democratic participation
Categories under democratic participation
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- political education (61)
- referendum (92)
- vote smart (30)
Will there be a Brexit?
Written By: - Date published: 11:37 am, September 19th, 2018 - 33 comments
In short, I think not.
Coalition Problems? Tell ’em they’re Dreaming!
Written By: - Date published: 6:44 pm, September 13th, 2018 - 82 comments
Oh dear. The Winston Peters led governing coalition has completely collapsed and thank God Simon Bridges is there to pick up the pieces. I warned you this would happen! And look! Over there … the sky is falling. Falling, I tells ya!
US Mid Terms; Obama Enters the Ring
Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, September 8th, 2018 - 30 comments
America gets ready to rumble in the November mid terms, as Barack Obama enters the ring. At stake is control of both houses and the fate of the Trump presidency.
Let Chelsea Manning speak
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 29th, 2018 - 146 comments
Chelsea Manning wants to visit New Zealand and talk about how evil war is and what should be done to stop it. We should let her.
The end of ACT
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, August 13th, 2018 - 238 comments
With his proposal to reduce the effectiveness of Parliament David Seymour is clearly looking for relevance.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, August 4th, 2018 - 31 comments
In 1962, John F Kennedy said “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Is peaceful revolution possible in South Africa, Zimbabwe or New Zealand?
Happy birthday Nelson Mandela
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, July 19th, 2018 - 43 comments
It is Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. Happy birthday to him. If he was alive today he would be 100 years old.
Where have our rights gone?
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, June 20th, 2018 - 49 comments
Great to see that the State Services Commissioner has widened the investigation into the use of private investigators hired by the state against its citizens. But. They should go further.
Were Etu union delegates threatened at a select committee?
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, June 4th, 2018 - 133 comments
National MP Parmjeet Parmar has been accused of threatening to tell the employers of submitters to a Select Committee what they had said in evidence if they did not withdraw their statements.
The law and order debate and the grade one tosser
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 22nd, 2018 - 36 comments
The Government has announced it will not proceed with the Waikeria mega prison as part of its policy to decrease the prison muster by 30%. And the called for public debate starts off with one of the major players using a study the author of which subsequently retracted because the data he relied on was wrong.
Democratic Party thunks on Gaza
Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, May 16th, 2018 - 65 comments
The “lesser of two evils” speaks its mind.
Algorithms are threatening our democracy
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 9th, 2018 - 36 comments
Algorithms are a form of fascism – yet a fascism from data manipulation rather than from the state. Are they a threat to our democracy?
The election year party donations returns
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, May 6th, 2018 - 40 comments
The election year donation returns have been released and show a surge of donations for Labour but National still well ahead.
New Zealand Is all right, at the end
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 28th, 2018 - 27 comments
Democracy’s permanence is not inevitable. Its imagining is not beyond imagining. And New Zealand is one of the shrinking number of democracies who really have it.
“Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job”
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, March 26th, 2018 - 32 comments
Two speakers from yesterday’s March for Our Lives.
Democracy, Faux Democracy and Terror.
Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, March 19th, 2018 - 37 comments
Facebook, Putin, poisoning and Ghouta have all given fairly extensive media coverage of late. Nothing much on Afrin. Afrin has just fallen to terrorists backed by Turkey.
Update: the photo used for this post is of the The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), who are part of the International Revolutionary People’s Guerrilla Forces fighting in Syria.
Green Party statements on giving their parliamentary Questions to the Opposition
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, March 19th, 2018 - 49 comments
“As Greens, we’ve always stood for modernising our democracy, making MPs more accountable and giving the public better access to the levers of power.”
Greens give National their primary questions for oral answer
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, March 19th, 2018 - 268 comments
The Greens have offered National their Primary Questions for oral answer in Parliament without conditions.
Is youth the new political divide?
Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, March 11th, 2018 - 44 comments
There is evidence in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand that youth and not class may be the new political divide.
Genter and Davidson
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 am, March 2nd, 2018 - 51 comments
The Green female co-leader candidates did a Q and A last night with Stuff political reporter Henry Cooke. They covered a range of topics, including the Budget Responsibility Rules. The interview gives good insight into how the Green Party works and where they are headed, as well as into the two candidates themselves.
Nationwide public meetings: TPPA-11 update, and what we can do
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, February 14th, 2018 - 29 comments
Auckland 12 Feb – Wellington 14 Feb – Nelson 20 Feb – Christchurch 21 Feb – Dunedin 22 Feb
The Housing Crisis.
Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 11th, 2018 - 154 comments
Can politics deliver?
The 2017 General Election electorate expense returns
Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, February 4th, 2018 - 27 comments
Last year’s electorate expense returns have now been made public.
Zen and the art of greening the government
Written By: - Date published: 6:25 am, February 3rd, 2018 - 65 comments
Democracy, protest, and what makes this the first ever progressive New Zealand MMP government.
What should happen at Waitangi
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, January 23rd, 2018 - 6 comments
The ideal occurrences this year at Waitangi would be …
Join Marama for an Announcement February 4th
Written By: - Date published: 6:19 am, January 23rd, 2018 - 7 comments
Marama Davidson – Kia ora whānau! It would mean so much to me if you would all come and support my event on Sunday 04 Feb at 11am. We’ll be livestreaming the event so even if you can’t physically be there and you’d like to tautoko you can click ‘going’.
Solidarity
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, January 22nd, 2018 - 7 comments
History not forgotten.
Shock horror right wing think tank thinks NZ not very democratic
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, January 18th, 2018 - 74 comments
National’s cheerleaders are pushing an international report which suggests that New Zealand’s democratic system is only slightly better than average in world terms. But the organisation behind the report and the methodology used need some checking.
Another middle finger?
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, December 22nd, 2017 - 3 comments
With just over half the votes counted, it looks like Catalonia has opted to ditch Spanish central rule.
Gareth Hughes: Passing a motion and other Parliamentary jargon
Written By: - Date published: 6:33 am, December 20th, 2017 - 10 comments
Democracy misunderstood is democracy denied.
Broadcasting Standards Authority finds Mike Hosking’s election comments about the Māori Party inaccurate and misleading
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, December 20th, 2017 - 56 comments
“Further, his comments the following evening were confusing and insufficient to correct the inaccurate information for viewers.”
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- The biggest selling books of 2024
FICTION1 The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone by Gareth Ward & Louise Ward (Penguin Random House, $38)Wow! The biggest-selling novel of the year is a detective caper dreamed up by the very people who know best about bestsellers – bookstore owners. The Wards run Wardini’s, that wondrous book emporium in ...4 days ago - Luxon’s reason for skipping Waitangi challenges the sniff test
Comment: The Prime Minister’s announcement that he won’t mark Waitangi Day in Waitangi itself next year would make sense in most other contexts – but not so much when he has admitted Māori-Crown relations have worsened under his leadership.Christopher Luxon has said in the past that he would like to ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 20 December
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.Keep playing
Daily crossword, Friday 20 December 4 days ago- Coalition scraps plan to leave open government pact
The Government has backed away from a secret proposal to withdraw New Zealand from a global transparency initiative, with officials repeatedly pushing for the country to pull out.A leading civil society group has welcomed the decision, but says greater buy-in from ministers and officials is necessary if the initiative is ...4 days ago- Queen T’s threepeat of Tauihi final showdowns
Tania Tupu has a painful, puffed-up reminder of her Tokomanawa Queens’ shock semifinal victory in the Tauihi basketball league last weekend.The highly-successful Queens head coach is still hopping around on a swollen knee after trying to show her team the moves that drove her through two Olympics and 93 games ...4 days ago- Wheels off the bus: bikes on buses do us good
Opinion: As we enter the holiday period, there will inevitably be many more cars on the road, which usually leads to a spike in the road toll.More cars on the roads means more traffic, more crashes and more injuries, as well as more pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions.We should ...4 days ago- Daily crossword, Friday 20 December
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: 25px; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{ margin: 0; margin-bottom: 0.25em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img { height: auto; width: 100%; ...4 days ago- A lesson in playing chicken with Big Tech
Opinion: Big Tech is choking the life out of New Zealand journalism. The advertising monopoly run by platforms like Meta and Google starves local media of revenue, making it harder to pay journalists and sustain quality reporting. New Zealand’s Media and Communications Minister, Paul Goldsmith, is studying Australia’s new tougher approach ...4 days ago- West and media are ‘erasing’ Palestinian history, say critics
Asia Pacific Report Palestinian history is “deliberately ignored” and is being effectively “erased” as part of Western news media narratives, while establishment forces work to shut down anyone speaking out against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza, academics have told a university conference of legal and Middle East experts. Article ...5 days ago- Government’s First Paris Agreement Report Fails To Address How It Plans To Hit Targets
The report fails to address how it plans to hit its emissions savings targets. ...5 days ago- Former Defence Minister Peeni Henare Calls Vanuatu Flight Woes ‘Embarrassing’
A Hercules plane carrying urban rescue staff to Vanuatu was stranded in New Caledonia after an engine fault. ...5 days ago- Vanuatu quake: Rescue teams continue Port Vila hunt for survivors
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific news editor There are conflicting reports of the official death toll from this week’s massive earthquake in Vanuatu as rescue teams continue to scour the rubble for survivors. On Tuesday, the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office reported 14 deaths. It said four people had been ...5 days ago- Hipkins’ letter to BlackRock boss over SolarZero liquidation goes unanswered
A letter sent by Opposition leader Chris Hipkins to BlackRock asking for assistance to ensure 160 terminated SolarZero staff are paid what they are owed has been met with silence.Hipkins sent a letter to David Giordano, BlackRock’s managing director of climate infrastructure, on December 4, one week after news broke ...5 days ago- International student numbers in Australia will be controlled by a new informal cap. Here’s how it...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Hurley, Associate Professor and Director, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Paper Cat/ Shutterstock The federal government has found a new way to manage the number of international students in Australia. It has instructed immigration officials to prioritise student visa applications ...5 days ago- Government Legislation On Academic Freedom Sign Of New Hope For Universities
Legislation changes announced by the Government today signals that academic freedom can still be restored to university campuses. New Zealand universities have consistently shown they’re not fulfilling their obligations to uphold academic freedom; this ...5 days ago- National, Labour blame each other – but is the Reserve Bank responsible for GDP fall?
The last two quarterly figures for the economy are the worst since the late 2021 Covid-19 lockdowns. ...5 days ago- New Zealand Economy In Freefall While The Government’s Books Burn
...5 days ago- Survey Shows Government Lacks Mandate To Repeal Live Export Ban
“Sending live animals on boats into volatile conditions to destinations with poor animal welfare standards is not progressive, lucrative, or likely to stimulate the economy,” says SPCA Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Arnja Dale. ...5 days ago- Bill To Increase Penalties For Slavery Welcome, But Doesn’t Go Far Enough
World Vision New Zealand welcomes the introduction of a Private Members’ Bill to increase penalties for slavery offenses, but warns it does not go far enough to address weaknesses in New Zealand’s modern slavery and trafficking laws. ...5 days ago- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chalmers says the budget’s better than it was; Taylor says it’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Appropriately, we finish our podcast for 2024 talking to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his shadow, Angus Taylor because, as the saying goes, “it’s the economy, stupid!” This week’s mid-year budget update showed Australia’s economy ...5 days ago- Treaty Principles Bill A Threat To The Rights Of Children In Aotearoa
Teresa Tepania-Ashton, Director of Advocacy at UNICEF Aotearoa, says it is critical that New Zealanders who care about children participate in the submissions process and identify the risk to the rights of tamariki. ...5 days ago- PM skipping Waitangi appearance ‘a good first step’ – hīkoi organiser
"There's no point in speaking to ears that will not listen to mine," Eru Kapa-Kingi says. ...5 days ago- YouTube populists are driving South Korea’s political instability. It’s a warning for the rest o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Koskie, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Media and Communications, University of Sydney In the space of three weeks, South Korea has seen a brief declaration of martial law, its sudden repeal and the impeachment of its president, Yoon Suk Yeol. One ...5 days ago- When medals matter most: high-performance sport funding risks a return to the ‘win at all costs’...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender, University of Waikato Getty Images On the face of it, New Zealand’s new high-performance sport funding model announced yesterday is an increase on the previous round. But it is ultra-focused on already ...5 days ago- The Essure contraceptive device left some women with chronic pelvic pain. Why did their class action...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wendy Bonython, Associate Professor of Law, Bond University ben bryant/Shutterstock The Victorian Supreme Court recently dismissed a class action on behalf of more than 1,400 women who received Bayer’s Essure contraceptive device. The decision attracted significant publicity, including criticism ...5 days ago- Menstrual cups are safe and sustainable – but they can be tricky for first-time users, our new stu...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Hennegan, Senior Research Fellow; Co-Head, Global Adolescent Health Working Group, Burnet Institute Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock Many young women and other people who menstruate are turning to menstrual cups to manage their periods. In 2021, my colleagues and I surveyed 15- ...5 days ago- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will not attend Waitangi at all next year
He says he has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. ...5 days ago- Can you run through airport security for love? Leave a child home alone? Here’s what the law says ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Emeritus Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia 20th Century Studios/IMDB It’s the time of year when many of us return to our favourite Christmas fables to get into the festive spirit. While film often ...5 days ago- Why does family violence increase during the festive season? Here are 3 contributing factors
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Summerell, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide Shutterstock While the holiday season is supposed to be a happy time, evidence suggests it’s one of the worst times of year for domestic and family ...5 days ago- A world on fire: the World Bulletin year in review
Looking back at the events that made headlines around the globe in 2024. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be hard pressed to think of a grimmer year than ...5 days ago- Government to change free speech rules for universities
The coalition's proposal will also prohibit unis from adopting positions on issues that don't relate to their "core functions". ...5 days ago- From garlic to parsley, new research reveals the herbs and spices Australians love most
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia Herbs and spices have been used in cooking for centuries. They add flavour, aroma and colour to foods and have long been used for health ...5 days ago- Keith Rankin Essay – Judaism, Antisemitism, and Israel
Analysis by Keith Rankin. To understand antisemitism, we need a meaning for ‘semitism’, and another -ism to contextualise semitism. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Literally, semitism means the promotion of the Semitic people, whoever ...5 days ago- Former Defence Minister Peeni Henare calls Vanuatu flight woes ’embarrassing
A Hercules plane carrying urban rescue staff to Vanuatu was stranded in New Caledonia after an engine fault. ...5 days ago- The Spinoff’s favourite movies of 2024
5 days ago- NZ’s dairy industry faces an uncertain future – its fate now lies in its ability to adapt
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, PhD Candidate, Macquarie University William West/AFP via Getty Images New Zealand’s dairy sector faces an uncertain future due to several challenges, including water pollution, high emissions, animal welfare concerns and market volatility. All of these issues are building ...5 days ago- Call for entries: Rod Oram Memorial Essay Prize
Calling all young writers!To honour our great friend and esteemed colleague, Rod Oram, we are calling for essays from young people campaigning for a more equitable, sustainable and compassionate world.Rod Oram was a revered journalist and environmentalist, known for his rigorously researched and passionate commentaries on business, government and wider ...5 days ago- Banger alert: the song of the summer is ‘Harty Māori Stylez’
Espresso this, Not Like Us that. There will be only one true song of Aotearoa’s summer: Harty Māori Stylez by Te Kura Reo Rua o Waikirikiri. This summer, as you cruise coast to coast, you’re going to need an anthem to soundtrack your movements. A song that encapsulates the feeling ...5 days ago- GMO Bill Creates More Societal Division
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) last week completed another two days with Ministers, political leaders, Ministries and primary sector leaders sharing science knowledge, societal concerns, economic impacts and trade findings. ...5 days ago- Lake Alice redress payments won’t have sway on what other survivors receive
Lead minister of the government's response to abuse in care Erica Stanford said Cabinet looked at this case very separately. ...5 days ago - Coalition scraps plan to leave open government pact
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