Author Archive
Legalize It
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, August 12th, 2016 - 95 comments
Is it time for a referendum on marijuana? There is strong support for the use of medicinal marijuana. Should we just admit that Kiwis like smoking dope and simply legalise it?
Newshub Poll: Key Stuffed
Written By: - Date published: 6:50 pm, August 8th, 2016 - 113 comments
The latest Reid Research poll is grim reading for the Nats. Labour and the Greens are closing fast.
Pack Mentality
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 4th, 2016 - 55 comments
The Waikato Chiefs rugby franchise have admitted two incidents of abuse at a drunken post season celebration. Their response to claims of sexual abuse? Blame the victim.
EDIT: The CEO accepts he got it wrong and has made a modern ‘if offence was taken’ style apology on Radio Sport. No direct apology to the woman concerned, however.
Meth Fries Housing NZ’s Brains
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, August 3rd, 2016 - 129 comments
Housing NZ has admitted that it is evicting tenants when only tiny trace amounts of meth are found on the property. It further admits that the testing regime is not fit for purpose. But, hey, they have the power to make people homeless and they’re not going to let fairness or common sense get in the way of their moral panic.
When did the War on Drugs become the War on the Poor?
DNC Day 4: Madame President
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, July 29th, 2016 - 103 comments
The last day of the DNC. Hillary Clinton will give her acceptance speech shortly. Donald Trump, having realised that inviting Russia to spy on the States is bordering on treason, is backpedalling furiously. He may have talked himself out of the White House.
Update: LIVE NOW: Chelsea Clinton
Update: LIVE NOW: Hillary Clinton
Talleys versus Free Speech
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, July 29th, 2016 - 33 comments
The Talley group want the courts to order a union to stop telling the truth about how they bully, maim and kill their workers. Will the Standard be next in the firing line?
DNC Day 3. Biden, Obama, and Trump Jumps the Shark
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, July 28th, 2016 - 88 comments
Day 3 of the DNC. Biden and Obama to speak later, Trump wishes he hadn’t spoken earlier. In what looks to be an embarrassing gaffe, the candidate of the 1%ers has requested help from Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. In a normal election, that would be political suicide. This year, who knows?
UPDATE: Barack Obama LIVE STREAMING NOW.
DNC: Bernie Speaks
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, July 26th, 2016 - 184 comments
The Democratic Party is holding their convention in Philadelphia. The day has started with an apology to Bernie Sanders and a poll boost for Donald Trump. Sanders speaks live at 2PM (approx).
UPDATE: Feel the BERN! Live NOW.
UPDATE: Video of Bernie Sanders’ speech now added.
Drumpf LIVE!
Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, July 22nd, 2016 - 31 comments
Establishment candidate and billionaire Donald J Trump is delivering his acceptance speech at the RNC. It’s chockfulla cliches, but hey …
YOOO ESSS AYYYY, YOOO ESSS AYYYY!
God Botherer
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, July 17th, 2016 - 462 comments
God’s been a bit of a let down recently. Is it time for Him to retire?
Be Like Dad, Keep Mum (in fear).
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, July 10th, 2016 - 62 comments
Temuera Morrison has made a powerful video for the Women’s Refuge annual appeal. He’s making a difference. You can do something the Key Government won’t do. You can make a difference. You can stop keeping mum about domestic violence and you can help fund your local refuge.
Dallas
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 pm, July 8th, 2016 - 105 comments
5 law enforcement officers shot dead in Dallas. The city’s worst day in 5 decades.
Helen Kelly; A Work of Art.
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 pm, July 7th, 2016 - 18 comments
The NZ Portrait Gallery’s latest work is of unionist Helen Kelly. It’s great.
C’mon Aussie C’mon!
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, July 1st, 2016 - 13 comments
The Ocker Election is coming down to the wire. The polls are neck and neck and the senate looks set to be a mess. Labor need 19 seats and the Liberal party needs a miracle in the upper house. C’mon, Aussie, C’mon!
Update: Early results have the coalition down, but not down enough. Currently 57-56 to the coalition. 76 needed.
Update 2: Labor doing unexpectedly well in Queensland, Nick Xenephon wins in SA.
Update 3: Lib deputy Julie Bishop is reduced to calling Labor “liars” over Medicare. The fear is showing.
Update 4: Coalition 62. Labor 60. West Australia about to start reporting.
Update 5: Coalition 69, Labor 62, Greens 1, Others 4.
Borexit; Now it’s Just Getting Weird.
Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, July 1st, 2016 - 98 comments
Boris Johnson has sensationally quit the race to lead the UK Tory Party. And Jeremy Corbyn has had a worse day than usual. Where will it all end?
Corbyn Coup; Hilary Benn is Sacked for Disloyalty
Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, June 26th, 2016 - 129 comments
Jeremy Corbyn is fighting back against those plotting to force his resignation. But is it too little too late?
Brexit: Cameron Resigns
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, June 24th, 2016 - 225 comments
Top Tory David Cameron has resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote. The buffoon Boris Johnson is tipped to take over at No 10 Downing St.
Mission Creep
Written By: - Date published: 7:06 pm, June 20th, 2016 - 50 comments
The military mission to Iraq is to be extended by another 18 months, much to nobody’s surprise. John Key has put the creep into the mission.
Mana 2.0
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, June 19th, 2016 - 255 comments
Hone’s back! The leader of the Mana party has announced he’s re-forming the Mana Movement and will stand again in Te Tai Tokerau. Is there a chance of a deal with Labour to strengthen the next Government?
Orlando; Owen Jones On Homophobia.
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 pm, June 14th, 2016 - 70 comments
Guardian journalist Owen Jones nails the failure of many to call the Orlando killings what they are; homophobic terrorism. It’s not an excuse for anti-muslim hysteria, as Trump, Seymour and Peters would have it, it’s the worst single attack on LGBT people since the holocaust.
Kiwi Values
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 pm, June 13th, 2016 - 62 comments
Epsom hologram David Seymour reckons we need to force refugees to pledge allegiance to what he calls ‘values’. Of course, ACT don’t know value, they only know price. And haven’t we heard this sort of thing from another party in years gone by?
H1 and H2
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 10th, 2016 - 191 comments
In a few months, the two most important leadership roles on the planet could be held by women. How cool is that? We’ve come a long way, world!
Taihoa on Immigration?
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, June 7th, 2016 - 213 comments
Winston Peters has called for a slashing of migrant worker numbers and for screening of would be workers based on things like their attitude to women. Is it time for a taihoa on immigration or is Winston just doing a Trump?
The Greatest; Muhammad Ali Dies.
Written By: - Date published: 5:14 pm, June 4th, 2016 - 19 comments
Muhammad Ali, three times heavyweight boxing champion of the world, has died aged 74. Farewell, the Greatest.
Vaccines DO Cause Autism Shock!
Written By: - Date published: 7:29 pm, June 2nd, 2016 - 266 comments
A young Mexican scientist has compiled compelling evidence about the link between vaccines and autism. Not only does 12 year old Marco Arturo provide a comprehensive overview of the dangers, he also brilliantly channels Barack Obama. The best two minutes on the net today.
Stick a Fork in Him, He’s Dunne
Written By: - Date published: 6:57 pm, June 1st, 2016 - 140 comments
The Labour/Greens electoral pact spells the end of the line for Parliament’s most self serving MP, Peter Dunne. National have a choice to make; stand down in Ohariu or stab him in the back. And then there’s the equally supine Maori party. Te Ururoa Flavell’s hold on his seat is also shaky. No Flavell, no Maori Party.
No Mates National. The Brighter Future just arrived!
Trump In, Bern Out, Hillary Home and Hosed?
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, May 27th, 2016 - 196 comments
Donald Trump has finally got the last Republican delegates need to secure his candidacy. Bernie Sanders has lost his race (but is being pressured to stand as an independent). Now that the candidates are all but confirmed, the sideshow is over. It’s Clinton vs Drumpf in the most entertaining election in a generation.
Guest Post: Dancing to the Neo-Liberal Songbook
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 23rd, 2016 - 25 comments
In a guest post, regular commenter Tony Veitch takes some learnings from Noam Chomsky’s latest documentary Requiem for the American Dream. The neo-liberal plan has been in place for over thirty years. How come we’re only just starting to understand it?
Key to Homeless: You Can Stay at Mine
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, May 18th, 2016 - 54 comments
Prime Minister John Key has today announced a radical plan to solve the housing crisis. The homeless are now welcome to go flatting with him in his Parnell bach. The plan includes draining the swimming pool and subdividing it into flats, putting hammocks in the palm trees and making soup in the pool cabana’s kitchen. Max Key may have to move out to make way for the homeless, but the PM described that as a painful sacrifice he was now willing to make in the light of his son’s most recent social media posting.
Key’s Lawyer is a Mossack Man
Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, May 10th, 2016 - 50 comments
Despite the PM’s assurances, it turns out the his lawyer had direct links to Mossack Fonseca. And so did everyone else in the room when Todd McClay was successfully convinced to drop the IRD review into foreign trust. Someone’s been telling porkies …
Broken
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 253 comments
The Standard is broken. We are not a safe place for women. How do we fix that?
- The long neoliberal con
Opinion: While all the media and popular coverage seems to have been directed towards the Treaty Principles Bill, David Seymour and Act are poised to achieve another substantive victory that has been over 20 years in the making.The Regulatory Standards Bill, first introduced to Parliament in 2006 and reintroduced last ...5 days ago - Winton’s Kāinga Ora lawsuit balloons to $305m-plus
Despite donating to governing parties, developer widens legal case to encompass multiple stymied housing projects The post Winton’s Kāinga Ora lawsuit balloons to $305m-plus appeared first on Newsroom. ...5 days ago
- Buildings ‘pancaked’ in Vanuatu as 7.3 magnitude quake strikes off capital Port Vila
By Stefan Armbruster and Harry Pearl of BenarNews A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Vanuatu today, US geologists said, severely damaging a number of buildings in the capital, crushing cars and briefly triggering a tsunami warning. Witnesses described a “violent shake” and widespread damage to Port ...5 days ago - Fiscal update shows Kiwis paying price for government’s austerity, critics say
The government's opening of the books has been met with derision from its opponents inside Parliament and out. ...5 days ago - Hugh Marks is the new managing director of the ABC. Is he the right person for the job?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Aspects of Hugh Marks’s record as chief executive of the Nine Entertainment Company raise questions about his suitability for the position of managing director of the ABC, to which ...5 days ago
- Powerful 7.3 magnitude quake strikes Vanuatu – triggers tsunami waves
RNZ Pacific A large 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila , shortly after 3pm NZT today. The US Geological Survey says the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). Locals have been sharing footage of damage to infrastructure in ...5 days ago
- Chris Trotter: Running Us Off The Rails
New Zealand will pay a high price for pulling out of this deal – just as it did 64 years ago when the Second National Government tore up the contract its Labour predecessor had signed with British and American interests to establish a large cotton ...5 days ago - Fast-track bill passes into law, amid protest
Protesters shouted "this bill kills" and unfurled a banner before they were ordered to be removed. ...5 days ago
- Australia’s latest brush with extreme heat shows just how good weather forecasting really is
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ailie Gallant, Associate Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence for Weather of the 21st Century, Monash University Google Earth As a dome of heat developed over north and central Australia last weekend, parts of the country braced themselves for their first taste ...5 days ago
- Tech giant Meta will pay Australians $50 million for enabling the Cambridge Analytica scandal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice; Lead, UNSW Public Interest Law & Tech Initiative, UNSW Sydney The Australian Information Commissioner today announced a settlement with tech giant Meta over its involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The settlement ...5 days ago
- Protesters Disrupt 3rd Reading Of Fast-track Bill
”The fast-track bill is anti-democratic, anti-climate, and anti-Te Tiriti. Regardless of the bill passing today, thousands of New Zealanders are ready to stop these projects from being built in our communities,” says 350 spokesperson Adam Currie. ...5 days ago
- The government is spending millions on news, but crucial community media remains underfunded
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridget Backhaus, Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies, Griffith University Shutterstock The Australian government has launched its News Media Assistance Program, throwing a lifeline to public interest journalism and local news. The latest push for a more diverse and ...6 days ago
- Cars in Australian cities are emitting less – but in the regions exhaust emissions are growing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kai Li Lim, St Baker Fellow in Electric Mobility, The University of Queensland becauz gao/Shutterstock Within five years, transport is expected to be Australia’s top source of greenhouse gas emissions. While renewables and storage are bringing down emissions from the electricity ...6 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori’s Rawiri Waititi says Luxon may be ‘drop-nuts’ if he doesn’t...
The prime minister not attending Waitangi Day would show he "has no balls and may be a drop-nuts", Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi says. ...6 days ago
- Can Syria avoid becoming another Libya or Iraq? A week after Assad’s fall, here are 3 possible fut...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the world was moved by emotional scenes of liberation — families reuniting after years of separation and former prisoners walking free from the ...6 days ago
- The fiscal update is no Christmas present for the government – but signs of a slow recovery are th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hickson, Economics Lecturer and Director Business Taught Masters Programme, University of Canterbury After a slow economic year, many New Zealanders are eyeing 2025 with uncertainty but also a degree cautious optimism. Interest rates are dropping and unemployment rates remain below expectations. ...6 days ago
- Immigration Minister Delivers Changes In Time For Christmas
"It’s been an incredibly tough few seasons, with huge pressure on farmers who have been unable to find the staff they need to run their businesses." ...6 days ago
- Live: ‘Brutal austerity’ – reaction to opening of govt’s books
The PSA says the reckless drive to cut costs shows the government is prepared to put dollars ahead of Kiwis' lives. ...6 days ago
- ‘Brutal austerity’ – reaction to opening of govt’s books
The PSA says the reckless drive to cut costs shows the government is prepared to put dollars ahead of Kiwis' lives. ...6 days ago
- Why do we revert to our childhood selves when we visit family?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University TORWAISTUDIO/Shutterstock You’re an independent, capable adult all year round. But when you gather with family for a holiday such as Christmas, suddenly the child in you comes out. Maybe ...6 days ago
- Serious youth offenders numbers drop by 7%
It equates to being over a third of the way towards the government's target of 15 percent fewer youth offenders by 2030, Oranga Tamariki says. ...6 days ago
- HYEFU revealed: Nicola Willis deploys convenient new measure amid bleak books
Analysis - The opening of the books at Treasury has revealed a bleak economic outlook, and a new measure to improve that picture. ...6 days ago
- New Zealanders Be Warned – More Brutal Cuts To Public Services Coming
"History and now fresh evidence tell us that austerity doesn’t work, but the Government is failing to listen. Today in the Budget Policy Statement it set the stage for further deep and broad cuts which will impact the services New Zealanders need now and in ...6 days ago
- The best books of 2024: The people’s choice
The results of our reader survey of the best books of the year. Over 300 Spinoff members responded to our call out to discover what people enjoyed reading locally and internationally this year. The results show a healthy crossover with The Spinoff’s best New Zealand books of 2024, with some ...6 days ago - Now We Know Why Nicola Willis Didn’t Want Experts In The Room: Changes OBEGAL Calculation To Appea...
“Nicola Willis is guilty of manipulating the fiscal indicators in the same way then Opposition Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis jumped up-and-down about when Grant Robertson changed the way Net Core-Crown Debt was calculated to make the numbers ...6 days ago
- Minimum Wage Decision A Conscious Decision To Increase Poverty
It is an indefensible attack on working people and will only serve to inflame poverty and undermine a weak economy. ...6 days ago
- What makes a great sports coach? We identified 17 of the world’s best, and found some patterns
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cliff Mallett, Professor of Sport Psychology and Coaching, The University of Queensland red mango/Shutterstock The study of leadership in high-performance coaching aims to deepen the understanding of how and why coaches lead the way they do, rather than just what they ...6 days ago
- Government makes it easier for businesses to hire migrants
Cabinet has also agreed in principle to bring in two new seasonal visas from late 2025. ...6 days ago
- HYEFU: Government books to stay deep in deficit until 2029
And Nicola Willis has adopted a new measure for its finances, excluding the impact of ACC, which it said distorted previous forecasts. ...6 days ago
- Forecast surplus delayed two years, Willis vows earlier end to deficit
The Treasury’s end-of-year fiscal and economic update shows the Government’s return to surplus has been delayed by two years on current projections.Using either the traditional operating balance measure or a new measure announced Tuesday, the Government will run a deficit for at least two years more than forecast at the ...6 days ago
- Why zoning reform won’t solve the housing crisis
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raphaël Fischler, Professeur titulaire à l’École d’urbanisme et d’architecture de paysage, Université de Montréal Montréal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood and downtown are exemplary places for functional diversity. (Shutterstock) There are many good reasons to bring about reforms in zoning, but reducing the cost ...6 days ago
- How can you stay safe from cyber attacks? Here are 2 simple checklists from experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jing Jia, Senior Lecturer, Business School, University of Newcastle cottonbro studios/Pexels “Cyber security” may sound like a far-off worry for big corporations or telcos, but that’s far from the case. Cyber security simply means the practice of safeguarding your sensitive data ...6 days ago
- NZTA settles High Court battle with Transmission Gully builder
The The Transport Agency and Wellington Gateway Partnership have been wrangling over claims that work areas have not been properly cleared up. ...6 days ago
- Minimum Wage Announcement “A Pay Cut For The Most Vulnerable”
“The Government has made another callous decision which will make in-work poverty even worse in Aotearoa,” E tū Assistant National Secretary, Annie Newman says. ...6 days ago
- The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024
From evil penguins to globe-trotting jackals, here are the TV shows that we were animals for this year. We’ve already covered off our favourite local television moments of the year, but there is still so much more to dive into beyond our televisual shores. It was predicted that 2024 would ...6 days ago
- Smallest minimum wage increase ‘since the 1990s’
The minimum wage will rise by 1.5 percent to $23.50 from April 1, it was announced Tuesday. ...6 days ago
- Wellington Council moves ahead with submission against Treaty Principles Bill
One councillor called it a waste of time and ratepayers' money, saying the council should keep out of "central government barn politics". ...6 days ago
- Media Should Make Point Of Speaking To The CTU This Afternoon On HYEFU
Banning the CTU, the Taxpayers’ Union, and groups like Business NZ and the Federated Farmers is not a strategy to get back to surplus. At best, it’s a cheap PR ploy to attempt to control the media narrative. ...6 days ago
- ‘Taken the local out of local government’: Councils react to crackdown
Mayors are accusing ministers of taking "the local out of local government" with proposed changes to rates and spending rules. ...6 days ago
- Empty classrooms, silent language: Kōhanga reo faces a crisis
As the fight to revitalise te reo Māori continues, kōhanga reo are grappling with severe teacher shortages, outdated facilities, and a lack of trust in their national leadership. Te Reo Māori is integral to understanding the Māori worldview. It provides a window into te ao Māori that is nearly impossible ...6 days ago
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