Author Archive
Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle
Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, December 13th, 2024 - 15 comments
Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.
Atlas Network in New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 11th, 2024 - 11 comments
The similarities between the Atlas Network modus operandi and our government’s policies appear strident and unsettling.
Are Lester Levy and Shane Reti “cooking the books?”
Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, December 7th, 2024 - 12 comments
See for yourself.
Luxon Takes A Beating
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 4th, 2024 - 20 comments
Five recent polls show that Kiwis are tired of the Coalition government, but will the trendline hold?
Economy Nose Dives
Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, November 28th, 2024 - 24 comments
The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?
END GAME
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 pm, November 24th, 2024 - 30 comments
What is the game plan for the Coalition government? What characteristics can we observe and what is the “end game?”
Nicola Willis Deflects As National Splurge On Roads
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, November 10th, 2024 - 10 comments
Nicola Willis deflects a question on why National are spending billions on roads without a business case – after cancelling the 2026 i-Rex – which had a strong business case and required $1.4bn more to complete seismic upgraded ports and next generation ferries.
An Appeal To The Left: On Purity And The Media
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 10th, 2024 - 12 comments
The media landscape in Aotearoa NZ continues to weaken. In the same week TVNZ announced massive job cuts and further firings to come, Paul Goldsmith rewarded TVNZ Directors.
But can the left learn to avoid the trap of rapid fire – we need the journalists and newsrooms we have left.
A Heavy Day
Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, November 7th, 2024 - 40 comments
This short excerpt represents a respite from the US election. Christopher Luxon apologises to Opposition leader Chris Hipkins and more. TPM ask Luxon about using force in boot camps. Plus a quick reminder on what we shouldn’t forget here in NZ either.
What’s up with Matt Doocey, Mike King & the $24mn of taxpayers money?
Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, November 1st, 2024 - 15 comments
Mike King calls alcohol a solution to mental health anguish. But evidence shows alcohol is linked to a 94% increase in suicide and has links to family violence. So what is happening with King and the $24m this government handed him in a highly “irregular” contract process?
Luxon Promotes Wealthy & Foreign Interests
Written By: - Date published: 6:28 pm, October 30th, 2024 - 12 comments
Chris Luxon continues to talk up privatisation and wealthy foreign interests from the Middle East and elsewhere. Privatisation and PPP models have been shown to cost a country – but he and ACT and NZ First seem set on their course to sell NZ assets.
David Seymour Chooses School Lunches Provider With Questionable Record: Listeria, Horse Meat & Poor Quality
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, October 25th, 2024 - 27 comments
David Seymour said the new school lunches are the best food he’s ever eaten – but how true is it? And what has he chosen for our tamariki in the school lunch program?
10,000 across the country meet to push back against government policies (PHOTOS)
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, October 24th, 2024 - 9 comments
Here are photos of the union protest around the country yesterday.
Notice: Protest Locations Today
Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, October 23rd, 2024 - 14 comments
Today is Protest Day – Stand Together. Here are the locations around the country and why you might feel moved to join.
Luxon Tells The World Andrew Bayly Lied
Written By: - Date published: 10:24 pm, October 21st, 2024 - 48 comments
Today, Christopher Luxon said Andrew Bayly got it “horribly” wrong when telling a Kiwi worker to “f*ck” off and repeatedly call him a loser. But Bayly had denied it just last week.
Chris Trotter’s Arguments for the Treaty Principles Bill Are Flawed
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 pm, October 18th, 2024 - 49 comments
Chris Trotter argues that those who oppose the Treaty Principles Bill aren’t fair. But are his arguments accurate or is his repetition of David Seymour’s human rights narrative a potential red herring?
77% of NZ’s business leaders say a CGT or equivalent is needed as chorus for CGT increases
Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, October 16th, 2024 - 90 comments
ANZ, ASB and Simplicity are the latest to join the 77% of business leaders who now say CGT is essential for NZ. CGT goes wholly to the government so why is Luxon so against it?
Where’s The Opposition?
Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, October 13th, 2024 - 61 comments
Labour, Green Party and Te Pati Māori have been relatively quiet as the Coalition government move at breakneck speed to roll back laws and transfer wealth. Is it a matter of resources, media coverage, or will?
Where’s the “Oomph”?
Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, October 6th, 2024 - 92 comments
Join us to protest privatisation of health on the 23rd October. But can we have more oomph and co-ordination please?
Inventing a crisis to privatise NZ healthcare
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, October 4th, 2024 - 12 comments
Yesterday a former Health NZ Chair said the government is intentionally manufacturing a crisis to privatise healthcare. However privatisation will not solve anything and will only lead to worse financial and health outcomes for all Kiwis as confirmed by Lancet Medical Journal and case studies around the world.
NZ Right Wing Government Moves to Privatise Health
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, October 2nd, 2024 - 41 comments
The National-ACT-NZ First government have signaled they want to privatise our health system. It’s a now or never moment.
Bye, Bye Health!
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, September 26th, 2024 - 45 comments
NZ has already spent $1bn on thin air (Kiwirail ferries), $70bn on roads, and $35bn on tax cuts so no to your hospitals and investments!
Lester Levy, $320,000 Part time Health NZ Commissioner: “It’s not for me to fix everything”
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, September 19th, 2024 - 16 comments
Lester Levy claims he is working so hard it’s probably not good for his health. Meanwhile, he failed to bring financials to the Health Select Committee while explaining he was doing well on cutting costs – and would continue to do so.
National plan for 2000 extra Kiwis in prison per year
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, September 17th, 2024 - 20 comments
The government plans to put up to 2000 more Kiwis behind bars by 2034 at a potential cost of up to $1.2bn per budget in today’s money. Meanwhile crime, including violent crime is increasing across all of NZ.
Willis’s Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, September 4th, 2024 - 26 comments
Nicola Willis’s bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander project cancellation has so far cost Kiwis $1bn, but that’s not all. Today RNZ’s reporting reveals the government may have also undermined NZ’s relationship with South Korea.
Local Councils Defy Central Government Agenda
Written By: - Date published: 4:16 pm, August 30th, 2024 - 38 comments
94% of councils that have voted vote to retain Maori wards. Many of them are National background Councillors and previously urged Central Government to not push ahead with the legislation. The forced local referendums are now expected to cost ratepayers and take away from Council workloads
What Happened in the House (Videos)
Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, August 30th, 2024 - 8 comments
NZ Parliament sitting where Labour’s Kieran McAnulty implores the Coalition government to stop deceiving Kiwis, and Winston Peters and Louise Upton both get fired up. Meanwhile, Casey Costello still doesn’t know who wrote her tobacco Ministerial papers.
King Luxon Isn’t Wearing Any Clothes
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, August 28th, 2024 - 26 comments
While Luxon and Brown hand it to the Councils, a grassroots campaign is taking effect and the power is with the people. Warning: article contains satire.
Is Casey Costello Corrupt?
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, August 26th, 2024 - 27 comments
Casey Costello and the Coalition government have already halved tobacco excise at a cost of up to $216mn. Today RNZ reports there remain more questions on who wrote her Ministerial papers begging for tobacco industry benefits.
David Seymour’s Ministry of Regulation costs $80mn
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, August 22nd, 2024 - 17 comments
David Seymour’s new Ministry has 91 staff, including 3 Deputy CEOs who earn up to $348K each – more than Ministers. Seymour wants to use it as a vehicle to change how NZ makes laws and invokes Ruth Richardson in his vision.
Lester Levy Asks Kiwis To Pray For Him – Again
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 pm, August 18th, 2024 - 33 comments
Lester Levy again asks Kiwis to pray for him. But who will pray for us, Dr Levy?
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- Open Government: The joke ends
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...40 minutes ago - An unusual sort of press conference
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...48 minutes ago - This substack has talked about this government’s seeming corruption & pro-corporate issues...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...58 minutes ago - NZCTU: Minister needs to listen to the evidence on engineered stone ban
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...1 hour ago - Wednesday 18 December
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...2 hours ago
- Can the government change its mind on the ferries?
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...3 hours ago
- Notes from Afar: Will Luxon Attend Waitangi Day? And Opposition Calls Out Nicola Willis for “C...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...5 hours ago - Member’s morning
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...6 hours ago
- Going Backwards
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...8 hours ago - Blaming Treasury & Labour, Willis looks for even more Austerity
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...8 hours ago - December-24 AT Board Meeting
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...8 hours ago - The Making of a Mental Health Rockstar
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...9 hours ago - It could have been worse
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...11 hours ago - The Deep Divisions of Local Government
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...12 hours ago - Willis’ austerity strategy just isn’t working
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...22 hours ago
- Sabin 33 #7 – Are solar projects hurting farmers and rural communities?
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...23 hours ago - Join us for a pop-up Hoon at 5pm on HYEFU
24 hours ago - ‘Ideas Worth Saving’: A Call for Papers
Some years ago, I found myself pondering the power of literature to endure. Or at least the power of some of it to endure, while the rest vanishes in mere decades: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2019/08/07/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty-and-despair-the-literary-future/. I have similarly had fun with the subject in some of my short stories, such as Another Alexandria ...24 hours ago - Corrections is torturing prisoners again
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...1 day ago
- HYEFU and BPS data shows New Zealand is way off track
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...1 day ago
- “Better economic management”
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...1 day ago
- Shameless, clueless
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...1 day ago - Minimum wage ‘increase’ is an effective cut
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...1 day ago
- Crazy ’bout a Sharp-dressed Man
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...1 day ago - How much should you worry about a collapse of the Atlantic conveyor belt?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson In this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...1 day ago
- 8% ACT Party Creates One Ring To Rule Them All
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...1 day ago - When austerity worsens public debt & cuts GDP
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...1 day ago
- Govt to double number of toll roads
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...1 day ago
- Luxon’s pre-emptive strike
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...1 day ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Coalition’s Empty Gestures, And Abortion Refusal As The New Slavery
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...2 days ago - More public service contempt of parliament
Back in 2023 the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties raised concerns about the inherent conflict of interest involved in public service agencies supporting parliamentary select committees. Our parliament is run on a shoestring, so depends on the public service for advice. But public service agencies work for Ministers, not ...2 days ago
- If There Is A God
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...2 days ago - A Lipstick Government
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...2 days ago - NZCTU open letter to Treasury on undue restrictions on restricted briefings
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...2 days ago
- Why you won’t hear me advocate for electric cars
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate. I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...2 days ago
- Coalition forced to back down on tolling Pahiatua track
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...2 days ago
- Thank You
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...3 days ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...3 days ago
- Making Gravy
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...3 days ago - Nothing here but the shadows
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...3 days ago - The United Right: the FSU’s Continued Efforts to Undermine Academia
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...4 days ago
- Showing the Americans how to do it
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...4 days ago
- 2 Men, 1 Haircut
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...4 days ago - Chris Penk’s Hate Parade
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...4 days ago - Tell me a story
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...4 days ago - As Our Power Lessens: Accepted
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...5 days ago - Six years of work wasted – Holidays Act reform now years away
Brooke van Velden has wasted six years of work from businesses, unions, and government by binning planned Holidays Act reforms, said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh in response to today’s announcement from Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety. “The Minister has cynically kicked the can on Holiday Act reform even ...5 days ago
- Come Undone?
Words, playing me deja vuLike a radio tune, I swear I've heard beforeChill, is it something real?Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingersWho do you need?Who do you love?When you come undoneSongwriters: John Taylor / Simon Le Bon / Nick Rhodes / Warren Cuccurullo.When this three-way coalition was being ...5 days ago - ‘Tis The Season …
Last week, I was speaking to a doctor in a public health hospital.She was wearing a brown Christmas seasoned shirt littered with pics of candy canes, elves, Xmas trees and mini Santas.And it took me a few minutes into the conversation before the realisation slowly struck me: “It’s Christmas time..!”How ...5 days ago - Friday 13 December
More public service job cuts are on the way, with hundreds more jobs set to be axed at Health NZ, and close to 50 jobs at Te Arawhiti. Winston Peters is saying Nicola Willis’ ferry proposal is now dead in the water and that he is going back to the ...5 days ago
- Govt cancels Tauranga housing expansion
Mōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 12 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below are:The National-ACT-NZ First Government, which has a ‘Going for Housing Growth’ policy designed to massively ...5 days ago
- Weekly Roundup 13-December-2024
It’s one of the final Fridays of the year and we are getting into the last couple of weeks before the summer shutdown. We hope everyone’s excited to have a break! Here’s some of the stories that have caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is ...5 days ago
- The Hoon around the week to December 13
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with: on the Government’s inadequate final emissions reduction plan and pro-business climate appointments; on the lightening overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and what might ...5 days ago
- Our Education System Will Be the Battlegrounds for the New Culture War
Luxon is the best negotiator. He’s just negotiated us into a culture war and he doesn’t even know it. Neoliberalism is preventing our school system from serving the population. People — most people — cannot really select the schools their children go to unless they are wealthy enough to pay ...5 days ago - The ferry saga; cracks in the coalition and closing Wellington’s container port
Yesterday, the coalition showed the first real public signs of cracks, as Ministers and the Prime Minister spent the day contradicting each other over the future of the inter-island ferries. The cracks between ACT and New Zealand First have always been there. But what made yesterday’s exchanges different was that ...5 days ago
- Chris Penk Personally Intervenes for Holocaust Denier
The general advertising strategy of far-right speakers for the last few years has been to announce they’re coming to New Zealand, wait for their visa to be denied or their venue to cancel on them, and then use that free promotion and outrage generation (sponsored by the Free Speech Union) ...6 days ago - Wulf vs Beowulf: A Review of The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
Oh good. Back to the Tolkien adaptations. Not just any Tolkien adaptation either. The story of Helm Hammerhand, as done in anime style – something a bit different. It’s actually the first animated Tolkien adaptation since Rankin-Bass’ Return of the King in 1980, as well as the first Tolkien adaptation ...6 days ago - Georgescu and the Arrogance of the West
I enjoy reading the views of pundits and people. I like knowing what they think, and why they think it. But sometimes I look at what commentators are saying and where conversations are leading and I despair. How often do we here on the left do the right’s job for ...6 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Latest Round Of Ferry Follies
The scorned iRex option would have entered service in 2026. Thanks to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, there will now be a three year delay until 2029 at the earliest. Instead of fit-for-purpose iRex ferries, Willis is likely by then to have saddled us with smaller, less capable, more weather vulnerable ...6 days ago
- Rotten to the core
Just a few months ago, Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was one of the final two candidates for the position of police commissioner. Now, he's on leave and facing multiple investigations for unspecified wrongdoing: The second-most powerful police officer in the country is on leave pending separate investigations, the Herald ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #50 2024
Open access notables: Regional Impacts Poorly Constrained by Climate Sensitivity, Swaminathan et al., Earth's Future: Climate risk assessments must account for a wide range of possible futures, so scientists often use simulations made by numerous global climate models to explore potential changes in regional climates and their impacts. Some of ...6 days ago
- About Syria.
I have been thinking about Syria and coverage of the fall of the Assad regime, and to be honest I believe that there is something missing from the picture being painted, at least in NZ. Although I am no expert … Continue reading ...6 days ago - The Two Hundred Million Dollar question
Here we see Napoleon delivering glory in Russia.Here we see Elizabeth Holmes delivering a blood test for anything. Read more ...6 days ago - Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle
The day before today, Nicola Willis told the House that they would have to wait until the ferries announcement for the details about ferries cost etc. It was the same promise Luxon has been making in Parliament over the last weeks and months: the details are coming, the details are ...6 days ago
- Luigi Mangione and Jury Nullification
Luigi Mangione, the shooter of the Ultimate Healthcare CEO, has been caught by the cops after a tip-off from a McDonalds worker. (A timely reminder, perhaps, that there is an official boycott against McDonalds for their profiting from and support of Israel’s occupation in Palestine, and it has been having ...6 days ago - Thursday 12 December
There has been widespread condemnation of the Government’s mishandling of the Cook Strait ferry replacements, including from unions, industry, and political parties. It has also led to public division among the coalition, with Winston Peters and David Seymour at odds regarding cost and privatisation. In other political news, Labour says ...6 days ago
- Foreshadowing HYEFU 2024
By way of prologue, the closest parallel to the current economic situation may be when Ruth Richardson became Minister of Finance in late 1990. The economy had been contracting, although there were signs of a fragile recovery. She was an Austerian and cut public spending savagely. The economy plunged a ...6 days ago - How unusual is current post-El Niño warmth?
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink As I noted a few months back, despite the end of El Niño conditions in May, global temperatures have remained worryingly elevated. This raises the question of whether this reflects unusual El Niño behavior, or a more persistent change in the underlying climate forcings ...6 days ago
- Nicky No Boats
I remember you by, thunderclap in the skyLightning flash, tempers flare'Round the horn if you dareI just spent six months in a leaky boatLucky just to keep afloatSongwriters: Brian Timothy FinnToday, a tale of such ineptitude, unwarranted confidence and underplanning that you will scarcely believe it. I can hear you ...6 days ago - Ferries delayed again, then handed to Peters, who hits out at Seymour
Willis wouldn’t give a cost estimate or confirm new ferries would be ‘rail enabled’ rather than ‘rail-compatible’, but Seymour has let slip the ferries and ‘landside’ development would cost around $1.5 billion. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...6 days ago
- When Should You Consider Retreat? – The Sooner the Better
This is a guest post by Waitematā local board member Dr Alex Bonham, about the Auckland Council’s Shoreline Adaption Plans. Currently consultation is open for the Auckland Central & Ōrākei to Karaka Bay SAPs until December 18th. If the sea bowls through your front door, through the house and ...6 days ago
- Shameless advertising: Two days only — 50% off subscriptions, forever
But wait!! If you would like to pay me LESS, on Friday the discount will be bigger. Subscription benefits include my endless gratitude, warm fuzzy feelings, bragging rights, and a slight spring in your step. ...6 days ago - Toot, toot, here comes Winston
The big question hanging over yesterday’s ferry announcement press conference was why Winston Peters was there at all. Finance Minister Willis went out of her way to tell a press conference yesterday afternoon that the Government had not decided whether to have rail-enabled ferries or even whether KiwiRail should run ...6 days ago
- Channelling Madame Defarge: Of Lampposts and CEOs
The recent shooting of that Health Insurance CEO in the USA has sparked quite the online furor. On one hand, one is confronted with a violent murder… on the other hand, many, many people think the victim was such a monster, he got what was coming to him. The result ...7 days ago - Ranking the New Zealand Prime Ministers since 1893
The New Zealand Listener has a poll of historians ranking Prime Ministers since Seddon (1893-1906): https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/politics/the-real-power-list-nzs-prime-ministers-rated/UEHAIM2NQRDKNPWR3HNKBLKK6Q/#google_vignette Alas, it’s behind a paywall. Bastards. So I thought I’d provide my own list as an exercise: Peter Fraser Richard Seddon Helen Clark Keith Holyoake (second term) M.J. Savage Gordon Coates Norman Kirk ...7 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...3 hours ago - Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...4 hours ago - Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...22 hours ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...23 hours ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...1 day ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...1 day ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...1 day ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...1 day ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...1 day ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...1 day ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...1 day ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...2 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...2 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...2 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...5 days ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...5 days ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...5 days ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...5 days ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...5 days ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...5 days ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...6 days ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...6 days ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...1 week ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...1 week ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...1 week ago
- Greyhound racing industry ban marks new era for animal welfare
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...1 week ago
- Rangatahi voices must be centred in Government’s Relationship and Sexuality Education refresh
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...1 week ago
- Govt introduces archaic anti-worker legislation
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...1 week ago
- Winston Peters – Kinleith Mill Speech
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...1 week ago - Swarbrick calls on Auckland Mayor to end delay of revival of St James Theatre
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...1 week ago
- He Ara Anamata: Greens launch Emissions Reduction Plan
Today, the Green Party of Aotearoa proudly unveils its new Emissions Reduction Plan–He Ara Anamata–a blueprint reimagining our collective future. ...1 week ago
- Fossil fuel lobbyist appointment to EECA board called out
The Green Party condemns the Government’s appointment of a fossil fuel lobbyist to the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority Board. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Boot camps must be shut down today
The Prime Minister has committed to shut down his government’s boot camps if there is evidence of harm to children – so he must do that today. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens echo OECD call for electricity market reform
The Green Party has welcomed the OECD urging the Government to re-examine separating ‘gentailers’ to make a fairer electricity market for New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt breaks Auckland housing promise
Housing Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed National has broken yet another election promise. ...2 weeks ago
- Government smokescreen to downgrade climate ambition
Today the ACT-National Coalition Agreement pet project’s findings on “no additional warming” were released. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Health NZ admits errors led to claimed deficit
Health New Zealand has exaggerated its deficit to justify job cuts. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: More cuts to research, science and innovation sector
The Government’s latest round of cuts to research and innovation targets the long-established and successful Marsden Fund. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt guts funding for social sciences and humanities
The Government’s decision to axe all Humanities and Social Science research funding through the Marsden Fund is a massive step backwards. ...2 weeks ago
- Inspector-General of Defence appointed
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...33 minutes ago - Fire and Emergency New Zealand final levy rates confirmed
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...49 minutes ago
- More AML relief on the way for Kiwi businesses
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...2 hours ago
- Hawke’s Bay Expressway moving at pace
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...2 hours ago
- Government seeks partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned-land
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...2 hours ago
- Wide ranging legislation to make justice system more efficient
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...2 hours ago
- Diverse skills in community trust appointments
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...3 hours ago
- Torture redress for survivors of the Lake Alice Unit
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...3 hours ago
- A busy year in the House
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...5 hours ago
- Consultation opens on working with engineered stone
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...5 hours ago
- Greater reporting on Treaty settlement commitments
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...5 hours ago
- New appointments to the Charities Registration Board
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...6 hours ago
- Building consent processing times improve
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...7 hours ago
- Faster access to support through Innovation Fund
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...8 hours ago
- New Zealand to assist Vanuatu on earthquake response
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...8 hours ago
- Government takes steps to reduce card fees for Kiwis
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...9 hours ago
- Review recommends ECE regulation shakeup
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...10 hours ago
- Offshore Renewable Energy Bill passes first reading
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...18 hours ago
- Local Government (Water Services) Bill passes first reading
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...19 hours ago
- Gene Technology Bill passes first reading
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...20 hours ago
- New Zealand ratifies AANZFTA Upgrade
New Zealand has ratified the Upgrade to the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), Minister for Trade Todd McClay announced today. “ASEAN which is comprised of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, is New Zealand’s fourth largest trading partner in two-way trade – ...22 hours ago
- PM’s Space Prizes highlight talent and innovation
The inaugural winners of the Prime Minister’s Space Prizes showcase the depth and breadth of talent in New Zealand’s dynamic space and advanced aviation sectors, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Space Minister Judith Collins say. “The Government established these prizes to recognise and encourage innovative expertise and rising talent in ...22 hours ago
- One-stop shop fast-track bill passes third reading
The coalition Government’s new one-stop shop fast-track consenting regime for regionally and nationally significant projects will help rebuild the New Zealand economy, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Minister for Regional Development Shane Jones. The Fast-track Approvals Bill passed its third reading in Parliament today. Applications for projects to ...23 hours ago
- Antarctica New Zealand Board appointment
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has appointed Craig Ellison to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand. The appointment is effective from 18 December 2024 for a three-year term and brings the Board to its full capacity of seven members. “Mr Ellison joins the Board with a background in Antarctic ...24 hours ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...1 day ago
- Financial measure and capital allowance updated
The Government is adopting a new financial indicator and a new approach to capital allowances, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. These changes follow reviews, announced at the Budget, of the operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) and the multi-year capital allowance (MYCA). “Since 2008, governments have used OBEGAL to ...1 day ago
- Lifting productivity key
Lifting the productive capacity of the economy is the key to realising New Zealand’s potential, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “The Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update released today shows the Crown’s financial position has deteriorated over the past six years, but the economy has reached a turning point. “Inflation ...1 day ago
- Consultation on Arms Act rewrite to begin
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed Cabinet’s decision to undertake public consultation on the rewrite of the Arms Act 1983. “Phase four of my firearms reforms is the rewrite of the Act and, as promised, we will be consulting with the New Zealand public. The consultation period will open ...1 day ago
- Government confirms reduction to Forestry ETS annual charge
The Government has today confirmed a 50 per cent reduction to the annual charge for forest owners participating in the forestry Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “This decision delivers on the Government’s promise to rebuild confidence in the forestry sector and support its role in achieving ...1 day ago
- First quarterly Oranga Tamariki performance data released
Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has welcomed the release of the first quarter of Oranga Tamariki performance data. “Since becoming Minister for Children, I have been clear that Oranga Tamariki must be relentlessly focused on the safety of children and young people in its care. “This is why I introduced key performance ...1 day ago
- Public to have their say on disability funding
The wider disability community will have their say early next year on how the Government should deliver disability support services that are fair, consistent, transparent, and sustainable, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “The Government is committed to better public services and building a disability support system that delivers better ...1 day ago
- Securing the skills and experience NZ needs
The Government is supporting businesses to secure the skills and experience New Zealand needs by continuing to refine the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). “A responsive immigration system is fundamental to rebuilding the economy,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says. “Earlier in the year, we made initial changes to the AEWV ...1 day ago
- Minimum wage set for 2025
The adult minimum wage rate will increase by 1.5 percent to $23.50 an hour from 1 April 2025, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced today. This minimum wage increase meets the NZ First-National coalition commitment to moderate increases to the minimum wage every year. Cabinet’s decision reflects ...1 day ago
- Extra security to again keep EDs safe this summer
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti is again reminding New Zealanders that violence against patients, visitors and health workers won’t be tolerated, with additional security for hospital emergency departments across the country this summer. “Staff and patients in our EDs deserve to feel safe when they’re working or visiting hospitals across ...1 day ago
- Q4 plan sets NZ up for growth and infrastructure
It will soon be easier to get things built in New Zealand due to the actions delivered by the Government as part of our Quarter Four (Q4) Action Plan, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “The modern and reliable infrastructure New Zealand desperately needs is a lot closer thanks to the ...2 days ago
- Government getting local government back to basics
The Government has agreed to reforms that refocus local councils on delivering essential services and core infrastructure, spending responsibly, and operating under greater scrutiny, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Homeowners face the fastest rates rise in more than twenty years. Rates are out of control and the Government is taking ...2 days ago
- Cabinet circular paves way for better regulation to benefit everyone
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that changes to the way regulations are made will ensure the process is more efficient, transparent and effective. From 1 January 2025, government agencies making new regulations will follow a more simplified and streamlined process, saving time and energy by focusing only on what’s important. ...2 days ago
- Ministers recognise health volunteers
Seven outstanding individuals and organisations have been recognised in the 2024 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards. The recipients hail from across the country, and range in age from 17 to 90 years old. Their work includes leading exercise groups for people with lung conditions, school students supporting disabled people, and ...2 days ago
- New plan for reducing family and sexual violence
The launch in Auckland today of the second Te Aorerekura Action Plan for the prevention of family violence and sexual violence featured three government ministers, together to symbolise this government’s commitment to reducing harm from violence. The launch was hosted by Karen Chhour, as Minister for the Prevention of Family ...3 days ago
- Speech – Launch of the Second Te Aorerekura Action Plan
Welcome everyone, thank you for joining us today for the launch of the Second Te Aorerekura Action Plan - Breaking the cycle of violence. My name is Karen Chhour – I am the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and Minister for Children. This is a big ...3 days ago
- Lake Alice survivor realises house bus dream with redress payment
Robyn Dandy plans to use her $150K payment to go on a South Island roadtrip with her pets in honour of the grandson she's lost. ...26 minutes ago - Cabinet sets aside $22.6m for survivors tortured at Lake Alice
Analysis: More than 50 years after the first children were tortured at Lake Alice, the Government has announced redress, which includes either a rapid payment of $150,000 or an uncapped personalised payment.The Prime Minister set expectations that redress for Lake Alice survivors would be announced before the end of the ...39 minutes ago - Final decisions on TVNZ restructure to be announced in coming days
TVNZ's chief executive Jodi O'Donnell appeared before MPs at select committee on Wednesday for its annual review and outlined the big costs for the company. ...1 hour ago
- Let’s take the boat out! 5 tips on staying safe on the water if you fancy a drink
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney View Apart/Shutterstock Australia is a nation of boaters, with one of the world’s highest rates of boat ownership. There are about one million ...1 hour ago - A bitter rivalry is emerging in the Middle East between two old adversaries over the future of Syria
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Conversation; Mohammed Badra (EPA), Maxim Shemetov (Reuters Pool/EPA), Stoyan Nenov (Reuters Pool/AP) The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has opened a new front for ...2 hours ago
- Flying this holiday season? Here’s why air travel makes us so cranky – and what to do about it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The holidays are coming, airports are packed and emotions are running high. You’ve probably seen it or even been part of it: that tense moment when a passenger snaps ...2 hours ago
- Minister Needs To Listen To The Evidence On Engineered Stone Ban
“We need to follow Australia’s example and implement a total ban of engineered stone, a dangerous product that is killing workers,” said Polaczuk. ...2 hours ago - How to not hug people you don’t want to hug this holiday season
You dread it, but they love it: here’s how to tell your family you’re hoping for a no-contact Christmas before they wrap their unwanted arms around you. There is nothing like Christmas to bring the blow of family obligation hurtling through your otherwise enjoyable life like a wrecking ball. And ...2 hours ago - MPs Should Take A Break & Reject Easter Trading Bill
We reject any liberalisation of Easter trading laws and also Anzac and Christmas days because workers deserve this special annual break to spend time with their families. ...3 hours ago
- Watch: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...3 hours ago
- Peters considers legal action over judge’s ‘verbal attack’
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is considering legal action after a district court judge and a celebrity doctor “verbally attacked” him and other party members at a Christmas function.On Wednesday, The Post reported District Court judge Ema Aitken and intensive care specialist David Galler had apologised after their actions ...3 hours ago
- A return to balanced budgets is a decade away, mid-year update says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal budget is headed for a deficit of $26.9 billion this financial year – $1.3 billion better than the estimate in May – but in the following three years the budget is forecast to ...4 hours ago
- Labor and Albanese end 2024 in worst poll position this term
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll , conducted December 11–15 from a sample of 1,151, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead including undecided, unchanged ...4 hours ago
- How feelings of disconnection and lack of control fuel conspiracy beliefs – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elianne Albath, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Social Psychology, University of Basel Conspiracy theories have always been a part of society, offering explanations – sometimes simple, often elaborate – for complex events. Some have uncovered genuine conspiracies, such as the Watergate scandal. ...4 hours ago
- Watch live: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...4 hours ago
- The Spinoff’s favourite music of 2024
From Eden Park stepping up to rappers stepping each other out, we look back at the best of music this year. Read The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024. We’re a very small team here at The Spinoff, but we’ve tried our best to up our music coverage this year. ...4 hours ago
- Vanuatu quake: Missing MFAT staff found safe, NZ offers search and rescue help
There are 58 New Zealanders registered as being in Vanuatu, though MFAT expects there are more who are not registered. ...5 hours ago
- Government consults on engineered stone benchtop ban
Australia banned its use and manufacture in July. ...5 hours ago
- Chris Penk rejects bid to change Petone’s name to Pito One
Chris Penk has said no to the change after it received backing from the . ...5 hours ago
- How the Fast-track Approvals Bill became law
The contentious Fast-track Approvals Bill is now law - but it hit a few speed bumps on the way. ...6 hours ago
- In six hours, everything changed: Watching Korea’s political turmoil from afar
In the aftermath of Yoon Suk-Yeol’s attempted insurrection, South Koreans around the world have been making their voices heard as they defend their homeland’s democratic institutions. Aotearoa is no exception, explains Rebekah Jaung. As we forge on ahead Those who live, follow on – from the song ‘March for Our ...6 hours ago
- Kindergarten group fears rule overhaul will lower standards
Most early childhood groups backed changes to the sector's rules but Kindergartens Aotearoa said the review was focused on the needs of businesses rather than children. ...6 hours ago
- Vanuatu quake: Death toll rises – 14 dead, hundreds hurt in 7.3 disaster
RNZ News The death toll from Vanuatu’s 7.3 earthquake is expected to rise because concrete buildings have collapsed with people inside in the capital Port Vila. International Federation of Red Cross Pacific head of delegation Katie Greenwood posted on X that the Vanuatu government was reporting 14 confirmed fatalities and ...7 hours ago
- What happened to the Queenstown KFC road sign?
The iconic ‘No left turn except access to KFC’ road sign has vanished. Joel MacManus investigates. Queenstown is home to many of the world’s great natural wonders: Lake Wakatipu, The Remarkables and the only known skeleton of the New Zealand Mountain Dolphin. But all the beauty of mother nature pales ...7 hours ago
- Calf’s head consommé with truffle quenelles: a history of what the royals ate for Christmas, from...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Hackett, Lecturer, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of New England Rijksmuseum As we prepare our Christmas fare – a hot roast with all the trimmings, a seafood smorgasbord or a beach-side barbecue – it is timely to think ...8 hours ago
- Astronomers’ world-first discovery: twin stars trapped in galactic black hole orbit
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Barnes, Lecturer in Physics, Western Sydney University A laser aims at the centre of our galaxy, in the heart of the brightest part of the Milky Way. G. Hüdepohl/ESO At the centre of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole ...8 hours ago
- Most journalism fails Australians by failing in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. 7 changes would...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Alessia Francischiello via Unsplash Much has been written about the longstanding failings of the Australian media in its reportage of Indigenous affairs. The most recent example is the ...8 hours ago
- We studied 20 places around the world and found the most common diseases linked with voluntary assis...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eliana Close, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology Ground Picture/Shutterstock More and more countries are legalising voluntary assisted dying. This lets a doctor, or sometimes a nurse practitioner, give life-ending medication to an eligible ...8 hours ago
- A push to cool Australian cities may inadvertently increase our skin cancer risk, unless we act
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Stanford, Researcher Associate, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Picture this: you’re working from home and it’s sweltering outside. You venture out for a coffee and move between patches of shade as you go. Good thing you wore your sunglasses, because ...8 hours ago
- Some ancient Romans got to retire with a pension at 42, but retirement’s changed a bit over the ce...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Asher, Associate Professor in the UNSW Business School, UNSW Sydney siloto/Shutterstock This article is part of The Conversation’s “Retirement” series where experts examine issues including how much money we need to retire, retiring with debt, the psychological impact of retiring ...8 hours ago
- Glam tidings of joy: how Slade made Merry Xmas Everybody a seasonal hit for the ages
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Blair, Teaching Fellow in Music, University of Otago Getty Images Are you hanging up your stocking on your wall? It’s the time that every Santa has a ball! You’ve probably just heard the 1973 Slade classic at the ...9 hours ago
- The very long road to fiscal recovery
Treasury’s latest update showed only small glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...9 hours ago
- Opposition accuses Nicola Willis of ‘creative accounting’
The finance minister's new indicator for measuring the budget has led to accusations of creative accounting from opposition parties. ...10 hours ago
- Zombies given new life as fast-track passes into law
Ministers behind the bill say allowing certain projects to avoid extra scrutiny was a feature, not a bug, as fast-track is set for royal assent The post Zombies given new life as fast-track passes into law appeared first on Newsroom. ...10 hours ago
- Waitangi trust chair urges Christopher Luxon to show up Treaty grounds
The Waitangi National Trust chair hopes Christopher Luxon makes his way to the Treaty grounds for the annual commemorations. ...10 hours ago
- Early childhood education regulations ‘excessive and confusing’ – Ministry
Children in early learning are at an unacceptable risk of harm due to gaps in the way the sector is monitored, the regulatory review of early childhood education says. ...10 hours ago
- Allegations against TAB’s operator spark money laundering scrutiny
Racing Minister won’t say what’s being investigated: ‘You don’t tell a burglar when the cops are going to turn up’ The post Allegations against TAB’s operator spark money laundering scrutiny appeared first on Newsroom. ...11 hours ago
- How the Fast-track Bill Approvals became law
The contentious Fast-track Approvals Bill is now law - but it hit a few speed bumps on the way. ...11 hours ago
- The 2024 Golden Jandals for conspicuous contributions to NZ politics
Charge your glasses and gather around for the latest edition of the world’s most coveted footwear-themed political prizes, with your hosts, Toby Manhire and Ben McKay. Forget boot camps. This is the jandal academy. Affordable, rubbery, and radiating that unmistakable aroma of sea salt and toe sweat, the official ceremony ...11 hours ago
- Our outlandish political predictions for 2024, revisited
This time last year, our esteemed team of political pundits made their wildest predictions for the year of our Lord 2024. Did anyone make an accurate call? Let’s find out. Madeleine Chapman: Barbara Edmonds reluctantly takes the position of Labour leader or deputy. Somewhat surprisingly, there has been no movement ...11 hours ago
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