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Jackal: Ray Chung – Arsehole of the week
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 pm, July 12th, 2025 - 10 comments
In the murky world of local politics, few things reek as badly as Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung’s despicable conduct. His smearing email, circulated to fellow councillors in early 2023, peddling baseless and salacious gossip about Mayor Tory Whanau, is not just a personal attack, it’s a grotesque abuse of power that exposes his utter unfitness for public office.
The Auckland Mayoralty
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, June 8th, 2025 - 4 comments
With National aligned Desley Simpson ruling herself out of the Mayoralty race and pledging support for Wayne Brown Auckland’s mayoral contest looks like it will be a two way battle between Brown and Kerrin Leoni.
Tory Whanau leaves Wellington mayoral race for Māori ward
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, April 29th, 2025 - 59 comments
Smart move by Whanau and great for the green and the left.
Standing for Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, February 2nd, 2025 - 16 comments
Can Kerrin Leoni pave the way as Tamaki Makaurau’s first wāhine Māori Mayor? Open to all today from Nick’s Kōrero…
How does the left win the Auckland Mayoralty?
Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, October 8th, 2024 - 28 comments
I think the left should find a Mayoral candidate to advance progressive principles and policies. And with a muscular fight on the right there may be the opportunity for a candidate to come through the middle and win.
What does the Government have against Māori wards?
Written By: - Date published: 1:27 pm, May 28th, 2024 - 49 comments
The Government is moving with urgency to reverse Labour’s repeal of referenda for Māori wards on local councils.
Why is the right so afraid of Tory Whanau?
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, December 1st, 2023 - 119 comments
Tory Whanau is the latest high ranking female Politician to be the subject of a media onslaught based on rumour and innuendo.
NZ history of voting systems in elections
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 pm, May 13th, 2023 - 33 comments
A guest post by Seddonville Miner outlining the history of voting rights in New Zealand and how Christopher Luxon’s recent claims about our voting system are hopelessly incorrect.
The people have spoken
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, October 10th, 2022 - 147 comments
The people have spoken and with appallingly low turnout levels grumpy campaigns have succeeded and Auckland and other areas have moved to the right.
Local Government election results
Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, October 8th, 2022 - 256 comments
Live updates and discussion post
Own our future
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, October 6th, 2022 - 43 comments
This year’s Local Government election is reaching a critical stage. And it is vital to get the right people elected. Please make sure that your families and friends vote for progressive candidates. Your kids and your grandkids futures depend on it.
What is Paul Eagle doing?
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, September 22nd, 2022 - 17 comments
Some concerning reports have emerged about Paul Eagle’s mayoral campaign. This week there have been reports that he snubbed a Labour Council candidate while endorsing a right wing candidate. And that he has been working behind the scenes supporting a team of independents.
Who will be Wellington’s next Mayor?
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, August 23rd, 2022 - 24 comments
The Wellington Mayoralty is shaping up to be a contest between the incumbent Andy Foster, Labour candidate Paul Eagle who will be a direct challenge to Foster’s support base and Tory Whanau who is standing on a policy basis strong on sustainability including the construction of a comprehensive connected bike network.
Ending discrimination against Māori wards
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 14th, 2021 - 27 comments
The Government has introduced under urgency a bill that will change current law that allows for discriminatory attacks on the creation of Māori Wards.
Later climate change deniers
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, October 15th, 2019 - 73 comments
The recent local government elections resulted in a number of people committed to addressing climate change being elected. And an apparent thinning of those who think that it is a hoax.
Online voting – no. Try polling booths
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, October 14th, 2019 - 42 comments
Amid calls to install online voting from the technologically illiterate who are appear to be unaware of the risks, there is clear disagreement from those who do know the risks. Politicians should listen to them. While postal voting is an expensive and failing system, online voting as a system is certain to be way worse.
2019 local body election results
Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, October 12th, 2019 - 79 comments
Discussion post for live election results and turnout stats.
Will online voting solve the turnout problem
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, October 8th, 2019 - 38 comments
Auckland Council voting returns are very low. But is the problem voter apathy or is our postal system not up to scratch? And will digital voting be a panacea?
Local government: who to vote for?
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, September 27th, 2019 - 1 comment
Resources for progressive voters, on candidates in the 2019 local body elections.
How to vote in STV
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, September 26th, 2019 - 21 comments
It’s local voting time again, and more councils are using STV- while the Electoral Commission will tell you how to rank candidates, they won’t tell you how to vote effectively. Should you leave candidates off your list if you know what relative order they would go in?
Talk is cheap Tamihere
Written By: - Date published: 5:13 am, August 22nd, 2019 - 56 comments
I am really not a fan of political candidates bullshitting. John Tamihere – candidate for Auckland city Mayor, is this kind of blowhard. He is the epitome of the kind of fool who seems to keep his brain mounted right next to his testicles to inform his mouth what to say. He released a transport policy fantasy… I’ll vote for Goff.
Smells Like Stale Male Spirit
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 18th, 2019 - 92 comments
We live in a rich and diverse society but this is not reflected in our local government.
Southland and Thames think they don’t have climate crises
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, July 4th, 2019 - 163 comments
Regular Standard contributor Robert Guyton put up a great fight but has failed to persuade the dinosaurs on Environment Southland to declare a climate emergency.
Tamihere wants to privatise half of Watercare
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, July 3rd, 2019 - 98 comments
John Tamihere has caused jaws throughout the region to drop by proposing that half of Watercare is privatised.
What happened to one person one vote?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, June 28th, 2019 - 34 comments
Did you know that under our local electoral system some people get more than one vote?
Tamihere has some strange friends
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, February 26th, 2019 - 20 comments
John Tamihere has been endorsed by Jordan Williams for Auckland’s mayoralty. And his campaign has commissioned the Taxpayers Union to do a cost cutting exercise.
Roastbusters redux
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, January 27th, 2019 - 92 comments
One of the Roastbusters this week has talked publicly about what happened in an apparent attempt to start a music career. And John Tamihere has started his Mayoral campaign having to answer questions about his attitude to what happened.
Simon who?
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, November 22nd, 2018 - 43 comments
National MP Simon O’Connor is thinking of a tilt at Auckland’s mayoralty.
Auckland Council is investigating online voting
Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, November 21st, 2018 - 63 comments
Auckland Council wishes to conduct a trial of online voting at next year’s local government elections. Is it time to try this out as a voting system?
RIP Penny Bright
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, October 5th, 2018 - 33 comments
Veteran Auckland political activist Penny Bright has died.
Modern Technology Is Eroding Our Society
Written By: - Date published: 11:12 pm, September 30th, 2018 - 52 comments
People are losing their people skills rapidly and it is having an effect on society.
- Flightless Bird: Denver Photos
Hi,Here are some photos from our Flightless Bird live show in Denver, taken by Andrew Rowley. From our shownotes, this may help explain what the photos are all about!This week’s Flightless Bird is Live From Denver! Rob and David explore the sights and sounds of Denver, CO, presenting their findings ...4 hours ago - The Mystery of the Nineteen Bells – To Be Reprinted
2025 has been a year where some of my long-neglected literary pieces have, at last, found a home. That trend continues today – though in this case it is not an unpublished work, but rather a text that first saw light in March 2018. The magazine that published it – ...9 hours ago - China is still coercing Australia—with implicit threats
Look beyond the so-called stabilisation of diplomatic ties between Australia and China. Look beyond Beijing’s lifting of trade bans and its ending of the freeze on ministerial dialogue that began in 2020. China’s unfair trade ...11 hours ago - Fact brief – Did CO2 contribute to early 20th century 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. Did CO2 contribute to early 20th century warming? Warming from 1920 to 1940 was influenced by both natural dynamics or “forcings” as well ...11 hours ago - Australia wins by committing to Horizon Europe
The race for dominance in certain technologies sits at the core of the ever-intensifying competition for strategic advantage, and Australia is part of this dynamic. It will have to remain competitive and avoid becoming a ...13 hours ago
- Was MethaneSAT Deliberately Compromised?
New Zealand’s MethaneSAT, launched with fanfare in March 2024 to tackle methane emissions, has become a troubling case study in corporate overreach and government opacity. The satellite’s abrupt failure in June 2025, attributed to a mysterious loss of power, raises serious questions about the role of Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT), ...13 hours ago - This industry should be destroyed, not subsidised
The health insurance industry is parasitic on our public health system, taking people's money, providing them with th easy, cheap stuff, then sending them straight back into the public health system for anything which might cost them money. But not enough people are buying it anymore. So they're doing what ...14 hours ago - Australia must fight for its voice in the Indo-Pacific
The battle for hearts and minds in the Indo-Pacific is being fought not on traditional battlefields, but in the digital realm where truth and falsehood collide at the speed of light. As authoritarian regimes weaponise ...15 hours ago
- Health NZ Caught Faking Wait Times
In a nation that prides itself on fairness and transparency, the National-led coalition’s handling of New Zealand’s health system is nothing short of a scandalous betrayal. Reports emerging from Nelson Hospital suggest Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) may have instructed hospitals to concoct “ghost appointments”, non-existent bookings designed to ...16 hours ago
- What were the Minister and Treasury doing?
Four weeks ago I noted that I was going to be tied up for the following couple of weeks. Between a busy trip to Papua New Guinea, the extremely dubious governance of the Reserve Bank superannuation scheme, various family members coming to stay, and a health relapse all that turned ...16 hours ago - Compensating Criminals & Animal Abusers: A Dystopian Future
ACT already planning to compensate property owners under the RSBACT’s Nicole McKee is obtaining advice on how to compensate bitcoin ATM owners1, under the Regulatory Standards Bill framework, as the government plans to ban crypto ATMs. The Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime noted these ATMs are ...16 hours ago - Tuesday 15 July
The TEU is calling the government’s disestablishment of Te Pūkenga a “disaster for regional New Zealand”. ASMS and NZNO have accused Nelson Hospital of booking patients for appointments that didn’t exist to make their numbers look better. The RMTU says it was not consulted on KiwiRail’s melatonin ban, and the ...17 hours ago - Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace: A Resource for New Zealand Trade Unions
SUMMARY This resource has been developed to support trade union organisers dealing with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. It outlines existing laws and organising tools relevant to AI and how collective bargaining can be used to ensure workers benefit from and are not harmed by AI. ...17 hours ago
- South Pacific threats are rising. JORN now needs to look eastwards
Australia’s eastern maritime approaches haven’t got much attention since World War II. Defence policy has tended to look northwards and westwards. So, too, do the three great Jindalee over-the-horizon radars that we have deep inland. ...18 hours ago
- Women, Peace and Security is more than a side quest
Somewhere between the fifth email about rescheduled meetings and the third cup of coffee, another email arrives. It’s about Women, Peace and Security (WPS). A few people skim it. One or two frown: ‘Didn’t we ...21 hours ago
- Look Who’s Back…
Sharp and open, leave me aloneAnd sleeping less every nightAs the days become heavier and weightedWaiting in the cold lightA noise, a scream tears my clothes as the figurines tightenWith spiders inside themAnd dust on the lips of a vision of hellI laughed in the mirror for the first time ...21 hours ago - Manufacturing, services & retail mired in recession
The services sector joined the manufacturing sector in contracting in June,and retail sales have fallen 7.5% in inflation-adjusted terms in the last two years.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly for all subscribers for at 7 am on Tuesday, July 15, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other ...21 hours ago - Gordon Campbell On Ducking The Costs Of Climate Change
Looking for consistency in all things is said to be the hallmark of a small mind. Duly noted, but the Luxon government’s stance on climate change does seem strikingly inconsistent. For starters, New Zealand claims to still be committed to the emissions targets contained in the Paris Accords, but the ...1 day ago - Update on Texas flooding
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler My heart is breaking for the tragedy that’s unfolding in central Texas right now. At present, more than 70 people have died in the flooding in the Texas Hill Country. Given the widespread interest in this event and numerous requests ...1 day ago
- Cost of Defence’s roadmap for spending 3 percent of GDP on defence
The current debate on Defence funding, sparked by our 29 May report The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence budget brief 2025–2026, and a subsequent US request for Australia to spend more, has swung between a ...1 day ago
- Chain gang
This is really nice. Three hundred people in Melbourne formed a human chain in the rain to help a bookshop move house.Hill of Content has been selling books on Bourke Street for more than a century. When it came time to relocate, they asked their community: Would you possibly be ...2 days ago - In the fight against drugs, Australia should follow the money
Australia is losing the fight to disrupt illicit drug supply chains, not for lack of effort, but because we need additional weapons and new approaches. Despite record-breaking seizures and sophisticated policing, national wastewater data tells ...2 days ago
- Bookshelf: Taiwan’s journey to geopolitical hotspot
The US administration is still formulating its Indo-Pacific policy, but recent indications suggest that it will take a tough stance on Taiwan. At the Shangri-La Dialogue, held in Singapore from 30 May to 1 June, ...2 days ago
- A step towards freedom in Kanaky
Last year, New Caledonia burned after colonial France attempted to renege on a hard-won decolonisation deal and unilaterally impose constitutional changes without the consent of Kanaks. But now, after months of negotiations, France has finally consented to a further devolution of power, making Kanaky a state within France: One ...2 days ago
- The Moral Abyss of Concentration Camps
The concept of detention centres and concentration camps is a grim spectre in human history, a mechanism of dehumanisation and control that has no place in a civilised world. These camps, defined as large-scale detention sites where civilians are imprisoned without due process based on ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs, ...2 days ago
- Black Nykövä: Accepted
New story acceptance! My 1,000-word dark fantasy piece, Black Nykövä, has been accepted by Exquisite Death for their November issue (https://www.exquisitedeathezine.com/fiction.html)
This one has the distinction of being my first published fiction set ... 2 days ago - Luxon, back from a week’s holiday, comes back swinging
It’s hard not to see the contradictions in National Party policies and statements.Last week on Q&A with Jack Tame, Paul Goldsmith - the Minister who wants Te Reo Māori gone - told Maiki Sherman that National was getting tougher on crime by for example, fining shoplifters of up to $1000 ...2 days ago - Shane Jones’ Sky News Lies
In a cringe-worthy spectacle, Shane Jones, New Zealand First’s shameless spruiker for the oil and gas industry, slithered onto Sky News Australia on Friday, peddling lies so brazen that they would have collapsed under even a whiff of scrutiny.By blaming renewable energy like solar and wind for New Zealand’s exorbitant ...2 days ago
- India, Australia collaborate on critical minerals for renewable energy and climate action
India and Australia are reinforcing their partnership on critical minerals to secure supply chains and enable the global transition to clean energy. This strategic collaboration recognises that lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and similar resources ...2 days ago
- Women Rise Up: 2025 Women’s Council Conference
On July 4 and 5, NZCTU Women’s Council welcomed over 120 wāhine toa at the biennial Women’s Conference “Women Rise Up” at the Lower Hutt Event Centre. The programme was designed around “anger, hope, action.” We wanted members to leave feeling connected, well-equipped and confident to organise and use ...2 days ago
- Monday 14 July
More than 36,000 Te Whatu Ora nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora have voted to strike for 24 hours of what they say is a failure by Health NZ to address their safe staffing concerns. Erica Stanford has unveiled a plan to double the economic benefits brought into ...2 days ago
- A studiously ignored problem: force projected from Australia must go through Indonesia
While the United States spends billions on military infrastructure from Guam to Darwin, one crucial enabler of Indo-Pacific deterrence remains noticeably underdeveloped: rights to pass through Indonesia. The sea and air space of the archipelago ...2 days ago
- Rolling Stone Gets Hoaxed about a Hoax
Hi,Last week legendary music magazine Rolling Stone, home to some quite amazing journalism over the years, blasted an exclusive story:If you just woke up from a decade long coma, that headline would make very little sense. If you missed it, last month a band called “Velvet Sundown” appeared on Spotify, ...2 days ago - Slash blamed in climate change-free flash-flood coverage
Briefly for all subscribers for at 6am on Monday, July 14, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate today are:Another slash catastrophe unfolded over the weekend in the Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman region as the second ‘one-in-one-hundred-year’ flash flood ...2 days ago - David Seymour Can’t Handle the United Nations Jandal
David Seymour, who is unfortunately the current Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, despite only receiving 8% of the party vote, is having another whinge about people disagreeing with him. This time it's the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K. Barume, who recently issued a ...2 days ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #28
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 6, 2025 thru Sat, July 12, 2025. Stories we promoted this week, by category: Climate Change Impacts (6 articles) DeBriefed 4 July 2025: Trump `megabill` guts clean ...2 days ago
- The Malign and Indifferent Goeteia of Faerie: Tolkien and AI
Redoubtable YouTuber GirlNextGondor has put out a detailed look at how Tolkien might have viewed contemporary AI. It’s well worth watching: GirlNextGondor, to her credit, looks beyond the standard notion that Tolkien’s knee-jerk response would have been abject horror, and engages with the question through ...3 days ago - Managed Retreat gets Mentioned in the News
The Nelson Tasman region, battered by relentless storms, stands as a stark reminder of New Zealand’s vulnerability to climate-driven disasters. The floods of June and July 2025, which inundated homes, crippled infrastructure, and forced evacuations in areas like Tapawera and Motueka Valley, have exposed the government’s woeful inaction on flood ...3 days ago
- Statesmanship
In our democracy, former leaders usually fade into the background after they lose power. Occasionally, they might pop up when compelled to by what they see happening, offering the benefit of their years. Usually, this occurs after a couple of changes in government, when they’re no longer closely associated with ...3 days ago - What if there’d been no vaccine?
It was pretty damn impressive how swiftly they managed to produce a vaccine for COVID. Not soon enough to save all those lives in New York and London and Milan, but enough to get back comparatively soon to something like normal.Feels a bit comical now to recall how fondly some ...3 days ago - DOGE is Legally Liable for Texas Drownings
In a world increasingly battered by the ferocity of climate-driven storms, the catastrophic Texas floods of July 2025 stand as a grim testament to governmental negligence. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the previous stewardship of Elon Musk and propelled by Donald Trump’s administration, slashed funding and staffing to critical ...3 days ago
- Since Australia hosts US facilities, we need a joint war plan
Australia hosts several joint Australian-American facilities and provides the US with privileged access to a range of functions that are performed at Australian facilities. As a consequence, Australia is deeply integrated into US strategies of ...3 days ago
- Could NZ First vs ACT blow up the coalition over the Regulatory Standards Bill?
Briefly for paying subscribers at 7am on Saturday, July 12, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate today are:Tension is mounting in Cabinet between ACT and NZ First over the Regulatory Standards Bill, with Winston Peters ...4 days ago - Is Progress Progressive?
We should not assume that all adopted innovations are progressive. Jonathon Haidt’s ‘The Anxious Generation’ illustrates that sometimes they require social measures to enhance well being.The Anxious Generation is a book which probably everyone engaging with adolescents should read. Haidt’s thesis is that smartphones replacing flip phones led to a ...4 days ago - National security isn’t what it used to be—and that’s the point
All prime ministers and presidents frequently tell us that national security is the top priority for government, but does the public see it the same way. And does that matter? When people think of national ...4 days ago
- No one told us life was gonna be this way
1. What has been named 2025 NZ Tree of the Year?a. Tane Mahutab. The Chook Treec. Steven Adamsd. The Bucket Fountain2. The botanical name for macrocarpa, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa, means: a. Large-fruited western cypressb. Tree most likely to crush your shedc. Will not lay eggs no matter how much you trim ...4 days ago - ASPI Defence Conference: Industry, policy and national resilience
Concerns about the strength of Australia’s defence industrial base were central to the industry policy panel at ASPI’s 2025 Defence Conference. The defence industrial base—a network of domestic and foreign industries, companies, research institutions and ...5 days ago
- Elon Musk’s Anti-Woke Grok AI Backfires
In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, Elon Musk’s Grok, developed by xAI, has sparked heated debate. It’s not for its promised “truth-seeking” prowess but for its alarming descent into extremism. Designed to counter what Musk perceived as the “woke” leanings of other AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok’s recent updates ...5 days ago
- Ray Chung – Arsehole of the Week
In the murky world of local politics, few things reek as badly as Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung’s despicable conduct. His smearing email, circulated to fellow councillors in early 2023, peddling baseless and salacious gossip about Mayor Tory Whanau, is not just a personal attack, it’s a grotesque abuse of ...5 days ago
- Collateral benefit: space launch centre’s sensors will plug Cape York gap
Australia’s northern approaches are increasingly contested, yet the airspace over Cape York remains under-monitored and operationally thin. But only for the moment. Civilian sensors will close the gap. My company, Space Centre Australia, has begun ...5 days ago
- For smuggled drones, China wouldn’t be as soft a target as Russia
Ukraine did it. Israel did it. Could Taiwan do it? If China attacks Taiwan, could the island unleash smuggled drones on Chinese territory against high-value targets? Maybe, but China has long been aware of the ...5 days ago
- Economic Bulletin June July 2025
We have two feature articles in this edition. In the first, Morgan James-Tresidder, the new pay equity lead at the NZCTU, sets out why pay equity is such a critical tool for advancing working women’s interests, and outlines how unions are fighting back against the government’s retrograde changes to the ...5 days ago
- Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Jonathan Boston & Wolfgang Rack ‘Hoon’ around the...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guest about the week’s news in geopolitics and climate, along with special guests Professor Jonathan Boston from Victoria University of Wellington and Professor Wolfgang Rack from University ...5 days ago
- Friday 11 July
NZ Post is being told to start over on its consultation process for a proposed business reorganisation after the ERA found it failed to meet its obligations to union members. Southland Hospital staff have taken industrial action for the third time since February over safety concerns. More people moved away ...5 days ago
- Wednesday 10 July
Foodstuffs has confirmed 180 roles at Victoria Park’s New World supermarket will be disestablished after a fire three weeks ago – Workers First have negotiated an extended redundancy period in support of the workers. Residential rents are falling in most parts of the country with Wellington leading the way down. ...5 days ago
- Brickbats
The past is always knocking incessantTrying to break through into the presentWe have to work to keep it outBut I won't be the first to SHOUT it's overSong: Billy Bragg.BrickbatnounA piece of brick used as a missile."he had received a blow with a brickbat"A critical remark or comment."The plaudits were ...5 days ago - 2018 offences should be retained in a new age of espionage
Australia’s 2018 espionage laws are instrumental to defending against espionage, foreign interference, sabotage and theft of trade secrets. A current review of them by Independent National Security Legislation Monitor’s (INSLM) should recommend their retention and ...5 days ago
- Young workers leaving in their droves
Briefly for paying subscribers at 6.30am on Friday, July 11, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, Op-Eds, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:Net migration to Australia hit a 12-year high in 2024 and overall net migration in the last two months ...5 days ago - David Seymour Dodges Truth on Mass Kiwi Exodus
New Zealand is bleeding talent, and the National-led government’s ineptitude is squarely to blame. A record 70,000 Kiwis fled our shores in the year to March 2025, with Australia’s brighter economic prospects luring two-thirds of them across the Tasman. The 18-30 age group, particularly young professionals and high-performing students, is ...5 days ago
- Christian Nightmares
Hi,Ever since Donald Trump was elected, and then lost, and was then elected again, I’ve finally come to accept that terrible shit just keeps coming back around.Annoyingly, my work here on Webworm reminds me of this all the time.Back in 2022, I proudly published that the leaders of New Zealand’s ...5 days ago - National gets a warning from its friends
Some of the National Party’s key stakeholders came to Parliament yesterday and ripped into one of the Government’s showpiece Bills. Underlying the criticism of the Bill, which would establish the industry training bodies to replace Labour’s loss-making Polytech body, Te Pūkenga, was a familiar theme. There was too much direction ...5 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #28 2025
Open access notables Americans and policymakers underestimate endorsement for the most popular climate solution narrative, combining personal and political action, Sparkman et al., Communications Earth & Environment A wide variety of existing narratives describe how we might address climate change. Which of these approaches is popular among the American public? ...5 days ago
- Trump’s tariff war risks undermining US alliances in East Asia
New York Times columnist David Brooks once remarked that Donald Trump is the wrong answer to the right questions—a sentiment that captures the core challenge facing US policy in East Asia. Trump correctly identified the ...5 days ago
- Dealing to the evidence
Rob Campbell recently wrote a piece for Newsroom entitled “Government continues its blunt refusal to acquire knowledge”.He quoted Karl Popper: “true ignorance is not the absence of knowledge but the refusal to acquire it.”He then quoted the PM on bootcamps “I don’t care what you say about whether it does ...5 days ago - Australia’s freedom-of-navigation activities raise more questions than answers
A freedom-of-navigation activity that the Australian and British navies jointly conducted near the Spratly Islands last month was notable. It was the first they’d done together, following a joint Australia and New Zealand transit of ...6 days ago
- “Can you have a peaceful revolution?”
“Trump’s win was the triumph of capitalism and neoliberalism, and he’s going to wreak havoc. There’s nothing we can do about that, except maybe incremental changes. That’s not what we need. We need revolution. Can you have a peaceful revolution? I don’t know.”David SuzukiWell, David Suzuki has called it, and ...6 days ago - Gas is still dead
The National regime, with its outdated fossil thinking, is desperately trying to revive the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, that industry seems to be voting with its feet: one of my regular checks of the gas permit map, and comparison with the permit spreadsheet, shows that OMV has surrendered another two ...6 days ago
- India’s water treaty power play signals regional shift
As India renegotiates the Ganges Water Treaty with Bangladesh following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, it is adopting a new posture in its water diplomacy. India appears to be charting a China-like path ...6 days ago
- The Dust of Israel’s Genocide Settles Across the World
In the annals of human cruelty, the Holocaust stands as a grotesque monument to industrialised slaughter. Hitler’s regime exterminated six million Jews, alongside Romani people, disabled individuals, political dissidents, LGBTQ+ communities, and intellectuals, a genocide shrouded in secrecy, its full horrors only grasped after the German's were defeated.Fast forward to ...6 days ago
- Wednesday 9 July
CTU president Richard Wagstaff warned the “light touch” approach in the Government’s new AI strategy would do nothing to protect workers from the serious risks from AI. Lawyers representing unions have urged the Supreme Court to uphold a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that a group of Uber drivers were ...6 days ago
- Good enough to win: rethinking risk in innovation
Innovation policy is often built around optimism. But in a world of live contest across the economy, the environment and the broader geostrategic landscape, progress cannot afford to wait for perfection. The scale of technology ...6 days ago
- Of Story Salvaging, Magazine Demise, and a Thousand Posts (+ Accursed AI)
This marks A Phuulish Fellow’s thousandth blog post. I was rather hoping that this milestone would coincide with the tenth anniversary in November 2025, but it was not to be. A thousand posts, spread over nearly a decade, is obviously a fair number, and the sheer number of post-categories on ...6 days ago - Rainbow Warriors
Where the Banshees cryAnd the bells they soundWhen you lift me highWhen you pull me downWhen you pull me downWhen you pull me downSongwriter: Donald Bain Mcglashan.Forty years ago today, the French government committed a terrorist action, an unprovoked act of war on our nation, for the crime of peaceful ...6 days ago - A criminal nation
The European Court of Human Rights has found Russia guilty of horrific human rights violations during its unlawful invasions of Ukraine: Russia has committed flagrant and unprecedented abuses of human rights since it invaded Ukraine in 2014, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labour, the European court of ...6 days ago
- Winning on economics means losing on national security
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needs to make a formal statement to the Australian Parliament addressing Australia’s place in a changing world and unambiguously asking the Australian public to pay a price to defend the nation’s ...6 days ago
- Minister must back regional vocational education with real support
The Government’s move to re-establish ten polytechnics fails to ensure the thriving, future-focussed vocational education sector Aotearoa deserves. ...20 hours ago - Submissions show overwhelming opposition to RSB
The Green Party is calling on Cabinet to stop the Regulatory Standards Bill, after only 19 of a total 208 submissions heard over the course of last week’s submissions process supported the Bill. ...2 days ago
- An update on Winston’s War on Woke & June wrap up
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. During the month of June, we made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand. An update on Winston's War on Woke ...5 days ago - Green Party won’t contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election
After careful consideration, the Green Party will not stand a candidate in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. ...5 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori Announces Award-Winning Broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to Contest Tāmaki Makaurau By-El...
Te Pāti Māori have confirmed the selection of celebrated broadcaster and longtime West Auckland advocate Oriini Kaipara (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi) as its candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. Oriini’s deep whakapapa to Tāmaki Makaurau is grounded in her upbringing at Hoani Waititi Marae, where she was ...5 days ago
- OPED – Mark Patterson: “Do something about the bloody trees”
“Do something about the bloody trees” would be the most common refrain I hear around Clutha and when travelling about rural New Zealand. Forestry has been, and is, a legitimate land use option for farmers and forestry companies. Always has been, always will. Sensible farmers have incorporated planting out of ...6 days ago
- OPED – Jenny Marcroft: Supporting our oyster farmers
Most of us who live in the Mahurangi region are well aware of the ongoing challenges faced by oyster farmers because of multiple significant sewage spills into Mahurangi Harbour. Watercare’s sewerage network in Warkworth is infiltrated with stormwater following rainfall, resulting in overflows into the Mahurangi River and the wider ...7 days ago
- NZ First Introduces Bill to Protect New Zealanders’ Ability to Use Cash
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would protect New Zealanders’ ability to use cash. The Bill will provide for the enduring use of cash as a private, accessible, and reliable method of payment. “People who rely on cash due to barriers to digital banking deserve ...1 week ago
- New study shows speed of Antarctic ice melt, Govt fans climate flames
As the Government pulls out of global climate commitments, a significant new report shows that sea ice around Antarctica is melting at unprecedented speed. ...1 week ago
- Family Boost announcement does little to boost families
Today’s announcement on the Family Boost scheme is little more than tinkering around the edges while real issues in the ECE system are ignored, says the Green Party. ...1 week ago
- Serious Response to Serious Problems
As New Zealand has positively responded to the crack down on gang patches there has been a growing recognition of the influence of organized crime on our communities. New Zealand First continues to be focused on all aspects that undermine the safety and security in our neighbourhoods, businesses, and ...2 weeks ago
- NZ First Bill: Only Official New Zealand Flag to Fly on Government Buildings
New Zealand First has today introduced a member's bill which would make it law that government buildings can only display the official flag of New Zealand. “Government buildings are for all New Zealanders and should not be hijacked to force cultural, woke, or divisive political ideology down the throats of ...2 weeks ago
- Healthy Homes standards need more teeth
With mandatory Healthy Homes standards coming into effect for all tenancies tomorrow, the Green Party is calling for a new Rental Warrant of Fitness system to give the new standards true effect. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party pays tribute to Takutai Tarsh Kemp
The Green Party has paid tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp who sadly passed away early this morning. ...3 weeks ago
- Fiji govt offers NZ$1.5m settlement to former anti-corruption head for ruined career
By Margot Staunton, RNZ Pacific senior reporter The Fiji government looks set to pay around NZ$1.5 million in damages to the disgraced former head of the country’s anti-corruption agency FICAC. The state is offering Barbara Malimali an out-of-court settlement after her lawyer lodged a judicial review of her sacking in ...3 hours ago - Federal Court rules Australian government doesn’t have a duty of care to protect Torres Strait Isl...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Hicks, Lecturer in Law, The University of Melbourne Australian Climate Case The Federal Court has handed down its long-awaited judgement in a four-year climate case brought by Torres Strait Islanders. Elders Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai took the ...6 hours ago
- No more card surcharges: what the Reserve Bank’s proposed changes mean for your wallet
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University That extra 10c on your morning coffee. That $2 surcharge on your taxi ride. The sneaky 1.5% fee when you pay by card at your local restaurant. These could all soon be history. The Reserve ...6 hours ago
- President Xi Jinping tells Albanese China ready to ‘push the bilateral relationship further’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese China stands ready to work with Australia “to push the bilateral relationship further”, in their meeting in Beijing on Tuesday. During the meeting, Albanese raised Australia’s concern ...7 hours ago
- Online casino bill: Greens vote with coaltion govt to pass first reading
The Greens have broken with their opposition party colleagues to vote in support of the online casino bill. ...9 hours ago - Online casino bill: Greens vote with coalition govt to pass first reading
The Greens have broken with their opposition party colleagues to vote in support of the online casino bill. ...9 hours ago
- Ray Chung’s email about Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau ‘absolutely disgraceful’ R...
Wellington-based MPs condemn the councillor's email about the mayor and say they feel "embarrassed" to be from the Capital. ...9 hours ago
- Tyranny is an ever-present threat to civilisations. Here’s how Classical Greece and China dealt wi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast We’re just a few months into US president Donald Trump’s second term but his rule has already been repeatedly compared to tyranny. This may all feel very new ...10 hours ago
- A person in the US has died from pneumonic plague. It’s not just a disease of history
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock A person in Arizona has died from the plague, local health officials reported on Friday. This marks the first such death in this region in 18 years. But it’s ...10 hours ago
- Supermarket treatments for depression don’t require a prescription. But do they work?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Wardle, Professor of Public Health, Southern Cross University Australians have long been some of the highest users of herbal and nutritional supplements that claim to boost mood or ease depression. These include omega-3s (found in fish oil), St John’s wort, probiotics ...10 hours ago
- Tyranny is an ever-present threat to civilisations. Here’s how Ancient Greece and China dealt with...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast Panasevich/Getty Images We’re just a few months into US president Donald Trump’s second term but his rule has already been repeatedly compared to tyranny. This may all ...10 hours ago
- State of Wayne’s Auckland: No easy fixes
It’s going to be a difficult job ‘fixing’ Auckland. Just ask the fixit mayor, Wayne Brown, whose city seems to be drifting lower against its international peer cities on important measures of productivity, opportunity, innovation and knowledge. A new survey does show Auckland performing ahead of overseas centres on culture ...11 hours ago - Labour dismisses claims it is being ‘greedy’ by contesting by-election
Prominent figures in Te Pāti Māori have criticised Labour's decision to run. ...11 hours ago
- Minister defends Te Pūkenga breakup, saying rural education will not suffer
Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds unveiled the polytechnics that would emerge from breaking up Te Pūkenga on Monday. ...12 hours ago
- UN letter fallout: ‘Experience is important in this business’, says Peters
The foreign affairs minister has suggested his coalition partners were wrong to publicly criticise the letter before he officially responded to it. ...12 hours ago
- After a hopeful start, Labor’s affordable housing fund is proving problematic
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Raynor, Director of the Centre for Equitable Housing, Per Capita and Research Associate, The University of Melbourne When the Albanese government announced the A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund in 2023, the news reverberated through the housing sector. A new ...13 hours ago
- The southern hemisphere is full of birds found nowhere else on Earth. Their importance has been over...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthias Dehling, Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University Matthias Dehling The snow petrel, a strikingly white bird with black eyes and a black bill, is one of only three bird species ever observed at the South Pole. In fact, the ...14 hours ago
- Ray Chung gets a woman to apologise for him
‘Accountability really matters,’ said the woman Ray Chung found to take accountability on his behalf. It was standing room only at the Miramar Community Centre on Monday night for the 14th edition of the Zero Rates Roadshow, the campaign event for mayoral candidate Ray Chung and his politicial-party-that-insists-it-isn’t-a-political-party Independent Together. ...14 hours ago - ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 15, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 15, 2025. A warning from the future: the risk if NZ gets climate adaptation policy wrong todaySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Logan, Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, ...14 hours ago
- Supermarkets seem impervious to bad headlines and court fines
Opinion: If you have the impression the big supermarket chains have been facing a lot of court cases over allegations of abusing competition, heavying suppliers or exploiting customers, then you’re not wrong. The Commerce Commission reveals it will be filing civil proceedings against Foodstuffs North Island and its wholesale arm, Gilmours, for alleged cartel conduct. ...14 hours ago
- The new Whittaker’s Banana Caramel block, reviewed
After another ‘discovered before announcement’ launch, Whittaker’s new Banana Caramel block is now on sale. A bunch of people deliver their verdicts. When combined, “gooey” and “banana” are two words that should logically equal “yuck”, and yet… the filling in this new choc offering is pretty yum. Whittaker’s knows how ...15 hours ago
- Auckland’s problems a ‘hangover’ from Labour, Christopher Luxon says
A report says Auckland is at risk of losing its status as a "global city". ...15 hours ago
- A warning from the future: the risk if NZ gets climate adaptation policy wrong today
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Logan, Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury Getty Images New Zealand 2050: On the morning of February 27, the sea surged through the dunes south of the small town of Te Taone, riding ...16 hours ago
- ABC’s and CBS’s settlements with Trump are a dangerous step toward the commander in chief becomi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael J. Socolow, Professor of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine Will settlements by news companies with President Donald Trump turn journalists into puppets? MARHARYTA MARKO/iStock Getty Images Plus It was a surrender widely foreseen. For months, rumors abounded that Paramount would ...16 hours ago
- Is there any hope for the internet?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson College Hate and mental illness fester online because love and healing seem to be incompatible with profits. Ihor Lukianenko/iStock via Getty Images In 2001, social theorist bell hooks warned about the dangers of a loveless ...16 hours ago
- Christopher Luxon tells off David Seymour over letter to United Nations
"I've just made it clear that I expect Winston Peters to be the person that engages with the UN," the prime minister told reporters. ...16 hours ago
- Cannabis cake taken to shared lunch at Hawke’s Bay Hospital
Health Minister Simeon Brown police are investigating. ...16 hours ago
- Nicola Willis is encouraged Commerce Commission has taken Foodstuffs North Island to court
The finance minister says it is important the Commerce Commission uses its prosecution powers when evidence is brought to it. ...16 hours ago
- Hung parliament still likely outcome of Tasmanian election, with Liberals well ahead of Labor in new...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A new Tasmanian DemosAU poll gives the Liberals a 34.9–24.7 statewide vote lead over Labor, implying the Liberals will win the most ...16 hours ago
- Luxon and Peters to miss Cook Islands’ 60th Constitution Day celebrations
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist New Zealand will not send top government representation to the Cook Islands for its 60th Constitution Day celebrations in three weeks’ time. Instead, Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro will represent Aotearoa in Rarotonga. On August 4, Cook Islands will mark 60 years of self-governance in ...16 hours ago
- Why Tāmaki Makaurau needs an urban Māori leader
With a byelection set for September 6, and Peeni Henare, Oriini Kaipara and Hannah Tamaki confirmed in the race, Tāmaki Makaurau needs a leader who understands what it means to be urban, disconnected and diasporic, argues Te Rina Ruka-Triponel. I’ve spent most of my life in Tāmaki Makaurau. I’ve lived ...17 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Analysis – Reporting International Migration: Less than the Truth
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Yesterday I listened to RNZ’s political commentators. The principal topic was an aspect of the recently released May 2025 international migration. Kathryn Ryan starts by ...17 hours ago
- Whanganui mayor’s advice after achieving lowest rates rise in New Zealand
Whanganui's average rates increase of 2.2 percent is the lowest in the country. ...18 hours ago
- Weird men are driving people out of politics
Their smear campaigns are ham-fisted and grotesque. They’re also working. Ray Chung seemed more annoyed than apologetic in what he’d billed as his “unequivocal apology” to Wellington mayor Tory Whanau. The Independent Together mayoral candidate said he regretted sending a florid email full of false rumours about the sitting mayor’s ...18 hours ago
- Local Government Amendment Bill introduced to remove council wellbeing provisions
Requirements on councils to prioritise core services will also be imposed. ...18 hours ago
- National, Labour agree changes needed for weather-event buyouts
Both parties want a bipartisan answer for how to deal with buyouts after future weather events. ...19 hours ago
- Antisemitism plan fails on a number of fronts – a contentious definition of hate is just the start
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Chappell, Scientia Professor, UNSW Sydney The antisemitism strategy presented to the Albanese government has attracted considerable – and wholly justifed – criticism. Produced by Jillian Segal, the special envoy to combat antisemitism, the blueprint falls short in a range of areas ...19 hours ago
- Do I have prostate cancer? Why a simple PSA blood test alone won’t give you the answer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin M. Koo, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, The University of Queensland Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australia, with about 26,000 men diagnosed per year. The majority (more than 85%) are aged over 60. Prostate cancer kills around 3,900 Australians ...19 hours ago
- Many fish are social, but pesticides are pushing them apart
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kyle Morrison, PhD Candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UNSW Sydney Kazakov Maksim, Shutterstock Scientists have detected pesticides in rivers, lakes and oceans worldwide. So what are these pesticides doing to the fish? Long before pesticides reach lethal doses, they can ...19 hours ago
- The cost of being: An independent contractor who just left their full-time salaried job
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an arts and NGO contractor details their expenses. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 30. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Independent contractor in the arts and NGO ...20 hours ago
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