national
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- same old national (1,650)
Looks like rail enabled ferries may be back
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, March 1st, 2025 - 31 comments
You have to hand it to Winston and New Zealand First. On the issue of rail enabled ferries they have performed outstanding work. That good that what looked like a foregone conclusion, the dismantling of the Cook Strait Rail Link, may not happen after all.
Some more thoughts about National’s vigilante justice policy
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, February 28th, 2025 - 16 comments
National’s forary into supporting vigilante justice raises some thorny legal issues it appears National has not thught about.
Vigilante justice is apparently our birth right
Written By: - Date published: 9:26 am, February 26th, 2025 - 147 comments
Amongst the most dangerous, extreme and downright stupid policies the Government has come up with is the decision to be announced today to allow citizen’s arrests of shoplifters
Come Rich Foreigners – New Zealand Is For Sale
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 4 comments
Long signaled, all right wing parties are opening the doors for wealthy foreigners to easily acquire our significant assets and lands.
Bayly goneburger
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 23 comments
In breaking news Andrew Bayley has resigned as a minister after entering into an animated discussion with a staff member and “placing a hand on their upper arm”.
When will Luxon be rolled?
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, February 23rd, 2025 - 32 comments
Christopher Luxon’s time as Prime Minister appear to be numbered.
State of the Nation – dire
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, February 12th, 2025 - 18 comments
Remember National’s promise to get us back on track? Salvation Army’s latest state of the nation report suggests that for ordinary people things are getting much worse.
The latest polls suggest a change in Government
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 pm, February 11th, 2025 - 15 comments
Two recent polls both predict a one term National Government.
Kieran McAnulty is underrated: How Chris Bishop Got Away with Blowing Up Kāinga Ora & State Housing Momentum
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, February 11th, 2025 - 13 comments
Kieran McAnulty’s points are fair and important – so why is media ignoring most of them? Also – Labour delivered 14,000 homes in government – so why is Chris Bishop blowing that trajectory up?
Bring us your wealthy and your privileged …
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, February 11th, 2025 - 11 comments
National wants more wealthy people to come to New Zealand to increase investment fund levels. But what if we created the situation so that locals could increase investment through Kiwisaver contributions?
Leadership D.O.A.
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, February 10th, 2025 - 31 comments
As we approach the half-time oranges for his government, I thought I’d give Mr Luxon some feedback and a few suggestions on how he might turn things around – if becoming a real leader interests him.
Why get upset with solar power?
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, February 9th, 2025 - 56 comments
You have to hand it to the right. They have succeeded in making ordinary people oppose the most beneficial projects imaginable. Like a group of residents in North Canterbury that is opposing construction of a solar farm.
David Farrar’s Curia Market Research Woes
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, February 1st, 2025 - 16 comments
What happened to the Curia Market Research suspension? David Farrar responded after RANZ hired an independent sub-committee to investigate complaints about polling integrity
Better Late than Never?
Written By: - Date published: 6:13 pm, January 31st, 2025 - 10 comments
Davey Seymour’s Disgusting School Dinners, and the faster you go, the bigger the mess, but does Chris Bishop look bothered?
Keep on Digging
Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, January 30th, 2025 - 30 comments
The latest outbursts and brain farts from the great Kumara of the North…
Open to all today in Nick’s Kōrero – Shane Jones calls climate change ‘woke’ and says, ‘Send the Mexicans home’.
Selling NZ off to the highest foreign bidder. Is it still NZ First?
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 pm, January 23rd, 2025 - 17 comments
For a year, Luxon and Seymour have been prepping the Overseas Investment Act to sell NZ off to wealthy foreigners. But who is running the show? Libertarian interests of course. And Winston Peters might find the money good enough to fold.
The difference between Christopher Luxon and Donald Trump *
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, January 22nd, 2025 - 23 comments
* is not as great as you think.
Luxon’s panicked reshuffle
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, January 20th, 2025 - 61 comments
Christopher Luxon has conducted a major Cabinet Reshuffle with the stand out feature the demotion of Shane Reti and the transfer of Health from Reti to Simeon Brown.
Clearing the Decks: Government replaces half of the Waitangi Tribunal
Written By: - Date published: 10:07 pm, January 17th, 2025 - 33 comments
The government has replaced half of the Waitangi Tribunal, removing three of NZ’s most highly regarded experts in mātauranga Maori.
Latest opinion poll – Labour overtakes National
Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, January 17th, 2025 - 62 comments
That grinding noise you can hear from the Parliamentary precinct is the sound of National backbenchers sharpening their knives getting ready for a change of leadership. Because the latest Curia poll shows National has fallen behind Labour in the preferred party stakes.
Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco
Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, January 16th, 2025 - 35 comments
A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.
Wage theft – now that is a real crime
Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, December 30th, 2024 - 17 comments
In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.
The absurdity of National’s Gang Patch ban
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, December 29th, 2024 - 61 comments
It did not take long for the first example of the absurdity of the Government’s gang patch ban to appear.
Government sabotages its Emissions Reduction Plan
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, December 23rd, 2024 - 7 comments
Under its latest Emissions Reduction Plan the Government is placing major reliance on processing of orgnic waste and landfill gas capture. But it has quietly recently cut funding for the Waste Minimisation Fund by $177 million over 4 years.
Is Luxon on a roll?
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 24 comments
Or about to be rolled? Word has it that Chris Bishop is waiting in the wings, as Luxon’s favourability rating drops below Hipkins.
Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy
Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 47 comments
The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.
When publicity stunts go bad
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 17th, 2024 - 16 comments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.
Clusterfreak
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, December 12th, 2024 - 46 comments
Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.
The unusual feature of Taxpayers Union’s latest Curia poll
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, December 11th, 2024 - 14 comments
Unlike two other recent polls the latest Taxpayer’s Union poll reports a surge to Act happening during the time the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced.
Unacceptable
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, December 7th, 2024 - 29 comments
It appears that the Government’s intent to politicise youth offending by making an elite few dress up in army uniforms and march around in an effort to solve a lifetime of neglect is not working out so well.
National’s dodgy health announcements
Written By: - Date published: 4:09 pm, November 27th, 2024 - 18 comments
National yesterday made great fanfare about an extra $30 million being spent on doctors and nurses. But news today of 1,500 health job cuts in the pipeline clearly shows how the extra funds are to be sourced.
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- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #09
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 23, 2025 thru Sat, March 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...3 hours ago - Brothers in Arms.
Now the sun's gone to hellAnd the moon riding highLet me bid you farewellEvery man has to dieBut it's written in the starlightAnd every line in your palmWe're fools to make warOn our brothers-in-armsWritten by Mark Knopfler.“Where are the adults when you need them?” I thought. “Shouldn’t there be adults?”It ...9 hours ago - A soliloquy for the week to March 2
The Electricity Authority has proposed forcing the big four gentailers to offer the same hedging contracts and prices for wholesale electricity to their smaller competitors as they offer their own retailing arms internally. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me ...12 hours ago - What Can We Do Again?
What America Can Teach Us Here Yesterday Trump and his Peter Thiel affiliated Vice President, J.D Vance, berated Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House.This came weeks after lying about Zelensky - claiming among other lies, that Ukraine started the war with Russia. It did not.Zelensky lamented that Trump was ...13 hours ago - It should take about a month
The great problem you’re facing this month is very often not the one you’ll be worrying about a year from now.I find this notion reassuring. I lean upon it. But lately, given what the hell has been going on in the world, not so much.Perversely yesterday’s White House spectacle reinstated ...19 hours ago - Fact brief – Are high CO2 levels harmless because they also occurred in the past?
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 high CO2 levels harmless because they also occurred in the past? While the Earth adapted to high carbon dioxide levels in the ...1 day ago
- 2025 Reading List: February (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for February: He Who Shrank, by Henry Hasse The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus The Maracot Deep, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Poseidon’s Paradise: The Romance of Atlantis, by Elizabeth Birkmaier The Hairy Monster, by Neil Miller The Spider, by Arthur Edward Chapman The Canterville Ghost, by ...1 day ago - Forty years of floating
Last year there was interesting new book out made up of 29 collected short papers by (more or less) prominent economists given at a 2023 conference to mark Floating Exchange Rates at Fifty. The fifty years related to the transition back to generalised floating of the major developed world currencies ...1 day ago - Hyundai back in running to build two new Cook Strait Interislander ferries – after Willis canc...
Quick update here on the ferries cancellation saga, now led by Winston Peters.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.RNZ:The giant Korean ship builder Hyundai could be back in the running to build two new Cook Strait ...2 days ago - Dawn chorus for Saturday, March 1
Pans to replace development contributions with pre-set development levies and to give councils powers to set targeted rates won’t be finalised until well into 2026. Meanwhile, the Waikato District Council has stopped accepting new building consents for Pokeno because of wastewater infrastructure shortages. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories ...2 days ago - Marjen van den Belt – Pollute and Pay
Marjen is an ecological economist with 28 years' experience gained through research, teaching, advising, consulting, management, enterprising and governance in settings ranging from local to global. She is a ministerial appointment to the Lincoln University Council and a member of the Edmund Hilary Fellowship and a previous Chief Economist for ...2 days ago - The Cult of Generic Management
As Lady Bracknell almost said, ‘to lose one may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.’ And so a second Government Statistician has made a hasty exit, The official reason in each case was the management of the population census but the cult of generic management ...2 days ago - I cannot live with this man I cannot live without him what even is this life
Questions 1. What French expression best characterises this weeks’ intimate encounter between Old Mate Grabaseat and Mike Answer-the-fricken-question-for-the-love-of-me Hoskinga. Ménage à Trumpb. Folie à deuxc. Amour foud. None of the above all of the above I cannot live with this man I cannot live without him what even is this ...2 days ago - What does David Seymour have against kids?
Newsroom’s Fox Meyer wrote a good piece yesterday on the Compass school lunches contract, unveiling its terms, and revealing the government stumped up an extra $8.9m “bonus” to meet requirements.This means the per school lunch cost is now a minimum of just under $4 - excluding the large number of ...2 days ago - Govt eyes big new infrastructure levies, but no value-capture rates
Will a Government-set and regulated system of infrastructure levies replace council-set development contributions and open up new land supply for housing? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February ...3 days ago - Friday 28 February
The Government is set to announce a levy system and new rules around housing infrastructure aimed at making housing developments and transport corridors more financially attractive to councils. The job market is potentially showing signs of recovery according to more positive advertising data which shows the rate of decline has ...3 days ago - Weekly Roundup 28-February-2025
It’s Friday and we’re are the end of February already meaning here comes March Madness. Here too are some of the things that caught our attention this week. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered parts of a fantastic speech by Chris Bishop. Tuesday had Matt ...3 days ago - The Glowing Light of You, the Reader
Hi,Because the Webworm community is consistently a glowing light in my life, I wanted to share a few insights readers shared about Franks Ogilvie, the feral law firm that sent a threatening legal letter to Kiwi health professionals.(A lot of you asked for a copy of the original threatening letter, ...3 days ago
- The Letter
Hi,Quite a few readers have asked to see a copy of the original letter Stephen Franks of Franks Ogilvie law sent out to various New Zealand health practitioners.So, here is a copy.I am not going to do a fact check here, but would advise you keep these emojis in mind ...3 days ago - The Hoon around the week to Feb 28
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including Donald Trump’s wrecking of the post-WW II politicial landscape; and, on the week in ...3 days ago - China stands aside, now its Peters v the Cook islands Premier
It is now clear that the Government is singling out Cook Islands Premier Mark Brown as the person to blame for the Islands signing three partnership agreements with China. China itself appears to be standing aside. After a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday night, Foreign Minister Winston Peters even got ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #9 2025
Open access notables A twenty-first century structural change in Antarctica’s sea ice system, Raphael et al., Communications Earth & Environment: From 1979 to 2016, total Antarctic sea ice extent experienced a positive trend with record winter maxima in 2012 and 2014. Record summer minima followed within the period 2017-2024, raising ...3 days ago
- Scholarly Link: The Comparative Notebook.
I am pleased that the under-recognized scholar (and previous co-author of mine) Kate Nicholl has decided to join Substack and publish her thoughts on comparative politics. By using Substack she wants to bridge the gap between scholarly articles and opinion editorials (op eds). Her gift as a writer is to ...3 days ago - Still against a four-year term
It must be bad idea week at the Beehive. Yesterday, they were promoting vigilantism - a policy hated by everybody except the very worst people in the world. And today, they've announced that they're going to proceed with ACT's weird four-year-term bill, which would make the length of the parliamentary ...3 days ago - Thursday 27 February
Fleur Fitzsimons has been appointed as the new National Secretary of the PSA. The Government has confirmed it will amend the Crimes Act to give all citizens greater ability to arrest or detain thieves stealing from retail stories amid an increase in retail crime – the move is opposed by ...3 days ago
- Negative police officers to date – Sunny Kaushal & Paul Goldsmith want ‘5 million Ki...
Sunny Kaushal - National Party member and donorThere are few things that make me viscerally irritable in politics, but seeing the government proposing citizens’ arrest as a method to curtail crime - while losing more police officers than it can hire because it’s unwilling to pay for professionals - does ...4 days ago - Seymour’s late, missing, discarded, allergic, nutritionless, dangerous & skimpy school lun...
Seymour has broken the first rule of modern focus-group and poll-driven politics: never alienate the soccer and netball ‘moms’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 26:A crescendo ...4 days ago - Been Caught Stealing?
I've been caught stealin', once when I was 5I enjoy stealin', it's just as simple as thatOh well, it's just a simple factWhen I want something, man, I don't wanna pay for itHow much would you pay to change the law to whatever you want it to be? Probably quite ...4 days ago - Why is such rank dishonesty tolerated?
“We were one of the first central banks in the world to be tightening; we were one of the first central banks in the world to be easing” Those were Adrian Orr’s words last Thursday to Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee at their hearing on the Bank’s latest Monetary Policy ...4 days ago
- Auckland, what is it good for?
Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel …and what can we do to increase its success? Here at Greater Auckland it is axiomatic that cities are, or at least can and should be, forces for good for their inhabitants and host nations. This of course explains ...4 days ago
- At last, some good news.
Things are starting to come right for the Government. Though recent polling has placed it behind Labour and the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, keeps tripping up in public, the economy is picking up, which may be enough to stop further poll falls. Better still for National, it is picking up ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On School Lunches, And The Coalition Government Eating The Young
The school lunches saga gets worse by the day. Bland, repetitive menus, failures in heating, failures in timely delivery, failures to deliver halal meals that are truly halal, endangering children who have known allergies by giving them food that may contain the triggering ingredients, etc etc. It’s not as if ...4 days ago - Supermarket Self-Checkouts Are Limiting Your Personal Liberties
The New Zealand Supreme Court describes detention as the “most punitive and most liberty-depriving” of the penalties the law can impose. Because of this, they have always been incredibly careful to give a wide interpretation and hefty weight to the right not to be arbitrarily detained. This is an interpretation ...4 days ago - The profits must be protected!
If there’s any one person to be praised for finding receipts and sticking them in this government’s complacent face, that person would be Craig Renney.His most recent effort is a thorough rebuttal of some tough-on-crime puffed-chest- beating that went like this:You can find the full rebuttal here but the essence ...4 days ago - Empty vessel and strategic disruptor?
I have been trying to make sense out of the shifts in US foreign policy under Trump 2.0. I understand his admiration for authoritarians and supination to Putin (which I believe is because Putin has dirt on him), and I also understand the much vaunted “transactional” nature of his view ...4 days ago
- Citizen’s arrest powers will put workers in harm’s way
The Government’s announcement to change citizen’s arrest powers shows workers will bear the brunt of their lack of a plan to deal with retail crime, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. “If the proposed changes to citizen’s arrests laws are any indication of what is to come, there ...4 days ago
- A reversal on secrecy?
For the past few years I've been waging war on secrecy clauses, submitting at select committee where clauses in legislation seem to over-ride the Official Information Act. One of the drivers of this was a 2014 decision by the Ombudsman (unpublished, but posted here), where they interpreted an exemption in ...4 days ago
- Cycleways only COST 1% of the entire transport budget and reap significant benefits economically, en...
This morning I saw a line on social media that got my attention —"More cycle and walking lanes that nobody uses to kill economy. Absolute genius!”But cycle ways only cost 1% of the entire transport budget!That's not what is killing the economy.Business liquidations are at a 10 year high. Unemployment ...4 days ago - Te Hā Noa 101: Victoria Street explained
Recently, Auckland’s Mayor Wayne Brown expressed bewilderment in a social media post about the current changes to Victoria Street in the city centre. “Welcome to Cone Central,” he says, adopting the universally recognised arms-wide position of exasperation, and gesturing around him at the works under way. “Nobody knows what it’s ...5 days ago
- Is compulsory saving the answer?
Economic growth – and the lack of the sustained productivity growth that underpins it – is again briefly in focus. 70 years of relative economic decline still shows no sign of being durably reversed, but the last few years have been particularly tough and there is an election next year, ...5 days ago
- National doesn’t want you to know what people think of the Regulatory Standards Bill
Back in January the government held a public consultation on its draft Regulatory Standards Bill. The bill is a piece of neoliberal bullshit which seeks to bind all future lawmaking to some highly contentious (and not public accepted) Libertarian ideological principles, in an effort to deter future lawmaking with the ...5 days ago
- The Eye of the Chicken
Risin' up, straight to the topHad the guts, got the gloryWent the distance, now I'm not gonna stopJust a man and his will to surviveSongwriters: Frank Sullivan / James Peterik.Butter Chicken is one of the most popular takeaway dishes in Aotearoa. It’s the curry to have when you don’t like ...5 days ago - “But David Seymour Said!” – Why Jacinda Ardern Was Right
Yesterday, I received a few messages telling me that my article on school lunches was being heavily discussed on Reddit -I was pleasantly surprised it hadn’t been zapped, so took a look.95% of the comments were positive, and many Kiwis appear to feel angry at the ‘free market, public-private enterprise ...5 days ago - Interview: ‘I didn’t want to smile’
The new report details the effects of unmet dental need and the financial strains, such as incurring debt including large MSD loans. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, I spoke to researcher and campaigner Kayli Taylor in the interview above about her ActionStation Aotearoa report into unmet need ...5 days ago
- Franks Ogilvie Law’s Threat to Health Professionals
Hi,Late yesterday afternoon Webworm published a story on our website (www.webworm.co) — which this morning is top of New Zealand reddit, which is nice.But I wanted to get it to your inbox first thing today with a bit of added background.Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender ...5 days ago - A Tale of Two Germanies: the 2025 West/East Dividing Line
Germany had its Federal Election this week, and, well, people are talking about the map: Yes. That looks very much like the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) reborn, aka East Germany. Only this time, rather than Communism, the region has given itself over to the Far-Right (the Alternative ...5 days ago - Fumigating the. neoliberal cockroaches
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...5 days ago
- Farewells
So. Farewell thenAndrew Bayly.It’s not easy to imagine something a minister could do in the Luxon Beehive that would be beyond the pale.But youseem to have a knack for finding it.I took the discussion too far and I placed a hand on their upperarm, you said.You sound like the sheriff ...5 days ago - Fiame stares down her corrupt party
Back in January, Samoan cabinet minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. When he refused to resign, samoan prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa sacked him - triggering a political crisis. Because a majority of her political party felt that she should have not ...5 days ago
- Legal Threats Made to Gender-Affirming Health Professionals in NZ
Hi,Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender affirming care in New Zealand have received a threatening legal letter from Wellington law firm Franks Ogilvie.The law firm who sent the letter.The letter was sent on behalf of Inflection Point NZ, an anti-trans lobby group that boasts speakers including ...5 days ago - ‘We can’t hold on any longer. We’re selling.’
6 days ago - Electric vehicle adoption is stumbling, but still growing amid geopolitical clashes
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections. Climate journalism and its funding are under attack right now. If you value this kind of work, please consider donating to help ensure that it can continue. Among his Day One executive orders, President Donald Trump declared that his administration would eliminate what he called ...6 days ago
- A drop of funding in the Level Crossing Removal bucket
Yesterday we covered a big part of a recent speech by Minister of Housing and Transport Chris Bishop. One aspect we didn’t cover was about the City Rail Link and his announcement of $200 million towards the removal of level crossings. On the CRL he notes: I’ve been down to ...6 days ago
- Interview: RBNZ wary of any administered inflation spiral
Long story short, I interviewed Reserve Bank of New Zealand Chief Economist Paul Conway yesterday in the full video above about:the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 3.75% last week;the bank’s projection in its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for three more ...6 days ago
- Handy Andy
Stay where you areYou're not going, just leavingI will sit around, let everybody talkAnd they will say what they knowThey will end up believingI will sit around, let everybody talkAndrew by Fur Patrol.Subscribe to Nick's Kōrero and save 20%Around lunchtime yesterday, I started seeing notifications about Andrew Bayly’s resignation. To ...6 days ago - The Rot of NZ’s Biggest Churches
Hi,Something interesting has happened in Aotearoa, where one of the country’s most toxic Christian churches has pushed things too far, and properly fucked New Zealand off.As I wrote last week, members of Destiny church protested a Pride event in a library, pushing and punching their way inside.Destiny has always been ...6 days ago - Gordon Campbell On Why Our China Panic Is About To Get Expensive
Allegedly, the defence environment has changed, and New Zealand thus needs to spend significantly more on Defence. The rationale is that China (our main trading partner) has been raising its profile in the Pacific, a region hitherto seen to be our own backyard, and an American lake. The cheek of ...6 days ago
- Germany keeps the fascists out
Germans went to the polls today, in what looks to be their most important election since 1945. The good news is that they seem to have kept the fascists out, with the Putin/Trump/Musk-backed Alternative für Deutschland coming second and effectively excluded from power. Instead, it looks like a Christian Democrat ...6 days ago
- This is not how I was hoping things would go
I relaxed myself into the dentist chair first thing this morning. I was back for a quick second filling that couldn’t be done on the last visit because it had to go alongside the one he’d just done.I like the dentist, Geoff, very much. You may recall me mentioning the ...6 days ago - Visitors With Votes.
6 days ago - NZ’s Coalition Government flings doors WIDE open for rich foreigners
Over the weekend, David Seymour announced the government’s plans to “overhaul” the Overseas Investment Act.The Act looks after overseas investments in sensitive assets in New Zealand. Its main purpose is balancing foreign money in our sensitive assets/lands/fisheries/forestries with the risks associated with that.This includes considering New Zealand’s national and economic ...7 days ago - New school lunches waste appears to exceed 70% as David Seymour’s incompetence rises to the fo...
Last month, David Seymour’s press release on school lunches said:“The [school lunch] programme was reformed to deliver the same outcomes while costing taxpayers less. This was achieved by embracing commercial expertise, using government buying power, and generating supply chain efficiencies…”And while that all sounded fair, the end result is - ...7 days ago - About that PLAN flotilla in the Tasman Sea.
Here are some thoughts about the hysteria surrounding a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla conducting freedom of navigation exercises in the Tasman Sea, including live fire drills. 1) The flotilla has been tracked for over a week by New Zealand and Australian forces. The tracking began when the ...7 days ago
- Govt set to hike insurance costs $400/year
7 days ago - National’s Urbanist Minister
On Friday, Chris Bishop, the Minister of Housing, Transport, Infrastructure and RMA Reform, gave an absolutely fantastic speech to the Committee for Auckland. As a starter, he really sums up well why we need better cities with this line. I make no apologies for being an urbanist. Well-functioning urban environments ...7 days ago
- The Opposite of Brave
You can be amazingYou can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drugYou can be the outcastOr be the backlash of somebody's lack of loveOr you can start speaking upNothing's gonna hurt you the way that words doWhen they settle 'neath your skinKept on the inside and no sunlightSometimes, ...7 days ago - Finger wagging at the Blue Greens
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, wagged a metaphorical finger at the National Party on Saturday, and RMA Minister Chris Bishop wagged straight back. A former National Party Environment Minister, Upton was a keynote speaker at the party’s Blue Greens Forum in Methven. His speech went right to ...7 days ago
- “Who Funds You?” — the question junktanks were tired of before NZ even started asking it
This government is significant. It is David Seymour’s first government for which he ran a campaign as Party Leader. It is Stephen Joyce’s National Party as selected by the individual interests he enabled when he removed control of candidate selection from the rank and file. It is our first right-wing ...7 days ago - 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #08
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 16, 2025 thru Sat, February 22, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...1 week ago
- The Five Worst (Eastern) Roman Emperors
Several years ago, as an intellectual exercise, I had the fun of ranking the worst Emperors of the Western Roman Empire (https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/09/04/the-five-worst-western-roman-emperors/). I even followed it up with a look at Honorius historiography. But there was still a missing piece of the puzzle. I was limiting myself to Emperors from ...1 week ago - Fumigating the. neoliberal cockraches
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...1 week ago
- An Open Letter to Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Kia Ora,I was reading about the history New Zealand Timekeeping and I think I may have identified a factual error on this page from 2006:Page 1. Time past - Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand[The rest of the Te Ara article is included for substack readers]In Europe other markers ...1 week ago - A Sunday soliloquy for the week to February 23
None of the official measures of child poverty improved in the year to June, 2024. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty in the week to Sunday, February 23 were:Stats NZ reported on Thursday ...1 week ago - 5 Things You Can Do When You Find Yourself Politically Helpless
1/ Join community / common cause organisations Find organisations you resonate with. Join them and/or donate. In the fight against the state, it’s critical we pool together in all cases. If you don’t have the financial resources, sign up for information & updates. Knowledge is power. These groups, and the ...1 week ago - A shattering earthquake in geopolitics
Long story short: Aotearoa-NZ now has to make some difficult and probably expensive decisions about how we work and trade with China and the United States, our two largest trading partners. That’s because Donald Trump just overturned 80 years of certainty about how the US deals with and protects the ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour PR: More clarity needed for homebuyers
The Government’s levies announcement is a step in the right direction, but they must be upfront about who will pay its new infrastructure levies and ensure that first-home buyers are protected from hidden costs. ...2 days ago - The week in review
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. This week we've made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand. Winston representing New Zealand Winston Peters is overseas this week, with stops across the Middle East and North Asia. Winston's stops include Saudi Arabia, the ...3 days ago - Release: Govt abandons retailers with citizen’s arrests
The Government’s expansion of citizen’s arrest powers leaves retailers on their own to deal with crime on their premises. ...4 days ago
- Co-Leaders announce plans to launch Green Budget this year
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...4 days ago - State of the Planet speeches, 2025
At this year's State of the Planet address, Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...5 days ago
- Release: Millions spent to rehash bad ideas on retail crime
The Government has spent $3.6 million dollars on a retail crime advisory group, including paying its chair $920 a day, to come up with ideas already dismissed as dangerous by police. ...6 days ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with mana whenua of Lake Rotokākahi
The Green Party supports the peaceful occupation at Lake Rotokākahi and are calling for the controversial sewerage project on the lake to be stopped until the Environment Court has made a decision. ...6 days ago
- Report highlights urgent need for “life-changing” free dental care
ActionStation’s Oral Healthcare report, released today, paints a dire picture of unmet need and inequality across the country, highlighting the urgency of free dental care for all New Zealanders. ...6 days ago
- Release: Overhaul of Overseas Investment Act a Fire Sale of Kiwi Assets
The Government’s reckless overhaul of the Overseas Investment Act is a fast track for foreign investment at the expense of Kiwi interests. ...7 days ago
- MP Views: The Golden Age, The Red Band Cavalry, Fluoride, and Social Media
The Golden Age There has been long-standing recognition that New Zealand First has an unrivalled reputation for delivering for our older New Zealanders. This remains true, and is reflected in our coalition agreement. While we know there is much that we can and will do in this space, it is ...1 week ago
- Release: Call for Destiny Church to lose charity status
Labour Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford has written to the charities regulator asking that Destiny Church charities be struck off in the wake of last weekend’s violence by Destiny followers in his electorate. ...1 week ago
- Release: Two Labour members’ bills drawn from ballot
Bills by Labour MPs to remove rules around sale of alcohol on public holidays, and for Crown entities to adopt Māori names have been drawn from the Members’ Bill Ballot. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt losing police faster than it can hire them
The Government is falling even further behind its promised target of 500 new police officers, now with 72 fewer police officers than when National took office. ...1 week ago
- Release: Child poverty reduction must remain a priority
The latest child poverty statistics show child poverty reduction must remain a priority for the Government. ...2 weeks ago
- Static child poverty stats highlight need for urgent action
This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since June 2023, it’s time to make the wellbeing of our tamariki a political priority. ...2 weeks ago
- Right to Repair Bill passes significant step
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament this evening. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Rate cuts highlight Willis’ economic blunders
Today’s Official Cash Rate cut is good news for borrowers, but also a symptom of rising unemployment and an economy in recession. ...2 weeks ago
- NZers didn’t need this much pain to reduce OCR
Today’s OCR cut will fail to soothe the long-term pain Christopher Luxon’s Government is inflicting upon our communities. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: ACT taps out of Treaty Principles Bill submission process
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt funding for biodiversity an embarrassment
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: University cuts on the cards under National
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Transparency needed on boot camps
The Government is stonewalling requests for information about its boot camps experiment, while pushing ahead with a Bill to enshrine them into law. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Disabled people languishing in psych wards due to Govt cuts
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis tone deaf as 230 jobs lost
Nicola Willis thought it was the perfect time to celebrate today, while 230 people lost their jobs. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Students misled on halal school lunches
It’s been revealed that Muslim students have been misled on the Government’s school lunches, which were claimed to be halal. ...2 weeks ago
- Job losses from Kinleith Mill closure devastating
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...2 weeks ago
- Mariameno Kapa-Kingi Enters Members Bill to Establish Mokopuna Māori Authority
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Bloodbath continues for health leadership
The Government continues to tear apart New Zealand’s health leadership, sacking or forcing the resignation of our top medical experts. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Paper mill closure adds to growing job losses
The Government has no plan to support workers as 230 more jobs are lost today with the closure of the Kinleith paper mill. ...2 weeks ago
- Democracy Matters
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Willis’ supermarket announcement all talk, no plan
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Homelessness growing under National
Housing is going in the wrong direction under National, despite promises to build more houses and reduce the social housing waitlist. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: More Kiwis are hungry, homeless and out of work
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...3 weeks ago
- Fisheries consultation must put sustainability before profit
The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to prioritise long-term prosperity of our oceans in its consultation on the Fisheries Act. ...3 weeks ago
- Benefit levels fail to keep families out of poverty
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...3 weeks ago
- NZ First Introduces Fluoridation Referendum Bill
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand stands with Ukraine, three years after illegal Russian invasion
As the world marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced additional sanctions on Russian entities and support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. “Russia’s illegal invasion has brought three years of devastation to Ukraine’s people, environment, and infrastructure,” Mr Peters says. “These additional sanctions target 52 ...7 days ago - Going for Growth: Overseas investment changes to drive higher wages
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced the Government’s plan to reform the Overseas Investment Act and make it easier for New Zealand businesses to receive new investment, grow and pay higher wages. “New Zealand is one of the hardest countries in the developed world for overseas people to ...1 week ago
- Minister going to Australia for aged care meetings
Associate Health Minister Hon Casey Costello is traveling to Australia for meetings with the aged care sector in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney next week. “Australia is our closest partner, so as we consider the changes necessary to make our system more effective and sustainable it makes sense to learn from ...1 week ago
- More funding for biodiversity protection
The Government is boosting investment in the QEII National Trust to reinforce the protection of Aotearoa New Zealand's biodiversity on private land, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. The Government today announced an additional $4.5 million for conservation body QEII National Trust over three years. QEII Trust works with farmers and ...1 week ago
- Closure of the Ava Bridge Walkway postponed
The closure of the Ava Bridge walkway will be delayed so Hutt City Council have more time to develop options for a new footbridge, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Mayor of Lower Hutt, Campbell Barry. “The Hutt River paths are one of the Hutt’s most beloved features. Hutt locals ...1 week ago
- Speech to Committee for Auckland
Good afternoon. Can I acknowledge Ngāti Whātua for their warm welcome, Simpson Grierson for hosting us here today, and of course the Committee for Auckland for putting on today’s event. I suspect some of you are sitting there wondering what a boy from the Hutt would know about Auckland, our ...1 week ago
- Removal of level crossings a win for Aucklanders
The Government will invest funding to remove the level crossings in Takanini and Glen Innes and replace them with grade-separated crossings, to maximise the City Rail Link’s ability to speed up journey times by rail and road and boost Auckland’s productivity, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown ...1 week ago
- Carbon capture one step closer
The Government has made key decisions on a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) framework to enable businesses to benefit from storing carbon underground, which will support New Zealand’s businesses to continue operating while reducing net carbon emissions, Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Economic growth is a ...1 week ago
- Industrial hemp regulations to be reviewed
Minister for Regulation David Seymour says that outdated and burdensome regulations surrounding industrial hemp (iHemp) production are set to be reviewed by the Ministry for Regulation. Industrial hemp is currently classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, despite containing minimal THC and posing little ...1 week ago
- Advisory group on organised crime appointed
The Ministerial Advisory Group on transnational and serious organised crime was appointed by Cabinet on Monday and met for the first time today, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello announced. “The group will provide independent advice to ensure we have a better cross-government response to fighting the increasing threat posed to ...1 week ago
- Economic growth the focus of PM’s visit to Viet Nam
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will travel to Viet Nam next week, visiting both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, accompanied by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders. “Viet Nam is a rising star of Southeast Asia with one of the fastest growing economies in the region. This ...1 week ago
- Changes to enable investment in build-to-rent housing passed into law
The coalition Government has passed legislation to support overseas investment in the Build-to-Rent housing sector, Associate Minister of Finance Chris Bishop says. “The Overseas Investment (Facilitating Build-to-Rent Developments) Amendment Bill has completed its third reading in Parliament, fulfilling another step in the Government’s plan to support an increase in New ...1 week ago
- New Police campaign welcomed
The new Police marketing campaign starting today, recreating the ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ ad from the 1990s, has been welcomed by Associate Police Minister Casey Costello. “This isn’t just a great way to get the attention of more potential recruits, it’s a reminder to everyone about what policing is and the ...2 weeks ago
- Child Poverty statistics show challenges remain
No significant change to child poverty rates under successive governments reinforces that lifting children out of material hardship will be an ongoing challenge, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. Figures released by Stats NZ today show no change in child poverty rates for the year ended June 2024, reflecting ...2 weeks ago
- Most common registered family names in 2024
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the most common family names given to newborns in 2024. “For the seventh consecutive year, Singh is the most common registered family name, with over 680 babies given this name. Kaur follows closely in second place with 630 babies, while ...2 weeks ago
- Regional Tourism Boost to attract international visitors
A new $3 million fund from the International Conservation and Tourism Visitor Levy will be used to attract more international visitors to regional destinations this autumn and winter, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. “The Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth and getting our visitor numbers ...2 weeks ago
- ‘A peaceful, prosperous, democratic Pacific’
Good Evening Let us begin by acknowledging Professor David Capie and the PIPSA team for convening this important conference over the next few days. Whenever the Pacific Islands region comes together, we have a precious opportunity to share perspectives and learn from each other. That is especially true in our ...2 weeks ago
- Growing economy good for jobs and opportunities
The Reserve Bank’s positive outlook indicates the economy is growing and people can look forward to more jobs and opportunities, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points. It said it expected further reductions this year and employment to pick up ...2 weeks ago
- Ahuwhenua Trophy award finalists
Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay and Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka today congratulated the finalists for this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy, celebrating excellence in Māori sheep and beef farming. The two finalists for 2025 are Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust and Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station. "The Ahuwhenua Trophy is a prestigious ...2 weeks ago
- Fund to better recognise and support survivors
The Government is continuing to respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care by establishing a fund to honour those who died in care and are buried in unmarked graves, and strengthen survivor-led initiatives that support those in need. “The $2 million dual purpose fund will be ...2 weeks ago
- Safety improvements for busy SH5 intersection
A busy intersection on SH5 will be made safer with the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection of SH28/Harwoods Road, as we deliver on our commitment to help improve road safety through building safer infrastructure, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Safety is one of the Government’s strategic priorities ...2 weeks ago
- Going for growth to boost farmer confidence
The Government is turbo charging growth to return confidence to the primary sector through common sense policies that are driving productivity and farm-gate returns, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “The latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey highlights strong momentum across the sector and the Government’s firm commitment to back ...2 weeks ago
- Bills aim to boost justice and reduce regulation
Improving people’s experience with the Justice system is at the heart of a package of Bills which passed its first reading today Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “The 63 changes in these Bills will deliver real impacts for everyday New Zealanders. The changes will improve court timeliness and efficiency, ...2 weeks ago
- Ō-Rākau battle site returning to tūpuna ownership
Returning the Ō-Rākau battle site to tūpuna ownership will help to recognise the past and safeguard their stories for the benefit of future generations, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka says. The Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its third reading at ...2 weeks ago
- Preparing more PhD students to lift productivity
A new university programme will help prepare PhD students for world-class careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “Our Government is laser focused on growing New Zealand’s economy and to do that, we must realise the potential ...2 weeks ago
- New pipes for Auckland City Hospital
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced funding of more than $14 million to replace the main water supply and ring mains in the main building of Auckland City Hospital. “Addressing the domestic hot water system at the country’s largest hospital, which opened in 2003, is vitally important to ensure ...2 weeks ago
- $30 million to support conservation tourism
The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Tourism is a key economic driver, and nature is our biggest draw card for international tourists,” says ...2 weeks ago
- Deputy PM to visit Middle East and North Asia
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea later this week. “New Zealand enjoys long-standing and valued relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both highly influential actors in their region. The visit will focus on building ...2 weeks ago
- Directors appointed to Ferry Holdings Limited
Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries. Mr Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait ...2 weeks ago
- Bringing cataract care closer to home
Ophthalmology patients in Kaitaia are benefiting from being able to access the complete cataract care pathway closer to home, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “Ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare is a priority for the Government. “Since 30 September 2024, Kaitaia Hospital has been providing cataract care ...2 weeks ago
- MPs Instructed To Remove Four Chinese Apps From Parliamentary Devices
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said the commission made the decision after considering a range of perspectives. ...5 hours ago - In siding with Russia over Ukraine, Trump is not putting America first. He is hastening its decline
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Has any nation squandered its diplomatic capital, plundered its own political system, attacked its partners and supplicated itself before its far weaker enemies as ...6 hours ago - How the sound and voices of politics have changed from 1912 to 1990
Political voices have become very familiar since the beginning of radio, but they haven't always sounded the same. Listen to 14 former Prime Ministers from 1912 to 1990. ...8 hours ago - Israel’s genocide is expanding into the West Bank – but Western media ‘ignores’ it
Pacific Media Watch With international media’s attention on the Israeli and Palestinian captives exchange, Israel’s military and settlers have been forcibly displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, says Al Jazeera’s Listening Post media programme. The European Union has condemned Israel’s military operation in West Bank, ...9 hours ago
- Indonesia’s bullion banks, new mining policies pose threat to West Papuan sovereignty
ANALYSIS: By Ali Mirin Last week, on 26 February 2025, President Prabowo Subianto officially launched Indonesia’s first bullion banks, marking a significant shift in the country’s approach to gold and precious metal management. This initiative aims to strengthen Indonesia’s control over its gold reserves, improve financial stability, and reduce reliance ...10 hours ago
- New Auckland training facility hoped to boost police recruit numbers
Recruits in the Auckland wing would be able to stay at their own home during training, rather than spending months in Porirua. ...15 hours ago
- Palestine asks ICJ for advisory opinion on illegal occupier Israel’s obligations
More than 180 remained in detention without a clear indication of when or if they would be released, the physicians’ report said. “Detainees endure physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as starvation and medical neglect amounting to torture,” the report said, denouncing a “deeply ingrained policy”. Healthcare workers were ...1 day ago
- ‘Why would you even consider this?’: Union flabbergasted by plan to switch funding for r...
While the Minister of Education Erica Stanford said difficult decisions would need to be made, she said the government was not looking to defund expert teachers who support literacy or te reo Māori. ...1 day ago
- New Zealand reaffirms support for Ukraine after disastrous White House meeting
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the way to peace is for Russia to end its "three-year long illegal and immoral war of aggression". ...1 day ago
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s increasing strength in foreign policy, deficiency in domest...
Analysis: The challenge facing him was convincing Vietnam of the ways it does actually need us, and so in that metric, striking such a deal is a success. ...1 day ago
- Four decades after Rongelap evacuation, Greenpeace makes new plea for nuclear justice by US
Asia Pacific Report In the year marking 40 years since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior by French secret agents and 71 years since the most powerful nuclear weapons tested by the United States, Greenpeace is calling on Washington to comply with demands by the Marshall Islands for nuclear justice. ...1 day ago
- Christopher Luxon’s Vietnam trip a success, he says
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was in Vietnam this week for both political and business discussions. ...2 days ago
- New Zealand needs to ‘step up’ on defence spending, Winston Peters says
Winston Peters says our trading partners will judge us if NZ doesn't "step-up" and play its role by increasing defence spending. ...2 days ago
- Prime Minister expects David Seymour to give school lunch problems his ‘full attention’
The Prime Minister says there have been teething problems with the new roll-out and it is David Seymour's job to fix them. ...2 days ago
- Raised voices and angry scenes at the White House as Trump clashes with Zelensky over the ‘mineral...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham The visit of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House has not gone to plan – at least not to his plan. There were extraordinary scenes as a press conference between Zelensky ...2 days ago
- Hyundai in running to build two new Cook Strait ferries
Peters said the Korean ship builder was open to considering bidding to build two new smaller ferries for the Cook Strait. ...2 days ago
- Court hears of emotional toll of murk and mud
Scientist Shaun Ogilvie recalls a hui at Wairewa marae, south of Christchurch, to discuss monitoring the polluted local lake, known by pākehā as Forsyth.Kuia Naomi Bunker got to her feet, Ogilvie told the High Court on Friday, and said: “You guys have been coming here and measuring stuff for a ...2 days ago - Short story: Embodiment, by Julie Hill
It’s nearly one o’clock in the afternoon and my mother is entering a vegan restaurant called Salad Days. The vibe is Birkenstocks and natural fibres; she is wrongly dressed as always in a sparkly dress and heels. A young woman greets her. Her nametag says Rose. She shows my mother ...2 days ago
- Celebrating 100 years of Indians in Wellington
The Wellington Indian Association is celebrating its centenary Monday, and mid this year a new book will lift the lid on the community’s long history with the city.That history goes back much further than 100 years, with the first Indian migrants jumping ship in the late 1700s.Jaqueline Leckie says that’s ...2 days ago
- Big prizes loom for Super Rugby women in 2025
The stakes in our women’s Super Rugby Aupiki are higher than they’ve ever been in the competition’s short history. The winner will face the Australian Super Rugby champion in April, and those who flourish will be selected for the Black Ferns Rugby World Cup campaign in August.The Blues victory over ...2 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. the Hosking-Luxon trainwreck
Mike Hosking: Good morning Prime Minister, good to have you with us on Newstalk ZB. How are you?The Prime Minister: Well, I hold pretty high standards of wellness, of personal wellness but also the wellness of my team, and ultimately the wellness of New Zealand. So it’s really a holistic ...2 days ago
- Defending Cultural Expression And Palestinian Identity
Palestinian cultural expression should be treated with the same respect as any other, without fear or scrutiny. The keffiyeh is not a political threat - it is a symbol of history, survival, and belonging. ...2 days ago
- The Weekend: Leaders with poor convictions and scripted communications
Gabi Lardies is here to reflect on the week as Mad Chapman is on leave. After the grabbing saga this week, there was the word salad saga. No matter how many times Mike Hosking tried to get a straight answer out of Chris Luxon on whether or not he would ...2 days ago - One woman’s quest to watch all the best picture nominees in time for the Oscars
Three cinemas, 1,315 minutes, two streaming platforms, too much sand and one vaping cardinal. Every hero’s journey starts with a call to adventure. Maximus Decimus Meridius, or Russell Crowe as we call him, found his family dead and was sold into slavery. Forrest Gump started running. Luke Skywalker was summoned ...2 days ago
- ‘I can’t believe that happened’: Brynley Stent on the TV moment she’ll never forget
She once eliminated The Bachelor on Celebrity Treasure Island. Now Brynley Stent is the one on a televised quest for love. Having first burst onto New Zealand screens in Funny Girls, Brynley Stent has gone on to have a rich and varied television career. She’s worked on shows like Jono ...2 days ago
- Pacific profiles: Meet Teuila Field, first assistant director on Tinā, Mulan and Sweet Tooth
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Teuila Field. All photos by Geoffery Matautia. Teuila Field (Sāmoan/Pākehā) has a decade of experience working as first assistant director (1st AD) ...2 days ago
- The rise of the ‘healing’ novel and our sad need to cry
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi marked the start of a wave of cosy, melancholic Japanese and Korean fiction in translation. But what’s behind the popularity of books that are designed to make us have feelings? @Grapiedeltaco can hardly speak through her tears. “Why would someone be crying ...2 days ago
- The reason you feel alienated and alone
Are you replacing real relationships with online interactions? This article was first published on Madeleine Holden’s self-titled Substack. Last month, the writer Rob Henderson threw out a delicious provocation on Substack: “The reason you feel alienated and alone is too many of your finite Dunbar number slots aren’t occupied by ...2 days ago
- Albanese’s pitch on beer – temporary freeze on excise indexation
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will temporarily freeze the indexation on draught beer excise, in what it describes as a win for drinkers, brewers and businesses. The freeze is for two years and starts from the ...2 days ago
- Tongan advocates condemn Treaty Principles Bill, slam colonisation
By Khalia Strong of Pacific Media Network Tongan community leaders and artists in New Zealand have criticised the Treaty Principles Bill while highlighting the ongoing impact of colonisation in Aotearoa and the Pacific. Oral submissions continued this week for the public to voice their view on the controversial proposed bill, ...2 days ago
- Protect NZ’s GE Free Advantage: Withdraw The Gene Technology Bill
"This is an overwhelmingly significant public response considering the submission period was over Christmas and the New Year,” said Claire Bleakley, president of GE Free NZ "Especially as the deadline of 17 February allowed only 4 weeks, after ...2 days ago
- How ‘muscular Christianity’ strove to bring men back to religion – and what it can teach us to...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gavin Brown, Lecturer in Religious Education, Australian Catholic University Wikimedia Commons Most people recognise organisations such as the YMCA and the Boy Scouts, or events such as the Modern Olympic Games, summer camps and wilderness retreats. Few, though, have ever ...2 days ago
- A quantum computing startup says it is already making millions of light-powered chips
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum American quantum computing startup PsiQuantum announced yesterday that it has cracked a significant puzzle on the road to making the technology useful: manufacturing quantum chips ...2 days ago
- Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace are under attack. Here’s why they matter more tha...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma Hamilton, Senior Lecturer, RMIT University Jacob Lund/Shutterstock As International Women’s Day approaches, we must redouble our efforts to champion social justice and the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). These are under unprecedented attack by some political leaders. In ...2 days ago
- Treaty principles bill hearings, day 12: The end of the road – or is it?
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard seven hours of submissions. Read our recaps of the previous hearings here. It’s the final day of the Justice Committee’s hearings of oral submissions on the Treaty principles bill. The road has been ...2 days ago
- Australia’s retirement savings are too big to invest at home – here’s why super funds are look...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Thorp, Professor of Finance, University of Sydney Marek Masik/Shutterstock You might remember Pesto, the king penguin chick who became a star attraction at Melbourne Aquarium last year. Good food, good genes and a safe home let Pesto grow into a ...2 days ago
- Nangs are popular with young people. But are they aware of the serious harms of nitrous oxide?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julaine Allan, Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University Lenscap Photography/Shutterstock Nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas or nangs – is cheap, widely available and popular among young people. Yet it often flies ...2 days ago
- Yes, paper straws suck. Rather than bring back plastic ones, let’s avoid single-use items
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bhavna Middha, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Dragon Images/Shutterstock When US President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to return to plastic straws, claiming the paper version is ineffective and “disgustingly dissolves in your mouth”, he ...2 days ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Dunley, Senior Lecturer in History and Maritime Strategy, UNSW Sydney Over the past few days, the Australian media has been dominated by the activities of the Chinese navy’s Task Group 107 as it has progressed south along the Australian coast and ...2 days ago
- The local Auckland streets where speed limits are rising, at a cost of $8.8m
Speed limits are being increased on 1,500 Auckland streets, many neighbouring schools, after a council objection failed to sway the government. Auckland Transport has released a list of 1,500 residential Auckland streets, many near schools, where speed limits are increasing by order of the Ministry of Transport. Last year, the ...2 days ago
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