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Splitters!
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, April 26th, 2019 - 34 comments
David Moffett, a Former board member of the New Conservative Party has announced the launch of a new new conservative party.
Trump’s brilliant strategy to dismantle US dollar hegemony
Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, February 3rd, 2019 - 56 comments
Polymath economist Professor Michael Hudson’s latest article is a geopolitical panoramic masterpiece, sparked by outrage at a series of concurrent events on January 31 which he predicts means that 2019 will be the “year of global fracture.” Definitely worth a read.
COP24
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, December 17th, 2018 - 23 comments
Nearly 200 nations agreed to the accord in Poland over the weekend. And the goal is to seek to limit global temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius.
You are stealing our future
Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, December 16th, 2018 - 94 comments
In a powerful speech a young 15 year old woman from Sweden has told the world’s leaders why action against climate change is urgent and that if the political system is preventing the necessary action from being taken then it is time for system change.
Nutjobs and the UN Global Migration Pact
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, December 7th, 2018 - 137 comments
National and ACT have alleged that a United Nations Pact supported by New Zealand in 2016 will take away sovereign rights even though the pact itself says that it is not legally binding.
Political interference
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 pm, November 20th, 2018 - 82 comments
China certainly has interfered in New Zealand politics, most notably by the offer of a free trade deal which delivered huge benefits to our economy. Party and government officials all stressed to us that they were grateful for New Zealand’s support for their accession to the World Trade Organisation, the rule-based trade body. The US and Australia in contrast want to build a military base on Manus Island north of Papua.
Ardern is the anti Trump
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, October 2nd, 2018 - 48 comments
While the local right have spent the last week nit picking at Jacinda Ardern something significant has happened internationally. Jacinda Ardern has emerged as the western leader who is the antithesis of Donald Trump.
What the Prime Minister Actually Said – Kindness yes kindness
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 29th, 2018 - 50 comments
“I am a child of the 80’s. A period in New Zealand’s history where we didn’t just observe international events, we challenged them. Whether it was apartheid in South Africa, or nuclear testing in the Pacific, I grew up learning about my country and who we were, by the way that we reacted to international events.”
Jacinda Ardern on the Late Show
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, September 28th, 2018 - 43 comments
Video of Jacinda Ardern on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show.
- Accountability?
When allegations emerged that civilians had been killed during an SAS raid in Afghanistan, NZDF was absolutely unequivocal in its denials, both the Ministers and the public. Since then, we've learned that they were well aware that there were reports ...3 hours ago - Climate Change: Emergency measuresOver the past few months, we've seen a number of local authorities respond to public pressure over climate change by declaring a climate emergency. So what should they do next? Writing in The Spinoff, Sarah Thomson has some suggestions. Most ...4 hours ago
- The real roots of Iranian “brinkmanship.”
I have been unimpressed with Western corporate media coverage of the tensions involving Iran in the Straits of Hormuz. They repeat the line that Iran is the source of current tensions, that it is a major sponsor of terrorism, that ...1 day ago - Deplorable Words.
1 day ago - A Fool Rushes In.
1 day ago - Famous Manmade Climate Change Cult Lies – The Maldives
Much like Tuvalu, the manmade climate change Cult love to tell people the Maldives is almost totally underwater. In fact the dishonest Maldives Govt d on the same bandwagon, believing they would receive billions of dollars aid from other Countries ...2 days ago - Famous Manmade Climate Change Cult Lies – TuvaluAccording to every manmade climate change cultist on Earth, the pacific islands of Tuvalu are being flooded by rising sea levels. In fact, incredibly even a google search will bring up an immediate claim the islands are almost underwater! The ...2 days ago
- The real truth about manmade climate changeFirstly, it’s important you know that I am not paid by fossil fuel companies, nor do I have any association with them at all, and in fact I’m not a fan of any industry that doesn’t do it’s best to ...2 days ago
- Argumentum ad Populum: the worst kind of “proof” …with undeniable attraction.
As the entry on Wikipedia shows (and no, one doesn’t necessarily have to regard Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all of truth, because it isn’t on a great many things, to agree with the following): “…a fallacious argument that concludes ...2 days ago - Tiny Samoa starts a big ripple for women in sports
by Daphna Whitmore The story of how the world awoke to a big injustice is starting to be told. The Pacific Games held this month in Samoa is another chapter. On the podium was Laurel Hubbard, the giant transgender weightlifter, ...2 days ago - When Neoliberalism is the only answer, supremacist ideas will find room to thrive
Our conversations and push against specific supremacist and ultra-Nationalist groups, and the pseudo-intellectual underpinnings of them, need to mature at all levels. But in doing so, it’s going to have to include a more thorough and brutally honest self-examination ...3 days ago - Unfit to governThis week, in the wake of National's opposition to even talking about reducing agricultural emissions and Simon Bridges' refusal to recognise that there is a climate emergency, I've been saying that National is unfit to govern. And it looks like ...3 days ago
- Make it 16
Something I missed: not only did Youth MPs declare a climate emergency; they also launched a campaign to lower the voting age to 16:Youth Parliament week in Parliament has seen the establishment of Make it 16, a campaign to ...3 days ago - More police misconductWhy do so many people mistrust the police? Because they pull shit like this:The police are flouting the rules on breath testing, carrying out tests in people's homes to catch them out sometimes up to two hours after they were ...3 days ago
- Xenophobia is not always racist.I have been reading and listening to the aftermath of Trump’s comments about the four female first term Democratic representatives, all of whom are “people of color.” I found the US coverage interesting both as evidence of partisanship and the ...4 days ago
- There are solutions for thisThe Herald reports that the housing shortage / bubble has hit a new level:New Zealand is short of 130,000 homes, the tally having risen lately by 30,000, two economists say. Jarrod Kerr and Jeremy Couchman, Kiwibank economists said: "This time ...4 days ago
- Fonterra finally gets itMilk producer Fonterra is one of New Zealand's biggest coal-users, using it to power all its South Island (and a few of its North Island) dairy factories. They'd previously "committed" to not building any new coal boilers after 2030. Now, ...4 days ago
- Muddling Over Methane
The proposed Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill treats biogenic methane emissions differently from all other carbon emissions. The latter are to be measured net so that emissions from fossil fuels can be offset by carbon stored in trees. ...5 days ago - Colombia: a conflict that was never urban?
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh This article aims to answer a simple question, whether the conflict is only a rural one or whether it is also urban. The verb ‘to be’ is conjugated in the present tense as ,despite what some ...5 days ago - We should not subsidise fertiliser emissionsYesterday the government released its discussion document on action on agricultural emissions. As sadly usual, it proposed enormous subsidies for farm emissions, including for nitrogen-based fertiliser. This is a huge mistake. In addition to being one of the chief drivers ...5 days ago
- The Youth Parliament votes for a futureBack in May, Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick tried to put a motion to have parliament declare a climate emergency. National denied leave, and have since made it clear that they oppose any such motion. But today, the Youth Parliament did ...5 days ago
- Time for a people’s review of the OIAEarlier this year, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act (this replaced their previous plans to hold a secret consultation with handpicked people). 285 people submitted on ...5 days ago
- Climate Change: National isn’t serious IIThe planet is burning. The ice-caps are melting. People are dying of heat waves, storms are getting more intense, huge areas are catching fire every year, and cities are running out of water. We seeing a climate-related disaster every week. ...5 days ago
- Racing To The Bottom, Or Chasing Our Tails?
5 days ago - Putting agriculture in the ETSThe Interim Climate Change Committee's report on Action on agricultural emissions: Evidence, analysis and recommendations was finally released today, and as you might guess from the title, it is recommending that we actually act, rather than let farmers keep ...6 days ago
- Access: Reviewing Funded Family Care and repealing the outrage of part 4A of the Public Health and D...
On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...6 days ago - Climate Change: National isn’t seriousAgriculture is our biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for 48% of the total. It follows that meeting any credible emissions reduction target requires cutting agricultural emissions, most likely by having fewer cows. But National thinks people shouldn't be ...6 days ago
- The UK commits fraud to deport peopleHow scummy is the UK Home Office? This scummy:The Home Office lied to EU member states to remove victims of human trafficking and modern slavery in breach of European law, according to whistleblowers. Legal experts have said the practice is ...6 days ago
- Belle and the Communitty
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...6 days ago - Where Did That Rule Come From?“We wuz robbed!” is the classic cry of the disappointed losers of a closely contested sporting contest – it is very much to the credit of the Black Caps that we heard no such sentiment from them following the stunning ...7 days ago
- We should lower the voting ageThe Youth Parliament is being held this week, and some of the youth MPs are campaigning for a lower voting age:Molly Doyle, 17, is one Youth MP who wants this to change. She is part of a non-partisan campaign run ...1 week ago
- Big solar is comingUp till now, Australia has made its living by digging up coal and exporting it to other countries, destroying the global climate in the process. But now they have a new option: exporting solar power:The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep ...1 week ago
- When it comes to child protection & whānau, are we talking about the same thing?Later this month, thousands of people are expected to march to parliament as part of the #HandsOffOurTamaraki movement. At its heart, the movement is about preserving whānau and demanding that the state stop removing children from their whānau, hapū and iwi. ...1 week ago
- Colombia: the political decay of the FARCby Gearóid Ó Loingsigh The recent statements made by the former FARC commander, Carlos Lozada (legal name Julian Gallo), where, from his seat in Congress, he praised the Colombian Army demonstrate how low the farianos have sunk. Lozada began by ...1 week ago
- Mass meeting for women’s rights in sport shows this is a hot issueA Woman’s Place is on the Podium was a public meeting in London on 10 July to discuss women’s sports and the impact of transwomen competing against women. The venue was sold out with a packed hall of 750 people. ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Even airlines are telling people not to flyLast month I talked about the no-fly movement: people who refuse to fly or limit it to absolute necessity to avoid destroying the climate. Now, that movement has a somewhat surprising new member: Dutch airline KLM:Dutch airline KLM has launched ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: We need a fossil fuel non-proliferation treatyIn the 1960's, humanity faced a terrible threat: global thermonuclear war. Nuclear weapons were uniquely destructive and dangerous, and if more countries got them, the logic of MAD and the pre-emptive strike would put us on a hair-trigger to destruction. ...1 week ago
- Reminder: Submit on the Zero Carbon BillSubmissions on the government's Zero Carbon Bill close in five days time. Have you made a submission yet? If you're wondering what to say, both Generation Zero and School Strike For Climate, the general thrust of which is stronger methane ...2 weeks ago
- Anti-Semitic images considered: the ‘facehugger’ on the Statue of Liberty
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...2 weeks ago - Make Matariki a public holidayMatariki has been and gone, but this year we saw a couple of op-eds arguing that it should be a public holiday, replacing the foreign monarch's fake birthday. And now, New Zealand Republic - a group which campaigns for an ...2 weeks ago
- How Important Is Local Knowledge?The discussion on the quality of economic advice, which we reported last week, has spilled over into a discussion about whether so many senior appointments should be of non-New Zealanders. Recall I discussed the failure to develop career paths within ...2 weeks ago
- Did NZDF lie to Ministers?When Nicky Hager revealed US footage of the Operation Burnham raid, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act, one of the obvious questions was whether Ministers had seen it - and in particular, whether they'd been told that it ...2 weeks ago
- Equality comes to Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is the Alabama of the UK: a backwards region where women and gay people are denied fundamental rights. But Westminster has just decided to fix that:MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to ...2 weeks ago
- Hard News: Synthetics: We need to stop calling it cannabisThere's a problem with "synthetic cannabis", and not just the one you think. It's the name.We're in the midst of a wave of news stories that link synthetic drugs to serious harm, through deadly road accidents and accidental overdoses (which ...2 weeks ago
- Ranjit Kauri, The Dancing Maharani and Other Stories, Swansea, Head and Heart, 2019, £6.99; reviewed by Don Franks Working people are not the same country to country. Our struggles for a better life take place in surroundings of very different ...2 weeks ago
- Can Jacinda Give National The KISS Of Populist Death?
2 weeks ago - The Trump-Kim BromanceIt may be that we have all misinterpreted the somewhat surprising “bromance” between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. It has been all too easy to assume that it is Kim who is cosying up to Trump rather than the ...2 weeks ago
- Greece’s vicious circleby Michael Roberts So the full circle is completed. The corrupt pro-business conservative New Democracy party in Greece that was ousted by the anti-capitalist Syriza party in 2015 has been returned to office in yesterday’s general election, with an outright ...2 weeks ago
- Australia spies on journalistsWhen the Australian government passed a series of new spy laws over the last few years, they pinky-promised that they wouldn't use them to spy on journalists and subvert freedom of the press. They lied:The anti-encryption laws passed by the ...2 weeks ago
- Justice for Operation CondorFrom 1975 to 1989, the spy agencies of South America's right-wing military dictatorships cooperated in Operation Condor, a joint campaign of extermination against the continent's left. Roughly 400,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 disappeared, and 60,000 murdered - kidnapped, tortured, executed, ...2 weeks ago
- Labour chickenshitting on abortionWhen she was standing for office, Jacinda Ardern promised she would take abortion out of the Crimes Act. And to be fair, there was some early action on that, with an immediate referral of the issue to the Law Commission ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Timid and unambitiousWhen the government introduced the Zero Carbon Bill, people rightly asked what they planned to do to reduce transport emissions, which basicly had no policy at all other than the ETS. Today, they responded, announcing a "feebate" system which would ...2 weeks ago
- Hard News: Who are the medicinal cannabis users?At almost every level, the problem with medicinal cannabis is a lack of good information. In the US, FDA regulations make it hard to research. Most doctors aren't familiar with what research there is and most patients don't know either. ...2 weeks ago
- What’s behind the ‘anti-Semitism’ smear campaign in the UKRedline is critical of Corbyn for his political weaknesses, but he’s no anti-Semite. There is no substance to the McCarthyist witch-hunt being run by the right wing, and the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside the Labour Party in the UK. ...2 weeks ago
- The wrong kind of trees?The government's billion trees program is the sort of policy which could make a real difference to our emissions and the fight against climate change. But climate scientist Jim Salinger isn't convinced:The Forestry Minister Shane Jones' one billion trees won't ...2 weeks ago
- Fuck the surplus. Feed the kidsLast month the government was celebrating another surplus. Meanwhile, children are starving:One in five children are living in households where putting food on the table is a struggle, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health. It found ...2 weeks ago
- Goff And Tamihere Are Both Wrong. (But Bernard Hickey Is Right On The Money!)
2 weeks ago - New Fisk2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Easy decarbonisationIf we are to avoid making the earth uninhabitable, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to practically nothing over the next decade. But that will still leave us with the problem of the carbon we have already emitted, which ...2 weeks ago
- What good is the SFO?Former Waikato DHB CEO Nigel Murray allegedly misused public funds, spending more than $120,000 of public money on unjustified travel. He was forced to resign and the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation. But despite the SFO finding that the ...2 weeks ago
- Off The Fence – In The Right DirectionJeremy Corbyn, we are told, is being advised – not least by his deputy (as well as by some of his would-be successors) – that he must come “off the fence” on the Brexit issue if he wants to bolster ...2 weeks ago
- The best way through to the end of lifeThe End of Life bill has been read a second time and is now heading for the House for further debate. Personally, I support the proposal. I don't ever epect to take advantage of the Bill's provisions myself, but as ...2 weeks ago
- Doubts and Hopes About The Treasury .Before the substantive issue which this column is about – whether there has been a deterioration in the economic advice given to the government – a paragraph about the budget leaks.read more ...3 weeks ago
- Resisting General Electric layoffs in FranceBelow is a translation of the editorial in the June 24 round of weekly workplace bulletins issued all over France by the revolutionary workers’ organisation Lutte Ouvriere. Last Saturday, 8,000 people took to the streets of Belfort (eastern France) to ...3 weeks ago
- Why should we subsidise climate deniers?Yesterday, Environment Southland voted against declaring a climate emergency. Today, they want government money to help deal with the effects of climate change:Local councils are hopeful the Government will make a move to help the regions combat the effects of ...3 weeks ago
- Why Parliament hasn’t declared a climate emergencyWhy hasn't Parliament followed the lead set by our local authorities and declared a climate emergency? The answer is the National Party:The Prime Minister’s admission that she is open to the idea of declaring a climate change emergency is nothing ...3 weeks ago
- Odious secrecy IIIBack in May the government released its Zero Carbon Bill. While much of the bill was welcome, there was one big exception: it contained a secrecy clause, requiring the Climate Change Commission to maintain secrecy over practically everything it does. ...3 weeks ago
- Recovering Stonewall: gay liberation, trans activism and historical truthby Phil Duncan This past week has marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall Inn riots in Christopher Street, New York, the event generally regarded as kicking off the gay liberation movement. Quite a few articles have ...3 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Southland doesn’t careSouthland - land of coal-burning dairy farmers - has become the first region in the country to explicitly vote against declaring a climate emergency. Their reason? They didn't want to "devalue" the word "emergency". Its an argument addressed powerfully in ...3 weeks ago
- The same problems everywhereNew Zealand has a problem with police chases: officers going after fleeing drivers like rabid dogs, without any consideration for proportionality or public safety, often with fatal results. And according to an in-depth article in the Guardian today, the UK ...3 weeks ago
- ANZ should fuck offRapacious Aussie bank ANZ has responded to the threat of better NZ bank regulation by threatening to downsize its operations or even quit the country:ANZ group chief executive Shayne Elliott told the Reserve Bank it might review the "size, nature ...3 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Climate Research for Week #26, 2019
Welcome to another heaping helping of research publications related to climate change drivers and mechanisms, the effects of climate change and how we might yet grope our way into systems approaches to dealing with the mess we're making, despite ourselves. ...3 weeks ago
- Strong first week of firearms buy-back events
The first full week of the firearms buy-back and amnesty has produced a strong turnout as events roll out nationwide for the first time. “Momentum is slowly starting to build as community collection events are held across the entire country, ...7 hours ago - New digital service to make business easyA new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...6 days ago
- Million-dollar start to gun collection eventsMillion-dollar start to gun collection events Police Minister Stuart Nash says a solid start has been made to the gun buyback and amnesty after the first weekend of community collection events. “Gun owners will walk away with more than ...1 week ago
- Praise after first firearms collection eventPolice Minister Stuart Nash has praised Police and gun owners after the first firearms collection event saw a busy turnout at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. “Police officers and staff have put a tremendous effort into planning and logistics for the ...1 week ago
- New Police constables deployed to regionsSeventy-eight new Police constables are heading out to the regions following today’s graduation of a new recruit wing from the Royal New Zealand Police College. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the record high number of new Police officers being recruited, ...2 weeks ago
- Waikato DHB survey indicative of national crisis
One of the country’s largest district health boards has a severe shortage of hospital specialists, says the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...3 hours ago - Cyclists welcome new road safety strategyCycling advocates say the Government's new transport strategy is good news for safer roads. ...4 hours ago
- Vape liquid rules will help politicians’ pocketsThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is joining opposition to possible regulations on the strength of nicotine vaping liquid. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Government would certainly benefit from regulations on the strength ...5 hours ago
- New research casts doubt on Government’s methane targetsThe Meat Industry Association (MIA) is calling for significant changes to the Zero Carbon Bill with a new analysis using the Government’s preferred modelling indicating that the proposed methane targets are excessive if all other gases go to net zero. ...6 hours ago
- March and Demonstration to Demand Abortion Law ReformVictoria University Feminist Organisation and ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, in conjunction with the VUW Feminist Law Students, Organise Aotearoa, Fem Force, and with the support of VUW Student Association announced they are sponsoring a march ...8 hours ago
- Law Abiding Citizens Let Down AgainWith the Government's firearm buyback scheme starting to draw over 30,000 police man hours away from fighting crime, the safety of law abiding citizens is being compromised. ...8 hours ago
- Call for hold on Westland Milk saleSocial Credit Party leader Chris Leitch is calling on the sale of Westland Milk to Chinese company Yili to be put on hold pending an approach to the Government by Westland Milk for funding assistance. ...21 hours ago
- Minister’s intentions would kill off Smoke Free 2025Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa seems intent on ensuring the Government’s vaping legislation will heavily target flavours and nicotine levels – a move that would be completely counterproductive to helping Kiwis quit smoking and achieving ...1 day ago
- New website launches in response to police abuse of powerA new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...2 days ago
- Simon Shepherd interviews Maori leadersHundreds of whanau and Maori leaders gathered at a hui in Mangere last weekend where they voted unanimously for an inquiry into Oranga Tamariki. The historic meeting called for a child welfare framework to be developed by Maori, for Maori. ...2 days ago
- NZ Maori Council takes on global cosmetics giantThe Head of the New Zealand Maori Council has called for the Government to hold an immediate investigation into the global cosmetics company Sephora after they were caught dumping waste hundreds and thousands of waste paper products embedded with ...2 days ago
- Simon Shepherd interviews Minister for AgricultureSimon Shepherd: The government says its agreement with farmers, that they should pay for agricultural emissions, is historic. But there's no agreement on how. One proposal says farmers should pay a 5 per cent emissions tax. Another suggests farmers ...2 days ago
- Time to listen to Pro-flouridation agencies raising alarmsThe O’Brien Institute for Public Health at Calgary University has just released their report on fluoridation. This institute has, up to now, been staunchly in favour of fluoridation. However, yesterday, with regards to fluoride’s effect on the brain, ...2 days ago
- O’Connor looks to overhaul Biosecurity Act, improve trainingJuly 19 (BusinessDesk) - The government is looking to tighten control and impose harsher penalties after the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak revealed cracks in the country's stock management system. ...3 days ago
- Kia Anga Mua Step Closer to NegotiationsKia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi (KAM) has reached a pivotal milestone following a hui yesterday at Waitangi with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little. ...3 days ago
- The $133,000 pricetag for the glossy Wellbeing BudgetThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government spent $133,530 on producing its ‘Wellbeing Budget’ document, a cost blowout largely driven by spending on graphic design and photography. The $133,530 price tag compares to $86,268 ...3 days ago
- Ngāti Kahungunu honours language revitalisation championsKahungunu Māori Language Awards. Nominations closed on 5 July 2019, and were judged by the Senior Management Team of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. The judges wish to acknowledge the very high calibre of all nominations received making it a very ...3 days ago
- Slow judgements vs correct judgements – lessons from OzHigh Court of Australia Judge, Justice Stephen Gageler, will address recent criticism of court judgment delays in Australia, at the University of Canterbury (UC) on 23 July at 6.15pm. ...3 days ago
- Operation Burnham – Minute No 19 – 18 July 2019This summary is provided to assist in the understanding of the Inquiry’s proceedings but does not constitute the official record. The full Minute is available at the link below. ...3 days ago
- TEC takes action on false statutory declarationsThe Tertiary Education Commission is laying charges under section 292A of the Education Act 1989 against three individuals for making a false representation for the purpose of receiving, or continuing to receive, free tertiary education from a tertiary education ...3 days ago
- Business solutions for food businessesNew Zealand food businesses today welcomed a trio of new food safety tools, designed to make it faster, easier and more affordable to follow the rules and keep consumers safe. ...3 days ago
- Research finds ethnic disparities in NZ child protectionAUT research shows that Māori children are almost four times more likely than those of European descent to be placed out of home by child protection services ...3 days ago
- Promised heating grants for tenants cancelledThe Government announced today that grants of up to $2,500 for energy efficient heaters are now available as part of the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. ...3 days ago
- Fonterra’s announcement a win for the climate movementFonterra’s use of coal has been the target of numerous grassroots campaigns in recent years. Last year 350 Aotearoa affiliated groups, Fossil Free Aoraki and 350 Nelson launched a petition dismissing the dairy giant’s initial target of no new ...4 days ago
- Information Sessions on Medicinal Cannabis SchemeInformation sessions on proposals for The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme take place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over the next fortnight. The sessions are open to anyone with an interest in learning more about the proposed scheme. ...4 days ago
- Finally, the safety of our community will be considered“Our children are our most vulnerable, most innocent victims and we do not want to see any more children harmed by these ‘known sex offenders’. The safety of our community must be the paramount consideration.” ...4 days ago
- Madness of trying to manage fisheries with property rightsThe Quota Management System has short-changed fish, mana whenua and the public since it was established in 1986. ...4 days ago
- Fonterra decision stimulus for increased biomass fuel supply“The announcement that Fonterra will immediately stop installing any new coal boilers or increasing capacity to burn coal is the signal that the biomass fuel supply industry welcomes” said Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association. ...4 days ago
- Coal group welcomes Fonterra’s coal exit18 July 2019-- Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) today welcomed Fonterra’s commitment to build no new coal plants, a “no brainer” for the climate crisis the world faces. The group has been urging this transition for six years now and ...4 days ago
- Increase in demand for cage-free eggs set to continueThe increase in demand for cage-free eggs is set to continue according to animal rights organisation SAFE, who says the egg industry should expect this and prepare. ...4 days ago
- Pacific calls on NZ leaders to Strengthen Climate BillWellington, New Zealand – 350 Pacific made a formal submission to the New Zealand Government’s Environment Parliamentary Select Committee on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, led by the Pacific Climate Warriors (PCWs) based in ...4 days ago
- Dunne Speaks: Pity the Poor GreensThere used to be a school of thought on the centre right side of politics that the best way to neuter the Greens as a political force would be to let them have a spell in government. Then, according to ...4 days ago
- Mandela Day: Howard League calls on MPs to visit prisonsToday (18 July) is Nelson Mandela International Day when the United Nations highlights the importance of humane conditions of imprisonment. In New Zealand our prisons are overcrowded and understaffed. At 214 prisoners per 100,000 people, we have the fifth ...4 days ago
- NZEI Te Riu Roa to take legal action over delays in paymentsNZEI Te Riu Roa will take legal action over the lengthy delay in implementing pay increases for teachers. Novopay announced yesterday that teachers would have to wait until 11 September to see pay increases that they won when they settled ...5 days ago
- EDS submission on Zero Carbon BillEDS has filed its submission on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. The Bill sets targets for greenhouse gas reductions, provides for the government to set a series of carbon budgets, and sets up a new, independent, Climate ...5 days ago
- Council’s $20,000 bike light investigation is absurdThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has identified an absurd case of mission creep at Wellington City Council: the decision to spend $21,750 on two Consumer NZ investigations into different brands of bike lights. ...5 days ago
- Better Driver Training must be part of Road to ZeroNew Zealand driver safety advocate and motor sport legend Greg Murphy says better driver training must be part of Road to Zero. ...5 days ago
- MTA welcome focus on vehicle safetyThe Motor Trade Association is welcoming the release of the Government’s new draft road safety strategy. MTA Chief Executive Craig Pomare says the association is pleased to see vehicle safety has been made a priority in the Road to Zero ...5 days ago
- Fonterra and shareholders’ council respond to climate billFonterra and the Fonterra Shareholders’ Council have today released their submissions on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. ...5 days ago
- DOC Is Building An $11 mil FortressThe Department of Conservation continue to repeat the same old story about attacks on staff and how it is affecting their role in protecting our precious wildlife. NZ herald https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12249704 ...5 days ago
- Tweets trump government interest in Westland MilkThe government's silence on the fact that the country's second-largest milk processor is on the brink of becoming 25% Chinese Government owned has been deafening. ...5 days ago
- SS4C NZ Response to New Proposed RulesSchool Strike 4 Climate NZ welcomes the coalition Government’s endeavour to take action on reducing agricultural emissions but is disappointed at the weak stance that the Government has taken on the issue. ...5 days ago
- Leading NZ workplace provider issued with DIA formal warningThe Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) to seven reporting entities within the Regus Management Limited (RNZML) designated business ...5 days ago
- Regional Council Vote Leaves Northlanders Feeling BetrayedThe Northland Regional Council (NRC) has voted to exclude all GM/GE precautionary provisions in its regional plan, despite years of community engagement showing support for such protection. There is a sense of betrayal following the way the NRC Chairman ...5 days ago
- Signs of a new way of working, as public donations staticNew Zealand’s ‘mission-driven’ charities working in international aid are showing early signs of changing the way they work, in particular prioritising building the capacity and resilience of local communities to do their own development. ...6 days ago
- Long delay in pay increase for teachers unacceptableTeachers will have to wait until 11 September for pay increases won as part of their collective agreement negotiations settled in June, according to an update sent to schools today from Novopay. ...6 days ago
- ICCC report: Mercury praises pragmatic approach and responseMercury welcomes the ICCC’s report “Accelerated Electrification” and supports the Government’s response to its findings. ...6 days ago
- Govt won’t “die in a ditch” for 100% renewable targetJuly 16 (BusinessDesk) - Energy Minister Megan Woods says the government “won’t die in a ditch” if its goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation isn't reached by 2035. ...6 days ago
- Government response to Interim CCC ReportThe Electricity Networks Association (ENA) is welcoming the Government’s response to the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) Report released today. Graeme Peters, chief executive of the ENA, said one of the key recommendations, endorsed by the ...6 days ago
- Health boards past their use-by dateAn article* published this month in the Journal of Health Organization and Management raises questions over the way health board members are elected and whether the boards are even needed. ...6 days ago
- Sweeping gun law changes off the back of terror attack
The second tranche of proposed far-reaching changes includes a gun register, tighter licensing rules, and five-year licences. ...13 mins ago - It isn’t clear how the new bill against animal rights activists will protect farmers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Piero Moraro, Lecturer in Criminal Justice, Charles Sturt University The Morrison government has introduced new legislation responding to recent protests by animal rights activists in Australia. The bill –named The Criminal Code ...23 mins ago - The fraught social ritual of getting your round in
One of the many unspoken rules of British life is that when one is drinking at the pub with others, one buys rounds. For the naive New Zealander, it’s stressful AF, says Elle Hunt.At the pub one Friday night in ...44 mins ago - Health Check: why do I have a cough and what can I do about it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David King, Senior Lecturer, The University of Queensland Dry, moist, productive, hacking, chesty, whooping, barking, throaty. These are just some of the terms people use to describe their cough. While we’re deep ...53 mins ago - Biosecurity funding overhaul
The government is planning an overhaul of biosecurity funding, but a lack of detail is making farming sectors nervous. ...1 hour ago - Biosecurity funding overhaul: Scant detail worries farmers
The government is planning an overhaul of biosecurity funding, but a lack of detail is making farming sectors nervous. ...2 hours ago - The housing crisis could be solved by 3D printing and growing homes from seeds
What if you could grow a house from seed or 3D print a new subdivision in a week? The housing sector is ripe for disruption – could technology be the magic bullet we need?Jo Aitken sounds like she’s pitching an ...2 hours ago - The Master’s Plan: Why the Silver Ferns must keep Noeline Taurua
The architect of the incredible turnaround the Silver Ferns have enjoyed is now off-contract. So now that the World Cup has been won, how can Netball NZ keep Noeline Taurua on the books? Radio NZ’s Ravinder Hunia recounts the journey ...2 hours ago - PNG’s Marape wants Australia to close Manus detention camp
By RNZ Pacific Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape wants Australia to close the detention centre it has been running on PNG’s Manus island for six years. According to Australian media, Marape has asked Canberra to give him ...3 hours ago - Construction procurement process a concern
More must be done to tackle critical skill shortages in project management and leadership, the head of the Registered Master Builders Association says. ...3 hours ago - Ed Sheeran is here to make friendsFifteen tracks, 22 guests, one album. The Spinoff Music listens to Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project and considers why each track really shouldn’t work – and the sometimes surprising reasons why they do.1. Beautiful People – KhalidKhalid and Ed ...4 hours ago
- How I learned to love Minecraft
Emily Writes on her journey from reasonable trepidation to sweet love for the video game Minecraft.It was barely a week after I said to my sister “I don’t let the boys play any games” that my children’s Minecraft obsession began. ...5 hours ago - Early KiwiSaver withdrawals for those with congenital disordersNew Zealanders with life-shortening congenital conditions will have early access to their KiwiSavers after a man with Down Syndrome convinced the government to change the rules. ...6 hours ago
- Here’s a thought: let’s not blame millennials for Sephora’s ‘waste dumping’
Sephora store employees may have swept some confetti down Auckland city’s drains on Saturday, and people got angry… at an entire generation. On Saturday, French cosmetics giant Sephora opened its first New Zealand store on Auckland’s Queen Street. Excited makeup enthusiasts ...6 hours ago - A shower, a load of washing and a chat: the simple service with a big reach
More than 20,000 Aucklanders don’t have access to regular showers or the ability to wash their clothing. Alice Webb-Liddall tags along on a shift with Orange Sky, who are giving homeless people back these basic needs.On an overcast Friday morning ...7 hours ago - All-night public transport hasn’t reduced alcohol-related harm in Melbourne
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ashlee Curtis, Research Fellow, School of Psychology, Deakin University The Victorian government introduced 24-hour public transport on Friday and Saturday nights in Melbourne from January 1 2016. Services mostly run every hour ...8 hours ago - Bills, banks and promises: here’s what you can expect as ‘government business’ starts again
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Senior Fellow, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University If the first week of the 46th Parliament was heavily ceremonial – dominated by the new governor-general, a raft of first-time MPs ...8 hours ago - Iran and US refusing to budge as tit-for-tat ship seizures in Middle East raise the temperature
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Adjunct Professor, School of Communications, La Trobe University In a world run ragged by multiple crises and an unravelling of American global leadership, military confrontation in the Gulf poses risks ...8 hours ago - Media hype and increased testing: this year’s flu numbers are high, but there’s more to the stor...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Dalton, Conjoint Senior Lecturer School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle Over recent months, the news has been saturated with headlines claiming we’re experiencing a “killer flu season”. Researchers ...8 hours ago
- It’s Sarabi’s pride, Mufasa just lives there: a biologist on The Lion King
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, PhD Candidate – Wildlife Cameraman, The University of Queensland Last week saw the release of the rebooted The Lion King, an attempt to capitalise on the billion-dollar success of ...8 hours ago - Protest art: rallying cry or elegy for the black-throated finch?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Fenner, Associate Professor at UNSW Art & Design, UNSW Over the past few weeks, artists from around Australia have been creating small artworks depicting the endangered black-throated finch and sending them ...8 hours ago - New South Wales has 48 selective schools, while Victoria has 4. There’s an interesting history beh...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Craig Campbell, Associate Professor, University of Sydney New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian made a “captain’s call” in recent months that raised the ire of many parents, teachers and education groups. She ...8 hours ago - Dangerous to human health: that’s a housing problem much bigger than a few high-profile apartment ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Beer, Dean, Research and Innovation, University of South Australia Australia’s biggest city is abuzz with news of yet another housing development declared unsafe for human habitation. This time it is apartments ...8 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Leadership claims on agriculture and the ETS
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Many claim leadership positions around farming emissions, concerns rise about deported gang members in small towns, and superyacht predictions panned.Now apologies if you feel like this is repetition – we did ...9 hours ago - Government under fire for how it released climate change reportFederated Farmers is urging the government to be less political and more transparent in its approach to climate change. ...10 hours ago
- This World Cup’s for you, Casey Kopua
Against all odds, the Silver Ferns have won netball's World Cup for the first time in 16 years. And fittingly, one of the legends of the game sealed their incredible victory. ...10 hours ago - Taking on Anne Salmond over forests
Forestry NZ challenges several claims made in Dame Anne Salmond's commentary in Newsroom last week, ‘Billion Trees policy being rorted’. ...11 hours ago - Reducing health risks on your daily commute
What are you getting out of your daily commute? University of Auckland Associate Professor Kim Dirks considers the health implications for getting from A to B. ...11 hours ago - Will Democrats risk choosing a woman?
Democrats face a real conundrum in the candidate they pick to run against Donald Trump. Peter McKenzie explains why. ...11 hours ago - Hong Kong will not go quietly
If Beijing’s actions have any bearing on what will happen when the agreement of ‘one country, two systems’ expires, the Hong Kong people are unlikely to succumb quietly. ...11 hours ago - All Blacks still struggling to replace colossal Kaino
Jerome Kaino deserves to sit alongside the greats who retired from test rugby at the 2015 World Cup. ...11 hours ago - So, you’ve declared a climate emergency. Now what?
Six things councils can do right now to make the ’emergency’ worth more than the paper it’s written on.Councils are declaring climate emergencies across the country, but with only a decade to cut carbon emissions in half, it’s time for ...11 hours ago - Full and frank commentary on 2019 Whitcoulls Top 100
Newsroom literary editor Steve Braunias passes his verdict on the annual list of the 100 favourite books of New Zealanders who filled out a Whitcoulls form. ...11 hours ago - Two Cents’ Worth: How to pick a winner
Businesses of fewer than 20 employees make up 97 percent of NZ's enterprises. But on the flip side, 10 percent go into liquidation. ...11 hours ago - Swap your high horse for a work horse
The construction industry has a multi-pronged attack plan to fill desperately needed gaps ...11 hours ago - Same sounds, different ears: The universal joy of classical music
Orchestral music performance is an art form, but how do you engage with something you’ve never experienced before? Samiyah Alghamdi and Anna Knox attend NYO Celebrates in Wellington and unpack what they hear.The National Youth Orchestra and the National Youth ...23 hours ago - Simon Bridges says EV uptake too slowThe National Party is criticising the Government's uptake of electric vehicles into its fleet, saying it's taking too long. ...23 hours ago
- Review: Funny As is the definitive historical document of New Zealand comedy
Tara Ward reviews Funny As, a series that documents the history of New Zealand comedy, and manages to be a key part of that history in its own right.Kiwi comedy has come a long way since Fred Dagg first fell out ...1 day ago - Auckland bar owner left Canada under cloud of allegationsCave à Vin founder Zane Kelsall says he has been in ‘intense therapy’ following sexual misconduct claims in Halifax.Last week, The Spinoff published a story about Cave à Vin, a new wine bar on Auckland’s North Shore. The story hailed ...1 day ago
- The museum protecting, and celebrating, New Zealand’s lesbian history
Hundreds of artefacts connected with the lesbian community in New Zealand are displayed in a small volunteer-run museum in West Auckland.Charmaine always had crushes on girls. When she was head girl of Auckland Girls’ Grammar, she fell in love with ...1 day ago - Bee positive: How Auckland is doing its bit for the world’s pollinators
From a school for budding beekeepers to a street-side garden growing produce for locals, Auckland’s abuzz with projects making the city safer for pollinators.Auckland’s a hive of activity aimed at helping our pollinators and it’s all a part of For ...1 day ago - David Farrier on the strangest film since Tickled
After watching a mind-bending film about a dying magician that reminded him of Tickled, David Farrier interviewed the director, only to have his interview disappear.This has never happened before. I’ve never lost audio from an interview, and it’s the most ...1 day ago - Govt knuckles down ahead of ‘reeferendum’
The Government is ramping up policy and research work in the countdown to next year’s referendum on cannabis legalisation. ...2 days ago - NZ mosque massacre, New Caledonia referendum and Fiji elections top PJR
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk New Zealand’s unprecedented “internet-native mass shooting” attack on two mosques, the New Caledonia independence referendum, Fiji’s general election and news media responses are featured in the latest Pacific Journalism Review being published next week. Analysis ...2 days ago - Aldous Harding is unremarkableAldous Harding is coming back to New Zealand. In the lead-up to her shows, she spoke to The Spinoff about live TV, maturity, and the weirder interpretations of her songs.Aldous Harding is calling from her home in Wales. Only a ...2 days ago
- Why isn’t Australia in deep space?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Flannery, Planetary Scientist, Queensland University of Technology This weekend marks 50 years exactly since humans first walked on the Moon. It also marks Australia’s small but significant role in enabling NASA ...2 days ago - The shopping bag repurposing parachutes and plastic bottles
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Aaron Jones, founder of Christchurch-based reusable bag company Zerobag.First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Zerobag.Zerobag is a New Zealand-owned ...2 days ago - Hot Dog! William Wegman: Being Human, reviewed
Aaron Kreisler looks beyond the gags in this survey of an artist and his dogs at the Christchurch Art Gallery.“The dog really must love him, it’s so incredibly patient…”, a woman says to her daughter, punctuating a screening of Coin ...2 days ago - Saturday Short Story – Baking night, by Elizabeth Smither
‘He wants to sleep with you,’ a close friend had said. ‘Then you’ll be able to tell if it is going to lead anywhere’: a short story by New Plymouth author Elizabeth Smither. Photography by Peter Black. ...2 days ago - Opinion: Ardern can take a few lessons from Australian Labor’s defeatOpinion - The leadership visits are more interesting in that they serve as a spotlight on the two countries - politically, and on policy issues, writes Brigette Morten. ...2 days ago
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