If there’s any one person to be praised for finding receipts and sticking them in this government’s complacent face, that person would be Craig Renney.His most recent effort is a thorough rebuttal of some tough-on-crime puffed-chest- beating that went like this:You can find the full rebuttal here but the essence ...
I have been trying to make sense out of the shifts in US foreign policy under Trump 2.0. I understand his admiration for authoritarians and supination to Putin (which I believe is because Putin has dirt on him), and I also understand the much vaunted “transactional” nature of his view ...
The Government’s announcement to change citizen’s arrest powers shows workers will bear the brunt of their lack of a plan to deal with retail crime, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. “If the proposed changes to citizen’s arrests laws are any indication of what is to come, there ...
For the past few years I've been waging war on secrecy clauses, submitting at select committee where clauses in legislation seem to over-ride the Official Information Act. One of the drivers of this was a 2014 decision by the Ombudsman (unpublished, but posted here), where they interpreted an exemption in ...
This morning I saw a line on social media that got my attention —"More cycle and walking lanes that nobody uses to kill economy. Absolute genius!”But cycle ways only cost 1% of the entire transport budget!That's not what is killing the economy.Business liquidations are at a 10 year high. Unemployment ...
Recently, Auckland’s Mayor Wayne Brown expressed bewilderment in a social media post about the current changes to Victoria Street in the city centre. “Welcome to Cone Central,” he says, adopting the universally recognised arms-wide position of exasperation, and gesturing around him at the works under way. “Nobody knows what it’s ...
Economic growth – and the lack of the sustained productivity growth that underpins it – is again briefly in focus. 70 years of relative economic decline still shows no sign of being durably reversed, but the last few years have been particularly tough and there is an election next year, ...
Back in January the government held a public consultation on its draft Regulatory Standards Bill. The bill is a piece of neoliberal bullshit which seeks to bind all future lawmaking to some highly contentious (and not public accepted) Libertarian ideological principles, in an effort to deter future lawmaking with the ...
Risin' up, straight to the topHad the guts, got the gloryWent the distance, now I'm not gonna stopJust a man and his will to surviveSongwriters: Frank Sullivan / James Peterik.Butter Chicken is one of the most popular takeaway dishes in Aotearoa. It’s the curry to have when you don’t like ...
Yesterday, I received a few messages telling me that my article on school lunches was being heavily discussed on Reddit -I was pleasantly surprised it hadn’t been zapped, so took a look.95% of the comments were positive, and many Kiwis appear to feel angry at the ‘free market, public-private enterprise ...
The new report details the effects of unmet dental need and the financial strains, such as incurring debt including large MSD loans. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, I spoke to researcher and campaigner Kayli Taylor in the interview above about her ActionStation Aotearoa report into unmet need ...
Hi,Late yesterday afternoon Webwormpublished a story on our website (www.webworm.co) — which this morning is top of New Zealand reddit, which is nice.But I wanted to get it to your inbox first thing today with a bit of added background.Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender ...
Germany had its Federal Election this week, and, well, people are talking about the map: Yes. That looks very much like the old German Democratic Republic (GDR) reborn, aka East Germany. Only this time, rather than Communism, the region has given itself over to the Far-Right (the Alternative ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
So. Farewell thenAndrew Bayly.It’s not easy to imagine something a minister could do in the Luxon Beehive that would be beyond the pale.But youseem to have a knack for finding it.I took the discussion too far and I placed a hand on their upperarm, you said.You sound like the sheriff ...
Back in January, Samoan cabinet minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. When he refused to resign, samoan prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa sacked him - triggering a political crisis. Because a majority of her political party felt that she should have not ...
Hi,Webworm can report that various health professionals involved in gender affirming care in New Zealand have received a threatening legal letter from Wellington law firm Franks Ogilvie.The law firm who sent the letter.The letter was sent on behalf of Inflection Point NZ, an anti-trans lobby group that boasts speakers including ...
Ryman Healthcare last year abandoned plans for a ‘boutique retirement village’ and sold this central Wellington site, after demolishing the former factory (seen here) and leaving it to sit vacant for 14 years. Now it has announced it will slash its building rate and look to dump more of its ...
Yesterday we covered a big part of a recent speech by Minister of Housing and Transport Chris Bishop. One aspect we didn’t cover was about the City Rail Link and his announcement of $200 million towards the removal of level crossings. On the CRL he notes: I’ve been down to ...
Long story short, I interviewed Reserve Bank of New ZealandChief Economist Paul Conway yesterday in the full video above about:the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points to 3.75% last week;the bank’s projection in its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for three more ...
Stay where you areYou're not going, just leavingI will sit around, let everybody talkAnd they will say what they knowThey will end up believingI will sit around, let everybody talkAndrew by Fur Patrol.Subscribe to Nick's Kōrero and save 20%Around lunchtime yesterday, I started seeing notifications about Andrew Bayly’s resignation. To ...
Hi,Something interesting has happened in Aotearoa, where one of the country’s most toxic Christian churches has pushed things too far, and properly fucked New Zealand off.As I wrote last week, members of Destiny church protested a Pride event in a library, pushing and punching their way inside.Destiny has always been ...
Allegedly, the defence environment has changed, and New Zealand thus needs to spend significantly more on Defence. The rationale is that China (our main trading partner) has been raising its profile in the Pacific, a region hitherto seen to be our own backyard, and an American lake. The cheek of ...
Germans went to the polls today, in what looks to be their most important election since 1945. The good news is that they seem to have kept the fascists out, with the Putin/Trump/Musk-backed Alternative für Deutschland coming second and effectively excluded from power. Instead, it looks like a Christian Democrat ...
I relaxed myself into the dentist chair first thing this morning. I was back for a quick second filling that couldn’t be done on the last visit because it had to go alongside the one he’d just done.I like the dentist, Geoff, very much. You may recall me mentioning the ...
The Way We Were - And Hoped To Remain: The iconic photograph of Prime Minister Norman Kirk holding the hand of a little Māori boy at Waitangi on 6 February 1973 held out the promise of a future founded upon the uncomplicated and uncontested acceptance of racial equality.WAITANGI DAY commentary ...
Over the weekend, David Seymour announced the government’s plans to “overhaul” the Overseas Investment Act.The Act looks after overseas investments in sensitive assets in New Zealand. Its main purpose is balancing foreign money in our sensitive assets/lands/fisheries/forestries with the risks associated with that.This includes considering New Zealand’s national and economic ...
Last month, David Seymour’s press release on school lunches said:“The [school lunch] programme was reformed to deliver the same outcomes while costing taxpayers less. This was achieved by embracing commercial expertise, using government buying power, and generating supply chain efficiencies…”And while that all sounded fair, the end result is - ...
Here are some thoughts about the hysteria surrounding a Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla conducting freedom of navigation exercises in the Tasman Sea, including live fire drills. 1) The flotilla has been tracked for over a week by New Zealand and Australian forces. The tracking began when the ...
Insurance premia are already sky high, especially in Wellington and other places deemed high risk, and now another cost of living shock is set to be delivered by a Government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political ...
On Friday, Chris Bishop, the Minister of Housing, Transport, Infrastructure and RMA Reform, gave an absolutely fantastic speech to the Committee for Auckland. As a starter, he really sums up well why we need better cities with this line. I make no apologies for being an urbanist. Well-functioning urban environments ...
You can be amazingYou can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drugYou can be the outcastOr be the backlash of somebody's lack of loveOr you can start speaking upNothing's gonna hurt you the way that words doWhen they settle 'neath your skinKept on the inside and no sunlightSometimes, ...
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, wagged a metaphorical finger at the National Party on Saturday, and RMA Minister Chris Bishop wagged straight back. A former National Party Environment Minister, Upton was a keynote speaker at the party’s Blue Greens Forum in Methven. His speech went right to ...
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 16, 2025 thru Sat, February 22, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Several years ago, as an intellectual exercise, I had the fun of ranking the worst Emperors of the Western Roman Empire (https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2020/09/04/the-five-worst-western-roman-emperors/). I even followed it up with a look at Honorius historiography. But there was still a missing piece of the puzzle. I was limiting myself to Emperors from ...
Prof Jane Kelsey examines what the ACT party and the NZ Initiative are up to as they seek to impose on the country their hardline, right wing, neoliberal ideology. A progressive government elected in 2026 would have a huge job putting Humpty Dumpty together again and rebuilding a state that ...
Kia Ora,I was reading about the history New Zealand Timekeeping and I think I may have identified a factual error on this page from 2006:Page 1. Time past - Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand[The rest of the Te Ara article is included for substack readers]In Europe other markers ...
None of the official measures of child poverty improved in the year to June, 2024. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories short, the top six things that stood out to me in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty in the week to Sunday, February 23 were:Stats NZreported on Thursday ...
1/ Join community / common cause organisations Find organisations you resonate with. Join them and/or donate. In the fight against the state, it’s critical we pool together in all cases. If you don’t have the financial resources, sign up for information & updates. Knowledge is power. These groups, and the ...
Long story short: Aotearoa-NZ now has to make some difficult and probably expensive decisions about how we work and trade with China and the United States, our two largest trading partners. That’s because Donald Trump just overturned 80 years of certainty about how the US deals with and protects the ...
People killin', people dyin'Children hurt, and you hear them cryin'Can you practice what you preach?And would you turn the other cheek?Father, father, father, help usSend some guidance from above'Cause people got me, got me questioningWhere is the love?Songwriters: will.i.am, Justin Timberlake, Taboo, apl.de.ap, Printz Board, Michael Fratantuno, George Pajon, Jr.Where ...
A Bully in a China Shop?It is a mystery what Donald Trump learned when he did his BA in economics at the University of Pennsylvania in the mid-1960s. The Ivy League college has a good economics reputation, but even had Trump been a top student – unlikely or he would ...
The conflict we can see echoing across the world is being imported directly into New Zealand by outside powers and monetary influences that we don't want in our politics. It makes our politics messy and confusing, but untangling the puppet strings can help make sense of how we got here.This ...
Questions1. The poem that offers the immortal words The boy stood on the burning deck is about what?a. Eskimo Nell’s younger brotherb. The Reichstag firec. One of Napoleon’s shipsd. Christopher Luxon’s first year as Prime Minister2. What happens to the boy in the poem?a. Goes on an absolute bender in ...
I decided not to bother listening to the Reserve Bank’s appearance at FEC yesterday morning. After all, the OCR decision had been much as expected and foreshadowed, the forecast tracks etc hadn’t changed much, and – with all due respect to some new FEC members – how searching was any ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedQuote of the day:Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published“Our primary duty, I believe, is to maintain our water, our lakes, our rivers in a form in nature that supports life, ecosystems, communities, and, indeed, it ...
NZ’s peaceful and historic Hikoi for Maori rights and bottom, London police arrest environmental protestorsPeaceful protesters around the world are being jailed for years for nothing more than turning up or planning a protestAusralian climate change protesters To continue to receive posts like this, consider becoming a free or paid ...
And mama said mmmmh, mmmmhWhy don't the newscasters cryWhen they read about people who dieAt least they could be decent enoughTo put just a tear in their eyesAnd mama saidIt's just make-believeYou can't believe everything you seeSo baby, close your eyes to the lullabiesOn the news tonightSongwriters: Jack Hody Johnson.The ...
Hi,With the United States of America currently going down in a giant ball of flames like the Hindenburg disaster, it seemed like a good idea to get on a blimp. That line is basically meaningless, but it sounded good in my head so I went with it as an opener. ...
(My apologies. The version sent earlier this morning had the audio of last week’s podcast attached. It was good, but not that good. I have now updated with this week’s podcast. This is my error and please accept my apologies.)The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including:, Helen Clark and on the week in geopolitics, including Donald Trump’s wrecking of the post-WW II politicial landscape; and, ...
Open access notables Long-lasting intense cut-off lows to become more frequent in the Northern Hemisphere, Mishra et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Cut-off Lows are slow-moving mid-latitude storms that are detached from the main westerly flow and are often harbingers of heavy and persistent rainfall. The assessment of Cut-off Lows ...
On Tuesday, the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority issued an extraordinary report, proposing a complete rewrite of protest law to enable the police to restrict public protests and ban them at a whim. While packaged with several complaints in an appendix, the focus of the "thematic review" was clearly the provision ...
Data released today by Statistics New Zealand showed the urgent problem facing Aotearoa New Zealand in tackling child poverty, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “Child poverty is estimated by Stats NZ on three measures – before housing costs, after housing costs, and material poverty. All three central ...
It is almost never an (unconditionally) good thing if an official policy interest rate (in our case the OCR) is being adjusted in large bites, whether that is (for example) 175 basis points of cuts in the last six months or 375 basis points of increases in just twelve months ...
Here are your morning catch ups in health, workplace, environment and politics.And then later, amust read critical piece from No Right Turn on the government’s attempt to expand police powers follows. ENVIRONMENTNew Zealand's glaciers have shrunk by 29% since 2000: The grim news - published in scientific journal Nature ...
And when we first came hereWe were cold, and we were clearWith no colours in our skinUntil we let the spectrum inSay my nameAnd every colour illuminatesWe are shiningAnd we will never be afraid againSongwriters: Florence Leontine Mary Welch / Paul Epworth.“What did Gerry say?”To be honest, with multiple people ...
Long story short, I spoke to Core Logic Head of Research Nick Goodall & Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) CEO Jen Baird for a 15 minute mini-Hoon last night after the Reserve Bank of New Zealandannounced it had cut the Official Cash Rate 50 bps to 3.75% ...
There is a widening fear in Wellington that the Cook Islands – China deal is in danger of becoming a foreign policy crisis. Foreign Minister Winston Peters yesterday delivered a blunt assessment of the situation saying that New Zealand wanted to reset and restate the formal parameters of the relationship ...
Good to see that this year, the New Zealand film societies are celebrating what would have been Sam Peckinpah’s 100th birthday with what they are calling “Peckinpah’s West” – a tribute consisting of screenings of The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. That’s where the good part ...
Tomorrow afternoon, if things go really really badly, I may find myself down to one eye. People who used to sneer at me on Twitter will no doubt say So what's changed? Nothing, that's what, you one-eyed lefty.I don’t mean to be dramatic, it’s just a routine bit of cataract ...
A few weeks ago an invitation dropped into my email inbox to attend a joint Treasury/Motu seminar on recent, rather major, changes that had apparently been made to the discount rates used by The Treasury to evaluate proposals from government agencies. It was all news to me, but when ...
All your life is Time magazineI read it tooWhat does it mean?PressureI'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationaleBut here you are with your faithAnd your Peter Pan adviceYou have no scars on your faceAnd you cannot handle pressureSongwriter: Billy Joel.Christopher Luxon is under pressure from all sides. The reviews are ...
After seeing yet-more-months of political debate and policy decisions to ‘go for growth’ by pulling the same old cheap migration and cheap tourism levers without nearly-enough infrastructure, or any attempt to address the same old lack of globally conventional tax incentives for investment, I thought it would be worth issuing ...
The plans for the buildings that will replace the downtown carpark have been publicly notified giving us the first detailed glance at what is proposed for one of the biggest and best development sites in the city centre. The council agreed to sell the site to Precinct Properties for $122 ...
With the Reserve Bank expected today to return the Official Cash Rate to where it was in mid-2022 comes a measure of how much of a psychological impact the rate has. Federated Farmers has published its latest six-monthly farm confidence survey, which shows that profit expectations have fallen and risen ...
Kiwis Disallowed From Waiting Lists Based on Arbitrary MeasuresWellington hospital are now rejecting patients from specialist waiting lists due to BMI (body mass index).This article from Rachel Thomas for The Post says it all (emphasis mine):A group of Porirua GPs are sounding alarm bells after patients with body mass indexes ...
Green Party Co-Leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick have announced the party’s plans to deliver a Green Budget this year to offer an alternative vision to the Government’s trickle-down economics and austerity politics. ...
The Government has spent $3.6 million dollars on a retail crime advisory group, including paying its chair $920 a day, to come up with ideas already dismissed as dangerous by police. ...
The Green Party supports the peaceful occupation at Lake Rotokākahi and are calling for the controversial sewerage project on the lake to be stopped until the Environment Court has made a decision. ...
ActionStation’s Oral Healthcare report, released today, paints a dire picture of unmet need and inequality across the country, highlighting the urgency of free dental care for all New Zealanders. ...
The Golden Age There has been long-standing recognition that New Zealand First has an unrivalled reputation for delivering for our older New Zealanders. This remains true, and is reflected in our coalition agreement. While we know there is much that we can and will do in this space, it is ...
Labour Te Atatū MP Phil Twyford has written to the charities regulator asking that Destiny Church charities be struck off in the wake of last weekend’s violence by Destiny followers in his electorate. ...
Bills by Labour MPs to remove rules around sale of alcohol on public holidays, and for Crown entities to adopt Māori names have been drawn from the Members’ Bill Ballot. ...
The Government is falling even further behind its promised target of 500 new police officers, now with 72 fewer police officers than when National took office. ...
This morning’s Stats NZ child poverty statistics should act as a wake-up call for the government: with no movement in child poverty rates since June 2023, it’s time to make the wellbeing of our tamariki a political priority. ...
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson’s Consumer Guarantees Right to Repair Amendment Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament this evening. ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
As the world marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced additional sanctions on Russian entities and support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. “Russia’s illegal invasion has brought three years of devastation to Ukraine’s people, environment, and infrastructure,” Mr Peters says. “These additional sanctions target 52 ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced the Government’s plan to reform the Overseas Investment Act and make it easier for New Zealand businesses to receive new investment, grow and pay higher wages. “New Zealand is one of the hardest countries in the developed world for overseas people to ...
Associate Health Minister Hon Casey Costello is traveling to Australia for meetings with the aged care sector in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney next week. “Australia is our closest partner, so as we consider the changes necessary to make our system more effective and sustainable it makes sense to learn from ...
The Government is boosting investment in the QEII National Trust to reinforce the protection of Aotearoa New Zealand's biodiversity on private land, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. The Government today announced an additional $4.5 million for conservation body QEII National Trust over three years. QEII Trust works with farmers and ...
The closure of the Ava Bridge walkway will be delayed so Hutt City Council have more time to develop options for a new footbridge, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Mayor of Lower Hutt, Campbell Barry. “The Hutt River paths are one of the Hutt’s most beloved features. Hutt locals ...
Good afternoon. Can I acknowledge Ngāti Whātua for their warm welcome, Simpson Grierson for hosting us here today, and of course the Committee for Auckland for putting on today’s event. I suspect some of you are sitting there wondering what a boy from the Hutt would know about Auckland, our ...
The Government will invest funding to remove the level crossings in Takanini and Glen Innes and replace them with grade-separated crossings, to maximise the City Rail Link’s ability to speed up journey times by rail and road and boost Auckland’s productivity, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown ...
The Government has made key decisions on a Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) framework to enable businesses to benefit from storing carbon underground, which will support New Zealand’s businesses to continue operating while reducing net carbon emissions, Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Economic growth is a ...
Minister for Regulation David Seymour says that outdated and burdensome regulations surrounding industrial hemp (iHemp) production are set to be reviewed by the Ministry for Regulation. Industrial hemp is currently classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, despite containing minimal THC and posing little ...
The Ministerial Advisory Group on transnational and serious organised crime was appointed by Cabinet on Monday and met for the first time today, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello announced. “The group will provide independent advice to ensure we have a better cross-government response to fighting the increasing threat posed to ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will travel to Viet Nam next week, visiting both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, accompanied by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders. “Viet Nam is a rising star of Southeast Asia with one of the fastest growing economies in the region. This ...
The coalition Government has passed legislation to support overseas investment in the Build-to-Rent housing sector, Associate Minister of Finance Chris Bishop says. “The Overseas Investment (Facilitating Build-to-Rent Developments) Amendment Bill has completed its third reading in Parliament, fulfilling another step in the Government’s plan to support an increase in New ...
The new Police marketing campaign starting today, recreating the ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ ad from the 1990s, has been welcomed by Associate Police Minister Casey Costello. “This isn’t just a great way to get the attention of more potential recruits, it’s a reminder to everyone about what policing is and the ...
No significant change to child poverty rates under successive governments reinforces that lifting children out of material hardship will be an ongoing challenge, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. Figures released by Stats NZ today show no change in child poverty rates for the year ended June 2024, reflecting ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the most common family names given to newborns in 2024. “For the seventh consecutive year, Singh is the most common registered family name, with over 680 babies given this name. Kaur follows closely in second place with 630 babies, while ...
A new $3 million fund from the International Conservation and Tourism Visitor Levy will be used to attract more international visitors to regional destinations this autumn and winter, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. “The Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth and getting our visitor numbers ...
Good Evening Let us begin by acknowledging Professor David Capie and the PIPSA team for convening this important conference over the next few days. Whenever the Pacific Islands region comes together, we have a precious opportunity to share perspectives and learn from each other. That is especially true in our ...
The Reserve Bank’s positive outlook indicates the economy is growing and people can look forward to more jobs and opportunities, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate by 50 basis points. It said it expected further reductions this year and employment to pick up ...
Agriculture Minister, Todd McClay and Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka today congratulated the finalists for this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy, celebrating excellence in Māori sheep and beef farming. The two finalists for 2025 are Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust and Tawapata South Māori Incorporation Onenui Station. "The Ahuwhenua Trophy is a prestigious ...
The Government is continuing to respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care by establishing a fund to honour those who died in care and are buried in unmarked graves, and strengthen survivor-led initiatives that support those in need. “The $2 million dual purpose fund will be ...
A busy intersection on SH5 will be made safer with the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection of SH28/Harwoods Road, as we deliver on our commitment to help improve road safety through building safer infrastructure, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Safety is one of the Government’s strategic priorities ...
The Government is turbo charging growth to return confidence to the primary sector through common sense policies that are driving productivity and farm-gate returns, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “The latest Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey highlights strong momentum across the sector and the Government’s firm commitment to back ...
Improving people’s experience with the Justice system is at the heart of a package of Bills which passed its first reading today Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “The 63 changes in these Bills will deliver real impacts for everyday New Zealanders. The changes will improve court timeliness and efficiency, ...
Returning the Ō-Rākau battle site to tūpuna ownership will help to recognise the past and safeguard their stories for the benefit of future generations, Minister for Māori Crown Relations Tama Potaka says. The Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passed its third reading at ...
A new university programme will help prepare PhD students for world-class careers in science by building stronger connections between research and industry, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “Our Government is laser focused on growing New Zealand’s economy and to do that, we must realise the potential ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced funding of more than $14 million to replace the main water supply and ring mains in the main building of Auckland City Hospital. “Addressing the domestic hot water system at the country’s largest hospital, which opened in 2003, is vitally important to ensure ...
The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Tourism is a key economic driver, and nature is our biggest draw card for international tourists,” says ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea later this week. “New Zealand enjoys long-standing and valued relationships with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both highly influential actors in their region. The visit will focus on building ...
Minister for Rail Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries. Mr Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait ...
Ophthalmology patients in Kaitaia are benefiting from being able to access the complete cataract care pathway closer to home, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “Ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare is a priority for the Government. “Since 30 September 2024, Kaitaia Hospital has been providing cataract care ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In these scrappy days before the prime minister announces the election date, the mud and the personal insults are flying, despite the politicians knowing voters hate this sort of thing. On Wednesday morning TV, ...
The Prime Minister earlier addressed an Association of South East Nations 'future forum' while in Hanoi, ahead of meetings with Vietnamese heads of government. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Debate over the future of Australia’s energy system has erupted again after a federal parliamentary inquiry delivered a report into the deployment of nuclear power in Australia. The report casts doubt on ...
Former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson has spoken in support of the Treaty Principles Bill, saying it is legislation of "consequence, whose time has come". ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has noted New Zealand and China will not always agree, in his opening remarks at today's bilateral meeting with the vice president in Beijing. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra We see the political parties’ frantic election campaigns, but behind the scenes the Australian Electoral Commisison is working just as hard. An often overlooked part of Australia’s democracy, the AEC is vital in ensuring our ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has noted New Zealand and China will not always agree, in his opening remarks at today's bilateral meeting with the vice president in Beijing. ...
One cruise ship can produce as much cancer causing fine particulate matter as one million cars and a 3,000 plus passenger cruise ship on a ten day cruise emits enough CO2 to kill a person before 2100 due to climate related causes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Melatos, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Sydney If you are a member of a super fund, some of your long-term savings are probably invested in private markets. Public markets are familiar to most of us – the stock market and ...
New Zealand Food Safety's deputy director general said the complaint was that special dietary meals- such as those for students with allergies - were labelled for the wrong student. ...
NZNO’s College of Primary Health Care Nurses chair Tracey Morgan says the Prime Minister’s comments shows a complete lack of understanding about how frontline primary and community care best operate. ...
A rally on the steps of the Victorian Parliament under the banner of Jews for a Free Palestine was arranged for Sunday, February 9. At 11:11pm on the eve of that rally, Mark Leibler —a lawyer who claims to have a high profile and speak on behalf of Jews by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Ruse, Clinical Psychologist, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney Netflix Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar has renewed interest in Belle Gibson’s infamous wellness scam, reminding us how vulnerable we can be to deception. While Gibson’s scheme eventually collapsed, her story highlights how ...
Setting the expectation that workers on the shopfloor will be required to prevent shoplifting and retail crime will only increase the risk of violence and undermines workers’ right to a safe and healthy workplace. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Harkin, Lecturer, Games, School of Design, RMIT University Papergames 24/7 companionship. Spend time with him whenever you want. This is the promise made by Love and Deepspace, a mobile romance game by the Chinese company Papergames. Some think ...
After 12 seasons of drama, the pressure to constantly be serving tea is causing the show to boil over entirely. This week on Married at First Sight Australia, a contestant walked out after experiencing what they described as “the lowest of the lowest of the low”. If you’ve been watching, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gerald Roche, Lecturer in Linguistics, La Trobe University Three days after he was released from prison in December, a Tibetan village leader named Gonpo Namgyal died. As his body was being prepared for traditional Tibetan funeral rites, marks were found indicating he ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Franks, Professor and Director – Global Centre for Mineral Security, The University of Queensland Thanagornsoisep/Shutterstock Every year, the world consumes around 50 billion tonnes of sand, gravel and crushed stone. The astonishing scale of this demand is hard to comprehend ...
Wake-up sprawl has alarm bells ringing.Like a sleeping-pill-addicted travelling salesperson, New Zealand has been getting a lot of wake-up calls lately. You can hardly open a newspaper or tune into a bulletin without encountering one. Taken together, say experts, this cacophony of wake-up calls should be ringing alarm bells ...
More jobs are on the line at Kāinga Ora, while a staffer says they are stressed, exhausted, and disheartened by leaders telling them to stay upbeat. ...
Victims aren't a party to the criminal justice system and need an independent body to provide leadership on their behalf, the outgoing chief victims advisor says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Georgina Dimopoulos, Associate Professor, Law, Southern Cross University Bricolage/AAP When parental separation ends up in the family courts, serious risks such as family violence, child abuse, drug, alcohol or substance misuse, and mental health issues are often involved. But many children ...
RNZ Pacific The Papua New Guinea government wants to have everyone on their National Identity (NID) card system by the country’s 50th anniversary on 16 September 2025. While the government has been struggling to set up the NID programme for more than 10 years, in January the Prime Minister, James ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rex Mitchell, Postdoctoral Fellow, Flinders University Hedley Herbert Finlayson, The Red Centre, 1935 When it comes to how hard an animal can bite, size always matters. There may be no truer a case of this than the desert rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Kirkland, Professor of Geochronology, Curtin University Petr Jan Juracka / Shutterstock Imagine floating in space, gazing on a frozen white orb. The ball hangs in the void, lonely and gleaming in the light from its star. From pole to equator, ...
The latest in a semi-regular series that breaks down a poem to analyse what it’s really trying to tell us.over under fed is Amy Marguerite’s first collection of poetry. The poems range in length, form and tone, but together they build an intense body of work and thought. I ...
Retail workers are already systematically underpaid, concerned about their futures, and worried about going to work against a backdrop of increasing violence and abuse in their workplaces. ...
The government had some positive law and order news to share this week. The source for the claim? A tweet. But by the measure it’s using to track progress towards its own violent crime reduction target, it’s a different story. On Tuesday afternoon, a shady-looking trio of hooded figures appeared ...
Swarbrick live on BHN now.
It took 20 years but the decline in production standards at Boeing after the merger to McDonnell Douglas have formally been noted.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/12/boeing-needs-to-cooperate-with-investigations-us-agency-says/
An election comes and so Modi returns to the legislation proposed in 2019
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/03/12/india-set-to-implement-citizenship-law-that-excludes-muslims/
A Jewish state of Israel, a Hindu state of Bharat and Christian nationalism USA (alternate term Christian dominionism)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/latino-evangelical-support-christian-nationalism-rises-trump-courts-re-rcna142735
https://www.wpr.org/religion/the-simmering-violence-of-donald-trump-and-christian-nationalism