like a shortage of state houses. We need to add some empathy, love and civic duty, to competition in our politics. We will be a better and fairer economy and society for it. Fabian Society, Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington Friday 15th 5:30pm. All Welcome. Read more. Register here.
Spot the Plot
Written By: - Date published: 6:32 pm, June 29th, 2016 - 66 comments
The attempt to oust Corbyn was orchestrated by Portland Communications, blown up by a fake Gay Pride heckle, supported by the UK Fabian Society, and predicted in the Telegraph. It’s definitely a plot, but will it work?
Go Helen!
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, April 5th, 2016 - 65 comments
Great news that Helen Clark is putting her name forward for the very important post of Secretary-General of the United Nations. She has been a courageous champion for peace – perhaps the most important priority for the world today.
Guy Standing: Rentier Capitalism and the Precariat – Christchurch 30 March
Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, March 29th, 2016 - 8 comments
Guy Standing will speak on this subject in Christchurch on Wednesday evening at 6pm at the Fern Room, the Atrium, 455 Hagley Avenue. More detail here from his presentation in Denmark. Please register here if you would like to attend.
Rentier capitalism
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, March 24th, 2016 - 46 comments
Tautoko Murray Edmonds’ comment yesterday on this Michael Hudson interview This is an absolutely brilliant discussion of what contemporary economic theory SHOULD be all about, and why it is not (the main reason being that classical economic theory of the type that Key believes in, serves the 1% at the expense of the 99%). It […]
Rowing together
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 pm, March 14th, 2016 - 51 comments
The Nation interview on the economy on the weekend was very interesting – leaders of Labour, Greens and New Zealand First all agreeing on the need for New Zealand economy to diversify beyond dairying. It was a very encouraging sign that the time is ripe for change – now I look forward to their combined ideas on what should be done.
Leggett does a runner
Written By: - Date published: 5:58 pm, March 11th, 2016 - 16 comments
Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett says he will announce his decision about running for Mayor of Wellington at a launch later this month. It sounds like he has already made up his mind about what he is running for; the real question is what is he running from?
“The greatest polling error in primary history”
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 pm, March 9th, 2016 - 114 comments
Bernie Sanders has just won the Michigan Democratic primary. Polling guru Nate Silver of 38degrees said that given that Sanders was behind by an average of 21.3% in all polls leading up to the vote, if Sanders won Michigan it would count among “the greatest polling errors in primary history.” It was – why is interesting.
What a picture’s worth…
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 pm, March 3rd, 2016 - 73 comments
Turnout may be very important in the US presidential election – not good news for Hillary though.
The end of conventional wisdom?
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 pm, February 6th, 2016 - 69 comments
After Bernie Sanders’ dead-heat with Hillary Clinton in Iowa, the race to the Democrat nomination at the upcoming convention just got much more interesting. A Quinnipiac poll now has him trail her nationally by two points. Just as with Corbyn in Britain, the pundits are tying themselves in knots trying to make sense of it.
Left Internationalism
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 pm, December 5th, 2015 - 39 comments
Hilary Benn and Maria Eagle have invoked “Labour’s proud internationalism” to support their votes for bombing ISIL in Syria to keep Britain safe! As Michael Chessum points out in the LRB, this view of Labour’s internationalism is statist rather than socialist. We can be proud that Kirk, Lange and Clark have all shown a different version of left internationalism that is much more genuinely “labour’s answer to capital’s global power.”
The Centre of Attention
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 pm, August 22nd, 2015 - 91 comments
In a post on Public Address titled “In defence of the centre” Rob Salmond uses a Guardian article by George Monbiot to pose the question “whether the old political orthodoxy of ‘move to the middle’ is, long term, a death-knell for left-leaning parties.” It’s good that Salmond’s raised the question; it’s certainly a matter for debate.
Corbyn and the Overton Window
Written By: - Date published: 4:09 am, August 13th, 2015 - 100 comments
A recent YouGov poll in the Times predicts Jeremy Corbyn will win the UK Labour leadership on first preferences alone. If he does win, Corbyn will shift the “Overton Window” of acceptable ideas leftward in the face of formidable opposition.
Gender, Power and Culture
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, June 24th, 2015 - 10 comments
Catriona MacLennan and Prue Hyman will discuss this topic at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington, Thursday June 25th at 5:30pm. All welcome. Read more…
Effective political communication
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 pm, May 26th, 2015 - 61 comments
Richard Harman concluded his presentation to the recent Fabian “Destination Next Progressive Majority” event by quoting the noted political scientist Bob Chapman’s remark that he had “reluctantly come to the conclusion that it was far more important for a political party to have a communication strategy than an economic policy.” I’m inclined to agree.
Political Strategy for a Progressive Majority
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 pm, May 25th, 2015 - 66 comments
Sir Michael Cullen discussed political strategy at the “Destination- Next Progressive Majority” seminars held recently by the Fabian Society in Auckland and Wellington. He started by sharing what he used to say to his students when they were facing a test – “never forget to state the obvious.” For a progressive majority that means “get more votes than the others” – he had some good ideas how.
ILO – 75% of world jobs insecure
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, May 20th, 2015 - 8 comments
Only a quarter of the world’s workers have permanent jobs. A worldwide trend away from secure jobs risked “perpetuating a vicious circle of weak global demand and slow job creation” that has dogged many countries since the 2008 crisis, the ILO reports. Decoupling of wages from productivity has led to a loss of aggregate demand the report estimates at $3.7trillion.
Destination: Next Progressive Majority
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 pm, May 4th, 2015 - 3 comments
The Fabian Society invites all those interested to join a discussion with Sir Michael Cullen, Peter Harris, Sarah Helm, Tracey Martin MP, Richard Harman and Lyndy McIntyre at St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Wellington, on Sunday 10th May at 1pm. Ideas on strategy, economy, party relations, communication and organising will all be canvassed. Read more and register here.
Miliband ko’s Johnson
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 pm, April 27th, 2015 - 18 comments
Miliband ko’s Boris on Andrew Marr show. Marr opined this might be a foretaste of things to come when Ed is PM and Boris has knifed David Cameron, which Rupert Murdoch thinks likely. Johnson flails and Miliband counter-punches – “don’t get rattled, Boris;” same primary school “but not same secondary school;” on back-stabbing accusations “you can do better than Lynton Crosby.”
Hip throw to the lions
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, April 24th, 2015 - 38 comments
For once I agree with Mike Hosking – the Hip cafe owners are also losers in the fallout from John Key’s ponytail-pull fetish. But not for the same reasons as Mike. It seems Grant and Brown threw their employee to the lions for quite selfish motives. They appear to have betrayed their responsibility of trust and confidence to their employee.
Dirty Politics on Nine to Noon
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, April 21st, 2015 - 154 comments
Matthew Hooton’s attack on Nicky Hager’s journalistic credentials on Nine to Noon yesterday was straight out of the “Dirty Politics” playbook. Kathryn Ryan wasn’t impressed and neither was I. Coincidentally Hager spoke last week about his investigative journalism – you can judge for yourself who spoke the truth.
- Swimmable in Waitara
The nationwide swimmable rivers tour went west this week to the Taranaki community of Waitara. Waitara was once a densely populated food gathering area with magnificent coastal reefs of kaimoana and a stony-bottomed tidal river full of fish. We ...2 hours ago - September ’16 – NZ blogs sitemeter rankingCredit: Motella There are about 300 blogs on the list, although I am weeding out those which are no longer active or have removed public access to sitemeters. (Let me know if I weed out yours by mistake or get your ...7 hours ago
- Peddling False Hope.By way of a short thought, I venture again into the waters of US election year politics. Today’s subject is Donald Trump, or more precisely, the promises he passes off as solutions to the US malaise (as he and his ...8 hours ago
- Jordan Williams judged to have a reputation that could be harmedThe end of the beginning of the legal pissing contest between dark arts ‘Taxpayers Union’ propagandist and lobbyist Jordan Williams and idiot neophyte politician Colin Craig was reached on Friday. The jury in the messy defamation case Williams took against ...8 hours ago
- A Burnt Child: Some Thoughts On Jordan Williams’ Successful Defamation Suit Against Colin Crai...10 hours ago
- The condition of anti-imperialismFor the IRA. Against British Imperialism. John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Irish solidarity march in London in early 1970s. Following the Russian Revolution, socialist parties around the world split between those who sided with the Bolsheviks and those who ...22 hours ago
- Sensitivity trainingClimate scientists are certain that human-caused emissions have increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 44 per cent since the Industrial Revolution. Very few of them dispute that this has already caused average global temperatures to rise roughly 1 degree. ...1 day ago
- Incomes and housing major issues for InvercargillThe Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS) is a well intentioned initiative supported by the Gore District Council, the Southland District Council and the Invercargill City Council. While the final strategy is still to be publicly released some key issues have ...1 day ago
- Old white guys announce Māori are too privilegedA new group named after a former governor has come out swinging this week launching a campaign against what it says is the special treatment for Māori. Hobson’s Pledge, named after the former governor William Hobson, is headed by former ...1 day ago
- What are we waiting for? the fantasy of carbon neutral growth of aviation emissionsIn this guest post, the ‘stop flying’ Wellington lawyer Tom Bennion writes about the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) proposals for ‘carbon-neutral’ growth of greenhouse gas emissions from the fast-growing aviation industry. New Zealand parents often tell their ...1 day ago
- Lenin’s theory of imperialismSuper-exploitation in the Third World results in super-profits for imperialist companies by Sam King Almost 100 years after it was written, Lenin’s classic Marxist theory of imperialism, principally articulated in his book Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism[1] remains the best ...1 day ago
- Hard News: Friday Music: After the King’s ArmsNo one should be at all surprised at this week's news that the King's Arms property has been put up for sale. That was the clear implication of the pub and its carpark being designated as a Special Housing Area ...1 day ago
- More cronyismNational has appointed former National MP Tony Ryall to chair Transpower:Former Health Minister Tony Ryall has been appointed as the next chair of grid operator Transpower. The appointment was announced by Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister ...1 day ago
- How to identify that loonThere are many species of loon, and it can be hard to tell them apart. This guide explains the differences. ...1 day ago
- Return of the zombie damBack in August, the Court of Appeal dealt an apparent death-blow to the Ruataniwha irrigation project, ruling that the Department of Conservation couldn't downgrade conservation land to allow it to be built. Now, Hawke's Bay Regional Council is attempting to ...1 day ago
- Video of the week: How wind turbine blades are transportedVia How Things Work, here’s an interesting video of wind turbine blades being transported through challenging terrain: This is how wind turbine blades are transported in difficult terrain pic.twitter.com/W5wxvxBGDr — How Things Work (@ThingsWork) September 21, 2016 Pretty remarkable ...1 day ago
- Review of Standing OrdersWatch Question Time every (sitting) day? Don't like the way the House is run? It's your chance to say something about it! Parliament has just started its triennial review of Standing Orders and the Standing Orders Committee has called for ...1 day ago
- #PleaseWellington, get out and voteWords of wisdom from the best white man sitting behind a desk in New Zealand, if not the world. … and if you need a bit more information than that, check out our mega-list of local government endorsements! ...1 day ago
- Fiji is not a democracyThe Fijian regime has just abused its Parliamentary majority to kick an opposition MP out of Parliamentfor the third time>:Fiji's parliament has voted out a third opposition MP, dismissing calls that a suspension until the end of the term is ...1 day ago
- Our picks from the Show Me Shorts film festivalNew Zealand’s annual Show Me Shorts film festival kicks off this weekend and is hitting over 20 cinemas around the country over the next four months - plus the festival will be screening at Scott Base in Antarctica over Christmas. ...1 day ago
- Weekly Reading: Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton and South Park (yes, seriously)Our weekly recap highlighting the best feature stories from around the internet. Instagram Social Media Got You Down? Be More Like Beyoncé – by Jenna Wortham, The New York Times Magazine “The Beyoncé we follow seems to live and ...1 day ago
- Visiting Vietnam to talking about decriminalisation of sex workI spent last week in Vietnam. I was really honoured to be invited, along with Catherine Healy (NZ Prostitute Collective), Inspector Jason Hewett (Area Commander Counties Manukau West from NZ Police) and Dr Annette Nesdale (Medical Officer of Health in ...1 day ago
- Is All Talk with Anika Moa really all that?Does New Zealand finally have its late night chat show fix? Photo: Facebook There are few television endeavors New Zealand won’t try out on its own. Cooking shows, building shows, dating shows, and shows about rich, sometimes ...1 day ago
- Restrictions on squid fishing needed to help New Zealand’s sea lionsThank goodness for University scientists who speak their mind. Reading the submission by Associate Professor Bruce Robertson from Otago University’s Zoology Department on the Government’s Draft Threat Management Plan (TMP) for New Zealand sea lions/rāpoka is like a bracing dive ...1 day ago
- Submission Guide: The Intelligence and Security BillSubmissions due 7th October 2016 The Bill is a significant overhaul of the existing legislation which governs our intelligence and security agencies We believe that reform of the intelligence organisations is overdue and very necessary, but this Bill doesn’t properly ...1 day ago
- Changes at CYF bad news for MāoriI have already written about my concerns over early indications that the Child Youth and Family reforms might have devastating effects for Maori. It is disturbing to see that the Government continues to say they will work in partnership with ...1 day ago
- The Centre Of Attention – But Not In A Good Way!1 day ago
- SkipperI’m not sure if Don Brash is a character from Tennessee Williams, endlessly reliving the glory days of his heroic football playing youth or, in Brash’s case, those few months in early 2004, after the Orewa speech when he surged in ...1 day ago
- What the hell just happened at the Silver Scroll awards?A quick look back on the past finalists should tell you all you need to know about how we got here, writes Hussein Moses. Photo: Topic Images What might just be the worst New Zealand song of the ...1 day ago
- Farewell Len2 days ago
- Tribute to Valerie Scott QSM JP 10/8/1928 – 7/9/2016by Dame Margaret Sparrow Valerie Scott (88), journalist, artist, interior decorator, Samaritan, was a long standing member of ALRANZ. I first met Valerie in 1970 but before that I already knew of her through her regular columns as the ...2 days ago
- Manukau Bus Station Fly ThroughAuckland Transport have released a fly-through video of the Manukau Bus Station that is expected to start construction soon. They are also saying it will be complete in the second half of 2017 which is at odds with the board report ...2 days ago
- Hobson’s Choice trumps Hobson’s PledgeIt's a rare delight in these heavily managed times to see conviction politics and heartfelt arguments. It's just sad the Don Brash-led Hobson's Pledge lobby group is so ill-judged and ill-informed.read more ...2 days ago
- The EU threatens AfghanistanFifteen years after the US invasion and "reconstruction", Afghanistan is still a basket-case. Wracked by a low-level civil war, thousands of people still die each year. The government is fragile, corrupt, and incapable of delivering even basic services. So naturally, ...2 days ago
- Trends in World Debtby Tony Norfield The reality of a global economy is shown by close connections in trade and investment, and is reflected in similar trends that affect many key countries. One of these trends is the rise in debt held ...2 days ago
- Insult to injuryIn 2014 the government appointed a taskforce to investigate "loopy rules" - absurd laws which shouldn't exist. The project was bullshit - most of the alleged "loopy rules" were fictional, urban myths spread among right-wing farmers as "evidence" of why ...2 days ago
- But will it stand up in court?2 days ago
- Top 10 stories of the month – September 2016In case you missed something, here are our most read stories for the month. 1. Do we buy it? H&M's fast fashion has a cost beyond the price tag Photo: AFP The fashion giant opens its first NZ ...2 days ago
- Imperialism study group newsWe’ve been a bit tardy in reporting the continuing discussions of the Imperialism Study Group. Some updates should go up over the next week. And our next international hook-up will be the second weekend of October, when we’ll be joined ...2 days ago
- Sack Kevin Lavery!Who runs Wellington? Its elected council, or its unelected CEO? Its a question raised by the latter's spending of $800,000 a year on corporate welfare for a wealthy foreign company in secret and without any paper trail - and by ...2 days ago
- Against student debt-slaveryWhat is it with the right and debt-peonage? Not content with turning ex-pats into permanent exiles with their border arrest scheme, they now want to turn them into debt-slaves by reintroducing interest on student loans:A proposal to reintroduce interest on ...2 days ago
- New data on cyclingWe’re always on the lookout for interesting new pieces of transport data. Smartphone apps and automated trip counters provide an increasing amount of usable, timely data that can tell us how, where, and (at times) why we’re travelling. Moreover, transport ...2 days ago
- End Maori privilegeThe system has been stacked against white people like me for way too long. ...2 days ago
- Alone & hopeless: Name UL on the dark reality of NZ’s binge drinking cultureWellington musician Name UL breaks down the themes behind his new album, Choice(s). Photo: Rebekah Parsons-King This is part of a regular series called Verse Chorus Verse which sees local artists break down the stories behind their ...2 days ago
- With friends like these….what’s an environment to do?The Department of Conservation describes itself as “the Government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural heritage”.Which is why New Zealanders are scratching their heads over the department’s decision to fight a court ruling that … conserves New Zealand’s natural ...2 days ago
- The Singles Life: Silver Scrolls emergency editionWelcome to weekly series The Singles Life, where known experts Katie Parker and Hussein Moses peruse, ponder and pontificate on the latest and (maybe) greatest in New Zealand music. This year’s APRA Silver Scrolls are going down tonight, with ...2 days ago
- New CardinalsVia Stuff: Dame Patsy Reddy has been officially sworn in as New Zealand’s 21st governor-general at a ceremony in Wellington. Hundreds of people, including film-makers Sir Peter Jackson and Reddy’s former neighbour James Cameron, were at Parliament’s grounds on Wednesday morning. Maybe ...2 days ago
- Productivity Commission chooses vouchers instead of solutionsTertiary Update Vol 19 No 33 The Productivity Commission’s long-awaited report says the government’s market approach to education does not work. But, bizarrely, it then proposes student vouchers and more market-driven policies as the solution. The Productivity Commission released its ...2 days ago
- The War Goes On: With Corbyn’s Re-Election, The Class Struggle In Labour Will Intensify.2 days ago
- Ant Sang: ‘Who is your community?’...2 days ago
- University of Auckland fair pay campaign growsPeople working at the University of Auckland are planning their next move after a one hour strike last week. TEU organiser Enzo Giordani says large numbers of TEU and PSA members, as well as students and supporters, showed up to ...2 days ago
- Education bill gives private companies public fundingThe tertiary education minister has announced that he plans to amend the Education Act so that private tertiary enterprises (PTEs) will get the same rate of funding as universities, polytechnics and wānanga. TEU national president Sandra Grey says this gives ...2 days ago
- Intueri suspends tradingThe New Zealand stock exchange placed a trading halt on one of New Zealand’s biggest private education providers, Intueri last Friday. The halt followed news that the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) gave two of Intueri’s organisations poor reviews and ...2 days ago
- A hundred oppose Lincoln restructuring turmoilOver a hundred people at Lincoln University attended a paid union meeting yesterday to express their concern about ongoing reviews and restructuring. About 20 people then went on from that meeting to take their concerns to the university’s academic board. ...2 days ago
- Unitary Plan hits a snagIn August we celebrated as the Unitary Plan was finally approved by the council and then formally notified after a four-year roller coaster of a process. Even better was the end result was actually pretty good, far better than we ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on privatizing education, and the Amen BreakFirst published on Werewolf Here’s a link to a brilliant piece by the Aussie economist John Quiggin – occasionally of this parish – about the failures of the market when it comes to the delivery of social programmes. I particularly ...3 days ago
- New MIT app: check if your car meets climate targetsIn a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, with an accompanying app for the public, scientists at MIT compare the carbon pollution from today’s cars to the international 2°C climate target. In order to meet that target, overall emissions need to ...3 days ago
- Clearing out the gulagBack in April, Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court ruled that Australia's concentration camp on Manus Island was illegal and ordered Australia to come up with a plan for resettling its victims. Instead, Australia appears to be planning to clear out ...3 days ago
- Is ‘justice’ a cherry-picked privilege?Justice. Just us. Just for who? He aha tēnei? It’s time to unlock our minds when it comes to justice, writes JustSpeak's Julia Whaipooti. Losi Filipo has had his contract with the Wellington Lions terminated. He was discharged without ...3 days ago
- Climate change: Why are we subsidising polluters?How much does climate change cost? According to a new study from the OECD, almost $50 per ton of carbon dioxide:The price put on 90 percent of all all greenhouse gas emissions does not come close to paying for their ...3 days ago
- And hopefully she’ll be the last…Today the political elite has been at Parliament for the swearing in of Patsy Reddy as New Zealand's new Governor-General. As appropriate for this illegitimate representative of a foreign inbred, the ceremony was full of the militaristic trappings of our ...3 days ago
- Farnham Street residents looking at each other down the barrel of a gunCaution: this post contains references to John Farnham. I was updating the Development Tracker recently, and added another one to the list – 9 Farnham Street. It hasn’t made it off the starting blocks yet, despite a couple of attempts. ...3 days ago
- When Leroy Clampitt isn’t making tracks for pop stars, he’s the ‘Prince of Pirongia’What do pop superstar Justin Bieber, rapper AKON, and electro-pop up-and-comer MAALA have in common? Leroy Clampitt Photo: Mark Perkins “The Prince of Pirongia”, or - as he’s known to his mum - Leroy Clampitt. The ...3 days ago
- Flogging a dead horse – anti-fluoridationists lose in court again3 days ago
- Leadership roles in schools vacant due to work overload and stress28 July 2016 Schools are facing a chronic shortage of middle leaders with over 40 percent of teachers reporting not wanting to take up the roles due to high workload and inadequate compensation. “Curriculum leaders are an essential part of ...3 days ago
- Speaker: The stark reality: New Zealand no longer has a functioning Mental Health ServiceLast week Auckland lost eight acute psychiatric beds. They were closed because staffing levels at the North Shore Unit, He Puna Waiora were so low that it was not possible to staff the unit safely. Funding shortfalls have meant it ...3 days ago
- Go home, Roy Morgan Poll, you’re drunkGo home, Roy Morgan Poll, you're drunk. ...3 days ago
- How to have more diverse councilsCouncils around the country should be representative of the communities that they work for. In order for this to happen, the voting systems that elects councillors and community board members needs to be improved. Introducing Single Transferable Voting (STV) to ...3 days ago
- Kim Stanley Robinson has a lot to answer forVia Vox: Musk sketched out a vision of thousands of ships launching toward Mars, each carrying up to 100 or 200 people a flight. If we had, say, 10,000 flights, we could start building actual cities on Mars, although ...3 days ago
- How palm oil companies like IOI have set Indonesia on fireThis morning, while most of the Netherlands was still asleep, my colleague Nilus and I - along with dozens of Greenpeace activists - slipped into Rotterdam’s port facilities. The temperature is just eight degrees celsius, my first time ever being ...3 days ago
- The First Monday In May: high fashion through the looking glassThe First Monday In May sees cultural tensions swept under the rug in exchange for the kind of red carpet porn you can only dream of, writes Katie Parker. Photo: AFP In this age of the beautiful Instagram, ...3 days ago
- The First Trump Clinton DebateI haven’t really paid much attention to Hilary Clinton – it’s hard to take your eyes off Trump. And, watching the debate last night I thought he was awful: worse than I expected, worse, I think, than any presidential candidate ...4 days ago
- On the way to some Inner West bike routesEarlier this year Auckland Transport consulted on walking and cycling routes for the Inner West of Auckland with improving connections in the area included as part of the Government’s Urban Cycleway Programme. In August they released the results of the consultation which ...4 days ago
- IPCC special report to scrutinise ‘feasibility’ of 1.5C climate goalThis is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Roz Pidcock The head of the United Nation’s climate body has called for a thorough assessment of the feasibility of the international goal to limit warming to 1.5C. Dr Hoesung Lee, chair of ...4 days ago
- Why people won’t work on farmsFarmers are constantly complaining about they "can't find workers" anymore and how kiwi workers are "hopeless" (so they need to bring in foreign migrants to pay minimum wage to). Quite apart from the fact that nobody wants to live in ...4 days ago
- Cool heads needed on online learning plansThe National government is ploughing ahead with a plan to legislate for the introduction of online schools against official advice and despite being presented with research that shows online schooling models overseas have weaker results than their traditional counterparts, Labour’s ...9 hours ago
- Worst September road toll in yearsThe deadliest September on our roads since 2009 has meant tragedy for the family and friends of 25 people killed this month 17 more deaths than at the same time last year, says Labour’s Transport spokesperson Sue Moroney. “We are ...9 hours ago
- Crime states paint a dismal pictureThe crime statistics released today paint a picture of crime on the increase as Judith Collin’s promise of more front line cops fails to materialise, says Labour’s Police spokesman Stuart Nash “There were over 9500 more burglaries, almost 4,000 more ...1 day ago
- Nick Smith must urgently intervene to avoid housing delaysNational must urgently legislate to make the unitary plan operable while allowing a high court challenge against to make its way through the legal process, Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford says. “Auckland desperately needs this plan right away to ...2 days ago
- Kiwis drowning in debt in out of control housing marketNew statistics reveal Kiwis are taking on record levels of debt in order to get into the housing market, as prices continue to outstrip incomes, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “Stats NZ has today revealed real estate loans ...2 days ago
- Planning reform report a turning point?A joint report from business and environmentalists on the Resource Management laws could be a turning point for both planning and environmental protection, says Labour’s Environment spokesperson David Parker. “The four organisations, the Environmental Defence Society, the Property Council, the ...2 days ago
- Privatisation and deregulation not the solutionDeregulation, privatisation, and shifting more of the cost onto students isn’t the way to address inequality, lack of innovation and declining participation in tertiary education, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. ...3 days ago
- Homeownership out of reach for middle income AucklandersNew figures show that even middle income Aucklanders are finding themselves unable to afford to buy a first home as National’s housing crisis rolls on, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “New data released by interest.co.nz shows that the lower ...3 days ago
- More toilet cleaners or more tradespeople?The Government is not doing enough to help the construction and trades sector meet its workforce demand, instead steering students towards cleaning toilets, says Labour’s Skills and Training spokesperson Jenny Salesa. ...3 days ago
- More cracks appear in health fundingNews that the Waikato District Health Board could lose $2.7 million from its budget because it failed to make an elective target is downright disturbing, says Labour’s Acting Health spokesperson Dr David Clark. “This is a DHB that has tried ...3 days ago
- Student debt cracks the billion markNew figures showing that student loan defaulters have now clocked over $1 billion in debt highlights National's failure to combat spiralling student loan debt, Labour's Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says. "Threatening to arrest returning student loan borrowers at the ...4 days ago
- Foreign Students just a commodity to NationalNational MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi has confirmed that his party sees international students as nothing more than a commodity, says Labour's Immigration spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. "Mr Bakshi’s appalling comparison of some students to 'faulty fridges' that should be returned to ...5 days ago
- Tolley’s spin on Education spend doesn’t add upNational’s spin about school funding won’t wash with parents who are paying more and more of the cost of their kids’ education every year, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. “All the spin in the world can’t hide the fact ...5 days ago
- National not facing up to export challenge“The latest export data from Statistics New Zealand paints a picture of an economy which is not paying its way in the world, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. “Exports fell 9% - led by milk powder exports falling to ...5 days ago
- Correction over Talley’s statementLabour’s Workplace Relations spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway has been advised by AFFCO Ltd that AFFCO is not advertising for staff in the Manawatu through MSD as stated in a press statement released earlier today. “I have been advised by AFFCO that ...1 week ago
- Minister, cut your losses – withdraw this doomed BillLocal Government Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga’s request for a five month extension on the report back date for the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) is an admission that the Bill is fundamentally flawed, says Labour’s Local Government Spokesperson ...1 week ago
- Coleman’s cuts create crisisMental health services in New Zealand are in a state of crisis with Youthline saying that calls for extreme depression doubled last year, says Labour’s Associate Health spokesperson Dr David Clark. “About 150 young Kiwis are missing out on help ...1 week ago
- Government helping Talley’s to break workersThe Ministry for Social Development appears to be assisting Talley’s-Affco replace experienced workers effectively locked out by the company, say Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni and Workplace Relations spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “MSD is advertising for meat processing workers for ...1 week ago
- Electives lag due to $1.7 billion holeThe lag in hip and knee replacements is a direct consequence of the Government’s $1.7 billion underfunding of health, says Labour’s Associate Health spokesperson Dr David Clark. “A comprehensive study by the University of Otago says that the rate of ...1 week ago
- Speech to Master Builders’ Constructive conferenceToday’s all about being Constructive. And that is good because I believe there is a hunger out there for positive solutions. We must be able to believe there can be a better future. ...1 week ago
- Māori Party housing plan complete failureThe Māori Party’s housing plan to put more Māori into more homes has been a complete failure with fewer than five loans granted per year, says Labour’s Maori Development spokesperson Kelvin Davis. ...1 week ago
- Fund IRD better to go after tax avoidersNational’s Tax Working Group used the following graph (p30) in 2010 as part of their justification to cut the top tax rate. The big peaks around the top tax threshold were evidence of a suspiciously high number of taxpayers ...1 week ago
- Pasifika youth ignored by the GovernmentThe Adolescent Health Research Group’s new report on the wellbeing of young Pacific people shines a spotlight on the Government’s failure to deliver any “brighter future” for them, says Labour’s Pacific Island Affairs spokesperson Su’a William Sio. “Their research shows ...1 week ago
- Police in the provinces are dissatisfiedPolice in the cities of Gisborne, Napier and Hastings are a lot more unhappy than their big city cousins says Labour’s Police Spokesman Stuart Nash. “In fact the top four districts for enjoyable work within NZ Police are ...1 week ago
- Govt action needed after Wheeler holdsThe Reserve Bank Governor’s warning that “excessive house price inflation” is posing a risk to financial stability puts the pressure back on the Government to take action to address the housing crisis, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. “Graeme Wheeler’s ...1 week ago
- Minister confirms – new ministry only about abuse...1 week ago
- Silver Ferns Farms decision a tragedyThe rubber stamping by the Overseas Investment Office of the Shanghai Maling buyout of Silver Fern Farms is a sorry day for the once proud New Zealand meat sector, says Labour’s spokesperson for Primary Industries, Damien O’Connor. “Generations of Kiwis ...1 week ago
- Benching Nick Smith first step to Kermadec solutionSide-lining Nick Smith must be the first step in sorting out the Government's Kermadec debacle, says Labour's Fisheries Spokesperson Rino Tirikatene. “Last week Labour called for Nick Smith to be removed from further negotiations with Te Ohu Kaimoana over the ...2 weeks ago
- Parents, schools, teachers oppose bulk fundingOverwhelming opposition to the National Government’s school bulk funding proposal is unsurprising and Hekia Parata should now unequivocally rule out proceeding with the idea, Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says. “Bulk funding could only lead to bigger class sizes or ...2 weeks ago
- MBIE gives up on enforcing the lawThe Government must provide labour inspectors with the resources they need to enforce basic employment law after reports that MBIE is only prosecuting the worst cases, says Labour’s Workplace Relations and Safety spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “Today’s news that MBIE ...2 weeks ago
- West Coast population declines amid bleak economic forecastDespite the country experiencing record population growth, the number of people living in the West Coast fell, highlighting struggles in the region from low commodity prices and a poor economic forecast, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Clark. “The latest ...2 weeks ago
- Recovery roadblocks cause for concernStrong pressure on mental health services, a flagging local economy and widespread issues with dodgy earthquake repairs are all causes for concern for people in Canterbury according to a new survey, says Labour’s Canterbury spokesperson Megan Woods. “Today the CDHB’s ...2 weeks ago
- Motel purchase must not kick people onto the streetThe Government’s purchase of a South Auckland motel to house the homeless must come with a promise that the current long term tenants will not be kicked out onto the streets, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “It is bizarre ...2 weeks ago
- Not everyone singing along to so-called rock star economyThe Westpac McDermott Miller Confidence Survey shows there is serious unease about the economy’s ability to deliver benefits to many New Zealanders, despite the Government trumpeting headline figures, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. “According to this survey a significantly ...2 weeks ago
- Youth no better off under National’s “guarantee”John Key’s Youth Guarantee is such a spectacular failure that those who undertake the programme are more likely to end up on a benefit and less likely to end up in full-time employment than those who don’t, Leader of the ...2 weeks ago
- More low-skilled students becoming residentsNew figures showing international students now make up nearly 40 per cent of all principal applicants approved for New Zealand residency and that their skill level has fallen dramatically, are further evidence that National’s immigration system is broken, says Labour’s ...2 weeks ago
- 35% of offshore speculators paying no taxOffshore investors are aggressively exploiting tax breaks to pay no tax on their rental properties according to IRD data released by Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “35% of offshore investors are paying no tax on their properties, and are pocketing ...2 weeks ago
- Friday fish dump stinksThis government has dumped bad news on a Friday to try to avoid political scrutiny in Parliament, says Labour’s Environment spokesperson David Parker. ...2 weeks ago
- OECD report card: National must try harderThe OECD report on education shows there’s much more to be done for young Kiwis, Labour’s education spokesperson Chris Hipkins says. ...2 weeks ago
- Kermadec stoush shows Maori Party double-standardsThe Māori Party’s reaction to the trampled Treaty rights and the Government’s lack of consultation on the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary reeks of the same arrogant mismanagement of the unpopular Maori land reforms, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri says. ...2 weeks ago
- Flawed fish dumping callsThe finding that MPI failed to properly enforce the law even when it had evidence of fish dumping seriously damages the trust and credibility of the Ministry, the industry and this Government, Labour's Fisheries Spokesperson Rino Tirikatene says. ...2 weeks ago
- Sidestepping Smith should be side-linedNick Smith's arrogance and disrespect towards Māori is putting the future of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary at risk and he needs to excuse himself from further negotiations with Te Ohu Kaimoana, Labour's Fisheries spokesperson Rino Tirikatene says. ...2 weeks ago
- Government must respond to cash for jobs scamUrgent Government action is required to halt the emerging cash-for-jobs immigration scandal that is taking hold in New Zealand says Labour’s Immigration Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “Stories of rogue immigration agents scamming thousands of dollars from migrant workers are just further ...2 weeks ago
- Government dragging its feet on surgical meshJonathan Coleman is dragging his feet over any action to protect New Zealanders from more disasters with surgical mesh, says Health Spokesperson Annette King. “The Government’s pathetic response is to claim all will be fixed by a new regime to ...2 weeks ago
- Labour’s baby number app goes gangbustersAn interactive tool that celebrates Labour’s achievements in health over the decades has become an online hit, says Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King. “Since the tool was launched last night, 18 thousand people have used it to find their baby ...2 weeks ago
- Real disposable income falls in last three monthsKiwis are working harder than ever but real disposable income per person fell in the last quarter thanks to record population increases, Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson said. ‘In Budget 2016 the National Government said that what mattered most for ...2 weeks ago
- Baby number app celebrates Labour achievementsLabour has launched an interactive tool that allows New Zealanders to take a look back at our achievements in health over the decades, says Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King. “Today is the 78th anniversary of the Social Security Act 1938, ...2 weeks ago
- Legal experts unpick Māori land reformsOne of New Zealand’s top law firms has joined the chorus of legal experts heavily critical of the controversial Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill, adding more weight to the evidence that the reforms fall well beneath the robust legal standards ...2 weeks ago
- Industries most reliant on immigration worst offendersThe industries most reliant on immigration are the worst offenders when it comes to meeting their most basic employment obligations, says Labour’s Immigration spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway. “The industries that are most reliant on immigration are Hospitality, Administration, Agriculture, Forestry and ...2 weeks ago
- Time to remove law that discriminates against sole parentsIt’s time to repeal a harmful law that sanctions those who do not name the other parent of their child, Labour’s Social Development Spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni says. “Every week, 17,000 children are missing out because their sole parent is being ...2 weeks ago
- International Coffee Day: Time to reflectInternational Coffee Day: Time to reflect on the devastating effects of climate change Whether it’s your morning get-up-and-go or your afternoon pick-me-up, we can all agree coffee is worth celebrating, but what would happen if it was no longer available. ...7 hours ago
- The Nation: Judge Andrew BecroftOn The Nation: Lisa Owen interviews Judge Andrew Becroft Youtube clips from the show are available here . ...8 hours ago
- The Nation: Don Brash and Louisa WallOn The Nation: Lisa Owen interviews Don Brash and Louisa Wall Youtube clips from the show are available here . Headlines: Don Brash says he wants an end to any special legal constitutional status to “those who happen to have ...8 hours ago
- John Key Urged to Reject Cruel ‘White Elephant’ gift1 OCTOBER 2016 | MEDIA RELEASE John Key Urged to Reject Cruel ‘White Elephant’ gift Ahead of Sri Lankan PM Visit ...8 hours ago
- Statement on the visit of Sri Lankan PM to NZStatement regarding the visit of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to New Zealand We are writing to express our deep concern about the upcoming visit of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister from October the 1st to 3rd 2016 to ...21 hours ago
- Gov’t enacts legislation to criminalise peaceful protestOil Free Wellington is disturbed to discover that the government is enacting legislation to criminalise protest against the international warships which are coming to Auckland as part of the Weapons Expo in November. ...1 day ago
- Don’t run out of time, vote early on ‘Vote Day’Voting packs have been sent to enrolled voters and to make sure you have your say the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce & Industry is urging people to post their papers well before polls close. ...1 day ago
- Economic impact of New Zealand’s universitiesNew research confirms the major contribution New Zealand’s eight universities make to the nation’s economy, through productivity gains from research, innovation and teaching as well as through international education. ...1 day ago
- 40,000 people homeless, government celebrates 51 housesThis morning’s announcement that the government would build 51 houses in Ōtāhuhu has come just in time for the end of winter. ...1 day ago
- It’s still not OK – Len Cook, Families Commissioner"The reported abusive behaviour of members of the Chiefs rugby team towards the lone woman who they invited to their year-end party as an entertainer, and the knee-jerk follow up reaction by New Zealand Rugby, highlights the importance of the ...1 day ago
- Making fashion fairerThis week two global fast fashion giants come to town. Fancy a bargain, but care about the people who made your peasant blouses and hoodies? Someone has to pay for fast fashion. Too often, it’s clothing factory workers in Bangladesh, ...1 day ago
- Statement From Jordan WilliamsRelating to today’s High Court jury decision in Jordan Williams’ defamation claim against Colin Criag, Mr Williams says, “These proceedings were never something I wanted. However, Mr Craig’s false accusations and public threats to sue me could ...1 day ago
- Protest for international Indian students facing deportationThird protest in space of just a month is planned for the international Indian students in New Zealand facing unfair deportations. ...1 day ago
- Crime increase entirely predictable and preventableThe Sensible Sentencing Trust says the latest increase in crime is confirmation that shifting the goal posts is no substitute for catching and prosecuting criminals. ...1 day ago
- Privacy Commissioner launches review of credit reporting lawPrivacy Commissioner John Edwards today released a discussion paper inviting submissions on whether ‘positive credit reporting’, introduced to New Zealand following a law change five years ago, has been a success and whether the law was operating satisfactorily. ...1 day ago
- Research shows resource management system needs workA new report into the performance of the resource management system further highlights the need for reform, and complements work Local Government New Zealand is presently progressing and work recently completed. ...1 day ago
- Local Government Candidates surveyAll candidates in the current Local Body postal election were approached by Freshwater Foundation Charitable Trust with a simple questionnaire. The intention was to elicit candidates’ views on local freshwater issues. ...1 day ago
- Military to be used against NZ peace flotillaThe government has indicated it plans to deploy the NZ military against a peaceful flotilla opposing the entry of warships into Auckland Harbour in November. ...1 day ago
- Permanent affordable homes still neededCommunity housing groups have welcomed a government initiative to provide more emergency housing in Auckland, but say more permanent affordable homes are also needed to provide places for people to move to. ...1 day ago
- Crime statistics: August 2016This page contains some of the crime statistics we publish using New Zealand Police figures. We update the table monthly. ...1 day ago
- NZRDA prepared to strike after disappointing DHB offerNZRDA members have confirmed they are prepared to strike for safer rosters and have now moved to formally ballot on the issue of strike action. ...2 days ago
- White Man Behind A Desk asks you to vote. Please.Satirical webseries White Man Behind A Desk released a video today pleading with viewers to get involved in their local elections. Presenter Robbie Nicol and the team have started a social media campaign to make it easier for people to ...2 days ago
- Family Group Welcomes Appeal of Weak Filipo SentenceFamily First NZ is welcoming the Solicitor-General’s direction to the police to file an application for leave to appeal the weak and dangerous sentence handed to rugby player Losi Filipo. “The judge has given precedence to the rights of the ...2 days ago
- NZ and the Golan HeightsPress Release | 29 September 2016: Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand www.palestine.org.nz ...2 days ago
- Fallen colleagues remembered on Police Remembrance Day“Whatever else we do in Police, this day is the one that reminds us that being a police officer is different,” Police Association President Greg O’Connor said after attending the national Police Remembrance Day service today. ...2 days ago
- NZUSA: Hits and Misses in Productivity Commission DraftThe New Zealand Union of Students' Associations today welcomes the release of the Productivity Commissions long-awaited draft report. While there are some highlights, and the Commission has clearly listened to submitters on problems and barriers within ...2 days ago
- Court date set for legal challenge to sale of state housesThe 9th of November in the Wellington High Court has been set aside for a hearing of State Housing Action Incorporated’s legal challenge to any government agreement to sell 1124 state houses in Tauranga. ...2 days ago
- New MPI frontline staff to protect New ZealandThe graduation of 23 new quarantine officers will help protect New Zealand and relieve peak-time congestion at the country’s main international airports, says the Ministry for Primary Industries. ...2 days ago
- Legal action threatened over media misrepresentationThe Cannabis Party has confirmed it is not associated with Auckland mayoral candidate Adam Holland, as reported in some media outlets. ...2 days ago
- Report focused on urban planning issuesThe Environmental Defence Society has released its submission on the Productivity Commission’s draft Report Better Urban Planning today. The submission acknowledges the valuable contribution of the Commission’s work, but urges against kneejerk ...2 days ago
- Tertiary education – a system tied up in knotsThe report is a detailed inquiry into how well New Zealand’s tertiary education system is set up to respond to, and take advantage of,trends in technology, internationalisation, population, tuition costs and demand for skills. As part of the inquiry, the ...2 days ago
- Hamilton City Council candidates back the Living WageA majority of candidates for positions on Hamilton City Council support a Living Wage for all council staff, and the PSA is welcoming their stance. ...3 days ago
- How effective is NZ’s resource management system?Ground-breaking research on how the current resource management system is failing the environment was released today. ...3 days ago
- Dam promoters look to acquire land under Public Works ActWednesday 28 September- In an extraordinary move, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment company has said it’s taking the first step in the process of acquiring land needed for the Ruataniwha Dam under the Public Works Act. ...3 days ago
- Midwifery world class system but time to invest and improveResponding to the Otago University research about outcomes for babies born with a lead maternity carer, NZNO say it is timely research and suggests it could trigger a wider investigation of the whole maternity system. “Midwives are part of a ...3 days ago
- Momentum Builds For Living Wage CouncilsThe Living Wage movement in the Wellington region has applauded Wellington Regional councillors for committing to becoming a living wage council today. "We are really delighted that the Wellington Regional Council has taken this step," ...3 days ago
- E tū welcomes Regional Council Living Wage voteE tū has welcomed today’s unanimous vote by Wellington Regional Council to support the Living Wage. ...3 days ago
- Illegal employment practicesOnly 15 percent of new graduates being employed in permanent positions upon leaving study, with many more being forced to accept illegal contracts says the Post Primary Teachers Association. ...3 days ago
- Not just the low paid being squeezed out of the marketIt will now take a typical Auckland couple nearly eight years to save a 20% deposit on their first home, compared to about four years in other main centres, according to Interest.co.nz's Home Loan Affordability Report . ...3 days ago
- Governor-General’s swearing-in speechThis cloak Tuakana is a kind gesture of Love and Goodwill/Aroha. I shall endeavour te repay this kindness with my Love and Goodwill/Aroha to the nation. ...3 days ago
- Fight for conservation land to continue in Supreme CourtForest & Bird says that many New Zealanders will be baffled by the Minister of Conservation seeking to overturn an appeal court decision that she acted illegally in trying to remove specially protected land from the Ruahine Forest Park to ...3 days ago
- Labour appoints key 2017 campaign rolesLabour has appointed two key roles to lead and implement its 2017 election campaign. ...3 days ago
- Separatism by Nats looms as election issueNine years of a National Party Government pandering to separatist demands will be an issue voters will consider in next year’s general election, Auckland business manager Casey Costello said today. ...3 days ago
- Educators take better funding message to MP’s officePrincipals, primary and early childhood teachers and support staff will stage a protest outside National’s MP Todd McClay’s Rotorua electorate office today, calling on the Government to increase education funding and opposing the Government’s ...3 days ago
- Tasers Deployed at a Peaceful International Student ProtestThe international Indian students facing unfair deportations in New Zealand continue their fight for justice as they protest for the second time in 3 weeks. ...3 days ago
- Counsellor & NZ Herald reach agreement on defamation claimOn 20/9/16, the NZ Herald published an article in which a number of inaccurate claims were made pertaining to the nature of my relationship with a key applicant witness in the Colin Craig / Jordan Williams defamation trial, Rachel MacGregor,and ...3 days ago
- On Social Workers’ Day, politicians need to listen – PSASocial workers across New Zealand are writing to MPs with their concerns about Oranga Tamariki, the new children’s ministry - and politicians should listen, the PSA says. ...3 days ago
- Sentencing Length Must Be Set By Sentencing JudgeAn organisation that advocates on behalf of Victims of crime has revealed it highlighted the problem around sentence lengths some years ago but says nobody listened. ...3 days ago
- RMR POLL: National 41.5%, Labour 33.5% (up 8), Greens 12.5%During September support for National fell for the second straight month, by 4.5% to 41.5% (the lowest support for National in three years since September 2013) now clearly behind a potential Labour/Greens alliance 45.5% (up 5.5%) for the first time ...4 days ago
- Kimbra’s Newest Video a Plea to Ditch AngoraSinger Makes 'Cameo' Appearance in PETA PSA With Shocking Eyewitness Footage Showing Workers Rip Fur Out of Rabbits' Skin While They Scream ...4 days ago
- NZ and Sri Lanka beef up diplomatic tiesNew Zealand and Sri Lanka have agreed set up diplomatic posts in each other's countries, the Prime Minister John Key has announced. ...6 hours ago
- Sri Lanka prime minister arrives in New ZealandThe prime minister of Sri Lanka has been welcomed in Auckland this morning at the start of his three day visit to New Zealand. ...7 hours ago
- Hello Caller: When do you know it’s time to say goodbye to a rocky relationship?In-house psychotherapist Ms. X has some good advice for couples stuck in the fight/make up/fight rut. Hey Ms. X, This is such a cool idea first of all! I tried to start an advice column at my uni mag but ...11 hours ago
- Eddie’s Wish: ‘A simple reminder that people are good’Today we launch The Spinoff Parents, our new parenting blog made possible by Flick Electric Co. Our first post is by editor Emily Writes, and it’s a celebration – of her son Eddie’s birthday, and the amazing things people (even ...13 hours ago
- Having trounced Colin Craig in comedy-horror libel case, here’s how Jordan Williams could spend hi...It’s a struggle to like either of the creeps who locked horns in the High Court, but the measure of the winner’s character will be in how he spends the damages, write Toby Manhire The Hollow Men was turned into ...1 day ago
- Get amping for the Funny Girls season two premiere with this cool and exclusive clipAlex Casey previews episode one of Funny Girls, and we debut an exclusive clip ahead of the show’s return tonight on Tv3. No pressure on Funny Girls season two but, as the hapless but impeccably-dressed producer Pauline says, all they have ...1 day ago
- How did Christchurch become Parks and Recreation’s Pawnee? A Spinoff InvestigationChristchurch local and ‘punk-ass book jockey’ Moata Tamaira looks into the greatest sitcom map-related mystery of the 21st century. Why was Christchurch chosen as a mappelganger for Parks and Recreation’s Pawnee? Once upon a time the best you could hope ...1 day ago
- On The Reg’ livestream highlights: Euro Truck Simulator 2In association with our mates Bigpipe we’re livestreaming a different video game every Wednesday at 7pm on Facebook Live. Join José Barbosa and a cast of roped in innocents for a journey into utter mayhem. This week José Barbosa is ...1 day ago
- An open letter from Penny Bright to The SpinoffWe recently received this open letter from Her Warship Penny Bright. It details her thoughts about Auckland Council, Phil Goff, the Property Council, Chlöe Swarbrick, Generation Zero, Spinoff hack Hayden Donnell, and The Spinoff dot co, dot, NZ. Time to quit the SPIN Hayden and try some SUBSTANCE? Open ...1 day ago
- Govt building 51 pop-up homes in ŌtāhuhuLand earmarked for a school in south Auckland is to be developed into transitional housing for up to 250 people. ...1 day ago
- The weekly Unity Books best-seller list: September 30The best-seller chart at Unity Books for the week just ended: September 30 AUCKLAND STORE 1 The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life (Viking, $38) by John le Carré By all means take note of a curious tale in the ...1 day ago
- The Figure-Friday quiz #6: Screw Trump, I’m moving to New ZealandThis week’s quickfire quiz: how much do you know about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States? Wednesday’s car-crash of a presidential debate meant a big day for excellent Kiwi Twitter account @MovingToEnZed. I reckon @MovingToEnZed is going ...1 day ago
- The KiwiSaver U-turn shows what happens when you piss NZers off. Don’t stop being pissed off yetRapid divestment decisions by funds with money in nuclear weapons, landmines and cluster bombs is a credit to people power. But the battle is far from over, writes Grant Bayldon If you like a good David and Goliath story, you’re ...1 day ago
- Cheap thrills: The problem with H&M’s hyper-disposable fashionHordes of shoppers will descend on an Auckland shopping mall tomorrow for the opening of fast-fashion retailer H&M’s first New Zealand store. Anny Ma explains why she’s staying home instead. High fashion and fast fashion represent two opposing poles of ...1 day ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Selfie with landscape’ by Chris TseNew verse by Wellington writer Chris Tse. Selfie with landscape Let’s unpick what you think you know about me—what I’ve revealed, what I’ve left at the door of my favourite wolf, just for him to make eye contact ...1 day ago
- Quack hunt: Our vital tool for stopping anti-science crackpots infiltrating your DHBHayden Donnell and Mark Hanna dive deep in the mysterious depths of local democracy to weed out the potential wackos. They’re mostly normal on the front pages of the ballots. Phil Goff. Vic Crone. These people. All sober and ...2 days ago
- Sri Lankan PM to make first visit to New ZealandJohn Key is being urged to make strong statements about human rights when he meets the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka tomorrow. ...2 days ago
- From Tanna to Hollywood: Film success for Vanuatu love storyArticle by AsiaPacificReport.nz The cast of Vanuatu film, Tanna, travelled to Hollywood this month to attend the movies official release in Los Angeles as well as New York City. EyeWitness news interviewed the cast members when they visited ABC7 broadcasting ...2 days ago
- The Donbox: Doom? More like doomedThe Donbox is a regular series where killing machine Don Rowe watches a movie based on, inspired by, or just damn ripped from a video game. This week: Doom’s 2016 iteration has been celebrated the world over for it’s faithful ...2 days ago
- Papuan activist escapes attempted abductionArticle by AsiaPacificReport.nz A Papuan activist has escaped an attempted abduction by men who claimed to police officers at his his home in Sorong, West Papua. Agustinus Aud, the spokesperson of the Sorong West Papuan National Committee (KNPB) has stated ...2 days ago
- ‘You’ll never undo the hurt.’ A Māori woman’s open letter to Don BrashDon Brash is the public face of Hobson’s Pledge, a new identity for his longstanding campaign against ‘special privileges’ for Māori. Deborah Mahuta-Coyle explains why for her, it feels personal. Kia ora Don, When I was 11 years old I ...2 days ago
- Greens co-leader takes finance portfolio in reshuffleGreen Party co-leader James Shaw has taken over the party's finance portfolio in a reshuffle as a result of the arrival of their new MP. ...2 days ago
- Business Is Boring #21 – Murray Crane on making clothes and surviving the New Zealand market‘Business is Boring’ is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and ...2 days ago
- Don Brash resurfaces with reheated argumentsPower Play - Don Brash's back with a reheated take on his Iwi-vs-Kiwi rhetoric. Chris Bramwell looks back at his many incarnations. ...2 days ago
- On The Rag special: Night sweats and pill woes with Madeleine Sami and Laura Daniel from Funny GirlsA rare experimental edition of On the Rag featuring Laura Daniel and Madeleine Sami, two key players in TV3’s female-driven sketch comedy Funny Girls. In this special edition of On the Rag, Alex Casey chats to Madeleine Sami (director) and Laura ...2 days ago
- Throwback Thursday: Ranking all of Madeleine Sami’s Super City charactersBefore the new season of Funny Girls premieres with director Madeleine Sami at the helm, Pete Douglas revisits the characters from her brilliant local comedy Super City. Local comedies don’t come much more ambitious than Super City. Over two glorious seasons, local ...2 days ago
- Book of the Week: Two art critics talk a) candidly and openly about modern art practise, b) complete...Christchurch art writer Andrew Paul Wood and Auckland art writer Anthony Byrt shoot the shit about Byrt’s brilliant new book on contemporary art, This Model World. Who makes good art in New Zealand? Who doesn’t? Where do they stand on ...2 days ago
- Book of the Week: Two art critics talk a) candidly and openly about modern art practice, b) complete...Christchurch art writer Andrew Paul Wood and Auckland art writer Anthony Byrt shoot the shit about Byrt’s brilliant new book on contemporary art, This Model World. Who makes good art in New Zealand? Who doesn’t? Where do they stand on ...2 days ago
- A small cabal of ancient NIMBYs seems to be holding Auckland to ransom – mostly by accidentWait, stop the party – the Unitary Plan isn’t actually in the clear yet. Hayden Donnell reports on how a cluster of anti-change campaigners is holding the whole thing up. It was meant to be over. The Unitary Plan was ...2 days ago
- Keith Rankin’s Chart for this Month: Balance of PaymentsAnalysis by Keith Rankin. The current account of the balance of payments is a measure of a country’s level of financial imbalance. For the world as a whole, the current account balance is always zero. A current account deficit in ...2 days ago
- Across the Ditch: SA Power Outage + Auckland Outage Revisited + Auckland Election QuirksAcross the Ditch: Australian radio FiveAA’s Peter Godfrey and New Zealand’s EveningReport editor Selwyn Manning deliver their weekly news bulletin Across the Ditch. This week Peter and Selwyn discuss South Australia’s power outage and recall how Auckland was without power ...2 days ago
- Lobby group formed to oppose ‘Māori favouritism’A new anti-separatist lobby group aims to pressure politicians into opposing race-based laws and preferential seats in Parliament, it says. ...3 days ago
- National accused of cronyism over ‘loopy rules’ reportThe government is being criticised for paying tens of thousands of dollars to former National MPs and a financial donor to produce its 'loopy rules' report. ...3 days ago
- Hobson’s Pledge: just a bunch of diverse, united, anti-separatist New ZealandersA new ‘one nation’ New Zealand movement has sprung up, albeit from the usual suspects. Toby Manhire is captivated by the unique face of modern, anti-separatist New Zealand. Like sands through the hour glass, so are the anguished screams of ...3 days ago
- Craig was author of his own misfortune, jury toldFormer Conservative Party leader Colin Craig is responsible for his own political downfall, the lawyer for the man suing him has told a court. ...3 days ago
- Craig was ‘author of his own misfortune’, jury toldFormer Conservative Party leader Colin Craig is responsible for his own political downfall, the lawyer for the man suing him has told a court. ...3 days ago
- Allowance increases for Fiji parliamentariansArticle by AsiaPacificReport.nz By Vijay Narayan in Suva The Parliamentary Emoluments Committee (PEC) has recommended allowance increases for overseas travels for government ministers, the Speaker, the leader of the Opposition and all Fiji MPs. In a report tabled by the ...3 days ago
- The best and worst toilets in Auckland in which to have a panic attackEveryone appreciates public toilets, but for anxiety disorder sufferers they’re truly indispensable. Lucy Gable explains how toilets help her deal with her agoraphobia, then counts down her five best and worst in Auckland. It’s mid-morning and I am sitting beside ...3 days ago
- Breaking down the breakdown: Why the new laws being trialled are getting the thumbs downThe new breakdown laws currently being trialled in the Mitre 10 Cup have found little favour with World Rugby’s law committee, according to sources close to the latest meeting. Scotty Stevenson assesses their impact on the numbers after six weeks ...3 days ago
- The Real Podcast of Housewives, Episode Seven: What does chakra oil do anyway?In this week’s episode of #realpod, Jane, Duncan and Alex discuss the return to normalcy for The Housewives, the Parnell pussies and Norrie. The team assembled this week to discuss the return of Real Housewives in the post-racial slur world to ...3 days ago
- Sworn in and Reddy to be Governor GeneralDame Patsy Reddy is being sworn in at Parliament as Governor General, taking over the five-year role from Sir Jerry Mateparae. ...3 days ago
- New report details human rights abuses in West PapuaArticle by AsiaPacificReport.nz A new report detailing the human rights abuses in West Papua has been published this week. The research aims to convince Pacific leaders on providing full membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to the United Liberation ...3 days ago
- Steve Braunias on the town that diedTo mark the publication of a stunning collection of black and white photographs taken of a West Coast ghost town, Steve Braunias posts a Sunday Star-Times column he wrote about the place in June 2006. The old always seem ...3 days ago
- Yes, ‘Moana’ is Disneyfied and corporate. It’s still a great thing for Pacific peoplesCommunity worker Ngaiterangi Smallman (Turangi) argues that the Moana movie is a opportunity Pacific communities should be grasping with both hands. This column was submitted as a letter to the editor (info@thespinoff.co.nz); we decided it deserved its own post. ...3 days ago
- Spin Cycle: The Spinoff’s best recent letters and feedbackReaders’ responses on Māui and Moana, millennials and Mike Lee – and one powerful first-person essay. Madeleine Chapman’s defence of Disney’s full-body Maui costume for kids – since withdrawn from sale – attracted outrage and applause in equal measure. ...3 days ago
- Labour and Greens criticised for by-election allianceLabour and the Greens have been labelled hypocrites as they look to collaborate a Mt Roskill by-election, which will be triggered should Phil Goff be elected Auckland's mayor. ...4 days ago
- The Real Housewives of Auckland Power Rankings – A bottle of space whiskey and some very bad radioThis is Auckland, where new money meets old. Alex Casey is going to try and laugh at The Real Housewives of Auckland through her weekly power rankings – because if we can’t laugh then all we have is the void. Click here for ...4 days ago
- Greens won’t contest Mt Roskill by-electionThe Green Party won't be standing a candidate in the likely Mt Roskill by-election in Auckland. ...4 days ago
- Te Reo Māori on ‘life support’, says SharplesArticle by AsiaPacificReport.nz The Human Rights Commission hosted a discussion on the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as part of a Indigenous Rights Information Series. The panel discussed the process of adopting ...4 days ago
- Hillary v Donald digested: the US presidential debate in five minutesThe big debate might have been broadcast, streamed and live-blogged by pretty much every person alive, but only the Spinoff (probably not only the Spinoff) has digested it into a five-minute read. NBC Moderator Lester Holt: I’m Lester. That’s Donald. ...4 days ago
Recent Comments