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The Government is misrepresenting the effect of the Ruataniwha Dam decision
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, July 9th, 2017 - 21 comments
The Government has responded to the Supreme Court decision which puts a halt on the Ruataniwha Dam by claiming wrongly that the protected land was of low quality and by stating that a law change, possibly retrospective, will occur.
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.
NRT: “Too hard”
Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, March 20th, 2017 - 53 comments
No Right Turn: “The real barrier to National … acting on this is because that “no-one owns water, first come, first served” policy disproportionately benefits one group and allows them to profiteer from a public resource while destroying its value to others. That group is farmers – and they donate to the National Party.”
The Nats’ new ‘swimmable’ rivers aren’t
Written By: - Date published: 3:08 pm, February 28th, 2017 - 14 comments
Under the new standards we have up to a 1 in 6 risk of serious infection at the times that we actually swim in rivers, and Smith is trying to hide this fact by fudging around with year-long averages. David Parker’s analysis yesterday was bang on.
100% Pure takes another hit
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, December 18th, 2016 - 85 comments
Stuff this morning: “Lord of the Rings actor says NZ tourists shocked by polluted ‘sewer’ Middle-earth”
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.
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.
Why we need to stand with Standing Rock
Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, October 6th, 2016 - 19 comments
For seven months the next movement of social and environmental justice and resistance has been growing. We should be paying attention.
A MPI boondoggle subsidy for Wairarapa land speculators?
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, September 21st, 2016 - 23 comments
You have to wonder about the quality of some of the economic process control that goes on for National’s politically important subsidies to the farming industry. A economic review of a Wairarapa Water application for second stage feasibility funding from the Irrigation Acceleration Fund for the “Black Creek” and “Tividale” irrigation schemes makes it look like government funded boondoggle.
Abrupt climate change: CO2 equivalent now at 485 ppm
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, August 26th, 2016 - 76 comments
We are now at 485 ppm CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas concentrations, up from 250 ppm in the 1700s. And climbing fast.
“Flushing flows”
Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, August 24th, 2016 - 14 comments
A new phrase is about to enter NZ’s clean green image lexicon.
What if there were only 34 more whitebait harvests left?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 19th, 2016 - 78 comments
Water is life not merely wadeable.
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.
Stopping the sale of agricultural land and agri-business
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 29th, 2016 - 26 comments
Australia’s national interest test applied to attempts by foreign interests to buy Australian agriland and agribusinesses is deliberately vague. New Zealand could take lessons.
“Died at some point in the recycling process”
Written By: - Date published: 6:39 pm, July 4th, 2016 - 39 comments
Imagine taking shelter on a cold night and ending up crushed or asphyxiated to death in a compressed cardboard recycling bale.
A Tale of Two Droughts
Written By: - Date published: 6:38 pm, June 22nd, 2016 - 44 comments
Climate change is now causing extreme dry weather events and is increasingly blamed for water shortages. But what we are doing on the ground has just as much influence on our experience of drought. As New Zealand farmers call for drought relief this winter, it’s time we looked at how we manage land and water, and the critical role this plays in whether humans can live with variable rainfall in the age of climate change. Here’s a stellar example from India.
Taihoa on Immigration?
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, June 7th, 2016 - 213 comments
Winston Peters has called for a slashing of migrant worker numbers and for screening of would be workers based on things like their attitude to women. Is it time for a taihoa on immigration or is Winston just doing a Trump?
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.
Global elite plan their escape from “pleb masses”
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, March 29th, 2016 - 35 comments
So, Key has now come out and revealed to us how afraid the global oligarch class (and their well paid professional enablers) are. They appear to have no plans to reverse their activites to make things better for us.
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.
Norman on the economy
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, March 12th, 2016 - 58 comments
Russel Norman was right in 2014 when he said that the Nats were daft to gamble on oil and bulk milk production, and he’s right again now to draw attention to the failures. We need a green economy!
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.
Kelly interviewed by Campbell on RNZ Checkpoint
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, January 30th, 2016 - 24 comments
Is RBNZ ignoring deflation bogey?
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, January 29th, 2016 - 71 comments
Is Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler so concerned about the bogey of Auckland’s housing bubble that he is underestimating an equally nasty bogey – deflation? Deflation will certainly cure the problem of the property bubble, but that cure will be at a terrible cost.
The great big list of John Key’s big fat lies (UPDATED)
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 27th, 2016 - 76 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.
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.
- National would tax water as well
1 hour ago - Change happens when we stand together
Tertiary Update Election Edition Vol 1 No 1 Together we have stopped National’s attempt to change the law to funnel public money to private tertiary education. Over the past few months, nearly 5,000 people have joined our campaign to keep tertiary education ...2 hours ago - Your university, pay and the living wageDr. Wayne Linklater, co-president of the Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) branch of the Tertiary Education Union, discusses how paying the Living Wage would help advance the values of public institutions like VUW. Universities are the engine of progress. They train ...2 hours ago
- Mental health needs are failed by competitive fundingNicole Wallace from the School of Social Sciences at the University of Auckland, shares a powerful story about studying for a tertiary degree with a mental health condition, highlighting why we need to support public tertiary education for better access to ...2 hours ago
- Local public tertiary education is vital for MāoriSteven Wharehinga, president of the Tertiary Education Union branch at the Universal College of Learning, explains what impact reforms introduced by National have had on the provision of regional tertiary education and what this means for Māori, Pasifika and low income families. ...2 hours ago
- Our own memorial problem
This week we've all been made aware of the problem of the USA commemorating the leaders of the racist, slave-owning Confederacy with public monuments. Meanwhile, there's a similar problem in New Zealand. Via Twitter, I was pointed at a map ...2 hours ago - No protection for whistleblowers in NZThere's been some debate about the need for increased whistleblower protection in New Zealand. And today, we have a perfect example of why it is needed: because the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki has just got the Employment Relations ...3 hours ago
- That rail planThe big political news this morning in Greater Auckland's proposal for Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga commuter rail. It looks like a good idea. In the southern part of the North Island we already have (limited) commuter rail between Palmerston North, Masterton and Wellington, ...6 hours ago
- The Singles Life: The evolution of Shorecore
Welcome to weekly series The Singles Life, where known experts Katie Parker and Hussein Moses peruse, ponder and pontificate on the latest and (maybe) greatest in New Zealand music. Photo: Florence Noble/Facebook It may have been nearly a decade ...6 hours ago - Just how bad is the Aussie NZ relationship?
As the finger wagging continues both here and over the ditch about Australian MP Barnaby Joyce being outed as a New Zealand citizen (oh the horror!) it's probably work pointing out just how bad our political relationship with our closest ...7 hours ago - Voter Motivators 2017: Water.
9 hours ago - Are we all anti-fascist now?
US neo-Nazis and fascists supporters march in Charoltsvill, USA. Image credit: Alejandro Alvarez/News2Share via Reuters Wouldn’t that be nice? What if the current almost universal condemnation of fascism by the main stream media and social media commenters were genuine.? That it represents an ...9 hours ago - Beyond the Beehive: The Far North
In the lead-up to the election, journalist Max Towle is on an epic road trip taking the political pulse of young New Zealanders. Drugs, jobs and housing are on the minds of people in the Far North. Beyond ...10 hours ago - Introducing Regional Rapid Rail
Greater Auckland is proud to present our proposal for Regional Rapid Rail – an Upper North Island Passenger Network. This post gives you a brief summary of our staged proposal to introduce higher speed inter-city rail to the Upper North ...11 hours ago - Media Link: Second radio interview in the US travelogue series.
There is some overlap between yesterday’s post and today’s radio interview, but there is also a a fair bit of other material as well: http://www.radiolive.co.nz/home/video/2017/08/trump–charlottesville-and-north-korea—the-latest-from-the-us.html ...16 hours ago - Whatever happened to one law for all?
by Susanne Kemp The Metiria Turei case certainly brought a lot of mean-spirited people with double standards out of the woodwork. People who vigorously defended John Key’s electoral fraud and Bill English’s rorting of the public purse for the ...20 hours ago - Access: The Driverless Road Ahead
For the past decade and a bit, I've been working as a computer technician and sales rep. During that time, I've seen the desktop and laptop computer go from being the main method people get on the Internet, to an ...1 day ago - Speaker: Low-quality language on immigrationOrcon IRL’s election special took place Sunday evening, and it was a right time. Kiri Allan mesmerised crowds in te reo. Stephen Berry knocked Rock Enrol. Chloe Swarbrick spoke of a Green future. And I disrespected Russell’s authority and went ...1 day ago
- Meanwhile, in PolandWhile we're all worrying about Nazis in America, we might also want to keep an eye on Poland:Polish police broke up a feminist rally and forcefully removed activists to clear the way for a march for far-right extremists. A live ...1 day ago
- Privacy, not “secrecy”Politik breathlessly reports that the New Zealand government kept information on Barnaby Joyce's kiwi citizenship "top secret":New Zealand Ministers and officials imposed a heavy security lid once they realised that they had information which could, in effect, topple the Australian ...1 day ago
- General Election Debate on Transport – Campaign for Better Transport
The Campaign for Better Transport is holding an election debate with all the major parties this month in Auckland. The CBT is led by Cameron Pitches and over the years has led campaigns and advocated for many transport issues including: Airport ...1 day ago - The Real Reason for Housing Unaffordability
The news that the number of houses being sold is falling and that prices are rising more slowly has been greeted in some quarters with responses that are – sadly – all too predictable. The consensus is that these shifts ...1 day ago - Renting in New Zealand (and what politicians are promising to change)
As politicians talk up their housing policies ahead of the election, renters share stories of stress, illness and why the current system doesn’t work. Photo: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Jared Kelly / Flickr Cleaning the house of mould and ...1 day ago - National fails miserably on housing
I don’t know about you, but I’m not very happy with all the homeless people wandering the streets and sleeping rough in the cold, some of whom are dying on park benches. But instead of blaming the victims, I think ...1 day ago - Check this out
The Spinoff has a terrific tool that lets you see and compare the leading parties’ election policies. You can tick your favourites and then see which way you lean based on your policy choices. It is beautifully done. It almost ...1 day ago - Loading Docs: Asian Men Talk About SexEight Asian men bare all as they speak candidly about sex, love and dating. Asian Men Talk About Sex has been released as part of Loading Docs - a launchpad for short New Zealand documentaries. DIRECTOR INTERVIEW: ...1 day ago
- “Let’s Tax This?” – “Hell, Yeah!”
1 day ago - Barnaby Joyce – Asshole of the Week
1 day ago - Letters from America, take three: a scab got picked.Donald Trump picked a scab during his campaign for the presidency and now the puss is draining out. It will be a while before the wound is cleansed. The puss is racism, xenophobia and bigotry. When I left the US ...1 day ago
- Timing is everything for Ardern & Labour
Timing is just so important in politics, as in so much of life. Plenty of able people don't have the luck – or planning – to be in the right place at the right time. But right now, timing may ...1 day ago - Pouring gasoline on the housing fire
Yesterday, Prime Minister Bill English announced that he would encourage the Reserve Bank to remove the loan to value ratio (LVR) rules that it put in place to take the heat out of rising house prices. As reported in Newsroom: ...1 day ago - Inferno VII: The circle of capitalists
"Pape Satàn, pape Satàn aleppe!" If these words ever meant anything in any language, or were otherwise intelligible to the contemporaries of Dante Alighieri, that meaning is lost. What’s left to us is the beginning of a curse, or a ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell on why Labour isn’t responsible for Barnaby Joyce
First published on Werewolf As a desperate Turnbull government tries to treat the Barnaby Joyce affair as a Pauline Hanson fever dream – blame it on the foreigners! We’re the victims of the dastardly New Zealand Labour Party! – our ...2 days ago - Media Release: TIME TO TURN UP THE PRESSURE ON CANDIDATESFor Immediate Release Tuesday 15 August 2017 TIME TO TURN UP THE PRESSURE ON CANDIDATES Polls are showing that inequality is a top voter concern (Roy-Morgan and UMR Polls). The income equality group Closing the Gap is urging New Zealanders ...2 days ago
- Ardern stands up for kiwisToday politics seems to be dominated by Australian ridiculousness, after the Australian government blamed Chris Hipkins (rather than hard-working Australian journalists) for exposing Barnaby Joyce as a New Zealand citizen, and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop interfering in our election ...2 days ago
- Editors put the boot into National
2 days ago - Civil Disobedience Against Big Irrigation
Construction has started on huge irrigation schemes in Canterbury. When they start working, it’s going to be disastrous for our rivers - most of which are already struggling. More irrigation means more cows and that means more pollution.A few weeks ...2 days ago - Climate change: The Cullen fund divestsClimate change is now undeniable, and if we are to survive it, the fossil fuel industry has to die. And now the Cullen Fund has recognised that fact, and started divesting its risk:The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has sold shares ...2 days ago
- Dirty farmersSurprise, surprise - Waikato's dairy farmers are failing to comply with their resource consents:The Waikato Regional Council says dairy farm effluent compliance rates are heading in the right direction despite less than one quarter of farms monitored last year deemed ...2 days ago
- National’s policy hardly Christian
It’s often amazing to see the ill-conceived political arguments that make it to print in New Zealand sometimes. Perhaps one of the least canvassed areas of voting preference is that of religious beliefs, and where those beliefs coincide with a ...2 days ago - “As soon as reasonably practicable”
The Official Information Act requires agencies to decide on requests "as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received". But over the decades that the ...2 days ago - Wijkontsluitingsweg
This is another post about my recent trip to the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a standard road classification system with ideally three types of roads: flow roads (motorways), distribution roads (arterials), and local roads (residential roads). This system does not ...2 days ago - Eyewitness report from Charlottesville by Redneck RevoltREPORTBACK: CHARLOTTESVILLE: August 13, 2017 by Redneck Revolt members The situation on the ground in Charlottesville, Virginia, is still developing and unstable, but a few of our Redneck Revolt members on the ground took some time to provide the ...2 days ago
- Treating young people differently
The Labour party has hit the ground running with Jacinda Ardern. Not only has she shown immense capability as leader, the Labour party has clearly got its game on and returned to its core values, values that once made New ...2 days ago - Looking to the past to understand the Politics of Love
We need to transcend us vs them struggles, writes Philip McKibbin. Image: The Prophet Te Whiti Addressing a Meeting of Natives from The Graphic (1881) In 1881, the peaceful village of Parihaka was invaded. Fifteen-hundred men, led ...2 days ago - Power imbalances in local vs central government
Local government in New Zealand is a creature of statute, so it’s subservient to powers bestowed upon it by central government. From the creation of its mandate and structure, to the reforms imposed through time, local councils are, and will ...2 days ago - The Greens’ Campaign Reset: Normal Ideological Transmission Is Resumed.
2 days ago - Victory on Victoria
The Victoria St Linear Park has been saved from the clutches of Auckland Transport. You may recall that we’ve been concerned about ATs plans for the future of many of the streets in the city centre for some time. In ...2 days ago - MSM catches up on Unemployment stats rort
. . The mainstream media – or at least one clever journalist working for Mediaworks/Newshub – has finally caught up with a story broken by this blogger last year that unemployment data from Statistics NZ was no longer reliable; ...3 days ago - When is Lying Justified?Among the sinners the drunk porter in Macbeth welcomes into hell is the ‘equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale’. Equivocation is a theme of the play; Shakespeare is thought to have been influenced by the ...3 days ago
- Has National gone Full Metal Jacket?
Is bootcamp the government's solution for hardened young criminals? Photo: 123rf. National plans to solve the problem of serious youth offending by sending people to a remote, army-run boot camp for a year. But opponents of the ...3 days ago - Yale Climate Connections: America’s beacon of climate science awareness
This is an unabashed endorsement of an important group. I have no affiliation with them or conflict of interest. They are great, period. The ability to convey complex climate science to a wide-ranging audience is a golden attribute, something very ...3 days ago - On Mike Hosking – Don’t Say I Never Warned You
3 days ago - PM lied about Greenpeace spies
3 days ago - I watched Miss Universe NZ 2017 so you don’t have to
Beauty queens, magic, dangly bits and nip slips - Miss Universe NZ had it all. The top five Miss Universe NZ contestants (L-R): Shekinah Delos Santos, Sarah Hensby-Bennett, Harlem-Cruz Ihaia, Holly Waghorn and Brooke Houia. Screenshot: Miss ...3 days ago - NZ Post spied on the publicLast night we learned that NZ Post had been spying on the public, using microphones on its delivery vehicles to record and listen to conversations between its employees and random members of the public without the consent of either party. ...3 days ago
- Aspirational fluff from Ardern
by Daphna Whitmore Although women got the vote in the late 19th century, now well in to the 21st century we still do not have pay equity. While overt discrimination against individual female employees is no longer legal or socially ...3 days ago - National party dead in the water
3 days ago - Barnaby Joyce is a New Zealand citizenOver the last few weeks the Australian Parliament has been rocked by a succession of resignations and court referrals over various Senators falling foul of s44 of the Australian constitution, which bars dual-citizens from the legislature. Today, that clause appears ...3 days ago
- Dual Modes and Axle Loads
3 days ago - What’s Going On? with Lucy Zee: BeervanaEye-popping beer infusions and drinking games with the bros. Lucy Zee heads to New Zealand's biggest beer festival, Beervana. Produced and presented by Lucy Zee, and filmed and edited by Eddy Fifield. Made with the support of NZ On ...3 days ago
- National resorts to racism on waterNational knows it can't defeat the Labour-Green policy on water charging on fairness grounds, so they're now appealing to racism, with Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson scaremongering that making farmers pay their fair share will mean reopening historic ...3 days ago
- A Weak Man Trying to Look StrongDonald Trump would not be the first political leader to try to build his popularity, or divert attention from his troubles at home, by seeking a diversion – usually by means of a military adventure of some sort – overseas. ...3 days ago
- Keeping tiny humans alive
Science is helping more premature babies survive, but for parents it's still a journey marked by fear, pain and joy. Inside of what looks like a giant Ziploc bag filled with water, the hoof of a tiny lamb ...3 days ago - The left shouldn’t fear Greg O’Connor
When Greg O’Connor was a young Police officer he did a stint undercover and has lamented having to arrest gang members he viewed at the time as his mates. This is perhaps the main problem for the left, being that ...3 days ago - ATAP Revised
The Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) released just last year has been already been one of the most influential transport documents Auckland has seen. That’s because for the first time Auckland and the Government agreed on the future of transport ...3 days ago - Gordon Campbell on North Korea, neo-Nazism, and Milo
First published on Werewolf With a bit of luck the planet won’t be devastated by nuclear war in the next few days. US President Donald Trump will have begun to fixate on some other way to gratify his self-esteem – ...4 days ago - National Party: young offenders need to be dealt with
PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL PARTY ANNOUNCE LAW AND ORDER POLICY The National Party of New Zealand is pleased to announce a ground-breaking new law and order policy that draws ideas from some of the finest talkback minds of their generation. Today ...4 days ago - US mass murder in Korea, 1950-1953The following piece is an extract from a longer article by Phil Hearse that appeared in International Viewpoint, an online Marxist publication, last Thursday (August 10). For the people of North Korea, warnings from their leadership about the United ...4 days ago
- Labour’s water tax is going to kill us allThis week new Labour leader and … Jacinda Ardern announced her party’s new plan to steal the Green Party’s old plan to place a charge on commercial users of water. This surprised many New Zealanders, mainly because since we’ve had ...4 days ago
- Sunday reading 13 August 2017
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week, I’d like to start out with two stories of self-inflicted screwups (by other people). Self-inflicted screwup number one is Australia’s broadband rollout. As Jennifer Hewett sets out in the Australian Financial Review, it’s ...4 days ago - Election 2017: No Country For Old Men.
4 days ago - 2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #32
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. Editor's Pick NOAA confirms 2016 as hottest year on record for the planet The federal government confirmed 2016 as the planet's warmest ...4 days ago - The most grievous betrayal of all – two so-called “Green” MPs who should know better. . Right-wing rednecks – I can deal with. Beneficiary-bashing bigots – no problem. Well-meaning ignorance – a bit of a challenge. But what I find difficult to comprehend is when we face betrayal from our supposed comrades; people ...5 days ago
- Contrasting campaign styles
Political campaigning takes many forms, from claims of a stable and economically dependable government while ignoring extensive social and environmental degradation to doing what's right knowing it won’t always please everybody all the time. But there’s another side to political ...5 days ago
- Government caves to multi-national tax avoiders in the shadows
News that the Government has secretly caved in to the demands of multi-national tax avoiders come as no surprise, but will disappoint Kiwi taxpayers, says Labour’s spokesman for Revenue Michael Wood. “It has been revealed that a United States ...46 mins ago - Cheaper to stay at The Langham than emergency housing motelsLabour’s comprehensive plan to fix the housing crisis and ensure there’s enough state housing, means we won’t be paying through the nose for emergency accommodation like the current Government has to, says Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni. “National has ...2 hours ago
- Government must come clean on waterNews that the National Government is secretly working behind closed doors on its own water charging schemes shows their utter hypocrisy on this issue, says Labour’s water spokesperson David Parker. “They have been carping on about Labour’s plan for ...6 hours ago
- Government pays twice the price for emergency housing motels – with two more on the wayUnder Labour’s plan to build at least 1000 state houses each year, New Zealand wouldn’t be paying more than double the valuations for motels to house Kiwis needing emergency housing, says Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni. “Under questioning today, ...1 day ago
- HAM shows country needs Labour on housingThe latest Housing Affordability Measure report shows affordability dramatically worsening for Auckland first home buyers, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...1 day ago
- Canterbury kids get more support for mental healthChildren in Canterbury and Kaikoura will get dedicated mental health support to help them overcome the trauma of the earthquakes, says the Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “We’ll fund an extra eighty mental health professionals for the next three ...1 day ago
- Statement on Julie Bishop’s commentsIt is highly regrettable that the Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has chosen to make false claims about the New Zealand Labour Party. I have been utterly transparent about this situation. I stand by my statements this morning that I ...2 days ago
- Labour stands with Pike familiesA Labour Government will stand with the families of Pike River and reaffirm its commitment to safe workplaces by ensuring there will be a Minister responsible for Pike River, says Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “The Pike River disaster ...2 days ago
- Yes to Sallies – Labour will build more state housesThe Salvation Army’s latest report ‘Taking Stock’ shows why New Zealand needs a Labour-led Government committed to a massive house building programme, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. “When the Sallies say the country needs 2000 extra state houses a ...2 days ago
- New Zealanders deserve better than scaremongering over waterNew Zealanders need to hear from National about how they will fund the clean-up of our rivers and lakes for future generations. Instead, National has broadened its scare-mongering, says Labour’s Water spokesperson David Parker. ...3 days ago
- School Leavers’ Toolkit to equip young people for adult lifeLabour will give school leavers the practical skills and knowledge they need for adult life with a new School Leavers’ Toolkit, says Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “Our teachers and schools do a great job of teaching our children ...3 days ago
- Pay equity to be a priority for LabourLabour will make sure that the country’s mental health workers are a priority when it comes to pay equity negotiations, says the Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “It is very important for me to right the wrong created ...5 days ago
- Labour’s positive education planToday’s announcement on learning support is more tinkering and proof that only a Labour Government will deliver the resources that schools and parents are crying out for, says Labour’s Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins. “We have a positive vision for a ...6 days ago
- Pike footage raises questions over government’s actionsThe Government’s seeming determination to turn a blind eye to new questions about what happened at Pike River Mine is troubling, says Labour’s West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O’Connor. ...6 days ago
- Solution to rent rises lies in building houses and stopping speculatorsThe spread of rental increases from the big cities to the surrounding regions shows why we need to get on top of the housing shortage build homes our families can afford, and lock out the speculators, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson ...1 week ago
- Clean rivers don’t cost $18 a cabbageNational is falling into a bad pattern of promising the world and not saying how they will fund it, says Labour’s Water spokesperson David Parker. ...1 week ago
- Time for honest answer on transport fundingNational needs to explain how they will fund the $6 billion funding gap in their 10-year Auckland transport plan, says Labour’s Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...1 week ago
- Time for true numbers on overseas speculatorsIt’s time for the Government to give accurate figures on the number of houses being bought by overseas speculators, says Labour’s Land Information spokesperson Raymond Huo. ...1 week ago
- Fair and sustainable trade: A Green Party vision for New Zealand’s trading relationships
Trade is a cornerstone of the New Zealand economy. It provides us with the things we want and need, and enables us to pay for those with exports that generate business opportunities and jobs. However, it should be recognised that ...1 week ago - Clean rivers for future generationsLabour will lead a nationwide effort to restore our rivers and lakes to a clean, swimmable state, says Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. ...1 week ago
- New Zealand really can do better on healthLabour’s commitment to affordable access to high quality healthcare will provide a better service for New Zealanders than the current Health Minister, who will not apologise for statements that he made that wrongly criticised hard-working staff in the Southern DHB’s ...1 week ago
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- Labour to build rail to Auckland AirportA world class city needs a rail connection from the CBD to its international airport – that’s why Labour will build light rail to Auckland Airport as a priority, says Leader of the Opposition Jacinda Ardern. “Let’s get Auckland moving ...2 weeks ago
- Is pay equity just too hard for this Govt?You are hard pressed these days to find someone that openly admits their misogyny, that men should still be paid more than women. Politicians proclaim that they want to see women paid more, but do their actions back it up? ...2 weeks ago
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- Auckland congestion up there with the world’s worstTraffic congestion is costing Auckland up to $2 billion in lost productivity according to the latest report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, says Labour’s Transport spokesperson Michael Wood. “This is a disaster and underlines the need for ...2 weeks ago
- Experience in Youth Parliament 2016
Being a Member of Youth Parliament was an unexpected, but fabulous opportunity for me. It provided me a way to connect with other young people who have some things in common, and to learn what it is like to be ...2 weeks ago - Labour backs renters’ call for warm, healthy homes80 per cent of renters wish their home was warmer and drier, and that’s what Labour will deliver, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. ...2 weeks ago
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- Better homes for Maori under LabourLabour’s vision is that Māori enjoy an equal playing field and have the same home ownership opportunities as non-Māori, says Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “Today Labour is proud to announce a detailed Māori housing policy from South Auckland’s ...3 weeks ago
- Labour to build replacement for Gorge RoadLabour will build a new road to replace the Manawatu Gorge Road as quickly as possible, says Leader of the Opposition Andrew Little. ...3 weeks ago
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- How to vote and keep your info privateGoing to vote or enrolling to vote can be scary. Having your details out there can open a can of worms. I wish we lived in a country where everyone was safe and secure enough to be openly enrolled, but ...3 weeks ago
- Coleman’s lost control of his MinistryBasic blunders and chronic underfunding revealed in Treasury documents obtained by Labour clearly show Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has lost control of his ministry, says Labour’s Health spokesperson David Clark. “Every New Zealander deserves affordable access to quality healthcare but ...3 weeks ago
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- Garner, Gower And Owen to Front Decision17Duncan Garner will be hosting Three’s election night special from 7:00pm on September 23rd, 2017. With close to 20 years press gallery experience and host of The AM Show, Garner will be joined by Newshub Political Editor Patrick Gower and ...5 hours ago
- Labour Party spot on – not government’s role to own hotelsThe Taxpayers’ Union agree with Labour: the use of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money for the Government’s desperate attempts to pepper over the housing crisis by buying its own hotels, is ridiculous. Responding to Carmel Sepuloni's comments ...5 hours ago
- Tourism supports call for better biodiversity managementProtection of New Zealand’s unique biodiversity is imperative to our social and economic future, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says. ...6 hours ago
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- Rahui Papa – why criticize Metiria Turei?The status quo is not working for our people – we need a higher level of care ...6 hours ago
- Ministry of Defence Major Projects Report 2016 PublishedIn 2008, the Office of the Auditor-General identified a need for the Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force to report better and more complete information to show how well they manage projects to acquire new defence capability. ...6 hours ago
- Why will the least swimmable rivers receive less funding?IrrigationNZ is continuing to challenge the logic of Labour’s water tax proposal, after finding that regions with more swimmable rivers will receive more funding from the water tax, while those with the least swimmable rivers will receive less funding ...6 hours ago
- REINZ applauds voluntary Rental Warrant of FitnessThe Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) applauds moves by the Wellington City Council today to launch a voluntary Rental Warrant of Fitness for minimum housing standards in Wellington. The Council has partnered with the University of Otago to ...7 hours ago
- How low can the Health Minister sink?The on-going performance of Jonathan Coleman as health minister is no longer a major concern but a complete disaster for the New Zealand public health system, according to Democrats for Social Credit health spokesman David Tranter. ...8 hours ago
- Interactive Webinars on Living and DyingParliament’s Health Select Committee suggested in their recent report on public attitudes to ‘assisted dying’* that “greater communication between health professionals and the general public is required to explain the dying process and alleviate fear” ...8 hours ago
- ACC Fails to Implement Will of ParliamentA matter has come to my attention that I have a duty to inform the New Zealand public about. In my role as ACC advocate I have obtained information that raises serious concerns about the conduct of the Accident Compensation ...9 hours ago
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- Community Letter Demands Inquiry into Family CourtsA letter calling for an Inquiry into the NZ Family Courts goes to Parliament on Thursday 17 August at 12.30pm. ...9 hours ago
- National selects Clutha-Southland candidateNational selects Clutha-Southland candidate Hamish Walker has tonight been selected by local party members as National’s 2017 Clutha-Southland candidate. Mr Walker, 32, lives in the Clutha-Southland electorate with his partner Penny and has a strong ...21 hours ago
- Government pays twice the price for emergency housing motelsGovernment pays twice the price for emergency housing motels – with two more on the way ...1 day ago
- Search for Rollie Heke extends nationallyThe response to the events of Sunday night have now been split into two phases. ...1 day ago
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- Transition to a better futureWinston Peters New Zealand First Leader Member of Parliament for Northland 16 AUGUST 2017 Christchurch Transitional Cathedral, 234 Hereford St, Christchurch. Wednesday, August 16, 1-2pm ...1 day ago
- Tourism sector urged to get active in environmental advocacyThe Environmental Defence Society has urged the tourism sector to get more active in advocating for New Zealand’s natural heritage at the Tourism Export Council’s conference in Te Anau today. ...1 day ago
- Current Electoral Law Discriminates Against MāoriAndrew Judd - Former Mayor of New Plymouth Howie Tamati - Māori Party Candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru 16 August 2017 ...1 day ago
- Howie Tamati – Māori Party Candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru16 August 2017 - Howie Tamati Backs the Call for Inquiry into Abuse of Children in State Care ...1 day ago
- 18,534 ask for protection of rare kiwiA mother and child pair of costumed kiwis sought sanctuary on Parliament steps today to highlight the plight of the endangered Haast Tokoeka Kiwi, threatened by a West Coast company’s plan to build a pipeline through their habitat in order ...1 day ago
- SAFE condemns appalling neglect of dairy cowsSAFE was appalled to learn of one of New Zealand’s most serious cases of systematic neglect of farmed animals this week. ...1 day ago
- National And MPI Need to up Their Biosecurity GameRichard Prosser MP Spokesperson for Biosecurity 16 AUGUST 2017 National And MPI Need to up Their Biosecurity Game ...1 day ago
- New Zealand First announces Canterbury candidatesSitting list MP, Denis O’Rourke, will again contest Port Hills for New Zealand First in the forthcoming general election, New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP, Rt Hon Winston Peters, announced today. ...1 day ago
- Reedy-Taare: Health of Māori men matters too!Mei Reedy-Taare Māori Party candidate for Te Tai Tonga 16 August 2017 Reedy-Taare: Health of Māori men matters too! ...1 day ago
- NZ Government delegation snubs NGO groups at UN in GenevaSOUL, the mana whenua-led community group fighting Fletcher Residential Ltd, the Government and Auckland City over a proposed Special Housing Area on confiscated land at Ihumātao near Auckland Airport, has presented its case to the UN Committee ...1 day ago
- Hard questions to candidates at an election forum next weekNelson’s volunteer and community sector will be putting the hard questions to candidates at an election forum next week. ...1 day ago
- Dunne’s Spending Promises Suggest Desperation16 AUGUST 2017 - Government support partner Peter Dunne appears to be abandoning the Government‘s commitment to fiscal prudence – offering some $4.76 billion of election bribes, according to the Taxpayers’ Union election policy costing ‘ ...1 day ago
- Nats Too Slow Out of Gates Over NZ Racing Industry CrisisThe Government has been far too slow in addressing the crisis facing the racing industry, says New Zealand First. ...1 day ago
- Time running out to make voting easyTime is running out for people wanting to make voting easy in the 23 September general election. ...1 day ago
- Surf life-saver going deaf to deliver 26,000-strong petitionA 22-year-old surf life-saver going deaf will deliver a 26,643-strong petition to Parliament at noon today, on the Parliament forecourt. ...1 day ago
- Call for inquiry into state abuse reaches the United NationsRace Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy is in Geneva and has asked a United Nations committee to urge the New Zealand government to initiate an inquiry into the physical and sexual abuse of children and disabled people held in state ...1 day ago
- Purpose, Skills & Jobs Needed for Pasefika and Māori Youth‘When our Pasefika and Māori youth lose their purpose focus in life because they failed in school, lack marketable skills, and find no job opportunities…they end up as our wayward children. It is not an excuse but it is the ...1 day ago
- Maniapoto Māori Trust Board Signs Agreement in PrincipleĀ muri kia mau ki tēnā, kia mau ki te kawau mārō, whanake ake, whanake ake ...1 day ago
- Survey reveals overwhelming support for water chargingNine out of ten New Zealanders believe that there should be a charge for extracting water from the environment for bottled water and similar industries, according to a recent survey by Water New Zealand. ...1 day ago
- New Zealand First announces Wellington region candidatesLong-term Wellington City Councillor, Andy Foster, has been selected to contest the Wellington Central seat for New Zealand First at this year’s election. ...2 days ago
- Kiwis of Snapchat: Gerald Cobb, Auckland commuter
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This parliamentary term is coming to an end as MPs prepare to hit the road for the election. Watch the final question time here. ...1 hour ago - ‘I’m trying not to be a rock band’: Merk on the isolation of lap-top production
Henry Oliver talks to bedroom producer and multi-instrumentalist Merk, who is playing at Seamless, an all-ages show, in Auckland this weekend. To win tickets, read till the very end!So what are you up to at the moment?I’m just working on new ...2 hours ago - An interview with the climate change-obsessed CEO of NZ’s biggest petrol company
Z Energy is the largest retailer of petrol in New Zealand, yet is paying to promote Al Gore’s climate change movie An Invonvenient Sequel. Duncan Greive meets Z CEO Mike Bennetts and asks what’s up with that.The CEO stood atop ...3 hours ago - I studied in Charlottesville as an Asian New Zealander and racism was… selective
The horrific events of last weekend at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, brought back memories for Hye Ji ‘Erica’ Lee, a Korean New Zealander who studied there six years ago.In 2011 I was a student at the University ...3 hours ago - Tears as petition for Family Court inquiry handed over
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Bryce Edwards Analysis: Political Roundup: NZ (and Australia) needs better political scandals Trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia.Dr Bryce Edwards.The current trans-Tasman citizenship saga doesn’t warrant the level of hysteria coming from politicians in both countries, on both sides ...7 hours ago - Ned Stark is alive and well and trapped in a British stoner comedy
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- Hundreds of thousands of young Kiwis not yet enrolled to voteThe Electoral Commission is targeting the 225,000 young people who are yet to enrol to vote, with the election just weeks away. ...9 hours ago
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Scientists from Otago University are unearthing new information on the lives of early New Zealand settlers. ...11 hours ago - A good start, but water charge plan flawed
Labour’s water charge plan isn’t perfect, say commentators, but it’s an important step down the road to equitable use of a public asset. ...11 hours ago - Labour hire companies a setback for employment
Catriona MacLennan argues the spread of labour hire employment exacerbates poverty in NZ. ...11 hours ago - Health advocate Bartlett ‘let down’ by Govt
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- PM hopes trans-Tasman spat short-livedThe Prime Minister says he hopes New Zealand Australia relations will soon be back on an even keel after the citizenship furore across the ditch. ...22 hours ago
- Govt defends price paid for motels to house homelessThe government has spent almost $8.5 million on four motels at more than double the QV to temporarily house homeless people - and it plans to buy another two. ...23 hours ago
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- My son will never be classed as a Young Serious Offender – and that’s not fairThe National Party’s plan for ‘Young Serious Offenders’ is causing outrage among youth justice advocates. JustSpeak director and pregnant mum of one Katie Bruce asks us to imagine if it was our child being given this label.The new category of ...1 day ago
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Aaron Yap plumbs the depths of The Expanse, a sci-fi space opera that’s drawn comparisons to some of television’s greatest. It’s weird to think that the Syfy channel once spawned Battlestar Galactica, one of, if not the finest science fiction series ...1 day ago - ‘The coping skills, the resilience … it’s just not there’Mental health services in Canterbury and Kaikōura schools are set to get a funding boost if Labour is elected. ...1 day ago
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Dirty Politics landed like a bombshell in the NZ election campaign of 2014. It may not have affected that outcome, but that was never the ambition. It has, however, made a big impact on our politics, argues Nicky HagerThree long ...1 day ago - Getting your shit together: yoga as a survival tool
Getting Your Shit Together is a monthly column on everyday mental health from Auckland mindfulness educator Kristina Cavit. This month she’s talking about the effect yoga has had on her own life, and on those of the prisoners and children ...1 day ago - ‘We lose the ability to think critically’: on the danger of hype culture in gaming
Superhot, an innovative critique on the dangers of hype culture and gamer identity, has been ported to virtual reality. But something critical is lost in translation, writes Matthew Codd. Superhot was one of the most inventive games of 2016. I don’t ...1 day ago - Field of dreams: the council wants to know what to do with the Takapuna carpark
There’s a big carpark on Takapuna’s Anzac Street and the council wants your imaginative ideas for what to do with it. Councillor Chris Darby has been thinking about movies…When does a carpark become something better than a carpark? Panuku Development ...1 day ago - How New Zealand songs are made in 2017
Gareth Shute examines the varied ways songs are written in the modern era by speaking to three artists who’ve released work recently – Herriot Row, Raiza Biza and October.The last two decades have seen digital technology offering new possibilities not ...1 day ago - Make Me Tick: getting down with democracy
In the lead up to the election, comedians Melanie Bracewell and Angella Dravid take a journey through the voting process in Make Me Tick, The Spinoff’s new four part video series with the Electoral Commission. Today, Melanie gets hyped for the ...1 day ago - A queer kind of karma for my fellow Australia-based Kiwi Barnaby Joyce
Given Australia’s deputy PM seems to have been a New Zealander all along, he should join his compatriots in embracing marriage equality and allowing a free vote, writes Kerry McBride.On 17 April, 2013, I stood in Scotty & Mal’s on ...1 day ago - To hell with writing for the stage: Dean Parker on his novel based on the hero of Man Alone
Auckland writer Dean Parker backgrounds the making of his novel – a kind of sequel to a classic of New Zealand fiction, Man Alone.I started writing my novel Johnson in 2008. Originally it carried the more effusive title, Hooray, Fuck.I know the ...1 day ago - Susan Devoy: Why I’m telling the UN about NZ’s immoral inaction on state care abuse‘This is not my New Zealand.’ Ahead of her speech to the UN this week, the Race Relations Commissioner calls on politicians to stand on principle and do right by the victims of institutional abuse.Earlier this year I was on ...1 day ago
- How Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship saga unfoldedThe Australian journalist who looked into the deputy prime minister's dual citizenship tells Morning Report "parallel investigations" were under way. ...1 day ago
- Why The AM Show has got me in a tizzy
Following a couple of weeks of controversial headlines, Alex Casey assembles a brief history of sexist drivel on The AM Show. Of all the soothing alarm sounds you could use to welcome a new beautiful day on Earth, Mark Richardson barking ...1 day ago
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