Daily review 02/02/2023
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5:30 pm, February 2nd, 2023 - 4 comments
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- The Jevon McSkimming Scandal Raises Serious Questions
The recent revelations about former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming have sent shockwaves throughout New Zealand. The discovery of child sexual exploitation and bestiality material allegedly found on his work devices is not just a personal failing but a systemic betrayal of public trust, a betrayal that must not be ...14 hours ago - Protecting Australia’s maritime domain, AUKUS is pathway to self-reliance
AUKUS has dominated headlines since its 2021 launch, and new leaks about the Trump administration ‘wanting more’ have reignited anxieties. Australia should not concede to every US request, but quitting would be reckless. A capable ...19 hours ago - One in Eight.
I am the one in tenA number on a listI am the one in tenEven though I don't existNobody knows meEven though I'm always thereA statistic, a reminderOf a world that doesn't careSongwriters: Ali Campbell / Brian Travers / Earl Falconer / Jim Brown / Michael Virtue / Norman Hassan ...20 hours ago - Tend Health Cecilia Robinson’s Touching Tributes to Christopher Luxon
Source: InstagramCecilia Robinson thanks Luxon for attending the event she chairs - she says it’s the first time a NZ PM has attended the ceremony - November 2024 (Source: Instagram)Waiheke Island is home to many prominent Kiwis including one of Christopher Luxon’s pads, and it appears from the above, the ...21 hours ago - Potato shortage not a problem according to National
The National-led coalition are currently dealing with a severe potato shortage. ...21 hours ago - The Reality of Fiscal Constraints
Why is the British Labour Government penalising its poor?We have the spectacle of the Starmer-led British Labour Government taking measures which are making some of the most struggling Brits worse off. It has got to the point where Labour’s parliamentary backbench is revolting and the government has had to make ...1 day ago - Interview: The Co-operative Bank CEO Mark Wilkshire on the housing market, bank capital and climate ...
Earlier this week I interviewed Mark Wilkshire, the CEO of the Co-operative Bank, from his Wellington office. We talked about:the current situation in the economy and housing market;how changes to capital requirements for banks is affecting the bigger and smaller banks, and the need for a level playing field;the effects ...1 day ago - Yes, the US has changed—because the world has changed
From Canberra and London to Ottawa, Brussels and beyond, politicians, professors and pundits are raging against the United States. Some warn it has just about transformed itself into a rogue state that may soon be ...2 days ago
- Big scary numbers
When our kids were little one of the books we often read them was “Bears in the Night” in which the young bears, hearing a noise outside, sneak out of the house at night, climb Spook Hill and then, terrified by the sudden appearance of an owl – not the ...2 days ago - The quiz of Dave
1.What is the Reserve Bank’s current estimate of quarterly GDP growth?a. 5% — you never had it so goodb. 3% — soaraway growth thanks to National the Party of Business™c. 1% — must try harderd. Minus 0.2% — speaks for itself2. Here we see our strap-on Prime Minister. What got ...2 days ago - Home Affairs is central to Australia’s security, safety and economic prosperity
There’s a moment in the movie Oppenheimer when the protagonist realises the true danger isn’t so much the bomb itself; it’s the atmospheric chain reaction it might unleash. That same logic applies to national safety. ...2 days ago
- No, the US isn’t asking for the keys to the ADF
A US request for advice on the Australia’s stance in the event of a major crisis over Taiwan is being badly misunderstood. Australia isn’t being asked to hand over command of its armed forces, and ...2 days ago
- War on Councils: It’s Begun!
Opinion/analysis:Every battle starts with a decision on where to draw your front.And for National and the Taxpayers Union, that place is local government.Faced with an 8 year high in unemployment, 10 year high in business liquidations, 10 year high in Kiwis leaving the country, surging food prices, over 500,000 Kiwis ...2 days ago - Killing the alternative
During the debate over ACT's hated Regulatory Standards Bill, many professional submitters (such as the law Society) have pointed at the existing Part 4 of the Legislation Act 2019 as an alternative. While it has not been brought into force, this would replace the existing grace-and-favour Departmental Disclosure Statement system ...2 days ago - The last public database tracking protests in China is about to go dark
As global financiers tried in late 2024 to predict how much stimulus Xi Jinping would roll out to boost China’s faltering economy, government censorship of China’s economic data drove them to a surprising alternative source: ...2 days ago
- The Happiest Man Alive – To Be Reprinted
I noted a week ago that four of my stories were no longer available, necessitating a temporary home on the Bonus Stories page. Well, continuing my excellent July run, I can report that one of those stories, The Happiest Man Alive, has already found a new home. Specifically, it has ...2 days ago - Tama Potaka Hides Homelessness Report as Crisis Deepens
In a move that reeks of political obfuscation, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has sat on a critical homelessness insights report for over a month, refusing to make it public while claiming he’s still “seeking official advice” on its contents. This delay isn't just bureaucratic dawdling; it’s a calculated attempt ...2 days ago
- Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Cathrine Dyer, Robert Patman & Helen Clark ‘Hoon’ around...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking with regular guests and and special guest Helen Clark about the news of the week.This week’s Hoon featured:a discussion about research showing East Asia’s cleanup of its atmosphere ...2 days ago
- The problem with ‘stabilising’ China relations: it hardly makes a difference
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s current, six-day visit to China is meant to be another step in stabilising the relationship between the two countries. The problem is that no such efforts, by Australia and others, have ...2 days ago
- The hunt for inflation scapegoats amps up
An expensive haul: food price inflation more than doubled in June to 1.2% . File photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesBriefly for all subscribers on Friday, July 18, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate today ...2 days ago - Sunny Days
Sunny - Yesterday my life was filled with rainSunny - You smiled at me and really eased the painThe dark days are gone, and the bright days are hereMy sunny one shines so sincereSongwriter: Bobby Hebb.Today, a look at one high and a lot of lows from a very wet ...2 days ago - Binary view of hard and soft skills impedes cyber responses
Cybersecurity professionals tend to be categorised as either ‘technical’ or ‘non-technical’. However, success in this field is far more nuanced than this binary suggests. Such a limited vision may impede us from leveraging the full ...2 days ago
- A Squirrel’s Revenge
Hi,Last week I found myself in a store staring at my nemesis. My nemesis stared back, fingers extended to the heavens. “Fuck you, too,” I thought. “Fuck you too.”When I say “nemesis” I don’t mean the nemesis. But this taxidermied rodent did remind me of the squirrel that bit my ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2025
Open access notables Climate change has increased the odds of extreme regional forest fire years globally, Abatzoglou et al., Nature Communications Regions across the globe have experienced devastating fire years in the past decade with far-reaching impacts. Here, we examine the role of antecedent and concurrent climate variability in enabling ...2 days ago - How Taipei is fighting back against Beijing’s spies
Taiwan has dramatically stepped-up efforts to address what authorities describe as a growing espionage challenge linked to China. In 2024, 64 individuals were charged with espionage-related offences—more than in the previous two years combined. According ...3 days ago
- Make your predictions
Trying something new here, please stand back if steam escapes, and do please let me know if the locomotive fails to move 🙂FREE AT LAST!Imagine we just give them everything they want and leave them to it — all the Manosphere tough guys and the Mr Atlas libertarians and the ...3 days ago - Bookshelf: risks of Sino-Indian rivalry set to grow
The geopolitical rivalry between China and India poses an important threat to Asian and global security, even if it receives much less attention than that between China and the United States, argue Manjeet Pardesi, Sumit ...3 days ago
- Luxon Doesn’t Think the Proud Boys are Terrorists
In a highly questionable move, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has allowed the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a track record of extreme violence, to slip off the New Zealand terrorist watch list. Despite advice from the NZ Police and other government agencies, Luxon’s administration opted not to renew the ...3 days ago
- When a RNZ Host gets it “terribly wrong” – Re-visited
3 days ago - Climate Change: Holding conservatives responsible
Last week the regime released its approach to climate adaptation: basically "you're on your own". The government won't use policy to manage retreat and minimise costs, but rather just let people keep building in stupid places where they will be flooded and eroded. But they won't bail people out for ...3 days ago
- Lee Jae-myung’s AI aspirations for South Korea may be too ambitious
During his campaign, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung pledged 100 trillion Korean won (about A$112 billion) over a five-year period to turn the country into one of the top three AI powers in the world. ...3 days ago
- Drawn
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Residential Tenancies (Registration of Boarding House Landlords) Amendment Bill (Rachel Brooking) (Thanks to Dave for getting the results up before parliament did) There were 72 bills in the ballot, including two ...3 days ago
- A few more bits from recent RB releases
There are still lots of outstanding questions around the sudden departure of the Reserve Bank Governor, and the handling of those events by the board and the Minister. But, even amid ongoing OIA obstructionism – the Bank simply ignoring the substance of specific requests, in a flagrantly illegal way – ...3 days ago
- Britain brings together cyber and EW. Australia take note
This September, Britain will rename Strategic Command as the Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) following emphasis on the cyber and electromagnetic (CyberEM) domain within the Strategic Defence Review issued on 2 June, marking deep ...3 days ago
- You Can’t Kill A Rainbow
Photo: NZ GeographicToday I’d like to speak about something in which I have no qualifications in - LGBTQ+At a younger age, I remember sitting on a train and feeling the eyes of an individual on me.I looked up, and it was another young person, the same gender as I.I felt ...3 days ago - Thursday 17 July
About 500 lab workers employed by medical testing company – Awanui – have settled on a 9.2 percent salary increase after six months of strike action. The PSA is urging health officials to reopen consultation into proposals to close an Auckland mental health facility, citing concerns about predetermination. Camilla Belich’s ...3 days ago - Potaka delaying homelessness data release
Briefly for all subscribers on Thursday, July 17, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other news links in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate today are:Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka is delaying the release of a regular Housing and Urban Development Ministry (HUD) report on ...3 days ago - For drone defence, Canberra should choose independent Australian companies
A crucial decision will occur in the next few months that will shape Australia’s capability against small drones for decades: the selection of the systems integration partner (SIP) for Canberra’s Land 156 drone-defence project. The ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Costs Of Regulating Cost, And Burkina Faso As A Role Model
Funny how “blow-out” gets so readily applied to cost escalation in the provision of public services (hospital rebuilds, the Cook Strait ferries) but when politicians get the figures wrong for their pet projects, its just a matter of opinion. Case in point : the original cost estimates for the Regulatory ...3 days ago - Climate Adam & GeoGirl explain a recent study reconstructing 485-million-year history of Earth&#...
The videos include personal musings and conclusions of the creators climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy and geologist Dr. Rachel Phillips. They are presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video descriptions for references (if any). Adam Levy and Rachel Phillips collaborated on two videos for their respective Youtube channels ...3 days ago
- Friends to all: Competing for Pacific security partnerships
The Pacific faces a rapidly evolving security environment. Foreign partners increasingly compete for comprehensive partnerships, engagements, coordination and influence. Security risks are also evolving, with a greater emphasis on climate- and disaster-driven security threats, and ...4 days ago
- Hope has no expiry date
4 days ago - It looks like the US has just pulled Indonesia into South China Sea cooperation
Has Indonesia just promised closer security cooperation with the United States in return for tariff concessions? There are strong reasons to think so—and, if it has, it has put itself in awkward spot, one that ...4 days ago
- Demonstrating sovereignty, not declaring it, is what matters. Demonstrate it in northern Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China, now underway, comes on the heels of two other critical moments: the cancellation of a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the ...4 days ago
- ACT means secrecy
Back in April an OIA request exposed the absurd cost of ACT's charter schools - five times more per student than the government spends on public schools. ACT obviously didn't like that, but they have a solution: keep the number of students secret: The seven charter schools set up ...4 days ago
- Submission guide: Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025
When the National-led Government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act under urgency in May this year, they did so without consulting the working women affected. The People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity has been formed by 10 former MPs from across the political spectrum to examine the changes made to ...4 days ago
- Reserve Bank planned spending: 12% up on 2023/24
Yesterday’s post focused on the puzzling events around the adoption of last year’s Reserve Bank budget: the board planned to spend massively above what the Funding Agreement had allowed and for reasons still totally obscure neither Treasury nor the Minister of Finance raised any concerns whatever. A few months ...4 days ago
- Bishop wants a growth economy that isn’t just a housing market with bits tacked on
Bishop wants to change zoning and building rules to increase housing supply, but now 2/3 of builders report they are significantly affected by housing project suspensions or cancellations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly for all subscribers on Wednesday, July 16, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and ...4 days ago - Member’s Day
Today is a Member's Day. First up is the first reading of Debbie Ngarewa-Packer's Resource Management (Prohibition on Extraction of Freshwater for On-selling) Amendment Bill, and then it's the second readings of Tracey McLellan's Evidence (Giving Evidence of Family Violence) Amendment Bill and Camilla Belich's Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) ...4 days ago
- The future of US facilities in northern Australia
As the Indo-Pacific becomes the defining theatre of 21st-century strategic competition, northern Australia has emerged as a crucial area for US force projection and deterrence. But while their presence offers undeniable strategic value, it also ...4 days ago
- Winston Revels As Seymour Cowers
Liveliness..Summary Headlines TodayGuy BodyConstruction industry falters big time under NationalNational Coalition oversees 17,000 job losses in construction over the last 18 months. Kāinga Ora axed hundreds more building developments this year that would have seen 3500 new homes built, including cancelling 40 new Northland projects. Construction is New Zealand’s fifth ...4 days ago - Wednesday 16 July
New Zealand’s construction industry is emerging from one of its toughest periods, with more than 17,000 jobs lost over the past 18 months. Penny Simmonds is confident her approach to polytechnics will not impact training in the regions, pushing back on criticism from the TEU. David Seymour has been given ...4 days ago
- Play the Game
Open up your mind and let me step insideRest your weary head and let your heart decideIt's so easy when you know the rulesIt's so easy, all you have to do is fall in loveSongwriter: Freddie Mercury.Yesterday afternoon, in a parallel reality, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon fronted the media with ...4 days ago - A national innovation mandate would drive ideas to capability
Across recent debates about sovereignty, capability and technological competition, one thing is clear: Australia does not lack ideas. What it lacks is an innovation system capable of converting those ideas into deployable capability. Previous analysis ...4 days ago
- The heat is starting to go on Luxon
The Government is coming under increasing pressure to pull out of the Paris Climate Change Accord. It is caught, alone and at odds with its two coalition partners and left to make some very hard political decisions. Both ACT and New Zealand First want out of the Paris Accord. Meanwhile ...4 days ago - The EU Was Always Anti-British
...4 days ago - Flightless Bird: Denver Photos
Hi,Here are some photos from our Flightless Bird live show in Denver, taken by Andrew Rowley. From our shownotes, this may help explain what the photos are all about!This week’s Flightless Bird is Live From Denver! Rob and David explore the sights and sounds of Denver, CO, presenting their findings ...4 days ago - The Mystery of the Nineteen Bells – To Be Reprinted
2025 has been a year where some of my long-neglected literary pieces have, at last, found a home. That trend continues today – though in this case it is not an unpublished work, but rather a text that first saw light in March 2018. The magazine that published it – ...4 days ago - China is still coercing Australia—with implicit threats
Look beyond the so-called stabilisation of diplomatic ties between Australia and China. Look beyond Beijing’s lifting of trade bans and its ending of the freeze on ministerial dialogue that began in 2020. China’s unfair trade ...5 days ago
- Fact brief – Did CO2 contribute to early 20th century warming?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did CO2 contribute to early 20th century warming? Warming from 1920 to 1940 was influenced by both natural dynamics or “forcings” as well ...5 days ago
- Australia wins by committing to Horizon Europe
The race for dominance in certain technologies sits at the core of the ever-intensifying competition for strategic advantage, and Australia is part of this dynamic. It will have to remain competitive and avoid becoming a ...5 days ago
- Was MethaneSAT Deliberately Compromised?
New Zealand’s MethaneSAT, launched with fanfare in March 2024 to tackle methane emissions, has become a troubling case study in corporate overreach and government opacity. The satellite’s abrupt failure in June 2025, attributed to a mysterious loss of power, raises serious questions about the role of Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT), ...5 days ago
- This industry should be destroyed, not subsidised
The health insurance industry is parasitic on our public health system, taking people's money, providing them with th easy, cheap stuff, then sending them straight back into the public health system for anything which might cost them money. But not enough people are buying it anymore. So they're doing what ...5 days ago
- Australia must fight for its voice in the Indo-Pacific
The battle for hearts and minds in the Indo-Pacific is being fought not on traditional battlefields, but in the digital realm where truth and falsehood collide at the speed of light. As authoritarian regimes weaponise ...5 days ago
- Health NZ Caught Faking Wait Times
In a nation that prides itself on fairness and transparency, the National-led coalition’s handling of New Zealand’s health system is nothing short of a scandalous betrayal. Reports emerging from Nelson Hospital suggest Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) may have instructed hospitals to concoct “ghost appointments”, non-existent bookings designed to ...5 days ago
- What were the Minister and Treasury doing?
Four weeks ago I noted that I was going to be tied up for the following couple of weeks. Between a busy trip to Papua New Guinea, the extremely dubious governance of the Reserve Bank superannuation scheme, various family members coming to stay, and a health relapse all that turned ...5 days ago
- Compensating Criminals & Animal Abusers: A Dystopian Future
ACT already planning to compensate property owners under the RSBACT’s Nicole McKee is obtaining advice on how to compensate bitcoin ATM owners1, under the Regulatory Standards Bill framework, as the government plans to ban crypto ATMs. The Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime noted these ATMs are ...5 days ago - Tuesday 15 July
The TEU is calling the government’s disestablishment of Te Pūkenga a “disaster for regional New Zealand”. ASMS and NZNO have accused Nelson Hospital of booking patients for appointments that didn’t exist to make their numbers look better. The RMTU says it was not consulted on KiwiRail’s melatonin ban, and the ...5 days ago
- Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace: A Resource for New Zealand Trade Unions
SUMMARY This resource has been developed to support trade union organisers dealing with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. It outlines existing laws and organising tools relevant to AI and how collective bargaining can be used to ensure workers benefit from and are not harmed by AI. ...5 days ago
- South Pacific threats are rising. JORN now needs to look eastwards
Australia’s eastern maritime approaches haven’t got much attention since World War II. Defence policy has tended to look northwards and westwards. So, too, do the three great Jindalee over-the-horizon radars that we have deep inland. ...5 days ago
- Women, Peace and Security is more than a side quest
Somewhere between the fifth email about rescheduled meetings and the third cup of coffee, another email arrives. It’s about Women, Peace and Security (WPS). A few people skim it. One or two frown: ‘Didn’t we ...5 days ago
- Look Who’s Back…
Sharp and open, leave me aloneAnd sleeping less every nightAs the days become heavier and weightedWaiting in the cold lightA noise, a scream tears my clothes as the figurines tightenWith spiders inside themAnd dust on the lips of a vision of hellI laughed in the mirror for the first time ...5 days ago - Manufacturing, services & retail mired in recession
The services sector joined the manufacturing sector in contracting in June,and retail sales have fallen 7.5% in inflation-adjusted terms in the last two years.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly for all subscribers for at 7 am on Tuesday, July 15, the key scoops, breaking news, deep-dives, editorials, analysis and other ...5 days ago - Gordon Campbell On Ducking The Costs Of Climate Change
Looking for consistency in all things is said to be the hallmark of a small mind. Duly noted, but the Luxon government’s stance on climate change does seem strikingly inconsistent. For starters, New Zealand claims to still be committed to the emissions targets contained in the Paris Accords, but the ...5 days ago
- Update on Texas flooding
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler My heart is breaking for the tragedy that’s unfolding in central Texas right now. At present, more than 70 people have died in the flooding in the Texas Hill Country. Given the widespread interest in this event and numerous requests ...5 days ago
- Greens call for NZ Govt to take UK’s lead and lower voting age
The Green Party is calling on the Government to follow the lead of the United Kingdom and lower the voting age to 16. ...2 days ago - Government Attacks Māori Rights on World Stage
Te Pāti Māori condemns the Government’s escalating assault on tangata whenua, following the letter sent by Regulations Minister David Seymour to the United Nations and Prime Minister Luxon’s weak attempt to distance himself while still endorsing its dangerous intent. “This Government is setting fire to Māori rights through regressive, colonial ...3 days ago
- Benefit sanctions double under National as unemployment soars
Latest figures from the Ministry of Social Development show the Government is pushing more and more people into unemployment, while punishing them with sanctions for being out of work. ...3 days ago
- Communities Can’t Foot the Bill for Climate Crisis
Te Pāti Māori sends aroha to whānau, and communities impacted by the recent severe weather across Nelson Tasman, Banks Peninsula, Northland and beyond. While dozens of people are still unable to return home, National and Labour are already hinting at a Climate Adaptation plan that would see impacted communities pay ...4 days ago
- Making New Zealand and New Zealanders Safer
New Zealand First knows how important law and order is to the quality of life that hardworking Kiwi battlers expect and deserve. This remains a priority, and we are delivering on our coalition commitments to make our communities and neighbourhoods safe. Our investment in Police with an extra 500 officers, ...4 days ago - Minister must back regional vocational education with real support
The Government’s move to re-establish ten polytechnics fails to ensure the thriving, future-focussed vocational education sector Aotearoa deserves. ...5 days ago
- Submissions show overwhelming opposition to RSB
The Green Party is calling on Cabinet to stop the Regulatory Standards Bill, after only 19 of a total 208 submissions heard over the course of last week’s submissions process supported the Bill. ...6 days ago
- An update on Winston’s War on Woke & June wrap up
New Zealand First continues to bring balance, experience, and commonsense to Government. During the month of June, we made progress on many of our promises to New Zealand. An update on Winston's War on Woke ...1 week ago
- Green Party won’t contest Tāmaki Makaurau by-election
After careful consideration, the Green Party will not stand a candidate in the upcoming Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. ...1 week ago
- Te Pāti Māori Announces Award-Winning Broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to Contest Tāmaki Makaurau By-El...
Te Pāti Māori have confirmed the selection of celebrated broadcaster and longtime West Auckland advocate Oriini Kaipara (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi) as its candidate for the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. Oriini’s deep whakapapa to Tāmaki Makaurau is grounded in her upbringing at Hoani Waititi Marae, where she was ...1 week ago
- OPED – Mark Patterson: “Do something about the bloody trees”
“Do something about the bloody trees” would be the most common refrain I hear around Clutha and when travelling about rural New Zealand. Forestry has been, and is, a legitimate land use option for farmers and forestry companies. Always has been, always will. Sensible farmers have incorporated planting out of ...1 week ago
- OPED – Jenny Marcroft: Supporting our oyster farmers
Most of us who live in the Mahurangi region are well aware of the ongoing challenges faced by oyster farmers because of multiple significant sewage spills into Mahurangi Harbour. Watercare’s sewerage network in Warkworth is infiltrated with stormwater following rainfall, resulting in overflows into the Mahurangi River and the wider ...2 weeks ago
- NZ First Introduces Bill to Protect New Zealanders’ Ability to Use Cash
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would protect New Zealanders’ ability to use cash. The Bill will provide for the enduring use of cash as a private, accessible, and reliable method of payment. “People who rely on cash due to barriers to digital banking deserve ...2 weeks ago
- New study shows speed of Antarctic ice melt, Govt fans climate flames
As the Government pulls out of global climate commitments, a significant new report shows that sea ice around Antarctica is melting at unprecedented speed. ...2 weeks ago
- Family Boost announcement does little to boost families
Today’s announcement on the Family Boost scheme is little more than tinkering around the edges while real issues in the ECE system are ignored, says the Green Party. ...2 weeks ago
- Serious Response to Serious Problems
As New Zealand has positively responded to the crack down on gang patches there has been a growing recognition of the influence of organized crime on our communities. New Zealand First continues to be focused on all aspects that undermine the safety and security in our neighbourhoods, businesses, and ...2 weeks ago
- NZ First Bill: Only Official New Zealand Flag to Fly on Government Buildings
New Zealand First has today introduced a member's bill which would make it law that government buildings can only display the official flag of New Zealand. “Government buildings are for all New Zealanders and should not be hijacked to force cultural, woke, or divisive political ideology down the throats of ...3 weeks ago
- Healthy Homes standards need more teeth
With mandatory Healthy Homes standards coming into effect for all tenancies tomorrow, the Green Party is calling for a new Rental Warrant of Fitness system to give the new standards true effect. ...3 weeks ago
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- The Sunday Poem, by Fiona Kidman
The children’s toys This morning I took the children’s toysfrom the bottom of the linen cupboardwhere they have been stored forty or so years and transferredthem to the tin shed that has been clearedby the son whose toy train is tangled in the plastic rubbish sack alongwith his sister’s dolls ...47 minutes ago - Liberals easily win most seats at Tasmanian election, but Labor may form government
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 With 63% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Tasmanian state election, The Poll Bludger is projecting that the final results will give ...4 hours ago - Palestine solidarity rally greeted by Rainbow Warrior Gaza protest
Asia Pacific Report Palestinian supporters and protesters against the 21 months of Israeli genocide in Gaza marched after a rally in downtown Auckland today across the Viaduct to the Greenpeace environmental flagship Rainbow Warrior — and met a display of solidarity. Several people on board the campaign ship, which has ...4 hours ago
- ICE deportation action lands Marshallese, Micronesians in Guantánamo ‘terror’ base
By Giff Johnson, editor, Marshall Islands Journal/RNZ Pacific correspondent United States immigration and deportation enforcement continues to ramp up, impacting on Marshallese and Micronesians in new and unprecedented ways. The Trump administration’s directive to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest and deport massive numbers of potentially illegal aliens, including ...11 hours ago
- Decision on additional Tasman flood funds not yet made – prime minister
On a visit to the Tasman region, Christopher Luxon would not yet say whether the government would provide more flood relief. ...14 hours ago - ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 19, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 19, 2025. Systematic bias: how Western media reproduces the Israeli narrativeCOMMENTARY: By Refaat Ibrahim “If words shape our consciousness, then the media holds the keys to minds.” This sentence is not merely a metaphor, but a ...15 hours ago
- Systematic bias: how Western media reproduces the Israeli narrative
COMMENTARY: By Refaat Ibrahim “If words shape our consciousness, then the media holds the keys to minds.” This sentence is not merely a metaphor, but a reality we live daily in the coverage of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, where the crimes of the occupation are turned into ...15 hours ago
- The Disastrous Effects Of Pine Forests On Our Land And On Ratepayers Pockets
If you seek to make the profit from growing the pine trees, then you must pay the costs for the consequences, says Sue Grey leader of the Outdoors & Freedom Party and Nelson Resident. ...16 hours ago - ‘Woman’s voice’ Diane Calvert joins Wellington mayoral race
The councillor says she's running for the mayoralty, saying she is concerned about the "tone, the tactics and the lack of focus" in the campaign so far. ...20 hours ago
- Why Auckland’s 2027 America’s Cup bid never stood a chance
Auckland’s unsuccessful five-month bid to secure the hosting rights for the 2027 America’s Cup appears to have been doomed almost before negotiations started with the Government. Documents released to Newsroom show that Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s insistence that the Government allow his council to bring in a hotel bed levy ...24 hours ago
- Luxon goes back to the future on China
Analysis: With Chinese naval ships in the Tasman Sea, a key Pacific partner signing a controversial strategic partnership with Beijing, and open letters from former politicians accusing the Prime Minister of positioning the country as an adversary of China, it has been a tough year for New Zealand’s relations with ...24 hours ago
- The Secret Diary of .. the United Nations letters
MONDAY Dear United Nations How are you? Good I hope. My name is David Seymour, and I write to you as the de facto Prime Minister of New Zealand, a trading post in the South Seas governed by the Atlas Project. What we do here is our own damned business ...24 hours ago
- Where do the neurodiverse children play?
Mac and Maria Pouniu couldn’t take their autistic son Mattias to a playground without feeling overwhelmed and judged by onlookers. Instead of staying at home, isolated and alone, the couple decided to take a negative experience and turn it into something positive – a play centre for kids like their ...24 hours ago
- Short story: My Kink Is When You Tell Me You Love Me, by Olivia Asher
I texted him one evening while he was at a friend’s house I’d never been to, with people I’d never met. There’s something I’ve been thinking about trying—a kink, I wrote. The words sat heavy on the screen before I pressed send. It might be too complicated though. You might ...24 hours ago
- Throwaway culture is a recent privilege we just can’t afford
Opinion: Images of the Gordon Wilson flats on the Terrace in Te Aro, Wellington, may have persuaded many readers that Chris Bishop was right to amend the RMA so that the flats, owned by Victoria University, would be eligible for demolition. Bishop states: “The flats sit as an ugly scar ...24 hours ago
- The Weekend: Nothing unites the masses like a deeply embarrassing man
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. “Each day on twitter there is one main character. The goal is to never be it.” This tweet from 2019 plays out in my head every time someone, anyone, becomes the main character of the day in New Zealand. Twitter in 2019 ...1 day ago - A handy guide to shopping at the Indian supermarket
With prices continuing to rise at the big supermarkets, Perzen Patel offers some tips for Indian grocery shopping. The other day, I mentioned to some friends that I haven’t stepped foot in a big supermarket in almost a year. I only do one click and collect Pak’nSave order a month. ...1 day ago
- ‘It fills your cup’: Netballer Casey Kopua on returning to the court in Game On
The Silver Ferns legend tells us about her life in television. The last thing Casey Kopua expected after she finished filming a television show about retired netballers was a return to the competitive netball court. But shortly after Three’s new sports docu-series Game On wrapped, Kopua answered an emergency SOS ...1 day ago
- Mountains, memory and Mona Blades: the geology of a novel
Debut novelist Gina Butson explains the mystery and the mountains that inspired her novel, The Stars are a Million Glittering Worlds. It begins with a mountain Muriwai is formed of mountains. Seventeen million years ago a volcano rose from the sea and formed the Waitākere Ranges. The hills slide back ...1 day ago
- The New Zealand Youth Choir global award shows there’s soft power in more than just sports
The New Zealand Youth Choir was recently awarded the title of ‘Choir of the World’ at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales. Labour arts spokesperson Rachel Boyack reflects on her experiences touring with the choir over 20 years ago. If you didn’t hear the news this week, our beloved New ...1 day ago
- New Zealand First’s Cash Transactions Protection Bill – What it is and what it could do
Explainer - A member's bill put forward by New Zealand First would require businesses to accept cash as payment. Here's what you need to know. ...1 day ago
- From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra AUSPIC John Owen Stone AO was a legendary leader of the Commonwealth Treasury. He was secretary (departmental head) from January 1979 to September 1984 but was an intellectual driving force before ...1 day ago
- Mark Latham’s portrait may come off federal caucus wall
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Labor caucus tolerates having the odd “rat” among the photos of ALP leaders on the party room wall, but Mark Latham may have now pushed it too far. After the latest bizarre scandal ...1 day ago
- Connie Francis was the voice of a generation and the soundtrack of post-war America
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leigh Carriage, Senior Lecturer in Music, Southern Cross University Hulton Archive/Getty Images Connie Francis dominated the music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits like Stupid Cupid, Pretty Little Baby and Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You. ...1 day ago
- Trump has ‘chronic venous insufficiency’. Is it dangerous? Can it be treated?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Theresa Larkin, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty US President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency” after experiencing some mild swelling in his lower legs. According to a letter the White House published from ...1 day ago
- Regulations ministry clarifies cost estimate for Regulatory Standards Bill
But the revised cost of $18 million may also end up on the low side. ...2 days ago
- Parliament versus Executive: Regs Review and the Regulatory Standards Bill
A parliamentary committee tasked with keeping a check on regulation has heard how the Regulatory Standards Board would duplicate its role, but without its powers. ...2 days ago
- SFO Leads AntiCorruption Taskforce Pilot To Strengthen Public Sector Resilience
The Taskforce will be led by the SFO and draw on specialist counter fraud and enforcement expertise to assess the extent of the corruption and fraud risk. ...2 days ago
- Local democracy under threat? Officials warn against removing council ‘four wellbeings’
Critics argue removing councils' wellbeing priorities may lower costs, but will also reduce local autonomy and risk Treaty settlement fallout. ...2 days ago
- Seymour’s Attack On UN Official ‘Offensive And Irresponsible’ – PSA
David Seymour’s disrespectful response to the Rapporteur not only undermined Foreign Minister Winston Peters who is responsible for leading our diplomatic relations, it was also ignorant and reeked of colonial defensiveness. ...2 days ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 18, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 18, 2025. WA had the highest rates of Indigenous child removal in the country. At last, the state is finally facing up to itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenna Woods, Dean, School of ...2 days ago
- $157m resolution of Canuck dairy dispute is not so black and white
Analysis: Canada’s overdue NZ trade concession is overshadowed by its accompanying steps towards more punitive Trump-style tariffs The post $157m resolution of Canuck dairy dispute is not so black and white appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- SFO launches pilot programme to tackle public sector corruption risks
It will build a "system-wide" picture of the corruption and fraud risks in the public sector. ...2 days ago
- Talented Scientists Already Lost Thanks To Government: New PRO Will Struggle
As of June, dozens of public researchers from Callaghan Innovation were made redundant. Many of the team were experts in subjects like artificial intelligence, which are at the centre of the NZIAT. ...2 days ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Frost Tender’ by Rebecca Hawkes
A new poem by Rebecca Hawkes. FROST TENDER Good morning we say by touching noses like horses. What’s a little mucus on the velvet? Slapstick of prehensile lips. Is there any better animal than the one that gallops home when called a name you gave to it? Mealy-mouthed, we meet ...2 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Simon & Schuster, $27) Aotearoa writer Michael Bennett’s 2023 ...2 days ago
- Experts Urge Fix As Government Expands Failing Lunch Scheme To Primary Schools
Nutrition experts found the government-funded school lunches are failing nutrition standards. The new lunches now provide only about half the energy recommended for a school lunch. ...2 days ago
- WA had the highest rates of Indigenous child removal in the country. At last, the state is finally f...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenna Woods, Dean, School of Indigenous Knowledges, Murdoch University Matt Jelonek/Getty Images First Nations people please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death of First Nations people. In 1997, Australia was ...2 days ago
- Separated men are nearly 5 times more likely to take their lives than married men
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Wilson, Research Fellow and PhD Candidate in Men’s Mental Health, The University of Melbourne Breakups hurt. Emotional and psychological distress are common when intimate relationships break down. For some people, this distress can be so overwhelming that it leads to suicidal ...2 days ago
- More council candidates quit Ray Chung’s Independent Together campaign group
Two more Wellington council candidates running under the Independent Together ticket have left following mayoral candidate Ray Chung's email about Tory Whanau. ...2 days ago
A fascinating interview — touches on some of the topics raised in the Mātauranga Māori thread. Borders are social constructs, what is considered "science" is always contested and influenced by politics. Similarly with "race", it is a dubious way of categorising people and its history as a "science" is shameful.
Mayor Brown is telling some little porkies?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300797537/elderly-isolated-in-apartment-buildings-as-more-than-200-lifts-out-brown-says
More like he is winding up "Drongos" … he is elderly and has to climb 16 flights of stairs! Oh and refuses to do interviews …..
Brown is already infamous for his tally of interview refusals – who'd have guessed…
An old man, full of regrets at being found out, and found wanting, again and again…
Will Brown's stint as mayor be tinged with regret? I fear so – he doesn't seem big on taking personal responsibility for his regettable actions.
Could the answer be ‘more people‘?