chris bishop
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Wanted: a new Leader of the Opposition
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, November 30th, 2021 - 70 comments
National needs a new leader of the opposition. The Standard has been leaked a list of the necessary qualifications …
National’s factional problem
Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, November 28th, 2021 - 91 comments
National’s basic problem is that it has three discrete factions, christian conservatives, urban liberals and the country grouping. And no coherent vision to reconcile these totally disparate groupings.
National is being utterly irresponsible
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, November 19th, 2021 - 58 comments
In the middle of a pandemic where the numbers in hospital are increasing and a number of Kiwis have died from a virus that is spreading promising the loosening of current restrictions is the most irresponsible, stupid, foolhardy, idiotic, imbecile thing I could ever expect a political party to do.
Covid and the latest polls
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, November 12th, 2021 - 148 comments
The results of two polls were leaked recently both showing a drop in support for Labour. Clearly the Delta outbreak has rattled confidence. But National has not surged up in support and the Greens have picked up some of the former Labour vote.
The Covid vaccine rollout
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, October 30th, 2021 - 185 comments
Matt Nippert’s in depth article in the Herald this morning provides a well researched deep insight into the Government’s vaccine roll out. And as it progresses the New Zealand response places us mid table and improving in the OECD vaccination comparison and gives us some hope that the Delta outbreak may be controlled.
Time for Auckland to go back to level four?
Written By: - Date published: 7:55 am, October 15th, 2021 - 114 comments
With daily Covid infection rates in Tamaki Makaurau increasing it may be time for the Government to consider a short sharp lockdown to try and arrest this increase and to let vaccination rates improve.
National’s next leader?
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, September 3rd, 2021 - 60 comments
As the damage caused by Judith Collins’ leadership of the National Party intensifies it is inevitable that there will be internal discussions about who should replace her, and soon. And I think the best candidate is clear.
Covid and the media
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, August 29th, 2021 - 54 comments
This week there has been some argy bargy between the Twitterati including the Waitakerati and the media on coverage of Covid in Aotearoa with elements of the media complaining that the criticisms are unjustified. A brief review of some of the offerings this week would suggest otherwise.
Gumming up the works
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, August 28th, 2021 - 53 comments
Last night it was revealed that National and Act had refused to agree to a proposed virtual Parliament sitting where questions could be asked, and instead wanted face to face meetings, even though this would mean a third of the country’s MPs travelling regularly to Wellington from a Covid delta hotspot.
National used to be better than this
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, August 6th, 2021 - 59 comments
Back in the day National used to have a strong urban liberal wing that gave the impression that it was sympathetic to LGBTQI issues. Yesterday that impression was trashed.
Openness and transparency
Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, June 8th, 2021 - 117 comments
On the weekend Andrea Vance gave the Government a bit of a serve about its record on openness and transparency. But a deeper dig into the issue suggests that the cause may have nothing to do with the Government’s preferences and everything to do with the volume of information requests made by the opposition.
Chris Bishop is tilting at Covid windmills
Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, May 26th, 2021 - 32 comments
Right now, in terms of our Covid response, New Zealand is in a unique position. It has no community spread of Covid and its level of restrictions is the most permissive in the world. But this does not stop Chris Bishop from trying to double guess the handling of the pandemic.
About Trevor Mallard
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 pm, May 5th, 2021 - 67 comments
- Trevor Mallard has made a concerted effort to change the tone of Parliament. But last night got caught in a bickering match with National.
The politics of the Covid vaccination roll out
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, April 12th, 2021 - 91 comments
Poor National. Faced with a Government response to Covid that has been superb it is reduced to criticising the Government for not rolling out the Covid vaccine quickly enough.
The Covid India issue
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, April 9th, 2021 - 29 comments
This is a desperately difficult issue. India is currently experiencing a surge in Covid cases. And faced with the prospect of quarantine beds being overrun if current trends continue the Government has taken the step of banning people entering the country if they have been in India during the two weeks prior to travel.
Much ado about nothing
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 13th, 2021 - 18 comments
Chris Bishop is claiming credit for Labour finishing a deal whereby the party rented premises to Parliamentary Services for the use of Gillian Anderson MP at a level well below market rates.
Pandemic to endemic covid-19
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 13th, 2021 - 84 comments
Back in May, I wrote a post “Covid-19: may be endemic“. That is looking like it is more and more likely. The depth of infection in world populations means that recombinant variants are likely. Vaccines and previous immunity will reduce the death rates and infection rates. But won’t stop reinfection. Human behaviour will keep covid-19 as an endemic disease.
Chris Bishop goes woof woof on variant ‘B.1.1.7’
Written By: - Date published: 1:26 pm, December 28th, 2020 - 43 comments
I realise that this would normally be our silly season, but it seems a bit macabre with the northern winter death toll. But nothing really excuses Chris Bishop for being a complete dickhead in barking for immediate offshore testing for travellers from the UK. It is pointless. The government are a bit more sensible. They’re instituting an extra test at our border.
Banning Rambo weapons not a knee-jerk
Written By: - Date published: 5:35 am, March 21st, 2019 - 185 comments
Passing stringent gun controls is far from a knee-jerk reaction to the Christchurch massacre – our politicians of all stripes have procrastinated over this ever since the 1990 Aramoana massacre. We already have the 13 recommendations of the 2017 Law & Order committee that were rejected. Let us at the very least now accept those.
- Is the Māori Caucus So Dominant in Labour?
Journalist Graham Adams recently drew parallels between David Lange in the Fourth Labour Government and Jacinda Ardern in the Sixth, arguing that just as Lange was a hostage to the Rogernomes in his cabinet, Ardern is a hostage to the Māori in her caucus.The parallel Adams is making is not ...8 hours ago - Charlotte Bronte is one irrepressible human spiritby Don Franks It’s a bit like locking up your place and flying to another country, previously unseen. A country that fascinates you. You work your way in, trying to make sense of the new surroundings. Along with some things that seem familiar, you’re struck by unexpected sights, sounds, smells. ...9 hours ago
- Incentives work againBack in July the government introduced an incentive scheme for electric vehicles. So how's it going? While the official statistics aren't in yet, Stuff seems to have got them, and they look pretty good: The November sales figures are in, and battery electric vehicles are closing in on the ...15 hours ago
- When Christopher Became “Chris”.So, the first polling results on Christopher Luxon’s leadership of the National party are now available. The polling I refer to is not a public opinion poll but the private polling conducted by the National party itself. All parties conduct such polling, usually by means of focus groups, and they ...18 hours ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 3 December 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Ross Henderson, Organiser, E tū Union “The NZ Politics Daily *is a wonderful resource that is formatted to enable readers to instantly locate news and opinions in a quick and efficient manner. Thanks for all the hard work producing such an enjoyable and up to date ...21 hours ago
- Onward Luxon’s Soldiers (Sung to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers)Marching As To War?Onward Luxon’s soldiers,Marching to class war,With the lust for profit,Going on before.Chris the new ringmaster,Leads against the foe;Forward into battleGoes this C.E.O!Onward Luxon’s soldiers,Marching to class war,With the lust for profit,Going on before.From Luxon’s religionVoters may yet flee;Surely someone’s focused-groupedHis Christianity?Bottom lips may quiver,When the news is ...23 hours ago
- Can Luxon “Reimagine Capitalism” – Like Muldoon?Outflanking The Socialists: Because there really isn’t any other way that National can win. Christopher Luxon, like Rob Muldoon (above) needs to go fishing where there are fish to catch. Using what for bait? Simple. A solemn promise to halt the upward redistribution of wealth among the sort of highly-educated, ...23 hours ago
- Capital Notions – acceptedNew story acceptance today.
My 4,600-word ‘Capital Notions,’ has been accepted for the Winter 2021 edition of Midnight Manuscripts Quarterly. It’s one of those pieces that is a tad hard to categorise. It ... 1 day ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48, 2021117 articles in 88 journals by 779 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Relative humidity gradients as a key constraint on terrestrial water and energy fluxes Kim et al. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Open Access pdf 10.31223/x59880 Improving Ground Heat Flux Estimation: Considering the Effect ...1 day ago
- Media Link: “A View from Afar” year-end review.Selwyn Manning and I wrapped up this year’s “A View from Afar” podcasts with a review of the past year and some speculation about what is to come. We meander a bit but the themes are clear. You can find the show here. ...2 days ago
- An embodiment of our problemsWhen Christopher Luxon was anointed leader of the National party, the first thing I did was look up how many houses he owned in Parliament's Register Of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests 2021. The answer is seven, suggesting that when it comes to housing, one of Aotearoa's big three policy ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the elusive charms of Christopher LuxonWell, the first 36 hours of viewing the Christopher Luxon selfie were always going to be the best, before the repetitions set in. We get it, already. He’s an extroverted/big ego/high achieving/God fearing/country music lovin’/family man who is not at all averse to mansplaining to little ladies like RNZ’s Kathryn ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 2 December 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Andy Newman, Director, Strategy and Planning, Wellington Faculty of Science, Victoria University of Wellington: “The NZ Politics Daily service allows me to keep on top of the latest developments across a wide spectrum of the political landscape. The service means I don’t need to spend time trawling ...2 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: Bridges isn’t the oneSimon Bridges is “older and wiser” but he still failed to read the room. Rather than accept the judgement of his colleagues last year, he set out to prove them wrong. Bridges rationalised his pursuit of the leadership as noble self-sacrifice. He didn’t convince many. Judith Collins stabbed him in ...2 days ago
- The Fellowship Of The Upper Room.Render Unto Caesar: What kind of Christian would attempt to persuade his brothers and sisters that the moral imperatives of their faith must not, under any circumstances, be given practical expression in the flesh-and-blood world they inhabit? To suggest, as Luxon does, that faith and politics can – and should ...2 days ago
- Current and future generations must flourish: Time for a long-term and global perspective on pandemi...Dr Matt Boyd & Prof Nick Wilson* (Syndicated from Adapt Research’s Blog Site) In this blog post we cover the following: The recent United Nations report ‘Our Common Agenda’ which calls for solidarity, concern for future generations, and collaborative action on global risks including pandemics. The newly mandated Long-term ...2 days ago
- FLOATER: A Tool-Kit for evaluating ClaimsThis is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. Please see this overview to find links to other reposts from Thinking is Power. ...2 days ago
- More solarThe other day I posted about the renewable energy challenge if Aotearoa is to meet its climate change goals, arguing that we can do it. Today, Christchurch Airport has stepped up, providing another big chunk of what we need to get to a greener 2035, in the form of a ...3 days ago
- When will we follow Barbados?Barbados became a republic last night, ending nearly 400 years of British colonialism: After 396 years, the sun has set on the British monarchy’s reign over the Caribbean island of Barbados, with a handover ceremony at midnight on Monday marking the birth of the world’s newest republic. As the ...3 days ago
- What Else Do We Know About Luxon?What do we know so far about Christopher (or is it to be “Chris”?) Luxon? We have so far been allowed to know only that he was chief executive of Air New Zealand, that he is an evangelical Christian (that is, a proselytising, and not just your everyday,) Christian, and ...3 days ago
- Something is missing from this pictureYesterday the National Party picked a new leader, who seems indistinguishable from the last-but-one. Today, Stuff has an article exploring where he stands on the "big issues", which looks at "faith and politics", "identity and housing", "three Waters and He Puapua", and "health and social investment". What's missing? Just climate ...3 days ago
- Chris Luxon – Day Onea.image2.image-link.image2-549-728 { display: inline; padding-bottom: 75.41208791208791%; padding-bottom: min(75.41208791208791%, 549px); width: 100%; height: 0; } a.image2.image-link.image2-549-728 img { max-width: 728px; max-height: 549px; } "New Zealand is over it, the National Party members are over it, and the caucus is over it. So we want to turn the page and ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 1 December 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Leo Milani, Policy Advisor, Waimate District Council: “NZ Politics Daily offers an indispensable survey, and methodical analysis of, NZ media’s coverage of the most pertinent political issues of the day. Its format, content, and quality renders it a vital tool not only to the general reader, but also ...3 days ago
- 2021 Reading Log: NovemberCompleted reads for November: Unfinished Tales, by J.R.R. TolkienMurder in Mesopotamia, by Agatha ChristieCreative Metal, by Len GaleThe Man in the Brown Suit, by Agatha ChristieEndless Night, by Agatha ChristieLord Edgware Dies, by Agatha Christie ...3 days ago
- A strong start – but can Luxon last?The first thing Chris Luxon did publicly after being elected as the 15th leader of the National Party was thank his colleagues. It was the proper thing to do. For it is only thanks to the cloak and dagger politics that they’ve engaged in over the past three years that ...3 days ago
- Air New Zealand flight attendant named CEO after one year on jobA 51-year-old flight attendant has completed a swift and stunning rise to CEO of Air New Zealand. New Zealand’s national carrier, Air New Zealand, has expressed great enthusiasm in announcing its new CEO today: 51-year-old Nathan Guy, a flight attendant who has spent about 1200 hours on the job. Guy ...4 days ago
- A true storyby Daphna Whitmore In a recent debate on free speech I closed with a true story. A woman I know – a writer – tweeted a joke in response to a man having just insulted her on the platform. The joke featured some violent imagery, but it also featured absurdist ...4 days ago
- Māui Tikitiki a Tāranga inspires Māui Hudson’s research journeyMāui Hudson says the characteristics of his namesake, the Māori diety Māui Tikitiki a Tāranga, enables and inspires him to confidently walk into new spaces of research. He hails from Te Whakatōhea, Ngāruahine and Ngāpuhi. Māui is a trained physiotherapist but is well-known for his leadership in creating guidelines and ...4 days ago
- Driven to help the planet and humanity thriveMihi mai ki a Dr Te Kīpa Kēpa Morgan, a professional engineer, who’s inspiring a different value system that he says can help humanity thrive and safeguard the sustainability of our planet. Kēpa affiliates to Ngāti Pikiao (Te Arawa), Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tahu. For more than a decade, Kēpa’s main ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on why an attack on Iran is back on the agendaReportedly, Christopher Luxon has the edge on Simon Bridges in National’s leadership contest although there is no firm evidence for that hunch. So, one hesitates about joining a media echo chamber that amplifies Luxon’s chances ahead of the 3pm caucus meeting today. You know how it goes: Luxon doesn’t quite ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 30 November 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Dr David Bromell, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies: “While working as a public policy advisor, NZ Politics Daily was a daily “must read” as it alerted me to wider public policy issues than workplace-based media scanning, which generally covered only subject areas that related directly to ...4 days ago
- The ocean is our greatest climate regulator. It must be a stronger part of climate policy and actio...Sarah Seabrook, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Elisabeth Holland, The University of the South Pacific; Lisa Levin, University of California San Diego, and Natalya Gallo, University of Bergen The German linguist Heinrich Zimmer once described the ocean as “limitless and immortal … the beginning and end of ...4 days ago
- Can genetically engineered seeds prevent a climate-driven food crisis?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington When John Boelts sows acres of cotton seed on his farm in Yuma, Arizona, he does so knowing that the fields will be free of an invasive pest called pink bollworm. For nearly a century, the small pink striped ...4 days ago
- The Simple Thing That’s Hard To Do.4 days ago
- A Stay of Execution: The National Library of New Zealand Caves to AuthorsWell, well. Looks like Christmas has arrived early, with a victory over vandalism. You may recall this little furore about the future of the National Library of New Zealand’s Overseas Published Collection: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/lack-of-public-service-announcement-the-national-library-of-new-zealand-internet-archive-and-alleged-digital-piracy/ Well, those outrageous plans to digitise and pirate copyrighted works have got enough negative attention ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: We can do it!RNZ reports on the other story to come out of the government's emissions budget Cabinet paper: the scale of the changes we need to make: The massive scale of the nationwide changes needed quickly to cut climate gas emissions is laid bare in newly-released government documents. [...] The number ...5 days ago
- Climate Change: Cold feet?Ministry for the Environment has dumped more cabinet papers related to its recent initial consultation on the emissions reduction plan. The key document is an August cabinet paper on Emissions Budgets for 2022-2025, 2026-2030 and 2031-2035, which made the dubious in-principle decision to increase the first period's emissions budget (which ...5 days ago
- Rating The Contenders.There Can Be Only One: Some might ask why National MPs would install yet another “successful business person” at the helm of their party? Isn’t one Todd Muller enough? Especially when Simon Bridges could become the first National politician of Māori descent to become Prime Minister.LET’S GET SOMETHING out of ...5 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on Omicron, and the Bridges/Luxon dilemmaAt this early stage, the Omicron variant seems to be more infectious, and more able to bypass the protection offered by vaccines and by the antibodies generated by previous infection. The fact that it is being spread around the globe by travellers who were all presumably fully immunised and had ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 29 November 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Dr Kevin Moore, Associate Professor in Psychology & Tourism, Lincoln University: “For me, the big advantage of NZ Politics Daily is the breadth of opinion and sources it gathers. Together. There is always a mix of news reporting, news analysis, opinion pieces and blog posts. That breadth ...5 days ago
- National is still very much the same Party even without Collins leading it… that’s the real issu...Judith Collins regarded Thatcher as “a personal hero” of hers. But like her hero though, it took the UK Conservative Party and their ideological counterparts here to get rid of both of them, from the inside. There’s a sort of bizarre symmetry to that really. Both were rather messy ...5 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, November 21, 2021 through Sat, November 27, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: To Breed or Not to Breed?, The Vaccine for Fake News, Ten ways to confront the climate ...5 days ago
- A professor without honour in his own countryMichael Corballis just three months before his death appeared in an interview on the Hui with Mihirangi Forbes. She made no effort to conceal her disdain for his defence of science and proceeded to lecture him on not knowing enough about mātauranga Maori to comment on it and accused him ...5 days ago
- Businessman – and Political NoviceThe drums are beating – see Heather Du Plessis-Allan in today’s Herald – for Christopher Luxon’s bid to become National’s new (and latest) leader. It is conceded that he is a political tyro but – such is National’s current plight – it is suggested that he is a risk worth ...6 days ago
- No, Elizabeth Stuart Would Not Have Stopped the English Civil War (Probably)As you might have noticed, A Phuulish Fellow is a fairly eclectic blog. Even an organic one. I have my interests, and write about them as the fit takes me. And sometimes I stumble across an article I feel the need to comment on. Today, I ran across a ...6 days ago
- Rumour Has It: A Númenórean Character List?Today we have another Amazon rumour on our hands. And for a change, it is not coming out of Fellowship of Fans. No, instead we have the following tweet doing the rounds, ostensibly listing (mostly) Númenórean characters and their code names. It’s an interesting leak, if true. And that’s ...1 week ago
- Covid as WarriorsThe book I am currently working on – tentative title ‘In Open Seas’ – looks at the current and future New Zealand. One chapter describes the policy towards Covid using the trope of warfare. It covers an important period in our history but show how policy evolves and why, as ...1 week ago
- COVID-19: the B.1.1.529 variant – what do we know?There’s a lot of news about a new variant originally reported in southern Africa. Early signs have prompted calls for immediate precautionary blocks on travel from the region to restrict its spread. The WHO has called an emergency conference on this variant. Here’s a round-up of what we know so ...1 week ago
- National Party board denies it unanimously agreed to Collins’ Faustian bargain with SatanSources close to party president Peter Goodfellow say he was totally blindsided by Collins’ claims he was party to this particular satanic ritual. National Party president Peter Goodfellow is today issuing a strong denial on behalf of the party’s board, saying they did not, at any point, agree to the ...1 week ago
- The cost of optimismYesterday the National Party imploded in a messy knife-fight that cost it its leader and probably one of the contenders. So naturally, the government has taken the opportunity to do a dump of its pandemic advice, including the Cabinet papers on its controversial decisions to repeatedly lower the Auckland alert ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on National’s less than stellar choicesAmid all the jostling in the National caucus ranks, spare a thought for Andrew Bayly. Who? Well might you ask. Plucked from obscurity by Judith Collin, elevated from number 18 to number 3 in the caucus rankings and given the Finance portfolio – a role in which he has been ...1 week ago
- Are New Zealand’s universities doing enough to define the limits of academic freedom?Matheson Russell, University of Auckland The news last week that University of Auckland public health researcher Simon Thornley was retracting a co-authored paper about supposed vaccination risks during pregnancy raised deeper questions about the limits of academic freedom. Thornley’s own head of department had called for the paper to ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 26 November 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Jean Drage, Political scientist specialist in local government: “With 78 local authorities and central government currently intent on reform, local government is a challenging area of research to keep on top of. Thank goodness for Bryce’s NZ’s Politics Daily. It is a gem, especially as it also ...1 week ago
- Josh Van Veen: Bridges is not the oneSimon Bridges failed to bluff Judith Collins out of the leadership. A campaign to rehabilitate his image began shortly after the election and culminated in the publication of a memoir in August. There were persistent rumours of a deal with rival Christopher Luxon and MPs from the ‘liberal’ wing of ...1 week ago
- Smokefree cars – an important step towards protecting children from the hazards of smokingRichard Edwards, Jude Ball, Janet Hoek, George Thomson, Nick Wilson* On November 28 new legislation to protect children from smoking and vaping in cars will come into force. This blog sets out the background and rationale for the new law, and discusses implementation, evaluation and the next steps to protect ...1 week ago
- Judith's Last Stand.1 week ago
- Act’s Precarious Ascendancy.On The Lookout: It is easy to imagine how closely Seymour has been watching the National Opposition for the slightest sign of a Clark figure emerging. A respected politician, who enjoys broad support across the party and, much more importantly, who impresses the ordinary centre-right voter as having what it ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47, 2021104 articles by 574 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Delayed impacts of Arctic sea-ice loss on Eurasian severe cold winters Jang et al. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2021jd035286 Observations of climate change, effects Divergent responses of terrestrial carbon use efficiency to climate variation from 2000 ...1 week ago
- Labour’s Eyes Wide Shut To “Unruly Tenants”.1 week ago
- Is the mob coming for Charles Darwin?Richard Dawkins recently noted the giants of the past are being sanctimoniously judged by nonentities of the present whose only qualification is still being alive to do so. How will the future judge our own time when we are not around? Peter Franklin from Unherd examines whether the woke can ...1 week ago
- Blowing a Hole in Your Own Wall: Idiotic Tampering with MIQManaged Isolation/Quarantine has been a fact of life for New Zealand for eighteen months. It’s not popular – there are only so many spaces available at any given time, and the process is famously opaque – but it is the key to saving New Zealand from rampant Coronavirus. That, ...1 week ago
- Now Labour wants secret trialsToday, the government introduced the Security Information in Proceedings Legislation Bill to the House. The Bill would allow the government to use classified information in civil or criminal proceedings and keep it secret from the other party. So people suing the government for human rights abuses could lose, and defendants ...1 week ago
- The end of a toxic leader1 week ago
- A transformative government in GermanyBack in September Germans went to the polls, and handed the politicians a tough job, with no easy majorities for anyone. The Social Democrats, Free Democrats, and Greens agreed to work together in a "traffic light" coalition, but given their political differences (its basicly ACT/Greens/Labour), expectations for real change were ...1 week ago
- Political HarakiriThe National party must always have known that they were taking a risk when they elected Judith Collins as leader. There were, after all, good reasons why they repeatedly declined to accept her candidature when she offered herself – as she frequently did. She was always an inappropriate person to ...1 week ago
- Thanksgiving advice, 2021: How to deal with climate change-denying Uncle PeteThis is a re-post from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Richard Somerville “Birds of a feather flock together,” so I am sure that nearly all of those reading this article accept the main findings of climate science. Yet many people don’t. Instead, they believe a variety of climate ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on the demotion of Simon BridgesSo Simon Bridges has been bounced from the front bench and stripped of his shadow portfolio responsibilities for the crudely “inappropriate” comments that he allegedly made to a female colleague, Jacqui Dean – and personally apologised for – about five years ago. After years of mocking Labour for its supposed ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 25 November 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Dr Rosemary Wette, Associate Professor, Applied Linguistics, University of Auckland: “I’ve been browsing regularly through NZ Politics Daily for several months now. It gives me access to a range of views on current issues (helpfully organised by topic) that I wouldn’t otherwise have time to look up, or ...1 week ago
- The bizarre case of the Royal Society investigating academics defending scienceThe Royal Society has begun a disciplinary investigation against a group of academics. The academics were defending science and in the past would have expected support from the Royal Society. The Free Speech Union has launched a campaign to defend the academics and academic freedom. Māori professor under investigation for ...1 week ago
- Ian Powell: Unionism and nursing in New ZealandIn the around 35 years I worked for unions (over 30 with the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and earlier with the New Zealand Educational Institute) I often cogitated over the distinction between unions and unionism. They are intertwined but not inseparable. I associate unionism with collective consciousness able to ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Today’s constitutional disgrace in ParliamentThis Government has a problem with urgency. Critics from both left and right have long complained about their lack of urgency on issues such as climate change, housing, and inequality. Likewise, in terms of the Covid response, there’s been a chorus of criticism that Labour has been complacent and sluggish ...1 week ago
- Vaping needs much tighter regulation as we approach Smokefree Aotearoa 2025: Two new studiesNick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Jennifer Summers, Driss Ait Ouakrim, Andrew Waa, Richard Edwards, Tony Blakely* Two recent studies provide new insights into the impact vaping may have on public health. The first estimates that use of modern vaping devices could be around a third as harmful to health as smoking. ...1 week ago
- Strange Defeat: A Guest Post By Dr. Chris Harris.1 week ago
- More than 147km – the transformative potential of the Wellington bike network planFeature image by Luke Pilkinton-Ching, University of Otago Wellington Caroline Shaw, Anja Mizdrak, Ryan Gage* Wellington City Council is currently consulting on a cycle network for Wellington. This is a big deal. WCC are proposing a 147km cycle network around the city, the vast majority of which is new. ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 24 November 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Liz Brown, Senior communications advisor, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists: “The NZ Politics Daily is a fabulous resource providing a comprehensive one stop shop on what’s making news and how stories are being covered. I look forward to seeing it pop into my inbox every morning.” Anyone can sign ...1 week ago
My 4,600-word ‘Capital Notions,’ has been accepted for the Winter 2021 edition of Midnight Manuscripts Quarterly. It’s one of those pieces that is a tad hard to categorise. It ... 
- Housing legislation needs further changesThe Green Party welcomes changes Parliament’s Environment Select Committee has recommended to Labour and National’s housing legislation but says further improvements need to be made. ...15 hours ago
- No new mines: It’s time to uphold your promiseThe Green Party has launched a campaign calling on the Minister for Conservation, Kiritapu Allan and Minister for Energy, Megan Woods to fulfil a promise the Prime Minister made in 2017 to ban new mines on conservation land. ...2 days ago
- Support needed for Auckland families and communities, not just tourismThe Green Party welcomes the additional support for Auckland this summer but said Labour needs to do more to ease the hardship many families in Tāmaki Makaurau are experiencing right now. ...3 days ago
- What is the traffic light system? Your questions answeredWe’re taking the next steps in our COVID response, with our plan to safely and carefully reopen. The COVID Protection Framework has been designed to protect lives and livelihoods while ensuring we can do more of what we love. New Zealand’s move into the framework, on Friday 3 December, marks ...4 days ago
- The next steps in our COVID-19 response planOver the past two years, keeping Kiwis safe from COVID-19 has been a key focus of the Government. As we move into a new phase of our COVID response, the traffic light system, protecting lives and livelihoods remains our priority. ...1 week ago
- Green Party seeks post-enactment review for COVID BillThe Green Party is calling on Labour to commit to a review of the COVID legislation that will pass through Parliament today under urgency. ...1 week ago
- Test and refine COVID traffic light system firstThe Green Party says Labour should test and refine the COVID Protection Framework before opening the Auckland border. ...2 weeks ago
- Auckland border should remain in place for nowThe Green Party says the Labour Government is making a mistake by committing to opening the Auckland border before vulnerable communities are ready. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt must expand drug harm reduction initiatives nationwideThe Green Party is calling on the Government to roll out the successful drug harm reduction programme Te Ara Oranga nationwide, going further than the Eastern Bay of Plenty extension announced today. ...2 weeks ago
- David McLean appointed as KiwiRail chairDavid McLean has been appointed as Chair of KiwiRail Holdings Ltd, the Minister for State Owned Enterprises Dr David Clark and Minister of Finance Grant Robertson announced today. “Minister Clark and I are confident that David’s extensive business knowledge and leadership experience, including his time as former Chief Executive and ...15 hours ago
- New Ambassador to Turkey announcedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Zoe Coulson-Sinclair as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Turkey. “Aotearoa New Zealand and Turkey’s relationship is one of mutual respect and underpinned by our shared Gallipoli experience,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “Turkey is also a generous ANZAC Day host and has ...15 hours ago
- Announcement of new Consul-General in GuangzhouForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Rachel Crump as New Zealand’s next Consul-General in Guangzhou, China. “China is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant relationships – it is our largest trading partner, and an influential regional and global actor,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “As the capital of ...16 hours ago
- Government marks International Day of Persons with DisabilitiesThe Government joins the disabled community of Aotearoa New Zealand in marking and celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Minister for Disabilty Issues Carmel Sepuloni said. The theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, ...17 hours ago
- Deputy Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, and Advisory panel member appointedPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the appointments of Graeme Speden as the Deputy Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, and Ben Bateman as a member of the Inspector-General’s Advisory Panel. “These are significant roles that assist the Inspector-General with independent oversight of New Zealand’s intelligence agencies,” Jacinda Ardern said. “While ...17 hours ago
- Five million COVID-19 tests processedAssociate Minister of Health, Dr Ayesha Verrall has congratulated testing teams right around New Zealand for reaching the five million tests milestone. Today, an additional 31,780 tests were processed, taking the total since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to 5,005,959. “This really is an incredible and sustained team ...18 hours ago
- Funding for extra ICU capacityCare for the sickest New Zealanders is getting a major boost from the Government, with plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on expanding intensive care-type services, Health Minister Andrew Little announced today. “Through good planning, we have avoided what the COVID-19 pandemic has done in some countries, where ...23 hours ago
- “THE LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF NEW ZEALAND’S FIGHT AGAINST COVID.”Speech to the New Zealand Centre for Public Law Tēnā koutou katoa Thank you for providing this opportunity to speak with you today as Attorney General. I’m here to talk about the constitutional consequences of Covid -19. I love the law. The way it exists with the consent of the ...2 days ago
- The legal and constitutional implications of New Zealand’s fight against COVIDSpeech to the New Zealand Centre for Public Law Tēnā koutou katoa Thank you for providing this opportunity to speak with you today as Attorney General. I’m here to talk about the constitutional consequences of Covid -19. I love the law. The way it exists with the consent of the ...2 days ago
- Pharmac Review interim report releasedHealth Minister Andrew Little has released an interim report by an independent panel reviewing the national pharmaceuticals-buying agency Pharmac. Pharmac was established in 1993 and is responsible for purchasing publicly funded medicines for New Zealanders, including those prescribed by GPs or administered in hospitals. The review, chaired by former Consumer ...2 days ago
- Appointment to Network for Learning boardFormer MP Clare Curran has been appointed to the board of Crown company Network for Learning (N4L), Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. Hon Clare Curran served as a Member of Parliament for Dunedin South from 2008-2010. During this time, she held a number of ministerial portfolios including Broadcasting, Communications and ...2 days ago
- Putting home ownership within reach of Pacific AotearoaPacific community groups and organisations will get tools to help them achieve home ownership with the implementation of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) Pacific Housing Initiative, said Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio. In July 2021, MPP launched the Pacific Community Housing Provider Registration Support programme and the Pacific ...2 days ago
- Coastal shipping will help keep New Zealand’s supply chain buoyantTransport Minister Michael Wood today welcomed the release of the Coastal Shipping Investment Approach State-of-Play report as an important step towards a more sustainable coastal shipping sector, which will further diversify New Zealand’s supply chain. “This Government is committed to strengthening our domestic supply chain by making coastal shipping a ...2 days ago
- Response to Human Rights Commission's reports into violence towards disable peopleTēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Thank you for that introduction Hemi and thank you for inviting me to respond on behalf of Government to the release of these two important reports (Whakamanahia Te Tiriti, Whakahaumarutia te Tangata -Honour the Treaty, Protect the Person and Whakamahia te Tūkino kore ...2 days ago
- Law change strengthens petroleum decommissioning regulationPetroleum permit and licence holders operating in New Zealand will now have an explicit statutory requirement to carry out and fund the decommissioning of oil and gas fields after a new law was given Royal assent today, says Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods. Once in effect The Crown ...2 days ago
- New Zealand Response to assist peace and stability in Solomon IslandsThe New Zealand government has announced that it will deploy Defence Force and Police personnel to Honiara to help restore peace and stability. “New Zealand is committed to its responsibilities and playing its part in upholding regional security,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “We are deeply concerned by the recent ...2 days ago
- Continued growth in volume of new home consentsIn the year ended October 2021, 47,715 new homes were consented, up 26 per cent from the October 2020 year. In October 2021, 4,043 new dwellings were consented Canterbury’s new homes consented numbers rose 31% to higher than post-earthquake peak. New home consents continue to reach remarkable levels of growth, ...3 days ago
- Saddle up for summer with cycle trail fundingNew investment will keep the best of New Zealand’s cycle trails in top condition as regions prepare to welcome back Kiwi visitors over summer and international tourists from next year. “Cycle tourism is one of the most popular ways to see the country ‘off the beaten track’ but the trails ...3 days ago
- New Zealand provides additional funding to COVAX for vaccine deliveryForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced additional funding will be provided to COVAX to support vaccine delivery in developing countries. “New Zealand remains cognisant of the dangers of COVID-19, especially as new variants continue to emerge. No one is safe from this virus until we all are and this ...3 days ago
- COVID-19 Community fund providing support for 160 organisations focused on women and girlsMinister for Women Jan Tinetti today announced financial support will be allocated to the 160 successful applicants for the COVID-19 Community Fund, to support organisations helping women/wāhine and girls/kōtiro in Aotearoa New Zealand affected by the pandemic. “COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on women around the world including in ...3 days ago
- Government delivers reactivation package as Aucklanders reconnect for summerA new support package will help revive economic, social and cultural activities in our largest city over summer, and ensure those in hardship also get relief. The Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni and the Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash have announced a Reactivating Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland ...3 days ago
- Mobile services and broadband come to Chatham Islands for first timeWorld class mobile and broadband services have been switched on for the 663 residents of the Chatham Islands, Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, David Clark and Minister for Economic and Regional Development, Stuart Nash announced today. “This eagerly awaited network will provide fast broadband and mobile services to ...3 days ago
- Crown accounts reflect strong economy amid pandemicThe Government’s financial accounts continue to reflect an economy that has performed better than expected, despite the latest Delta COVID-19 outbreak. The Crown accounts for the four months to the end of October factors in the improved starting position for the new financial year. Core Crown tax revenue was $2.5 ...3 days ago
- Applications open for new 2021 Resident VisaThe first round of applications for New Zealand’s new 2021 Resident visa open today (6am). “This one-off pathway provides certainty for a great many migrant families who have faced disruption because of COVID-19 and it will help retain the skills New Zealand businesses need to support the economic recovery,” Minister ...3 days ago
- More Vietnam Veterans to receive compensation for Agent Orange ExposureMinister for Veterans, the Hon Meka Whaitiri announced today that two new conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure have been added to the Prescribed Conditions List. Under the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Crown and representatives of Vietnam veterans and the Royal New Zealand RSA. Vietnam veterans in ...4 days ago
- Government commits to international effort to ban and regulate killer robotsMinister of Disarmament and Arms Control Phil Twyford announced today that New Zealand will push for new international law to ban and regulate autonomous weapons systems (AWS), which once activated can select and engage targets without further human intervention. “While the evidence suggests fully autonomous weapons systems are not yet ...4 days ago
- New freedom camping rules – right vehicle, right placeTougher freedom camping laws will be introduced to prevent abuse which has placed an unfair burden on small communities and damaged our reputation as a high quality visitor destination. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has confirmed that new legislation will be introduced to Parliament following an extensive round of public consultation ...4 days ago
- Government invests to support a classic Kiwi summerVaccinated New Zealanders can look forward to Kiwi summer events with confidence, while artists and crew will have more certainty, following the launch of details of the Arts and Culture Event Support Scheme, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “The Government recognises that the arts and ...4 days ago
- Grace period for expired driver licences cruises into 2022Due to the ongoing Delta outbreak and extended lockdowns, all New Zealand driver licences and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will now be valid until 31 May 2022, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. “This further extension to the validity of driver licenses recognises that ...4 days ago
- Delivered: 1,000 extra transitional homesA further 1,000 transitional homes delivered New housing development starts in Flaxmere, Hastings The Government has delivered the next 1,000 transitional housing places it promised, as part of its work to reduce homelessness. Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods is marking the milestone in Hastings at a new development that includes ...4 days ago
- Traffic light levels announcedThe levels at which different parts of New Zealand will move forward into the COVID-19 Protection Framework this Friday have been announced. Northland, Auckland, Taupō and Rotorua Lakes Districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki Districts, Gisborne District, Wairoa District, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu Districts will move in at Red The rest of ...5 days ago
- Financial support to move to traffic light systemA new transition payment will be made available particularly for affected businesses in Auckland, Waikato and Northland to acknowledge the restrictions they have faced under the higher Alert Levels. Transition payment of up to $24,000 as businesses move into traffic light system Leave Support Scheme and Short Term Absence Payment ...5 days ago
- New Ambassador to Russia announcedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Sarah Walsh as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Russia. “Aotearoa New Zealand and Russia have a long-standing relationship, engaging on a range of regional and global interests including disarmament and Antarctica issues. We also work together as members of the East ...5 days ago
- New Permanent Representative to the UN announcedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Carolyn Schwalger as Permanent Representative to the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. “Aotearoa New Zealand is a founding member of the UN and we have worked hard to ensure our stance on human rights, ...5 days ago
- Further COVID-19 economic support for Cook Islands and Fiji announcedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced a further package of support for the Cook Islands and Fiji for COVID-19 economic support and recovery. “Aotearoa New Zealand remains committed to supporting our Pacific fanau and vuvale to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 on their economies, and move towards long-term ...6 days ago
- New law will clear the air for tamariki in vehiclesFrom today, it’s illegal to smoke or vape in most vehicles carrying children aged under 18 years old - whether the vehicle is moving or not. “Second-hand smoke poses an unacceptable risk to our tamariki and rangatahi,” Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall said. “We know children in vehicles ...6 days ago
- Nine countries designated very high riskNine southern African countries are being added to the very high risk countries list following public health advice around the newly discovered COVID-19 variant Omicron, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said. This afternoon, a public health risk assessment was carried out to assess the emerging evidence and any risk to ...6 days ago
- Foreign Affairs Minister concludes final stage of world tripForeign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today departed North America to return home to Aotearoa, concluding the last stage of her 17-day world trip. The final leg of her trip saw her visit the United States of America and Canada for a number of high-level discussions. While in Washington D.C., ...6 days ago
- Milestone launch of Pacific Languages UnitToday’s official launch of the Pacific Languages Unit is a milestone for our Pacific communities, the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio said. The Pacific Languages Unit brings together a new set of language supports within the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to provide advice, commission research, maintain standards, promote ...7 days ago
- Public Health Lecture – University of OtagoPublic Health - Lessons from New Zealand’s COVID-19 response and opportunities for the future E nga mana, E nga reo, E nga iwi. Tēna koutou katoa. Ka huri ki nga mana whenua o te rohe nei. Tēna koutou. He mihi hoki ki a tatou kua tau mai nei I raro I ...1 week ago
- Eliminating Māori inequities in Covid-19 outcomesAs the pandemic races towards an unenviable two-year milestone, the Otago Global Health Institute’s Covid-19 Masterclass Series is bringing together a network of experts to discuss key Covid-19 topics. We'll be running a piece daily until December 5. The impact of the current and likely future waves of Covid-19 ...41 mins ago
- Transitory inflation retires but does not recedeHis reappointment as conductor of the world’s monetary orchestra safely in the bag, US Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell let us know that the current bout of “transitory” inflation was a little more than that. “It is probably a good time to retire that word”, he told the world. ...5 hours ago
- View from the Hill: Albanese’s 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 has some political coverSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Labor’s “Powering Australia” climate policy, released on Friday, is carefully calibrated to the politics. Anthony Albanese described it as “modest”, declaring “we do not pretend that it is a radical policy”. It is indeed risk ...8 hours ago
- Taxpayers’ Union Promotes The World’s Most Dangerous Addictive DrugThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is effectively promoting substance abuse, says the car review website dogandlemon.com . Dogandlemon.com editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, say calls by the Taxpayers’ Union to ...9 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid19: Phases of the Pandemic in Different CountriesAnalysis by Keith Rankin. The following charts break the pandemic (23 months total; 21 months of mortality outside of China) into three 7-month periods: early, middle (covers the northern winter), and recent (mainly delta). The countries included are those which report ‘total deaths’ on a weekly basis. Most of these ...11 hours ago
- Platée reigns supreme on the Sydney operatic stageSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniela Kaleva, Program Manager, Researcher Development, Deakin University Pinchgut Opera/Brett Boardman Review: Platée, directed by Neil Armfiled, Pinchgut Opera French master composer and theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) created the opera Platée for the wedding of Louis, Dauphin of France, son ...11 hours ago
- Pharmac should brace for a dose of medicine to perk up its Treaty performance and (all going well) l...Monitoring the Ministers A raft of appointments has been announced over the past 24 hours – an ambassador to Turkey, a consul-general to Guangzhou, a chair for KiwiRail, a deputy inspector-general of intelligence and security and an advisory panel for the same outfit. Oh – and remember Clare Curran? The former ...12 hours ago
- Labor’s 2030 climate target betters the Morrison government, but Australia must go much further, m...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wesley Morgan, Research Fellow, Griffith Asia Institute and Climate Council researcher, Griffith University The Labor opposition has pledged to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 43% this decade based on 2005 levels, claiming the plan will create jobs, cut power bills, boost ...13 hours ago
- The Week in Politics: Lighting up a new eraAnalysis - The traffic lights are switched on and New Zealanders are finding their way into the new Covid-19 era. The vaccination rate nudges 90 percent and National's new leader sets off a media feeding frenzy. ...14 hours ago
- Timaru Port Workers Issue Fourth Strike NoticeMembers of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) working at the Port of Timaru have this afternoon issued a fourth strike notice following on from the three issued earlier this week. RMTU South Island Organiser John Kerr says this gives notice of ...15 hours ago
- The Productivity Commission has released proposals to bolster Australians’ right to repair. But do...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Kearnes, Professor, Environment & Society, School of Humanities and Languages, UNSW Shutterstock 2021 has been a milestone year for advocacy for a right to repair. In November, Apple announced its Self Service Repair program, through which it will offer ...15 hours ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on government scandal and Labor policySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. This week they discuss the new COVID variant that has arrived in Australia called Omicron. ...15 hours ago
- If your phone breaks, do you chuck it or fix it? Productivity Commission proposals on the ‘right t...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Kearnes, Professor, Environment & Society, School of Humanities and Languages, UNSW Shutterstock 2021 has been a milestone year for advocacy for a right to repair. In November, Apple announced its Self Service Repair program, through which it will offer ...16 hours ago
- Safe, respected and free from violence: preventing violence against women in the Northern TerritorySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chay Brown, Research and Partnerships Manager, The Equality Institute, & Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National University The Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic, family, and sexual violence in Australia. Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory are among the most victimised ...16 hours ago
- Why do I grind my teeth and clench my jaw? And what can I do about it?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Holden, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock Dentists have reported a rise in teeth clenching and grinding since the pandemic began. The symptoms of teeth clenching and/or grinding (also known as bruxing or parafunction) can include pain ...16 hours ago
- Most Australian households are well-positioned for electric vehicles – and an emissions ceiling wo...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ingrid Burfurd, Senior Associate, Transport and Cities Program, Grattan Institute, Grattan Institute Shutterstock Many people believe Australia’s shift to electric vehicles is stuck in the slow lane – another strollout, rather than a rollout. But while federal policies are still ...16 hours ago
- What is adaptive clothing and how can it make life easier for people with a disability?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Have you ever tried to do up a zip or button a shirt one-handed? Put on a pair of jeans while seated? Do you know someone with Autism Spectrum ...16 hours ago
- Yesterdaze: The taming of the guinea pigChris Luxon might have a hard reset strategy for his party's dysfunction ready to go, but he hasn't quite figured out the nuances of the media spotlight. James Elliott on the new star of the National Party. Welcome to life under the traffic lights. This is the reset. A hard reset. We’re turning ...16 hours ago
- OP-ED: Partnering with persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable pos...OP-ED by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). As the world observes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, ...16 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – December 03 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content National Party Chris Trotter (Bowalley Road): Can Luxon ...17 hours ago
- An AI-flown military aircraft is being designed in Australia. Are our laws equipped to protect us?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eve Massingham, Senior Research Fellow, Law and the Future of War, The University of Queensland In September, Boeing announced it would design and build a new military aircraft in Queensland, a first in Australia for over 50 years. The “Loyal Wingman” ...17 hours ago
- 10 ways New Zealand employers can turn the ‘great resignation’ into a ‘great recruitment’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Candice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of Technology Shutterstock Internationally, and especially within the US, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called “great resignation” – the trend seeing large numbers of workers leaving their jobs during ...17 hours ago
- Explainer: how do police undertake major crime investigations?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Terry Goldsworthy, Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University Recent high-profile criminal cases, such as the suspected death of William Tyrrell and the abduction of Chloe Smith, have captured the attention of the media and the public. As a former detective inspector, I ...17 hours ago
- ALRANZ Says Oral Arguments On Mississippi Abortion Ban A Dark Day For Women EverywhereALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa deplores the apparent rolling back of the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy in the United States. ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa Executive Committee member Ella Shepherd said the arguments run in Dobbs v Jackson ...17 hours ago
- Kapuni Hydrogen Project Gives Ballance Fertiliser Green Light For Climate CrimeGreenpeace has slammed the approval of a new wind turbine and hydrogen facility in Taranaki, saying the Government’s fast track process makes a mockery of climate change and environmental protection commitments. The Hiringa Energy wind turbines ...18 hours ago
- Winston Peters denied leave to appeal judgment in superannuation overpayment caseWinston Peters has been denied the chance to take his legal battle over the leaking of his superannuation overpayment to the Supreme Court. ...18 hours ago
- Hospo Workers Need To Put Safety Ahead Of Business As Usual With Vaccine PassesUnite Union is advising all hospitality workers to put the safety of workers and customers ahead of business as usual or expediency. “If not following your employers instructions is what it takes to stay safe then so be it” said National Secretary ...18 hours ago
- No Jab, No Job. Do NZ Workers Know Their Rights?As lockdowns are lifted across New Zealand, workers have been left navigating a hard rule of law with little wriggle room for negotiations. According to Shine Lawyers’ employment rights expert, employees still have a right not to be discriminated against ...19 hours ago
- Embattled Pharmac agrees to push for more openness in its secretive drug dealsAn independent review of Pharmac is scathing of its how slow, opaque and inequitable it is ...21 hours ago
- National seeks to reduce shadow of new 3-storey suburban apartment blocksThe environment select committee reported at the last minute – but it's left any changes for back-room negotiations between Labour and National ...22 hours ago
- Environment select committee releases recommended changes to housing intensification billProperty developers will also have to provide more glazing under suggested changes to the government's bill on high density housing. ...22 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 December1 day ago
- Newsroom daily crossword, Friday 3 December...1 day ago
- 'We work in the grey': Police grapple with hate crimesA new report on police responses to hate crimes has found most officers have no training in handling the issue and says there is room for improvement, Marc Daalder reports Only three in 10 police staff interviewed as part of an internal review of responding to hate crime said they ...1 day ago
- US 'peacekeeper' arrives in NZ amidst talk of new Cold WarWashington's new man in Wellington says the US and China must cooperate, not just compete. ...1 day ago
- Covid and climate change: A tale of two crisesNew Zealand might well be handling one existential crisis well, but that is in sharp contrast with the ongoing failure to accept and act on the threats from climate change, writes Peter Davis Generations of New Zealanders born in the 1920s and earlier experienced the Great Depression and the Second ...1 day ago
- Auckland revival package overlooks most vulnerable, say GreensThis week the Government announced how it plans to ‘reactivate’ Auckland – but will this support extend to those most in need? The Government’s announcement of a support package for Auckland that aims to resurrect economic, social and cultural activities was welcome news to many in the city. In many ways ...1 day ago
- NZ’s Covid vaccination legislation: the fastest law in the westThe new law covering vaccination and the use of tracing data is at best rough and at worst potentially flawed, writes Gehan Gunasekara of the University of Auckland Former Prime Minister and constitutional law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer claimed in his 1987 book that New Zealand had “the fastest law in the ...1 day ago
- This week's best-sellersThis week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 To Italy, With Love by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $34.99) 2 She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall (Victoria University Press, $30) 3 Auē by Becky Manawatu (Makaro ...1 day ago
- Fonterra's complacent back-patting post-COP26Our biggest exporter and emitter had one man at the UN climate summit and his report-back on Fonterra's website is misleading and superficial, writes fellow attendee Rod Oram ...1 day ago
- Expect some curveballs when Luxon selects his new teamSimon Bridges has finance, but what comes next will reveal Luxon's leadership style. ...1 day ago
- Emotional return of Silver Ferns besties now mumsLongtime friends Kayla Johnson and Phoenix Karaka are supporting each other as they return to the Silver Ferns' sphere with babies - but without their partners - and a new appreciation for the load athlete mums bear. Countless times in their lives, Phoenix Karaka and Kayla Johnson have spilled tears together. The pair have been ...1 day ago
- Struggle over the ski fieldsRuapehu's ski fields are under pressure - but unusually, this time it's not from natural forces Mt Ruapehu's two ski fields have survived warm winters and volcanic eruptions, but the company that runs them is facing another kind of upheaval. Plans to overturn the company's structure and bring in ...1 day ago
- Covid-19 drugs: NZ's state of playAs the pandemic races towards an unenviable two-year milestone, the Otago Global Health Institute’s Covid-19 Masterclass Series is bringing together a network of experts to discuss key Covid-19 topics. We'll be running a piece daily until December 5. As New Zealand prepares to open its borders, Professor Kurt Krause ...1 day ago
- Beach land grab: The unintended consequences of sandSand dumped on Auckland beaches is facilitating a land-grab by a wealthy homeowner ...1 day ago
- Rights protections 'baked in' to hasty Covid legislation – Attorney-GeneralAttorney-General delivers unapologetic defence of fast-tracked traffic lights law. ...1 day ago
- Total solar eclipse will bring 2 minutes of darkness to Antarctica’s months of endless daylightSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Hill, Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne and Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria Natacha Pisarenko/AAP Image The Sun hasn’t set in Antarctica since October. Earth’s southernmost continent is currently experiencing a long summer’s day, one that stretches from ...1 day ago
- Australia’s biggest fossil fuel investment for a decade is in the works – and its greenhouse gas...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Hare, Director, Climate Analytics, Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University (Perth), Visiting scientist, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Shutterstock The controversial Scarborough gas project off Western Australia will cause a substantial rise in greenhouse gas emissions at a time when ...1 day ago
- What can we gain from open access to Australian research? Climate action for a startSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucy Montgomery, Program Lead, Innovation in Knowledge Communication, Curtin University Shutterstock The COP26 meeting has sharpened the world’s focus on climate change. To adapt and thrive in a world of reduced emissions, Australian businesses and communities need access to the ...1 day ago
- Vital Signs: Albanese to come clean on emissions targets, but a carbon price is still hush-hushSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Anthony Albanese in Nimbin, NSW, on November 12 2019 amid a season of a catastrophic bushfires. Jason O’Brien/AAP The Australian Labor Party is set to announce its target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions today. At ...1 day ago
- Friday essay: Indigenous afterlives in BritainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gaye Sculthorpe, Curator & Section Head, Oceania, The British Museum Breastplate, of metal, engraved ‘McIntyre King of Mannilla’, c.1860–1874. ‘King’ McIntyre (c.1814–74) . Donated by A.W. Wilkins to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, 1930. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery Readers are advised ...1 day ago
- Grattan on Friday: Allegation against Alan Tudge hits Morrison government where it hurtsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In a sensational end to a grotty final 2021 sitting week, former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller’s claim a minister had acted violently towards her was carefully timed to underline Kate Jenkins’ scathing indictment of the ...1 day ago
- A new leader gets a chance of definition with early utteringsSo what will the world’s leaders make of Chris Luxon’s first pronouncements? Given the context, they might be surprised to discover that his conversion therapy reference was not to the alchemic process by which an amiable executive became the leader of one of the western world’s historically most successful ...1 day ago
- Are charities being silenced? Why a new law is alarming activists and could scuttle their election c...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology The final two sitting weeks of parliament this year have provided both good and bad news for Australian charities. Last week provided the good news, with new government regulations that ...1 day ago
- Tudge stands aside while claim of kicking former staffer investigatedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Education minister Alan Tudge has stood aside from his portfolio while a claim by his former staffer Rachelle Miller that he abused her in their relationship, including kicking her out of bed, is investigated. Miller, ...1 day ago
- Omg, Omicron! Why it’s too soon to panic about COVID vaccines and the new variantSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Taylor, Early Career Research Leader, Emerging Viruses, Inflammation and Therapeutics Group, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University Shutterstock Researchers around the world are trying to work out whether existing COVID vaccines protect us from the latest variant, Omicron. ...1 day ago
- Luxon should listen, not talk, with iwi Māori – FinlaysonNational's former treaty negotiations minister has confidence new leader Chris Luxon can build a strong relationship with Māori, but warns him not to be waylaid by cliches like 'one law for all'. ...1 day ago
- Love it or hate it, TikTok is changing the music industrySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kai Riemer, Professor of Information Technology and Organisation, University of Sydney “Tik-a-Tok-a-Who?”, was Adele’s response to her management’s suggestion to promote her music to younger audiences on Tiktok, the video-sharing platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance. “If everyone’s making music for ...2 days ago
- Righting the Nats may require pitching to voters in the centre – but that need not mean dumping fr... National’s new leadership team had no need to worry that, as they stepped into office and into campaigning to replace the Ardern government at the next election, they would suffer from a ... 2 days ago
- Have Your Say On The Māori Purposes BillThe Chairperson of the Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Māori Purposes Bill . This omnibus bill would amend the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, Maori Purposes Act 1959, Maori Trust Boards Act 1955 and the Maori Community ...2 days ago
- Timaru Port Workers Issue Third Strike NoticeMembers of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) working at the Port of Timaru have this afternoon issued a third strike notice following on from the two issued earlier this week. RMTU South Island Organiser John Kerr says this gives notice of ...2 days ago
- ‘I was told if I couldn’t hack it, I should hand in my uniform.’ Volunteers share suicidal tho...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor in Disaster and Emergency Response, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts As Australia braces for another bushfire season, new research from Edith Cowan University has revealed how our volunteer firefighters ...2 days ago
- There’s an enormous geothermal pool under the Latrobe Valley that can give us cheap, clean energySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Beardsmore, Senior Fellow in Crustal Heat Flow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock About 650 metres beneath the Latrobe Valley, the heart of Victoria’s coal country, lies a little-known, naturally hot 65℃ pool of water in an enormous aquifer. This ...2 days ago
- Red Cross Shops Need Hundreds More Volunteers This Holiday...2 days ago
- Simon Bridges named as National's finance and infrastructure spokespersonNational's new leader Chris Luxon has given Simon Bridges - who gave him the clear path to the leadership - the Finance and Infrastructure portfolios, although Bridges was unable to make it to the announcement. ...2 days ago
- PODCAST: Buchanan and Manning Consider the Global Issues that Define 2021A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning consider and analyse the most significant global issues that define 2021. The topics include: – Leadership: Trump, Putin, Xi, Biden, – Pandemic: Impact of Covid-19 & variants on global security – Security: Afghanistan, AUKUS, ...2 days ago
- Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono Use Wayfinding To Plot A Course For 2022On Friday 26 November and Saturday 27 November, Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono (IACT) hosted the ‘Tāhono: He Wānanga Tuhonohono - Wayfinding for Belonging’ virtual event. The event brought together a range of individuals and organisations ...2 days ago
- Live: Simon Bridges named as National's finance and infrastructure spokespersonNational's new leader Chris Luxon has given Simon Bridges - who gave him the clear path to the leadership - the Finance and Infrastructure portfolios, although Bridges was unable to make it to the announcement. ...2 days ago
- A sign of healthy democracy or a ‘rudderless’ nation? How crossing the floor has changedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camilla Nelson, Associate Professor in Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Lukas Coch/AAP The final days of parliament for 2021 have been marked by a spate of floor crossings. This includes Tasmanian Liberal Bridget Archer who backed Independent Helen ...2 days ago
- PM ‘must take responsibility’ for Honiara tragedy, says WaleBy Robert Iroga in Honiara Opposition leader Matthew Wale has rejected the prime minister’s claim that he and other opposition members were behind last week’s rioting in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara. Wale claimed that the false statements were aimed towards diverting the public’s attention from Prime Minister Manasseh ...2 days ago
- Raising West Papua’s banned Morning Star flag – a global act of solidarityAsia Pacific Report newsdesk From Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau in Aotearoa New Zealand to Paris, France, and from Wellington Te Whanganui-a-Tara to Jayapura and far beyond, thousands of people across the world today raised the Morning Star flag — banned by Indonesian authorities — in simple acts of defiance and solidarity ...2 days ago
- AUT’s new academic head seeks to build relationships around PacificBy Sri Krishnamurthi for Asia-Pacific ReportIncoming new vice-chancellor for Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Toelesulusulu Dr Damon Ieremia Salesa is keenly aware that he has broken through another glass ceiling. The son of a factory worker made New Zealand history last week, as the ...2 days ago
- New Zealand forces deployed to Solomon Islands in wake of riotsRNZ Pacific The New Zealand government is deploying dozens of Defence Force and police personnel to Honiara in the coming days “to help restore peace and stability”. Since rioting and looting started in the Solomon Islands last week, Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea have sent troops to help keep ...2 days ago
- Pacific regional response to Solomons post-riots crisis takes shapeRNZ Pacific Fiji is the latest regional country to announce it is sending security forces to Solomon Islands where major unrest rocked the capital. Days of rioting in Honiara by mobs who torched buildings and looted shops prompted the government to call for outside help. In what’s shaping up as ...2 days ago
- Giant Crowdfunded Note To PM On Climate Emergency AnniversaryOn the one-year anniversary of Jacinda Ardern’s Climate Emergency declaration, Greenpeace has positioned a cheeky, four storey high, crowdfunded "climate emergency to-do list" on a wall near Parliament in Wellington. "Prime Minister Jacinda ...2 days ago
National’s new leadership team had no need to worry that, as they stepped into office and into campaigning to replace the Ardern government at the next election, they would suffer from a ... 
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