sustainability
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No Right Turn: The transport policy we need
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 30th, 2020 - 40 comments
All of these policies will get fossil cars off the roads, reducing emissions.
The Greens on urban farming
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 24th, 2020 - 25 comments
This is exactly the kind of approach the Green Party would like to encourage – it’s strategic, it’s intergenerational and it recognises the interconnectedness of our people, the environment and local communities.
What is this regenerative agriculture thing anyway?
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, September 13th, 2020 - 32 comments
Given the state of New Zealand land and water, changing how we do farming should be a strong political topic for the left this year. The Greens and Greenpeace are campaigning for a shift to regenerative agriculture, so it’s timely to look at what that is.
Will our cities revive?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 5th, 2020 - 43 comments
Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?
Covid recovery and bouncing forward
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, August 10th, 2020 - 21 comments
Central to the Transition movement from the outset has been the idea of resilience. Usually framed as the ability to ‘bounce back’, it is seen in the Transition movement as being better imagined as the capacity to ‘bounce forward’, i.e. to use it as the opportunity to move forward to something better. How then to ‘bounce forward’ from COVID-19 in such a way that we also move to a way of doing things consistent with the scale of the climate crisis?
We don’t have time for this shit
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, June 24th, 2020 - 52 comments
the government can’t agree is a euphemism for NZ First blocking climate action.
How to kill the car
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 29th, 2020 - 45 comments
What would you do so that instead of wandering endlessly through tilt-slab monstrosities soaked in 80s music and fluorescent lighting, surrounded by oppressed minimum-wage slaves who hate being there and you hating being there worried about your wheeled asset damaged in their carpark instead you get freedom?
Tourism is the elephant in the living room
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, April 9th, 2020 - 148 comments
Rather than saving an industry that has multiple sustainability and resiliency failures, how about we regenerate local economies and set them to serve our communities?
RIP Jeanette Fitzsimons
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, March 6th, 2020 - 33 comments
Former Greens co leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has died.
Sustainable NZ not so sustainable after all
Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, February 21st, 2020 - 23 comments
It appears that National’s dream of an alternative Green party that would drive the real Green Party below the threshold is in tatters with news that Sustainable NZ is on the skids.
The Government’s $12 billion infrastructure package
Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, January 29th, 2020 - 96 comments
The details of the Government’s $12 billion infrastructure announcement have been released.
Sustainable Party launches
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, November 11th, 2019 - 99 comments
The Sustainable Party, National’s sock puppet party designed to weaken the Greens has launched. And its policies for some strange reason have not put climate change front and centre.
Brittle cities
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 29th, 2019 - 10 comments
It is pretty hard to miss a variety of cities around the world going nuts for apparently minor offences.
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.
Fertile land is priceless
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, August 15th, 2019 - 220 comments
As Labour moves to protect prime food growing land around our cities, we should be having a wider discussion about food security in New Zealand.
Totally shit farming
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, August 12th, 2019 - 47 comments
Farmers blockading environmentalists to stop them taking photos of their degraded farms. Is this really what we’ve come to?
Dunedin South as Next Fox River Dump Disaster?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, August 10th, 2019 - 75 comments
If we thought the devastation and mess caused by a flood ripping through the old dump at Fox Glacier village was bad, just wait until a decent storm punches through the old dump of New Zealand’s fifth largest city on its coastline. It’s getting close.
Maybe we shouldn’t take the plane
Written By: - Date published: 6:21 am, August 8th, 2019 - 84 comments
The case for reducing mass air travel rests in looking at whole systems rather than counting the carbon emissions of each flight.
Maybe we should take the plane
Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, August 7th, 2019 - 119 comments
Activist Greta Thunberg is attending a United Nations global warming summit in New York, and will get there by boat not airplane. But should she consider flying?
Can the Greens rise like the liberal democrats?
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, August 4th, 2019 - 71 comments
Only 6 months ago the UK Liberal Democrat party was at a real low, with their leader resigning and the polls about 7%: same as the last five years. Fast forward five months from that and they are ready to become a major opposition party of opposition. Can the Greens do the same?
Embark 2019
Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, July 29th, 2019 - 99 comments
Last week the Embark 2019 conference involved corporations discussing what they can do to address climate change.
Southland and Thames think they don’t have climate crises
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, July 4th, 2019 - 163 comments
Regular Standard contributor Robert Guyton put up a great fight but has failed to persuade the dinosaurs on Environment Southland to declare a climate emergency.
The strange case of the missing Oregon Republican State senators
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 24th, 2019 - 67 comments
Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.
The false left anti road narrative
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 28th, 2019 - 26 comments
Shane Te Pou has claimed that the Government is anti road and pro bike lane and light rail. But a look at the Government’s spending priorities suggests that roads still dominate.
Will the Christian Conservatives rise again?
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, May 20th, 2019 - 78 comments
Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true. And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.
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.
Bill Nye loses his s&(t about climate change
Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, May 14th, 2019 - 17 comments
Bill Nye has decided that anger is the only adequate response to the climate change crisis.
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 – let the battle commence
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, May 9th, 2019 - 102 comments
The Zero Carbon bill is already being attacked by farming groups who are clearly concerned at the implications for their industry. And National is already showing signs that it will play politics with the issue.
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.
- NZ Politics Daily – 27 October 2020
Today’s content Labour Party and new Labour Government Andrea Vance (Stuff): ‘Labour Connect’ the data analysis tool that boosted Jacinda Ardern’s campaign Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Time for Govt to take some risks (paywalled) Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on her big win and big plans (paywalled) Audrey Young: What Kelvin Davis wants for Māori from ...2 mins ago - Thirty Years Ago Today: Musings on the Fourth Labour Government
The New Zealand media and the New Zealand public are still chattering about what Jacinda Ardern will do with her brand-spanking-new single party majority Government. The consensus – apart from a few wishful-thinkers – is “probably not much.” This is the era of “incrementalism”, which during the Helen Clark ...48 mins ago - Water on the Moon?
The space news this week is largely focused on an announcement from NASA regarding the discovery of water on the Moon. Not liquid water – the lunar surface is far too cold for that – but apparently ice deposits in the surface layers in near-polar regions, and perhaps deeper ...2 hours ago - Yes Minister.
What it is like to be a new Minister Good morning Minister? Congratulations, you are minister for the very important department of state which I run as Chief Excutive. Have they fixed you up with all the accoutrements of office: the chauffeured limousine, your own car, state supplied accommodation ...10 hours ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: Debunk often and properly
This blog post is part 4 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. Debunk often and properly If you cannot preempt, you must debunk. For debunking to be effective, it is important to provide detailed ...14 hours ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: ReferencesThis is the list of references for The Debunking Handbook 2020Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Ecker, U. K. H., Albarracín, D., Amazeen, M. A., Kendeou, P., Lombardi, D., Newman, E. J., Pennycook, G., Porter, E. Rand, D. G., Rapp, D. N., Reifler, J., Roozenbeek, J., Schmid, P., Seifert, C. M., Sinatra, ...14 hours ago
- When the dictator wears capes.
Today Chileans voted overwhelmingly to elect a constitutional assembly and redraft the 1980 Constitution promulgated by the dictatorship of Agusto Pinochet. I regret that my old friend Bob Barros, whose death I wrote about a while ago, is not around to see this moment because he was the first person ...16 hours ago - Everyone I don’t like is Hitler, or, how i got banned by Facebook
I do not really use Facebook anymore. I used to. For several years now, however, my drug of choice has been Twitter. It is equally pointless but is more agreeable better than Zuckerberg's monster is for me.I haven't deactivated my account because I still use FB as a means of ...20 hours ago - Gal Gadot, The Orient and Identity Politics
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (14/10/2020) A row has recently erupted over the casting of the Israeli actress Gal Gadot as Cleopatra in an upcoming film. Part of the objections to her playing the role are based on the fact that she is not only Israeli, but a Zionist to boot, ...20 hours ago - Getting Our Priorities Right
Much of the political debate over the past few months – as we have grappled with the coronavirus pandemic – has centred on the question of whether it is the interests of business or the health of the community that should take priority in policy terms. Much has been made ...22 hours ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #43Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review Story of the Week... Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have ...1 day ago
- 2020 – Post mortem or Prologue?
. . A narcissistic, third-rate, Bond-villain code-named “Trump” takes control of the United States; a global pandemic brings human civilisation to a near stand-still; Whakaari/White Island erupts creating a hellish tragedy; Level 4 and 3 Lockdowns result in deserted streets straight out of The Quiet Earth; a new “Fortress ...1 day ago - Media Link: Some Bolivian and NZ post-election analysis on “A View from Afar.”This last week’s podcast featuring Selwyn Manning and I focused on post-election analysis in two small states, one land locked and the other surrounded by water. Check it out here. ...2 days ago
- Analysis of an Election – Aaaarghghgh! What happened????
With a week or so gone since the catastrophic election result for the National Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, MyThinks have set the team to work to come up with their hot takes on what has caused the previous all powerful party of government to collapse under the weight of ...2 days ago - A response to Judith ButlerFeminist Ani O’Brien takes a critical look at Judith Butler and the Kim Hill interview (17/10/20): It has been a while since I have done a bit-by-bit response piece, but this weekend Radio New Zealand journalist Kim Hill interviewed Professor Judith Butler on the conflict between trans activists and “TERFs” and I have ...2 days ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #43A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Oct 18, 2020 through Sat, Oct 24, 2020 Editor's Choice A second Trump term would mean severe and irreversible changes in the climate No joke: It would be disastrous on the ...2 days ago
- National’s electoral slaughter
3 days ago - The Ideal and the Reality for a New MP
Being an MP is not quite what you think. Hello Mr Orange Man, I’ve really depended on you during the election over the last few weeks. Thankyou for helping me to get elected to parliament. So what are you doing here, meeting me in parliament, now I have ...4 days ago - COVID-19: backing our front rowNew Zealand has been called out as an outstanding player in managing COVID-19. We’ve done well,[1] but we’re far from perfect. We could do a lot better at backing our front row. Epidemiologists advise nations not to play “wait and see”. If By the time they do see, it’s all ...4 days ago
- Fleeing to the Dawn – accepted
Good bit of news on the short story front: my 1700 word fantasy piece, Fleeing to the Dawn, has been accepted for the Autumn 2020 edition of Shorts Magazine: http://shortsmagazine.com/ This one was a case of a previously unsuccessful story being dusted off and polished up. It is ...4 days ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: The elusive backfire effectsThis blog post is part 3 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. The elusive backfire effects Ten years ago, scholars and practitioners were concerned that corrections may “backfire”; that is, ironically strengthen misconceptions rather ...4 days ago
- Prosecute ICE
We knew that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was a moral void: they run concentration camps, and forcibly separate children from their parents. And now they're outright torturing people: US immigration officers allegedly tortured Cameroonian asylum seekers to force them to sign their own deportation orders, in what lawyers ...4 days ago - Fly on the wall of the first National caucus since electionOver the past several months, the team at MyThinks have been involved in a vast insect training programme. We have been working to teach our six-legged friends to become the finest of political reporters. This week we sent our deputy political diptera into the National Party caucus room for their ...4 days ago
- The Twilight Of Boomer Power.
4 days ago - NZ Politics Daily – 23 October 2020Today’s content Labour government Peter Dunne (Newsroom): At the highwater mark with little wriggle room RNZ: Caucus: Explaining The Red Tide: Kiwis hug Jacinda back as Labour breaks records Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): It’s Time For Some “Earnest Struggle” Chris Trotter: “Change That Sticks.” Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): The Twilight Of Boomer Power Brent Edwards ...4 days ago
- “Change That Sticks.”Implementing Change With Us - Not Imposing It On Us: Jacinda Ardern, like Mickey Savage before her, understands what her more revolutionary critics do not: that the only sort of socialism that endures is democratic socialism – socialism by popular demand and with popular consent.AFTER THE BIGGEST WIN in nearly ...4 days ago
- Science at the movies: The new comet impact filmDisaster movies forever capture the public attention… but did you ever stop to think that the word disaster actually means bad star? That is, ‘dis’ implies a pejorative (as in disease, or disgust, or disrespect), while ‘aster’ comes from the Latin astrum, similarly the Greek astron. Asteroids are called that ...5 days ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XI
Yes, dinosaurs. Annalax would think of them as giant horned lizards. They were also terrified of us, what with Magni still being covered in spider goo, and hence smelling like a Leng Spider. The ... 5 days ago - PrioritiesMuch of the political debate over the past few months – as we have grappled with the coronavirus pandemic – has centred on the question of whether it is the interests of business or the health of the community that should take priority in policy terms. Much has been made ...5 days ago
- Farmers earning their reputation againNew Zealand farmers routinely complain about the public viewing them as environmental vandals. At the same time, they're opposing basic environmental regulation: Federated Farmers has asked that a wide-ranging plan change setting water use rules for South Canterbury remove all references to the protection of “indigenous fish”. [...] ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 22 October 2020Labour-Greens talks, Labour govt Henry Cooke (Stuff): There is no evidence National voters backed Labour to keep the Greens out Audrey Young (Herald): Labour holds all the cards as Ardern’s talks with Greens get underway RNZ: Greens better off independent – Former Green MP Catherine Delahunty Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Greens would be ...5 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Stardust across the Middle East: How Arab media reported on NZ’s electionNews is not in short supply in the Middle East, and on Saturday, Arab media remained focused heavily on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and especially Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news channels, newspapers and ...5 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Stardust across the Middle East – how Arab media covered the New Zealand electionNews is not in short supply in the Middle East, and at the weekend, Arabic-language media remained firmly focused on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, the New Zealand election – and above all Jacinda Ardern’s personal success – still received significant attention from Arabic-language TV news ...5 days ago
- It's Time For Some “Earnest Struggle”.5 days ago
- Party Like It’s 1936: Songs for the Philologists
It’s the most obscure Tolkien book of all… so obscure that only fourteen copies exist: Songs for the Philologists, a 1936 collection of thirty humorous verses, by Tolkien (who wrote thirteen), E.V. Gordon, and ... 5 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – National’s catastrophic collapse and fraught rebuildThe National Party’s defeat has been so comprehensive that few in the party seem optimistic they will recover anytime soon. Falling from 47% in 2017 to just 27% (which might drop as low as 25% once special votes are counted), is one of the most severe collapses in New Zealand’s ...5 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #42, 2020Dust-up at the Denial Corral, in "journal time" Way back in 2017 the Institute of Physics publication Environmental Research Letters (ERL) published a featured article, Assessing ExxonMobil's climate change communications (1977–2014), by Supran & Oreskes. The article reverberated widely as it exposed a documented a pattern of behavior arguably described as perfidious. The authors ...6 days ago
- Now’s the time – expand ACC
Having ruled out Capital Gains Tax and Wealth Tax, the incoming Labour government must be looking for some significant progressive policies that they haven’t already ruled out. Expanding the ACC scheme fits that brief, and the Green Party have conveniently already proposed doing so. But, how to fund it? The accident/illness ...6 days ago - Managing to the targetNew Zealand's health system is chronicly underfunded, and so almost all DHBs run deficits. Last month, just before he bailed out Canterbury DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins was repeating the mantra that DHBs must live within their means and "have a credible plan to return to financial sustainability". But yesterday, ...6 days ago
- Solarise all the things!If we are to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, we need to decarbonise the economy and shift our energy supply completely to renewables. The good news is that the International Energy Agency thinks that that is going to happen. The reason? Interest rates have dropped. And this means that ...6 days ago
- New Zealand weighs up a nation-sized batteryIan Mason and Robert McLachlan Climate change was a small but perceptible part of the recent election. On climate change, Labour pointed proudly to their record of legislating for net zero emissions by 2050 (nicknamed the ‘Zero Carbon Act’), establishing a Climate Change Commission to set carbon budgets and advise ...6 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 21 October 2020Today’s content Election Jack Vowles (The Conversation): The 2020 NZ election saw record vote volatility — what does that mean for the next Labour government? Jason Walls and Chris Knox (Herald): 20 fascinating facts about the 2020 election you might have missed Stuff: Labour Day: A vote-by-vote analysis of New Zealand’s historic shift ...6 days ago
- Do Landslides Change the Landscape in the Long Run?
It was easy for election night commentators to use the ‘landslide’ trope to describe Labour’s winning of the 2020 election. But the historical record suggests that such landslides may not last long. In 1935, the First (Savage-Fraser) Labour Government won 53 seats in a parliament of 80; National ...7 days ago - The Debunking Handbook 2020: Prevent misinformation from sticking if you canThis blog post is part 2 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020 which can be downloaded here. The list of references is available here. Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can Because misinformation is sticky, it’s best preempted. This can be achieved by explaining misleading or ...7 days ago
- Graeme Edgeler: Mandates are not mandatory, but they are also not meaninglessThere’s a lot of talk about what the Labour Government’s new mandate is. For a discussion of exactly what that might mean, Graeme Edgeler explores the murky logic of what they can and can’t do, pointing out that ultimately voters decide if this mandate was properly used in three years. ...7 days ago
- Hyping it up over fluoridation
In my time as a scientific researcher, honest scientists used to condemn colleagues who over-hyped their science. To our mind there should have been a special place in hell for scientists who misrepresented their ... 7 days ago - Don’t fall for the Covid contrariansAs life in Aotearoa gets back to some kind of normal after our latest Covid-19 outbreak, cases in the northern hemisphere are on the rise again and that puts us all at risk. Because no one is safe until we are all safe. This is a tricky virus. We now ...7 days ago
- Liam Hehir: Online abuse and the standard you walk byThere’s a lot of nastiness in the online public sphere, much of it tribal, petty and personal. Political commentator and Twitter enthusiast Liam Hehir has seen too much of it, and explains why he’s going to actively stand up against it. I did a radio interview a little while ...7 days ago
- Tanzania: elections, neoliberalism and economic diplomacyPolitics in New Zealand is the main focus of Redline, along with supporting liberation movements and anti-imperialist struggles. We have had little material from the African continent, so are pleased to print this submission from a Tanzanian writer on their pending elections. Tanzania will be going to the polls on ...7 days ago
- Governing For All Of Us.7 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily – 20 October 2020Today’s content Coalition negotiations, shape of government Gordon Campbell: On why the Greens shouldn’t join the government Andrew Geddis (Pundit): What Sort Of Relationship Might Labour And The Greens Agree On? Audrey Young (Herald): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern holds preparatory talks with Greens but coalition looking unlikely Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Jacinda Ardern tight-lipped after ...7 days ago
- What sort of relationship might Labour and the Greens agree on?
Even without knowing the final election result (because, don’t forget there’s about 500,000 special votes still to count and they very likely will change Saturday’s results), we can say two things for certain about the next government. Jacinda Ardern will be its Prime Minister. And Labour will be at its core. But ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Leftwing euphoria meets realityThe political left has been euphoric since Saturday’s night historic landslide victory for Labour. But political commentators from across the spectrum are united in warning that the new Government isn’t about to be transformative. Instead, we will see more of a status quo administration grappling with a crisis, with very ...1 week ago
- Yes, a mandate for sure… but issues for NZ will be far, far more difficult now
With the NZ General Election and Referendums over for 2020, Jacinda Ardern is to form a Government over the next few weeks, “there are some areas we do want to crack on with, that we will need to expedite”, and talks will begin to form around what the voters ...1 week ago - Labour Party landslide – 2020 Election in reviewJacinda Ardern - Prime Minister of New ZealandThe 2020 General Election has been one of the most interesting in New Zealand’s political history. Not only did we have voters provide the Labour Party with a stratospheric 49.1% mandate to govern, the results also delivered National with a crushing 26.8% defeat ...1 week ago
- Be careful what you wish for: Labour's difficult triumph
Labour’s overwhelming victory at the election has been greeted with rousing cheers on the left of New Zealand politics and the start of transformational demands. It’s a multi-generational win for Labour, out-polling the Kirk, Lange and Clark victories. You have to go back to 1938 for a bigger percentage (55.8%) ...1 week ago - A Skeptical Science member's path to an experiment on carbon sequestrationDuring what now seems like another era entirely- back in February of this long year- Skeptical Science regular RedBaron (aka Scott Strough) mentioned in a discussion thread here that he'd been working on an idea for no-till cultivation of vegetables, was seeking to quantify what appeared to be promising results. Scott ...1 week ago
- Jacinda Will Keep Us Moving – To The Same Place.Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes? Not Likely: Though few New Zealanders would express it in such a fashion: Jacinda’s and Labour’s general handling of the Covid-19 crisis proved both to be highly effective defenders of the capitalist status quo. She, and they, kept the lights on. And that, in the absence of an alternative ...1 week ago
- The Greens and LabourWith an absolute majority, Labour can govern in its own right, and doesn't need partners. But while unnecessary, they're a nice-to-have, both as backup and for PR reasons. Ardern has talked about "consensus", and there are obvious benefits for her of having government policy endorsed by as many parties as ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #42Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Earth has warmest September on record, and 2020 may clinch hottest year Record warmth in Europe and Asia overwhelms a ...1 week ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Vindication of Winston PetersAn egalitarian spirit is currently being revived in New Zealand, and we should thank Winston Peters for keeping alive that spirit. Josh Van Veen, who once worked with the NZ First leader, pays his tribute. With New Zealand First receiving less than 3% of the vote, critics are happily ...1 week ago
- The Hunt for Red October: Musings on Taieri
So New Zealand has had its general election. Jacinda Ardern has managed a single-party majority government, New Zealand’s first in twenty-six years, and its first since the adoption of proportional representation. I intend to do a comment on that further down the line – my feelings on the Sunday ...1 week ago - Lessons from the ElectionThis year’s general election has broken new ground – and not just in terms of its outcome, the seats won and votes cast, and – in an MMP environment – the margin of victory. It also suggests that something quite fundamental has changed in New Zealand politics. The outcome is ...1 week ago
- The unexpected resultThe people have spoken, and its a Labour majority government. This wasn't meant to happen under MMP, and in fact its exactly what the system was designed to prevent: no majority governments, no elected dictatorships, unless we really, really want it (which at the time seemed unlikely on 40 years ...1 week ago
- Schadenfreude is a dish best served blueWhat started out as the largest party in parliament has ended election night scratching the back door of the house of irrelevance. ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #42A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Oct 11, 2020 through Sat, Oct 17, 2020 Editor's Choice A FIELD GUIDE TOTHE ELECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE The presidential election is just weeks away, and climate change has broken ...1 week ago
- Legal Beagle: Election '20: The Special Votes
The 2020 General Election has a preliminary result. For reasons I am unable to really explain, we will not have even a preliminary result for the end of life choice and cannabis legalisation referendums for some weeks (I dropped the ball on that one when the referendum legislation was before ...1 week ago - National rejects tonight’s result as a ‘rogue poll’
National are dismissing tonight’s election result as an “obvious outlier” Half an hour into counting, National Party leader Judith Collins and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee are already dismissing tonight’s election result as a “rogue poll”, saying it’s an incomplete survey with shoddy methodology. Brownlee called an emergency media stand-up just ...1 week ago - Jacinda Ardern ran down four National supporters with her car this morning but due to electoral law ...Dr. Ashley Bloomfield reported at today’s 1pm health briefing that the Coronavirus turns out not to exist, but that information was also withheld on the same grounds. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began her election morning by ruthlessly driving her car into a family of National supporters just blocks from her ...1 week ago
- Six weird animals that have nothing to do with the electionGet a load of these things! Some of these animals are just crazy. You wouldn’t want a single one of these animals anywhere near your kids. It could ruin them for life. Last thing you’d want is your kid growing up around any of these, and thinking that’s what animals ...1 week ago
- 1pm Covid Health Update for 17th October, 2020What follows is today’s 1pm health update from the Ministry of Health There are 12 new cases of Covid-19 today, six in managed isolation, three escaped, and three are wealthy foreigners so it’s fine. One of these cases is a man in his 50s who visited Auckland sex club Fisting ...1 week ago
- It's Election Day.1 week ago
- National caucus convening to elect new leader for final 2 hours of the campaignThis is a breaking news event, and further updates and clarifications may be forthcoming. With less than three hours to go in the election campaign, The National Party is holding an emergency meeting to elect a new leader, one they hope can turn things around in the final one and ...1 week ago
- Judith Collins asking for two week extension on election due dateCollins says she was “ever so close” to finishing everything up, but a family member died, her computer crashed, and she just needs “a little more time” to get things right. In a late move this evening, Judith Collins has written an urgent letter to the Electoral Commission requesting a ...1 week ago
- The Debunking Handbook 2020: Misinformation is damaging and stickyThis blog post is part 1 of a series of excerpts from The Debunking Handbook 2020. The list of references is available here. Misinformation can do damage Misinformation is false information that is spread either by mistake or with intent to mislead. When there is intent to mislead, it is ...2 weeks ago
- WATCH LIVE: Election Night 2020
...1 week ago - Election Night Speech – Marama Davidson
Kia ora tātou kātoa. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou Te Roopu Kakariki, ngā kaitautoko, e aroha ana I te kaupapa mo te taiao me te mokopuna. No reira tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. I am so proud to be standing here tonight, at the end of an ...1 week ago - Election Night Speech – James ShawOn Election Night three years ago I stood up in front of you to say, “We are still here!” Well, tonight, not only are we still here, we are the first support party in MMP history to have started and finished a term in government above the 5% threshold. We ...1 week ago
- Greens only party with plan to meet scale of climate challengeA new report showing that the effects of climate change are already being felt in Aotearoa New Zealand shows the importance of the Green Party pushing for urgent action in the next Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party commits to stronger urban tree protection and no new mines on public conservation landThe Green Party is the only party in Parliament which is explicitly committing to protecting public conservation land and the indigenous plants and wildlife which live there, from destructive mining. ...2 weeks ago
- Vote still undecided? Watch this.As of today, over 1.4 million New Zealanders have already cast their votes in this year’s election. While this shows that a huge number of people have already made up their minds about who they want to lead our country, there are many who are still undecided. ...2 weeks ago
- Labour's 2020 Election ManifestoThe Labour Party understands how important continuity, stability and clarity are for New Zealanders in these uncertain times. That’s why, in our 2020 Election Manifesto, we’re setting out how we will continue to invest in people, jobs, small businesses, infrastructure, and global trade, to set New Zealand up for the ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party releases tourism policyToday the Green Party’s conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage went kayaking on Akaroa Harbour to highlight the greater protection achieved for Hector’s and Maui dolphins this term and the Greens’ election commitment to supporting sustainable tourism. ...2 weeks ago
- National’s false ‘wealth tax’ claims: The “last roll of the misinformation dice”“Collins has warned voters to expect a wealth tax. This is despite the fact Labour has ruled this out a number of times.” – Jason Walls, NZ Herald. “The Labour Party has ruled out implementing the Green Party's wealth tax.” – Henry Cooke, Stuff. “Labour has time and time again ...2 weeks ago
- Week that was: Counting down to Election DayIt’s getting incredibly close to Election Day now – and over a million people have already cast their vote! ...2 weeks ago
- Jacinda Ardern's Wellington Rally SpeechJacinda Ardern delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Grant Robertson's Wellington Rally SpeechGrant Robertson delivers a rally speech at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. ...2 weeks ago
- Building a vibrant creative sector The Green Party will push for better conditions, more certainty, and greater opportunities for New Zealand’s artists and creatives as part of the next Government, Co-leader of the Green Party, James Shaw said today. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens promise continued action to reduce mental health waiting timesThe Green Party is committed to reduce the waiting times people in mental distress have to put up with before they receive attention and get treatment. ...2 weeks ago
- Early voting is openDid you know that early voting is open? That means you can go out and cast your vote right now - whether you've already enrolled or not. Almost 600,000 Kiwis have already voted, and you can join them! ...3 weeks ago
- Greens would go further and faster for kauri protectionThe Green Party says Labour’s commitment to protecting kauri is a good start, but the Greens would go further and faster to keep our kauri standing. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens would bring urban food farms to Auckland CityThe Green Party will invest funding in community agriculture and urban food gardens in places like Auckland city centre. ...3 weeks ago
- Our next steps on climate changeWe’re proud of our record on climate change. Since coming to Government we’ve put climate and the environment at the heart of all of our policies, as they are inextricable from issues like housing, agriculture, waste, energy and transport. ...3 weeks ago
- 10 days out: 10 reasons to vote LabourWith only ten days to go until Election Day, we’re counting down the top ten reasons you should vote Labour this October. Already voted? Share this list with friends and family who haven’t voted yet to encourage them to give two ticks to Labour! ...3 weeks ago
- Greens welcome Labour’s climate commitments, will push for more action to match the scale of the c...The Green Party welcomes Labour’s commitment to reduce climate emissions in the next term of Government, but would go further and faster to address the true scale of the crisis. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens call for independent review of PharmacThe Green Party is calling for an independent review of Pharmac to ensure that there is proper equity around funding for medication for sick New Zealanders. ...3 weeks ago
- Tokelau Language Week reminds us to stay united and strong
Staying strong in the face of challenges and being true to our heritage and languages are key to preserving our cultural identity and wellbeing, is the focus of the 2020 Tokelau Language Week. Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, says this year’s theme, ‘Apoapo tau foe, i nā tāfea ...4 days ago - NZ announces a third P-3 deployment in support of UN sanctionsThe Government has deployed a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “New Zealand has long supported ...1 week ago
- Pacific trade and development agreement a realityPacific regional trade and development agreement PACER Plus will enter into force in 60 days now that the required eight countries have ratified it. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the announcement that the Cook Islands is the eighth nation to ratify this landmark agreement. “The agreement represents ...2 weeks ago
- Securing a pipeline of teachersThe Government is changing its approach to teacher recruitment as COVID-19 travel restrictions continue, by boosting a range of initiatives to get more Kiwis into teaching. “When we came into Government, we were faced with a teacher supply crisis,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “Over the past three years, we ...2 weeks ago
- Border exceptions for a small number of international students with visasThe Government has established a new category that will allow 250 international PhD and postgraduate students to enter New Zealand and continue their studies, in the latest set of border exceptions. “The health, safety and wellbeing of people in New Zealand remains the Government’s top priority. Tight border restrictions remain ...2 weeks ago
- First COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreement signedThe Government has signed an agreement to purchase 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines – enough for 750,000 people – from Pfizer and BioNTech, subject to the vaccine successfully completing all clinical trials and passing regulatory approvals in New Zealand, say Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods and Health Minister Chris Hipkins. ...2 weeks ago
- International statement – End-to-end encryption and public safetyWe, the undersigned, support strong encryption, which plays a crucial role in protecting personal data, privacy, intellectual property, trade secrets and cyber security. It also serves a vital purpose in repressive states to protect journalists, human rights defenders and other vulnerable people, as stated in the 2017 resolution of the ...2 weeks ago
- Ministry of Defence Biodefence Assessment releasedThe Ministry of Defence has today released a Defence Assessment examining Defence’s role across the spectrum of biological hazards and threats facing New Zealand. Biodefence: Preparing for a New Era of Biological Hazards and Threats looks at how the NZDF supports other agencies’ biodefence activities, and considers the context of ...2 weeks ago
- New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020New Approaches to Economic Challenges: Confronting Planetary Emergencies: OECD 9 October 2020 Hon David Parker’s response following Thomas Piketty and Esther Duflo. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever in the world you might be. I first acknowledge the excellent thought provoking speeches of Thomas Piketty and Esther ...2 weeks ago
- Kaipara Moana restoration takes next stepA Memorandum of Understanding has been signed today at Waihāua Marae between the Crown, local iwi and councils to protect, restore and enhance the mauri of Kaipara Moana in Northland. Environment Minister David Parker signed the document on behalf of the Crown along with representatives from Ngā Maunga Whakahī, Ngāti ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand and Uruguay unite on reducing livestock production emissionsAgriculture Minister Damien O’Connor and Uruguayan Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Carlos María Uriarte have welcomed the launch of a three-year project that will underpin sustainable livestock production in Uruguay, Argentina, and Costa Rica. The project called ‘Innovation for pasture management’ is led by Uruguay’s National Institute of Agricultural ...3 weeks ago
- 3100 jobs created through marae upgradesHundreds of marae throughout the country will be upgraded through investments from the Provincial Growth Fund’s refocused post COVID-19 funding to create jobs and put money into the pockets of local tradespeople and businesses, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced. “A total ...3 weeks ago
- Health volunteers recognised in annual awardsHealth Minister Chris Hipkins has announced 9 teams and 14 individuals are the recipients of this year’s Minister of Health Volunteer Awards. “The health volunteer awards celebrate and recognise the thousands of dedicated health sector volunteers who give many hours of their time to help other New Zealanders,” Mr Hipkins ...3 weeks ago
- Community COVID-19 Fund supports Pacific recoveryThe Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says a total of 264 groups and individuals have successfully applied for the Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund, that will support Pacific communities drive their own COVID-19 recovery strategies, initiatives, and actions. “I am keen to see this Fund support Pacific ...3 weeks ago
- Community benefits from Māori apprenticeshipsUp to 50 Māori apprentices in Wellington will receive paid training to build houses for their local communities, thanks to a $2.75 million investment from the Māori Trades and Training Fund, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Ngāti Toa Rangatira Incorporated to provide its Ngā Kaimahi ...3 weeks ago
- Training fund supports Māori jobseekersRapidly growing sectors will benefit from a $990,000 Māori Trades and Training Fund investment which will see Wellington jobseekers supported into work, announced Employment Minister Willie Jackson today. “This funding will enable Sapphire Consultants Ltd. to help up to 45 Māori jobseekers into paid training initiatives over two years through ...3 weeks ago
- Ruakura Inland Port development vital infrastructure for WaikatoThe Government is investing $40 million to develop an inland port at Ruakura which will become a freight super-hub and a future business, research and residential development for the Waikato, Urban Development and Transport Minister Phil Twyford, and Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The funding has been has ...3 weeks ago
- Appointments made to Defence Expert Review GroupDefence Minister Ron Mark announced today the establishment of an Expert Review Group to review a number of aspects of the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) structure, information management and record-keeping processes. The Expert Review Group’s work arises out of the first recommendation from the Report of the Government’s Inquiry ...3 weeks ago
- No active community cases of COVID-19There are no active community cases of COVID-19 remaining in the country after the last people from the recent outbreak have recovered from the virus, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “This is a big milestone. New Zealanders have once again through their collective actions squashed the virus. The systems ...3 weeks ago
- What would a Biden presidency mean for Australia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Adjunct Professor, School of Communications, La Trobe University American presidential elections do not, as a rule, change the calculus much for Australian foreign policy. Elections come and go, American presidents complete their terms and business continues more or less as ...4 mins ago - Our minds may be wandering more during the pandemic — and this can be a good thingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Windt, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University Many feel the coronavirus pandemic has changed not just our everyday lives, but also our inner mental lives. There has been talk of a mental health pandemic, but also of lockdown brain fog when we ...5 mins ago
- Live updates, October 27: ‘Clearly, more went wrong’ – National Party review underway
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 27. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz7.40am: ‘More went wrong’ – Judith Collins speaks ahead of National Party reviewThe National Party is set to reassemble this week to discuss plans for opposition, as the ...13 mins ago - Cool discovery: new studies confirm Moon has icy polesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW Water is more abundant on the Moon than we might have suspected, according to two papers published today in Nature Astronomy that confirm the presence ...19 mins ago
- Reimagining the laser: new ideas from quantum theory could herald a revolutionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Howard Wiseman, Director, Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University Lasers were created 60 years ago this year, when three different laser devices were unveiled by independent laboratories in the United States. A few years later, one of these inventors called the unusual ...19 mins ago
- Wage theft and casual work are built into university business modelsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Cahill, Associate Professor, Department of Political Economy, University of Sydney The COVID crisis has exposed the destructive consequences of an over-reliance on casual labour across the economy. Australian universities provide one of the clearest examples of this. For the past two ...20 mins ago
- The Bulletin: Unaffordable dental care in the spotlightGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Unaffordable dental care in the spotlight, update on the two crops of Covid cases, and Billy TK quits Advance NZ alliance.One of the weeping sores of the health system is the high cost of dental care, and the health effects ...1 hour ago
- Labour and Greens to wrap-up final talks this week
Labour and the Greens will meet again today to thrash out areas they can cooperate on in government. ...1 hour ago - Business & Investing: Infratil eyes acquisition target
Infratil lines up a radiology play in Australia, plus a big week in the US with a third of the S&P500 companies reporting and GDP figures out ...2 hours ago - Chihuahua sparks constitutional conversation
A tweet about the oath of allegiance gets to the core of a much-needed conversation about NZ's constitution. ...2 hours ago - Who's protecting mum and dad forestry investors?
Arbor forestry investors left with minimal returns after 30 years, say they have been let down by the schemes' managers and by the statutory supervisor they believed was looking after them. ...2 hours ago - 'Silver Fern Sammy' gets her second wind
For almost two years, livewire midcourter Sam Winders wasn't wanted by the Silver Ferns. Now she’s back, with new stories to tell - writing books for children Sam Winders reckons she’d make a great character in a kid’s book. “Especially from my primary school days – I was this little red-haired ...3 hours ago - How to Covid-proof a countryThe pandemic has only exposed the systemic healthcare inequities that already existed, write two NZ health professionals working on the Covid response at opposite ends of the world.Far from being some “great leveller”, the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be more like water in a New Zealand rental home: seeping ...3 hours ago
- One big idea for the National Party to show it’s up for fresh thinkingAs it picks itself up from a drubbing, National needs to consider some new ways of doing things, such as reinventing the way we do social welfare, argues Liam Hehir.Yesterday was Labour Day. It has been Labour Month, in a way, with Jacinda Ardern’s party drubbing National in the general ...3 hours ago
- A Covid vaccine will be no silver bullet
Developing a Covid-19 vaccine is arguably the number one priority of humanity right now – so how are we going, and how well-placed is New Zealand to roll one out once it’s developed? On today’s special edition of The Detail, produced in association with the University of Auckland, Emile Donovan hosts ...3 hours ago - School zone changes a big experiment
Do schools get good results merely because they've signed up better students? Changes to 135 school zones could give the answer, argues Dr Eric Crampton. ...3 hours ago - Cabinet knew about lack of border tests before August outbreak
Cabinet was repeatedly told prior to the August outbreak that the regular asymptomatic testing of all border-facing workers was still being rolled out. ...3 hours ago - Bryan Bruce: Labour Day … eroded by neoliberalism and selfishnessCOMMENTARY: By Bryan Bruce Today is Labour Day in New Zealand – the public holiday set aside to celebrate the rights of workers and in particular the right to an eight-hour working day. The great irony is that like many New Zealanders I am working today because I’m a contractor ...4 hours ago
- After an epic 112-day lockdown, Melbourne at last wins green light to open upToday marks the official end of the second wave in the Australian state of Victoria, with zero cases recorded for the first time in 139 days, writes Hassan Vally of La Trobe University.Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today announced the most significant easing of Melbourne’s coronavirus restrictions since the state went ...11 hours ago
- Today marks the official end of the second wave in Victoria, as old freedoms returnSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today announced the most significant easing of Melbourne’s coronavirus restrictions since the state went into “stage 3” lockdown on July 9. From 11.59pm on Tuesday night, retail, restaurants, cafes and bars ...13 hours ago
- Review: The Undoing is here to fill the Big Little Lies-shaped hole in your lifeThe Big Little Lies showrunner and one of its stars are back with an addictive new limited series – and they’ve brought Hugh Grant along for the ride.Nicole Kidman does a lot of walking in The Undoing. The new HBO murder-mystery miniseries features seemingly endless shots of her character, Grace ...13 hours ago
- Finally at zero new cases, Victoria is on top of the world after unprecedented lockdown effortSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Director, Health Program, Grattan Institute If the past few months have been like a long-haul flight, Victorians are now standing in the aisles waiting for the cabin door to open, a little groggy and disoriented but relieved. They have every ...14 hours ago
- As the government drags its heels, a better model for a federal integrity commission has emergedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University Independent MP Helen Haines has just introduced a bill into parliament that seeks to establish a robust new federal integrity commission. This is a consensus bill that involved consultation with legal academics, panels ...14 hours ago
- Liquid Capitalism: Everyone Drinks It, Swims In It, Drowns In It
The most radical socialists; Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters (Black, White, Latino or Asian); liberal and conservative zealots; diversity and equity gurus; pacifists; denizens of corporates and non-profits; rappers, rockers and country western musicians; ...14 hours ago - Dobell Biennial showcases drawing today as we consider its future in the real worldSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Chand, Lecturer in Visual Communication Design and Creative Industries, University of Newcastle Review: Real Worlds: Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial 2020, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Why do drawers draw? Drawing is historically connected to creative practice, but also truth and accuracy. ...15 hours ago
- NZPP And Reset New Zealand Have Moved Away From Their Election Alliance With Advance NZThe New Zealand Public Party (NZPP) and Reset New Zealand have moved away from their election alliance with Advance NZ to reform back into the intended party. “We recognise the importance of this movement continuing to improve itself in many ways, and at ...15 hours ago
- Nuclear Ban Treaty Milestone Achieved" Its potential to end the threat of nuclear destruction is a gift for future generations." A significant milestone towards a world free of nuclear weapons was achieved on United Nations Day, 24 October, when Honduras became the fiftieth ...15 hours ago
- Billy Te Kahika's party splits from alliance with Jami-Lee RossThe Public Party says it was always in the plan to revert to being its own party, if it failed to make it into parliament. ...15 hours ago
- Unions Call For Acknowledgment Of Essential Workers On Labour DayThe CTU President has drawn attention to the importance of essential workers on Labour Day. CTU President Richard Wagstaff says "Labour Day is a time to reflect on the efforts of all working people. In 2020, more than ever, we can all see how ...16 hours ago
- ‘I still cannot get over it’: 75 years after Japan atomic bombs, a nuclear weapons ban treaty is...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gwyn McClelland, Lecturer, Japanese Studies, University of New England The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will finally come into force after the 50th country (Honduras) ratified it over the weekend. The treaty will make the development, testing, stockpiling and ...16 hours ago
- For the first time, Closing the Gap has a higher education target – here’s how to achieve itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Anderson. Palawa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Student and University Experience, Australian National University The new National Agreement on Closing the Gap has a higher education target for the first time. It’s also the first time an agreement between governments on Indigenous issues was ...17 hours ago
- The lockdown stamped out a deadly virus. Its health impact did not stop thereIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: From traffic accidents and seasonal ...18 hours ago
- Live updates, October 24-26: No new community cases; five new cases in managed isolationWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 24-26. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz1.00pm: No new community cases; five cases at the borderThe Ministry of Health has just emailed through today’s Covid-19 case number update. This is how it reads: There ...20 hours ago
- Let’s forget about prison and see what a term in charm school can achieve – or will crime disapp...
A warning was sounded at the beginning of a recent New Zealand Herald report about the crimes of a couple of blokes who – according to the Indigenous Pacific Uprising – should not be imprisoned. The warning was in capital letters. GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING – THIS STORY CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF ...20 hours ago - What makes an activist?Ensemble’s Lofa Totua explores the evolving nature of her understanding of activism, and asks those fighting against injustice about what being an ‘activist’ means to them.The other week I released a fear. The angsty knots of worry and imposter syndrome, untied, finally allowing me to breathe.“Sometimes, activism is as simple ...21 hours ago
- Queensland is making election history with two women leaders, so why is the campaign focused on men?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor and Director of the Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith Business School, Griffith University The Queensland election is a history-making poll. For the first time in a state or federal election, two women are going head-to-head. Does this mean gender ...24 hours ago
- Of all the places that have seen off a second coronavirus wave, only Vietnam and Hong Kong have done...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Toole, Professor of International Health, Burnet Institute Of the 215 nations and territories that have reported COVID-19 cases, 120 have experienced clear second waves or late first waves that began in July or later. That’s according to the Worldometer global database, ...24 hours ago
- Distress, depression and drug use: young people fear for their future after the bushfiresSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Lykins, Associate Professor, University of New England This week, the bushfire royal commission is due to hand down its findings. Already, the commission’s officials have warned the status quo is “no longer enough to defend us from the impact of global ...24 hours ago
- How creative use of technology may have helped save schooling during the pandemicSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil Selwyn, Distinguished Research Professor, Monash University It is estimated around half the world’s students’ schools remain shut down. All told, this has been a potentially damaging disruption to the education of a generation. But one of the few positive outcomes from ...24 hours ago
- Mould and damp health costs are about 3 times those of sugary drinks. We need a healthy housing agen...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bentley, Professor of Social Epidemiology, Principal Research Fellow in Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Research Excellence in Healthy Housing in Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne The World Health Organisation has always been interested ...24 hours ago
- My best worst film: Pink Flamingos – ‘one of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Richards, Lecturer in Screen Studies, University of South Australia In a new series, our writers explore their best worst film. They’ll tell you what the critics got wrong – and why it’s time to give these movies another chance. While some ...24 hours ago
- Forget Ardern v Collins, it's Trump v Biden that matters to markets
The US election is more critical for our financial markets than our own one, writes Nikki Mandow It was an election goddammit. A landslide victory for Labour, great results for the Green Party and ACT, a demolition for National. And the New Zealand dollar did... nothing. An almost insignificant move ...1 day ago - Top Town: The Kiwi game show that bought the nation togetherTimaru, Waihi, Greymouth and Woodville entered; only one could emerge the winner. Tara Ward looks back at one of the most exciting moments in regional New Zealand history: the grand final of Top Town.It was a hot summer’s day in 1977 when 10,000 people gathered in Whangarei’s Okara Park to ...1 day ago
- The psychedelics revolution has arrived in New ZealandLSD was criminalised across the world in the late 1960s, following a moral panic about the effect recreational use was having on young people. After a 40 year hiatus on medical use, LSD is being studied once more. Helen Glenny explains.Mel Elwin, 36, swallowed five large pills and washed them ...1 day ago
- Arataki Stan
Steve Braunias reviews Stan Walker's as-told-to tell-all memoir Aratki bulldogs Mount School rats But when you come to Omanu Take off your hats. Racist af, from infancy: we would holler that chant at Omanu Primary School in Mt Maunganui whenever we hosted the two other local schools at sports ...1 day ago - Deadly bacteria lurk in coastal waters. Climate change increases the risks
Health workers see Vibrio as a rare danger, if they’ve heard of it at all. But it’s already causing more cases of flesh-eating disease. And it’s poised to get worse. In October 2018, three weeks after Hurricane Florence pummeled swaths of North Carolina, Eddie Clinton was in the kitchen of ...1 day ago - A case for teaching Islam in schools
The current Islamic education system in New Zealand is best described as a Band-Aid to genuine religious education, writes the president of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand, Tahir Nawaz. In countries like the United Kingdom and across Europe, although a large number of Muslims follow the traditional Islamic way ...1 day ago - A tale of two plagues‘On one scale the coronavirus that plagues us is microscopic. On another we ourselves are made small.’ An essay by Alex Kazemi.Make a Moebius strip. Take a long rectangular piece of paper, loop it, then join the two ends after putting one end through a half twist. The resultant shape ...1 day ago
- Review: the new Allbirds socks and undiesAll his life, Duncan Greive has basically hated his undies and found socks annoying. And then he tried Allbirds underwear.It is quite accurate to point out that fields as varied as medicine, transport and 90% of humans are brutally compromised by sexism. This, naturally extends to underwear, with most bras ...1 day ago
- Remembering the forgotten soldiers
The descendants of Pacific Island Coastwatchers just want to be part of the ANZAC story - but there's so little recorded about the men sent to remote areas with no resources, who then got no pensions or medical care. Willie Cuthers' grandfather played a crucial role in the Pacific in ...1 day ago - Australia expresses ‘serious concerns’ about invasive searches of women at Doha airportSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Australian government has registered “serious concerns” with Qatar about an incident in which female passengers, including Australians, were taken off a flight bound for Australia and subjected to an invasive search. The incident happened ...1 day ago
- Daniel Andrews’ delay prompts new questions about Victoria’s contact tracingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government and business have reacted angrily to Daniel Andrews’ “cautious pause” on announcing the easing of COVID restrictions in Melbourne, suggesting it showed the state government lacked faith in its contact tracing. The ...1 day ago
- How Will The New World Look Under Covid-19? More Equal? Dystopian?"Neo-liberalism is a theory of governance without governing. Four decades in, this is precisely what the USA has. Outside of major American cities, and increasingly inside them, the country is falling apart. The capitalist view of employment is to ...2 days ago
- ‘Could do better’: Top Australian economists award the budget a cautious passSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Australia’s leading economists have struggled to grade this month’s budget. Challenged by the Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation to rate it on a scale of A to F ...2 days ago
- David Hill on the story that started it allDavid Hill’s beloved junior fiction book See Ya, Simon is 28 years old. The boy who inspired it died in his first year of high school. That backstory is well known but now, Hill fills in the detail, including the obligation he felt to his daughter, and the grief that ...2 days ago
- Live updates, October 24-25: Tool lead singer had Covid-19 in Auckland; case updates coming at 1pmWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz11.45am: Tool lead singer had Covid-19 in AucklandThe lead singer of Tool, Maynard James Keenan, has revealed during a podcast interview that he had Covid-19 while performing shows ...2 days ago
- How the Covid lockdown changed our air, our water, and the sounds around usIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: part two, environmental impacts.This project ...2 days ago
- A New Zealand website is changing the way the world talks about moviesOut of an office on Queen Street, the film buffs’ social network Letterboxd has thrown the rules out the window, attracting a young, progressive global base of users redefining what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ film is.New Zealand’s back in level one, and cinemas are back in action. Ish. Productions around the ...2 days ago
- Show Me The Logic!News came out this week that a shearer was given a 16 month prison sentence for killing a lamb, because it frustrated him while shearing it. Christopher Tredinnick received the sentence in Cromwell this week, according to the New Zealand Herald. ...2 days ago
- The Green party should think twice before accepting a deal with LabourForest and Bird’s Kevin Hague recently wrote that the Greens and Labour should work together for the benefit of the environment. Here Justine Sachs argues that a seat at the table isn’t worth selling out the the party’s soul. As a Green party member, I am wary of the Greens ...2 days ago
- NZ’s election, online: What did each party spend – and how effective was it?Which parties spent the most on Facebook and Google, and was it really all worth it in the end? The election is over and the results are in: Labour swept the polls, National lost big, and the Greens and Act are set to return to parliament with an even bigger ...2 days ago
- A farewell poem for … Jami-Lee Ross
New Zealand's semi-official poet laureate Victor Billot pens topical verse every Sunday. Today: the undearly departed Jami-Lee Ross. Non, je ne regrette rien You are out Jami! Out of the loop. Out of Botany. Out of National. Deep in the poop. You sold ...2 days ago - Expecting less – or more – of Labour’s new votersA unified rejection of the global trend towards right-wing strongmen or a blood debt from deeply conservative voters? Perhaps the election result was neither, writes Joseph Nunweek.Going by some of the electoral post-mortems, the weekend of October 17 was some kind of 4D chess triumph of the New Zealand right. ...2 days ago
- NZ Markets, Business Welcome Labour's Election VictoryNew Zealand’s financial markets and business leaders quickly welcomed the Labour Party’s resounding victory in last Saturday’s general election. Labour took 49.1 percent of the votes, up from 36.9 percent in 2017. The conservative opposition National ...3 days ago
- The price of union support for Biden – legislation to shift the balance in US industrial relations
We watched the last debate before the US presidential elections. President Donald Trump was better-behaved and the presence of mute microphones made for a more moderate evening. But apart from a few clashes on health coverage and law and order, the debate – and most of the campaign – has ...3 days ago - Live updates, October 24: Will we have new Covid-19 cases?Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at info@thespinoff.co.nz12.30pm: Covid-19 numbers to be updated at 1pmThere’ll be an update from the Ministry of Health this afternoon via press release. Yesterday there were nine new cases announced ...3 days ago
- Recipe: Water kefirAn effervescent fermented beverage a bit like kombucha, water kefir is a refreshing drop for the warmer weather. Here’s how to make it.As I sit here typing, my kids are sitting at the table colouring in, sipping the glasses of water kefir I just photographed for this recipe. Our middle ...3 days ago
- Investigators find evidence of military role in shooting of Papuan pastorBy Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie in Jakarta An Indonesian government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team has reported that it found indications that security forces were involved in the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani after investigating a series of shootings in Intan Jaya regency, Papua. The team gave its findings to the ...3 days ago
- Emily Writes: Quibi was dumb but I loved it a lotJust six months after going live with much fanfare, streaming service Quibi is shutting down. Emily Writes provides a eulogy to the platform nobody liked.It’s almost shameful to admit it given the chorus of people bagging Quibi, but I tell you – I loved that thing.The criticism of Quibi started ...3 days ago
- In a rare post-election Beehive announcement, we are encouraged to stay united and strongDo you need encouragement to remain united and strong, either because of the election result, the persistence of Covid-19, the decision that will restrict our ability to watch the America’s Cup – or whatever? The Honourable Aupito William Sio has delivered such encouragement with an announcement headed … Tokelau Language ...3 days ago
- How Sophie Henderson got Baby Done doneThe writer of the acclaimed new Rose Matafeo comedy tells Sam Brooks how her own experiences as an expectant mother inspired the script.When writer-actress Sophie Henderson first started trying to become pregnant with her husband, director and actor Curtis Vowell, she didn’t expect it to happen so fast. She probably ...3 days ago
- When it all stopped: measuring the impacts of the great lockdown experimentIn 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today, part one: the lockdown halt.This ...3 days ago
- Ngāpuhi Challenge Proposed Method Of Distributing Surplus Funds By Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee LtdStatement from Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-Ō-Ngāpuhi (TRAION) Chair, Mere Mangu, and Ngāpuhi Asset Holding Company Limited (NAHC) Chair, Jason Witehira. The official position of the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga Group is as follows: A proposed amendment to the Māori ...3 days ago
- Short story: Enclosure, by Ruby Porter
"There are some things you’re never supposed to say: I don’t like sex. I am afraid of my son": a short story by Auckland writer Ruby Porter The first incident was at the zoo. This was back when your husband still loved you, before you had to ...3 days ago - Silver Ferns take up arms for war with Roses
LISTEN: This week's Extra Time podcast looks at where the Silver Ferns sit in their return to international netball. The Silver Ferns are finally back on court adjusting to life without retired legend of the game Laura Langman. But how are the world netball champions shaping up for their three-test series against ...3 days ago
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