Author Archive
Land of the free?
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, March 17th, 2011 - 26 comments
With so much going on in terms of large scale disasters at the moment, it is easy to lose track of the stories of a mere individuals. But there are two individuals who’s stories should not be forgotten. They are facing the full might and anger of the American establishment. Their “crime” was to tell the truth.
Christchurch RWC
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 16th, 2011 - 76 comments
I don’t think that anyone who has been paying attention to events in Christchurch could seriously have expected the city to host a major sporting event like the RWC within a few short months. So why is John Key the last person left in the country who is denying the obvious?
Ruling out Hone
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, March 15th, 2011 - 77 comments
Labour leader Phil Goff has ruled out working with Hone Harawira even if Mr Harawira heads a party of several MPs. I think it’s a foolish decision and I think the reasons don’t stack up. Instead of ruling out Hariwria, Labour should rise to the challenge.
Go well
Written By: - Date published: 5:33 pm, March 14th, 2011 - 18 comments
Forty two Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) workers left New Zealand this morning for Japan. Straight off the back of three hard weeks in the rubble of Christchurch, they are flying in to help out with an even bigger disaster.
Nuclear Free
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, March 14th, 2011 - 72 comments
As the nuclear disaster continues to unfold in Japan there is a risk of a Chernobyl style event and a huge release of radiation. Coming as it does on the heels of the Christchurch earthquake, it is all too easy to imagine the same scenario playing out here. New Zealand must remain nuclear free forever. We need a plan for a nuclear free and oil constrained future, and we need it now.
Blazing Fruit
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, March 13th, 2011 - 7 comments
Apropos of nothing in particular, one of my favourite poems.
Looting by another name
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 11th, 2011 - 126 comments
Mayor Bob Parker has described landlords hiking rents in Christchurch as “looting by another name”. I think the majority of us would feel as Parker does — it seems simply wrong to exploit people for profit in a time of tragedy. But look around. It’s just unregulated capitalism in action. There’s an awful lot of it about.
Prince William
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, March 10th, 2011 - 95 comments
I’ve nothing against members of the Royal Family personally, but what possible good is a visit from Prince William? We already have a popular but useless celebrity “leader” swanning about the country to make people feel good and hog the cameras. Do we really need a second one?
Some free advice for National
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, March 9th, 2011 - 20 comments
Hey National – stop lying and inventing dodgy stats to try and prove that we’re all better off. The tax cut received by most people was derisory, and the cost of living is shooting up fast. Even the Kiwiblog heartland isn’t buying the lies. If you can’t convince them, you can’t convince anyone…
I See Red
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, March 7th, 2011 - 62 comments
The government has a fair bit on its plate right now, like the Christchurch quake, and the hammering that ordinary folk are getting from the cost of living. So its reassuring to know that the PM’s office has its eye on the ball. It’s all over the “important issues”…
Bulldozer Brownlee
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, March 6th, 2011 - 109 comments
Gerry Brownlee thinks that most of Christchurch’s heritage buildings should be bowled tomorrow. I wonder what Christchurch thinks of Gerry Brownlee.
Another poll
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, March 5th, 2011 - 90 comments
Another Roy Morgan poll is out, and the results make for interesting reading.
Recovery phase
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 4th, 2011 - 5 comments
I know that the thoughts of the whole country are with those in Christchurch, especially the family and friends of the dead and missing. And the thanks of the whole country are with the rescue teams and other workers, who have done everything humanly possible in very dangerous circumstances. Thank you all.
Christchurch rentals
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, March 3rd, 2011 - 47 comments
As the long haul gets under way in Christchurch there are going to be many flash points for conflict. One of the first to emerge is the tension between landlords and tenants, as the following selection of articles makes clear.
The art of political prediction
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, March 2nd, 2011 - 21 comments
Make enough predictions and some of them will turn out to be true. Here are two fine examples of the art of political prediction which reach completely opposite conclusions. Take your pick…
Two minutes silence
Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, March 1st, 2011 - 25 comments
Today at 12:51 pm marks exactly one week since the earthquake struck, and probably around 300 people lost their lives. PM John Key has called on the country to observe 2 minutes silence, starting at that time, to honour the victims of the quake.
Some personal reflections on the quake
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, February 28th, 2011 - 57 comments
There’s been lots of good stuff written on the quake, I’m not going to try to add to it in any systematic way. These are just a few random personal reflections from inside the disaster zone, big picture and small, all that I can put my head around writing tonight.
“I’m not going to make excuses…”
Written By: - Date published: 7:32 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 25 comments
Which John Key are we to believe? John “I’m not going to make excuses” Key, or John “because [the government] was preoccupied” Key. Take your pick – Key is all things to all people…
Sniffing produce
Written By: - Date published: 5:42 pm, February 21st, 2011 - 22 comments
This really should be Friday Fun, but maybe your Monday needs a smile too. Today on Kiwiblog an ex ACT MP David Garrett complains about telling off an Asian-but-I’m-not-racist woman in the supermarket for sniffing fruit. Apparently it’s just not done here. Isn’t it? Someone should tell John Key…
The benefits of public spending
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 21st, 2011 - 97 comments
We know from history, and from our own recent experience, that tax cuts don’t cause growth. Privatisation and public service cuts don’t do us any good either. What does cause growth? Public spending. What’s more, public spending is much more efficient than the private sector too…
Hello TV3 – can you count?
Written By: - Date published: 6:27 pm, February 20th, 2011 - 94 comments
Is Duncan Garner just recycling headlines from last year?
Updated: Apology from TV3
Whitcoulls
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, February 20th, 2011 - 32 comments
Whitcoulls has been here since forever — “one of New Zealand’s most famous and enduring retail chains”. But the chain is in big trouble, and it’s sad to watch the ongoing wreck. Let’s hope that Whitcoulls can be saved before hundreds more workers and families in NZ lose their livelihood to the moribund economy.
Good company?
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, February 18th, 2011 - 21 comments
Our PM in the company of his peers?
John Key – Liar
Written By: - Date published: 6:59 pm, February 17th, 2011 - 182 comments
John Key and his government have told us a series of lies over the new BMW fleet. One by one they have been disproven. As the truth slowly closed in Key clung to one last deception, that he himself didn’t know about the impending replacement until last week. Now that lie has been busted too.
Milked
Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, February 17th, 2011 - 51 comments
Our wages are so low that we can’t keep paying “international prices” for basic necessities. GST off food is just tinkering at the edges. We need more radical action.
How not to handle a rebel
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 16th, 2011 - 38 comments
The Maori Party handling of rebel MP Hone Harawira has been a complete mess. The latest bizarre chapter in the story is the gagging of Harawira with “a complete media ban” to be “strictly observed by the Maori Party”. I’m trying to recall any precedent for such an extreme gagging of free speech by a political party…
Boot camps yet another Key failure
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, February 15th, 2011 - 39 comments
Key ignored all the experts with his boot camp policy. But it turns out that the experts were right. Reoffending rates are 50% within the first year, and likely reach 65 – 70% two years after course completion. Add boot camps to the ever growing list of Key’s failures.
Why are the “Right” terrified of equality?
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, February 14th, 2011 - 78 comments
Economic inequality is damaging to the fabric of society. It’s a simple and compelling message, and it seems to have the political “Right” in a complete panic. In fact if Deborah Coddington’s latest piece is anything to go by, the Right are terrified to the point of derangement.
Lessons in hatred and tolerance
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, February 13th, 2011 - 13 comments
There are some ugly things going on in England at the moment, with PM David Cameron feeding an already eager fire of anger directed at Muslims. Meanwhile in Egypt thousands of Muslims acted as human shields to protect Christians from terrorist attack. “It is up to the press to report these positive stories and not exaggerate the sway that extremists hold over the global Muslim community.”
Nats bully bulldozer still running
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, February 11th, 2011 - 18 comments
The Nats regard parliamentary process as an inconvenience to which they must pay lip service, but nothing more. They started as soon as they took office, with repeated abuse of urgency. The current disgraceful process over the foreshore & seabed legislation is just the latest instalment.
English lashes out
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, February 10th, 2011 - 66 comments
By every significant measure our economy is a mess. Bill English is finance minister for what is looking increasingly like the most useless do-nothing NZ government in living memory. So is he working on a plan to put things right? Is he rolling out the big ideas that will get New Zealand moving again? No – he’s lashing out at public servants. Pathetic.
- What now for the Treaty Principles Bill?
"Kill the bill" was the cry from the hīkoi - and that's likely to happen with National and NZ First saying they will not support the Treaty Principles Bill at its second reading, but it may not be as quickly as protestors would like. ...3 days ago - The smack: How a family’s plea to Oranga Tamariki for help with their son unravelled
A family living in fear of their young son's increasingly dangerous behaviour asked for support. Instead, the agency turned its focus on his mum. ...3 days ago
- Was the hīkoi New Zealand’s largest-ever protest?
Media estimates of the crowd size ranged from 17,000 to 100,000+, but one thing we can say for sure — it was bloody massive. Thirty-five thousand people. That’s the crowd size police initially estimated for the final leg of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, the nine-day march in protest of ...3 days ago - How has Luxon’s position on the Treaty Principles Bill changed over time?
The prime minister has never supported David Seymour’s bill in principle, or beyond first reading in practice, but his language has certainly changed. The National Party has spent a large amount of time in this parliamentary term talking about a bill it doesn’t like. Which is not much fun. In ...3 days ago
- Has Netflix forgotten about New Zealand?
Following the opening of the Netflix ANZ office in Sydney and lacklustre commissioning of New Zealand content, the local industry has been left wondering where we fit in. Here at the bottom of the globe, we’re used to being overlooked. New Zealand has been left off the world map so ...3 days ago
- Country calendar: woolsheds
Milking sheds, I know intimately; the headlights of a farmbike illuminating mysterious valleys in the darkness before dawn, herding the old moos, working the pumps, tuning the transistor to the Concert Programme to soothe yourself and the beasts, the whole place reeking of wet pooh and spilt milk; but of ...3 days ago - Let’s not play into Seymour’s hands by talk of racist Treaty bill
Opinion: David Seymour is playing the long game, and we’d be dangerously foolish to count him out.As his Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last week, there was no shortage of news coverage and analysis.Much of the commentary has focused on the ignorance of his interpretation of Te ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 20 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 20 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...3 days ago
- Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week
Reserve Bank has had Kiwi economy in a chokehold to kill inflation, and it now needs to loosen its grip, Kiwibank says The post Reserve Bank likely to cut key interest rate by 50bp next week appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Foodstuffs’ merger now hinges on narrow view of Commerce Act
Analysis: Foodstuffs and the Commerce Commission’s different interpretations of Commerce Act will be tested in court The post Foodstuffs’ merger now hinges on narrow view of Commerce Act appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- The Kiwi business leader giving exploited migrants a second chance
Indian immigration to New Zealand has been going on for more than 100 years, but in the past 25 it’s become synonymous with exploitation.The stories come thick and fast – dozens of Indian men living in squalid conditions, their promised jobs amounting to nothing; nurses training for and gaining Kiwi ...3 days ago
- Three generations: the court queens of Kāhu
At seven months old, little Holitopa won’t yet comprehend she’s part of basketball history. But her mother, grandmother and aunties hope that one day, she will follow in their shoes.“I hope she’s taller and longer than all of us,” says her mum, Krystal Leger-Walker. “There are a lot of basketball ...3 days ago
- Wellington intervention looks like a first resort, not the last
Opinion: This looks like ‘punching down’, in the mayor’s words The post Wellington intervention looks like a first resort, not the last appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Homeowners move house sooner than you think: Why the average stay is shrinking
It turns out that the so called ‘seven year itch’ is more like five these days. The latest data from realestate.co.nz shows how long people hold onto their homes before they sell. And it’s shorter than you’d think.Kiwis keep their homes for an average of just five and a half ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi: ‘The whole world is watching’
Māori leaders say the hīkoi was ‘never about the bill’, it was about forging unprecedented unity throughout the country The post Hīkoi: ‘The whole world is watching’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – Hīkoi ends with peaceful protest
By Ashleigh McCaull, RNZ News journalist Aotearoa New Zealand’s capital Wellington Pōneke turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed Parliament’s lawn and onto the streets. Supporters then headed to Waitangi Park, where a post-hīkoi concert ...3 days ago - Kiwi workers lose jobs as billion-dollar firm quietly shifts production to USA
There was a sense of secret pride among the 300 staff at the little-known contract manufacturer Alaron.Tied up by non-disclosure agreements, the Nelson workers weren’t allowed to talk about their biggest customer – ... 3 days ago - Chalmers targets reforms to superannuation products and transparency in the retirement phase
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers will announce on Wednesday a package of reforms to the retirement phase of the superannuation system, to make it easier to navigate and consumer friendly. In a speech to the industry, Chalmers ...3 days ago
- We rated the urban forests of 8 global cities – only Singapore passed the 30% canopy test
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thami Croeser, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Ryan DeBerardinis, Shutterstock Can you see three trees from your home, school or workplace? Is there tree canopy cover shading at least 30% of the surrounding neighbourhood? Can you find a ...3 days ago
- More children going hungry, Health Survey shows
Meanwhile, wait times for GPs keep increasing, along with rates of mental distress. ...3 days ago
- Kiwi pilot kidnapping in West Papua leads to police raids in Australia
By Duncan Graham An alleged plot involving firearms and threatening the life of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens when held hostage in Papua this year is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. The case involves “advancing a political cause by the separation of West Papua from Indonesia . . ...3 days ago
- 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...3 days ago
- Political finance law reforms will reduce big money in politics, but will rich donors be the ultimat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Political funding in Australia has long been shrouded in secrecy. It is also dominated by large donations and unrestrained spending, courtesy of laissez-faire federal political finance laws. The Albanese government has ...3 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke reacts to haka heard around the world
In the face of criticism, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke says there was definitely a moment of 'what just happened?', after the House was suspended during voting. ...3 days ago - ‘What’s good for Māori is good for everyone’ – hīkoi ends with peaceful pr...
The capital turned into a sea of black, white and red today, as more than 42,000 people supporting te Hīkoi mō te tiriti overflowed Parliament's grounds and onto the streets. ...3 days ago
- Bunnings breached privacy law by scanning customers’ faces – but this loophole lets other shops ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margarita Vladimirova, PhD in Privacy Law and Facial Recognition Technology, Deakin University Nils Versemann/Shutterstock Hardware giant Bunnings breached the privacy of “likely hundreds of thousands” of Australians through its use of facial recognition technology, the Privacy Commissioner ruled today. “Individuals who ...3 days ago
- Could keeping native species as pets save them from extinction? Here’s why it’s not that simple
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meg Edwards, Lecturer in Wildlife Science, University of Southern Queensland Captive squirrel glider Author provided, CC BY Humans have been turning wild animals into pets for thousands of years. Pets – animals kept for companionship, not for food or work – were ...3 days ago
- Why did the US change its mind on Ukraine firing missiles into Russia? And will it impact the war?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Richardson, Visiting Fellow, Centre for European Studies, Australian National University The lifting of US restrictions on the use of ATACMS ballistic missiles by Ukraine may help it repel Russian forces trying to retake Russian territory seized by Ukraine earlier this year. ...3 days ago
- Albanese government gives firm ‘no’ to joining UK-US agreement to advance nuclear technology
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has been put on the spot by a new agreement – which it has declined to join – signed by the United Kingdom and the United States to speed up the deployment of ...3 days ago
- The government wants to keep cash alive for buying essentials. Here’s why it’s such a challenge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Worthington, Adjunct Professor, Swinburne University of Technology Cre8tive Images/Shutterstock Cash usage has fallen off a cliff in Australia, but the federal government says it must have a future. So, it’s going to mandate one. The Australian government will require ...3 days ago
- Time for soldiers to do civilian work extended until mid-February
The government has notified Parliament it is extending the time soldiers will be filling in for their striking non-uniformed colleagues until Valentines Day. ...3 days ago
- Live: 42,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill hīkoi reaches Parliament
By mid-afternoon today 42,000 people gathered at the Parliamentary precinct and the surrounding streets, police say. ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi day 9: 35,000 join as Treaty Principles Bill protest reaches Parliament
RNZ News More than 35,000 people today gathered as Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hīkoi mō te Tiriti overflowed from Parliament’s grounds and onto nearby streets in the capital Wellington Pōneke. Eru Kapa-Kingi told the crowd “Māori nation has been born” today and that “Te Tiriti is forever”. ACT leader David Seymour ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi not representative of New Zealand, David Seymour says
Seymour came out of the Beehive today to acknowledge the hīkoi and wave at the protesters - but retreated inside after just a few minutes. ...3 days ago
- Alan Jones once seemed unassailable. What ended it was a peculiarly Sydney story of media, politics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne For decades it seemed Alan Jones was unassailable. A finding against him of professional misconduct by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (2000); a finding that he incited hatred, serious contempt ...3 days ago
- Daily smoking rates flat-line, youth vaping keeps rising – NZ Health Survey
Daily smoking rates have flat-lined after dramatic falls in previous years, while vaping among younger people continues to rise. ...3 days ago
- Watch: Traffic-stopping haka breaks out during hīkoi to Parliament
Vehicles were barred from entering the intersection as a group of men performed the haka to a crowd of hundreds of onlookers. ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi to Parliament: The families taking part and why
The hīkoi is a family affair, with tamariki everywhere; pepe sleeping in carts and buggies or tugging their cousins' hair. ...3 days ago
- The best signs from the final day of the Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi
How many ways can you say you’re pissed off? A good protest sign signifies all the things you want to say at a demonstration: I’m here, I care and I’ve found the most fed up/witty/creative way to express this. And after a week of nationwide protests for the Toitū Te ...3 days ago
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