making shit up
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Fool me twice?
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 am, July 27th, 2019 - 29 comments
Boris Johnson’s ruthless purge of Cabinet and hard right shift looks like preparation for an early election. Reminds me of 1984 at home, as a right wing coup is on the way. He lied his way to Brexit – will it work again?
Sometimes explaining is not losing
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, July 18th, 2019 - 98 comments
Stacey Kirk thinks that Julie Anne Genter should not have criticised National’s spin on the Government’s fuel efficient importation policy but forgets to do her basic job of analysing National’s spin.
Make America white again
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, July 16th, 2019 - 81 comments
Donald Trump has attacked a group of young female Democrat politicians and has claimed they should go back to the country they were born in. Even though they were actually born in the United States.
Simon Bridges Going Blue in the Face Barking at Green Cars
Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, July 14th, 2019 - 51 comments
Simon Bridges is barking madly at green cars.
National supports 47% tax rate for top income bracket *
Written By: - Date published: 7:21 am, July 5th, 2019 - 25 comments
* this is one possible interpretation for National’s praise of the Morrisonn Government’s change to Australian tax system.
National offers to help with housing crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, June 28th, 2019 - 105 comments
On behalf of the National Party Judith Collins has offered to help Labour deal with the housing crisis, the one that National is responsible for.
Flact Tax
Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, June 17th, 2019 - 175 comments
Act has proposed a tax increase for the bottom 64% of all tax payers.
Mark Richardson wants to be a Nat MP
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, June 14th, 2019 - 102 comments
Mark Richardson thinks he may have a future career and will be able to transform from overpaid TV personality to overpaid public representative.
Deranged Jacinda syndrome
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, June 10th, 2019 - 105 comments
Mike Hosking has chosen to criticise Jacinda Ardern for touring the country and speaking to communities about the Wellbeing budget rather than flying across the world to take part in a photo opportunity.
The Attack of the Snowflakes
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 4th, 2019 - 119 comments
National is playing the innocent victim of Budgetgate whilst being the aggressive attacker all along.
The Treasury website hack that wasn’t
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, May 30th, 2019 - 168 comments
The police has confirmed that a poorly secured website partially searchable through Treasury’s website’s search function was the cause of the release of sensitive budget information.
The false left anti road narrative
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 28th, 2019 - 26 comments
Shane Te Pou has claimed that the Government is anti road and pro bike lane and light rail. But a look at the Government’s spending priorities suggests that roads still dominate.
Labour to relax fiscal responsibility rules
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, May 24th, 2019 - 72 comments
Grant Robertson has announced there will be a relaxing of the fiscal responsibility rules, although not until after the next election.
Death tax fake news
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 21st, 2019 - 62 comments
Social media was responsible for the repeated broadcasting of the claim that Labor in Australia intended to bring in a death tax. What should happen when claims that are clearly wrong are made?
Why Labour’s student debt policy is a success
Written By: - Date published: 1:56 pm, May 15th, 2019 - 85 comments
National has claimed that Labour’s tertiary fees policy is failing because numbers applying for it have not increased. But National clearly has failed to understand that the policy is about reducing student loan totals or it is deliberately misinterpreting the reason for the policy.
10,000 lies
Written By: - Date published: 3:36 pm, May 2nd, 2019 - 64 comments
The Washington Post tracker of Trump whoppers suggests that he has told his 10,000th presidential lie.
The Mueller report
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, April 19th, 2019 - 75 comments
Robert Mueller’s report has now been released and questions are being asked at the benign spin that the White House has been allowed to engage in to describe it before its release.
The trouble with Facebook
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, March 24th, 2019 - 79 comments
The Government and some major corporations have called for changes to Facebook in the way it operates.
National’s unfortunate misstatement about its migrant petition
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, March 19th, 2019 - 76 comments
National has been caught out in what is euphemistically called a misspeak about when it took its odious anti UN Migration pact petition down from its website. It said it was weeks before the Christchurch murders but it appears the petition was still live after the event.
Magicked-Up Weapons
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 pm, March 11th, 2019 - 116 comments
I’m glad Anne-Marie Brady will get the chance to present her “Magic Weapons” paper to the select committee examining the last election. At long last it might get given some proper critical examination, of its content as well as it provenance. In my opinion it reads like a long list of the blindingly obvious, mixed with a large dose of conspiracy theory. It certainly doesn’t show much sign of the sort of critical thinking one might expect from an academic.
The tax debate – Dogwhistle time
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, March 7th, 2019 - 111 comments
National has resorted to race baiting in its attempt to denigrate the Tax Working Group’s proposed capital gains tax.
The Green’s electoral law reform petition
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, March 4th, 2019 - 389 comments
The Green Party’s launching of a petition to seek changes to the electoral system has met with some Trumpian style rhetoric from the right.
Spare a thought for our poor impoverished landlords
Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, February 25th, 2019 - 225 comments
Spare a thought for poor landlords who are aghast at the thought that they should have to share capital gains on properties they have purchased with no intent of making a capital gain.
The NZ National Party is the Wizard of Oz
Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, February 16th, 2019 - 32 comments
The National Party is a sad, confused, slightly dazed white old man behind the curtain.
Herald and Du Plessis-Allan present compelling argument in favour of industry wide bargaining
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, February 4th, 2019 - 26 comments
Heather Du Plessis-Allan has written as compelling an article in favour of the the Government’s proposed industry wide negotiations as you could ever think possible.
The Meathead tax
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, February 2nd, 2019 - 85 comments
National’s claim that the Government wants to impose a meat tax suffers from the reality that the Government has done no such thing and the proposal comes from an International collective of academics.
Karma Cameleon
Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, January 21st, 2019 - 120 comments
Cameron Slater is seriously ill. The Whale Oil blog will carry on without him, but in the meantime, Cam is asking for help.
Family First thinks there is a Cafe porn watching crisis
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 19th, 2019 - 104 comments
Family First thinks that there is a crisis of porn watching at cafes. And has commissioned Curia to see if others think the same.
National shafted us with the MOM privatisation
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, January 17th, 2019 - 318 comments
Five years on how are the benefits from the Mixed Ownership Model privatisation process the last Government engaged in working out?
National just wants to have some friends
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, January 6th, 2019 - 63 comments
National clearly needs new friends if it is to regain power. Could the nutty New Conservatives be a possibility?
Farrar criticises Genter for not solving National’s transport safety mess quickly enough
Written By: - Date published: 10:17 am, January 5th, 2019 - 119 comments
David Farrar has accused Julie Anne Genter of saying she can do nothing about the road safety when she said nothing of the sort.
- Book of the Week: Treaty, over simplified
The mass production of pamphlets espousing religious and political doctrines have always proselytised the ‘truth’ about whatever subject or mission their authors espouse. Roimata Smail’s booklet Understanding Tiriti lies squarely in this grand tradition with its sub-title, A handbook of basic facts about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. No need to ...4 days ago - The grocery chain that’s won the country’s worst business brickbat
The Commerce Commission notes that complaints or ‘enquiries’ data on its own doesn’t paint a complete picture of compliance with the law The post The grocery chain that’s won the country’s worst business brickbat appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Likely loss of Ōhāriu electorate may have much wider effect
Comment: Larger electorates could make it more difficult for local MPs to advocate for the concerns of their communities The post Likely loss of Ōhāriu electorate may have much wider effect appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Why our pandemic readiness is a mixed bag
Softer vaccine mandates, no harsh lockdowns – but our borders would be closed sooner.That’s one scenario for the next big pandemic if the Government goes ahead with recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid 19 Lessons Learned.“We would only use those mandatory measures if we really needed to ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 27 March
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...4 days ago
- Digital adverts hit new highs as traditional media drifts
Radio stations have continued to hold onto ad revenue as print and TV’s rut goes on The post Digital adverts hit new highs as traditional media drifts appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- A sad goodbye to a seat that changed governments
Comment: Ōhāriu’s long-serving former MP says new bigger electorates will make it more difficult for local members to advocate for their communities The post A sad goodbye to a seat that changed governments appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Peter Dutton promises $6 billion 12-month halving of petrol and diesel excise
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Opposition leader Peter Dutton will promise in his Thursday budget reply that a Coalition government would immediately halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel. The cut, which would take the excise from 50.8 cents ...4 days ago - Politics with Michelle Grattan: Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor on tax top-ups and budget bottom lines
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As the election starter’s gun is about to be fired, Tuesday’s budget announced modest income tax cuts as the government’s latest cost-of-living measure. The Coalition has opposed the tax relief, with Peter Dutton’s Thursday budget ...4 days ago
- Governor-General tour rolls through Whangārei
The Governor-General Cindy Kiro is on her first official tour of her home region, Northland - including visiting arts and community centres, marae, and taking her turn paddling on a waka. ...4 days ago - Widow of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins seeks inquiry into his death: ‘Unanswered questions...
The widow of late Green Party MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins is calling for an inquest into his death, accusing the organisers of the charity event he was attending at the time of failing him. ...4 days ago
- ‘The bush calls us’: the defiant women who demanded a place on the walking track
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruby Ekkel, PhD student in Australian History, Australian National University Fairfax Corporation (1932)
View the full interactive version of this article here. Ruby Ekkel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or ... 4 days ago - Going to the dentist is expensive. Here are 3 things you can do to protect your oral health – and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dileep Sharma, Professor and Head of Discipline – Oral Health, University of Newcastle Jiri Hera/Shutterstock Around one in three Australians delayed their visit to a dentist in the last financial year – or didn’t go at all – due to cost. ...4 days ago
- Non-compete clauses make it too hard to change jobs. Banning them for millions of Australians is a g...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William van Caenegem, Professor of Law, Bond University Zivica Kerkez/Shutterstock The Labor government used this week’s budget to announce it plans to ban non-compete agreements for employees on less than A$175,000 per year, a move that will affect about 3 million ...4 days ago
- The 2025 federal budget fails the millions of voters who want action on Australia’s struggling env...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Neal, Senior lecturer in Economics / Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Sydney Commentators have branded last night’s federal budget as an attempt to win over typical Australian voters concerned about the cost of living, ahead of what is expected ...4 days ago
- Green MP Tamatha Paul doubles down on criticism of police
She says a "visible police presence" makes people feel "more on edge." ...4 days ago
- Too many catching Covid-19 in hospital, experts say – but precautions being rolled back
Hospital-acquired infections are a billion-dollar burden and cause more disability than road crashes. Why aren't we doing more to prevent them? ...4 days ago
- Our work and home lives are blending more than ever – how do we navigate this new ‘zigzag’ rea...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Candice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of Technology Black Salmon/Shutterstock For decades, researchers examined work and home life as separate domains. If they were taken together it was usually to study so-called work-life balance. But these days, the reality is ...4 days ago
- Our work and home lives are blending more than ever – how do we navigate this new ‘zigzag’ rea...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Candice Harris, Professor of Management, Auckland University of Technology Black Salmon/Shutterstock For decades, researchers examined work and home life as separate domains. If they were taken together it was usually to study so-called work-life balance. But these days, the reality is ...4 days ago
- Vegetarian and vegan labelling would ‘eliminate ambiguity’ – advocates
Clear vegan and vegetarian food labelling should be put into legislation so consumers can be confident that what they are buying really meets their dietary requirements, say NZ's vegetarian and vegan societies. ...4 days ago
- What makes a good search engine? These 4 models can help you use search in the age of AI
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Coghlan, Senior Lecturer in Digital Ethics, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne beast01/Shutterstock Every day, users ask search engines millions of questions. The information we receive can shape our opinions ...4 days ago
- Leak of US military plans on Signal is a classic case of ‘shadow IT’. It shows why security syst...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toby Murray, Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne Yesterday, The Atlantic magazine revealed an extraordinary national security blunder in the United States. Top US government officials had discussed plans for a bombing campaign in Yemen ...4 days ago
- Australia stands firm behind its foreign aid in the budget, but the future remains precarious
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Conley Tyler, Honorary Fellow, Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne This week’s budget will come as a relief to Australia’s neighbours in the Indo-Pacific that rely on development assistance. The Albanese government did not follow the lead of US President Donald ...4 days ago
- PSNA calls on NZ govt to condemn renewed Israel air strikes on Gaza – 320 killed
Asia Pacific Report A national Palestinian advocacy group has called on the Aotearoa New Zealand government to immediately condemn Israel for its resumption today of “genocidal attacks” on the almost 2 million Palestinians trapped in the besieged Gaza enclave. Media reports said that more than 320 people had been killed ...4 days ago
- ‘Maybe a bored kid made it up?’ The mystery of Mairātea Mohi’s favourite childhood book
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Mairātea Mohi (Te Arawa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), publishing associate te reo Māori at Auckland University Press. The book I wish I’d written As a publisher, I know writing a ...4 days ago - Labour’s Peeni Henare not in contempt over ‘disorderly’ actions during Treaty Prin...
The committee recommended the Labour MP be "required to apologise". ...4 days ago
- Labour’s Peeni Henare not in contempt over ‘disorderly’ actions during Treaty Prin...
The committee recommended the Labour MP be "required to apologise". ...4 days ago
- What works to prevent violence against women? Here’s what the evidence says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristin Diemer, Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of Melbourne Journalist and activist Jess Hill’s Quarterly Essay argues Australia’s primary prevention framework to end violence against women isn’t working. Hill says the framework focuses too much on addressing gender inequality and ...4 days ago
- Budget delivers cheaper medicines and more bulk billing but leaves out long-term health reform
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Less than two months from an election, the Albanese government last night presented a budget that aims to swing the voting pendulum its way. Headline health expenditure ...4 days ago
- How Netflix has shaped (and shattered) our content landscape over the past decade – and what comes...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexa Scarlata, Research Fellow, Media & Communication, RMIT University Shutterstock To mark 10 years since Netflix began operating in Australia, we and our colleagues at the Streaming Industries and Genres Network have published a report that looks at the state of ...4 days ago
- PNG’s Marape and NZ’s Luxon sign new partnership marking 50 years
RNZ News The prime ministers of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have signed a new statement of partnership marking 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries. The document — which focuses on education, trade, security, agriculture and fisheries — was signed by Christopher Luxon and James Marape ...4 days ago
- Is this the right budget for these economic times? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Treasurer Jim Chalmers has described the income tax cuts in this week’s federal budget as a “top-up”. They will amount to roughly one cup of coffee a week for every taxpayer in the first year. But they ...4 days ago
- Fears over minister’s bid to loosen psychologist rules
The proposal is alarming clinical psychologists, who say less trained staff could put patients at risk. ...4 days ago
- My crummy old flat, with my crummy old furniture, just sold for $1,980,000
It has no insulation, flaking paint, questionable pipes and all my old furniture and artwork. At the auction, bidding was competitive. Embarrassingly, my algorithm knows that I like to browse real estate listings online. The ones I like best are old and tatty, places where the cabinetry in the kitchen ...4 days ago
- A $33 billion vote-grabber or real relief? Examining the Albanese government’s big housing pledge
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Senior Researcher, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Man As Thep/Shutterstock The Australian housing market is in crisis: soaring prices, increasing rental stress, declining home ownership rates and a growing number of people experiencing homelessness. In response, ...4 days ago
- Protecting salmon farming at the expense of the environment – another step backwards for Australia...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phillipa C. McCormack, Future Making Fellow, Environment Institute, University of Adelaide A bill introduced to parliament this week, if passed, would limit the government’s power to reconsider certain environment approvals when an activity is harming the environment. It fulfils Prime Minister ...4 days ago
- Trump silences Voice of America – end of a propaganda machine or void for China and Russia to fil...
ANALYSIS: By Valerie A. Cooper, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Of all the contradictions and ironies of Donald Trump’s second presidency so far, perhaps the most surprising has been his shutting down the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for being “radical propaganda”. Critics have long accused ...4 days ago
- National MP’s Bill Raises Environmental And Constitutional Concerns
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ Inc says the Members’ Bill lodged by Joseph Mooney seeking to prohibit tort claims arising from or related to climate change matters raises serious issues for both the environment and the constitutional role of the ...4 days ago - Greenpeace Shocked By Govt MP’s Attempt To Strip New Zealanders’ Democratic Rights
This bill would have a chilling effect on New Zealanders’ democratic rights and our ability to secure a liveable future for our kids and grandkids, says Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson. ...4 days ago
- Drug-driving testing legislation passes despite concerns
The roadside drug testing regime is expected to be in place by December, with the government wanting police to undertake 50,000 tests a year. ...4 days ago
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