the praiseworthy and the pitiful
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Mansplaining Luxon
Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, June 30th, 2022 - 14 comments
Fresh from his attempt to alienate the female vote by being equivocal on if a National Government would move to restrict access to abortions yesterday Christopher Luxon compounded things by purporting to speak for all women.
Luxon has been Susied on National Radio
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, June 22nd, 2022 - 68 comments
This morning on Morning Report Christopher Luxon was well and truly Susied as Susie Ferguson asked him how can we have tax cuts yet improved public services.
The Media and the Australian election
Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, May 20th, 2022 - 28 comments
I cannot understand why in Australia Scotty from Marketing still has a fighting chance of remaining as Prime Minister. But the recent tightening in the polls suggests that this is a possibility.
Shane Jones’ weird premature budget take
Written By: - Date published: 11:02 am, May 14th, 2022 - 11 comments
Former Labour MP Shane Jones has criticised the 2021 budget even though he has no idea what is going to be in it.
Latest poll result – all steady but the Herald needs an English lesson
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 pm, May 3rd, 2022 - 109 comments
The latest Reid Research poll result has been released. Basically it reflects other polls that have been recently conducted. But the Herald have chosen to suggest it shows a dramatic change.
Luxon’s triple backward summersault on Labour Day
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2022 - 72 comments
In the space of one day Chris Luxon called repeatedly for the scrapping of Labour Day as a holiday then confirmed that a future National Government would not do this and said that his earlier comment was facetious.
RNZ’s weird take on MIQ
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, April 20th, 2022 - 93 comments
RNZ’s recent shock horror reporting on a memo from November 2021 proposing a wind back of MIQ is severely deficient. The framing is one sided and ignores the subsequent emergence of Omicron as a variant of concern.
NZME is on a mission to change the Government
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, February 7th, 2022 - 133 comments
NZME owned entities including the Herald and Newstalk ZB appear to be on a mission to change the Government.
Blinken and Blind-Sided?
Written By: - Date published: 2:54 pm, January 16th, 2022 - 17 comments
Russian peacekeepers are already leaving Kazakhstan having nipped the ‘colour revolution’ in the bud. Blinken clearly didn’t have a clue when he said Russians never leave the house. Russian intelligence was superb. Now we wait for Russia’s response to US likely refusal to pull back from its borders. One thing I’d bet on – no invasion of Ukraine.
Bad Covid takes
Written By: - Date published: 3:11 pm, December 19th, 2021 - 130 comments
There seems to be a correlation between commentators who have both Herald and Newstalk ZB exposure and how really bad their Covid takes are.
Stop being a dick Barry
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, November 23rd, 2021 - 54 comments
At yesterday’s post Cabinet Press Conference Barry Soper overtalked a number of reporters, demanded answers to his questions, and then stormed out of the press conference. And then immediately wrote a piece accusing Jacinda Ardern of overtalking reporters …
Shock horror, Ardern chooses to keeps her mask on
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, November 11th, 2021 - 79 comments
Barry Soper has accused the Prime Minister of, wait for this, not taking her mask off when she was inside visiting a vaccination centre in South Auckland.
Goudie blunders again
Written By: - Date published: 8:46 am, October 14th, 2021 - 176 comments
Thames Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie who previously admitted not scanning where she goes has been at it again, this time stating that the Pfeizer vaccine is not good enough for her and she will be waiting for the Novovax vaccine to be available before she gets vaccinated.
David Seymour is all class
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, October 12th, 2021 - 71 comments
David Seymour suggested that suburbs where the vaccination rate hit 90% should be allowed extra freedom. But an analysis suggests that the wealthiest parts of Auckland, including Remuera and Epsom would qualify, whereas the poorer parts of Auckland would struggle to qualify.
Who are these angry Aucklanders?
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, October 3rd, 2021 - 243 comments
This weekend there have been two attempts to undermine the current Auckland Covid lock down. Brian Tamaki’s was not the most ludicrous.
Government introduces law to assist tenants
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, September 29th, 2021 - 19 comments
Barry Soper and the Property Council are up in arms about proposals to ensure that all commercial tenants should only pay a fair proportion of their rental if their use of the premises has been affected by responses to the Covid pandemic.
Judith’s very bad two days
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, September 2nd, 2021 - 50 comments
Judith Collins’ insistence that Parliament be reconvened even at a time that the country was in lockdown level 4 has backfired spectacularly.
Covid and the media
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, August 29th, 2021 - 54 comments
This week there has been some argy bargy between the Twitterati including the Waitakerati and the media on coverage of Covid in Aotearoa with elements of the media complaining that the criticisms are unjustified. A brief review of some of the offerings this week would suggest otherwise.
Fuck-knuckles, cock and piss, balls does not breach BSA guidelines
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, August 26th, 2021 - 14 comments
The Broadcasting Standards Authority have ruled that the use of the words “Fuck-knuckles, cock and piss, balls” by student radio station 95bfm does not breach standards of good taste and decency.
The importance of Jacinda’s 1 pm press conferences
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, August 22nd, 2021 - 130 comments
Jacinda Ardern has resumed the 1 pm briefings where she communicates effectively the country’s current situation and what the plan is. But National and some elements of the media are complaining, presumably that she is doing too good a job.
The Churchill picture
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, August 12th, 2021 - 165 comments
National, the party that claims to be focussed on the issues that matter decided to get upset when the Greens requested the replacement of a picture of a former UK leader who had a reputation for engaging in crimes against humanity.
The many and varied takes of Des Gorman on covid
Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, July 25th, 2021 - 32 comments
A review of Des Gorman’s comments about Covid over the last 15 months, pretty well all of which have been negative, makes you wonder how it is possible that we have been able to maintain an effective Covid free status in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Act likes some rights but not others
Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, July 22nd, 2021 - 37 comments
Following on from its campaign to protect freedom of expression Act has come out with policy on gangs which if enacted would involve some pretty egregious attacks on freedom of association and movement and due process.
Can we trust David Seymour?
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, May 1st, 2021 - 48 comments
David Seymour has got himself into a little bit of trouble. He filed a Parliamentary Pecuniary interests return that was not, ahem, correct.
Click bait frenzy
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, April 8th, 2021 - 69 comments
Media has been awash with discussion about Mike Hosking’s recent interaction with Jacinda Ardern. She was invited onto his show, agreed to appear, was grilled on isolation facility beds, and gave responses. End of story you would think.
The housing crisis and the Government’s response
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, March 25th, 2021 - 163 comments
The Government’s housing policy announcements have been attacked by the right and landlords as being an attack on rights and business, and by elements of the left for being too timid. Which suggests that the announcements are quite well pitched.
The Unbearable Lightness of the Bright-Line Test
Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, March 13th, 2021 - 96 comments
The bright-line test is a red herring and does nothing to deter housing speculation.
Much ado about nothing
Written By: - Date published: 8:39 am, March 13th, 2021 - 18 comments
Chris Bishop is claiming credit for Labour finishing a deal whereby the party rented premises to Parliamentary Services for the use of Gillian Anderson MP at a level well below market rates.
You have 30 min to get your business in order!
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, March 12th, 2021 - 77 comments
Government should have announced the decision for Auckland to go down to Level 1 first thing this morning.
So, You Want To Buy Your First Home?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, March 7th, 2021 - 75 comments
Money does not grow on trees, it grows on houses. It is pure magic!
Dirty politics denouement
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, March 4th, 2021 - 29 comments
Another chapter of dirty politics has reached its conclusion with Carrick Graham offering an abject apology to Doug Sellman, Boyd Swinburn and Shane Bradbook for smearing their reputation via the Whaleoil website.
- The Patupaiarehe Concerto: Accepted
New story acceptance. My 2,000-word New Zealand folk-horror piece, The Patupaiarehe Concerto, has been accepted by Eternal Haunted Summer for their upcoming Summer Solstice issue, which has an overarching theme of music (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/). ... 7 days ago - An open letter to Prime Minister Luxon – Will he listen?
Excerpt: Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Rt Hon Christopher LuxonRe: The Regulatory Standards Bill..This legislation would:Impose financial penalties on environmental action, making it a new and unprecedented expectation that the Crown would compensate corporations when laws to protect nature or the climate affect the ...7 days ago - Ukraine war enters new stage – an anti-terrorist operation?
The post-coup Ukrainian government was the first to declare an anti-terrorist war – although their forces were the ones carrying ut terrorist acts against civilians in Eastern Ukraine. Russian politicians are starting to discuss the necessity of escalating the Russia-Ukraine war from a limited military operation into ...7 days ago - Silent risk to net-zero commitment: climate policy meets national security
Australia faces a growing dilemma: in attempting to ease genuine climate challenges, it is creating national security vulnerabilities by embedding Chinese smart technologies in critical infrastructure. This includes solar inverters and batteries. Electric vehicles, too, ...7 days ago - Quigley, Orr, and the RB board: edition number 965
This morning as the Quigley/Orr/Board saga rumbles on I wanted to touch on three items: the latest comments from Board chair Neil Quigley (and the Minister’s comments on and to him) a reminder of where this all started, with the Board unanimously approving a budget last year far in ...7 days ago - Let’s diversify our space partnerships—and build some self-reliance
Australia’s long-term interests in space are best served by independent capability, diversified international partnerships and a civil-led strategy that reflects national priorities. As global competition intensifies, Australia must avoid tying its trajectory to the political ...7 days ago
- Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Robert Patman & Andrew Gunn ‘Hoon’ around the new...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guests and about the week’s news in geopolitics and climate. This week’s Hoon featured special guest New Zealand freelance journalist Andrew Gunn speaking from Kyiv.The Hoon’s ...1 week ago - Chantelle Baker Gets a $100,000 Reality Check
It’s a rare day when the New Zealand courts deliver a sharp reminder to the right-wing that actions have consequences, even for those who’ve built a career on peddling disinformation. Chantelle Baker, the self-styled “citizen journalist” and darling of New Zealand’s anti-vax, anti-government fringe, has been ordered to pay a whopping ...1 week ago - The Bewildering World of Christopher Luxon – Back on Track…
..The latest two out of three polls for National are - to put it mildly - troubling.Fresh on the heels of Minister Nicola ‘NoBoats' Willis' austerity budget and the scrapping of thirtythree pay equity agreements to fund tax cuts for the already-rich, the public's appetite for this rightwing coalition government ...1 week ago - Trying to attract a stranded asset
Shane Jones is an outdated fossil of a minister. Born in 1959, his model of how our economy and society should look is stuck sometime in the late 70's: a dirty, fossil-fuel powered, racist, sexist, homophobic shitstain of a country which most of us never experienced, and most of those ...1 week ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #24 2025
Open access notables A Rapid Deterioration of the Transmissive Atmospheric Radiative Regime in the Western Arctic, Bertossa & L’Ecuyer, Geophysical Research Letters: The tendency for the atmosphere to reside in one of two radiative states (“transmissive” or “opaque”) is unique to the high latitudes. This phenomenon makes the Arctic climate ...1 week ago - You call that a defence industry?
Australia’s defence manufacturers are essentially a cottage industry, with the average supplier employing only 13 people and achieving net annual sales of about $2.2 million. These averages, drawn from the annual review of the industry ...1 week ago
- The Climate Catastrophe
Dr Robert Howell UN Secretary General: We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe. In facing this wake up call, Dr Howell will describe the lessons to be learned from Wesfamers; the work of the External Reporting Board; the National Climate Change Risk Assessment for New Zealanders; and the Dasgupta Review.Dr Robert Howell ...1 week ago - Taiwan has 12 diplomatic partners left. Who’ll drop it next?
Beneath Taiwan’s high-profile fight for global recognition lies a parallel contest in capitals scattered across the Caribbean and the Pacific. This is Beijing’s relentless campaign to isolate Taiwan diplomatically—country by country—until Taipei is left with ...1 week ago
- Keep Perfectly Calm
There is no depression in New ZealandThere are no sheep on our farmsThere is no depression in New ZealandWe can all keep perfectly calmPerfectly calm…Songwriters: Donald Bain Mcglashan / Richard Paul Von Sturmer.The National Party and farmers go together like Vogels and Vegemite - a classic Kiwi combo, based on ...1 week ago - Short Term At All Costs: Tend Healthcare Wins & More
My Food Bag Co-Founders’ Tend Health approved to become a Government Primary Health Organisation (PHO)Opinion and analysis:In April, I wrote about My Food Bag Co-Founders James and Cecilia Robinson telehealth organisation, Tend, and its positive chances of securing government contracts.An industry contact wrote this in response to me at the ...1 week ago - The hole in Canada’s intelligence system is ASIS-shaped
A hardy perennial in Ottawa politics is whether Canada should create a foreign intelligence service equivalent to the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, aka MI6). If it does, ...1 week ago
- Thursday 12 June
Council of Trade Unions Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges has taken New Zealand’s pay equity fight to the International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva. Opposition parties say the government should be going much further, much faster in sanctioning Israel. Government ministers did not get advice on what the changes to pay equity ...1 week ago - Submission on Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2)
The NZCTU is concerned by the following elements of this Bill: There is a no mandate for the scale of the changes set out in the Bill. The proposed change to the structure of school board objectives is unnecessary and may be damaging. The extension of the strike ...1 week ago
- Gaza’s Rising Death Toll Demands More Diplomatic Action
The recent sanctions placed on just two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, by New Zealand, alongside Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom, mark a timid but critical step toward halting Israel’s relentless genocide.However, targeting these two for their vile incitement of violence against Palestinians is the bare ...1 week ago
- Why is Neil Quigley still RB board chair?
In my post yesterday, I documented a whole series of ways in which Neil Quigley, Reserve Bank board chair (appointed by the Minister of Finance) appeared to have actively misled the public (and overseen the misleading of Reserve Bank staff) on the day Adrian Orr’s resignation was announced. Some of ...1 week ago
- Recognising the economic potential of digital infrastructure resilience
Australia needs to coordinate national digital infrastructure investment and resilience or risk falling behind in security and missing economic opportunities. For the past decade, Australia has focused outward on projects such as funding regional telecommunications ...1 week ago
- The Monster You Know
Hi,I don’t think any Webworm readers will be surprised to know that I’m drawn to stories of narcissistic men getting away with terrible things for decades. Tickled was about a New Yorker pulling the strings from behind a computer. Mister Organ saw an over zealous parking attendant who liked to ...1 week ago - Adrian Orr Resigned Because of Nicola Willis’ Austerity
The abrupt resignation of Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr is a blaring siren that New Zealand’s economic foundations are being relentlessly jackhammered by Nicola Willis’ unyielding austerity obsession. Orr was effectively ousted after a fierce funding dispute with the Finance Minister, who appears determined to gut budgets left, right, and centre ...1 week ago
- A Cynic With the Heart of a Romantic: George R.R. Martin’s Reconstructive Deconstruction
My blog-post the other day alludes to the divergence between what J.R.R. Tolkien was, and what people think Tolkien was. And, while I was at it, to the similar divergence concerning George R.R. ... 1 week ago - Gordon Campbell On The Making Of King Donald
After decades of watching the US prop up dictatorships in Central America, South America and the Middle East, there’s a certain irony in seeing authoritarian rule play out on the streets of Los Angeles. No doubt, Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard – and the US Marines! – to ...1 week ago - Climate Adam: Is China Finally Changing Its Climate Ways?
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). To stop global warming, carbon emissions need to be cut to net zero as quickly as possible. And ...1 week ago
- Course correction: PAC-3 would be a better naval interceptor for Australia
The United States is moving to integrate its land-based PAC-3 surface-to-air missile onto warships. This effort presents an opportunity to enhance key Australian Defence Force capabilities and support sovereign R&D and industry—but quick work is ...1 week ago
- Treats for everybody
Surprises I will always greet with astonished delight:ChocolatesFlowersChocolate FishSeveral hundred lawyers suing the government for being absolutely useless about the climate crisis Two groups representing over 300 environment lawyers are suing the New Zealand government over its "dangerously inadequate" emissions reduction plan. They say the coalitio… Read more ...1 week ago - The Orr story (well, part of it anyway)
Months after various OIAs had been lodged on the question of Adrian Orr’s sudden departure on 5 March, we finally got a partial dump of documents this morning. (Sufficiently mishandled that at 10:04 this morning they’d send an email to OIA requesters saying they’d email out the response at 10:45 ...1 week ago
- With a new administration, South Korea should strengthen security ties with Australia
As South Korea’s new administration takes office, the country has the opportunity to recalibrate its alignments in the Indo-Pacific, especially around closer defence and technology cooperation with Australia. The strategic rationale for this becomes stronger ...1 week ago
- Doing less than the bare minimum
Last night, after nearly two years of genocide in Gaza, the New Zealand government finally began to do the right thing, and sanctioned two Israeli cabinet ministers for promoting genocide. Which is a good first step, but its not enough. Firstly, the sanctions are just a travel ban, saying "you ...1 week ago
- The problem is the regime, not MMP
There's an interesting article on The Spinoff, worried that with so many parties ruling out working with each other, MMP is collapsing back into left-right, "winner take all" politics. It points to a shift back to the pre-MMP elected dictatorship model of government by decree, "outsized" influence of small parties, ...1 week ago
- Ukrainian drone attack on Russian strategic bombers – why the concern?
The recent drone attacks on Russian strategic bombers were welcomed by many Western politicians but condemned by some US politicians. Why the controversy? After all, it is widely accepted that the Ukrainian military has a right to attempt to disable or destroy those Russian long-range bombers that are ...1 week ago
- Waiting…
So when you hear themMake claims of progressTake a good lookAnd see who isn't thereWe need a seat nowAt the tableSo please invite usOr don't pretend to care.Songwriter: Gaelynn Lea.Today’s newsletter is on Disability Support Services (DSS). It follows last week’s announcement by the Minister for Disability Issues, Louise Upston, ...1 week ago - Pay Equity – what did New Zealand women lose under the cover of darkness and without any prior war...
The law on pay equity was changed without any prior warning during the election campaign, without any select committee process. It has shocked New Zealand women and gutted fundamental rights Come and hear from pay equity experts including women whose claims have been cancelled and what the plan is from ...1 week ago
- David Seymour Does An Atlas Network Tour In London – Speaking For Junk Tanks Linked To “...
For paid subscribersIt’s 2023, and National have won the most votes in the New Zealand election. Their long cultivated coalition with ACT is assured, and to the chagrin of Christopher Luxon and David Seymour, their respective party leaders, they will have to invite NZ First along for the ride.Government party ...1 week ago - Australia and the EU should work with the South Pacific on AI
Australia and the European Union need to collaborate to promote the adoption of inclusive, safe and sustainable AI in the South Pacific. While the United States and China compete for global AI leadership, the EU ...1 week ago
- Another Bunch of Rightwing Propagandists
In New Zealand’s murky right-wing scene, a cast of propagandists peddles fear and division. From anti-vax crusaders to culture war stirrers, these figures exploit distrust, offering noise over solutions. Here’s another rundown of some key and bit players, exposing their tactics and selective outrage in New Zealand's polarised political landscape. Alia ...1 week ago
- How digital identities challenge traditional espionage
It used to be so simple. An intelligence officer could fly to a country, change passports and, with a false identity, emerge as a completely different person. But those days are long since over. Biometrics ...1 week ago
- Smoke in Little Tokyo
Hi,Late yesterday afternoon — after leaving the Metropolitan Detention Centre with puffy eyes and a scratchy throat — I’d wandered to Little Tokyo to get a cold drink. It tasted awesome.Tonight at around 9pm I went back there to find a very different scene. Little Tokyo was closed and the ...1 week ago - Nuclear war in Asia would be Australia’s problem, too. We must prepare
Australia must be prepared for limited nuclear war in the Indo-Pacific, be it over Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, or beyond. It should understand what such a conflict would mean for regional and global security, and ...1 week ago
- Sending in the Marines.
One of the basic foundations of democratic civil-military relations is that the active duty military is organised and trained to fight and defeat foreign enemies in combat–that is, by using organised lethal force until the enemy is defeated. Domestic security is a matter of national/federal, state and local law enforcement. ...1 week ago - No New Zealander Left Alive!
A brand-new policy for a brighter New Zealand. ...1 week ago - Various ratbags in the frame
Frame OneInto LA go Trump's forces, and into LA go his lies.Modern politics is a framing war.It’s a system that keeps rewarding the wrong people.It’s a system that keeps rewarding the lie that tells people what they want to hear.It’s a system that Donald Trump instinctively understands.Never mind that the ...1 week ago - 22 years after RAMSI, Solomon Islands social, political fractures persist
History haunts Solomon Islands. More than two decades after the end of the Tensions of 1998 to 2003, the fractures that prompted ethnic conflict between Guadalcanal and Malaita communities remain deep in politics, society and ...1 week ago
- Winston Peters & Barriers To A Fairer Tax System
For paid subscribersSharing this proposal on a light work day -Winston Peters “reamed the pension” and then tried to sue once it was found out - costing taxpayers at least $1m in legal fees Read more ...1 week ago - Climate legal action necessary response to Government inaction
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the legal action taken against the Minister of Climate Change by a coalition of legal experts as an important step in ensuring that Aotearoa meets its climate action obligations. “We strongly support legal action to ensure that the Government ...1 week ago
- Winston Peters Silent on National’s New Immigration Policy
The National-led government is once again trying to increase immigration with their Parent Boost Visa, a five-year, multi-entry scheme for parents of migrants who already live in New Zealand. This move, dressed up as a boost for “family unity” and “economic growth,” has sparked fury among right-wing groups, exposing the ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Labour chickening out again
For the past 20 years, agriculture has been the glaring gap in our climate change policy. Responsible for 50% of our emissions, it was initially excluded from the ETS, and then - under Green Pressure - was to be slowly bought in at a 90% subsidy. But National repealed all ...1 week ago
- Nicola Willis Feigns Concern Over Michael Forbes Scandal
Like Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who claimed “shock” over his press secretary’s litany of misconduct, Finance Minister Nicola Willis proclaiming dismay today rings hollow. Michael Forbes, accused of illegally recording women, including sex workers, without consent, was allowed to resign rather than face dismissal.Nicola Willis’ claim that the “situation is ...1 week ago
- Union News 2024
December 2024 Wednesday 18 DecemberDecember 18, 2024The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut.… Read More »Wednesday 18 December Friday 13 DecemberDecember 13, 2024More public service ...1 week ago
- Tuesday 10 June
290 library workers across Christchurch will get a pay rise to reflect the “true value” of their work, despite the abrupt cancellation of their pay equity claim, due to a strong commitment to pay equity from Christchurch City Council. Care workers at the country’s largest provider of Māori-based support for ...1 week ago
- Harnessing NIC surveillance for better climate security outcomes
Australia’s National Intelligence Community could substantially enhance Australia’s climate security response. It could do so by applying its surveillance resources to the task. The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review lists transnational challenges—which includes climate change—as one ...1 week ago
- Electrifying?
I got chills, they're multiplyingAnd I'm losing control'Cause the power you're supplyingIt's electrifyingSongwriter: John Farrar.This morning Breakfast’s Chris Chang (CC) interviewed Chippy, and boy was he an enthusiast of your National-led government, if we can call them that.“‘Everyone Must Go’, remember that controversial tourism slogan the government spent $500,000 on ...1 week ago - Australia adrift. We must restore our merchant shipping fleet
Australia’s ports may be busy, but we have no way of ensuring that ships will keep coming to them in wartime. In an age of contested supply chains, strategic competition and rising instability, this absence ...1 week ago
- The Trump EPA tried to bury some good news
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The Trump administration has taken an ostrich-like approach to climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is required to publish a report about the country’s sources of climate-changing pollution each year by April 15. This year, that didn’t happen. But the completed report ...1 week ago
- Of Fantasy Babies and Genre Bathwater: A Reply to The Second Story
Fantasy geeks might have at some point stumbled across a famous line from Terry Pratchett: “J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape ...1 week ago - Wee Chris did a boo-boo
New Zealand politician and Cabinet Minister, Chris Bishop, talks about his feelings. ...2 weeks ago
- Filthy riches
On the occasion of the publication of another Rich List, let us bow our heads, brothers and sisters, and remind ourselves of the saying: The only thing money proves is that you have money.It may also be proof of luck, or timing, or inheritance, or connections; but confusing wealth with ...2 weeks ago - The rich-list is a social failure
RNZ has a piece this morning on the latest NBR rich list, reporting that the ultra-rich are doing great (despite the government-induced recession). The 119 individuals and families listed are now collectively worth more than $100 billion - 40% of Aotearoa's annual GDP. Meanwhile, while they're revelling in their wealth, ...2 weeks ago
- Tear Gas & Rubber Bullets: The National Guard Has Moved In
Hi,Getting tear gassed by the National Guard fucking sucks. Everything stings, you can’t breathe, and you can’t see. You can hear just fine — the almost comical pop-pop-pop as more tear gas canisters are sent arcing over the crowd. It strikes you how everyone has their own unique cough; their ...2 weeks ago
- Civil War
Opinion and analysisThere’s a lot to cover, as usual, but I’d like to focus mostly on the risks to our democracy today.First -In New Zealand, ACT and National supporter Nick Mowbray1 wins in NZ’s richest stakes.Another ACT/National donor, Graeme Hart, comes second, $8b behind the Mowbrays — landing at $12b. ...2 weeks ago - These Sordid Scandals Should Have Sunk The Government
The stench of cover-ups from the current coalition Government reveals a grim truth: the right-wing establishment is more invested in protecting its own and saving face than upholding justice. The latest revelations about National MP Hamish Campbell’s deep ties to the Two by Twos cult, Chris Luxon’s disgraced press secretary ...2 weeks ago
- Monday 9 June
Parents of New Zealand citizens and residents will be able to access visas, with the government announcing a programme it says will bring families together. Simeon Brown has announced more investment to strengthen critical infrastructure at Auckland City Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre. A Māori business leader says urgent reform ...2 weeks ago
- LA Live #8 – town hall
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Get more from David Farrier in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app ...2 weeks ago
- Live in LA #7
Thank you , , and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Get more from David Farrier in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app ...2 weeks ago
- LA Live #6
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.Get more from David Farrier in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app ...2 weeks ago
- LA Live #3
Join me for my next live video in the app.Get more from David Farrier in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app ...2 weeks ago
- Strategist coverage of ASPI’s The Cost of Defence
On 29 May, ASPI released its annual defence budget briefing, The Cost of Defence. Introducing the report, ASPI executive director Justin Bassi reflected on its aim of ‘strengthening Australia’s long-term security, prosperity and sovereignty’ and its ...2 weeks ago
- The National Guard is in LA
Hi, Tear gas in the air, a lot of coughing. A lot of guns. And anger.But so far, peace.I’ll be going live throughout the day here on Webworm.Thanks to anyone who backs my work. Really. Not here without you.Subscribe nowDavid. ...2 weeks ago
- A note to subscribers: I’ll be back on June 23
FYI and briefly to all subscribers, I’m going to take a break from daily news updates for a couple of weeks while Lynn and I have a proper holiday.I’ll keep writing, but not so much about the news and I’ll look to publish those pieces from June 23.Sometimes, it’s useful ...2 weeks ago - Deluded Damien Grant versus Phil Goff Over Gaza
2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on free speech and anti-Semitism
According to Workplace Health and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden, employers are having to endure a “culture of fear” created by Worksafe, which has the power to prosecute them if if they are operating unsafe workplaces. There seems to be only anecdotal evidence – from employers at a government roadshow ...2 weeks ago
- 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #23
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 1, 2025 thru Sat, June 7, 2025. Stories we promoted this week, by category: Climate Policy and Politics (5 articles) Inside EPA`s backdoor bid to stop regulating ...2 weeks ago
- Five years of Keep It Real Online
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Keep It Real Online, a website that helps New Zealand families navigate the digital world safely. “I know many parents are worried about the type of content their children might come across online and are looking for practical ...1 week ago - Legislation introduced to restrict farm-to-forest conversions
Today Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay introduced long awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale farm-to-forestry conversions – delivering on a key election promise to protect the future of New Zealand food production. “For too long, productive sheep and beef farms have been replaced by pine trees ...1 week ago
- Speech to Hospitality NZ Conference
Good morning, Thank you for inviting me to address the Hospitality Conference 2025 right here in Wellington today. I would like to begin by acknowledging: Nick Keene, National President of Hospitality New Zealand, Steve Armitage, Chief Executive of Hospitality New Zealand, members of your Board, and the members of ...1 week ago
- New Zealand Veterinary Association Award Evening
Good evening,It’s a real privilege to be here with you tonight, among people who play such a vital role in the wellbeing of our animals, our communities, and our economy. Veterinarians are essential to New Zealand. Upholding our global reputation for world-leading animal welfare standards, something we are known for ...2 weeks ago
- Local Authority Elections Coming – Strong Candidates Needed
“Given the importance of local government to New Zealand, it is essential that councils are well-governed”, said Matt Cowley, Chairperson of the Forum. ...18 hours ago - Migrating bogong moths use the stars and Earth’s magnetic field to find ancestral summer caves eac...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Warrant, Professor of Zoology at the University of Lund, Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University, and Adjunct Professor, University of South Australia Vik Dunis/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC It’s a warm January summer afternoon, and as I traverse the flower-strewn western ...18 hours ago - How Kōkā put a Matariki twist on the classic road movie
Alex Casey talks to Kōkā director Kath Akuhata-Brown about crafting an intergenerational road movie like no other. On a frantic search for a last minute location on the East Cape, Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou) was driving around aimlessly until a silhouette stopped her dead in their tracks – a single ...19 hours ago - The pick of the Matariki picture books
An updated selection of beautiful books to relax and reflect with this Matariki. Once upon a time it was rare to find books about Matariki made for young readers. Now it’s a different story. Our bookshelves are abundant with beautiful books to share and to cherish. Here’s an updated a ...19 hours ago
- $18m cut to Cooks aid is ‘not about China’? I call BS
Analysis: Winston Peters has taken a leaf from Donald Trump’s playbook, with news he’s paused government-to-government development aid to our closest whānau in the Pacific. “We want an assurance that our special relationship remains special,” he tells Newsroom. It’s a response to the Cooks Islands’ clumsy handling of a strategic deal ...20 hours ago - Kāinga Ora halts hundreds of housing developments, sells vacant land
The chief executive said its "critical step" in its reset plan would see it write down up to $220 million. ...20 hours ago - Compulsion vs building trust: The challenges of treating disordered eating
Most clinicians agree that hospitalisation can save a life, but it doesn’t fix the problem. That work takes place outside the hospital, and it’s a slow process, writes mental health nurse Duncan Milne. Content warning: This piece discusses disordered eating and its treatment. Please take care. The recent publicity around ...20 hours ago
- Why Homo sapiens are Auckland Zoo’s priority species
Auckland Zoo is involved in dozens of conservation projects, but one species is paramount – us. Naomii Seah visits the Zoo to find out why. On a mild winter’s night, by the light of the full moon, a group of Auckland Zoo staff and mana whenua pick their way carefully ...20 hours ago
- Help Me Hera: How do I repair my relationship with a politically aggressive cousin?
We used to be so close, but their blunt communication style keeps hurting my feelings. Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, I have a cousin I was very close to as a kid through our mid-20s, but recently we have drifted apart and it has become ...22 hours ago
- Betrayal Of Women Over Pay Equity Laid Bare In Budget Poll – Time To Reverse Decision
"The Government decided to scrap pay equity for women to pay for tax cuts for business in this year’s budget - New Zealanders are seeing that plain and simple and they don’t like it," said Fleur Fitzsimons National Secretary Public Service Association ...22 hours ago
- Jaws at 50: how a single movie changed our perception of white sharks forever
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Long, Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University Shane Myers Photography/Shutterstock It’s been 50 years since Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws first cast a terrifying shadow across our screens. At a low point during production, Spielberg worried he’d only ever be ...22 hours ago
- Robot eyes are power hungry. What if we gave them tools inspired by the human brain?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam D Hines, Research Fellow, Centre for Robotics, Queensland University of Technology A hexapod robot navigating outdoors. Adam Hines Robots are increasingly becoming a part of our lives – from warehouse automation to robotic vacuum cleaners. And just like humans, robots need ...22 hours ago
- Winter viruses can trigger a heart attack or stroke, our study shows. It’s another good reason to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tu Nguyen, PhD Candidate, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Irina Shatilova/Shutterstock Winter is here, along with cold days and the inevitable seasonal surge in respiratory viruses. But it’s not only the sniffles we need to ...22 hours ago
- School playgrounds are one of the main locations for bullying. How can they be set up to stop it?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Dean (Academic), Faculty of Arts and Education, Charles Sturt University Dan Kenyon/ Getty Images Children spend thousands of hours in playgrounds at school. A lot of this time does not have the same levels of teacher preparation ...22 hours ago
- Would you cheat on your tax? It’s a risky move, the tax office knows a lot about you
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert B Whait, Senior Lecturer in Taxation Law, University of South Australia Soon, more than 15 million Australians should be lodging a tax return with the Australian Taxation Office in the hope of receiving at least a small refund. About 60% of ...22 hours ago
- Companies are betting on AI to help lift productivity. Workers need to be part of the process
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Llewellyn Spink, AI Corporate Governance Lead, Human Technology Institute, University of Technology Sydney The Conversation, CC BY-NC Australia’s productivity is flatlining, posting the worst vitals we’ve seen in 60 years. Politicians and chief executives are prescribing artificial intelligence (AI) like it’s ...22 hours ago
- Is Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album cover satire or self-degradation? A psychology ex...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Muller-Townsend, Lecturer in Psychology, Edith Cowan University Island Records Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend album cover has fans divided. Carpenter poses on all fours, her glossy blond hair grasped by a male figure cropped from the frame. Her wide-eyed ...22 hours ago
- New Zealand halts Cook Islands funding in stoush over China
The announcement comes as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visits China and prepares to meet Xi Jinping. ...22 hours ago
- Government looking at making lifejackets compulsory
It comes after findings a mother and her young son would have had better chances of surviving a capsizing, if they been wearing them. ...22 hours ago
- Media attention, political pressure credited with solving cardiac surgery waitlist at Waikato Hospit...
Cardiac Society of New Zealand chairperson says the waitlist had reduced from 110 to 10 patients. ...23 hours ago
- Kicked out for coming out: more than half of LGBTIQ+ flatmates face discrimination for their identit...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brodie Fraser, Senior Research Fellow, He Kāinga Oranga Housing and Health Research Programme, University of Otago Sangar Akreyi/Getty Images People who belong to the LGBTIQ+ community say flatting is fraught with difficulties that go well beyond learning new routines and sharing ...23 hours ago
- Tracing the Drax family’s millions – a story of British landed gentry, slavery and sugar plantat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Lashmar, Reader in Journalism, City St George’s, University of London ‘Planting the sugar-cane’: vast fortunes were made from the trades in both sugar and human slaves in the Americas. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The ...23 hours ago
- Nineteen Eighty-Four might have been inspired by George Orwell’s fear of drowning
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Waddell, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century Literature, University of Birmingham George Orwell had a traumatic relationship with the sea. In August 1947, while he was writing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he went on a ...23 hours ago
- What happens when aid is cut to a large refugee camp? Kenyan study paints a bleak picture
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olivier Sterck, Associate professor, University of Oxford Humanitarian needs are rising around the world. At the same time, major donors such as the US and the UK are pulling back support, placing increasing strain on already overstretched aid systems. Global humanitarian ...23 hours ago
- Grok’s ‘white genocide’ responses show how generative AI can be weaponized
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Foulds, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Someone altered the AI chatbot Grok to make it insert text about a debunked conspiracy theory in unrelated responses. Cheng Xin/Getty Images The AI chatbot Grok spent one day in ...23 hours ago
- Census scrapped as Stats NZ eyes cheaper data future
The government has announced a major overhaul of population data collection, but experts say the new approach carries serious risks, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. See ya, census After nearly 175 years, New Zealand’s national census ...23 hours ago
- Lack of people standing for Auckland’s next local body election worries officials
An electoral officer says if an area has no candidates an extraordinary vacancy will be created. ...24 hours ago
- Auckland Council says 100,000 new homes built after planning rule book came into force
The number of homes constructed rose from 10,200 in 2018 to a record 18,100 in 2023. ...24 hours ago
- Confusion as NZ becomes midpoint on China route to South America
China Eastern Airlines and Auckland Airport have announced the much-discussed Southern Link to South America will open by the end of the year, with the NZ Government helping with a new electronic transit authority in place of pricey visas. The Government backs the Southern Link as part of its effort ...24 hours ago
- Ministry of Education spends thousands hunting leaks to RNZ
The Education Ministry is spending about $20,000 on its hunt for the sources of multiple leaks to RNZ. ...24 hours ago
- ‘New security service’ for Parliament would have more powers
Parliament's security guards will receive training later this year to prepare for potential additional powers. ...1 day ago
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on blitz of promotional events in Shanghai
The PM's three-day trip to China comes at a time of increased rivalry between the superpower and the United States. ...1 day ago
- New research finds over half of LGBTQI+ flatters experience housing discrimination
New research shows that flatting is a ‘site of vulnerability’ for queer people, and recommends policy change. “I was kicked out of a house when coming out as trans to my flatmates and asking they use my preferred name and pronouns.” “[I was] asked to leave a flat when someone ...1 day ago
- Slashed Matariki funding threatens to leave communities in the dark
Government funding for Matariki events was cut by nearly half this year. With some festivals now cancelled or scaled back, Liam Rātana investigates what’s been lost – and what’s still happening. Just four years after Matariki became a public holiday, the future of our public celebrations is looking less certain. ...1 day ago
- The Greens have broken dramatically with the James Shaw era
The party’s new fiscal strategy hones in on a ‘fundamental asymmetry’ in how we think about public investment – and envisages government borrowing at roughly three times the level backed by the former co-leader. Back in the mists of time, in the dim and distant past – in the year ...1 day ago
- Cosmetic brands expect sales boom as China drops animal testing requirement
New scheme for cosmetics producers will break down trade barriers created by a mismatch in animal-testing regulation The post Cosmetic brands expect sales boom as China drops animal testing requirement appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 day ago
- Book of the Week: Women and chickens first
There’s an interesting cultural trend in this country where city dwellers yearn for country life. A place where your neighbour is acres away, you can have animals of all shapes and sizes, you can return to the rural life of your ancestors and you can cuddle up and be cosy. ...1 day ago
- An Ombudsman who wants to coach, not just referee
The new watchdow Chief Ombudsman doesn’t want stiffer penalties for agencies who break the law The post An Ombudsman who wants to coach, not just referee appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 day ago
- How school multiplies inequalities in maths
Analysis: The headline of an article in pre-eminent science journal Nature says it all: ‘Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade.’ The study makes for disturbing reading. Based on longitudinal data from schoolchildren in France it reports that boys and girls begin their schooling on an equal ...1 day ago
- Exporters hope to escape China beef restrictions
The Prime Minister is once again spreading the word that New Zealand is open for business, while beef exporters wait to see whether they’ll be hit with any restrictions on the products they send to China. In December last year, China’s Ministry of Commerce launched an investigation into imported beef, ...1 day ago
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