Andrew Little
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DHBs to go
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, April 21st, 2021 - 101 comments
Television New Zealand has reported that Andrew Little is to announce that district health boards are to go
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi …
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, February 17th, 2021 - 144 comments
Yesterday Jacinda Ardern chose to use decidedly undiplomatic speech to address Australia’s removal of its citizenship from a Jihadi bride leaving her as New Zealand’s problem, even though her link to New Zealand was tenuous and she was for all intents and purposes Australia’s problem. And even though Ardern had previously asked Scomo to be careful with the issue.
Prison conditions
Written By: - Date published: 12:56 pm, January 4th, 2021 - 27 comments
Statements by the Minister for Corrections and Corrections themselves asserting that there had been no complaints about prison conditions at Waikeria, in the face of the Ombudsman’s report, just look to me to be pure sophistry and bullshit. The report on conditions in the high security make grim reading. Even ignoring the inmates protest – I want to protest about the waste of my taxes in providing such a unproductive, inhumane and outright evil environment.
The Green Party’s decision on government
Written By: - Date published: 4:08 pm, October 31st, 2020 - 139 comments
Which way are the Greens going to jump?
How not to campaign in an MMP environment
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, October 13th, 2020 - 30 comments
A recent series of advertisements placed by National MPs in Auckland seeking electorate votes and not seeking party votes show that central control of National’s campaign and discipline are completely lacking.
Kia kaha Greens
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, August 29th, 2020 - 304 comments
The Green Party is facing major push back from members relating to a decision to give shovel ready funding to a private school involved in education about the environment.
Mea culpa
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, August 2nd, 2020 - 33 comments
Back in 2017 I was upset, we had a leadership vote only in caucus – just before the election. I didn’t realise at the time that Andrew Little was actually stepping down in favour of Jacinda Ardern. She’d had the potential, but I hadn’t realised that Little thought she was up for the task. I’m delighted with the result. Thank you Andrew.
SFO to Investigate Labour Donations
Written By: - Date published: 4:32 pm, July 13th, 2020 - 39 comments
The Serious Fraud Office has commenced an investigation in relation to donations made in 2017 to the Labour Party.
UPDATE: The investigation may involve donations made at a ‘silent’ art auction, something that Labour was upfront about back in February.
Labour’s List
Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, June 15th, 2020 - 38 comments
The Labour Party has released its list lineup. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to refresh the caucus, and it’s down to one leader’s sacrifice and another’s steller performance.
National is going low on law and order issues
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, February 27th, 2020 - 10 comments
Over the past week National has shown a willingness to take really base aggressive positions on law and order issues for political advantages no matter what principles are at stake. And at the same time show a complete lack of understanding of the issues that are involved.
The MPs go to Waitangi
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, February 5th, 2020 - 93 comments
Yesterday the political parties were welcomed onto the upper Marae at Waitangi. Jacinda Ardern took the occasion to give a stock take of what the Government was doing to address Iwi concerns, Andrew Little gave his speech totally in te reo, and Simon Bridges chose to use the opportunity to politic.
Little’s Electoral Bill a curate’s egg – good in parts
Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, December 4th, 2019 - 11 comments
I’ve always liked Punch magazine’s famous cartoon “True humility” where the curate assures his bishop noticing his bad egg that parts of it are excellent. Most discussion on Little’s Bill has focused on the bad bits regarding foreign donations. The good bit requires all political ads online to be attributed.
Government to ban foreign donations to political parties
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, December 3rd, 2019 - 66 comments
The Government has announced that it will pass under urgency changes to the Electoral Law to ban overseas donations.
Little announces changes to Prisoner voting rights
Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, November 26th, 2019 - 44 comments
Andrew Little has announced a review of prisoner voting rights to overturn National’s law change which the Courts have ruled to be in breach of fundamental rights and unjustified. Simon Bridges has announced that National will reverse any such law change. And he has topped this off by proposing that Tauranga City Council should prosecute and fine beggars and homeless people.
Sneaky Simon somersaults on support for Terrorism Bill
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, October 23rd, 2019 - 24 comments
National has welched on a promise to support the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill so that it can play politics with law and order issues.
The Government’s prison reforms
Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, August 20th, 2019 - 71 comments
The Government has announced policies designed to reduce Maori incarceration rates dramatically.
Dutton engages in weaponised brutality
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, August 1st, 2019 - 63 comments
Australia is responding to New Zealand’s concern at the forced repatriation of New Zealand citizens from Australia who fall foul of the law by dramatically increasing the potential for this to occur.
FiveEyes on our elections
Written By: - Date published: 3:56 am, June 12th, 2019 - 94 comments
Andrew Little’s letter to the Select Committee on election interference puzzled me – it seemed to be out of the blue and not particularly relevant to our system. Then I read about a meeting on the Gold Coast last year and it became clear as to why – FiveEyes pressure.
Pike River re-entry delayed
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, May 3rd, 2019 - 51 comments
Re-entry to the Pike River mine has been delayed so that a high oxygen reading from within the mine can be understood.
Reform of the SIS
Written By: - Date published: 9:29 am, March 25th, 2019 - 60 comments
Following the Christchurch Mosque murders there are strong calls for an inquiry into the SIS. But should it be given more power or should it be reformed to remove a pretty clear blind spot.
Stuff is now an official mouthpiece of the National Party
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, January 24th, 2019 - 47 comments
Mark Mitchell is an early contender for most stupid utterance by a politician this year. And Stuff has packaged up his utterance and uncritically made it a headline.
Spooked!
Written By: - Date published: 2:52 pm, November 29th, 2018 - 29 comments
The GCSB ban on Spark’s use of Huawei technology means this government has gone from “honest broker” to poodle in a very short time. Pressure has been applied by the US and others, apparently fearing we are the “soft underbelly” of the Five Eyes spy network. Maybe its time we got out of that too – it was designed for war.
Will Andrew Little be responsible if the Pike River mine gets hit by a meteor?
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, November 18th, 2018 - 102 comments
Stacy Kirk has made the outlandish claim that Andrew Little is prepared to risk someone’s life in his desire to have the Pike River mine properly investigated.
Pike River; Victory For the Families, Victory for Us
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, November 14th, 2018 - 121 comments
Pike River mine is to be re-entered and finally the truth will be told. Victory for the 29 is victory for all of us.
Andrew Little’s hilarious Youth MP video
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, September 19th, 2018 - 14 comments
Andrew Little is seeking a Youth MP using an unusual technique.
Simon Bridges says the weirdest things – Criminal Justice
Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, September 1st, 2018 - 30 comments
Simon Bridges has justified his claim that the three strikes law is working by releasing an Italian study that has not been peer reviewed on the effects on white collar criminals of a pardon system.
The UN is shocked by NZ’s child poverty rates
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, July 22nd, 2018 - 89 comments
Earlier this year the United Nations expressed shock and concern at New Zealand’s rates of child poverty, homelessness, incarceration and violence. What is this Government doing to address these issues?
Duck Futton
Written By: - Date published: 4:59 pm, July 19th, 2018 - 46 comments
The Australians are upset with Andrew Little expressing concern about their inhumane treatment of some Kiwis living in Australia and are throwing Donald Trump type tantrums to show their displeasure.
Dotcom loses in the Court of Appeal
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, July 9th, 2018 - 60 comments
The Court of Appeal has released its decision in the Kim Dotcom extradition case. The case has had a lot of resources thrown at it by both sides and I hope my brief description does the arguments and the judgment justice. The decision can be read here. As befits the resources that have been poured […]
Labour does not want to let them all out
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, June 1st, 2018 - 170 comments
Andrew Little has proposed the repeal of the irrational three strikes law. But signs are that National will not engage in a reasoned debate about what the law should be.
The law and order debate and the grade one tosser
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 22nd, 2018 - 36 comments
The Government has announced it will not proceed with the Waikeria mega prison as part of its policy to decrease the prison muster by 30%. And the called for public debate starts off with one of the major players using a study the author of which subsequently retracted because the data he relied on was wrong.
- On the Parnassus Plays and Shakespeare Authorship
Yesterday, I read the Parnassus Plays (1598-1602): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassus_plays These are three late Elizabethan university plays, put on by Cambridge students, for Cambridge students. They’re primarily known because of their extensive references to contemporary English writers, including William Shakespeare. And, certainly, we’ll get to that – there are interesting implications ...15 hours ago - Climate Change: “Least cost” means “do nothing”
The National Party is trying to sabotage the struggle against climate change again, with a bill in the member's ballot to force the Climate Change Commission to allow our domestic targets and international commitments to be met with "offshore mitigation". What does "offshore mitigation" mean? From past experience, it means ...16 hours ago - Incoherent 2Last week, the government froze public service pay for three years in a return to the economy-strangling austerity politics of the National era. But today, suddenly they're rolling in money: There’ll be more spending and lower debt levels in the 2021 Budget than expected, the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson ...17 hours ago
- The Scots deserve their referendumScotland went to the polls on Friday in national elections, and delivered another thumping victory for the Scottish National Party. Once again, it fell just short of an absolute majority, but has an easy majority with the Scottish Greens. Both parties campaigned explicitly for Scottish independence, and in a democratic ...20 hours ago
- Playing By A New Set Of Rules
Meet The New Rules, Not Like The Old Rules: The old book was written on the assumption that political principles are important, and that, accordingly, political consistency from political parties must also be important. At its core, the old rule book accepted that the game it was regulating was the ...21 hours ago - National’s latest default Go-To Distraction
. . As National Party’s current Leader, Judith Collins, channeled former National Party Leader, Don Brash by playing the Race Card, I was reminded of a blogpost I wrote in March 2017; …//… Faced with increasingly negative indicators from high immigration, English was forced to explain why we were seeing ...23 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 10 May 2021
Public sector pay freeze Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup: The Public sector worker backlash against Labour Andrea Vance (Stuff): Why Jacinda Ardern needs to make a John Key-style u-turn on pay sector freeze Alexia Russell (RNZ): Pay freezing out your traditional voter base Liam Dann (Herald): Muldoon or Richardson? Robertson cops it from all sides (paywalled) Claire Trevett (Herald): Labour ...23 hours ago - Hiding He Puapua From Winston May Cost Labour Dearly.1 day ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, May 2, 2021 through Sat, May 8, 2021 In no particular order the following articles lead to the most interactions during the last seven days: Shifting Distribution of Land Temperature Anomalies, 1951-2020, Dare we hope? ...2 days ago - A plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel
This week the Labour government, in its infinite wisdom, decided we’d all had enough of them spending billions of dollars helping out large multi-nationals pay their wage bill during Covid, they decided on a completely new course of action. This week Labour announced an austerity plan. And what a plan ...2 days ago - Mother’s Day
(Content note: infertility, mental health, motherhood) My first post about our ~parenting journey~ is here. Mother’s Day has never been the most problematic artificially-hyped-to-sell-stuff-parental-celebration holiday for me. I grew up ~without a father~ (he bailed; his loss) so it was always the unthinking way we/marketing departments assume that everyone has ...2 days ago - Types of futures reports
The web comic xkcd created a great (satirical) overview of the types of scientific papers. That got me thinking about the types of futures reports I commonly see. There are very good reports out there. You just need to read with a critical eye. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash ...2 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Public sector worker backlash against LabourIs Labour supposed to be the party of labour or of capital? It’s often hard to tell these days, and many in the labour movement and the political left are feeling betrayed this week by the Government’s announcement of a pay freeze for public sector workers. The Government has essentially ...3 days ago
- Fast times and a fast mouth with Boy Racer MP, David Seymour?
You’ve got to give the man credit: he quite honestly built his own car, a Lotus replica, and clearly had personal skills and a driving interest here – ha – that served him well even at a young age, which no doubt were enhanced further when he went on ...3 days ago - Why Are We Moving to Auckland?
Might the drift to the north be resisted?The regional population projections of Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) have only the Auckland and Waikato regions growing faster than the national average through to 2048. The other fourteen grow slower than average. The next three are Bay of Plenty, Canterbury and Northland, so ...3 days ago - The Free Speech Union NZ branch
by Daphna Whitmore Across the English speaking world free speech is threatened. Wokeness and cancel culture, which emerged from the universities in the past decade, has spread. Its ideology is postmodernism, an obscure and impenetrable outlook. Now the university graduates have taken their piousness into government departments and NGOs where ...4 days ago - IncoherentOn Wednesday, the government froze public service pay for three years in a vicious attack on the very workers who have kept the country alive during the pandemic for the last year. Meanwhile, today they've re-announced their new system of "Fair pay Agreements", allowing unions to negotiate basic terms and ...4 days ago
- Branko Marcetic: Labour’s public sector pay freeze isn’t just a betrayal of frontline workers ...All around the world, governments, economists, and even neoliberal bastions like the World Bank are urging a change in the direction of economic policy away from the mistakes of a decade ago – all except here in New Zealand, where the government appears determined to repeat them. Branko Marcetic examines ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 7 May 2021Public sector pay freeze Stuff: Editorial – Pay freeze stretches public sector loyalty Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Pay freeze shows Government can’t manage the books Thomas Coughlan (Stuff): Pay freeze controversy enters second day, with Greens and National pressing Labour Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Do people really earn more in the public sector? David Farrar: Robertson and Hipkins become honorary members of ...4 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: The Muller TrapA speech by Todd Muller at the Te Puna Rugby Club last June told voters everything they need to know about the New Zealand National Party. It was, arguably, the most coherent statement on political philosophy by a National leader in the MMP era. Interwoven with the usual platitudes ...4 days ago
- With Friends Like These …He's On Our Side? When Australia’s very own Minister of Defence, Peter Dutton, is telling anyone who will listen that "a war over Taiwan cannot be discounted" and that Australia was "already under attack" from Chinese cyber-warriors, it is probably time to think again about who New Zealand's "friends" and ...4 days ago
- Developing Separately – Or Together?'He iwi tahi tātou'? Should Maori poverty be addressed as a manifestation of the economic and social injustices inherent in free-market capitalism; or, is it the inevitable consequence of colonial oppression, white privilege and institutional racism? If it’s the former, then Maori and Pakeha can tackle the problem together. If ...5 days ago
- “A Rare Misstep from Simeon Brown”: Once more playing the Useful Idiot of the National Party?
Overall, MP Simeon Brown is someone to poke fun at with his asinine takes, clearly. He can, like Collins, just not help himself to save himself. But never let yourself get seriously worked up and actually worn out over it. He’s simply not worth it, sad as it ...5 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 6 May 2021Parliament’s Speaker Trevor Mallard Henry Cooke (Stuff): National v Mallard: That atrocious late-night debate is the reason people hate politicians Barry Soper (Herald): Trevor Mallard’s outburst this week questions whether he understands what a serious sexual assault is Claire Trevett (Herald): The unedifying spectacle of the Speaker v National in Parliament (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Mallard using his power to attack ...5 days ago
- Reducing tobacco retail availability: how could this be achieved and what evidence supports the NZ G...Lindsay Robertson, Janet Hoek, Richard Edwards, Frederieke Petrović-van der Deen, George Thomson, Louise Marsh (*Author details) The NZ Government has published a Discussion Document outlining an Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal. This blog is one of a series examining key aspects of the plan to help inform ...5 days ago
- Ardern says China differences ‘becoming harder to ignore’; promises to work harder on ignoring t...
Ardern has been crystal clear that New Zealand “must step up” its efforts if it is to successfully dodge questions about genocide in China. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the Auckland Business Chamber on Monday that differences between New Zealand and China on human rights were “becoming more difficult” to ...5 days ago - covid-19 infection and how the spike protein is involved in doing harmJust this morning a journalist sent me a link to a press release about a new paper looking at how SARS-Cov-2 affects the vascular system, & asked to comment on it for a article. If you’d like to read the actual paper you can find it here, but be ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #18, 2021Bringing more certainty to uncertainty communications For the armchair dilettante observer of scientific progress a solid literature review is something akin to going to Disneyland. It's almost too much stimulation. When a review covers a salient, hot topic, so much the better. This week we're pleased to feature a vast review ...6 days ago
- Is ‘Spot’ a good dog? Why we’re right to worry about unleashing robot quadrupedsJeremy Moses, University of Canterbury and Geoffrey Ford, University of Canterbury When it comes to dancing, pulling a sled, climbing stairs or doing tricks, “Spot” is definitely a good dog. It can navigate the built environment and perform a range of tasks, clearly demonstrating its flexibility as a software ...6 days ago
- Punishing our saviours againLast year public servants saved our lives, working overtime in the middle of a pandemic to stand up a response which kept out Covid and kept kiwis alive and employed. The government rewarded them with a pay freeze. And now they're extending that for another three years: Public servants ...6 days ago
- Hard News: A picture of official callousness and detachment
Last night, the New Zealand Herald posted a story from its political reporter Derek Cheng which bundles together a number of current issues around medicinal cannabis. The most alarming is that of Katy Thomas and her epileptic son Eddy, which has recently been taken up by Green MP Chloe Swarbrick. Their ...6 days ago - Samoa’s dodgy dissolutionSamoa's tied elections took a turn for the worse last night, with the O le Ao o le Malo purporting to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections in what looks awfully like a self-coup. The "justification" for this was the uncertainty created by the hung parliament - a situation the ...6 days ago
- 12,000 unemployed under LabourThe quarterly labour market statistics have been released, and once again outperformed expectations, with unemployment dropping to 4.7%. So there are now 135,000 unemployed, 12,000 more than when Labour took office. Its not all good news though: the underutilisation rate is up, suggesting that more jobs are part-time. Still, compared ...6 days ago
- Labour refuses to condemn genocide in XinjiangBut they will condemn "possible severe human rights abuses". What a pack of snivelling, grovelling chickenshits. Refusing to call the crime what it is for fear of offending the criminal. But maybe this is Labour's "kindness"? Fuck the poor. Fuck the kids. Fuck immigrants. But be kind to génocidaires. But ...6 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 5 May 2021He Puapua document and the National Party Henry Cooke (Stuff): Whose race card is this anyway? Judith Collins and David Seymour both appear to have found the same wedge issue Graham Adams (Stuff): Ardern on a hot tin roof over He Puapua plan to share power with Māori Claire Trevett (Herald): Judith Collins’ has grabbed the agenda on ...6 days ago
- Collins warns Government is planning separatist New Zealand with special car parks and gender segreg...The Government is accusing National of scaremongering over a proposal to establish separate Māori governance in New Zealand, pointing to its long history of ignoring recommendations. National Party interim leader Judith Collins has deepened her attacks on the Government’s proposed Māori Health Authority this week, alleging that Prime Minister Jacinda ...6 days ago
- #PLURV – the German #FLICC – getting popular in GermanyLongtime readers of what we are up to at Skeptical Science will be well aware of the FLICC taxonomy first suggested by Mark Hoofnagle in 2007, written about in Diethelm & McKnee (2009) and since then greatly enlarged by John Cook: A much simpler FLICC-taxonomy first started out to be utilized ...7 days ago
- https://sciblogs.co.nz/?p=276367Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz I’ve heard the gravity changes when Antarctica melts will lower ...7 days ago
- The Greens worry about morality, Labour worries about tradeThe Greens have done what was expected of them, and agreed to back ACT's motion on genocide in Xinjiang tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Labour Party is worrying about trade: Trade Minister Damien O'Connor has warned a parliamentary debate on whether Beijing is committing genocide in Xinjiang would damage trade with ...7 days ago
- Why we remember more by reading – especially print – than from audio or videoNaomi S. Baron, American University During the pandemic, many college professors abandoned assignments from printed textbooks and turned instead to digital texts or multimedia coursework. As a professor of linguistics, I have been studying how electronic communication compares to traditional print when it comes to learning. Is comprehension the ...7 days ago
- Shaken and Stirred: The Left Reacts To Judith Collins’ Race-Based Politicking.Extremely Moderate: That was the “problem” with Judith Collins’ address to the National Party’s Northern Regional Conference on 1 May 2021: its totally unexpected moderation. This was no bilious outpouring of racial hate – quite the reverse. With a degree of political subtlety and tactical agility that did both Collins and her ...7 days ago
- Labour adopts NZ First’s racismNew Zealand First were a nasty pack of racists. One of the ideas they pushed was that immigrants - which in NZ First-ese means "non-white people", not those lovely people from the UK or South Africa - are coming here to steal the pensions of "hardworking" (white) New Zealanders by ...7 days ago
- Redefining Democracy.The Dead Hand Of Privilege: To be white, male, heterosexual, well-educated, and – of course – wealthy, is to enjoy a high degree of “privilege” in a culture where such distinctions are generally esteemed. Formal democratic equality, it is asserted, actually serves to mask this privilege and, by doing so, ...7 days ago
- The police’s “emissions-free fleet” strategyLast year, just as the government was announcing plans for a carbon-neutral public service, the police announced they were buying new petrol-powered patrol cars. But they weren't ignoring the government's requirements, with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster quoted as saying "we are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and have outlined ...7 days ago
- Could the COVID vaccines affect your period? We don’t know yet — but there’s no cause for conc...Michelle Wise, University of Auckland Over recent weeks, news reports have indicated some women are experiencing irregularities in their menstrual cycles after receiving a COVID vaccine. This has included periods arriving early and being heavier than usual, or being absent or late, among other changes. At this stage, there’s no ...7 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 4 May 2021China and New Zealand Bryce Edwards (The Guardian): Ardern’s speech was not an attack on China, or even a shift away from Beijing Justin Giovannetti (Spinoff): Nanaia Mahuta’s China dilemma and the future of New Zealand diplomacy Geoffrey Miller (Democracy Project): Something for everyone in Ardern’s speech on China Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Political, economic China perspectives collide at summit Michael Neilson ...7 days ago
- Report: All new cars and trucks in U.S. could be electric by 2035This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Thinking ahead to what (and whether?) you may be driving – may have parked in your garage or driveway or parking lot – a few years from now? Like, for instance, in 2035? Only with “robust” public policy initiatives as yet not on ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Something for everyone in Ardern’s speech on ChinaJacinda Ardern’s speech at the China Business Summit was a crowd-pleaser. Geoffrey Miller explains its role in the “rebalancing” of New Zealand’s orientation to China and the West. For critics who believed she had gone soft on China, Jacinda Ardern’s line that differences between China and New Zealand were ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Cut methane nowFarmers are our biggest source of climate pollution, being responsible for 48% of our emissions. Three quarters of their emissions come from methane, caused by burping cows and rotting cowshit. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, but short-lived; its impact on global temperature over 20 years is 84 times higher ...1 week ago
- Hard News: The drumbeat for reform gets louderIt should have come as no surprise after the narrow referendum defeat last year of a bill to legalise and regulate cannabis that its loudest and best-funded opponents should have wandered off to find a new culture war. The people behind SAM-NZ, Family First and Say Nope to Dope have ...1 week ago
- Press Release 27 April 2021 – Congratulations to Minister Little and the Government on the Health ...
Peter Malcolm for Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc. – Closing the Gap The recently announced changes to the way health is administered in New Zealand are long overdue. We do not need 20 separate health authorities in New Zealand as the responses to the pandemic has illustrated. The current ...1 week ago - Government of kindness?Remember John Campbell's "Feed the kids" campaign? Free school lunches are one of the most effective education policy interventions we can make, boosting attendance and improving learning outcomes. Currently the government funds them for the 25% of children living in the poorest areas of New Zealand. But poor kids whose ...1 week ago
- Speaker: test post with picsFollowing the storming of the US capitol building in January, Twitter cracked down on accounts that were using the site to promote false narratives about the US election, in particular accounts associated with the Qanon conspiracy theory. The mass removal of accounts included a number of New Zealanders. Many of ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 3 May 2021National Party: “Separatism” and He Puapua Matthew Hooton (Herald): Judith Collins’ speech raises important issues for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern(paywalled) Graham Adams (Democracy Project): Ardern in the gun over He Puapua Luke Malpass (Stuff): Judith Collins issues race relations warning, says Labour planning ‘two systems by stealth’ Tracy Watkins (Stuff): Echoes of the past in Judith Collins’ speech Lara Greaves and Ella ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: Ardern in the gun over He PuapuaA covert 20-year plan to establish Maori sovereignty is political dynamite. Graham Adams argues it represents a real threat to the Prime Minister’s reputation as open and transparent. Judith Collins made no effort to hide the cat-with-the-cream expression on her face when she answered journalists’ questions after a National ...1 week ago
- Improving NZ Government Communication about COVID-19: Five Suggestions Including a Proposal for Depo...Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Leah Grout, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig The high quality communication by the NZ Government for much of the COVID-19 pandemic has been remarked on. But given that the pandemic situation is very far from over, in this blog we consider five areas in which ...1 week ago
- Crackpot Theory: Ar-Pharazôn’s Sexuality (or the lack thereof)
Some time ago, I presented my completely unprovable hypothesis that Rhaegar, from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, had Asperger’s Syndrome. It’s a crackpot theory, of course – one that involves taking certain elements of the text, and running with them in accordance with wilder imagination. ...1 week ago - 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #18Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Apr 25, 2021 through Sat, May 1, 2021 In no particular order the following articles lead to the most interactions during the last seven days: Points of no return, What Skepticism Reveals About Science, The ...1 week ago
- A Night in the Witherlands: Published
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Issue #48 (May-July 2021) is now out:http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/?p=3442 And my 6.400-word sword and sorcery piece, A Night in the Witherlands, is out with it:http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/?p=3400 As noted previously, this one is a follow-up to A Breath Through Silver:http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue849/breath_silver1.html Please check out the Bibliography page for my other ...1 week ago - A year ago todayA year ago today, my partner and I “properly” began the journey to become parents. We’d been on the path for a very long time: first trying, and trying, and trying, and failing, then trying to get help, and facing some pretty gross obstacles to that; and finally being in ...1 week ago
- Judith Collins goes whistle shoppingHaving taken an enforced break for a number of weeks with ideas drying up faster than a Canterbury river, MyThinks has had a sudden burst of prefrontal brain activity and brings you a random number of thinks related to recent political happenings. Enjoy. National Leader Judith Collins is walking through ...1 week ago
- Central Bank Independence?
I have never understood why the independence of the central bank (in our case, the Reserve Bank) is thought to be so important and beneficial. The practice – and doctrine – were pioneered in New Zealand, and hark back to the era of Rogernomics, monetarism and the priority given to ...1 week ago - Pork-Barrels Out of Bond: Subsidising the Amazon LOTR TV series
Time for another wee rant. This time, it’s the sight of our Government prostituting itself to Amazon. Never mind money (or national dignity), all they care about is ensuring Our Corporate Overlords continue production of the upcoming Tolkien television series in New Zealand: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-detail/300287112/the-detail-governments-golden-handshake-to-secure-amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series That rebate is not ...1 week ago - Side-Stepping Safeguards, Data Journalists Are Doing Science NowBy Irineo Cabreros News stories are increasingly told through data. Witness the Covid-19 time series that decorate the homepages of every major news outlet; the red and blue heat maps of polling predictions that dominate the runup to elections; the splashy, interactive plots that dance across the screen. As a ...1 week ago
- April ’21 – NZ blogs sitemeter ranking
Image credit: Blog Writing For Business NZ I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. ...1 week ago - Centralising the Public Health System
The proposed health redisorganisation seeks to markedly centralise the health system. Is this grab for power justified; will it work?The Cabinet paper’s justification of the proposed changes is sevenfold. The first two are about Maori issues. One is constitutional, arguing that the ‘public health system does not meet the Crown’s ...1 week ago - People have had a hard time weighing pandemic risks because they haven’t gotten information they n...Kathleen H. Pine, Arizona State University; Kathryn Henne, Australian National University, and Myeong Lee, George Mason University The decision to pause and then restart the Johnson & Johnson vaccine underscores how hard it is even for experts to gauge health risks. It’s been still harder for everyday people, most of ...2 weeks ago
- Inside the world of tiny phytoplankton – microscopic algae that provide most of our oxygenAbigail McQuatters-Gollop, University of Plymouth Phytoplankton are microscopic algae living throughout the ocean’s surface waters. They can’t swim and are at the mercy of the currents and tides. Despite their small size, phytoplankton enable life in the oceans – and throughout the planet – to exist. There are two types ...2 weeks ago
- Can Judith Collins Make Don Brash’s ‘Nationhood Soufflé’ Rise Twice?Can She Raise It A Second Time? The question is: Can National’s current leader, Judith Collins, rely upon Don Brash’s Nationhood Soufflé recipe to produce an equally dramatic rise in her party’s fortunes? Or, in the intervening years, has the ideology of “Treatyism” persuaded enough New Zealanders to renounce the ideas ...2 weeks ago
- 2021 Reading Log: April (+ Writing Update)
Completed reads for April: His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleLost Horizon, by James HiltonFlashman and the Tiger, by George MacDonald FraserGoodbye, Mr Chips, by James HiltonA True Story, by Lucian of SamosataOn the Syrian Goddess, by Lucian ...2 weeks ago - Climate Change: The young win in GermanyOver the past few years there has been a spate of court cases over climate change, as young people have turned to the courts to protect the future. And in Germany, they've just won, with the constitutional court ruling that climate measures need to be strengthened to protect future generations: ...2 weeks ago
- Reducing nicotine in smoked tobacco products: A pivotal feature of the proposals for achieving Smoke...Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Nick Wilson, Chris Bullen * The NZ Government has published a discussion document outlining an Action Plan for the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal and has invited submissions on its proposals. This blog is one of a series examining key aspects of the plan to help inform ...2 weeks ago
- After Four Years In Office …They Did This: On March 27th 1939, Michael Joseph Savage opened the new Social Security building. Built in just 7 weeks, the new structure replaced the half-completed Social Security headquarters destroyed in an arson attack on 2 February 1939. In his book The Quest For Security, W. B. Sutch recalled ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 30 April 2021Housing crisis Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government’s fix for its housing problems are just a game of whack-a-mole(paywalled) Amelia Wade (Newshub): Even if house prices fell 20 percent, three-quarters of renters still couldn’t afford one Susan Edmunds (Stuff): Govt crunches numbers to reveal property investors’ incomes Vita Molyneux (Newshub): ‘I feel ill’: 1995 Wellington house prices nauseate distressed millennials Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Increasing housing ...2 weeks ago
- Geoffrey Miller: New analysis of Nanaia Mahuta’s statements offers clues to her foreign policy age...A new analysis by the Democracy Project of Nanaia Mahuta’s public statements and tweets over the past six months provides some intriguing initial insights into her foreign policy agenda. By the end of Wednesday this week, Nanaia Mahuta had made 31 formal statements or speeches on foreign affairs in her ...2 weeks ago
- Happy Mother’s Day, Aotearoa!
Today, we’re celebrating mothers, grandmothers and all the mother figures in our lives – and wishing them a wonderful day with whānau and friends – and, ideally, not so many obligations. ...2 days ago - Green Party launch petition calling for Labour to reverse public sector wage suppression on our nurs...
The Green Party have launched a petition calling on Labour to reverse its decision to suppress the wages of our nurses, teachers, and DOC workers earning between $60,000 and $100,000. ...4 days ago - A full-on six months: Our record since the 2020 electionNew Zealanders voted for stability and security at the last election. In the six months since, we’ve worked hard to keep Kiwis safe from COVID-19, while accelerating our economic recovery and tackling long-term challenges like housing affordability, child poverty, and climate change – and we’ve made good progress. ...5 days ago
- Greens welcome US support for People’s VaccineThe Green Party strongly supports today’s commitment by the United States joining the call to waive the morally indefensible pharmaceutical patents on the COVID-19 vaccine in order to make it accessible to Developing World communities. ...5 days ago
- Public sector pay restrictions are unacceptableThe Government’s decision to restrict the wages of many essential public sector workers for another two years does a disservice to those who have kept our communities safe during COVID-19, the Green Party said today. ...6 days ago
- The Green Party is putting reasonable renting rules on the agendaThe Green Party is launching its Reasonable Rents campaign to start a national conversation about the high cost of rents for the more than 1.4 million Kiwis who live in a rental home. ...1 week ago
- Keeping Kiwis snug this winterWe believe everyone deserves a warm, dry place to call home. One way we’re making this a reality is through our Winter Energy Payment, which helps around a million people with their heating bills through the colder months and ensures whānau stay healthy with less stress. ...1 week ago
- Our tamariki Maōri should not suffer any more: GreensThe Green Party welcomes the Waitangi Tribunal report that recognises mulitple breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by the Crown. ...1 week ago
- Eight times Labour proved it has workers' backsOur name says a lot about our priorities, but so does our history. We’ve consistently fought for workers’ rights – from when our Party first formed in 1916, to now, when we’ve placed workers’ rights and health at the centre of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call for amnesty programme in open letter to immigration ministerThe Green Party is calling on the Government to create a broad amnesty programme for people who overstay their visa, and for temporary visa holders to be granted residency in an open letter to the Minister for Immigration. ...2 weeks ago
- Local government review must centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi and empower young peopleThe future of local government must empower the young people who will live with the decisions made today, by enabling them to vote, and strengthen our national commitment to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Green Party said today. ...3 weeks ago
- The Greens welcome whānau centred initiatives for PrisonsToday the Government announced a new whānau-centred Māori pathways programme in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison. ...3 weeks ago
- Looking ahead this Earth DayIt’s Earth Day today and here at Labour, we’re deeply committed to protecting our environment – not just today, but every day. ...3 weeks ago
- Greens welcome protections for Kiwis’ savingsThe Green Party is welcoming the Government’s announcement that bank deposits up to $100,000 will be protected under new rules. ...3 weeks ago
- Former Govt spies should be stopped from private spyingFormer employees of Government security and intelligence agencies should face at least a five-year stand down period before taking up private sector security contracts, the Green Party said today. ...3 weeks ago
- Green Party welcomes major healthcare reforms with a call for moreThe Green Party welcomes the major healthcare reforms announced today by the Minister of Health, including the creation of a Māori Health Authority – Manatū Hauora Māori as we call it. ...3 weeks ago
- What do New Zealand's health reforms mean? Your questions answeredWe’re committed to ensuring that our health system works for all New Zealanders – so we’re taking big steps to improve health outcomes, support our frontline workers, and promote equitable access to healthcare across the country and across communities. ...3 weeks ago
- A health system that works for everyoneWe believe all New Zealanders should have equitable access to a truly national healthcare system. ...3 weeks ago
- Thousands of MIQ spaces allocated to secure economic recovery
Five hundred spaces per fortnight will be allocated in managed isolation facilities over the next 10 months, many for skilled and critical workers to support our economic recovery, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor say. “The Trans-Tasman bubble has freed up more rooms, allowing us to ...14 hours ago - New Zealand Sign Language Week a chance to recognise national taongaThis week (10 – 16 May 2021) is New Zealand Sign Language Week (NZSL), a nationwide celebration of NZSL as an official language of New Zealand. “We’re recognised as a world leader for our commitment to maintaining and furthering the use of our sign language,” says Minister for Disability Issues ...22 hours ago
- Economic resilience provides more options in Budget 2021Securing the recovery and investing in the wellbeing of New Zealanders is the focus of Budget 2021, Grant Robertson told his audience at a pre-budget speech in Auckland this morning. "The economy has proven resilient in response to COVID-19, due to people having confidence in the Government’s health response to ...23 hours ago
- Pre-Budget speech to BNZ-Deloitte Auckland Breakfast EventThank you for the invitation to speak to you today, and to share with you some of the Government’s thinking leading into this year’s budget. This will be my fourth time delivering the annual Budget for the Government, though the events of the past year have thrown out that calculation. ...23 hours ago
- Rotuman Language week affirms language as the key to Pacific wellbeingThe first Pacific Language Week this year makes it clear that language is the key to the wellbeing for all Pacific people said Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. “This round of language weeks begin with Rotuman. As I have always said language is one of the pillars of ...2 days ago
- Budget delivers improved cervical and breast cancer screeningBudget 2021 funds a more effective cervical screening test to help reduce cervical cancer rates A new breast screening system that can proactively identify and enrol eligible women to reach 271,000 more people who aren’t currently in the programme. Budget 2021 delivers a better cervical screening test and a major ...2 days ago
- NZ-France to co-chair Christchurch Call Leaders’ SummitNew Zealand and France will jointly convene the Christchurch Call Community for a leaders’ summit, to take stock of progress and develop a new shared priority work plan. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and President Emmanuel Macron will co-chair the leaders’ meeting on the 2nd anniversary of the Call, on 14 ...2 days ago
- New South Wales travel pause to be lifted tomorrowCOVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the current travel pause with New South Wales will lift tomorrow – subject to no further significant developments in NSW. “New Zealand health officials met today to conduct a further assessment of the public health risk from the recently identified COVID-19 community cases in Sydney. It has been determined that the risk to public ...3 days ago
- March 15 Collective Impact Board appointedThe voices of those affected by the March 15 mosque attacks will be heard more effectively with the establishment of a new collective impact board, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan announced today. Seven members of the Christchurch Muslim community have been appointed to the newly established Board, ...3 days ago
- More young Kiwis supported with mental health and addiction servicesNearly quarter of a million more young New Zealanders will have access to mental health and addiction support in their communities as the Government’s youth mental health programme gathers pace. New contracts to expand youth-specific services across the Northland, Waitematā and Auckland District Health Board areas have been confirmed, providing ...4 days ago
- New hospital facilities mean fewer trips to Auckland for NorthlandersNorthlanders will no longer automatically have to go to Auckland for lifesaving heart procedures like angiograms, angioplasty and the insertion of pacemakers, thanks to new operating theatres and a cardiac catheter laboratory opened at Whangārei Hospital by Health Minister Andrew Little today. The two projects – along with a new ...4 days ago
- Fair Pay Agreements to improve pay and conditions for essential workersThe Government is delivering on its pre-election commitment to implement Fair Pay Agreements which will improve wages and conditions, as well as help support our economic recovery, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. Fair Pay Agreements will set minimum standards for all employees and employers in an ...4 days ago
- Establishment of the new Māori Health Authority takes first big stepSir Mason Durie will lead a Steering Group to provide advice to the Transition Unit on governance arrangements and initial appointments to an interim board to oversee the establishment of the Māori Health Authority. This Group will ensure that Māori shape a vital element of our future health system, Minister ...4 days ago
- Cycle trails move up a gear in CentralWork on new and upgraded cycle trails in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Central Otago is moving up a gear as two significant projects pass further milestones today. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has announced new funding for the Queenstown Trails Project, and will also formally open the Lake Dunstan Trail at Bannockburn ...4 days ago
- Picton ferry terminal upgrade consent fast-trackedThe planned upgrade of the Waitohi Picton Ferry terminal has been approved under the fast-track consenting process. Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the decision by the expert consenting panel to approve the Waitohi Picton Ferry Precinct Redevelopment Project. The project will provide a significant upgrade to the ferry facilities ...5 days ago
- Quarantine Free Travel with New South Wales pausedCOVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced his intention to pause Quarantine Free Travel from New South Wales to New Zealand while the source of infection of the two cases announced in Sydney in the last two days is investigated. Whole genome sequencing has linked the case yesterday to a recent ...5 days ago
- Covid-19 immigration powers to be extendedThe passing of a bill to extend temporary COVID-19 immigration powers means continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said. “Over the past year, we’ve made rapid decisions to extend visas, vary visa conditions and waive some application requirements ...5 days ago
- “Supporting a Trade-Led Economic Recovery”Trade Policy Road Show SpeechManukau, Auckland Kia ora koutou – nau mai, haere mai ki Manukau, ki Tāmaki. Good morning everyone, and thank you for this opportunity to discuss with you current global challenges, opportunities and the Government’s strategy in support of a trade-led recovery from the economic ...5 days ago
- Building consent numbers at an all-time highA record 41,028 new homes have been consented in the year ended March 2021 March 2021 consent numbers the highest since the 1940s Record number of new homes consented in Auckland The number of new homes consented is at an all-time high, showing a strong and increasing pipeline of demand ...5 days ago
- Whānau-centred support for parents and tamarikiUp to 60 whānau in Counties Manukau will be supported through the first three years of their parenthood by a new whānau-centred model of care, said Associate Health Minister, Hon Aupito William Sio. “Providing this support to young parents is something we have to get right. It’s a priority both ...5 days ago
- NZ backs moves to improve global access to COVID vaccinesNew Zealand welcomes and strongly supports the announcement made by the United States Trade Representative to work for a waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines at the WTO, Trade Minister Damien O’Connor said. “New Zealand supports equitable access to COVID vaccines for all. No one is safe from the ...5 days ago
- Tourism communities: support, recovery and re-set planTIHEI MAURI ORA Tuia te whakapono Tuia te tumanako Tuia te aroha Tuia te hunga ora Ki te hunga ora Tihei Mauri ora Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. Thank you, Hilary and thank you, Chris, and everyone at TIA for this ...5 days ago
- Support, recovery and re-set plan for tourism communitiesFive South Island tourist communities targeted for specialist support Pressure on Māori tourism operators and Conservation facilities recognised Domestic and international-facing tourism agencies put on more secure footing Long-term plan to re-set tourism with a focus on sustainability, industry standards and regional economic diversification A plan to ensure the immediate ...5 days ago
- Speech on NZ Rail PlanCheck against delivery E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karanga maha o te wa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua o Taranaki Whānui anō nei aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te whakanuia tēnei huihuinga whakahirahira. Nō ...5 days ago
- Government hits massive milestone in Violence Prevention & EliminationMinister for Family and Sexual Violence Marama Davidson announced a major milestone at a hui in South Auckland today, with the launch of the national engagement process on the prevention and elimination of family and sexual violence. “There is no room for violence in our lives – there is no ...5 days ago
- Fee waiver extended for conservation tourism businessesTourism businesses operating on public conservation land will have another six months of fees waived to help them adjust to the downturn in international visitors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting Minister of Conservation Dr Ayesha Verrall has announced. "We acknowledge it has been a difficult year for ...5 days ago
- ‘Lua Wave’ to future-proof Pasifika Festivals in AotearoaPasifika festival organisers will receive additional support to adapt to the COVID-19 environment thanks to the Government’s newly launched ‘Lua Wave’ component of the Pasifika Festivals Initiative, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “This initiative has not only been to support festival organisers to recover from ...5 days ago
- Crown accounts show confidence in Govt economic planThe Government’s financial accounts continue to reflect the resilience of the economy and confidence in the Government’s economic recovery plan. The Crown accounts for the nine months to the end of March 2021 show both OBEGAL and the operating balance remain better than forecast in the Half Year Economic and ...5 days ago
- Energy Trusts of NZ Autumn ConferenceIt’s a pleasure to be here today. Thank you Karen [Sherry] for the introduction and thanks to the Energy Trusts Executive for inviting me to speak at tonight’s event. It is an exciting time to come to speak to trustees of distribution companies. For many decades the electricity industry was ...5 days ago
- New partnership to grow Māori success in STEMA new partnership with the Pūhoro STEM Academy will support thousands more rangatahi Māori to participate and succeed in the fields of science, technology, and innovation, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Since 2016, Pūhoro has worked with Māori students to build their capability and create pathways to employment ...5 days ago
- Rail builds platform for economic recoveryTransport Minister Michael Wood and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dr David Clark today released the Government’s long term vision for a sustainable rail network that supports our economic recovery. New Zealand Rail Plan lays out how the Government is building a resilient, reliable and safe network, as well as the indicative ...5 days ago
- NZ and UK agree to lift the pace of free trade talksNew Zealand and the United Kingdom have agreed to rapidly lift the tempo of talks, as the two countries enter a new phase in free trade negotiations, Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, and I spoke today about ...5 days ago
- Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill passes first readingThe Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill has passed its first reading and will now be considered by Parliament’s Justice select committee. “The Bill updates and improves New Zealand’s counter-terrorism legislation and ensures that the right legislative tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm,” Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi said. “The ...5 days ago
- Statement on The Speaker and Annual Review Debate“The serious issue of alleged sexual assault and harassment at Parliament was poorly managed and inappropriately politicised last night. The tone of the debate did not reflect well on Parliament as a whole,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “Any investigation of claims of sexual assault should be in a manner ...6 days ago
- Govt motoring towards zero-carbon buses and protecting drivers’ conditionsTransport Minister Michael Wood is seeking feedback on options for the next phase of the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) review to better protect bus drivers’ pay conditions, and also achieving the Government’s target of fully decarbonising the public transport bus fleet by 2035. Michael Wood said investing in our ...6 days ago
- Drop in unemployment shows Govt economic plan is workingThe Government’s economic recovery plan continues to be reflected in the labour market, with more people in work and unemployment falling. Stats NZ figures show employment rose by 15,000 in the March quarter, with 14,000 more women in work. The unemployment rate fell from 4.9 percent to 4.7 percent. This ...6 days ago
- Government sets pay and workforce expectations for the Public SectorThe Government’s Workforce Policy Statement issued today sets out its expectations for pay and employment relations in the Public Sector, the Minister of Finance and Minister for the Public Service say. “New Zealand has had an exceptionally successful health and economic response to COVID-19. This has been supported by the ...6 days ago
- Author Ben Brown is New Zealand’s first Te Awhi Rito Reading AmbassadorLyttleton writer Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa) will be New Zealand’s first Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador, promoting the value of reading for children and young people, Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti announced today. A poet and award-winning author, Ben Brown writes books, non-fiction and short stories ...7 days ago
- Celebrating New Zealand’s firefighters this International Firefighters’ dayWith two fire stations already complete, and building underway on 16 fire stations around the country, today we celebrate International Firefighters’ Day for the important role firefighters have in keeping communities across the country safe, says Minister of Internal Affairs, Jan Tinetti. The work is progressing due to Government funding ...7 days ago
- Ron Brierley knighthood to goRon Brierley has written to the Clerk of the Executive Council to tender his resignation as a Knight Bachelor. The Queen has been informed. The forfeiture follows the Prime Minister initiating the process to remove his Knighthood. The Clerk of the Executive Council wrote to him on 6 April 2021 ...7 days ago
- Women don't need men stating the bleeding obvious
Comment: The Super Rugby clash at Eden Park was a critical and sporting success but still the undermining of women's sport persists, writes Ashley Stanley The media coverage was solid. The players' build-up looked professional. And the end product on the afternoon was free-flowing and skilful. But after the hype of ...51 mins ago - Hardworking Tax Payers Need A Break
“Hardworking taxpayers have spent the first four months and 10 days of 2021 working to hand over every cent they’ve earned to Grant Robertson,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Today is ‘Tax Freedom Day’ according to accounting firm Baker Tilly ...55 mins ago - Ethiopian Community Delivers Petition To Parliament For NZ To Condemn Ongoing KillingsAs atrocities against Amhara ethnic communities worsen in Ethiopia, the community here in Aotearoa New Zealand is asking the Government to condemn the increasing attacks and urge the Ethiopian government to stop and prevent the ongoing massacre of the ...1 hour ago
- Win the greatest book prize of all time
Win every single book shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand national book awards Good old ReadingRoom has a book prize to beat all book prizes, ever: all 16 books - yes, 16! - shortlisted for Wednesday night's Ockham New Zealand book awards are up for grabs. They will go to ...2 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 11 May
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...2 hours ago - Newsroom's daily sudoku, Tuesday 11 May
...2 hours ago - The unacknowledged consequences of the gender pay gap
The gender pension gap is seldom measured or even acknowledged. As the population ages, we need to address the gap before it widens, writes Claire Dale. The majority of the 10 highest paid individuals across government departments and most universities are still men, it has been reported. It is particularly concerning ...2 hours ago - Covid-19: Saliva tests to be rolled out in pharmacies
Saliva tests may be mainly useful to the ‘worried well’ and Olympians, but they can also ease pressure on the testing regime as a whole. Matthew Scott reports. Those who dread the feeling of a swab being swivelled around their sinuses will soon have access to another option: pharmacies are about to ...2 hours ago - Voiding Covid vaccine patents isn't enough
The economic benefits of making vaccines widely and quickly available worldwide are indisputable - but simply relaxing intellectual property protections on vaccines won't be enough to achieve that, writes Eric Crampton. ...2 hours ago - Dying well: Whānau seek tikanga Māori at end of life
Researchers spoke to whānau who lived with death by using tikanga Māori - now they are using digital storytelling to support those who have lost traditional care customs and are neglected by a one-size-fits-all healthcare system It takes a village to raise a person, but it takes a village ...2 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Tuesday 11 May
...2 hours ago - Rabbits: Turning the tables
Since Newsroom’s investigation into the rabbit plague hitting parts of the South Island, we have had many suggestions on ways to extract value from rabbits. Melanie Reid reports on the enterprising small businesses that have sprung up in Otago and Southland aiming to make money out rabbit meat and skins. ...2 hours ago - ‘Relive your trauma or run the risk of dying’: Why the end of smear screening can’t come too s...
A video circulating on social media last week had a message that hit home for many: some survivors of sexual harm would rather take their chances than endure retraumatisation through a cervical screening test. For this reason, the announcement of funding for a self-administered HPV test could mean the difference ...2 hours ago - Ardern and Robertson say public sector wage freeze is ‘misreporting’. But is it?The government is blaming misreporting for anger over a pay freeze for the public sector. Justin Giovannetti looks at the prime minister and finance minister’s claim that public servants are being misled by the media. Last Wednesday the government issued guidance which became immediately and almost unanimously characterised as a ...2 hours ago
- Opaque, inefficient, unfair: Govt's $42b procurement regime report card
New research shows the way government agencies award contracts is complicated and skewed towards international companies. ...2 hours ago - 'Outdated, flawed' local election laws need overhaul
Council election laws are stifling attempts at modernisation, officials warn. ...2 hours ago - Covid-19: Tech trials founder at border
Trials of new technology which could help New Zealand fight Covid-19 have faltered in recent weeks. ...2 hours ago - Beneath the joyful job stats
The unemployment rate has defied the expectations of economists, banks and Treasury. Is it hiding the reality of the job situation, or did the wage subsidy save us? When New Zealand went into Level 4 lockdown on March 25 last year, we were sailing into uncharted waters. Treasury officials were ...2 hours ago - House prices: The little-known fourth tool in the Reserve Bank kit
Amid all the noisy talk of constraints on LVRs, DTIs and interest-only loans, the Reserve Bank has quietly floated the possibility of wielding a fourth tool: increasing the capital requirements for banks to lend against houses. ...2 hours ago - Timor-Leste reports 126 more covid cases – almost all in Dili
By Antonio Sampaio in Dili The Timor-Leste health authorities have registered a total of 126 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 in the last 24 hours, almost all in the Timorese capital, according to official data. The data was released in a statement from the Integrated Crisis Management Center (CIGC), which states ...6 hours ago - Part of the legal challenge to the India travel ban has been comprehensively defeated — here’s w...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney One part of a legal challenge to the Commonwealth’s India travel ban was comprehensively defeated in the Federal Court on Monday evening. Justice Thawley rejected all the arguments made by the applicant, Gary ...9 hours ago
- Charging Indians for COVID vaccines is bad, letting vaccine producers charge what they like is uncon...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By R. Ramakumar, Professor of Economics, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Countries around the world are racing against time to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus. But India has thus far been a poor performer, with only 9.6% of its population receiving a ...9 hours ago
- ‘Fortress Australia’: what are the costs of closing ourselves off to the world?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Kassam, Director, Lowy Institute’s Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program, and Fellow, National Security College’s Futures Council, Australian National University Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on the weekend Australia’s borders will remain closed for the foreseeable future, only reopening “when it ...10 hours ago
- Indonesian police seize Papuan leader Victor Yeimo on ‘treason’ chargesAsia Pacific Report newsdesk A Papuan leader who has been sought by Indonesian police over the 2019 Papua “Spring” uprising, Victor Yeimo, has been arrested and charged with makar (treason, subversion, rebellion), reports CNN Indonesia. Nemangkawi Task Force head Senior Commissioner Iqbal Alqudusy confirmed the arrest, saying it took place ...10 hours ago
- Fiji reports three new community covid cases – two patients recoverBy Talebula Kate in Suva After 1616 tests in the past 24 hours, Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services has reported three new cases of covid-19 infections. Health Secretary Dr James Fong announced this in the daily pandemic briefing held this evening. He said the new cases were all ...10 hours ago
- He Puapua report proposals bogged down in ‘swamp of politics’ANALYSIS: By Meriana Johnsen, It was supposed to chart a new way forward but He Puapua, a report on how the government can uphold tangata whenua rights by giving affect to tino rangatiratanga, has become bogged down in the swamp of politics. New Zealand was one ...10 hours ago
- Samoa Observer: Silence tears down a nationEDITORIAL: By the Samoa Observer editorial board The caretaker Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, thinks the newspaper you hold in your hands is dedicated to trying to “tear down” the Samoan government but the broader economic progress of Samoa. So, reader, are you subsidising borderline treachery by having paid ...10 hours ago
- The Masked Singer NZ power rankings: Fly like a butterfly, sting like a pavlovaThree’s new reality competition debuted this week, featuring singing celebrities disguised as aliens and possums. And brave Tara Ward is attempting to power rank the weirdness. Who is it? Who is it? Who is it underneath the mask? It’s me bitches, me and my 12 best celebrity friends belting out a ...11 hours ago
- Australia Post’s worst nightmare: Christine Holgate to head delivery rival Global ExpressSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Alexander, Adjunct Reseach Fellow (Supply Chains), Curtin University “This is the one thing we didn’t want to happen.” That line – from the satirical British current affairs television program BrassEye – could easily be reverberating through federal government offices this week. ...11 hours ago
- Government urged to rethink public sector pay freeze decision
The government is continuing to defend its decision to restrict wage increases for public sector workers. ...12 hours ago - Petition calls for residency for visa holders and overstayersTwo unions have presented more than 15,000 signatures to two MPs, calling for the government to give residency to long-term migrant workers and over-stayers. ...12 hours ago
- Want to become a space tourist? You finally can — if you have $250,000 and a will to sign your lif...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Steer, Senior Lecturer, ANU College of Law; Mission Specialist, ANU Institute for Space, Australian National University Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space launch company Blue Origin has announced it will sell its first flights into microgravity to the highest bidder. Blue Origin and ...13 hours ago
- Police open investigation into Newsroom
Newsroom is slapped with a full $13,000 order for costs, and is now subject to a police inquiry, over a video story that changed a worrying Oranga Tamariki practice Police have opened a criminal investigation into Newsroom over a documentary published at the end of last year revealing a 'reverse uplift' ...13 hours ago - Want to save the children? How child sexual abuse and human trafficking really workSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Baxter, PhD Candidate in Criminology/Law, researching human trafficking and modern slavery in Australia, Flinders University Millions of kidnapped children are imprisoned in underground tunnels, being sexually abused and tortured by a shadowy global cabal of paedophiles. That, at least, is some ...14 hours ago
- Mounting evidence suggests COVID vaccines do reduce transmission. How does this work?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Juno, Senior research fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Since COVID-19 vaccines began rolling out across the world, many scientists have been hesitant to say they can reduce transmission of the virus. Their primary purpose is to prevent ...14 hours ago
- Wesley Enoch: the 2021 budget must think big and reinvest in the social capital of ideasSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wesley Enoch, Inaugural Indigenous Chair – Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology Big thinking has been unfashionable for too long. Over the past decade, successive leaders have overseen cuts to universities, the arts and public broadcasting. There has also been a rejection ...15 hours ago
- Seasonal migrant workers into New Zealand to increase – ArdernAbout 2400 more migrant workers will be allowed into New Zealand for seasonal horticultural work, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. Watch live. ...15 hours ago
- New Zealand Horticulture Industry Welcomes Government’s Decision To Bring In More Workers From The...The New Zealand horticulture industry has welcomed the Government’s latest move to increase the flow of workers from the Pacific, in support of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. ‘Pacific workers are an integral part of the horticulture ...15 hours ago
- Live: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in post-Cabinet briefingPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern is speaking to media after today's Cabinet meeting. ...15 hours ago
- Five people stabbed at supermarket in Dunedin
Two employees and three others have been stabbed at the Countdown supermarket on Cumberland Street. Police have arrested one person. Countdown spokesperson Kiri Hannafin confirmed five people had been stabbed at the supermarket in Dunedin about 2.30pm. She said two of them were employees. St John Ambulance said all five ...16 hours ago - I have asthma, diabetes or another illness — can I get my COVID vaccine yet?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Yates, Assistant Professor, General Practice, Bond University Australia is currently in Phase 1a and Phase 1b of the COVID vaccine rollout but as a GP, I have had many questions from patients unsure if they’re in those categories or not. One ...17 hours ago
- A step towards independence: Watching Scotland’s election from New ZealandWith first minister Nicola Sturgeon returned to power in a resounding election win this weekend, a second Scottish independence referendum is all but inevitable, writes former Glaswegian (and current Scottish politics nerd) Sarah Paterson-Hamlin.Glasgow isn’t renowned for its hot summers, but 2014 was a scorcher. Knocking doors and speaking to ...17 hours ago
- Flights have resumed between New Zealand and NSW, but the temporary travel pause may not be the lastSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury New Zealand has resumed quarantine-free travel with New South Wales today, even though the Australian state’s government has extended restrictions in greater Sydney for another week. From New Zealand’s perspective, the fact no ...17 hours ago
- State servants cool on pay curbs, despite Robertson eschewing the “freeze” tag – but will they...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson reminded us – in a speech to Auckland business people – about changes to the Public Finance Act which require him to set out the wellbeing objectives that will guide the Government’s Budget decisions this year. The Budget will also reflect the te ao Maori perspective ...18 hours ago - Drop everything, there’s a new poem by Hera Lindsay BirdKeats is well and truly dead and now it’s time to gently take apart Dylan Thomas. We wind up our Going West poetry series with Do Not Go Gentle, a new poem by Hera Lindsay Bird set to a stunner of an animated sunset video by Luke McPake.What’s so bad ...18 hours ago
- Petition Launched: Public Sector Pay Freeze Should Extend To Local CouncilsThe Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition to extend the recently announced public sector pay freeze to local councils. The petition is available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/pay_freeze . Taxpayer Union spokesperson, Louis Houlbrooke said, “The Government’s public ...18 hours ago
- Te Kōtui Reo Taumata Collective, Representing The Marae, Hapū And Iwi Residing Within The Manawat...On behalf of all marae, hapū, and iwi residing within the Manawatū District Council Ward, and under the Te Kōtui Reo Taumata Collective, we hereby seek to express our extreme dismay with the Manawatū District Council’s decision to not support establishment ...19 hours ago
- Dr Moana Jackson Recognised For His National Contributions To Whanau, Hapu And IwiOn 7 May 2021, the National Iwi Chairs forum conferred the inaugural Te Whare Pukenga award to Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa Jackson (Moana Jackson) for his outstanding contributions as an advocate, facilitator and educator for Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Human Rights ...19 hours ago
- Orion demands review of 'scandalous' $38m vaccine register
The Government is officially under fire for its decision to spend $38 million on a Covid vaccination register bought from international multi-billion dollar companies. Orion Health chief executive Ian McCrae today sent a letter to the Auditor-General demanding a full audit review of the Ministry of Health’s procurement process, calling the $38 ...19 hours ago - Political Roundup – The Public Sector Worker Backlash Against LabourOriginally Published at https://democracyproject.nz/2021/05/08/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-public-sector-worker-backlash-against-labour / Is Labour supposed to be the party of labour or of capital? It’s often hard to tell these days, and many in the labour movement and the political left are feeling ...19 hours ago
- New Funding For Self-screening For Women Will Save Lives, Says ProCare, NZ's Largest Primary He...New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation (PHO), ProCare, is delighted with the announcement from Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall that the Government will commit $53 million in Budget 2021 to support the introduction of new cancer ...19 hours ago
- Human Rights Commission Urges Regular Review Of Travel RestrictionsAnd Assistance For Overseas New Z...The Human Rights Commission welcomes theGovernment'slifting of the temporary travelrestrictionfromIndiafor New Zealand citizens, calls for regular review into restrictions that remain for permanent residents,and urges greater ...19 hours ago
- Towards Compostela is a book that will walk with youChloe Blades reviews a travel memoir about a pilgrimage, and invites us to share in her own. I’ve often considered myself something of a holy person. I was seven when my nose bled in the pews of Notre Dame Cathedral. Mum said God was watching and I knew that, between ...20 hours ago
- Grant Robertson Is Squandering His WindfallsThe Finance Minister should be using unexpected revenue windfalls to pay down government debt, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “If someone heavily in debt wins the lotto, any decent financial advisor ...20 hours ago
- Ex-smokers Need To Tell Govt The Key To SmokefreeEx-smokers saved by vaping need to offer some personal insights if Smokefree Aotearoa is to be achieved and before the Government takes some very counter-productive steps, says a leading tobacco harm reduction advocate. “The Government is waving around ...21 hours ago
- Cancer Society Welcomes Government Announcements Of Additional Investment In Cervical Cancer And Bre...Wellington, 9 May 2021 – Cancer Society of New Zealand is pleased to see the Government will invest $53 million to design and implement a new test to detect cervical cancers. The new test for humanpapillomavirus (HPV) is expected to replace the current smear ...21 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – May 10 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s content Public sector pay freeze Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup: The Public sector worker backlash ...22 hours ago
- Finance Minister Grant Robertson: 'Budget 2021 will be a recovery and wellbeing budget'In his second major pre-Budget speech Finance Minister Grant Robertson has defended public service pay measures and says next week's Budget will support the economy while being cautious about debt. ...23 hours ago
- Watch live: Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives pre-Budget speechIn his second major pre-Budget speech Finance Minister Grant Robertson has defended public service pay measures and says next week's Budget will support the economy while being cautious about debt. ...23 hours ago
- Live updates, May 10: Officials rule out extending cannabis amnesty for all chronic illnessesWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for May 10, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz
8.00am: No plans to extend cannabis amnesty for all chronically sick peopleThe government has no plans to extend an amnesty allowing all people with chronic illness to ...
23 hours ago - Global momentum is building for a right to a safe environment. Why is NZ missing?A campaign is moving the United Nations toward recognising a right to a safe environment. Dozens of countries are on-board. Why isn’t New Zealand part of it, asks Sam Bookman.The world is facing multiple environmental crises. Hundreds of animal and plant species are threatened with extinction; deforestation in many parts ...23 hours ago
- Robertson warns of more waves of Covid breaking on economy
The Finance Minister is promising to keep a lid on Government debt, as he manages down expectations of Budget windfalls next week. ...23 hours ago - Taking one for the team: 6 ways our cells can die and help fight infectious diseaseSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgia Atkin-Smith, Research scientist, La Trobe University We have all heard of COVID-19, the flu and bacterial infections. But what is actually happening to our cells when we contract these diseases? Many of our body’s cells don’t live to tell the tale. ...24 hours ago
- Shrill, bossy, emotional: why language matters in the gender debateSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University There has been much debate recently about the way women who work in our federal parliament are treated. This discussion has highlighted that society continues to place very different values on the way women and ...24 hours ago
- A great start, but still not enough: why Victoria’s new climate target isn’t as ambitious as it ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anita Foerster, Senior Lecturer, Monash University In a great start towards net zero emissions by 2050, the Victorian Government recently released their Climate Change Strategy, committing to halving greenhouse emissions by 2030. Victoria’s leadership, alongside commitments from other Australian states and territories, ...24 hours ago
- To understand racism, kids must empathise with its impact — and teachers must embrace discomfortSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niranjan Casinader, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Education, Faculty of Education, Monash University For people who experience racism, the pain sometimes comes as much from words as it does from actions. Indigenous people like Adam Goodes and Latrell Mitchell have spoken of the ...24 hours ago
- US pledge boosts Christchurch Call
As the second anniversary of the Christchurch Call approaches, the pledge by the United States to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online is a significant step. The United States was an obvious missing link when the first summit was held in Paris on May 15 two years ago. In a White House statement on ...24 hours ago - The Bulletin: Scottish independence moves a step closerGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Scottish independence moves a step closer, government revives plan for Fair Pay Agreements, and children in Oranga Tamariki care being strip-searched.We’ll start today’s Bulletin with some fascinating world news, because it could lead to a very significant geopolitical development. Amid local ...1 day ago
- Govt dismisses calls for medicinal cannabis review to be widenedA Ministry of Health document leaked to RNZ shows officials will not even consider extending an amnesty to allow all chronically sick people to use illicit cannabis. ...1 day ago
- The first city of New Zealand literature is Dunedin
Steve Braunias on the biggest week of the year for New Zealand writing Everyone who is anyone in New Zealand writing was at the Dunedin Writers Festival this weekend. Good old Becky Manawatu was there, giving a preview of the book she is writing as a kind of prequel to ...1 day ago - Labour should go bold, and go hard
If only Labour, in Government, would be bolder to address the very issues of inequality that attracted some of its leaders into politics, writes columnist Rachel Peters It is easy to be cynical about politicians, but years ago I decided as a teacher that I would try and maintain positive ...1 day ago - Pivotal problem: Drive for irrigation efficiency backfires for environment
A scientific paper spells out in stark terms the unintended consequences of efficient irrigation in one corner of Canterbury. David Williams reports When former Aucklander Cole Groves, his wife Ginny and her parents bought a dairy farm in Hinds, Mid Canterbury, four years ago it triggered an audit by the ...1 day ago - Labour caught off guard by anger over public service pay freezeThe Detail - Labour's announcement of a public service wage freeze took everyone by surprise. Was it a party taking aim at its traditional support base, or a minister losing control of the narrative? ...1 day ago
- Trump’s legacy for America and its place in the world
Six months on from the election that removed him from office, Donald Trump's shadow remains, at home and abroad. Robert Patman assesses his lasting impact Love or loath him, former president of the United States, Donald Trump, made a significant impact on his country and the world. His four-year period ...1 day ago - How Charlisse Leger-Walker finds calm on centre stage
After just her freshman year, Kiwi basketball star Charlisse Leger-Walker has been ranked among the best college basketballers in the US. She tells Shontelle Montano how she stays zen amidst the din. Charlisse Leger-Walker is used to having all eyes on her. She’s being doing interviews since she was 15 ...1 day ago
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