jacinda ardern
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We Need A Proper Constitution
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, September 20th, 2022 - 40 comments
She’s in the ground and it’s time.
Newshub’s incredibly bad gang take
Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, September 6th, 2022 - 55 comments
Yesterday the Government announced a slate of new powers designed to address gang violence. Newshub chose that day to imply that Labour was soft on gangs because a gang member said on social media not to vote for National.
‘Training’ for an early grave
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 pm, September 4th, 2022 - 99 comments
We’re sending 120 troops to Britain to ‘train’ raw recruits for the Ukraine killing grounds. For the Defence Generals, it’s an overseas trip to aid retention. For the Ukrainian conscripts, it’s a prelude to early death. It is cynical and criminal: we should be arguing for the war to stop, not keep it going ”to the death of the last Ukrainian.”
About the reversed GST Kiwisaver changes
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 pm, August 31st, 2022 - 63 comments
National’s attack on requiring banks to charge GST on the provision of Kiwisaver services the same as smaller services is deeply cynical when its attacks on Kiwisaver in the past are considered.
Labour’s Ardern and Democrats’ Biden: Learnings
Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, August 28th, 2022 - 47 comments
For those fishing around for a progressive playbook in this fractious world, Biden and Ardern are pretty similar. But Biden appears to be turning the fortunes of the Democrats around but Ardern is currently unrewarded. Is there anything to learn?
A week of sideshows
Written By: - Date published: 5:34 pm, August 21st, 2022 - 64 comments
But the past week has been a week of sideshows. One international as elements of the right try to smear Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin for dancing. And one local where rogue Labour MP Gaurav Sharma is running out of excuses for not backing up the extraordinary claims he has made about the Labour Party.
Not A Ripple of Difference
Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, August 19th, 2022 - 24 comments
The polls are out and the internal revolt last month to remove James Shaw as Greens co leader hasn’t made a ripple.
By Nature Unfair
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, August 18th, 2022 - 28 comments
You can be the most moral nation on earth and have no reward for it.
Bastards Versus Assholes
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, August 12th, 2022 - 47 comments
This post was written before Gaurav Sharma’s Herald article and should not be taken as validation of his comments. There are necessary bastards in political life, and in developed democracies compared to everywhere else ours are gentle as lambs
Ardern’s Leadership Generates Pacific Results
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, July 28th, 2022 - 9 comments
New Zealand has been overdue to show strong results in the Pacific Islands. Not a moment too soon, this is what Prime Minister Ardern delivered.
Really bad takes on the Green’s leadership issue
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, July 26th, 2022 - 60 comments
There have been some spectacularly bad takes on Green Party leadership issues by voices on the right and academia which were all shown to be spectacularly wrong after Chloe Swarbrick announced that she was not seeking the Green Party leadership.
The inside story of National’s civil war
Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, July 25th, 2022 - 16 comments
Andrea Vance’s book Blood Bath provides an insider’s view of the carnage that erupted in the National Party from 2017 to 2021. And while things have calmed down under Christopher Luxon’s his weaknesses, including his glossing over the importance of policy detail and his tendency to bag businesses has been noted.
How Can Labour Win in 2023?
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 7th, 2022 - 213 comments
Right now Labour is preparing the ground for its run at 2023’s election with new policy. New policy must be wildly popular. What could make Labour popular enough to them back leading a third term in government?
Covid – time for red?
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, July 5th, 2022 - 68 comments
With a second wave of Covid infections starting and with new potentially more serious variants emerging it may be time for the Government to consider a return to the Covid red setting.
The benefits of Ardern’s recent overseas trips
Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, July 4th, 2022 - 69 comments
Jacinda Ardern has just completed three overseas trips. The cumulative benefits for the country are extraordinary and I have never witnessed anything similar from another New Zealand leader. But local responses from sectors of the media have been muted. Why is this?
Ardern significantly improves EU Free Trade deal
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, July 2nd, 2022 - 26 comments
Before her involvement in the European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiations Jacinda Ardern was accused of “scattering stardust” in a vain attempt to get an agreement over the line. If this is an example of Jacinda scattering stardust then long may she continue to do so.
Jacinda’s comments to NATO
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, July 1st, 2022 - 38 comments
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a speech/comments to NATO outlining our position on NATO, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, multilateral diplomacy, our region, and nuclear proliferation. Plus of course she helped to finally get the EU trade treaty over the line. Her ‘comments’ are worth reading and commenting on because I suspect that they align pretty well to our societies general position.
Christopher Luxon’s many and varied abortion takes
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, June 27th, 2022 - 103 comments
National leader Christopher Luxon who has been previously reported as believing that abortion is murder, issued three public statements over the weekend trying to distance himself from the controversy caused by the US Supreme Court overturning of Rowe v Wade.
Matariki and Prime Minister Ardern
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, June 24th, 2022 - 73 comments
Plenty of experts will tell you about what Matariki ‘means to us’. Here’s what it means to Ardern.
How Democracy Weakens
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, June 21st, 2022 - 31 comments
It’s pretty commonplace now to observe that Prime Minister Ardern is doing well overseas but tanking at home.
The Cabinet reshuffle
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, June 14th, 2022 - 64 comments
There was some drama yesterday in the Beehive where Kris Faafoi and Trevor Mallard announced that they will be resigning from Parliament and Jacinda Ardern took the opportunity to reshuffle the Cabinet.
Ardern is apparently to blame for National having racist supporters
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, June 2nd, 2022 - 273 comments
Yesterday on Morning Report Chris Luxon pivoted from a question about National supporters expressing distaste for Te Ao Maori to blaming Jacinda Ardern for not burning up political capital on co governance.
The problem with keyboard warriors and media commentators
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, May 29th, 2022 - 178 comments
Internationally Jacinda Ardern’s speech to the Harvard graduating class has been very well received. But locally not so much.
Jacinda Ardern’s Harvard University Commencement speech
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, May 27th, 2022 - 51 comments
Video and transcript of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s speech at Harvard.
What Can Be Saved?
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, April 29th, 2022 - 157 comments
The tide of this government is running out. There’s 18 months left in the term. What would you save?
The battle lines for the next election
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, April 18th, 2022 - 79 comments
Despite Labour seeing the country through the biggest public health threat seen in the last century and despite improving numbers of houses and a reduction in child poverty some on the left are buying into National’s despair lines. And the issues on which the next election will be fought are becoming clearer.
Go well Ashley Bloomfield
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, April 10th, 2022 - 31 comments
With a sense of regret for many of us this week Ashley Bloomfield announced his pending resignation as Director General of Health.
Change nothing
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, April 6th, 2022 - 15 comments
You get to a point – and Ardern must be close – where the most you can do is hang on.
Why in the middle of a pandemic an immediate change to Orange is magical thinking
Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, April 5th, 2022 - 77 comments
National’s friends are in unison complaining that the Government should be announcing now when we will be back into Orange. But our exemplary performance compared to other nations suggests strongly that the Government should continue to respect the medical advice it is receiving.
The Natives are Getting Uppity
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 pm, March 29th, 2022 - 33 comments
Jacinda Ardern is “gravely concerned.” Peeni Henare was ‘”caught off-guard.”. Barnaby Joyce feels “intimidated.” Solomon Islands PM Sogavare found it “insulting to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs.” I think he is right.
Covid and political capital
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, March 28th, 2022 - 141 comments
Jacinda Ardern has burned significant political capital on dealing with Covid. But it is something that a responsible Political leader, of which there are few, would do.
- Should We Be Relying On Storing Waste Carbon in Trees?
The carbon, energy and dollar cycles do not integrate well. The strategy of mitigating global warming by sequesting carbon in trees involves three separate cycles: a carbon cycle, an energy cycle and a dollar cycle. I am not sure they are well integrated. Our oil-based carbon cycle involves extracting underground ...1 hour ago - Who to vote for in Palmerston North (2022)
My local body voting papers arrived earlier in the week, so its time for the usual post in which I try and work out who I'm voting for. Essential tools for this have been Vote Climate, which looks at climate and public transport policy; Policy.nz, which gives a more general ...7 hours ago - Still striking for a futureIn 2017, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said that climate change was "my generation's nuclear-free moment" and promised action. In 2019 and 2021 school students walked out of classrooms to demand she deliver. And today, they walked out again, because she still hasn't. The strikes are smaller today, because the movement ...8 hours ago
- Fuck the economyStuff reports that bank economists are saying that 50,000 people need to be thrown out of work to control inflation: The current labour market was “very, very tight”, [ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner] said, and bringing down inflation required “some spare capacity” in the labour market. It was a ...9 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Political mood of the business elite
The New Zealand Herald has released the results of its annual “Mood of the Boardroom” survey today. Should we care what businesses think of politics, the economy and society? There’s a good argument that we should be more concerned with the “Mood of the Foodbank” or “Mood of the workers”. ...11 hours ago - Labour: From disappointment to deceitIn the 1980's and 1990's, Aotearoa faced a succession of governments who brazenly lied to the public, promising one thing to get elected, then doing something completely different in office. As revenge, we inflicted MMP on politicians, to saddle them with coalition partners and deprive them of the absolute majorities ...11 hours ago
- The Magic Of Monarchy
13 hours ago - An American Colony?
The end of the Queen’s reign has provided us here in New Zealand with a powerful and prolonged reminder of the extent to which our heritage is bound up with that of the United Kingdom. It may, therefore, be an odd moment to register what is becoming a significant change ...14 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38 2022
"Was it something I did?" Not so long ago Skeptical Science received email from a reader, subject: "Myth: increased deaths, harm to health and and destruction of property cannot be attributed to global warming." As a matter of intuition and the evidence in front of us, this certainly seems ...1 day ago - Owlbears in Valinor: D&D Silliness with The Silmarillion
Some weeks ago, I finished DMing a three-session D&D outing with my usual circle of acquaintances. I had never actually DMed before, so it was a fun learning experience. Overall, I think I’m pretty decent at serving up a vaguely engaging story… my biggest weakness being combats. I am ...1 day ago - Gordon Campbell on ram-raids as a policy outcome, not a cause
New British PM Liz Truss is giving us a useful foretaste of what a change of government here next year would deliver: tax cuts, welfare reductions, law and order crackdowns, and further handouts to banks. On Friday, the new British Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to unveil a major “’fiscal ...1 day ago - Hoist by his own petardIn 2017, in response to being criticised by anonymous bloggers, then-Samoan Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi restored the archaic colonial offence of criminal libel to Samoa's statute book, ramming it through parliament in under an hour. Now, he's being prosecuted under his own law [paywalled]: Police have perused a ...1 day ago
- DrawnA ballot for three member's bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill (Karen Chhour) Employment Relations (Restraint of Trade) Amendment Bill (Helen White) Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill (Stuart Smith) ...1 day ago
- Bryce Edwards: Labour has given up on the poorWhat will it take for this Labour Government to start paying attention to the worsening state of economic inequality in New Zealand? The evidence is mounting that, under Labour’s watch, the problem of wealth and income inequality is spiralling. But the signs are that Labour ministers have put this crisis ...2 days ago
- Patterns in the Sand: Guessing References in The Rings of Power Opening Sequence
It is now generally accepted that the peculiar opening sequence of The Rings of Power is an extended reference to the Ainulindalë, the Music of the Ainur, the Creation Myth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium. Recall that this myth – the first chapter of the published Silmarillion – consists of ...2 days ago - Two Kings, One Country.A Meeting Of Minds On The Treaty: The ultimate irony of a radical Māori nationalist push for a republic would be an answering surge towards monarchical institutions. A Māori-Pakeha alliance forged between members of the Professional-Managerial Class in pursuit of a radically identarian republic may yet find itself opposed by ...2 days ago
- One country at a timeEquatorial Guinea has abolished the death penalty: Equatorial Guinea has abolished the death penalty, according to a new criminal code signed by veteran President Teodoro Obiang, adding to a growing list of African countries seeking to extinguish a vestige of colonial rule. The West African oil-producing country of 1.4 ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Time for the Auditor General to investigate Mahuta contractsPressure is increasing on the Auditor General to undertake an inquiry into numerous contracts, appointments and grants awarded to members of Cabinet Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s family by various government departments she has had official responsibility for. Allegations and revelations are mounting up, meaning this issue can no longer be ignored. ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on Air New Zealand’s bumpy path to Covid recoveryAir New Zealand’s new non-stop service to JFK international airport in New York recently received a ton of free publicity, even though the airline’s mishandling of passenger baggage on the first New York to Auckland run was also an epic embarrassment. Since it was ordinary taxpayers who bailed out the ...2 days ago
- Member’s DayToday is a Member's Day. First up are two committee stages: Rachel Boyack's Plain Language Bill and Steph Lewis' Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill. Once they're out of the way, the House will move on to the first readings of Damien Smith's Overseas Investment (Exempt Investment from OECD ...2 days ago
- This seems like a process we can have confidence inYesterday, National leader Christopher Luxon announced that the National caucus had voted to readmit MP Sam Uffindell - who had got together with his mates to beat a fellow student with bed-legs in the middle of the night in a cruel and pre-meditated attack while at school - after an ...3 days ago
- Climate Change: James Shaw pretends to be helplessRNZ this morning reports that Climate Change Minister James Shaw is open to another look at climate change rules to ensure that the Zero Carbon Act and its statutory target can actually be legally enforced: "If the temperature threshold is the point of the entire legislation, then surely it ...3 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: National’s unsatisfactory exoneration of Sam UffindellIt’s hard to have confidence in the National Party’s supposed exoneration of MP Sam Uffindell over allegations of ethical violations as an adult. The party’s processes have been far too opaque, which means there will always be a cloud over the integrity and character of their new MP for Tauranga. ...3 days ago
- A Song Of Iron And Blood.4 days ago
- 2022’s supercharged summer of climate extremes: How global warming and La Niña fueled disasters o...This article by Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Scholar, NCAR; Affiliated Faculty, University of Auckland, is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. There’s an old joke about the fellow who has his left foot in a bucket of ice water and the right in a bucket ...4 days ago
- Who decides what we are allowed to say?
In this thoughtful piece Mark White from the left free speech site Plebity examines how we can reclaim the public square as a real Commons. Before we can have an honest debate over what speech should be allowed and what speech should be forbidden, we need to confront a more ...4 days ago - Elegy For A Queen.Elegy For A QueenThe media beast that must be fedOn human fodder hour-by-hour,Just for one second, checks its power.Elizabeth, the Queen, is dead.That this is news no one can doubt.The airwaves hum, the presses roll.And cellphones buzz from pole to poleTo get the information out.We see, we hear, the words ...4 days ago
- The Languages Of Sovereignty And Democracy.Leviathan: Reaching all the way back to the writings of the Sixteenth Century jurist and political philosopher, Jean Bodin, constitutional transformer Moana Jackson argues that the European concept of sovereignty is one of “the most high and perpetual power over citizens”. He would have done better to study Hobbes and Locke ...4 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Uninspiring Wellington mayoral electionWellingtonians are desperately unhappy with the politicians running their city, and a new poll out yesterday shows they’re not very impressed with their mayoral options either. The Wellington City Council’s own annual Residents Monitoring Survey shows plummeting levels of confidence in the politicians and the state of the city. When ...4 days ago
- Of Guilty Guilds: Addressing Anti-Immigration Populism in The Rings of Power, Episode 4
As per my Episode 4 review of The Rings of Power, I noted that the Men of Númenor objecting to Elves on a “they’ll steal our jobs!” basis feels a tad weird. Of all the things these people have to throw at their pointy-eared brethren, the show settles upon ...5 days ago - An Idle Ode to Adar the Elda: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episode 4
Half-way through the first season of The Rings of Power, we have run into our first unapologetically good episode. Not merely one to feel positive about, whilst grumbling about perceived flaws real or imagined. No, I think the fourth episode is sufficiently good that hunting around for flaws to ...6 days ago - Gorbachev’s Legacy
The aim of a decent liberal Russia is still there; its achievement is likely to be a long way off. I was optimistic about the prospects for Russia when the Soviet Union – or, as I think of it, the Russian Empire – collapsed in the early 1990s. I never ...1 week ago - Hungary is no longer a democracySince his election in 2010, Viktor Orbán has shifted Hungary sharply away from democracy and the rule of law, changing the constitution to stack the electoral system and the courts against his opponents, while dismantling the independent media. And now, the European Parliament has recognised the truth: that one of ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Labour’s fraught battle to retain the Māori voteLabour’s poll results are trending down. Yesterday’s Curia poll put the party down two points to just 33 per cent, while National is up three points to 37 per cent. When it comes to next year’s election, a key constituency for Labour will be Māori voters, especially in the Māori ...1 week ago
- A King’s Grasp.Worst Case Scenario? Mike Bartlett’s teleplay, King Charles III, teases out the consequences of a constitutional monarch who makes the mistake of attempting to defend the rights of his subjects.WHILE MANY OF US pretended that Queen Elizabeth II would, somehow, live forever, others among us knew better. One of those ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on the regal mourning marathonThe media coverage of the mourning process for Elizabeth II seems to be as endless as the lines of people waiting patiently to pay their respects. (The British are very good at standing in queues.) New Zealand’s official ten day mourning period ends on Monday, after the state funeral in ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2022Mutual assured stupefaction A plethora of investigations have found that come the clutch, ideology often wins over facts when it comes to uncomfortable truths. If the outcomes of facts disagree with ideological objectives, facts frequently lose. Why? If we look at the sharpest divergences of facts from wishful ideology, we find ...1 week ago
- Shouldn’t we make them pay for it?Yesterday a new report from Environment Southland found widespread environmental contamination at the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. Both the soil and groundwater has been contaminated with fluoride and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the stormwater drains are full of heavy metals. Worse, this is just what we know - the data ...1 week ago
- Democratic compromise as the mutual second-best.
For the first ten years of my former academic career I wrote a considerable amount about post-authoritarian democratisation thanks to the mentors that introduced me to the subject and my personal interest in Argentina and the Southern Cone. I alternated this interest with writing about various security related topics like ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: Fighting for cleaner and fairer electionsFrom this week the public can provide input into the Government’s review of electoral laws – a process which is supposed to make elections cleaner and fairer. Hopefully, public submissions and pressure applied to both the electoral review experts and the Government will force the consideration and implementation of progressive ...1 week ago
- Sweden falls to the NazisSwedes went to the polls over the weekend, and after a tight count, appear to have elected a Nazi-coalition government. The right-bloc has a three-seat majority, and the neo-Nazi Sweden Democrats are the largest party within that bloc. And to gain power of course the "moderate" centre-right parties are willing ...1 week ago
- Ag’s challenging future in a changing climateThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Increased drought and extreme heat adversely affecting agriculture likely pose the highest threat to civilization over the next 40 years. The greatest danger: extreme droughts supercharged by climate change, affecting multiple grain-growing areas simultaneously, causing “food shock” events that could ...1 week ago
- Questions for Richard Wagstaff
by Don Franks A tough strike and lockout struggle against their employer won Kawerau pulp and paper workers an increase to the company’s initial offer. In a welcome resurgence of working class solidarity, embattled Kawerau unionists were assisted by financial support from other workers. Instead of building on this positive ...1 week ago - We need tougher penalties for electoral donation fraudWriting in Stuff, Max Rashbrooke Lisa Marriott examine the dismal history of election donation fraud in Aotearoa, and conclude that there are no real consequences for it. Prosecutions are rare, and the penalties derisory: It looks awfully like one law for the rich and one for the poor. At ...1 week ago
- Wellington’s user-pays “democracy”In the face of a rising tide of climate protest, governments are cracking down. In the UK, the only-partly-elected government has effectivley banned protests, just like they did in the eighteenth century. In Wellington, they're more subtle, simply imposing unaffordable costs for "traffic management fees": Wellington City Council left ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Why New Zealand’s shift to a republic will be thwartedThe death of Queen Elizabeth and the ascension to the throne of King Charles has reignited the debate on whether New Zealand should become a republic. But despite strong arguments in favour of shifting to a republic, such a move is unlikely to occur anytime soon. What will stop the ...1 week ago
- Not Since 1955: Bringing Serialisation to Middle-earth
A curious thought has occurred to me. Specifically about how The Rings of Power represents serialised storytelling in Middle-earth, and about how damned unusual that actually is. You see, in the Tolkien fandom, the books are there on the shelf, the story complete. Posthumous publications might provide ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on a fun summer, with Covid anxietyNo more traffic light alert system. No more vaccine mandates, even for those in healthcare. Masks are no longer mandatory in retail outlets or on public transport, and required only in healthcare settings, and for those caring for the sick and elderly. Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Virus? Not ...1 week ago
- The Bad Guys Are Winning.1 week ago
- Food supply and security concerns mount as impacts stress agricultureThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Crops don’t like drought, extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding, and air pollution. While reducing the ill effects of extreme cold on agriculture in recent decades, the warming climate is increasing impacts of drought, extreme heat, and air pollution. These increased ...1 week ago
- The Ukrainian “People’s Storm” Lays Waste Putin’s Dreams.1 week ago
- Interview with Kobad Ghandy: Free Speech in Modi’s IndiaDaphna Whitmore interviewed Kobad Ghandy on 6 September for the Free Speech Union in New Zealand. This podcast looks at free speech and civil rights in India, the world’s most populous democracy. Kobad Ghandy was a political prisoner for ten years under both Congress and BJP regimes, and was just ...1 week ago
- The left is a big tent, but it must include belief in free speechRedline readers should check out Plebity. It is a left non-profit free speech organisation with articles and resources reclaiming free speech as the necessary foundation for achieving all other leftist ideals. Plebity stands for: ...2 weeks ago
- Don’t Let the Herald take You InThe omens are not good for Christopher Luxon. The polls tell a story that – as interpreted by the Herald – suggest that his failure to improve his personal polling means that he could deny National an election victory in 2023; and the conclusion? That Luxon is therefore dragging National ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 13 September 2022Items of interest and importance today COVID Luke Malpass (Stuff): PM Ardern’s last Covid live update draws a curtain down on a miserable couple of years Claire Trevett (Herald): PM bids a relieved farewell to Covid-19 rules (paywalled) Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Government seeking advice on ‘what form’ any Covid-19 inquiry ...2 weeks ago
- New study more than triples estimated costs of climate change damagesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A peer-reviewed analysis by two dozen experts more than triples – from $51 per ton of carbon dioxide to $185 per ton – the federal government’s estimate of the “social cost of carbon” (SCC). The climate science, economics, and statistics experts’ paper in ...2 weeks ago
- The British Royal Family and its contribution to humanityGearóid Ó Loingsigh The British monarch Elizabeth Windsor, formerly Saxe Coburg Gotha, has died at the grand old age of 96, thanks in no part to the subsidised lifestyle and medical care she enjoyed throughout her long life. Her death has produced the usual outpouring of manufactured grief from the ...2 weeks ago
- Labour abandons us to covidToday, the government has taken its long-signalled decision to repeal virtually all covid restrictions. From midnight tonight, there won't be traffic lights or mask requirements, and isolation rules will be further weakened. The few remaining vaccination requirements will disappear in a couple of weaks. Essentially, the virus will be free ...2 weeks ago
- No freedom of speech in the UKIn the eighteenth century, the British government waged a campaign of repression against those calling for democracy and an end to the monarchy. Over two hundred years later, nothing has really changed: A woman was arrested holding an anti-monarchy sign in Edinburgh today, before the Queen’s cortege arrived in ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on being co-dependent on the royalsFor those who do not regard King Charles III as their liege lord, these have been a difficult few days, with the promise of more to come. One of the reasons that republican sentiment has been so absent from the media coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II is ...2 weeks ago
- Following the war in Ukraine – an update
2 weeks ago- The Weight Of History.
Receiving The Burden Of Sovereignty: The weight of royal ritual and tradition, and all the gilt machinery of monarchical government, is crushing. THE SHEER WEIGHT of it takes your breath away. On display in St James’s Palace on Saturday night (10/9/22) were rituals and traditions dating back centuries. To say the weight ...2 weeks ago- Political Roundup: 12 September 2022
MONARCHY Kevin Norquay (Stuff): Parting ways with the monarchy ‘an eventuality that will happen’ now Queen has gone Richard Harman: This could be the last time (paywalled) Liz Gordon (Insight Aotearoa): A proud and independent nation, Aotearoa Calida Stuart-Menteath and Hamish McNicol (NBR): Does King Charles represent New Zealand? (paywalled) ...2 weeks ago- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, September 4, 2022 through Sat, September 10, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): CNN Exclusive: Scientists make major breakthrough in race to save ...2 weeks ago- Local Election Candidates: “the same old crazies as before”… or something entirely new this ti...
It’s the old joke isn’t it when Local Elections come round, who is coming out of the woodwork next, will there be someone promising to convert the entire CBD into an adventure park? Other questions that often plague local elections are who’s hiding under the “Independent” banner… whilst ...2 weeks ago- King Charles
With the accession of King Charles III to the throne, my mind goes back to a brief period when the then Prince Charles and I might have been described as friends. I was at the time a British MP. I received out of the blue a call from Prince Charles’ ...2 weeks ago- Númenor Rule the Waves: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power, Episode 3
I have discussed the first two episodes of The Rings of Power. Time to take a look at the third episode – one I felt avoided the lowest lows of its predecessors while also not quite managing to match the highest highs. On average I think it is the ...2 weeks ago- Imagining Away The Opposition.
The High Tide Of Popular Protest: In 2019 Chile was racked by massive protest demonstrations. Hundreds of thousands of mostly young, mostly poor, Chileans served notice on their government that the moment had arrived for their country to cast off “Pinochet’s Straightjacket” – the 1980 constitution imposed upon Chile by its ...2 weeks ago- Queen Elizabeth's death a true end of an era, but her legacy of service can live on
‘End of an era’ is a threadbare phrase worn thin by sports stars, passing fads and biscuits. But the death of Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years and 215 days on the throne is an event worthy to be called the end of an era.The length of Elizabeth’s reign alone ...2 weeks ago- The Queen
I had the good fortune to meet the Queen on a number of occasions when I was a British MP. The occasion that made the greatest impression on me, however, was one in which I was merely an observer. The hospital in my Southampton constituency had acquired an important new ...2 weeks ago- Reasons to avoid false balance and fake debates
The following text is an adapted version of pages 8 and 9 of The Consensus Handbook published in 2018 by John Cook, Sander van der Linden, Ed Maibach and Stephan Lewandowsky. The excerpt is published to make it easy to share this important information about false balance and fake debates and ...2 weeks ago- Is Social Investment Analysis a Good Idea?
We should try to to evaluate our social policies systematically. But big data has limitations.The National Party has promised to reintroduce the idea of ‘social investment’ analysis when it returns to government. The basic idea goes back long before Bill English as Minister of Finance popularised it, and it did ...2 weeks ago- Bring on the republic
When I was a child, the foreign monarch visited New Zealand. They marched us all out from school and had us stand by the side of a road to watch a car go past, and it was absurd and boring and meaningless, pretty much like the monarchy itself. For most ...2 weeks ago- Political Roundup: 9 September 2022
QUEEN ELIZABETH HAS DIED Isaac Davison (Herald): Queen Elizabeth is dead – what does it mean for New Zealand? Charlotte Graham-McLay (Guardian): New Zealand in period of mourning as Jacinda Ardern pays tribute to ‘extraordinary’ Queen Stuff: Queen Elizabeth II dies: Commonwealth leaders debated abolishing role of head Katie Pickles ...2 weeks ago- Losing the Wallpaper: Musings on the Death of Queen Elizabeth II
Quite the late night development – a development that will no doubt dominate all parts of the media for weeks to come. The death of Queen Elizabeth II. Head of State of not ... 2 weeks ago - The Weight Of History.
- Green Party backs School Strike demands
The Green Party backs the demands of the School Strike for Climate. ...12 hours ago - Report shows urgent need to fix wealth inequalityA new report out today provides all evidence the Government needs to start addressing runaway inequality and rebalance Aotearoa to work for everyone. ...1 day ago
- No excuses, Minister: we need mandatory pay gap reporting right nowThe message is loud and clear: the Government must introduce mandatory pay gap reporting ...2 days ago
- Greens will keep fighting to strengthen democracyThe Green Party once again put electoral reform on the political agenda with the first reading of Golriz Ghahraman’s Strengthening Democracy member’s bill - only for it to be voted down by Labour. ...2 days ago
- Moratorium on deep sea mining a step closerFollowing months of pressure from the Green Party and environmental NGO and the public, the Minister for Foreign Affairs today confirmed that she is taking advice on whether the Government should support a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters. ...2 days ago
- Green Party welcomes landmark commitments from health sector for ADHD progressGreen Party spokesperson for Mental Health, Chlöe Swarbrick, welcomes commitments from the Minister of Health to six key areas of progress for the ADHD community, which would together represent one of the largest changes for the ADHD community in a generation. ...6 days ago
- Govt must reunite Afghan refugees with their familiesThe Green Party is once again calling on the Government to support victims of war, oppression, and violence to reunite with their families and put down roots in Aotearoa New Zealand. ...7 days ago
- New Zealand’s economy and the case for optimism
If you missed Grant Robertson’s recent speech on New Zealand’s economy, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here’s a super quick overview of what the Minister of Finance said about the Government’s economic plan, as well as the latest figures that show how New Zealand’s economy is tracking. ...1 week ago - Government handing Fonterra a free passMinister O’Connor should immediately pause the Government’s proposed Fonterra Bill and review its potential impact on the climate, the Green Party says. ...1 week ago
- Time to support te reo Māori as a core subject and as a medium of instructionOn the 50th anniversary of the Māori language petition, the Green Party is calling on the Government to make te reo Māori a core curriculum subject in mainstream schools and to support Kaupapa Māori education groups. ...1 week ago
- Celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo MāoriKia ora e te whānau! It’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori once again – an opportunity for all of us, no matter where we are on our te reo journey, to give te reo Māori a go. This year, as we celebrate Māori Language Week, we are also marking ...1 week ago
- Urgent need for more food supportThe Green Party is calling on the Government to urgently increase the support available for people who are struggling to afford to put food on the table. ...1 week ago
- Serious questions for Govt to answer following decision to allow deep-sea miningThe Government has questions to answer following a recent decision by international regulators to give the green-light to a potentially destructive deep-sea mining project in the Pacific. ...2 weeks ago
- Vital public health measures still missing from COVID responseStrong public health measures are more vital than ever, the Green Party says as the Government removes many longstanding COVID-19 restrictions. ...2 weeks ago
- James Shaw re-elected as Co-leader of the Green PartyMembers of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have re-elected James Shaw as Co-leader, alongside Marama Davidson. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth IIOn behalf of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, I would like to send our deepest condolences to the Royal Family on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II,” says co-leader of the Green Party, Marama Davidson. ...2 weeks ago
- If the Government is going to close one donations loophole, let’s close them allClosing the New Zealand First Foundation loophole is a good step towards a more transparent political donations regime, but it’s not the only loophole that needs closing, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Helping young people into better and brighter futuresOur Government wants every New Zealander to have the chance to succeed – and that includes young people who need a little bit of extra support to get back on the right track. That’s why we’re stepping up pathways to better opportunities, by supporting more young people into jobs and ...2 weeks ago
- Supporting more Kiwis into jobsWe’re helping more Kiwis into work, to help support whānau, grow our skilled workforce and secure our economy for future generations. During our time in Government, we’ve delivered record low unemployment rates, as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit, and we’re ...2 weeks ago
- New strategy unifies all-of-Government approach to help Pacific languages thrive
A united approach across all-of-Government underpins the new Pacific Language Strategy, announced by the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio at Parliament today. “The cornerstone of our Pacific cultures, identities and place in Aotearoa, New Zealand are our Pacific languages. They are at the heart of our wellbeing,” Aupito ...8 hours ago - Upgrades for sporting facilities ahead of FIFA Women’s World CupCommunities across the country will benefit from newly upgraded sporting facilities as a result of New Zealand co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. The Government is investing around $19 million to support upgrades at 30 of the 32 potential sporting facilities earmarked for the tournament, including pitch, lighting and ...10 hours ago
- Partnership supports climate action in Latin America and CaribbeanAotearoa New Zealand is extending the reach of its support for climate action to a new agriculture initiative with partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced a NZ$10 million contribution to build resilience, enhance food security and address the ...13 hours ago
- Landmark agreement for Māori fisheries celebrates 30th yearThe 30th anniversary of the Fisheries Deed of Settlement is a time to celebrate a truly historic partnership that has helped transform communities, says Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Rino Tirikatene. “The agreement between the Crown and Māori righted past wrongs, delivered on the Crown’s treaty ...13 hours ago
- Government backs initiatives to cut environmental impact of plastic wasteThe Government has today announced funding for projects that will cut plastic waste and reduce its impact on the environment. “Today I am announcing the first four investments to be made from the $50 million Plastics Innovation Fund, which was set last year and implemented a 2020 election promise,” Environment ...15 hours ago
- Call for expressions of interest in appointment to the High Court BenchAttorney-General David Parker today called for nominations and expressions of interest in appointment to the High Court Bench. This is a process conducted at least every three years and ensures the Attorney-General has up to date information from which to make High Court appointments. “It is important that when appointments ...1 day ago
- Depositor compensation scheme protects Kiwis’ moneyNew Zealanders will have up to $100,000 of their deposits in any eligible institution guaranteed in the event that institution fails, under legislation introduced in Parliament today. The Deposit Takers Bill is the third piece of legislation in a comprehensive review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act and ...1 day ago
- New fund to help more Pacific aiga into their own homesThe Government has launched a new housing fund that will help more Pacific aiga achieve the dream of home ownership. “The Pacific Building Affordable Homes Fund will help organisations, private developers, Māori/iwi, and NGOs build affordable housing for Pacific families and establish better pathways to home ownership within Pacific communities. ...1 day ago
- More than 100,000 new Kiwis as halfway point reachedOver 100,000 new Kiwis can now call New Zealand ‘home’ after the 2021 Resident Visa reached the halfway point of approvals, Minister of Immigration Michael Wood announced today. “This is another important milestone, highlighting the positive impact our responsive and streamlined immigration system is having by providing comfort to migrant ...1 day ago
- Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill passes third reading – He mea pāhi te Maniapoto Claims Settl...Nā te Minita mō ngā Take Tiriti o Waitangi, nā Andrew Little, te iwi o Maniapoto i rāhiri i tēnei rā ki te mātakitaki i te pānuitanga tuatoru o te Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill - te pikinga whakamutunga o tā rātou whakataunga Tiriti o Waitangi o mua. "Me mihi ka ...2 days ago
- 50,000 more kids to benefit from equity-based programmes next yearAnother 47,000 students will be able to access additional support through the school donations scheme, and a further 3,000 kids will be able to get free and healthy school lunches as a result of the Equity Index. That’s on top of nearly 90% of schools that will also see a ...2 days ago
- Healthy Active Learning now in 40 percent of schools across New ZealandA total of 800 schools and kura nationwide are now benefitting from a physical activity and nutrition initiative aimed at improving the wellbeing of children and young people. Healthy Active Learning was funded for the first time in the inaugural Wellbeing Budget and was launched in 2020. It gets regional ...2 days ago
- Speech at 10th meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban TreatyKia Ora. It is a pleasure to join you here today at this 10th meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty. This gathering provides an important opportunity to reiterate our unwavering commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, for which the entry into force of this ...2 days ago
- Speech for Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit 2022Kia ora koutou katoa Thank you for the invitation to join you. It’s a real pleasure to be here, and to be in such fine company. I want to begin today by acknowledging His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Sir David Attenborough in creating what is becoming akin ...2 days ago
- New accreditation builds capacity for Emergency Management VolunteersEmergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty has recognised the first team to complete a newly launched National Accreditation Process for New Zealand Response Team (NZ-RT) volunteers. “NZ-RT volunteers play a crucial role in our emergency response system, supporting response and recovery efforts on the ground. This new accreditation makes sure our ...2 days ago
- Govt strengthens trans-Tasman emergency management cooperationAotearoa New Zealand continues to strengthen global emergency management capability with a new agreement between New Zealand and Australia, says Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. “The Government is committed to improving our global and national emergency management system, and the Memorandum of Cooperation signed is another positive step towards ...2 days ago
- Christchurch Call Initiative on Algorithmic OutcomesToday New Zealand, the USA, Twitter, and Microsoft, announced investment in a technology innovation initiative under the banner of the Christchurch Call. This initiative will support the creation of new technology to understand the impacts of algorithms on people’s online experiences. Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms play a growing role in ...2 days ago
- JOINT PR: Trans-Tasman Cooperation on disaster managementHon Kieran McAnulty, New Zealand Minister for Emergency Management Senator The Hon Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Emergency Management Strengthening Trans-Tasman cooperation on disaster management issues was a key area of focus when Australia and New Zealand’s disaster management ministers met this week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on ...2 days ago
- More transparency, less red-tape for modernised charities sectorThe Charities Amendment Bill has been introduced today which will modernise the charities sector by increasing transparency, improving access to justice services and reducing the red-tape that smaller charities face, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Priyanca Radhakrishnan said. “These changes will make a meaningful difference to over 28,000 ...2 days ago
- Pacific visas reopened to help boost workforceWork continues on delivering on a responsive and streamlined immigration system to help relieve workforce shortages, with the reopening of longstanding visa categories, Immigration Minister Michael Wood has announced. From 3 October 2022, registrations for the Samoan Quota will reopen, and from 5 October registrations for the Pacific Access Category ...3 days ago
- Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day Bill passes into lawThe Bill establishing Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day has passed its third reading. “As Queen of Aotearoa New Zealand, Her Majesty was loved for her grace, calmness, dedication, and public service. Her affection for New Zealand and its people was clear, and it was a fondness that was shared,” Michael ...3 days ago
- New investor migrant visa opensThe new Active Investor Plus visa category created to attract high-value investors, has officially opened marking a key milestone in the Government’s Immigration Rebalance strategy, Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Michael Wood have announced. “The new Active Investor Plus visa replaces the previous investor visa categories, which ...3 days ago
- New wharekura continues commitment to Māori educationA new Year 1-13 designated character wharekura will be established in Feilding, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis announced today. To be known as Te Kura o Kauwhata, the wharekura will cater for the expected growth in Feilding for years to come. “The Government has a goal of strengthening Māori ...3 days ago
- National minute of silence for Queen Elizabeth IIA national minute of silence will be observed at the start of New Zealand’s State Memorial Service for Queen Elizabeth II, at 2pm on Monday 26 September. The one-hour service will be held at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul, during a one-off public holiday to mark the Queen’s death. ...4 days ago
- Speech to the Climate Change and Business ConferenceTēnā koutou i tēnei ata. Good morning. Recently I had cause to say to my friends in the media that I consider that my job is only half done. So I’m going to take the opportunity of this year’s Climate and Business Conference to offer you a mid-point review. A ...4 days ago
- Government enhances protection for our most-productive land Enhanced protection for Aotearoa New Zealand’s most productive land Councils required to identify, map, and manage highly productive land Helping ensure Kiwis’ access to leafy greens and other healthy foods Subdivision for housing on highly-productive land could still be possible in limited circumstances The Government has today released a National ...5 days ago
- Kieran McAnulty to attend Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk ReductionMinister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty will travel to Brisbane this week to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 2022 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. “This conference is one of the most important meetings in the Asia-Pacific region to progress disaster risk reduction efforts and increase cooperation between ...6 days ago
- Trade and Agriculture Minister to travel to India and IndonesiaMinister of Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to India and Indonesia for trade and agricultural meetings to further accelerate the Government’s growing trade agenda. “Exploring ways we can connect globally and build on our trading relationships is a priority for the Government, ...7 days ago
- Poroporoaki: Cletus Maanu Paul (ONZM)E te rangatira Maanu, takoto mai ra, i tō marae i Wairaka, te marae o te wahine nāna I inoi kia Whakatānea ia kia tae ae ia ki te hopu i te waka Mātaatua kia kore ai i riro i te moana. Ko koe anō tēnā he pukumahi koe mō ...1 week ago
- Pacific Wellbeing Strategy sets clear path to improve outcomes for Pacific AotearoaStrengthening partnerships with Pacific communities is at the heart of the Government’s new Pacific Wellbeing Strategy, Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio announced today. “Working alongside communities to ensure more of our aiga and families have access to the staples of life like, housing, education, training and job opportunities ...1 week ago
- Jobs on the horizon for more than 1,000 rangatahiFollowing on from last week’s Better Pathways Package announcement and Apprenticeship Boost 50,000th apprentice milestone, the Government is continuing momentum, supporting over 1,000 more rangatahi into employment, through new funding for He Poutama Rangatahi. “Our Government remains laser focused on supporting young people to become work ready and tackle the ...1 week ago
- NZ/AU partnership to bring world-class satellite positioning servicesLand Information Minister Damien O’Connor today announced a joint Trans-Tasman partnership which will provide Australasia with world-leading satellite positioning services that are up to 50 times more accurate, boosting future economic productivity, sustainability and safety. New Zealand and Australia have partnered to deliver the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN), with ...1 week ago
- Govt helps small businesses get paid on timeThe Government is adding to the support it has offered New Zealand’s small businesses by introducing new measures to help ensure they get paid on time. A Business Payment Practices disclosure regime is being established to improve information and transparency around business-to-business payment practices across the economy, Small Business Minister ...1 week ago
- Economy grows as tourism and exports reboundThe economy has rebounded strongly in the June quarter as the easing of restrictions and reopening of the border boosted economic activity, meaning New Zealand is well placed to meet the next set of challenges confronting the global economy. GDP rose 1.7 percent in the June quarter following a decline ...1 week ago
- New Ambassador to China announcedForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Grahame Morton as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to China. “Aotearoa New Zealand and China share a long and important relationship,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “As we mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between our nations, we are connected by people-to-people links, ...1 week ago
- 1.4 million hectares of wilding pine control work in two years1.4 million hectares of native and productive land have been protected from wilding conifers in the past two years and hundreds of jobs created in the united efforts to stamp out the highly invasive weeds, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor said. Speaking today at the 2022 Wilding Pine Conference in Blenheim, Damien ...1 week ago
- HomeGround – “a place to come together, a place to come home to”After 10 years’ hard mahi, HomeGround - Auckland City Mission's new home – is now officially open. “It’s extremely satisfying to see our commitment to providing a safety net for people who need housing and additional support services come together in a place like HomeGround, to create a better future ...1 week ago
- Speech to New Zealand Nurses Organisation Toputanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa ConferenceTēnā tātou katoa Ki te reo pōwhiri, kei te mihi Ki a koutou ngā pou o te whare hauora o Aotearoa, kei te mihi He taura tangata, he taura kaupapa e hono ana i a tātou katoa i tēnei rā, Arā, ko te New Zealand Nurses Organisation Toputanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki ...1 week ago
- The New Zealand Economy – The Case for OptimismThere are a few quotes that I could use to sum up where the world is today in the bow wave of COVID, facing the effects of a war, and the spiralling cost of living. One stands out for me. In the midst of chaos there is always opportunity. It ...1 week ago
- Launch of Digital Strategy for Aotearoa, New ZealandCHECK AGAINST DELIVERY E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha o te wa, tēnā koutou, tēna koutou, tēna tātou katoa. Ki ngā mana whenua, Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei, anō nei aku mihi ki a koutou. Nōku te hōnore kia haere mai ki te whakanuia tēnei huihuinga whakahirahira. ...1 week ago
- How not to tell customers their data is at risk: the perils of the Optus approach
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edwina Luck, Senior Lecturer QUT Business School, Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, Queensland University of Technology Optus fears data on up to 9.8 million of its customers has been accessed in a sophisticated cyberattack – including, for some customers, passport and drivers ...5 hours ago - Threats, rates and mullets in spotlight at feisty mayoral debate
One New Plymouth mayoral candidate was banned from today's debate for allegedly making threats against the media, while another has dropped out of the contentious race. ...5 hours ago - VIDEO: Albanese to attend Abe funeral next week; integrity legislation to go to parliamentSource: 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 Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. While the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and a memorial service in Canberra dominated the news ...8 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Political mood of the business eliteAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: The Political mood of the business elite Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The New Zealand Herald has released the results of its annual “Mood of the Boardroom” survey today. Should we care what businesses think of politics, the economy and society? There’s a good ...8 hours ago
- Indigenous Issues, Climate Change, And Artificial Intelligence On The Agenda For Canadian Political ...
A cross-party delegation of Members of Parliament (MPs) is heading to Canada for a week-long political exchange. The purpose of the delegation is for members to gain a better understanding of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, and ...8 hours ago - Government announces $5m fund to help reduce reliance on plasticsThe government says the country needs to be doing more to match recycling practices in other parts of the world. ...8 hours ago
- Mahuta’s husband and the Public Service Commission inquiry: how Chris Hipkins ineptly played the r...
We intended alerting our readers (if they had not already noticed) to how Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins played the race card in the matter of the Public Service Commission deciding to look into the propriety of government contracts awarded to Nanaia Mahuta’s husband. We have taken a short cut ...9 hours ago - Week in Politics: Sam Uffindell cleared but it's a bleak week for NationalAnalysis - Uffindell is back in National's fold but Luxon's refusal to release the report on his behaviour creates uncertainty over its findings, Foreign Minister Mahuta is embroiled in a conflict of interest investigation and there's a warning ...9 hours ago
- ‘No body, no parole’ laws could be disastrous for the wrongfully convictedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jarryd Bartle, Associate Lecturer, RMIT University The New South Wales government is set to introduce new “no body, no parole” laws, which will deny parole for homicide offenders who refuse to provide information or assistance to locate their victim’s remains. This follows ...9 hours ago
- No, we are not a member of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – but we are o...We reported yesterday on the speech – a short one of around 500 words – which the PM delivered to the 10th meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty. She said the gathering provided an important opportunity to reiterate New Zealand’s unwavering commitment to achieving a world ...10 hours ago
- Cowardly Government Needs To Keep Its Promise On No New MinesThe Government's decision not to support Green MP Eugenie Sage's members bill to ban new mines on conservation land shows how little it truly cares about conservation, and keeping promises, says Ours Not Mines spokesperson Morgan Donoghue. "When ...10 hours ago
- Ukraine ambassador urges Australian embassy in Kyiv to reopen ASAPSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Ukraine conflict has escalated this week, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announcing a partial military mobilisation and once again raising the threat of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile Ukraine has been pressing Australia to provide ...10 hours ago
- A UN-backed tribunal on Khmer Rouge crimes just confirmed the conviction of key leader Khieu Samphan...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Grey, Lecturer in Law, University of Sydney Nhet Sok Heng/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia via AP A United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia has just concluded its largest trial, concerning crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. The ...10 hours ago
- Should I give my teen alcohol? Just a sip, the whole can, or none at all?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Aiken, Adjunct Associate Lecturer, UNSW Sydney Kindel Media/Pexels, CC BY-SA You’re at a barbecue and the adults are enjoying a few drinks. Everyone is relaxed and having a great time. One of your friends has just given their teen ...10 hours ago
- High Court sits vac – it looks like we don’t qualify but (while we live off our nest eggs) our b...Latest from the Beehive The Government opened up a great career opportunity yesterday at much the same time as it announced an initiative to protect – within limits – our savings. The job opportunity (which excited us here, at Point of Order, until we were alerted to the age limit ...11 hours ago
- Want noisy miners to be less despotic? Think twice before filling your garden with nectar-rich flowe...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jade Fountain, PhD Student, University of Adelaide Photo by Vlad Kutepov/Pexels, CC BY Noisy miners are complicated creatures. These Australian native honeyeaters live in large cooperative groups, use alarm calls to target specific predators, and sometimes help raise the young ...11 hours ago
- Government commits nearly $19m to sporting upgrades ahead of 2023 FIFA World CupThe money will pay for upgrades at potential sporting facilities earmarked for the tournament, including pitch, lighting and facility enhancements. ...12 hours ago
- Small communities could be buying, selling and saving money on electric power right now – here’s...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Soheil Mohseni, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sustainable Energy Systems, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Shutterstock/Riccio da favola Globally, the electricity sector is shifting from large, centralised grids powered by fossil fuels to smaller and smarter renewable local ...12 hours ago
- Not Invisible – Let’s Celebrate The Resilience And Contribution Of Older WomenInternational Day of Older Persons on 1 October each year is a day to celebrate older people – to highlight the value of all older people and to promote dignity and respect. This year the United Nations (UN) theme is “The Resilience and Contributions ...12 hours ago
- Labour Kills Green Members Bill On MiningCoromandel Watchdog of Hauraki are furious that Labour have announced they will not support the Green Member Eugenie Sage’s Bill which would have advanced Labour’s own mining policy. “It’s ridiculous that Labour wouldn’t allow the “Crown ...13 hours ago
- NZ Announces Funding For Glorification Of TerrorNew Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Hon Minister Mahuta, has moved NZ further from its 5 eyes allies by rewarding incitement to terror via her announcement on Twitter that New Zealand will provide UNWRA with“ $3 million over 3 years” and that “Aotearoa ...13 hours ago
- EU Protects Deep Sea Life From Bottom Trawling, As New Science Shows Up NZ Industry ProposalThe European Union has agreed new measures to protect seamounts from bottom trawling, showing up the New Zealand government’s inaction on the issue, environment groups said today. Meanwhile, a NIWA study released this week has revealed that there are ...13 hours ago
- Lack Of Respect Shown To VotersMayoral candidate, Craig Lord is starting to wonder about the ethics being shown by his opponents as another debate is cancelled at short notice. In what has become a disturbing pattern during the campaign, Efeso Collins has put in yet another apology ...13 hours ago
- Balance Of Payments And International Investment Position: Year Ended 31 March 2022Balance of payments records the value of the country's transactions with the rest of the world. It shows changes in financial claims on, and liabilities to, the rest of the world. International investment position is a snapshot of the country's financial ...13 hours ago
- Expelling Russian ambassador 'least meaningful' diplomatic option – ArdernPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has downplayed the likelihood of the Russian ambassador being expelled. ...13 hours ago
- ACT Claims FFP Extension Is Unavoidable“Figures collected by ACT show the avalanche of consents David Parker is going to inflict on councils to meet Freshwater Farm Plan requirements, his only option is to extend the deadline,” says ACT’s Primary Industries spokesperson Mark Cameron. ...13 hours ago
- EU boss says trade deal with NZ a 'gold standard' for future agreementsThe chair of the European Parliament's International Trade committee is confident the process of ratifying the trade deal with New Zealand will be simple. ...14 hours ago
- Political panel: Uffindell, Russia, and MPs under threatMorning Report - RNZ and the NZ Herald's political editors Jane Patterson and Claire Trevett discuss the Uffindell report's handling and increased Russian aggression. ...14 hours ago
- Public Service Workforce Spend Must Be Transparent And JustifiedThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union says more transparency is needed in our public service including when it comes to the amount being spent on the workforce. "News that nearly a third of public servants are earning more than $100,000.00 per annum ...14 hours ago
- Curious Kids: How is lava made?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janice Crerar, Lecturer in Education, Charles Darwin University ImageBank4u/Shutterstock How is lava made? – Leon, age 7, Sydney, Australia Thank you for a great question Leon! Have you ever seen lava? What does it look ...16 hours ago
- Grand design: why the AFL structure is unique – and has enabled competitive balanceSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Since 2017, Victoria has commemorated AFL Grand Final Friday as a public holiday, with a parade of the two competing teams through a festive Melbourne (apart from interruptions in 2020 and ...16 hours ago
- Someone in my house has COVID. How likely am I to catch it?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Rebecca Tapert/Unsplash Throughout the pandemic, one of the biggest COVID risks has been sharing a house with someone who is infectious. Given how contagious COVID is, especially more recent variants, you’d imagine ...16 hours ago
- Termites love global warming – the pace of their wood munching gets significantly faster in hotter...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Cheesman, Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University Wood feeding termites (_Microcerotermes spp_) inside their nest. Johan Larson, Author provided When we consider termites, we may think of the danger they can pose to our houses once they settle in and ...16 hours ago
- Australia has relied on agricultural innovation to farm our dry land. We’ll need more for the unce...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Rudd, SIEF Ross Metcalf STEM+Business Fellow – Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia Shutterstock Since European colonisation, Australia’s farmers have had to pioneer new technologies to adapt agriculture to this dry land. Think of innovations such as the world’s ...16 hours ago
- Lizard in your luggage? We’re using artificial intelligence to detect wildlife traffickingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Pirotta, Postdoctoral Researcher and Wildlife Scientist, Macquarie University A scanned lace monitor lizard (_Varanus varius_) image produced by using new technology. Rapiscan Systems, Author provided Blue-tongue lizards and sulphur-crested cockatoos are among the native animals frequently smuggled overseas. While the ...16 hours ago
- How do you teach a primary school child about consent? You can start with these booksSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Whatman, Sessional Academic, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University Johnny McClung/Unsplash, CC BY Parents will be increasingly aware they need to talk about consent with their children. There is no such thing as “too young” to start the ...16 hours ago
- Memo to the Productivity Commission: fixing inequality is the key to productivitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Gordon, Honorary Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University Shutterstock Every five years the Productivity Commission is charged with examining everything that can be done to lift Australia’s productivity. Its first interim report in the current inquiry, ...16 hours ago
- Some survivors will find peace and healing in Bali 2002 – but others may find the series triggerin...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carmen Jacques, Research Officer, Edith Cowan University Stan Around 11pm on October 12 2002, the first of three separate bombs detonated when a suicide bomber entered Paddy’s Bar in Kuta, Bali. Another bomb detonated shortly after outside the Sari nightclub, before ...16 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern meets UN Secretary-General António GuterresJacinda Ardern met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and challenges facing the Pacific. ...16 hours ago
- Orban et urbi
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban doesn’t get a great press – at least outside Hungary where it’s harder to arrange. So broadminded diversity connoisseurs might profit from a recent speech at the Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp (a ‘large-scale intellectual workshop of the Carpathian Basin’ apparently). It reads ...19 hours ago - Local elections: Three mayoral races you should know aboutThe Detail - Mayoral races in Auckland and Wellington may be front page news, but the most fascinating local elections are happening elsewhere. ...19 hours ago
- Grattan on Friday: Can Jim Chalmers become a reforming treasurer?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers’ long term ambition is similar to that of most treasurers. He wants to be prime minister. More immediately, he aspires to be a reformer, which has become harder in today’s electorate, with its ...1 day ago
- Emotions run high as Ngāti Maniapoto secures agreement with CrownCheers roared through both parliament and Pipitea Marae in Wellington today, as the crown and Ngāti Maniapoto reached settlement. ...1 day ago
- Exciting Local Recycling Projects Deserve Council AttentionSouthland District Mayoral candidate Kirsty Pickett says southern councils need to get back to working together on recycling services to champion and take advantage of exciting progress being made in the local private sector. “I was privileged ...1 day ago
- Ukraine war: NZ government actively considering expulsion of Russian ambassadorThe government could be inching closer to expelling the Russian ambassador, as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalates. ...1 day ago
- Christopher Luxon continues to refuse release of Sam Uffindell reportNational Party leader Christopher Luxon is continuing to refuse releasing the findings of an independent inquiry into allegations against Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. ...1 day ago
- Fonterra reports a $585m net profit- and $13.7bn in payments to farmers from the milk price will flo...
New Zealand’s big dairy co-op Fonterra, reporting its annual result with revenue rising 11% to $23.4bn says it has an “exciting future”. Net profit of $585m took a $80m hit from its Sri Lankan business following economic disruption in the nation. But chief executive Miles Hurrell says the co-op is ...1 day ago - PM speaks about our support for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty – but have we joined the...Buzz from the Beehive It was a short speech – around 500 words – on a big subject, when the PM addressed the 10th meeting of the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty. She said the gathering provided an important opportunity to reiterate New Zealand’s unwavering commitment to achieving ...1 day ago
- National welcomes review into process for awarding government contractsThe National Party is welcoming an investigation into any potential conflict of interest in contracts between government agencies and the company owned by Nanaia Mahuta's husband. ...1 day ago
- Cheeky Wellington Billboards Highlight Government’s Climate GreenwashThe day before nationwide Climate Strikes, Greenpeace Aotearoa has erected three billboards across Wellington today in a bid to highlight the Government’s lack of action on climate change. The satirical billboards feature Prime Minister Jacinda ...2 days ago
- Employment Indicators: Weekly As At 19 September 2022The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Please note that we will be changing the dissemination method of this release from ...2 days ago
- Putin plays the annexation card, pushing the war in Ukraine into a dangerous new phaseSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images A lot has changed since world leaders last met in person at the United Nations General Assembly: a global pandemic, a looming food crisis, economic stress, climate disasters – and, ...2 days ago
- Make The Mahuta Contract Probe A Thorough OneThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union welcomes the news that the Public Service Commissioner, Peter Hughes, will undertake an investigation into the many Government contracts obtained by Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s husband, William Gannin Ormsby. “It has ...2 days ago
- How Victorian Labor’s failure on upper house electoral reform undermines democracySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist), The Conversation AAP/Joel Carrett At the 2018 Victorian state election, Labor easily won a majority in the lower house of the Victorian parliament, but the upper house result was an anti-democratic shambles, as the Greens ...2 days ago
- Biosecurity bill passes first readingThe bill is aimed at deterring incoming visitors from bringing in illegal biosecurity items such as fruit or other food. ...2 days ago
- Incoming Councils Must Prioritise Climate Resilience"Incoming mayors, councillors and community board members must prioritise investing in community-centred climate resilience," says Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) Chief Executive Tim Grafton. Local government ...2 days ago
- PM Jacinda Ardern condemns Russia's escalation of Ukraine invasionPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has strongly condemned Russia's recent escalation in the Ukraine war, including the threat of nuclear weapons. ...2 days ago
- Why do humans grow two sets of teeth? These marsupials are rewriting the story of dental evolutionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Qamariya Nasrullah, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Evolutionary Morphology, Monash University Hossein Anv / Unsplash You only get 52 teeth in your lifetime: 20 baby teeth, followed by 32 adult teeth. It’s not like that for all animals. Some, like rodents, ...2 days ago
- As the 2022 AFLM season comes to a close, the game must ask itself some difficult questions – espe...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Klugman, Research Fellow, Institute for Health & Sport, member of the Community, Identity and Displacement Research Network, and Co-convenor of the Olympic Research Network, Victoria University Shutterstock/The Conversation “One more”. In two words, the great Noongar-Wajuk Australian Rules footballer ...2 days ago
- What’s this ‘longevity’ diet, and will it really make you live longer?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia Brooke Lark/Unsplash, CC BY-SA You may have heard about the longevity diet, and its promise of an extended life span – but what exactly ...2 days ago
- There’s a huge surge in solar production under way – and Australia could show the world how to u...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Blakers, Professor of Engineering, Australian National University Shutterstock You might feel despondent after reading news reports about countries doubling down on fossil fuels to cope with energy price spikes. Don’t. It’s a blip. While the Russian invasion of ...2 days ago
- ‘We haven’t built it, and they’ve come’: the e-change pressures on Australia’s lifestyle t...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Waters-Lynch, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Organisational Design, RMIT University Shutterstock Michael and Karen moved from Melbourne to Castlemaine, about 130km northwest of Victoria’s capital, in mid-2020 – using, like tens of thousands of Australians, the shift to remote ...2 days ago
- Peppa Pig has introduced a pair of lesbian polar bears, but Aussie kids’ TV has been leading the w...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien O’Meara, PhD Candidate, Media and Communications, Swinburne University of Technology Channel 5 Peppa Pig’s first same-sex couple, a pair of lesbian polar bears, were recently introduced after a petition to include a same-sex family received nearly 24,000 signatures. ...2 days ago
- Jacinda Ardern: Govts must pave way for climate change solutionsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delivered a speech on behalf of Prince William at a star-studded New York event focusing on climate change solutions. ...2 days ago
- Member’s Bill Containing Change To Voting Age Not To Be Considered By Select Committee21 September Today a member’s Bill in the name of Golriz Gharaman, which contained a provision to make the voting age 16, did not pass first reading—meaning it will not be considered by a select committee. Labour and National members said many provisions ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time for the Auditor General to investigate Mahuta contractsAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Time for the Auditor General to investigate Mahuta contracts Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Pressure is increasing on the Auditor General to undertake an inquiry into numerous contracts, appointments and grants awarded to members of Cabinet Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s family by various government ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: National’s unsatisfactory exoneration of Sam UffindellAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: National’s unsatisfactory exoneration of Sam Uffindell It’s hard to have confidence in the National Party’s supposed exoneration of MP Sam Uffindell over allegations of ethical violations as an adult. The party’s processes have been far too opaque, which means there will always be a ...2 days ago
- Corporations back calls for government to enforce gender pay gap reportingA group of companies have urged the government to address gender pay differences by requiring medium and large businesses to publicly report their pay gaps. ...2 days ago
- Voices for Freedom shows support for three Whakatāne district candidatesThree local government candidates in Whakatāne district have the support of anti-vaccination mandate organisation Voices for Freedom. ...2 days ago
- Christchurch Call Summit Discusses Pathways Forward In Combating Terrorist And Violent Extremist Con...21 September 2022 - The Christchurch Call Summit in New York was another important milestone for the Call Community. The multi-stakeholder forum provided the opportunity for civil society members, academia, tech platforms and government leaders to discuss ...2 days ago
- ‘Serial’ podcast’s Adnan Syed has murder conviction vacated. How common are wrongful convictio...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hayley Cullen, Associate lecturer, University of Newcastle In 2000, 18-year-old Baltimore man Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. Syed was sentenced to life in prison and served close to 23 years in prison for the ...2 days ago
- Efeso Collins Welcomes Positive Response To Rates Policy But Rules Out Cornering Aucklanders Into A ...Efeso Collins has repeatedly affirmed that his position is to make sure rates remain affordable which is why he voted for holding rates to a 3.5% increase per year as part of Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan process. But Collins says he will not ...2 days ago
- Efeso Collins Heartened By Growing Support For His Campaign, Including The Endorsement Of Sir Bob Ha...With voting having just begun in Auckland’s mayoral race, Efeso Collins says it’s encouraging to see support growing for his campaign after seven months of tireless campaigning across every corner of Auckland. “Our team have been running a grassroots ...2 days ago
- Registration scheme for Pacific Islanders re-opensMinister of Immigration Michael Wood says this would provide for up to 5900 people to become New Zealand residents over the next two years ...2 days ago
- Christchurch mayor asks minister not to enforce housing density rules in cityThe Christchurch mayor has written to the Minister for the Environment asking him not to intervene to enforce denser housing rules in Christchurch. ...2 days ago
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