Propaganda
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UK Covid deaths with no underlying factor.
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, January 22nd, 2022 - 106 comments
Oh. But here comes Omicron…
Advice from Oz for the anti-China media
Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, August 10th, 2021 - 23 comments
There’s so many of them here – Guyon Espiner, Anna Fifield, Lucy Craymer, Sam Sachdeva, Laura Walters, John Daniell, Emile Donovan, Paula Penfold, reef fish with the same few sources. Australian Paul Strutynski provides the textbook in his “Guide for budding foreign policy journalists wanting to work for the Nine Network or Newscorp.”
Uyghur separatists behind call for Parliamentary motion on genocide
Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, May 4th, 2021 - 72 comments
On Morning Report today ‘High Court lawyer’ Sam Vincent called for Parliament to resolve to condemn alleged Uyghur genocide in Xinjiang. He said he spoke on behalf of Uyghur Solidarity Aotearoa committed to taking action on Xinjiang “or as they call it East Turkestan.” If they call it East Turkestan they are likely separatists, with possible links to terrorists. That explains a lot.
US to offer millions in new funds to take on China
Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, May 3rd, 2021 - 16 comments
This from SCMP columnist Alex Lo “If they look, swim and quack like US influence operations, they probably are US influence operations, especially when they come with an annual price tag of US$300 million to be authorised by law by the US Congress, of which US10 million has been earmarked especially for Hong Kong.” Lo […]
Putting Five Eyes in its place
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 pm, April 20th, 2021 - 19 comments
Following her speech to the NZ China Council, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta wanted to be very clear that in speaking out about issues with other countries, New Zealand would not be doing it in concert with Five Eyes partners. She expressed a view that New Zealand did not agree with Five Eyes remit encroaching beyond intelligence, and that this had been communicated to Five Eyes partners. Good.
We must resist US pressure on China that could lead to war
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 pm, February 20th, 2021 - 41 comments
In February 2002 I was at a union-NDP conference in Ottawa watching US television in my hotel room. Back home I reported on the conference to the Labour Party caucus and stated as an aside that the US was going to war with Iraq. Helen Clark stood up straightaway and said “we won’t be going with them.” Jacinda Ardern needs to do the same now.
Uyghur allegation escalation?
Written By: - Date published: 6:25 pm, February 6th, 2021 - 67 comments
Radio New Zealand carried a long story this week from the BBC of rape allegations in Xinjiang based on accounts from two Uyghur women Tursunay Ziawudun and Gulzira Auelkhan. Independent analyst Bernhard at Moonofalabama asks the question “Why do these Uyghur witnesses stories constantly change?
Hong Kong arrests uncovering an ‘ugly plot?’
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 pm, January 25th, 2021 - 6 comments
Retired Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal Judge Henry Litton raises some important questions about the motivations of the 53 would-be legislators recently arrested in Hong Kong. Five Eyes countries including New Zealand were quick to condemn the arrests, but Litton states their aim was to implement a wider plot called “10-steps to mutual destruction,” and to use their powers as legislators to create chaos.
UK Labour suspends Corbyn for stating the obvious about anti-semitism in the Party
Written By: - Date published: 7:36 pm, October 30th, 2020 - 35 comments
Following a report into anti-semitism in the UK Labour party, Corbyn said it exists in the Party but it is over-stated and the campaign against it is politically-motivated by opponents inside and outside the Party. He was instantly suspended from the party and had the whip removed by leader Sir Keir Starmer, which seems excessive and will cause further discord. Corbyn is not an anti-Semite.
Hong Kong principles
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 pm, July 28th, 2020 - 38 comments
According to our Prime Minister, today’s announcement that New Zealand is suspending extradition arrangements with Hong Kong is because of our principles. But it is not immediately clear what these principles are, other than falling into line with our Five Eyes spying partners. Some history is important.
Advising the country about Covid19 is unfair to National
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, June 16th, 2020 - 30 comments
National is complaining that a Government Covid19 media account liked Jacinda Ardern’s instagram page. And a National cheerleader wants all Covid 19 response advertising to stop.
Back in the U.S.S.A.
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, February 18th, 2020 - 31 comments
The onslaught launched against Trump from sections of corporate media and liberal institutions will look as nothing next to the unified onslaught that will be unleashed against a President Sanders.
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.
OPCW Scandal.
Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, January 3rd, 2020 - 40 comments
There was no chemical attack in Douma.
The Missing Millions
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, December 12th, 2019 - 18 comments
Millions of people and an entire region of the UK left out of polling calculations….
Pop Media Bullshit – another example.
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, December 11th, 2019 - 10 comments
It’s said that in times of war, the first casualty is truth. Well, since truth is taking such a pummeling these days, it follows that we are at war, no?
An Early Christmas.
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, December 5th, 2019 - 23 comments
Christian tradition dictates Christmas falls on the 25th of December. This year though, if we simply view Christmas through a lens of ‘good things happening’, then Christmas is coming early.
Sacha Baron Cohen – greatest propaganda machine in history
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, November 23rd, 2019 - 24 comments
A must watch video of Sacha Baron Cohen where he has launched an all out assault on Facebook and Twitter and has called them “the greatest propaganda machine in history”.
UK Conservative’s social media is remarkably similar to National’s social media
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, November 6th, 2019 - 31 comments
The British Conservative Party and the New Zealand National Party appear to be using very similar twitter strategies involving the setting of highly edited video to naff music and the making of patently ridiculous claims.
Elizabeth Warren on Facebook and the US presidential election
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, October 10th, 2019 - 72 comments
“They’re allowing Trump to spend over $1 million a week right now for ads on their platform—including ones that air the same lies that TV stations won’t.”
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?
Budget commentary
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 31st, 2019 - 65 comments
Has New Zealand’s social media spent too much time on gocha politics and not enough on the substance of the wellbeing budget?
The Brady Papers
Written By: - Date published: 3:03 pm, May 10th, 2019 - 54 comments
Anne-Marie Brady submitted to yesterday’s Select Committee Inquiry into foreign interference in our elections, making copious reference to her “Magic Weapons” paper of 2017. She didn’t mention another paper which casts a much different light on her independence and purpose
WTF Free Speech coalition?
Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, March 26th, 2019 - 564 comments
The Free Speech coalition has attacked the Chief Censor’s decision to rule the Christchurch Mosque killer’s manifesto as objectionable as an attack on free speech. But the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties has characterised the Censor’s decision as being entirely conventional.
More political interference on Huawei
Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, March 13th, 2019 - 24 comments
Here’s another one for the select committee reviewing foreign interference. Visitor from Britain Charlie Parton of the Royal United Services Institute was on Morning Report this morning telling us to avoid Huawei because they are Chinese and different from us. At least he does us a favour by making it clear the matter is political not technical.
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.
What does the right have against Venezuela?
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, February 9th, 2019 - 131 comments
Simon Bridges has claimed that the Government is going to follow a “Venezuela model” in making much needed reform of the Polytechnic sector. But no one knows what he means.
Trump’s brilliant strategy to dismantle US dollar hegemony
Written By: - Date published: 5:05 pm, February 3rd, 2019 - 56 comments
Polymath economist Professor Michael Hudson’s latest article is a geopolitical panoramic masterpiece, sparked by outrage at a series of concurrent events on January 31 which he predicts means that 2019 will be the “year of global fracture.” Definitely worth a read.
Chinese Herald changed Herald articles to be more China friendly
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, January 15th, 2019 - 70 comments
Stuff has reported that its opponent, the New Zealand Herald, has via its Chinese version amended stories to make them more acceptable to the Chinese Government.
Matt King goes full nut job
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 29th, 2018 - 77 comments
National MP Matt King has claimed that Stuff has been censoring comments that are critical of the Government and that an article expressing concerns about the run down of health infrastructure, the increase in child poverty, the use of private contractors to spy on us and the inability of NZTA to properly regulate WOF inspections is “left wing claptrap”.
The Taxpayers’ Union* responds to the Clark and Thompson spying fiasco
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, December 24th, 2018 - 9 comments
* not a real union.
- An Easy Gig
So Chris Luxon (and we are assured that there is no ’t’ in either of those names) has at last bestirred himself after a long summer break – but he could hardly be said to have broken a sweat. There can be no easier gig for an opposition politician than ...2 hours ago - The MIQ Saga and Cheating Bastards
So we have an interesting development in Managed Isolation/Quarantine. We have muppets – oh so clever muppets – thinking they’ve found a legal workaround. Currently, in order to enter New Zealand, you need to successfully book a spot in MIQ facilities. Aforementioned muppets have settled on this plan ...20 hours ago - Unbiased Reporting?I wonder how many Herald readers realise how all-embracing, unremitting and determined is the Herald’s pushing of the National party barrow? Perhaps it is so much par for the course that it goes unremarked by many readers. Today’s issue provides an interesting case study, especially for those (of whatever political ...1 day ago
- The phenomenon of ‘Don’t Look Up’ (Part 2)
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Michael Svoboda By the end of the Sunday, January 9, Don’t Look Up, writer-director Adam McKay’s dark satire about the impending impact of an Earth-killing comet, intended as an analogy for inaction on climate change, had been streamed on Netflix for a total of 322 ...1 day ago - Why Are We Happy?
The World Happiness Project has some answers.For nine years an international consortium of economists and statisticians have gathered together data from many countries on how individuals rate their life satisfaction, reporting their findings in a World Happiness Report. Each year they focus on a particular issue; the 2021 report is ...1 day ago - And its done
Last week, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister said he intended to abolish the death penalty. And yesterday, he did it, with all existing death sentences commuted to life imprisonment. This leaves Tonga as the last death-penalty state in the South Pacific. They last murdered someone in 1982, and have been ...2 days ago - Too Much Intellectual Curiosity – Not Enough Fox News.
Bogeyman On Manoeuvres: Not only would a Russian invasion of Ukraine allow the Ardern Government to join “a largely Western chorus of condemnation” and announce (probably reluctantly) New Zealand’s own autonomous sanctions against the Russian Federation, but it would also vindicate the dominant “Bogeyman School” of New Zealand strategic studies.WHAT ...2 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 21 January 2022
Covid Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): ‘Too little, too late’: Allegations Covid-19 testing regime unprepared for Omicron, still weak on much-needed saliva tests Hanna McCallum (Stuff): ‘Tens of millions’ of rapid antigen tests on order, PM says 1 News: Rapid Covid tests will be widely available in NZ – Ardern Claire Trevett (Herald): After a summer, ...2 days ago - The Political Logic Of Martyrdom.Consequences: The reason the world remembers the martyrdom of the third century Christian, Perpetua, and the abolitionist, John Brown, is, of course, the stakes. Both martyrs understood that the consequence of their actions, would be death. What greater stake can there be than one’s own life? The political logic of ...2 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3 2022Cloud tops fade from sight at a critical juncture Employing the Earth orbiting instrument MISR, Travis Aerenson et al. appear to confirm subtle hints by prior observations tracking what climate models broadly predict: a gradual increase in the topping altitude of high clouds. Their paper When Will MISR Detect Rising High ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on responding to the need in Tonga
The power of the Tonga eruption (and the size of the aid response being mounted) have been sobering indications of the scale of this disaster. The financial impact is certain to exceed the damage done by Cyclone Harold two years ago, which was estimated at the time to cost $US111 ...3 days ago - ‘Don’t Look Up’ – See the movie. Ignore the comet. (Part 1)This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Michael Svoboda 2022 is already feeling as stressful as the worst stretches of 2021 – and without the prospect of a fresh start with a new administration. Newscasters report that COVID-19 cases are arising at three times the rate posted during the ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 20 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Will Trafford (Māori TV): Secret state report reveals swamped ICUs; Omicron will evade face masks Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Callous MIQ Tweet sets Government back after victorious summer(paywalled) Ben Thomas (Stuff): Whodunit? Mystery border call a clue to new normal Luke Malpass (Stuff): The only certainty is uncertainty: Labour enters year three of ...3 days ago
- The Totalitarian Impulses Driving “Consequences Culture”.3 days ago
- Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go: The Rings of Power
About an hour ago, we got an interesting tweet. Not a leak, for once, but for the first time since last year’s incident with the Two Trees, an Honest to Eru update, straight from the horse’s mouth. We now have: (1) A name for the series (‘The Lord of ...4 days ago - Philosophical trends in feminism
Philosophical trends in feminism is a collection of essays by Indian revolutionary Anuradha Roy. I met Anuradha in India in 2004 on a fact finding tour with lawyers investigating human rights abuses in Andhra Pradesh. We spent several hours together discussing the state of the womens movement in India and ...4 days ago - A democratic peace or a feminist peace?
Many years ago when I was in mid academic career, two theoretical strands emerged in the field of international relations and comparative foreign policy. One was the basis for a school of thought that came to be known as feminist international relations theory, which to crudely oversimplify one sub-strand, posited ...4 days ago - Hiding their dirty laundryThe government is trying to "reform" Oranga Tamariki, and has a bill before the House to do so: the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill. Submissions on the Bill close next Wednesday, and children's rights campaigners are horrified by it - and in particular ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 19 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border RNZ: Government postpones next MIQ lottery due to spike of Omicron cases at border Herald: Upcoming MIQ room release postponed due to Omicron cases at border Kate Green (Stuff): Next MIQ lobby postponed as Omicron arrivals surge David Farrar (Kiwiblog): A cowardly way to close the border Jamie Morton (Herald): Has NZ dodged ...4 days ago
- Defending Death of the Author: A Reply to Tolkien LoreIt is one of the oddities of the internet that many commentators will take the side of Authorial Intentionalism over Death of the Author. Part of this, I think, is down to J.K. Rowling – and now also the response to J.K. Rowling. When one has creators delivering New ...5 days ago
- United with Manchester: What happens when we all choose poorlyThe city government of Manchester, England is coming under some fire for choosing to lease space on pavements (also known as sidewalks) for electronic display advertisements, or "digital out of home advertising." Criticism is twofold in nature. Some point out that crowding of pavements with bulky fixed installations is an ...5 days ago
- The Great Awokening
Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy by Batya Ungar-Sargon is a superb book that examines the transformation of journalism in the US during the twentieth century. She shows how the media has become a key player in the woke movement. The book charts the trajectory of journalism as it ...5 days ago - The Choice.Revolution From Below Averted: The critical political choice made by leading Pakeha politicians, jurists and bureaucrats in the 1980s and 90s was to halt the momentum of left-wing Māori nationalism from below, by inserting a layer of elite Māori business-people between the Crown and the economically and culturally impoverished Māori ...5 days ago
- Cancelling The Cancellers.Defender Of The Faiths: Pope Francis sees cancel culture as a threat to the open, compassionate and forgiving human society he has always championed.WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE of Pope Francis’ condemnation of “cancel culture”? There will be some who argue that the opinions of an ageing male celibate who somehow ...5 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on sending an Orion P-3 to TongaBecause the undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga cut communications with the more remote parts of the country, it wasn’t at all surprising that as a good Pacific neighbour, New Zealand sent a reconnaissance aircraft up there to gather information about the extent and location of the damage. The more interesting ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 18 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Michael Baker, Jennifer Summers, Amanda Kvalsvig, Matire Harwood, Nick Wilson (Public Health Expert):Preparing for Omicron: A proactive Government response is urgently needed to minimise harms RNZ: Experts list steps New Zealand government needs to take to fight Omicron RNZ: Traffic light system may need strengthening or adjusting in face of ...5 days ago
- FSU defend Public Service Advisor censored for using term ‘male-bodied’The Free Speech Union newsletter reports on a case where it defended a worker who was called to a meeting after using accurate language. In something you would almost think is out of George Orwell’s 1984, a member of the Free Speech Union received a scathing and bullying letter from a very senior ...5 days ago
- The top 10 global weather and climate change events of 2021This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The year 2021 made an indelible mark in the annals of weather history. Not only did it feature the most extreme heat wave in history – the late June heat wave over western North America that smashed all-time records by ...5 days ago
- Heather Brunskell-Evans Transgender Body Politics :”a multibillion dollar industry disguised as ...Book review by Don Franks “Emily adopted many roles in my home – he came to parties presenting as a tall glamorous woman, but when brawn was needed, he jumped the ‘gender ship’ as it were…at a house move, he whipped off his long blonde wig, revealing male pattern baldness, put ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: Still making the same mistakeLast year it became clear that the government's ETS price control policy was a mistake, resulting in huge public costs for tiny, tiny benefits. The problem was clear well in advance, and while it couldn't be avoided in 2021 without urgent legislation, James Shaw could have used the opportunity of ...6 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 17 January 2022Parliament, MPs, Parties Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Which MPs could lose their jobs in 2022? (paywalled) Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Neck, meet block. Predictions for 2022 (paywalled) David Fisher (Herald): Profile: Harete Hipango and how she upset National colleagues (paywalled) Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Greens satisfied after first year of pact with Labour Ian Powell (Daily Blog): What do you know about ...6 days ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, January 9, 2022 through Sat, January 15, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Climate Scientists on “Don’t Look Up:” It’s Infuriating, Soul-Sucking and On-the-Nose, New NASA chief scientist to ...7 days ago
- Why I spoke out against lockdownProfessor Carl James Heneghan is a British general practitioner physician, a clinical epidemiologist and a Fellow of Kellogg College. He is the director of the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and former Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. In this interview with Brendon O’Neill he discusses the impact of ...1 week ago
- Big numbers – dollars and institutions – behind divestments from fossil fuelsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Kristen Pope About $39 trillion – that’s trillion, with a T – is the total some 1,500 institutions are planning to divest from funds in fossil fuels. And those numbers are growing. The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database, maintained by two nonprofit ...1 week ago
- Beware of Bearing Gifts for Greece: The National Library of New Zealand and the Fate of 1% of the Ov...
So things are supposedly on hold, so far as the National Library of New Zealand’s idiotic plans to purge its Overseas Published Collection. Supposedly. There is currently a lot of uncertainty floating around right now, and there is absolutely no reason to trust the National Library of New ...1 week ago - When Will Evergrande Collapse?
If China’s second largest property developer implodes, the Chinese financial system may be compromised, while the booming property market is so central to the Chinese economy, its staggering would impact internationally, including on New Zealand.For some time I have had on my 2-write list the giant Chinese property company, Evergrande. ...1 week ago - What does ‘academic freedom’ mean in practice? Why the Siouxsie Wiles and Shaun Hendy employment...
Jack Heinemann, University of Canterbury Two high-profile University of Auckland academics raised important questions about academic freedom with their complaint to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) that their employer had failed its duty of care to them. Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles and Professor Shaun Hendy have become well known ...1 week ago - NZ Politics Daily: 14 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Matthew Hooton (Herald): Govt’s sanguine stance on Omicron should have NZ worried (paywalled) Adam Pearse (Herald): Officials predict when Auckland Omicron outbreak will happen Herald: Omicron likely to enter Auckland community in weeks, warns top doctor ODT Editorial: Be as prepared as possible for Covid’s return John Braddock (World Socialists): New Zealand scientists express alarm over ...1 week ago
- The Ships From The North: Why Autarky cannot be New Zealand’s answer to Climate Change.Lifelines: New Zealand, as we know it, would be impossible without the existence of a global transportation and trading system. Should Climate Change fundamentally weaken the industrial societies of the Northern Hemisphere, the supply-chains upon which New Zealanders depend would become increasingly disrupted. How long could our society endure if ...1 week ago
- What’s Sauce For Monroe’s Goose, Is Sauce For Putin’s Gander.Not In My Back Yard! If the American President, Joe Biden, has forgotten the lessons of 60 years ago, then the Russian Federation President, Vladimir Putin, has not. Unacceptable in 1962, the stationing of military resources (including tactical nuclear weapons) along Russia’s borders remains unacceptable in 2022.IT WAS BURIED DEEP ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2 2022150 articles in 55 journals by 808 contributing authors Observations of climate change, effects Another Record: Ocean Warming Continues through 2021 despite La Niña Conditions Cheng et al. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00376-022-1461-3 Sea-ice retreat suggests re-organization of water mass transformation in the Nordic and Barents Seas ...1 week ago
- Amateur hour with Christopher Luxon
You’ve got to wonder why the National Party, in the face of a worldwide pandemic that has killed approximately 6 million people, is continuing to be so terribly dysfunctional? Perhaps it’s a symptom of their upper management, who despite numerous party leaders coming and going, never actually changed.Unfortunately for the ...1 week ago - Climate Change: Here we go againLast year the government turned the ETS into a farce, flooding the market with 7 million tons of extra pollution in a failed and counterproductive effort to keep carbon prices low. Using the government's internal carbon price of $150/ton, the social cost of this was just over a billion dollars ...1 week ago
- One country at a timePapua New Guinea's Prime Minister has announced that he intends to abolish the death penalty: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says his government is doing away with the death penalty and those now on death row will instead serve life sentences without parole. Marape told members of ...1 week ago
- The consequences of Covid & why anti-vaxxers aren't free to cross a one-lane bridge wheneve...
New Year’s day, 2022. I’m sitting at a one-lane bridge on the east coast of the Coromandel, watching and waiting as a stream of cars drive over the bridge towards me, reminded once again of the big lessons of 2021 – consequences and the limits of freedom.While so much of ...1 week ago - What Omicron will be like …
I might not be very good at maths but I never bought into the developing "Omicron is the Covid we can live with" narrative. I remember reading that Omicron was about half as likely to end you in hospital as delta was ... but, I thought, given it is several ...1 week ago - NZ Politics Daily: 13 January 2022Clarke Gayford testing controversy Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Clarke Gayford needs to clean up bad look (paywalled) Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘Deeply inappropriate’: Clarke Gayford sorry for ‘confusion’ after claim he tried to get mate rapid Covid test Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Bishop hits out at Clarke Gayford’s ‘deeply inappropriate’ alleged bid to get rapid antigen tests for ...1 week ago
- Disenchanted.Another World: Oamaru’s whitestone Victorian Precinct is an enclave for aging alternative life-stylers. The air is filled with the scent of patchouli and hand-crafted leather. There are troll figurines and fairies for sale, alongside crystals and dream-catchers.OAMARU likes to think of itself as the “steam-punk” capital of the world. It ...1 week ago
- Cranky Uncle – Resources for EducatorsThis is an adapted repost of the educators' resource page on CrankyUncle.com. Cranky Uncle uses cartoons, humor, and logic-based inoculation to build resilience against misinformation – an ideal tool for teaching critical thinking to students. This page features resources for educators interested in using Cranky Uncle (the game or the book) ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand summers are getting hotter – and humans aren’t the only ones feeling the effectsCate Macinnis-Ng, University of Auckland It’s not a mirage, our summers are getting hotter on average and we are experiencing more extremely hot days. News from NIWA that 2021 was New Zealand’s hottest year on record fits with the long term trend. Analysis of 70 years of data has ...2 weeks ago
- Guantanamo: Twenty years of shameToday (US time) is the 20th anniversary of the opening of America's gulag at Guantanamo Bay. The US has kept people imprisoned without trial - sometimes without even charges - for twenty years now. Most of those kidnapped by the US have since died or been released, but 39 remain ...2 weeks ago
- Undermining the offshore exploration banBack in 2018, in what they trumpeted as a victory for the environment, the government banned new offshore oil exploration permits. But the victory was short-lived: two-faced Labour immediately started to undermine it, extending permits and changing conditions to try and keep the industry they had "banned" alive. And there's ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on the global war against plasticsCompared to Covid and climate change, the threat from plastics seems like a low rent version of planetary disaster. Can that plastic bottle, this fast food plastic knife and fork, and the plastic packaging wrapped around everything from supermarket fruit to toys to consumer durables really be omens of the ...2 weeks ago
- The 1.5 degrees goal: Beware of unintended consequencesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by , , and “Keep 1.5 alive” emerged as the haunting refrain of the recent United Nations climate conference in Glasgow. Although a well-intentioned rallying cry, it raises important questions about how the chant is to be interpreted. Unfortunately, 1.5° centigrade is often ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 12 January 2022Covid Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The key Covid-19 questions for 2022 Peter Davis (Stuff): There’s no time to waste if we’re to keep Omicron out of NZ Keith Lynch (Stuff): Could New Zealand actually eliminate Delta? Jane Nixon (RNZ): Mixed views over school start date amid Omicron fears Anneke Smith (RNZ): Epidemiologist suggests delay to school ...2 weeks ago
- News From Nowhere: If the Greens are to have a future, then they must listen to their past.2 weeks ago
- Paradise Postponed.The Future That Got Away: Rob Sitch's ineffectual idealist, Tony Woodfood (played by himself) attempts to convince a fellow "nation-builder" that Australia's utopian future will be somewhere around here, and about this big, if the planning application is successful, and Canberra doesn't change its mind. As his eponymous TV series ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Famers finally paying the priceIt's official: 2021 was Aotearoa's hottest year on record. And the climate chaos is now affecting milk production: Challenging pasture growing conditions have prompted Fonterra to revise its forecast milk collections to 1.5 billion kilograms of milk solids for the year to May 31, a reduction of 25 million ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 11 January 2022Omicron, border Pete McKenzie (Guardian): New Zealand not prepared for Omicron outbreak expected in ‘matter of weeks’, experts warn Jean Bell (RNZ): Covid-19 experts fear Omicron could soon be in community as border cases increase Hamish MacLean (ODT): Fears school year start could bring surge Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Epidemiologist calls for delay in school ...2 weeks ago
- Reviewing The Nature of Middle-earth, with ReadingTolkienPod
Just before Christmas, I had an interview with ReadingTolkienPod (https://readingtolkienpod.libsyn.com/) about our joint impressions of The Nature of Middle-earth (2021). As of today that interview has now been released: https://readingtolkienpod.libsyn.com/the-nature-of-middle-earth-with-daniel-stride?tdest_id=2456000 As noted previously, this basically functions as my review of the volume. A bit belated perhaps, but ...2 weeks ago - Climate Change: A decision with no integrityBack in November, the government introduced a new, "more ambitious" 2030 climate change target, which turned out to not be very ambitious at all. Quite apart from the funny accounting, the target will be met primarily through "international mitigation" (rather than, say, cuts to agricultural emissions). back in November, the ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 10 January 2022Parliament, government, 2021, 2022 Michael Hall (RNZ): Green Party discontent: Members walk, ex-MPs criticise leadership Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Green Party implosion in 5…4…3…2… Morgan Godfery (Guardian): New Zealand’s successful Covid policies hid inequality – the government can’t ignore it this year Spinoff: NZ politics in 2022: The big issues on which the year ...2 weeks ago
- MIQ and the New Zealand ConstitutionOverseas readers might be curious to learn that Omicron has still not arrived in the New Zealand community, so our supermarket shelves are still functioning. And indeed that the August Delta outbreak is well on its way to dying out within the next month or so. The reasons for ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, January 2, 2022 through Sat, January 8, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: ‘Don’t Look Up’: Hollywood’s primer on climate denial illustrates 5 myths that fuel rejection of science, ...2 weeks ago
- Put Another Record OnHelp! Mercy! I had thought (or hoped) that, as we turned into the New Year, the Herald would give us a break or put another record on. But, presumably because they have nothing new to say, the Herald has begun 2022 by re-publishing the columns written last year by their ...2 weeks ago
- Legal Beagle: A submission on the repeal of the three strikes sentencing law
Just sent the following submission in on the law repealing the three strikes sentencing regime.You have until midnight tonight if you want your say.==The Justice CommitteeThree Strikes Legislation Repeal BillSubmission of Graeme EdgelerIntroductionThis submission is made by Graeme Edgeler. I am a barrister with an interest in criminal law issues.I ...2 weeks ago - How the US Failed the Covid Challenge
Michael Lewis The Premonition: A Pandemic Story is another cracker to add to his other books such as ‘Liar's Poker’, ‘The Big Short’ and ‘The Undoing Project’.In October 2019 a report which cost millions of dollars ranked the US first (and Britain second) on the Global Health Security Index. Months ...2 weeks ago - Indigenous socialism with a Chilean face.Happy New Year everyone. I am, by personal and professional inclination, loathe to speculate on uncertain future events. On the other hand, I have an abiding interest in distant political processes even though I cannot claim particular analytic expertise when considering them. Thus, when watching the recent Chilean presidential election ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Australia’s failed model of Covid best practiceIn decades gone by, New Zealanders tended to diss this country by comparing it to how much better things were in the States, or in Australia, or almost anywhere else except the godforsaken town in which we’d had the misfortune to be born and raised. Of late, ACT and National ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #1 2022Incidental rainmaking with utility-scale PV? Ths week's geoengineering section includes an article that focuses not on planetary cooling but instead a surprising possible feature of decarbonization, for certain circumstances. The analysis treats a particular geographic context and so it's not possible to say how widely it could be replicated. Even ...2 weeks ago
- Majority Overruled.The All-Too-Visible Hand: Most people are surprised to learn how recently this idea: that the greatest say rightly belongs to the greatest number; took root in human societies. While it is most unlikely that nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers would’ve followed a course of action to which most of its members ...2 weeks ago
- Sinda’s Advocate: Defending Eöl
Today, as an interesting exercise, I’m taking the Tolkien Elf I personally consider the most morally reprehensible, and giving him his day in court, so to speak. That Elf is Eöl of Nan Elmoth – Sinda, smith, friend of Dwarves, and hater of all things Noldorin. Others might ...2 weeks ago - NZ Politics Daily: 6 January 2022Parliament, government, 2021 Graham Adams (Democracy Project): 2022: Ardern’s plans for co-governance with iwi face rough seas Peter Wilson (RNZ): Politics and the pandemic – another year of Covid-19 Russell Palmer (RNZ): NZ politics in 2021: Rabbles, restrictions and recriminations Martin Bradbury (Daily Blog): TDB 2021 predictions vs 2021 reality RNZ: David Shearer: from South ...2 weeks ago
- Bring back traffic copsStuff has a story about the holiday road toll, and police saying they are "disappointed" and "frustrated" that it is so high. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Herald pointed out why it is so high: because police haven't been doing their job: [F]or a couple of years now, police enforcement ...3 weeks ago
- Graham Adams: 2022: Ardern’s plans for co-governance with iwi face rough seasAs voters become more aware of the stealthy implementation of a Māori separatist agenda, the political risks for the government will rise sharply. Graham Adams reports. When the Prime Minister claimed in her first term that her government was going to be “transformational” many voters took her seriously — ...3 weeks ago
- Equitable response to Omicron vital
The Green Party supports the Government’s decision to move Aotearoa New Zealand to traffic light level Red at 11.59pm tonight, but says its success will depend on the support that is made available to the most vulnerable. ...5 hours ago - How we’re preparing for Omicron
As countries around the world experience Omicron outbreaks, we’re taking steps now to ensure we’re as prepared as possible and our communities are protected. ...3 days ago - What’s Labour achieved so far?Quite a bit! This Government was elected to take on the toughest issues facing Aotearoa – and that’s what we’re doing. Since the start of the pandemic, protecting lives and livelihoods has been a priority, but we’ve also made progress on long-term challenges, to deliver a future the next generation ...1 week ago
- Tackling the big issues in 2022This year, keeping Kiwis safe from COVID will remain a key priority of the Government – but we’re also pushing ahead on some of New Zealand’s biggest long-term challenges. In 2022, we’re working to get more Kiwis into homes, reduce emissions, lift children out of poverty, and ensure people get ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand to move to Red from 11.59pm today
All of New Zealand will move to the Red setting of the Covid Protection Framework (CPF) at 11:59pm today as Omicron is potentially now transmitting in the community, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. “Nine COVID-19 cases reported yesterday in the Nelson/Marlborough region are now confirmed as Omicron, and a further ...3 hours ago - Mandatory boosters for key workforces progressing wellMore than 5,785 (82%) border workers eligible for a booster vaccination at 6 months have received it so far, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “That’s a really strong uptake considering we announced the requirement the week before Christmas, but we need to continue this momentum,” Chris Hipkins said. “We ...4 hours ago
- NZ to move to RedNine COVID-19 cases reported yesterday in the Nelson/Marlborough region have now been confirmed as the Omicron variant, and a further case from the same household was confirmed late yesterday. These cases are in a single family that flew to Auckland on 13 January to attend a wedding and other events ...5 hours ago
- New Zealand to provide further help for TongaAotearoa New Zealand is giving an additional $2 million in humanitarian funding for Tonga as the country recovers from a volcanic eruption and tsunami last weekend, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. This brings Aotearoa New Zealand’s contribution to $3 million. “This support will ...2 days ago
- Quarterly benefit numbers show highest number of exits into workThe Government’s strong focus on supporting more people into work is reflected in benefit figures released today which show a year-on-year fall of around 21,300 people receiving a main benefit in the December 2021 quarter, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said. “Our response to COVID has helped ...3 days ago
- Northland to move to Orange, NZ prepared for Omicron Northland to move to Orange Rest of New Zealand stays at Orange in preparedness for Omicron All of New Zealand to move into Red in the event of Omicron community outbreak – no use of lockdowns Govt planning well advanced – new case management, close contact definition and testing rules ...3 days ago
- RNZAF C-130 Hercules flight departs for Tonga as Navy vessels draw nearer to TongatapuA Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules has departed Base Auckland Whenuapai for Tonga carrying aid supplies, as the New Zealand aid effort ramps up, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “The aircraft is carrying humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies, including water ...3 days ago
- New Zealand prepared to send support to TongaNew Zealand is ready to assist Tonga in its recovery from Saturday night’s undersea eruption and tsunami, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “Following the successful surveillance and reconnaissance flight of a New Zealand P-3K2 Orion on Monday, imagery and details have been sent ...5 days ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand stands ready to assist people of TongaThe thoughts of New Zealanders are with the people of Tonga following yesterday’s undersea volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami waves, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta says. “Damage assessments are under way and New Zealand has formally offered to provide assistance to Tonga,” said Nanaia Mahuta. New Zealand has made an ...1 week ago
- Record high of new homes consented continuesIn the year ended November 2021, 48,522 new homes were consented, up 26 per cent from the November 2020 year. In November 2021, 4,688 new dwellings were consented. Auckland’s new homes consented numbers rose 25 per cent in the last year. Annual figures for the last nine months show more ...1 week ago
- Report trumpets scope for ice cream exportsLatest research into our premium ice cream industry suggests exporters could find new buyers in valuable overseas markets as consumers increasingly look for tip top quality in food. Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash has released a new report for the Food and Beverage Information Project. The project is run by ...2 weeks ago
- Honouring the legacy of legendary kaumātua Muriwai IhakaraAssociate Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage Kiri Allan expressed her great sadness and deepest condolences at the passing of esteemed kaumātua, Muriwai Ihakara. “Muriwai’s passing is not only a loss for the wider creative sector but for all of Aotearoa New Zealand. The country has lost a much beloved ...2 weeks ago
- Have your say on proposed changes to make drinking water saferAssociate Minister for the Environment Kiri Allan is urging all New Zealanders to give feedback on proposed changes aimed at making drinking water safer. “The current regulations are not fit for purpose and don’t offer enough protection, particularly for those whose water comes from smaller supplies,” Kiri Allan said. “This ...2 weeks ago
- Planting the seeds for rewarding careersA boost in funding for a number of Jobs for Nature initiatives across Canterbury will provide sustainable employment opportunities for more than 70 people, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The six projects are diverse, ranging from establishing coastline trapping in Kaikōura, to setting up a native plant nursery, restoration planting ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand congratulates Tonga's new Prime Minister on appointmentMinister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta today congratulated Hon Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni on being appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga. “Aotearoa New Zealand and Tonga have an enduring bond and the Kingdom is one of our closest neighbours in the Pacific. We look forward to working with Prime ...2 weeks ago
- High-tech investment extends drought forecasting for farmers and growersThe Government is investing in the development of a new forecasting tool that makes full use of innovative climate modelling to help farmers and growers prepare for dry conditions, Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said. The new approach, which will cost $200,000 and is being jointly funded through the Ministry for ...2 weeks ago
- Support for fire-hit Waiharara communityThe government will contribute $20,000 towards a Mayoral Relief Fund to support those most affected by the fires in Waiharara in the Far North, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “I have spoken to Far North Mayor John Carter about the effect the fires continue to have, on residents ...3 weeks ago
- Manawatū’s ‘oases of nature’ receive conservation boostThe Government is throwing its support behind projects aimed at restoring a cluster of eco-islands and habitats in the Manawatū which were once home to kiwi and whio. “The projects, which stretch from the Ruahine Ranges to the Horowhenua coastline, will build on conservation efforts already underway and contribute ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand to continue Solomon Islands supportA New Zealand Defence Force and Police deployment to help restore peace and stability to Solomon Islands is being scaled down and extended. The initial deployment followed a request for support from Solomon Islands Government after riots and looting in capital Honiara late last month. They joined personnel from Australia, ...3 weeks ago
- Government not prepared for Omicron – Luxon
National leader Christopher Luxon says the government went into a go-slow mode around Covid-19 over the summer, and urgently needs to increase availability of rapid antigen tests. ...2 hours ago - Global aid effort underway for Tonga’s recovery from the Hunga tsunami
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A global aid effort is underway for Tonga with vessels en route to the Pacific kingdom from Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and the US as well as New Zealand. NZ Defence Force Maritime Component Commander Commodore Garin Golding told RNZ Pacific nearby Fiji ...6 hours ago - Tulagi bans betel nut selling as covid fears grow in Solomon IslandsBy Robert Iroga in Honiara Tulagi in the Central Islands province of Solomon islands is the first provincial capital to ban the sale of betel nut — for an indefinite period — as a measure to help control any potential spread of covid-19. Premier Stanley Manetiva told SBM Online that ...6 hours ago
- Second day of NZ’s Tonga tsunami emergency fundraiser todayRNZ Pacific The second day of a drive to receive emergency supplies in Aotearoa New Zealand to be sent to Tonga has started in Auckland this morning. Hundreds queued for hours at Mount Smart Stadium in Penrose yesterday to deliver emergency goods that will be sent to their families in ...6 hours ago
- Covid-19: NZ heading to red as Omicron spreads
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is now circulating within Auckland and possibly other parts of the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says, as New Zealand heads into the most stringent setting in the new 'traffic light' system New Zealand is moving to the red setting of the Covid-19 ‘traffic light’ ...6 hours ago - Blair and Boris – who would have thought it?
At last, a glimpse of bipartisan analysis in the chaos engulfing Boris Johnson’s premiership. Say what you like about Tony Blair, but he is a serious politician. What he says is worth taking seriously. It is also not great for Boris. And worse for everyone else. In a ...11 hours ago - Rangitīkei Māori leader urges rural NZ people to prepare now for omicronBy Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting journalist A New Zealand iwi development and social services leader in Taihape is urging rural people to prepare urgently for self-isolation or infection as the threat of omicron looms. Mōkai Pātea Services general manager Tracey Hiroa, who is also a Rangitīkei District councillor, says ...1 day ago
- Follow the money: matauranga Maori and the millions at stake
A lot of funding and influence is riding on the successful casting of indigenous knowledge as equal to science. GRAHAM ADAMS says the debate over the NCEA science syllabus is only the tip of an iceberg. Anyone trying to get a grip on the mātauranga Māori debate over the ...1 day ago - MIQ's purpose would change with Omicron spread – BakerBorder restrictions are still needed, and MIQ will remain valuable even if Omicron is spreading widely in the community, the epidemiologist says. ...1 day ago
- PM’s communication degree needed now more than ever
A communications degree has been one of the Prime Minister’s greatest strengths during the global pandemic. As the country heads into the unknown with Omicron, Jacinda Ardern needs to draw on that skillset more than ever before, writes political editor Jo Moir. Analysis: Many anti-Labour and anti-Ardern types use the ...2 days ago - Short story: The world of children's books, by Damien Wilkins
“Gavin was out beyond the breakers. You think he’s all right? said Kate”: a story set in the surf by Damien Wilkins This all happened on a writers’ tour of the Far North. It was our day off and we drove to the top of the Island. And do you ...2 days ago - Long read: How to prepare for Omicron
Writing from the United States, where Omicron has pushed Covid-19 hospitalisations to record levels, Marc Daalder reports on the what New Zealand needs to do to prepare for the variant Analysis: The terrifyingly rapid spread of the Omicron variant has upended much of the common wisdom overseas about how to respond ...2 days ago - Tonga’s King Tupou VI offers hope to families who lost relatives in deadly tsunamiKaniva News King Tupou VI has offered sympathy and prayers to all those who lost relatives in last weekend’s Tongan volcano eruption and tsunami disaster or are still waiting for news about their families. He said the whole of Tonga was devastated by the tsunami and it wiped out some ...2 days ago
- Safety at Tonga port being checked for arrival of more humanitarian suppliesRNZ News Specialist New Zealand Defence Force staff will be checking Tonga’s shipping lanes are passable and the wharf is safe so desperately needed humanitarian supplies can get through. Three deaths have been confirmed after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption. There are reports of significant injuries, but no details yet. UN ...2 days ago
- Australia approves two new medicines in the fight against COVID. How can you get them and are they e...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Schubert, Pharmacist and PhD Candidate, University of Sydney On Thursday, health minister Greg Hunt announced Australia’s drug regulator had provisionally approved two new medicines for the treatment of COVID. These are Lagevrio, made by American pharmaceutical company Merck Sharpe & Dohme, ...2 days ago
- When humans compete with television, Yung Lung proves the liveness of bodies wins outSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Maguire-Rosier, Honorary Associate, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, School of Literature, Art, and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney Yaya Stempler Review: Yung Lung, choreographed by Antony Hamilton, Chunky Move The word “yung”, according ...2 days ago
- Government Spending Priorities
...2 days ago - Tonga eruption: NZ government brings aid funding up to $3mThe government has announced a further $2 million in aid to help Tonga recover after the huge eruption nearly a week ago. ...2 days ago
- Rising Food Demands Rising Incomes For Food EquityThe highest grocery price rises in a decade reinforces a new report’s call for increased household revenue through government intervention to allow all families fair access to healthy food. The How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments ...2 days ago
- Kids whose grandparents are overweight are almost twice as likely to struggle with obesitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edmund Wedam Kanmiki, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Shutterstock School holidays can be a special time for extended families to gather. Children may see their grandparents at seasonal gatherings or as part of childcare arrangements to help working parents. ...2 days ago
- Australian art has lost two of its greats. Vale Ann Newmarch and Hossein ValamaneshSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Speck, Professorial Fellow (Honorary), The University of Melbourne Ann Newmarch, born Adelaide 1945, died Adelaide 2022, Self-portrait. 1/60th of a second, 1981, Adelaide, photo-etching on paper, 26.4 x 34.7 cm (plate), Public Donations Fund 2015, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, ...2 days ago
- The PM is promising “progress” and Sepuloni is reporting it on the welfare front – but doubts ...The PM’s first speech of the year, delivered to Labour MPs in New Plymouth at their annual caucus retreat, largely focused on Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, according to RNZ. Jacinda Ardern insisted the government has and is continuing to prepare for an Omicron outbreak in the community. “But it ...2 days ago
- Call For Government To Abandon Covid Measures While SummerThe NZ Outdoors and Freedom party is calling on the government to abandon the traffic light system and its threat of more extreme covid measures and let us all bask in enjoying a long hot summer. Co Leader Alan Simmons said "Nothing beats natural ...2 days ago
- The Government Must Make Use Of Its Human Rights Toolkit To Tackle Food InsecurityChief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt has joined the call from community group Sunday Blessings for the government to tackle food insecurity by making better use of the tools available to it through international human rights law. On Thursday, ...2 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 21 2022Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content Covid Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): ‘Too little, too late’: ...2 days ago
- Laws governing undersea cables have hardly changed since 1884 – Tonga is a reminder they need mode...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury An aerial view of heavy ash fall on the Tongan island of Nomuka. GettyImages Since the catastrophic volcanic eruption on January 16, Tonga has been largely cut off from the world due to a ...2 days ago
- Why do we find making new friends so hard as adults?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney GettyImages If you’ve ever tried to make new friends as an adult, you’ll probably see why loneliness is at an all-time high. Making new friends feels just plain hard. In school, making ...2 days ago
- Record payout for dairy farmers is in the offing – but climate change policy pressure sours the ou...Behind all the Covid headlines lurked a positive story this week. Prices at the Fonterra Global Dairy Auction leapt 4.6% to hit an eight-year-high, as tight milk supply stokes demand for NZ’s biggest export commodity. Almost certainly Fonterra’s farmer-shareholders will receive a record payout this season, and, with a bit ...2 days ago
- Watercare Water Take Application Granted With ConditionsA Board of Inquiry has granted an application from Watercare Services Ltd, an Auckland Council organisation, to draw an additional 150 million litres of water a day from the Waikato River for Auckland City’s water supply network. The application was ...2 days ago
- Pedants at PoO say “cobblers” to reports about world’s oldest manThe pedants among the scribes at Point of Order (who shall go unnamed) swooped on a headline in the Dominion-Post this week. In its print edition, the newspaper had published a brief report under the heading “World’s oldest man dies”. Newshub was a bit more expansive, reporting the news under ...2 days ago
- UN General Assembly Votes On Holocaust DenialA historic vote in the United Nations General Assembly urges the 193 member states “to reject without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, in either full or in part, or any activities to this end.” The General Assembly ...2 days ago
- International Migration: November 2021 – Infoshare TablesInternational migration statistics give the latest outcomes-based measure of migration, which includes estimates of migrants entering or leaving New Zealand. Key facts The comparisons between the November 2021 and 2020 months and years use the latest provisional ...2 days ago
- Departures Lift Border Crossing NumbersThe number of people crossing New Zealand’s border went up in November 2021, mostly due to an increase in departures, Stats NZ said today. There were 28,700 border crossings in November 2021, made up of 12,300 arrivals and 16,400 departures. Arrivals and ...2 days ago
- Omicron will be a ‘different foe’, PM Jacinda Ardern warns NZBy Katie Scotcher, RNZ News political reporter Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning New Zealand’s covid-19 case numbers in 2022 will be unlike anything seen here before. Jacinda Ardern today delivered her first speech of the year — to Labour MPs gathered in New Plymouth for their annual caucus retreat. ...2 days ago
- Commerce Commission ready to rein in record pump prices
MBIE reports increased fuel company profit margins contributing to rising petrol and diesel prices this summer ...2 days ago - Punishment Of Licensed Firearms Owners Will Not Help Lower Crime Rates, Says COLFOThe Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says that punitive action from Police against legal firearms owners will not help reduce firearm thefts. Recently, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster indicated in the annual select committee review that licensed ...2 days ago
- Ukraine might be far away, but a security crisis in Europe can still threaten Aotearoa New ZealandSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sascha-Dominik (Dov) Bachmann, Professor in Law and Co-Convener National Security Hub (University of Canberra), University of Canberra GettyImages A geopolitical earthquake could begin within weeks. As a string of bilateral crisis talks predictably falter, further military aggression by Russia against ...2 days ago
- Dinosaur food and Hiroshima bomb survivors: maidenhair trees are ‘living fossils’ and your new f...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne Zhang Kaiyv/Unsplash, CC BY Most of us are captivated by the thought of a “living fossil”, which is any organism that appeared millions of years ago in the fossil record and ...2 days ago
- Vital Signs: disclosure please, we shouldn’t be playing bingo with COVID statisticsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Shutterstock Given how much COVID-19 is dominating Australians’ lives, our governments should be telling us everything they know about infections, hospitalisations and deaths. So why aren’t they? Full disclosure is important for public health, ...2 days ago
- NZers urged to prepare for potentially thousands of daily Omicron infectionsNew Zealanders are being urged to prepare for potentially thousands of daily Covid-19 infections once the Omicron variant starts spreading in the community. ...2 days ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 21 January
...3 days ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 21 January3 days ago
- Wise business leaders invest in society, not short-term financial returns
Corporates are potent players in democratic society, but their response so far is rhetoric not reform ...3 days ago - The best-selling books of summer
The biggest-selling New Zealand books since Xmas, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 To Italy, With Love by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $34.99) Of course the biggest-selling novel of 2021 was the biggest-selling novel of summer; the holidays are an ...3 days ago - The Tonga volcano’s complex and violent history
Tonga’s eruption and tsunami highlights the significant threat from offshore volcanoes, Dr Simon Barker writes. On the evening of Saturday, January 15, Tongan volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai erupted so powerfully it generated a shockwave that knocked people off their feet in Tonga and was detected around the world. And yet there have ...3 days ago - New Kiwi sprint star leaves hurdles far behind
Questioning her future on the track after a string of injuries, Anna Percy swapped hurdling for sprinting – with instant success. Now she’s ready for a showdown with New Zealand’s fastest woman, Zoe Hobbs. It’s not often a track athlete switches events – dropping down the distance they run and doing it successfully. In the case of rising Kiwi sprint star Anna Percy, the change ...3 days ago - Tova O’Brien: A reluctant public face to restraint-of-trade debate
What the Tova O’Brien employment dispute tells us about the controversial nature of non-compete clauses. Nikki Mandow reports The woman in the lift sighs wearily. It’s been a big day for staff at the Employment Relations Authority, she says as she heads home. Such a high profile case... She’s talking ...3 days ago - Grattan on Friday: Scott Morrison’s ministerial team looks far from match-fitSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra It sounded a touch desperate – Prime Minister Scott Morrison imploring backpackers to “come on down” to Australia, as the Omicron crisis escalated. “Enjoy a holiday here”, said the one-time managing director of Tourism ...3 days ago
- Queensland’s ‘Path to Treaty’ has some lessons for the rest of AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morgan Brigg, Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Queensland After decades of calls, a patchwork of treaty processes are being developed across Australia. However, without a history of treaty-making or treaty law in Australia, serious questions arise about the ...3 days ago
- Yes, Ngai Tahu could campaign for votes to win council seats – but why bother, if privilege is gra...Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey, the highest-ranked South Island and Canterbury MP in National’s recently reorganised caucus, went out to open the batting for democracy in the debate triggered by the introduction of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill. He expressed the Nats’ opposition to the legislative entrenchment of ...3 days ago
- Boris Johnson and ‘Partygate’: he who lives by the Brexit sword, dies by the Brexit swordSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wellings, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Monash University Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Boris Johnson’s time as the United Kingdom’s prime minister is under immediate threat. Johnson, who likes a classical analogy, will know that civil servant Sue Grey’s imminent ...3 days ago
- Schools can expect a year of disruption. Here are 7 ways they can help support the well-being of stu...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth J Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Education, The University of Queensland Shutterstock There’s just over a week to go before term one starts across the country – except in Queensland which has pushed back the start of the school year. ...3 days ago
- Omicron Outbreak Would Move The Country To Red – Expert ReactionThe Prime Minister has announced if Omicron cases spread into the community, the country will move to the traffic light system's Red setting within 48 hours. Jacinda Ardern also mentioned there will be changes to the country's testing regime, ...3 days ago
- Omicron is overwhelming Australia’s hospital system. 3 emergency measures aim to ease the burdenSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Leeder, Emeritus Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney Public hospitals – never with much spare capacity – have been severely stressed by the latest COVID wave. The current Omicron outbreak has loaded even heavier demands on hospital beds, ...3 days ago
- Government 'scrambling' over Omicron – National Party leader Christopher LuxonNational's leader Chris Luxon says the government has no plan for tackling Omicron, and decisions today show Labour "took a month off". ...3 days ago
- Revealed: Government's Media Pay-off For APEC Puff PiecesThe New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is condemning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's decision to pay media outlets $93,578 for 'sponsored content' about APEC 2021. The spending information was made available in a response provided under the ...3 days ago
- Response To David SeymourDavid Seymour MP wrote to us asking us to inquire into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s decision to spend money on analysis of the Prime Minister’s Facebook Live sessions. We have decided that the matter raised by Mr Seymour does ...3 days ago
- PM Jacinda Ardern announces changes to traffic light system, provides Omicron updateJacinda Ardern has announced Northland will join the rest of the country in the orange setting from 11.59pm tonight, and signalled plans for Omicron. ...3 days ago
- More Job Opportunities, But Growth In Workers’ Earnings Remains SubduedWestpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence, December quarter 2021 The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose 1.2 points in the December quarter, to a level of 106.9. This was the sixth straight rise in the index since the Covid-19 ...3 days ago
- Voice to Parliament design report still doesn’t meet international human rights standardsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University Last month, the Australian government published the Indigenous Voice co-design final report. It’s the latest step in the debate about ...3 days ago
- Covid-19: PM lays out Omicron plan
*This story was first published on RNZ and is republished with permission* Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced Northland will join the rest of the country in the orange setting from 11.59pm tonight, and signalled plans for Omicron. Watch the PM speaking here: Cabinet ministers met yesterday to assess ...3 days ago - 2021 was one of the hottest years on record – and it could also be the coldest we’ll ever see a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Well, it’s official: 2021 was one of the planet’s seven hottest years since records began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared this week. The year was about 1.11℃ above pre-industrial levels ...3 days ago
- Watch live: PM Jacinda Ardern announces changes to traffic light system, provides Omicron updateNorthland will learn whether it is moving out of the red setting of the traffic light system, while the rest of the country awaits news of when a shift to green would be possible. ...3 days ago
- Indonesia will take a big step on the global stage this year – are Australians paying enough atten...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Former Ambassador and Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland Tracey Nearmy/AP Many Australians are probably unaware that neighbouring Indonesia has assumed the G20 presidency and will host the crucial meeting of the ...3 days ago
- André Leon Talley dreamed of a life ‘in the pages of Vogue, where bad things never happened’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images Every time we see a “fashion moment”, we use the words of André Leon Talley, from his description of Galliano’s 1994 Japonisme show. ...3 days ago
- Tonga update: Hercules takes off with aid suppliesNo announcements had been posted on The Beehive website, when Point of Order checked just before noon on what our ministers have been doing (a) in response to Tonga’s need for humanitarian relief and (b) in response to anything else. But a fresh announcement has been posted since then in ...3 days ago
- Omicron will be a 'different' foe, PM Jacinda Ardern warnsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning New Zealand's Covid-19 case numbers in 2022 will be unlike anything seen here before. ...3 days ago
- Tonga eruption: Airport runway cleared of ash, says WHO officialRNZ Pacific A World Health Organisation representative in Tonga says the international airport has been cleared of volcanic ash which will allow humanitarian aid flights to arrive. Hundreds of volunteers, workers and Tongan Defence Force personnel have been clearing the debris from the runway by hand. WHO liaison officer in ...3 days ago
- Solomon Islands imposes 60 hour Honiara lockdown over covid outbreakBy Robert Iroga in Honiara The Solomon islands government endorsed a 60 hour lockdown in the capital Honiara last night after an urgent special national address by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare confirming covid-19 community transmission. Honiara Emergency Zone will be in lockdown from 6pm last evening to 6am, Saturday, 22 ...3 days ago
- National calls for better mental health services for AsiansThe government is being urged to make the mental health of Asian New Zealanders more of a priority, with suspected suicides among Asians more than doubling. ...3 days ago
- Why Is New Zealand, A Rich Country, Facing A “food Crisis”?...3 days ago
- Annual food price increase the highest in a decadeAnnual food prices were 4.5 percent higher in December 2021 than they were in December 2020, Stats NZ said today. This is the biggest annual increase since September 2011, when annual food prices increased 4.7 percent. The main contributor to this increase ...3 days ago
- Annual Food Price Increase The Highest In A DecadeAnnual food prices were 4.5 percent higher in December 2021 than they were in December 2020, Stats NZ said today. This is the biggest annual increase since September 2011, when annual food prices increased 4.7 percent. The main contributor to this increase ...3 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 20 2022Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content Covid, MIQ, border Will Trafford (Māori TV): Secret state ...3 days ago
- Employment Indicators: Weekly As At 17 January 2022The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Key facts The 6-day series includes jobs with a pay period equal to or less than ...3 days ago
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