Author Archive
Is Parker procrastinating or scene setting for fairer tax system?
Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, April 27th, 2022 - 49 comments
Is Revenue Minister David Parker’s plan to gather tax data on the wealthy just more procrastination by this Labour government on making the tax system fairer? Or is it recognition the public debate needs a long-term frame to get a capital gains, or wealth tax, over the line?
Labour has overseen massive inequality increase – Bernard Hickey
Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, January 27th, 2022 - 154 comments
The Government’s Covid 19 response, mainly via Reserve Bank measures, has enabled a mind-boggling increase in inequality, according to influential financial commentator Bernard Hickey. Covid response has saved multiple lives, but its refusal to simultaneously address inequality via taxes raises uncomfortable questions about how a leftist government has overseen a once-in-a-generation shift in wealth
Is National’s Luxon among the quick or the dead?
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, December 8th, 2021 - 136 comments
Simon Louisson has been observing Chris Luxon with a journalists eye over the last week, especially with regard to the Jack Tame interview. A bit of a mixed bag. Fast thinking but with baggage. It will be interesting to see whether the electorate will again suppress its egalitarian instincts and vote for a smooth-talking rich man.
Govt unprepared for transition when Queen dies
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, November 4th, 2021 - 70 comments
“We will soon be required to face the question, ‘After Elizabeth — what next?’,” Peter Hamilton wrote in his just published memoir, New Moons for Sam. He says it would be completely inappropriate for Elizabeth’s son Charles or his heir, William, to become Aotearoa’s next head of state. A head of state elected by 2/3rds of Parliament perhaps?
Why isn’t govt hitting utes much harder?
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, July 26th, 2021 - 51 comments
Aotearoa has been super sizing its vehicle fleet for over a decade and given Jacinda Ardern claim that Climate Change as her generation’s nuclear-free moment, why is her government not smacking ute owners and other gas guzzlers much harder than the just the feebate? Large vehicles increase climate change and wild weather. Fringe Benefit tax is payable on them and usually not collected. Plus they are deadly dangerous to pedestrians and other vehicles.
Media crisis may be most problematic
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, November 27th, 2020 - 34 comments
The government is simultaneously grappling with the Covid, economic and housing crises, but its failure to act urgently and boldly on the crisis in our Fourth Estate may have the most damaging longer-term effect. Bernard Hickey has lashed out at Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Jacinda Ardern, for their fiddling-while-Rome-burns response to an industry in meltdown.
Large caucuses can be devilishly dangerous as National showed
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, October 25th, 2020 - 17 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.
- Bryce Edwards: Trevor Mallard’s petty fiefdom
Is Parliament just the fiefdom of Trevor Mallard and his colleagues? That’s the impression the public might take from yesterday’s news that the Speaker of Parliament is issuing trespass notices to political opponents who visited the protest in March on the lawns of Parliament. Speaker Mallard has the absolute right ...7 hours ago - 29,000 employed under Labour
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing unemployment holding at a record low of 3.2%. There are now 94,000 unemployed - 29,000 fewer than when Labour took office. Average wages are also up, and looking back, they've increased from $30.45 / hour in 2017 to $36.18 today. ...7 hours ago - Member’s DayToday is a Member's Day, and one likely to be entirely full of third readings. First up is Ricardo Menéndez March's Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill, followed by Nicola Willis' Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and Tangi Utikere's Local Government (Pecuniary ...8 hours ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern continues to forge a more US-friendly foreign policyInternational analyst Geoffrey Miller reads between the lines of Jacinda Ardern’s speech to this week’s US business summit in Auckland Jacinda Ardern is slowly but surely shifting New Zealand’s foreign policy towards the West. That was the underlying theme of a keynote address by New Zealand’s Prime Minister this ...19 hours ago
- Going full GileadToday's big news from America: the Supreme Court has reportedly voted to overturn Roe v. Wade: The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by ...1 day ago
- Wrong, at every levelWe all hate Australia for its policy of jailing refugees as a "disincentive" for people to try and escape torture and persecution. But New Zealand does this too, on a much lesser scale. last year, the government finally ordered a review of this disgusting practice. Today, that review reported back, ...1 day ago
- Geopolitical transitions and the long decline.
For the last three decades the global geopolitical system has been in a state of transition. It first transited from the tight bi-polar arrangement of the Cold War, where two nuclear superpowers with closely integrated alliance systems (NATO and the Warsaw Pact, plus other related networks) strategicaly balanced each other ...1 day ago - Bryce Edwards: Why Labour won’t introduce a radical wealth taxPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been perceived as “softening her line on wealth taxes” – and therefore being open to the introduction of a new type of progressive taxation on the rich. This was the description published yesterday by leftwing wealth researcher Max Rashbrooke, who was reporting on the fact ...1 day ago
- Philip Temple: Nothing to fear?On 24 April the Minister for Māori Development, the Hon. Willie Jackson, stated on TVNZ’s Q+A programme that government plans for Māori co-governance were part of MMP. It meant ‘shared decision-making’, ‘partnership’, ‘diversity, about minorities working together’. ‘Co-governance is based on the principles of MMP, this is a consensus type ...1 day ago
- Does NZ’s media support free speech?
Below is an excerpt of a talk by journalist Karl du Fresne given at Victoria University on 28 April 2022 for the Free Speech Union. Here he examines the trends that are undermining a free press. [F]ree speech goes hand in hand with a free press – but it’s now ...1 day ago - The Stuff Of Nightmares.
Braking And Entering: The CCTV recording of the ram-raid against Auckland’s Ormiston Mall is so disturbing, so inspiring of dread and rage, that no amount of rational commentary will make the slightest difference. It confirms in the most powerful fashion the stories so many New Zealanders have been telling themselves: ...2 days ago - Ukraine – a beginner’s guide
The Author of this Dorset Eye article, Ukraine – a beginner’s guide, says: “In 2014, the journalist and writer John Pilger wrote an article for The Guardian newspaper entitled ‘In Ukraine the US is dragging us towards war with Russia’.[i] Eight years later, in 2022, this prediction came true when ...2 days ago - New graphics resources: Cranky Cartoons and Fallacy Icons
What's better than some Cranky Uncle cartoons scattered around here or there? A collection of them, cross-referenced with the fallacies they depict, of course! And this is what we highlight in this blog post. John Cook had made these cartoons available for download on his Cranky Uncle website in March 2021 ...2 days ago - Climate Change: Here comes the floodFor decades now we've known that climate change will cause sea-level rise. In Aotearoa, the projections so far have been for 30cm by 2050, and 1m by 2100 - a level which is catastrophic to low-lying areas and coastal infrastructure and which is going to cost us billions of dollars ...2 days ago
- How to Lose
Losses to Australian teams over the weekend by both the Crusaders and Hurricanes have been greeted with shock and surprise by New Zealand rugby fans. Yet, an at least partial explanation is available; the two losses were both set in motion early in each match by a play that is ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell On Political Can-kicking, And The“ Louie Louie” Saga
One of the more infuriating aspects of the current political debate is the way the National Party says it would be more rigorous, and more thriftily efficient in running social programmes that – left to its own devices – a National government would never have funded at all in the ...2 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Is Three Waters really about water infrastructure or iwi co-governance?On Friday the Government made some announcements about their Three Waters programme that were meant to assuage public concerns about the reforms. Instead, the announcements merely reinforced that Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta is determined to push the reforms through in the face of strong public opposition. The gist of ...2 days ago
- Crime Porn Politics: a gift for the National Party right now, but we must resist a reactionary trap
Unfortunately it looks like we’re going through a spate of ram raids in this country. Predictably, there comes the natural political rejoinder: “Alas, the youth are out of control in this country…” in various flavours of vitriol, and thus the Reckons. Those who were armchair epidemiologists concerning the ...3 days ago - 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, April 24, 2022 through Sat, April 30, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2022, Newsmax using ...3 days ago
- Why the silence on censorship?3 days ago
- 2022 General Reading: April (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for April: The Saga of Hervör and HeithrekThe Saga of Hromund GreipssonThe Tháttr of NornagestIphigenia among the Taurians, by EuripidesIphigenia at Aulis, by EuripidesRhesus, by Euripides?The Body in the Library, by Agatha ChristieWhy Didn’t They Ask Evans?, by Agatha ChristiePoirot Investigates, by Agatha ChristieThe Secret of Chimneys, ...4 days ago - Comforting but warped narratives are damaging our potential future: time we kill off all the myths
One thing is abundantly clear: the way we understand the world is largely a matter of narrative management. It is through the strength of narratives we frame concepts around politics, life, and our consequent approach to it. Personally. As Nations. Too often, we don’t even realise where these come ...4 days ago - Gutting the OIAStuff's Henry Cooke reports that the government is planning a significant increase in proactive release of official information, with plans to proactively release almost all advice to ministers. Which is an idea I love, and want to happen, but at the same time fear, because under this government it is ...4 days ago
- Something on NZ military diplomacy.A few weeks ago it emerged that NZ Minister of Defence Peeni Henare had asked cabinet for approval to donate surplus NZDF Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) to Ukraine as part of the multilateral efforts to support the Ukrainian defence of its homeland against the Russian invasion that is now into ...4 days ago
- What is Really Causing the Sharp Price Rises
Reductions in effective productivity, largely as a result of events overseas, require reductions in real incomes. Ignore that and you cannot defeat inflation. What would you think of a doctor who treated only the symptoms and never tried to identify the causes? A quack? Skilled quacks will have accounts about ...5 days ago - Climate Change: Farmers versus treesFarmers have been whining for years about carbon forestry, and now they seem to have got their way, with the government proposing to ban permanent pine forests from the ETS. Which is a mistake on multiple levels. The one the government may care about is that it will cost us ...5 days ago
- Political Roundup: 29 April 2022THREE WATERS Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Three Waters reforms: Nanaia Mahuta and Grant Robertson announce next steps Thomas Manch (Stuff): Government accepts Three Waters recommendations, councils to have shareholding, aspects of co-governance to remain Cameron Russell (Stuff): Three Waters reaction: Mayor Phil Goff says Auckland is being penalised, LGNZ welcomes ratepayer ...5 days ago
- Working class and the poor most impacted by inflationIn an opinion piece in the Herald Bryce Edwards looks at rising inflation and the huge transfer of wealth to the rich under this Labour government. Some excerpts below detail the growing poverty gap. Business profitability is currently very high – banking profits were up 48 per cent last year, ...5 days ago
- The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Don't you know who I am, Bottomfeeders!
The media's "honeymoon" with National's leader, Christopher Luxon, ended abruptly on 21 March when on Kerre McIvor's NewstalkZB show, he uttered these astonishing words:“If you want to have a go, and you want to make something of yourself -- we don't just do bottom feeding and just focus on the ...5 days ago - Armies Of The Dead.Not Forgotten, Or Forgiven: At this moment our television screens are filled with stories featuring Ukrainians and Russians. Over the course of the past century, both of these peoples have endured almost unbelievable levels of pain, rage and guilt. The statue pictured above, entitled The Bitter Memory of Childhood is ...6 days ago
- No Good Options. Will Co-Governance Break Our Democracy?A Dangerous Moment: Given the intense preparation which has gone into raising Māori expectations of co-governance, it would now be extremely dangerous for any political party to bring its institutional evolution to a halt. That said, the lack of any serious preparation of the non-Māori population for the revolutionary implications ...6 days ago
- Everything You Know About Ukraine Is WRONGObviously not true for everyone. But it is amazing how many people take up a strong, emotional stance on the war in Ukraine despite being completely ignorant about what has been happening there. This short video does a great job of condensing the history of Ukraine – and presents ...6 days ago
- Ancient Greek Drama: Tier Rankings
This month I finished working my way through the surviving corpus of Ancient Greek Drama (in translation). For those keeping track at home, that is forty-six plays – seven by Aeschylus, seven by ... 6 days ago - AUT cancels ‘cancel culture’ union meetingby Daphna Whitmore The Auckland University of Technology has just deplatformed a talk on cancel culture. Yes, you read that right. The cancellation was instigated by an “Inclusion Officer” (of course it was). A bit Orwellian isn’t it? I was invited to give a lecture at a Free Speech Union meeting ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2022We can't go on like this Past and future warming – direct comparison on multi-century timescales walks us through the improvements in methods between the IPCC AR5 and AR6 leading to the latest report's startling conclusion about our rapid, ongoing effect on global mean temperature. Unleashing the fossil hydrocarbon genie has ...6 days ago
- The Night of Parmenides: Published
As of yesterday, I can report that the 2022 SpecFicNZ anthology, Aftermath: Tales of Survival in Aotearoa New Zealand, was released: https://specfic.nz/2022/04/27/aftermath-tales-of-survival-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/ It features The Night of Parmenides, my take on a post-apocalyptic Dunedin. Also notable for referencing Scribes, the much-missed second-hand bookshop of North Dunedin. ...6 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Could inflation lead to a voter backlash?The current cost of living crisis in the New Zealand economy could yet have severe political consequences. Warning signs could be seen in Monday’s French presidential election result – in which the nationalist-populist Marine Le Pen upset the status quo by getting through to the second round and winning an ...6 days ago
- Unlawful secrecy in RotoruaRNZ has a story today about fireworks at today's Rotorua lakes Council meeting, where a motion to move into confidential session over the controversial Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill caused a councillor to resign. The actual events can be viewed on the council livestream here (from 4:15 to 8:15). ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on Parker’s tax plan and Musk’s Twitter purchaseSuch is our devotion to the ordinary Kiwi battler, we ruthlessly tax the wages they earn and the stuff they buy, while letting people who amass wealth from speculative investment (and stash it in trusts) to go on their merry way, largely untroubled by the tax department. In the latest ...6 days ago
- Monthly lectures introducing Capital Volume 1Karl Marx’s Capital remains the most important theoretical work explaining the capitalist mode of production from a working class and socialist perspective. The Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) is pleased to be hosting a series of monthly lectures introducing each part of Volume 1 by Andy Higginbottom, ...7 days ago
- When Rights Become Wrongs: Repeal NZBORA
I have always taken a dim view of entrenching the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). In contrast to certain other online commentators, I consider subjecting parliamentary statutes to judicial review ... 7 days ago - Political Roundup: 27 April 2022TAX REFORM AND WEALTH Luke Malpass (Stuff): What are Revenue Minister David Parker’s new tax principles really all about? Bridie Witton (Stuff): Revenue minister has ‘virtually no idea what rate of tax is paid by the very wealthy’ Bernard Hickey: David Parker’s long, long game towards a fairer tax system ...1 week ago
- Two electionsThere were two elections over the weekend. In France, neo-liberal Emmanuel Macro managed to defeat neo-fascist Marine Le Pen, which should be a relief to everyone (especially given what a le Pen victory would have meant for Ukraine). But its hardly a particularly inspiring choice, effectively just a question of ...1 week ago
- UnderwhelmingAotearoa has an inequality problem. The top 1% own 20% of the wealth, and nearly half our total wealth is owned by the top 5% (and as that paper notes, it likely understates the problem, as wealthy individuals are poorly captured by the Household Economic Survey on which it is ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on the Tame interview, and Macron’s endless challengesNational truly is the party of aspiration. Any centre-right voter who watched their champion’s trainwreck interview with Jack Tame on last Sunday’s Q & A programme would have to conclude that if Christopher Luxon can lead National to victory in 2023, any wealthy white man in a suit can do ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 26 April 2022PARTNERSHIP POLITICS (CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS; MĀORI WARDS) Morgan Godfery (Guardian): In New Zealand, Māori co-governance is already underway – referendum or not Damien Grant (Stuff): The shaky claims and untested ideology underpinning Three Waters John Weekes (Herald): Willie Jackson says democracy has changed, co-governance is good, Act leader ...1 week ago
- Climate action, as patriotismThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Dennis Laich, Larry Wilkerson, and Erik Edstrom The US military is about to find itself committed to yet another unwinnable mission costing trillions of dollars. No, we are not referring to the possibility of American escalation in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine: ...1 week ago
- Another Chain of Custody: Possessors of the Silmarils
Some time ago, I put together a complete and overly pedantic chain of custody for the One Ring: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/a-chain-of-custody-listing-the-ringbearers/ Today, I decided to match that, by doing something similar for the Silmarils. In the interests of clarity, I will be using the text as it appears in the published ...1 week ago - The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Health reforms
There are currently twenty DHB's servicing Aotearoa - a country with five million people. A population that would fit comfortably in eightyone cities around the world.The fragmented system has twenty CEOs; twenty Boards (with up to eleven members each); twenty IT systems (to be confirmed); twenty HR departments; twenty payroll ...1 week ago - Christopher Tolkien’s Amazonian RequestsAn interesting piece of news out of Fellowship of Fans today. Not one that we were realistically expecting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmc3sY0GQ0g) The news is that prior to his death in January 2020, Christopher Tolkien made some requests of Amazon, with regards to their impending Second Age adaptation, now called The Rings ...1 week ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #16Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, April 17, 2022 through Sat, April 23, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): The Greenhouse Effect, 1.5 vs 2C: What difference can a ...1 week ago
- Woke stomping on speech rights in NZhttps://freespeech.buzzsprout.com/370355/10486710-special-report-aut-cancel-a-free-speech-union-meeting The Free Speech Union has had a speaking event canceled by AUT. In the first public talk in what was to kick off a nationwide lecture series, Free Speech Union member Daphna Whitmore was to talk about (ironically) her experiences with women’s rights group ‘Speak Up For Women’ and ...1 week ago
- Political Roundup: 23 April 2022INFLATION Bernard Hickey: The dirty little secrets inside our nation of inflation Bridie Witton (Stuff): Poorest hit harder by inflation with benefit hikes now linked to average wage Luke Malpass (Stuff): High inflation a lose-lose for the Government, but it won’t be panicking – yet Janet Wilson (Stuff): Robertson ...2 weeks ago
- Some sense on the Russia-Ukraine warIt’s a truism that the first casualty in war is the truth. But a close second is rational thought. We face this now where partisanship, wishful thinking and disinformation dominate what we read about the Ukraine-Russia war in our media. So, it is refreshing to come across an informed ...2 weeks ago
- Firing Canon: Finding Authority in Middle-earthA subject doing the rounds at the moment is the question of Tolkienian Canon. On one hand, there are the passionate Purists, for whom fidelity to Tolkien’s text is paramount in assessing Adaptations in general and The Rings of Power in particular. On the other, one finds discussions such ...2 weeks ago
- The Economic Costs of Warfare
We do not go to war for free; we need to factor its economic costs and its consequences into public discussions.Wars are costly. People die, life is disrupted while wars divert resources to war use and wantonly destroy. We are currently involved in two major wars: the war against the ...2 weeks ago - A conviction for hate speechThe Herald reports that a man who recoded a violent rant calling for genocide of Māori has been convicted for hate speech: Richard Jacobs, 44, filmed a video from his Pāpāmoa home in May last year where he called for the killing of Māori. The video was uploaded to ...2 weeks ago
- Approaching storm over the horizon.The Solomon Islands and PRC have signed a bilateral security pact. The news of the pact was leaked a month ago and in the last week the governments of both countries have confirmed the deal. However, few details have been released. What we do know is that Chinese police trainers ...2 weeks ago
- Elizabeth Rata: The Decolonisation of Education in New ZealandThe Ministry of Education is currently attempting to decolonise the New Zealand schooling system, using some radical innovations. In this article, Prof Elizabeth Rata challenges some of the ideological underpinnings and practical outcomes of this agenda. Prof Rata welcomes debate on this issue, and the Democracy Project welcomes further submissions ...2 weeks ago
- Controlling The Past.2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Ukraine virtue signalling, and our inflation spikeInflation at 6.9% is a bad sign of the rising cost of living, and hidden within the headline numbers are some even grislier figures. As CTU economist Craig Renney has pointed out: Food prices rose nearly 7%, led by fruit and vegetables which rose 17%. Meat rose 7.2%. The price ...2 weeks ago
- Passing Down The Power: Exploring The Revolutionary Potential Of Subsidiarity And Participatory Demo...Making Ourselves Heard: Is participatory democracy really that important? Yes, it is, because without returning effective political power to the people, there is no possibility of also returning their resources. No one involved in the management of local government will have failed to notice the fake subsidiarity of neoliberalism: making ...2 weeks ago
- A glaring omission in the new history curriculum: classTony Simpson writes in a Newsroom article about a major shortcoming of the new history curriculum. Here’s an excerpt: I don’t disagree at all with what the Committee have come up with which is largely about Māori indigenous culture, where it came from and how it has responded to incomers ...2 weeks ago
- British volunteer soldier in Ukraine tells his storyOK, this is a bit controversial as it is an interview of a surrendered combatant. Mind you he did personally ask for the interview (and specifically asked that fellow Brit Graham Phillips carry out the interview) as a chance to appeal for a prisoner exchange. He is technically a ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2022Water packing heat: it's not only the oceans It's often remarked that we don't directly notice or feel most global warming because most excess energy being retained by the planet is ending up "stored" in Earth's oceans. Given its high specific heat capacity, liquid water is an effective sponge for ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – A polarising co-governance decision for ParliamentCo-governance is currently the most polarising issue in New Zealand politics. There’s something of a culture war over the concept of giving Māori voters or leaders a mandated equal political influence in public affairs. It’s an issue that has the potential to be socially explosive as plans are being developed ...2 weeks ago
- Hosking v. the Prime MinisterMike Hosking continues to deliver what his paymasters pay him for, if today’s Herald is anything to go by. No surprise there – Hosking has always been under no illusion as to what it is that he has to sell. What is worth remarking on, however, is the evident emotional ...2 weeks ago
- Ash samples provide vital information for volcanic eruption response
PHOTO (cropped): Japan Meteorological Agency, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114321094 Jenny Stein, Resilience to Nature’s Challenges National Science Challenge Following a volcanic eruption, local communities understandably have more pressing concerns than ensuring a sample of ash gets sent to a lab. But that sample will provide crucial insight into the extent ...2 weeks ago - Ranking the reasons why the Larsen C ice shelf is meltingThis is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Ella Gilbert, John King, and Ian Renfrew Scientists know the surface of the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica is melting, making it vulnerable to collapse. For the first time, we can rank the most important causes of melting over the recent past. ...2 weeks ago
- Legal Beagle: The local bill to remove equal suffrage
There are four types of bills that Parliament considers: most bills are government bills, but there are also members bills, private bills and local bills. Members bills are relatively well know (some important ones have passed over the last few years), but these latter three types are often grouped together. ...2 weeks ago - Reported backThe Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee has reported back on the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework Bill. The bill is one of those boring administrative ones, establishing a regulatory framework for providers of "digital identity services" - people who validate your identity online. Which normally isn't the sort of ...2 weeks ago
- Doing Not SayingA major, nation-wide challenge to our national well-being, such as the coronavirus pandemic, is not necessarily bad news for everybody. The government of the day has no choice but to take it on the chin, but opposition politicians, and other critics of the government, can have a field day; they ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on the MIQ memo and France’s electionsOne word has largely been missing from the coverage of the MoH advice about MIQ: Omicron. The relevant memo was written in November. It was referring to the Delta outbreak and to the relative incidence of the Delta variant in the community as opposed to it coming over the border, ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 20 April 2022COVID AND MIQ Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Chris Hipkins can’t say if his office knew MIQ memo from Ministry of Health was being withheld Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Government was advised in November 2021 there was no longer ‘any’ justification for MIQ Michael Daly (Stuff): No ‘great conspiracy’ to keep memo on ...2 weeks ago
- Aftermath (SpecFicNZ Anthology) + Q&ASpecFicNZ’s new post-apocalyptic themed anthology will be out soon, with Yours Truly providing one of the stories (specifically a Dunedin-centric piece titled The Night of Parmenides). Here’s a list of the other contributors, plus a look at the cover:2 weeks ago
- Greens call for government to implement all recommendations of Casey report into detention of asylum...
An independent review of New Zealand’s detention regime for asylum seekers has found arbitrary and abusive practices in Aotearoa’s immigration law, policy, and practice. ...1 day ago - Rising household costs hurting low-income peopleThe Green Party says the Government needs to do more for those on the lowest incomes as inflation outpaces wage and benefit increases. ...5 days ago
- HRC housing inquiry confirms need for rental WOFThe Human Rights Commission inquiry into housing quality confirms what the Green Party has been calling for - a rental Warrant of Fitness and a register of landlords and property managers. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for urgent action to fix tax systemThe Green Party is urging the Government to take urgent action to create a fairer tax system that works for all New Zealanders. ...1 week ago
- UNDRIP – Let’s get on with itThe Green Party welcomes the next steps towards implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Aotearoa, and calls on the Government to get on with the mahi of upholding Tangata Whenua rights. ...2 weeks ago
- More Kiwis in work as our recovery gains momentum
Our economic recovery is gaining momentum and the latest figures show that the Government’s focus on jobs is working. We’ve delivered a record low unemployment rate as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit. ...2 weeks ago - Urgent action needed to soften inflation blow for low income NZersThe Green Party says urgent action is needed to soften the blow of inflation for New Zealanders on the lowest incomes. ...2 weeks ago
- Nature needs us to act right nowThe Green Party welcomes the release of the implementation plan for Te Mana o te Taiao Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy and calls on the Government to act faster to protect our oceans. ...2 weeks ago
- Budget 2022: Government clears road for 64,000 people to get driver licenses
The Government is: Increasing funding for driver licence support Removing barriers for people who have trouble obtaining driver licences Strengthening testing infrastructure and making it more equitable Reviewing the Graduated Driver Licensing System regulatory framework to ensure it is fit for purpose Budget 2022 will see an estimated 64,000 New ...8 hours ago - Speech at announcement of nationwide plan to tackle hospital waiting lists, Auckland, 4 May 2022Today I am setting out our plan to deal with growing hospital waiting lists. COVID-19 has been hugely disruptive to hospital systems all over the world. In England, for example, there was a 200-fold increase in the number of people waiting more than a year for planned care, from just ...12 hours ago
- Nationwide plan to tackle hospital waiting listsHospital waiting lists will be managed nationally under the Labour Government’s plan to cut the time people who need operations and appointments have to wait, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “COVID-19 has been hugely disruptive to hospital systems all over the world,” Andrew Little told health users, providers and unions ...12 hours ago
- Record 50,000 homes consented in a yearIn the year ended March 2022, 50,858 new homes were consented, up 24 per cent from the March 2021 year. 21,477 new homes were consented in Auckland in the year ended March 2022, driven largely by an increase in multi-unit dwellings. 5,303 new homes were consented in March 2022 alone. ...1 day ago
- Broadened criteria for returning visa holdersThe Government is broadening the ability for residence class visa holders to re-enter New Zealand, Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins has announced. The change means residence class visa holders not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to enter New Zealand from 6 May. The change allows New Zealand Permanent ...1 day ago
- Mānawatia a Matariki – te whakanui i a MatarikiI tāpaea i te rangi nei Te Tohu o Matariki ki te iwi tūmatanui e te Minita mō te Kōtuinga o Ngāi Māori me te Karauna: Te Arawhiti, Kelvin Davis rāua ko te Minita Tuarua mō te Toi, te Ahurea, me te Tukuihotanga, a Kiri Allan. Hei tā Kelvin Davis, ...1 day ago
- Pre-budget speech to Rabobank breakfastI want to thank Rabobank for hosting us this morning, and all of you for making it along for an early start. Yesterday, New Zealand opened its borders again to tourists and business visitors from around 60 visa waiver countries as we continue our reconnection with the world. The resumption ...1 day ago
- Budget 22: New fiscal rules to be put in placeSurpluses will be kept within a band of zero to two percent of GDP to ensure new day‑to‑day spending is not adding to debt. A new debt measure to be introduced to bring New Zealand closer in line with other countries. A debt ceiling will ensure New Zealand maintains some ...1 day ago
- Strategy highlights pathway to reduce infrastructure deficitThe Government has welcomed Te Waihanga/New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s first infrastructure strategy as a major milestone in building a more prosperous, resilient and sustainable future for all New Zealanders. Rautaki Hanganga o Aotearoa – New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy 2022–2052 set out the infrastructure challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand ...1 day ago
- More political elites and defence entities sanctioned, and prohibitions extendedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has today announced further sanctions on Russian politicians and defence entities supporting Putin’s actions in Ukraine, as part of the Government’s ongoing response to the war. “Through these sanctions, we are demonstrating our intention to continue going after those who are responsible for Russia’s invasion ...2 days ago
- Government supports grass roots emergency resilience initiativesSupporting preparations for a potential Alpine Fault rupture on the West Coast is one of several grass roots initiatives benefitting from a Government funding package to strengthen community resilience to emergencies. “Due to its isolation, its topography, and its proximity, the West Coast is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of ...2 days ago
- Speech to Te Waihanga SymposiumIntroduction Kia ora koutou katoa, Today is a significant day for infrastructure in New Zealand. And that means it is a significant day for our productivity, our environment, our wellbeing and connections as people. That is because good quality infrastructure is core to improving all of those things. Today we ...2 days ago
- Speech to New Zealand US Business SummitRingitia mai, waetia mai Tuhi tuhia mai e Kei te manawa tonu te aroha me te whakapono Can I please acknowledge our co-chairs today Fran O’Sullivan and Michael Barnett. US Ambassador to New Zealand Tom Udall. The Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor. And the really excellent ...3 days ago
- Tourism and travel back on the world mapNew Zealand is back on the world map for international tourism and business travellers as the country opens up to visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries who enjoy freer travel here from today. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi say the welcome mat is out for citizens ...3 days ago
- Budget 2022 invests to keep Kiwi kids in class and learningThe Government is committed to improving student attendance at school and kura, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti said in a pre-Budget announcement today. “It’s clear that young people need to be at school, and yet attendance rates haven’t been good for a long time. It’s ...3 days ago
- Workers make their voices heardEssential workers sent a clear message today that they no longer want to see their pay and conditions set through a race to the bottom, and that they support fair, good faith bargaining with employers through Fair Pay Agreements. On International Workers’ Day, Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Michael ...3 days ago
- New sea level data underlines need for actionClimate Change Minister James Shaw says the release of new sea level rise data underlines the importance of the work the Government is doing to build a low emission, climate resilient future for Aotearoa. “Data from the NZ SeaRise programme confirms why this Government is right to prioritise action to ...3 days ago
- Govt and Air New Zealand to trial innovative and accurate new COVID-19 testThe Government is partnering with Air New Zealand to trial an innovative new COVID-19 testing solution that uses Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technology, Associate Minister for COVID-19 Response Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “As New Zealand reconnects with the world, we are exploring innovative COVID-19 testing technology to help keep ...3 days ago
- Government’s Winter Energy Payment kicks in for over 1 million KiwisA warmer winter is on the horizon for over 1 million New Zealanders receiving either a main benefit or New Zealand Superannuation as the Winter Energy Payment begins today. “When we first came into office, we introduced the Winter Energy Payment as part of our Government’s December 2017 Families Package. ...3 days ago
- Ultra-Fast Broadband extends up West CoastWorld-class Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) is now available in Haast, one of New Zealand’s most remote West Coast towns, Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, David Clark announced today. “A reliable, fast and secure internet connection is an important asset in the digital economy and that is why this Government ...4 days ago
- Govt launches Smokefree May campaignAssociate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall launched ‘Smokefree May’ today at an event at Manurewa Marae. This new campaign, developed with Hāpai Te Hauora, supports the Government’s plan to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025. At the event, a new brand was also unveiled for the Smokefree 2025 Action ...4 days ago
- Government partners with Ka Uruora to deliver up to 172 new homes for whānauMinister of Housing Hon Dr Megan Woods and Associate Minister of Housing (Māori Housing) Peeni Henare have today announced a new investment partnership with Ka Uruora to build up to 172 new homes for whānau who need them most. Ministers Henare and Jackson joined partners Ka Uruora at an event ...5 days ago
- Council ownership of waters entities confirmedLocal councils ownership of water entities confirmed and new shareholding structure put in place Local community and council voice further strengthened in Regional Representative Groups with the majority of Working Group recommendations accepted Co-governance on the board of the four water entities ruled out by Local Government Minister with board ...5 days ago
- Pacific Business Village launched in TaurangaA new Pacific Business Village that will grow Pacific businesses, fundamental to our COVID-19 recovery, was launched by the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio in Tauranga today. “The Government wants the Village used as a strategic framework for any long-term economic development work in our regions for Pacific ...5 days ago
- Another COVID-19 drug in the medicine chestHealth Minister Andrew Little says New Zealanders who contract COVID-19 now have access to six medicines proven to safely prevent the most severe and life-threatening symptoms of the virus. Andrew Little was in Auckland this afternoon to see the first shipment of molnupiravir, the second oral anti-viral COVID-19 medicine to ...6 days ago
- Changes to intensive winter grazing regulations better for farmers and environmentChanges to intensive winter grazing rules will make them more practical for farmers and effective in lifting environmental outcomes, Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “For New Zealand, our economy depends on our environment. Cleaning up our winter grazing practices protects our freshwater resources, the welfare of our animals, ...6 days ago
- Government supports extra housing developmentFive Auckland suburbs to get improved infrastructure to boost supply of new housing, and support existing homes Up to 16,000 new homes enabled on crown-owned land including public, affordable and market homes Capacity created for an extra 11,000 homes on surrounding privately owned land. Projects include water main renewal, sewage ...6 days ago
- Government puts port safety under the spotlightThe health and safety practices at our nation’s ports will be investigated as part of a range of actions taken by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety in response to two deaths in the space of a week. “All New Zealanders should return from work safe and unharmed. Recently ...1 week ago
- New Government plan helps support older workersSupporting older people to stay in the workforce and transition their skills as they age and their circumstances change is a key part of the new Older Workers Employment Action Plan, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni and Minister for Seniors Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “The Government ...1 week ago
- Flora, fauna and communities set to flourish through Jobs for NatureAn initiative that has provided tourism workers with alternative employment into the lead up to New Zealand’s borders reopening is being extended to ensure staff are retained, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. It is one of two projects in the Waikato-Maniapoto to receive funding through the Government’s Jobs for Nature ...1 week ago
- Supporting communities to prepare for climate impactsFrom today New Zealanders can have their say on a proposed National Adaptation Plan to help communities across the country adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. “Aotearoa will soon have a plan to bring down our emissions and help prevent the worst effects of climate change, but we ...1 week ago
- Conservation cup win runs in the familyWetlands expert and advocate Dr Beverley Clarkson was today presented with New Zealand’s most prestigious conservation award, the Loder Cup by Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan. Dr Clarkson is a plant ecologist based at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research in Hamilton. She is nationally renowned for her knowledge and championing of ...1 week ago
- New mask exemption card to remove uncertaintyPeople who have genuine reasons for not being able to wear a face mask can access a new personalised exemption card from the end of May, Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins and Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “We know that face masks are a crucial part ...1 week ago
- Government plans to amend Dairy Industry Restructuring ActThe Government intends to amend the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 (DIRA) to support Fonterra’s move to a new capital structure, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “The Fonterra cooperative is a key part of New Zealand’s world-leading dairy industry and a major export earner for our economy, sending product ...1 week ago
- Shining a light on unfairness in our tax systemVictoria University 26 April, 2022 Those coming here expecting announcements of new tax policy will be disappointed. None are being made. We have no secret plan to introduce a CGT nor a wealth tax or a deemed income tax, nor others. The IRD is not doing any work ...1 week ago
- Auckland harbour goes electricAuckland harbour ferries are set to get quieter, cleaner and greener, thanks to two new fully-electric ferries for commuters and sightseers to travel on, Minister for Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods announced today. Auckland Transport will operate the two electric fast ferries across all major inner and mid-harbour services, ...1 week ago
- Spray-free target for New Zealand apples and pears to boost export growthNew Zealand’s apples and pears industry is aiming to become spray-free by 2050 through a new Government-backed programme focused on world-leading sustainable production practices, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Government is investing in a seven-year programme through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures ...1 week ago
- NZ renews commitment to peace support operations in the Middle East and AfricaForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare today announced that the Government has extended New Zealand’s commitment to three peace support deployments to the Middle East and Africa – the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Multinational ...1 week ago
- Helping some of New Zealand’s highest energy users slash their emissionsBacking 15 big businesses to move away from fossil fuels in their production processes Equal to taking 14,400 cars off the road $13 million of Government funding matched by $32.66 million from industry Achieves a total of 900,631 t of carbon emissions saved over the project lifetimes The Government is ...1 week ago
- Boosting biggest city’s environment credMore than 50 jobs are being created across Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland with the launch of three new Government-backed initiatives, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “Tāmaki Makaurau has taken quite a hit over the past two years, with the region experiencing longer lockdown restrictions than anywhere else in the country. “Jobs for ...1 week ago
- ALRANZ Condemns Potential Overturning Of Roe V Wade In United States
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa is deeply disturbed by the leaked draft opinion of the United States Supreme Court that purports to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Abortion is a fundamental human right and, if the leak is accurate, ...1 hour ago - Simon Bridges gives last speech to Parliament
"It's been a blast". Simon Bridges is giving his last speech to Parliament tonight, signing off after 14 years in the House. ...2 hours ago - Elon Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could ‘cure’ tinnitus in 5 years. But don’t hold yo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University Shutterstock The human brain is said to be the most complex biological structure ever to have existed. And while science doesn’t fully understand the brain yet, researchers in the ...2 hours ago - Politics with Michelle Grattan: Dave Sharma, Allegra Spender, and Kerryn Phelps on the contest for W...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Allegra Spender/Facebook; Dave Sharma/Facebook In the Wentworth Project, sponsored by the University of Canberra’s Centre for Change Governance and The Conversation, we are tapping into voters’ opinions in this seat, which appears to ...2 hours ago
- The end of Roe v. Wade would likely embolden global anti-abortion activists and politiciansSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Prudence Flowers, Senior Lecturer in US History, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University AP Photo/Jason DeCrow A leaked United States Supreme Court draft opinion reveals it is poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ...3 hours ago
- India planned to eliminate TB by 2025, but it’s estimated half a million Indians are still dying f...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajib Dasgupta, Chairperson, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University In India in 2021, an estimated 504,000 people died from tuberculosis, or TB. That’s almost one per minute. More than a quarter of the estimated TB cases worldwide are ...3 hours ago
- Winston Peters: Mallard Must Immediately Face Vote Of No ConfidenceThe debacle we have witnessed over the past few days created by Trevor Mallard’s dictatorial and bullyboy behaviour, is just another in a long list of examples of his unsuitability to remain in his role as Speaker. Today in his press release he ...3 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Essay – Secession tribulations, and the United States’ Civil War3 hours ago
- Fewer Immigration staff employed to process visas as NZ reopens to the world, National saysNational says Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has failed to scale-up staffing levels to meet the demand for visas as the border reopens. ...4 hours ago
- Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala Marilyn moment shows how good she is at her job: being famousSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Harriette Richards, Research Associate, Cultural Studies, The University of Melbourne Getty Images/Jeff Kravitz In the course of her Met Gala attendances, Kim Kardashian has worn floral Givenchy (attending for the first time in 2013, pregnant with her first child), silver ...4 hours ago
- Labels like ‘psycho’ or ‘schizo’ can hurt. We’ve workshopped alternative clinical termsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Polari, Clinical Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne Unsplash/Jonathan Rados, CC BY It is common to hear people use stigmatising, discriminatory and hurtful labels such as “psycho”, “schizo” or “totally bipolar”. Others might minimise conditions by saying they too ...4 hours ago
- Speaker Trevor Mallard withdraws five trespass orders relating to Parliament protestParliament's Speaker Trevor Mallard has withdrawn five trespass orders - including New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters and Democracy NZ leader Matt King's. ...5 hours ago
- Mallard’s Wrongful Actions Must Be Held To AccountAfter being contacted by the media, and checking my emails, not the doorstep, I have learnt that the trespass notice issued to me has been withdrawn as at 1:39pm today. It should not have taken the threat of a judicial review for the speaker to ...5 hours ago
- Ōpōtiki Mayor Voices Concern Over Three Waters AnnouncementŌpōtiki Mayor, Lyn Riesterer, added her voice to other councils around the country concerned at the “bulldozer tactics” as government announced its intention to continue largely unchanged in their approach to Three Waters reforms. ...5 hours ago
- Brands can be rewarded for social activism – but they also risk losing customers to apolitical riv...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Vredenburg, Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing, Auckland University of Technology GettyImages From Nike to Ben & Jerry’s to Airbnb, more and more brands are taking a stand on sociopolitical issues (often called brand activism), to the point it’s arguably ...6 hours ago
- Buzz from the Beehive: Hospital waiting lists are troubling but Little names a taskforce to advise o...
Ministers relish braying about what they are doing to promote the wellbeing of the people embraced by their portfolios. Today it was the turn of Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Transport Minister Michael Wood, who have announced Budget 2022 will benefit an estimated 64,000 New ...6 hours ago - ‘One System’ Planned Care Offers Real Benefit For Patients...7 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Trevor Mallard’s petty fiefdomPolitical Roundup is entirely subscriber-funded. The ethos behind this public service is to help foster a robust and informed public debate, with a great diversity of perspectives. If you appreciate what we are doing in providing non-partisan analysis and information about politics, economy, and society, please consider helping us keep ...7 hours ago
- Cost of living accounts for some (maybe much) of the shrinkage in support for Labour – but is co-g...
Latest polling has underlined how support for the government has eroded almost as fast as inflation has hit New Zealand households. Both polls have National ahead of Labour. The difference is that the Roy Morgan poll (for the fifth time in a row) points to a change of a government ...7 hours ago - National refuses to shut door on potential Māori Party coalitionNational Party leader Christopher Luxon has refused to rule out a coalition government involving the Māori Party but deemed the talks premature. ...8 hours ago
- The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is set to light up the skies. Here’s how to get the best seat in th...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland There’s something wonderful about sitting under the night sky, watching a meteor shower play out overhead. However, observers in the southern hemisphere usually get the short end of the stick, with most of the ...8 hours ago
- Funding Critical To Success Of Medical Cannabis SchemeThe Medical Cannabis scheme has been live now for several years, with the transition period having ended just over 6 months ago, and in that time, despite numerous product approvals, a minimal range of products have become available for distribution. At ...8 hours ago
- Fair Play Needed Over Fair Pay Agreements, Not MisinformationThe CTU is calling for all sides of the debate on Fair Pay Agreements to use the information that is provided in the draft Bill, said CTU President Richard Wagstaff. "Some groups have recently been making statements that are not borne ...9 hours ago
- Driver licence supports boosted with $86.5m from BudgetThe government is bringing in $86.5 million in funding and supports to make it easier for people to get their driver licence, as part of this year's Budget. ...9 hours ago
- Driver license supports boosted with $86.5m from BudgetThe government is bringing in $86.5 million in funding and supports to make it easier for people to get their driver licence, as part of this year's Budget. ...9 hours ago
- Winston Peters plans to 'take on' Speaker over trespass noticeFormer Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he will seek a judicial review of the decision to trespass him from Parliament. ...9 hours ago
- Divorces Drop To Lowest Number Since 1979There were 6,372 divorces granted by the family courts in 2021, the lowest annual number of divorces since 1979, Stats NZ said today. “Divorces have been generally decreasing since the early 2000s, as has the divorce rate,” population estimates ...9 hours ago
- Annual Wage Inflation Rises To 3.0 PercentAnnual wage inflation measured by the labour cost index (LCI) rose to 3.0 percent in the March 2022 quarter, up from 2.6 percent in the December 2021 quarter, Stats NZ said today. “Wage inflation is at its highest level since the March 2009 quarter,” ...9 hours ago
- Peters Announces Judicial Review ActionAfter carefully considering advice from my lawyers, I have decided to seek a judicial review of the decision made by Trevor Mallard to trespass me from parliament grounds. This is not about whether former Members of Parliament should be treated differently ...9 hours ago
- Deloitte New Zealand State Of The State 2022 Report: Moving MountainsWellington, 4 May 2022 – Launched today, the Deloitte New Zealand State of the State 2022 report explores perspectives on reform and shares views on its role in a modern economy. Deloitte Partner David Lovatt says “we’re seeing reform on ...10 hours ago
- Financial System Resilient To Heightened ChallengesNew Zealand’s financial system remains robust in the context of significant global economic challenges, Governor Adrian Orr says in releasing the May 2022 Financial Stability Report . Globally the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose complex economic ...10 hours ago
- Building Sustainable Cities Critical For NZ’s FutureLocation-enabled technology may change the way Kiwis function in the future, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. As cities like Tāmaki Makaurau, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Ōtautahi, Tauranga, Ōtepoti and Kirikiriroa expand, leaders are considering sustainability ...10 hours ago
- The Eta Aquariids meteor shower is set to light up the skies. Here’s how to get the best seat in t...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland There’s something wonderful about sitting under the night sky, watching a meteor shower play out overhead. However, observers in the southern hemisphere usually get the short end of the stick, with most of the ...11 hours ago
- How the Liberals lost the ‘moral middle class’ – and now the teal independents may well cash i...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University The Conversation Josh Frydenberg says they are fake independents, John Howard called them anti-Liberal groupies, Scott Morrison points out they are only standing in Liberal seats, and that a vote for ...11 hours ago
- Toughness has limits: over 1,100 species live in Antarctica – but they’re at risk from human ac...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Phillips, Antarctic Scientist, Monash University Laura Phillips, Author provided It’s hard to survive in bitterly cold Antarctica. But the ice continent is home to more than 1,100 species who have adapted to life on land and in its lakes. ...11 hours ago
- How conceptual artist Gillian Wearing and photographer Cindy Sherman make us confront our performanc...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa French, Professor & Dean, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still, 1980. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. © Cindy Sherman Review: Gillian Wearing Editing Life, and Cindy Sherman Untitled Film Still #58, ...11 hours ago
- Health Minister Andrew Little announces hospital waiting list responseHealth Minister Andrew Little has announced a special taskforce to tackle delays in hospital waiting lists caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. ...12 hours ago
- Centre-left parties worldwide have struggled to reinvent themselves – what kind of ALP is fighting...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Manwaring, Associate Professor, Politics and Public Policy, Flinders University Keir Starmer, Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern. Getty Images Europe, Lukas Coch/ AAP Image, and Robert Kitchin/Pool Photo via AP With due caution about the (in)accuracy of opinion polls, Australian voters may ...13 hours ago
- View from The Hill: The interest rate rise is a political wild cardSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank, as expected, has thrown its wild card into the election campaign, but neither government nor opposition can be sure which side will be more damaged, or advantaged, by it. Tuesday’s interest ...19 hours ago
- Reading for Putin
While he won’t have time at the moment, Russia’s Vladimir Putin might profit from flicking through ‘The Day Will Pass Away: The Diary of a Gulag Prison Guard 1935-1936’ by Ivan Chistyakov and published by Pegasus Books. He might pause on the passage on page 38: “27 December 1935. ...22 hours ago - Word from The Hill: On the rate rise, Albanese’s launch and what a Frydenberg loss would mean for ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast ...23 hours ago
- RBA Governor Philip Lowe is hiking interest rates. Worst case, it’ll mean an extra $600 per month ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe has announced he will lift the cash rate for the first time in a decade, by 0.25 percentage points, taking it from 0.10% to 0.35%. Most market economists thought the ...23 hours ago
- Green Party leaders 'proud' of constitution changesThe Green Party constitution no longer requires a male co-leader, instead requiring one woman and one person of any gender, plus a requirement that one must be Māori. ...23 hours ago
- Parties meet to discuss trespass notices for protestersAll political parties are being briefed on trespass notices sent to those who attended the protest at Parliament - including former MPs. ...1 day ago
- Why the RBA should go easy on interest rate hikes: inflation may already be retreating and going too...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe Lukas Coch/AAP One of the stranger things about the Reserve Bank’s announcement of why it’s lifting interest rates by 0.25 percentage points is that it ...1 day ago
- Labour down, National up in latest Newshub political pollLabour is down 6.1 points to 38.2 in the latest Newshub-Reid political poll, while National has risen 9.2 points to 40.5. ...1 day ago
- How our bushfire-proof house design could help people flee rather than risk fighting the flamesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Ascher Barnstone, Professor, Course Director Undergraduate Studies, School of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney shutterstock By 2030, climate change will make one in 25 Australian homes “uninsurable” if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, with riverine flooding posing the greatest insurance ...1 day ago
- How do the major parties rate on Medicare? We asked 5 expertsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Gillespie, Associate Professor in Health Policy, Menzies Centre for Health Policy & Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney Medicare has been mentioned a lot this election campaign but we’ve seen relatively few substantial policy announcements from the major parties. ...1 day ago
- Facebook, YouTube, games & Grindr: what we know about online ads in the federal electionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Queensland University of Technology Google We’re halfway through the federal election campaign, and by now you’ve probably seen a significant amount of political advertising – much of it online. Online political advertising is ...1 day ago
- Why teal independents are seeking Liberal voters and spooking Liberal MPsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Nethery, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Policy Studies, Deakin University Diego Fedele/ AAP One of the Morrison government’s biggest challenges in this election campaign is the rise of the “teals”, a group of 22 independents who have received funding ...1 day ago
- Political Roundup: Why Labour won’t introduce a radical wealth taxPolitical Roundup is entirely subscriber-funded. The ethos behind this public service is to help foster a robust and informed public debate, with a great diversity of perspectives. If you appreciate what we are doing in providing non-partisan analysis and information about politics, economy, and society, please consider helping us keep ...1 day ago
- Government Ghosting Health WorkersThe Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Toi Mata Hauora says the Government continues to ghost health workers in the lead up to the Budget. In a pre-Budget speech, the Finance Minister Grant Robertson has said New Zealand’s economy has come through ...1 day ago
- Corruption And Money Laundering Across The PacificResearch published by Transparency International New Zealand this week investigates corruption and money laundering within Pacific Island Countries (PICs). It highlights the linkage between the two concluding that preventive and investigative ...1 day ago
- Giving ex-prisoners public housing cuts crime and re-incarceration – and saves moneySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock “Going home” is a classic metaphor for exiting prison. But most people exiting prison in Australia either expect to be homeless, or don’t know where they will be ...1 day ago
- How can we stop fake election news spreading in migrant communities?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wilfred Yang Wang, Lecturer in Media & Communications Studies, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Concerns about fake news and misinformation spreading on social media among Chinese communities are once again emerging, as they were during the 2019 election campaign. There ...1 day ago
- Future Of Remaining MIQ FacilitiesThe closure of the four remaining MIQ facilities will be brought forward due to very low numbers using the facilities. Currently just 95 people are using 54 rooms (32 isolation and 22 quarantine) across four hotels. A decision has been made in ...1 day ago
- Opinion: Why the young need an even higher debt ceilingOpinion - New Zealand has previously made the wrong call for a generation by being too restrictive with its debt limit - now it risks doing the same again, Bernard Hickey writes. ...1 day ago
- We’ve pinpointed blood proteins activated in the most severe cases of COVID in childrenSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Conor McCafferty, PhD Student, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Shutterstock In the majority of cases, children who catch COVID won’t end up suffering serious illness. Kids have fewer symptoms, less severe disease, and tend to recover faster than adults. The ...1 day ago
- Broader Immigration Criteria WelcomedBusinessNZ welcomes the Government’s announcement that residence class visa holders who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to enter New Zealand from 6 May. Chief Executive Kirk Hope says it’s good to see the Government apply a risk ...1 day ago
- Buzz from the Beehive – but you will need a translator (increasingly) to find out what ministers a...You can quickly tell from the headline and/or first paragraph of a press statement – sorry, most press statements – what the government is up to. Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta clearly stated in the opening sentence of a statement in the past 24 hours that further sanctions are being ...1 day ago
- BREAKING: NZ To Stop Imprisoning People Seeking AsylumImmigration New Zealand has released an independent review carried out by Victoria Casey QC into the detention in prison of people seeking asylum. The review clearly states detention at Corrections facilities should not occur. In response, Immigration ...1 day ago
- Daily Blog Urges “Treason” Investigation Into New Zealand TrotskyistsBy Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 29 April 2022 Original url: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/04/29/ahsf-a29.html On April 16, Martyn Bradbury, editor of New Zealand’s Daily Blog, published an extraordinary attack on the Socialist Equality Group (SEG), the New Zealand supporters ...1 day ago
- Hospitals only note a person’s intellectual disability 20% of the time – so they don’t adjust ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Raymond Walker, Research Officer – School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock People with intellectual disability only have their disability noted by hospital staff in one in every five hospital admissions, our new study shows. Recognising someone has a disability ...1 day ago
- “Milked” (the movie) presents a sour view of our biggest export industry – but dairy farmers c...A documentary titled Milked, shown at the International Film Festival in Dunedin, seeks to “expose” the New Zealand dairy industry and calls on New Zealanders “to heal the land”. Milked is available globally via the streaming platform Waterbear and on Youtube via Plant Based News. The documentary is made by ...1 day ago
- Peters says he has been trespassed from Parliament for two yearsFormer Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says he has been trespassed from Parliament for two years. ...1 day ago
- Mallard's Precinct Decision Loses The PlotI have found out that the Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, has trespassed me from parliament grounds for a period of two years. This dictatorial behaviour by Mallard, supported by Labour, should be reserved for third world banana republics. ...1 day ago
- Use Of Force In Arrest Of Christchurch Youth Justified...1 day ago
- Three waters: Government yet to test financial viability of reformsIt is unacceptable the government has pushed ahead with its three waters reforms before checking if the numbers stack up on debt financing, opposition parties say. ...1 day ago
- SAFE Launches A Petition Calling For A Commissioner For AnimalsThe petition is supported by leading animal organisations New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA), Helping You Help Animals (HUHA) and the New Zealand Anti-vivisection Society (NZAVS). Other groups are expected to add their support in time. The Animal ...1 day ago
- Poll Reveals Distrust Of Taxpayer-funded MediaMost New Zealanders believe that government funding for private media companies undermines media independence, reveals a new poll commissioned by the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union . The scientific poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was carried out by ...1 day ago
- Treasury Publishes A Summary Of Its Advice On New Fiscal RulesThe Treasury has published a summary paper that outlines its advice on the new fiscal rules announced by Finance Minister Hon Grant Robertson. In a speech today, Hon Grant Robertson said that the Government will adopt two new fiscal rules: an operating ...1 day ago
- Watch: Finance Minister Grant Robertson give pre-budget speechHealth and climate change will be key spending areas, and there would be a new rule requiring governments to try to maintain a small surplus, the Finance Minister said. ...1 day ago
- We’ve used a new technique to discover the brightest radio pulsar outside our own galaxySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yuanming Wang, PhD student, University of Sydney Artist’s impression of the PSR J0523-7125 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Carl Knox, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Author provided When a star explodes and dies in a supernova, it ...1 day ago
- Clive Palmer, his money and his billboards are back. What does this mean for the 2022 federal electi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor and Director of the Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith Business School, Griffith University Clive Palmer has had a tough run leading up to the 2022 election campaign. He faced COVID-19 without the protection of vaccination in March, tripped at ...1 day ago
- ‘It’s shown me how independent I can be’ – housing designed for people with disabilities red...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Douglas, Professor of Acquired Brain Injury, La Trobe University SDA tenant, Tom, in his accessible apartment. Housing Hub, Author provided The federal government has been warning that the rising cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is unsustainable. More than ...1 day ago
Recent Comments