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The Very, Very Lucky Country
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, February 17th, 2021 - 5 comments
While Australia is rightly branded The Lucky Country, it looks like we can reasonably be called the Very, Very Lucky Country.
A tsunami of wing clipped kiwi?
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, November 9th, 2020 - 45 comments
The rush back home has definitely been happening and appears to mainly be constrained at present by the limits on quarantine facilities. It has already helped to mitigate the drops in immigration and probably will in the future. Nowhere near as economically important and productive as our exports. But useful for reducing unemployment for those not exposed to the export economy.
Hong Kong principles
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 38 comments
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
Unthinkable Things
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, July 22nd, 2020 - 29 comments
With the government clearly watching the unravelling of Australia’s Covid-19 response and putting in place $14 billion in preparation for a second infection wave, we are clearly now in a history-in-making territory of the highest instability outside a world war.
US China trade talks and New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 12th, 2019 - 91 comments
Donald Trump’s trade war with China is way, way bad for New Zealand.
Kiwi Cultural Cringe is Alive and Well
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 22nd, 2019 - 75 comments
New Zealand is too small for high-achievers and star-performers and does not offer enough challenges and rewards.
Fonterra’s loss
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, September 13th, 2018 - 67 comments
Fonterra has just reported an after tax loss of $196 million for the 2018 year. It’s never had an annual loss in its history.
It’s Time for a Cost-Benefit Analysis of Dairy Farming
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, May 29th, 2018 - 166 comments
Not just, ‘we’ve got to make the good outweigh the bad’. I mean: why should dairy farming exist here?
Australia and New Zealand budget days
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, May 7th, 2018 - 23 comments
Isn’t it time we at least synchronized the New Zealand budget with the Australian budget?
Evidence-based foreign policy
Written By: - Date published: 6:07 pm, April 2nd, 2018 - 99 comments
In the second stage of a false flag attack, facts go out the window and the sole issue becomes “are you for us or against us.” Our media and National Party politicians are well into this stage in the Skripal affair. But as questions mount and skeptics proliferate from all sides, Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters may well be wiser than media advisers by not following blindly the western herd. 26 countries is not the whole world. Update: Porton Down unable to establish Novichok of Russian origin.
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”?
No one owns water, apart from corporations who sell it …
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, May 22nd, 2017 - 27 comments
The Herald has reported that ordinary New Zealanders are paying 500 times as much for water as corporations who export it.
Protecting our biggest export income earner
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, May 2nd, 2017 - 51 comments
Tourism Export Council: “The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) in its current form is nothing more than a PR-stunt from Government who continue to ignore scientists and expert opinion re the state of our freshwater. The NPS-FM does not address the serious problems facing our waterways and, in fact, will make them worse.”
Another reason for water pricing
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, March 28th, 2017 - 19 comments
The Government will be embarassed by another example of a corporation planning to extract ten billion litres of fresh water a year essentially at no cost which has arisen.
TPP: An epitaph for self-interested treaties done in secret
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 am, November 23rd, 2016 - 39 comments
The misogynist buffoon, under-skilled charlatan and ignorant bigot that the Americans have elected to be their constitutional monarch for the next four years appears to have effectively killed the constraint of trade agreement known as the TPP. From a freer trade advocate, avid exporter, and labour movement supporter with a touch of green :- Good riddance.
Trump final campaign ad
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, November 6th, 2016 - 79 comments
Donald Trump’s last campaign ad lifts the mood of a relentlessly negative campaign between two massively disliked candidates.
NZ Tech
Written By: - Date published: 9:01 am, October 21st, 2016 - 45 comments
The top 200 tech “exporters” are now turning over NZD 9.4 billion. This year revenue increased by more that NZD 1 billion. Which is pretty phenomenal bearing in mind the sluggish world economy. It meant that they grew an additional 3000 odd highly paid jobs in just those top companies. Even this intellectually bereft government isn’t proving to be too much of a hindrance to tech business.
Fortress NZ
Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, September 16th, 2016 - 120 comments
TS regular Tony Veitch has some practical ideas as to how we insulate NZ from the ravages of neoliberalism and climate change. Readers may agree with some, none or all of the suggestions. However, whichever way you look at it, the time for hand wringing is over. It’s time for action.
Charles Hugh Smith – The Ultimate Long Game: Autarky and Resilience
Written By: - Date published: 6:17 pm, August 18th, 2016 - 28 comments
Today, electronic numbers in electronic bank accounts are the most important things to the people who lead NZ. That’s going to have to seriously change. The country’s capacity and resources in terms of food, energy, water and cultural/social resiliency is what actually counts.
Trade retaliation
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, August 3rd, 2016 - 50 comments
The Nats are in a difficult spot here, no doubt about it. The weak steel is a serious issue and it should be investigated. But their usual tactics of deny and lie have been caught out yet again.
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.
Make the TPP a Conscience Vote
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 pm, May 15th, 2016 - 84 comments
Last week, Andrew Little gave Phil Goff permission to vote with National for the TPP. Bryan Bruce asks if it is time for all MPs to be given a conscience vote on the TPP.
Logging truck roll overs meeting: Otaika Valley Hall tomorrow night!
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 19 comments
A fully laden logging truck tears up the road like thousands of cars. And when they keep rolling over around the corner, locals get very nervous and upset for themselves and their kids.
It’s time to reform Fonterra
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 25th, 2016 - 49 comments
Fonterra was formed to give New Zealand an economic advantage. Instead it is looking like the country’s biggest achilles heel. Time to reform?
Key is on top of the dairy crisis
Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, March 15th, 2016 - 107 comments
Or not.
Safe As Milk
Written By: - Date published: 1:44 pm, March 14th, 2016 - 110 comments
Labour is calling for an urgent summit of the dairy industry players to avoid the looming bankruptcy of one in ten farmers. National’s response? Crisis, what crisis?
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.
The great big list of John Key’s big fat lies (UPDATED)
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 27th, 2016 - 79 comments
How many more lies will John Key tell today in his so-called State of the Nation address? Virtual chocolate fish to whomever guesses the closest number.
National’s vision for New Zealand’s future
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, January 12th, 2016 - 94 comments
Stephen Joyce has had published an opinion piece in this morning’s Herald which extolls the virtue of free trade and ignores the pitfalls. Such as those shown this week when TransCanada sued the US Government for rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline contract.
On Shooting the Messenger
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, December 14th, 2015 - 214 comments
Over the past decade we have seen sophisticated attacks against academics and NGOs who challenge government or industry. These attacks often appear organic in nature, but many times are in fact concerted efforts by the powerful.
- Refugees do not belong in prison
We like to think that New Zealand is a better, kinder place than Australia. We welcome refugees, while racist Australia puts them in Pacific gulags where they are tortured and abused. Except its not true: New Zealand operates its own refugee detention system to discourage and punish those who dare ...39 mins ago - A conflicted spokespersonStuart Smith is National's climate change spokesperson. As such he spends his time trying to discourage and undermine government action on climate change. Stuart Smith also appears to be quite rich. And according to the Register of Pecuiary Interests released today (p45-46), he has a large investment portfolio, including shares ...2 hours ago
- HIV/AIDS vaccine: Why don’t we have one after 37 years, when we have several for COVID-19 after a ...
Ronald C. Desrosiers, University of Miami Smallpox has been eradicated from the face of the Earth following a highly effective, worldwide vaccination campaign. Paralytic poliomyelitis is no longer a problem in the U.S. because of development and use of effective vaccines against the poliovirus. In current times, millions of ...4 hours ago - Bus drivers under the hammer
by Don Franks NZ Bus is offering Wellington bus drivers cash payments between $5000 and $10,000 each if they give up valuable benefits in their collective agreement, according to documents sent to drivers. We live in a crazy world. Had a NZ bus boss verbally abused the drivers, called them ...6 hours ago - Another government agency which refuses to enforce the lawBack in 2008 Parliament established the Walking Access Commission. While initially concerned with negotiating public access, the Commission now administers a network of walkways across New Zealand. It has an explicit function of enforcing the law around these walkways, and there are offence provisions to ensure safe public access. In ...7 hours ago
- Life in the deep freeze – the revolution that changed our view of glaciers foreverJemma Wadham, University of Bristol I’ve been fascinated by glaciers since I was 14, when geography textbooks taught me about strange rivers of ice that crept down yawning valleys like giant serpents stalking their next meal. That kernel of wonder has carried me through a career of more than ...12 hours ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 18 May 2021
Immigration reset Tess McClure (The Guardian): New Zealand to cut ‘low-skill’ immigration and refocus on wealthy Charlie Dreaver (RNZ): ‘Scene setting’ immigration speech labelled confusing by critics Luke Malpass (Stuff): Immigration reset light on details, but direction of travel is clear Richard Harman: Major immigration speech falls flat (paywalled) Michael Neilson (Herald): Government targets rich investors as part of its ...12 hours ago - The TV3 Poll: Journalism or Propaganda?
Predictable “News”: Expecting the mainstream media to acknowledge its own deficiencies as the supposed protector and facilitator of democratic discussion and debate has become unrealistic. It no longer sees its role in such terms. Its responsibility, now, is to impart the truth – as officially defined – to the population, ...13 hours ago - Radio Waves.Waving Us In - Or Away? Increasingly reliant on pollsters and PR people, Nine to Noon has quite consciously narrowed the range of political discussion down to the weekly wins and losses of the major parliamentary players. Only very occasionally does its “Political Panel” venture out into the broader realm of ...14 hours ago
- Jacinda- you beauty!Steve Trewick She’s a scarlet, long-legged stunner with dainty white feet, and the male of the species is almost as impressive. Yet this stunning creature has rarely been seen and was only this year formally recognised. Hemiandrus jacinda is a ground wētā named this year for New Zealand’s ...24 hours ago
- Geoffrey Miller: NZ could play mediating role in Gaza conflict – but does it want to?So far, the New Zealand Government has been remarkably silent about the Gaza-Israel conflict. Geoffrey Miller argues that Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta could be helping meditate for peace. The growing Gaza crisis is testing Nanaia Mahuta’s recent assertion that New Zealand has an independent foreign policy. The conflict between ...1 day ago
- Baby talk: the needles
(Content note: infertility, IVF, injections) I definitely didn’t plan it this way, but here we are carrying on with the anniversaries: because it was a year ago today that I found myself wandering down Victoria Street carrying five thousands dollars’ worth of the less fun kind of drugs. The first ...1 day ago - Samoa is still a democracyLast month Samoa went to the polls, and gave their authoritarian Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi a solid kick in the nuts, delivering a hung parliament with an independent as kingmaker. In a desperate attempt to cling to power, Malielegaoi had the Electoral Commission appoint a new MP under ...1 day ago
- Hard News: The Drugs Meetup
"We just kept saying yes," New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm told me the evening before Through the Maze: On the road to health, where nearly 50 people and organisations were represented on the stage over two busy days.In contrast to the foundation's last four-yearly symposium at Parliament, ...1 day ago - Proportionality and avoidance of collective punishment.
Not wanting to get into an endless debate here, but as a political person I cannot pass on making a small comment on the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I do not pretend to be a subject expert on the tortured history of Israeli-Palestinian relations and am not about to get into ...1 day ago - When the government says “can’t”, they really mean “we chose not to”Nurses are going on strike next month for better pay. And honestly, they deserve it, after how hard they worked to keep us all safe during the pandemic. But "Labour" Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pleading poverty and says the government can't afford to reward them: Tensions are continuing ...1 day ago
- The Case for Banning Cigarette Filters: Addressing a Consumer Fraud, Smoking Decoy and Environmental...Janet Hoek, Phil Gendall, Tom Novotny, Nick Wilson, Lindsay Robertson, Richard Edwards, James F Thrasher (*Author details) The Government’s proposed Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan sets out a perceptive vision for reducing smoking prevalence and ensuring that, once the goal is reached, future generations will remain smokefree. Among the ...1 day ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 17 May 2021Newshub poll Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Judith Collins’ allegations of Māori separatism not working for National in Newshub-Reid Research Poll Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research Poll: The race relations debate – Kiwis think Judith Collins is being divisive Tova O’Brien (Newshub): Judith Collins being replaced as leader is now a matter of when, not if Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Newshub-Reid Research Poll: Majority ...1 day ago
- The Very Model of a Modern Vampire General: Grumbles about Castlevania Season 4
So I have finally got around to watching the fourth and final season of Netflix’s Castlevania series (2017-2021). I have never played the games the series is based on, so I approach television’s Castlevania as a stand-alone animated Horror/Fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous seasons, and fully expected to ...2 days ago - NZ lurches toward Budget 2021 amidst other difficulties ahead for Government
In the eyes of the public, one Party is perceived as on the one hand being too slow (still) to actually effect some of the big moves its “traditional voters” would have expected it to implement. On the other hand of course when they do announce something, it’s ...2 days ago - 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, May 9, 2021 through Sat, May 15, 2021 This week we seeded our Facebook queue well ahead of time to work around some organisational bottleneck. Which is why we mostly "Revisited some Analogies" and shared ...2 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Will the Government take the poverty crisis seriously?This week’s Budget is a chance for the Labour Government to take the crisis of poverty and inequality seriously. They can do this by delivering something serious or even transformational for those suffering at the bottom of the heap in New Zealand. In particular, a big increase in core benefit ...2 days ago
- SARS-CoV-2 – a natural event or a lab escape?In books and movies it is often a good plot point for a disease (or monster) to escape, accidentally or with assistance, from a government lab. There are also real cases of pathogens getting out of labs (but quickly being controlled). That’s also a discussion going on now about Covid-19. ...2 days ago
- Will Labour Defuse The “He Puapua” Time-Bomb?Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s current political strategy of artful prevarication has a strictly limited lifespan. The time-bomb that is He Puapua continues to emit a relentless tick-tock, tick-tock. Sooner or later – and preferably before that ominously silent crowd massing outside the parliamentary arena lends its voice to ...3 days ago
- 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 ...4 days ago - China’s 2060 climate pledge is ‘largely consistent’ with 1.5C goal, study findsThis 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 ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: Reannouncements don’t reduce emissionsRoad 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days ago
- Watching Israel/Palestine Burn.4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 14 May 2021Inequality 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 ...4 days ago
- Phasing out smoking: The Tobacco-Free Generation policyJude 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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. ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 days ago
- Falling Between Two Treaties: A Reply To Dr Emily Beausoleil.6 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 ...6 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 ...7 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 ...7 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- Labour’s divide and rule pay freezeby 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- Hiding He Puapua From Winston May Cost Labour Dearly.1 week 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? ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...2 weeks 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 ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party tables motion to recognise Palestinian statehood
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has tabled a motion in the house to recognise and support the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood through a two-state solution. ...7 hours ago - Green Party tables 26,000 signatures against public sector wage squeezeIn Parliament today, the Green Party is tabling a petition of more than 26,000 signatures against the Government’s plans to suppress public sector wages. ...7 hours ago
- Greens call on Labour to urgently support Members Bill to protect the Human Rights of Rainbow commun...The Green Party spokesperson for Rainbow Communities Dr Elizabeth Kerekere is calling for the Labour Party to support her members bill to protect the rights of takatāpui, in particular, trans, intersex, and non-binary people. Their support would strengthen the likelihood of the bill bypassing the biscuit tin process and passing ...1 day ago
- A history of supporting New Zealanders
Labour has always been forward-thinking – consistently focusing on reducing inequality, protecting the rights of workers, and tackling long-term problems to ensure a better future. ...3 days ago - Green Party welcomes KiwiSaver fossil fuel and illegal weapons exclusionThe 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. ...4 days ago
- Securing our recovery with Budget 2021Next 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. ...5 days 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. ...5 days 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. ...5 days 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. ...5 days 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? ...5 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. ...6 days ago
- Green Party Letter to the Speaker13 May 2021 Tēnā koe Mr Speaker, Recent discussions in the House have drawn attention to Standing Orders relating to conduct, language, and accusations of racism. On behalf of the Green Party, we welcome the commitment you have shown to considering this serious issue. We are writing to set out ...6 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. ...1 week 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. ...2 weeks 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. ...2 weeks 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. ...2 weeks 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. ...2 weeks 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. ...3 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. ...3 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. ...3 weeks ago
- Speech to Contact Energy event at Parliament
It’s great to be here to celebrate Contact Energy’s new 580 million dollar geothermal power station to be built on the Tauhara field near Taupō. I would like to congratulate Contact on this project, which will see a 152 megawatt power station operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a ...3 hours ago - Technical amendment to Medicines ActThe Government is aware of a High Court decision today about processes to grant provisional consent to some approved medicines, and is making a technical amendment to modernise the law. The Court has said that while the Minister of Health can, under Section 23 of the Medicines Act, grant approval ...3 hours ago
- COVID-19 fund benefits hundreds of thousands of learnersMore than 2,000 schools, kura and early learning services me ngā kōhanga reo have been funded to help more than 300,000 New Zealand children and young people affected by the COVID-19 lockdowns, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. More than $30 million from the Urgent Response Fund has been allocated between ...4 hours ago
- Speech to the AI SummitCheck against delivery. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wā, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau, Tāmaki herenga waka, nei rā aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te whakanuia tēnei ...8 hours ago
- COVID-19 milestone: 5000th vaccinator completes specialised trainingA significant COVID-19 workforce milestone has been reached, with the 5000th vaccinator completing specialised training to administer the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “A huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to boost numbers of trained vaccinators and this is a milestone worth celebrating,” ...8 hours ago
- Immigration Reset: Setting the sceneTIHEI MAURI ORA Tuia te whakapono Tuia te tumanako Tuia te aroha Tuia te hunga ora Ki te hunga ora Tihei Mauri ora Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Thank you for being here tonight as I outline the government’s planning to ...1 day ago
- Australia New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting 2021Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will visit New Zealand for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting on 30 and 31 May. Prime Minister Morrison, accompanied by Mrs Morrison, will arrive in Queenstown on Sunday 30 May and talks will take place on the ...1 day ago
- Take your time and get home safe this Road Safety WeekThe Government is urging Kiwis to drive carefully and check their speed, Transport Minister Michael Wood said at the start of Road Safety Week. Michael Wood said despite the Government investing in safer roads, drivers still need to take care. ...2 days ago
- Budget boosts Carbon Neutral Government commitmentBudget 2021 delivers $67.4 million to support the transition to a carbon neutral public sector by 2025 State Sector Decarbonisation Fund receives significant boost to support more schools, hospitals and other government organisations to replace coal boilers with clean alternatives Funding boost will also accelerate the Government’s ‘electric vehicles first’ ...3 days ago
- Report shows progress on Homelessness Action PlanThe Government has welcomed the release of the second progress report on the Homelessness Action Plan, showing that good progress is being made on every one of the immediate actions in the Plan. “Homelessness will not be solved overnight, but I am pleased to see that this plan is continuing ...3 days ago
- Arts and cultural festivals get funding boostOne of New Zealand’s oldest cultural festivals and a brand new youth festival are amongst four events to win grants to help them grow, attract new audiences, and boost local economies. Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash has announced new support from an incubator fund launched last year to ...4 days ago
- Govt to rev up reductions in transport emissionsThe 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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. ...5 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 ...5 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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. ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...6 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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. ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- Have Australian researchers developed an effective COVID-19 treatment? Potentially, but we need to w...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Associate Professor of the Sydney Pharmacy School, University of Sydney The world is now 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic and we’ve yet to find a single drug that can stop the virus. At best, we can treat the effects ...35 mins ago - The story of Rum Jungle: a Cold War-era uranium mine that’s spewed acid into the environment for d...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gavin Mudd, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, RMIT University Buried in last week’s budget was money for rehabilitating the Rum Jungle uranium mine near Darwin. The exact sum was not disclosed. Rum Jungle used to be a household name. It was Australia’s ...1 hour ago
- 'Technical anomaly' spurs urgent law change for Covid-19 vaccine
The government will urgently change the law to ensure the Covid-19 vaccine rollout is legal following a High Court decision today. ...2 hours ago - How to survive as a figurative sculptor? WA’s The Syndicate is a novel form of philanthropy in the...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ted Snell, Honorary Professor, Edith Cowan University For any serious artist, funding the production of ambitious works — let alone finding the resources to keep yourself alive during the process — can be daunting. However, if studio expenses, rent, and the cost ...3 hours ago
- Climate explained: is natural gas really cheaper than renewable electricity?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ralph Sims, Professor, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University CC BY-ND Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d ...4 hours ago
- New Zealand is overdue for an open and honest debate about 21st-century trade relationsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, University of Auckland With more countries considering joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), New Zealand urgently needs a real public debate on the future of such trade and investment agreements. In February this ...4 hours ago
- On The Ardern Government's Public Sector Wage Freeze
By John Braddock, Socialist Equality Group May 14, original url: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/15/nzwa-m15.html New Zealand’s Labour-led government, which includes the Greens, recently declared a pay freeze across the public service for the next three years. The move, which ...4 hours ago - ACIC thinks there are no legitimate uses of encryption. They’re wrong, and here’s why it mattersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gernot Heiser, Scientia Professor and John Lions Chair, UNSW Australia’s parliament is considering legislation to give new powers to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the Australian Federal Police. These powers will allow them to modify online data, monitor network activity, ...5 hours ago
- National MPs express diverging views on targeted funding for MāoriNational MPs are all over the place when it comes to race relations, offering differing views on Māori co-governance and targeted funding. ...5 hours ago
- VTNZ Urges Drivers To Slow Down For Road Safety Week 2021VTNZ is joining hundreds of organisations, schools, and community groups in Aotearoa taking part in Road Safety Week (17-23 May). We’re running a social media awareness campaign to spread lifesaving messages around the dangers of speeding, and other ...5 hours ago
- Near collapse: A young glaciologist on climate crisis memoir The Alarmist
Clarrie Macklin reviews Dave Lowe’s book The Alarmist: Fifty Years Measuring Climate Change – and explains why, against all odds, it shores him up. It has been over a year since I finished the two-year-long torment that universities call a master’s degree. My thesis was a trial by ice: I was ...5 hours ago - It can’t all be insured: counting the hidden economic impact of floods and bushfiresSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehmet Ulubasoglu, Professor of Economics, Head of the Department of Economics and Director of the Centre for Energy, the Environment and Natural Disasters, Deakin University The Australian government’s latest budget has committed A$210 million for a new climate information service, $600 million ...6 hours ago
- Time For A ResetIt’s time for local government to reset. That’s why I welcome Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s recent announcement of the ‘future for local government’ review. It’s been more than 30 years since a close look was taken at the sector as a whole, resulting ...6 hours ago
- Iwi Retain Ownership Of Buildings & Land In Shelly Bay PartnershipCurrent and future decedents of Taranaki Whānui will benefit from the evolving partnership agreement between Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST) and the Wellington Company at Shelly Bay Taikuru. Taranaki Whānui Limited (the commercial ...6 hours ago
- Question Time reforms are worthy but won’t solve the problem of a broken political cultureSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Melleuish, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Schoolchildren are told democracy, especially Australian parliamentary democracy, is a great and glorious thing. Question Time, in which our elected representatives ask questions of the government of the day, is ...6 hours ago
- We found a secret history of megadroughts written in tree rings. The wheatbelt’s future may be dri...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison O’Donnell, Research Fellow in Dendroclimatology, The University of Western Australia Drought over the last two decades has dealt a heavy blow to the wheatbelt of Western Australia, the country’s most productive grain-growing region. Since 2000, winter rainfall has plummeted by almost ...6 hours ago
- Five online trends that tell us about the appetite for Budget 2021While many New Zealanders will be keenly awaiting the government’s budget, according to data provided by Aro Digital, what the government invests in does not always correspond with the interests of the people.This Thursday is budget day, when the government will announce to New Zealand how much money is to ...6 hours ago
- Pharmac, dental funding crucial in Budget – National PartyNational Party deputy leader Dr Shane Reti says extra funding for Pharmac and dental care should be the top priority in Budget 2021 which will be delivered on Thursday, 20 May. ...7 hours ago
- Immigration reset (reflecting the govt’s tourism strategy) includes scheme to favour foreigners fl...
The government has announced its preference for immigrants with money, much the same as its tourist industry strategy favours tourists with plenty of spending stuff. This policy was contained in a lengthy rundown on immigration issues which emerged from the Beehive as “the immigration reset”. The PM will be able ...7 hours ago - The year’s best NZ comedy might be a revived reality show about businessThe Apprentice Aotearoa has very little to say about the world of business, but that’s not the point of this instant classic of the reality genre, says Duncan Greive.Despite what detractors would have you believe, it’s very common for reality TV to put humour of various stripes to the fore. ...8 hours ago
- Putting A Face To New Zealand’s Homeless – Part 2Onokura and Ana Ono and Ana want only the very best for their seven children but something seemingly as simple as finding a house has been a monumental challenge for them. They are part of an ethnic group that experiences homelessness or severe ...8 hours ago
- Māori Population Estimates: Mean Year Ended 31 December 2020 – Information ReleaseEstimates of the Māori ethnic population of New Zealand by age and sex. Key facts This release contains the first provisional estimate of the national Māori ethnic population for the mean year ended 31 December 2020 and includes an update to the ...9 hours ago
- Births And Deaths: Year Ended March 2021 – Infoshare TablesIn the year ended March 2021, compared with the year ended March 2020: there were 57,105 live births registered, down from 59,238 there were 32,907 deaths registered, down from 34,518 the total fertility rate was 1.60 births per woman, ...9 hours ago
- National Population Estimates: At 31 March 2021 – Infoshare TablesKey facts The resident population was estimated to be 5,116,300 at 31 March 2021, up 33,300 (or 0.65 percent) from 31 March 2020. By comparison, the population was 5,083,100 at 31 March 2020, up 2.37 percent from 31 March 2019. In the year ended ...9 hours ago
- Carterton District Council Puts Ratepayers At Risk With Unelected Committee MembersCarterton District Council’s decision to grant voting rights to unelected marae members on its committees poses serious risks to ratepayers, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “This change goes beyond ...9 hours ago
- Report Outlines Clear Human Rights Violations Of Asylum Seekers By GovtAmnesty International has for the first time carried out investigative field research on Aotearoa New Zealand soil. It follows a number of reports of the ill-treatment of people in prison, including people who’ve sought asylum here. The report clearly ...10 hours ago
- The Masked Singer NZ recap: Two lies, one truth, and a very sad fishWho, who, who was beneath the mask this week?Welcome back to the The Masked Singer NZ, the most gloriously batshit show on New Zealand television. Watching a bunch of celebrities sing cover songs while disguised in giant animal costumes is not just a bewildering ride, but a worthy one. We’re ...10 hours ago
- PM defends immigration 'reset', rejects suggestion Kiwis are work-shyPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has strongly rejected the suggestion Kiwis are work-shy and don't want to take up jobs in sectors that have heavily relied on immigrant labour. ...10 hours ago
- A budget to keep the Jacinda bubble from bursting might blunt NZ’s productivity and spur Kiwis to ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson won’t want to do anything to disturb the waves of euphoria washing over New Zealanders when he presents the budget this week. The country is still basking in the recognition accorded the Prime Minister with the top spot in Fortune magazine’s list of the world’s greatest leaders. ...10 hours ago - Putting A Face To New Zealand’s Homeless – Part 2 – Ono And AnaOno and Ana want only the very best for their seven children but something seemingly as simple as finding a house has been a monumental challenge for them. They are part of an ethnic group that experiences homelessness or severe housing deprivation at ...10 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – May 18 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 Immigration reset Tess McClure (The Guardian): New Zealand to cut ‘low-skill’ immigration and refocus on ...10 hours ago
- Despite community need, Māngere’s ‘absolutely wonderful’ birthing unit remains half-fullTwo years after opening, less than half of a Māngere birthing unit’s rooms are in use, despite nearby Middlemore Hospital being so overstretched it’s asking new mums to vacate their beds hours after giving birth. “You give birth and then they give you the boot, because the next lady is ...11 hours ago
- Why is accountability for alleged war crimes so hard to achieve in the Israel-Palestinian conflict?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle The latest outbreak of conflict in Gaza and Israel is escalating rapidly. At the time of writing, at least 192 Palestinians are reported dead, including 58 children. Ten Israelis ...12 hours ago
- Children, teens and COVID vaccines: where is the evidence at, and when will kids in Australia be eli...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Blyth, Paediatrician, Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia Adolescents in North America are beginning to roll up their sleeves for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it was approved for 12-15-year-olds this month. The Canadian ...12 hours ago
- We found a secret history of megadroughts written in tree rings. The wheatbelt’s future may be dri...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison O’Donnell, Research Fellow in Dendroclimatology, The University of Western Australia Drought over the last two decades has dealt a heavy blow to the wheatbelt of Western Australia, the country’s most productive grain-growing region. Since 2000, winter rainfall has plummeted by almost ...12 hours ago
- Book publishing sidelined in the game of university measurement and rankingsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Agata Mrva-Montoya, Honorary Associate, Department of Media and Communication, University of Sydney Academic book publishing is under threat. Global university rankings and competition for funding and international student enrolments are reshaping the research landscape. Academics are under more pressure to win grant ...12 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern calls for ‘ethical algorithms’ to combat online extremism. What this meansSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathalie Collins, Academic Director (National Programs), Edith Cowan University New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for “ethical algorithms” to help stop online radicalisation. She made her call on the weekend at the second summit of the “Christchurch Call” for action ...12 hours ago
- Who are you? What the standard questions about birth and background don’t tell usSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitria Groutsis, Associate professor, University of Sydney Have you ever had to fill out a form asking about your cultural background or ethnicity or race, only to be stumped because the question or the answer options don’t reflect how you see yourself? ...12 hours ago
- Guide to the classics: Shakespeare’s sonnets — an honest account of love and a surprising portal...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Jamie Q Roberts, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Sydney Most of us are familiar with Shakespeare’s plays. Even if we aren’t Shakespeare geeks, chances are we’ve waded through five or six in school, seen several movie adaptations and ...12 hours ago
- Live updates, May 18: Government accused of running MIQ with an ‘honesty system’Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for May 18, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz8.00am: Debt collectors ordered to recoup unpaid managed isolation feesDebt collectors will be used to recoup thousands of dollars of unpaid managed isolation costs.Under our MIQ rules, citizens ...12 hours ago
- Our tax system is broken. Will Budget 2021 fix it?With budget day coming up this week, Terry Baucher looks at how the government can shake up the neglected tax thresholds to benefit lower income earners.Contrary to all the campaigning and clamour, the introduction of the new 39% tax rate on April 1 was the first change in tax rates ...12 hours ago
- Firm exits safety deposit boxes: What will Jason Bourne do now?
Jason Bourne will need somewhere new to stash his passports and wads of cash ...12 hours ago - The Bulletin: Immigration speech signals big cuts to numbersGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Immigration speech signals big cuts to numbers, Sāmoa has a new PM-elect, and Judith Collins is safe as National leader according to Judith Collins.Immigration settings will be very different when the border reopens, the government announced last night. In a speech ...13 hours ago
- The unlucky Football Fern who's now on song for Tokyo
Football Ferns striker Hannah Wilkinson is hoping to bring up 100 caps for her country at the Tokyo Olympics. She’s done it the hard way in a career full of ups and downs. It’s almost midnight and Hannah Wilkinson can’t sleep. It’s freezing outside in the northwest of Germany ...14 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Tuesday 18 May
...14 hours ago - Pākehā must take the lead against racism
Peter O'Connor explains why racism belongs to Pākehā - and Pākehā need to take responsibility for stopping it It’s nearly 50 years since legislation was introduced to establish the Race Relations Office as part of our commitment to signing the UN Declaration for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Prime ...14 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 18 May
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...14 hours ago - RNZ won't be swallowed in state media shake-up
Comment: The group of experts set up by the Government to oversee the business case for a new public broadcasting entity to replace TVNZ and RNZ has shown its hand. And, as Stephen Parker writes, RNZ loyalists will be relieved. While it's early days, a sense is emerging of how the recently ...14 hours ago - Newsroom's daily sudoku, Tuesday 18 May
...14 hours ago - Why can't anyone buy the hottest book in New Zealand?
Bug Week won the Ockham award for fiction but it's not in the shops No one is able to buy a copy of the book which won the biggest literary prize in New Zealand because the publisher ran out of stock to provide to booksellers. Bug Week, a short story ...14 hours ago - Race row delivering more than just bad polls
The Government lost control of the Treaty partnership debate after the Opposition publicly released a report intentionally being kept under wraps. But now the topic is in the spotlight, expect some big changes to come in race relations this term, writes political editor Jo Moir. In late 2019 the Labour-NZ First ...14 hours ago - Infrastructure for a better future
New Zealanders have spoken. They want less congestion, cleaner water, cheaper housing, and a clear focus on climate change when it comes to urban planning. One body has the task to develop a direction to achieve this over the next 30 years. Can it do it? asks business editor Nikki ...14 hours ago - 'Scene setting' immigration speech labelled confusing by criticsImmigration is in for a shake up but the details are still unclear with critics slating the government's latest message as confusing and worrying. ...14 hours ago
- Advocacy Group Welcomes Necessary Ombudsman Investigation Into Corrections FailureJustice advocacy group JustSpeak is welcoming the Ombudsman's wide ranging investigation into the Department of Corrections failure to meaningfully respond to calls for change, announced today. "Despite years of promises under the Hōkai Rangi strategy ...15 hours ago
- Chief Ombudsman Investigating Department Of CorrectionsThe Chief Ombudsman has begun an investigation into how the Department of Corrections has responded to repeated calls for reforms aimed at improving conditions for prisoners. "In many areas, I have not seen significant and sustained improvements to prisoners’ ...15 hours ago
- Power ranking Judith Collins’ potential replacements as National leaderWe don’t know exactly when it’ll happen, but we can be pretty sure that it will. So who will be the next leader of the National party after Judith Collins goes? The polls don’t lie – current National leader Judith Collins is extremely unpopular. Her party is languishing in the high-20s, ...15 hours ago
- A blockbuster media deal could tie Three up with CNN and HBOThree’s parent company Discovery is in talks to merge with AT&T’s media assets, with huge implications for New Zealand if it goes through, writes Duncan Greive.What just happened?News broke yesterday of a proposed mega-merger that would collect massive global brands like HBO, CNN, Discovery, Warner Brothers, Bravo and more in ...15 hours ago
- Economic rationality long gone in Europe
Some of the most established figures of German's establishment call for Europe to follow its treaty rules, a call that these days makes them seem like counter-revolutionaries, writes Oliver Hartwich ...15 hours ago - Lifting for history
Laurel Hubbard is a reluctant trailblazer, a pioneer for transgender women - but all she wants to do is lift weights Champion weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is set to be the first transgender Olympian, but the physical and psychological challenges are monumental. Today, The Detail finds out what it has ...15 hours ago - Police hit brakes on decarbonising fleet
Police have paused development of a 10-year plan to decarbonise their fleet after ordering 2000 new fossil fuel cruisers, even as the Government ramps up efforts to electrify its vehicles. ...15 hours ago - Harditex cladding: Plaintiffs seek $200m as lawsuit finally begins
Sharon Leigh and her husband are living in a mouldy, rotting home in Whitby, near Porirua. The house would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix, or they could sell for next to nothing. A class action lawsuit is alleging a major building product manufacturer never tested its product ...15 hours ago - 'A field mouse being hunted by a tiger'
Two of the summer clerks allegedly assaulted by a former Russell McVeagh partner have shared the impact of their experiences at the first day of a disciplinary hearing A former summer clerk at Russell McVeagh has spoken about feeling like "a field mouse being hunted by a tiger" as she ...23 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: Will the government take the poverty crisis seriously?Political Roundup - This week's Budget is a chance for the government to take the crisis of inequality seriously. A big boost to benefits would be the most effective way, Dr Bryce Edwards writes. ...23 hours ago
- Border exemptions for at least 200 'high-value' investors
The Government will give border exceptions to "high value" international investors to travel to New Zealand as it resets the immigration system "so it works for New Zealand" High-value international investors will be given border exemptions to come to New Zealand and bankroll Kiwi businesses over the next 12 months. On Monday, Minister ...1 day ago - Government announces 'reset' of immigration systemThe skilled migrant category will be reviewed and employer requirements strengthened in what the government calls a "once-in-a generation reset" of the immigration system. ...1 day ago
- What is drink spiking? How can you know if it’s happened to you, and how can it be prevented?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Lee, Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University Recent media reports suggest drink spiking at pubs and clubs may be on the rise. “Drink spiking” is when someone puts alcohol or other drugs into another person’s drink without ...1 day ago
- Tesla’s Bitcoin about-face is a warning for cryptocurrencies that ignore climate changeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society and NATSEM, University of Canberra Over the weekend, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk suggested his company could sell off its Bitcoin holdings, sending the cryptocurrency plummeting. It followed Musk’s announcement earlier ...1 day ago
- Downloading our thoughts to the mainframe may be the stuff of science fiction — but humans have be...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry-James Meiring, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Modern transhumanism is the belief that, in the future, science and technology will enable us to transcend our bodily confines. Scientific advances will transform humans and, in the process, eliminate ageing, disease, unnecessary suffering, ...1 day ago
- Australia PM Scott Morrison to visit New Zealand this monthNew Zealand and Australia's prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison will be going to Highlanders vs Melbourne Rebels rugby game in Queenstown on the Sunday. ...1 day ago
- Australia PM Scott Morrison to visit New Zealand this weekAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will arrive in Queenstown on Sunday for a two day visit to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. ...1 day ago
- Process For Release Of Climate Change Commission’s Final Advice To GovernmentHe Pou a Rangi the Climate Change Commission will deliver its final advice to Government on Monday 31 May, outlining how Aotearoa can reach its climate targets. The Minister of Climate Change James Shaw will then be responsible for releasing the advice publicly, ...1 day ago
- All the best zingers (and the odd clanger) from the Auckland Writers FestivalFarewell to the festival, for now, but hello to these 34 one-liners brought to you by our diligent scouts at the Aotea Centre. Emma Espiner: To my right, but actually quite far to my left … Anahera Gildea.Anahera Gildea: [Māori] were being invited to publish as long as we had ...1 day ago
- Little change in post-budget Newspoll; Liberals win Tasmanian majoritySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne This week’s Newspoll, conducted May 13-16 from a sample of 1,506, gave Labor a 51-49 lead, unchanged from the last Newspoll published three weeks ago. Primary votes were 41% ...1 day ago
- Despite a veneer of democracy, Samoa is sliding into autocracySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patricia A. O’Brien, Visiting Fellow, School of History, Australian National University, and Adjunct Professor, Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University The fragility of democracy in Samoa has been on full display in the past month. On April 9, voters used the national election ...1 day ago
- The Treasurer says his ‘patent box’ will boost innovation. The evidence says it won’tSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University On budget night federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced Australia is getting its own “patent box”. What is a patent box? Despite its odd name, it is a relatively straightforward concept. It means lowering the tax ...1 day ago
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