Daily Review 30/04/2018
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5:30 pm, April 30th, 2018 - 24 comments
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- Opening statement for Whāriki Indigenous Small Business RoundtableKei ngā tōpito e wha o te āo e rere ana te mihi maioha ki a koutou nō tawhiti, nō tata mai e tāpiri ana ki tēnei taumata kōrero mo te ao hokohoko arā mā ngā pākihi mo ngā iwi taketake Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa – Pai Mārire. ...5 days ago
- New members appointed to KāpuiaThe Government is adding four additional members to Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques. “I’m looking forward to having Pamela MacNeill, Huia Bramley, Melani Anae and Katherine Dedo join Kāpuia and contribute to this group’s ...5 days ago
- Timeline confirmed for Emissions Reductions PlanCabinet has agreed to begin consulting on the Emissions Reduction Plan in early October and require that the final plan be released by the end of May next year in line with the 2022 Budget, the Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw confirmed today. “Cabinet’s decision allows organisations and communities ...5 days ago
- Pay parity pathway for early learning teachers confirmedPay parity conditions and higher funding rates for education and care services will come into force on 1 January, 2022, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government signalled this work in Budget 2021. “From 1 January, 2022, centres opting into the scheme will receive government funding and be ...5 days ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Conference 2021Kia Ora tatau katoa. Ka tuku mihi ki nga nēhi, He pou Hauora o Aotearoa, E ora ai tatou. Whakatau mai I runga i te kaupapa o te ra Te NZNO conference. Tena koutou tena koutou Tena tatou katoa Good morning, and thank you inviting me ...5 days ago
- Government investment in farmer-led catchment groups sweeps past 150 mark171 catchment groups have now been invested in by the Government 31 catchment groups in the Lower North Island are receiving new support More than 5,000 farmers are focussed on restoring freshwater within a generation through involvement in catchment groups Government investment in on-the-ground efforts by farmers to improve land ...6 days ago
- Fight to protect kauri on trackThe Government is pitching in to help vital work to protect nationally significant kauri forests in Auckland, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “Ensuring the survival of these iconic trees for future generations means doing everything we can to prevent the potential spread of kauri dieback disease,” Kiri Allan said. ...6 days ago
- Joint statement of Mr Bernard Monk; Hon Andrew Little, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry,...[Note: The Parties have agreed on terms to fully and finally settle the proceeding and will jointly issue the below statement.] At the heart of this litigation are the lives of the 29 men tragically lost at the Pike River mine on 19 November 2010 and to whom we pay ...6 days ago
- More financial support for businessesToday’s decision to keep Auckland in a higher COVID Alert Level triggers a third round of the Wage Subsidy Scheme which will open for applications at 9am this Friday. “The revenue test period for this payment will be the 14th to the 27th of September. A reminder that this is ...7 days ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand provides further humanitarian support for AfghanistanAotearoa New Zealand is providing a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “There is significant humanitarian need in Afghanistan, with the crisis disproportionately affecting women and girls,” said Nanaia Mahuta. The UN has estimated that 80% of the quarter of a million ...1 week ago
- Innovative te reo prediction tool announced in Te Wiki o Te Reo MāoriA new Māori language prediction tool will play a key role in tracking our te reo Māori revitalisation efforts, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori (He Ara Poutama) can forecast the number of conversational and fluent speakers of te reo Māori ...1 week ago
- Further Government support for people to access food and essential itemsThe Government is responding to need for support in Auckland and has committed a further $10 million to help people access ongoing food and other essential items, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced today. This latest tranche is targeted at the Auckland region, helping providers and organisations to distribute ...1 week ago
- Half a million Pfizer vaccines from DenmarkThe Government has secured an extra half a million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Denmark that will start arriving in New Zealand within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “This is the second and larger agreement the Government has entered into to purchase additional vaccines to meet the ...1 week ago
- Inland Revenue providing essential COVID support for businessesInland Revenue is seeing increased demand for Resurgence Support Payments and other assistance schemes that it administers, but is processing applications quickly, Revenue Minister David Parker said today. David Parker said the Resurgence Support Payment, the Small Business Cashflow (loan) Scheme and the Wage Subsidy are available at the same ...1 week ago
- New Zealand marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacksNew Zealand is expressing unity with all victims, families and loved ones affected by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and all terrorist attacks around the world since, including in New Zealand. “Saturday marks twenty years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people ...1 week ago
- Speech to SPREP Environment MinistersTalofa Honourable Ulu of Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo Tēnā koutou katoa and warm Pacific greetings from Aotearoa to your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The new science released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on 8 August paints an alarming picture of the projected impacts of climate change on the ...1 week ago
- Additional Resurgence Support Payments to support businessBusinesses affected by higher Alert Levels will be able to apply for further Resurgence Support Payments (RSP). “The Government’s RSP was initially intended as a one-off payment to help businesses with their fixed costs, such as rent. Ministers have agreed to provide additional payments to recognise the effects of an ...1 week ago
- More Dawn Raids scholarships announcedDetails of the ‘Manaaki New Zealand Short Term Training Scholarships’, a goodwill gesture that follows the Government’s apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s, were released today by Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio. “These scholarships that are targeted to the Pacific will support the kaupapa of the Dawn Raids’ ...1 week ago
- One-way quarantine-free travel for RSE workers starting in OctoberOne-way quarantine-free travel for Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu starts in October New requirement for RSE workers to have received their first vaccination pre-departure, undertake Day 0 and Day 5 tests, and complete a self-isolation period of seven days, pending a negative Day 5 ...1 week ago
- Govt boosts Pacific suicide prevention supportApplications have opened for the Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund as the Government acts to boost support amid the COVID delta outbreak. “We know strong and connected families and communities are the most important protective factor against suicide and this $900,000 fund will help to support this work,” Health Minister ...1 week ago
- Govt parks the expiry of licenses, WoFs and regosAs a result of the Delta outbreak, driver licences, Warrants of Fitness (WoFs), Certificates of Fitness (CoFs), vehicle licences (‘regos’) and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will be valid until 30 November 2021, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “While this extension won’t officially ...1 week ago
- COVID-19 community fund to provide support for vulnerable women and girlsMinister for Women Jan Tinetti today announced a $2 million community fund that will provide support for women and girls adversely affected by COVID-19. “We know that women, particularly those who are already vulnerable, are disproportionally affected by the kind of economic disruption caused by COVID-19,” Jan Tinetti said. ...2 weeks ago
- Next phase of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response announcedA further NZ$12 million of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response has been announced by Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today. The package builds on previous tranches of assistance Aotearoa New Zealand has provided to Fiji, totalling over NZ$50 million. “Fiji remains in a very challenging position in their response to ...2 weeks ago
- Robotic asparagus harvester aimed at addressing industry challengesThe Government is backing a $5 million project to develop a commercial-scale autonomous robotic asparagus harvester, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures) is contributing $2.6 million to the project. Project partner Robotics Plus Limited (RPL) will build on a prototype asparagus ...2 weeks ago
- Additional Pfizer vaccines to arrive tomorrowMore than a quarter of a million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine are on their way from Spain to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The additional doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday morning to help meet the current surge in demand for vaccination. “It’s been ...2 weeks ago
- Young people to have their voices heard in Youth Parliament 2022The dates and details for Youth Parliament 2022 have been announced today by Minister for Youth Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Youth Parliament is an opportunity for 141 young people from across Aotearoa New Zealand to experience the political process and learn how government works. ...2 weeks ago
- Boosting support for tertiary students affected by COVID-19Students facing a hard time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be supported,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government is putting a further $20 million into the Hardship Fund for Learners, which will help around 15,000 students to stay connected to their studies and learning. ...2 weeks ago
- COVID-19: Immediate relief available for Māori and iwi organisationsThe Government has reprioritised up to $5 million to provide immediate relief to vulnerable whānau Māori and communities during the current COVID-19 outbreak Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The COVID-19 2021 Whānau Recovery Fund will support community-driven, local responses to gaps in access and provision of critical ...2 weeks ago
- New beef genetics programme to deliver cows with smaller environmental hoof-printThe Government is backing a genetics programme to lower the beef sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by delivering cows with a smaller environmental hoof-print, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. Informing New Zealand Beef is a seven-year partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand that is expected to result in more ...2 weeks ago
- Appointments to the New Zealand Qualifications AuthorityEducation Minister Chris Hipkins today announced new appointments to the board of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Former Associate Minister of Education, Hon Tracey Martin, has been appointed as the new Chair for NZQA, replacing the outgoing Acting and Deputy Chair Professor Neil Quigley after an 11-year tenure on ...2 weeks ago
- Govt supports residential house building by allowing manufacture of building suppliesThe Government has agreed to allow some building product manufacturing to take place in Auckland during Covid lockdown to support continued residential construction activity across New Zealand. “There are supply chain issues that arise from Alert Level 4 as building products that are manufactured domestically are mostly manufactured in Auckland. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘No other people popular like Franco Cozzo in Melbourne’: a new film explores his colorful, hard...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Nichols, Senior Lecturer – Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Sharmill Films Review: Palazzo di Cozzo, directed by Madeleine Martiniello Every Melburnian over 40, and many under, knows (or thinks they know) who Franco Cozzo is. He rose to ...1 hour ago - Whiteness in the time of COVID: Australia’s health services still leaving vulnerable communities b...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Menzel, Assistant Professor – First Nations Health, Bond University Due to the ongoing effects of colonisation, First Nations peoples often experience socio-economic disadvantage and health inequality. The pandemic has no doubt worsened these conditions for some. In addition, the health ...1 hour ago
- The way out of Alert Level Four Covid confinement (it seems) is to get arrested and be freed on rema...
The Beehive website has been focused on Covid-related news in recent days – each of the last four press statements from ministers is related to Covid-19 issues and, for good measure, we can include a statement which arrived in our email in-tray yesterday from Peeni Henare which has not yet ...1 hour ago - End funding to the Kahukura program
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling for the Government to end funding to the Kahukura meth rehab program after a devastating analysis of the program from Judge Russell Collins. Executive Director the Union Jordan Williams says, “The ...2 hours ago - Closing the digital divide requires ‘constant attention’, say education experts
Each day of lockdown is exacerbating the digital divide for many, but experts say the answers will be found in the communities worst affected.The divide between the digital haves and have-nots continues to be one of the major fallouts from this pandemic, according to education minister Chris Hipkins. Despite more ...2 hours ago - The desperate crowd in the MIQ lobby
With the unveiling of the MIQ virtual lobby booking system this morning, Kiwis trying to get home are starting to wonder if they ever actually will A few weeks ago, the announcement of a virtual lobby and queue system coming to the MIQ booking system got hopes up worldwide ...2 hours ago - “Purpose-built MIQ facilities are urgently needed”The Opportunities Party (TOP) says the Government must not waste any more time and provide facilities that are fit-for purpose for the long-term management of this persistent virus. “25,000 Kiwis are trapped overseas and unable to return because ...3 hours ago
- Australian students say they understand global issues, but few are learning another language compare...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Richardson, Research Director, Surveys and International Assessments, Australian Council for Educational Research students More Australian 15 year olds feel they are familiar with global issues such as climate change, migration, causes of poverty and equality between men and women than ...3 hours ago
- TOP says purpose-built MIQ Facilities are urgently needed“25,000 Kiwis are trapped overseas and unable to return because we have severely limited MIQ spaces. 25,000 Kiwis unable to see terminally ill loved ones, unable to celebrate milestones with friends and families, and unable to return to live in ...3 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – September 20 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content AUKUS, foreign affairs, trade Audrey Young (Herald): Preparing ...4 hours ago
- All the locations of interest on an interactive NZ map, sorted by exposure time and date of listingView all places of interest on the maps below, and sort by both the dates of potential exposure and the days when added. Plus: a searchable table with all locations. Built by the Spinoff’s head of data, Harkanwal Singh.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid story depends on support from Members. ...4 hours ago
- Whanganui racetracks sees half a dozen greyhounds injuredAt a racing meet last Wednesday, six dogs were injured at the Whanganui greyhound racing track. Two of the dogs suffered broken legs, with a third suspected. Two of the dogs are undergoing x-rays to confirm. ...4 hours ago
- How the pandemic propelled these home cooks to social media stardomLooking to spice up their weeknights, cooped-up New Zealanders have been seeking culinary inspiration on their phones, and these three clever cooks have capitalised. Greeting her 29,000 followers with a peppy “It’s Friday!” Polly Markus, of Miss Polly’s Kitchen, gestures enthusiastically at the camera while explaining her latest creation.Describing the meal, ...4 hours ago
- Health reforms: Wider role for pharmacistsTo mark World Pharmacists Day on 25 September, the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand is calling for the Government to ensure a wider range of healthcare services are available at your local pharmacy. According to Professor Rhiannon Braund, president ...5 hours ago
- Waikato cases throw wrench into Govt's works
Analysis: Three new cases in the Waikato and the spectre of more than a week of community transmission have derailed the Government's likely decision to move Auckland to Level 3, Marc Daalder reports With the Cabinet poised to move Auckland down to Level 3 after the country's longest ever Level ...5 hours ago - The battle of Highland Park: Supermarkets stand-off despite public promise
Supermarkets in stand-off despite public promise to Commerce Commission ...5 hours ago - NZ Left Out of the AUKUS Military InitiativeThe recently announced military alliance between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the government of Australia is related to strategic and vital sales of naval weapons capability and not a unique new defence strategy. ...5 hours ago
- The hunt for New Zealand’s best meal kit delivery serviceJihee Junn crunches the numbers on a recent study comparing the biggest players in the meal kit game. As a single, childless individual who doesn’t really mind filling up on five bowls of oatmeal a day, I can’t say I’ve ever been one to fully embrace the meal kit movement. But ...6 hours ago
- Undersea internet cables connect Pacific islands to the world. But geopolitical tension is tugging a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda H A Watson, Research Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University Cable coming ashore from a ship. Coral Sea Cable System If you’ve ever emailed a resort in Fiji or Vanuatu about that long-awaited holiday, it’s likely your email travelled ...7 hours ago
- Why unions support vaccination — but not employer mandatesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne The American union movement has split over President Joe Biden’s proposal for companies with more than 100 employees to vaccinate their workforces against COVID-19. With increasing numbers of employers mandating COVID-19 ...7 hours ago
- People dropped whisky into their noses to treat Spanish flu. Here’s what else they took that would...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Martyr, Lecturer, Pharmacology, Women’s Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia Shutterstock We’re researching COVID-19 in a fast-paced world with new data becoming available all the time. We track which interventions work well and which ones ...7 hours ago
- Yes, Australia is buying a fleet of nuclear submarines. But nuclear-powered electricity must not com...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Science, Griffith University Shutterstock The federal government on Thursday announced a landmark defence pact with the United States and United Kingdom that involves this nation acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The question of nuclear submarines in ...7 hours ago
- Delayed graduations, no formals — the class of 2021 has had a hell of a year. They need mental hea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Hunt, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Sydney Shutterstock In August this year, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published research charting the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people. In the first ...7 hours ago
- The fraying tempers and fracturing resolve of Victoria’s endless lockdownThe state of Victoria has now spent almost two months in lockdown, its seventh since the pandemic began. It’s little surprise that the mood has turned so dark in recent days, writes Joe Nunweek, a New Zealander based in MelbourneI got home to Aotearoa from Narrm for a few weeks’ ...7 hours ago
- Level change at risk from three cases in Waikato
Three new Covid cases just outside the Auckland boundaries prompt a call for Auckland's Level 4 lockdown to be extended and to include the Waikato A testing centre is being set up at a marae in the Waikato settlement of Kaiaua today after three community cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in ...7 hours ago - The path to 90% vaccinationIt’s possible we won’t be able to get there, but the country has a target and the promise of doing away with level four lockdowns in the future, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.The country’s vaccine programme now has a semi-official target of 90%. The director-general of health says we should ...7 hours ago
- Live updates, September 20: Alert level decision to be announced as Covid confirmed in WaikatoWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 20, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Say hello at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.Today’s agenda 1pm: The latest delta Covid case numbers will be revealed by the Ministry of Health in a press release. We’ll be looking for two crucial things: the number of unlinked cases and whether the ...7 hours ago
- NZX posts big gain, awaits rare IPO
Business & Investing: Index changes boost the NZX, Stride announces only the third IPO of the year, plus all eyes on this week's Fonterra full year result ...9 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 20 September9 hours ago
- Newsroom daily crossword, Monday 20 September9 hours ago
- Meng Foon: In times of crisis we need to look deeply in the mirror The easier it is for us to dehumanise others and see them as anonymous or two-dimensional caricatures, the easier it is for us to turn them into targets of our own unexamined frustrations, writes race relations commissioner Meng Foon.Most of us here in Aotearoa New Zealand, I think, care about ...10 hours ago
- If we want to reach 90% vaccination, we need to change up our strategyStuart Nash has staked a case of wine on 90% of New Zealanders being vaccinated by the end of the year. Communications specialist Samson Samasoni explains why the minister won’t be winning this bet any time soon. In July 1988, Andy Mochan was shaken awake by explosions and alarms on an ...10 hours ago
- The quiet figure behind New Zealand's APEC success
Vangelis Vitalis on the privilege and responsibility of hosting the major forum. ...10 hours ago - The police detective who writes novels
A South Auckland detective on his writing career I spend my days as a Police detective in south Auckland; I don’t feel the need to write about it too. My books are a variety of action thrillers, spy thrillers, post-apocalyptic thrillers…you get the picture. I write a bit of crime, ...10 hours ago - Luuka's extreme plan for a fifth Olympics
There's unfinished business for four-time Olympian whitewater paddler Luuka Jones, who wants to learn from her mistakes in Tokyo, aim for Paris 2024, and try out an exhilarating new boat for size. It took Luuka Jones a while to stop kicking herself – her own words - after falling short in her ...10 hours ago - Climate opportunities lost
How New Zealand blew its chance to arrest climate change New Zealand’s now seen three decades of rising emissions. But 30 years ago, we were almost carbon neutral for carbon dioxide. We had a chance to turn it all around, but political mistakes, missed opportunities, and creeping climate scepticism, meant ...10 hours ago - Hope for the best, prepare for the burst: Akld readies for alert level drop
Amid uncertainty over widening Delta outbreak, some workers are hesitant about dropping Covid alert levels ...10 hours ago - On the money: Kate Sheppard and the making of a NZ feminist iconANALYSIS: By Katie Pickles, University of Canterbury In 1992 four New Zealand icons (and the queen) appeared on new banknotes. Part of creating national identity, these notable citizens were chosen to represent the pinnacles of achievement. Āpirana Ngata, Edmund Hillary, Ernest Rutherford and Kate Sheppard — all in circulation so ...14 hours ago
- NZ delta’s tail is ‘long and tough’, says PM Jacinda ArdernRNZ News As Auckland waits to hear if it will move down an alert level this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has assured New Zealand the level four lockdown is having an impact, even with a small rise in case numbers in the past two days. Ardern and Director of ...14 hours ago
- AUKUS pact strikes at heart of Pacific nuclear-free regionalismBy Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific reporter Australia’s new security pact with the US and the UK has touched a nerve at the core of Pacific regionalism. The AUKUS alliance, announced by leaders of the three countries last week, finds them seeking strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific region with a focus ...14 hours ago
- New Caledonia extends lockdown – covid death toll now 24RNZ Pacific The New Caledonian government has extended the current lockdown as well as the curfew, until October as the covid-19 pandemic worsens. On Thursday, seven deaths from covid-19 were recorded, the heaviest daily toll since the discovery of the first indigenous cases of the disease on September 6. It ...14 hours ago
- Papua’s KNPB accuses Jakarta of using military post attack to criminalise themAsia Pacific Report newsdesk The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) claims that an attack on a military post in Maybrat regency earlier this month is being used as a pretext to “force the KNPB into a corner” and to criminalise them, reports Suara Papua. The September 2 attack on Kisor ...14 hours ago
- Covid-19 red alert over PNG ‘super spreader’ independence eventsBy Lulu Mark in Port Moresby Ten people have died from Papua New Guinea’s covid-19 pandemic and 203 new cases were reported in five days from September 9 as National Pandemic Response Deputy Controller Dr Daoni Esorom made a red alert call on Independence Day “super spreader” events. “Papua New ...14 hours ago
- Fiji government sacking of chief statistician branded ‘shameful’By Christine Rovoi, RNZ Pacific journalist Questions have been raised about why the head of Fiji’s Bureau of Statistics was fired by the Bainimarama government this week. Kemueli Naiqama recently published this year’s household income and expenditure survey that showed three quarters of Fiji’s poorest people are indigenous Fijians, or ...14 hours ago
- View from The Hill: For Morrison AUKUS is all about the deal, never mind the nicetiesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison, whose COVID face masks have the Australian flag emblazoned on them, likes to talk about “the Australian way” of doing things and Australian values. But it is not “the Australian way” to secretly ...14 hours ago
- With a post-lockdown Victoria in sight, the more we can contain transmission now, the easier the roa...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology, Deakin University Victoria’s roadmap out of lockdown, released today, marks an important milestone. It’s a clear commitment to delivering on the National Plan, and provides much-needed clarity on where we are heading and what the next few ...16 hours ago
- Christian Porter quits cabinet, refusing to find out who gave him money for legal costsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra AAP/Lukas Coch Industry Minister Christian Porter has been forced to resign from cabinet after declining to seek and provide to Scott Morrison the names of the anonymous benefactors who have helped fund his ...19 hours ago
- World leaders return to United Nations with focus on pandemic, climate
World leaders are returning to the United Nations in New York this week with a focus on boosting efforts to fight both climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, which last year forced them to send video statements for the annual gathering. ...20 hours ago - Peace Group Welcomes New Zealand’s Ban On Australian Nuclear SubmarinesThe New Zealand Government’s announced continuation of its anti-nuclear policy, which will ban any future Australian nuclear submarines from entering New Zealand waters or ports, has been welcomed by long term peace activists, the International ...20 hours ago
- Land taken by government officials won't be returned to Taihape school – ministerTreaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little says farmland taken away by government officials will not be returned to Taihape Area School. ...21 hours ago
- Government announces $36m investment in Covid-19 research fundThe government will invest $36m into infectious disease research to aid with the Covid-19 pandemic response and prepare for future infectious disease outbreaks. ...23 hours ago
- The safe bet and the cash cache: imprest supplyThe House: MPs have been arguing about imprest supply recently. Partly, that argument assumes you don't understand what it is. You're about to. ...1 day ago
- Live updates, September 19: Will Auckland move to level three on Wednesday?Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 19. Auckland is currently at alert level four, the rest of NZ level two. Our coverage of the Covid response depends on members’ contributions. Click here to learn more.8.30am: Will Auckland move to level three on Wednesday? The factors that will drive ...1 day ago
- Time to review asylum-seeker support
Bernard Sama explains why - and how - we must strengthen mental wellbeing in the entire refugee status determination procedure in New Zealand As an advocate for people seeking asylum and refugee rights generally in New Zealand, I was devastated to learn the terrorist who carried out the attack at LynnMall ...1 day ago - An ode for .. the Wānaka wankers
New Zealand's unelected poet laureate composes an ode for the two most shamed people in New Zealand The Wānakers From the sighing mangrove swamps of the North, did the young lovers flee; whence scrofulous humours didst afflict their City, that intemperate hub of commerce. Reluctant were our libertines ...1 day ago - The Sunday Essay: On keeping a notes appIn a world of curated social media feeds, Sharon Lam revisits the beautiful chaos of her notes app.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New ZealandOriginal illustration by Sofia Drescher“Since the note is in my notebook, it presumably has some meaning to me.” So began Joan ...1 day ago
- Lydia Wevers: On readingAn accomplished academic, a public intellectual and a brilliant writer, Lydia Wevers was also an insatiable reader. Here Lloyd Jones introduces excerpts from her essay on reading, which he commissioned for his Four Winds Press imprint.The New Zealand writing and reading community lost a committed stalwart with the death of ...1 day ago
- On the seasonal joy of onion weedThis garlicky blossom is the ubiquitous queen of springtime. Charlotte Muru-Lanning explains why you should get out and find yourself a bunch, and what to do with it.Consider the onion family. We all know the brown onion practically runs the marae kitchen, shallot is definitely the perfectionist cousin with a ...1 day ago
- Is it time for a Cobb & Comeback?Down from 37 at its peak, there are now just eight Cobb & Co branches in New Zealand. With plans afoot to return the chain to its former glory, Georgia Munn swings open the red saloon doors to see if the childhood favourite has still got it.Whatever happened to Cobb ...1 day ago
- Curia political poll is grim news for the Nats – but its measure of enthusiasm for “Aotearoa” ...
The New Zealand Herald was not alone in reporting on the discomforting results for National in the latest Curia opinion poll and the petition mounted by Maori Party leaders to have the name ... 2 days ago - Live updates, September 18: Pākehā discharged without conviction more often than MāoriWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 18. Auckland is currently at alert level four, the rest of NZ level two. Our coverage of the Covid response depends on members’ contributions. Click here to learn more.Coming up today The latest delta outbreak case numbers will be released via a ...2 days ago
- Protecting the people, East Coast styleNgāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Apanui led the way at the beginning of the pandemic by drawing the line at their borders to protect the people within. They weren’t just fighting to keep Covid out – they were battling bureaucracy, racism and hunger too.Click here to read this story in te ...2 days ago
- Hei tā te Tairāwhiti tiaki tangataI mua kē a Ngāti Porou me Te Whānau-a-Apanui e ārahi ana i te tīmatanga o te mate urutā i tā rātou aukati i te huarahi whakaroto ki ō rātou rohe hei tiaki i te hunga o roto. Ehara i te mea i whawhai noa iho rātou i te Kowheori ...2 days ago
- When will NZ stop honouring this genocidal dictator?
Absent-mindedly paying tribute to murderous Turkish dictator Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is a stain on this country's integrity. It's time we did something about it, writes Maria Armoudian. Last week, in what once seemed to many an impossibility, the towering tribute to a racist champion of the American Confederacy, General Robert E. Lee, ...2 days ago - Short story: Beatrice’s visit, by Carol Aru
"She had spent roughly thirty thousand vatu on a whole cow": a story about money, set in Vanuatu Tina was daydreaming as she raked the newly trimmed grass around their house. Beatrice, whom she had not seen for ten years, was coming to visit today. They’d been best friends. Tina ...2 days ago - Nicola Legat on the poleaxing of New Zealand booksSelling books during lockdown can be safe and we were told doing so would be considered essential. So why are we in this shambles again? The publisher of Massey University Press makes her case. Most evenings after dinner in this interminable lockdown I find myself up on sad, shuttered Ponsonby Road ...2 days ago
- Wellington And Dunedin Feminists Rally For Disappearing RightsLocal feminists are marching for their rights in Wellington and Dunedin on New Zealand Suffrage Day, this Sunday, in protest against two bills before Parliament that the women say will erode their rights; the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships ...2 days ago
- ‘Either you cave in, or you fight back’: The Christchurch family fundraising for AfghanistanA Christchurch couple who fundraised to create a ‘living memorial’ for the victims of March 15 are calling for more government support for young Afghans affected by the war. When Kabul fell to the Taliban last month, Christchurch couple Bariz Shah and his wife Saba Afrasyabi watched on anxiously, glued ...2 days ago
- Siouxsie Wiles: Should I get vaccinated if I’m pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding?I know from personal experience the anxiety, the nausea, the uncertainty that can surround decisions at such sensitive times, writes Siouxsie Wiles.I’ve been inundated with emails and messages from people worried about getting vaccinated if they are trying for a baby, or pregnant, or breastfeeding. Before I tell you what ...2 days ago
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Just seen an item on Prime News with Russel Norman- I prefer not to make comment on the climate, But when I hear Mr Russel commenting on wanting to keep a stable climate I feel inclined to comment. Climate is not stable !! Influences like the Sun play a major part in a ever changing dynamic climate.
It is not stable and it is become increasingly unstable because of man induced effects.
Sun-spots? Does that conversational angle go down well at the RSA or does it provoke laughter there as well?
influences like the sun…
noises like laughter
Yes, climate is unstable at the best of times. It is a chaotic system with many many variables that interact in sometimes odd and non-linear ways. Some of which are yet to be very well understood, such as the influences of clouds and their formation. But we humans have given the system a bunch of almighty kicks to move it well away from where it had been bouncing around the last few thousand years.
Oh, and about the line ‘it’s the sun’, here’s what experts that do actual measurements n’stuff have to say:
“Over the last 35 years the sun has shown a cooling trend. However global temperatures continue to increase. If the sun’s energy is decreasing while the Earth is warming, then the sun can’t be the main control of the temperature.
Figure 1 shows the trend in global temperature compared to changes in the amount of solar energy that hits the Earth. The sun’s energy fluctuates on a cycle that’s about 11 years long. The energy changes by about 0.1% on each cycle. If the Earth’s temperature was controlled mainly by the sun, then it should have cooled between 2000 and 2008. ”
https://www.skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming.htm
Agree, the sun is about energy.
The sun does impact the human body, however, it is not directly responsible for climate change, humans are nailing that coffin.
Every single entity is energy, Cinny…energy comes before all else…
The sun, like all objects in our galaxy that are likey to be having some effect on this planets climate…
Not much humans can do to influence that level of energy…so focussing on human influence and how to lessen the impact, makes sense…
Nicely said One Two, nicely said 🙂
To help you herodotus
It is the same odd thing that the Opposition gets to talk on at least 50% of the issues. Bridges gets wide exposure on everything mostly without being questioned. But surely in the name of fairness he/they should accept that they had 9years to be certain of everything, and therefore the Government should get 97% and Bridge’s raving 3%.
Can’t remember the previous Opposition getting such an open window.
But not as big an effect as we have.
RNZ’s Todd Niall delivers another well-informed, fair story about Auckland local government:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/356286/two-weeks-to-have-a-say-on-auckland-fuel-tax
Yep he is a local treasure.
Labour led coalition have been in govt six months, everything that is not right in NZ is this govts fault. Nothing to do with National, oh no they were on the right path and Mr Bridges is going to reverse everything in 2020. Reinstate oil drilling, cancel Auckland fuel tax, cancel regional fund……..cancel cancel reverse reverse…..
This morning according to the master spin merchant Hooton himself National are unfairly misjudged on the environment. National are in fact “very green” always have been and just don’t get the due media plaudits.
Who says politics is not thee most cynical game in town.
The question is just how gullible are the electorate, how fickle are middle NZ?
They are fickle.
Although a “safe seat” for National the Northcote byelection outcome may give some insight.
New revelations on Skripal.
“UPDATE: Stupidly I had forgotten this vital confirmation from Channel 4 News (serial rebel Alex Thomson) of the D Notice in place on mention of Pablo Miller.
Back then I did not realise what I now know, that the person being protected was Pablo Miller, colleague in both MI6 then Orbis Intelligence of Christopher Steele, author of the fabrications of the Trump/Russia golden shower dossier. That the government’s very first act on the poisoning was to ban all media mention of Pablo Miller makes it extremely probable that this whole incident is related to the Trump dossier and that Skripal had worked on it, as I immediately suspected. The most probable cause is that Skripal – who you should remember had traded the names of Russian agents to Britain for cash – had worked on the dossier with Miller but was threatening to expose its lies for cash.”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/04/probable-western-responsibility-for-skripal-poisoning/
Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if there is a great deal more known of the Salisbury poison case and the media have been forbidden to reveal it. It’s what we would expect from a British Tory government.
But why should Christopher Steele’s revelations contained in his dossier be a fabrication? He was originally hired to investigate Donald Trump’s links to Russia which we now know is beyond question despite all his lies and denials.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/15/christopher-steele-trump-russia-dossier-accurate
More lies and propaganda from the MSM.
Robin Westenra is an excellent source of news.
“Today’s Sunday Times front page is evidence of foreign interests interfering with UK democracy. Although mostly not ‘Russia bots trying to swing an election for @jeremycorbyn’, but of US media mogul @rupertmurdoch smearing Corbyn to try to swing this week’s elections in UK for @theresa_may”
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2018/04/propaganda-wars.html
Agree Ed, Seemorerocks is an excellent and interesting blog.
Robin Westenra again.
So much interesting news on his site.
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2018/04/the-faked-2013-chemical-attacks.html
“What follows is shocking evidence that crisis actors, green screens, CGI, and paid propagandists are being used to fake worldwide events in order to scare people into giving up liberties and sending us into war.
To say this was shocking would be to put it lightly.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcofL8cj8VQ&ebc=ANyPxKpTeEPM7iGF3a_HXuRgrSKPOyaJ-DeecN9O-WlZjJAJZhAa0NuZcYyXsAcH2v_QxfKnm7-LOBx_WSbdPBTB6c_qzLl2CA
Wag the Dog – great movie where satire only just stays ahead of reality……. especially these days!
“Two weeks prior to reelection, the United States president lands in the middle of a sex scandal. In need of outside help to quell the situation, presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) enlists the expertise of spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), who decides a distraction is the best course of action. Brean approaches Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to help him fabricate a war in Albania — and once underway, the duo has the media entirely focused on the war.”