accountability
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Nat tactics Ngaro and third term arrogance
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, May 24th, 2017 - 41 comments
Ngaro has fronted up with another grudging apology. English should have fired him and it speaks volumes of third-term arrogance that he hasn’t.
National’s long history of intimidation
Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 16th, 2017 - 37 comments
It isn’t just third term arrogance. Ngaro is merely the latest example of National’s long history of attacking, intimidating, and trying to silence critical voices and facts. Take a stroll with me down memory lane…
NZDF changes story on Operation Burnham photos
Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, May 13th, 2017 - 10 comments
Why did the NZDF wrongly claim that there were no photographs of the mission? Intelligence analyst Dr Paul Buchanan has a suggestion.
Seymour on Nat properties and policy
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 am, May 10th, 2017 - 28 comments
A lesson from South Korea
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, May 10th, 2017 - 9 comments
South Korea has responded to corruption allegations by electing a new president who plans to dump their equivalent of the SIS and oppressive security laws, greatly tax the wealthy, clean out corruption, and hugely strengthen the public sector.
Chester Borrows in court
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, May 8th, 2017 - 74 comments
With the Eminem case on the go too its a busy time in court for National.
Pike River – who to believe?
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, May 2nd, 2017 - 45 comments
The Pike River families call Bill English a liar.
Protecting our biggest export income earner
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, May 2nd, 2017 - 51 comments
Tourism Export Council: “The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) in its current form is nothing more than a PR-stunt from Government who continue to ignore scientists and expert opinion re the state of our freshwater. The NPS-FM does not address the serious problems facing our waterways and, in fact, will make them worse.”
Pike River – what did the government know and when did they know it?
Written By: - Date published: 12:41 pm, May 1st, 2017 - 34 comments
Bill English claims to have been unaware of the video footage, but the night before Nick Smith’s spokesperson said the government had been “advised”. It would have been extraordinary if they had not. Pike River families deserve the truth.
Parata fleeing education mess
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 24th, 2017 - 37 comments
Parata can believe whatever brings her comfort of course, but the fact is that this National government has made, as usual, a mess of education.
The NZDF’s transparent fig leaf
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, April 23rd, 2017 - 18 comments
According to David Fisher (Herald) the NZDF never investigated allegations of civilian deaths at the time of Operation Burnham. They received only a summary of the whitewash ISAF report. They refuse to look further. This is the behaviour of an organisation with plenty to hide. Hager and Stephenson have facts, the NZDF are hiding behind a transparent fig leaf of deliberate ignorance.
Housing affordability data suppressed?
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, April 22nd, 2017 - 83 comments
Bill English would have you believe that there is no housing crisis. He desperately needs you to believe it until after the next election. Is Nick Smith deliberately suppressing housing data?
Mental health needs vs. cuts
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 20th, 2017 - 25 comments
The People’s Mental Health Review report puts the deterioration of our mental health system firmly in the spotlight. Despite a 60 per cent increase in demand since 2007/08 National has been slashing funding. Lives are at risk.
Climate change, political heroes, political culture
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, April 13th, 2017 - 117 comments
How ironic that Parliament is to debate climate change today, as the latest in a torrent of warming-fueled extreme weather events bears down on the country, and as the government charges Russel Norman and the other heroes trying to end oil exploration in NZ waters.
Little’s court win good for democracy
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 12th, 2017 - 111 comments
The defamation case against Andrew Little has been an unwelcome distraction while he should have been free to do his job as leader of the largest opposition party. The consensus is that the process delivered a qualified win for Little, and a clear win for democracy.
Small on the Nats’ Key deficit on Hit and Run
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, April 6th, 2017 - 24 comments
Vernon Small thinks the B Team is missing Key.
The truth will out
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, April 5th, 2017 - 93 comments
English can squirm and deny, but according to Stephenson there is more Hit and Run to come.
Nurses ask us to vote for our health
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, April 5th, 2017 - 50 comments
You could vote for three more years of “brighter future”. Or you could listen to the nurses.
Land of the long white wash
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 4th, 2017 - 89 comments
In ruling out an inquiry Bill English insults both our intelligence and our integrity. Next stop the International Criminal Court? (Alas the title is not mine, take a bow Finlay MacDonald.)
The NZDF will never clear its name – and neither will Bill English
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, April 3rd, 2017 - 154 comments
It’s likely that some time this week Bill English will announce that there will be no inquiry into operation Burnham. The NZDF will lose any opportunity to clear its name. Fronting up to the truth, whatever it may be, is better than the perception of a shabby coverup.
Update: And there it is – no inquiry.
Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp: “As a nation we owe it to ourselves to find out”
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, March 30th, 2017 - 45 comments
Mapp: “Part of protecting their reputation is also finding out what happened, particularly if there is an allegation that civilian casualties may have been accidentally caused. In that way we both honour the soldiers, and also demonstrate to the Afghans that we hold ourselves to the highest ideals of respect of life, even in circumstances of military conflict.”
Hit and Run developments
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, March 29th, 2017 - 36 comments
It appears that the questioned NZDF attack took place at the location claimed by the force, but hit the villages named by the book (coordinates used by various parties are off by 2km).
Isn’t that convenient
Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, March 29th, 2017 - 50 comments
A full report into the Havelock North water crisis has been delayed until (surprise!) after the election.
NZDF credibility on the line
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, March 27th, 2017 - 80 comments
There were several significant developments on Hit and Run and the NZDF over the weekend. Which version of the NZDF story is it that Bill English backs 100%?
Impossible to refuse an inquiry
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, March 24th, 2017 - 67 comments
Bill English should stop being evasive and just get on with an inquiry into the fiasco outlined in Hit and Run. The latest developments make any other outcome ridiculous. The longer English delays the worse he looks.
Wayne Mapp does not deny civilian deaths in botched raid
Written By: - Date published: 5:33 pm, March 22nd, 2017 - 84 comments
Good on you Wayne. Hit just got real.
Oil prospecting on the shores of Lake Te Anau?
Written By: - Date published: 3:10 pm, March 22nd, 2017 - 22 comments
The Nats are buying another fight with NZ’s nature lovers. Last time they tried something like this 50,000 marched in Auckland and they were forced to back down.
Hit and Run – time for an inquiry
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 22nd, 2017 - 21 comments
Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson’s book Hit and Run makes a compelling case for the Government to conduct a full inquiry to see if New Zealand forces were complicit in the killing of innocent men and women and if there was a cover up.
NRT: “Too hard”
Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, March 20th, 2017 - 54 comments
No Right Turn: “The real barrier to National … acting on this is because that “no-one owns water, first come, first served” policy disproportionately benefits one group and allows them to profiteer from a public resource while destroying its value to others. That group is farmers – and they donate to the National Party.”
There are no surpluses
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, March 14th, 2017 - 38 comments
There are no surpluses in NZ right now, not in any real sense. There is only debt, negative externalities and deferred costs.
Racist campaigns and attack ads
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 10th, 2017 - 32 comments
A couple of racist groups seem to be hawking their wares recently. Unfortunately this may herald the start of a dirty election, dragged down by well funded and unaccountable pressure groups.
- Te Pāti Māori co-founder Dame Tariana Turia dies
Dame Tariana Turia has died aged 80 in Whangaehu overnight.The founder and former co-leader of Te Pāti Māori suffered a stroke earlier this week and was said not to have long left.A press release from Te Ranga Tupua said she had died in the early hours of Friday morning. “A mother ...1 week ago - DoC’s big donation drive gets mixed reviews
An $80 million subantarctic pest eradication project is being backed by a high-profile conservation charity targeting wealthy individuals.Since it was established in 2000, NZ Nature Fund has raised $5 million for project-specific conservation work, including $1.2 million over the past year. Projects, often managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), ...1 week ago
- Rust Belt vs the beltway: Vance’s memoir more relevant than ever
Opinion: When it was first published in 2016, JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was hailed by Britain’s Sunday Times as “the political book of the year”. The Independent described it as “an insight into Trump and Brexit”.Hillbilly Elegy is an autobiographical account of Vance’s life, growing up in a poor, white ...1 week ago
- Positive sports fandom: netball fans show the way
Sport is a place where ‘real’ fans are often assumed to be men. Global research tells us that female fans of live men’s sport often face misogynistic and homophobic environments that include swearing, drunkenness and yelling negative comments and abuse at opponents and referees. In men’s sport, a quick skim through ...1 week ago
- Page-turning rural gothic: Ash by Louise Wallace, reviewed
Summer reissue: Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. A famous poet once said to ...1 week ago - A brief history of New Zealand’s weirdest mystery food dumps
Summer reissue: Alex Casey talks a stroll through headlines detailing hundreds of beached kiwifruit, dozens of mailbox sausages and one giant mystery ham. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...1 week ago
- My Greatest Trip: My awkward high-school exchange to Germany
Summer reissue: Hera Lindsay Bird on her Bildungsroman. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. I would never have gone to Germany if it wasn’t ...1 week ago
- Following the Swiss wolf, who walked 2,000 kilometres for love
Summer reissue: When we insert ourselves into the lives of animals, we become complicit in their fates. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. Before ...1 week ago
- Prison or nothing: The ‘self-perpetuating downward spiral’ in New Zealand’s mental health syst...
Summer reissue: With specialist mental health services in ‘chaos’, people who need help end up in destructive cycles and prison. Experts say there are solutions, but is political will and leadership lacking? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 3 January
The post Daily crossword, Friday 3 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 January
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- Pryde ‘may have to wait’ over tribunal report, says Fiji President’s office
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Fiji’s Office of the President has confirmed that the Tribunal’s report on allegations of misconduct against suspended Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde does not need to be made public at this stage. The tribunal, chaired by Justice Anare Tuilevuka with Justices Chaitanya Lakshman and ...1 week ago - Virgin Australia confirms ‘serious security incident’ with crew in Fiji
By Anish Chand in Suva Virgin Australia has confirmed a “serious security incident” with its flight crew members who were in Fiji on New Year’s Day. Virgin Australia’s chief operating officer Stuart Aggs said the incident took place on Tuesday night – New Year’s Eve The crew members were in ...1 week ago
- CPJ condemns ban on Al Jazeera – network decries bid to ‘hide the truth’
Pacific Media Watch The New York-based global media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned a decision by the Palestinian Authority to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations in the West Bank and called for it to be reversed “immediately”. “Governments resort to censoring news outlets when they have something to hide,” ...1 week ago
- New Caledonia political crisis costs one third of multi-million French package
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk An emergency 231 million euro (NZ$428 million) French aid package for New Caledonia has been reduced by one third because of the French Pacific territory’s current political crisis. The initial French package was endorsed in early December 2024, in an 11th-hour ...1 week ago
- Isidore of Seville: the patron saint of the internet who shaped knowledge for generations
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Researcher, Historian, Australian Catholic University Stone statue of Saint Isidore of Seville at the National Library of Spain. WH_Pics/Shutterstock In a world where information flows freely, it’s easy to forget that, for centuries, knowledge was much harder to ...1 week ago
- Why your spin bike has become a clothes rack – and what you can do about it, according to behaviou...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Swee-Hoon Chuah, Professor of Behavioural Economics, Tasmanian Behavioural Lab, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Chances are that the end of the year has made you assess some of your 2024 New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you, like us, bought a home spin bike ...1 week ago
- Most adults will gain half a kilo this year – and every year. Here’s how to stop ‘weight creep...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney Allgo/Unsplash As we enter a new year armed with resolutions to improve our lives, there’s a good chance we’ll also be carrying something less helpful: extra kilos. At ...1 week ago
- Mind-bending, body-snatching, blood-sucking: parasites are bizarre yet vital for life on Earth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University ijimino, Shutterstock Parasite, zombie, leech – these words are often used to describe people in unkind ways. Many of us recoil when ticks, tapeworms, fleas, ...1 week ago
- Ka tuku te rākau: Handing over the baton of protest to a new generation
Summer reissue: As tens of thousands showed their support for the hīkoi to parliament, the organisers were busy behind the scenes ensuring things run smoothly. For many, this was their first time leading a kaupapa of this scale – and it wasn’t all easy. The Spinoff needs to double the ...1 week ago
- The multi-billion dollar startup sector is bouncing back – 8 big trends will shape 2025
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rod McNaughton, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Startups have always been at the forefront of innovation. But factors such as artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability and decentralisation are set to reshape industries in 2025. Businesses are defined as startups ...1 week ago
- How having a baby makes it more likely Australian couples rely on the man’s income
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Perales, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland fizkes/Shutterstock Australian women are better educated than men but still face poorer job prospects and lower incomes. We see this in Australia’s stubbornly persistent gender pay gap ...1 week ago
- Can animals make ‘art’? These examples from nature suggest so
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Shutterstock According to Britannica, “art” can be described as something “consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination” – whereas Wikipedia defines it more narrowly as a ...1 week ago
- A drink with Lucinda Light, the greatest MAFS participant of all time
Summer reissue: Married at First Sight superfan Tara Ward charges down the aisle to meet this season’s brightest star. It is a Thursday afternoon, and I am staring deep into Lucinda Light’s eyes. It feels like my own personal version of the eye gazing task on Married At First Sight ...1 week ago
- Dame Tariana Turia suffers a stroke, surrounded by family
The former politician is surrounded by her whānau after suffering a stroke earlier this week. ...1 week ago - ‘If we can do a wedding in 5 days, we can do anything we set our minds to’
Comment: Some people make long lists of things they want to do. When my partner Solly and I decided we wanted to get married, just five days before I flew out on tour with the Black Ferns and he flew out to play for Biarritz, I said, ‘well, how many ...1 week ago
- To belong should never be beyond hope
Opinion: I recently had a wonderful meal with Bariz Shah and his wife Saba, together with their two pre-school children. I had to admit that I hadn’t read Bariz’s book Beyond Hope yet, but after talking about their life over dinner, I knew I had to read it.Imagine arriving in Auckland ...1 week ago
- ‘It was just the right word’: When ‘bugger’ took New Zealand by storm
Summer reissue: It’s a quarter of a century since the nation was stopped in its tracks by a dog saying the word ‘bugger’. This is the complete history of Buggermania – the ad, the controversy, and the enduring legacy. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we ...1 week ago
- On being undeniably, irretrievably old
Summer reissue: David Hill is in his ninth decade. In a touching tribute to his late friend, he challenges some myths about ‘old farts’. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...1 week ago
- The half-a-million-dollar decision that still haunts the book industry
Summer reissue: Narrative Muse was awarded $500,000 to boost sales of New Zealand books. Three years later, industry insiders report that it has had little, if any, impact. What went wrong? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 January
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- Daily crossword, Thursday 2 January
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- Obituary: Former Race Relations Conciliator Wally Hirsh dies
Brought to this country by his German Jewish refugee parents in 1938, Hirsh said his membership of a minority gave him special sensitivity to race issues. ...1 week ago
- A total eclipse of the Moon, Saturn’s rings ‘disappear’, meteors and more: your guide to the s...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Lomb, Honorary Professor, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland The totally eclipsed Moon on 26 May 2021. Geoffrey Wyatt, Powerhouse Museum, CC BY In addition to the annual parade of star pictures or constellations passing above our heads each night, ...1 week ago
- The surprising ways ‘swimming off’ a hangover can be risky, even if alcohol has left your system
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney Wanderlust Media/Shutterstock It’s the morning after a big night and you’re feeling the effects of too much alcohol. So it can be ...1 week ago
- Getting jiggy with it: Inside the wild world of competitive speed puzzling
Summer reissue: If you thought jigsaw puzzles were meant to be relaxing, think again. Tara Ward lifts the lid on one of the Masters Games’ most intense and demanding events. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...1 week ago
- All 85 of The Spinoff’s rankings, ranked from worst to best
Summer reissue: The rankers become the ranked: Hera Lindsay Bird tackles the most meta ranking of them all. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. ...1 week ago
- Set your political imagination free (and some pleas for humanity in the NY)
Opinion: I got this book as holiday reading (I know, what a nerd!) but read it straight away. Although David Runciman is a professor, he also does popular podcasts and this is very accessible. It wanders through an eclectic bunch of thinkers who share a goal of “liberating our political ...1 week ago
- The NZ ‘voice of the century’ who wound up in a psych hospital for 16 years
Summer reissue: Mina Foley was a formidable talent dogged by wild rumours about her mental breakdown. What is the truth? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...1 week ago
- Ten wild political predictions for 2025
For the eighth year in a row, The Spinoff asked a hand-selected group of experts for their most outlandish political prophecy. And for the eighth year in a row, they did not disappoint. Madeleine Chapman (editor, The Spinoff) Winston Peters will realise just how bad it feels to hand over ...1 week ago
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