Author Archive
Large caucuses can be devilishly dangerous as National showed
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, October 25th, 2020 - 11 comments
A post mortem of the 2017-2020 parliament shows that far from being the “opposition from hell” as they had threatened, National’s caucus was as ineffective as Donald Trump dealing to Covid 19. It is a salutary lesson for the new Labour caucus which has won 64 seats in the new parliament. There may be many backbench MPs who are underemployed.
Will consensus building paralyse Ardern?
Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, October 21st, 2020 - 33 comments
Jacinda Ardern aims to bet both ways on our future – transforming Aotearoa to rid us of inequality and poverty, and building consensus. She has won a mandate with her historic, landslide victory but can she do both? My question is whether Labour are willing to do that because of her desire to maintain consensus and not rock the waka.
Will Jacinda Ardern meet her promise to transform?
Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, September 4th, 2020 - 62 comments
Neoliberalism has run its course and displayed its profound inability to address inequality issues. It makes the poor get ever poorer while the affluent top 10% ticks of society get bloated and increasingly insufferable on untaxed capital gains. In 2017 Jacinda Ardern set a goal of bringing all children out of poverty within six years. So how is that going? And what are the next steps?
Aotearoa’s free-market waste experiment dumped
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, August 1st, 2020 - 13 comments
Environment Minister Eugenie Sage this week announced the beginning of the end of Aotearoa’s unfortunate experiment with free-market waste management that has trashed our environment. It may be just a baby step, but moving away from a failed free-market approach seems a good first step.
Depression looms as rapidly as Covid spreads
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, April 7th, 2020 - 93 comments
New Zealand, like many other nations, is hurtling towards economic depression faster than Covid-19 spreads. “We are going to have a depression”. “This is like an asteroid hit the global economy”. “We can print our way of this”. Reflections on what lies ahead by Simon Louisson, Bernard Hickey and others.
New book reveals Le Carré’s bleak view of post-Brexit world
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, January 3rd, 2020 - 5 comments
John le Carré’s 26th book, Agent Running in the Field, which, according to the publishers is his take on Brexit, and suggests a dystopian future for European liberal democracies in a post-Brexit world. It follows John le Carré’s overarching theme – with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Wellington mayor-elect flip-flops on sale of Wellington Airport
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, October 30th, 2019 - 26 comments
One of the first acts of Wellington mayor-elect, Andy Foster has been to reverse his stance on the council’s 34% holding in Wellington International Airport Ltd (WIAL). Whether he can get his plan to sell the airport stake past a once hostile public or a leftist-dominated council also seems about as likely as his desire to bulldoze through another tunnel through Mt Vic.
Tough, swift leadership needed to police social media
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 am, April 10th, 2019 - 73 comments
The government has been rightly lauded for swiftly acting to ban assault weapons after the Christchurch massacre, but is its failure to decisively call social media giants to order just as weak and unacceptable as the failure to act on Aramoana massacre back in 1990?
We need more than capital gains tax to address inequality
Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, March 25th, 2019 - 46 comments
The most important comment in the Tax Working Group’s Final Report is that even the reasonably comprehensive capital gains tax proposed is likely to have only a minor impact on addressing inequality — what is needed is a more progressive income tax system that lifts the top marginal tax rate
Power pricing not just a rip-off, it’s immoral
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, March 22nd, 2019 - 43 comments
Submissions for the final report on the Electricity Price Review closed today at noon. My recent experience with Genesis Energy reveals pricing by power company majors not only rips customers off, but is immoral. The initial report of the EPR is unlikely to address this issue.
Banning Rambo weapons not a knee-jerk
Written By: - Date published: 5:35 am, March 21st, 2019 - 185 comments
Passing stringent gun controls is far from a knee-jerk reaction to the Christchurch massacre – our politicians of all stripes have procrastinated over this ever since the 1990 Aramoana massacre. We already have the 13 recommendations of the 2017 Law & Order committee that were rejected. Let us at the very least now accept those.
Too many jobs being created
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, November 7th, 2018 - 14 comments
The latest unemployment data showing the jobless rate falling to under 4% follows the equally bad 1.0% economic growth in the September quarter and a budget surplus of $5.5b, confirming the economy is going down like Donald Trump, as predicted by the ANZ Bank’s business confidence survey
Ross saga quiescent, but donations scandal needs addressing
Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, October 25th, 2018 - 21 comments
The Jami-Lee Ross scandal may have quietened down but issues raised by his explosive tape recording of Simon Bridges still need addressing. Does the $100k Zhang Yikun donation suggest we are going down the US track and, if so, what needs to be done about that
No smoking gun but plenty of sunlight from Bridges tape
Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, October 18th, 2018 - 207 comments
Maybe not a smoking gun, Jami-Lee Ross’s tape recording of Simon Bridges sheds plenty of sunlight on the influence that money can buy within the National Party, casual racism endemic within National, the manipulation of ethnic communities and, most importantly, insights into the wielding of “soft power” by China.
Ross resigns, to lay corrupt practices complaint against Bridges with police
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, October 16th, 2018 - 171 comments
Jamie-Lee Ross will seek to win a by-election as an independent. Says that Simon Bridges is corrupt and unlikeable and that he could prove it. Refutes Simon Bridges claim against him of harassment of women. Said the by-election would be a referendum on Bridges’ leadership. Updated: Simon Bridges responds – what he doesn’t say is more interesting
Wellington bus debacle deeply damaging to Govt’s transport policy
Written By: - Date published: 12:28 pm, September 24th, 2018 - 66 comments
Wellington has been the poster city for public transport in Aotearoa, but the debacle of introducing the hated hub system to Wellington’s bus system not only threatens that status but has wide implications for the success of government’s policy of favouring public transport over cars. Intervention is needed.
Tax Working Group report depressing reading
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, September 21st, 2018 - 66 comments
The Tax Working Group says the gaping holes in our tax system make it unfair and undermine its integrity, but the prospect of the electorate embracing even its limited recommendations on taxing capital gains make for depressing contemplation.
GDP figures expose business confidence survey nonsense
Written By: - Date published: 1:29 pm, September 20th, 2018 - 99 comments
ANZ Bank’s Outlook business confidence survey has been forecasting gloom and doom for the economy ever since the surprise election result turfed out the National Party. Today’s GDP data showed the economy has actually been pumping along faster than the Reserve Bank believes is good for it.
What does it take for bosses not to get their bonus?
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, September 13th, 2018 - 17 comments
Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?
Cullen says 2020 election effectively a referendum on tax
Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, March 7th, 2018 - 32 comments
Don’t hold your breath for recommendations of radical tax reform from the Tax Working Group. Chair Sir Michael Cullen says the 2020 election will be a referendum on tax and he is already kicking for touch
Fletcher Chair resigns but directors retain huge fees despite staggering loss
Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, February 14th, 2018 - 123 comments
Fletcher announces more huge losses but directors still laughing all the way to the bank
Fonterra a failure in concept and in practice
Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, February 9th, 2018 - 109 comments
New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.
Ideological issues more than leadership are Nat’s problem
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, February 4th, 2018 - 108 comments
Changing National’s leadership will not help the conservatives regain power if they fail to address questions of why they lost the 2017 election. National may be the biggest single party but it is unlikely to stay that. And they have no remaining parliamentary partners.You can’t form a MMP government from that…
High Country selloff scandal laid bare
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, January 21st, 2018 - 35 comments
A feature in yesterday’s Domion Post Weekend lays bare the extent of the scandalous selloff of huge tracts of our high country. The tenure review of the high country has been conducted since 1992 to privatise some of the land and also bringing parts into the conservation estate. The process has been followed by both National and Labour governments.
It’s time to embrace nanny state
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, January 19th, 2018 - 22 comments
Rather than apologise, it’s time the Left and the new government embraced “nanny state” as a positive, just as the gay community claimed the previously pejorative term “queer”. A nanny state is clearly economically and socially more efficient. We should celebrate our nanny state and not apologise for it.
IMF: higher taxes for rich will cut inequality and won’t hurt growth
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 14th, 2017 - 104 comments
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it now favours higher taxes on the rich and has demolished the myth this might adversely affect economic growth. The authoritative Washington-based think tank in its influential half-yearly monitor also argued for taxes on capital, suggesting a wealth and/or land taxes should be considered, something that will make Gareth […]
Labour won’t regain power until it wins the tax debate
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, September 25th, 2017 - 178 comments
Labour didn’t deserve to win on Saturday because, firstly, because it failed to bring a fully-fleshed tax policy to voters, and, secondly, it never attempted to win the ideological battle over tax. To succeed at the next election, Labour must begin work today to frame this debate.
NZ fishery catch 2.7 times reported – new study says
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 16th, 2016 - 15 comments
“The findings also reveal how the Quota Management System, despite its intentions and international reputation, actually undermines sustainable fisheries management by inadvertently incentivising misreporting and dumping,” University of Auckland’s Dr Glenn Simmons said.
Competition lapdog a cert to approve newspaper monopoly
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 14th, 2016 - 43 comments
“The newspaper market is buggered anyway. I wouldn’t expect we will have any daily newspapers in ten year’s time,” says Brian Gaynor.
National Party President selling out?
Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, May 12th, 2016 - 14 comments
The $25 million deal prompted considerable curiosity because it involved an off-market purchase of shares from Sanford’s second biggest shareholder, Avalon Investment Trust, which is run by the family of Peter Goodfellow.
Silencing scientists integral to National’s anti-science DNA
Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 40 comments
“It’s gone too far. The spin and message control has got stronger. They are less willing to put scientists out there to talk to the public because of the inability to control the message” – Shaun Hendy.
- Media Link: Some Bolivian and NZ post-election analysis on “A View from Afar.”
This last week’s podcast featuring Selwyn Manning and I focused on post-election analysis in two small states, one land locked and the other surrounded by water. Check it out here. ...15 hours ago - Analysis of an Election – Aaaarghghgh! What happened????
With a week or so gone since the catastrophic election result for the National Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, MyThinks have set the team to work to come up with their hot takes on what has caused the previous all powerful party of government to collapse under the weight of ...17 hours ago - A response to Judith Butler
Feminist Ani O’Brien takes a critical look at Judith Butler and the Kim Hill interview (17/10/20): It has been a while since I have done a bit-by-bit response piece, but this weekend Radio New Zealand journalist Kim Hill interviewed Professor Judith Butler on the conflict between trans activists and “TERFs” and I have ...18 hours ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #43
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Oct 18, 2020 through Sat, Oct 24, 2020 Editor's Choice A second Trump term would mean severe and irreversible changes in the climate No joke: It would be disastrous on the ...23 hours ago - National’s electoral slaughter
2 days ago - The Ideal and the Reality for a New MP
Being an MP is not quite what you think. Hello Mr Orange Man, I’ve really depended on you during the election over the last few weeks. Thankyou for helping me to get elected to parliament. So what are you doing here, meeting me in parliament, now I have ...2 days ago - COVID-19: backing our front row
New Zealand has been called out as an outstanding player in managing COVID-19. We’ve done well,[1] but we’re far from perfect. We could do a lot better at backing our front row. Epidemiologists advise nations not to play “wait and see”. If By the time they do see, it’s all ...2 days ago - Fleeing to the Dawn – accepted
Good bit of news on the short story front: my 1700 word fantasy piece, Fleeing to the Dawn, has been accepted for the Autumn 2020 edition of Shorts Magazine: http://shortsmagazine.com/ This one was a case of a previously unsuccessful story being dusted off and polished up. It is ...3 days ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: The elusive backfire effectsThis blog post is part 3 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. The elusive backfire effects Ten years ago, scholars and practitioners were concerned that corrections may “backfire”; that is, ironically strengthen misconceptions rather ...3 days ago
- Prosecute ICE
We knew that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was a moral void: they run concentration camps, and forcibly separate children from their parents. And now they're outright torturing people: US immigration officers allegedly tortured Cameroonian asylum seekers to force them to sign their own deportation orders, in what lawyers ...3 days ago - Fly on the wall of the first National caucus since electionOver the past several months, the team at MyThinks have been involved in a vast insect training programme. We have been working to teach our six-legged friends to become the finest of political reporters. This week we sent our deputy political diptera into the National Party caucus room for their ...3 days ago
- The Twilight Of Boomer Power.
3 days ago - NZ Politics Daily – 23 October 2020
Today’s content Labour government Peter Dunne (Newsroom): At the highwater mark with little wriggle room RNZ: Caucus: Explaining The Red Tide: Kiwis hug Jacinda back as Labour breaks records Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): It’s Time For Some “Earnest Struggle” Chris Trotter: “Change That Sticks.” Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Twilight Of Boomer Power Brent Edwards ...3 days ago - “Change That Sticks.”Implementing Change With Us - Not Imposing It On Us: Jacinda Ardern, like Mickey Savage before her, understands what her more revolutionary critics do not: that the only sort of socialism that endures is democratic socialism – socialism by popular demand and with popular consent.AFTER THE BIGGEST WIN in nearly ...3 days ago
- Science at the movies: The new comet impact filmDisaster movies forever capture the public attention… but did you ever stop to think that the word disaster actually means bad star? That is, ‘dis’ implies a pejorative (as in disease, or disgust, or disrespect), while ‘aster’ comes from the Latin astrum, similarly the Greek astron. Asteroids are called that ...3 days ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XI
Yes, dinosaurs. Annalax would think of them as giant horned lizards. They were also terrified of us, what with Magni still being covered in spider goo, and hence smelling like a Leng Spider. The ... 3 days ago - Priorities
Much of the political debate over the past few months – as we have grappled with the coronavirus pandemic – has centred on the question of whether it is the interests of business or the health of the community that should take priority in policy terms. Much has been made ...4 days ago - Farmers earning their reputation againNew Zealand farmers routinely complain about the public viewing them as environmental vandals. At the same time, they're opposing basic environmental regulation: Federated Farmers has asked that a wide-ranging plan change setting water use rules for South Canterbury remove all references to the protection of “indigenous fish”. [...] ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 22 October 2020Labour-Greens talks, Labour govt Henry Cooke (Stuff): There is no evidence National voters backed Labour to keep the Greens out Audrey Young (Herald): Labour holds all the cards as Ardern’s talks with Greens get underway RNZ: Greens better off independent – Former Green MP Catherine Delahunty Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Greens would be ...4 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Stardust across the Middle East: How Arab media reported on NZ’s electionNews is not in short supply in the Middle East, and on Saturday, Arab media remained focused heavily on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and especially Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news channels, newspapers and ...4 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Stardust across the Middle East – how Arab media covered the New Zealand electionNews is not in short supply in the Middle East, and at the weekend, Arabic-language media remained firmly focused on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and above all Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – still received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news ...4 days ago
- It's Time For Some “Earnest Struggle”.4 days ago
- Party Like It’s 1936: Songs for the Philologists
It’s the most obscure Tolkien book of all… so obscure that only fourteen copies exist: Songs for the Philologists, a 1936 collection of thirty humorous verses, by Tolkien (who wrote thirteen), E.V. Gordon, and ... 4 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – National’s catastrophic collapse and fraught rebuildThe National Party’s defeat has been so comprehensive that few in the party seem optimistic they will recover anytime soon. Falling from 47% in 2017 to just 27% (which might drop as low as 25% once special votes are counted), is one of the most severe collapses in New Zealand’s ...4 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #42, 2020Dust-up at the Denial Corral, in "journal time" Way back in 2017 the Institute of Physics publication Environmental Research Letters (ERL) published a featured article, Assessing ExxonMobil's climate change communications (1977–2014), by Supran & Oreskes. The article reverberated widely as it exposed a documented a pattern of behavior arguably described as perfidious. The authors ...4 days ago
- Now’s the time – expand ACC
Having ruled out Capital Gains Tax and Wealth Tax, the incoming Labour government must be looking for some significant progressive policies that they haven’t already ruled out. Expanding the ACC scheme fits that brief, and the Green Party have conveniently already proposed doing so. But, how to fund it? The accident/illness ...5 days ago - Managing to the targetNew Zealand's health system is chronicly underfunded, and so almost all DHBs run deficits. Last month, just before he bailed out Canterbury DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins was repeating the mantra that DHBs must live within their means and "have a credible plan to return to financial sustainability". But yesterday, ...5 days ago
- Solarise all the things!If we are to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, we need to decarbonise the economy and shift our energy supply completely to renewables. The good news is that the International Energy Agency thinks that that is going to happen. The reason? Interest rates have dropped. And this means that ...5 days ago
- New Zealand weighs up a nation-sized batteryIan Mason and Robert McLachlan Climate change was a small but perceptible part of the recent election. On climate change, Labour pointed proudly to their record of legislating for net zero emissions by 2050 (nicknamed the ‘Zero Carbon Act’), establishing a Climate Change Commission to set carbon budgets and advise ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 21 October 2020Today’s content Election Jack Vowles (The Conversation): The 2020 NZ election saw record vote volatility — what does that mean for the next Labour government? Jason Walls and Chris Knox (Herald): 20 fascinating facts about the 2020 election you might have missed Stuff: Labour Day: A vote-by-vote analysis of New Zealand’s historic shift ...5 days ago
- Do Landslides Change the Landscape in the Long Run?
It was easy for election night commentators to use the ‘landslide’ trope to describe Labour’s winning of the 2020 election. But the historical record suggests that such landslides may not last long. In 1935, the First (Savage-Fraser) Labour Government won 53 seats in a parliament of 80; National ...5 days ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: Prevent misinformation from sticking if you canThis blog post is part 2 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can Because misinformation is sticky, it’s best preempted. This can be achieved by explaining misleading or ...5 days ago
- Graeme Edgeler: Mandates are not mandatory, but they are also not meaninglessThere’s a lot of talk about what the Labour Government’s new mandate is. For a discussion of exactly what that might mean, Graeme Edgeler explores the murky logic of what they can and can’t do, pointing out that ultimately voters decide if this mandate was properly used in three years. ...6 days ago
- Hyping it up over fluoridation
In my time as a scientific researcher, honest scientists used to condemn colleagues who over-hyped their science. To our mind there should have been a special place in hell for scientists who misrepresented their ... 6 days ago - Don’t fall for the Covid contrariansAs life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are on the rise again and that puts us all at risk. Because no one is safe until we are all safe. This is a tricky virus. We now ...6 days ago
- Liam Hehir: Online abuse and the standard you walk byThere’s a lot of nastiness in the online public sphere, much of it tribal, petty and personal. Political commentator and Twitter enthusiast Liam Hehir has seen too much of it, and explains why he’s going to actively stand up against it. I did a radio interview a little while ...6 days ago
- Tanzania: elections, neoliberalism and economic diplomacyPolitics in New Zealand is the main focus of Redline, along with supporting liberation movements and anti-imperialist struggles. We have had little material from the African continent, so are pleased to print this submission from a Tanzanian writer on their pending elections. Tanzania will be going to the polls on ...6 days ago
- Governing For All Of Us.6 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 20 October 2020Today’s content Coalition negotiations, shape of government Gordon Campbell: On why the Greens shouldn’t join the government Andrew Geddis (Pundit): What Sort Of Relationship Might Labour And The Greens Agree On? Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds preparatory talks with Greens but coalition looking unlikely Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped after ...6 days ago
- What sort of relationship might Labour and the Greens agree on?
Even without knowing the final election result (because, don’t forget there’s about 500,000 special votes still to count and they very likely will change Saturday’s results), we can say two things for certain about the next government. Jacinda Ardern will be its Prime Minister. And Labour will be at its core. But ...6 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Leftwing euphoria meets realityThe political left has been euphoric since Saturday’s night historic landslide victory for Labour. But political commentators from across the spectrum are united in warning that the new Government isn’t about to be transformative. Instead, we will see more of a status quo administration grappling with a crisis, with very ...6 days ago
- Yes, a mandate for sure… but issues for NZ will be far, far more difficult now
With the NZ General Election and Referendums over for 2020, Jacinda Ardern is to form a Government over the next few weeks, “there are some areas we do want to crack on with, that we will need to expedite”, and talks will begin to form around what the voters ...7 days ago - Labour Party landslide – 2020 Election in reviewJacinda Ardern - Prime Minister of New ZealandThe 2020 General Election has been one of the most interesting in New Zealand’s political history. Not only did we have voters provide the Labour Party with a stratospheric 49.1% mandate to govern, the results also delivered National with a crushing 26.8% defeat ...7 days ago
- Be careful what you wish for: Labour's difficult triumph
Labour’s overwhelming victory at the election has been greeted with rousing cheers on the left of New Zealand politics and the start of transformational demands. It’s a multi-generational win for Labour, out-polling the Kirk, Lange and Clark victories. You have to go back to 1938 for a bigger percentage (55.8%) ...7 days ago - A Skeptical Science member's path to an experiment on carbon sequestrationDuring what now seems like another era entirely- back in February of this long year- Skeptical Science regular RedBaron (aka Scott Strough) mentioned in a discussion thread here that he'd been working on an idea for no-till cultivation of vegetables, was seeking to quantify what appeared to be promising results. Scott ...7 days ago
- Jacinda Will Keep Us Moving – To The Same Place.Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes? Not Likely: Though few New Zealanders would express it in such a fashion: Jacinda’s and Labour’s general handling of the Covid-19 crisis proved both to be highly effective defenders of the capitalist status quo. She, and they, kept the lights on. And that, in the absence of an alternative ...7 days ago
- The Greens and LabourWith an absolute majority, Labour can govern in its own right, and doesn't need partners. But while unnecessary, they're a nice-to-have, both as backup and for PR reasons. Ardern has talked about "consensus", and there are obvious benefits for her of having government policy endorsed by as many parties as ...7 days ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #42Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Earth has warmest September on record, and 2020 may clinch hottest year Record warmth in Europe and Asia overwhelms a ...7 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Vindication of Winston PetersAn egalitarian spirit is currently being revived in New Zealand, and we should thank Winston Peters for keeping alive that spirit. Josh Van Veen, who once worked with the NZ First leader, pays his tribute. With New Zealand First receiving less than 3% of the vote, critics are happily ...7 days ago
- The Hunt for Red October: Musings on Taieri
So New Zealand has had its general election. Jacinda Ardern has managed a single-party majority government, New Zealand’s first in twenty-six years, and its first since the adoption of proportional representation. I intend to do a comment on that further down the line – my feelings on the Sunday ...1 week ago - Lessons from the ElectionThis year’s general election has broken new ground – and not just in terms of its outcome, the seats won and votes cast, and – in an MMP environment – the margin of victory. It also suggests that something quite fundamental has changed in New Zealand politics. The outcome is ...1 week ago
- The unexpected resultThe people have spoken, and its a Labour majority government. This wasn't meant to happen under MMP, and in fact its exactly what the system was designed to prevent: no majority governments, no elected dictatorships, unless we really, really want it (which at the time seemed unlikely on 40 years ...1 week ago
- Schadenfreude is a dish best served blueWhat started out as the largest party in parliament has ended election night scratching the back door of the house of irrelevance. ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #42A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Oct 11, 2020 through Sat, Oct 17, 2020 Editor's Choice A FIELD GUIDE TOTHE ELECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE The presidential election is just weeks away, and climate change has broken ...1 week ago
- Legal Beagle: Election '20: The Special Votes
The 2020 General Election has a preliminary result. For reasons I am unable to really explain, we will not have even a preliminary result for the end of life choice and cannabis legalisation referendums for some weeks (I dropped the ball on that one when the referendum legislation was before ...1 week ago - National rejects tonight’s result as a ‘rogue poll’
National are dismissing tonight’s election result as an “obvious outlier” Half an hour into counting, National Party leader Judith Collins and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee are already dismissing tonight’s election result as a “rogue poll”, saying it’s an incomplete survey with shoddy methodology. Brownlee called an emergency media stand-up just ...1 week ago - Jacinda Ardern ran down four National supporters with her car this morning but due to electoral law ...Dr. Ashley Bloomfield reported at today’s 1pm health briefing that the Coronavirus turns out not to exist, but that information was also withheld on the same grounds. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began her election morning by ruthlessly driving her car into a family of National supporters just blocks from her ...1 week ago
- Six weird animals that have nothing to do with the electionGet a load of these things! Some of these animals are just crazy. You wouldn’t want a single one of these animals anywhere near your kids. It could ruin them for life. Last thing you’d want is your kid growing up around any of these, and thinking that’s what animals ...1 week ago
- 1pm Covid Health Update for 17th October, 2020What follows is today’s 1pm health update from the Ministry of Health There are 12 new cases of Covid-19 today, six in managed isolation, three escaped, and three are wealthy foreigners so it’s fine. One of these cases is a man in his 50s who visited Auckland sex club Fisting ...1 week ago
- It's Election Day.1 week ago
- National caucus convening to elect new leader for final 2 hours of the campaignThis is a breaking news event, and further updates and clarifications may be forthcoming. With less than three hours to go in the election campaign, The National Party is holding an emergency meeting to elect a new leader, one they hope can turn things around in the final one and ...1 week ago
- Judith Collins asking for two week extension on election due dateCollins says she was “ever so close” to finishing everything up, but a family member died, her computer crashed, and she just needs “a little more time” to get things right. In a late move this evening, Judith Collins has written an urgent letter to the Electoral Commission requesting a ...1 week ago
- The Debunking Handbook 2020: Misinformation is damaging and stickyThis blog post is part 1 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020. The list of references is available here. Misinformation can do damage Misinformation is false information that is spread either by mistake or with intent to mislead. When there is intent to mislead, it is ...1 week ago
- Not as a Christian, but as a New Zealander: Why I am voting against assisted suicide tomorrow.
I am no stranger to lost causes. And, while there is always hope, it does appear that David Seymour’s “End of Life Choice” law will receive the necessary endorsement of voters to finally legalise assisted suicide in this country. A significant minority of voters will dissent, however.I will be one ...1 week ago - Ardern reassures voters that Greens’ negotiating table will be a tiny, humiliating oneOn the eve of the election, the Prime Minister wants New Zealanders to know the Greens will be given a very small seat at the table, quite literally. In the final hours of the campaign, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made a forceful appeal to the electorate not to be ...1 week ago
- A Waste of Time: The Hundred “Best” Fantasy BooksTime Magazine has put out a list of the hundred best fantasy books of all time: https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/ It is bad. Very bad. I get that this is clickbait nonsense, but… really. Time Magazine ought to be ashamed of themselves. Ostensibly, the selection process was as follows: ...1 week ago
- Big changes do stickIn one of her last pre-election interviews, Jacinda Ardern tries to defend her policy of doing nothing while in government: Ardern reflected on large changes made by Helen Clark’s government – particularly in education and welfare – that were still part of the system now, saying they prove smaller ...1 week ago
- Polls show regret for not voting Green
I have looked at election polling for last four elections and have noticed a concerning pattern. The Green Party's polling leading up to each election is stronger than what they actually achieve, then the poll immediately afterwards is always considerably higher. For most parties the opposite is generally the case. ...1 week ago - Climate Change: Planning to failLast year, the government passed the Zero Carbon Act, setting short-term and long-term goals for carbon reduction. And they're already saying that they will fail to meet them: Environment Minister David Parker appears to have already given up on the country’s ability to meet the 2030 methane goal set ...1 week ago
- Another issue Labour is ignoring its voters overJacinda Ardern is trying to rule out even discussing a wealth tax if she gets re-elected. But if she gets re-elected, it will be by voters who support one. A Newshub poll shows that nearly half of all voters - and 60% of labour supporters - support a wealth tax: ...1 week ago
- Scholarship PhysicsIt’s that time of year when school students become seriously focused on exams. This year has been messy for student learning, and has affected some students more than others, but the NCEA external assessments and the Scholarship exams are going ahead pretty-much as normal. I’ve taken some interest in the ...1 week ago
- “Fitz” On Cannabis."I Like It!" “Shall I tell you the real reason to legalise cannabis? Because all the stuff I’ve told you, while true, isn’t enough. You should legalise cannabis because you’d like it. No, actually, you’d love it! Cannabis makes food taste better. It turns music into magic. It suppresses pain and nausea ...1 week ago
- Crusher fails to resonate2 weeks ago
- A flaw in our electoral transparency regime IILast month, we learned there was a flaw in our electoral transparency regime, with the New Zealand Public Party receiving a quarter of a million dollars in donations which will never have to be decalred. And now its got worse,as it turns out they're also explicitly soliciting donations from rich ...2 weeks ago
- “Entirely separate”When two people whose identities we all know but cannot say publicly due to name suppression were charged with "Obtaining by Deception" over routing donations to NZ First through the NZ First Foundation, Winston Peters claimed his party had been exonerated because "The Foundation is an entirely separate entity from ...2 weeks ago
- WATCH LIVE: Election Night 2020
...1 week ago - Election Night Speech – Marama Davidson
Kia ora tātou kātoa. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou Te Roopu Kakariki, ngā kaitautoko, e aroha ana I te kaupapa mo te taiao me te mokopuna. No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. I am so proud to be standing here tonight, at the end of an ...1 week ago - Election Night Speech – James ShawOn Election Night three years ago I stood up in front of you to say, “We are still here!” Well, tonight, not only are we still here, we are the first support party in MMP history to have started and finished a term in government above the 5% threshold. We ...1 week ago
- Greens only party with plan to meet scale of climate challengeA new report showing that the effects of climate change are already being felt in Aotearoa New Zealand shows the importance of the Green Party pushing for urgent action in the next Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party commits to stronger urban tree protection and no new mines on public conservation landThe Green Party is the only party in Parliament which is explicitly committing to protecting public conservation land and the indigenous plants and wildlife which live there, from destructive mining. ...2 weeks ago
- Vote still undecided? Watch this.As of today, over 1.4 million New Zealanders have already cast their votes in this year’s election. While this shows that a huge number of people have already made up their minds about who they want to lead our country, there are many who are still undecided. ...2 weeks ago
- Labour's 2020 Election ManifestoThe Labour Party understands how important continuity, stability and clarity are for New Zealanders in these uncertain times. That’s why, in our 2020 Election Manifesto, we’re setting out how we will continue to invest in people, jobs, small businesses, infrastructure, and global trade, to set New Zealand up for the ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party releases tourism policyToday the Green Party’s conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage went kayaking on Akaroa Harbour to highlight the greater protection achieved for Hector’s and Maui dolphins this term and the Greens’ election commitment to supporting sustainable tourism. ...2 weeks ago
- National’s false ‘wealth tax’ claims: The “last roll of the misinformation dice”“Collins has warned voters to expect a wealth tax. This is despite the fact Labour has ruled this out a number of times.” – Jason Walls, NZ Herald. “The Labour Party has ruled out implementing the Green Party's wealth tax.” – Henry Cooke, Stuff. “Labour has time and time again ...2 weeks ago
- Week that was: Counting down to Election DayIt’s getting incredibly close to Election Day now – and over a million people have already cast their vote! ...2 weeks ago
- Jacinda Ardern's Wellington Rally SpeechJacinda Ardern delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Grant Robertson's Wellington Rally SpeechGrant Robertson delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Building a vibrant creative sector The Green Party will push for better conditions, more certainty, and greater opportunities for New Zealand’s artists and creatives as part of the next Government, Co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw said today. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens promise continued action to reduce mental health waiting timesThe Green Party is committed to reduce the waiting times people in mental distress have to put up with before they receive attention and get treatment. ...2 weeks ago
- Early voting is openDid you know that early voting is open? That means you can go out and cast your vote right now - whether you've already enrolled or not. Almost 600,000 Kiwis have already voted, and you can join them! ...2 weeks ago
- Greens would go further and faster for kauri protectionThe Green Party says Labour’s commitment to protecting kauri is a good start, but the Greens would go further and faster to keep our kauri standing. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens would bring urban food farms to Auckland CityThe Green Party will invest funding in community agriculture and urban food gardens in places like Auckland city centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Our next steps on climate changeWe’re proud of our record on climate change. Since coming to Government we’ve put climate and the environment at the heart of all of our policies, as they are inextricable from issues like housing, agriculture, waste, energy and transport. ...3 weeks ago
- 10 days out: 10 reasons to vote LabourWith only ten days to go until Election Day, we’re counting down the top ten reasons you should vote Labour this October. Already voted? Share this list with friends and family who haven’t voted yet to encourage them to give two ticks to Labour! ...3 weeks ago
- Greens welcome Labour’s climate commitments, will push for more action to match the scale of the c...The Green Party welcomes Labour’s commitment to reduce climate emissions in the next term of Government, but would go further and faster to address the true scale of the crisis. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens call for independent review of PharmacThe Green Party is calling for an independent review of Pharmac to ensure that there is proper equity around funding for medication for sick New Zealanders. ...3 weeks ago
- Labour’s record on Christchurch and CanterburyFrom investing in health and education to getting key projects built, we’re proud of our record in Canterbury. We know there’s still more to do, but we’ve made a good start, and we’re committed to supporting the region as together, we respond to COVID-19. ...3 weeks ago
- Investing in the South IslandAs part of our COVID recovery plan, we’re investing in shovel-ready infrastructure projects that not only create jobs across the South Island, but also help us build back better. From tackling climate change to strengthening our health system, we’re taking on the long-term challenges while keeping our economy moving. ...3 weeks ago
- National versus Labour: Our record on ChristchurchThe past decade has been tough for our second largest city. Unlike National, Labour’s backing the people of Christchurch so together, we can make it through COVID-19 and build back better. Here’s how National’s record on Christchurch compares to our progress so far. ...3 weeks ago
- National’s economic plan a cruel blow for those on low incomesThe Green Party says National’s economic plan would devastate those earning the least, and further entrench poverty across our communities. ...3 weeks ago
- Tokelau Language Week reminds us to stay united and strong
Staying strong in the face of challenges and being true to our heritage and languages are key to preserving our cultural identity and wellbeing, is the focus of the 2020 Tokelau Language Week. Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, says this year’s theme, ‘Apoapo tau foe, i nā tāfea ...3 days ago - NZ announces a third P-3 deployment in support of UN sanctionsThe Government has deployed a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “New Zealand has long supported ...7 days ago
- Pacific trade and development agreement a realityPacific regional trade and development agreement PACER Plus will enter into force in 60 days now that the required eight countries have ratified it. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the announcement that the Cook Islands is the eighth nation to ratify this landmark agreement. “The agreement represents ...2 weeks ago
- Securing a pipeline of teachersThe Government is changing its approach to teacher recruitment as COVID-19 travel restrictions continue, by boosting a range of initiatives to get more Kiwis into teaching. “When we came into Government, we were faced with a teacher supply crisis,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “Over the past three years, we ...2 weeks ago
- Border exceptions for a small number of international students with visasThe Government has established a new category that will allow 250 international PhD and postgraduate students to enter New Zealand and continue their studies, in the latest set of border exceptions. “The health, safety and wellbeing of people in New Zealand remains the Government’s top priority. Tight border restrictions remain ...2 weeks ago
- First COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreement signedThe Government has signed an agreement to purchase 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines – enough for 750,000 people – from Pfizer and BioNTech, subject to the vaccine successfully completing all clinical trials and passing regulatory approvals in New Zealand, say Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods and Health Minister Chris Hipkins. ...2 weeks ago
- International statement – End-to-end encryption and public safetyWe, the undersigned, support strong encryption, which plays a crucial role in protecting personal data, privacy, intellectual property, trade secrets and cyber security. It also serves a vital purpose in repressive states to protect journalists, human rights defenders and other vulnerable people, as stated in the 2017 resolution of the ...2 weeks ago
- Ministry of Defence Biodefence Assessment releasedThe Ministry of Defence has today released a Defence Assessment examining Defence’s role across the spectrum of biological hazards and threats facing New Zealand. Biodefence: Preparing for a New Era of Biological Hazards and Threats looks at how the NZDF supports other agencies’ biodefence activities, and considers the context of ...2 weeks ago
- New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020 Hon David Parker’s response following Thomas Piketty and Esther Duflo. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever in the world you might be. I first acknowledge the excellent thought provoking speeches of Thomas Piketty and Esther ...2 weeks ago
- Kaipara Moana restoration takes next stepA Memorandum of Understanding has been signed today at Waihāua Marae between the Crown, local iwi and councils to protect, restore and enhance the mauri of Kaipara Moana in Northland. Environment Minister David Parker signed the document on behalf of the Crown along with representatives from Ngā Maunga Whakahī, Ngāti ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand and Uruguay unite on reducing livestock production emissionsAgriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Uruguayan Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Carlos María Uriarte have welcomed the launch of a three-year project that will underpin sustainable livestock production in Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. The project called ‘Innovation for pasture management’ is led by Uruguay’s National Institute of Agricultural ...2 weeks ago
- 3100 jobs created through marae upgradesHundreds of marae throughout the country will be upgraded through investments from the Provincial Growth Fund’s refocused post COVID-19 funding to create jobs and put money into the pockets of local tradespeople and businesses, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced. “A total ...2 weeks ago
- Health volunteers recognised in annual awardsHealth Minister Chris Hipkins has announced 9 teams and 14 individuals are the recipients of this year’s Minister of Health Volunteer Awards. “The health volunteer awards celebrate and recognise the thousands of dedicated health sector volunteers who give many hours of their time to help other New Zealanders,” Mr Hipkins ...2 weeks ago
- Community COVID-19 Fund supports Pacific recoveryThe Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says a total of 264 groups and individuals have successfully applied for the Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund, that will support Pacific communities drive their own COVID-19 recovery strategies, initiatives, and actions. “I am keen to see this Fund support Pacific ...2 weeks ago
- Community benefits from Māori apprenticeshipsUp to 50 Māori apprentices in Wellington will receive paid training to build houses for their local communities, thanks to a $2.75 million investment from the Māori Trades and Training Fund, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Ngāti Toa Rangatira Incorporated to provide its Ngā Kaimahi ...3 weeks ago
- Training fund supports Māori jobseekersRapidly growing sectors will benefit from a $990,000 Māori Trades and Training Fund investment which will see Wellington jobseekers supported into work, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Sapphire Consultants Ltd. to help up to 45 Māori jobseekers into paid training initiatives over two years through ...3 weeks ago
- Ruakura Inland Port development vital infrastructure for WaikatoThe Government is investing $40 million to develop an inland port at Ruakura which will become a freight super-hub and a future business, research and residential development for the Waikato, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford, and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The funding has been has ...3 weeks ago
- Appointments made to Defence Expert Review GroupDefence Minister Ron Mark announced today the establishment of an Expert Review Group to review a number of aspects of the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) structure, information management and record-keeping processes. The Expert Review Group’s work arises out of the first recommendation from the Report of the Government’s Inquiry ...3 weeks ago
- No active community cases of COVID-19There are no active community cases of COVID-19 remaining in the country after the last people from the recent outbreak have recovered from the virus, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “This is a big milestone. New Zealanders have once again through their collective actions squashed the virus. The systems ...3 weeks ago
- Clean energy upgrade for more public buildingsMore public buildings will be supported by the Government to upgrade to run on clean energy, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. Minister Shaw announced that Lincoln and Auckland universities will receive support through the Clean-Powered Public Service Fund to replace fossil fuel boilers. Southern, Taranaki, and ...3 weeks ago
- Remembering the forgotten soldiers
The descendants of Pacific Island Coastwatchers just want to be part of the ANZAC story - but there's so little recorded about the men sent to remote areas with no resources, who then got no pensions or medical care. Willie Cuthers' grandfather played a crucial role in the Pacific in ...19 mins ago - Australia expresses ‘serious concerns’ about invasive searches of women at Doha airport
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Australian government has registered “serious concerns” with Qatar about an incident in which female passengers, including Australians, were taken off a flight bound for Australia and subjected to an invasive search. The incident happened ...7 hours ago - Daniel Andrews’ delay prompts new questions about Victoria’s contact tracingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government and business have reacted angrily to Daniel Andrews’ “cautious pause” on announcing the easing of COVID restrictions in Melbourne, suggesting it showed the state government lacked faith in its contact tracing. The ...9 hours ago
- How Will The New World Look Under Covid-19? More Equal? Dystopian?
"Neo-liberalism is a theory of governance without governing. Four decades in, this is precisely what the USA has. Outside of major American cities, and increasingly inside them, the country is falling apart. The capitalist view of employment is to ...15 hours ago - ‘Could do better’: Top Australian economists award the budget a cautious passSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia’s leading economists have struggled to grade this month’s budget. Challenged by the Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation to rate it on a scale of A to F ...16 hours ago
- David Hill on the story that started it all
David Hill’s beloved junior fiction book See Ya, Simon is 28 years old. The boy who inspired it died in his first year of high school. That backstory is well known but now, Hill fills in the detail, including the obligation he felt to his daughter, and the grief that ...16 hours ago - Live updates, October 24-25: Tool lead singer had Covid-19 in Auckland; case updates coming at 1pmWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz11.45am: Tool lead singer had Covid-19 in AucklandThe lead singer of Tool, Maynard James Keenan, has revealed during a podcast interview that he had Covid-19 while performing shows ...18 hours ago
- How the Covid lockdown changed our air, our water, and the sounds around usIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: part two, environmental impacts.This project ...19 hours ago
- A New Zealand website is changing the way the world talks about moviesOut of an office on Queen Street, the film buffs’ social network Letterboxd has thrown the rules out the window, attracting a young, progressive global base of users redefining what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ film is.New Zealand’s back in level one, and cinemas are back in action. Ish. Productions around the ...20 hours ago
- Show Me The Logic!News came out this week that a shearer was given a 16 month prison sentence for killing a lamb, because it frustrated him while shearing it. Christopher Tredinnick received the sentence in Cromwell this week, according to the New Zealand Herald. ...22 hours ago
- The Green party should think twice before accepting a deal with LabourForest and Bird’s Kevin Hague recently wrote that the Greens and Labour should work together for the benefit of the environment. Here Justine Sachs argues that a seat at the table isn’t worth selling out the the party’s soul. As a Green party member, I am wary of the Greens ...24 hours ago
- NZ’s election, online: What did each party spend – and how effective was it?Which parties spent the most on Facebook and Google, and was it really all worth it in the end? The election is over and the results are in: Labour swept the polls, National lost big, and the Greens and Act are set to return to parliament with an even bigger ...24 hours ago
- A farewell poem for … Jami-Lee Ross
New Zealand's semi-official poet laureate Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. Today: the undearly departed Jami-Lee Ross. Non, je ne regrette rien You are out Jami! Out of the loop. Out of Botany. Out of National. Deep in the poop. You sold ...24 hours ago - Expecting less – or more – of Labour’s new votersA unified rejection of the global trend towards right-wing strongmen or a blood debt from deeply conservative voters? Perhaps the election result was neither, writes Joseph Nunweek.Going by some of the electoral post-mortems, the weekend of October 17 was some kind of 4D chess triumph of the New Zealand right. ...1 day ago
- NZ Markets, Business Welcome Labour's Election VictoryNew Zealand’s financial markets and business leaders quickly welcomed the Labour Party’s resounding victory in last Saturday’s general election. Labour took 49.1 percent of the votes, up from 36.9 percent in 2017. The conservative opposition National ...2 days ago
- The price of union support for Biden – legislation to shift the balance in US industrial relations
We watched the last debate before the US presidential elections. President Donald Trump was better-behaved and the presence of mute microphones made for a more moderate evening. But apart from a few clashes on health coverage and law and order, the debate – and most of the campaign – has ...2 days ago - Live updates, October 24: Will we have new Covid-19 cases?Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz12.30pm: Covid-19 numbers to be updated at 1pmThere’ll be an update from the Ministry of Health this afternoon via press release. Yesterday there were nine new cases announced ...2 days ago
- Recipe: Water kefirAn effervescent fermented beverage a bit like kombucha, water kefir is a refreshing drop for the warmer weather. Here’s how to make it.As I sit here typing, my kids are sitting at the table colouring in, sipping the glasses of water kefir I just photographed for this recipe. Our middle ...2 days ago
- Investigators find evidence of military role in shooting of Papuan pastorBy Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie in Jakarta An Indonesian government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team has reported that it found indications that security forces were involved in the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani after investigating a series of shootings in Intan Jaya regency, Papua. The team gave its findings to the ...2 days ago
- Emily Writes: Quibi was dumb but I loved it a lotJust six months after going live with much fanfare, streaming service Quibi is shutting down. Emily Writes provides a eulogy to the platform nobody liked.It’s almost shameful to admit it given the chorus of people bagging Quibi, but I tell you – I loved that thing.The criticism of Quibi started ...2 days ago
- In a rare post-election Beehive announcement, we are encouraged to stay united and strongDo you need encouragement to remain united and strong, either because of the election result, the persistence of Covid-19, the decision that will restrict our ability to watch the America’s Cup – or whatever? The Honourable Aupito William Sio has delivered such encouragement with an announcement headed … Tokelau Language ...2 days ago
- How Sophie Henderson got Baby Done doneThe writer of the acclaimed new Rose Matafeo comedy tells Sam Brooks how her own experiences as an expectant mother inspired the script.When writer-actress Sophie Henderson first started trying to become pregnant with her husband, director and actor Curtis Vowell, she didn’t expect it to happen so fast. She probably ...2 days ago
- When it all stopped: measuring the impacts of the great lockdown experimentIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today, part one: the lockdown halt.This ...2 days ago
- Ngāpuhi Challenge Proposed Method Of Distributing Surplus Funds By Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee LtdStatement from Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-Ō-Ngāpuhi (TRAION) Chair, Mere Mangu, and Ngāpuhi Asset Holding Company Limited (NAHC) Chair, Jason Witehira. The official position of the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga Group is as follows: A proposed amendment to the Māori ...2 days ago
- Short story: Enclosure, by Ruby Porter
"There are some things you’re never supposed to say: I don’t like sex. I am afraid of my son": a short story by Auckland writer Ruby Porter The first incident was at the zoo. This was back when your husband still loved you, before you had to ...2 days ago - Silver Ferns take up arms for war with Roses
LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast looks at where the Silver Ferns sit in their return to international netball. The Silver Ferns are finally back on court adjusting to life without retired legend of the game Laura Langman. But how are the world netball champions shaping up for their three-test series against ...2 days ago - Wellington, words and nuns: meet Claire Mabey, festival makerUntil recently, it seemed the Verb literary festival was destined to go the same way as so many live events this Covid-cursed year. Now the festival is all go – and its director can finally breathe out, she tells Michelle Langstone.Claire Mabey did a tarot reading every day during New ...2 days ago
- The tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avengerThe story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege.In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep.A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier from his home in ...2 days ago
- ASIC chair James Shipton steps aside after adverse finding by Auditor-GeneralSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra James Shipton, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Corporation, has stood aside after an adverse Audit Office report about $118,557 paid by ASIC on his behalf when he relocated from the US. The Audit ...2 days ago
- PCF Thanks Vaovasamanaia Rt Hon Winston PetersThe Pacific Co-operation Foundation (PCF) is calling for the people of New Zealand and the Pacific to recognise the significant contribution, made by outgoing Minister for Foreign Affairs Vaovasamanaia Rt Hon Winston Peters, to New Zealand’s diplomatic ...2 days ago
- Final debate likely changed few minds
It may have been far more civilised than the last one, but Trump vs Biden in today's US Presidential debate was a relatively low-impact event, writes Hayden Thorne The final Presidential debate before November 3’s US election saw a better structured, less personal and more policy-focused debate. Full credit is owed to ...3 days ago - Election 2020: Green Party Negotiation Team Sets Its Terms of ReferenceBy Selwyn Manning – Editor, EveningReport.nz Selwyn Manning, editor of EveningReport.nz. The Green Party has settled on its negotiation team, agreeing to who will represent the party’s members when considering the shape and outcome of talks with the incoming Labour-led Government. The negotiating team has a similar make up to ...3 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – October 23 2020Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Labour government Peter Dunne (Newsroom): At the highwater mark with little wriggle room RNZ: Caucus: Explaining The Red Tide: Kiwis hug Jacinda back as Labour breaks records Chris ...3 days ago
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in NZ and he needs to meet Joe Biden the Island Bay octopusAmerican actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has revealed he’s living and working in New Zealand. What brought him here, and what can he expect from his visit?Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in Netflix’s new movie The Trial of the Chicago 7, but he could also be appearing in a suburb near you. Last week ...3 days ago
- Children may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 too. Here’s what we need to considerSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ketaki Sharma, PhD student, University of Sydney An ideal COVID-19 vaccine would not only protect people from becoming ill, it would also stop the virus spreading through the population. The best way to do this is to vaccinate as many people as ...3 days ago
- Prisons No Place For MaoriThe Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon is pushing for prisons to be run by Iwi. This is reckless and ill thought out. Iwi-run prisons will transfer the punitive functions of the state to Māori. Running prisons is leveraging off the oppression ...3 days ago
- The Friday Poem: Crumbs between stones by Becky ManawatuA poem by Ockham Award-winning novelist Becky Manawatu.Crumbs between stonesTēnā koe XXXXI am writing to ask you some questions regarding a family harm incident which police responded to on Friday night. What time did the woman make the initial call? What time did police arrive at the scene? Was anyone ...3 days ago
- The Gabba Grand Final: how Queensland fell in love with Australian Rules football againSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Georgakis, Senior Lecturer of Pedagogy and Sports Studies, University of Sydney The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to all major sports in Australia, but perhaps the most fascinating — and unlikely — change is the playing of the AFL grand ...3 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending October 23The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND 1 Aroha: Māori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with our Planet by Hinemoa Elder (Penguin, ...3 days ago
- The strange hijacking of RNZ’s US debate previewIt’s normal to feature two different perspectives discussing a major US political set piece. Yet this morning RNZ’s flagship Morning Report hosted two unabashed Trump acolytes ahead of the final debate.At 2pm New Zealand time, the final debate between president Donald Trump and his challenger, Joe Biden, takes place in ...3 days ago
- NZNO Escalates Primary Health Care Strike ActionThe New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has issued a strike notice today covering some 3200 Primary Health Care (PHC) nurses and receptionist/administration staff across more than 500 practices and accident/medical centres nationwide. The first ...3 days ago
- Live Export Report Is Tinkering Around The EdgesThe Ministry for Primary Industries has today released new requirements for the export of live animals by sea, following recommendations from a review into the animal welfare assurances MPI receives from exporters. The review was led by Mike Heron ...3 days ago
- It isn’t hard cheese if the EU gets its way with GIs, chef insists – but dairy exporters are lik...
Kiwi cheese-makers will be wondering which advice they should take from chef Simon Gault. This week he was saying they should stop trying to imitate brie and gouda and focus on producing uniquely New Zealand styles. His advice was given to people watching a webinar arranged by the European Union ...3 days ago - Climate-protected citadels, virtual worlds only for the privileged: is this the future of inequality...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Finch, Adjunct Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland Imagine visiting the Europe of 2048. The cities are strangely silent. Desperate communities in Paris, London and Berlin struggle in the shadow of hollowed-out buildings. The once-popular coastal resorts have also been abandoned, ...3 days ago
- Congratulations To Labour But There Is A Lot Of Work To Be DoneCongratulations to Labour on an outstanding result in the recent elections. They now have the political capital to make a real difference to New Zealand says Peter Malcolm spokesperson for Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc “Closing the Gap” The ...3 days ago
- Vital Signs: Google’s huge market share doesn’t automatically make it a monopolySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW This week the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit accusing Google of using “anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in the markets” for search and advertising. It is the most significant ...3 days ago
- Soft Plastics Get Second Life But More Education NeededNew research as part of New Zealand Recycling Week, has shown that just 1% of Kiwis feel confident about knowing which plastics can be recycled. 75% of those surveyed also thought this lack of knowledge was preventing them from recycling more. This ...3 days ago
- We found the miracle cure for imposter syndromeOn the Rag has been hard at work trying to come up with a foolproof method for overcoming imposter syndrome. This is what it’s come up with.In this month’s episode of of On the Rag, we decided to confront imposter syndrome, aka the horrible demon lurking in many of our ...3 days ago
- FRIDAY POLITICS: A Potentially Costly Hole In The Government's Carbon-auctioning PlanBy editor ADELIA HALLETT | Green Party co-leader James Shaw is still in the running to retain his role as the country’s climate minister – but that might mean clearing up a bit of a mess of his own making. The Government’s surprising decision, reported ...3 days ago
- PNG landowners protest over deep sea tailings waste plan for K18b projectBy Jimmy Kalebe in Lae Landowners are unwavering in their opposition to the deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) method for waste from Papua New Guinea’s proposed K18 billion (NZ$7.7 billion) Wafi-Golpu mine project. They travelled to Lae yesterday from various areas of Morobe which will be affected by the project. ...3 days ago
- Pak’n’Save Whakatane Workers To Strike Over Lowest Supermarket Wages In Bay Of PlentyWorkers at Pak’n’Save in Whakatane are taking strike action today over fruitless negotiations with the store owner and low wage rates that fall below comparable industry standards and represent the lowest supermarket wages in Whakatane and the lowest-paid ...3 days ago
- The Fold: Melodie Robinson on bringing live sport back to free-to-airFrom winning two world cups with the Black Ferns to heading up TVNZ’s sports and events department, Melodie Robinson’s career has been one full of remarkable firsts. She joins host Duncan Greive to talk about it on this week’s episode of The Fold.When the Ministry of Education decided to start ...3 days ago
- How high-tech recycling could stop waste batteries becoming the next plastic crisisTo celebrate Recycling Week, Vanessa Young explains the essential role of nano-recycling in making the most of the tiny-scale but potentially harmful waste from batteries, circuit boards and more For most of us recycling means jars, bottles, tins (and the sprint to get the bin out as the truck comes ...3 days ago
- Agreement With Iwi A Milestone For Local GovernmentLocal Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is hailing the first Mana Whakahono ā Rohe or Iwi Participation Arrangement, between the West Coast Regional Council and Poutini Ngāi Tahu, as a milestone for local government that will empower local kaitiaki. ...3 days ago
- Some School Anti-bullying Programs May Do More Harm Than GoodNew QIMR Berghofer analysis of research on school anti-bullying programs has concluded that programs that encourage student bystanders to intervene may inadvertently harm the children they are aimed at protecting. Lead author and psychologist Dr Karyn ...3 days ago
- The reward for good pandemic leadership: Lessons from Jacinda Ardern’s New Zealand reelectionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Executive Development, Massey University The recent reelection of the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour government in New Zealand offers leaders elsewhere a potent lesson about how best to respond to COVID-19. Saving lives is, not surprisingly, a real vote-winner. Ardern’s ...3 days ago
- Asian countries do aged care differently. Here’s what we can learn from themSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelique Chan, Executive Director of the Centre for Ageing Research & Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore This article is part of our series on aged care. You can read the other articles in the series here. Unlike in ...3 days ago
- Set ground rules and keep it intimate: 10 tips for hosting a COVID-safe weddingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Russo, Associate Professor, Director Cabrini Monash University Department of Nursing Research, Monash University Spring and summer in Australia and the gradual easing of restrictions means we can expect weddings, with more guests, back on the calendar. However, any wedding you plan ...3 days ago
- Why equal health access and outcomes should be a priority for Ardern’s new governmentSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Derrett, Professor, University of Otago New Zealand’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic may be the envy of the world, but as the new government looks ahead, potentially with a more progressive lens, it will have to face several challenges ...3 days ago
- Japan plans to dump a million tonnes of radioactive water into the Pacific. But Australia has nuclea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Associate Professor, Education and Learning Unit, Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne The Japanese government recently announced plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of radioactive water from ...3 days ago
- Google’s huge market share doesn’t automatically make it a monopolySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW This week the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit accusing Google of using “anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in the markets” for search and advertising. It is the most significant ...3 days ago
- A fad, not a solution: ‘city deals’ are pushing universities into high-rise buildingsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide Let’s talk about “city deals”. The Australian government is. Its department of infrastructure website describes them as “a genuine partnership between the three levels of government and the community to work towards a ...3 days ago
- Friday essay: why we need children’s life stories like I Am GretaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Douglas, Professor, Flinders University When a young celebrity writes a memoir or has a biography written about them, a common response is: they are too young. This child or adolescent cannot possibly have lived enough of a life, or have a ...3 days ago
- Andrew Little to prioritise Ngāpuhi if retained as Minister
Labour's Andrew Little wants to give the Treaty Negotiations portfolio another crack, saying his priority will be to reach a settlement with the country's largest iwi Ngāpuhi if he's retained as Minister. ...3 days ago - Live updates, October 23: How representative is our new parliament?Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.45am: How representative is our new parliament?A report this morning from Massey University sociology professor Paul Spoonley explains that while our new parliament is far more representative than ...3 days ago
- The Bulletin: Covid’s back in the community – but has it spread any further?Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What we know – and what we don’t – about the Covid-19 community cases; an America’s Cup spat threatens how Aucklanders can watch; and late election donations are revealed.It’s now been five days since we learnt that Covid-19 was back in the ...3 days ago
- Business & Investing: Second cannabis firm debuts on NZX
Medicinal cannabis shares start on a high, plus SEEK's job report shows the best month since the pandemic began ...3 days ago - Brexit ho – is a deal in sight?
On again, off again. Then, after British PM Boris Johnson’s statement that there was no point in continuing negotiations without movement from the EU, there are signals that a trade and economic deal might be possible in the next few weeks. We shall see. But it’s a good moment ...3 days ago - Review: Borat Sagdiyev is back, but is it as funny now we know the punchline?Sacha Baron-Cohen’s most successful character returns to a pandemic-stricken middle America. The formula is the same, but its impact has radically changed, says Duncan Greive.In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, more commonly known as Borat 2, the ...3 days ago
- The best-selling books at Labour Weekend
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey (Victoria University Press, $35) The author, not backwards in coming forwards on the Twitter machine: "My new novel Remote Sympathy has gone ...3 days ago - We need to learn from Korea, fast
Beyond the Covid economic shock, New Zealand must focus on long term productivity - and for the best example, we should look to our free trade partner South Korea, writes Dr Murat Ungor. It’s time for New Zealand to think about long-term growth We could learn important lessons about productivity ...3 days ago - Time to take health inequities seriously
The lack of action on preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes and other conditions that badly affect Māori and Pasifika must be addressed - for the sake of all, writes Dr Collin Tukuitonga For the money New Zealand spends on health care, the country has a world-class health system. In the ...3 days ago - Softball great leads White Sox into new innings
Roman Gabriel admits he often turns to his wife for advice in his new role as coach of the White Sox softball side, as they begin on their long road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. They were only 10 years old when they first met. One played softball for Marist ...3 days ago - New Privacy Act designed for data innovation
A new privacy law comes into effect in New Zealand in a matter of weeks and businesses need to consider a privacy check-up to see if they are ready, writes Andrew Patterson If we think back to what we meant by privacy just two decades ago it largely focused on ...3 days ago - Will NZ back Chris Liddell for OECD's top job?
NZ's 'man in the White House' could become our man at the OECD. ...3 days ago
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