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The end of Ruthenasia
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, May 21st, 2021 - 61 comments
National presented a particularly glum picture in Parliament yesterday. And it was not only the realisation that Judith Collins is out of her depth. It was because this budget spells the end of Ruthenasia.
Government Control at Air New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 14th, 2021 - 67 comments
The New Zealand government has just increased its loan to Air New Zealand to a $1.5 billion total, and there’s a catch.
The Very, Very Lucky Country
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, February 17th, 2021 - 5 comments
While Australia is rightly branded The Lucky Country, it looks like we can reasonably be called the Very, Very Lucky Country.
Must New Zealand Pay Back All This Public Debt?
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, December 20th, 2020 - 22 comments
Without much fanfare, Minister Robertson has used 2020’s crisis to bury the historic scourge of monetarism and within it the excuses of the governments that used it as a pretext to sell off our key government income generators.
Things that will live
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, June 19th, 2020 - 14 comments
Despite downbeat economic predictions and an imminent global recession, the New Zealand recovery offers opportunities for entrepreneurial success that exceed anything we’ve seen for decades.
dear sysop: on covid-19 debt
Written By: - Date published: 3:33 pm, April 25th, 2020 - 60 comments
We put in guest posts occasionally. These days I’m the person who runs the email account and sees the general ones. Mostly I don’t give any feedback as much as anything else because a lack of time. But I should. This is the first to get that editorial attention. The topic itself is worth discussing. What is the process of raising debt for the cobid-19 economic response.
National created more working groups than Labour
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 18th, 2020 - 31 comments
The Herald has reported that National in its first two years of Government created *more* working groups than Labour.
Labour’s infrastructure spend announcement
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, December 1st, 2019 - 35 comments
Is the Government commitment to the budget responsibility rules weakening? Because at the Labour Party Conference Grant Robertson has indicated that the Government will shortly announce a big capital spend on infrastructure.
Common-wealth Government
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, November 18th, 2019 - 16 comments
Advantage is testing an idea out. What will a common accountability framework for the government look like?
Should the Government spend massively more?
Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, August 8th, 2019 - 58 comments
With yesterday’s announcement by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates by 1%, some are suggesting that the government should embark on a massive public works spree to stimulate the economy while increasing national debt at low interest rates. But Kiwisaver reform may be more effective.
Farewell Mr Makhlouf
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, June 13th, 2019 - 46 comments
Gabriel Makhlouf will be remembered because of events surrounding the unauthorised access of Treasury information by National. History should result in him being remembered for more positive things, like the creation of a new framework that has restructured how the government spends public money from the ground up.
The Attack of the Snowflakes
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 4th, 2019 - 119 comments
National is playing the innocent victim of Budgetgate whilst being the aggressive attacker all along.
The Reserve Bank Reform Bill
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, December 7th, 2018 - 11 comments
The Government is planning changes to the Reserve Bank Act to require it to seek full employment. Maybe it is time for a dramatic change to its powers so that it has the regulatory powers to properly deal with the Australian banks.
Public Service Reform
Written By: - Date published: 4:30 pm, September 6th, 2018 - 27 comments
For a country the size of Melbourne, we have a ridiculously complex state, and this layer of accountablility is largely a complete waste of our taxpayer money and degrades our agency as citizens. Can we do better?
Australia and New Zealand budget days
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, May 7th, 2018 - 23 comments
Isn’t it time we at least synchronized the New Zealand budget with the Australian budget?
Does this Government have the money to deliver?
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, April 30th, 2018 - 76 comments
I’m sure all revealed at Budget 2018, but the financial management of this government is not surefooted.
Why be a public servant?
Written By: - Date published: 1:16 pm, July 20th, 2017 - 28 comments
Today thousands of IRD workers face the prospect of losing their jobs while two MOT workers who lost their jobs for whistle blowing are vindicated. Who would be a public servant?
Debt to Income Loan Limits
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 15th, 2017 - 116 comments
The possible introduction of debt to income lending ratios will potentially have an enormous effect on New Zealand’s housing market.
Key’s Blind Trust vs Our Blind Faith
Written By: - Date published: 4:19 pm, April 29th, 2016 - 29 comments
So Key’s lawyer reckons the PM directly requested that trust industry leaders lobby the Revenue Minister. On the other hand, PM DunnoKeyo reckons he did no such thing. That leaves some really big questions …
Who is ultimately responsible for NZ’s massive dairy farm debt?
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, March 12th, 2016 - 82 comments
People talk of excessive borrowing in the dairy sector. Of course, the real problem is that of excessive lending.
The great big list of John Key’s big fat lies (UPDATED)
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 27th, 2016 - 79 comments
How many more lies will John Key tell today in his so-called State of the Nation address? Virtual chocolate fish to whomever guesses the closest number.
Nats failing Christchurch and lashing out at Treasury
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, December 1st, 2015 - 128 comments
A Treasury report calls the Christchurch rebuild plan “unachievable”. Gerry Brownlee immediately springs in to action – attacking Treasury. Christchurch deserves better than this…
In face of share market meltdown, Govt’s options limited
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, August 26th, 2015 - 55 comments
John Key says New Zealand has options in the face of a share market meltdown and is not like Greece (well that’s a relief). Simon Louisson asks how real are John Key’s options? Thanks to this Government’s profligate past spending, including irresponsible tax cuts, our options have narrowed drastically.
National literally want to hide the costs of inaction on climate change
Written By: - Date published: 6:45 am, May 20th, 2015 - 134 comments
We the people only learned of Treasury projections on the costs of inaction on climate change (up to $52 billion) because someone screwed up a redacted document. We were never meant to know. And National’s Minister for Climate Change Issues statement on the matter is that Treasury should have done a better job of hiding this vital information from the public.
Polity: Income mobility
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, November 21st, 2014 - 17 comments
David Farrar seldom seems to actually read the reports fully before he starts inventing meaningless canards. A theoretical equality of opportunity is irrelevant when your parent’s lack of disposable income is the major determinant of your own education and opportunities. We waste the opportunities from peoples abilities because of income inequalities.
Hiding the government’s failure on poverty
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 17th, 2014 - 81 comments
Thanks to Radio New Zealand, we now know that National got no real plan to address poverty, but also that they really, really don’t want to be honest about it.
Polity: Mr Angry tries to reheat 2011 campaign
Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, August 11th, 2014 - 13 comments
Steven Joyce is asking about how Labour can afford their policies. Half of the money is what National is planning to spend unwisely. The rest is from documented increases in revenue in a fiscal plan. Unlike National’s mythic surplus, these are solid values. They will produce a solid surplus to pay down National’s debt.
NRT: So much for the surplus
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, July 8th, 2014 - 40 comments
As was generally expected by anyone who’d been watching the actual economy rather than just the dairy exports, business profits are lower than expected. And there aren’t the jobs and pay increases in our “rockstar” economy. So consumer spending measured by GST is low as well. Meanwhile the price inflation keeps increasing government costs. So we are already on track for a large deficit next year rather than the government’s much-touted imaginary surplus. You have to ask why we deserve a government that appears to live more in a universe of wishful thinking than reality.
National – pissing debt against a wall.
Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, March 11th, 2014 - 77 comments
The deficit was $637 million dollars bigger than expected. In fact it was more than double the expected size. Why? Well mostly because of much smaller tax revenues than previously estimated. So much for the mythic recovery that National’s spinners have been pushing over xmas. We just finished paying off the mountain of debt that National gave me back in the 1970’s and early 80s. Now the shifty party of crony business morons are trying to do it to another generation.
NRT: Treasury, National, and child poverty
Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, February 28th, 2014 - 10 comments
In many ways what is even more irritating about this screwup by treasury is that it isn’t likely to be the children living below the poverty line that has an impact. It is the large numbers of elderly that Treasury has now discovered getting worse off and falling into poverty. After all they have a vote. Whereas children don’t so the future accumulated costs of their poverty aren’t something that this government will concern itself about.
Tale of two Irelands
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, February 20th, 2014 - 42 comments
Tracey recounts the rise and fall of the `financial genius` John Key’s pet financial hub for NZ to emulate the paragon economies that tried it. Like Ireland – the home of the jobless and deserted housing projects.
Fortunately he was somehow prevented from stuffing NZ in this way. However he did put in some legislation of dubious value to allow NZ to be used as a haven for hot money fleeing taxes…
- Libertarians, Neoliberals, Ordoliberals and Economists.
Not all neoliberals are the same, as a comparison ranging from Don Giovanni to Geneva School ordoliberals shows. Wellington was lucky to get the Wellington Opera Company’s production of Don Giovanni, especially as it missed the NZ Opera Company’s The Marriage of Figaro because of a lockdown. It was staged ...9 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Is the Wage Subsidy still transferring massive wealth to the ri...
Over $15 billion has been transferred to businesses by the Government via the Wage Subsidy Scheme since Covid hit in 2020. The scheme has turned out to be effective at both keeping businesses afloat and enriching the already wealthy. Now that the scheme is back in operation, and because it’s ...12 hours ago - Sweden one year on
The response to Covid around the world has been highly politicised. This was evident early on with the hostility towards Sweden for not having mandated lockdowns. In Sweden people were encouraged to work from home if they could, and schools were kept open. As someone on Twitter pointed out: First ...16 hours ago - Ideational and ideological in the construction of “isms.”
A lot has been made in recent times about the dark and pernicious side of ideology, particularly its ability to incite hate or dispute obvious fact. In that regard there has been much discussion of political ideologies, particularly national populism such as that practiced by the likes of Viktor Orban, ...16 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 24 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Ian Powell, Health commentator, former Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists: “When I was Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists I found NZ Politics Daily a highly valuable tool for quickly identifying articles of relevance and developments in the health and ...19 hours ago
- Daily Blog Branded Upper-Middle-Class, Pseudo-Left, Imperialists! Who Knew?
20 hours ago - Ian Powell: Reputations in tattersOn 19 May 2021 the Democracy Project published an article by me discussing how a ‘very bureaucratic coup’ was successfully undertaken to undermine the district health board with the strongest leadership engagement culture of the 20 DHBs responsible for the provision of health services from community to hospital in New ...20 hours ago
- Graham Adams: Going where the media won’tBehind the coverage of David Seymour’s rise in the polls and Maori Language Week lurk inconvenient truths. Graham Adams argues journalists need to be more even-handed to maintain their credibility. In the hullaballoo that followed Curia’s poll results last week, the media focused mainly on the startling fact that ...21 hours ago
- Is This What We Want?Heavy Hands: Over the past few days, the centre of Melbourne has witnessed some of the worst political violence in a generation. Police officers have been hospitalised. Rubber bullets have been fired. Hundreds have been arrested. And all because the state government of Victoria is insisting that all construction workers ...22 hours ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38, 2021
89 articles by 535 contributing authors Observations of climate change, effects Rainfall regime trends at annual and monthly scales in Catalonia (NE Spain) and indications of CO2 emissions effects Lana et al. Theoretical and Applied Climatology Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00704-021-03773-z Trends and Variability of North American Cool-Season Extratropical Cyclones: 1979–2019 ...1 day ago - MBIE’s muppetry on carbon prices
A while ago I snarked on Twitter about how awful MBIE's carbon price modelling is: in their Energy in New Zealand 2020 report, they made the following assumption: Apart from the Environmental scenario, carbon prices are assumed to increase from NZD$25 per tonne of carbon dioxide in 2019 to ...1 day ago - Climate Change: Why are we ignoring nitrogen fertiliser?Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is a significant source of greenhouse gas emisisons. According to Emissions Tracker, it was responsible for 1.4 million tons of direct CO2-equivalent emissions in 2019, plus an unspecified amount of indirect emissions due to enabling dairy intensification. This is big enough to matter, and you'd expect there ...1 day ago
- DrawnA ballot for seven Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Protection of Journalists’ Sources Bill (Louisa Wall) Plain Language Bill (Rachel Boyack) Public Finance (Prohibition on Providing Public Funds to Gangs) Amendment Bill (Simeon Brown) Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill ...2 days ago
- Hi-Viz Vengeance On Melbourne’s Streets.Fuck The Jab! Are all these protesting Melbourne construction workers right? No, of course not. Covid-19 is not a figment of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ imagination. Nor can one help speculating, just a little, that mixed-in with all this working-class fury there might also be a pretty large dose of ...2 days ago
- Pinpointing the role of climate change in every storm is impossible – and a luxury most countries ...
Friederike Otto, University of Oxford and Luke Harrington, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Tropical Storm Ida recently left a path of devastation across the US, capping a summer beset by wildfires, heatwaves and floods which broke records around the world. The inevitable question after each of ...2 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 23 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Heather Roy, Commentator, former Parliamentarian and Minister “As a political commentator I find the ‘NZ Politics Daily” email extremely useful. It is great having links to up to date topical political issues listed in one place and I’m particularly grateful for the inclusion of blog posts, many ...2 days ago
- The Cost of “Living With The Virus”
I noted in my previous post that the New Zealand media is eagerly pushing the notion that Elimination Has Failed, and that we need to re-open because the Virus is Inevitable. Luke Malpass – the chappie I criticised there – is actually one of the tamer examples. The likes ...2 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Why Australia’s nuclear-sub defence plans are unpopular in NZNew Zealand was said to have been sidelined when the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States was announced a week ago. But very quickly the “Aukus” pact has taken on an unpopularity in this country, with a consensus forming that New Zealand is best ...2 days ago
- Thinking is Power: Don't be fooled… fact check!This is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. Please see this overview to find links to other reposts from Thinking is Power. Post ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: What happened to the dream of a peaceful nuclear-free Pacific?Plans by Anglophone countries to ramp up militarisation in the Asia Pacific region have been welcomed by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. But Bryce Edwards argues that what’s actually needed is strong condemnation of this dangerous drive to war and instability. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is ...3 days ago
- Equality under the law?Twelve days ago New Zealand was shocked to learn that a rich Auckland couple had abused "essential worker" paperwork to break lockdown and fly down to Wanaka for a holiday. But despite multiple criminal offences apparently being committed, they still haven't been charged: At least 20 people have been ...3 days ago
- Member’s DayToday is a Member's Day, and due to the postponement of a lot of business, it consists entirely of first readings. First up is Ricardo Menéndez March's Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill, which should easily go to committee. Second is Mark Cameron's Resource Management (Regional Responsibility for ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 22 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Bernard Hickey, Journalist and commentator “NZ Politics Daily is so useful I think Bryce and his team should charge for it! But it’s great it’s available for all and I hope it gets the financial support it needs. A real-time experiment in whether there is enough of ...3 days ago
- Outdated Views? Andrea Vance On Sean Plunket.Re-Platforming: In the eyes of senior Stuff journalist, Andrea Vance, Sean Plunket’s “dalliances with controversy make it easy to paint him as a two-dimensional character: a right-wing, shock-jock with outdated views on privilege and race.” Dear me! The scorn dripping from those words could fill a large spittoon! Regardless, Plunket’s new ...3 days ago
- Book Review: Saving Us by Katharine HayhoeIn late 2013, my mother went into a hospice for the final time. Her illness had reached a stage where little more could be done. I had to face the fact that she was going to die, and soon, when for the preceding few years of palliative care, there was ...3 days ago
- Legal Beagle: Not too late to make the Counter Terrorism Legislation Bill clearer
The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill was back from Select Committee last week, and got its second reading today.My submission on the original bill is here. As I often am, I was more reticitent in pushing back that other submitters, largely focussed on asking the Justice Committee to assure itself the new ...3 days ago - Don’t plan on orderly transitionsThe nature, scale, and pace of change is central to futures work. But usually more attention is given to identifying what’s happening rather than what needs to happen. Are we living in fast times? Many futures studies focus on how fast the world is changing now. Partly that seems ...3 days ago
- The Siren Song of Negativity: Luke Malpass on EliminationI must say, I was a bit surprised at the New Zealand Government’s decision to shift Auckland out of Level 4 to Level 3. There are still around 20 daily Delta cases in Auckland (14 today) – a fraction of the earlier peak, but a seriously stubborn tail-end of ...3 days ago
- Let them voteA side effect of the pandemic and resulting closed borders: tens of thousands of overseas kiwis could lose the right to vote: Currently, New Zealanders who are overseas must have visited the country once within the last three years to be allowed to vote - or once in the ...4 days ago
- AUKUS has consequencesLast week Australia announced a new security deal with the UK and US which would see it abandon its plans to buy conventional submarines from France and instead acquire nuclear-powered submarines from one of its new partners. France is pretty pissed about this - they were completely blindsided, and the ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 21 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Ros Rice, Executive Officer Community Networks Aotearoa “Community Networks Aotearoa has been subscribed to NZ Politics Daily for some time now, and it is one of the most regularly read items in the office. It enables us to instantly get feedback on media views on topics of the ...4 days ago
- Can the economy afford NOT to fight climate change?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Those opposing a fast transition to renewable energy and other aggressive action to fight catastrophic climate change often argue that the economic costs would be too great. Now, with the proliferation of extreme hurricanes, droughts, floods, wildfires, and other disasters linked to a ...4 days ago
- Rest of New Zealand won’t move to Level 1 until threat of Christmas in the Park has passed
Christmas in the Park is a seasonal affliction, but can be particularly tricky to wipe out due to its unpredictable timing, usually occurring at a completely different time to Christmas. While Auckland prepares to move to Alert Level 3 on Wednesday, New Zealanders in the fun part of the country ...4 days ago - Expropriate the house hoardersNorth & South has an in-depth piece on the origins of the housing crisis, and like so much else wrong with Aotearoa, the blame can be laid firmly at the feet of the NeoLiberal regimes of the 80's and 90's, who sold state houses, slashed benefits while imposing market rents, ...5 days ago
- A Coalition Of The Waning.The Sunset Of Anglo-Saxon Imperialism: To join this “Coalition of the Waning”: this AUKUS pact composed of the three military aggressors of the Iraq War; would not only be folly – it would be criminal folly.THE FORMATION OF AUKUS, the new military pact linking Australia, the United Kingdom and the ...5 days ago
- “No Debate!” Means No Democracy.To The Lamp-Post With Them! Revolutionaries, along with the counter-revolutionaries they inevitably call into existence, are not disposed to engage in rational political discussion with their opponents. Their objective is not to change minds, but to crush bodies. Tragically, those who rule out the possibility of debate, almost always end ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 20 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Hamish Rutherford, Journalist, New Zealand Herald “I find the NZ Daily Politics an important part of my morning, allowing me to scan and access a wide variety of the material published in New Zealand over the previous 24 hours. It often draws my attention to work I would ...5 days ago
- Covax misses its 2021 delivery target – what’s gone wrong in the fight against vaccine nationali...Rory Horner, University of Manchester The latest supply forecast for Covax – the programme for sharing COVID-19 vaccines around the world – suggests that accelerating vaccination in low-income countries looks unlikely. Covax estimates it will have distributed 1.425 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021, significantly less than ...5 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand could be the big winner of Aukus falloutInternational analyst Geoffrey Miller considers the implications for New Zealand of the new Aukus partnership China’s level of anger at the new Aukus defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US was only to be expected. France’s was not. And Paris’s dramatic recall of its ambassadors to Canberra and ...5 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, September 12, 2021 through Sat, September 18, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Do high levels of CO2 in the past contradict the warming effect of CO2?, What would it ...5 days ago
- One thousand dead New Zealanders per year?
. . . . . References RNZ: Covid-19 debate – When should New Zealand open up its borders? Worldometer: Coronavirus Cases – United States RNZ: US hospitals ration care amid shortages and Covid-19 surge Reuters: Some U.S. hospitals forced to ration care amid staffing shortages, COVID-19 surge NPR: A COVID ...5 days ago - 1pm health update for Saturday, September 18 2021The following is a summary of today’s 1pm health update from the Ministry of Health Today there are 20 new cases of Covid-19 to report in the community, and 6 new cases of the Ebola virus. Please do not concern yourself with the Ebola; this will probably be fine. Of ...6 days ago
- Reading the Covid Tea-Leaves: 18th September
This past month’s blogging has really turned into an extended rant on the subject of the Coronavirus (primarily because I still haven’t got my hands on The Nature of Middle-earth, and there’s little update on the Amazon series). Auckland is still on Level 4, of course, and the rest ...6 days ago - Experts warn exclusion from AUSUK pact could see New Zealand miss out on future catastrophic warsPICTURED: US President Joe Biden deep in thought as he searches his brain for any memory of the person on screen. New Zealand’s exclusion from a tripartite security pact between the United States, Australia and the UK may not come as a surprise to many kiwis, but experts warn that ...1 week ago
- Big Challenges for the Government
A short review of the policy issues that Labour is facing and the ministers undertaking them. There is a sense that there are two major issues facing any government. One is policy management and the other is political management – not just of policies. As a result New Zealand’s political ...1 week ago - Seymour and Collins
The Herald continues to hitch its wagon to David Seymour’s coat-tails. They don’t seem to realise that Seymour is almost entirely an (inadvertent) creation of Judith Collins. If it weren’t for the fact that Collins is performing so badly as National leader, Seymour would not be noticed. For those interested ...1 week ago - Keep New Zealand Nuclear-Free – Stay Out of AUKUS!1 week ago
- Making the Most of MasksDr Nitasha Rimar, Dr Lucy Telfar Barnard, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Lesley Gray, Prof Michael Baker Masks and vaccination have a central role in minimising the health and economic impact of COVID-19, regardless of the long-term strategy we use against the pandemic. These interventions depend on both good performance and high ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 17 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Simon Bridges, Parliamentarian “NZ Politics Daily is an essential news service for me, enabling me to cut through the constant noise and quickly see what’s going on. Dr Bryce Edwards and NZ politics Daily are a big public good, keeping kiwis, even politicians, better informed.” Anyone can ...1 week ago
- The 'team of five million' isn't all of us. Are we doing enough for the others?
The “team of five million” has become a well-worn but still powerful call to arms in the past 18 months as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield have tried to rally a sense of national unity in the fight to save lives in this Covid-19 pandemic. ...1 week ago - Covid outreach disaster as online poll sees vaccination bus named ‘the murder wagon’Ashley Bloomfield says he doesn’t want those hesitant about getting the vaccine to “be distracted” by the fact they come out of the murder wagon. The Government is dealing with a Covid outreach debacle today, after the decision to put the naming of New Zealand’s vaccination bus service to a ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37, 2021Go with real guilt, or imaginatively hide? This week's New Research includes a couple of interesting papers exploring the confused, noisy marketplace of ideas, volitions and impulses we call "the human mind," in connection with thinking about climate change and our responsibility for causing harm and remedy. We're all (surely?) ...1 week ago
- Overlooked and undervalued, New Zealand’s community caregivers have become the ‘invisible’ ess...Katherine Ravenswood, Auckland University of Technology; Amber Nicholson, Auckland University of Technology, and Fiona Hurd, Auckland University of Technology As Auckland enters its fifth week in level 4 lockdown and the rest of New Zealand stays at level 2, spare a thought for the nation’s invisible network of essential ...1 week ago
- Gesta Gertrudis: Volume IV
Time for another Gertrude update. Alas, due to personal issues involving the DM, this will be the last update from this campaign for some time. Until then, Gertrude shall be put on ice. Since Dunedin is no longer in lockdown, both these sessions were in-person. Session Seven/Sixty-Three Technically, ...1 week ago - Samoa’s opposition should be sworn inOn Monday, in response to a refusal by HRPP MPs to accept the proper process for being sworn in, Samoa's speaker banned them from parliament. Because they'd also called for a mob, he took the unprecedented step of banning the public too. These decisions were reasonable at the time. MPs ...1 week ago
- Racist from top to bottomBack in 2019, the government tweaked drug laws to encourage the use of police discretion. So did it work? well, charges are down, but the burden of prosecution is falling even more disproportionately on Māori: A 2019 change to drug laws has led to far fewer people being charged ...1 week ago
- Pattern recognitionGovernment defers introducing tougher winter grazing rules - again, RNZ, 26 August 2021: The government has pushed intensive winter grazing rules back by another six months. Intensive winter grazing is when livestock are feed fodder crops - when done poorly it can create a muddy mess leading to animal ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: An excuse, not a justificationYesterday the government announced plans to delay its key Emissions Reduction Plan - currently due by law by 31 December - until next year. Its "justification"? Shaw said consultations on the plan would begin in early October. "It is only right to make sure everyone has the chance to ...1 week ago
- Bringing woolly mammoths back from extinction might not be such a bad idea — ethicists explainJulian Koplin, The University of Melbourne and Christopher Gyngell, The University of Melbourne US startup Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to bring woolly mammoths, or animals like them, back from extinction and into the frosty landscape of the Siberian tundra. Colossal has received US$15 million in initial funds to ...1 week ago
- Lessons learned from a remote blood pressure lowering trial in AotearoaHelen Eyles, Jacqui Grey, Elaine Umali, Cliona Ni Mhurchu Technologies such as smartphone apps, Wi-Fi-enabled data collection devices, and web-based data management systems offer the opportunity to deliver and assess the impact of clinical trials remotely, something which researchers are becoming increasingly drawn to. However, there are drawbacks, and even ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 16 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Chris Trotter, Political commentator: “NZ Politics Daily has become an invaluable resource for all those who practice, study and/or write about politics in New Zealand. So much so that I can’t remember how I ever did without it.” Anyone can sign up to NZPD for free at: https://democracyproject.nz/nz-politics-daily/ Today’s ...1 week ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Ghost of lockdowns PastJudith Collins may have led the New Zealand National Party to a catastrophic defeat in 2020. But the election result was not of her making. The real turning point for National came twelve weeks before Collins’ elevation to the leadership. In those days the Opposition could still boast of having ...1 week ago
- Why a domestic NZ COVID ‘passport’ raises hard questions about discrimination, inequality and c...Tim Dare, University of Auckland and Justine Kingsbury, University of Waikato With COVID-19 causing extraordinarily intrusive and expensive lockdowns, vaccine “passports” or certificates are increasingly seen as key to getting out of them. Decision-makers and gatekeepers – from border guards to maître d’s – will have a means of ...1 week ago
- The Indiscrete Charmlessness Of Upper-Class Rule-Breakers.Rules Are For Little People: Those who claim that all human-beings are equal have obviously never encountered a man on horseback when they are travelling on foot!THE UPPER-CLASS ABSCONDERS from Auckland’s Level 4 Lockdown have done the rest of New Zealand a favour. They have exposed, in the most dramatic ...1 week ago
- Intensifying Covid-19 Control Measures: 5 Measures for Faster Elimination and 5 Measures to Prevent ...Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jin Russell, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker Despite some good progress, the persisting Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland still poses risks to health, social wellbeing and the economy. There is a need for accelerated efforts to ensure more rapid ...1 week ago
- The definition of my sex is not hate speech
NZME (publishers of the NZ Herald newspaper, among others) has joined the de-platforming of Speak Up For Women after a few online gender identity activists complained on Twitter about an advertisement in a rival paper the Otago Daily Times. SUFW were to run advertisements in NZME papers too as part of ...1 week ago - Climate Change: Some “emergency”Jacinda Ardern: 'Climate change is my generation's nuclear-free moment', Newshub, 20 August 2017: In her campaign launch speech in Auckland on Sunday, Ms Ardern called climate change "my generation's nuclear free moment". [...] "There will always be those who say it's too difficult. There will be those who say ...1 week ago
- Thinking is Power: How to do your own researchThis is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. Note: This article is the second of a two-part series on “doing your own ...1 week ago
- Climate explained: how much of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels and could we replace it ...How are fossil fuels formed, why do they release carbon dioxide and how much of the world’s energy do they provide? And what are the renewable energy sources that could replace fossil fuels? Fossil fuels were formed over millions of years from the remains of plants and animals trapped ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: We need more than excuses on methaneMethane is a powerful greenhouse gas. While its lifetime in the atmosphere is limited - its half-life is 9.1 years, so any given amount is almost entirely gone after a hundred years - it is far better at trapping heat. Averaged over a century it has a global warming potential ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 15 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Colin James, political commentator, author “Bryce Edwards’ five-days-a-week digest of links to articles on policy and politics is a valuable resource, both on the day for those who need to know or are just plain interested and as an archive for those who need or want to track ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: The double-edged sword of the $55m government journalism fund cuts deepTVNZ’s apparent lack of interest in Dr Siouxsie Wiles’ unmasked trip to the beach has raised questions about the media’s impartiality. Graham Adams assesses the fallout. On Sunday morning, National’s Dr Shane Reti asked on Facebook for people’s “thoughts” about TVNZ’s decision not to broadcast the video of Dr ...1 week ago
- One mine at a time…Some good news for the climate today: another coal mine is closing: The Ohai coal mine is closing in two weeks and rehabilitation of the site is expected to begin next month. Ohai and New Vale coal general manager Antony Stodart said “business at the Ohai based coal mine ...1 week ago
- Plotting the Auckland Delta Outbreak
A graph of Auckland Delta cases since lockdown began: As one can see, we’ve been good at getting the adult cases under control – the recent daily spikes being disproportionately children. That suggests infections within families, rather than across families. So far, so good anyway, and sufficient to ...2 weeks ago - We managed to toilet train cows (and they learned faster than a toddler). It could help combat clima...Douglas Elliffe, University of Auckland and Lindsay Matthews, University of Auckland Can we toilet train cattle? Would we want to? The answer to both of these questions is yes — and doing so could help us address issues of water contamination and climate change. Cattle urine is high in ...2 weeks ago
- 5 reasons to get vaccinated
You’ve probably heard a lot about the COVID-19 vaccine lately – and you might be wondering what the big deal is, or why you should bother getting vaccinated. If that’s the case, here are five reasons to roll up your sleeves. ...14 hours ago - Kiwis overseas must be allowed to vote next year
New Zealanders stranded overseas should be allowed to vote in next year’s local government elections and the 2023 general election, the Green Party said today. ...3 days ago - Disability-assist dog Bill to have first reading todayAfter being delayed due to lockdown, Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog will have its first reading in Parliament today. ...3 days ago
- Auckland Central MP calls for Government funding to revive the St James Theatre, launches open lette...Green Party MP for Auckland Central, Chlöe Swarbrick, is launching an open letter to the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon Kiritapu Allan, asking for the Government to match the Auckland Council’s contribution of $15 million to revive the St James Theatre. ...3 days ago
- Open letter calling for ACC to cover all birth injuries and trauma reaches 10,000 signaturesIn less than 12 hours, more than 10,000 people have signed on the Green Party’s open letter asking for ACC to cover all birth injuries and trauma. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for all birth injuries to be covered by ACC, launch open letterThe Green Party is launching an open letter to the Minister for ACC asking for all birth injuries and trauma to be covered, and the letter has strong support from the sector. ...1 week ago
- Our mihi to the ways te reo Māori can unite and inspire through COVIDKia ora e te whānau, and happy Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori! Yes, it’s Māori Language Week. And even though we’ll be celebrating a little differently this year as we work to stamp out mate korona, there are still plenty of opportunities to embrace this taonga and advance our ...2 weeks ago
- Alert Level 2: Everything you need to knowStamping out COVID-19 isn’t easy, but together, we are stronger than the virus. We’ve made good progress, but the job still isn’t done. We need to stay vigilant to stop the spread. Here’s where you can find the essential information you need to stay safe at Alert Level 2. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call for immediate student support, launches petitionGreen Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick has launched a petition calling for immediate, meaningful support for students, saying the Government’s announced boost to the student hardship funds doesn’t go far enough. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens say Govt investment in public transport, walking, cycling is not enoughThe Green Party welcomes the $6 billion being invested in public transport, walking and cycling through the National Land Transport Programme, as announced by the Minister of Transport today, however says it is nowhere near enough. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens’ Te Mātāwaka Caucus responds to ACT leader’s racial sabotageThe Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka is calling out ACT leader David Seymour for apparently targeting Māori vaccination providers for political gain. Mr Seymour publicly shared vaccine booking information which was intended for Māori communities. ...3 weeks ago
- Auckland Central MP welcomes relocated COVID-19 vaccination centre with increased capacityAuckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick welcomes the relocation of the City Centre’s dedicated COVID-19 Vaccination Centre from Elliot Street to a larger space on Graham Street, just up from Victoria Park, which will provide close to double the capacity. ...3 weeks ago
- Upper Hauraki to move to Alert Level 2
Upper Hauraki will move to Alert Level 2 from 11:59pm tomorrow, 25 September, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. After positive cases were detected in the Upper Hauraki area on Sunday, extra Alert Level restrictions were put in place to immediately prevent any wider transmission of the virus. “We’ve ...15 hours ago - Report into Aotearoa New Zealand’s export controls system releasedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today welcomed the findings of an independent review into Aotearoa New Zealand’s export controls system, which regulates the export of goods to foreign militaries, police forces or paramilitaries. Produced by David Smol, a former Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the ...17 hours ago
- New District Court Judge appointedAttorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Brett Crowley of Wellington as a District Court Judge. He is currently the Wellington Public Defender and started his career as a staff solicitor working in a range of litigation including criminal defence work. He went to the bar in 1999 specialising ...18 hours ago
- Mental health stocktake shows strong progressThe first report of the Government’s Implementation Unit has found strong progress has been made since the Mental Health and Addictions Package was announced in 2019. “The report notes most initiatives funded in the Budget 2019 package are on track to deliver what is expected by 2023/24,” Grant Robertson said. ...18 hours ago
- Working together to grow the West CoastA project that has been crucial in allowing businesses to continue during the tourism downturn is among a number of initiatives to receive a boost from the Government’s Jobs For Nature programme, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. Sustaining South Westland is an extension of an initiative set up last year ...19 hours ago
- Next steps to improve safety in wake of Whakaari White Island tragedyThe Government is moving to improve safety in light of the Whakaari White Island tragedy and has released proposals to reinforce safety standards in registered adventure activities. The package of proposals includes: Strengthening requirements for how operators, landowners and the regulator manage natural hazard risks Improving how risks are monitored, ...21 hours ago
- New Zealand donates more COVID-19 vaccines to COVAX and the PacificForeign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio announced today that New Zealand is donating additional Pfizer vaccines to the Pacific and AstraZeneca vaccines to the COVAX Facility, to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. “New Zealand is donating 708,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ...23 hours ago
- Speech to the Property Council of New ZealandKia ora koutou katoa Is it a pleasure to be able to speak with you today, and to be able to answer some questions you may have. I would like to acknowledge the organisers of this event, the Property Council. The theme of this year’s conference is City Shapers. Together ...2 days ago
- Additional MIQ for ChristchurchAn additional hotel will be added to our network of managed isolation and quarantine facilities, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “I have approved and Cabinet is in the final stages of signing off The Quality Hotel Elms in Christchurch as a new managed isolation facility,” Chris Hipkins said. ...2 days ago
- NZ COVID-19 response earns another major digital investmentMinister for the Digital Economy and Communications Dr David Clark welcomes Amazon’s Web Services’ (AWS) decision to establish a Cloud Region on New Zealand shores, further boosting New Zealand’s growing digital sector, and providing a vote of confidence in the direction of New Zealand’s economic recovery. “Amazon is the second ...2 days ago
- New Zealand invests in cutting edge cancer R&DScaling up the manufacture of CAR T-cell cancer therapy for clinical trials Advancing New Zealand’s biomedical manufacturing capability Supporting future international scientific collaborations Transforming cancer care with targeted, affordable solutions Research, Science and Innovation Minister Hon Dr Megan Woods has announced that the fight against COVID-19 will not stop the ...2 days ago
- Expert group appointed to lead New Zealand’s future health systemAn outstanding group of people with extensive and wide-ranging governance and health experience have been appointed to lead the Māori Health Authority and Health New Zealand, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “This Government is building a truly national health system to provide consistent, high-quality health services right across the country. This ...2 days ago
- Funding to help clean up contaminated sitesThe Government is supporting the clean-up of contaminated sites in Northland, Dunedin and Southland to reduce risk to people’s health and protect the environment. Environment Minister David Parker said the funding announced today, through the Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund, will help us turn previously hazardous sites into safe, usable public ...2 days ago
- Predator Free apprenticeships open up new job opportunitiesThe expansion of a predator free apprenticeship programme is an opportunity for more people to kick-start a conservation career, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Predator Free Apprenticeship Programme is focused on increasing the number of skilled predator control operators in New Zealand through a two-year training programme. “The Trust ...3 days ago
- Further NCEA support confirmed for Auckland studentsThe number of Learning Recognition Credits for senior secondary school students will be increased for Auckland students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. This recognises the extended time these students will spend in Alert Levels 3 and 4. “It means students in Auckland will have a fair opportunity to attain ...3 days ago
- Long-term pathway next step to better mental wellbeing for New ZealandersThe Government is taking a new approach to support people who experience mental distress, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Kia Manawanui Aotearoa – Long-term pathway to mental wellbeing (Kia Manawanui) is the first 10-year plan of its kind that targets the cause of mental distress and also sets out how ...3 days ago
- Keeping our Police safe to keep our communities safeThe Government is committed to keeping our frontline police officers safe, so they in turn can keep New Zealanders safe – with one of the largest investments in frontline safety announced by Police Minister Poto Williams at the Police College today. The $45 million investment includes $15.496 million in ...3 days ago
- Clean Vehicles Bill passes first checkpointThe Land Transport (Clean Vehicles) Amendment Bill will help New Zealand drive down transport emissions by cleaning up the light vehicle fleet, Transport Minister Michael Wood says. The Bill passed its first reading today and will establish the legislative framework for key parts of the Government’s Clean Car Package, including ...3 days ago
- Funding boost supports ongoing Māori COVID-19 responseThe Government is responding to the need by whānau Māori and Māori Health providers to support their ongoing work responding to COVID-19 and to continue increasing rates of Māori vaccination, Associate Minister for Health (Māori Health), Peeni Henare and Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. This increased ...3 days ago
- Significant increase to COVID-19 penaltiesPenalties for breaches of COVID-19 orders are set to significantly increase from early November 2021 to better reflect the seriousness of any behaviour that threatens New Zealand’s response to the virus, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Throughout this Delta outbreak we’ve seen the overwhelming majority of people doing ...4 days ago
- Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill returns to ParliamentThe Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill has returned to Parliament for its second reading in an important step towards giving enforcement agencies greater power to protect New Zealanders from terrorist activity. “The Bill addresses longstanding gaps in our counter terrorism legislation that seek to protect New Zealanders and make us safer,” Justice ...4 days ago
- Joint Statement: New Zealand and Australian Trade MinistersHon Damien O'Connor MP, New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth, and Hon Dan Tehan MP, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, met virtually on Monday 20 September to advance trans-Tasman cooperation under the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER). CER is one of the most ...4 days ago
- Prime Minister’s Post Cabinet Press Conference/COVID-19 Update opening statement***Please check against delivery*** E te tī, e te tā, nau mai rā [To all, I bid you welcome] As you will have seen earlier, today there are 22 new community cases to report; three of which are in Whakatiwai in the Hauraki area, and the remainder in ...4 days ago
- Major milestones for Māori COVID-19 vaccine rollout as new campaign launchesWhānau Ora and Associate Health (Māori Health) Minister Peeni Henare acknowledges two major milestones in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme for Māori. “I am very pleased to announce more than 50 percent of eligible Māori have received their first dose and 25 per cent are now fully vaccinated,” ...6 days ago
- Government funding to fight infectious diseases$36 million for research into Covid-19 and other infectious diseases The investment will improve our readiness for future pandemics Research will focus on prevention, control, and management of infectious diseases The Government’s investing in a new Infectious Diseases Research Platform to boost Aotearoa New Zealand’s Covid-19 response and preparedness for ...6 days ago
- Quarantine-free travel with Australia to remain suspended for a further 8 weeksSuspension to be reviewed again mid to late November Decision brought forward to enable access from Australia to first tranche of around 3000 rooms in MIQ Air New Zealand working at pace to put on more flights from Australia from October The suspension of quarantine-free travel (QFT) with Australia has ...1 week ago
- Extra support for Ethnic Communities to share vaccination informationExtra support is being made available to Ethnic Communities to help them share COVID-19 vaccination information within their communities, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan said. “We know we need to get every eligible person in New Zealand vaccinated. A fund being launched today will allow for ...1 week ago
- School holidays remain unchanged for Auckland regionSchool holidays in Auckland will continue to be held at the same time as the rest of the country, starting from Saturday, 2 October, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “I’ve carefully considered advice on the implications of shifting the dates and concluded that on balance, maintaining the status quo ...1 week ago
- Government continues crackdown on gangs and organised crimeOperation Tauwhiro extended until March 2022 Since it was launched in February, Operation Tauwhiro has resulted in: 987 firearms seized $4.99 million in cash seized 865 people charged with a firearms-related offence Gangs and organised crime groups will continue to be relentlessly targeted with the extension of Police’s successful ...1 week ago
- Speech to Body Positive 'HIV Treatments Update Seminar 2021'E ngā mana E ngā reo E ngā iwi Tēnā koutou katoa Ka huri ki ngā mana whenua o te rohe nei. Tēnā koutou. He mihi hoki ki a tatou kua tau mai nei I raro I te kaupapa o te rā. Nō reira tēnā koutou katoa Acknowledgements It’s a ...1 week ago
- Power bill changes bring fairness to chargesA key recommendation of an independent panel to make electricity charges fairer across all households will be put in place, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. “Phasing out the regulations on ‘low-use’ electricity plans will create a fairer playing field for all New Zealanders and encourage a ...1 week ago
- NZ economy’s strong momentum will support rebound from Delta outbreak; COVID fund replenishedThe economy showed strong momentum in the period leading up to the recent Delta COVID-19 outbreak, which bodes well for a solid economic rebound, Grant Robertson said. GDP rose 2.8 percent in the June quarter, following on from a 1.4 percent increase in the previous March quarter. This was a ...1 week ago
- Projects create benefits into the futureMaking a well-known lake swimmable and helping to halt the decline of the endangered hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins are among a suite of new projects being supported by the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme across the southern South Island, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “It’s no secret that many of our most ...1 week ago
- Opening statement for Whāriki Indigenous Small Business RoundtableKei ngā tōpito e wha o te āo e rere ana te mihi maioha ki a koutou nō tawhiti, nō tata mai e tāpiri ana ki tēnei taumata kōrero mo te ao hokohoko arā mā ngā pākihi mo ngā iwi taketake Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa – Pai Mārire. ...1 week ago
- New members appointed to KāpuiaThe Government is adding four additional members to Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques. “I’m looking forward to having Pamela MacNeill, Huia Bramley, Melani Anae and Katherine Dedo join Kāpuia and contribute to this group’s ...1 week ago
- Timeline confirmed for Emissions Reductions PlanCabinet has agreed to begin consulting on the Emissions Reduction Plan in early October and require that the final plan be released by the end of May next year in line with the 2022 Budget, the Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw confirmed today. “Cabinet’s decision allows organisations and communities ...1 week ago
- Pay parity pathway for early learning teachers confirmedPay parity conditions and higher funding rates for education and care services will come into force on 1 January, 2022, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government signalled this work in Budget 2021. “From 1 January, 2022, centres opting into the scheme will receive government funding and be ...1 week ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Conference 2021Kia Ora tatau katoa. Ka tuku mihi ki nga nēhi, He pou Hauora o Aotearoa, E ora ai tatou. Whakatau mai I runga i te kaupapa o te ra Te NZNO conference. Tena koutou tena koutou Tena tatou katoa Good morning, and thank you inviting me ...1 week ago
- Government investment in farmer-led catchment groups sweeps past 150 mark171 catchment groups have now been invested in by the Government 31 catchment groups in the Lower North Island are receiving new support More than 5,000 farmers are focussed on restoring freshwater within a generation through involvement in catchment groups Government investment in on-the-ground efforts by farmers to improve land ...2 weeks ago
- Fight to protect kauri on trackThe Government is pitching in to help vital work to protect nationally significant kauri forests in Auckland, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “Ensuring the survival of these iconic trees for future generations means doing everything we can to prevent the potential spread of kauri dieback disease,” Kiri Allan said. ...2 weeks ago
- View from The Hill: Barnaby Joyce falls (sort of) into step for the ‘net zero’ march
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Lukas Coch/AAP The Coalition brigade is assembling, readying for the final march to a place it once regarded as enemy territory and poisoned ground, too dangerous to approach. Josh Frydenberg waved the flag ...7 hours ago - Travellers grounded after surprise Covid rule change
Air New Zealand and people hoping to fly back into Auckland this morning were blindsided - and stranded - by a new rule that came in at midnight last night After six weeks down in Queenstown waiting out Auckland’s lockdown, it was finally time for John Gosney to come ...10 hours ago - Mayor Meets With Ministers Over Three Waters Reform Proposal
This week Mayor Rehette Stoltz met with Ministers, including the Minister for Local Government Nanaia Mahuta to discuss the Three Waters reform proposal. Government is proposing to move the management of the three waters away from individual Councils ...12 hours ago - New Zealand Red Meat Sector Welcomes Chinese Taipei’s CPTPP Membership ApplicationThe Meat Industry Association (MIA) and Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) welcome Chinese Taipei’s formal application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Sam McIvor, chief executive of Beef + Lamb NZ said the ...12 hours ago
- NZ kiwifruit reportedly tests positive for Covid in China
A Covid scare with Kiwi produce imported into China could have repercussions for New Zealand exporters Chinese officials say a batch of New Zealand kiwifruit imported into the country has tested positive for Covid-19, in news which could concern Kiwi exporters wary of any clampdown. The CCP-owned Global Times reported ...12 hours ago - Week in Politics: Auckland moves down, doubt cast on elimination strategy
Analysis - Critics accuse the government of giving up on its elimination strategy and Speaker Trevor Mallard's move to stop unvaccinated people entering Parliament's precinct raises debate. ...12 hours ago - The Friday Poem: Young Adult Success Stories, by Erik Kennedy
A new poem from Christchurch poet Erik Kennedy.Young Adult Success StoriesThis fantastic article outlines how, at the tender age of twenty-two, Brad got seed money for his underwear delivery start-up and bought a Bugatti. What an amazing tale of industry and sticktoitiveness. How did he do it? Ah, yes, it’s ...13 hours ago - Most 2019 Budget mental health intiatives on track – reviewDeputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said a stocktake of the $1.9 billion mental health package found strong progress had been made since its announcement. ...13 hours ago
- Wenda blames nurse’s death on Indonesian military crackdown for Papuan mining, palm oilAsia Pacific Report newsdesk The United Liberation Movement of West Papua has blamed the Indonesian military over the attack at a hospital in Kiwirok, near the Papua New Guinean border, in which a nurse was killed. Interim president Benny Wenda of the ULMWP has issued a statement in response to ...13 hours ago
- Taliban ‘journalism rules’ open way to censorship, persecution, warns RSFAsia Pacific Report newsdesk Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is very disturbed by the “11 journalism rules” that the Taliban announced at a meeting with news media on September 19. The rules that Afghan journalists will now have to implement are vaguely worded, dangerous and liable to be used ...13 hours ago
- Covid deaths soar in New Caledonian crisis – 16 in one dayRNZ Pacific New Caledonia recorded 16 covid-19 deaths yesterday — the highest single day total since the delta strain of the virus arrived in the territory less than three weeks ago. A spokesperson for the territorial government, Gilbert Tyuienon, said the archipelago “is going through a crisis never seen in ...13 hours ago
- Auckland mayor Goff makes ‘roll up your sleeves – take covid jab’ pleaAsia Pacific Report newsdesk Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has appealed to the 1.7 million people in the city to “roll up your sleeves” and get vaccinated immediately to help New Zealand cope better with the covid-19 pandemic. Writing in The New Zealand Herald today to back the newspaper’s 90% Project ...13 hours ago
- New Amazon data centres risk unbalancing NZ's fragile electricity network
At risk of being churlish, we say Amazon Web Services must invest not just in jobs but also in utility-scale renewable energy ...13 hours ago - ‘Don’t be a dick’: Nigel Latta’s advice for surviving Covid while stuck at homeProperty investors at this year’s virtual Property Conference probed the psychologist on all things Covid and working from home. Reweti Kohere listened in as the keynote speaker responded with some home truths.Working from home is a thing now, an acceptable way these days to clock in and out of one’s ...14 hours ago
- Court Ruling A Victory For Common SenseGreat news and a victory for common sense and for people seeking abortion services. That's the response from Family Planning to a High Court decision today where a group of health professionals opposed to abortion have lost a court case over whether their ...14 hours ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on AUKUS fallout and the government moving to net zeroSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professional Fellow Michelle Grattan alongside University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics. This week the pair discuss the announcement of the AUKUS, in particular the reaction ...14 hours ago
- Mahuta spurns call from civic leaders to go with the flow – and go slow – with contentious Three...
A press statement we received from Nanaia Mahuta, speaking as Minister of Foreign Affairs, dealt with the findings of an independent review into New Zealand’s export controls system, which regulates the export of goods to foreign militaries, police forces or paramilitaries. Produced by David Smol, a former Chief Executive of ...14 hours ago - Covid-19 briefing: Upper Hauraki to move to alert level 2The Upper Hauraki area will join most of New Zealand in alert level 2 after no further positive results, the deputy prime minister has confirmed. Watch the government's latest Covid-19 briefing here. ...14 hours ago
- Meet the Pacific social services helping keep the team of five million safeWhen the latest lockdown became much more than a health crisis for many South Auckland families, it was their local, Pacific-led social services that stepped up to help. Patricia Tosogu is beaming with relief as she stands in the doorway of her new temporary home in Ōtāhuhu, while the sounds ...14 hours ago
- Two governments claim to run Myanmar. So, who gets the country’s seat at the UN?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, University of South Australia As world leaders have gathered for the UN General Assembly in New York this week, there has been uncertainty over who should be representing Myanmar. Since a coup on February 1, Myanmar’s military ...14 hours ago
- Building trust with migrant and refugee communities is crucial for public health measures to workSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Devaki Monani, Lecturer, Social Work, Charles Darwin University Shutterstock During COVID-19 we’ve seen racism and discrimination against migrant and refugee communities erode trust between them and authorities.So as the Delta variant spreads, we must find ways ...15 hours ago
- Our air defences are down – only some RNZAF aircraft can reach for the sky as Orions are retired
There are sad faces around Whenuapai today as the RNZAF retires the first of its five Lockheed Orions. The aircraft is flying to Woodbourne for breaking and parting – essentially for spares. The Orions came into service in 1966 and have become a familiar presence in the south Pacific, saving ...15 hours ago- Bernard Hickey: Fashion’s greenwashing problem and how to see through it
It’s getting increasingly tough to buy clothing that isn’t the result of practices that exploit both workers and the environment. Bernard Hickey talks to the founder of a local tech start-up that wants to help consumers all over the world make better choices.Follow When the Facts Change on Apple Podcasts, ...15 hours ago- The Spinoff Covid tracker: 20 live graphs that tell the story of delta in Aotearoa
Everything you need to know about how the Covid-19 pandemic is tracking in New Zealand, through regularly updated data visualisations.The Spinoff Covid tracker brings together all the relevant Covid data – cases, tests, vaccination and mobility – in one place.The aim of this page is to show the numbers in ...15 hours ago- Watch live: Grant Robertson and Dr Caroline McElnay give an update on the current Covid-19 outbreak
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay are providing an update on the current Covid-19 outbreak. ...15 hours ago- Facebook livestreams of PM’s 1pm update swarmed by anti-vax misinformation
The benefits of reaching the wider audience outweigh the risk of damage, says Ardern.The daily 1pm updates have become the central set-piece of New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. Among the popular live streams of these Beehive briefings is that on the prime minister’s own Facebook page. Yesterday’s, for ...15 hours ago- Carterton District Council Responds To Three Waters Reform Proposal
Carterton District Council is preparing to submit its response to the Government’s Three Waters Reform proposals on 1 October. Chief executive Geoff Hamilton has written a draft letter to be sent to the Department of Internal Affairs on behalf of the ...16 hours ago- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending September 24
The 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.Auckland only had one day back in action before we came nagging for sales figures, which seems a ...16 hours ago- $62 Million Dubai Pavilion Is Insulting Extravagance
NZTE’s $62 million pavilion unveiled today in Dubai is an unseemly extravagance during a pandemic, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “NZTE has completely misread the room by proceeding with the Dubai ...16 hours ago- Soft Penalty For Council Fraudsters Shows Law Change Needed
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling for increased penalties for defrauding public bodies after two men stole $178,365 from Hurunui District Council using false invoices . “Stealing $178,000 from ratepayers ought to land you in jail, not home ...16 hours ago- Government proposes tougher safety rules for adventure activity operators
The government wants to bring in tougher safety rules for adventure activity operators, in response to the deadly 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption. ...16 hours ago- Letter to the Editor – MIQ
Dear Government Stop thanking me for doing my bit as an Aucklander. Why wouldn’t I? Stop celebrating the vaccination statistics when we could have been ahead of the game if you had just agreed to pay the asking price for the Pfizer vaccine way back ...17 hours ago- Keith Rankin Data Analysis – Table of Excess Deaths from Covid19
Data and Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin. The table below uses raw-death data published downloaded from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-mortality-raw-death-count to predict what death numbers would have occurred in 2020 and 2021 had there been no Covid19 pandemic. The actual death numbers are compared with the predicted (counterfactual) numbers to calculated excess ...17 hours ago- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – September 24 2021
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content Modelling dispute, Govt Covid strategy RNZ: Modeller stands ...17 hours ago- Late Pay Parity Red Tape Could See Teachers Miss Out On Pay Rise
70% of surveyed providers won’t opt in to the government’s Pay Parity offer after months of waiting, meaning teachers could miss out on the pay increase promised by the Minister of Education. “Providers were promised Pay Parity progress and ...17 hours ago- Medical Groups Should Canvass Members On ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban
Family First NZ is calling on the NZMA and the Pediatric Society to canvass its members after more than a quarter of doctors in the UK said that they did not support the British Medical Association (BMA) lobbying to ban ‘conversion therapy’. Both ...17 hours ago- Super Fund money in blacklisted China firms criticised
Pension funds and institutional investors' talk about responsible investing is not being backed up when it comes to China, an international NGO says A new report has raised concerns about the Super Fund’s investments in Chinese companies blacklisted for their role in human rights abuses, saying pension funds should not ...17 hours ago- Beyond 90% – the graphs that tell the story of our vaccination challenges
A vaccination rate of nine out of every 10 eligible New Zealanders is a great headline number. But it can also be deceptive. The Spinoff’s head of data Harkanwal Singh explains.This work is only possible thanks to Spinoff Members. To support more important data journalism on the Spinoff, join now. Today ...18 hours ago- Surge In Imports Results In Record Monthly Trade Deficit
Imports increased $1.8 billion in August 2021 compared with August 2020, resulting in a record monthly trade deficit of $2.1 billion, Stats NZ said today. Exports were little changed, down $42 million. "This is a larger deficit than normal because ...18 hours ago- New Zealand to donate more Covid-19 vaccines to the Pacific
New Zealand is donating more Covid-19 vaccines to the Pacific and to the Covax initiative which supports global equitable access to vaccines. ...18 hours ago- New Zealand Government Eases COVID-19 Lockdown In Auckland
Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 23 September 2021, original url https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/09/23/auck-s23.html On Wednesday the lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, was eased from “alert level 4” to “level 3,” despite new cases of the highly infectious ...18 hours ago- Surge In Imports Results In Record Monthly Trade Deficit
Imports increased $1.8 billion in August 2021 compared with August 2020, resulting in a record monthly trade deficit of $2.1 billion, Stats NZ said today. Exports were little changed, down $42 million. "This is a larger deficit than normal because ...18 hours ago- Mayor: Reports, Public Opinion Cast Further Doubt On Three Waters Reform
Two new reports received by Timaru District Council show that case for Three Waters Reform isn’t as compelling as the Government claims, and a significant majority of the community polled also aren’t convinced. Councillors considering their official ...18 hours ago- Government agreed to subsidise MIQ costs for international sports stars
The government agreed to subsidise international sports stars' managed isolation and quarantine bills last year - paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per team. ...20 hours ago- Angela Merkel’s career shows why we need more scientists in politics
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Johnston, Professor and Dean of Science, UNSW For 16 years, German chancellor Angela Merkel has guided her country through wave after wave of uncertainty, from the 2008 global financial crisis to Brexit, the imperative to drop fossil fuels, and of course ...20 hours ago- On the eve of an AFLM grand final like no other, can the shadow of the pandemic make us strive for s...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Klugman, Research Fellow, Institute for Health & Sport, member of the Community, Identity and Displacement Research Network, and Co-convenor of the Olympic Research Network, Victoria University On the last Saturday of September every year many of the inhabitants of Melbourne, and ...20 hours ago- Tom Wills’ story is the AFL’s opportunity for truth telling about its ugly history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jess Coyle, Lecturer, Sports Management, Western Sydney University This article discusses colonial violence against First Nations peoples. There is reference to people who are now deceased. There has been a new revelation by researcher Gary Fearon that cricketer and founding father ...20 hours ago- German election: the race to replace Angela Merkel and why it matters to New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mathew Doidge, Senior Research Fellow, University of Canterbury Shutterstock From a distance, the big news about Germany’s coming election on September 26 is the end of Angela Merkel’s reign after 16 years of leadership in Germany and Europe. Closer up, ...20 hours ago- New preliminary evidence suggests coronavirus jumped from animals to humans multiple times
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hamish McCallum, Director, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has been hotly debated. This debate has caused substantial difficulties in the Australia-China relationship, with a call by ...20 hours ago- Live updates, September 24: TPM modelling criticised for causing ‘unnecessary fear’
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 23, by Alice Neville. 8.00am: TPM modelling criticised for stoking ‘unnecessary fear’Economic modeller Rodney Jones has continued his criticism of Te Pūnaha Matatini’s modelling of the future of New Zealand’s Covid response, which was presented by Shaun Hendy at yesterday’s 1pm government briefing. ...20 hours ago- The sun’s shining and snakes are emerging, but they’re not out to get you. Here’s what they’...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy N. W. Jackson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Venom Research Unit, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock It’s early spring in southern Australia and the sun is, gloriously, out. You decide to head to your local patch of greenery – by ...20 hours ago- Vital Signs: a simple way to cut carbon emissions — don’t let polluters hide
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Shutterstock World leaders and about 30,000 others from assorted interest groups will converge on Glasgow in November for the United Nations’ 26th annual climate summit, COP26 (“Conference of the Parties”). It will be five ...20 hours ago- Hidden women of history: Annie Lock was a bolshie, outspoken Australian missionary, full of contradi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Bishop, Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University Missionary Annie Lock with Enbarda (Betsy) left, and Dolly Cumming, both children from the Alice Springs area in Central Australia. Photo taken in Darwin. National Archives of Australia Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander readers are ...20 hours ago- What our vaccinated future could look like
Nearly everyone needs a jab to avoid more level four lockdowns, according to the government’s latest research, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.Vaccinations alone won’t be enough to control delta. Jacinda Ardern made the case for near universal vaccination rates yesterday as she unveiled new modelling from Te Pūnaha Matatini that ...21 hours ago- NZ gives vaccine to islands – but needs help reaching its own Pacific peoples
The 712,000 doses are belated but welcome fulfilment of NZ's commitment to more vulnerable neighbouring nations, writes Jonathan Milne. Now NZ must address its own vaccine inequities. Analysis: When Pacific island nations distribute the vaccine to teenagers, the messaging is a little different to that in New Zealand. No, the vaccine will not change ...21 hours ago- Covid-19 vaccination campaign needs to move away from 'one-size-fits-all' approach
Businesses are launching their own vaccination campaigns to reach people they say are being overlooked by the government's messaging. ...21 hours ago- Covid-19 vaccination programme moving away from 'one-size-fits-all' approach
Businesses are launching their own vaccination campaigns to reach people they say are being overlooked by the government's messaging. ...21 hours ago- Five prickly questions: The legal minefield around work and vaccines
Businesses are struggling with what to do around Covid vaccinations in the workforce, with oft-conflicting legislation and little clarity from Government. ...22 hours ago- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 24 September
23 hours ago- Newsroom daily crossword, Friday 24 September
23 hours ago- What is rapid testing and when is it coming to New Zealand?
DIY Covid-19 tests are all the rage overseas but how do they work and are they any good? Mirjam Guesgen finds out.What is rapid testing?Rapid tests are also called antigen tests, RATs (rapid antigen test), at-home tests, lateral flow tests, or self tests.Rapid tests look and work a lot like ...23 hours ago- The beacons and black holes of NZ’s big new mental health plan
A new plan for mental health for the next decade makes for welcome reading. But important questions await, writes community mental health expert Dr Kaaren Mathias.This week Kia Manawanui was unveiled: a new 10-year plan for mental health. Kia manawanui means to be resolute, steadfast and committed and this “action ...23 hours ago- Celebrating the cursed slides of Aotearoa
In a month that saw one of Wellington’s most famous slides finally dismantled, The Spinoff writers remember some of the death-defying structures that have made us who we are. There is no childhood experience quite like getting your ass absolutely handed to you by a slide. Many can relate to the ...23 hours ago- Kiwi physio helped pave the way for women in the NBA
A 'unicorn' when she started with the Golden State Warriors, Kiwi physio Chelsea Lane drove into territory few women had gone before in the NBA. Now she's home to share her skills, she tells Ashley Stanley. Chelsea Lane came back to New Zealand from the United States with more than just ...23 hours ago- Rod Oram: Who I am and what I care about
Columnist Rod Oram prepares for his upcoming trip to Glasgow for the UN summit on climate change by pondering his own life journey and the thinking, people and events that have shaped him ...23 hours ago- New MIQ in Christchurch after Rotorua says no
Te Pāti Māori leads successful opposition to plans for new Covid quarantine facilities in poorly-vaccinated Rotorua Lakes district The good luck needed to land a room in MIQ has long been blamed by the Government on demand versus supply. Responding to allegations back in July that the difficulty travellers have had in ...23 hours ago- Bloomfield wanted 'very high-risk' NZers blocked
A trove of documents reveals new details about the Government's "very high-risk" list. ...23 hours ago- Te Papa casuals want Govt to plug pay loophole
Te Papa casual staff are caught in the cracks of bureaucracy ...23 hours ago- The paths much less travelled
We've used closed borders to explore our own country, but you can love a place to death - there are some places that are not only difficult to get to, but tourism is not encouraged Exploring Aotearoa's wilderness has become the thing to do for many people looking for adventures ...23 hours ago- This week's best-selling books
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 The Last Guests by JP Pomare (Hachette, $34.99) “Cain and Lina Phillips narrate most of the novel. He’s an ex-SAS soldier whose failed business isn’t helping a rocky ...23 hours ago- Chlöe Swarbrick cutting through the 1pm spin
Chlöe Swarbrick is fighting for the unheard voices to make it to the 1pm podium. ...23 hours ago- China's difficult bid to join the Pacific trade deal
The University of Auckland's Manqing Cheng takes a look at the Chinese government's considerations on joining the CPTPP despite domestic opposition Comment: China made a bid to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) last week despite some domestic opposition. The official application to join the 11-nation free ...23 hours ago- Grattan on Friday: After the deal on security, Scott Morrison turns to the shift on climate
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra One is tempted to think Scott Morrison’s hero must be Harry Houdini, the great escape artist. Put our prime minister in a corner, and he will talk his way out, or try to. After President ...1 day ago- Josh Frydenberg prepares ground for Scott Morrison to commit to 2050 climate target
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will prepare the way for Scott Morrison to take a target of net zero emissions by 2050 to Glasgow, when he warns on Friday capital inflow will be at risk if Australia ...1 day ago- Government denies it has failed Māori on Covid
The government is standing by its Covid response for Māori, despite large disparities in both the number of cases and the vaccine rollout. ...1 day ago - Our air defences are down – only some RNZAF aircraft can reach for the sky as Orions are retired
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