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Some Random impertinent questions about Michelle Boag’s access to confidential medical information
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, July 9th, 2020 - 81 comments
Westpac Helicopter Trust’s claim that it had not breached privacy rights of Covid sufferers raises some serious questions about why Michelle Boag was provided with sensitive information. And who she has provided it to.
The many and varied Covid reckons of Mike Hosking
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, June 30th, 2020 - 49 comments
A review of recent opinion pieces by Mike Hosking shows that he has adopted a series of contradictory positions with the one common feature that they are critical of the Government’s actions.
Paora Goldsmith in fake news scandal
Written By: - Date published: 8:41 am, June 29th, 2020 - 33 comments
Paora Goldsmith has shown either that he is lacking in basic numeracy and literacy skills or that he is prepared to tell porkies for political advantage.
Protesters, Anarchists, Agitators and Lowlifes
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, June 21st, 2020 - 96 comments
Donald Trump has planned to hold a political rally on the day used to celebrate the abolition of slavery at a place where one of the worst examples of white brutality on black people using advertising material containing nazi symbols. All in the middle of a global pandemic.
Todd Muller and the strange tale of the Leader’s Safe
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, June 19th, 2020 - 22 comments
The Herald has reported that Todd Muller’s staff used a safe cracker to open up a safe previously used by Simon Bridges, even though they had the access codes.
Todd’s Odd Distress Signal
Written By: - Date published: 5:39 pm, June 14th, 2020 - 64 comments
How odd of Todd! A condescending gesture turns into a cry for help.
More Skripal bullshit
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 pm, June 9th, 2020 - 37 comments
Skripal’s relatives don’t believe it, Jacinda Ardern doesn’t believe it, Paul Buchanan doesn’t believe it, and I never believed it. But a story planted in the UK Sunday Times that the Skripals are here lets our media rerun the assassination attempt that failed, even though the most deadliest poison in the world was involved. Stuff website has a British Minister from Theresa May’s time rerunning the old lies,as does the NZ Herald. Fits in nicely with the SIS anti-Russian history.
Bunker boy Trump finally builds that wall
Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, June 5th, 2020 - 23 comments
This week Donald Trump has hid in a bunker, used tear gas to move protestors away from a church so that he could have a photo opportunity with a bible, and has started to build his much vaunted wall. Although it is around the White House and not on the Mexican border.
New leadership same old tactics
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 27th, 2020 - 24 comments
National has released a social media ad suggesting that New Zealand’s per head of population Government debt figure will be worse than Greece’s by 2014. But the data used presumes the effects of Covid 19 in New Zealand’s figure but no effects of Covid 19 in Greece’s figure.
Ko Paora Goldsmith tenei
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 pm, May 26th, 2020 - 33 comments
National’s new brains trust has not had a great day today. They responded to claims that their front bench looked awfully white and had no Tangata Whenua by claiming that Paora Goldsmith was from Ngāti Porou. The only trouble was that he wasn’t.
Two Tier. Bull. Shit.
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 25th, 2020 - 217 comments
I thought we were “in this together” or some such?
Nat Vote: And the Loser Is ….
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 197 comments
The Nation holds its breath as the dullest political leadership race in a generation snores to a close. Who will win by losing? Who will lose by winning? Who cares?
UPDATE: It’s Mullertime!
UPDATE: Bennett dumped!
This is exactly why the MSM should be scrutinised as much as the government
Written By: - Date published: 2:22 pm, May 20th, 2020 - 37 comments
The Herald’s misleading, clickbait sound-biting of Labour MP Tamati Coffey isn’t even close to what we need in reporting from the Epidemic Response Committee.
When Bridges’ social media goes wrong
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, April 21st, 2020 - 77 comments
Simon Bridges’s Facebook post criticising the extension of lockdown level 4 has been met with overwhelming opposition, including from people who are clearly National Party supporters.
Two Bubbles Bridges’ Big Day Out
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 pm, April 6th, 2020 - 67 comments
Simon ‘Two Bubbles’ Bridges feels he’s entitled to flaunt the rules because he’s, ahem, essential.
M.I.A. Joe
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, March 22nd, 2020 - 19 comments
America has a question.
Bridges thinks the solution to Covid 19 is tax cuts
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, March 5th, 2020 - 64 comments
Simon Bridges thinks that tax cuts are the best way to address financial stress caused by businesses by the Covid 19 epidemic. Even though businesses under financial stress will be paying little if any tax and a tax cut would have little if any effect.
The Herald creates a panic and Trump says Coronavirus is a hoax
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, March 1st, 2020 - 65 comments
If a society ever wanted to set out how to handle a pandemic the Herald’s media response and Donald Trump’s handling of the situation provide perfect examples of what not to do.
National’s new conservation policy was previously announced in 2014
Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, February 29th, 2020 - 12 comments
National has announced a “new” policy that it previously announced in 2014. And that has already been implemented.
BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges Calls on Simon Bridges to Stand Down
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, February 18th, 2020 - 5 comments
BREAKING NEWS: Simon Bridges calls on the leader of the opposition to stand down while the SFO case is before the courts.
Bridges’ many and varied positions on coalition with NZ First
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, February 12th, 2020 - 18 comments
In the past 10 days Simon Bridges has said that National will not go into coalition with NZ First after the next election, to it could consider coalition in the future, to there is no way it will ever go into coalition with NZ First.
How low will Bridges go?
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, January 28th, 2020 - 23 comments
Simon Bridges has wondered out loud if anti semitism stopped the Government from sending a senior representative to a Holocaust memorial in Israel.
Steve Mnuchin, not Greta Thunberg, needs to go back to school
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, January 27th, 2020 - 11 comments
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has attacked Greta Thunberg for not understanding the economics of climate change. But he has then been roundly criticised by a number of people, including his wife.
Labour is signing up to Facebook transparency tool
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, January 23rd, 2020 - 68 comments
Jacinda Ardern has announced that Labour will abide by Facebook Ad Library Report rules which allow voters to see where campaigning money is being spent on Facebook ads. And that it will have its major policies independently costed.
The great political heist that wasn’t
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, January 21st, 2020 - 40 comments
National has hinted darkly that the theft of laptops from its headquarters was possibly motivated by political considerations even though it had been told of a similar burglary of a neighbouring office had also occurred recently.
What Cheeto, Bojo and Scomo are up to
Written By: - Date published: 3:56 pm, December 21st, 2019 - 76 comments
It has been a tough week for conservative leaders with Trump impeached and the evangelical magazine Christianity Today calling for his resignation, Johnson in the UK announcing voter fraud measures reminiscent of the American deep South, and in Australia Morrison being criticised for missing in action, upstaged by a 13 year old girl and pushing through protection for religious bigotry that Israel Folau would be pleased with.
Rush to Judgment redux
Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, December 20th, 2019 - 151 comments
Barrister Maria Dew has delivered a strong conclusion in the report concerning allegations of sexual assault by one Labour Party member against another member. And Paula Bennett has not as yet apologised for her totally unfounded allegations against third parties.
Bridges fights losing twitter battle with Nigel Latta
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, December 19th, 2019 - 18 comments
Simon Bridges’s twitter account has chosen to celebrate Christmas by engaging in a twitter spat with well known Media personality Nigel Latta. And has not fared well.
The freedom to lie during an election campaign
Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, December 11th, 2019 - 75 comments
Two recent National advertisements involving drastically inaccurate graphics have attracted attention. And at the same time National is opposing changes to the Electoral Law that would extend the time that it is an offence to publish a false and misleading advertisement during an election period.
Crash ‘n Burn
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, December 10th, 2019 - 17 comments
A chuttering PM and…well, I guess being left speechless.
Right wing lies
Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, December 6th, 2019 - 110 comments
New Zealand and the United Kingdom are both cursed with the right wing parties having the same advisors and similar means of campaigning
- Winston Peters spends much of year’s last speech criticising Te Pāti Māori, Waititi breaks i...
Watch: "Have a good Christmas, 'cos you'll need it sunshine," the NZ First leader said in a rowdy final debate in the house. ...4 days ago - The year in five news events
For the penultimate Bulletin of 2024, editor Stewart Sowman-Lund flicks back through some of the biggest headlines of the year. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...4 days ago - Swimming loses public funding but elite duo protected
High Performance Sport New Zealand will invest $162.8m into 36 national sporting organisations and athletes over the next four years, up from $131m in the four years leading up to this year’s Paris Olympics.From March next year, nearly $41 million per annum will go directly to national sports organisations for ...4 days ago - Former National MP joins push for University of Waikato’s third medical school.
A former National MP and incumbent Hamilton City Councillor has been hired by the University of Waikato to advocate for its proposed third medical school. ...4 days ago
- Transmission Gully: New plan to tackle long-standing fight
A new plan has been hatched to try to resolve a years-long fight to protect native fish at Transmission Gully. ...4 days ago
- Opposition parties move towards ‘formalising’ collaboration
Te Pāti Māori had to "get past ourselves" and is figuring out working with Labour. Labour says collaboration is still "casual", but the Greens say they'll be meeting regularly. ...4 days ago
- The Spinoff’s biggest stories of 2024
From malls to gods, woke foods to putrid stenches, the year’s greatest hits had a bit of everything. A tip: to create a perfect summer reading list (albeit with a crowded browser), click the headline of every story you missed to open it in a fresh tab. The 10 most ...4 days ago
- Ten stories that defined New Zealand’s media in 2024
It was a torrid year for almost every aspect of New Zealand’s media. Duncan Greive breaks down the key storylines – and the one vast, existential threat lurking underneath. Duncan Greive and Glen Kyne discuss many of these stories on The Fold’s year in review. 1. The end of ...4 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 19 December
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.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 19 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...4 days ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 19 December
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- Huzzah! The 2024 ReadingRoom awards
And so 2024 in New Zealand literature will be remembered for not all that much, hardly anything to do with actual literature, more to do with politics and money, as in it will be remembered for 1) the shameful hunting of poet Tusiata Avia for having the gall to express ...4 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Hospitals under pressure as death, damage toll grows
By Harry Pearl of BenarNews Vanuatu is taking stock of damage from a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 14 people and collapsed buildings in the capital Port Vila, as the first trickle of international assistance began arriving in the disaster-prone Pacific nation. The quake rattled the ...4 days ago - Civil society groups call on NZ to bar new Israeli envoy over ‘flagrant’ Gaza genocide
Asia Pacific Report A broad coalition of civil society organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand have signed an open letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters urging the coalition government to refuse to accept the credentials of a new Israeli ambassador while the state continues to disregard international law and to ...4 days ago
- Mediawatch: The good, bad and weird media in 2024
Biggest flip-flop; best leading media by the nose; the Billy Connolly prize for breaking news about a single animal - Mediawatch's not-very-prestigious and not-at-all coveted annual media awards. ...4 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Services still down nearly 24 hours after Port Vila hit
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist World Vision’s Vanuatu country director says electricity and water are still affected in the capital Port Vila and strategic bridges connecting the city are damaged, nearly 24 hours after a 7.3 earthquake just before 1pm on Tuesday afternoon. The city has had multiple aftershocks ...4 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: State of emergency declared, Fiji’s Rabuka offers help
By Monika Singh of Wansolwara Vanuatu is now in a state of emergency with at least 14 confirmed deaths following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the capital Port Vila yesterday, followed bya 6.1 quake and other after shocks today. According to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) in Vanuatu, ...4 days ago
- Christmas can be challenging for people with hearing loss. Here are 7 ways you can help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Ekberg, Senior Lecturer, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University Paulina Rojas/Shutterstock For many people, Christmas can be the most social time of the year. The holiday period is often filled with parties, lunches, dinners and celebrations of all ...4 days ago
- If Treasury forecasts are right, it could be a decade before Australia is ‘back in black’
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra After two successive surpluses, the federal budget will be back in deficit in 2024–25, according to the much-anticipated budget update released on Wednesday. Known as the Mid-Year Economic ...4 days ago
- Lake Alice Payments Discriminatory
“While we applaud the Govt for trying to do the right thing for Lake Alice survivors & in recognising international recommendations, why is this Govt not doing right by all other survivors and recognising domestic recommendations?” Ms Cooper and ...4 days ago - Attorney-general ‘appalled’ after Judge and former doctor verbally abuse Winston Peters ...
Attorney-general Judith Collins said she was aware of what happened and was "appalled by it". ...4 days ago
- Why Vanuatu should brace for even more aftershocks after this week’s deadly quakes: a seismologist...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Rescue services working in Port Vila, December 18 2024. Vanuatu Police Force/Facebook The death toll from Vanuatu’s earthquake disaster continues to rise, with international search and rescue operations underway to help people hit by the initial ...4 days ago
- Lake Alice survivor realises house bus dream with redress payment
Robyn Dandy plans to use her $150K payment to go on a South Island roadtrip with her pets in honour of the grandson she's lost. ...4 days ago
- Cabinet sets aside $22.6m for survivors tortured at Lake Alice
Analysis: More than 50 years after the first children were tortured at Lake Alice, the Government has announced redress, which includes either a rapid payment of $150,000 or an uncapped personalised payment.The Prime Minister set expectations that redress for Lake Alice survivors would be announced before the end of the ...4 days ago
- Final decisions on TVNZ restructure to be announced in coming days
TVNZ's chief executive Jodi O'Donnell appeared before MPs at select committee on Wednesday for its annual review and outlined the big costs for the company. ...4 days ago
- Let’s take the boat out! 5 tips on staying safe on the water if you fancy a drink
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW Sydney View Apart/Shutterstock Australia is a nation of boaters, with one of the world’s highest rates of boat ownership. There are about one million ...4 days ago
- A bitter rivalry is emerging in the Middle East between two old adversaries over the future of Syria
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Conversation; Mohammed Badra (EPA), Maxim Shemetov (Reuters Pool/EPA), Stoyan Nenov (Reuters Pool/AP) The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has opened a new front for ...4 days ago
- Flying this holiday season? Here’s why air travel makes us so cranky – and what to do about it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock The holidays are coming, airports are packed and emotions are running high. You’ve probably seen it or even been part of it: that tense moment when a passenger snaps ...4 days ago
- Minister Needs To Listen To The Evidence On Engineered Stone Ban
“We need to follow Australia’s example and implement a total ban of engineered stone, a dangerous product that is killing workers,” said Polaczuk. ...4 days ago
- How to not hug people you don’t want to hug this holiday season
You dread it, but they love it: here’s how to tell your family you’re hoping for a no-contact Christmas before they wrap their unwanted arms around you. There is nothing like Christmas to bring the blow of family obligation hurtling through your otherwise enjoyable life like a wrecking ball. And ...4 days ago
- MPs Should Take A Break & Reject Easter Trading Bill
We reject any liberalisation of Easter trading laws and also Anzac and Christmas days because workers deserve this special annual break to spend time with their families. ...4 days ago
- Watch: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...4 days ago
- Peters considers legal action over judge’s ‘verbal attack’
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is considering legal action after a district court judge and a celebrity doctor “verbally attacked” him and other party members at a Christmas function.On Wednesday, The Post reported District Court judge Ema Aitken and intensive care specialist David Galler had apologised after their actions ...4 days ago
- A return to balanced budgets is a decade away, mid-year update says
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal budget is headed for a deficit of $26.9 billion this financial year – $1.3 billion better than the estimate in May – but in the following three years the budget is forecast to ...4 days ago
- Labor and Albanese end 2024 in worst poll position this term
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll , conducted December 11–15 from a sample of 1,151, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead including undecided, unchanged ...4 days ago
- How feelings of disconnection and lack of control fuel conspiracy beliefs – new research
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elianne Albath, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Social Psychology, University of Basel Conspiracy theories have always been a part of society, offering explanations – sometimes simple, often elaborate – for complex events. Some have uncovered genuine conspiracies, such as the Watergate scandal. ...4 days ago
- Watch live: Lake Alice survivors to get $150,000 each in redress
Erica Stanford has unveiled the government's redress plan for those tortured at the psychiatric hospital. ...4 days ago
- The Spinoff’s favourite music of 2024
From Eden Park stepping up to rappers stepping each other out, we look back at the best of music this year. Read The Spinoff’s favourite TV shows of 2024. We’re a very small team here at The Spinoff, but we’ve tried our best to up our music coverage this year. ...5 days ago
- Vanuatu quake: Missing MFAT staff found safe, NZ offers search and rescue help
There are 58 New Zealanders registered as being in Vanuatu, though MFAT expects there are more who are not registered. ...5 days ago
- Government consults on engineered stone benchtop ban
Australia banned its use and manufacture in July. ...5 days ago
- Chris Penk rejects bid to change Petone’s name to Pito One
Chris Penk has said no to the change after it received backing from the . ...5 days ago
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