benefits
Categories under benefits
- welfare (354)
Sepuloni: Labour to increase Jobseeker benefit
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, May 3rd, 2021 - 58 comments
Some good news from over the weekend. Labour is planning to significantly increase the level of Jobseeker benefit.
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness”. (UBI Series)
Written By: - Date published: 6:04 am, March 14th, 2021 - 49 comments
I believe, as our first Labour Government did, that everyone has the right “to a life” regardless of their perceived ,”value”.
In our country, with its excess of resources and capability, we have no excuse for poverty.
For leaving people behind.
So! You want a “plan”?
Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, March 11th, 2021 - 50 comments
Expecting a bit much aren’t you? We haven’t had that since Muldoon. At least he had them. The kind of people now asking for a plan were those who complained about governments that “interfered with the sacred ‘free market’” and screamed about “central planning”, “picking winners”, “protectionism” etc. They prefer just getting cheap labour to give the illusion of economic growth. And build a cycleway!
UBI experiment success
Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, March 6th, 2021 - 46 comments
A newly published report in the United States on a two year UBI trial shows remarkable results. Is such a trial possible in New Zealand?
How can NZ incomes be lifted to match housing costs?
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 12th, 2020 - 68 comments
Not a vague let’s raise wages and benefits explanation, but an in-depth, number crunching, evidence-driven explanation. Where is it?
Sneak preview of a neoliberal UBI
Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, November 23rd, 2020 - 21 comments
Giving migrant workers access to insufficient welfare is a financial coercion tool of right wing and centrist economics.
Show us the plan Labour
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, October 22nd, 2020 - 154 comments
Labour want to govern based in stability for all New Zealanders, but how does that work when your grand narrative has massive plot holes around ending poverty?
About the Greens…
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 15th, 2020 - 74 comments
Here’s the thing about the Greens. They want change. They want change more than they want power. I think that they fully understand that we are out of time on climate, poverty, the environment and now is the time to act boldly.
Snow storm shout out to the undeserving poor
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, September 28th, 2020 - 84 comments
Why does Labour still not have a plan for unwell and disabled people living in poverty?
What Have Labour Done For The Poor, Exactly?
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, September 28th, 2020 - 30 comments
There’s been plenty of criticism about Labour’s policies not being effective enough to alleviate poverty. Time for a bit of perspective.
Labour’s social welfare policy
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, September 13th, 2020 - 62 comments
Labour has announced that if elected they will significantly increase abatement levels for beneficiaries and reinstitute the Training Incentive Allowance Scheme, the policy that Paula Bennett famously had the benefit of but then cancelled once she was Minister.
Labour’s two tier welfare plans
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, September 5th, 2020 - 74 comments
As the covid crisis deepens Labour appear to be committed to entrenching the underclass and giving a helping hand to the middle class.
Will our cities revive?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 5th, 2020 - 43 comments
Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?
“Reds under the Bed”.
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, September 4th, 2020 - 78 comments
Everyone has recently had an education on “Socialism” working in practice.
And a graphic illustration of the shortcomings, of under regulated “Free market” Capitalism, Globalism, tax cuts for the rich, and the mania for monetising everything in sight, and “running it like a business”.
Association of Conspiracy Theorists
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, July 25th, 2020 - 81 comments
Act is proposing to introduce measures that will limit the amount of money people on benefits can spend on alcohol and tobacco. But not guns.
Green Party rocks their new Guaranteed Minimum Income policy
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, June 29th, 2020 - 263 comments
The Greens’ audacious new social security policy, the Poverty Action Plan, places manaakitangi and compassion at the centre. It includes guaranteed income across the board for those in need, reorientating ACC to include illness and prioritise care, support for children and single and double parented families, and it pays for it all by taxing some of the assets and income of the wealthy.
Fixing Unemployment – Zoom meetup Saturday 10am
Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, June 19th, 2020 - 8 comments
Is it time to completely rethink how we deal with unemployment? We face a tsunami of job losses not seen in generations. Two ideas — social insurance and a job guarantee — are gaining prominence as ways to change how we deal with the problem. One provides income protection for those who lose employment, the other aims for something bolder: the elimination of unemployment. All welcome; register here.
Is National Just Inconsistent or Incompetent?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 1st, 2020 - 65 comments
National’s new job-creation scheme appears to be inconsistent with their desire to fully re-instate the 90-day trial period.
Direct small business loan scheme is now working
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 27th, 2020 - 26 comments
It was interesting reading this morning that the updated small business owner loan scheme is now working (unlike the previous guarantee through the banks version). National’s new Small Business shadow minister Todd Muller should be all over this between now and the election offering helpful suggestions. I’m going to be fascinated looking at those to see what type of small business he is trying to help…
Labour and the Greens on welfare
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, May 27th, 2020 - 79 comments
While Labour remain wedded to a neoliberal view of welfare as a necessary evil with deserving and undeserving poor, the Greens are standing up for the rights of all of us to live with dignity and have a meaningful standard of living.
Cat MacLennan: We Are Beneficiaries
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, May 27th, 2020 - 9 comments
Approximately 2.8 million of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 4.9 million residents are now beneficiaries. Covid-19 has shown us that #WeAreBeneficiaries. Those New Zealanders who only need state support for a short time in their lives are incredibly lucky. Let’s stop looking down on and punishing those who are less fortunate.
Two Tier. Bull. Shit.
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 25th, 2020 - 217 comments
I thought we were “in this together” or some such?
Running for cover
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 pm, April 21st, 2020 - 41 comments
More 1% Americans are heading our way, according to Bloomberg. The Texas company building underground bunkers is getting more enquiries. They’re not running from the virus but fear the aftermath when the breadlines turn.
Are the Vultures Already Circling Above?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 14th, 2020 - 116 comments
We cannot go back to business as usual after the lockdown but can we shape the way things will be for the greater good?
Holding the Government to Account or Concern Trolling?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, March 31st, 2020 - 35 comments
When Opposition Spokespersons behave like concern trolls, we have a problem.
UBI Now, Please
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, March 25th, 2020 - 75 comments
Universal Basic Income is on the Government’s Covid-19 survival agenda. NZ needs it now, and NZ will need it tomorrow too.
$1000 per person (recurring) NOW!
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, March 20th, 2020 - 71 comments
There’s a world where, apparently, people shake hands with other people all day. I don’t know that world. I couldn’t tell you the last time I shook some-one’s hand. And I suspect those who inhabit a world of hand-shakers have as little insight to my world as I do theirs. But in “one world”…
Covid-19 Gov’t Support; Live updates from 2pm
Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, March 17th, 2020 - 156 comments
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the coalition Government will announce a multi-billion dollar economic package at 2pm today. Livestream details are in the post and live updates will be made as the announcement rolls out.
What the Government has done for beneficiaries
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 7th, 2020 - 43 comments
In Parliament this week Carmel Sepuloni outlined action being taken by the Government to implement the recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group designed to improve the plight of beneficiaries.
UBI: what is it good for?
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, February 27th, 2020 - 122 comments
Please don’t let economists, lefties, the right, or TOP design a UBI until we start talking about bolting welfare on. Here’s why.
Having us squabble over the welfare pie
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, December 18th, 2019 - 34 comments
When we hear a supposedly progressive economist talking about elderly people as decrepit, or rendering the elderly poor invisible, it’s time to revisit our moral compass.
- Are We Really Serious about Child Poverty?
The poverty indicators are coming down but, oh, so slowly.We now have data for the first two years of the government’s program to reduce child poverty. The rates benchmarked against income are coming down but very slowly.* Indeed one could argue that the reductions are statistical noise (the sampling errors ...8 hours ago - China’s 2060 climate pledge is ‘largely consistent’ with 1.5C goal, study finds
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Xiaoying You New research has found that China’s pledge to achieve “carbon neutrality” before 2060 is “largely consistent” with the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global warming to 1.5C. But, to stay below this level of warming, the country will need to aim higher ...8 hours ago - Climate Change: Reannouncements don’t reduce emissions
Road transport emissions make up ~18% of our annual total, and if we are to have any hope of reducing them, the government needs to start acting now. But rather than do that, they've reannounced their old policies, dressed up in a new discussion document: The Transport Ministry has ...10 hours ago - Between appeasement and confrontation.
The worm has turned when it comes to the relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the West. Something has happened to sour the relationship beyond repair, and the strains are not limited to US-PRC, Australian-PRC or UK-PRC bilateral relations. Other countries, notably in the EU and Southeast ...10 hours ago - Nurses to Labour: “fuck your pay freeze”Last week, the government froze public service pay for three years. This week, they tried to pretend it never happened (while leaving the pay guidance document still in force). So what did this desperate grab for a headline to appeal to National voters get them? A nurses strike: Nurses ...12 hours ago
- How does the government still not know this?For the past two years the government has been trying to decarbonise the education sector, funding schools to replace dirty old coal boilers with heat pumps and solar panels. But according to Stuff this morning, they still don't know how many they need to replace: An estimated 1150 state ...14 hours ago
- Watching Israel/Palestine Burn.
16 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 14 May 2021
Inequality and poverty Tess McClure (The Guardian): Ardern faces calls to boost child poverty spending in budget amid glacial progress Claire Achmad (RNZ): A brave and bold Budget 2021 is needed Anna Whyte (1News): Child poverty report ‘grim reading’, says action group Thomas Manch (Stuff): Child poverty report shows no measurable improvement in housing conditions, hospitalisations, food security Michael Neilson (Herald): Child ...18 hours ago - Phasing out smoking: The Tobacco-Free Generation policy
Jude Ball, Jon Berrick, Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Frederieke Petrovic-van der Deen* The NZ Government has published a discussion document outlining an Action Plan for achieving the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal and invited submissions. This blog is one of a series examining key aspects of the plan to help inform ...18 hours ago - The He Puapua Revolution.Bastion Point, 25 May 1978: Even when it became obvious that New Zealand’s indigenous population was not going to disappear quietly into history, the sort of political and cultural concessions so clearly required to construct a bi-cultural nation failed to eventuate. If this country is to have a peaceful and ...19 hours ago
- Another captive agencyThe Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 requires leaseholders to obtain permission before conducting certain activities, such as burning vegetation or disturbing the soil (which includes clearing vegetation, planting trees, draining wetlands, and applying fertiliser, as well as going wild with a bulldozer). It allows the Commissioner of Crown Lands to ...1 day ago
- When the Line Between Life and Death Is ‘A Little Bit Fuzzy’May 10, 2021 by Lola Butcher Until Sept. 17, 2020, Sharon Frederick was an ostensibly healthy 63-year-old woman who spent her days caring for her disabled sister and going to church. That evening, she was praying the rosary over the telephone with a friend when she began slurring her ...1 day ago
- Border techMarc Daalder tallies a few of the failures in getting better tech rolled out at the border. On Sunday, National Party Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop revealed that a voluntary rollout of saliva-based testing of border workers had seen just 339 saliva tests performed since it began in January. “Public ...1 day ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XXIII
Session forty-seven. No-one trusted these mirrors. Nor should anyone. A collection of mirrors, just conveniently sitting in the middle of a Nightmare Forest? Clearly dangerous. The party made a point of burying them face-down in the dirt. Then three bears and eight wolves turned up. Again, these were ...1 day ago - Union worker: Pay freeze was an attempt at intimidation by a government scared of strikesWhy on earth did the Government announce a “pay freeze” for public sector workers? Writing anonymously*, a public sector union worker argues that the Government’s goal was to drive down the pay expectations of the nurses who are currently set to strike, which the Government fears could lead to others ...2 days ago
- Labour: Dirty and corruptThe Serious Fraud Office has laid charges over illicit donations to the Labour party in 2017: The Serious Fraud Office has charged six people in relation to a donation made to the Labour Party. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Thursday the defendants are entitled to seek name ...2 days ago
- COVID-19 vaccines prevent spread of the virus tooMany people seem to be reading that our COVID-19 vaccine won’t prevent the spread of COVID-19 from one person to the next.1 If you’re worried about this, this one is for you. We now have evidence the vaccine reduces transmission, and a rough idea of by how much.2 Science is ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 13 May 2021Parliamentary debates on race Jane Patterson (RNZ): Policies can be called racist but not MPs, Speaker rules Tess McClure (The Guardian): Māori party co-leader ejected from parliament after performing haka in racism row Richard Harman: Behind Parliament’s “racist” row (paywalled) Meriana Johnsen (RNZ): Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi ejected from Parliament Anna Whyte (1News): Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi performs haka in ...2 days ago
- SARS-CoV-2: A modern Greek Tragedy?By Dr Matt Boyd, Blog Syndicated from Adapt Research Despite a WHO-led investigation, compelling evidence on the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains inconclusive. The WHO investigation concluded in favour of a natural origin, being satisfied that ‘asking whatever questions we wanted’ and obtaining answers to these questions ruled out a ...2 days ago
- The National Party: Regressing to 19th Century “values”? It sure seems so…
The National Party undertook its usual round of introspection at the Northern Retreat. That is to say, obviously none at all. And if Judith Collins destroys the National Party “brand” permanently, it really only has itself to blame. But she is not alone. Other former Leaders, still in the ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #19, 2021Putting a price tag on upcoming atmospheric rivers The Clausius-Clapeyron equation isn't complicated— once somebody has thought of the concept and mathematically tamed it. However, the deceptively meek and harmless looking caged expression of the idea in combination with an entire planet's atmosphere heating up in the presence of an ample water ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Have billions been incorrectly paid out in the wage subsidy sch...The Government’s wage subsidy scheme may have incorrectly paid out billions of dollars to ineligible businesses, and this is not being audited. That’s the conclusion to be taken from the Auditor General’s report, released yesterday. It is highly critical about the lack of checks and balances on a scheme that ...2 days ago
- Vaccine patentsThis week’s Newsroom column covered some of the arguments around increasing vaccination rates in poor countries by voiding patents. It won’t work. A snippet: Fundamentally, voiding patents is an unserious way of dealing with a serious problem. The world needs substantial expansions in vaccine manufacturing capabilities as quickly as possible. ...2 days ago
- Another English war crimeFifty years ago, the British army murdered ten people in the Ballymurphy massacre in Northern Ireland. In what has become a common tactic for the British establishment, they immediately tried to cover up their crime by smearing the victims as IRA members. Now, a UK coroner has ruled the killings ...2 days ago
- Members Day: Second readingsToday is a members day, and it looks like it will be wall-to-wall second readings left over from last term. First up is Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki's District Court (Protection of Judgment Debtors with Disabilities) Amendment Bill, followed by Louise Upston's Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Bill. Both of these have ...3 days ago
- The future finally arrivesOver the past few years I've been watching the price of solar energy fall, to the point where it now outcompetes fossil fuels, and wondering when it is finally going to take off in New Zealand and give us the clean, green future we need to survive. And now it ...3 days ago
- Falling Between Two Treaties: A Reply To Dr Emily Beausoleil.3 days ago
- Australia’s Quarantine Systems Failures: Lessons for NZDr Leah Grout, Ameera Katar, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Nick Wilson (*Author details) Aotearoa NZ and Australian states have successfully eliminated community transmission of COVID-19, albeit with occasional outbreaks from imported cases. Both countries have primarily used hotel-based quarantine for returning travellers, but still do not have optimal border ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 12 May 2021Public sector pay freeze Claire Trevett (Herald): PM steps in, the melting of the pay freeze begins (paywalled) Jordan Bond (RNZ): Public sector pay freeze: Nurses warming to strike action plan – union Henry Cooke (Stuff): Thawing freeze: Jacinda Ardern says Government is open to introducing step-based pay for more public servants Duncan Greive (Spinoff): Is there a noble method to ...3 days ago
- Graham Adams: Will He Puapua propel Winston Peters back into politics?The NZ First leader once described the UN Declaration as the “road to Zimbabwe”. Graham Adams asks how long he will sit on the sidelines as the debate over Maori sovereignty rages. The controversial report He Puapua has been seized upon by National and Act as evidence of a covert ...3 days ago
- The same question again and againThe Independent Police Conduct authority has found police were unjustified in using an attack dog against a fleeing child: Police were not justified in using a police dog to bite a young offender following a pursuit, according to an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report. The 14-year-old was bitten ...3 days ago
- Samoa tries to gag its peopleSamoa's dodgy dissolution will be challenged in court this Thursday, which should provide some certainty over whether they are having an election next week. Meanwhile samoa's caretaker government is reportedly planning to ban Facebook for the election. Their reason? “The disrespectful, repulsive and obscene language towards our leaders; not ...4 days ago
- Labour’s divide and rule pay freeze
by Don Franks Last week, on the anniversary of Karl Marx’s birthday,Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins had good and bad news for workers. His good news – twenty-five per cent of public servants can expect pay rises. His bad news – for the next three years, public servants earning more than $60,000 will only get rises under ...4 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 11 May 2021Public sector pay freeze Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Ardern and Robertson say public sector wage freeze is ‘misreporting’. But is it? Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Grant Robertson schedules union crisis meetings after failing to communicate public pay freeze properly Chris Trotter (Interest): Playing by a new set of rules RNZ: Government urged to rethink public sector pay freeze decision Henry Cooke (Stuff): Government in ...4 days ago
- Overshooting 2C risks rapid and unstoppable sea level rise from AntarcticaThis is a re-post from Carbon Brief by: Dr Robert M. DeConto, professor of geosciences and co-director of the School of Earth and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, lead author on IPCC’s special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate, and a recipient of the Tinker-Muse Prize for Science and ...4 days ago
- On the Parnassus Plays and Shakespeare Authorship
Yesterday, I read the Parnassus Plays (1598-1602): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassus_plays These are three late Elizabethan university plays, put on by Cambridge students, for Cambridge students. They’re primarily known because of their extensive references to contemporary English writers, including William Shakespeare. And, certainly, we’ll get to that – there are interesting implications ...4 days ago - Climate Change: “Least cost” means “do nothing”The National Party is trying to sabotage the struggle against climate change again, with a bill in the member's ballot to force the Climate Change Commission to allow our domestic targets and international commitments to be met with "offshore mitigation". What does "offshore mitigation" mean? From past experience, it means ...4 days ago
- Incoherent 2Last week, the government froze public service pay for three years in a return to the economy-strangling austerity politics of the National era. But today, suddenly they're rolling in money: There’ll be more spending and lower debt levels in the 2021 Budget than expected, the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson ...4 days ago
- The Scots deserve their referendumScotland went to the polls on Friday in national elections, and delivered another thumping victory for the Scottish National Party. Once again, it fell just short of an absolute majority, but has an easy majority with the Scottish Greens. Both parties campaigned explicitly for Scottish independence, and in a democratic ...5 days ago
- Playing By A New Set Of RulesMeet The New Rules, Not Like The Old Rules: The old book was written on the assumption that political principles are important, and that, accordingly, political consistency from political parties must also be important. At its core, the old rule book accepted that the game it was regulating was the ...5 days ago
- Reducing tobacco retail availability: counterarguments to industry claimsLindsay Robertson, Janet Hoek, Richard Edwards, George Thomson, Louise Marsh (*Author details) The NZ Government’s Discussion Document outlines an Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal and proposes substantially reducing the number of retailers selling tobacco. In this blog, we examine arguments that interest groups have advanced to ...5 days ago
- National’s latest default Go-To Distraction
. . As National Party’s current Leader, Judith Collins, channeled former National Party Leader, Don Brash by playing the Race Card, I was reminded of a blogpost I wrote in March 2017; …//… Faced with increasingly negative indicators from high immigration, English was forced to explain why we were seeing ...5 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 10 May 2021Public sector pay freeze Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup: The Public sector worker backlash against Labour Andrea Vance (Stuff): Why Jacinda Ardern needs to make a John Key-style u-turn on pay sector freeze Alexia Russell (RNZ): Pay freezing out your traditional voter base Liam Dann (Herald): Muldoon or Richardson? Robertson cops it from all sides (paywalled) Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour ...5 days ago
- Hiding He Puapua From Winston May Cost Labour Dearly.5 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, May 2, 2021 through Sat, May 8, 2021 In no particular order the following articles lead to the most interactions during the last seven days: Shifting Distribution of Land Temperature Anomalies, 1951-2020, Dare we hope? ...5 days ago
- A plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel
This week the Labour government, in its infinite wisdom, decided we’d all had enough of them spending billions of dollars helping out large multi-nationals pay their wage bill during Covid, they decided on a completely new course of action. This week Labour announced an austerity plan. And what a plan ...6 days ago - Mother’s Day
(Content note: infertility, mental health, motherhood) My first post about our ~parenting journey~ is here. Mother’s Day has never been the most problematic artificially-hyped-to-sell-stuff-parental-celebration holiday for me. I grew up ~without a father~ (he bailed; his loss) so it was always the unthinking way we/marketing departments assume that everyone has ...6 days ago - Types of futures reportsThe web comic xkcd created a great (satirical) overview of the types of scientific papers. That got me thinking about the types of futures reports I commonly see. There are very good reports out there. You just need to read with a critical eye. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash ...6 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Public sector worker backlash against LabourIs Labour supposed to be the party of labour or of capital? It’s often hard to tell these days, and many in the labour movement and the political left are feeling betrayed this week by the Government’s announcement of a pay freeze for public sector workers. The Government has essentially ...6 days ago
- Fast times and a fast mouth with Boy Racer MP, David Seymour?
You’ve got to give the man credit: he quite honestly built his own car, a Lotus replica, and clearly had personal skills and a driving interest here – ha – that served him well even at a young age, which no doubt were enhanced further when he went on ...1 week ago - Why Are We Moving to Auckland?
Might the drift to the north be resisted?The regional population projections of Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) have only the Auckland and Waikato regions growing faster than the national average through to 2048. The other fourteen grow slower than average. The next three are Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Northland, so ...1 week ago - The Free Speech Union NZ branch
by Daphna Whitmore Across the English speaking world free speech is threatened. Wokeness and cancel culture, which emerged from the universities in the past decade, has spread. Its ideology is postmodernism, an obscure and impenetrable outlook. Now the university graduates have taken their piousness into government departments and NGOs where ...1 week ago - IncoherentOn Wednesday, the government froze public service pay for three years in a vicious attack on the very workers who have kept the country alive during the pandemic for the last year. Meanwhile, today they've re-announced their new system of "Fair pay Agreements", allowing unions to negotiate basic terms and ...1 week ago
- Branko Marcetic: Labour’s public sector pay freeze isn’t just a betrayal of frontline workers ...All around the world, governments, economists, and even neoliberal bastions like the World Bank are urging a change in the direction of economic policy away from the mistakes of a decade ago – all except here in New Zealand, where the government appears determined to repeat them. Branko Marcetic examines ...1 week ago
- Farewell the utopian city. To cope with climate change we must learn from how nature adaptsMohammed Makki, University of Technology Sydney “Among all species, it is perhaps only humans who create habitats that are not fit to live in.” – Stephen Marshall It’s a damning statement but one that can be reasonably argued to be true. We don’t have the best track record in ...1 week ago
- Why we should take a women-centred approach to diagnosing and treating iron deficiencyClaire Badenhorst, Massey University Iron deficiency is a common nutritional disorder worldwide, and pre-menopausal women are most at risk of being diagnosed with it. New Zealand’s most recent nutritional survey (from 2008/09) shows 12% of women may suffer from iron deficiency. But more recent research in New Zealand suggests up ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 7 May 2021Public sector pay freeze Stuff: Editorial – Pay freeze stretches public sector loyalty Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Pay freeze shows Government can’t manage the books Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Pay freeze controversy enters second day, with Greens and National pressing Labour Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Do people really earn more in the public sector? David Farrar: Robertson and Hipkins become honorary members of ...1 week ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Muller TrapA speech by Todd Muller at the Te Puna Rugby Club last June told voters everything they need to know about the New Zealand National Party. It was, arguably, the most coherent statement on political philosophy by a National leader in the MMP era. Interwoven with the usual platitudes ...1 week ago
- With Friends Like These …He's On Our Side? When Australia’s very own Minister of Defence, Peter Dutton, is telling anyone who will listen that "a war over Taiwan cannot be discounted" and that Australia was "already under attack" from Chinese cyber-warriors, it is probably time to think again about who New Zealand's "friends" and ...1 week ago
- Developing Separately – Or Together?'He iwi tahi tātou'? Should Maori poverty be addressed as a manifestation of the economic and social injustices inherent in free-market capitalism; or, is it the inevitable consequence of colonial oppression, white privilege and institutional racism? If it’s the former, then Maori and Pakeha can tackle the problem together. If ...1 week ago
- “A Rare Misstep from Simeon Brown”: Once more playing the Useful Idiot of the National Party?
Overall, MP Simeon Brown is someone to poke fun at with his asinine takes, clearly. He can, like Collins, just not help himself to save himself. But never let yourself get seriously worked up and actually worn out over it. He’s simply not worth it, sad as it ...1 week ago - Selling a buffalo for a brain scan: India’s COVID-19 crisis reveals deep fractures in its health s...Kaaren Mathias, University of Canterbury As India’s COVID-19 crisis continues, the percentage of the population testing positive for the virus has grown from 4.2% to 18.4% in the past 30 days. With more than 300,000 new cases reported each day, hospitals and crematoria face collapse. Global media have been awash ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 6 May 2021Parliament’s Speaker Trevor Mallard Henry Cooke (Stuff): National v Mallard: That atrocious late-night debate is the reason people hate politicians Barry Soper (Herald): Trevor Mallard’s outburst this week questions whether he understands what a serious sexual assault is Claire Trevett (Herald): The unedifying spectacle of the Speaker v National in Parliament (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Mallard using his power to attack ...1 week ago
- Reducing tobacco retail availability: how could this be achieved and what evidence supports the NZ G...Lindsay Robertson, Janet Hoek, Richard Edwards, Frederieke Petrović-van der Deen, George Thomson, Louise Marsh (*Author details) The NZ Government has published a Discussion Document outlining an Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. This blog is one of a series examining key aspects of the plan to help inform ...1 week ago
- Ardern says China differences ‘becoming harder to ignore’; promises to work harder on ignoring t...
Ardern has been crystal clear that New Zealand “must step up” its efforts if it is to successfully dodge questions about genocide in China. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the Auckland Business Chamber on Monday that differences between New Zealand and China on human rights were “becoming more difficult” to ...1 week ago - covid-19 infection and how the spike protein is involved in doing harmJust this morning a journalist sent me a link to a press release about a new paper looking at how SARS-Cov-2 affects the vascular system, & asked to comment on it for a article. If you’d like to read the actual paper you can find it here, but be ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #18, 2021Bringing more certainty to uncertainty communications For the armchair dilettante observer of scientific progress a solid literature review is something akin to going to Disneyland. It's almost too much stimulation. When a review covers a salient, hot topic, so much the better. This week we're pleased to feature a vast review ...1 week ago
- Is ‘Spot’ a good dog? Why we’re right to worry about unleashing robot quadrupedsJeremy Moses, University of Canterbury and Geoffrey Ford, University of Canterbury When it comes to dancing, pulling a sled, climbing stairs or doing tricks, “Spot” is definitely a good dog. It can navigate the built environment and perform a range of tasks, clearly demonstrating its flexibility as a software ...1 week ago
- Punishing our saviours againLast year public servants saved our lives, working overtime in the middle of a pandemic to stand up a response which kept out Covid and kept kiwis alive and employed. The government rewarded them with a pay freeze. And now they're extending that for another three years: Public servants ...1 week ago
- Hard News: A picture of official callousness and detachment
Last night, the New Zealand Herald posted a story from its political reporter Derek Cheng which bundles together a number of current issues around medicinal cannabis. The most alarming is that of Katy Thomas and her epileptic son Eddy, which has recently been taken up by Green MP Chloe Swarbrick. Their ...1 week ago - Samoa’s dodgy dissolutionSamoa's tied elections took a turn for the worse last night, with the O le Ao o le Malo purporting to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections in what looks awfully like a self-coup. The "justification" for this was the uncertainty created by the hung parliament - a situation the ...1 week ago
- 12,000 unemployed under LabourThe quarterly labour market statistics have been released, and once again outperformed expectations, with unemployment dropping to 4.7%. So there are now 135,000 unemployed, 12,000 more than when Labour took office. Its not all good news though: the underutilisation rate is up, suggesting that more jobs are part-time. Still, compared ...1 week ago
- Labour refuses to condemn genocide in XinjiangBut they will condemn "possible severe human rights abuses". What a pack of snivelling, grovelling chickenshits. Refusing to call the crime what it is for fear of offending the criminal. But maybe this is Labour's "kindness"? Fuck the poor. Fuck the kids. Fuck immigrants. But be kind to génocidaires. But ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 5 May 2021He Puapua document and the National Party Henry Cooke (Stuff): Whose race card is this anyway? Judith Collins and David Seymour both appear to have found the same wedge issue Graham Adams (Stuff): Ardern on a hot tin roof over He Puapua plan to share power with Māori Claire Trevett (Herald): Judith Collins’ has grabbed the agenda on ...1 week ago
- Collins warns Government is planning separatist New Zealand with special car parks and gender segreg...The Government is accusing National of scaremongering over a proposal to establish separate Māori governance in New Zealand, pointing to its long history of ignoring recommendations. National Party interim leader Judith Collins has deepened her attacks on the Government’s proposed Māori Health Authority this week, alleging that Prime Minister Jacinda ...1 week ago
- Green Party welcomes KiwiSaver fossil fuel and illegal weapons exclusion
The Green Party is welcoming the changes to KiwiSaver implemented today by the Government that require default providers to exclude investments in fossil fuel production and illegal weapons. ...10 hours ago - Securing our recovery with Budget 2021
Next week, our Government will set out the next steps in our COVID recovery with Budget 2021. We’re taking a balanced approach that will create jobs, grow the economy, and keep a lid on debt, while tackling long-term issues like child wellbeing, housing, and climate change. ...1 day ago - Green Party condemn violent displacement of PalestiniansThe Green Party condemns the violent and forced displacement of the Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah community of East Jerusalem by Israeli forces and settlers. ...1 day ago
- Student accommodation inquiry recommends proactive transparency, independent dispute resolution proc...Today the student accommodation inquiry initiated by Green Party Tertiary Education spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick tabled its report in Parliament. ...1 day ago
- Jacinda Ardern: Pre-Budget speech to Business New ZealandToday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech to Business New Zealand, setting out the next steps in our plan as we reconnect with the world and secure our recovery. Read the full speech below. ...1 day ago
- What is the Budget and why should I care?Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced that New Zealand’s Budget 2021 will be delivered on Thursday, 20 May. What does that even mean? ...2 days ago
- Green MP Teanau Tuiono walks out of the House in support of Te Pāti MāoriGreen Party MP Teanau Tuiono walked out of the House today in support of Te Pāti Māori, who call for debate in the House about kaupapa Māori to include Māori voices. ...2 days ago
- Happy Mother’s Day, Aotearoa!Today, we’re celebrating mothers, grandmothers and all the mother figures in our lives – and wishing them a wonderful day with whānau and friends – and, ideally, not so many obligations. ...6 days ago
- Green Party launch petition calling for Labour to reverse public sector wage suppression on our nurs...The Green Party have launched a petition calling on Labour to reverse its decision to suppress the wages of our nurses, teachers, and DOC workers earning between $60,000 and $100,000. ...1 week ago
- A full-on six months: Our record since the 2020 electionNew Zealanders voted for stability and security at the last election. In the six months since, we’ve worked hard to keep Kiwis safe from COVID-19, while accelerating our economic recovery and tackling long-term challenges like housing affordability, child poverty, and climate change – and we’ve made good progress. ...1 week ago
- Greens welcome US support for People’s VaccineThe Green Party strongly supports today’s commitment by the United States joining the call to waive the morally indefensible pharmaceutical patents on the COVID-19 vaccine in order to make it accessible to Developing World communities. ...1 week ago
- Public sector pay restrictions are unacceptableThe Government’s decision to restrict the wages of many essential public sector workers for another two years does a disservice to those who have kept our communities safe during COVID-19, the Green Party said today. ...1 week ago
- The Green Party is putting reasonable renting rules on the agendaThe Green Party is launching its Reasonable Rents campaign to start a national conversation about the high cost of rents for the more than 1.4 million Kiwis who live in a rental home. ...2 weeks ago
- Keeping Kiwis snug this winterWe believe everyone deserves a warm, dry place to call home. One way we’re making this a reality is through our Winter Energy Payment, which helps around a million people with their heating bills through the colder months and ensures whānau stay healthy with less stress. ...2 weeks ago
- Our tamariki Maōri should not suffer any more: GreensThe Green Party welcomes the Waitangi Tribunal report that recognises mulitple breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by the Crown. ...2 weeks ago
- Eight times Labour proved it has workers' backsOur name says a lot about our priorities, but so does our history. We’ve consistently fought for workers’ rights – from when our Party first formed in 1916, to now, when we’ve placed workers’ rights and health at the centre of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call for amnesty programme in open letter to immigration ministerThe Green Party is calling on the Government to create a broad amnesty programme for people who overstay their visa, and for temporary visa holders to be granted residency in an open letter to the Minister for Immigration. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt to rev up reductions in transport emissions
The Government is calling for feedback on a range of potential policies to eliminate emissions in the transport sector. Transport Minister Michael Wood today released Hīkina te Kohupara – Kia mauri ora ai te iwi - Transport Emissions: Pathways to Net Zero by 2050, a Ministry of Transport report outlining ...12 hours ago - Government recognises David McPhail’s contribution to New Zealand comedy and televisionMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni today pays tribute to David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) – New Zealand comedian, actor, producer and writer. David McPhail ONZM QSM had a comedy career that spanned four decades, across both television and theatre. “David’s contribution to ...12 hours ago
- Support for drought-stressed regions fills a needAn innovative iwi-led plan to help maintain water supply to a far North community battered by drought is set to get underway with support from the Government, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says. “The impacts of climate change are not something that just our grandchildren will have to ...17 hours ago
- KiwiSaver default provider scheme improvements slash fees, boosts savingsHundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will be significantly better off in retirement following changes to the default KiwiSaver scheme, Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said today. The new default provider arrangements, which will take effect once the terms of the current providers ...17 hours ago
- Industry leadership for our training system becomes realitySix new Workforce Development Councils formally established today will ensure people graduate with the right skills at the right time to address skill shortages, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. Every industry in New Zealand will be covered by one of the following Workforce Development Councils: • Hanga-Aro-Rau – Manufacturing, Engineering ...1 day ago
- Rotorua Emergency Housing updateThe Government has announced a suite of changes to emergency housing provision in Rotorua: Government to directly contract motels for emergency accommodation Wrap around social support services for those in emergency accommodation to be provided Grouping of cohorts like families and tamariki in particular motels separate from other groups One-stop ...1 day ago
- Further COVID-19 vaccine and economic support for the PacificNew Zealand will be providing protection against COVID-19 to at least 1.2 million people in the Pacific over the coming year $120 million in Official Development Assistance has been reprioritised to support Pacific economies in 2021 Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Associate Health and Foreign Affairs Minister Aupito William ...1 day ago
- Statement on the escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and GazaForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today expressed Aotearoa New Zealand’s grave concern at the escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Gaza. “The growing death toll and the large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes and Gazan rockets is unacceptable,” Nanaia Mahuta said “Senior officials met ...1 day ago
- Trade Minister to travel to UK and EU to progress free trade agreementsTrade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor announced today he will travel to the United Kingdom and European Union next month to progress New Zealand’s respective free trade agreement negotiations. The decision to travel to Europe follows the agreement reached last week between Minister O’Connor and UK Secretary of State for ...2 days ago
- Pre-Budget speech to Business New ZealandKia ora koutou katoa It’s great to be here today, at our now-regular event in anything-but-regular times. I last spoke to some of you in mid-March. That was an opportunity to reflect on an extraordinary 12 months, but also to reflect on how the future was shaping up. In what ...2 days ago
- Te Hurihanganui growing with Nelson community celebrationNelson is the latest community to join the Te Hurihanganui kaupapa to drive change and address racism and bias in education, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Speaking at today’s community celebration, Kelvin Davis acknowledged the eight iwi in Te Tau Ihu for supporting and leading Te Hurihanganui in ...2 days ago
- Te Hurihanganui Nelson Community Celebration Te Hurihanganui Nelson Community Celebration Victory Community Centre, Nelson “Racism exists – we feel little and bad”. Those were the unprompted words of one student during an interview for a report produced by the Children’s Commissioner in 2018. They were also the words I used when I announced the ...2 days ago
- Child wellbeing reports highlight need for ongoing actionThe Government has released the first Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and the second Child Poverty Related Indicators (CPRI) Report, both of which highlight improvements in the lives of children as a result of actions of the Government, while setting out the need for ongoing action. ...2 days ago
- Formal consultation starts on proposals for Hawera schoolsEducation Minister Chris Hipkins today announced a formal consultation for the future of schooling in Hawera. "Recent engagement shows there is a lot of support for change. The preferred options are for primary schools to be extended to year 7 and 8, or for a year 7-13 high school to ...2 days ago
- He Whenua Taurikura: New Zealand’s Hui on Countering Terrorism and Violent ExtremismThe Government is progressing another recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain by convening New Zealand’s first national hui on countering terrorism and violent extremism. He Whenua Taurikura, meaning ‘a land or country at peace’, will meet in Christchurch on 15 and ...2 days ago
- Hundreds of new electric cars for state sectorTotal of 422 new electric vehicles and charging infrastructure across the state sector $5.1 million for the Department of Conservation to buy 148 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure $1.1 million to help Kāinga Ora buy 40 electric vehicles and install charging infrastructure 11,600 tonnes of carbon emissions saved over ...2 days ago
- Apartments give new life to former Trade Training hostelA building that once shaped the Māori trade training industry will now revitalise the local community of Ōtautahi and provide much needed housing for whānau Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The old Māori Trade Training hostel, Te Koti Te Rato, at Rehua Marae in Christchurch has been ...3 days ago
- Opening of Te Kōti o Te Rato at Rehua Marae, Ōtautahi*Check with delivery* It is a great pleasure to be here with you all today. I acknowledge Ngāi Tūāhuriri and the trustees of Te Whatu Manawa Māoritanga o Rehua Trust Board. The opening of six new apartments on these grounds signifies more than an increase in much-needed housing for Ōtautahi. ...3 days ago
- Major step to pay parity for early learning teachersCertificated teachers on the lowest pay in early education and care services will take another leap towards pay parity with their equivalents in kindergartens, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said in a pre-Budget announcement today. “Pay parity for education and care teachers is a manifesto commitment for Labour and is reflected ...3 days ago
- New Zealand Wind Energy ConferenceTēnā koutou katoa Tēnā koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te Rā No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa Thank you Grenville for the introduction and thanks to the organisers, the New Zealand Wind Energy Association, for inviting me to speak this morning. I’m delighted that you ...3 days ago
- Speech to New Zealand Drug Foundation 2021 Parliamentary Drug Policy SymposiumSpeech to Through the Maze: On the road to health New Zealand Drug Foundation 2021 Parliamentary Drug Policy Symposium Mōrena koutou katoa, Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, Kua tae mai nei me ngā kete matauranga hauora, E whai hononga ai tatau katoa, Ka nui te mihi! Thank you for the opportunity ...3 days ago
- Govt to deliver lower card fees to businessCommerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark has today announced the Government’s next steps to reduce merchant service fees, that banks charge businesses when customers use a credit or debit card to pay, which is estimated to save New Zealand businesses approximately $74 million each year. “Pre COVID, EFTPOS has ...3 days ago
- Government support boosts Arts and Culture sectorGovernment support for the cultural sector to help it recover from the impact of COVID-19 has resulted in more cultural sector jobs predicted through to 2026, and the sector performing better than forecast. The latest forecast by economic consultancy ‘Infometrics’ reflects the impact of Government investment in keeping people in ...3 days ago
- Govt takes further action against gang crimeThe Government will make it illegal for high risk people to own firearms by introducing Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs) that will strengthen action already taken to combat the influence of gangs and organised crime to help keep New Zealanders and their families safe, Police Minister Poto Williams and Justice Minister ...4 days ago
- Thousands of MIQ spaces allocated to secure economic recoveryFive hundred spaces per fortnight will be allocated in managed isolation facilities over the next 10 months, many for skilled and critical workers to support our economic recovery, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor say. “The Trans-Tasman bubble has freed up more rooms, allowing us to ...4 days ago
- New Zealand Sign Language Week a chance to recognise national taongaThis week (10 – 16 May 2021) is New Zealand Sign Language Week (NZSL), a nationwide celebration of NZSL as an official language of New Zealand. “We’re recognised as a world leader for our commitment to maintaining and furthering the use of our sign language,” says Minister for Disability Issues ...5 days ago
- Economic resilience provides more options in Budget 2021Securing the recovery and investing in the wellbeing of New Zealanders is the focus of Budget 2021, Grant Robertson told his audience at a pre-budget speech in Auckland this morning. "The economy has proven resilient in response to COVID-19, due to people having confidence in the Government’s health response to ...5 days ago
- Pre-Budget speech to BNZ-Deloitte Auckland Breakfast EventThank you for the invitation to speak to you today, and to share with you some of the Government’s thinking leading into this year’s budget. This will be my fourth time delivering the annual Budget for the Government, though the events of the past year have thrown out that calculation. ...5 days ago
- Rotuman Language week affirms language as the key to Pacific wellbeingThe first Pacific Language Week this year makes it clear that language is the key to the wellbeing for all Pacific people said Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. “This round of language weeks begin with Rotuman. As I have always said language is one of the pillars of ...5 days ago
- Budget delivers improved cervical and breast cancer screeningBudget 2021 funds a more effective cervical screening test to help reduce cervical cancer rates A new breast screening system that can proactively identify and enrol eligible women to reach 271,000 more people who aren’t currently in the programme. Budget 2021 delivers a better cervical screening test and a major ...6 days ago
- NZ-France to co-chair Christchurch Call Leaders’ SummitNew Zealand and France will jointly convene the Christchurch Call Community for a leaders’ summit, to take stock of progress and develop a new shared priority work plan. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and President Emmanuel Macron will co-chair the leaders’ meeting on the 2nd anniversary of the Call, on 14 ...6 days ago
- New South Wales travel pause to be lifted tomorrowCOVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the current travel pause with New South Wales will lift tomorrow – subject to no further significant developments in NSW. “New Zealand health officials met today to conduct a further assessment of the public health risk from the recently identified COVID-19 community cases in Sydney. It has been determined that the risk to public ...6 days ago
- March 15 Collective Impact Board appointedThe voices of those affected by the March 15 mosque attacks will be heard more effectively with the establishment of a new collective impact board, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan announced today. Seven members of the Christchurch Muslim community have been appointed to the newly established Board, ...7 days ago
- More young Kiwis supported with mental health and addiction servicesNearly quarter of a million more young New Zealanders will have access to mental health and addiction support in their communities as the Government’s youth mental health programme gathers pace. New contracts to expand youth-specific services across the Northland, Waitematā and Auckland District Health Board areas have been confirmed, providing ...1 week ago
- New hospital facilities mean fewer trips to Auckland for NorthlandersNorthlanders will no longer automatically have to go to Auckland for lifesaving heart procedures like angiograms, angioplasty and the insertion of pacemakers, thanks to new operating theatres and a cardiac catheter laboratory opened at Whangārei Hospital by Health Minister Andrew Little today. The two projects – along with a new ...1 week ago
- Fair Pay Agreements to improve pay and conditions for essential workersThe Government is delivering on its pre-election commitment to implement Fair Pay Agreements which will improve wages and conditions, as well as help support our economic recovery, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. Fair Pay Agreements will set minimum standards for all employees and employers in an ...1 week ago
- Establishment of the new Māori Health Authority takes first big stepSir Mason Durie will lead a Steering Group to provide advice to the Transition Unit on governance arrangements and initial appointments to an interim board to oversee the establishment of the Māori Health Authority. This Group will ensure that Māori shape a vital element of our future health system, Minister ...1 week ago
- Cycle trails move up a gear in CentralWork on new and upgraded cycle trails in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Central Otago is moving up a gear as two significant projects pass further milestones today. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has announced new funding for the Queenstown Trails Project, and will also formally open the Lake Dunstan Trail at Bannockburn ...1 week ago
- Government gives households extra help to reduce their power billsNine community energy education initiatives to help struggling New Zealanders with their power bills are being given government funding through the new Support for Energy Education in Communities (SEEC) Programme. “Last year we committed nearly $8 million over four years to establish the SEEC Programme. This funding will help ...1 week ago
- Picton ferry terminal upgrade consent fast-trackedThe planned upgrade of the Waitohi Picton Ferry terminal has been approved under the fast-track consenting process. Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the decision by the expert consenting panel to approve the Waitohi Picton Ferry Precinct Redevelopment Project. The project will provide a significant upgrade to the ferry facilities ...1 week ago
- The Women’s Budget Statement was more like a first step than a revolution
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Hodgson, Professor, Curtin Law School and Curtin Business School, Curtin University We’re told that this budget, more than most, delivered for women. Commonwealth Treasury Certainly for the first time in years it was accompanied by a Women’s Budget Statement printed as ...29 mins ago - Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19: Covid19 League Charts for the 2nd Week of MayAnalysis by Keith Rankin. Maldives: Covid19 as well as space debris and terrorist bombing. Maldives: Covid19 as well as space debris and terrorist bombing. It’s been a big month, so far, for the Maldive Islands. Further, some of New Zealand’s leading cricketers (including captain Kane Williamson) are manuhiri in the ...5 hours ago
- Week in Politics: Government ‘pushes the reset button’ on public sector pay
Analysis - The government deals with a fierce backlash over its public sector pay curb and in Parliament the lid blows off the race relations debate. ...5 hours ago - Could the AstraZeneca vaccine cause Guillain-Barré syndrome? We don’t know yet — but there’s ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) yesterday revealed there have been six reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Australia following the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine. This is an autoimmune disorder, which causes ...5 hours ago
- Charging Electric Cars With Diesel
One thing this week that told us more about New Zealand than anything else was the Department of Conservation charging an electric vehicle on Stewart Island with a diesel generator. How did we get here? It’s just one example of how a tiny but ...7 hours ago - First Nations families need support to stay together, before we create another Stolen GenerationSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Chamberlain, Associate Professor Indigenous Health Equity, La Trobe University Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children are increasingly being removed from their families and placed into out-of-home care, raising concerns of another Stolen Generation. One of the main reasons is ...8 hours ago
- Finally, an ongoing commitment to funding preschool. But the conditions are hazy and ill-definedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennie Barblett, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University The 2021-22 budget includes funding for 15 hours per week of free preschool education for all children in the year before school. Although in his budget speech, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said there would be $2 ...8 hours ago
- Albanese’s $10bn pledge pushes housing needs back into the limelightSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s budget reply speech last night highlighted Australia’s huge unnmet need for social and affordable housing. It’s once again shaping up as a ...8 hours ago
- Default KiwiSaver Schemes Will No Longer Include Investments In Fossil Fuel Production, The Governme...The news is part of a suite of changes made to KiwiSaver default provider schemes . The new arrangements will take effect on 1 December 2021 . The SMC asked experts to comment on the news. Ivan Diaz-Rainey, Director, Climate and Energy Finance Group ...8 hours ago
- Art by Indigenous prisoners can forge links with culture and a future away from crimeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeremy Ryder, Research Assistant, Law and Criminal Justice Tutor, Flinders University Featuring over 350 artworks created by more than 320 artists, The Torch’s annual exhibition, Confined 12, is its largest to date. All of the artists in the Victorian not-for-profit organisation’s show ...8 hours ago
- With diplomacy all but abandoned, Israel and the Palestinians are teetering on another warSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Billingsley, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, UNSW The latest violence between Israeli and Palestinian forces should come as no surprise. The issue of Palestinian statehood has been off the international agenda since US President Barack Obama effectively washed his hands ...9 hours ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the 2021-22 budgetSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. This week Michelle and Paddy discuss budget week – from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s ...9 hours ago
- Have You Say On The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill...9 hours ago
- SFO charges an indictment on political parties – not the systemPower Play: Calls for another look at the rules for party political donations are a copout, writes Jane Patterson. ...10 hours ago
- Bulletin World Weekly: The historic tragedy of Jerusalem
The Bulletin World Weekly is a Spinoff newsletter covering and analyising the most important stories from around the globe. This week’s edition looks at the historic roots of the current violence sweeping through Israel, Jerusalem and Gaza. To get the Bulletin World Weekly in your inbox every week, sign up to ...10 hours ago - Luxon might consider asking about the need for iwi appointees to sit on council committees after Mao...
National’s local government spokesman, Christopher Luxon, said his party welcomed the review of local government recently announced by Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta. National supported the Future of Local Government review, he said. But he cautioned that the Ardern government had shown time and again it has an appetite for ...10 hours ago - The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 14The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Faber & Faber, $37)On Saturday night you can watch Ishiguro ...10 hours ago
- Scrap The Road Tax On Marine Fuel...11 hours ago
- Government reveals climate change options for transport sector
The Government wants to hear from you about its plans to reduce emissions in the transport sector. Minister of Transport Michael Wood has released Hīkina te Kohupara - Kia mauri ora ai te iwi - Transport Emissions: Pathways to Net Zero by 2050, a Ministry of Transport report outlining potential policies and ...11 hours ago - Immigration Minister Likely To Devastate Skilled Migrant Hopes With New AnnouncementThe New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) believes that the Immigration Minister will announce on Monday that 30,000 current skilled migrant category (SMC) applications awaiting allocation and assessment by Immigration New ...11 hours ago
- Yesterdaze: To freeze or not to freeze
Literary skills have been lacking on both sides of the House this week amid a storm over pay freeze. James Elliott looks at why the Government could well be facing a winter of too many pigs with not enough lipstick. It’s been another big news week, particularly in the literary world. Simon ...11 hours ago - Government reveals options for climate change policies in transport sectorThe government wants a "national conversation" about the changes needed to reduce transport sector greenhouse gas emissions. ...11 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: what the fuck is an Ockham, by Dominic HoeyA new poem from poet and novelist Dominic Hoey.what the fuck is an Ockhamlanding in Christchurch no ones wearing masks my friend messages me “wanna get dinner?” I’m at a writers festival “bullshit, you can’t even spell”sharing a hotel room with Mohamed he prays in the corner while I sext ...12 hours ago
- NZNO DHB Members Vote To Strike!The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) will be issuing strike notices to the country’s district health boards (DHBs) after its 30,000 members who work in DHBs voted overwhelmingly in favour of an eight-hour strike on 9 June. Lead Advocate and ...12 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – May 14 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s content Inequality and poverty Tess McClure (The Guardian): Ardern faces calls to boost child poverty spending ...12 hours ago
- Snakes! Snakes on a beach!12 hours ago
- Open Letter To Minister Hipkins13 May 2021 Dear Mr Hipkins I watched with interest on Wednesday as you announced a move towards pay parity for teachers in early childhood education (ECE) centres. You said a funding increase of $170 million was intended to help these teachers move ...13 hours ago
- Analysis – The Singapore Conundrum: Why Emulating Its Success Could be a MistakeAnalysis by Simon Angelo (WealthMorning.com) Our business is finding profitable and innovative businesses to invest in. We’ve had a stellar recovery run since Covid. If there’s one thing that separates these companies out from the rest, it is this: They have found a profitable niche ...13 hours ago
- Consistent National Approach Needed For Freedom Camping – TIAThe Government’s review of freedom camping is an opportunity to create a nationally consistent approach to managing camping around the country, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says. While the Freedom Camping Act provides national direction, the requirement ...13 hours ago
- Getting ready for climate change is about people, not spreadsheets. Let’s use our imaginationsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tayanah O’Donnell, Director, Future Earth Australia at the Australian Academy of Science and Honorary Associate Professor, Australian National University Measures in this week’s federal budget to help Australians withstand and adapt to climate change are sorely needed, after years of cuts in ...13 hours ago
- KiwiSaver cash is to be kept away from oil and gas industries and tourists are to be kept apart from...
A gush of statements and speeches from the Beehive ranges in significance from Damien O’Connor’s trip to London and Brussels to press on with free trade negotiations to Chris Hipkins dealing with the way schools are organised in Harewa. Changes to the Kiwisaver scheme include measures to discourage or disallow ...13 hours ago - VF48Hours 2021: Body-swapping techno vikings from spaceWellington animation team Truba talk us through their VF48Hours superhero movie, Infinite Origin.Truba might be the most international team in this year’s Vista Foundation 48 Hours. An actual animation studio outside of the competition (they’ve produced animations for [adult swim] and made music videos for Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Childish ...14 hours ago
- New Zealand Starts Living On Borrowed TimeOn Saturday, New Zealand becomes the 48th country to begin living on borrowed time in 2021. This is the day when we have used all of our environmental resources for the year and move into overdraft. The costs of ecological overspending is seen in ...14 hours ago
- The Low and Middle Income Tax Offset has been extended yet again. It delivers help neither when nor ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society and NATSEM, University of Canberra The Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (known as the LMITO or “lamington”) has been given yet another new lease of life. What started in 2018 ...14 hours ago
- Changes To Default Kiwisaver Standards Reflect The Power Of People Demanding Climate ActionClimate justice organisation 350 Aotearoa welcomes the improvements to default Kiwisaver funds announced today by the government, which mean New Zealanders’ savings in default funds will no longer be invested in fossil fuels. This change will mean that ...14 hours ago
- McDonald's investigates franchisee owner accused of bonded labour
The owner of four McDonald's franchises in Auckland has been accused of bonded labour through dodgy contracts Workers at McDonald's stores in Auckland were surprised to hear their boss has been asking some staff to sign contracts that made them liable to pay thousands of dollars if they left within a ...14 hours ago - Did RuPaul actually come to New Zealand? A Spinoff investigationSocial media is alight with a bizarre rumour that RuPaul Charles never came to New Zealand to film the local version of his reality show, Drag Race Down Under. Nothing has excited New Zealand social media this year as much as the news that RuPaul had landed in the country to ...15 hours ago
- Government's KiwiSaver Interference Will Hammer SavingsThe Government’s announcement that default KiwiSaver funds will be forced to boycott fossil fuel investments will reduce savings, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "The last thing KiwiSaver members need ...15 hours ago
- Budget 2021 Should Fund Vaping ‘starter Packs’ As In UKBudget 2021 should supercharge ‘vape to quit’ smoking cessation programmes already well established across New Zealand’s health sector. In fact, adopting one initiative now underway at several NHS hospitals in the UK would be a brilliant step for Smokefree ...15 hours ago
- Extreme highs, extreme lows: Mousey on stress, success and social mediaFor Christchurch musician Mousey, 2020 should have been a breakout year. But through all the disruption, she’s still finding new ways to keep moving forward. Sarena Close joins me on Zoom in her PJs. Her husband, Chris, is pottering around their suburban home in the background. If you didn’t ...16 hours ago
- Default KiwiSaver scheme changes will leave members better off, government saysChanges to KiwiSaver mean those who join the scheme at age 18 could be almost $150,000 better off at retirement, the government claims. ...16 hours ago
- Government has no plans to facilitate charter flights to return NZers from India – ArdernPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the government is not planning to help travel agents trying to organise private charter flights for New Zealanders stranded in India. ...17 hours ago
- Recovery Fund Reaches Funding MilestoneThe WBOP COVID-19 Recovery Fund has funded 16 community groups in the past eight months with over $360,000 in funding. It brings the total funded since its inception to over $770,000. The successful recipients include Brave Hearts, Life Education ...17 hours ago
- Where do meteorites come from? We tracked hundreds of fireballs streaking through the sky to find ou...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick M Shober, Planetary Science PhD Candidate, Curtin University If asked where meteorites come from, you might reply “from comets”. But according to our new research, which tracked hundreds of fireballs on their journey through the Australian skies, you would be wrong. ...17 hours ago
- Yes, religion plays a more prominent role in politics. But ‘secular Australia’ has always been a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cristina Rocha, Director of Religion and Society Research Cluster, Western Sydney University Religion and politics have long been uneasy bedfellows, especially in largely secular societies like Australia. But since September 11 and the sudden focus on Islam in Western politics, it has ...17 hours ago
- Do naturally high testosterone levels equal stronger female athletic performance? Not necessarilySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Severine Lamon, Associate professor, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Deakin University Over the past few years, controversy has surrounded the World Athletics ruling that female hyperandrogenic athletes — female athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone — are banned from competing in certain ...17 hours ago
- How climate change is erasing the world’s oldest rock artSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jillian Huntley, Research Fellow, Griffith University In caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, ancient peoples marked the walls with red and mulberry hand stencils, and painted images of large native mammals or imaginary human-animal creatures. These are the oldest cave art ...17 hours ago
- Friday essay: searching for sanity in a world hell-bent on destructionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Alexander, Research fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of Melbourne According to The Parable of the Poisoned Well, there once lived a king who ruled over a great city. He was loved for his wisdom and feared for his power. ...17 hours ago
- Live updates, May 14: Bloomfield floats return to alert level 2.5 when borders openWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for May 14, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.50am: Bloomfield floats return to level 2.5 when borders openThe director general of health is facing political criticism after suggesting the country might have to return to alert ...18 hours ago
- Record quantities of gold moved to NZ as investors seek safe haven
A discreet, high-security vault near Auckland's international airport is seen as a safe haven in times of global turmoil. ...18 hours ago - Union worker: Pay freeze an attempt at intimidation by a government scared of strikesA public sector union worker argues that the government's goal was to drive down the pay expectations of the nurses who are currently set to strike. ...18 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Fears of mid-year vaccine shortageGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fears of mid-year vaccine shortage, new report shows child poverty indicators not improving, and SFO charges laid over donation to Labour.Understandably, there’s pretty high demand for the Covid vaccine right now. But will the demand be too high for supply to ...18 hours ago
- Xero draws massive profits in pandemic
Cloud accounting boss says lockdowns initially squeezed the business but soon, they had a record number of small firms signing up for their online products. A solid rebound from the pandemic has delivered a strong lift in profits for accounting software firm Xero. The profit for the year ended March increased to $19.8 ...19 hours ago - Changing South: NZ's biggest pumpkins?
The biggest, the heaviest and the ugliest – Frank Film tracks down the winners at the Little River Giant Pumpkin Festival They don't taste too good but they certainly pull the crowds. Last month, despite drying hills and a dearth of tourists, around 3000 people descended on Little River to ...20 hours ago - Where is she now? Debbie Henderson
A remarkable feat made Debbie Henderson a big name in New Zealand racing, but her career was cruelly cut short, writes Ashley Stanley Debbie Henderson became famous in 1994 as the first woman to win the Grand National Steeplechase in its rich,145-year history. At the time, she was a 20-year-old apprentice ...20 hours ago - There's no one way to teach maths
Robin Averill and Lisa Bonne explain why they believe it's dangerous for the wide range of learners we have in our schools to be taught in one way only Jack Tame on his TVNZ 1 show Q + A recently hosted six education experts to discuss a recent report that showed ...20 hours ago - One trip, nine tickets and transport cards, nil progress
Paul Callister just wanted to make a simple trip to the uni in Palmerston North – but navigating the public transporting ticketing is anything but simple. It shows we are a long way from having an efficient, joined up, low carbon, regional public transport system. OPINION: The Climate Change Commission ...20 hours ago - Bright spot in south's rabbit war
While much of Otago finds itself completely overrun, Maniototo locals have found a way to get the rabbit plague under control themselves - creating some jobs along the way Finding a way to beat Otago’s worst pest without costing the taxpayer a bomb has eluded the government for decades and the ...20 hours ago - This week's best-selling books
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 Auē by Becky Manawatu (Makaro Press, $35) Good old Manawatu appeared at the Dunedin Writers Festival last weekend, and she read from her highly anticipated second ...20 hours ago - Newsroom's daily sudoku, Friday 14 May
...20 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Friday 14 May
...20 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 14 May
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...20 hours ago - The Spinoff’s complete guide to killing it at karaokeHow to karaoke like a boss, no matter your singing skills. New Zealanders love to sing. And when I say New Zealanders, I mean our Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities, obviously. We sing to make a point, to support each other, to tell stories. We sing to our gods, we ...20 hours ago
- Why we shouldn’t be so afraid of Beijing – or so naive about how China Inc operatesUnlike Australia, New Zealand tiptoes around criticising China, fearing a trade and investment backlash. But are those fears really justified? In the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to Natasha Hamilton-Hart from the University of Auckland business school and Sam Roggeveen from Australia’s ...20 hours ago
- EY paid more than $2m for health review
Eighty percent of external costs for the health sector transition unit have gone to one consulting firm. David Williams reports The head of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is defending consultant costs for the health and disability review transition unit. Last month, Health Minister Andrew Little announced ...21 hours ago - Rod Oram: Helen Kelly's battles are yet to be won
The new biography of unionist Helen Kelly has much to teach us about how to challenge injustices in the economic system, writes Rod Oram ...21 hours ago - The low-down on Fair Pay Agreements
Details have been released about arguably the biggest shift in industrial relations in 30 years - what are Fair Pay Agreements all about? Workplace relations and safety minister Michael Wood has dished the detail on what the Government's new Fair Pay Agreements will do, and how they might work. ...21 hours ago - Exporters: Need for offshore travel more acute
As the PM announces trade trip plans, exporters say they need to be able to head overseas soon. ...21 hours ago - Covid-19: How the world failed to avoid an avoidable disaster
A landmark report from Helen Clark has traversed in detail how the world failed to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic and what can be done to avoid the next global health emergency. ...21 hours ago - Chinese censors refuse publication of NZ union leader Helen Kelly’s storyThe new biography of Helen Kelly by Rebecca Macfie was with the printers and all set to go – and then Chinese censors stepped in.Here’s an email you don’t want to receive days before your splendid important book goes to press:The book mentioned sensitive contents … the printing license [will] ...1 day ago
- Grattan on Friday: Is that the Coalition debt truck parked just past the election?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra It was a small thing but a revealing moment during Scott Morrison’s Wednesday interview on Nine’s Today show. Presenter Karl Stefanovic noticed Morrison seemed out of sorts, despite the government having delivered the night before ...1 day ago
- ‘Frontline workers’ among those to get priority in Albanese’s housing programSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A promise to set up a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to build social and affordable housing was the centrepiece of Anthony Albanese’s Thursday night budget reply. In the program’s first five years, the ...1 day ago
- What is mucormycosis, the fungal infection affecting COVID patients in India?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monica Slavin, Head, Department Infectious Diseases, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre This week we’ve seen reports of an infection called mucormycosis, often termed “black fungus”, in patients with COVID, or who are recovering from COVID, in India. Fungal infections ...1 day ago
- Too late, already bolted: how a faster WHO response could have slowed COVID-19’s spreadSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Toole, Professor of International Health, Burnet Institute Urgent global action is needed to end the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future threats, according to a new report by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. The panel, co-chaired by former ...1 day ago
- The Handmaid’s Tale recap: Lights will guide you home, JuneJune made it out of Gilead, but does that mean her troubles are over? Of course not. Tara Ward recaps episode five of season four of The Handmaid’s Tale.Welcome to the halfway point of season four, mates. It feels like this season is rushing by, and yet the entire series ...1 day ago
Recent Comments