democratic participation
Categories under democratic participation
- petition (23)
- political education (61)
- referendum (92)
- vote smart (30)
The challenge to the reeferendum result
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, December 8th, 2020 - 57 comments
A group of more than 350 people have applied to the High Court to try and void the reeferendum result.
Time’s up Labour
Written By: - Date published: 4:50 pm, November 20th, 2020 - 114 comments
It’s not possible to resolve New Zealand’s housing and poverty crises from within a neoliberal frame. Change is going to have to be driven from outside of parliament.
Trump loses the presidency, but Trumpism lives on
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 am, November 19th, 2020 - 8 comments
The reality is that the United States is a poor example of a functioning democracy in 2020.
Trump’s chances of winning the Presidential Election through legal action
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, November 18th, 2020 - 19 comments
To win the Presidential Election Donald Trump has to win multiple legal challenges in multiple states. So far his cases have not gone very well.
Rerun reeferendum
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, November 6th, 2020 - 33 comments
One of the other results from the final results on was the reeferendum. The loss was minuscule in the final results. If I was the yes campaign, I’d be considering pushing this to another referendum soon. It was so close, that the result was mainly due to being run with Covid-19 in the background of the campaign, a unreadable proposed bill, and a surprisingly well funded No campaign.
The Green Party’s decision on government
Written By: - Date published: 4:08 pm, October 31st, 2020 - 139 comments
Which way are the Greens going to jump?
The reeferendum fails
Written By: - Date published: 2:46 pm, October 30th, 2020 - 207 comments
The referendum seeking to decriminalise cannabis appears to have failed narrowly although special votes are still to be counted.
NZ election 2020: Labour win is a watershed moment in the country’s history
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 am, October 20th, 2020 - 47 comments
The 2020 election was more than just a victory for Labour and more than a crushing defeat for the National Party (New Zealand’s main centre-right political party). This result marks a significant watershed in New Zealand politics which will likely have implications long after this parliamentary term.
Legalise it! The Socialist case for Cannabis reform
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, October 15th, 2020 - 18 comments
Maria Hoyle of Socialist Aotearoa argues that from a socialist perspective the legalisation of the possession of cannabis should occur.
The Votesafe campaign
Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, October 2nd, 2020 - 35 comments
A well funded organisation has emerged from nowhere and is potentially having a significant effect on one of the referendum topics this year.
No Right Turn: The coming US shitshow
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 28th, 2020 - 44 comments
President Trump once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the US election.
Should 16 year olds have the vote?
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, August 25th, 2020 - 54 comments
A current case before the High Court is asking the question should 16 year olds be permitted to vote.
What is wrong with postal voting?
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 16th, 2020 - 73 comments
Judith Collins’s and National’s ridiculing the proposition that New Zealand could safely hold an election using postal voting has some disturbing similarities with Donald Trump’s approach in America.
Vote No to Cannabis Reform
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, August 10th, 2020 - 118 comments
Ten reasons to vote against cannabis law reform this election.
July 2020 Roy Morgan Poll
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 pm, August 8th, 2020 - 45 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll is out.
Crusher?
Crushed!
Hong Kong principles
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 38 comments
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
Another Nat MP Quits
Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, July 20th, 2020 - 205 comments
Another Tory MP has quit. This time it’s first term MP Andrew Falloon.
UPDATE: The PM was informed on Friday, but chose to be discreet.
UPDATE: NewsHub are claiming that Falloon sent porn to a schoolgirl.
UPDATE: The victim was a uni student and her age means no offence was committed. Further, Falloon claims it was not him that sent the pic.
Wellington Central: Should Grant Robertson Stand Aside?
Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, July 19th, 2020 - 47 comments
Should Labour’s Grant Robertson stand aside in Wellington Central to guarantee the Greens are available to be a coalition partner?
White Riot
Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, July 5th, 2020 - 11 comments
Love Music, Hate Racism? Here’s the film for you!
Constitutions that build citizen power and joy
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, May 23rd, 2020 - 34 comments
Emerging from the current crisis, what kind of state can be envisaged that could do the opposite of this consciousness deflation, by enabling and encouraging an empowered citizenry, and harnessing public intelligence, creativity and ingenuity for the common good?
Nat Vote: And the Loser Is ….
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 197 comments
The Nation holds its breath as the dullest political leadership race in a generation snores to a close. Who will win by losing? Who will lose by winning? Who cares?
UPDATE: It’s Mullertime!
UPDATE: Bennett dumped!
National’s Petition is Cynical Populism
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 9th, 2020 - 124 comments
National is trying to steal show political leadership and relevance by launching a petition.
Addendum added
Two Bubbles Bridges’ Big Day Out
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 pm, April 6th, 2020 - 67 comments
Simon ‘Two Bubbles’ Bridges feels he’s entitled to flaunt the rules because he’s, ahem, essential.
Covid-19 and a digital democracy
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, March 15th, 2020 - 20 comments
Government has for the last decade been pushing for as many government services as possible to be primarily accessed digitally rather than face-to face. Funnily enough, the one public service they forgot to push to digital is themselves. Now’s the time Trevor.
Green Party call for national discussion on political party funding and donations reform
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, February 19th, 2020 - 61 comments
It’s clear that Parliament is incapable of meaningful reforms to itself, as some political parties have a vested interest in the status quo, a citizens’ assembly would remove bias around these important decisions.
– NZ Green Party
Bridges’ biggest gamble
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, February 2nd, 2020 - 103 comments
Simon Bridges has mimicked John Key and ruled out National working with NZ First after the election. The difference is however that back then Key ruled out working with NZ First because NZ First was involved in a SFO investigation about the hiding of a $100,000 donation. This time it is National.
Democratisation by Social Media and the Internet Is Just Meaningless Waffle
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, December 24th, 2019 - 22 comments
Social Media and the Internet are literally in our faces 24/7 but our political engagement is diminishing.
The British Election result 2019
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, December 20th, 2019 - 21 comments
Democracy is a precious thing, and not something that can be taken for granted. Having an electoral system where every vote matters is crucial to creating a decent society. It is time that the UK started seriously debating electoral reform and how to improve its democratic systems.
How to counter angry boomer campaigns
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, December 17th, 2019 - 154 comments
The UK election was won not by Russian bots but by older voters with limited technical skills circulating poorly designed ads. What can be done in New Zealand to counter what is clearly a right wing campaign tactic?
Listening to left wing dissent
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, December 16th, 2019 - 178 comments
What stands out for me are the voices of the people who are saying actually, there were solid reasons for abandoning Labour, this is why I did. There’s something important here about really listening to dissent and being willing to engage with views that don’t make sense in the context of our own personal ideologies.
Bouganville and Brexit
Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, December 12th, 2019 - 2 comments
The island of Bouganville has just had a vote towards independence from Papua New Guinea. The result has interesting similarities with the Brexit vote.
- The psychosocial imperative of food security preparedness
The dust has barely settled on the 2025 federal election and the returning government has already reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a national food security strategy. That’s a welcome and long-overdue step forward. But unless ...6 days ago - Submission on the Public Finance Amendment Bill
This submission comments on select aspects of the Public Finance Amendment Bill. The NZCTU opposes the removal of the wellbeing provisions from the Act. These were inserted in 2020 to make clear that the goal of fiscal policy is to support the wellbeing of New Zealanders. The wellbeing provisions help ...6 days ago - Legislating For Liberty.
Revolutionary Intentions: The Regulatory Standards Bill sounds like one of those pieces of legislation debated on a dreary Thursday afternoon in an almost empty House of Representatives - it is anything but.FOR A BILL set to transform New Zealand into a libertarian nightmare, it has an extremely boring name. The Regulatory ...6 days ago - Reality Check Radio’s Unhinged Petition
Reality Check Radio’s petition to prosecute former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, alongside Chris Hipkins, Ashley Bloomfield, and a cadre of public health experts, is a bewildering display of political theatre. Launched on the cusp of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, this campaign is less a call ...6 days ago - Whose cloud is it, anyway? Rethinking sovereignty in the shift to cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure is now the backbone of everything from social services and emergency response to critical industry operations and defence. The shift has been fast, and often invisible to users. What began as a convenience ...6 days ago
- Another attack on the rule of law
Over the past few years New Zealand fisheries ministers have been repeatedly found to have acted illegally in their quota decisions, ignoring the Fisheries Act's environmental and information principles and setting quota at unlawfully high levels to pander to the fishing industry. But current fisheries minister Shame Jones has a ...6 days ago - Monday 7 July
The PSA are saying that months after commissioning a report into sexual harassment, Corrections has not moved fast enough to address its “old boys club” culture that has impacted a quarter of their staff. A survey of student nurses has found almost 62 percent are considering a job overseas if one ...6 days ago
- Willis eyes more tax from banks
Willis says she has sought advice on whether the major banks are paying their fair share of tax. Photo: Getty ImagesBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, July 7:Finance Minister Nicola Willis is considering changing the tax settings for banks in Budget ...6 days ago - The Red Flag
Then raise the scarlet standard highBeneath its folds, we'll live and dieThough cowards flinch and traitors sneerWe'll keep the red flag flying hereLyrics: Billy Bragg / Traditional.On this day in 1916, smaller socialist parties and trade unions came together to form our New Zealand Labour Party. So, congratulations to all ...6 days ago - Australia urgently needs a national security strategy
Many nations, including Australia, continue to operate as if strategic shocks are exceptional, not the new norm. This illusion of peace leaves us dangerously unprepared for the multipolar, contested, and volatile world rapidly unfolding around ...6 days ago
- “I Wanted, So Badly, To See His Face”
Hi,Four years ago on Webworm, my friend Kate wrote an essay about having aphantasia. In her words, “Aphantasia is the inability to visualise mental images. Most people who have aphantasia are also unable to recall sounds, smell or sensations of touch. That’s me. I can’t do any of it. Never ...6 days ago - FamilyBoost changes will exacerbate inequity of ECE access
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is warning that the FamilyBoost changes announced today by Finance Minister Nicola Willis will fail to make early childhood education more affordable for the families who need it most and will instead widen inequities. “The Government has missed an opportunity ...6 days ago
- Unresolved Questions About Epstein’s Paedophile Network
Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal enterprise represents one of the most sophisticated pedophile and blackmail operations in modern history, facilitated by an extensive surveillance network that recorded illicit activities across his Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach mansion, Little St. James island, New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch, and the New Albany estate. Despite numerous investigations ...6 days ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #27
A listing of 27 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 29, 2025 thru Sat, July 5, 2025. Stories we promoted this week, by category: Climate Change Impacts (4 articles) What does climate change mean for agriculture? Less ...7 days ago - Mountain Tūī’s 1 & Taking A Break
1 week ago - Common People
You will never understandHow it feels to live your lifeWith no meaning or controlAnd with nowhere left to goYou are amazed that they existAnd they burn so bright whilst you can only wonder whySongwriters: Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Steve Mackey, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle.Under every government, there are winners and ...1 week ago - The Dangerous Lie That Homelessness is a Choice
The callous rhetoric emerging from this Government's housing ministers reveals a profound disconnect from the harsh realities facing thousands of New Zealanders. When politicians like Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell suggest that homelessness is somehow a matter of personal choice, they perpetuate a dangerous myth that absolves the ...1 week ago
- The Dangerous Lie That Homelessness is a Choice
The callous rhetoric emerging from this Government's housing ministers reveals a profound disconnect from the harsh realities facing thousands of New Zealanders. When politicians like Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell suggest that homelessness is somehow a matter of personal choice, they perpetuate a dangerous myth that absolves the ...1 week ago
- Investing in the Public Health System
What can you do when you have hit your borrowing limit and still want to spend? One option is to cut back on maintenance of your capital – say, to delay repainting the house or keeping the car in tip-top condition. The government does the same. Hence our three water ...1 week ago - The case for boosting defence spending is compelling—we shouldn’t need US prodding
The Australian government’s dispute with the United States over the level of defence spending has distracted our media and public from the core issue. The main driver of increased defence spending should not be requests ...1 week ago
- A reminder that music lifts you out of everything
Questions 1. What were participants in this year’s Youth Parliament effectively prohibited from saying?a. Death, death to the IDFb. There’s some hoes in this housec. Freddie Starr ate my hamsterd. Anything critical of the government2. About what does this government like to flex like a gym bro?a. Being tough on ...1 week ago - British public backs defence and security partnership with Australia
Australia was high on the list for Britain’s revamp of its alliances after Brexit, and the stormy geopolitical climate that followed has only reinforced the need for a more ambitious partnership. Looking ahead, public demonstrations ...1 week ago
- Qantas data breach shows compliance doesn’t always mean protection and resilience
Cybersecurity requires more than legal compliance; it demands constant vigilance and adaptation. A cyberattack on a third-party platform used by a Qantas customer contact centre in Manila, discovered on 30 June, made this clear. Six ...1 week ago
- How Taiwan must prepare to face Chinese drone saturation
Taiwan urgently needs to overhaul its air defence strategy to prevent the rising threat of low-cost drone saturation attacks from China. This demands three major reforms: expanding air-defence capability with low-cost weapons; improving survivability with ...1 week ago
- Friday 4 July
NZNO says Health New Zealand’s latest pay offer is a “massive backward step” for the health system and patients, and there are “very strong indications” members will want to strike. The amount of money Health New Zealand is spending each year on locum doctors to plug staff shortages is increasing ...1 week ago
- Europe’s lesson for Australia: invest in defence now, or spend more later
Instead of learning from Europe’s mistakes in the decade leading into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine—underinvesting in defence, increasing trade with a strategic adversary and expecting the United States to disproportionately carry the security burden—Australia ...1 week ago
- Make New Zealand Proud Again
Prime Minister Luxon makes Alt-Right Extremist Group Proud Boys Legal AgainPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has removed the extremist group “Proud Boys” from New Zealand’s terrorist list despite its history of violence1 and far-right extremism. Journalist Paula Penfold notes the group is operating cross border, and have made their own New ...1 week ago - Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Robert Patman & Ed Miller ‘Hoon’ around the news ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guests and about the week’s news in geopolitics and climate. This week’s Hoon featured:a discussion over research showing the sensitivity to climate change of extreme weather ...1 week ago - ‘Sleeping rough is a lifestyle choice here’
Mark Mitchell walked around Rotorua’s shops for TV cameras and said some rough sleepers did it more as a ‘lifestyle choice’. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Friday, July 4:Police Minister Mark Mitchell says people who ...1 week ago - Australia can leverage SMEs to build national resilience
Australia needs a national strategy that explicitly prioritises the integration of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into its defence industrial base to strengthen sovereign capability and infrastructure resilience. Despite high-level pledges to build a self-reliant ...1 week ago
- Protesters deluge Parliament
It has long been a cliché whenever Parliament is seriously discussed that the real work is done in the Select Committees. It is not anymore entirely true. The Committees are becoming platforms for political protest. One left-wing activist has recently widely circulated a document on how to “deluge” a Select ...1 week ago - Canada’s Hikvision ban can inspire wider collective action
Canada has just made a great step forward in minimising the security risk from China. Now Australia should step forward and propose to work with Canada to create international, harmonised arrangements to protect critical infrastructure. ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #27 2025
Open access notables The Emergence of Near-Permanent Marine Heatwave State in the Tropical Indian Ocean During 2023–2024, Soumya, International Journal of Climatology In 2023/24, global mean surface temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) experienced a record-breaking basin mean anomalous warming of 0.88°C. This unprecedented warming ...1 week ago
- Join us at 5pm for this week’s Hoon
Photo by Andrew Wulf on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat with myself, and regular guests and , plus CICTAR’s Ed Miller ...1 week ago - A further descent into tyranny
A protest group carries out repeated non-violent actions to highlight its cause, highlighting the fact that the regime's foreign policy is in violation of international law and is at odds witht he values and wishes of its people. The regime responds by banning the organisation, and threatening 14 year jail ...1 week ago
- Strangle it, strangle it now
Sometimes you've got to take your chance at the flood, even when everyone says you've got it all wrong. Sometimes you've just got to back yourself and ride that tide.Sometimes this is the worst advice you could possibly give yourself. You imagine you know better than everyone else, but you ...1 week ago - For Quad to be taken seriously, it must formalise and expand
The Quad must formalise through a permanent secretariat and expand to include South Korea and New Zealand to remain relevant to Indo-Pacific security. Now is the time to assess whether the group’s current structure is sufficient ...1 week ago
- Taiwan, South Korea and Japan also need to spend 5 percent on defence
There’s no shortage of measures that the United States’ major East Asian friends could spend an increased defence budget on. NATO allies of the US have agreed to allocate 5 percent of GDP to defence ...1 week ago
- Libertarian Stuff
Arise, libertarians above totalitariansOur guide is the mighty invisible handReject state controllers, collectors and patrollersOur choices are better than government plansSongwriter: Dominic Frisby.This week, Prime Minister in waiting, Chris Hipkins, ventured into the centre-right heartland of Newstalk ZB and told them what he really thought.No major surprises; it was what ...1 week ago - Bob Vylan Censored While Gaza Genocide Ignored
The recent blacklisting of British punk-rap group Bob Vylan, following their provocative chant of “death, death to the IDF” at Glastonbury 2025, exposes a chilling double standard in Western governance.The swift and heavy-handed response, launching a criminal investigation, revoking the band’s visas, cancelling future concerts, and seeing them dropped by ...1 week ago
- Despite it all, China dominates Australian trade—again
China has reasserted its dominance over Australia’s export markets, taking a record of almost 1 billion tonnes of mineral resources and agricultural commodities last year, and displacing the trading partners that helped Australia out during ...1 week ago
- The five-domains update
Sea state Defence Minister Richard Marles visited the Maldives in early June and announced a present of one Guardian-class patrol boat and hydrographic equipment. They are expected to be delivered in 2026. Australia has an ...1 week ago
- An almost $20 million budget cut to RNZ is met with … near silence
Australia's national broadcaster is called Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It's regularly attacked by Rupert Murdoch's Sky News & Australian broadsheet - as well as Atlas Network think tanks such as IPA - as "wasting taxpayers money" The last Liberal (conservative) leader Peter Dutton also labelled ABC (and the Guardian) as ...1 week ago - Take advantage of these tax credits before Congress kills them
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Republicans in the U.S. Senate are working to pass their version of the budget reconciliation bill before Congress goes on holiday for July 4. As it stands, the bill would terminate most clean energy tax credits long before their original ...1 week ago
- Act forces Willis backdown on policy costings unit
Seymour says there is no need for the unit - and he wouldn’t trust what the officials said anyway. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Thursday, July 3:Deputy PM David Seymour has forced Finance Minister Nicola Willis ...1 week ago - Reflecting on 25 years of UNSC Resolution 1325
The United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda suffers from an ongoing burden: the need for less talk and more action. Invariably, several speakers raise this issue at the Security Council’s annual Open Debate ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on National’s crackdown on shoplifters
Politicians do like being tough on crime. Flexing law and order muscle is a feature of the patriarchal Daddy State, and is beloved by the very same conservatives who deplore the workings of the Nanny State. But tough on which crimes – and even more to the point – tough ...1 week ago - Bookshelf: the secret history of China’s most powerful company
How did a small Shenzhen-based manufacturer of telephone switches defy tough domestic and international competition to become a world leader in telecoms technology? And how did it manage to start producing its own 5G processors ...2 weeks ago
- Robert Howell – The Climate Catastrophe
Dr Robert Howell UN Secretary General: We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe. In facing this wake up call, Dr Howell will describe the lessons to be learned from Wesfamers; the work of the External Reporting Board; the National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealanders; and the Dasgupta Review.Dr Robert Howell ...2 weeks ago - You build prosperity from the ground up, not from the helipad down
FFS, did you see this? I didn’t think he could do worse this year than host Morning Report, but Lord, Paddy Gower is a trier.Stuffed if I’m linking to it. It’s just another contemplation-free, insight-starved Tall Poppy Syndrome is Stopping Us From Being Rich diatribe.Here’s the thing:Prosperity isn't created by ...2 weeks ago - Why the Coalition should worry less about scholarships and more about Studylink
Hello. My house burnt down on my birthday. Well not down, but it burnt. And I’m currently living in a motel. Forgive me for phoning this one in; a better article is coming. And probably also a poetry substack, whenever I finally get around to it. From: Stephanie Cullen <s.cullen@hotmail.co.nz> Sent: Wednesday, ...2 weeks ago - Managing the dark side of the critical minerals rush
Australia and its partners must move towards frameworks that manage, rather than merely lament, the negative side-effects of critical mineral extraction. As the world scrambles to meet the demands of a clean energy transition, it’s ...2 weeks ago
- Israel-Iran war has exposed Russia’s vulnerability
The war between Israel and Iran has brought only short-term gains for Russia. Looking to the longer term, we see much bigger negatives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained that the war had resulted in a sharp ...2 weeks ago
- Democracy Under Siege: NZ Government Gags Youth MPs
In a development that epitomises authoritarian overreach masquerading as administrative procedure, the Coalition of Chaos government has decided to censor Youth MPs during the 11th Youth Parliament, an event that was meant to amplify the free voices of our young people. The revelation that youth representatives, invited to Parliament to ...2 weeks ago
- Home Affairs should be the great enabler of national resilience
Amid worsening strategic surprise and security fragility, Australia’s national resilience responses are just as important as its defence capabilities. While the original strategic logic for the Department of Home Affairs—the idea of peace, order and ...2 weeks ago
- Letter to the editor on State housing and broken promises
..2 July 2025The editorKapi Mana News letterstoeditor@stuff.co.nzKia ora,Your story in 'Kapi Mana News' on 1 July, headed "Porirua East social housing developments axed in review" revealed how this government is cutting back on social housing.76 proposed new homes in the Porirua region would have housed around 153 people. These are ...2 weeks ago - The translation crisis: why our best ideas rarely become national assets
When it comes to innovation, Australia has a strategy problem as much as a delivery problem. The first is about purpose. The second is about execution. I recently argued that Australia’s innovation system lacks the ...2 weeks ago
- Wednesday 2 July
The PSA says potential plans to privatise New Zealand’s meat inspection service could put food quality and safety at risk. Industrial action at Napier Port has concluded after one week, with a pay deal being reached in principle for about 185 workers. Academic staff and TEU members at the Western ...2 weeks ago
- Behold, another Quarterly Survey of Business Delusion
Briefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Wednesday, July 2:The NZIER’s QSBO survey published yesterday showed businesses remain stubbornly confident about the wider economy and their own businesses, despite their own ‘experienced activity’ in the June quarter being much, much worse than they ...2 weeks ago - ASPI USA roundtable: How Australia and US can work with Prabowo’s Indonesia
On the Indo-Pacific geopolitics gameboard, Indonesia stands as a potentially pivotal piece—a country whose strategic choices could reshape regional dynamics for decades. Yet, as revealed during a recent panel discussion hosted by ASPI USA, Indonesia ...2 weeks ago
- Got Milk?
Hi,I got a lot of very intense feedback on social media this week about milk — and I want to talk about it.But first, some quick updates on some other Webworm things.1. The Telepathy TapesYou may recall my story about how the chart-topping podcast The Telepathy Tapes was nothing more ...2 weeks ago - Fix Poverty, Fix Crime
Learn to love meAnd assemble the waysNow, today, tomorrow and alwaysMy only weakness is a listed crimeBut last night, the plans for a future warWas all I saw on Channel FourShoplifters of the worldUnite and take overShoplifters of the worldHand it over, hand it over, hand it overSongwriters: Johnny Marr ...2 weeks ago - Not just drones, but massed swarms of them. Defences can’t cope.
A new and sophisticated phase of aerial warfare has emerged from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East over the past month, defined by the systematic use of massed drone saturation attacks. This evolving ...2 weeks ago
- Fact brief – Are human CO2 emissions driving current global warming?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Are human CO2 emissions driving current global warming? While many natural factors influence Earth’s climate, human emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide are driving ...2 weeks ago
- A short global tour for people who hate socialism
I often make the mistake of reading what other people online have written. This is how I know that I live among many people who violently object to Socialism. Or Communism.Or The Left. These are all terms they throw around so loosely it can seem almost as though they don't ...2 weeks ago - This is what the IPCA’s anti-protest laws mean
Back in February, the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority issued a radical, out-of-the-blue proposal to ban protests. The core of their proposal was a requirement for protesters to notify police well in advance of any protest action, and to obey whatever conditions police subsequently set or directions they made, with failure ...2 weeks ago
- If this is the Trump Doctrine, Australia had better pay attention
What a week. Swiftly and decisively, and in uniquely Trumpian style, US President Donald Trump has restored US military credibility and deterrence with global repercussions. The always mercurial president is often viewed as non-ideological and ...2 weeks ago
- As China expands resource control in Myanmar, Australia-India collaboration matters
Myanmar’s rare earth sector has become a geopolitical flashpoint where critical minerals, armed conflict and strategic competition intersect. In 2024, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) suspended mining operations in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, sharply curtailing ...2 weeks ago
- National’s flagship telehealth costs Kiwis up to $99 a call as Simeon Brown funds telehealth p...
Leaked documents from Te Whatu Ora showed National planned to pay telehealth providers - including ‘reluctant PHO' Tend Health - between 367% and 433% what it funds struggling GPs for casual patients.The telehealth service is targeted at those not enrolled with a local GP. But as GenPro Chairman Dr Angus ...2 weeks ago - National is afraid of kids
As the government - or one of its Ministers, anyway - keeps reminding us, Parliament is meant to be a place of free speech, where MPs (but not apparently select committee witnesses) need to be able to robustly criticise government policy and hold Ministers to account. But Youth MPs at ...2 weeks ago
- Every day is Independence Day in Taiwan
In a speech kicking off his ‘10 Talks on the Country’ series on 22 June, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te declared that Taiwan ‘is of course a country’, citing its democratic system and separate history, and ...2 weeks ago
- Webworm Meetups: Denver, Chicago, New York
Hi,So I am about to head to to Denver and Chicago for some live Flightless Bird shows (I am so happy with our live guests, you’ll see).(Note, yes, I do want to get to New Zealand with our podcast — and some other places — it just all depends on ...2 weeks ago - Defying China, Jim Chalmers enforces our critical-minerals red line
Jim Chalmers is enforcing national sovereignty and defying risk of economic intimidation. The treasurer has taken court action to force a China-linked entity to divest from a key rare-earths miner. This is a matter of ...2 weeks ago
- It’s The Economy, Stupid
Last year in August, I wrote Why More Economic & Social Pain Is Coming For Us All. The short of it was Nicola Willis’s budget approach was inevitably going to cut us off, and force many into economic and social pain. And worse, I kept thinking, “Do they not realise ...2 weeks ago - ADF must bolster cyber capabilities to maintain combat edge
The Australian Defence Force’s cyber capacity falls short of what would be needed in a scenario where Australia found itself in combat against an adversary with modern military and technological capabilities. The ADF’s establishment of ...2 weeks ago
- Trump has flagged 200% tariffs on Australian pharmaceuticals. What do we produce here, and what’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joe Carrello, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Tanya Dol/Shutterstock US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Australia’s pharmaceutical exports to the United States has raised alarm among industry and government leaders. There are fears that, if implemented, the tariffs could ...2 days ago - ‘Fashion helped the pride come out’: First Nations fashion as resistance, culture and connection
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design and Society, University of Technology Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images of deceased people. First Nations garments have always held deep meaning. What we wear tells ...2 days ago
- The cost of being: A lawyer and solo mum paying off the mortgage as fast as possible
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a lawyer and mum of two explains where their money goes. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 41. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Lawyer. Salary/income/assets: Salary of ...2 days ago - Does AI actually boost productivity? The evidence is murky
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Whittle, Director, Data61, CSIRO Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock There’s been much talk recently – especially among politicians – about productivity. And for good reason: Australia’s labour productivity growth sits at a 60-year low. To address this, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ...2 days ago
- Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (UTS:ACRI), University of Technology Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for China on Saturday, confident most Australians back the government’s handling of relations with our most important economic partner and the leading strategic power ...2 days ago
- NZ’s new AI strategy is long on ‘economic opportunity’ but short on managing ethical and socia...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lensen, Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images The government’s newly unveiled National AI Strategy is all about what its title says: “Investing with Confidence”. It tells businesses that Aotearoa New Zealand ...2 days ago
- Will my private health insurance cover my surgery? What if my claim is rejected?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yuting Zhang, Professor of Health Economics, The University of Melbourne shurkin_son/Shutterstock The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has fined Bupa A$35 million for unlawfully rejecting thousands of health insurance claims over more than five years. Between May 2018 and ...2 days ago
- ACT Party To Host White Genocide Conspiracy Theorist As 2025 Party Rally Keynote Speaker
“ACT describes James Lindsay in vague statements because they know that most people in Aotearoa would reject the dangerous, far-right and frankly weird views he propagates,” said Anne Campbell of Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition. ...2 days ago - Tāmaki Makaurau byelection: Kaipara will fight hard to retain seat for Te Pāti Māori – Wai...
The Te Pāti Māori co-leader says the newly chosen candidate if prepared for the battle to keep the seat in his party's hands. ...2 days ago - Ray Chung defends sending gossip about Tory Whanau to other councillors
The mayor says the contents of the email are false. ...2 days ago
- Winston Peters finds his sweet spot as NZ First enjoys polling surge
The party has leapfrogged the Greens for the first time in years, buoyed by a weakened opposition and a newfound sense of stability in government, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. NZ First surges ahead New Zealand ...2 days ago
- Law change prompts spike in Māori electoral roll registrations
In the past two years, 31,000 votes have switched to the Māori roll and 25,000 new voters have opted for Māori enrolment. ...2 days ago
- Sailing greats steer water polo towards LA
Tightly tucked behind a café at the Sir Owen G Glenn National Aquatic Centre is the understated home of water polo in New Zealand. Blink and you miss it. But behind the hard-to-find front door on Auckland’s North Shore, there’s a hive of activity powered by some serious sporting pedigree ...2 days ago - Regulatory Standards Bill hearing, day four: The grand finale
On the last day of hearings into the Regulatory Standards Bill, the finance and expenditure committee heard from the man who dreamt up the bill’s blueprint. The lights are coming down on the Regulatory Standards Bill show in select committee room four: after four days, 30 hours of hearings, 208 ...2 days ago
- The best needle drops in Outrageous Fortune, ranked
Gareth Shute counts down the best music moments to ever grace Outrageous Fortune. Outrageous Fortune’s soundtrack created its own canon of local rock music from the 70s to the 00s. Classics by Th’ Dudes and Hello Sailor rubbed shoulders with contemporary hits by Goldenhorse and Opshop, though also in the ...2 days ago
- In praise of the Number 24 Bus, Wellington’s most scenic commute
The best tour of Wellington costs just $4.34 with a Snapper card. On most bus trips, efficiency is paramount. The goal is to get from A to B, cheaply and (ideally) quickly. But there are those occasional, special moments, where you can just settle in and enjoy the journey. Stare ...2 days ago
- Small bets, high hopes for Wellington test
Rugby commentating legend Phil Gifford won’t bet against the French when they take on the All Blacks in Wellington tomorrow night. “It’s France, I don’t know what the hell I’m expecting to be honest,” he tells The Detail. “It could go either way.” In today’s episode of The Detail, Gifford ...2 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 11 July
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 11 July appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- How the chilli fanatic behind Culley’s is capitalising on a global condiments boom
Culley’s is becoming a household name in NZ and further afield, having expanded from a farmer’s market into the likes of Woolworths and Costco The post How the chilli fanatic behind Culley’s is capitalising on a global condiments boom appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Homelessness data quality could worsen under new census
Minority groups will be most affected by a new model for collecting data about NZers, officials warn The post Homelessness data quality could worsen under new census appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- An unseemly hatred for one building
Comment: Heritage buildings can be controversial. The targeting of New Zealand’s heritage-listed Gordon Wilson Flats with special government legislation clearly demonstrates this. In what must be a first for New Zealand, the Government will pass this Act to overrule the agreed definition of heritage and its associated decision-making processes – just for ...2 days ago
- Going it alone – how not to prepare for climate change
Comment: ‘One of the most philosophically misguided, morally questionable, administratively inept, and politically naïve documents seen in years’ The post Going it alone – how not to prepare for climate change appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Mini crossword, Friday 11 July
The post Mini crossword, Friday 11 July appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- This week’s bestselling books – July 11
NONFICTION 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $59.99) Huzzah to Jacinda Ardern as she chalks up week five of her memoir holding fast to the Number 1 bestseller position. Number of holds on her book at Auckland Libraries (the biggest catchment in New Zealand): ...2 days ago
- Languages can supercharge NZ’s soft power
Opinion: When seven of NZ’s top trading partners are in Asia, having language capability and cultural acumen is a big advantage The post Languages can supercharge NZ’s soft power appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 11 July
The post Daily crossword, Friday 11 July appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Regulatory Standards Bill architect says opposition driven by misinformation
Business-backed NZ Initiative think tank stands up for the Regulatory Standards Bill in a sea of opposition The post Regulatory Standards Bill architect says opposition driven by misinformation appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Polytech bail-outs lie ahead, Te Pūkenga warns
The mega-institute's managers have told MPs the government's reforms will result in institutes making the same poor investment decisions that prompted its creation in the first place. ...2 days ago
- Analysis: Where next for Regulatory Standards Bill?
With select committee hearings complete, the many submitters who called for the bill to be thrown out are destined for disappointment. ...2 days ago
- Grattan on Friday: childcare is a ‘canary in mine’ warning for wider problems in policy deliver...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra It’s such a familiar pattern. When a big scandal breaks publicly, governments jump into action, ministers rush out to say they’ll “do something” instantly. But how come they hadn’t seen problems that had been ...2 days ago
- Former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori
Kaipara was selected at a hui at Hoani Waititi Marae on Thursday evening. ...3 days ago
- The special envoy’s antisemitism plan is ambitious, but fails to reckon with the hardest questions
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matteo Vergani, Associate Professor, Deakin University On July 6, an arson attack targeted the East Melbourne Synagogue. It was the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents recorded across Australia since October 7 2023, when Hamas carried out a horrific terrorist attack, ...3 days ago
- Homeowners warned weather-event buyouts may cease in 20 years
An independent reference group has delivered guidelines to help the government shape climate adaptation legislation. ...3 days ago
- Queensland’s horrific lion attack shows wild animals should not be kept for our amusement
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgette Leah Burns, Associate Professor, Griffith School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Luciano Gonzalez/Anadolu via Getty Images Last weekend, a woman was mauled by a lioness at Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, and lost her arm. The zoo, which keeps ...3 days ago
- Does Donald Trump deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally nominated United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. He says the president is “forging peace as we speak, ...3 days ago
- Does Australia really take too long to approve medicines, as the US says?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Australia’s drug approval system is under fire, with critics in the United States claiming it is too slow to approve life-saving medicines. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration balances speed with a rigorous assessment ...3 days ago
- Sovereignty ‘red line’ in any future Ngāpuhi settlement message at Whangārei hapū hui
Much of hapū hui agenda taken up by discussions of sovereignty and bill which aims to impose a single settlement on Ngāpuhi. ...3 days ago
- Skorts revolutionised how women and girls play sport. But in 2025, are they regressive?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer E. Cheng, Researcher and Lecturer in Sociology, Western Sydney University If you watched any of the 2025 Wimbledon womens’ matches, you’ll have noticed many players donning a skort: a garment in which shorts are concealed under a skirt, or a front ...3 days ago
- First the dire wolf, now NZ’s giant moa: why real ‘de-extinction’ is unlikely to fly
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago Colossal Biosciences, CC BY-SA The announcement that New Zealand’s moa nunui (giant moa) is the next “de-extinction” target for Colossal Biosciences, in partnership with Canterbury Museum, the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre ...3 days ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Larissa Waters on why we deserve more than a government that just ti...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Greens had a poor election. They lost three of their four lower house seats including that of their leader Adam Bandt. This despite their overall vote remaining mostly steady. But they did ...3 days ago
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