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Must New Zealand Pay Back All This Public Debt?
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, December 20th, 2020 - 22 comments
Without much fanfare, Minister Robertson has used 2020’s crisis to bury the historic scourge of monetarism and within it the excuses of the governments that used it as a pretext to sell off our key government income generators.
The Government’s finances are in very good shape
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, December 17th, 2020 - 66 comments
The Government’s finances are in remarkably good shape. Who would have predicted that dealing properly with a global pandemic would have had better results for the economy than timidly dealing with it and trying to ensure that economic activity continued? But by international levels our Government debt is already low and maybe now is the time to spend on vital areas such as poverty, climate change and the housing crisis.
New leadership same old tactics
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 27th, 2020 - 24 comments
National has released a social media ad suggesting that New Zealand’s per head of population Government debt figure will be worse than Greece’s by 2014. But the data used presumes the effects of Covid 19 in New Zealand’s figure but no effects of Covid 19 in Greece’s figure.
The “Others”.
Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, April 25th, 2020 - 20 comments
“Othering” has long been a staple of Governments that want to remain in power for the benefit of an Oligarchy, an “Elite”, a small ruling class, or the ones with, “the money”. Deflecting blame for economic and social issues on, an ethnicity, a class, the elderly, the poor, the young, the unemployed, young solo mothers, the disabled, immigrants, or any other convenient group that can be demonised. Very soon more of us may become the “others” we didn’t care about.
Steve Mnuchin, not Greta Thunberg, needs to go back to school
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, January 27th, 2020 - 11 comments
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has attacked Greta Thunberg for not understanding the economics of climate change. But he has then been roundly criticised by a number of people, including his wife.
Austerity – who should pay for the financial crisis?
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, November 17th, 2019 - 30 comments
Nick Kelly on UK austerity and who should have paid for the financial crisis.
The Coming Global Economic Slowdown and New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, June 3rd, 2019 - 49 comments
With the United States – China trade war well underway, the sick chaos of Brexit is shrinking the U.K. economy and slowing much of Europe’s economy, and smaller economies such as that of Mexico in the crosshairs through further politically manufactured trade disputes, the second half of this year looks for New Zealand nowhere near as rosy as the first half.
Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2019 - 72 comments
Grant Robertson has announced there will be a relaxing of the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after the next election.
Scrap the spending cap
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, July 23rd, 2018 - 152 comments
Economist Ganesh Nana and Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army have urged the Government to relax the fiscal straight jacket imposed by its budget responsibility rules.
Economy 2018
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 9th, 2017 - 31 comments
It’s that time of year where we start making predictions for 2018. I see it looking not too hot, not too cold.
TPP, Corporate Coup or “Free trade”?
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, November 8th, 2017 - 99 comments
However. TPP ( The trans Pacific partnership) is NOT a “Free trade” agreement. It is an attempt to cement in corporate power, to override inconvenient local Democracy, and collect rents from local communities in perpetuity.
Since when was giving large companies extra rights in law, and rights to extract even more economic rents, “Free trade”?
Debt to Income Loan Limits
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 15th, 2017 - 116 comments
The possible introduction of debt to income lending ratios will potentially have an enormous effect on New Zealand’s housing market.
Anzac Day
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, April 26th, 2017 - 15 comments
Am I the only one who is upset, over mealy mouthed politicians making flowery speeches saying “We will remember them”
when they manifestly don’t.
Household debt
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, March 8th, 2017 - 93 comments
The IMF warns that our household debt is far too high, as desperate tenants start raiding the Kiwisaver accounts to pay the rent.
Hickey on surpluses and Key’s bullshit
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, December 4th, 2016 - 36 comments
Bernard Hickey: “It is extraordinary for the Prime Minister to call the Treasury’s short and long term forecasts a “load of nonsense” and yet rely on the medium term ones to promise all manner of riches to voters on the eve of an election.”
Trump and the NZ housing bubble
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, November 16th, 2016 - 21 comments
The bright orange trigger for a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates may have just arrived. Our over-indebted home owners are highly vulnerable.
Tax cuts hard to sell
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, October 19th, 2016 - 8 comments
Herald: “…the Government ought to be banking surpluses, just as Sir Michael Cullen did during the boom of 2000-2007”.
Hickey on debt
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, October 16th, 2016 - 31 comments
Hickey in The Herald on Sunday: “Our household debt to income ratio of 165 per cent is now about 5 per cent above those previous highs of 2008 and rising quickly as debt rises around twice as fast as incomes.”
Interest free student loans – still safe for now?
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, August 18th, 2016 - 58 comments
A right wing “think-tank” wants to load students up with even more debt.
Labour on student debt – beware of clickbait headlines
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, August 10th, 2016 - 125 comments
“Revealed: Labour’s plan to wipe student debt”. Nope. Saved you a click.
Financial capital is crazy OP. Time to strip it back to basics.
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, August 8th, 2016 - 72 comments
Financial capital is way over powered in our current political economic system. Every aspect of our lives has been financialised and securitised, from our homes to our educations. From our drinking water to our power supply.
We’re going to burn it all, until we burn it down.
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 am, May 20th, 2016 - 173 comments
What does it really mean to reduce NZ’s total fossil fuel use by 50% by 2030: a warm up discussion for an upcoming thought experiment.
Trade deficit worst in seven years
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, April 28th, 2016 - 122 comments
Add it to our record debt, our record pollution, our record housing unaffordability, our rising inequality, our terrible carbon emissions…
A Song from John (All your questions answered)
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, April 8th, 2016 - 4 comments
Okay. So rumoour has it that John was merely a co-writer.
Who is ultimately responsible for NZ’s massive dairy farm debt?
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 12th, 2016 - 82 comments
People talk of excessive borrowing in the dairy sector. Of course, the real problem is that of excessive lending.
Fonterra faces liquidity issues as rivers of “white oil” dry up
Written By: - Date published: 5:47 pm, March 8th, 2016 - 141 comments
Pundits, most residing in the National Party, just three years ago predicted the economy would surf high on “rivers of white oil” flowing from the dairy industry, but they now have cow pats splattered on their faces as Fonterra today announced another payout downgrade and signalled liquidity pressures.
the Global Death Economy
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, February 25th, 2016 - 141 comments
A new edition of “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” has been released. It makes it clear that we are in the grip of a global “Death Economy” and a collective embrace of ‘Thanatos’, the death instinct.
National the party of economic lunacy
Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, February 10th, 2016 - 166 comments
A “$17 billion hole in the economy”. An estimated $18 billion lost because National stopped investing in the super fund. A record national debt. And we’re still talking about tax cuts? Lunacy!
So, how would you spend $1.2B per year?
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, February 1st, 2016 - 84 comments
A Kiwi Kids allowance for all under fives, with totally fee free public primary and secondary schools.
Keep Calm and Carry On
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, January 25th, 2016 - 135 comments
Regular commenter Paul rounds up the links you need to read to prepare yourself for the coming second GFC. National won’t be able to pass this one on to future generations by loading NZ up with crippling debt. We’ll be paying for GFC2 economically, socially and personally, right here, right now.
Why are we working so hard?
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, January 10th, 2016 - 46 comments
A recent New Matilda article discusses why at a time of increasing productivity the need to work has increased and not decreased.
- The Winds Of Change.
5 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 25 January 2021
Covid Harry Lock (RNZ): Covid community case: Infection at MIQ facility ‘most likely scenario’ Jamie Morton (Herald): Time to ‘turn down tap’ on travel from risky countries, experts say Kate Green and Jackson Thomas (Stuff): Covid-19 response, experts say in wake of probable case Audrey Young (Herald): Where is Jacinda Ardern’s collectivism when it is needed for Covid 19?(paywalled) Herald: Editorial: More spreadable ...10 hours ago - Josh Van Veen: A Modest defence of Chris LiddellIs it possible to live and let live in the post-Trump era? The online campaign to vilify Christopher Liddell, ex-White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to Trump, makes for an interesting case study. Liddell is a New Zealander whose illustrious career in corporate America once earned him plaudits ...11 hours ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #4
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 17, 2021 through Sat, Jan 23, 2021 Editor's Choice 12 new books explore fresh approaches to act on climate change Authors explore scientific, economic, and political avenues for climate action ...1 day ago - Twelve Forgotten Principles of Public Health
This discussion is from a Twitter thread by Martin Kulldorff on 20 December 2020. He is a Professor at Harvard Medical School specialising in disease surveillance methods, infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety. His Twitter handle is @MartinKulldorff #1 Public health is about all health outcomes, not just a single ...2 days ago - Analysis: The climate papers most featured in the media in 2020This article, guest authored by Robert Sweeney was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Jan 13, 2021. The first part of the article is reposted below in. Click here to access the complete original article and comments posted on Carbon Brief. Last year was meant to be very ...2 days ago
- How is the Economy Doing?
The Treasury forecasts suggest the economy is doing better than expected after the Covid Shock. John Kenneth Galbraith was wont to say that economic forecasting was designed to make astrology look good. Unfair, but it raises the question of the purpose of economic forecasts. Certainly the public may treat them ...3 days ago - COVID-19 vaccines and community immunity (transmission)
Q: Will the COVID-19 vaccines prevent the transmission of the coronavirus and bring about community immunity (aka herd immunity)? A: Jury not in yet but vaccines do not have to be perfect to thwart the spread of infection. While vaccines induce protection against illness, they do not always stop actual ...3 days ago - Biden’s Choice
Joe Biden seems to be everything that Donald Trump was not – decent, straightforward, considerate of others, mindful of his responsibilities – but none of that means that he has an easy path ahead of him. The pandemic still rages, American standing in the world is grievously low, and the ...3 days ago - Four years of the Aotearoa NZ Science Journalism FundKeana Virmani From healthcare robots to data privacy, to sea level rise and Antarctica under the ice: in the four years since its establishment, the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund has supported over 30 projects. Rebecca Priestley, receiving the PM Science Communication Prize (Photo by Mark Tantrum) Associate Professor ...3 days ago
- Places to go, people to be
Nothing more from me today - I'm off to Wellington, to participate in the city's annual roleplaying convention (which has also eaten my time for the whole week, limiting blogging despite there being interesting things happening). Normal bloggage will resume Tuesday. ...3 days ago - BannedThe Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into force today, making the development, possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal in international law. Every nuclear-armed state is now a criminal regime. The corporations and scientists who design, build and maintain their illegal weapons are now ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 22 January 2021Housing Luke Malpass (Stuff): Labour announces that it will make more housing announcements this year Zane Small and Conor Whitten (Newshub): Backlash over Labour’s public housing ‘re-announcement’ prompts firm defence from Jacinda Ardern Chris Trotter: The Economic consequences of Mr Hickey Miriam Bell (Stuff): More public housing won’t ‘fix’ the housing crisis Yvette McCullough (RNZ): Jacinda Ardern’s government facing continued criticism over its ...3 days ago
- The Economic Consequences Of Mr Hickey."Come The Revolution!" The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 percent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected ...3 days ago
- Should tech giants control the public square?
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...4 days ago - What Biden and Democatic Senate can do on climate in their first 100 daysThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...4 days ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XVI
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...4 days ago - ReliefLast night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...4 days ago
- Joe Biden inauguration: The pendulum has swung, but how far?
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...4 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 21 January 2021Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): Greens say house prices need to fall Vita Molyneux (Newshub): Green Party will continue to push for wealth tax, blast Govt for ‘not doing enough’ about housing crisis Anna Whyte (1News): ‘Government is not doing enough’ – Greens, National call for action amid soaring public housing need, high house prices Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Govt can’t, and won’t, ...4 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3, 2021Weather reporting turns into climate recording Leading a quartet of researchers, Chunlüe Zhou produces a tour de force of improved and more productive data exploitation in the paper A New Approach to Homogenize Global Subdaily Radiosonde Temperature Data from 1958 to 2018. Due to operational constraints, characteristics and the limited objectives of the ...5 days ago
- Why Do So Many Astronomy Discoveries Fail to Live Up to the Hype?Dan Falk Britons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...5 days ago
- Book Review: Unlocking the World of AutismSara Luterman Growing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 20 January 2021Housing Henry Cooke (Stuff): Public housing waitlist grows by 1000 in two months to new record high as high rents hit the poor Jason Walls (Herald): The Crown spent $16.5 million in four years on motels for emergency accommodation Sophie Trigger (Herald): Affordable Wellington flats offered through council initiative Melissa Nightingale (Herald): Shipping container for rent at $390/wk: Council to inspect ...5 days ago
- Breathing Life into the Corpse FlowerDoug Johnson The alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...5 days ago
- Gillett et al. (2021) global warming attribution studyThe Human vs. Natural Contributions to Global Warming chart on the Skeptical Science Graphics Page has been updated to include the study discussed below A new study published in Nature Climate Change, Gillett et al. (2021), is the latest in a long line of 'detection and attribution' studies published over the past 20-plus years ...6 days ago
- JEEMGetting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...6 days ago
- The cold supply chain can’t reach everywhere – that’s a big problem for equitable COVID-19 vac...Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts Amherst To mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...6 days ago
- Vaccines are cheapIsrael chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...6 days ago
- Irish Marxist looks at postmodern transgender identity politics and ideologyOrla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...6 days ago
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 2
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...6 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 19 January 2021Parliament, government, and extremism Chris Trotter (Interest): Trump’s surprisingly large army of New Zealand supporters Jason Walls (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won’t say if she’s backing Chris Liddell for OECD’s top job Dave Armstrong (Stuff): Familiar titles with a new twist Peter McKenzie (Spinoff): The progressive fault lines facing New Zealand in 2021 and beyond Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): How ...6 days ago
- What the Blood Supply Shows About Covid-19’s SpreadNathaniel Scharping In March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...6 days ago
- Coronavirus: few vaccines prevent infection – here’s why that’s not a problemSarah L Caddy, University of Cambridge Vaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...7 days ago
- Climate Change: Ending coal in PortugalBack in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...1 week ago
- Trump's Surprisingly Large Army Of New Zealand Supporters.The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...1 week ago
- Aristocracy of Pull continuesRNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...1 week ago
- The Plan B implosion – what Brazil teaches us about the herd immunity hogwashAs families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 18 January 2021Housing Bernard Hickey (Stuff): The ‘brutal’ catch-22 politics of trying to move to affordable housing Bernard Hickey: Why work when you can just own houses? Miriam Bell (Stuff): Consents are up, but will that help with NZ’s stubborn housing shortage? Miriam Bell (Stuff): New house listings have surged so far this year – but it’s not enough Miriam Bell (Stuff): House ...1 week ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #3A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021 Editor's Choice NASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to help Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash ...1 week ago
- The frail elderly and COVID vaccines – should we be concerned?Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...1 week ago
- Guest post: How to ‘fairly’ share emissions from goods traded around the worldThis article, guest authored by Dr Michael Jakob, Dr Hauke Ward & Dr Jan C Stecke, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Jan 4, 2021. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Photo by Kingsley Jebaraj on Unsplash Each year, close ...1 week ago
- How good is the AstraZeneca vaccine looking? Look at the data, not news headlinesHappy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...1 week ago
- Opening Pandora’s American Box
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...1 week ago - 100 Days 4 ActionSchool Strike 4 Climate is holding a "100 Days 4 Action" rally outside Parliament on the 26th: The Youth of NZ will be standing up for climate action once again on January 26th outside of Parliament for School Strike 4 Climate NZ’s 100 Days 4 Action campaign rally. “We ...1 week ago
- A Big Science Publisher Is Going Open Access. But at What Cost?Grigori Guitchounts In November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...1 week ago
- Early next step: Add risk management to National Climate AssessmentThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...1 week ago
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- Will New Zealand’s Body-Politic Be Snatched By Trumpism?“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...1 week ago
- Thoughts on the Amazon LOTR TV Series Synopsis
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...2 weeks ago - Hat tips to history
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...2 weeks ago - Ideology as an organising principle.
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...2 weeks ago - Paying the BluffGeldSo, Rio Tinto has supposedly reached a deal with Meridian and Contact to give them cheaper electricity prices and keep the Tiwai Point smelter open. Down south, they're celebrating. But the rest of us shouldn't be. I've argued before that the best thing this foreign polluter can do is close. ...2 weeks ago
- Impeached againThe US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...2 weeks ago
- Dire wolves went extinct 13,000 years ago but thanks to new genetic analysis their true story can no...Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Thanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 14 January 2021Twitter suspension of NZ accounts Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Twitter’s suspension of New Zealand-based right-wing accounts ‘an overreaction’ – Simon Bridges Alex Braae (Spinoff): NZ right-wingers caught up in global purge of Twitter accounts No Right Turn: The Twitter Purge Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ far-right Twitter accounts suspended Jason Walls (Herald): Twitter crackdown reaches NZ: Hundreds of NZ right-wing users kicked off Twitter ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2, 2021Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...2 weeks ago
- The Mob Rules Society: Reckoning between an Idea versus the Reality of America as chickens came home...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...2 weeks ago - The Twitter PurgeIn the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...2 weeks ago
- They’re everywhere: New study finds polyester fibres throughout the Arctic OceanPeter S. Ross, University of British Columbia The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...2 weeks ago
- Time to tackle the housing crisis!
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...2 weeks ago - Cleansing the TwittersI’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 13 January 2021Covid Nick Wilson & Michael Baker (The Conversation): With COVID-19 mutating and surging, NZ urgently needs to tighten border controls Craig McCulloch (RNZ): Government’s latest Covid measures described as both too strong and too weak RNZ: Covid-19: Ban on UK flights should be considered – Professor Nick Wilson Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Covid-19 testing numbers plummet, worrying experts Phillip Hill & Brian ...2 weeks ago
- Liam Hehir: Do as I say – the ongoing risks of covid hypocrisyThe hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...2 weeks ago
- How we work: Getting input from scientistsOver the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...2 weeks ago
- One way of fixing itYesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...2 weeks ago
- Reviewing the horrid global 2020 wildfire seasonThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 12 January 2021Covid, vaccine, and border Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Government accused of being ‘too relaxed’ over new Covid strains Herald: Judith Collins on urging Govt to accelerate rollout of vaccine Jason Walls (Herald): Government being lobbied to accelerate the Covid vaccine rollout ‘before it’s too late’ Shannon Redstall (Newshub): Coronavirus: Judith Collins calls for vaccine roll-out ‘now’, or consider closing the borders Newsroom: Lockdown expected ...2 weeks ago
- Seeds of DoubtNOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here. Tess Tuxford Ko te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...2 weeks ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #02Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessment Look for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 11 January 2021US politics and NZ Chris Keall (Herald): NZ Privacy Commissioner critical of Facebook and Twitter’s decision to ban Trump Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): NZ privacy commissioner says social media bans on Trump ‘arbitrary and cynical’ RNZ: PM should not ‘tiptoe’ around Trump’s culpability – professor Fran O’Sullivan (Herald): US riots: NZ Trump aide Chris Liddell staying on to ‘lead successful transition’ ...2 weeks ago
- The Trump Insurrection: Primal Urges And Transgressive Images.2 weeks ago
- To Impeach Or Not?To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...2 weeks ago
- Evening On The Land (For The United States of America)2 weeks ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021 Editor's Choice After the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...2 weeks ago
- Grainne Moss’ resignation welcome, it must pave way for Māori leadership at OT
The Green Party welcomes the resignation of Grainne Moss as Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki. ...3 days ago - More public houses where they’re needed most
Labour is building thousands of new state houses as part of our work to ensure every Kiwi has a warm, dry place to call home. ...4 days ago - Worsening housing crisis must prompt actionA growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...5 days ago
- Celebrating the Entry Into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...3 days ago - Supporting disabled people to stay connectedThe Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...3 days ago
- Voluntary saliva testing offered to quarantine workers from MondayBorder workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...3 days ago
- Next steps in firearms buy-backThe next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...3 days ago
- Jobs for Nature projects target iconic ecosystemsUpscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...4 days ago
- New Public Housing Plan announcedThe Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...4 days ago
- Prime Minister congratulates President Joe Biden on his inaugurationPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...4 days ago
- Jobs for Nature funding will create training and employment opportunitiesA major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...6 days ago
- Pre-departure testing extended to all passengers to New ZealandTo further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...6 days ago
- Bay Cadets learn skills to protect environmentBay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...1 week ago
- Cook Islanders to resume travel to New ZealandThe Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...1 week ago
- Supporting communities and landowners to grow employment opportunitiesJobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...2 weeks ago
- Border exception for some returning international tertiary studentsThe Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...2 weeks ago
- Tiwai deal gives time for managed transitionToday’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...2 weeks ago
- New member for APEC Business Advisory CouncilPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s careful economic management recognisedThe Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...2 weeks ago
- Additional actions to keep COVID-19 out of NZThe Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...2 weeks ago
- 19 projects will clean up and protect waterways$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand Government acknowledges 175th anniversary of Battle of RuapekapekaThe commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...2 weeks ago
- Not sure about the Pfizer vaccine, now it’s been approved in Australia? You can scratch these 4 co...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archa Fox, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of Western Australia The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has today provisionally approved Australia’s first COVID vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine, paving the way for its rollout to begin in mid-to-late February among high-risk groups. ...56 mins ago - COVID has brought Auslan into the spotlight, but it would be wrong to treat the language as a hobby ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kirkness, Postdoctoral research fellow, Macquarie University As government COVID updates have become a daily part of our lives over the past 12 months, so too has the sight of sign language interpreters on our screens. This has understandably had a huge ...1 hour ago
- Is news worth a lot or a little? Google and Facebook want to have it both waysSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Dwyer, Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney Executives from Google and Facebook have told a Senate committee they are prepared to take drastic action if Australia’s news media bargaining code, which would force the internet giants to ...2 hours ago
- Revealed: The companies dumping contaminants down the drain
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Hundreds of companies have dumped contaminants - like blood, fat, and toxic chemicals such as ammonia and sulphides - into sewers in breach of their trade waste consents over the past year, RNZ can reveal. Anusha Bradley reports. Frank ...2 hours ago - It gets better with age: a brie(f) history of cheese in AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morag Kobez, Associate lecturer, Queensland University of Technology In this series, our writers explore how food shaped Australian history – and who we are today. The history of cheese in Australia has, until recent decades, been a rather tasteless affair. Not so ...4 hours ago
- Frame: Who owns the toxic waste in Mataura’s paper mill?
On the edge of the Mataura River, a disused paper mill is filled with thousands of bags of toxic waste. Locals want to find out who’s responsible for it – and they want it gone before disaster strikes.First published November 10, 2020.The Paper Mill is part of Frame, a series ...4 hours ago - What the future of the internet looks likeAt the Chorus Fibre Lab, José Barbosa peeked behind the curtain of the internet and found something beautiful and very, very fast. The human mind is a daily swarm of notions, speculations, ruminations, thoughts and otherwise base-level brain puffs. Just to get through the grind of survival, we’ve evolved to mentally ...4 hours ago
- No missing link in Northland Covid case
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. The Ministry of Health is confident the Northland community case came directly from the Pullman Hotel and there is no missing link. In a press conference this afternoon, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed the strain of Covid in the ...4 hours ago - As heatwaves become more extreme, which jobs are riskiest?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Longden, Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Heat is more dangerous than the cold in most Australian regions. About 2% of deaths in Australia between 2006 and 2017 were associated with the heat, and the estimate increases to ...5 hours ago
- ‘Above all else, don’t bullshit’: Doctor-poet Glenn Colquhoun on caring, and writing, for youn...Levin GP Glenn Colquhoun talks with books editor Catherine Woulfe about his new collection of poetry, Letters to Young People.Glenn Colquhoun is an acclaimed and accomplished poet. He has published four collections, including Playing God, in December 2002, which sold a massive 10,000 copies. He’s won a clutch of Montanas ...5 hours ago
- Begorrah – Irish Moss brings relief to a leftie blogger who was discomforted by a foreign accent
Contrasting reactions to news of Grainne Moss’s resignation as Oranga Tamariki chief executive inevitably can be found in the blogosphere. Lindsay Dawson has recorded the ACT Party’s response to the resignation and hailed it as “spot on”. The statement was made in the name of Karen Chhour, described as a ...5 hours ago - From Disney to Emmy: Zendaya’s journey to EuphoriaZendaya has been around for a decade, but she’s gone from Disney prodigy to pop star to acclaimed actress. Here are the highlights of the 24-year-old’s already impressive career.Shaking it up: Zendaya on DisneyThe world’s first encounter with Zendaya was a little Disney show called Shake It Up, a series ...8 hours ago
- The bad sh*t: My search for a solution to irritable bowel syndromeWhat’s it like to have your life governed by your gut? It’s crap, frankly.On my birthday last year I was given a bottle of fancy Aesop post-poo drops which clear the air after rigorous bowel activity – though on reflection, it may have been more of a gift for my ...9 hours ago
- Covid-19 community case: Husband, hairdresser return negative tests – Hipkins
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Negative tests results for two of the closest contacts of a woman who tested positive for Covid-19 after leaving managed isolation is a good sign, says Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins. Two of the closest contacts of a woman ...9 hours ago - Disturbed dreams of a sleeping giant – Sleepyhead's fix to the housing crisis
Sleepyhead is chopping and changing its ambitious plan to build a super-factory and a compact 1100-house community in Waikato. ...9 hours ago - The mystery of the blue flower: nature’s rare colour owes its existence to bee visionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Dyer, Associate Professor, RMIT University At a dinner party, or in the schoolyard, the question of favourite colour frequently results in an answer of “blue”. Why is it that humans are so fond of blue? And why does it seem to ...10 hours ago
- Toxicity swirls around January 26, but we can change the nation with a Voice to parliamentSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan Davis, Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous UNSW and Professor of Law, UNSW We are on the eve of the nation’s annual ritual of celebrating the arrivals, while not formally recognising the ancient peoples who were dispossessed. Each year the tensions spill over, rendering ...10 hours ago
- Will Australia legalise ecstasy and magic mushrooms to treat mental illness? Here’s why it’s sti...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bright, Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University While the public focus remains on COVID vaccines, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) continues to evaluate a range of proposals around the provision of medical treatments in Australia. The regulatory body is currently ...10 hours ago
- ‘I can’t save money for potential emergencies’: COVID lockdowns drove older Australians into e...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Wilkinson, Professor, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney Many of us who endured lockdowns in Australia are familiar with the surge in energy bills at home. But for older Australians who depend on the Age Pension for income, ...10 hours ago
- Curb population growth to tackle climate change: now that’s a tough askSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael P. Cameron, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Waikato Population growth plays a role in environmental damage and climate change. But addressing climate change through either reducing or reversing growth in population raises difficult moral questions that most people would prefer ...10 hours ago
- Victoria and NSW are funding extra tutors to help struggling students. Here’s what parents need to...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Sonnemann, Fellow, School Education, Grattan Institute School is back for 2021, and some students will get extra help this year. Students who fell behind in their learning during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 will be eligible for extra tutoring in Victoria ...10 hours ago
- It’s not just cricket: Australia Day isn’t the commercial winner it used to beSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Duffy, Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Australia Day used to be an obvious and uncontroversial occasion for brands to endear themselves to Australian consumers. No longer. There has been a decided shift over the past decade in commercial attitudes ...10 hours ago
- Why weren’t there any great women artists? In gratitude to Linda NochlinSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne In January 1971, Art News published Linda Nochlin’s Why have there been no great women artists? Her ...10 hours ago
- Live updates, January 25: Two close contacts of new Covid case test negativeWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 25, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.40am: Two close contacts of new Covid case test negativeThe husband of the new Northland case of Covid-19 has tested negative for the virus, along with ...10 hours ago
- Covid community case: Northland businesses face anxious wait
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission Hundreds of staff won't come into work on Monday after a 56-year-old woman who later tested positive for Covid-19 visited about 30 locations in Northland and Auckland - a blow to businesses desperately holding on after a hard year. Harry ...10 hours ago - The Bulletin: High alert as woman in Northland tests Covid-positiveGood morning and welcome to the first regular season Bulletin of 2021. In today’s edition: High alert as woman in Northland tests Covid-positive, house price inflation races ahead unabated, and schools grappling with new year after last year’s disruptions.
Ministers and health officials were keeping their options open yesterday afternoon ...
11 hours ago - While you were away…
Business & Investing: A quickfire overview of markets here and overseas since Christmas, Plus F&P Healthcare surges again ...11 hours ago - A Pākehā among Māori: The strange case of Roderick Finlayson
We begin a week-long examination of Roderick Finlayson – author of a posthumous collection of stories about Māori – with a biographical portrait by Bill Pearson Roderick Finlayson was born in 1904 in Devonport, the only son of John Finlayson and Mary Cargo. John Finlayson was a bank clerk who ...12 hours ago - Luna Rossa: a red moon waning?
The darlings of the 2000 America's Cup challengers, Luna Rossa, must quickly find their groove - or disappoint a nation who desperately need something to celebrate. Exactly 21 years ago, a boat named Luna Rossa – the red moon – set two nations alight. Three million Italians – most of them ...12 hours ago - Where is she now? Jenny McDonald
One of hockey's most prolific goal scorers, former NZ captain Jenny McDonald remembers the disappointment of the 1980 Olympics boycott, the thrill of playing for the World XI and the battle to move from grass to turf Twenty kilometres south-west of Whangarei sits the tiny township of Maungakaramea. It’s where one of ...12 hours ago - Trees are our great weapons against climate change. But what if they stop soaking?A new study suggests that trees’ ability to soak up carbon could expire. Mirjam Guesgen explains.Trees have long been held as the saviour for climate change. Plant enough trees and we might be able to balance out some of that carbon-emmitting flying or driving. But a new scientific study says ...13 hours ago
- NZ’s biggest house price surge? Kawerau. Here’s what it means for the townAs house prices escalate rapidly around the country, Kawerau saw them more than double, the biggest nationwide increase over the decade. Alex Braae goes to the Bay of Plenty town to find out what impact it is having on renters. The headline figure was stark. Data from realestate.co.nz showed that over ...13 hours ago
- A long-winded case for the super-boring stocks
What is to be done in a world where property is hyped and interest rates near zero? You could do worse than a Very Dull Infrastructure Stock. ...13 hours ago - Four things bosses must do about vehicles this year
Branded petrol and diesel fleets will soon identify any business leader not bold enough to drive the necessary change in their business. ...13 hours ago - Returnee tests positive for Covid-19 in community
A recent returnee has tested positive for Covid-19 after testing negative twice during her 14 days in managed isolation, Marc Daalder reports There is little information available about a new community case of Covid-19 identified by testing today - other than she is in Whangarei and used the Covid app ...1 day ago - Curtailing Consultation And Diminishing Democracy Are Major Concerns
by Andi Cockroft Chairman Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of NZ An Otago Daily Times report (23 January) that nearly two-thirds of Dunedin residents think public consultation is lacking at the Dunedin City Council, according to the latest ...1 day ago - Objective Must Be To Avoid Another Lockdown“If today’s probable case of Covid-19 in Northland turns out to be community transmission the Government’s overarching objective must be avoiding another lockdown,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The best news would be that this is a false alarm, ...1 day ago
- Lockout Threat: Lifewise Homecare Support Workers Won’t Give UpE tū Lifewise homecare members have been taking strike and picket action since December 2020 for basic improvements in their working conditions. Members are asking for increased sick and bereavement leave, a collective agreement, and more guaranteed ...1 day ago
- Live updates, January 24: Probable new community case of Covid-19 in NorthlandWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 24. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz1.15pm: Suspected community case in NorthlandHealth officials are investigating a suspected community case of Covid-19 in Northland, related to someone who was recently released from managed isolation and quarantine, the NZ Herald is reporting.A spokesperson for Covid-19 response ...1 day ago
- Is there too much Drag Race?We’re only a few weeks into the year, and already there are two new seasons of Drag Race. Are we in danger of reaching peak Drag Race? In the first month of this year, there’s been more RuPaul’s Drag Race than ever. The 13th season of the flagship US version debuted ...1 day ago
- The broken promises that led to Brexit BritainIn her first years of adulthood, Jai Breitnauer found herself living in a bold and hopeful nation. More than two decades on, she laments on how the Britain we know now came to be.Apparently, fish off the coast of the United Kingdom are happier because they’re British. This is what ...1 day ago
- A poem for .. Bassett, Brash & Hide
Dunedin writer Victor Billot resumes his weekly odes to New Zealanders in the news. This week: the blogging firm of Michael Bassett, Don Brash and Rodney Hide Three Men in a Boat It sounds like a conveyancing firm in Levin. It sounds like TV funny guys who’ll ...1 day ago - The mystery of the holy relics buried in a steel box beneath a Christchurch basilicaUnder a thick layer of concrete at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch is a metal box likely containing hundreds of holy relics – a historical treasure trove set to be uncovered after 50 years of near total obscurity.As the earth shook and buildings crumbled, a statue of ...2 days ago
- In praise of bananas, the greatest fruit of them allBananas are unequivocally the best fruit in the world, and there’s nothing you can say to change my mind, writes Alice Webb-Liddall.I was about 15 when I realised that halftime banana cake wasn’t a tradition outside of my family. On the day of an All Blacks game a banana cake ...2 days ago
- On the Rag: How sexism in design impacts our everyday livesSummer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as On the Rag looks at how the world around us has been built by men, for men. First published December 7, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...2 days ago
- Google goes nuclear, threatening to pull the plug on its search engine in AustraliaAt an antagonistic hearing yesterday, the internet giant laid out the ‘worst case scenario’. And Facebook is also considering an ‘amputation’. Hal Crawford was watching.Google is poised to hit self-destruct in Australia according to a fractious Senate hearing into an unprecedented law that will force digital giants to pay money ...2 days ago
- Twyford has something to celebrate, but the hard yards were put in on disarmament long before he was...
It’s great to hear Phil Twyford celebrating a success. Not a personal ministerial success, it’s fair to say, but a success nevertheless related to arms control. The arms on which Twyford is focused, it should be noted, will make quite a mess if they are triggered. They tend to be ...2 days ago - Reviewing the Dawn Raid movie, and our lost youthDuncan Greive and Leonie Hayden were young hip hop heads and music journalists during the era captured in a new documentary about the rise and fall of South Auckland hip hop label Dawn Raid. Here they discuss the film and their memories (what’s left of them) of that time. Warning: contains ...2 days ago
- Five big ticket items that New Zealanders are going crazy overHouses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture.Used ...2 days ago
- Short story: Pātea Pools, by Airana Ngarewa
"The young boy leaps, the muscles in his thighs tensing and twisting as he lifts from the handrail": the noble art of bombing, by Pātea writer Airana Ngarewa A beautifully muscled boy is posted on the side of a pool, his feet fixed to the top of a pair of ...2 days ago - The rise and fall of New Zealand’s largest water park How Waiwera Hot Pools went from New Zealand’s most visited water park to dereliction and decay. Many who grew up in Auckland likely have fond memories of Waiwera Hot Pools. Like me, they remember summer days spent racing down the slides and playing in the naturally hot pools. But how did ...2 days ago
- Taxpayers' $500k for meth treatment goes up in smoke
A government contract for a P rehab programme was canned after half a million dollars of taxpayer money was given out. Aaron Smale investigates. The Ministry of Health spent over half a million dollars on a P Rehab contract before pulling the pin because there were no results or progress reports. ...2 days ago - A game of epidemic proportions
Kia Koropp and her husband John Daubeny have been cruising the Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean over the past decade with their two children onboard their 50ft yacht, Atea. Starting in 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand, they have sailed more than 64,000 kilometres and just completed their longest ...3 days ago - Please stop ruining summer and turn off that godforsaken musicWe are drowning out the natural world with synthetic sounds, and it’s getting worse, writes Michelle Langstone.It used to be quiet once. Remember that? Remember the hush that settled over the cities like the silence that comes down in a snowstorm? It’s less than a year since Aotearoa first locked ...3 days ago
- On the Rag: It’s time to stop being a boob about boobsSummer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden in the latest episode of On the Rag as they examine the topic of boobs from every possible angle. First published November 16, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its ...3 days ago
- NZ offers to be 'honest broker' in nuclear disarmament
Seventy-five years after the US detonated the first nuclear tests in the Pacific, New Zealand pledges its support to Joe Biden's first tentative step towards disarmament. Today, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into effect, making it illegal for New Zealand and the 50 other ...3 days ago - Self-entitled prima donnas or do they have a point? Why Australian Open tennis players find hard loc...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Terry, Professor of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland The challenge of bringing the world’s best tennis players and support staff, about 1,200 people in all, from COVID-ravaged parts of the world to our almost pandemic-free shores was always going to be ...3 days ago
- Level-crossing removals: a case study in why major projects must also be investments in healthSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoffrey Browne, Research Fellow in International Urban Development, University of Melbourne The Victorian government has committed to removing 75 road/rail level crossings across Melbourne by 2025. That’s the fastest rate of removal in the city’s history. The scale of the investment — ...3 days ago
- Vital Signs: Biden’s economic centrism isn’t exciting, but right for these divisive timesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW In an age of hyperpartisan politics, the Biden presidency offers a welcome centrism that might help bridge the divides. But it is also Biden’s economic centrism that offers a chance to cut through what has become ...3 days ago
- The viral ‘Wellerman’ sea shanty is also a window into the remarkable cross-cultural whaling his...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Stevens, Lecturer in History, University of Waikato In a year of surprises, one of the more pleasant was the recent runaway viral popularity of 19th century sea shanties on TikTok. A collaborative global response to pandemic isolation, it saw singers and ...3 days ago
- The brutal truth: There are votes to be won in a broken housing market
MPs are conflicted on rising housing prices, and will never do anything to cause them to drop. ...3 days ago - Exit Of Moss Vital First Step In The Sequence Of TransformationThe sudden departure of Graine Moss from her Chief Executive role at Oranga Tamariki is a vital first step in a sequence of changes that must take place at the Ministry according to a group of wahine Māori leaders. Dame Naida Glavish, Dame Tariana Turia, ...3 days ago
- The Friday Poem: Her uncle’s eye by Jenny PowellA new poem from Dunedin poet Jenny Powell.Her uncle’s eyeShe introduced us to her uncle’s eye floating in a jar.Lost in an accident, he hadn’t wanted to lose it again. He left it to her in his will.We must have looked shocked. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I turn him to ...3 days ago
- After CEO exit, the big question for Oranga Tamariki: reform it or scrap it and start again?The chief executive of Oranga Tamariki is quitting, leaving behind an agency she’s admitted suffers from structural racism. Justin Giovannetti looks at the future of Oranga Tamariki.Grainne Moss’s tenure as head of Oranga Tamariki has been untenable since November when the government’s senior Māori minister wouldn’t express any confidence in ...3 days ago
- Four Indigenous composers and a piano from colonial times — making passionate, layered, honest mus...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Sainsbury, Senior Lecturer Composition, Australian National University Despite having different cultural backgrounds and experiences — Indigenous composers with an Indigenous mentor, and a pianist descended from Anglo-colonial history — it is nevertheless possible to create a project that can serve as ...3 days ago
- Why the COVID-19 variants are so dangerous and how to stop them spreadingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury With new, more infectious variants of COVID-19 detected around the world, and at New Zealand’s border, the risk of further level 3 or 4 lockdowns is increased if those viruses get into the ...3 days ago
- Racing 2-year-old horses is lucrative, but is it worth the risks?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Hogg, Lecturer in Psychology, Charles Sturt University Horse racing is an ethical hotbed in Australia. The Melbourne Cup alone has seen seven horses die after racing since 2013, and animal cruelty protesters have become a common feature at carnivals. The latest ...3 days ago
- Did everyone spontaneously applaud Amanda Palmer in a Havelock North café? A Spinoff investigationRight now, our most fiery national debate is over whether New Zealanders were nice to the singer Amanda Palmer in a café. Desperate to restore peace in our nation, Hayden Donnell went in search of the truth.Joe Biden had barely finished calling for unity when Amanda Palmer posted a tweet ...3 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending January 22The 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 When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut (Pushkin Press, $37)Maths, cyanide, suicide, gardening; ye ...3 days ago
- The archetypal explorer: Estère on transforming into a pelicanWellington artist Estère isn’t just breaking boundaries, she’s dissecting them. Maddi Rowe spoke to her about her new album, Archetypes.“That’s the story of pelicans, they’ll stab themselves in the heart to feed their young.”Despite the somewhat dark subject matter, Estère Dalton’s eyes sparkle with fascination. We’ve met to discuss Archetypes, ...3 days ago
- Why Do Cyclists Ride In The Middle Of The Road?Cycling advocates are welcoming new advice from the Transport Agency on safe cycling. "Cyclists hate it when drivers pass too close. That's scary and dangerous," said Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network. "So it's encouraging to see ...3 days ago
- The nuclear weapons ban treaty is groundbreaking, even if the nuclear powers haven’t signedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne Today, many around the world will celebrate the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to enter into force in 50 years. The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear ...3 days ago
- PSA Welcomes Appointment Of Chief Executive For Public Service Pay EquityThe Public Service Association welcomes the creation of a Chief Executive role to lead the public service’s pay equity work, and the appointment of Grainne Moss to this position. "Unions and public service employers are currently working ...3 days ago
- Cost Of Living Rising For Poorest HouseholdsThe Council of Trade Unions is warning that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures out today illustrate that the cost of living is increasing disproportionately for those on lower incomes; resulting in the poor getting poorer. CTU Economist Craig ...3 days ago
- Who polices the police: Trash Facebook comments editionWhy are there so many offensive comments on the New Zealand Police Facebook page and are they breaking the law? Janaye Henry investigates. New Zealand Police Facebook pages – there are a number of them, for different regional police districts around the country – are an interesting place to spend ...3 days ago
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