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Rangitata and the Future of the National Party
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, October 24th, 2020 - 42 comments
As National reels from the disastrous 2020 election result could a policy based on high tech agriculture represent a way back?
How to kill the car
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 29th, 2020 - 45 comments
What would you do so that instead of wandering endlessly through tilt-slab monstrosities soaked in 80s music and fluorescent lighting, surrounded by oppressed minimum-wage slaves who hate being there and you hating being there worried about your wheeled asset damaged in their carpark instead you get freedom?
Covid-19: Back home again
Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, March 17th, 2020 - 2 comments
As a programmer, I’ve had a lot of experience with working from home for work, last time was about 13 years ago. Yesterday we got shifted to working from home. The toolkit has changed a lot even in the last few years. What is going to be interesting for me is to see how companies disperse their employees out in the same way over this pandemic – that will be a real test of productivity.
The death of Holden
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, February 18th, 2020 - 43 comments
Thousands of households across New Zealand heard the announcement of the complete death of the Holden marque this week, as the death of one of the greatest binaries and one of the most closely teased and contested brands of all: Holden versus Ford.
Battery power gets way more interesting
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, September 27th, 2019 - 35 comments
Anyone who has been around tech for the last couple of decades will be aware of the liberating and industry disruptive effect of batteries. This caught my attention – “Tesla May Have Invented a Million-Mile Electric Car Battery”. It was well worth the read.
5G flip flop
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, July 2nd, 2019 - 62 comments
Six weeks after banning China’s leading tech firm Huawei from contracts with U.S. businesses, U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have reversed it after meeting China’s Premier Xi Jinping.
Digital Corporations: Pay Us What You Owe Us
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, February 19th, 2019 - 75 comments
The Government has indicated that it will seek to tax digital companies from overseas.
Spark vs Spooks
Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, February 13th, 2019 - 66 comments
Spark wants Huawei’s 5G technology because its the best and the cheapest. The GCSB spooks don’t want us to have it because 5Eyes and because the US has yanked their chain. The Prime Minister says no decision has been made – the media and the world think it is a goneburger. We should support New Zealand’s Spark, not US corporate interests.
The wonder of e-bikes and e-scooters
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 6th, 2019 - 20 comments
The rise of cycleways, e-bikes, and e-scooters is steadily revolutionising commutes around Auckland, especially Central Auckland. Like public transport the economic reasons for commuters are easy to understand. You don’t get ridiculous parking costs or the lousy variable commute times of fat footprint cars jammed up on crowded roads.
How To Get There 30/12/18
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, December 30th, 2018 - 139 comments
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Safe from prying 5Eyes
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 pm, December 8th, 2018 - 62 comments
I like my Huawei phone. Apparently the US National Security Agency can’t break its encryption. That’s presumably the “security” issue why Spark is being blocked from using Huawei, and why Meng Wanzhou is held hostage in Canada at the behest of US neocons.
Spooked!
Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, November 29th, 2018 - 29 comments
The GCSB ban on Spark’s use of Huawei technology means this government has gone from “honest broker” to poodle in a very short time. Pressure has been applied by the US and others, apparently fearing we are the “soft underbelly” of the Five Eyes spy network. Maybe its time we got out of that too – it was designed for war.
Censorship
Written By: - Date published: 2:07 pm, August 23rd, 2018 - 13 comments
It seems that if you’re the right person, harbour the correct thoughts, have the right connections, and you don’t like whatever the political opinion, news or information that’s floating about is, then you can get it banned.
More speakers arriving
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, August 3rd, 2018 - 20 comments
If you felt like being challenged but can’t quite imagine opening your leftie Facebook after going to Laura Southern, you could always open your minds for another for-profit event with a better class of speakers.
A Question from a Room.
Written By: - Date published: 6:02 am, June 19th, 2018 - 113 comments
Take a look around the room you’re in. Or if you’re out and about and reading this on some mobile device, then take a look around the next room you enter. Closely.
Would you step into a driverless car?
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, May 11th, 2018 - 51 comments
And would you send your child off to a party in a driverless car?
Facebook Bullshit
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, February 26th, 2018 - 70 comments
A very cursory glance at Facebook, Palantir Technologies, Cambridge Analytica, AggregateIQ, click bait, targeted ads…and what the hell is the FBI playing at?
Global Sharemarkets
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, February 15th, 2018 - 63 comments
Recent volatility in the U.S. stockmarkets has attracted calls that capitalism is facing a crisis. But the reality appears to be different.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, January 25th, 2018 - 137 comments
The positive aspects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
A billion Indians
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 26th, 2017 - 33 comments
The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that privacy is a fundamental right to life and liberty under India’s constitution. Other countries recognise the right to privacy against the state. But commercial interest through social media have access to huge amounts of private information. Why should there be a right of privacy against the state but not corporate interests?
Are Government-business Think Tanks worthwhile?
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, August 17th, 2017 - 7 comments
In America Donald Trump has abandoned business think tanks that he established not that long ago. During the last Labour Government Helen Clark established the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board with mixed results. What should a Jacinda Ardern led Labour-Green coalition do?
Why the America’s Cup is better than Rugby
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, June 19th, 2017 - 136 comments
And now for something completely different. Is the America’s cup a more potent example of New Zealand’s unique place in the world than the Rigby World Cup.
Eight years to an electric transport world
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 31st, 2017 - 66 comments
The pace of change in transportation may mean that some time soon private ownership of petroleum cars may disappear.
David Cunliffe’s final speech
Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, April 23rd, 2017 - 28 comments
The text of David Cunliffe’s final speech delivered to the New Lynn Labour Party earlier this week where he decries neoliberalism and worries about the world’s environmental future.
Labour gets serious about regional development
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, February 1st, 2017 - 46 comments
Labour is serious about regional development. It is proposing a 10 year $200m package of regional initiatives. The first of these was just announced in Dunedin.
- We Must Avoid Treating Māori As Living Fossils.
There are times when tikanga needs to be broken for tikanga to survive.I recently gave a presentation on Māori economic history based on my Not in Narrow Seas. Its most important message was that Māori proved to be a very adaptable people continually evolving as new opportunities arose. The European ...7 hours ago - Teaming up with Facebook to fight misinformation
Some of you may remember our blog post "A conundrum: our continued presence on Facebook" in which we detailed our misgivings about and decision to stick with Facebook for the time being. So these latest developments - reposted from the Cranky Uncle homepage - might come as a bit of surprise! ...8 hours ago - Data dredging, p-hacking and motivated discussion in anti-fluoride paper
Image credit: Quick Data Lessons: Data Dredging Oh dear – another scientific paper claiming evidence of toxic effects from fluoridation. But a critical look at the paper shows evidence of p-hacking, data dredging and motivated reasoning to derive their conclusions. And it was published in a journal shown to be ...10 hours ago - The central problem with housing policy
We've had a housing crisis for the past decade, and successive governments have done nothing to solve it. Why not? Bernard Hickey gets it right when he says its all about protecting the rich: The Government is reluctant to push down house prices fearing they'll loses the support of ...12 hours ago - The Obama legacy contd.
There’s more of the Obama legacy here and Deporter in Chief: Obama chucks out 2,000,000 and Can Trump really deport more people than Obama? and Obama, gay rights and the killing drones ...13 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 26 February 2021
Housing Luke Malpass (Stuff): Government’s slow crawl on housing continues Jason Walls (Herald): ‘Kiwis can’t outbid Kāinga Ora:’ Government grilled over $750 million house-buying bill Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Auditor-General investigates MSD scheme which paid landlords $3k per week for ‘uninhabitable’ houses Stuff Editorial: A clue from the Aussies for Ardern Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr warns against ‘the ...17 hours ago - Correcting Corrections – And Its Minister.
My Department Right Or Wrong: Far from “politicians involving themselves in some Corrections matters” being a bad thing, their involvement – along with that of the Ombudsman – constitutes a necessary check upon the unreasonable and unlawful exercise of authority over prison inmates by prison staff. A Corrections Minister who ...1 day ago - A failure of enforcementYesterday, Silver Fern Farms was fined $337,000 over a potentially lethal ammonia leak. Today RNZ reports that they've subcontracted some of their waste business to Whanganui's Tasman Tanning, which has an appalling environmental record: Tasman Tanning's plant in Whanganui was already the country's leader in breaching trade wastewater consents ...2 days ago
- Give the Rangitata backBack in 2018, National's unelected Canterbury dictatorship issued a resource consent to take water from the Rangitata river for irrigation, in violation of its Water Conservation Order. Now, after two years of legal battles, the company has "voluntarily" surrendered it: An irrigation company's decision to relinquish its consent to ...2 days ago
- The rich should pay their fair shareNew Zealand is supposed to have a progressive tax system, which taxes people according to their ability to pay. But it turns out that the rich are cheating: The wealthiest New Zealanders pay just 12 per cent of their total income in tax on average, according to research from ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 25 February 2021Housing Richard Harman: Government has little to say about housing crisis Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Govt set to bring out big tools to manage housing pressure Miriam Bell (Stuff): Housing affordability at worst point in ‘at least 17 years’ Adam Jacobson (RNZ): New Zealand housing affordability plummets to historically low levels Zane Small (Newshub): National’s Nicola Willis in disbelief as Megan ...2 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #8, 2021Ground truths on warming When we think about rapid climate change of the kind we've accidentally unleashed and the warming of Earth systems inherent in the process, we tend to focus on phenomena in order of their immediate tangibility, their drama. Sea ice loss in the Arctic, atmospheric and ocean ...2 days ago
- Government threatening free speech rights over prison protest leafletby Daphna Whitmore The Department of Corrections has called in the police over a pamphlet that supports protests at Waikeria Prison, saying the material might incite another riot. The group People Against Prisons Aotearoa denies it advocates for riots and has said it “encourages persistent, peaceful protest action such as striking from ...2 days ago
- The tyranny of the dishonest and stupid.
One theme in the literature dedicated to democratic theory is the notion of a “tyranny of the minority.” This is where the desire to protect the interests of and give voice to electoral minorities leads to a tail wagging the dog syndrome whereby minorities wind up having disproportionate influence in ...2 days ago - One way of fixing the OIAI've just lodged my fourth complaint to the Ombudsman for deemed refusal of an OIA request by police this year. That brings their total to four for four - every request I have sent them has not been answered within the legal timeframe, even when they extend it to give ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 24 February 2021Child poverty report and inequality Janet McAllister (Spinoff): What the new child poverty stats tells us – and what they don’t Claire Trevett (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s do-or-die child poverty promise (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Poverty figures a sigh of relief for PM – but will it last? Branko Marcetic (Democracy Project): NZ’s economic “bounce-back” is a myth – ...3 days ago
- Ian Powell: Rescuing Simpson from SimpsonWill the health reforms proposed for the Labour Government make the system better or worse? Health commentator Ian Powell (formerly the Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists) gives his analysis of what change is most necessary, and what should be avoided. The review of the Health ...3 days ago
- Climate lessons from Texas' frozen power outagesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections An off-course polar vortex meandered toward the Mexican border, bringing with it frigid Arctic air rarely seen as far south as Texas. Frozen equipment rendered power generation systems in the state inoperable, forcing grid operators to begin rolling blackouts to customers then left to fend ...3 days ago
- Branko Marcetic: NZ’s economic “bounce-back” is a myth – but lifting benefits would bring it...Just as National once produced a “rock star economy” that Grant Robertson rejected as being only for the rich, the Labour Government has produced an economic “bounce back” that leaves out the poor. Branko Marcetic argues for a rise in benefit levels to give the poor a real bounce back. ...3 days ago
- One state at a timeVirginia has voted to abolish the death penalty: State lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to a bill that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people than any other. The legislation repealing the death penalty now heads to the ...3 days ago
- A captive MinisterYesterday a New Zealand Judge issued a formal finding that the Department of Corrections had treated prisoners in a cruel, degrading and inhumane manner, illegally detaining them, using excessive force, denying them basic necessities unless they performed degrading rituals of submission first. Some of the conduct appears to be criminal: ...3 days ago
- Climate sea-lioningThe Herald reports that there is a "storm brewing for the Climate Change Commission". The "problem"? Polluters are unhappy with its economic projections saying that action will not be as costly as they have previously claimed: Last week a coalition of over a dozen New Zealand business and industry ...3 days ago
- How Powerful Is Labour's Maori Caucus?You're Move: What would a genuinely powerful Maori Caucus do? What policies would it insist upon? More to the point, since the single most important question in politics is always “Or you’ll what?”, does the Maori Caucus possess the wherewithal to enforce its demands?THAT LABOUR’S MAORI CAUCUS is potentially powerful ...4 days ago
- Trends and developments – February
This post is a mix of a few recent reports on trends, recent discoveries or developments. Topics covered are the future of work, the geopolitical shift from oil to semiconductors, transition to low carbon futures, disappearing Artic sea ice, and AI in health care. Yesterday’s Gone A Canadian report ...4 days ago - Hurricanes, wildfires, and heat dominated U.S. weather in 2020This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson One of the hottest years in U.S. history, 2020 was besieged by a record number of billion-dollar disasters, led by two of the most dangerous phenomena with links to climate change: wildfires and hurricanes. In its initial U.S. climate summary for 2020, ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 23 February 2021Covid: General Tim Watkin (Pundit): The Law Of Diminishing Covid Returns: The Government’s Mood Management Task Liam Dann (Herald): Riding Dr Ashley Bloomfield’s Covid roller coaster (paywalled) Jamie Morton (Herald): Auckland lockdown was ‘frustrating’ but justified, says expert Josephine Franks (Stuff): Experts call for seven-tier alert level system as Auckland moves to level 1 Stuff Editorial: MIQ facility suggestion is poor ...4 days ago
- Graham Adams: Greens stir the pot on banning conversation therapyJust because something is bad, doesn’t mean it’s easy to criminalise. Graham Adams argues that the proposed ban on gay conversion therapy is messier than many realise, and he delves into some of the difficulties facing the Government in their promise to legislate. A highly successful petition has inadvertently ...4 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #8Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... ‘Absolutely ridiculous’: top scientist slams UK government over coalmine Exclusive: Prof Sir Robert Watson says backing of ...4 days ago
- The end of offshore exploration?The Otago Daily Times reports that following Beech Energy's surrender of its South Island exploration permits, the end of offshore oil exploration in the South Island may be on the horizon: The end of offshore exploration for gas and oil in the South Island is on the horizon. A ...4 days ago
- The first test of control ordersOver the weekend we learned that Turkey plans to deport a New Zealand woman and her children who had fled Syria after previously joing the Islamic State. Which means that Andrew Little's tyrannical Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act 2019 - rammed through under all-stages urgency on the basis of an ...5 days ago
- An open door waiting to be pushed onWhile it has made a lot of noise about inequality, Labour has resolutely avoided reversing the 1990 benefit cuts and improving living standards for the poorest in our society. Meanwhile, 70% of kiwis think they should: A survey has found seven out of 10 New Zealanders believe the government ...5 days ago
- The French Connection.Anti-Philosopher President? Emmanuel Macron and his party’s reaction to the terrorist atrocities committed on French soil targets the very same philosophical movements excited and emboldened by New Zealand’s own terrifying tragedy.IT IS NOT the sort of thought experiment New Zealanders are encouraged to conduct in these culturally sensitive times. Even ...5 days ago
- The law of diminishing Covid returns: The government's mood management task
If Jacinda Ardern or ay of her Auckland-based cabinet ministers stepped outside this weekend, they would have realised that this afternoon’s cabinet decision on whether to move Auckland back to Level 1 has already been made. The residents of our biggest city have voted with their feet.While some places where ...5 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 22 February 2021Housing Damien Grant (Stuff): Who’s to blame for housing unaffordability? Bernard Hickey (Stuff): Should Reserve Bank overheat economy to blast free of low interest rate trap? Gareth Vaughan (Interest): You can’t lose with property mate Zane Small (Newshub): Housing Minister Megan Woods fires up when quizzed on lack of property shortage figures Gill South (Stuff): Single buyers get it rough when it ...5 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Queen’s GambitAccording to epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker, the decision to end the second Auckland lockdown after just three days was a ‘calculated risk’. The possibility of undetected community transmission cannot be ruled out. In the United States, modelling by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that the ...5 days ago
- Party Games
As I rose for the first time to speak from the Despatch Box in the House of Commons, I had the comfort of seeing that the Despatch Box had on it the inscription “A Gift from the People of New Zealand”. But I was also a little daunted, like so ...5 days ago - Prostitution or sex work? Language matters
This article is by Laura Biggs, from the Marxist-Feminist blog On the Woman Question. The term ‘sex work’ has come to replace the word ‘prostitution’ in contemporary discussions on the subject. This is not accidental. The phrase ‘sex work’ has been adopted by liberal feminists and powerful lobbyists in a ...6 days ago - B.1.1.7 variant – early result suggests longer infections, management questionsSometimes it’s smaller, intensive studies that shed light on issues. Just reported results of daily sampling of COVID-19 patients indicate patients with the B.1.1.7 variant first observed in Kent, UK may have a longer infection compared to patients infected with non-B.1.1.7 variants. This is the variant seen in NZ’s most ...6 days ago
- Redline passes one million viewsRedline has just passed one million views – as I start writing this we have reached 1,000,015 views. It took us nearly seven years to reach our first 500,000 and just three months short of three years to reach our second 500,000, with 2019 being our best year, with over ...6 days ago
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 4
. . As the rest of the world was perceived to be “going to hell in a handbasket with an out-of-control pandemic; ructions in Europe as Britain copes with “Brexit” chaos; Trumpism in the United States climaxing with the 6 January mob-led coup attempt in Washington’s Capitol; a deadly ...6 days ago - 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #8A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Feb 14, 2021 through Sat, Feb 20, 2021 Editor's Choice Q&A: Is Elizabeth Kolbert’s New Book a Hopeful Look at the Promise of Technology, or a Cautionary Tale? The Pulitzer Prize-winning ...6 days ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XVII
Session Thirty-Five. We have had some in-game and out-of-game indication that we are drawing to the end of the Dreamland adventure… which has lasted since the fourth session. Getting back to the Waking World will require some mental adjustment, especially considering that Annalax has spent thirty-odd sessions not ...6 days ago - The Strange (And Sad) Demise of Radio New Zealand.A Friend In Need: I have grown up, and grown old, within earshot of New Zealand’s public broadcaster. Through times of peace and plenty, through days of tumult and recrimination, it has been a constant and reliable presence. The calm and authoritative voices of Radio New Zealand kept their fellow ...6 days ago
- Guest post: Why avoiding climate change ‘maladaptation’ is vitalThis article, authored by Dr Lisa Schipper, Dr Morgan Scoville-Simonds, Dr Katharine Vincent and Prof Siri Eriksen, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Feb 10, 2021. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments posted on Carbon Brief. Photo by ...6 days ago
- 2020: The History That Was – Part 3. . As the rest of the world was perceived to be “going to hell in a handbasket with an out-of-control pandemic; ructions in Europe as Britain copes with “Brexit” chaos; Trumpism in the United States climaxing with the 6 January mob-led coup attempt in Washington’s Capitol; a deadly resurgent ...7 days ago
- Please don’t sign this petitionby Georgina Blackmore Instead ask the government to separate the two issues caught under the heading of “Conversion Therapy”. 1) Gay Conversion Therapy which is what 99.9% of people believe this petition is about. It is a ban I personally support. 2) Gender Identity Conversion Therapy which doesn’t have any ...1 week ago
- Barbarians at the Library Gates
The burning of books has a long history. That it no reason why we should add to it.If you want to get Burning of the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack from the National Library you may have to hurry. It is in the overseas nonfiction section; many books ...1 week ago - Labour will cater to the woke not the brokeby Daphna Whitmore After promising to tackle poverty, housing, transport, and climate issues in 2017, and failing on all these measures, Labour has moved to a Helen Clark “promise little and disappoint less” style of government. Poverty – perversely called “child poverty” by Ardern – has worsened under Labour. Much ...1 week ago
- Of Falls and Neoplatonic Rises: Musings on Augustine and Boethius in Tolkien’s Middle-earth
This is one of those subject matters better suited to a thesis than a blog post, and far smarter people than I have tackled the question in a more detailed and accurate manner. But it’s a question that’s been running around in my brain for a fortnight or so. ...1 week ago - As the Perseverance rover lands on Mars, there’s a lot we already know about the red planet from m...James Scott, University of Otago NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars this morning, and has already begun beaming back images. Hello, world. My first look at my forever home. #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/dkM9jE9I6X — NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021 But people might be surprised to ...1 week ago
- Earth’s magnetic field broke down 42,000 years ago and caused massive sudden climate changeChris Fogwill, Keele University; Alan Hogg, University of Waikato; Chris Turney, UNSW, and Zoë Thomas, UNSW The world experienced a few centuries of apocalyptic conditions 42,000 years ago, triggered by a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles combined with changes in the Sun’s behaviour. That’s the key finding of our ...1 week ago
- Drought-stricken Colorado River Basin could see additional 20% drop in water flow by 2050This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jan Ellen Spiegel Colorado is no stranger to drought. The current one is closing in on 20 years, and a rainy or snowy season here and there won’t change the trajectory. This is what climate change has brought. “Aridification” is what ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 19 February 2021Covid: General Matthew Hooton (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s boldest and most adept Covid move yet (paywalled) ODT: Editorial – Trust and politicians in the Covid era Richard Harman: Living with covid Lisette Reymer (Newshub): New Zealand should stop living in fear of COVID-19 – expert Henry Cooke (Stuff): National says move out of alert level 3 lockdown is ‘bold’ and ‘ambitious’ Keith ...1 week ago
- Strength That Does Not Fail.Sweet Surrender: By 1933, Adolf Hitler was the last political leader left standing, and his Nazis the only party Germany had yet to try. It was ever thus. Dictators and dictatorships succeed by being the only medicine a desperately sick nation hasn’t swallowed; the only strength that hasn’t failed.NOT ALL ...1 week ago
- In The Know: Making Sense Of Labour’s Inaction."I know what you're not thinking!" Thanks to their polling agency and the participants in its focus-groups, the Labour leadership possesses a great deal more information about the Kiwis clamouring for action on the housing and inequality fronts than most journalists and lobbyists.ACCORDING TO PEOPLE “in the know”, Labour is ...1 week ago
- NZ tourism can use the disruption of COVID-19 to drive sustainable change — and be more competitiv...James Higham, University of Otago The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s second tourism report urges the government to take advantage of the disruption caused by COVID-19 to transform the tourism industry. Titled “Not 100% – but four steps closer to sustainable tourism”, it builds on commissoner Simon Upton’s 2019 “Pristine, ...1 week ago
- Facebook vs AustraliaThe Australian government is currently working on a law requiring major internet platforms to pay media companies for the content they use. The threat of regulation has been at lest partially successful, with Google agreeing a deal with Seven West Media. Facebook, OTOH, has decided to play hardball: Australians ...1 week ago
- Test, test, testMy column over at Newsroom this week points out the fairly obvious. The government can add daily saliva testing for everyone at the border to the existing testing regimen. If daily testing winds up proving the swab tests to be redundant, ditch the swab tests when we find that out. ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 18 February 2021Covid: Auckland outbreak decisions Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Contact tracing ‘Ferrari’ will be enough to contain future outbreaks Jamie Morton (Herald): Shift to Level 2 ‘not cautious enough’ – expert Science Media Centre: Auckland jumps down to Alert Level 2 – Expert Reaction Jason Walls (Herald): Auckland’s lockdown exit comes with a Jacinda Ardern warning Richard Harman (Politik): Living with covid Rowan ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #7, 2021Geoengineering heats up Sorry, that was irresistible. By chance in this edition of New Research are two intriguing papers including different perspectives on the subject of geoengineering, a topic increasingly arousing emotions. Happily both of these papers are open access and free to read. A third article underlines that enthusiasm ...1 week ago
- Censorship: Thinking you are right – even if you’re wrongI posted this video four years ago – but repost it now because the message is still very valid (see Are you really right? and Warriors, scouts, Trump’s election and your news media). In fact, it’s more valid today than it was four years ago. Things have got worse – far ...1 week ago
- No internet, no vaccine: How lack of internet access has limited vaccine availability for racial and...Tamra Burns Loeb, University of California, Los Angeles; AJ Adkins-Jackson, Harvard University, and Arleen F. Brown, University of California, Los Angeles Racial and ethnic minority communities that lack internet access have been left behind in the race to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The average monthly cost of internet access, about ...1 week ago
- The Enduring Mystery of Critchfield’s SpruceZach St. George The first and only time Steve Jackson spoke to Bill Critchfield was in the late 1980s. Critchfield, an authority on the conifers of North America, was at home recovering from a heart attack. Jackson, then a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University, had called looking for advice on how ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: The quicker the betterThe Marsden Point oil refinery lost $200 million last year, and its owners are saying it will speed their decision to shut it down and move to being an import business: The country's only fuel refinery at Marsden Point could exit the refinery business as early as next year. ...1 week ago
- Plastic in the ocean kills more threatened albatrosses than we thoughtRichelle Butcher, Massey University; Britta Denise Hardesty, CSIRO, and Lauren Roman, CSIRO Plastic in the ocean can be deadly for marine wildlife and seabirds around the globe, but our latest study shows single-use plastics are a bigger threat to endangered albatrosses in the southern hemisphere than we previously thought. You ...1 week ago
- An American solutionOn Monday, the US Congress failed to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for inciting an attempted coup against the US constitution. So now someone is doing it privately, in the traditional American way: suing him: Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, the former president’s personal lawyer, have been accused ...1 week ago
- Woodhouse lets the mask slip1 week ago
- As NZ gets serious about climate change, can electricity replace fossil fuels in time?Jen Purdie, University of Otago As fossil fuels are phased out over the coming decades, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) suggests electricity will take up much of the slack, powering our vehicle fleet and replacing coal and gas in industrial processes. But can the electricity system really provide for this ...1 week ago
- Ending our unjust warNearly twenty years after they first arrived, the last New Zealand troops will finally be leaving Afghanistan in May: New Zealand troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May 2021. The current deployment consists of six Defence Force personnel - three deployed to the Afghanistan National Army Officer Academy, ...1 week ago
- Forests and intertemporal equilibriumI’m a bit of an ETS-absolutist. Or at least a carbon-pricing absolutist, in a place the size of NZ. I think the Weitzman reasons for preferring a carbon tax to an ETS are second-order relative to political economy considerations, and any weight at all put on switching costs makes it ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 17 February 2021Australia-NZ dispute over terrorist suspect in Turkey Dan Satherley (Newshub): Judith Collins defends Australia’s move to dump terrorist problem on New Zealand Tova O’Brien (Newshub): How Australia snookered New Zealand and angered Jacinda Ardern Audrey Young (Herald): Australia fails to meet its own ‘fair go’ test (paywalled) David Fisher (Herald): Isis bride grew up in Australia – now they’re ...1 week ago
- Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson Despite the speed bump posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is rolling toward completion of its Sixth Assessment Report, the latest in a series that began in 1990. IPCC’s assessments, produced by many hundreds of scientists volunteering countless hours, ...1 week ago
- Luciferin, Luciferase, etymology, & innuendoOn Friday (5 February) we went for a walk in the Karangahake Gorge, and were very happy to discover (during the Windows Walk) that there are glow-worms in the darker parts of the mine workings. (Strictly speaking they’re glow-maggots as they’re the larvae of small flies/midges, but that is perhaps ...1 week ago
- “Science Control to Bridge. CTD is ready to deploy.”Alysha Johnson They say a good day is a busy day, and aboard the R/V Falkor (Seafloor to Seabirds in the Coral Sea – Schmidt Ocean Institute), almost every day is busy! On this particular day, we deployed a CTD, which stands for Conductivity, Temperature and Density. It is ...1 week ago
- Sex denialism the new creationismThis is a transcript of a speech by developmental biologist Dr Emma Hilton delivered at on 29 November 2020 for the ‘Feminist Academics Talk Back!’ meeting. This talk was originally published by womentalkback.org Sex denialists have captured existing journals We are dealing with a new religion Thank you for the ...2 weeks ago
- What’s Labour doing for rural New Zealand?
We know that when our rural communities do well, all of New Zealand benefits. Labour is committed to supporting our regions so that, together, we can achieve even more. Here are just some of the ways we’re backing rural communities. ...5 hours ago - A win for Pasifika Communities to have a stable home
The Green Party welcome the Government announcement to support Pasifika peoples to become Community Housing Providers. ...12 hours ago - Tax data exposes gross inequity between the wealthiest and poorest New ZealandersGovernment data today shows that the wealthiest New Zealanders aren’t paying their fair share of tax, whilst everyone else chips in, Green Party spokesperson on Finance Julie Anne Genter said today. ...2 days ago
- Government action to cool house prices still needed despite Reserve Bank changeThe Green Party welcomes the change in the Reserve Bank’s remit to consider the impacts on housing when making financial decisions, but housing affordability shouldn’t be left to the Reserve Bank, Green Party Co-leader and Housing spokesperson Marama Davidson said today. ...2 days ago
- Māori now have a seat at the local government tableThe Green Party welcomes the passing of the Local Electorate Act Māori Wards Amendment Bill which ensures Māori have a say on local issues across Aotearoa New Zealand. ...2 days ago
- Child poverty data shows disabled children, Māori and Pasifika being left behindThe Green Party is disappointed that disabled children and Māori and Pasifika children are still more likely to be living in poverty. ...3 days ago
- Research shows New Zealanders want income support increasedNew UMR research reveals that 69 percent of New Zealanders agree that the government should increase the amount if income support paid to those on low incomes or not in paid work. ...5 days ago
- Green Party celebrate fast tracked timeline for banning conversion therapy, will push for best bill ...The Green Party are celebrating the Labour Government bringing forward the timeline to ban conversion therapy, and will push to ensure any draft bill properly protects all of our Rainbow communities. ...5 days ago
- Green Party welcomes PCE report that calls for more sustainable tourismThe Green Party welcomes the report that calls for more sustainable tourism by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. ...1 week ago
- Green Party echoes calls for ‘brave’ action on rising inequalityThe Green Party is joining the call for ‘brave policy action’ to address rapidly increasing inequality in New Zealand, which is likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...1 week ago
- Petition calling for ban on conversion therapy gains huge momentumAotearoa New Zealand is getting on board in record numbers to call for an urgent ban on conversion therapy. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party to take precautions with COVID-19 responseGreen MPs currently in Auckland, Marama Davidson, Chlöe Swarbrick and Golriz Ghahraman, will remain in Auckland for the next 72 hours. Those in Auckland today for Big Gay Out who have flown home will self-isolate for 72 hours. These decisions will be subject to any new information that may arise ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls to end conversion therapy nowThe Green Party is calling on the Labour Government to urgently prioritise banning conversion therapy. ...2 weeks ago
- Supporting our Rainbow whānauIt’s Pride month, and as we celebrate our LGBTIA+ community, we’re taking the next steps towards a more inclusive Aotearoa. From investing in mental health services to banning harmful conversion therapy, we’re building a New Zealand where everyone can be safe, healthy and happy. ...2 weeks ago
- New Green MP takes a stand on discrimination towards our Rainbow WhānauEnding discrimination and prejudice against takatāpui and rainbow communities will be the main priority for new Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere. ...2 weeks ago
- Air NZ’s possible assistance to Saudi military ships committing atrocities in Yemen appallingThe Green Party strongly condemns the revelation that Air New Zealand may have provided assistance and maintenance to Saudi Arabian vessels involved in committing atrocities in Yemen. ...3 weeks ago
- Statement on passing of former PNG PM Sir Michael Somare
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has expressed her condolences at the passing of long-serving former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. “Our thoughts are with Lady Veronica Somare and family, Prime Minister James Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea during this time of great ...10 hours ago - New water regulator board announced as major Government reform moves forwardMajor water reform has taken a step closer with the appointment of the inaugural board of the Taumata Arowai water services regulator, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. Former Director General of Health and respected public health specialist Dame Karen Poutasi will chair the inaugural board of Crown agency Taumata Arowai. “Dame ...13 hours ago
- Supporting work to protect Northland reserveNew funding announced by Conservation Minister Kiri Allan today will provide work and help protect the unique values of Northland’s Te Ārai Nature Reserve for future generations. Te Ārai is culturally important to Te Aupōuri as the last resting place of the spirits before they depart to Te Rerenga Wairua. ...16 hours ago
- Critical step to new housing deal for Pacific communitiesToday the Government has taken a key step to support Pacific people to becoming Community Housing providers, says the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. “This will be great news for Pacific communities with the decision to provide Pacific Financial Capability Grant funding and a tender process to ...16 hours ago
- Consultation opens on proposed Bay of Islands marine mammal sanctuaryConservation Minister Kiri Allan is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say on a proposed marine mammal sanctuary to address the rapid decline of bottlenose dolphins in Te Pēwhairangi, the Bay of Islands. The proposal, developed jointly with Ngā Hapū o te Pēwhairangi, would protect all marine mammals of the ...1 day ago
- Three District Court Judges appointedAttorney-General David Parker today announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges. Two of the appointees will take up their roles on 1 April, replacing sitting Judges who have reached retirement age. Kirsten Lummis, lawyer of Auckland has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to ...1 day ago
- Government announces list of life-shortening conditions guaranteeing early KiwiSaver accessGovernment announces list of life-shortening conditions guaranteeing early KiwiSaver access The Government changed the KiwiSaver rules in 2019 so people with life-shortening congenital conditions can withdraw their savings early The four conditions guaranteed early access are – down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s disease and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder An alternative ...2 days ago
- Reserve Bank to take account of housing in decision makingThe Reserve Bank is now required to consider the impact on housing when making monetary and financial policy decisions, Grant Robertson announced today. Changes have been made to the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s remit requiring it to take into account government policy relating to more sustainable house prices, while working ...2 days ago
- Investment to reduce cochlear implant waitlistThe Labour Government will invest $6 million for 70 additional adult cochlear implants this year to significantly reduce the historical waitlist, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Cochlear implants are life changing for kiwis who suffer from severe hearing loss. As well as improving an individual’s hearing, they open doors to ...2 days ago
- Māori wards Bill passes third readingThe Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill passed its third reading today and will become law, Minister of Local Government Hon Nanaia Mahuta says. “This is a significant step forward for Māori representation in local government. We know how important it is to have diversity around ...2 days ago
- Government delivers 1,000 more transitional housing placesThe Government has added 1,000 more transitional housing places as promised under the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), launched one year ago. Minister of Housing Megan Woods says the milestone supports the Government’s priority to ensure every New Zealander has warm, dry, secure housing. “Transitional housing provides people ...2 days ago
- Second batch of Pfizer/BioNTech doses arrives safely – as the first vaccinations take place in the...A second batch of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived safely yesterday at Auckland International Airport, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “This shipment contained about 76,000 doses, and follows our first shipment of 60,000 doses that arrived last week. We expect further shipments of vaccine over the coming weeks,” Chris Hipkins said. ...3 days ago
- $18 million for creative spaces to make arts more accessibleThe Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni has today announced $18 million to support creative spaces. Creative spaces are places in the community where people with mental health needs, disabled people, and those looking for social connection, are welcomed and supported to practice and participate in the arts ...3 days ago
- Moriori Claims Settlement Bill passes first readingTreaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little today welcomed Moriori to Parliament to witness the first reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. “This bill is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work from all the parties involved. “I am delighted to reach this significant milestone today,” Andrew ...3 days ago
- Government action reduces child poverty22,400 fewer children experiencing material hardship 45,400 fewer children in low income households on after-housing costs measure After-housing costs target achieved a year ahead of schedule Government action has seen child poverty reduce against all nine official measures compared to the baseline year, Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty ...4 days ago
- Entries open for the 2021 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence AwardsIt’s time to recognise the outstanding work early learning services, kōhanga reo, schools and kura do to support children and young people to succeed, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins says. The 2021 Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards are now open through until April 16. “The past year has reminded us ...4 days ago
- Jobs for Nature benefits three projectsThree new Jobs for Nature projects will help nature thrive in the Bay of Plenty and keep local people in work says Conservation Minister Kiri Allan. “Up to 30 people will be employed in the projects, which are aimed at boosting local conservation efforts, enhancing some of the region’s most ...4 days ago
- Improvements to the Holidays Act on the wayThe Government has accepted all of the Holidays Act Taskforce’s recommended changes, which will provide certainty to employers and help employees receive their leave entitlements, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood said the Government established the Holidays Act Taskforce to help address challenges with the ...4 days ago
- NZ’s credit rating lifted as economy recoversThe Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and faster than expected economic recovery has been acknowledged in today’s credit rating upgrade. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today raised New Zealand’s local currency credit rating to AAA with a stable outlook. This follows Fitch reaffirming its AA+ rating last ...4 days ago
- Speech to National Remembrance Service on the 10th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquakeTena koutou e nga Maata Waka Ngai Tuahuriri, Ngai Tahu whanui, Tena koutou. Nau mai whakatau mai ki tenei ra maumahara i te Ru Whenua Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga mate ki te hunga mate Apiti hono tatai hono, Te hunga ora ki te hunga ora Tena koutou, Tena ...5 days ago
- Government reaffirms urgent commitment to ban harmful conversion practicesThe Minister of Justice has reaffirmed the Government’s urgent commitment, as stated in its 2020 Election Manifesto, to ban conversion practices in New Zealand by this time next year. “The Government has work underway to develop policy which will bring legislation to Parliament by the middle of this year and ...5 days ago
- New creative service aims to benefit 1,000 peoples’ careersMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni today launched a new Creative Careers Service, which is expected to support up to 1,000 creatives, across three regions over the next two years. The new service builds on the most successful aspects of the former Pathways to ...6 days ago
- Honey exporters busy meeting surging demandOverseas consumers eager for natural products in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic have helped boost honey export revenue by 20 percent to $425 million in the year to June 30, 2020, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor says. “The results from the latest Ministry for Primary Industries’ 2020 Apiculture Monitoring ...1 week ago
- Government delivers more wellbeing support for young peopleThanks to more than $10-million in new services from the Government, more rangatahi will be able to access mental health and addiction support in their community. Minister of Health Andrew Little made the announcement today while visiting Odyssey House Christchurch and acknowledged that significant events like the devastating earthquakes ten ...1 week ago
- Government eases visa restrictions for visitors in New ZealandTwo month automatic visitor visa extension for most visitor visa holders Temporary waiver of time spent in New Zealand rule for visitor stays Visitor visa holders will be able to stay in New Zealand a little longer as the Government eases restrictions for those still here, the Minister of Immigration ...1 week ago
- Push for sustainable tourism gathers paceThe Tourism and Conservation Ministers say today’s report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) adds to calls to overhaul the tourism model that existed prior to COVID19. “The PCE tourism report joins a chorus of analysis which has established that previous settings, which prioritised volume over value, are ...1 week ago
- Government extends dietary supplements regulationsThe Government is providing certainty for the dietary supplements industry as we work to overhaul the rules governing the products, Minister for Food Safety Dr Ayesha Verrall said. Dietary supplements are health and wellness products taken orally to supplement a traditional diet. Some examples include vitamin and mineral supplements, echinacea, ...1 week ago
- New Zealand to join the Council of Europe Convention on CybercrimeThe Government is joining the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention), Justice Minister Kris Faafoi and Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications Dr David Clark announced today. The decision progresses a recommendation by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch terror attack to accede to ...1 week ago
- Appointment round in 2021 for Queen's CounselAttorney-General David Parker announced today that an appointment round for Queen’s Counsel will take place in 2021. Appointments of Queen’s Counsel are made by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Attorney-General and with the concurrence of the Chief Justice. The Governor-General retains the discretion to appoint Queen’s Counsel in ...1 week ago
- Government support for businesses kicks inThe new Resurgence Support Payment passed by Parliament this week will be available to eligible businesses now that Auckland will be in Alert Level 2 until Monday. “Our careful management of the Government accounts means we have money aside for situations like this. We stand ready to share the burden ...1 week ago
- Final preparations to ensure Phase 1 of the vaccination rollout is ready to goA dry run of the end-to-end process shows New Zealand’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is ready to roll from Saturday, when the first border workers will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “The trial run took place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch yesterday afternoon, ahead of the ...1 week ago
- Free Period products to be available in all schools and kuraFrom June this year, all primary, intermediate, secondary school and kura students will have access to free period products, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced today. The announcement follows a successful Access to Period Products pilot programme, which has been running since Term 3 last ...1 week ago
- Government accounts remain in good shapeThe latest update shows the Government’s books are again in better shape than forecast, meaning New Zealand is still in a strong position to respond to any COVID-19 resurgence. The Crown Accounts for the six months to the end of December were better than forecast in the Half-year Economic and ...1 week ago
- New DOC strategy champions responsible enjoyment of the outdoorsThe Department of Conservation’s (DOC) new Heritage and Visitor Strategy is fully focused on protecting and enhancing the value of New Zealand’s natural, cultural and historic heritage, while also promoting a sustainable environmental experience, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “It has been a quarter of a century since DOC first developed ...1 week ago
- New Zealand to conclude its deployment to Afghanistan in 2021Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare have announced that New Zealand will conclude its deployment of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to Afghanistan by May 2021. “After 20 years of a NZDF presence in Afghanistan, it is now time to conclude ...1 week ago
- Supporting Māori to Succeed in Trade – International Inter-Tribal Trade and Investment Organi...Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. This is a special time in our country. A little over a week ago, it was the anniversary of the signature by Māori and the British Crown of Te Tiriti O Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), a founding document in ...1 week ago
- Prime Minister’s statement on the arrest of former dual citizen in TurkeyThe Government is in contact with relevant authorities in Turkey following the arrest of a former Australian and New Zealand dual citizen there, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “Contingency planning for the potential return of any New Zealander who may have been in the conflict zone has been underway for ...1 week ago
- Household incomes rise but more work neededFigures released today by Stats NZ show there was strong growth in median household incomes in 2020, before surveying was halted due to COVID-19. Stats NZ found the median annual household income rose 6.9 percent to $75,024 in the year to June 2020 compared with a year earlier. The survey ...2 weeks ago
- Business support under COVID resurgence confirmedLegislation will be introduced under urgency today to set up a new Resurgence Support Payment for businesses affected by any resurgence of COVID-19. “Since the scheme was announced in December we have decided to make a change to the payment – reducing the time over which a revenue drop is ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand welcomes appointment of new WTO Director GeneralTrade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor congratulated Nigeria’s Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her ground-breaking selection as the next Director General of the World Trade Organization last night. Dr Okonjo-Iweala will be the first female and first African Director General of the organisation. She has a strong background in international ...2 weeks ago
- Raconteur, ratbag, chef: Tony Astle on life as Antoine’s shuts its doors
Michelle Langstone went to meet the revered and feared chef expecting to meet a tyrant. Portraits by Simon Day.You know when Tony Astle is about to tell you a good story by the way his eyes start to gleam with mischief, and how he leans forward to rest his elbows on ...14 mins ago - Melting ocean mud helps prevent major earthquakes — and may show where quake risk is highest
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Selway, Macquarie University The largest and most destructive earthquakes on the planet happen in places where two tectonic plates collide. In our new research, published today in Nature Communications, we have produced new models of where and how rocks melt in ...1 hour ago - VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on Craig Kelly, Linda Reynolds and JobSeekerSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. This week Michelle and Paddy discuss the continued probe into the culture of ...7 hours ago
- Think big. Why the future of uni campuses lies beyond the CBDSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide This is the second of two articles on the past and future of the university campus. The “dreaming spires” of Oxford University that Matthew Arnold romanticised in 1865 still have a powerful ...8 hours ago
- ‘It’s been quite a 364 days’: Grant Robertson on the Covid crisis and plans to tackle house pr...The finance minister spoke to Auckland businesspeople today on the state of the economy a year after Covid-19 landed, and how he hopes to take on another crisis. Toby Manhire went along.Virtual presentations in place of in-the-flesh speeches have become commonplace in these pandemic days, but it wasn’t Covid that ...8 hours ago
- Wellington Council review could cost ratepayers $75k
An independent review of the Wellington City Council could cost ratepayers close to $75,000. ...8 hours ago - Wellington Council review could cost ratepayers $75kAn independent review of the Wellington City Council could cost ratepayers close to $75,000. ...8 hours ago
- Indigenous recognition is more than a Voice to Government – it’s a matter of political equalitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University The government earlier this year released a discussion paper exploring how an Indigenous Voice to government might work. The Voice ...9 hours ago
- ACT criticises gang-gun measures as too weakThe ACT Party is accusing the government of failing to provide police with enough power to take firearm licences off gang members. ...9 hours ago
- Visa for Green MP's partner 'like any other', Immigration NZ saysImmigration New Zealand is standing by its decision to grant a visa to the partner of Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March and says the application was treated "like any other". ...9 hours ago
- How to encourage cyber-safe behaviour at work without becoming the office grouchSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathalie Collins, Academic Director (National Programs), Edith Cowan University Business etiquette has one golden rule: treat others with respect and care. The same is true for encouraging cyber safety at work, on everything from password security to keeping valuable information like tax ...9 hours ago
- COVID’s mental health fallout will last a long time. Here’s how we’re targeting pandemic depre...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Bryant, Professor & Director of Traumatic Stress Clinic, UNSW Although Australia is now largely COVID-free, the repercussions of the pandemic are ongoing. As the pandemic enters its second year, many people will be continuing to suffer with poor mental health, or ...10 hours ago
- What’s the answer to South Auckland’s rubbish issues?Auckland Council has signed off on a new strategy to make it easier to recycle or get rid of inorganic waste, but according to South Auckland community leaders, it doesn’t go far enough.Tucked a few streets back from former prime minister William Massey’s beautiful old homestead in Māngere East is ...10 hours ago
- Soap Dancehall: The new Auckland bar where a fun night out doesn’t cost a bombWith crowd-friendly dance tunes and affordable drinks, a new dancehall and bar opening tonight is hoping to make going out more accessible for Aucklanders.“In many ways, it’s fucking stupid opening a nightclub in the middle of a global pandemic,” says Sam Walsh, one of the three owners of a new ...11 hours ago
- Water New Zealand Welcomes New Taumata Arowai Board
Water New Zealand says the establishment of the new Taumata Arowai board is an important milestone in the journey towards safer drinking water for all New Zealanders. The Minister of Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta has announced that former ...11 hours ago - ‘Existential threat to our survival’ – see the 19 Australian ecosystems already collapsingANALYSIS: By Dana M Bergstrom, University of Wollongong; Euan Ritchie, Deakin University; Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University, and Michael Depledge, University of Exeter In 1992, 1700 scientists warned that human beings and the natural world were “on a collision course”. Seventeen years later, scientists described planetary boundaries within which humans and ...11 hours ago
- Contacts of latest Covid-19 case 'paying a price for everyone' – PMThe PM says there are "many, many people" being treated as contacts of the latest Covid-19 community case, but the government is willing to go further than usual to keep the country at level 1. ...11 hours ago
- How the White Ferns come back
Listen: This week's Extra Time podcast from RNZ dissects the women's White Ferns' cricket challenge against England, the men's Black Caps vs Australia and the start of Super Rugby The White Ferns have a battle on their hands to fight their way back into their one-day series against England - ...12 hours ago - Watch live: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives media briefingPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern is giving a media briefing in Auckland. ...12 hours ago
- Figures flow when Woods answers questions about housing and govt targets – and look, they show a h...
Our Beehive Bulletin … While Housing Minister Megan Woods was being grilled at Question Time in Parliament about the government’s performance in her portfolio domain, the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito Williams Sio, was announcing new initiatives to provide housing. Attorney-General David Parker, meanwhile, was announcing the appointments of three ...12 hours ago - Papua New Guinea in grief after Grand Chief Somare, 84, passes onAsia Pacific Report Papua New Guineans awoke this morning to great sadness, reports the PNG Post-Courier. As the bells tolled with the sad news of the passing of the much beloved statesman and the founding father of the nation, newsfeeds and social media were abuzz with shock, grief, sadness and ...12 hours ago
- RBNZ Governor Outlines Housing DirectionIn remarks for a Monetary Policy Statement presentation to the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce today, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr has elaborated on the direction received from the Minister of Finance, to have regard to house price sustainability ...12 hours ago
- In Allen vs Farrow, the children have their say
Critic's Chair: Guy Somerset watches the first of four documentaries on the allegations against Woody Allen in his years in the Farrow household, and hears the air of truth in the early testimonies against him. Of all the witness statements with the air of truth about them in the first ...14 hours ago - The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending February 26The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Gangland: New Zealand’s Underworld of Organised Crime by Jared Savage (HarperCollins, $37)“It’s hard for me to imagine ...14 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: Gingerbread House, by Evangeline Riddiford GrahamA poem by New York-based Aotearoa poet Evangeline Riddiford Graham.Gingerbread HouseThe revolution has arrived. We get the email. MeanwhileI am moving deck chairs to make sure you are comfortable in shade. Our neighboursays it like a complaint: We don’t know anyone who is sickor dead. The taxi driver says hospitals ...14 hours ago
- The river runs through it: How to live between cultures and catastrophesPlaywright Alex Lodge on being in love with someone who’s from a different world than you.Have you read anything by Kurt Vonnegut Jr? I’m not here to judge you if you haven’t. He’s one of those writers who all the white boys in university say you “have to read” as ...14 hours ago
- Papuan protesters claim police using covid rapid tests to curb free speechAsia Pacific Report Indonesian police have asked participants at a protest action against Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua to take covid-19 rapid tests at the site of the demonstration in front of the Home Affairs Ministry office in Jakarta this week, reports CNN Indonesia. The protesters refused, saying it was ...14 hours ago
- Fake news was a thing long before Donald Trump — just ask the ancient GreeksSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter S. Field, Head of Humanities and Creative Arts and Associate Professor of American History, University of Canterbury The idea of “news” is a pretty new thing. So is the concept of “fake news”, as in false or misleading information presented as ...14 hours ago
- Grant Robertson defends telling Reserve Bank to consider housing in its policy decisionsThe Finance Minister says the government needs to use all the economic tools available to try to control escalating house prices. ...15 hours ago
- Obituary: Sir Michael Somare, ‘father’ of PNG and colossus of Pacific politicsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer in History, Deakin University Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, former prime minister of Papua New Guinea and a giant of Pacific politics, has died from pancreatic cancer. He was 84. Known as “Mike” to some and “the chief” ...15 hours ago
- How to get to zero deaths on New Zealand’s roadsLast year 320 people were killed on New Zealand’s roads. Alex Braae spoke to the people on the front line of road safety about the plan to turn that around. When the goal is to bring the road toll down to zero deaths a year, there’s no one simple solution. ...15 hours ago
- How Moa’s awful marketing left it stranded in craft beer no man’s landIts 2012 investment prospectus was all suits, cigars, guns, sports cars and models in short skirts, and its consumer advertising was possibly even worse. Did the Moa brand’s misogyny contribute to its huge losses?The middle of the road can wind up being a risky place for a business. Typically a ...17 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – February 26 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Housing Luke Malpass (Stuff): Government’s slow crawl on housing continues Jason Walls (Herald): ‘Kiwis can’t outbid Kāinga Ora:’ Government grilled over $750 million house-buying bill Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): Auditor-General investigates MSD scheme which ...17 hours ago
- Phantom of the forest: how I rediscovered the rare cloaked bee in Australia, hidden for a centurySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, PhD Candidate, Flinders University It’s not often you get to cast your eyes on a creature feared to be long-gone. Perhaps that’s why my recent rediscovery of the native bee species Pharohylaeus lactiferus is so exciting — especially after ...17 hours ago
- Sexual assault: what can you do if you don’t want to make a formal report to police?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgina Heydon, Associate professor, RMIT University The alleged rape of former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins has raised many questions about how sexual assault gets reported. Members of the Morrison government have repeatedly stressed the appropriate response to allegations of sexual assault ...17 hours ago
- ‘Existential threat to our survival’: see the 19 Australian ecosystems already collapsingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dana M Bergstrom, Principal Research Scientist, University of Wollongong In 1992, 1,700 scientists warned that human beings and the natural world were “on a collision course”. Seventeen years later, scientists described planetary boundaries within which humans and other life could have a ...17 hours ago
- Odds are against ‘first in family’ uni students but equity policies are blind to themSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Patfield, Postdoctoral Fellow, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, University of Newcastle It’s that time of year again when hundreds of thousands of Australian students start university for the first time. Commencing students account for about 40% of the more than 1.6 ...17 hours ago
- Texas was a warning. Australia needs to rethink the design of its electricity marketSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Australia’s electricity market is unsustainable. Texas shows us why. A week ago Texas experienced a bout of severe weather as arctic air reached deep into the state, driving temperature down to levels that ...17 hours ago
- Friday essay: How can the dead send us emails? The ethical dilemma of digital soulsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Stokes, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Deakin University Tim Hart was sitting on his couch one evening in November 2011 when he got an email with the subject line: “I’m watching”. The message that followed was short and to the point ...17 hours ago
- COVID vaccines won’t be compulsory for the Tokyo Olympics. But if offered, here’s what athletes ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Edwards, Associate Professor, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney Brisbane has just been confirmed as the preferred host for the 2032 Olympics. But Olympic organisers have more immediate concerns in mind — how to safely run the postponed Tokyo ...17 hours ago
- Live updates, February 26: National Party joins calls to vaccinate South Auckland firstWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for February 26. All the latest news from New Zealand, updated throughout the day. Reach me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur Members make The Spinoff happen. Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us from ...18 hours ago
- Migration will not return to pre-Covid levels when NZ border reopens, Immigration Minister warnsNew Zealand will not be throwing open its doors to the large numbers of new migrants seen in recent years, once it is ready to reopen the border. ...18 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Reserve Bank put in bind by Robertson moveGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Reserve Bank put in bind by Robertson move, Bridges clashes with top cop, and critical migrant health workers can’t get families in while new arrivals can.Finance minister Grant Robertson will be requiring the Reserve Bank to consider the impact on ...18 hours ago
- NZ sharemarket now officially in correction mode
Business & Investing: The local sharemarket drops again as the kiwi dollar marches higher, Plus A2 Milk disappoints again ...19 hours ago - As deaths surge, scientists study link between climate change and avalanches
There are clues globally that the avalanche threat is escalating in some regions as the planet warms, triggered by greater temperature swings and more intense rain and snow storms. Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News Big dumps of powder snow are a precious gift in the best of times ...20 hours ago - Disgust at China's state-sponsored 'Uyghurface' in Wellington
As further reports of torture and systemic rape emerge from Xinjiang, the PRC’s propaganda machine is hard at work in New Zealand. Laura Walters looks at why a Chinese New Year performance in Wellington was more than just cultural appropriation State-sponsored appropriation of Uyghur culture has been labelled “disgusting” and “disrespectful” ...20 hours ago - Opposition MPs clash with Climate Commission
National and ACT MPs clashed with executives from the Climate Change Commission over modelling underpinning the Commission's advice. ...20 hours ago - NZ, this is your Volkswagen moment
We need to make radical strategy shifts in farming and food production, and we need to start now. ...20 hours ago - Overseas Kiwis pay off student debt in pandemic
A recent surge in student loan repayments from borrowers based overseas tells a tale of two types of debtors. ...20 hours ago - A new problem to plague $525m new hospital
District health board members have been made aware of a new problem with a just-opened Christchurch Hospital building. Oliver Lewis reports. It was two years late and plagued by errors during construction, now a further major issue can be revealed at the new $525 million Christchurch Hospital building, Waipapa. Hundreds ...20 hours ago - Our definition of climate success is seriously flawed
'Success' in achieving our proposed climate targets would only give us a 66 percent chance of avoiding irreversible climate damage. ...20 hours ago - Covid hit NZ a year ago. Where will it – and we – be in February 2022?Covid-19 vaccination won’t be enough to save us from hard choices that will need to be made during our second or even third year of living with the coronavirus. Keeping Covid-19 mostly out of New Zealand has been a Herculean feat, drawing praise from around the world. Over the next year, ...20 hours ago
- New Zealand’s top 13 abysses to gaze into, reviewed and rankedIf there’s a time for screaming into the void, 2021 is surely it. Josie Adams shares a baker’s dozen of Aotearoa’s top contenders.When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you, and it’s nice to have company. New Zealand’s geography is perfect for abysses, or abyssoi ...20 hours ago
- The high life and disappearance of Jake Millar
Jake Millar is an extraordinary young man. The young entrepreneur who convinced the rich and famous to invest millions in his business has now disappeared - and so has the money. Jake Millar was just a teenager in 2015 when he sold his first business to the government for six figures. ...21 hours ago - Grattan on Friday: Linda Reynolds’ future as defence minister is in her own handsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Defence Minister Linda Reynolds faces an agonising question. Should she say to Scott Morrison she doesn’t feel up to staying in what is one of the most demanding portfolios in the government? Reynolds broke down ...1 day ago
- ‘Crisis within a crisis’: Violence more risky for Fiji women than covidSPECIAL REPORT: By Sheldon Chanel in Suva Much of archipelagic Fiji was forced indoors by lockdowns and a nationwide curfew in March last year when the country recorded its first case of covid-19. The quick and decisive action by legislators was successful in helping contain the spread of a highly ...1 day ago
- West Papuans reject Jakarta plan for extension of special autonomyAsia Pacific Report The indigenous people of West Papua have rejected the extension of special autonomy and the planned expansion of new provinces announced by the central government of Indonesia. The rejection comes from grassroots communities across West Papua and Papuan students who are studying in Indonesia and overseas. Responding ...1 day ago
- Peter Winder appointed to lead Wellington coucil reviewThe man who led the review into the dysfunctional Tauranga City Council before it was taken over by a commissioner has been appointed to lead the review into Wellington's council. ...1 day ago
- Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March's partner's visa application in questionOpposition MPs are questioning whether there had been any special treatment from immigration officials in regards to Ricardo Menéndez March's partner's application. ...1 day ago
- Tiger Woods’ car crash injuries explained, according to a trauma surgeonSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Harris, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, UNSW Tiger Woods’ medical team has released a statement on Twitter to explain the injuries he sustained in his car crash earlier this week. The statement was from the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a trauma centre, where ...1 day ago
- Business is Boring: The Christchurch mum getting people moving in the morningIn this week’s episode, host Simon Pound meets Lisa Fong (aka Move It Mama) whose Facebook Live workouts have found a loyal – and huge – audience worldwide.Nearly every morning, thousands of people around New Zealand and the world start their day with a workout led by a mum of ...1 day ago
- ACT rails against Māori ward legislationThe comparison of new Māori ward legislation with apartheid South Africa by the ACT Party has been labelled offensive and insulting. ...1 day ago
- A Forest of Hooks and Nails is a joyous exhibition about the art of hanging artSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ted Snell, Honorary Professor, Edith Cowan University Review: A Forest of Hooks and Nails, Fremantle Arts Centre for Perth Festival Several years ago, when being shown around an exhibition under preparation with a Nobel prize-winning guest, an academic colleague asked what one ...1 day ago
- Against the odds, South Australia is a renewable energy powerhouse. How on Earth did they do it?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael McGreevy, Research Associate, Flinders University Less than two decades ago, South Australia generated all its electricity from fossil fuels. Last year, renewables provided a whopping 60% of the state’s electricity supply. The remarkable progress came as national climate policy was gripped ...1 day ago
- Oh dear – see who was offended when Goldsmith called for Kiwis to be treated equally in electoral ...Debbie Ngarewa-Packer’s parents – according to a report in Stuff – delivered some strong mantra to live by. One of them: “Don’t accept, you push back, be provocative, but always be respectful.” But what happens when political opponents don’t accept, push back and – dare we suggest it? – are ...1 day ago
- Indigenous expertise is reducing bushfires in northern Australia. It’s time to consider similar ap...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kamaljit K Sangha, Senior Ecological Economist, Charles Darwin University Northern Australia is by far the most fire-prone region of Australia, with enormous bushfires occurring annually across thousands of square kilometres. Many of these vast, flammable landscapes have precious few barriers to slow ...1 day ago
- We can’t trust big tech or the government to weed out fake news, but a public-led approach just mi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tauel Harper, Lecturer, Media and Communication, UWA, University of Western Australia The federal government’s News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, which passed the Senate today, makes strong points about the need to regulate misinformation. In response, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, TikTok, ...1 day ago
- There Is No Plan For Fortress New Zealand...1 day ago
- A short list of the ‘wokesters’ Simon Bridges should target nextInspired by Bridges’ brave stand against the evil wokesters, Emily Writes unearths other examples of the woke peril.This week, Simon Bridges described NZ Police’s Andrew Coster as a “wokester commissioner” who isn’t fit for the job. The “too nice” Coster is not arresting enough baddies, you see.When asked why Coster ...1 day ago
- Banks Support New Housing Remit For RBNZBanks welcome today’s announcement that the Reserve Bank will consider the impact of its monetary and financial policy decisions on the housing market. “Banks support today’s announcement and are keen to be involved in discussions around how to tackle ...1 day ago
- Houses by the dozen – Woods rebuffs sneers about game-changing policies while Robertson brings RBN...
Our Beehive Bulletin … It’s all go – well, sort of – on the housing front. The Nats yesterday were scoring brownie points by scoffing at the state’s spending on a professional promotional video, including drone footage, celebrating a housing scheme that has helped only 12 families. But Housing Minister ...1 day ago - Organic Products Bill A Major Boost For ExportersLegislation regulating New Zealand's organic sector is about to pass through its final stages in Parliament and will be a major boost for exporters meeting the global demand for safe, 'clean', GE-free organic products. The Organic Products Bill helps ...1 day ago
- The Offspin: World Test Championship here we comeThe Spinoff’s cricket podcast is back! Join Simon Day and Alex Braae on the road to Lord’s with special guest, White Fern Frankie Mackay.With the Blackcaps headed for the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship at Lord’s in June, Simon Day and Alex Braae have successfully appealed to ...1 day ago
- One year on from Covid case #1: Five lessons for 2021 and beyondUniversity of Otago public health experts Michael Baker, Amanda Kvalsvig and Nick Wilson ponder what we’ve learned about the pandemic over the past 12 months, and how we can improve our response in the future.Exactly one year ago tomorrow (February 26) the first confirmed case of Covid-19 arrived in Aotearoa ...1 day ago
- Attaching a beeping device to people with Autism isn’t treatment. It’s tortureA crowdfunding campaign for a ‘tool’ that attaches to the back of the neck is abhorrent to people with lived neurodivergent experience, writes ADHD and Autism advocate Rory McCarthy.Just over a fortnight ago, I discovered a device on Kickstarter that was being marketed as a treatment for children and adults ...1 day ago
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