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“As long as it takes”
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, February 13th, 2025 - 159 comments
Well it didn’t take that long: from one SecDef to another in a matter of a month. It’s time for a rethink on Ukraine and much else.
Update: Hegseth’s speech video
NZ White Rural Rage
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, April 27th, 2024 - 14 comments
What is really going on in the minds of
Iran launches missiles at Israel in retaliation for consulate strike in Damascus
Written By: - Date published: 4:18 am, April 15th, 2024 - 15 comments
Israel should not have bombed the Iranian consulate buildings in Damascus. Iran should not have fired 300 missiles at Israel in response. Neither of these actions should have happened, but they now have. The world now watches to see if there is further retaliation and escalation of violence, or if calmer and wiser heads prevail.
NZ policy is consistent about Russian invasion
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 pm, December 23rd, 2023 - 118 comments
Unlike Mike Smith and other noisy members of the imperialist cohort, I applaud that NZ foreign policy has remained consistent in upholding UN and ICC policies against invasions and forced annexations. Ardern, Hipkins and now Luxon have all said the same thing.Supporting the UN charter has massively reduced war casualties over the last 70 years. Clearly the Russian Federation finds this constraining.
War crimes in Palestine
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, November 12th, 2023 - 88 comments
There is a growing recognition that Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip constitute war crimes.
Still pussy-footing on Gaza
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, October 31st, 2023 - 57 comments
Unlike the other four Eyes, New Zealand voted for a UNGA resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza. The US had previously vetoed a ceasefire resolution. Finally on RNZ, Ben Strang asked whether Israel’s response to HAMAS is also a “war crime?’
Passing the buck on Gaza
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 pm, October 25th, 2023 - 22 comments
The new government is leaving it to the old government to carry the ball on Gaza. Both governments have dropped it. The 5Eyes formula of “Israel’s right to defend itself” does not extend any right to the indiscriminate bombing, and refusal to allow any water, food or fuel to innocents in Gaza.
UN expert: Allow women and girls to speak on sex, gender and gender identity without intimidation or fear
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, May 24th, 2023 - 155 comments
“I am deeply concerned at the escalation of intimidation and threats against women and girls for expressing their opinions and beliefs regarding their needs and rights based on their sex and/or sexual orientation”
– Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Pause With Map In Hand and Scratch Their Heads
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 13th, 2022 - 19 comments
If 2020 was the worst year in my lifetime how does 2022 compare?
Russian roulette
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, September 23rd, 2022 - 277 comments
Vladimir Putin has effectively conceded that the Ukraine war is not going well for Russia by seeking to conscript 300,000 new soldiers, planning for referenda in Russian held areas and threatening the use of Nuclear weapons if Russia’s modified territorial integrity is threatened.
Should We Just Settle?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 29th, 2022 - 60 comments
New Zealand does not have to settle for being small, quiet, and weak.
Who Pays the Price of Sanctions
Written By: - Date published: 4:32 pm, March 20th, 2022 - 194 comments
New Zealand’s sanctions on Russia have not stopped the war in Ukraine. They may have made our parliamentarians feel better, and Tony Blinken was quick to congratulate us on falling into line with the US “high-impact sanctions.” The language is combative, but the evidence shows sanctions do not work. They can have significant blow-back effects, particularly if not combined with effective diplomacy.
The International Legion of Territorial Defence
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 7th, 2022 - 107 comments
However much infighting there was on the Spanish Republican side between leftists, Communists, anarchists and others, you could be confident that the Nazis were on the other side. In the Ukraine it is not so simple.
Remarkably Hopeful
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 1st, 2022 - 18 comments
We will probably never get over the feeling that somehow, if enough people just banded together, it would all get better again, like we did when the United Nations charter was struck.
Big developments in Beijing
Written By: - Date published: 4:44 pm, February 7th, 2022 - 31 comments
The meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping is likely to set the geopolitical direction for the 21st century. If ‘divide and rule’ was the mantra for the US’s hegemonic rule in the 20th century, ‘unite and share’ looks like setting the tone for the 21st. Co-operation rather than competition is the mantra, and “friendship between the two states has no limits.” A truly remarkable turnaround.
Blinken and Blind-Sided?
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, January 16th, 2022 - 17 comments
Russian peacekeepers are already leaving Kazakhstan having nipped the ‘colour revolution’ in the bud. Blinken clearly didn’t have a clue when he said Russians never leave the house. Russian intelligence was superb. Now we wait for Russia’s response to US likely refusal to pull back from its borders. One thing I’d bet on – no invasion of Ukraine.
The Top 20 Biggest U.S. Military Interventions, Best to Worst
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, August 31st, 2021 - 76 comments
With the last flights coming out of Kabul, it’s time to review whether this US attitude to the world is a good idea.
About the Hate Speech law changes
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 6th, 2021 - 94 comments
The debate about the Government’s consultation on proposed changes to hate speech laws continues, with the level of heat increasing, but the level of actual understanding of what is being proposed in critical shortage.
Hate speech wide-eyed scaremongering
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, June 30th, 2021 - 111 comments
A guest post by Clint Smith who has actually analysed the effect of the proposed changes and makes comment on the detail of what is proposed.
Oppose this new hate speech bill
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, June 26th, 2021 - 206 comments
Hate speech is about to get a lot more criminalised with much stronger penalties. It’s worth going back to what the Royal Commission actually considered, since that’s the basis of proposing this law. The Royal Commission in fact found that trying to protect religion from very strong opinions is simply not a good idea: … we acknowledge that there […]
What to do about Palestine
Written By: - Date published: 4:04 pm, May 18th, 2021 - 12 comments
The war in Gaza has continued with 197 Palestinians including 58 children being killed and with significant damage to infrastructure including hospitals and
Will we rebuild better?
Written By: - Date published: 7:34 am, May 17th, 2021 - 36 comments
There’s a question Covid19 allows us to ask that we haven’t been able to ask since the end of World War 2: can we all just co-operate to get along – as a species?
National’s use of the dog whistle and its hatred of UN conventions
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, May 10th, 2021 - 52 comments
Judith Collins has applied the dog whistle to the He Puapua report and suggested that it is evidence of the Government wanting to radically change New Zealand society. But a check through history shows that the report is based on an International Treaty that National signed up to.
The boy from Matamata
Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, October 28th, 2020 - 43 comments
Trump deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell, who is also a Kiwi, has announced his candidacy to be head of the OECD. The Greens have announced their opposition because he has been part of inhumane decisions and also decisions that undermine international institutions. The right back him because he is a kiwi. What should Labour do?
The four horsemen of the apocalypse
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, June 4th, 2020 - 16 comments
Ok so this is the worst year I can think of in my lifetime. But apocalyptopia it ain’t.
How Africa has weathered the COVID-19 storm
Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, May 27th, 2020 - 14 comments
Ramaphosa has no doubt learnt from his predecessor Thabo Mbeki’s abysmal response to the HIV crisis in South Africa where inaction by the government caused the virus to spread quickly. Sadly it’s through these sort of deadly mistakes that politicians learn the importance of prevention in public health.
Pandemics are no a time for inward-looking nationalism
Written By: - Date published: 4:37 am, April 9th, 2020 - 41 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog
Trump is focused on the November US Presidential Election. His anti-Chinese, nationalist, America First rhetoric is his go-to response to keep his political base onside. He is placing his political ambition ahead of millions of lives both in the US and globally. Trump has placed electoral politics ahead of leadership that could save millions of lives.
Oh Look! (What. a. surprise.)
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, February 8th, 2020 - 20 comments
Mainstream media yet again aiding and abetting the character assassination of whistle blowers.
McClay accused of supporting China’s mass detention of muslims
Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, January 17th, 2020 - 51 comments
Freedom House has criticised National MP Todd McClay for reinforcing Chinese descriptions of the mass imprisonment of Muslim minorities as vocational training centres.
LBJ Redux
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, January 7th, 2020 - 36 comments
What if the American assassination of General Soleimani results in the complete withdrawal of US troops from the Middle East?
OPCW Scandal.
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, January 3rd, 2020 - 40 comments
There was no chemical attack in Douma.
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #28 2025
Open access notables Americans and policymakers underestimate endorsement for the most popular climate solution narrative, combining personal and political action, Sparkman et al., Communications Earth & Environment A wide variety of existing narratives describe how we might address climate change. Which of these approaches is popular among the American public? ...4 hours ago - Trump’s tariff war risks undermining US alliances in East Asia
New York Times columnist David Brooks once remarked that Donald Trump is the wrong answer to the right questions—a sentiment that captures the core challenge facing US policy in East Asia. Trump correctly identified the ...5 hours ago - Dealing to the evidence
Rob Campbell recently wrote a piece for Newsroom entitled “Government continues its blunt refusal to acquire knowledge”.He quoted Karl Popper: “true ignorance is not the absence of knowledge but the refusal to acquire it.”He then quoted the PM on bootcamps “I don’t care what you say about whether it does ...6 hours ago - Australia’s freedom-of-navigation activities raise more questions than answers
A freedom-of-navigation activity that the Australian and British navies jointly conducted near the Spratly Islands last month was notable. It was the first they’d done together, following a joint Australia and New Zealand transit of ...7 hours ago
- “Can you have a peaceful revolution?”
“Trump’s win was the triumph of capitalism and neoliberalism, and he’s going to wreak havoc. There’s nothing we can do about that, except maybe incremental changes. That’s not what we need. We need revolution. Can you have a peaceful revolution? I don’t know.”David SuzukiWell, David Suzuki has called it, and ...7 hours ago - Gas is still dead
The National regime, with its outdated fossil thinking, is desperately trying to revive the fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, that industry seems to be voting with its feet: one of my regular checks of the gas permit map, and comparison with the permit spreadsheet, shows that OMV has surrendered another two ...9 hours ago - India’s water treaty power play signals regional shift
As India renegotiates the Ganges Water Treaty with Bangladesh following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, it is adopting a new posture in its water diplomacy. India appears to be charting a China-like path ...10 hours ago
- The Dust of Israel’s Genocide Settles Across the World
In the annals of human cruelty, the Holocaust stands as a grotesque monument to industrialised slaughter. Hitler’s regime exterminated six million Jews, alongside Romani people, disabled individuals, political dissidents, LGBTQ+ communities, and intellectuals, a genocide shrouded in secrecy, its full horrors only grasped after the German's were defeated.Fast forward to ...11 hours ago - Wednesday 9 July
CTU president Richard Wagstaff warned the “light touch” approach in the Government’s new AI strategy would do nothing to protect workers from the serious risks from AI. Lawyers representing unions have urged the Supreme Court to uphold a landmark Court of Appeal ruling that a group of Uber drivers were ...11 hours ago - Good enough to win: rethinking risk in innovation
Innovation policy is often built around optimism. But in a world of live contest across the economy, the environment and the broader geostrategic landscape, progress cannot afford to wait for perfection. The scale of technology ...12 hours ago
- Of Story Salvaging, Magazine Demise, and a Thousand Posts (+ Accursed AI)
This marks A Phuulish Fellow’s thousandth blog post. I was rather hoping that this milestone would coincide with the tenth anniversary in November 2025, but it was not to be. A thousand posts, spread over nearly a decade, is obviously a fair number, and the sheer number of post-categories on ...12 hours ago - Rainbow Warriors
Where the Banshees cryAnd the bells they soundWhen you lift me highWhen you pull me downWhen you pull me downWhen you pull me downSongwriter: Donald Bain Mcglashan.Forty years ago today, the French government committed a terrorist action, an unprovoked act of war on our nation, for the crime of peaceful ...13 hours ago - A criminal nation
The European Court of Human Rights has found Russia guilty of horrific human rights violations during its unlawful invasions of Ukraine: Russia has committed flagrant and unprecedented abuses of human rights since it invaded Ukraine in 2014, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labour, the European court of ...13 hours ago
- Winning on economics means losing on national security
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needs to make a formal statement to the Australian Parliament addressing Australia’s place in a changing world and unambiguously asking the Australian public to pay a price to defend the nation’s ...15 hours ago
- Trump just gave a huge gift to China’s economy
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections On the Fourth of July – America’s 249th birthday – President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that could very well cede the country’s position as the leading global economic superpower to China. As the nonpartisan energy think tank RMI has argued, the ...15 hours ago
- Kāinga Ora selling Wellington land it once planned to build 320 homes on
Briefly for paying subscribers at 7am on Wednesday, July 91, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, Op-Eds, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:Kāinga Ora is selling two plots of land in Wellington it once planned to put 320 homes on, and ...15 hours ago - Gordon Campbell On Why The Regulatory Standards Bill Is A Hot Mess
When the politician pushing a controversial piece of legislation starts accusing his critics of “derangement syndrome” – as David Seymour has done this week – then any chance of a rational debate on the Regulatory Standards Bill has gone out the window. Seymour’s tantrum confirms the fears held by constitutional ...23 hours ago - GCSB & NZSIS warn ACT Bill risks NZ’s National Security
As outlined earlier in the week, RNZ has a charter to “serve the public interest” - not pretend it is centrist, shy, or bipartisan.This week, during the Regulatory Standards Bill select committee, the dominance of corporate media and RNZ government inteference could not be clearer.As heavy hitter after heavy hitter, ...1 day ago - The RBNZ just held the OCR at 3.25%. Is that it? Does it matter?
Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app ...1 day ago
- ‘Catastrophic failures’: Defence budget squeeze hits navy maintenance
The Defence budget squeeze has starved the Royal Australian Navy of sustainment funding. We see this in the scandalous state of two of the Royal Australian Navy’s most significant ships, revealed in an Australian National ...1 day ago
- Reimagining Democracy for a new era – Auckland
The expression of the will of the people has taken and can take many forms. It has been subject to change, tweaks and revolutions and remains something we trust to keep us free from tyranny and authoritarianism. However, we need to be give it continued thought. Today it needs some ...1 day ago
- One does not simply bring back a Moa
I have to admit my very first thought was: How awesome would it be to see one?My further thought was: Just how lopsided could this go?Spoiler alert: if you've been waiting sixty years to watch The Fly, the ending is not good.Help me, help me cries the tiny head of ...1 day ago - Albanese’s China visit: views from ASPI analysts
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China from 12 to 18 July, his office said yesterday. He’ll meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Here are ASPI analysts’ views on the visit, what Albanese ...1 day ago
- Politicised COVID Inquiry Targets Labour
In the grand theatre of New Zealand politics, the Coalition of Chaos has turned the second phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned into a stage for partisan point-scoring, rather than a genuine pursuit of truth. This expanded inquiry, set to conclude by February 2026, is ...1 day ago
- Why our housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on is stalled
Rate cuts aren’t working this time to fire up our economy, which is now even more of a housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Wednesday, July 9:The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has paused1 its rate ...1 day ago - When a RNZ Host gets it terribly wrong
..With perhaps one (or maybe two) exception(s), the journalists, producers, technicians, and hosts at RNZ are folks I hold in high regard. They have tough jobs to do - especially when trying to elicit some semblance of comprehensible answers from our robotic Prime Minister, programmed to give automated responses to ...1 day ago - Don’t let Beijing’s AI charm offensive fool us
There’s one thing China’s ambassador to Australia got right in a call to add artificial intelligence to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA): ‘China has always viewed Australia and China-Australia relations from a strategic and ...1 day ago
- Workers absent from government’s AI “strategy”
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is concerned that the artificial intelligence (AI) “strategy” document released today by the Government ignores impacts on working people and replicates the corporate hype of Microsoft and other tech giants. “It is crucial that no workers are left behind as ...1 day ago
- China’s ‘Taiwanese separatist’ hotline shows expanding lawfare strategy
Beijing’s coercion campaign against Taiwan is entering a more litigious phase. While military drills and cognitive warfare remain staples of its coercive playbook, China is now intensifying the systematic use of law to target Taiwan’s ...1 day ago
- “There is no corruption in New Zealand…”
A government lavishes corporate welfare on a project managed by one of its donors, then appoints him as a director of a government body. The USA? No, its National's New Zealand: A newly-appointed KiwiRail board director is associated with a company which donated to NZ First. Scott O'Donnell is ...2 days ago
- Pacific maritime policy could mend fragmentation, increase resilience
The Pacific’s patchwork of national policies and voluntary regional frameworks often falls short of delivering unified, timely and effective responses. A comprehensive and legally binding regional maritime policy could build a more cohesive and resilient ...2 days ago
- Unbelievable
The things, you sayYour purple prose just gives you awayThe things, you sayYou're unbelievableWriters: Ian Dench, Mark De Cloedt, Zachary Foley, James Atkin, Derran Brownson.Things are a bit strange right now. Don’t you think?With the right emboldened, the usual standards of decency, evidence, and logic have been abandoned, lying in ...2 days ago - Bernard’s Pick ‘n’ Mix Sixes at 7am on Wednesday, July 9
Briefly for paying subscribers at 7am on Wednesday, July 91, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, Op-Eds, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate are:Top Six Pick ’n’ Mix for Wednesday, July 9Emma Ricketts for Stuff: Health NZ backtracks on proposal to reallocate ...2 days ago - Peters heads off to the trade war
Foreign Minister Winston Peters heads off today to Kuala Lumpur for a meeting with South East Asian foreign ministers, which will now be ground zero for the trade war with the United States. It is the annual Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers conference, and New Zealand ...2 days ago - Fact brief – Is global warming just due to El Niño?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming just due to El Niño? El Niño Southern Oscillation is a short-term and cyclical weather phenomenon caused by alternating wind ...2 days ago
- Think about defence spending like this: when risks rise, so do insurance premiums
Australia’s strategic risk has increased significantly, and the government needs to increase its defence spending to match it. Defence spending is the premium for Australia’s defence insurance policy—it underwrites Australia’s protection from external threats, with ...2 days ago
- In their dreams
Order of Ceremony for the Jacinda Ardern Show Trial and Ritual HumiliationMs HDPB-Allen will rise to say:I want to hear you apologise for showing empathy during a crisis. She may, if she chooses, add: This made me feel very uncomfortable.Mr M Hosking, wearing Armani and looking as though he has ...2 days ago - Enter a title40 years on, the Rainbow Warrior, the bombing and French colonial culture in the Pacifi...
Provide a desJournalist and former university professor Dr David Robie reflects on the 1985 Rainbow Warrior mission to Rongelap atoll to help US nuclear refugees and the bombing of the Greenpeace campaign ship by French secret agents. His analysis is that far from the sabotage being an isolated incident, it ...2 days ago
- ASPI Defence Conference: Putting the ‘national’ in national preparedness and resilience
The ASPI Defence Conference in June highlighted the critical importance of national preparedness and resilience to Australia’s national security. Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral David Johnston, set the stage by emphasising a pivotal shift ...2 days ago
- Qantas hack: limits to the government’s reach
A cyberattack on a Qantas call centre, revealed last week, put cyber risk back in the headlines, as did similar attacks on Medibank and Optus. But these are not one-off shocks: they represent a new ...2 days ago
- Prison for One: Accepted
A very, very nice bit of writing news today. Prison for One, my 3,250-word piece of Space Opera, has earned itself an acceptance by Bullet Points (https://bulletpoints.nathantoronto.com/), a magazine specialising in speculative military fiction. To call this an exciting acceptance is to understate the case. You see, Prison for ...2 days ago
- Tuesday 8 July
The Supreme Court has begun hearing arguments on whether it should uphold or overturn previous court rulings that four Uber drivers were entitled to be treated as employees of the firm, rather than as contractors. Hospital workers are pushing back against a trial to reduce the number of maternity beds ...2 days ago
- Uber drivers taking a stand on behalf of all platform workers
As the Uber drivers have their case heard in the Supreme Court today, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi believes that the outcome of the case will have lasting implications for people working the in the platform economy and workers who have been misclassified as contractors. ...2 days ago
- Capital gaps and complacency: investment imbalance undermines sovereignty
Australia’s ability to generate breakthrough ideas has never been in doubt. But despite increasing recognition of the need for national resilience, the country still lacks a capital system built to serve strategic purpose. The failure ...2 days ago
- NZ economy sliding back into recession
There are clear signs from leading indicators that the economy is sliding back into recessionary territory in a third consecutive winter of economic discontent. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Tuesday, July 8:On the eve of an ...3 days ago - The great acceleration debate
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The publication of an article titled “The World Is Warming Up. And It’s Happening Faster” by the New York Times kicked off a pretty heated debate among climate scientists over the evidence of acceleration and how strong a claim can be made based ...3 days ago
- How to fill a 155 mm hole in Australian defence strategy
In Canberra, it’s called taking out the trash. Late on Friday, 27 June, the Department of Defence quietly issued a media release with news it must have hoped would get little media attention: it had ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On Using The Tax System To Boost Funding For The Arts
Despite the myriad concerns being expressed about the Regulatory Standards Bill – including misgivings by his own Regulations Ministry and scorn from constitutional law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer – David Seymour has professed to find no merit in any of the objections. Sure, he’ll add in a reference to the ...3 days ago
- Horses for courses: where quantum computing is, and isn’t, the answer
Despite the impressive and undeniable strides quantum computing has made in recent years, it’s important to remain cautious about sweeping claims regarding its transformative potential. To avoid future disillusionment as the technology matures and ensure ...3 days ago
- People Linked to Jeffrey Epstein Who Have Died
The web of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network and its ties to powerful figures continues to unravel, revealing a chilling pattern of suspicious deaths, allegations of intelligence connections, and unanswered questions. From Epstein’s own mysterious death in 2019 to the unsolved murders of Barry and Honey Sherman, the apparent suicide of ...3 days ago
- Don’t kid yourself, Australia: a Taiwan war would spread across the Indo-Pacific
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s second visit to China—pencilled in for this month—will come weeks before the People’s Liberation Army’s 98th anniversary on 1 August 2025, a date laden with symbolism as Beijing approaches the military modernisation ...3 days ago
- A good way to say goodbye
It can feel as though I'm often saying goodbye here. Friends who have gone; and I remember when.I’m at an age where I have more years behind me than ahead, and I'm writing for many people in the same position. But it's not always or ever just goodbye, I hope. ...3 days ago - The psychosocial imperative of food security preparedness
The dust has barely settled on the 2025 federal election and the returning government has already reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a national food security strategy. That’s a welcome and long-overdue step forward. But unless ...3 days ago
- Submission on the Public Finance Amendment Bill
This submission comments on select aspects of the Public Finance Amendment Bill. The NZCTU opposes the removal of the wellbeing provisions from the Act. These were inserted in 2020 to make clear that the goal of fiscal policy is to support the wellbeing of New Zealanders. The wellbeing provisions help ...3 days ago
- Legislating For Liberty.
Revolutionary Intentions: The Regulatory Standards Bill sounds like one of those pieces of legislation debated on a dreary Thursday afternoon in an almost empty House of Representatives - it is anything but.FOR A BILL set to transform New Zealand into a libertarian nightmare, it has an extremely boring name. The Regulatory ...3 days ago - Reality Check Radio’s Unhinged Petition
Reality Check Radio’s petition to prosecute former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, alongside Chris Hipkins, Ashley Bloomfield, and a cadre of public health experts, is a bewildering display of political theatre. Launched on the cusp of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, this campaign is less a call ...3 days ago
- Whose cloud is it, anyway? Rethinking sovereignty in the shift to cloud infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure is now the backbone of everything from social services and emergency response to critical industry operations and defence. The shift has been fast, and often invisible to users. What began as a convenience ...3 days ago
- Another attack on the rule of law
Over the past few years New Zealand fisheries ministers have been repeatedly found to have acted illegally in their quota decisions, ignoring the Fisheries Act's environmental and information principles and setting quota at unlawfully high levels to pander to the fishing industry. But current fisheries minister Shame Jones has a ...4 days ago
- Monday 7 July
The PSA are saying that months after commissioning a report into sexual harassment, Corrections has not moved fast enough to address its “old boys club” culture that has impacted a quarter of their staff. A survey of student nurses has found almost 62 percent are considering a job overseas if one ...4 days ago
- Willis eyes more tax from banks
Willis says she has sought advice on whether the major banks are paying their fair share of tax. Photo: Getty ImagesBriefly in the news from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, July 7:Finance Minister Nicola Willis is considering changing the tax settings for banks in Budget ...4 days ago - The Red Flag
Then raise the scarlet standard highBeneath its folds, we'll live and dieThough cowards flinch and traitors sneerWe'll keep the red flag flying hereLyrics: Billy Bragg / Traditional.On this day in 1916, smaller socialist parties and trade unions came together to form our New Zealand Labour Party. So, congratulations to all ...4 days ago - Australia urgently needs a national security strategy
Many nations, including Australia, continue to operate as if strategic shocks are exceptional, not the new norm. This illusion of peace leaves us dangerously unprepared for the multipolar, contested, and volatile world rapidly unfolding around ...4 days ago
- “I Wanted, So Badly, To See His Face”
Hi,Four years ago on Webworm, my friend Kate wrote an essay about having aphantasia. In her words, “Aphantasia is the inability to visualise mental images. Most people who have aphantasia are also unable to recall sounds, smell or sensations of touch. That’s me. I can’t do any of it. Never ...4 days ago - FamilyBoost changes will exacerbate inequity of ECE access
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is warning that the FamilyBoost changes announced today by Finance Minister Nicola Willis will fail to make early childhood education more affordable for the families who need it most and will instead widen inequities. “The Government has missed an opportunity ...4 days ago
- Unresolved Questions About Epstein’s Paedophile Network
Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal enterprise represents one of the most sophisticated pedophile and blackmail operations in modern history, facilitated by an extensive surveillance network that recorded illicit activities across his Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach mansion, Little St. James island, New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch, and the New Albany estate. Despite numerous investigations ...4 days ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #27
A listing of 27 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 29, 2025 thru Sat, July 5, 2025. Stories we promoted this week, by category: Climate Change Impacts (4 articles) What does climate change mean for agriculture? Less ...4 days ago
- Mountain Tūī’s 1 & Taking A Break
5 days ago - Common People
You will never understandHow it feels to live your lifeWith no meaning or controlAnd with nowhere left to goYou are amazed that they existAnd they burn so bright whilst you can only wonder whySongwriters: Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Steve Mackey, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle.Under every government, there are winners and ...5 days ago - The Dangerous Lie That Homelessness is a Choice
The callous rhetoric emerging from this Government's housing ministers reveals a profound disconnect from the harsh realities facing thousands of New Zealanders. When politicians like Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell suggest that homelessness is somehow a matter of personal choice, they perpetuate a dangerous myth that absolves the ...6 days ago
- The Dangerous Lie That Homelessness is a Choice
The callous rhetoric emerging from this Government's housing ministers reveals a profound disconnect from the harsh realities facing thousands of New Zealanders. When politicians like Mark Mitchell and Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell suggest that homelessness is somehow a matter of personal choice, they perpetuate a dangerous myth that absolves the ...6 days ago
- Investing in the Public Health System
What can you do when you have hit your borrowing limit and still want to spend? One option is to cut back on maintenance of your capital – say, to delay repainting the house or keeping the car in tip-top condition. The government does the same. Hence our three water ...6 days ago - The case for boosting defence spending is compelling—we shouldn’t need US prodding
The Australian government’s dispute with the United States over the level of defence spending has distracted our media and public from the core issue. The main driver of increased defence spending should not be requests ...6 days ago
- A reminder that music lifts you out of everything
Questions 1. What were participants in this year’s Youth Parliament effectively prohibited from saying?a. Death, death to the IDFb. There’s some hoes in this housec. Freddie Starr ate my hamsterd. Anything critical of the government2. About what does this government like to flex like a gym bro?a. Being tough on ...6 days ago - British public backs defence and security partnership with Australia
Australia was high on the list for Britain’s revamp of its alliances after Brexit, and the stormy geopolitical climate that followed has only reinforced the need for a more ambitious partnership. Looking ahead, public demonstrations ...6 days ago
- Qantas data breach shows compliance doesn’t always mean protection and resilience
Cybersecurity requires more than legal compliance; it demands constant vigilance and adaptation. A cyberattack on a third-party platform used by a Qantas customer contact centre in Manila, discovered on 30 June, made this clear. Six ...6 days ago
- OPED – Mark Patterson: “Do something about the bloody trees”
“Do something about the bloody trees” would be the most common refrain I hear around Clutha and when travelling about rural New Zealand. Forestry has been, and is, a legitimate land use option for farmers and forestry companies. Always has been, always will. Sensible farmers have incorporated planting out of ...9 hours ago - OPED – Jenny Marcroft: Supporting our oyster farmers
Most of us who live in the Mahurangi region are well aware of the ongoing challenges faced by oyster farmers because of multiple significant sewage spills into Mahurangi Harbour. Watercare’s sewerage network in Warkworth is infiltrated with stormwater following rainfall, resulting in overflows into the Mahurangi River and the wider ...1 day ago
- NZ First Introduces Bill to Protect New Zealanders’ Ability to Use Cash
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would protect New Zealanders’ ability to use cash. The Bill will provide for the enduring use of cash as a private, accessible, and reliable method of payment. “People who rely on cash due to barriers to digital banking deserve ...3 days ago
- New study shows speed of Antarctic ice melt, Govt fans climate flames
As the Government pulls out of global climate commitments, a significant new report shows that sea ice around Antarctica is melting at unprecedented speed. ...3 days ago - Family Boost announcement does little to boost families
Today’s announcement on the Family Boost scheme is little more than tinkering around the edges while real issues in the ECE system are ignored, says the Green Party. ...4 days ago
- Serious Response to Serious Problems
As New Zealand has positively responded to the crack down on gang patches there has been a growing recognition of the influence of organized crime on our communities. New Zealand First continues to be focused on all aspects that undermine the safety and security in our neighbourhoods, businesses, and ...1 week ago
- NZ First Bill: Only Official New Zealand Flag to Fly on Government Buildings
New Zealand First has today introduced a member's bill which would make it law that government buildings can only display the official flag of New Zealand. “Government buildings are for all New Zealanders and should not be hijacked to force cultural, woke, or divisive political ideology down the throats of ...1 week ago
- Healthy Homes standards need more teeth
With mandatory Healthy Homes standards coming into effect for all tenancies tomorrow, the Green Party is calling for a new Rental Warrant of Fitness system to give the new standards true effect. ...1 week ago
- Green Party pays tribute to Takutai Tarsh Kemp
The Green Party has paid tribute to Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp who sadly passed away early this morning. ...2 weeks ago
- Government Sabotages Settlement: Te Pāti Māori Backs Te Whānau-Ā-Apanui
Te Pāti Māori stands in solidarity with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui after revelations the Government is looking to derail their almost completed Treaty settlement. Minister Goldsmith has stated that the Government will not budge on its position that the Crown is sovereign. They are seeking to remove the ‘sovereignty clause’ agreed to ...2 weeks ago
- Govt abandons Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance
Christopher Luxon’s Government pulling out of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance is just the latest sign they care little for the climate crisis or cost of living it’ll exacerbate, says the Green Party. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s $200mill fossil fuel handout in breach of trade agreement
Legal advice commissioned by the Green Party shows the coalition Government’s $200 million “investment” in new gas fields is a clear breach of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS). ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Minister should fess up on cuts
Simeon Brown needs to be honest about how much more money he expects Health New Zealand to cut from its budget to get back in the black. ...2 weeks ago - Greens call on Govt to condemn US for attack on Iran
The Green Party is calling on the Government to condemn the United States for its illegal bombing of Iran and inflaming tensions across the Middle East. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon’s Complicity Puts Aotearoa at Risk: Te Pāti Māori Stands Against Global Military Aggressio...
Te Pāti Māori stands firmly against the rising tide of global military aggression. While the Luxon scrambles to appease Trump and Israel, we choose peace, sovereignty, and an independent foreign policy grounded in justice and truth. More than 56,000 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel over the past 20 months. ...2 weeks ago
- Former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election for Te Pāti Māori
Kaipara was selected at a hui at Hoani Waititi Marae on Thursday evening. ...2 hours ago - The special envoy’s antisemitism plan is ambitious, but fails to reckon with the hardest questions
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matteo Vergani, Associate Professor, Deakin University On July 6, an arson attack targeted the East Melbourne Synagogue. It was the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents recorded across Australia since October 7 2023, when Hamas carried out a horrific terrorist attack, ...3 hours ago - Homeowners warned weather-event buyouts may cease in 20 years
An independent reference group has delivered guidelines to help the government shape climate adaptation legislation. ...4 hours ago
- Queensland’s horrific lion attack shows wild animals should not be kept for our amusement
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgette Leah Burns, Associate Professor, Griffith School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Luciano Gonzalez/Anadolu via Getty Images Last weekend, a woman was mauled by a lioness at Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, and lost her arm. The zoo, which keeps ...4 hours ago
- Does Donald Trump deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Shortis, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally nominated United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. He says the president is “forging peace as we speak, ...5 hours ago
- Does Australia really take too long to approve medicines, as the US says?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Australia’s drug approval system is under fire, with critics in the United States claiming it is too slow to approve life-saving medicines. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration balances speed with a rigorous assessment ...5 hours ago
- Sovereignty ‘red line’ in any future Ngāpuhi settlement message at Whangārei hapū hui
Much of hapū hui agenda taken up by discussions of sovereignty and bill which aims to impose a single settlement on Ngāpuhi. ...5 hours ago
- Skorts revolutionised how women and girls play sport. But in 2025, are they regressive?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer E. Cheng, Researcher and Lecturer in Sociology, Western Sydney University If you watched any of the 2025 Wimbledon womens’ matches, you’ll have noticed many players donning a skort: a garment in which shorts are concealed under a skirt, or a front ...6 hours ago
- First the dire wolf, now NZ’s giant moa: why real ‘de-extinction’ is unlikely to fly
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago Colossal Biosciences, CC BY-SA The announcement that New Zealand’s moa nunui (giant moa) is the next “de-extinction” target for Colossal Biosciences, in partnership with Canterbury Museum, the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre ...6 hours ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Larissa Waters on why we deserve more than a government that just ti...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Greens had a poor election. They lost three of their four lower house seats including that of their leader Adam Bandt. This despite their overall vote remaining mostly steady. But they did ...6 hours ago
- Envoy’s plan to fight antisemitism would put universities on notice over funding
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has recommended universities that fail to properly deal with the issue should have government funding terminated. In her Plan to Combat Antisemitism, launched Thursday, Segal ...6 hours ago
- NZ First now third most popular party – Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll
The latest political poll shows the coalition parties reasserting their lead. ...7 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Analysis – Public Debt, Japan, and Wilful Blindness
8 hours ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 10, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 10, 2025. How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity lawsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University Moor ...8 hours ago
- How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity laws
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University Moor Studio / Getty Images Last week, Australian airline Qantas announced cyber attackers had accessed personal data about some of its customers. The company later confirmed that 5.7 million customer records ...8 hours ago
- Event noticeboard: Slow fashion, 15 minutes of fame and a mud hole
The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu. I was very excited to stumble across The Old Parakao Store’s event up north this Sunday. From the sounds of it, an excellent mud hole has sprung up on their mud drag circuit (a rough, muddy track to zoom 4x4s ...9 hours ago - Cyber crime and real-world crime are converging in a dangerous new way – here’s how to stay safe
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jongkil Jay Jeong, Senior Fellow, School of Computing and Information System, The University of Melbourne It starts with a call from someone claiming to be your bank. They know your name. They know your bank. They even know your credit card number. ...9 hours ago
- NEW POLL: New Zealand First Surge, National Regain Lead
For the first time in a Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll, New Zealand are the third most supported party, leapfrogging both the Greens and ACT. ...9 hours ago - Labor leads in two Victorian state polls, but Premier Jacinta Allan’s approval tanks
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Labor leads in Victorian state polls by Newspoll and Redbridge, but Premier Jacinta Allan is very unpopular. Two federal polls give Labor ...9 hours ago
- Cannabinoid products may reduce total sleep time in adults with insomnia: new study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camilla Hoyos, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Macquarie University Lysenko Andrii/Shutterstock You might have heard cannabis and cannabinoid products can help people sleep. Data shows one of the top reasons people use cannabis is to help them ...9 hours ago
- Planning a ‘Euro summer’ or cruise? Why another flu shot might save your holiday
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Janetzki, Lecturer in Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South Australia DavideAngelini/Shutterstock Are you escaping a southern hemisphere winter by heading off for a “Euro summer”? Maybe you’re planning a cruise through the Mediterranean. Or you’re dreaming of a white Christmas ...9 hours ago
- Melting ice will strengthen the monsoon in northern Australia – but cause drier conditions north o...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Node Leader in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, Flinders University Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images Almost two-thirds of the world’s population is affected ...9 hours ago
- Apprenticeship and training changes ‘fundamentally flawed’, industry groups warn
Industry bodies told MPs the government's overhaul of apprenticeship and workplace training would short-change employers. ...10 hours ago
- Listener and Woman’s Weekly publisher Are Media is up for sale
The home of some of New Zealand and Australia’s most popular magazines is looking for a buyer. But why now and who are the top contenders to take over? In 2020, the media landscape of New Zealand and Australia changed forever with the closure of Bauer Media. Covid-19 led to ...10 hours ago
- Ngāti Tukorehe to fly more flags after ‘racist attack’ on its whenua
Flags flying along SH1 in the lower North Island were torn down in what a spokesperson calls a "racist" attack. ...10 hours ago
- ‘Nose stuck in a book’ and other stubborn misconceptions around kids and reading
David Hill responds to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s decision to deny funding support for New Zealand to be Guest of Honour at the 2027 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. *Names have been changed for privacy reasons. My Uncle X was a huntin’ and fishin’ man. Every so often, he’d ...11 hours ago
- Meth consumption still high, no evidence of related spike in crime
But police data is yet to show evidence of related crime. ...11 hours ago
- Far North Mayor Moko Tepania undecided on future as Parliament calls grow
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania has yet to decide if he'll seek a second term, with multiple political parties trying to convince him to run for Parliament instead. ...11 hours ago
- Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer...
Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. ...12 hours ago
- How the West was worn: The fashion of Outrageous Fortune
For Outrageous Week , fashion writer Emma Gleason unpacks the unmatched style of New Zealand’s favourite westies. The Wests burst into our consciousness in a flurry of leather and leopard print, canonising the style of West Auckland with an attention to detail not often seen on screens. Sharkies, black hoodies ...12 hours ago
- Can you run all your weekend errands via eBike?
The weekend is only two days long, so spending any part of it in traffic is uniquely offensive. Can this be avoided altogether? Recently, my ailing eBike inconveniently died while I was only two-thirds of the way home. Unfortunately, the battery on my eBike, the cheapest and worst quality model ...12 hours ago
- Government changes to anti-money laundering laws aim to cut red tape for small businesses
It would change the rules around compliance, particularly customer due diligence. ...13 hours ago
- Earth’s ‘oldest’ impact crater is much younger than previously thought – new study
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Cavosie, Senior Lecturer, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Outcrops of shocked rocks from the Miralga impact structure. Aaron Cavosie Ever been late because you misread a clock? Sometimes, the “clocks” geologists use to date events can also ...14 hours ago
- Where do giant volcanic eruptions come from? New study finds missing link to ‘blobs’ deep within...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicolas Flament, Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow, Environmental Futures, School of Science, University of Wollongong Volcanic eruptions at Earth’s surface have significant consequences. Smaller ones can scare tourists on Mount Etna or disrupt air traffic. Giant, large-scale eruptions can have more ...14 hours ago
- Defence spending is like insurance – how will NZ pay the higher premiums?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hickson, Lecturer in Economics and Director, Business Taught Masters Programme, University of Canterbury Getty Images Defence spending is like insurance – you have to pay for it but you hope you never have to use it. And the higher the ...14 hours ago
- The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives shatters the church’s century-long effort to curate its own image
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Casual Lecturer and Tutor in History, Indigenous Studies, and Politics, Flinders University Hulu Reality TV series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives follows a number of social media influencers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who ...14 hours ago
- Help Me Hera: I’m jealous of my rich friend
I can’t even afford to go out for dinner, while she’s going on a European holiday. Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, I have this friend from high school who recently returned home after finishing uni. She has never worked, and she recently got accepted into ...14 hours ago
- Govt set to quash death sentences on hundreds of quake-prone buildings
The ‘uncomfortable reality’ is that policy-makers must place a value on human life, minister says, to decide how much to spend on safety work The post Govt set to quash death sentences on hundreds of quake-prone buildings appeared first on Newsroom. ...14 hours ago - Watch live: Submitters speak at Regulatory Standards Bill hearing day 4
Toitū Te Tiriti and the Manukau Urban Māori Authority are making submissions on Thursday. ...14 hours ago
- We interviewed 205 Australians convicted of murder and manslaughter. Alcohol’s role was alarming
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Li Eriksson, Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University We’ve long known there’s a link between alcohol and violence, but when it comes to homicide the stories behind the statistics are harder to grasp. Our study sheds rare light ...14 hours ago
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