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- David Farrar (99)
- dpf (194)
The Draft Electoral Boundaries
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 27th, 2025 - 11 comments
The Representation Commission’s draft boundaries for the next election have been released. And despite right wing claims to the contrary at least in Auckland the boundaries appear to favour the left.
Leadership D.O.A.
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, February 10th, 2025 - 31 comments
As we approach the half-time oranges for his government, I thought I’d give Mr Luxon some feedback and a few suggestions on how he might turn things around – if becoming a real leader interests him.
Standing for Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, February 2nd, 2025 - 16 comments
Can Kerrin Leoni pave the way as Tamaki Makaurau’s first wāhine Māori Mayor? Open to all today from Nick’s Kōrero…
David Farrar’s Curia Market Research Woes
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, February 1st, 2025 - 16 comments
What happened to the Curia Market Research suspension? David Farrar responded after RANZ hired an independent sub-committee to investigate complaints about polling integrity
Better Late than Never?
Written By: - Date published: 6:13 pm, January 31st, 2025 - 10 comments
Davey Seymour’s Disgusting School Dinners, and the faster you go, the bigger the mess, but does Chris Bishop look bothered?
Keep on Digging
Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, January 30th, 2025 - 30 comments
The latest outbursts and brain farts from the great Kumara of the North…
Open to all today in Nick’s Kōrero – Shane Jones calls climate change ‘woke’ and says, ‘Send the Mexicans home’.
Atlas Network in New Zealand
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 11th, 2024 - 11 comments
The similarities between the Atlas Network modus operandi and our government’s policies appear strident and unsettling.
Curia exited RANZ because Family First are unbalanced
Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, November 30th, 2024 - 7 comments
David Farrar’s company Curia abruptly exited the Research Association of New Zealand (RANZ) in August. It was triggered by a complaint about the fairness of the wording of a question in a April poll. This was a really bad poll, and this question a particularly egregious breach of any fairness. The question was paid for by Family Fi(r)st.
Curia Market Research Found In Breach Of Professional Standards
Written By: - Date published: 1:43 pm, August 16th, 2024 - 43 comments
It appears that Curia Research has resigned from the professional standards group Research Association of NZ (RANZ).
What Chat GPT thinks of the Standard
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, February 18th, 2023 - 27 comments
I thought that I would get Chat GPT to write 500 words on the Standard and this is what it came up with.
Really bad takes on the Green’s leadership issue
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, July 26th, 2022 - 60 comments
There have been some spectacularly bad takes on Green Party leadership issues by voices on the right and academia which were all shown to be spectacularly wrong after Chloe Swarbrick announced that she was not seeking the Green Party leadership.
The dodgy Auckland Mayoralty Curia poll
Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, June 21st, 2022 - 104 comments
An Auckland Ratepayers Alliance Curia poll that was trumpeted as claiming that Efeso Collins and Leo Molloy were neck and neck in terms of public support has attracted criticism after it was disclosed that the poll of 500 persons had 53% stating that they did not know who they would vote for.
The right to protest
Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, February 13th, 2022 - 131 comments
Complaints that the police are unnecessarily interfering with the Wellington Convoy’s right to protest appear to be vastly overstated.
Assange extradition judgment overturned
Written By: - Date published: 3:31 pm, December 12th, 2021 - 29 comments
I should have known not to be hopeful. British justice is an oxymoron which makes a mockery of official references to our ‘like-minded countries’ in the Five Eyes. The decision by senior judges in the UK to overturn a previous court decision not to extradite Julian Assange to the US is an example of state persecution of a person with the courage to speak out against crimes of the state.
How many centrist votes go to Labour?
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, November 25th, 2021 - 105 comments
Judith Collins lost a vote of confidence. David Farrar seems to think that Act will get the inevitable flow. Sounds unlikely. The far right and nutbar fringe has already vacated to Act – who represent them so well. But Labour overwhelming won last election on a vote from previous National voters. History repeats in 2023?
Dirty Politics does not work any more
Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, September 11th, 2021 - 83 comments
Egged on by a shock horror smear campaign on Cameron Slater’s latest post Judith Collins has attacked Dr Siouxsie Wiles by fat shaming her.
The politics of the New Lynn attack
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, September 4th, 2021 - 111 comments
Early days so far but the New Lynn attack will spark a debate about the adequacy of the country’s terrorism suppression laws and about citizenship rights.
Judith Collins is not John Key
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, July 2nd, 2021 - 168 comments
I honestly am not sure what Judith’s game plan. Supporting someone who on twitter called for the lynching of a person with a contrary view is not a way to reach to the middle of New Zealand politics.
Resistance
Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, March 31st, 2021 - 50 comments
Chris Trotter recently asked the question about why there isn’t more resistance to the degree of inequality that we face in New Zealand. He’s partially right, we do spend an awfully amount of time arguing with each other about matters of smaller and smaller moment while inequality slides downhill from glacier to avalanche. But intersectionalism isn’t the primary cause of activist cooling.
Dirty politics denouement
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, March 4th, 2021 - 29 comments
Another chapter of dirty politics has reached its conclusion with Carrick Graham offering an abject apology to Doug Sellman, Boyd Swinburn and Shane Bradbook for smearing their reputation via the Whaleoil website.
Brash Bassett and Hide take up blogging
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 19th, 2021 - 100 comments
A new political blog has appeared. But rather than involving a fresh presentation of new ideas in an attempt to engender debate this blog has three tired old has beens who are well past their use by date engage in some climate change denial and race baiting.
National’s Internal Polling Leaked
Written By: - Date published: 6:46 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 40 comments
Yet another leak from Judith Collins’ Strong Team™. This time it’s their own polling … and it’s grim news.
Authorised by me
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, July 23rd, 2020 - Comments Off on Authorised by me
I finally perused the June 2020 Third Party handbook put out by the Electoral Commission. This morning I activated my authorisation notice. Activists should consider what adverts or promotional material that they’d like me to put up in the right column on the site. It must be directly related to the election day for parliament or for the referendums. And conform to the handbook.
The 2008 Go Wellington Bus Lockout
Written By: - Date published: 5:44 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 6 comments
20 days after being elected President of the Wellington Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union (we just called it Tramways), drivers at Go Wellington were locked out. The City nearly ground to a halt with thousands unable to get to work and traffic congestion a nightmare. Certain journalists were quick to call this a communist conspiracy.
From the inside out
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, April 8th, 2020 - 62 comments
I feel that many kiwis are quite unaware exactly how exceptional our plague performance has been so far. It is interesting reading the perspective published in the Washington Post by a recently returned kiwi. Less interesting was the mathematical illiteracy on the MP David Seymour who managed to ignore all medical facts while advising on how to bulk kill our citizens.
Not a good day for an April Fool’s joke
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, April 1st, 2020 - 24 comments
David Farrar has shown that many of his commenters and followers do not understand satire.
What was Winston thinking?
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, February 15th, 2020 - 120 comments
It has been revealed that NZ First acquired photographs of its former President and two reporters emerged on the Whaleoil mark 2 site, raising the concerning possibility that Simon Lusk may be involved in helping NZ First.
Will DPF condemn National for hiding the identity of its donors?
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, February 11th, 2020 - 59 comments
David Farrar has called for the suspension of Winston Peters from Cabinet for reasons which would also justify the suspension of Simon Bridges from the National Party.
A message for conservatives about climate change and nuclear power
Written By: - Date published: 3:21 pm, January 9th, 2020 - 142 comments
David Farrar has criticised young people not for their passion about addressing climate change, but for not supporting nuclear power as a potential solution. Even though it is too risky, too expensive, and too late.
Small start to inflated bullshit.
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, October 29th, 2019 - 14 comments
I was reading one of Chris Trotters reflections which looked at the Corrections Amendment Bill 2018, that just passed its 3rd reading. “Putting The Check In Right-Wing Prisoners’ Mail”. It sounded odd and oddly lacked detail. I came to the conclusion taking press releases at face value without thinking was a very bad idea.
Reality kicks in for US trolls.
Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, October 18th, 2019 - 17 comments
It has been an interesting few days looking at political reality kicking in on politics and the net in the UK and the US. The first story I read yesterday was in the US, about one of the lying dimwitted conspiracy nutcases who claimed that the 2012 Sandy Nook school massacre never happened, but was […]
- Since Australia hosts US facilities, we need a joint war plan
Australia hosts several joint Australian-American facilities and provides the US with privileged access to a range of functions that are performed at Australian facilities. As a consequence, Australia is deeply integrated into US strategies of ...8 hours ago - Could NZ First vs ACT blow up the coalition over the Regulatory Standards Bill?
Briefly for paying subscribers at 7am on Saturday, July 12, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate today are:Tension is mounting in Cabinet between ACT and NZ First over the Regulatory Standards Bill, with Winston Peters ...17 hours ago - Is Progress Progressive?
We should not assume that all adopted innovations are progressive. Jonathon Haidt’s ‘The Anxious Generation’ illustrates that sometimes they require social measures to enhance well being.The Anxious Generation is a book which probably everyone engaging with adolescents should read. Haidt’s thesis is that smartphones replacing flip phones led to a ...1 day ago - National security isn’t what it used to be—and that’s the point
All prime ministers and presidents frequently tell us that national security is the top priority for government, but does the public see it the same way. And does that matter? When people think of national ...1 day ago
- No one told us life was gonna be this way
1. What has been named 2025 NZ Tree of the Year?a. Tane Mahutab. The Chook Treec. Steven Adamsd. The Bucket Fountain2. The botanical name for macrocarpa, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa, means: a. Large-fruited western cypressb. Tree most likely to crush your shedc. Will not lay eggs no matter how much you trim ...1 day ago - ASPI Defence Conference: Industry, policy and national resilience
Concerns about the strength of Australia’s defence industrial base were central to the industry policy panel at ASPI’s 2025 Defence Conference. The defence industrial base—a network of domestic and foreign industries, companies, research institutions and ...1 day ago
- Elon Musk’s Anti-Woke Grok AI Backfires
In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, Elon Musk’s Grok, developed by xAI, has sparked heated debate. It’s not for its promised “truth-seeking” prowess but for its alarming descent into extremism. Designed to counter what Musk perceived as the “woke” leanings of other AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Grok’s recent updates ...1 day ago - Ray Chung – Arsehole of the Week
In the murky world of local politics, few things reek as badly as Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung’s despicable conduct. His smearing email, circulated to fellow councillors in early 2023, peddling baseless and salacious gossip about Mayor Tory Whanau, is not just a personal attack, it’s a grotesque abuse of ...1 day ago
- Collateral benefit: space launch centre’s sensors will plug Cape York gap
Australia’s northern approaches are increasingly contested, yet the airspace over Cape York remains under-monitored and operationally thin. But only for the moment. Civilian sensors will close the gap. My company, Space Centre Australia, has begun ...1 day ago
- For smuggled drones, China wouldn’t be as soft a target as Russia
Ukraine did it. Israel did it. Could Taiwan do it? If China attacks Taiwan, could the island unleash smuggled drones on Chinese territory against high-value targets? Maybe, but China has long been aware of the ...2 days ago
- Economic Bulletin June July 2025
We have two feature articles in this edition. In the first, Morgan James-Tresidder, the new pay equity lead at the NZCTU, sets out why pay equity is such a critical tool for advancing working women’s interests, and outlines how unions are fighting back against the government’s retrograde changes to the ...2 days ago - Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Jonathan Boston & Wolfgang Rack ‘Hoon’ around the...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guest about the week’s news in geopolitics and climate, along with special guests Professor Jonathan Boston from Victoria University of Wellington and Professor Wolfgang Rack from University ...2 days ago - Friday 11 July
NZ Post is being told to start over on its consultation process for a proposed business reorganisation after the ERA found it failed to meet its obligations to union members. Southland Hospital staff have taken industrial action for the third time since February over safety concerns. More people moved away ...2 days ago
- Wednesday 10 July
Foodstuffs has confirmed 180 roles at Victoria Park’s New World supermarket will be disestablished after a fire three weeks ago – Workers First have negotiated an extended redundancy period in support of the workers. Residential rents are falling in most parts of the country with Wellington leading the way down. ...2 days ago
- Brickbats
The past is always knocking incessantTrying to break through into the presentWe have to work to keep it outBut I won't be the first to SHOUT it's overSong: Billy Bragg.BrickbatnounA piece of brick used as a missile."he had received a blow with a brickbat"A critical remark or comment."The plaudits were ...2 days ago - 2018 offences should be retained in a new age of espionage
Australia’s 2018 espionage laws are instrumental to defending against espionage, foreign interference, sabotage and theft of trade secrets. A current review of them by Independent National Security Legislation Monitor’s (INSLM) should recommend their retention and ...2 days ago
- Young workers leaving in their droves
Briefly for paying subscribers at 6.30am on Friday, July 11, 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:Net migration to Australia hit a 12-year high in 2024 and overall net migration in the last two months ...2 days ago - David Seymour Dodges Truth on Mass Kiwi Exodus
New Zealand is bleeding talent, and the National-led government’s ineptitude is squarely to blame. A record 70,000 Kiwis fled our shores in the year to March 2025, with Australia’s brighter economic prospects luring two-thirds of them across the Tasman. The 18-30 age group, particularly young professionals and high-performing students, is ...2 days ago
- Christian Nightmares
Hi,Ever since Donald Trump was elected, and then lost, and was then elected again, I’ve finally come to accept that terrible shit just keeps coming back around.Annoyingly, my work here on Webworm reminds me of this all the time.Back in 2022, I proudly published that the leaders of New Zealand’s ...2 days ago - National gets a warning from its friends
Some of the National Party’s key stakeholders came to Parliament yesterday and ripped into one of the Government’s showpiece Bills. Underlying the criticism of the Bill, which would establish the industry training bodies to replace Labour’s loss-making Polytech body, Te Pūkenga, was a familiar theme. There was too much direction ...2 days ago - 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? ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...2 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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, ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...4 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 ...5 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. ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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. ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 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 ...5 days ago
- An update on Winston’s War on Woke & June wrap up
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. During the month of June, we made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand. An update on Winston's War on Woke ...1 day ago - Green Party won’t contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election
After careful consideration, the Green Party will not stand a candidate in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. ...2 days ago - Te Pāti Māori Announces Award-Winning Broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to Contest Tāmaki Makaurau By-El...
Te Pāti Māori have confirmed the selection of celebrated broadcaster and longtime West Auckland advocate Oriini Kaipara (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi) as its candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. Oriini’s deep whakapapa to Tāmaki Makaurau is grounded in her upbringing at Hoani Waititi Marae, where she was ...2 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 ...2 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...5 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. ...5 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. ...6 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. ...2 weeks 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. ...3 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). ...3 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. ...3 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. ...3 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. ...3 weeks ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 12, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 12, 2025. NFIP activists, advocates to open nuclear-free Pacific exhibitionAsia Pacific Report Nuclear-free and independent Pacific advocates are treating Aucklanders to a lively week-long exhibition dedicated to the struggle for nuclear justice in the region. It ...10 hours ago - No need for bill protecting campus free speech, unis and legal experts say
But supporters of the Education and Training Amendment Bill say universities can't be trusted to uphold freedom of expression. ...11 hours ago - ‘It is an interesting time’ – Tania Simpson takes over as chair of Waitangi Trust
Tania Simpson intends to hit the ground running in what will ultimately be a short term due to the trust's rules. ...14 hours ago
- The history of the world’s greatest superhero
Nearly a century ago, a man in red and blue lifted a car on the cover of Action Comics #1. It didn’t take long for that man of steel to fly off the comic page and into radio … then onto the small and big screens, books, merchandise and anything ...18 hours ago - The Secret Diary of .. the Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid
MONDAY Thank you everyone for coming along to this excellent use of public spending. As head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19, I shall investigate, and investigate fully, the claims of those who say the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis was a crime against humanity and was ...18 hours ago
- Short story: Collective Tissue, by Craig Cliff
Terry Voss (born 1975) is the author of the story collection The Boring Aurora, which was shortlisted for the Sunday Supplement’s best first book award in 2001. His poems and stories have been published in many print and online journals, including Visigoths, 2B/X2B, Sundown and Herringbone. He is currently working ...18 hours ago
- The Weekend: I can’t stop thinking about this ad
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. It’s either a sign I’m scraping the bottom of the vibes barrel or a sign that I’m choosing to find joy in unexpected places but last weekend I found myself utterly captivated, impressed and moved(?!) by a billboard. To be clear, I ...19 hours ago - The top 20 moments from the DIVA exhibition at Auckland Museum, ranked
Bow down bitches, the true divas are in town. This week in attention economy news, JoJo Siwa is threatening to release her cover of ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ on Spotify. In the short video she’s already released, she sounds like she’s swallowed three packets of cigs and auto tuned the raspy ...19 hours ago
- ‘Even after all these years’: Siobhan Marshall on forever being called Pascalle West
As we wrap up Outrageous Week, actor Siobhan Marshall takes us through her life in television. It’s been 20 years since Outrageous Fortune first stormed onto New Zealand television screens, but Siobhan Marshall still meets a “terrifying” number of people who think she’s Pascalle West. Whether they’re from overseas viewers ...19 hours ago
- Have luxury cinemas gone too far?
In the age of boutique cinema experiences, Alex Casey pines for simpler times. My enduring memory of watching Alien: Romulus at the cinema is not of the creepy AI Ian Holm, nor of the hallway of facehuggers, but something much more chilling. In the opening scenes we drifted into the ...19 hours ago
- How to save the world with wonder
Sonya Wilson explains why wonder is at the heart of her novels Spark Hunter and The Secret Green. Last winter, about halfway up a small, damp slope in the Paradise Valley, I saw some steam rising from a lump of moss. I might’ve walked on past, brushing it off as ...19 hours ago
- NFIP activists, advocates to open nuclear-free Pacific exhibition
Asia Pacific Report Nuclear-free and independent Pacific advocates are treating Aucklanders to a lively week-long exhibition dedicated to the struggle for nuclear justice in the region. It will be opened today by the opposition Labour Party’s spokesperson on disarmament and MP for Te Atatu, Phil Twyford, and will include a ...20 hours ago
- A new exhibition is a thoughtful examination of the lasting relationship between Asia and Australia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne Jacky Cheng, Imaginary Homelands, 2025, installation view, The Neighbour at the Gate, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025. Image courtesy and © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan ...1 day ago
- Hendra virus has killed a horse in Queensland. Should we be worried?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vinod Balasubramaniam, Associate Professor (Molecular Virology), Monash University CJKPhoto/Getty The death of an unvaccinated horse from Hendra virus this week in southeast Queensland is the state’s first reported case in three years. Before that, Australia’s last case was in July ...1 day ago
- The ACT wants dog owners to spend 3 hours a day with their pet. But quality, not quantity, matters m...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide Photo by Anna Tarazevich/Pexels Authorities in the ACT have released draft regulations for the welfare of dogs. One inclusion getting attention is a guideline “requiring all dogs to ...1 day ago
- Oranga Tamariki paying nearly $2m a year to communications staff
The revelations come from an Official Information Act response to questions raised by the Taxpayers Union lobby group. ...1 day ago
- Guests at a feast in Iran’s Zagros Mountains 11,000 years ago brought wild boars from all across t...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Petra Vaiglova, Lecturer in Archaeological Science, Australian National University Kathryn Killackey Have you ever stopped by the grocery store on your way to a dinner party to grab a bottle of wine? Did you grab the first one you saw, or ...1 day ago
- Lessons For New Zealand – The Arson Attack Of Melbourne Synagogue
...1 day ago - Nurses vote to go on 24-hour strike, citing safe staffing concerns
Health NZ is offering a 3 percent pay rise over two years, plus two payments of $325. ...1 day ago
- What is cannabis use disorder? And how do you know if you have a problem?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Dawson, PhD Candidate, School of Psychology and National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland Around 41% of Australians report they’ve used cannabis at some point in their life. Research estimates that 22% of recreational cannabis consumers ...1 day ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 11, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 11, 2025. ‘Storm clouds are gathering’: 40 years on from the bombing of the Rainbow WarriorFrom the prologue of the 40th anniversary edition of David Robie’s seminal book on the Rainbow Warrior’s last voyage, former New ...1 day ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 11
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) Still going strong. 2 ...1 day ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Concrete’ by Jonny Mahon-Heap
A new poem by Jonny Mahon-Heap. Concrete I waited for the pain to shift. I had bad day bad day bad day bad day bad day bad day good day good day bad day bad day bad day bad day. I had birthdays. I held my breath for a long ...1 day ago
- PSNA Condemns The NZ Govt’s Silence Over US Sanctions Against United Nations Special Rapporteu...
Albanese released a damning report identifying companies complicit in Israel’s mass killing and mass starvation of civilians in Gaza, provoking the US to sanction her. ...1 day ago
- NZ Jewish Council And Holocaust Centre Of NZ Urge Govt Action Following Australia’s Landmark Antis...
Australia’s plan, announced by Prime Minister Albanese, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke, and Special Envoy on Antisemitism Jillian Segal, introduces strong, decisive measures aimed at tackling anti-Jewish hate across multiple sectors of society. ...1 day ago
- Dawn service held 40 years on from Rainbow Warrior bombing
TVNZ 1News The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior has sailed into Auckland to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior in 1985. Greenpeace’s vessel, which had been protesting nuclear testing in the Pacific, sank after French government agents planted explosives on its hull, killing Portuguese-Dutch photographer ...2 days ago
- What is the Strait of Hormuz and why is it so important for global shipping?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Clarence, Law Lecturer, RMIT University During the recent conflict between Iran and Israel, Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s major shipping routes. Would that be possible, and what effects would it have? The Strait of ...2 days ago
- Twenty years on, Outrageous Fortune remains as relevant as ever
Tara Ward reflects on an Outrageous week on The Spinoff. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. On 12 July, 2005, Outrageous Fortune burst onto our screens and transformed the landscape of New Zealand television. Created by Rachel Lang and James Griffin, the ...2 days ago
- Reviewers of legislation Treaty clauses expected to report back in months
The creation of the group has been led by Justice and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. ...2 days ago
- We shouldn’t have to fight this hard to prove our mana in Tāmaki
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei deputy chair Ngarimu Blair reflects on a hard-fought Environment Court battle, and what the ruling on Westhaven Marina really means for tangata whenua. While there was major gratitude for the success of my iwi in the recent decision from the Environment Court regarding the Westhaven Marina, it ...2 days ago
- Rugby headgear can’t prevent concussion – but new materials could soften the blows over a career
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Draper, Professor of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Canterbury The widely held view among rugby players, coaches and officials is that headgear can’t prevent concussion. If so, why wear it? It’s hot, it can block vision and hearing, and it ...2 days ago
- Mental Health Worker Numbers Don’t Tell Full Story Of Service Under Stress And Strain
The Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey today said Health NZ payroll data showed total full-time staff employed in mental health growing by more than 9 per cent year on year between Quarter 3 in 2023 and Quarter 1 2025. ...2 days ago
- How do you follow up a Wellington icon like KC Cafe?
For owner and chef Michael Chan, the answer is Hei – the restaurant he always dreamed of opening. One of the many problems with modern TV cooking shows is the obsession with “elevating” food from non-Western cultures. You’ll recognise the kind of moment I mean: a contestant on Masterchef, My ...2 days ago
- Tāmaki Makaurau by-election throws up curious quirk of MMP
Analysis: Te Pāti Māori has two overhang seats. The Independent Electoral Review recommended abolishing overhang seats. The post Tāmaki Makaurau by-election throws up curious quirk of MMP appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Watch live: Focus turns to vaccines and mandates at Covid-19 Royal Commission
The hearings will include testimonies from mandated industries, nursing and midwifery sectors and researchers. ...2 days ago
- Trump has flagged 200% tariffs on Australian pharmaceuticals. What do we produce here, and what’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joe Carrello, Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Tanya Dol/Shutterstock US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Australia’s pharmaceutical exports to the United States has raised alarm among industry and government leaders. There are fears that, if implemented, the tariffs could ...2 days ago
- ‘Fashion helped the pride come out’: First Nations fashion as resistance, culture and connection
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design and Society, University of Technology Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images of deceased people. First Nations garments have always held deep meaning. What we wear tells ...2 days ago
- The cost of being: A lawyer and solo mum paying off the mortgage as fast as possible
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a lawyer and mum of two explains where their money goes. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 41. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Lawyer. Salary/income/assets: Salary of ...2 days ago
- Does AI actually boost productivity? The evidence is murky
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Whittle, Director, Data61, CSIRO Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock There’s been much talk recently – especially among politicians – about productivity. And for good reason: Australia’s labour productivity growth sits at a 60-year low. To address this, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ...2 days ago
- Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (UTS:ACRI), University of Technology Sydney Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for China on Saturday, confident most Australians back the government’s handling of relations with our most important economic partner and the leading strategic power ...2 days ago
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