Conservation
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The Greens In Real Government in October 2023
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, September 11th, 2023 - 21 comments
What happens if the Green Party gets 10% of the vote and the top 9 get in. And say they get to form a government. What would Greens in Cabinet look like?
Future Green Wins Will Be Hard
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, July 25th, 2023 - 5 comments
It does not mean they are not worth trying; it means they will be fights against entrenched power.
Voting for our lives: protecting the environment from the late capitalism death cult
Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, September 5th, 2022 - 86 comments
Environment Southland gives the ok for intensive farming on the edge of Fiordland National Park. Everyday there’s more news of disastrous decisions being made by people in power. The local body elections in the next month give us one easy and straightforward way to change that.
Greens: Bill to ban mining on conservation land pulled from biscuit tin
Written By: - Date published: 2:37 pm, August 11th, 2022 - 18 comments
Eugenie Sage’s Members Bill has been drawn.
“We call on the Labour Government to back the Bill so it can finally fulfil its promise to ban new mining projects on public conservation land”
Predator Free Rakiura Stewart Island
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, July 9th, 2022 - 39 comments
If anyone’s keen on helping in a globally noteworthy epic conservation project, try the whole of Stewart Island.
Anarchy in the UK
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, July 6th, 2022 - 41 comments
In the United Kingdom Boris Johnson’s government has been brought to its knees because of a sex scandal, surprisingly not one involving himself.
Fisheries reform is under way
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, June 23rd, 2021 - 10 comments
David Parker has shown a deft handling of the Oceans and Fisheries portfolio and in the past week has announced the accelerated roll out of cameras on fishing boats and a suite of actions designed to address the failing health of the Waitemata Harbour.
Well done John Edgar
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, April 10th, 2021 - 11 comments
I’d thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the life of John Edgar, who passed away a few days ago.
Labour’s new Oceans Ministry
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 3rd, 2020 - 23 comments
Jacinda Ardern’s decision to rename the Fisheries Ministery to “Oceans and Fisheries” and install David Parker instead of Stuart Nash shows a welcome desire to protect this most precious of resources.
Labour Increases Protection for Kauri Dieback
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, October 10th, 2020 - 10 comments
In an announcement that will probably gain them few extra votes but still warms the cockles, Labour have promised to put Kauri Dieback on the same scale of national disease response as Bovine Tuberculosis and Kiwifruit PSA.
How has Conservation Fared Under This Government?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 10th, 2020 - 39 comments
I’m going to give this government just 5 out of 10 on the conservation front.
What the Greens did
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 15th, 2020 - 39 comments
A round up of the Green Party’s achievements in the 2020 Budget: funding for nature, the commitment to ending violence, and public housing and insulation. And a look at the pragmatics of what the Greens can currently accomplish.
National’s new conservation policy was previously announced in 2014
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, February 29th, 2020 - 12 comments
National has announced a “new” policy that it previously announced in 2014. And that has already been implemented.
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?
The Middlemarch fire and Dunedin’s water supply
Written By: - Date published: 1:17 pm, November 11th, 2019 - 39 comments
The tussock fire at Middlemarch has impacted Dunedin’s water supply and raises issues about our preparedness for climate change.
Why we save rivers
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, August 29th, 2019 - 47 comments
An application to dam the Waitaha River on the West Coast has been declined. When looking at how to meet human needs, we need to do better than ‘how much can we get away with taking from nature?’
photo – Zak Shaw
What if there were only 34 31 more whitebait harvests left?
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, August 20th, 2019 - 66 comments
If we want to prevent the extinction of whitebait it’s time to stop buying and selling it.
What if we let the wilding pines grow?
Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, August 7th, 2019 - 129 comments
Take a breath, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. In an age of climate breakdown, where reforesting is a critical component of climate mitigation and adaptation, we need to stop cutting down so many trees, and move to forest-based thinking.
A Good Week for Conservation
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, July 15th, 2019 - 10 comments
Three big, bold moves for conserving nature and expanding our awareness of it were announced inn the last week. All of them led by Minister Eugenie Sage.
100% carbon free power generation?
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, June 26th, 2019 - 77 comments
The Interim Climate Change Commission has come out saying that making our electricity generation 100% renewable would be really expensive and that that expense would land on the poor of New Zealand. But the Government has already indicated it could be flexible on the target. ICCC should be helping us plan, not throwing road blocks in the way.
The hard change of forestry
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, May 18th, 2019 - 98 comments
Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.
Is there a middle ground on climate change
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, May 11th, 2019 - 271 comments
It has been reported that US Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is hoping to craft a middle ground position between the extraordinarily strong scientific consensus suggesting we have a climate crisis and the industry supported anti scientific knee jerk opposition to doing anything.
Zero Carbon bill announced
Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, May 8th, 2019 - 40 comments
The Government has announced that the Zero Carbon Bill will have as a goal carbon neutrality by 2050 and the halving of methane emissions by that time.
It’s the end of the world as we know it *
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, May 7th, 2019 - 104 comments
* and I don’t feel fine.
Eugenie Sage vetos vast tailings dump
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, May 6th, 2019 - 72 comments
Green Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage has vetoed Oceania Gold’s attempt to buy a 180-hectare dairy farm to store mining tailings from its Waihi gold mines.
Climate change is this Government’s nuclear free issue
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 1st, 2019 - 50 comments
The results of the Zero Carbon Bill negotiations are due to be announced shortly. This Government has a political imperative to make sure that the final proposal is resolute.
No More Investing In Oil Exploration
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, March 10th, 2019 - 21 comments
Norway’s government has announced it is selling out of oil exploration although it will continue to invest in energy companies that have refineries and are engaged in distribution and retail sales of oil and gas products.
Sage gets the money
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 5th, 2019 - 47 comments
Greens Minister Eugenie Sage deserves praise for securing some solid funding increases for her Conservation portfolio.
The end of tenure review
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, February 15th, 2019 - 29 comments
Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage has ended the policy of tenure review, under which large tracts of land were privatised and onsold for huge profits and sensitive ecological areas wrecked.
$58 billion verses democracy: Bouganville
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, February 14th, 2019 - 5 comments
There’s trouble on the horizon in Bouganville with its government proposing significant changes to its mining law to allow wide scale mining on the island.
Right wing environmental sock puppet party launched
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, February 11th, 2019 - 195 comments
No friends National’s sock puppet party has now been announced.
- The End Of The World.
Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...3 hours ago - Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...18 hours ago - Has There Been External Structural Change?
A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...18 hours ago - Another Labour bully
Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...21 hours ago - Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problemIts that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...22 hours ago
- JERRY COYNE: A good summary of the mess that is science education in New Zealand
JERRY COYNE writes – If you want to see what the government of New Zealand is up to with respect to science education, you can’t do better than listening to this video/slideshow by two exponents of the “we-need-two-knowledge-systems” view. I’ve gotten a lot of scary stuff from Kiwi ...23 hours ago - Good news on the GDP front is accompanied by news of a $5m govt boost for Supercars (but what about ...
Buzz from the Beehive First, we were treated to the news (from Finance Minister Grant Robertson) that the economy has turned a corner and New Zealand never was in recession. This was triggered by statistics which showed the economy expanded 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, twice as much as ...1 day ago - The Scafetta Saga
It has taken 17 months to get a comment published pointing out the obvious errors in the Scafetta (2022) paper in GRL. Back in March 2022, Nicola Scafetta published a short paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) purporting to show through ‘advanced’ means that ‘all models with ECS > ...1 day ago - Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
TL;DR: In the middle of a climate emergency and in a city prone to earthquakes, Victoria University of Wellington announced yesterday it would stop teaching geophysics, geographic information science and physical geography to save $22 million a year and repay debt. Climate change damage in Aotearoa this year is already ...1 day ago - CHRIS TROTTER: Calling the big dog’s bluffFor nearly thirty years the pundits have been telling the minor parties that they must be good little puppies and let the big dogs decide. The parties with a plurality of the votes cast must be allowed to govern – even if that means ignoring the ...1 day ago
- The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
Another poll, another 27 for Labour. It was July the last time one of the reputable TV company polls had Labour's poll percentage starting with a three, so the limbo question is now being asked: how low can you go?It seems such an unlikely question because this doesn't feel like the kind ...1 day ago - A Womance, and a Nomance.
After the trench warfare of Tuesday night, when the two major parties went head to head, last night was the turn of the minor parties. Hosts Newshub termed it “the Powerbrokers' Debate”.Based on the latest polls the four parties taking part - ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and Te ...1 day ago - When The Internet Rushes To Your Defense
Hi,You can’t make this stuff up.People involved with Sound of Freedom, the QAnon-infused movie about anti-child trafficker Tim Ballard, are dropping like flies. I won’t ruin your day by describing it here, but Vice reports that footage has emerged of executive producer Paul Hutchinson being inappropriate with a 16-year-old trafficking ...1 day ago - Doubts about Robertson’s good news day
The trading banks yesterday concluded that though GDP figures released yesterday show the economy is not in recession, it may well soon be. Nevertheless, the fact that GDP has gone up 0.8 per cent in the latest quarter and that StatsNZ revised the previous quarter’s figure to show a ...1 day ago - The Votes That Media Dare Not Speak Its Name
.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..A recent political opinion poll (20 September) on TV1 presented what could only be called bleak news for the Left Bloc:National: 37%, down two points equating to 46 seatsLabour: 27%, down one point (34 ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38 2023Open access notables At our roots Skeptical Science is about cognition of the results of climate science research in the minds of the entire human population. Ideally we'd be perfectly communicating understanding of Earth's climate, and perfectly understood. We can only approximate that, but hopefully converging closer to perfection. With ...2 days ago
- Failing To Hold Back The Flood: The Edgy Politics of the Twenty-First Century.
Coming Over The Top: Rory Stewart's memoir, Politics On The Edge, lays bare the dangerous inadequacies of the Western World's current political model.VERY FEW NEW ZEALANDERS will have heard of Rory Stewart. Those with a keen eye for the absurdities of politics may recognise the name as that of the ...2 days ago - Pick this Chris, you get the Greens. Pick the other one you get Seymour.
A bit of a narrative has been building that these two guys, your Chris and your Chris, are not so very different.It's true to a point. The bread and butter timidity has been dispiriting to watch, if you have a progressive disposition. It does leave the two of them relatively ...2 days ago - RICHARD PREBBLE: Who won the Leaders’ debate?Richard Prebble writes – There was a knockout winner of the Leaders’ debate. Check for yourself. Recall how they looked. If you cannot remember or missed it, the debate is on TVNZ’s website. Turn off the sound and ask: “Which one looks like a Prime Minister?” ...2 days ago
- Thursday's Chorus: GDP up an extra 33c per person per weekJust like National when it was in government, Labour bought nominal GDP growth and momentum by pulling as hard as it could on the population lever. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Stats NZ has reported better-than-expected GDP growth in the June quarter, thanks largely to record-high net migration of ...2 days ago
- Climate Change: National’s policy for failureWe already know that the National Party are de facto climate change deniers who want to reverse virtually all climate change policy. So how do they think they'll cut emissions? According to their climate change spokesperson, polluting corporations will do it out of the goodness of their hearts: The ...2 days ago
- NZ’s big dairy company reports a massive profit jump – but the lobby group Greenpeace doesn’...
Dairy farmers, or at least those who are also shareholders in the Fonterra dairy co-operative would have received a second dose of good news this week, when the dairy giant reported a massive profit jump. This followed news of a better sale at the Fonterra GDT auction this week. Net ...2 days ago - Big issues out of the mouths of giant babes
A longtime New Zealand broadcaster and commentator is taking a theatrical turn in advance of the General Election to draw different kinds of attention to the issues New Zealanders will be voting on in October.In a pre-election event that invites audiences to consider New Zealand politics through a theatrical lens ...2 days ago - That new hospital which Labour is promising – is it the same one which Sepuloni mentioned in May ...Our busy ministers – desperately busy trying to whip up voters’ support as their poll support sags, among other things – have added just one item of news to the government’s official website over the past 24 hours or so. It’s the news that the Government has accepted the Environment ...2 days ago
- Queenstown was keeping rates lowOn Monday, we learned that Queenstown, one of the country's largest tourist destinations, suddenly had to boil its water to avoid cryptosporidium. Now, it looks like it will last for months. Why? The usual reason: they'd been keeping rates low: Queenstown could face months of having to boil water ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on chaotic coalitions, drinking water and useless debatesThis week’s ONE News-Verian poll had the National/ACT coalition teetering on the edge of being able to govern alone while – just as precariously – having its legislative agenda vulnerable to a potential veto by Winston Peters in the House. So close, but so perilous. During the run-up to election ...2 days ago
- An ill windNational Leader Christopher Luxon likes to bag the way the Resource Management Act worked. Though it has been repealed and replaced by the Labour government, Luxon plans, before Christmas, to repeal the new legislation and, for the foreseeable future, revert to the old Act that he has consistently criticised. ...2 days ago
- Further Adventures with Martin the Chess Bot
Earlier this month, I had a bit of fun with Chess.com’s worst AI, the one and only Martin Bot: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/09/02/nine-queens-against-martin-chess-hilarity/ Well, in the past few days, I’ve achieved a trio of notable personal firsts against Martin. I thought I would record them in the morbid interests of ...3 days ago - The Inflation Reduction Act is reducing U.S. reliance on ChinaThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Over a year later, its climate provisions remain a hot topic. The law’s proponents argue that it’s created a boom in domestic manufacturing jobs within the United States while paving ...3 days ago
- Relief for dairy farmers – and the NZ economy – as prices rise again at latest GDT auctionNew Zealand’s dairy farmers will be relieved that prices rose for the second time this month at the latest Fonterra GDT auction. The encouraging feature of the sale was the activity of Chinese buyers who drove up prices. As a result, the GDT price index rose 4.6%, helped by a 4.6% lift ...3 days ago
- Democracy McNuggets
Here is a review of last night’s Democracy McNuggets debate, delivered in the style of last night's Democracy McNuggets debate.McNugget #1This format was very advantageous for the man who speaks in lazy SLAM DUNK.To hark back a few editions: The lazy SLAM DUNK doesn’t bother to make its case. It simply offers ...3 days ago - A Forced Pause.
Unfortunately I will need to take a bit of time off from this blog. After months of misdiagnoses and a change in GPs, my precious son is in Starship Hospital about to have major surgery. He already has had one … Continue reading ...3 days ago - Better-than-expected BoP figures give Robertson something to bray about – but revisions helped, a...Buzz from the Beehive Source: ANZ The latest balance of payments statistics – providing a broad measure of what the country earns and spends internationally – gave grist to Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s publicity mill today. The current account deficit narrowed to 7.5 per cent of ...3 days ago
- Dirty dairy corrupts our democracyThe planning process under the RMA is meant to be one of public consultation: the council prepares a plan, and we all get to have a say on it. But it turns out that in Otago, the dirty dairying industry has been trying to rewrite the new land and water ...3 days ago
- Calling The Big Dog’s Bluff.3 days ago
- Climate Change: “Offsets” aren’tSince we began worrying about climate change, the market fundamentalists have pushed the idea of "offsets" rather than actual emissions reductions. There's just one atmosphere after all, so in theory it doesn't matter where the reductions are made, so you can just pay someone on the other side of the ...3 days ago
- GRAHAM ADAMS: Is Ardern a liability for Labour?Ministers are pretending the former PM has simply vanished. Graham Adams writes – Late last week, Tova O’Brien asked Grant Robertson on her Stuff podcast if Jacinda Ardern should be “rolled out” to “galvanise the base” to help save Labour’s faltering campaign. Robertson laughed. ”I’m sure for ...3 days ago
- Wednesday’s Chorus: Biggest insurer starts targeted climate retreatOwners of property deemed at risk from climate change related floods and rising sea levels will increasingly find their access to affordable insurance shut off. Some may become ‘prisoners’ in their uninsurable and therefore unbankable homes. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: IAG, which insures more than 60% of homes ...3 days ago
- Chris vs Chris.
So it’s kind of obligatory to start with the boxing analogy…In the red corner, you’ll know him from his red hair and his red heart, the champion of achievable socialism, weighing in when given the opportunity - it’s Chris.And fighting out of the blue corner, you’ll know him from his ...3 days ago - Hipkins – Luxon stalemateLast night’s TVOne debate may well reinforce the idea that the minor parties will determine this election. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon ended their one-and-a-half hours with Luxon probably slightly ahead, though a stalemate might be a more realistic assessment. But there was nothing of ...3 days ago
- At a glance – Do volcanoes emit more CO2 than humans?On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...4 days ago
- This little bald fellow, is he your god?
4 days ago - Bryce Edwards: A Very hollow election
The 2023 general election campaign must be the most hollow in living memory. There really isn’t much that is positive or attractive about the electoral options on offer. This is an election without inspiration. An angry mood for change There is a definite cyncism amongst the public right now – ...4 days ago - NZ’s external deficit close to record levels – so why aren’t the politicians talking about i...As New Zealand confronts a near-record current account deficit few, if any, of the country’s politicians are talking about it or the underlying problems. NZ’s external deficit is expected to continue narrowing, but at a slower pace than forecast a few months ago. Data out this week is expected ...4 days ago
- Delirious Hatred: The Dystopic Tendencies of Twenty-First Century Progressivism.Fighting Mad: That which Twenty-First Century progressives most feared, Twenty-First Century progressivism has become. No one old enough to have experienced the emancipatory power of true progressivism: in the factory or on the streets; in the university quad or in the “old school” newsroom; could possibly vote for the parties ...4 days ago
- Midwives pay equity proposal at last is posted on the Beehive website – but not, yet, the good new...Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Someone in the Beehive has posted a ministerial announcement, the first since Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta last Thursday announced New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco. It is somewhat stale news, dated 15 September 2023. It was ...4 days ago
- Tuesday’s Chorus: Landlords lick their lips4 days ago
- MICHAEL BASSETT: Our media still don’t get it* Michael Bassett writes – If Labour ministers and our left-leaning media knew more about New Zealand’s political history they would stop giving so much publicity to National’s tax-cut plans, ill-advised though they might be. The attacks are only increasing the likelihood that National will be elected. In one ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on National’s (lack of) plans for El NinoDebate time: In contrast to most debates, political debates aren’t simply about winning on points of logic, but are also about looking likeable on television – which is why good political debaters often have to pull their punches on TV, lest they seem unkind to dumb animals. Chris Hipkins is ...4 days ago
- Climate change is destroying reefs, but the effects are more than ecologicalThis article by Michele Currie Navakas Professor of English, Miami University is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Aug. 30, 2023, bringing surging seas and winds over 100 mph. Meanwhile, another climate emergency has been unfolding along ...4 days ago
- Electorate Watch: Hamilton East.
Before New Zealand changed to MMP in 1996 there was a lot more interest in certain local contests. First past the post elections were won and lost in key marginal electorate battles, rendering the votes of those in safe seats largely obsolete.These days local contests have little impact on the ...4 days ago - Luxon moderatesBoth National and ACT are starting to back off some of their hardline positions on tax and spending. And finally, National leader Christopher Luxon has softened his stance on doing a deal with Winston Peters and NZ First. Their moves are subtle and wrapped up in sound-byte-friendly media standup ...4 days ago
- Mate, it's a 2 billion dollar hole and you are just chock full of it
In Art, we find meaning.From Art, we draw deeper understanding of what the hell it’s all about.Kindly now mute your cellphones and please remain behind the velvet ropes as we move through the gallery.She might be contemplating a secret, she might be enjoying a private joke. Perhaps she is simply ...5 days ago - Mate, it's a 2 billion dollar hole and you are just chock full of itIn Art, we find meaning.From Art, we draw deeper understanding of what the hell it’s all about.Kindly now mute your cellphones and please remain behind the velvet ropes as we move through the gallery.She might be contemplating a secret, she might be enjoying a private joke. Perhaps she is simply ...5 days ago
- A pallid shade of Green IILast month, the Greens introduced their clean power policy, promising loans and grants to upgrade homes to add solar panels and be energy efficient. Two weeks ago Labour released their response - a weak "pilot scheme" of energy efficiency grants, which I described as a pallid shade of Green. Today, ...5 days ago
- National’s cooker problemThe right has a problem with brainwormed conspiracy theorists. They've thoroughly infiltrated NZFirst and ACT, and now it seems they've infiltrated National as well: The National Party candidate favoured to win the Hamilton East electorate held views directly opposed to the party's leader on fluoridation of water and vaccine ...5 days ago
- CHRIS TROTTER: Act’s message – cheerfully libertarian? Or, radically right-wing?Pushed by the need for votes, Act’s leader, David Seymour, like Richard Prebble before him, has reached out to the dark side of the New Zealand electorate. Much as he would prefer to pull in support on the strength of Act’s sunny libertarianism, there just ain’t enough Eighteenth Century liberals ...5 days ago
- Govt found $1m for humanitarian support after Moroccan earthquake – but what about the victims of ...Buzz from the Beehive Again, no news has been posted on the government’s official website over the past 24 hours. Indeed, no news has been posted since Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta last Thursday announced New Zealand would be providing $1 million humanitarian support to Morocco to those affected by ...5 days ago
- BRIAN EASTON: What is PREFU 2023 really telling us?Despite the headlines, things are not much worse than at the time of the 2023 budget, but fiscal management is always difficult. Brian Easton writes- The Treasury is required by law to publish a Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) a few weeks before a general election, ...5 days ago
- Monday’s Chorus: National's tax hole widens to $2.44b5 days ago
- The Mayor and the Auckland Manifesto
Once upon a time, manifestos were a key feature of the election period, arriving in letterboxes in solid printed form, and full of details of what each party proposed to do and why. These days, we get a little pledge card with a few bullet points on it. So it’s interesting ...5 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: Who will be New Zealand’s next foreign minister?Change is coming. A shakeup of the ministers responsible for New Zealand’s international relations seems almost guaranteed, irrespective of the country’s election result on October 14. Coalition politics are likely to play a key role in appointments related to foreign affairs. On current opinion polling, a government led by the ...5 days ago
- Not since the depression have we seen a proposal like thisACT leader David Seymour has declared war on the public service with his promise to sack 15,000 of them. This is probably four times more than National want given the boot under its promise to cut all budgets by 6.5 per cent. But Seymour may have got a foretaste ...5 days ago
- Of Golf Balls and War Spoils: The One Ring and Property Law Squabbles
It has been a while since I engaged in meaty Tolkien analysis, so I deem it time to delve into one of the most pressing issues of our age. Namely, the vexed property law issues governing the One Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. I was prompted to offer some ...6 days ago - “Thanks for attending the job interview process Mr Luxon… we’ve some more questions though?”
We, the public, are making a hiring decision. That’s what this is. As silly as it is to have things like those utterly infernal “Most preferred Prime Minister” polls, largely an outcome of the “presidential style” of politics that has no basis in our system because we simply do ...6 days ago - Russell Brand Screams “Conspiracy” To Avoid Rape Allegations
Hi,Webworm was birthed over three years ago, as New Zealand went into its first Covid lockdown. Back then I wrote a lot about the conspiratorial madness that erupted from the sewers, the world very quickly becoming infected with brain worms. I have all those Webworms archived here, for anyone interested.As ...6 days ago - My Sunday Pick ’n’ Mix for Sept 17
6 days ago - Up the Wahs!
“Suppose big ‘ol Luxon will be there”, said my middle lad Johnny, watching the game with me.“Doubt it”, I replied, remembering John Key being soundly booed at games in the past. “League is a working man’s game, West Auckland, South Auckland, this is Labour territory”.Getty images.It’s true. I remember the ...6 days ago - Do you wish to continue?
I always smile when my supermarket checkout offers me a moment of existential angst. Do you wish to continue? a kindly woman’s voice asks, meaning: you're standing in front of a card-only machine and cash money’s no good here.Do you wish to continue? What’s not to like about some Hamlet ...6 days ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 10, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 16, 2023. Story of the Week Humans Have Crossed 6 of 9 ‘Planetary Boundaries’ Scientists analyzed nine so-called planetary boundaries and found humans are currently ...6 days ago
- Act’s Message: Cheerfully Libertarian? Or, Radically Right-Wing?Mr Pushmepullyou: Pushed by the need for votes, Act's leader, David Seymour, like Richard Prebble before him, has reached out to the dark side of the New Zealand electorate. Much as he would prefer to pull in support on the strength of Act's sunny libertarianism, there just ain't enough Eighteenth ...7 days ago
- Socialist Equality Group is bothered by Māori Party thinking on racial superiority – but it oppos...Buzz from the Beehive Your Point of Order writers, again starved of news when they visited the government’s official website this morning, found something fascinating while surfing the worldwide web. Our attention was drawn to a TVNZ interview last Sunday, when Rawiri Waititi, co-leader of the Māori Party defended the ...7 days ago
- The Kākā Project: An interview with ACT's David Seymour about housing
TL;DR: I interviewed ACT Leader David Seymour this week after the party released its housing policy1, which includes:an aim to build 51,000 new houses a year, which relies on a migration forecast of around 28,000 per year (there was 96,200 net migration in the year to the end of July);sharing ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to Sept 16Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Treasury published the Pre Election Fiscal Update (PREFU) on Tuesday, including a one-year delay in Labour returning ...1 week ago
- Willy, Molly, Mandy, and Brooke.
“Can you guys hear me?”, said Nicola, feeling her body shrink into the corner of the sofa.She moved her head, which for some reason turned incredibly slowly. Her eyes took even longer to follow.A man was sitting at the far end of the sofa with one foot resting on the ...1 week ago
- Climate future of communities on the line this election
Green Party co leader James Shaw attended a South Dunedin Future street meeting today to discuss local responses to climate change. ...2 hours ago - Green Party calls for stronger action by Auckland Council to protect urban trees and native forestThe Green Party is calling on Auckland Council to do more to protect urban trees and housing developer Aedifice Property Group to restore and replant the native forest it cleared, and protect all the remaining trees on Ngahere Road in Pukekohe after a significant number of native trees were cut ...1 day ago
- Release: Ram Raids drop to two-year low
Latest Police data shows monthly ram raids have hit a two-year low, laying waste to Christopher Luxon’s false claim that there are two ram raids a day says Labour’s Police Spokesperson Ginny Andersen. ...1 day ago - Every party needs to step up on school lunchesLabour has finally said it would continue free school lunches - and the Green Party is calling on every party to step up. ...1 day ago
- Release: School lunches on the line this electionFree and healthy school lunches will be here to stay if Labour is re-elected, guaranteeing food for our kids who need it most and significant cost saving for parents. ...1 day ago
- Release: Labour commits to a new hospital for the people of Hawke’s BayThe next Labour Government will build a new hospital in Hawke’s Bay, Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall announced. ...2 days ago
- Govt changes fall short of what’s needed for migrant protectionThe Green Party will keep up the fight to support exploited migrant workers, including pushing to end single employer visas, after the government picked up Green recommendations to improve immigration settings. ...3 days ago
- Clean Power Payment the smartest way forward to reduce emissions and billsGreen Party co leader James Shaw visited a home in Auckland today that has been upgraded with a wide range of energy improvements, similar to those that would be supported through the Green Party’s Clean Power Payment. ...3 days ago
- Foreign Minister's Action – A Contempt For “Caretaker Government” Convention
The Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s presence in New York today at the United Nations General Assembly is a contempt of New Zealand’s “caretaker government” convention. Despite the long-standing caretaker convention, Minister Mahuta is today at the UN to sign a highly contentious “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement”, delivering a ...3 days ago - Back To Black ResponsiblyThe Pre-Election Fiscal Update Changes Everything Within an hour of this speech there is going to be a debate between the political parties that the media, under MMP, still think are the only parties that matter in this campaign. Both of those parties are riddled with inexperience, as evidenced by ...3 days ago
- Stop the cuts before they start – Labour launches new TV adNational and ACT's tax plans don't add up, and that means deep cuts to the public services New Zealanders rely on, says Labour Campaign Chair Megan Woods. ...4 days ago
- Free school lunches paid for with a wealth taxThe Green Party will expand free school lunches and pay for it with a fair tax system. ...4 days ago
- The Pacific Reset & the Blue ContinentThank you for your invitation to speak with you this afternoon about New Zealand Foreign Policy. After offering one or two general thoughts about the nature of foreign policy, the focus today will be the Pacific Reset and why its goals remain even more important today as when they were ...5 days ago
- Release: Huge hole in National’s climate budgetNational’s plan to cut policies that are reducing New Zealand’s climate emissions will result in a huge gap in the country’s emissions budgets and could see Kiwis paying significantly more at the petrol pump as a result of Christopher Luxon hiking the ETS price. ...5 days ago
- Greens would push Labour much further on solar powerLabour’s plan to support rooftop solar is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what could be achieved through the Green Party’s Clean Power Payment. ...5 days ago
- Release: Doubling rooftop solar to reduce bills & emissionsLabour will double the number of houses with rooftop solar in New Zealand, lowering household power bills, reducing emissions and boosting renewable electricity generation. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will advance women’s health, careers, and legal protectionsA re-elected Labour Government will continue its proud tradition of advancing women’s health, employment, and legal rights Spokesperson for Women Jan Tinetti said. ...6 days ago
- Green Party confirms plan for five weeks annual leaveSpeaking at the E Tū Election Launch in Auckland today, Green Party co leader Marama Davidson outlined the Green Party’s manifesto commitment to ensure everyone has five weeks of annual leave. ...7 days ago
- Release: Labour to keep lifting worker wages and rightsA re-elected Labour Government will protect hard-fought workers’ rights and keep the momentum on wage growth to lift incomes for all New Zealanders, leader Chris Hipkins announced today. ...1 week ago
- New Zealand First Party List 2023New Zealand First is proud to announce the Party List for the upcoming 2023 General Election. We have had a great number of applicants and potential candidates moving through the selection process over the past few months. Our final selection for our list proves we have a wide range ...1 week ago
- A National/ACT Government would make life miserable for those already worst offOnly a party vote for the Greens will end poverty. ACT’S welfare policy announced today is as cruel as it gets. ...1 week ago
- Release: Willis’ resignation call means only one thing – $2 billion more cutsMassive cuts to public service are on the cards as Nicola Willis has promised to resign if she doesn’t deliver tax cuts but is refusing to make the same commitment if she doesn’t raise enough income from her bungled foreign buyer’s tax. ...1 week ago
- Release: A faster justice system focused on victimsLabour will help more victims of crime achieve justice faster by introducing a formal class-action regime, modernising consent laws and increasing the use of technology to speed up hearings. ...1 week ago
- Release: Gaping hole confirmed in National’s tax planA whopping $2.1 billion dollar hole has been confirmed in National’s tax scheme in a new report released today. ...1 week ago
- Labour pledges biggest ever increase to training DoctorsLabour will deliver the largest ever increase to the number of doctors trained each year, adding an additional 335 doctors a year to our health workforce from 2027, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins has announced. ...1 week ago
- PREFU Exposes Political PromisesToday’s PREFU has some alarming statistics showing an economy deteriorating and the cost of unaffordable government expenditure, mainly in the 2022 and 2023 budgets. Despite this alarming economic and fiscal picture, political parties are making unaffordable promises, talking about a surplus by 2027, or four years time, all of which ...2 weeks ago
- State of books makes clear case for wealth taxThe case for a wealth tax has never been stronger. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour pledges free cervical screeningIf re-elected Labour will make cervical screening services free to all women and people with a cervix aged 25 – 69 years, delivering better cancer care for over 1.4 million New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins sets out 9 key pledges to New ZealandLabour Leader Chris Hipkins has set out nine key pledges to be achieved in his first full term as Prime Minister. ...2 weeks ago
- Labour's Plan 2023Labour is running a positive, forward-looking campaign that's focused on fixing the cost of living, keeping people and communities safe and investing in education, health and housing. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Coalition of Cuts and Chaos would be NZ’s most unstable governmentStatements from David Seymour and Winston Peters have called into question whether National would be able to lead a functional government if they were in a position to do so after the election. ...2 weeks ago
- Healthy Ocean Act – Marama Davidson SpeechHe mōhio ō tātou tīpuna ki te tirotiro taiao. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens will demand Minister for Oceans and Fisheries to lead ocean rescue planThe Green Party will protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, create an independent Ocean Commission to advise the government, and put a Green Minister for Oceans and Fisheries in charge of making it happen. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National's dodgy tax scheme couldn't be done – according to John KeyNational's shaky tax scheme has received a further blow after it’s been revealed that John Key received advice when he was Prime Minister that the scheme being proposed by National couldn’t be done, Labour Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson says. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: No new funding, no timelines – National’s empty housing policyThe National Party’s housing policy is vacant; with no new funding and no timelines attached to its delivery says Labour Housing Spokesperson Megan Woods. ...2 weeks ago
- Bills lower, climate happier under Green Party planLabour’s announcement of an energy rebate is a step in the right direction, but the Greens’ Clean Power Payment would do much more for households. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Household rebates for energy efficient homes under LabourA re-elected Labour Government will help Kiwi households to be more energy efficient and reduce emissions from household energy use, Labour Spokesperson for Building and Construction and Energy and Resources, Megan Woods, announced today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour will deliver largest Police service in historyA Labour Government will deliver a further increase of 300 additional frontline Police officers, new ways to crackdown on gangs and strengthen legal protections against stalking and harassment. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens welcome launch of Te Ohu Tāmaki and challenges other parties on housingThe Green Party is welcoming the launch of Te Ohu Tāmaki, and affirms its commitment to clear the social housing waitlist in 5 years - and challenges other parties to say they will do the same. ...2 weeks ago
- National put climate action into reverse gearThe National Party’s plan to install EV chargers while at the same time making it harder for people to buy an EV is bizarre and ridiculous. ...2 weeks ago
- Immigration settings updates
Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...8 hours ago - Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga HohepaTangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...20 hours ago
- COVID-19 funding returned to GovernmentThe lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...22 hours ago
- Appointment of District Court JudgeSusie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today. Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...1 day ago
- Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilienceThe Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...2 days ago
- Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-upAnother $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...2 days ago
- Taupō Supercars revs up with Government supportThe future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...2 days ago
- There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarterThe economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...2 days ago
- Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springsThe Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today. “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...2 days ago
- More support for victims of migrant exploitationTemporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...3 days ago
- Strong export boost as NZ economy turns cornerAn export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...3 days ago
- Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te KarakaThe Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...3 days ago
- Further business support for cyclone-affected regionsThe Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...3 days ago
- New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underwayDefence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...3 days ago
- Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General AssemblyForeign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...4 days ago
- Midwives’ pay equity offer reachedAround 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...1 week ago
- New Zealand provides support to MoroccoAotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...1 week ago
- Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilienceThe Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...1 week ago
- Government invests in Greymouth’s futureThe Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...1 week ago
- Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ MeetingForeign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...1 week ago
- PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflationEconomy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...2 weeks ago
- New cancer centre opens in ChristchurchPrime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...2 weeks ago
- Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience$12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...2 weeks ago
- New Wildlife Act to better protect native speciesThe 70-year-old Wildlife Act will be replaced with modern, fit-for-purpose legislation to better protect native species and improve biodiversity, Minister of Conservation Willow-Jean Prime has announced. “New species legislation is urgently needed to address New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis,” Willow-Jean Prime said. “More than 4,000 of our native species are currently ...2 weeks ago
- Further safety initiatives for Auckland City CentreCentral and Local Government are today announcing a range of new measures to tackle low-level crime and anti-social behaviour in the Auckland CBD to complement Police scaling up their presence in the area. “Police have an important role to play in preventing and responding to crime, but there is more ...2 weeks ago
- Govt confirms additional support for Enabling Good LivesThe Government has confirmed $73.7 million over the next four years and a further $40.5m in outyears to continue to transform the disability support system, Minister for Disability Issues Priyanca Radhakrishnan has announced. “The Enabling Good Lives (EGL) approach is a framework which guides positive change for disabled people, ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand gets AAA credit rating from S&PStandard and Poor’s is the latest independent credit rating agency to endorse the Government’s economic management in the face of a deteriorating global economy. S&P affirmed New Zealand’s long term local currency rating at AAA and foreign currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook. It follows Fitch affirming New ...2 weeks ago
- Appointment of Environment Court JudgeChristchurch barrister Kelvin Reid has been appointed as a Judge of the Environment Court and the District Court, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Mr Reid has extensive experience in Resource Management Act issues, including water quality throughout the South Island. He was appointed to the Technical Advisory Group advising the ...2 weeks ago
- NZ’s biggest ever emissions reduction project hits milestoneNew Zealand is on track to have greener steel as soon as 2026 with New Zealand Steel’s electric arc furnace project reaching a major milestone today. The Government announced a conditional partnership with New Zealand Steel in May to deliver the country’s largest emissions reduction project to date. Half of ...2 weeks ago
- Poroporoaki: Paki Leslie Māngai NikoraPokia ana te tihi Taiarahia e Hine-Pūkohu-rangi Hotu kau ana te manawa! Horahia ana te whārua o Ruātoki e te kapua pouri Tikaro rawahia ko te whatumanawa! Rere whakamuri kau ana te awa o Hinemataroa Ki te kawe i te rongo ki te mātāpuna i nga pōngaihu Maungapōhatu, tuohu ...2 weeks ago
- 50,000 charges laid in crack down on gangsPolice Minister Ginny Andersen has today congratulated Police in their efforts to crack down on gangs, after laying 50,000 charges against gang members and their associates through the hugely successful Operation Cobalt. As at 31 August, Police have: Laid 50,396 criminal charges against gang members and their associates Issued 64,524 ...2 weeks ago
- Farmers and cyclone-affected properties supported with tax rule changesThe Government has confirmed details of the tax changes to the bright-line test for cyclone-damaged properties, with the release of the required legislative amendments. Revenue Minister Barbara Edmonds has released a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to be considered by the Finance and Expenditure Committee in the next Parliament, as it ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand wins CPTPP dispute against CanadaMinister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor has welcomed the CPTPP Panel’s ruling in favour of New Zealand in our dispute against Canada, a significant win for our primary sector exporters. The Panel found that Canada’s dairy quota administration is inconsistent with its obligations under the Comprehensive and Progressive ...2 weeks ago
- New intensive turnaround programme launched to break the cycle of offendingThe next phase of the Government’s response to youth crime is underway, with an intensive programme for the country’s most prolific young offenders launched today in Auckland, Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said. The programme, announced by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in July, will see up to 60 recidivist young ...3 weeks ago
- Government extends report date for COVID inquiryThe Government has agreed to a request from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 for extra three months to deliver its final report. The Royal Commission was established in 2022 to strengthen New Zealand’s preparedness for any future pandemics. It was originally due to conclude mid-2024. “The Commission has ...3 weeks ago
- Wainuiomata school property upgrade making great progressThe Wainuiomata High School redevelopment is making great progress, with two more classroom blocks set to be complete by the end of the month, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The Prime Minister visited today to see first-hand the progress of the redevelopment which is continuing at pace and is ...3 weeks ago
- Work in progress for PNG’s medical school – fast-tracked after protest
By Grace Salmang in Port Moresby Reconstruction and renovation work for dormitories, laboratories, mess and tutorial rooms is currently underway at the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This is following a sit-in protest a week ago by students led by Student’s Representative Council (SRC) ...46 mins ago - RWC2023: Boffelli lifts Pumas to win as Manu Samoa rues lost chancesBy Iliesa Tora, RNZ Pacific sports journalist in Saint-Étienne, France Argentinian winger Emiliano Boffelli scored all his team’s points as they defeated Manu Samoa 19-10 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, France, yesterday in a Rugby World Cup pool D match. That gave the Pumas their first win at the ...2 hours ago
- National announces new parent visa category
The new multiple entry parent visa category would be valid for five years and could be renewed for a further five years. ...2 hours ago - Disappointing the past and failing the future
This essay by Emma Ng is from the book Present Tense: Wāhine Toi Aotearoa – A Paper Record, edited by Catherine Griffiths. It’s part of a wider project of posters which aim to ‘record the current landscape of women in design and give visibility to the unsung diversity of Aotearoa design’. ...3 hours ago - Election 2023: All the latest developments on 23 SeptemberThe Labour Party and National Party are both open to reversing a ban on over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine, proposed by the ACT Party. ...4 hours ago
- ‘I could not hand my keys over’: Katrina Hobbs on why she loves House Rules NZThe House Rules NZ judge talks Tip Top, The Traitors and why she’ll never watch The Kardashians. Katrina Hobbs might be a judge on House Rules NZ, but there’s little chance she’d leave her home in the hands of complete strangers. “I’ve got to confess, when I first read about ...4 hours ago
- Short story of a Labour candidate
"I’m as born an optimist as Chippy himself": Vincent O'Sullivan imagines a Labour Party candidate, essentially campaigning for themselves with a snowball's chance in hell I was born the week Norman Kirk, that Leviathan of Labour, died. It is obvious Nature intends me to follow in his wake. ...7 hours ago - VOTE2023: Q&A with Ingrid Leary and Ben Peters
In this week's episode of VOTE2023, we talk to Labour MP for Taieri Ingrid Leary and TOP Dunedin candidate Dr Ben Peters on key issues including political representation, climate change, and tax This series is made by politics students and aims to entertain and inform viewers about their potential representatives ...7 hours ago - The Week in Detail: From Tarras airport to the 'wasted vote' myth
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, a new proposal to burn the South Island's rubbish problem away, the bluster behind parties' fiscal talk, the dispute over the Tarras Airport development, how strategic voting in a general election really works, and tiny Naseby's pitch to become ...7 hours ago - Transom's times come again
One of the country’s top swimmers is to trial for the NZ team for the first time since 2017. This time she could qualify for the Paris Olympics in multiple events. Dave Crampton reports. In February 2020 Laticia Transom was one of New Zealand’s top freestyle swimmers. She would have ...7 hours ago - Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) Candidates Hit the Campaign Trail Nationwide
Animal Justice Party Aotearoa NZ (AJP) candidates will be on the campaign trail this weekend across the country spreading their message of compassion and advocating for animals across New Zealand. Registered just last month, AJP has swiftly assembled ...8 hours ago - Their house, my garden: My war with the landlordsIn the first instalment of a new column about gardening while renting, a planter box is vetoed, the rent is raised, and the value of dirt is brought into question. Last summer, we barely got one tomato and three beans out of the garden. Everything, weather-wise, went wrong, but mostly ...8 hours ago
- A portrait of Lorde as a teenage pop prodigyA decade ago The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive spent three months shadowing Lorde as she became a star, a period which started with ‘Royals’ as a local chart topper and ended with her as a global pop phenomenon. He was given unparalleled access across dozens of meetings, shows, studio sessions, ...8 hours ago
- A country for old men
Winston Peters plays to his strengths in the Act Party heartland of Remuera, less than 24 hours after calling its local MP his “imitator” In 1996 at the age of 11, a motorised toy car I was driving on stage in a school play inexplicably cut out. No one was coming to ...8 hours ago - Long Read: Make voting sexy again
This is The Detail's Long Read – one in-depth story read by us every weekend. This week, it's a Make Voting Sexy Again, written and read aloud here by Nadine Anne Hura, and published on The Spinoff. Nadine joins The Detail's Alexia Russell to discuss why she felt compelled to write about New Zealand's clutch ...8 hours ago - View from The Hill: We can’t prepare for a future pandemic without fully looking at state governme...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra arly a year ago, a privately financed inquiry, led by Peter Shergold, a former head of the prime minister’s department, undertook an inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID pandemic. The report, Fault ...14 hours ago
- NZ election 2023: From ‘pebble in the shoe’ to future power broker – the rise and rise of Te P...ANALYSIS: By Annie Te One, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington In his maiden speech to Parliament in 2020, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi told his fellow MPs: You know what it feels like to have a pebble in your shoe? That will be my job ...16 hours ago
- Will taxing short stays boost long-term rental supply? Other policies would achieve moreSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Phibbs, Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney The Victorian government, like many governments around the world, has announced new regulations on short-stay accommodation. The government says Victoria has more than 36,000 short-stay places, which are reducing the number of homes available for ...17 hours ago
- Act wants over-the-counter pseudoephedrine back
Act’s released policy platform aimed at senior citizens would also rescind restrictions on a chemical used to make methamphetamine Act leader David Seymour is angling for the senior vote with a new suite of policies aimed at improving healthcare for the elderly and reforming the Retirement Commission. But while he ...19 hours ago - From 'pebble in the shoe' to future power broker – the rise and rise of Te Pāti MāoriIn 2020, Rawiri Waititi told his fellow MPs his job was to be a change agent for Māori. Three years later, how does the party grow its platform and base, Annie Te One asks. ...20 hours ago
- NZ election 2023: Both Labour and National face multimillion dollar ‘climate hole’By Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate change correspondent While attention is focused on economists finding a $500 million-a-year hole in National’s tax plans, a similar-sized hole in climate costings is hiding in plain sight — and it applies to Labour, too. National appears to have the bigger gap, however. The gulf ...20 hours ago
- Planning laws protect people. A poorly regulated rush to boost housing supply will cost us allSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Harris, Senior Research Fellow, Acting Director, CHETRE, UNSW Sydney The housing crisis is firmly on the Australian policy agenda. Governments see a rapid increase in supply as the main solution. The importance of supply is not disputed. But more housing ...21 hours ago
- ‘Remain calm’, Fiji’s Pio tells public over firebombing incident in SuvaBy Meri Radinibaravi in Suva The Fiji government has warned the public “don’t panic” as news of an alleged firebombing incident at Totogo Police Station in the heart of Suva sent shockwaves around the community. The incident yesterday also spurred questions about the safety of citizens in the country as ...21 hours ago
- RWC2023: Manu Samoa motivated for ‘huge game’ against ArgentinaBy Iliesa Tora, RNZ Pacific sports reporter in Saint Étienne, France Manu Samoa have made only three changes to their starting lineup to maintain consistency and ensure game flow against Argentina in a must-win Pool D clash in Saint-Étienne on Saturday morning (NZ time). Head coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua has ...21 hours ago
- Planning laws protect people, who’ll pay for an unregulated rush to boost housing supplySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Harris, Senior Research Fellow, Acting Director, CHETRE, UNSW Sydney The housing crisis is firmly on the Australian policy agenda. Governments see a rapid increase in supply as the main solution. The importance of supply is not disputed. But more housing ...21 hours ago
- Feeling controlled by the chaos in your home? 4 ways to rein in clutter and stay tidySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamal Abarashi, Lecturer, International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department, Auckland University of Technology Maintaining a tidy home is a never-ending challenge. And tidiness goes beyond aesthetics – it contributes to a person’s mental wellbeing. So what are the best strategies for ...21 hours ago
- Kids dressing up as frail older people is harmless fun, right? No, it’s ageist, whatever Bluey say...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Mitchell, Geriatrician working in clinical practice. PhD Candidate at The University of Melbourne studying ethics and ageism in health care. Affiliate lecturer, Deakin University Shutterstock A child once approached me, hunched over, carrying a vacuum cleaner like a walking ...21 hours ago
- No, the RBA review won’t mean handing the bank’s decisions to part-time outsidersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Renee McKibbin, Professor of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Misinformation is circulating about recommendations concerning the Reserve Bank board made by the RBA Review, of which I was a member. Among the claims are that the new monetary ...22 hours ago
- Luxon’s visit to Auckland’s Viaduct was the opposite of Judith Collins on Ponsonby RoadIf the Ponsonby Road walkabout was the final nail in the coffin for Judith Collins’ dreams of being prime minister, Christopher Luxon’s afternoon at Auckland’s Viaduct may be the last boost of confidence he needs. The contrast between Collins’ visit to the affluent Auckland suburb on October 7, 2020 and ...22 hours ago
- Dame Jacinda Ardern on her 'very different' life post-politicsDame Jacinda Ardern says she wasn't burned out and could have stayed as PM, but didn't think she could do the job well any more. ...22 hours ago
- Hipkins defends Labour's handling of Halbert concernsLabour leader Chris Hipkins said without a direct complaint or communication from the people affected, the whips could not follow up. ...22 hours ago
- Feeling controlled by the chaos in your home? 4 strategies to rein in clutter and maintain tidiness ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamal Abarashi, Lecturer, International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department, Auckland University of Technology Maintaining a tidy home is a never-ending challenge. And tidiness goes beyond aesthetics – it contributes to a person’s mental wellbeing. So what are the best strategies for ...22 hours ago
- Act wants to reverse pseudoephedrine banThe Act Party would reverse the ban on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine as part of a policy to help seniors. It’s been 12 years since products containing pseudoephedrine were reclassified from a class C to B2 controlled drug because of its use in the production of methamphetamine. But Seymour said that the ...22 hours ago
- Week in Politics: Leaders' debate fails to catch fireAnalysis - The leaders' debate Chris Hipkins had to win but didn't, more bad polling news for Labour, and ACT and NZ First reluctantly agree they could work together, writes Peter Wilson. ...23 hours ago
- Newsletter: September 22 2023 – Items of interest and importance todayNew Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. NZ Politics Daily: 22 September 2023 ELECTION Jack Tame (1News): For Christopher Luxon, the Winston strategy has changed Peter Dunne (Newsroom): Is this the long ...23 hours ago
- Spoilt Policy: Why We Must Keep GST Simple And Free Of Food Carve-outsA new report published by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union analysing the impacts of taking GST off fresh fruit and vegetables concludes that the policy would be expensive, complicated, poorly targeted and would see most of the benefits going to supermarkets ...23 hours ago
- Review: Baldur’s Gate 3 dramatically levels up the Western RPGOne of the biggest games of the year seeks not to reinvent the wheel, but instead make the best wheel possible, writes Sam Brooks. What’s all this then? Baldur’s Gate 3 is the biggest role-playing game of the year, give or take a Final Fantasy or a Starfield. It is, ...23 hours ago
- 30 years of the web down under: how Australians made the early internet their ownSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kieran Hegarty, Research Fellow (Automated Decision-Making Systems), RMIT University Blacktown City Libraries, CC BY-SA The internet is growing old. While the roots of the internet date back to the 1960s, the popular internet – the one that 99% of Australians ...23 hours ago
- Why is Rupert Murdoch stepping aside now and what does it mean for the company?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne At age 92, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corp but will stay on in the role of chairman emeritus, presumably ...23 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Basketball’ by Dan GoodwinA new poem by Dan Goodwin. Basketball You will be dead by 30. You will never have close relations with friends or family. You will never have a partner. You should drop out of university. Environments like that can be stressful. Our priority right now is to keep you alive, ...23 hours ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending September 22The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (Canongate, $50) We suppose it’s ...23 hours ago
- ACT reveals seniors policy including reversing pseudoephedrine banThe ACT Party wants to bring back over-the-counter pseudoephedrine, make it easier to get some other drugs, and make changes to the Retirement Commission. ...23 hours ago
- Clean-up begins in Queenstown, road closures remain in SouthlandThe clean-up is beginning in Queenstown, with mayor Glyn Lewers telling RNZ the town is beginning to clear debris flows and geotechnical engineers are assessing hills in the area. The rain is easing off, he says. Southland MP Joseph Mooney said late this morning that Queenstown town centre was open ...23 hours ago
- Kids dressing up as older people is harmless fun, right? No, it’s ageist, whatever Bluey saysSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Mitchell, Geriatrician working in clinical practice. PhD Candidate at The University of Melbourne studying ethics and ageism in health care. Affiliate lecturer, Deakin University Shutterstock A child once approached me, hunched over, carrying a vacuum cleaner like a walking ...24 hours ago
- New Zealand Election Debate Points To Bipartisan Agenda Of Austerity And WarBy Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 21 September 2023 Original url https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/21/hexy-s21.html The first televised debate of the New Zealand election campaign, between incumbent Labour Party Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and opposition National Party leader Christopher ...24 hours ago
- Nordic Plastics Report: The Planet Needs Higher Ambition – Greenpeace AotearoaA report from the Nordic Council of Ministers on recommendations to address plastic production doesn’t go far enough, according to Greenpeace Aotearoa. The Nordic Council of Ministers published a report to provide modeling of 15 policy interventions ...1 day ago
- National’s Policies Focus On Growing The EconomyNational’s ‘Rebuilding the economy’ plan is well-focused on key economic issues, containing several policies recommended by BusinessNZ, says BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard. Policy directions such as returning to a single inflation mandate ...1 day ago
- Carbon removal: why ambitious ‘no nonsense’ plans are vital to limit global heating to 2℃Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Turney, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research, University of Technology Sydney 2023 is proving to be a year of climate and weather extremes. Record-busting global air and ocean temperatures, unprecedented low levels of Antarctic sea ice, and devastating fires and floods have been ...1 day ago
- NZTech Manifesto Stresses Importance Of Technology To NZ’s FutureThe next Government must support the use of technology to transform the economy, lift the performance of New Zealand industries and create high-value jobs, according to NZTech CEO Graeme Muller. NZTech has released its manifesto for the upcoming election, ...1 day ago
- Queenstown under state of emergency after flooding
State of emergency will be in place for at least seven days after wettest 24 hours in nearly a quarter of a century Queenstown is under a state of emergency as rain continues to fall and flooding affects many parts of the region. Niwa says Queenstown has recorded its wettest ...1 day ago - National releases document laying out current economic planNational has unveiled its 100-point plan for rebuilding the economy, a list of policies it has announced ahead of this year's election. ...1 day ago
- National bundles economic pledges into plan for the futureThe National Party has relaunched many of its economic policies as part of a repackaged plan for the future. In front of a crowd of MPs, candidates and party faithful in central Auckland, leader Christopher Luxon and deputy Nicola Willis reiterated that this election was about the economy – and ...1 day ago
- The multibillion-dollar climate hole faced by both Labour and NationalWhile attention is focused on National's $500 million-a-year hole, another has opened up in plain sight - and it's Labour's problem, too. ...1 day ago
- It Shouldn’t Take An Election To Get Government To Cut WasteResponding to news that the Ministry for the Environment intends to cut back hundreds of jobs, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said: “Since 2017, Government spending has increased by nearly 70%. Expenditure at the Ministry for the Environment ...1 day ago
- For the people in the nosebleed section: the Hilltop Hoods’ The Calling at 20Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dianne Rodger, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Adelaide On September 22 2003, Adelaide hip-hop group the Hilltop Hoods released The Calling. They had been making music for over ten years, but this, their third full-length album, would be their first ...1 day ago
- Lecture On Coming World Government.Mr Darris McNeely from the USA will be conducting public lectures in Auckland and Christchurch presenting a frame work for a new global government. It is now recognized that unless there are changes to how we govern our planet, mankind runs the risk ...1 day ago
- Labour promises to keep school lunch programmeLabour leader Chris Hipkins has announced the party would continue to fund the free school lunch programme at its current settings. ...1 day ago
- Labour promises to keep school lunch programmeLabour leader Chris Hipkins has announced the party would continue to fund the free school lunch programme at its current settings. ...1 day ago
- Labour promises to keep school lunch programmeLabour leader Chris Hipkins has announced the party would continue to fund the free school lunch programme at its current settings. ...1 day ago
- NEW POLL: Kiwis Prefer Luxon/Willis Over Hipkins/Robertson To Tackle Cost Of Living CrisisA new Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll found that New Zealanders preferred Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis (46% of respondents) to Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson (37%) as the most trusted team to deal with the cost of living crisis. 17% of respondents ...1 day ago
- Healthy Choices For Voters – The 2023 OraTaiao Election Scorecard...1 day ago
- Southland and Otago flooding: What you need to knowA state of emergency has been declared across Southland and in Queenstown as severe weather causes major flooding across much of the region. What is a state of emergency? A state of emergency is called when an event occurs that may cause injury or loss of life to New Zealanders ...1 day ago
- What the hell is Mischa Barton doing on Neighbours?Everybody needs good Neighbours – especially Marissa from The O.C.?! This review contains spoilers for the first week of Neighbours: A New Chapter. Like Harold standing on a rock looking out to sea, please be careful. What’s all this then? Neighbours is back, baby. The long-running Australian soap that ended ...1 day ago
- The work to build back a small North Island townIn a small town in the Bay of Plenty, a community trust is improving health, education, housing and career opportunities with the help of Z Energy. Liam Rātana tells the story of Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau Haoura. The small North Island town of Kawerau doesn’t often get much attention. It’s the ...1 day ago
- Watch: Ex-PM Jacinda Ardern talks leaving politics on US TVDame Jacinda Ardern has spoken to Good Morning America about her decision to leave New Zealand politics behind. It was in mid-January that Ardern shocked the nation when she told reporters in Napier that she would be stepping down as prime minister, as soon as a successor could be confirmed. ...1 day ago
- Election 23 – Make room for Newsroom
The 2023 election campaign is now in full swing. Readers, viewers and listeners are being bombarded with political coverage as every move and utterance from party leaders is reported, analysed and commented on. At Newsroom we are focused on cutting through the noise and providing you with context and clarity. ...1 day ago - Politial editors panel: Debates, GDP and cheese rollsPolitical editors for RNZ, Newsroom and Stuff Jane Patterson, Jo Moir and Luke Malpass, and RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, dissect the week on the campaign trail. ...1 day ago
- Politial editors panel: Debates, GDP and cheese rollsPolitical editors for RNZ, Newsroom and Stuff Jane Patterson, Jo Moir and Luke Malpass, and RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, dissect the week on the campaign trail. ...1 day ago
- Politial editors panel: Debates, GDP and cheese rollsPolitical editors for RNZ, Newsroom and Stuff Jane Patterson, Jo Moir and Luke Malpass, and RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, dissect the week on the campaign trail. ...1 day ago
- Listen: Melbourne City’s carbon-neutral apartment buildingLiam Wallis is the founder of HIP V HYPE, a design agency in Melbourne that helped design, fund and build the first Nightingale project apartments in Melbourne’s Brunswick. These apartments are designed from the start to be carbon neutral, healthier, and cheaper places to heat. On the new episode of ...1 day ago
- New Ikaroa-Rāwhiti poll brings shock for Te Pāti MāoriIkaroa-Rāwhiti, which stretches from East Cape to Hutt Valley has been held by Labour MPs for its entire 24 year history. But after Meka Whaitiri defected from Labour to Te Pāti Māori earlier this year after a decade in the seat, the race has been given an unpredictable shake up. ...1 day ago
- Warehouse Workers Are Sharing Their Thoughts On The Company’s BehaviourWarehouse workers have opted to continue a ‘social media strike’ and are sharing their thoughts on executive pay, the importance of a living wage and their challenging working conditions despite threats from management to penalise participating staff, ...1 day ago
- The Hidden Pitfall: Why Removing The 90-Day Trial Undermines Accredited Employer ReformsBy Aaron Martin, Principal Lawyer at New Zealand Immigration Law In response to ongoing investigations of exploited migrant workers, Immigration Minister Andrew Little recently rolled out new measures designed to protect exploited migrant workers. ...1 day ago
- The day aheadWe’ve reached the end of another week, but the campaign must go on. Here’s a look at today’s agenda. Labour leader Chris Hipkins continues his roadie through the central North Island. He’ll visit a roading construction site this morning, then visit a free school lunches provider and speak to ...1 day ago
- Ex-Today FM staff receive financial settlement – reportA group of 17 former Today FM staff have received a pay out following the sudden closure of the radio station earlier in the year, reported the Herald’s Shayne Currie in his Media Insider column today. It includes high-profile broadcaster Tova O’Brien, who has since launched a new podcast for ...1 day ago
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