winston peters
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Which side are you on?
Written By: - Date published: 9:59 am, January 21st, 2024 - 191 comments
The Act Party is seeking to undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi and ferment racial hatred and division while nominally seeking unity. And National clearly has no idea what to do about the situation.
Genocide in Gaza
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 pm, January 7th, 2024 - 57 comments
South Africa has taken a case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice. A group of prominent New Zealand lawyers have asked the New Zealand Government to join South Africa in support of their application. I think we should.
How not to make friends and influence people
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, November 28th, 2023 - 130 comments
An increase in lung cancer rates and a decrease in the amount that working families receive so that tax credits for landlords can be put in place tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Government. Your blood should be boiling by this stage and it is only two days in.
Highlights quoted out of the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement
Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, November 25th, 2023 - 73 comments
Some of the more unusual policies from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
The long wait still continues
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, November 25th, 2023 - 48 comments
On Friday, three parties finally signed agreements to gain a slim majority in parliament. What this means is that some time on Monday Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro will be able to swear in the new ministers of the Executive Council. On Monday Labour and the Greens will have their constitutional muzzle removed. On December 5th parliament will lumber back into work. Then the fun begins for this political blogger.
Strong stable Government?
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, November 23rd, 2023 - 102 comments
Today may be the day we have a new Government, that is as long as Act and NZ First can resolve their fight over who is to be Deputy Prime Minister.
The baubles of office
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, November 22nd, 2023 - 93 comments
Now that the policy negotiations between Act National and NZ First have been concluded talks have progressed to the most sensitive and difficult area, who will get the baubles of office.
Mergers and acquisitions
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, November 19th, 2023 - 105 comments
Christopher Luxon has always talked the big talk about his corporate experience with mergers and acquisitions. But the media are starting to ask questions and his positive rhetoric may not be well placed.
Negotiation of chaos
Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, November 15th, 2023 - 132 comments
So the coalition negotiations are going as well as I thought they would.
What will National do about special voting rights?
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, November 11th, 2023 - 45 comments
One of the most democratic changes that Labour made to the electoral system was to allow people to enroll and vote on election day. The right hate it. And may be planning to change it.
Nu phone who dis?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 6th, 2023 - 37 comments
It is very early days and already, in what appears to be a finely calibrated insult to make David Seymour appear weak, Winston Peters has responded to the first overture from the Act leader for talks by ignoring him.
A point on the long wait
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, November 3rd, 2023 - 32 comments
Today we will get the final election counts. It will now include the estimated specials of 20.2% of the vote. This can change the precise balance in parliament. A NAct coalition will probably require a partner party to secure a reliable majority. Unfortunately past political history is going to make that awkward. The chaos will be great for a political blog of the left. Not so good for the country.
The Political Cowardice of David Seymour and Chris Luxon
Written By: - Date published: 3:53 pm, October 28th, 2023 - 26 comments
Secrecy and silence are signs of cowards.
Let’s do the time warp again
Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, October 26th, 2023 - 39 comments
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary Winston Peters has accused Jacinda Ardern of hiding the fact that her office received the Christchurch Massacre shooter’s manifesto shortly before the massacre occurred.
Winston Peters? I barely know him
Written By: - Date published: 10:50 am, October 9th, 2023 - 46 comments
National has over the past couple of weeks indicated that it will ring Winston if it needs his votes, then saying that if he negotiates too hard it will seek a further election. This is real coalition of chaos stuff.
Like two cats in a sack
Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, October 6th, 2023 - 15 comments
The minor leader’s debate last night confirmed the fact that David Seymour and Winston Peters hate each other.
The weird and wacky 2023 election campaign
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, October 4th, 2023 - 30 comments
In a week of weird events National’s decision not to debate Labour in the Press’s leader’s debate has been a massive own goal because the country will be able to see how toxic David Seymour’s and Winston Peters’ relationship is.
Why won’t Winston Peters answer straight forward questions about NZ First policy?
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, October 2nd, 2023 - 116 comments
Jack Tame vs Winston Peters.
Hipkins goes on the offensive
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, September 29th, 2023 - 39 comments
Chris Hipkins has upped the ante in the election campaign by directly calling out the right’s use of dog whistle racism.
Winston adds to National’s tax cut credibility problem
Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, September 27th, 2023 - 26 comments
National’s failure to adequately explain how its new revenue policies will work has seen its support sag. And its problem is that if it depends on Winston Peters for confidence and supply he has expressed major reservations about these policies and there is no guarantee he will support them. And a significant majority of New Zealanders understand this.
Even Mike Hosking thinks that a National-Act-NZ First coalition would be an absolute disaster
Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, September 26th, 2023 - 63 comments
As the polls show a further slump in support for the right and as Winston Peters emerges as a kingmaker there is growing concern about the possibility of a real coalition of chaos being elected.
Where is NZ First’s list?
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 pm, September 7th, 2023 - 13 comments
With the nomination period closing within a week or so I wonder why NZ First has not published its list yet?
Hipkins rules out coalition with Peters
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, August 28th, 2023 - 27 comments
Yesterday was a good day for Labour. Leader Chris Hipkins started talking about what the party stood for and what its values are while also ruling out a coalition with NZ First.
Why New Zealand First Will Get Back In
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, August 17th, 2023 - 70 comments
Winston’s term with Ardern shows what high-delivery, low-foolishness government looked like. That’s why he’s rising again.
NZ First gets some hefty donations from National donors
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, August 15th, 2023 - 30 comments
Some donors normally associated with the National Party have recently made significant donations to the NZ First Party.
NZ First and Winston seek anti vax vote
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, August 14th, 2023 - 53 comments
Winston Peters clearly hopes that enough of us have short memories. He was an integral part of the 2017 Government whose Covid policies saw our death rate from the disease amongst the lowest in the developed world. But now his party is clearly courting the anti vaccination community.
Too Old For Politics
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 13th, 2022 - 37 comments
Can you be too old to represent your people? New Zealand’s oldest person to first get elected was William Cargill at 71. Australia’ s John Howard was 68 when he retired, and Robert Menzies was 72 when he retired as Prime Minister. The previous US president is now 76 and will likely run again in […]
Political donations law needs reform
Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, August 1st, 2022 - 7 comments
Judge Jagose’s decision to acquit two persons linked to New Zealand First charged with obtaining control over $750,000 has opened up rather large holes in the obligations of political parties to report donations.
He’s baaack
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 21st, 2021 - 30 comments
For the first time since the election Winston Peters has reemerged. But instead of talking about the country’s problems such as climate change, child poverty and recovering from the global pandemic he chose to concentrate on the “over” use of Te Reo, cycleways and gangs.
Ihumātao deal imminent
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, December 14th, 2020 - 25 comments
Radio New Zealand is reporting that a deal on Ihumātao is imminent and that Cabinet is expected to sign off on the deal today.
O Winston I love you
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, October 18th, 2020 - 50 comments
Some reasons for us to miss Winston’s exit from politics.
- Monday 24 March
Bargaining between the PSA and Oranga Tamariki over the collective agreement is intensifying – with more strike action likely, while the Employment Relations Authority has ordered facilitation. More than 850 laboratory staff are walking off their jobs in a week of rolling strike action. Union coverage CTU: Confidence in ...7 days ago - The permanent Australia-China contest in the South Pacific
Foreign Minister Penny Wong in 2024 said that ‘we’re in a state of permanent contest in the Pacific—that’s the reality.’ China’s arrogance hurts it in the South Pacific. Mark that as a strong Australian card ...1 week ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes on Monday, March 24
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on Israel’s murderous relapse, and Peters’ sad decline
In the past week, Israel has reverted to slaughtering civilians, starving children and welshing on the terms of the peace deal negotiated earlier this year. The IDF’s current offensive seems to be intended to render Gaza unlivable, preparatory (perhaps) to re-occupation by Israeli settlers. The short term demands for the ...1 week ago - 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 16, 2025 thru Sat, March 22, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. We are still interested ...1 week ago - Bullying a Chess Bot: More Martinian Shenanigans
In recent months, I have garnered copious amusement playing Martin, chess.com’s infamously terrible Chess AI. Alas, it is not how it once was, when he would cheerfully ignore freely offered material. Martin has grown better since I first stumbled upon him. I still remain frustrated at his capture-happy determination to ...1 week ago - Indian Summer
Every time that I see ya,A lightning bolt fills the room,The underbelly of Paris,She sings her favourite tune,She'll drink you under the table,She'll show you a trick or two,But every time that I left her,I missed the things she would doSongwriters: Kelly JonesThis morning, I posted - Are you excited ...1 week ago - Bernard’s Soliloquy for the week to March 23
Long stories shortest this week in our political economy: Standard & Poor’s judged the Government’s council finance reforms a failure. Professional investors showed the Government they want it to borrow more, not less. GDP bounced out of recession by more than forecast in the December quarter, but data for the ...1 week ago - Making sense of it all
Each day at 4:30 my brother calls in at the rest home to see Dad. My visits can be months apart. Five minutes after you've left, he’ll have forgotten you were there, but every time, his face lights up and it’s a warm happy visit.Tim takes care of almost everything ...1 week ago - A Response to ACT’s MRA-Style Rant
On the 19th of March, ACT announced they would be running candidates in this year’s local government elections. Accompanying that call for “common-sense kiwis” was an anti-woke essay typifying the views they expect their candidates to hold. I have included that part of their mailer, Free Press, in its entirety. ...1 week ago - Spread a Little Happiness
Even when the darkest clouds are in the skyYou mustn't sigh and you mustn't crySpread a little happiness as you go byPlease tryWhat's the use of worrying and feeling blue?When days are long keep on smiling throughSpread a little happiness 'til dreams come trueSongwriters: Vivian Ellis / Clifford Grey / ...1 week ago - Pick ‘n’ Mix at 6am on Saturday, March 22
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...1 week ago - Siding with the Right Of the Right
ACT up the game on division politicsEmmerson’s take on David Seymour’s claim Jesus would have supported ACTACT’s announcement it is moving into local politics is a logical next step for a party that is waging its battle on picking up the aggrieved.It’s a numbers game, and as long as the ...1 week ago - Jam tomorrow, butter next week
1. What will be the slogan of the next butter ad campaign?a. You’re worth itb. Once it hits $20, we can do something about the riversc. I can’t believe it’s the price of butter d. None of the above Read more ...1 week ago - Why Do Cryptocurrencies Appear to Be So Valuable?
It is said that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. That may be an exaggeration but an even better response is to point out economists do know the difference. They did not at first. Classical economics thought that the price of something reflected the objective ...1 week ago - Awful optics: political fighting in Taiwan stalls part of defence budget rise
Political fighting in Taiwan is delaying some of an increase in defence spending and creating an appearance of lack of national resolve that can only damage the island’s relationship with the Trump administration. The main ...1 week ago
- The Independent Intelligence Review is finally out, and it’s a worthy sequel
The unclassified version of the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review (IIR) was released today. It’s a welcome and worthy sequel to its 2017 predecessor, with an ambitious set of recommendations for enhancements to Australia’s national intelligence ...1 week ago
- Law, culture, and the OIA
Yesterday outgoing Ombudsman Peter Boshier published a report, Reflections on the Official Information Act, on his way out the door. The report repeated his favoured mantra that the Act was "fundamentally sound", all problems were issues of culture, and that no legislative change was needed (and especially no changes to ...1 week ago - A new US humanitarian agency must operate without political blinders
The United States government is considering replacing USAID with a new agency, the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (USIHA), according to documents published by POLITICO. Under the proposed design, the agency will fail its ...1 week ago
- Worming Through Dangerous Times
1 week ago - Why is the Govt so afraid of borrowing?
Mōrena. Long stories shortest: Professional investors who are paid a lot of money to be careful about lending to the New Zealand Government think it is wonderful place to put their money. Yet the Government itself is so afraid of borrowing more that it is happy to kill its own ...1 week ago - The future of the Combined Space Operations initiative
As space becomes more contested, Australia should play a key role with its partners in the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative to safeguard the space domain. Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States signed the ...1 week ago
- Dave’s Cats
Ooh you're a cool catComing on strong with all the chit chatOoh you're alrightHanging out and stealing all the limelightOoh messing with the beat of my heart yeah!Songwriters: Freddie Mercury / John Deacon.It would be a tad ironic; I can see it now. “Yeah, I didn’t unsubscribe when he said ...1 week ago - Friday 21 March
The PSA are calling the Prime Minister a hypocrite for committing to increase defence spending while hundreds of more civilian New Zealand Defence Force jobs are set to be cut as part of a major restructure. The number of companies being investigated for people trafficking in New Zealand has skyrocketed ...1 week ago
- Weekly Roundup 21-March-2025
Another Friday, hope everyone’s enjoyed their week as we head toward the autumn equinox. Here’s another roundup of stories that caught our eye on the subject of cities and what makes them even better. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Connor took a look at how Auckland ...1 week ago - A special Hoon with Michael Wolff, author of four books on Donald Trump
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking with special guest author Michael Wolff, who has just published his fourth book about Donald Trump: ‘All or Nothing’.Here’s Peter’s writeup of the interview. Hoon: Trumpism ...1 week ago - Hoon: Trumpism dies with Trump says Wolff
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- The ADF reserve system is obsolete. We need a dramatically expanded force
Australia needs to radically reorganise its reserves system to create a latent military force that is much larger, better trained and equipped and deployable within days—not decades. Our current reserve system is not fit for ...1 week ago
- Pick ‘n’ Mix at 6am on Friday, March 21
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...1 week ago - Against All Reason: William Blake and the Private Fantasy Mythology
I have argued before that one ought to be careful in retrospectively allocating texts into genres. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) only looks like science-fiction because a science-fiction genre subsequently developed. Without H.G. Wells, would Frankenstein be considered science-fiction? No, it probably wouldn’t. Viewed in the context of its time, Frankenstein ...1 week ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2025
Open access notables The severe 2020 coral bleaching event in the tropical Atlantic linked to marine heatwaves, Rodrigues et al., Communications Earth & Environment: Marine heatwaves can amplify the vulnerabilities of regional marine ecosystems and jeopardise local economies and food resources. Here, we show that marine heatwaves in the tropical ...2 weeks ago
- Elbridge Colby’s vision: blocking China
Elbridge Colby’s senate confirmation hearing in early March holds more important implications for US partners than most observers in Canberra, Wellington or Suva realise. As President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defence for ...2 weeks ago
- China’s military spending rises should prompt regional budget responses
China’s defence budget is rising heftily yet again. The 2025 rise will be 7.2 percent, the same as in 2024, the government said on 5 March. But the allocation, officially US$245 billion, is just the ...2 weeks ago
- Pressure grows for commonsense correction on safe local speeds
Concern is growing about wide-ranging local repercussions of the new Setting of Speed Limits rule, rewritten in 2024 by former transport minister Simeon Brown. In particular, there’s growing fears about what this means for children in particular. A key paradox of the new rule is that NZTA-controlled roads have the ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon’s Guests.
Speilmeister: Christopher Luxon’s prime-ministerial pitches notwithstanding, are institutions with billions of dollars at their disposal really going to invest them in a country so obviously in a deep funk?HAVING WOOED THE WORLD’s investors, what, if anything, has New Zealand won? Did Christopher Luxon’s guests board their private jets fizzing with enthusiasm for ...2 weeks ago - S&P downgrades 18 councils, blaming Govt
Christchurch City Council is one of 18 councils and three council-controlled organisations (CCOs) downgraded by ratings agency S&P. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories shortest: Standard & Poor’s has cut the credit ratings of 18 councils, blaming the new Government’s abrupt reversal of 3 Waters, cuts to capital ...2 weeks ago - Recession ends – Economic challenges remain
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that the economy grew by 0.7% ending the very deep recession seen over the past year, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “Even though GDP grew in the three months to December, our economy is still 1.1% smaller than it ...2 weeks ago
- Maybe there’s a connection?
What is going on with the price of butter?, RNZ, 19 march 2025: If you have bought butter recently you might have noticed something - it is a lot more expensive. Stats NZ said last week that the price of butter was up 60 percent in February compared to ...2 weeks ago
- I, too, got a few things wrong
I agree with Will Leben, who wrote in The Strategist about his mistakes, that an important element of being a commentator is being accountable and taking responsibility for things you got wrong. In that spirit, ...2 weeks ago
- Commandments & Cures
You’d beDrunk by noon, no one would knowJust like the pandemicWithout the sourdoughIf I were there, I’d find a wayTo get treated for hysteriaEvery dayLyrics Riki Lindhome.A varied selection today in Nick’s Kōrero:Thou shalt have no other gods - with Christopher Luxon.Doctors should be seen and not heard - with ...2 weeks ago - Australia needs greater defence self-reliance, and extra funding
Two recent foreign challenges suggest that Australia needs urgently to increase its level of defence self-reliance and to ensure that the increased funding that this would require is available. First, the circumnavigation of our continent ...2 weeks ago
- Pick ‘n’ Mix at 6am on Thursday, March 20
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, The ...2 weeks ago - Gordon Campbell on Winston Peters’ bad trip, and the return of the PPPs zombie
According to RNZ’s embedded reporter, the importance of Winston Peters’ talks in Washington this week “cannot be overstated.” Right. “Exceptionally important.” said the maestro himself. This epic importance doesn’t seem to have culminated in anything more than us expressing our “concern” to the Americans about a series of issues that ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Fresk – a neat way to make the complexity of climate change less puzzling
Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of "Climate Fresk" and at a guess, this will also be the case for many of you. I stumbled upon it in the self-service training catalog for employees at the company I work at in Germany where it was announced ...2 weeks ago
- Japan and Australia can fill each other’s defence gaps
Japan and Australia talk of ‘collective deterrence,’ but they don’t seem to have specific objectives. The relationship needs a clearer direction. The two countries should identify how they complement each other. Each country has two ...2 weeks ago
- Submission on the Draft Biometric Processing Privacy Code
The NZCTU strongly supports the OPC’s decision to issue a code of practice for biometric processing. Our view is that the draft code currently being consulted on is stronger and will be more effective than the exposure code released in early 2024. We are pleased that some of the revisions ...2 weeks ago
- Eggs in more baskets: diversify Australian agricultural exports away from US
Australia’s export-oriented industries, particularly agriculture, need to diversify their markets, with a focus on Southeast Asia. This could strengthen economic security and resilience while deepening regional relationships. The Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on ...2 weeks ago
- The Fisheries Reform Scam – Sam Woolford
Minister Shane Jones is introducing fastrack ‘reforms’ to the our fishing industry that will ensure the big players squeeze out the small fishers and entrench an already bankrupt quota system. Our fisheries are under severe stress: the recent decision by the High Court ruling that the ...2 weeks ago - Climate Change: Failed again
In what has become regular news, the quarterly ETS auction has failed, with nobody even bothering to bid. The immediate reason is that the carbon price has fallen to around $60, below the auction minimum of $68. And the cause of that is a government which has basically given up ...2 weeks ago
- Trump’s tariffs challenge India’s economic balance
US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats have dominated headlines in India in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Trump announced that his reciprocal tariffs—matching other countries’ tariffs on American goods—will go into effect on 2 April, ...2 weeks ago
- NZ’s First #MeToo Case Wants To Practise Law Again
Hi,Back in June of 2021, James Gardner-Hopkins — a former partner at law firm Russell McVeagh — was found guilty of misconduct over sexually inappropriate behaviour with interns.The events all related to law students working as summer interns at Russell McVeagh:As well as intimate touching with a student at his ...2 weeks ago - Climate sceptic ACT MP attacks National
Climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has slammed National for being ‘out of touch’ by sticking to our climate commitments. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest: ACT’s renowned climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has accused National of being 'out of touch' with farmers by sticking with New Zealand’s Paris accord pledges ...2 weeks ago - Libertarian Jesus
Now I've heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don't really care for music, do you?It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor falls, the major liftsThe baffled king composing HallelujahSongwriter: Leonard CohenI always thought the lyrics of that great song by ...2 weeks ago - People matter—especially when frigate crews are too small
People are getting carried away with the virtues of small warship crews. We need to remember the great vice of having few people to run a ship: they’ll quickly tire. Yes, the navy is struggling ...2 weeks ago
- Auckland’s Western Line: Walking and cycling catchments
This is a guest post by Peter Bisley. It previously appeared on his substack, and is republished here by kind permisison. How can active transport connections maximise City Rail Link benefits City Rail Link successfully ran a test train last month on the 3.45km line under central Auckland, ahead ...2 weeks ago
- Bernard’s Pick ‘n’ Mix at 6am on Wednesday, March 19
Mōrena. Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, ...2 weeks ago - Unity is the answer to Europe’s defence woes
US President Donald Trump’s hostile regime has finally forced Europe to wake up. With US officials calling into question the transatlantic alliance, Germany’s incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently persuaded lawmakers to revise the country’s debt ...2 weeks ago
- Australian politics needs clearer national security boundaries
We need to establish clearer political boundaries around national security to avoid politicising ongoing security issues and to better manage secondary effects. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed on 10 March that the Dural caravan ...2 weeks ago
- Government must act decisively and ban engineered stone
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have reiterated their call for Government to protect workers by banning engineered stone in a submission on MBIE’s silica dust consultation. “If Brooke van Velden is genuine when she calls for an evidence-based approach to this issue, then she must support a full ban on ...2 weeks ago
- Tuesday 18 March
The Labour Inspectorate could soon be knocking on the door of hundreds of businesses nation-wide, as it launches a major crackdown on those not abiding by the law. NorthTec staff are on edge as Northland’s leading polytechnic proposes to stop 11 programmes across primary industries, forestry, and construction. Union coverage ...2 weeks ago
- First-person view drones: transitioning from sport to battle
It’s one thing for military personnel to hone skills with first-person view (FPV) drones in racing competitions. It’s quite another for them to transition to the complexities of the battlefield. Drone racing has become a ...2 weeks ago
- ‘There are no exemptions. Just eat it.’
Seymour says there will be no other exemptions granted to schools wanting to opt out of the Compass contract. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories shortest: David Seymour has denied a request from a Christchurch school and any other schools to be exempted from the Compass school lunch programme, saying the contract ...2 weeks ago - Nuclear Ukraine: Budapest Memorandum – what it says and is it relevant?
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, and British Prime Minister John Major signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in ... 2 weeks ago - A Palate Cleanser
Edit: The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.Hi,With the world burning — literally and figuratively — I felt like Webworm needed a little palate cleanser at the ...2 weeks ago
- Do Americans really want urban sprawl?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler (Image credit: Antonio Huerta) Growing up in suburban Ohio, I was used to seeing farmland and woods disappear to make room for new subdivisions, strip malls, and big box stores. I didn’t usually welcome the changes, but I assumed others ...2 weeks ago
- Myanmar’s desperate condition: fragmentation, drugs, money-laundering and more
Myanmar was a key global site for criminal activity well before the 2021 military coup. Today, illicit industry, especially heroin and methamphetamine production, still defines much of the economy. Nowhere, not even the leafiest districts ...2 weeks ago
- The Hardest Word
What've I gotta do to make you love me?What've I gotta do to make you care?What do I do when lightning strikes me?And I wake up and find that you're not thereWhat've I gotta do to make you want me?Mmm hmm, what've I gotta do to be heard?What do I ...2 weeks ago - Bernard’s Pick ‘n’ Mix at 6am on Tuesday, March 18
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...2 weeks ago - Gordon Campbell On Luxon’s Survival Chances, And The India FTA
Whenever Christopher Luxon drops a classically fatuous clanger or whenever the government has a bad poll – i.e. every week – the talk resumes that he is about to be rolled. This is unlikely for several reasons. For starters, there is no successor. Nicola Willis? Chris Bishop? Simeon Brown? Mark ...2 weeks ago
- It’s been done before: pay for more defence spending with debt
Australia, Britain and European countries should loosen budget rules to allow borrowing to fund higher defence spending, a new study by the Kiel Institute suggests. Currently, budget debt rules are forcing governments to finance increases ...2 weeks ago
- Feedback on work with engineered stone and materials containing crystalline silica
The NZCTU remains strongly committed to banning engineered stone in New Zealand and implementing better occupational health protections for all workers working with silica-containing materials. In this submission to MBIE, the NZCTU outlines that we have an opportunity to learn from Australia’s experience by implementing a full ban of engineered ...2 weeks ago
- Big deal
The Prime Minister has announced a big win in trade negotiations with India.It’s huge, he told reporters. We didn't get everything we came for but we were able to agree on free trade in clothing, fabrics, car components, software, IT consulting, spices, tea, rice, and leather goods.He said that for ...2 weeks ago - A Return to a US Gilded Age?
I have been trying to figure out the logic of Trump’s tariff policies and apparent desire for a global trade war. Although he does not appear to comprehend that tariffs are a tax on consumers in the country doing the tariffing, I can (sort of) understand that he may think ...2 weeks ago - France is prominent in efforts to shape Syria’s future, again
As Syria and international partners negotiate the country’s future, France has sought to be a convening power. While France has a history of influence in the Middle East, it will have to balance competing Syrian ...2 weeks ago
- “Capital poor”
One of the eternal truths about Aotearoa's economy is that we are "capital poor": there's not enough money sloshing around here to fund the expansion of local businesses, or to build the things we want to. Which gets used as an excuse for all sorts of things, like setting up ...2 weeks ago
- Do you want your two-year-old to be hot?
A story about you, your two-year-old daughter, and hot girls everywhere. This article was first published on Madeleine Holden’s self-titled Substack. You are chatting with a friend at an art exhibition, telling her how hard you find it to parent a wilful two-year-old girl. Your friend has no kids and a ...2 days ago - ‘Filled my heart’: Indira Stewart on celebrating 50 years of Polyfest
Journalist Indira Stewart looks back on her life in TV, including a shocking New Zealand Idol premonition, a haunting Breakfast prank and returning to Polyfest. Indira Stewart first appeared on our screens as a 15-year-old roving reporter for Tagata Pasifika, presenting a story about Polyfest in Auckland. She returned to ...2 days ago
- The embroidery project healing the pain of March 15, stitch by stitch
Alex Casey talks to the women behind 51 Threads, a community art project helping those affected by the Christchurch mosque attacks. In the weeks before March 15, 2019, Noraini Abbas Milne had begun wearing a white telekung, or prayer garment, when she attended the Al-Noor Mosque in Christchurch. “In the ...2 days ago
- ‘Cattleman, Fashion Fancier’: Central Otago Couture, reviewed
Jessie Bray Sharpin discovers ‘a shining nugget of a book’ in Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection by Jane Malthus, Claire Regnault and Derek Henderson. “In 2013 the Central Otago District Council made a highly unusual purchase for a local government body. They acquired a collection of over 270 ...2 days ago
- Short story: The square church, by Nathaniel Herz-Edinger
One morning the stonemason, the carpenter, and the glazier each claimed to have received a letter from an anonymous benefactor commissioning a church on the parish land across the river. This land had been left fallow since the three tradesmen were boys. Although no one else was permitted to see ...2 days ago - Filipino activists praise arrest of ex-president Duterte as first step to end impunity
Asia Pacific Report Dozens of Filipinos and supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand came together in a Black Friday vigil and Rally for Justice in the heart of two cities tonight — Auckland and Christchurch. They celebrated the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier ...2 days ago - Treaty Principles Bill: Thousands of submissions to be excluded from Parliamentary record, Labour sa...
Labour's Justice spokesperson Duncan Webb says committee staff do not have enough time to process the unprecedented number of written submissions. ...2 days ago - Treaty Principles Bill: Thousands of submissions to be excluded from Parliamentray record, Labour sa...
Labour's Justice spokesperson Duncan Webb says committee staff do not have enough time to process the unprecedented number of written submissions. ...2 days ago
- The Coalition has promised $400m for youth mental health. Young people told us what they need
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridianne O’Dea, Little Heroes Professor of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Flinders University Ground Picture/Shutterstock Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised a Coalition government would spend an extra A$400 million on youth mental health services. This is in addition to raising ...3 days ago
- Tobacco excise revenue has tanked amid a booming black market. That’s a diabolical problem for the...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fei Gao, Lecturer in Taxation, Discipline of Accounting, Governance & Regulation, The University of Sydney, University of Sydney Tuesday night’s federal budget revealed a sharp drop in what was once a major source of revenue for the government – the tobacco excise. ...3 days ago
- Policy tracker: how will Labor, the Coalition, the Greens and the independents make Australia better...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Digital Storytelling Team, The Conversation, The Conversation The Conversation, CC BY-SA
View the full interactive version of this article here Digital Storytelling Team does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation ... 3 days ago - Ants in your house? Here’s how they get everywhere – even high up in tall buildings
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya Latty, Associate Professor, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney Windy Soemara/Shutterstock Ants are among nature’s greatest success stories, with an estimated 22,000 species worldwide. Tropical Australia in particular is a global hotspot for ant diversity. Some ...3 days ago
- Travelling overseas? You could be at risk of measles. Here’s how to ensure you’re protected
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist; Clinical Researcher, University of Sydney Julia Suhareva/Shutterstock On March 26 NSW Health issued an alert advising people to be vigilant for signs of measles after an infectious person visited Sydney Airport and two locations ...3 days ago
- Gavin Ellis: Forensic detail on NZME but where are the guarantees?
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – KNIGHTLY VIEWS: By Gavin Ellis Excoriating is the word that may best describe expat Canadian James Grenon’s 11-page critique of NZME. His forensic examination of the board he hopes to replace and the company’s performance is a sobering read. You ...3 days ago
- What is Australian bat lyssavirus? Can I catch it from bat poo? What if bats roost near me?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hamish McCallum, Emeritus Professor, infectious disease ecology, Griffith University Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock Last week, Queensland Health alerted the public about the risk of Australian bat lyssavirus, after a bat found near a school just north of Brisbane was given to a wildlife ...3 days ago
- Christopher Luxon says Govt has not received proposal on Eden Park stadium upgrade
It comes after Auckland Council voted to endorse an upgraded Eden Park over a new downtown stadium on Thursday. ...3 days ago
- The Friday Poem: “discharge notes (ii)” by Amy Marguerite
A new poem by Amy Marguerite, whose debut poetry collection, over under fed, is out now with Auckland University Press. discharge notes (ii) a few years ago i decided i’d write a list of all the women i owe my life to even the women who have hurt me ...3 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending March 28
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30) The unstoppable Suzanne Collins’ latest return to ...3 days ago
- ‘A community effort’: Alien Weaponry on their most complex Māori metal album yet
Troy Rawhiti-Connell talks to Alien Weaponry about living and creating as Māori, and the toxicity of social media. It’s a Friday morning in Tāmaki Makaurau when Lewis de Jong and Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds of Northland metal band Alien Weaponry join our Zoom call. They’re inside their tour bus, somewhere else ...3 days ago
- Fitting the ‘missing puzzle pieces’ – research sheds light on the deep history of social chang...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dylan Gaffney, Associate Professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology, University of Oxford Tristan Russell, CC BY-SA Owing to its violent political history, West Papua’s vibrant human past has long been ignored. Unlike its neighbour, the independent country of Papua New Guinea, West Papua’s ...3 days ago
- Everything you say to an Alexa speaker will be sent to Amazon – starting today
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Reid, PhD Candidate, School of Cybernetics, Australian National University Amazon Amazon has disabled two key privacy features in its Alexa smart speakers, in a push to introduce artificial intelligence-powered “agentic capabilities” and turn a profit from the popular devices. ...3 days ago
- Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks from South Island Agricultural Field Days
The Prime Minister is joined by Agriculture Minister Todd McClay. ...3 days ago
- Meet the brave New Zealander on the new season of Alone Australia
Tara Ward talks to Shay Williamson, the first New Zealander to compete on the realest reality TV show on our screens. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A new season of Alone – the global survival TV series that takes a group ...3 days ago
- Minister – Hear The Voice Of Health Unions If You Want A Better Health System
We agree with the Minister on one thing - New Zealanders deserve a health system that ensures patients get timely, quality health care, but he’s going about it the wrong way, said National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga ...3 days ago - Trump is interested in joining the Commonwealth. It’s not up to him – or even the king
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Altman, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University It seems Britain has one key inducement to offer US President Donald Trump: a state visit hosted by King Charles. One can only imagine ...3 days ago
- Albanese calls May 3 election, with cost of living the central battleground
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australians will go to the polls on May 3 for an election squarely centred on the cost of living. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Yarralumla first thing on Friday morning. ...3 days ago
- View from The Hill: uninspiring leaders, stressed voters and the shadow of Trump make for an uncerta...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The usual story for a first-term government is a loss of seats, as voters send it a message, but ultimate survival. It can be a close call. John Howard risked all in 1998 with ...3 days ago
- Australians almost never vote out a first-term government. So why is this year’s election looking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pandanus Petter, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University Now that an election has been called, Australian voters will go to the polls on May 3 to decide the fate of the first-term, centre-left Australian Labor Party ...3 days ago
- Australia’s embrace of independent political candidates shows there’s no such thing as a safe se...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University At the last federal election, Australia elected the largest lower house crossbench in its post-war federal history. In addition to four Greens MPs, Rebekah Sharkie from the Centre Alliance and Bob Katter ...3 days ago
- Can Peter Dutton flip Labor voters to rewrite electoral history? It might just work
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University They are neither as leafy nor as affluent as much of the Liberal heartland, but Peter Dutton believes the outer ring-roads of Australia’s capitals provide the most direct route to power. He has ...3 days ago
- Corrugated iron, exotic animals and big name artists: A visit to Gibbs Farm
On rolling hills overlooking the Kaipara Harbour, one millionaire’s vision of exotic animals coexisting with monumental contemporary art has been realised. Gabi Lardies pays a visit. I thought I was so smart and so cheeky or maybe very stupid from sun exposure when I wrote “are exotic animals art?” in ...3 days ago
- New climate target ‘below expectations’ of partners, government warned
The government was told its climate target for 2035 was "below expectations" for a developed country. ...3 days ago
- Reliable science takes time. But the current system rewards speed
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Chin, Senior Lecturer, College of Law, Australian National University P.Cartwright/Shutterstock Lately, there have been many headlines on scientific fraud and journal article retractions. If this trend continues, it represents a serious threat to public trust in science. One way to ...3 days ago
- The Coalition wants to increase Medicare psychology rebates from 10 to 20 sessions. Here’s what ha...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Enticott, Associate Professor, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock The most disadvantaged Australians have long experienced higher rates of mental illness than the broader population. But they also access fewer mental health services. ...3 days ago
- How can I tell if my child is too sick to go to school?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Sturgiss, Professor of Community Medicine and Clinical Education, Bond University Chay_Tay/Shutterstock As a GP and mum to two boys I have many experiences of trying to navigate the school morning when my boys aren’t feeling well. It always seems ...3 days ago
- 25 years into a new century and housing is less affordable than ever
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute Of all the problems facing Australia today, few have worsened so rapidly in the past 25 years as housing affordability. Housing has become more and more expensive – to rent or ...3 days ago
- Why Muslims often don’t celebrate Eid on the same day – even within one country
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zuleyha Keskin, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, Charles Sturt University Wikimedia Commons, CC BY Eid is a special time for Muslims. There are two major Eid celebrations each year: Eid al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the month of ...3 days ago
- Out of the internet and into the page: books for teenage boys
Hit Netflix series Adolescence has sparked conversation about reading the internet versus reading novels. What is the state of teen reading in Aotearoa? And what are the books that might lure our boys back to the page? One of the many questions the profoundly effective Adolescence has raised is the ...3 days ago
- The abysmal state of palliative care for children in New Zealand
The Children’s Commissioner describes the current situation as “untenable, inequitable and inadequate”, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ‘Untenable, inequitable and inadequate’ Earlier this week, RNZ’s Anusha Bradley reported that the country’s only publicly funded paediatric palliative care ...3 days ago
- Eden Park lives another day, to repay Aucklanders $48m
Analysis: A fancy new stadium for the Auckland waterfront has yet again been vanquished by the wily ageing edifice in Mt Eden, but ratepayers aren’t yet off the hook.Eden Park ‘won’’ the’ milestone vote by Auckland councillors, who for now will put no money into its development project. But, essentially, ...3 days ago
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