national
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- same old national (1,636)
Be very afraid for Kainga Ora
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, December 20th, 2023 - 19 comments
So National’s shock and awe campaign is under way. And the first target is Kainga Ora.
90 day trials – Don’t come Monday
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, December 18th, 2023 - 65 comments
This coming week, under urgency and leading into Xmas, the Coalition government will expand 90-day trials to all workers, in yet another payback to National/ACT/NZ First’s (NAF) business backers.
Why was Judith Collins appointed as a KC?
Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, December 17th, 2023 - 35 comments
Judith Collins has been appointed a Kings Counsel even before she has had time to show her performance as Attorney General and even though previous highly respected lawyers such as David Lange, Geoffrey Palmer and Margaret Wilson were not appointed while serving as Attorneys General.
Political comeback – Getting the sequencing right
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 pm, December 14th, 2023 - 40 comments
A notably different approach to sequencing political comeback was on show at the VUW post-election seminar last week. Luxon put rebuilding the party first, Hipkins put it last. On policy Luxon was bottom-up and early, Hipkins was top-down and late.
National’s contradictory stance on Immigration
Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, December 12th, 2023 - 38 comments
So Christopher Luxon thinks there is too much immigration. It was not what he was saying last year.
How To Make Bad Law
Written By: - Date published: 12:36 pm, December 11th, 2023 - 15 comments
The cutting of Regulatory Impact Statements is a very serious weakening of holding lawmakers and decision makers to account.
The Government is leaking like a leaky thing
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, December 9th, 2023 - 15 comments
Another day and another leak. And this time it calls into question the Government’s commitment to informed decision making.
Who leaked the Fair Pay Cabinet Paper?
Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, December 7th, 2023 - 33 comments
My initial impression was that the person who leaked the Fair Pay Cabinet Paper to the media was probably a disgruntled Public Servant but was it?
What does National have against Te Reo?
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, December 6th, 2023 - 177 comments
It may have been coincidental but the day after there were mass protests against the new Government’s actions in undermining te Tiriti o Waitangi it was announced that National would seek to remove bonus payments for Public Servants learning Te Reo. Not only is this petty and vindictive, it may also be a breach of te Tiriti.
Tobacco bans in NZ and the UK.
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, December 6th, 2023 - 9 comments
The decision in 2021 to introduce the smoking ban was a courageous one. Smoking causes many deaths each year and places a strain on the country’s health system. Smoking is addictive and we should do all we can to discourage young people from taking up this habit. This being said, putting a total ban on tobacco sales of people born after 2009 is well-meaning, but would likely have unintended and profoundly negative consequences.
Willis’s budget analysis is either deeply cynical or evidence she does not know what she is talking about
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, December 5th, 2023 - 75 comments
Recent claims by Nicola Willis that the Governments Finances are full of fiscal cliffs is evidence either that National will cynically make baseless claims to attack Labour or that Nicola Willis has no idea about what she is talking about and has not been doing her most basic job of reading and comprehending previous budget documents.
Cutting fair pay agreements will disproportionately impact women, Māori and Pasifika and young people
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 pm, December 4th, 2023 - 15 comments
The Cabinet Paper dealing with the Government’s proposal to do away with fair pay agreements has hit the media. And the advice suggests that Cabinet is completely disinterested in the on the ground reality of what their shitty policy will do to ordinary Kiwis.
The long wait – dithering, inexperience and wreckers
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 4th, 2023 - 48 comments
After 59 days after election day, parliament will finally sit today with a new government. The process has mostly been notable for its incoherent dithering, inexperience, and general stupidity. It is a coalition based on chaos,lack of usable policy and based on wrecking rather than work. It took so long because of wishful thinking and laziness.
Chris Bishop can’t count
Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, December 3rd, 2023 - 48 comments
This morning on Q&A and despite being pulled up on it Chris Bishop repeated National’s claim that under the Smokefree reforms there would only be allowed one tobacco retail shop in Northland when there would actually be at least 34.
Labour needs to open the military-political front
Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, December 3rd, 2023 - 28 comments
The new National coalition cares little about defence. Defence is surprisingly a large and under-appreciated strength for Labour.
Gangs rejoice as Pseudoephedrine is back
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, December 2nd, 2023 - 18 comments
For a Government that hates gangs you would think that they would be more circumspect with policies that may enrich gangs and increase illicit drug use. But this is exactly what the current Government is planning.
100 days of chaos
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, December 1st, 2023 - 18 comments
National’s 100 days of action is to address the rhetoric of economic difficulties but the announced policies will do nothing to help the pressure that ordinary people are feeling.
Aotearoa the way you want it?
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, November 26th, 2023 - 47 comments
The new Government’s policies give the impression they were formulated by members of a Workingman’s club in the 1970s and negotiated over a few beers.
Highlights quoted out of the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, November 25th, 2023 - 73 comments
Some of the more unusual policies from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
The long wait still continues
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, November 25th, 2023 - 48 comments
On Friday, three parties finally signed agreements to gain a slim majority in parliament. What this means is that some time on Monday Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro will be able to swear in the new ministers of the Executive Council. On Monday Labour and the Greens will have their constitutional muzzle removed. On December 5th parliament will lumber back into work. Then the fun begins for this political blogger.
Strong stable Government?
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, November 23rd, 2023 - 102 comments
Today may be the day we have a new Government, that is as long as Act and NZ First can resolve their fight over who is to be Deputy Prime Minister.
The baubles of office
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, November 22nd, 2023 - 93 comments
Now that the policy negotiations between Act National and NZ First have been concluded talks have progressed to the most sensitive and difficult area, who will get the baubles of office.
Mergers and acquisitions
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, November 19th, 2023 - 105 comments
Christopher Luxon has always talked the big talk about his corporate experience with mergers and acquisitions. But the media are starting to ask questions and his positive rhetoric may not be well placed.
Negotiation of chaos
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, November 15th, 2023 - 132 comments
So the coalition negotiations are going as well as I thought they would.
What will National do about special voting rights?
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, November 11th, 2023 - 45 comments
One of the most democratic changes that Labour made to the electoral system was to allow people to enroll and vote on election day. The right hate it. And may be planning to change it.
Nu phone who dis?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 6th, 2023 - 37 comments
It is very early days and already, in what appears to be a finely calibrated insult to make David Seymour appear weak, Winston Peters has responded to the first overture from the Act leader for talks by ignoring him.
What happened in the Maori seats
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, November 5th, 2023 - 48 comments
The final results in the Māori electorates clearly indicate that there was a great deal of strategic voting taking place.
Greenpeace: Luxon’s threat to roll back climate action at odds with emissions targets
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, November 4th, 2023 - 32 comments
Greenpeace Aotearoa is calling on Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon to commit to real climate action, as reports reveal New Zealand is now at risk of not meeting its Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets.
A point on the long wait
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, November 3rd, 2023 - 32 comments
Today we will get the final election counts. It will now include the estimated specials of 20.2% of the vote. This can change the precise balance in parliament. A NAct coalition will probably require a partner party to secure a reliable majority. Unfortunately past political history is going to make that awkward. The chaos will be great for a political blog of the left. Not so good for the country.
National’s gang policy has no foundation
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, October 27th, 2023 - 35 comments
National’s Mark Mitchell has proposed a law that will require Gang Members to apply foundation to any gang insignia tattoos before they can go out into the public.
Don’t get angry, get organised
Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, October 23rd, 2023 - 87 comments
Labour day is a good day for all progressives to start getting organised for the next three years and working on the election of the next progressive Government.
- Daily crossword, Friday 3 January
The post Daily crossword, Friday 3 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 days ago - Pryde ‘may have to wait’ over tribunal report, says Fiji President’s office
By Cheerieann Wilson in Suva Fiji’s Office of the President has confirmed that the Tribunal’s report on allegations of misconduct against suspended Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde does not need to be made public at this stage. The tribunal, chaired by Justice Anare Tuilevuka with Justices Chaitanya Lakshman and ...6 days ago - Virgin Australia confirms ‘serious security incident’ with crew in Fiji
By Anish Chand in Suva Virgin Australia has confirmed a “serious security incident” with its flight crew members who were in Fiji on New Year’s Day. Virgin Australia’s chief operating officer Stuart Aggs said the incident took place on Tuesday night – New Year’s Eve The crew members were in ...6 days ago
- CPJ condemns ban on Al Jazeera – network decries bid to ‘hide the truth’
Pacific Media Watch The New York-based global media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned a decision by the Palestinian Authority to suspend Al Jazeera’s operations in the West Bank and called for it to be reversed “immediately”. “Governments resort to censoring news outlets when they have something to hide,” ...7 days ago
- New Caledonia political crisis costs one third of multi-million French package
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk An emergency 231 million euro (NZ$428 million) French aid package for New Caledonia has been reduced by one third because of the French Pacific territory’s current political crisis. The initial French package was endorsed in early December 2024, in an 11th-hour ...7 days ago
- Isidore of Seville: the patron saint of the internet who shaped knowledge for generations
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Researcher, Historian, Australian Catholic University Stone statue of Saint Isidore of Seville at the National Library of Spain. WH_Pics/Shutterstock In a world where information flows freely, it’s easy to forget that, for centuries, knowledge was much harder to ...7 days ago
- Why your spin bike has become a clothes rack – and what you can do about it, according to behaviou...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Swee-Hoon Chuah, Professor of Behavioural Economics, Tasmanian Behavioural Lab, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Chances are that the end of the year has made you assess some of your 2024 New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you, like us, bought a home spin bike ...7 days ago
- Most adults will gain half a kilo this year – and every year. Here’s how to stop ‘weight creep...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney Allgo/Unsplash As we enter a new year armed with resolutions to improve our lives, there’s a good chance we’ll also be carrying something less helpful: extra kilos. At ...7 days ago
- Mind-bending, body-snatching, blood-sucking: parasites are bizarre yet vital for life on Earth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University ijimino, Shutterstock Parasite, zombie, leech – these words are often used to describe people in unkind ways. Many of us recoil when ticks, tapeworms, fleas, ...7 days ago
- Ka tuku te rākau: Handing over the baton of protest to a new generation
Summer reissue: As tens of thousands showed their support for the hīkoi to parliament, the organisers were busy behind the scenes ensuring things run smoothly. For many, this was their first time leading a kaupapa of this scale – and it wasn’t all easy. The Spinoff needs to double the ...7 days ago - The multi-billion dollar startup sector is bouncing back – 8 big trends will shape 2025
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rod McNaughton, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Startups have always been at the forefront of innovation. But factors such as artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability and decentralisation are set to reshape industries in 2025. Businesses are defined as startups ...7 days ago
- How having a baby makes it more likely Australian couples rely on the man’s income
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Francisco Perales, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland fizkes/Shutterstock Australian women are better educated than men but still face poorer job prospects and lower incomes. We see this in Australia’s stubbornly persistent gender pay gap ...7 days ago
- Can animals make ‘art’? These examples from nature suggest so
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Shutterstock According to Britannica, “art” can be described as something “consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination” – whereas Wikipedia defines it more narrowly as a ...7 days ago
- A drink with Lucinda Light, the greatest MAFS participant of all time
Summer reissue: Married at First Sight superfan Tara Ward charges down the aisle to meet this season’s brightest star. It is a Thursday afternoon, and I am staring deep into Lucinda Light’s eyes. It feels like my own personal version of the eye gazing task on Married At First Sight ...7 days ago
- Dame Tariana Turia suffers a stroke, surrounded by family
The former politician is surrounded by her whānau after suffering a stroke earlier this week. ...7 days ago - ‘If we can do a wedding in 5 days, we can do anything we set our minds to’
Comment: Some people make long lists of things they want to do. When my partner Solly and I decided we wanted to get married, just five days before I flew out on tour with the Black Ferns and he flew out to play for Biarritz, I said, ‘well, how many ...7 days ago
- To belong should never be beyond hope
Opinion: I recently had a wonderful meal with Bariz Shah and his wife Saba, together with their two pre-school children. I had to admit that I hadn’t read Bariz’s book Beyond Hope yet, but after talking about their life over dinner, I knew I had to read it.Imagine arriving in Auckland ...7 days ago
- ‘It was just the right word’: When ‘bugger’ took New Zealand by storm
Summer reissue: It’s a quarter of a century since the nation was stopped in its tracks by a dog saying the word ‘bugger’. This is the complete history of Buggermania – the ad, the controversy, and the enduring legacy. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we ...7 days ago
- On being undeniably, irretrievably old
Summer reissue: David Hill is in his ninth decade. In a touching tribute to his late friend, he challenges some myths about ‘old farts’. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign ...7 days ago
- The half-a-million-dollar decision that still haunts the book industry
Summer reissue: Narrative Muse was awarded $500,000 to boost sales of New Zealand books. Three years later, industry insiders report that it has had little, if any, impact. What went wrong? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. ...7 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 days ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 2 January
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- Obituary: Former Race Relations Conciliator Wally Hirsh dies
Brought to this country by his German Jewish refugee parents in 1938, Hirsh said his membership of a minority gave him special sensitivity to race issues. ...1 week ago
- A total eclipse of the Moon, Saturn’s rings ‘disappear’, meteors and more: your guide to the s...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Lomb, Honorary Professor, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland The totally eclipsed Moon on 26 May 2021. Geoffrey Wyatt, Powerhouse Museum, CC BY In addition to the annual parade of star pictures or constellations passing above our heads each night, ...1 week ago
- The surprising ways ‘swimming off’ a hangover can be risky, even if alcohol has left your system
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney Wanderlust Media/Shutterstock It’s the morning after a big night and you’re feeling the effects of too much alcohol. So it can be ...1 week ago
- Getting jiggy with it: Inside the wild world of competitive speed puzzling
Summer reissue: If you thought jigsaw puzzles were meant to be relaxing, think again. Tara Ward lifts the lid on one of the Masters Games’ most intense and demanding events. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please ...1 week ago
- All 85 of The Spinoff’s rankings, ranked from worst to best
Summer reissue: The rankers become the ranked: Hera Lindsay Bird tackles the most meta ranking of them all. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. ...1 week ago
- Set your political imagination free (and some pleas for humanity in the NY)
Opinion: I got this book as holiday reading (I know, what a nerd!) but read it straight away. Although David Runciman is a professor, he also does popular podcasts and this is very accessible. It wanders through an eclectic bunch of thinkers who share a goal of “liberating our political ...1 week ago
- The NZ ‘voice of the century’ who wound up in a psych hospital for 16 years
Summer reissue: Mina Foley was a formidable talent dogged by wild rumours about her mental breakdown. What is the truth? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...1 week ago
- Ten wild political predictions for 2025
For the eighth year in a row, The Spinoff asked a hand-selected group of experts for their most outlandish political prophecy. And for the eighth year in a row, they did not disappoint. Madeleine Chapman (editor, The Spinoff) Winston Peters will realise just how bad it feels to hand over ...1 week ago
- How Mukpuddy conjured up a bold new vision of Badjelly the Witch
Mukpuddy co-founder Ryan Cooper tells Alex Casey about bringing Badjelly to a whole new generation of New Zealand kids. They conjured Badjelly back with a simple tweet. It was sometime in 2018 when Ryan Cooper’s co-founder of Mukpuddy animation studios Alex Leighton was sketching a witch, and wondered aloud if ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 1 January
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- Daily crossword, Wednesday 1 January
The post Daily crossword, Wednesday 1 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Animal Justice Party Condemns Planned Mass Euthanasia Of 1,000 Canada Geese In Christchurch
"This mass slaughter is an ineffective, inhumane, and costly waste of ratepayers' money," says Danette Wereta, General Secretary of the AJP. "It’s a short-term fix that fails to address the root causes of the issue and risks exacerbating the problem ...1 week ago - A ‘genocidal project’ – Dr Abu-Sittah on Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health system
Democracy Now! Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed that close to 46,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s ongoing assault, but Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah estimates the true number is closer to 300,000. “This is literally and mathematically a genocidal project,” says Dr Abu-Sittah, a British Palestinian reconstructive surgeon who worked in ...1 week ago
- Pacific leaders remember Jimmy Carter’s ‘pivotal role’ for CNMI
By Mark Rabago, RNZ Pacific Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas correspondent The Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas has paid tribute to former US President Jimmy Carter who died yesterday. “Carter played a pivotal role in the historic establishment of the CNMI as a Commonwealth in political union ...1 week ago
- Vaping kits to be made free for smokers to help them quit
The government will be supplying vaping starter kits to stop-smoking services around the country next week to help adults quit. ...1 week ago
- The discovery of a rare new fossil sheds light on NZ’s extinct dolphin-like reptiles
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Scofield, Adjunct Professor in Palaeontology, University of Canterbury An artist’s impression of a Platypterigius ichthyosaur. Dmitry Bogdanov, CC BY-SA Ichthyosaurs were reptiles that swam in the seas during the time of the dinosaurs. They evolved separately around 250 million years ago, ...1 week ago
- Humans will soon be able to mine on the Moon. But should we? 4 questions to consider
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evie Kendal, Senior Lecturer of Health Promotion, Swinburne University of Technology Project Apollo Archive/Flickr By the end of this decade, nations and private companies may well be mining the surface of the Moon. But as space becomes accessible to more nations ...1 week ago
- NZ report card 2024: how the country fared in 25 key global and domestic rankings
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images If it’s good enough for school and university students, it’s good enough for entire countries, too. This report card provides a snapshot of how New Zealand fared across a wide ...1 week ago
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