Is mass surveillance of Kiwis occurring?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:49 am, March 6th, 2015 - 112 comments
Categories: john key, national - Tags: edward snowden, GCSB

Yesterday morning’s revelation that data collected from the Pacific Islands is being handed over to the Americans is opening up many interesting legal issues. One that is of interest to me is what happens to data collected from New Zealand citizens while they are in the Pacific Islands. I wondered about this because I have spent time in Western Samoa and Rarotonga since 2009 and I used local telecommunications to keep up with work and politics in Aotearoa. The thought that this information has been sent to the Americans is somewhat scary.

The GCSB Act provides a clear distinction between New Zealanders and others and how they are to be treated. Key has said consistently that there are cast iron guarantees that New Zealanders are not subject to mass surveillance and he will resign if the GCSB is engaged in mass surveillance. I hope this guarantee applies if we are overseas.

The Act authorises the GCSB under section 8B “to gather and analyse intelligence (including from information infrastructures) in accordance with the Government’s requirements about the capabilities, intentions, and activities of foreign persons and foreign organisations“. A foreign person is “an individual who is neither a New Zealand citizen nor a permanent resident; and includes a person acting in his or her capacity as an agent or a representative of such an individual”. This definition does not appear to include New Zealanders temporarily or even permanently overseas. A foreign organisation includes mostly corporates or individuals representing corporates.

There is protection for New Zealanders. Under section 14(1) of the Act “[i]n performing the Bureau’s function in section 8B, the Director, any employee of the Bureau, and any person acting on behalf of the Bureau must not authorise or do anything for the purpose of intercepting the private communications of a person who is a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident of New Zealand, unless (and to the extent that) the person comes within the definition of foreign person or foreign organisation in section 4.” The definition of foreign organisation is essentially to entities and body corporates and their officers.

Incidentally obtained information can be communicated to another entity including an overseas public authority but only if the director is preventing or detecting serious crime in New Zealand or any other country, preventing or avoiding the loss of human life on the high seas, preventing or responding to threats to human life in New Zealand or any other country or identifying, preventing, or responding to threats or potential threats to the security or defence of New Zealand or any other country. The bolded words may represent a rather large loophole.

Maybe what is happening is legal. Maybe handing over our private data collected while we are overseas to the NSA is necessary for the identification of potential threats to New Zealand’s defence and is not mass surveillance by the GCSB. But if this is the correct interpretation then there is very little restriction on what personal information can be handed over and it may not not matter if it is collected in New Zealand or overseas.

And as noted by the Greens this change is a recent one. Previously the GCSB was authorised “for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime in New Zealand or in any other country [to] communicate that information to employees of the New Zealand Police or to any other persons”. The changes last year to allow for the identification of threats or potential threats to New Zealand or any other country clearly extended who the information could be given to.

This morning there was this extraordinary interview on Morning Report with former head of the GCSB Bruce Ferguson. He essentially admitted that mass collection of data was occurring and was being handed to the Americans but thought it was fine because it was not illegal to do so.

But this misses the point. Key promised there was no mass surveillance of kiwis occurring. It is clear now there is. Saying it is perfectly legal is no answer to his original promise.

Reprinted with additions and alterations from Waitakerenews.

112 comments on “Is mass surveillance of Kiwis occurring? ”

Comments are now closed

tinfoilhat 1

6 March 2015 at 9:04 am

Of course mass surveillance is happening.

What is also obvious is that Key will squirm and twist and rely on his own particular definition of surveillance to avoid any responsibility.
- Kriss X 1.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 7:33 pm
  
  Check out what the Police Incident Center monitors. Try a OIA request.
Chooky 2

6 March 2015 at 9:06 am

…well maybe David Shearer and Andrew Little should be asked to comment here…they will know if “mass surveillance of kiwis” is occurring…they have the insider knowledge

“Key promised there was no mass surveillance of kiwis occurring. It is clear now there is”….

What is the Labour Party going to do about it?

…Is the Labour Party going to protect New Zealander’s human rights …or is it going to be culpable along with John Key Nactional?

I know what the Greens Russel Norman and Metiria Turei would do ….and Mana/Int Annette Sykes, John Minto , Laila Harre and Hone Harawira …..they would be jumping up and down if they had insider knowledge.
- mickysavage 2.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 9:10 am
  
  It appears the mass collection of data started to happen in 2009 and the law changes were made last year.
  - Gosman 2.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 10:56 am
    
    Did not the Labour members of the committee overseeing the intelligence services know about what the organisations were doing? If not why didn’t they ask for greater oversight?
    - mickysavage 2.1.1.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 10:58 am
      
      Do you know what was said at the committee meeting? Why are they to blame?
      
      So we should ignore the actions of the Government in increasing the powers and instead criticise Labour MPs for something we do not know if they did or not.
      - Gosman 2.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 11:22 am
        
        I’m not discussing what happened recently but what they have been doing over the entire period in question. I myself don’t think this is as people here are painting it. However if you are indeed right and this is a gross abuse of surveilance powers then I’d want to know why people supposedly representing my interests weren’t more active in stopping this from occuring. Even an admission from Andrew Little that they didn’t know this was going on and the oversight in place has obviously failed would suffice. The question for you is whether you think he will do something like that and if he doesn’t what motivation could he have for not doing it?
        
        Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 11:38 am
        
        However if you are indeed right and this is a gross abuse of surveilance powers then I’d want to know why people supposedly representing my interests weren’t more active in stopping this from occuring.
        
        So, why aren’t you asking National then who are actually overseeing this abuse of our Human Rights?
        
        Sacha 2.1.1.1.1.2
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:43 pm
        
        To be fair, the Greens and Dunne have also sat on the oversight commitee during that time haven’t they? and maybe Peters?
        
        Murray Rawshark 2.1.1.1.1.3
        
        7 March 2015 at 10:03 pm
        
        Aw Goosemann, FJK represents your interests. He’s active in keeping it going and intensifying it. As Chooky hints, it’s not Labour that will stop it. If you think your interests require stopping illegal surveillance, have a look at Greens or Mana.
- saveNZ 2.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:02 am
  
  @Chooky
  
  Totally agree. What are David Shearer and Andrew Little going to do about it?
  
  Can they cut the crap and say NO?
  
  Or will they do a Planet Key partnership and sell the line mass surveillance is necessary and in our best interests but watered down version.
  
  And expect the public to clap, because like last time we can only expect 24 hours of surveillance without a warrant not 48? Thanks Labour!
  
  Be aware there will be confusal tactics and masses of information that all say’s we need it for our own good, but can Shearer and Little see it is all self serving? And being one of the 5 eyes state surveillance all makes our country a target. If you did want to attack, taking out the spy bases might be first on the agenda.
- AmaKiwi 2.3
  
  6 March 2015 at 6:06 pm
  
  + 1
Tracey 3

6 March 2015 at 9:14 am

If everyone is doing it and everyone knows everyone is being spied on, why aren’t the pacific nations mentioned in this latest news just handing it over to the USA directly? The US could fund the facilities etc
- Gosman 3.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:57 am
  
  The governments of some of the Pacific Islands don;t seem to be terribly upset about this. Indeed the Samoan PM went on the record saying he was entirely comfortable with what has been happening. Where is this diplomatic fallout that people are predicting?
  - mickysavage 3.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 11:00 am
    
    They are being very polite in that very Pacific way. Imagine what the French are thinking at the prospect that communications involving their Parliamentary Representatives have been intercepted.
    - Gosman 3.1.1.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 11:26 am
      
      I find it quite funny that left wingers are becoming indignent on behalf of the French.
      - mickysavage 3.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:46 pm
        
        I would not describe myself as being indignant on behalf of the French. I am pointing out the repercussions of the policy.
        
        Enough is Enough 3.1.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 4:55 pm
        
        Who gives a fuck what the murderous French think?
        
        The abuse of our human rights is the only issue here. We should not be concerned what that terrorist supporting nation thinks.
        
        Colonial Rawshark …
        
        6 March 2015 at 5:04 pm
        
        I should add that the metadata that we collect on behalf of the FVEY nations becomes an intrinsic part of databases used to kill people via drone strikes and targetted assassinations.
    - Sacha 3.1.1.2
      
      6 March 2015 at 12:37 pm
      
      I imagine they are more concerned about our spying on their military bases in the region.
  - Frank Macskasy 3.1.2
    
    6 March 2015 at 11:04 am
    
    Gosman, like your Dear Leader, you seem very “relaxed” about state surveillance and mass spying.
    
    You would have loved living in the former USSR and it’s Eastern European allies. There was no limit to the amount of surveillance going on.
    
    It was an exhibitionist’s paradise.
    
    In fact, if you’re really so keen on being surveilled, I understand it’s still very much de rigueur in North Korea, China, and now in the United States.
    
    Enjoy.
    - Gosman 3.1.2.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 11:29 am
      
      You are quite wrong. I’m not relaxed about it at all. I myself would prefer much tougher oversight over what the intelligence agencies are doing. However I am also well aware this issue is being used by the hard left for political purposes. I am pointing out how ridiculous some of the views expressed are by highlighting the fact that the GCSB was merely doing what it is set up to do (i.e. gather intelligence).
      - framu 3.1.2.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 11:36 am
        
        is this going to be a repeat of yesterday?
      - Pascals bookie 3.1.2.1.2
        
        6 March 2015 at 11:45 am
        
        So you are actually concerned, but downplaying it for partisan reasons and tellling yourself that its the lefts fault you are doing so.
        
        Awesome.
        
        Classical liberal, are you?
        
        Gosman 3.1.2.1.2.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 11:53 am
        
        No. I think any changes to security legislation requires cross party support. Providing better oversight on this issue benefits all. I am just sick of how leftists are politicising this issue when as Sir Bruce Fergusson pointed out on the radio this morning nothing much has changed since Labour was in charge of the Treasury benches.
        
        Pascals bookie …
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:26 pm
        
        Except the actual dox seem to tell a different story, and Fergie has been out of the picture for a while anyway.
        
        But regardless, when this shit blows up and the left is in charge, the leftie activists kick up shit. Same same when the right is in charge.
        
        So I think you are projecting somewhat. If you want bipartisan tougher oversight, you should be linking up with leftie activists to push for tougher oversight, rather than downplaying the need out of fear of partisan damage to your ‘team’.
        
        The right wing citizenry have been deafening in their silence about concern over this stuff, so why should RW politicians bother to change anything? They’ll just wank on about conspiracy far left blah blah, lines you repeat, and pressure for oversight thus becomes fringey bullshit.
        
        Golf clap.
        
        Gosman …
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:32 pm
        
        Fair call. I have some contacts with policy development on the right so if you are interested in developing a bipartisan approach to getting better oversight on this let me know and we can look to develop a proposal.
        
        Pascals bookie …
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:51 pm
        
        If you’ve got contacts there, fill your boots then. I’m doing my thing in other areas.
        
        Just saying that I can’t see how saying ‘there’s no problem here it’s always been like this’ helps.
        
        Frank Macskasy …
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:30 pm
        
        So, Gosman, if the current government was a Labour-Green led coalition, would you still be ok dismissing concerns about increased surveillance as “leftists are politicising this issue”?
        
        Or would you rail against it?
        
        It’s hard to pin you down on this as you seem to be operating more from a tribal position rather than any firm principle.
        
        Gosman …
        
        6 March 2015 at 12:36 pm
        
        I’d like to think I take a measured approach to this issue regardless of the government in charge. After all the matter is neither left nor right in terms of the political spectrum. I would take as much delight puncturing pompous right wingers if they potificated on the evils of a left leaning government doing this as I have in doing so in the current manner.
        
        Tracey …
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:04 pm
        
        and yet there are so many pompous right wingers now that you dont puncture.
        
        Gosman …
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:06 pm
        
        Because I regard them as less of a threat than I do people on the left.
        
        KJT …
        
        7 March 2015 at 10:58 am
        
        Threat to what?
    - Anno1701 3.1.2.2
      
      6 March 2015 at 1:03 pm
      
      In fact, if you’re really so keen on being surveilled, I understand it’s still very much de rigueur in North Korea
      
      zing……
      - Gosman 3.1.2.2.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:15 pm
        
        Why is that a zing?
  - Tracey 3.1.3
    
    6 March 2015 at 12:40 pm
    
    You didn’t answer the question. Try again.
Bea Brown 4

6 March 2015 at 9:18 am

Most of the Snowden stuff finishes before 2009, before the National Government.
The GCSB was set up by David Lange and Helen Clark was PM for most of the period in the data.
Surely now she is an independent voice she could explain to us their motives and methods.
- framu 4.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 9:36 am
  
  or the CURRENT govt could explain exactly how they have curbed previous errors
  
  They are the govt now and they did pass new laws on the GCSB
  
  to date they have provided nothing that suggests any sort of substantial improvement – in fact, quite the opposite
  
  So youve confirmed that things were bad under clark – whoop dee do – maybe add what we now know about that time and then add all the current goings on and see what you get?
- Matthew Hooton 4.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 9:49 am
  
  Unlike John Key, Helen Clark had the discipline always to say “no comment” about this stuff and leave it there. A much better strategy when it comes to spying.
  - tricledrown 4.2.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 2:40 pm
    
    And in your case lying
- Anne 4.3
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:02 am
  
  Most of the Snowden stuff finishes before 2009, before the National Government.
  
  Bea Brown lying again? Or is she/he just an ignorant rwnj?
  
  The timeframe at issue is from 2009 – when the documents record “full take collection” was about to begin – through to mid-2012, when Snowden quit his job with information he had taken.
  
  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11412551
  - Murray Rawshark 4.3.1
    
    7 March 2015 at 10:11 pm
    
    She’s lying. It’s what she’s paid to do, probably from the same budget as Hooton.
- Draco T Bastard 4.4
  
  6 March 2015 at 11:42 am
  
  The GCSB was set up by David Lange
  
  Actually, it was set up by Muldoon and I think even that was more of a reconfiguration than an actual set up per se.
- Tracey 4.5
  
  6 March 2015 at 12:41 pm
  
  Could you provide your link for “most of the Snowden stuff…”
  
  TIA
One Anonymous Bloke 5

6 March 2015 at 9:28 am

Ferguson was all over the place, self-contradictory, blustering, dismissive, and utterly devoid of credibility.
- framu 5.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:02 am
  
  his whole rationale seemed to be that it only becomes spying if they decide to look more closely at you – untill then its not spying even though nothing has changed re: data collection and analysis
  - Tracey 5.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 12:43 pm
    
    and ignores the part about how do you know what to throw away unless you know what it is?
- Tracey 5.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 12:42 pm
  
  Funnily enough he seems to be leaving room for the strong possibility of mass surveillance but shrugs it off with “what can you do, it’s the best way”… as opposed tot he PM who keeps denying it happens.
travellerev 6

6 March 2015 at 9:31 am

New Zealand doesn’t spy on their own citizens (if you’re naïve enough to believe that) but on the citizens of other nations and gives that data to the NSA.

I’m sure that the service is reciprocal and that the NSA spies on Australians and New Zealanders and gives that data to our governments.
- Anne 6.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:09 am
  
  If we are “hoovering up” the South Pacific nations and sending it all to the Yanks, then somebody is hoovering up ours and sending it all to the Yanks. It’s either the NSA itself or one of the other five eye nations. Canada?
  
  I’m surprised and disappointed that Bruce Ferguson is attempting to defend the system. I thought he was better than that. Apparently not..
- Bill 6.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 10:23 am
  
  Precisely. That info was among the original revelations. Australia can mass surveil NZ and store it. NZ then has access to Keyscore. Since Keyscore is ‘targeted’, I guess NZ can then claim it doesn’t carry out mass surveillance on NZ residents/citizens.
  
  There was a fairly major story about UK spy agencies carrying out work for US spy agencies in the US because it would have been unlawful or illegal for the US agencies to do it. (Maybe something around the Boston bomb thing? Can’t remember.)
Sabine 7

6 March 2015 at 9:49 am

yes.

the end.
wyndham 8

6 March 2015 at 10:50 am

Key has been careful, just lately, to mention that “previous governments ( NZ) did it”. He didn’t specifically say ‘Helen Clark did it’ but he probably will.
Gosman 9

6 March 2015 at 10:54 am

Someone yesterday mentioned that Sir Bruce Fergusson was replaced as Director of the GCSB to facilitate this activity. It seems as though the man himself disagrees with that assessment from his comments in this interview from Morning report today.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20169815
Philip Ferguson 10

6 March 2015 at 11:08 am

Unfortunately, there still seems to be a rather lax attitude on the part of many in relation to citizen’s rights and restrictions on nefarious activities by the state. Over on Polity, Rob Salmond made some good points about mass surveillance but then stepped back to say things like he didn’t mind the state knowing who his facebook friends are.

But what business is it of the state’s to know who people’s Facebook friends are? It might not bother him personally, but I think we’re setting pretty poor standards when any citizens say they don’t mind the state knowing who their friends on facebook are. Because if they know his, they know a lot of other people’s, including people who are engaged in progressive political activity that is being monitored by the state.

Having lived in a country – the south of Ireland, as it happens – where state harassment of particular kinds of political activists was part of the daily routine of the Special Branch – they sat outside your house at night, they drove around during the day looking for republican political activists to harass, they visited landlords and employers to try to get people sacked and thrown out of their rented houses – I think we should be very wary about the extension of state power to pry into who our facebook friends are, who we’re shagging, what we had for breakfast or how many times a day we take a dump.

They’re not doing it to help us get more facebook friends, improve our sex lives and diet or make our bowels work better!

And imagine if apartheid still existed and the 1981 Springbok tour was in 2015, with all the technology available to the state now.

A couple of useful articles.
This one is by an Iranian political exile in Britain, about the rise of the surveillance state: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/were-all-data-in-the-end-the-rise-of-the-surveillance-state/

This is a more general one about the mechanics of states of surveillance: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/states-of-surveillance/

Phil
- Gosman 10.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 11:31 am
  
  A number of people who have gone on to commit acts deemed to be a threat to national security have started out by engaging in social media interaction with various groups and people. Hence why it may be very useful for the security services to know who your Facebook friends are.
  - thatguynz 10.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 12:14 pm
    
    “A number of people”
    
    Like who?
    - Gosman 10.1.1.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 12:47 pm
      
      Like the two Boston bombers who were apparently heavily influenced by online sermons disseminated via social media
      
      http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/combating-hate/homegrown-islamic-extremism-in-2013-online-recruitment-and-self-radicalization.pdf
      - Colonial Rawshark 10.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:34 pm
        
        Get it into your head that the NSA has been given a trillion dollars since 9/11 and still can’t keep up with terrorists talking on Facebook. Like the 3 teenage UK girls who left for Syria.
        
        It’s like they are keeping the problem going in order to keep the funding flowing.
        
        Gosman 10.1.1.1.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:47 pm
        
        Wouldn’t surprise me if they were. They are a government run bureaucracy after all and we know how ineffective they can be 😉
        
        Colonial Rawshark …
        
        7 March 2015 at 11:10 am
        
        But very effective at private sector and public sector empire building.
        
        A government bureaucracy entwined with private sector contractors feeding off fat tax payer provided budgets. Where top officials from each side regularly jump across to the other in an incestuous self perpetuating but very profitable relationship.
        
        KJT …
        
        7 March 2015 at 2:09 pm
        
        Better to privatise spying, like prisons, Eh!
      - thatguynz 10.1.1.1.2
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:47 pm
        
        Oh I thought you were actually referencing something relevant like – to NZ..
        
        Gosman 10.1.1.1.2.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 1:55 pm
        
        Global terrorism is not relevant to NZ in your mind – is that correct?
        
        thatguynz …
        
        6 March 2015 at 2:31 pm
        
        Based on the occurrences of “global” terrorism in NZ.. no.
        
        When you reference “threats to national security” one would hope that it is as it pertains directly to NZ. Given the absence of terrorist acts in NZ I think your argument is flawed and is simply regurgitating the governments rhetoric.
        
        tricledrown …
        
        6 March 2015 at 2:31 pm
        
        Goostepper.
        Loaded questions.
        So why has the National Govt effectively cut border security and Bio security.
        Given the increase in tourists visiting New Zealand.
        A Far bigger threat.
        
        Then why has the National govt cut Defense spending.
        
        tricledrown …
        
        6 March 2015 at 2:43 pm
        
        Kim Dotcom a global terrorist.
        
        Gosman …
        
        6 March 2015 at 2:58 pm
        
        If you say so. From my prespective i believe you are being a bit harsh in your judgement there.
        
        felix …
        
        6 March 2015 at 3:09 pm
        
        Why are gosmans comments being let out of moderation when he is still so obviously trolling?
        
        Bill …
        
        6 March 2015 at 3:56 pm
        
        I said I’d put him in moderation on a specific post until last night. I did that. (He actually ‘got out’ some time in the wee small hours).
        
        But I do kinda take your point Felix. There’s a fair amount of thread trashing goes on (people playing ‘silly buggers) which, in my opinion, can only be identified through ‘front end’ moderating.
        
        Of course, that entails a mod being active on the front end and on a particular post when it’s happening.
        
        My intention is to stamp it out (alongside ganging up and other ‘undesirable’ habits on comments) . But it’s not as though I’m here all of the time…
        
        felix …
        
        6 March 2015 at 4:42 pm
        
        Ah I see. I thought it seemed too good to be true 😉
        
        lprent …
        
        6 March 2015 at 5:57 pm
        
        It is why I tend to just issue warnings and bans these days. Don’t have time got too many intermediate measures. My intermediate happens when I have time and decide to comment. Then I can see how much midiff I can tear away in short time from somneone. It is a cruel but deflating practice but someone has to educate the wannabe predators about why people seem restrained here 🙂
        
        Frank Macskasy …
        
        6 March 2015 at 5:48 pm
        
        Gosman 10.1.1.1.2.1
        6 March 2015 at 1:55 pm
        
        Global terrorism is not relevant to NZ in your mind – is that correct?
        
        So, what are you suggesting, in your weird way, Gosman?
        
        That we surrender our liberties and privacy because bad people exist?
        
        Really?
        
        A very famous person once said,
        
        “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. “
        
        That was written in 1755, fully 260 years before anyone (aside from American natives) had ever heard of “terrorism”.
        
        Amazing how prescient Mr Franklin was, huh, Gosman?
        
        KJT …
        
        7 March 2015 at 11:04 am
        
        You do know that the US revolution could not have happened today.
        
        The founding fathers would have been called a terrorist organisation, propounding dangerous ideas like “Democracy” and votes for non-landholders.
        
        They would have all been “disappeared” into Chicago police holding cells, or drone bombed.
  - Tom Jackson 10.1.2
    
    6 March 2015 at 1:19 pm
    
    That’s a silly argument, even from you.
    
    He’s talking about the state hoovering up everyone’s Facebook friends, not a targeted, judicially warranted investigation into some person whom the police have probable cause to investigate. Hardly anyone disagrees with the latter, but that’s not what’s at issue here.
  - Bill 10.1.3
    
    6 March 2015 at 3:03 pm
    
    Gosman, it’s a facile observation you’re making. Of course there are terrorists and all types of nasty bastards who use social media and who may be ‘egged on’ by stuff/groups they find there. There are are also terrorists and nasty bastards who are ‘egged on’ by the security forces.
    
    Any chance you answer to Philips point, which was what business is it of the state who your facebook friends are?
    
    Or, let me put it this way (taken from a Glen Greenwald line).
    
    How do you think John Key should respond if I was to ask him to provide me with all his passwords, pin numbers,phone numbers etc and all the contact info for all the people he networks with?
    - Gosman 10.1.3.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 3:06 pm
      
      Do you honestly think the State grabs all that information you listed?
      - Bill 10.1.3.1.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 3:16 pm
        
        Unless my passwords and communications are encrypted, then it’s all a part and parcel of the meta data. Throw in Keyscore (which needs no authorisation for the operative to access and use) and yes, spy agencies have what I’ve listed…. and much more besides.
Dont worry. Be happy 11

6 March 2015 at 11:22 am

Any twit with the “I have nothing to hide blah blah” line should stop and think about this: one of the stated ambitions of the spies beyond “collecting it all” is to “disrupt”. So get out of line and they have control of your life through your computer ( access to your cash, what “you” or rather they write about you on your Facebook page)
- Tautoko Mangō Mata 11.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 1:07 pm
  
  Another aspect to be considered is the potential for the blackmailing of or coercing of NZ politicians with the threat of revealing sensitive information collected by mass surveillance.
  
  Read again the excerpt written by Glenn Greenwald:
  
  “The Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) — Britain’s National Security Agency (NSA) equivalent — commands a wide-ranging set of tools that enable it to hack into popular social media and communications outlets and plant false information on the Internet, according to a document published by The Intercept Monday. The long list of options ranges from inflating the results of online polls to allowing the agency to monitor Skype communications in real time, though the details of that capability remain murky.”
  http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/14/snowden-document-exposes-extensive-list-of-british-spying-tools/
  
  This tweet from Keith Ng is worth our consideration.
  
  “Are we giving massive powers to the government of the day? If not, who the hell are we giving it to? What is the *nature* of FVEY?”
  - RedBaronCV 11.1.1
    
    7 March 2015 at 11:27 am
    
    Like inflating the results of those wanting troops to go in herald polls??
grumpystilskin 12

6 March 2015 at 11:32 am

Technically the GCSB isn’t looking but have a look at this map, where does the southern cross cable loop through?
That’s right the US and we all know that everything that passes through there is tapped..
I’m struggling to understand that some of you don’t know this?

http://www.southerncrosscables.com/home/network/overviewandmap
- Paul Campbell 12.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 12:24 pm
  
  I always wondered whether the Southern Cross cable coming ashore at Whenuapai was a coincidence or not …..
  - Sacha 12.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 12:41 pm
    
    Thought it was Takapuna beach (conveniently close to Devonport base).
    - Colonial Rawshark 12.1.1.1
      
      6 March 2015 at 1:36 pm
      
      Absolutely guarantee that there will be a Naris device capturing all the info (metadata and content) on the Southern Cross cable at each of the landing points.
      
      And yes, that is mass indescriminate surveillance of NZers, despite all the weasel wording and “secret interpretations” of definitions that the intelligence services like to use.
    - Paul Campbell 12.1.1.2
      
      6 March 2015 at 7:55 pm
      
      Takapuna is the east coast (US) landing, “Whenuapai” (not actually on the coast) is the west coast (Aus) landing
      - Sacha 12.1.1.2.1
        
        6 March 2015 at 9:17 pm
        
        Thanks for clarifying.
      - ma rohemo 12.1.1.2.2
        
        7 March 2015 at 4:25 pm
        
        Does the cable run from Whenuapai to Takapuna by a route that goes past the naval base on the point just west of Chatswood?
        
        I have often wondered what goes on there.
        
        Check Google Earth at 36 degrees 49’21.17″ S 174 degrees 42’02.26″ E
        
        apologies for not finding ‘degrees’ on my keyboard
Gosman 13

6 March 2015 at 11:42 am

I thought he came off not very well towards the end. However it was clear that as far as he is concerned this is standard behaviour for intelligence gathering. Whether you agree with him or not is a different matter but it is clear that nothing much has changed over the past decade or so in this area.
- framu 13.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 11:55 am
  
  “However it was clear that as far as he is concerned this is standard behaviour”
  
  i could earnestly claim that mimes frequently stab little kittens and that statement above would be true – doesnt make it credible though
  
  and thats going to be the end of the time and energy i bother with your repetitive slippery behaviour
- Tracey 13.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 12:44 pm
  
  standard behaviour and leaning toward believing mass surveillance of kiwis probably happens but is the only way to achieve the goal… as opposed to Key who still denys it in tot.
TheContrarian 14

6 March 2015 at 11:48 am

Probably
- ropata:rorschach 14.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 7:07 pm
  
  Agree
ropata:rorschach 15

6 March 2015 at 12:37 pm

Does anyone remember the days when we were living in Nanny State H3lengrad and the PC thought police were destroying democracy?

Ask Bradley Ambrose, Nicky Hager, or Ed Snowden if things are better now that the 5-eyes surveillance state is in charge.
- framu 15.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 12:51 pm
  
  i know – so glad someones not telling me what shower head or lightbulb to use – otherwise i would have to march up the street with a swastika [/extreme sarc]
Rolf 16

6 March 2015 at 1:10 pm

The problem with all this is that they can, and will, do whatever they like, irrespectively of any laws, because nobody is watching. It is like scrapping the entire police force and the defense force, and say, no crime occurs in this country.
Murray Rawshark 17

6 March 2015 at 2:35 pm

The GCSB obviously collects everything from Kiwis in the Pacific, which is in breach of the law. As for those of us still in Aotearoa, I would imagine the same thing happens, but with one of the other Five Eyes partners doing the collection. These guys have the morals and ethics of an international pedophile ring. Hmmmm…..thinking about recent developments……..
Leftie 18

6 March 2015 at 3:28 pm

Is mass surveillance of Kiwis occurring?

YES.
- fisiani 18.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 8:51 pm
  
  NO
  - Colonial Rawshark 18.1.1
    
    6 March 2015 at 8:57 pm
    
    It’s quite likely all data and metadata off the Southern Cross cable is captured where it lands in Hawaii. (Where Edward Snowden happened to have been based).
Sable 19

6 March 2015 at 4:35 pm

Of course this criminal government are spying on Kiwi’s at the behest of their US masters. Probably reading my comments as I write them.
Coffee Connoisseur 20

6 March 2015 at 6:48 pm

At the end of the day it is simply another way in which the system is not meeting the needs and wants of those the system should be for.
Find me someone who actually wants to have the GCSB or any other intelligence agency looking at everything they do.
It all comes back to identifying who the system should be for and what its purpose should be. Policy should be designed off the back of the answers to those questions plain and simple.
mike 21

6 March 2015 at 6:54 pm

Why should the GCSB not be allowed to “spy” on NZ citizens? There is no guarantee that a terrorist act won’t be carried out by a NZ Citizen. What will say then?
- Kriss X 21.1
  
  6 March 2015 at 7:31 pm
  
  The GDR and their Stasi are gone, but North Korea beckons you still.
- Colonial Rawshark 21.2
  
  6 March 2015 at 9:02 pm
  
  The GCSB should not be allowed to spy on NZ citizens because their role is to safeguard democracy and civil rights, not to destroy them. You should also be afraid of how they know everything about you and your family, while you know nothing about what they are doing. An uninformed citizenry will always be taken advantage of by the powerful.
  
  Further you should realise that they have endangered all of us by not being specific about who they are targetting and hence many identifying critical pieces of information that they have already collected.
  
  A classic example of this was 9/11: the NSA had more than enough data on hand to detect and stop the 9/11 attacks, but the data was so buried that it was never even looked at.
  - Chooky 21.2.1
    
    7 March 2015 at 10:29 am
    
    +100
- Sacha 21.3
  
  6 March 2015 at 9:18 pm
  
  There’s this other NZ spy agency called the SIS. That’s their job.
  - Stephanie Rodgers 21.3.1
    
    7 March 2015 at 10:11 am
    
    And if anyone thinks that distinction isn’t important, they’re invited to consider why we have a Police force and a military.
    
    Heck, even the United States has the FBI and the CIA to preserve the distinction between agencies which “protect citizens” and agencies which “monitor external enemies”.
- Murray Rawshark 21.4
  
  7 March 2015 at 10:38 pm
  
  Umm….maybe because we have a law saying they can’t do it?
Kriss X 22

6 March 2015 at 7:27 pm

Yes it is occurring. If it proves to be legal, then we need to make it clear we want the law changed.

However, let us not forget that Helen Clark was up to her control-freak eyeballs in this sort of thing, even employing undercover spies to infiltrate environmental activist groups.
felix 23

7 March 2015 at 10:23 am

To the North of Samoa lies Tokelau, to the South of Samoa and North-East of Tonga is Niue, and further to the East lie the Cook Islands.

For citizenship purposes, these three locations are all part of NZ. The people of those Islands are New Zealand citizens by birth.

So one more time, John Key, is the GCSB conducting mass surveillance of NZ citizens or not?
KJT 24

7 March 2015 at 10:55 am

To be fair it is probably correct.

The GCSB simply hand over the data to the NSA, who then pick out anything, or anyone, which would be embarrassing to National.

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5 days ago

More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
5 days ago

Letter To Luxon.
Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
5 days ago

LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
Lindsay Mitchell writes – While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 days ago

BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Brian Easton writes – Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 days ago

CRL Progress – Sep-23
It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
5 days ago

Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
5 days ago

Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
5 days ago

Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
6 days ago

MIKE GRIMSHAW: It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
6 days ago

2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
Skeptical Science
6 days ago

The End Of The World.
Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
1 week ago

Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
Skeptical Science
1 week ago

Has There Been External Structural Change?
A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
PunditBy Brian Easton
1 week ago

Release: National’s plan means more cuts, more kids in poverty
National’s fiscal plan has failed to fill the massive fiscal hole in its dodgy tax scheme, it will mean more cuts to public services, more children being put into poverty and an end to action on climate change. ...
Labour Blog
1 day ago

Release: Labour will continue to back Kiwis when the going gets tough
Labour’s Social Development Plan will build on the social welfare safety net, rather than strip it back. ...
Labour Blog
1 day ago

Policy Announcements: Law & Order and Justice, Courts & Corrections
New Zealand First Policy Announcement: Law and Order New Zealand First believes that keeping society safe should be the priority of law-and-order policies. Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe, secure, and have their person and property respected. That is why New Zealand First continues to fix the flaws in ...
NZ First Press Release
2 days ago

Labour's Dirt Campaign Exposed With Media Help
In last night’s leaders debate Labour Leader Chris Hipkins referred to a quote without giving any explanation of its content, which was about the ‘disease of co-governance’ that is perpetuated by the Māori elite, and he said it was racist. Then, without even examining the content, National leader Christopher Luxon agreed with ...
NZ First Press Release
2 days ago

Labour's Dirt Campaign Exposed With Media Help
In last night’s leaders debate Labour Leader Chris Hipkins referred to a quote without giving any explanation of its content, which was about the ‘disease of co-governance’ that is perpetuated by the Māori elite, and he said it was racist. Then, without even examining the content, National leader Christopher Luxon agreed with ...
NZ First News
2 days ago

Chris Hipkins: Speech Progressing Together
Today, Chris Hipkins delivered a speech about Labour’s relationship with and ongoing commitment to Māori. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: National out of ideas on law and order, copies Labour’s policies and costings
After years of criticising the Government on law and order, National have embarrassed themselves by conceding they have no new ideas and instead copied Labour’s Police policy announced three weeks ago, Labour Police spokesperson Ginny Andersen says. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Labour releases balanced, costed and credible fiscal plan
Labour’s fiscal plan will continue its focus on carefully managing the books while protecting critical public services like health and education and investing to deliver high wage jobs and a low carbon economy. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Policy Announcement: Capped Time-Period For Job Seeker Beneficiaries
New Zealand First today is announcing a policy on adjusting the rules and restrictions around access to the Job Seeker Benefit. New Zealand First’s policy is to introduce a capped time-period for any person to access the Job Seeker Benefit during their lifetime. Any individual will have the ability to access the Job Seeker ...
NZ First Press Release
4 days ago

Policy Announcement: Capped Time-Period For Job Seeker Beneficiaries
New Zealand First today is announcing a policy on adjusting the rules and restrictions around access to the Job Seeker Benefit. New Zealand First’s policy is to introduce a capped time-period for any person to access the Job Seeker Benefit during their lifetime. Any individual will have the ability to access the Job Seeker ...
NZ First News
4 days ago

Release: National’s traffic light system has child poverty reduction stalling
National’s cuts to funding for beneficiaries will once again leave children and their parents with less, Spokesperson for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Green Party will end child poverty
The Green Party will double the Best Start payment and make it available for every child under three years of age - and it will be paid for with a fair tax system. ...
Greens
4 days ago

Release: Labour pledges billion-dollar medicines boost
Labour will fund more medicines for more New Zealanders by investing over $1 billion of new funding into Pharmac if re-elected, Chris Hipkins announced today. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

National's welfare policy is cruel
The National Party’s job seeker policy announced today is heartless. ...
Greens
4 days ago

Labour's PHARMAC Policy A Placebo
Labour has just announced a policy to increase Pharmac funding by $1billion over four years to fund additional medicines. With the current Pharmac budget of $1.2billion per year and needing a further $213million, by Minister Verrall’s own admission, just to keep up with current costs - then this is nothing ...
NZ First Press Release
4 days ago

Labour's PHARMAC Policy A Placebo
Labour has just announced a policy to increase Pharmac funding by $1billion over four years to fund additional medicines. With the current Pharmac budget of $1.2billion per year and needing a further $213million, by Minister Verrall’s own admission, just to keep up with current costs - then this is nothing ...
NZ First News
4 days ago

Re: The Call For Corporate Manslaughter Legislation
This matter begins with the Pike River investigation being inadequate, inexplicably lengthy, and after millions of dollars, the evidence that should have been placed before the public still has not been. We have always believed that Pike River is a crime scene, and that a proper investigation would have come to that conclusion. Blue ...
NZ First Press Release
5 days ago

Re: The Call For Corporate Manslaughter Legislation
This matter begins with the Pike River investigation being inadequate, inexplicably lengthy, and after millions of dollars, the evidence that should have been placed before the public still has not been. We have always believed that Pike River is a crime scene, and that a proper investigation would have come to that conclusion. Blue ...
NZ First News
5 days ago

Release: Labour releases New Zealand’s first climate manifesto
New Zealand faces a stark choice this election – vote for Labour to continue to confront the climate emergency with eyes wide open or bury your head in the sand alongside Christopher Luxon. ...
Labour Blog
5 days ago

Green voice crucial for climate action
The Green Party is today welcoming Labour’s climate manifesto, but is clear that much more will need to be done to tackle the climate crisis. ...
Greens
5 days ago

Speech: Chris Hipkins – Wellington Rally, 24 September
...
Labour Blog
6 days ago

People need a government that will build many more homes
Labour’s plan to build more homes is a welcome step forward, but it lacks ambition. ...
Greens
6 days ago

Release: Supercharging public housing
Labour is supercharging its plan to solve the public housing shortfall created by National, promising another 6,000 homes on top of what has already been committed says Labour Housing spokesperson Dr Megan Woods. ...
Labour Blog
6 days ago

Release: New Super Visa for migrants’ parents and rights for Dawn Raid victims
Labour will back migrant working families by introducing a 10-year multiple-entry parents’ and grandparents’ Super Visa, and make good on the Dawn Raids apology by providing a one-off visa for overstayers who have been in the country ten years or more, Labour’s Immigration Spokesperson Andrew Little says. ...
Labour Blog
7 days ago

Only the Greens will deliver a fair amnesty for overstayers
The Green Party is today welcoming Labour coming to the table to ensure an amnesty for overstayers, but only the Greens will ensure immigration settings actually reflect the reality of people who have been failed by our immigration system. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Climate future of communities on the line this election
Green Party co leader James Shaw attended a South Dunedin Future street meeting today to discuss local responses to climate change. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Green Party calls for stronger action by Auckland Council to protect urban trees and native forest
The Green Party is calling on Auckland Council to do more to protect urban trees and housing developer Aedifice Property Group to restore and replant the native forest it cleared, and protect all the remaining trees on Ngahere Road in Pukekohe after a significant number of native trees were cut ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Ram Raids drop to two-year low
Latest Police data shows monthly ram raids have hit a two-year low, laying waste to Christopher Luxon’s false claim that there are two ram raids a day says Labour’s Police Spokesperson Ginny Andersen. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Every party needs to step up on school lunches
Labour has finally said it would continue free school lunches - and the Green Party is calling on every party to step up. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: School lunches on the line this election
Free and healthy school lunches will be here to stay if Labour is re-elected, guaranteeing food for our kids who need it most and significant cost saving for parents. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Labour commits to a new hospital for the people of Hawke’s Bay
The next Labour Government will build a new hospital in Hawke’s Bay, Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall announced. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Govt changes fall short of what’s needed for migrant protection
The Green Party will keep up the fight to support exploited migrant workers, including pushing to end single employer visas, after the government picked up Green recommendations to improve immigration settings. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Clean Power Payment the smartest way forward to reduce emissions and bills
Green Party co leader James Shaw visited a home in Auckland today that has been upgraded with a wide range of energy improvements, similar to those that would be supported through the Green Party’s Clean Power Payment. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Foreign Minister's Action – A Contempt For “Caretaker Government” Convention
The Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s presence in New York today at the United Nations General Assembly is a contempt of New Zealand’s “caretaker government” convention. Despite the long-standing caretaker convention, Minister Mahuta is today at the UN to sign a highly contentious “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement”, delivering a ...
NZ First Press Release
1 week ago

Back To Black Responsibly
The Pre-Election Fiscal Update Changes Everything Within an hour of this speech there is going to be a debate between the political parties that the media, under MMP, still think are the only parties that matter in this campaign. Both of those parties are riddled with inexperience, as evidenced by ...
NZ First Press Release
1 week ago

Stop the cuts before they start – Labour launches new TV ad
National and ACT's tax plans don't add up, and that means deep cuts to the public services New Zealanders rely on, says Labour Campaign Chair Megan Woods. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Free school lunches paid for with a wealth tax
The Green Party will expand free school lunches and pay for it with a fair tax system. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

The Pacific Reset & the Blue Continent
Thank you for your invitation to speak with you this afternoon about New Zealand Foreign Policy. After offering one or two general thoughts about the nature of foreign policy, the focus today will be the Pacific Reset and why its goals remain even more important today as when they were ...
NZ First Press Release
2 weeks ago

Release: Huge hole in National’s climate budget
National’s plan to cut policies that are reducing New Zealand’s climate emissions will result in a huge gap in the country’s emissions budgets and could see Kiwis paying significantly more at the petrol pump as a result of Christopher Luxon hiking the ETS price. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Greens would push Labour much further on solar power
Labour’s plan to support rooftop solar is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what could be achieved through the Green Party’s Clean Power Payment. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 days ago

Immigration settings updates
Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

COVID-19 funding returned to Government
The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Appointment of District Court Judge
Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today. Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today. “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

More support for victims of migrant exploitation
Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

New Zealand provides support to Morocco
Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

Government invests in Greymouth’s future
The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 weeks ago

PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 weeks ago

New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 weeks ago

Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
$12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 weeks ago

New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 weeks ago

1 in 50 Fijian children may have rheumatic heart disease, says health chief
By Pauliasi Mateboto in Suva One in 50 Fijian children could have rheumatic heart disease and children between the ages of five to 15 years are the most at risk of rheumatic fever. While revealing these alarming statistics, Health Secretary Dr James Fong revealed the high figures indicated the high ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
36 mins ago

NZ election 2023: Police investigate after invasion of Te Pāti Māori candidate’s home
RNZ News New Zealand police are investigating after the home of Te Pāti Māori election candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke was invaded, vandalised, and a threatening letter left behind. They said the burglary of a Huntly home was reported to police on Monday. On Friday, Te Pāti Māori issued a statement saying ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
3 hours ago

Anti-co-governance march to parliament overshadowed by counterprotest
A protest against co-governance led by Julian Batchelor, a prominent figure in the movement, has ended, with police saying there were no issues. About 300 people marched from Civic Square to parliament in Wellington today, according to a police press release, and they have now departed parliament grounds. About 45 ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
3 hours ago

ACT's business plan: Removing January holiday, putting minimum wage on hold
The ACT Party says it would abolish Fair Pay Agreements, put a hold on minimum wage increases for three years, and remove the 2 January public holiday. ...
Radio NZ – political
3 hours ago

Police investigate after invasion of Te Pāti Māori candidate's home
Police are investigating after the home of Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke was invaded, vandalised, and a threatening letter left behind. ...
Radio NZ – political
5 hours ago

Election 2023: All the latest developments on 30 September
There's no break in sight for the political party leaders as they continue to campaign in communities on Saturday. Follow RNZ's live blog for more. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

Andy Foster plots his glorious return
Former Wellington mayor Andy Foster is attempting a political comeback as a candidate for NZ First. He talks to Joel MacManus. Fear not, Wellingtonians, your leader has returned from exile: Andy Foster is back. After nine terms on council and one term as mayor, Foster lost his re-election bid to ...
The SpinoffBy Joel MacManus
6 hours ago

Andy Foster plots his glorious return
Former Wellington mayor Andy Foster is attempting a political comeback as a candidate for NZ First. He talks to Joel MacManus. Fear not, Wellingtonians, your leader has returned from exile: Andy Foster is back. After nine terms on council and one term as mayor, Foster lost his re-election bid to ...
The SpinoffBy Joel MacManus
6 hours ago

‘Who’s that?’ says Peters of Luxon in at times jovial, at times furious interview
In an interview that swung from jovial to furious and back again, Winston Peters joked about National leader Christopher Luxon’s claim not to know him, and denied his party was responsible for race-baiting that’s led to an escalation in vitriol towards Māori. In an interview on Newshub Nation this morning, ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
6 hours ago

‘Who’s that?’ says Peters of Luxon in at times jovial, at times furious interview
In an interview that swung from jovial to furious and back again, Winston Peters joked about National leader Christopher Luxon’s claim not to know him, and denied his party was responsible for race-baiting that’s led to an escalation in vitriol towards Māori. In an interview on Newshub Nation this morning, ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
6 hours ago

‘I had to drive into a wheelbarrow’: Miriama Smith on the TV ad that haunts her
The star of Shortland Street, The Gone and now Celebrity Treasure Island shares some of her favourite TV moments. Name a New Zealand television show, and Miriama Smith has probably been in it. For the past 30 years, the actor and presenter has been a welcome fixture on our TV ...
The SpinoffBy My Life in TV
8 hours ago

The Week in Detail: Tiny homes, mental health awareness, and Afghan refugees
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, the big problems with tiny homes, how we can do our bit to mitigate climate change (besides recycling), why it's so difficult to keep our drinking water safe, the limits of mental health 'awareness', and the case of an ...
Newsroom
11 hours ago

VOTE2023: Q&A with James Shaw
In this week's episode of VOTE2023, we talk to Green Party co-leader and Climate Change Minister James Shaw about student-focused policies, electric vehicles, the Emissions Trading Scheme, and whether the Green Party would form a coalition government with National This series is made by politics students and aims to entertain ...
Newsroom
11 hours ago

Their house, my garden: Growing things in pots
See ya later, ground. This week on Their house, my garden, it’s all pots, balconies, window ledges and the kitchen bench. Sometimes you move into a tiny CBD apartment to live out your urbanite dreams. You put on your sparkly eyeshadow and smile till 3am behind the bar of a ...
The SpinoffBy Gabi Lardies
12 hours ago

Getting the brain back on track: Is there new hope for sufferers of chronic illness?
After a mild traumatic brain injury turned her life into a ‘game of snakes and ladders with no ladders’, Ursula Cochran discovered a powerful tool she could use to start getting better – her own brain. Here, she explores the potential of mind-body training for sufferers of other chronic illnesses, ...
The SpinoffBy Ursula Cochran
12 hours ago

Long Read: The food lobby in Aotearoa
This is The Detail's Long Read – one in-depth story read by us every weekend This week, it's a story from RNZ's In Depth team: 'Fully embedded': The food lobby in Aotearoa. Investigative reporter Guyon Espiner has come out with a new series, Off the Shelf, looking at the quiet struggle to stop New Zealanders eating ...
Newsroom
12 hours ago

Media targeting public for a war with China, warns Declassified Australia
Pacific Media Watch Barely a day passes without a story in the British or Australian media that ramps up fear about the rulers in Beijing, reports the investigative website Declassified Australia. According to an analysis by co-editors Antony Loewenstein and Peter Cronau, the Australian and British media are ramping up ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
17 hours ago

Indonesian police raid church office, home in Nduga – arrest six, torture 12
Asia Pacific Report Members of Indonesia’s Nduga District Police and the Damai Cartenz Police Task Force have raided a residential house and the local head office of the Papuan Tabernacle Church (Kingmi Papua) in the town of Kenyam, Nduga Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province, reports Human Rights Monitor. Before raiding the ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
19 hours ago

Candidate's home broken into, vandalised, threat left behind
The home of Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana Maipi-Clarke was broken into, vandalised, and a threatening letter left behind this week. ...
Radio NZ – political
19 hours ago

‘Politically motivated attack’: Te Pāti Māori candidate’s home vandalised, ‘threatening le...
Te Pāti Māori’s candidate for Hauraki-Waikato says her home was “invaded, vandalised, and left with a threatening letter” in what the party is calling a “politically motivated attack”. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clark said the “premeditated and targeted attack” was the latest of three incidents to take place at her home just ...
The SpinoffBy Stewart Sowman-Lund
19 hours ago

Ghoulish smoke and mirrors: Reaction to National's fiscal plan
The National Party's fiscal plan is ghoulish smoke and mirrors that will put more children into poverty, if you listen to Labour and the Green Party. ACT is critical, too. ...
Radio NZ – political
20 hours ago

Taking The Politics Out Of The Covid-19 Royal Commission
“ACT will take the politics out of the Royal Commission into the Government’s Covid-19 response by allowing all New Zealanders to have their say on what should be investigated through a new crowdsourced terms of reference”, says ACT Leader ...
Scoop politics
20 hours ago

Te Pāti Māori Candidate Hana Maipi-Clark’s Home Invaded In Politically Motivated Attack
Te Pāti Māori are not strangers to hate speech and online threats. Today however, a line was crossed. Our Hauraki-Waikato candidate, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clark’s home was invaded, vandalised, and left with a threatening letter. This premeditated and ...
Scoop politics
20 hours ago

The disability royal commission recommendations could fix some of the worst living conditions – bu...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, La Trobe University The bite mark on Ashlee’s cheek, her broken teeth and other photos of injuries from assaults in disability housing are some of the haunting images emerging from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
22 hours ago

The Week in Politics: Luxon likely to get what he doesn't want
Analysis - Christopher Luxon's announcement that he'll work with Winston Peters after the election if he has to boosts NZ First's chances of getting back into Parliament, writes Peter Wilson. ...
Radio NZ – political
22 hours ago

National's big guns come out in Tāmaki
National has wheeled out its stars into the blue, blue seat of Tāmaki which is under friendly fire attack from Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden First Bill English, then Christopher Luxon fronted within two days of each other for Simon O'Connor in the previously safe National heartland of the east ...
Newsroom
23 hours ago

Concern at candidate's assault: 'He shook me, slapped my cheeks'
Chris Hipkins has condemned the increased risk of campaign trail violence as police investigate an assault on Labour’s Angela Roberts Labour’s candidate for Taranaki-King Country has confirmed she was assaulted following an election debate at the Inglewood Rotary Club earlier this week. Angela Roberts explained in a Facebook post after ...
Newsroom
23 hours ago

National's fiscal plan doesn't answer tax cut questions
National may have hoped its detailed fiscal plan would put to bed the lingering questions about how it will pay for its tax cuts, but there are no satisfactory answers in sight, Marc Daalder writes Analysis: Grant Robertson says National's new fiscal plan has a $537 million hole in it and ...
Newsroom
24 hours ago

Beneficiary Bashing Continues This Election With National, ACT & NZ First Policies
“People who experience poverty as sanctioned by a capitalist system shouldn’t be punished for the predicament they’re in” says Brooke Pao Stanley, AAAP Coordinator. These parties use fear based politics to gain popularity and continue to push a narrative ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Foreign policy has been missing from NZ’s election campaign – voters deserve answers to these bi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Tax cuts, crime, the cost of living, potholes and co-governance … these and various other issues are now familiar to most voters. But there has been one major election area missing the serious debate ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Labour candidate slapped following debate in Taranaki
Labour candidate Angela Roberts, a list MP campaigning in Taranaki-King Country, was shaken and slapped by a member of the public following a debate on Tuesday this week. She described the incident on Facebook. While talking about education policy with an attendee after an event at Inglewood Rotary Club, the ...
The SpinoffBy Shanti Mathias
1 day ago

Forest Owners Welcome National's Forest Policy But Hold Reservations On Planting Restrictions
The Forest Owners Association generally welcomes the National Party forestry policy announcement that National wants to give certainty and support to the forestry and wood processing industry clearly recognising its economic and environmental advantages. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Funding The Basics Brilliantly Would Be A Start
Both major parties needed to have prioritised ongoing new investment in children and education in their allowances for new spending, NZEI Te Riu Roa president Mark Potter said today. “The two fiscal plans released this week made pre-commitments ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

National’s Fiscal Plan Continues Attack On Low Income Households
National has finally released its fiscal plan after much delay and it reveals a plan to cut the incomes and essential public services the poorest New Zealanders rely on, just so they can pay for tax cuts for landlords and the well-off, says NZCTU ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Governor-General’s Official Visit To Malaysia
The Governor-General of New Zealand, Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, and Dr Richard Davies will depart for an official visit to Malaysia on Sunday 1 October 2023. Their Excellencies are travelling to Malaysia at the invitation of His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

‘Forcing more children into poverty’: Labour responds to National’s fiscal plan
Labour says National’s plan to index benefits to inflation rather than wages will result in more children living in poverty. Speaking in Lower Hutt today, party leader Chris Hipkins said National was proposing “$2 billion in benefit cuts”. “In the middle of a cost of living crisis, they’re cutting benefits ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
1 day ago

Review Of Wellbeing Strategy Needed As Police Recruitment Declines; Suicides Continue
Hatikvah Blue Hope Foundation is gravely concerned following the suicide of another serving police officer in the past month, and we extend our deepest sympathy to the grieving family. This tragedy comes as NZ Police is seeing a staggering 48.5% decline ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Here’s how to fix Australia’s approach to soil carbon credits so they really count towards our c...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Simmons, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, University of New England William Edge, Shutterstock Australia’s plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 relies heavily on carbon credits. These credits are awarded to projects that avoid the release ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Tough Times Ahead For Children In Hardship Under Next Government, CPAG Warns
The Child Poverty Action Group is asking the National Party to make good on its commitment to children in poverty, but says the party’s fiscal plan reveals it has no desire or intention to help those living in the greatest poverty in Aotearoa. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Review: Patricia Highsmith play never quite reaches its subject’s brilliance
Sam Brooks reviews Auckland Theatre Company’s Switzerland, which can’t quite meet its subject straight in the eye. What is it? The last show in Auckland Theatre Company’s programme is somewhat of a pivot from the rest of its programme this year. It’s a psychological thriller by an Australian playwright (Joanna ...
The SpinoffBy Sam Brooks
1 day ago

The Friday Poem: ‘farm to table’ by kī anthony
A new poem by kī anthony. farm to table there is a story in my body that you want to hear. pull me apart like supermarket pizzabread and tell me who i am. narrative unspools my broken cassette; pick up your fork. wind me up. present me on masterchef and ...
The SpinoffBy kī anthony
1 day ago

'Completely unacceptable': Labour candidate Angela Roberts 'slapped' following p...
The candidate for Taranaki-King Country says she was going to let it go, but realised it was important to take a stand against aggressive and unacceptable behaviour. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending September 29
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 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Vintage, $26) Gamer Queen of the list! ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
1 day ago

Taxpayers’ Union Slams National’s Alternative Fiscal Plan
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the plan released by the National Party today saying it barely touches the sides in terms of cutting waste, and realigning the sector to live within the country’s means. Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Jordan ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Nicola Willis confirms plan for pre-Christmas mini-budget
A National-led government would deliver “a mini-budget before Christmas”, Nicola Willis has confirmed, with the intention of “setting out some of the savings and reprioritisations we believe are necessary to get New Zealand back on track”. Speaking as National unveiled its revised, post-Prefu fiscal plan, she said heads of government ...
The SpinoffBy Toby Manhire
1 day ago

National sets aside funding for predicted rise in prison population
National’s “tough-on-crime” approach will result in a higher prison population, and $700 million has been set aside to deal with this, Nicola Willis has confirmed. “We do expect the prison population to rise as a result of our sentencing policy,” National’s finance spokesperson said at the announcement of the party’s ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
1 day ago

National promises bigger surplus by 2027
National is promising a bigger surplus and lower debt than Labour in its fiscal plan, which has just been released by leader Christopher Luxon and finance spokesperson Nicola Willis in Auckland. National’s plan says a surplus of $2.9 billion will be reached in 2027 – the same year as Labour. ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
1 day ago

Election 2023: National Party fiscal plan promises lower taxes, disciplined government spending
The National Party has released its fiscal plan, saying it will lower taxes and reduce net debt. Watch a live stream with leader Christopher Luxon and finance spokesperson Nicola Willis here. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Meet the Gen Z politics nerd who’s made a game out of the election
Can learning about politicians and policies be fun? A 23-year-old Ōtautahi illustrator thinks so, if you turn it all into a card game. A pencil drawn Chris Hipkins, with freckles and a big wide smile, looks like a little school boy. Underneath the portrait, he is briefly and somewhat ruthlessly ...
The SpinoffBy Gabi Lardies
1 day ago

Parties use Facebook less – and don’t always share accurate information
Smaller parties contending the 2023 election use social media most, shows a new study. Conducted by Victora University’s Internet, Social Media and Politics Research Lab, researchers analysed 681 posts made by political parties and party leaders on Facebook. Act posted almost twice as much as any other party. “Most of ...
The SpinoffBy Shanti Mathias
1 day ago

Election Study Tracks Facts And Fiction In Political Parties’ Social Media Campaigns
In the lead-up to the general election on 14 October, ACT is pipping other parliamentary parties for the number of Facebook posts. However, some of its posts contain “half-truths”, said Dr Mona Krewel, director of the Internet, Social Media and Politics Research ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Ngāi Tahu Marks 25 Years Since Crown Settlement
Ngāi Tahu is celebrating the anniversary of its Crown Settlement by holding a tribal climate change symposium with whānau today. In 1998, Ngāi Tahu received an apology from the Crown, cultural and tribal redress, and $170 million compensation. It was ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Election 2023: ACT Party would call for public submissions on Covid-19 inquiry terms of reference
It is "wrong" that the government gets to set the terms of reference of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into its Covid-19 response, the ACT Party says. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

National to release its fiscal plan today
It’s Friday, September 29. Welcome to The Spinoff’s election live updates. Learn more about the political parties at Policy.nz The agenda Coming up today: National is releasing its fiscal plan in Auckland at midday, after which leader Christopher Luxon is doing a walkabout in St Heliers and attending ...
The SpinoffBy Alice Neville
1 day ago

Māori leaders pen open letter condemning racism from political candidates
Māori leaders, including Dame Naida Glavish, Tā Mark Solomon and Tukoroirangi Morgan, have released an open letter to politicians this morning calling on them to “call out racism and race-baiting and publicly condemn it”. The letter appears to reference a line from National leader Christopher Luxon’s speech at Waitangi this ...
The SpinoffBy Anna Rawhiti-Connell
1 day ago

A taste of democracy: What political leaders eat (or don’t eat) on the campaign trail
With just over two weeks till election day, we asked party leaders about the kai that fuels them along the campaign trail. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. One of the great (or only) joys of election campaign season is the abundance of footage and ...
The SpinoffBy Charlotte Muru-Lanning
1 day ago

Save The Children Calls For Children To Be Back On The Agenda In Election 23
Save the Children is asking politicians and voters to put children’s needs at the top of the agenda ahead of Election 23, with five vital asks for tamariki. The child rights organisation, that has been gathering children and youth voices in recent ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Election 2023: The foreign affairs, trade and defence policies in two minutes
New Zealand makes lots of money from foreign trade, and spends lots of money on the defence force. What role do the parties want the country to play overseas? Policy.nz has the full version, but we can tell you the basics in two minutes. One of the roles of a ...
The SpinoffBy Shanti Mathias
1 day ago

Election 2023: ACT Party would amend Inquiries Act to allow public submissions on Covid-19 inquiry
It is "wrong" that the government gets to set the term of reference of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into its Covid-19 response, the ACT Party says. It is "wrong" ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Election 2023: Māori leaders call on politicians to condemn racism
In an open letter, Māori and community leaders are calling for an end to a "divisive style of politics", and asking National leader Christopher Luxon to condemn race-baiting by NZ First and ACT. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

The Bulletin: Willis scores big with CEOs in Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom
National leader Chris Luxon beats his Labour rival – though not overwhelmingly so – in the NZ Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom survey out this morning. The regular pre-election survey of 100 business leaders asks them to rank government ministers and opposition MPs on their handling of economic issues and overall political ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
1 day ago

Media And Police Attribute Success Of Operation Dickinson To The Firearms Registry
The Sporting Shooters Association of New Zealand (SSANZ) is concerned about the political neutrality of New Zealand Police in the leadup to the 2023 General Election. We also have concerns about the media’s understanding of the Firearms Registry ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

A search for links between two of the universe’s most spectacular phenomena has come up empty – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Howell, OzGrav Associate Investigator; Adjunct Research Fellow in Astrophysics, The University of Western Australia Carl Knox / OzGrav, CC BY Every so often, astronomers glimpse an intense flash of radio waves from space – a flash that lasts only ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Lions to roar or Magpies to soar? It’s a remarkable revival story either way on grand final day
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Saturday’s premiership tussle between Collingwood and Brisbane features the two top-ranked teams from 2023. Hopefully, unlike last year’s final, it will be a gripping match. The 2023 finals series has so ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Handkerchief or tissue? Which one’s better for our health and the planet?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Shutterstock Maybe you have hay fever, COVID, a cold or the flu, and are reaching for a tissue or handkerchief. But which one’s better ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

‘You’re constantly worrying’: pregnant women, bushfire smoke and the impossibility of safety
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Lou Rasmussen, Professor, School of Sociology, Australian National University Smoke covered large swathes of Australia during the catastrophic summer fires of 2019-2020. You could see the plumes from space. Over 20% of Australia’s forests went up in smoke and flame. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Michael Woodhouse is prepared to lose in Dunedin one last time
The former cabinet minister withdrew from National’s list after implying the party had valued his experience below the need for diversity. Shanti Mathias speaks to him in Dunedin as he contemplates what comes after 15 years in politics. Michael Woodhouse is always repping – both Otago and the National Party. ...
The SpinoffBy Shanti Mathias
1 day ago

Michael Woodhouse is prepared to lose in Dunedin one last time
The former cabinet minister withdrew from National’s list after implying the party had valued his experience below the need for diversity. Shanti Mathias speaks to him in Dunedin as he contemplates what comes after 15 years in politics. Michael Woodhouse is always repping – both Otago and the National Party. ...
The SpinoffBy Shanti Mathias
1 day ago

Boos and strong language mark forum on housing
Political candidates have heard the plight of renters at a forum in Wellington, with all promising to continue funding tenant services. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

ACT climate policy could see NZ Paris Agreement pledge walked back
The ACT Party has raised the possibility it would renege on New Zealand's international climate pledge under the Paris Agreement. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Public sector headcount rises in last pre-election recruitment drive
The public administration and safety sector takes on 2,300 new workers in a month ...
Newsroom
1 day ago

Weet-bix case shows size of mountain supermarket challengers need to climb
It’s just one product, in one chain of stores. But few stories symbolise the ongoing power of the supermarket duopoly as well as The Warehouse’s Weet-bix situation, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
1 day ago

Election 2023: All the latest developments on 29 September
The National Party is set to reveal its fiscal plan today after much controversy over how viable its foreign buyer's tax is and Labour's release of their fiscal plan on Wednesday. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Try queen almost quit her Black Ferns dream
A prolific try-scorer in any team she makes, Martha Mataele is looking to cross the try line for the Black Ferns, as she's named in the squad for the first time. Martha Mataele almost gave up on her Black Ferns dream before her call-up came this month. When the Black ...
Newsroom
1 day ago

Short story of a NZ Loyal Party candidate
"They're using cloud seeding to alter the atmosphere!": a NZ Loyal candidate is sadly imagined by Jack Remiel Cottrell, in our series of short stories set in the election campaign "Andy, what you're saying is unhinged." Despite Ethan being one of the sheeple, Andy does appreciate that he visits. ...
Newsroom
1 day ago