Part of the well being of society is that those in it do not get placed under financial stress.
Yet because of the high cost of housing to income here (No 1) people find it difficult to retain any level of savings to cope with contingency.
So far, the removal of "high cost" lenders preying on the vulnerable (spiraling to a worse position) is about the only improvement. And food banks are growing in importance.
In the USA charity groups buy up health debt, in Oz they help with the debt of beneficiaries (interest free loans).
Some endangered native species may have to go extinct because it would be too expensive to save them all, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka suggested at a select committee hearing on Tuesday.
The two-hour inquiry into the implications of the Budget for the Department of Conservation came as part of Parliament's first-ever scrutiny week. Labour's environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said it started to go off the rails early on, when Potaka freely volunteered that saving every species was merely "aspirational"
Before the election he said he would travel commercially, but I imagine arriving in Japan virtually unheralded and without the travelling troop of reporters to record his every meal might have changed his mind.
While the government is apparently focused on de-regulation and infrastructure (but without the money to pay for it), it has chosen to neglect focus on growing the economy.
One way is exports online – software as a service.
Unfunding central support of an industry that can operate from anywhere (provinces to urban centres) that does not deplete the planets resources or harm the environment.
Leading opponent of economic growth that does not negatively impact the environment has been the Taxpayers Union.
the Taxpayers’ Union shot back: “A special interest group calling for corporate welfare isn’t exactly news, but Judith Collins needs to hold firm and not cave in to crony capitalism. Governments shouldn’t be using taxpayers’ money trying to pick winners or propping up fashionable industries like SaaS with handouts.”
KiwiSaaS’s focus is – or was – on helping the next generation coming through
The wider issue
The Government was criticised by the Technology User Association of New Zealand (Tuanz) earlier this week for halting work on an Industry Transformation Plan designed to address skills shortages through inclusion and education initiatives, and for ending funding for the Digital Boost progamme, aimed at lifting small business digital literacy and tech uptake – while at the same time failing to match government initiatives in the UK, US and Australia to address areas like internet safety, cyber security and AI (artificial intelligence) challenges and uptake.
The Startup Council called for the $300m Elevate venture capital fund (now exhausted) to be topped up to the tune of $500m. It got nothing. A rebate for the video game sector was unexpectedly kept, albeit with only around half of the available funds paid out.
And it gets worse
And as Sir Peter Beck thanked Industrial Research Ltd (IRL, now part of Callaghan Innovation) for giving Rocket Lab its start, Callaghan Innovation incurred similar staff cuts as other Government agencies and had its plan for R&D hubs in the capital canned.
“There were no new technology initiatives in the Budget, but agencies have been reprioritising resources to focus on new priorities including biotech, AI, and game development,”
The CofC is not going to realise an increase in productivity nor knowledge led economic growth, it is not even trying to.
It is one based on catering to existing activity by deregulation (including worker and tenant exploitation) and keeping government capability small so it is dependent on private capital for infrastructure funding.
It is one of, by and for a class of citizen who exploit a lack of CGT and estate tax (and stamp duty) to have privilege not easily found elsewhere.
Luxon and National have never loved localism. What they love is provincial Tory fiefdoms perpetuated by shockingly low turnout in local body elections and run by politer Kiwi versions of Faulkner's southern Gothic Snopes Clan.
“There were no new technology initiatives in the Budget, but agencies have been reprioritising resources to focus on new priorities including biotech, AI, and game development,”
Game development a priority?? Don't these characters have any idea at all about true wealth creation?
That's as may be, but I still don't see game-playing or creation as producing genuine wealth. Though I guess it keeps a few incels occupied and not causing mischief elsewhere.
Just NZ made gaming had 80.2 million in revenue last year (doubled from the year before).
450 full time staff comes to $178,000 per staff member.
90% of it is overseas purchases. Companies like Pikpok have been around since 1997. Remember buying shatter off them way back when and Gripshift on the Xbox when they were named Sidhe games.
Yes, yes, it shifts a bit of money in our direction. But I'm more concerned with the big picture. Does it on the whole benefit humanity (and the non-human inhabitants of the planet), or is it essentially just a distraction from the real issues requiring attention and resources?
Lets just say its a distraction. An utter waste of time and money. So what? Its still employs people. People all over the world voluntarily choose to buy the products. Its their businesses. Apparently looks to be successful without needing tons of "government" cash or direction to make it successful. Would you wipe them out because they are not doing something to proactively save the planet? Really?
Is reading books a waste of time, going for a walk in the forest, having a beer down the pub, watching a rugby game – pretty sure none of those things are saving the planet?
Anyway it isn't passive as you may think – I've had many very interesting conversations with people from all over the world about lots of things through gaming as have my kids. They are now adult friends with people they met online when they were eight. When one son was 11 we organised all his online friends to meet in real life – they had a ball. I've done the same with my on-line friends including providing free accommodation for them to come and visit or have a break after something bad happening. One Forza artist was stranded with her kids in a massive snowstorm. She reached out to the gaming community. One of the Forza community who didn't know her went and rescued her.
Online a lot of gamers can be themselves without fear or favour or discrimination – nobody can see they have a limb missing, or are a little person, or are a thalidomide baby with deformities they just get treated the same as everyone else. Tis great – and why sometimes meeting in real life is both special and surprising.
Commerce Commission starts High Court case against Foodstuffs
The commission said the charges related to anti-competitive land covenants, which it said were lodged by the supermarket operator with the purpose of blocking competitors from opening rival supermarkets at particular sites, and developing existing ones.
It said the parties were working on a settlement to resolve the issues, and the High Court would determine any orders to be made in relation to Foodstuffs North Island in due course.
Low pay, understaffing and customer abuse are causing major concern across the grocery industry, according to a survey of more than 1500 supermarket and grocery workers from major retail chains.
The survey – completed electronically in May through First Union's member database – shows thousands of supermarket workers are grappling with the high cost of living.
They are also dealing with regular incidents of customer abuse in understaffed supermarkets that are typically paying the majority of workers less than the living wage.
Intentional or not, National may well oversee the collapse of significant inter island marine transport. Smaller boats might be able to fill in for passengers, but road and rail…it will be interesting.
I feel that may be possible to gather the rightwing to greatly help against one particularly unpleasant pleasant form of pollution – you just need an enemy that all sides of the political divide can unite against
In the 1970's 3M knew about the hazards of forever chemicals used in packaging, non-stick and stain-resistant products and fire-fighting foam.
And they covered it up.
//
Several of 3M’s most successful products contained man-made compounds called fluorochemicals. In a spray called Scotchgard, fluorochemicals protected leather and fabric from stains. In a coating known as Scotchban, they prevented food packaging from getting soggy. In a soapy foam used by firefighters, they helped extinguish jet-fuel fires. Johnson explained to Hansen that one of the company’s fluorochemicals, PFOS—short for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid—often found its way into the bodies of 3M factory workers. Although he said that they were unharmed, he had recently hired an outside lab to measure the levels in their blood. The lab had just reported something odd, however. For the sake of comparison, it had tested blood samples from the American Red Cross, which came from the general population and should have been free of fluorochemicals. Instead, it kept finding a contaminant in the blood.
[…]
Hansen’s team found it in Swedish blood samples from 1957 and 1971. After that, her lab analyzed blood that had been collected before 3M created PFOS. It tested negative. Apparently, fluorochemicals had entered human blood after the company started selling products that contained them. They had leached out of 3M’s sprays, coatings, and factories—and into all of us.
Unfortunately a majority of voters at the last election voted for the guy. He is a well known local 'identity' and they knew what they were voting for.
A note to readers This satirical post is based on this document. Received from Auckland Transport under a LGOIMA request. the document reveals the ranking process used by the working group for the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). It shows how the RLTP working group (Auckland Transport, KiwiRail, NZTA/Waka Kotahi, and ...
TL;DR: Six things from Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy I think are worth noting on the morning of Thursday, June 27:The NZIER has estimated almost a third of new spending in Budget 2024 will have worsened the Government’s Paris agreement climate liability, which Treasury has already estimated at up to $23.7 billion. ...
Hi,Four days ago New Zealand pop royalty Brooke Fraser broke yet another record — largest attendance for a Kiwi solo artist at her Spark Arena gig.She was joined on stage by the Auckland Philharmonia orchestra, Radio New Zealand gushing that it was “hard to pick a singular high point of ...
Whenever people make the perfectly sensible suggestion that the world could solve its problems by taxing billionaires, the latter's stooges flood the zone with claims it would never work. Apparently billionaires are so inherently criminal that they would evade such taxes, laundering their money and hiding it in criminal jurisdictions ...
Breathe.Inhale deeply through your nose, and hold it.Open your mouth slightly. Exhale slowly, feel the breath passing over your lips.Hear it. You’re alive.Statistically, if the last government hadn’t taken the actions it did, about twenty of you, even in my small audience, would be dead now. If I do a ...
TL;DR: Electricity affordability is a growing concern for households and small businesses, despite falling generation costs for solar and wind, a survey has found.Meanwhile, Stats NZ is forecasting more than a third of 19-29 year olds will stay living at home within the next two decades, no doubt because of ...
This is a guest post by Darren Davis, reposted with his kind permission. It originally appeared on his excellent blog Adventures in Transitland, which we warmly encourage you to check out.Aotearoa has one of the worst road safety records in the developed world. Australia is doing quite a bit ...
The audio in today’s newsletter contains a conversation I had last year with journalist Elizabeth Williamson, author of an incredibly moving book on Sandy Hook. We talked America, conspiracies, and Alex Jones. It’s been gathering dust for reasons we’ll get to, but I wanted to share our conversation today. ...
The anti Three Waters campaign which seemed so simple during the election campaign is now bogged down in a Select Committee as submitter after submitter raises issues with the replacement legislation. The so-called “Local Water Done Well” has now morphed into the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill, which ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
On we go, at 20 kilometres an hour, truly the best pace for rolling through the world and breathing it all in.Fascinating to get to see two, four, twenty new places each day. Marvellous to get to see how very many different ways you can make it good for people ...
There's a couple of pieces about architect-of-our-constitution Geoffrey palmer's views on the current government doing the rounds today. The first, on Newsroom is an excerpt from a speech he gave to a Young Labour meeting last weekend, in which he says NZ an executive paradise, not democratic paradise. The Spinoff ...
The government just introduced its Education and Training Amendment Bill to the House. The name is deliberately obfuscatory, because what the bill actually does is reintroduce charter schools - effectively allowing National to privatise the education system. That's corrupt and it stinks, but to add insult to injury, National's new ...
Confidence about future job availability collapsed after Budget 2024 to lows last seen during the the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/09. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Employee confidence in more jobs being available in a year’s time collapsed in the first two weeks of June after the Budget, falling ...
Walking through the rooms in my headI came across your image,You looked at me with that sweet smile and saidSomething they won't let me repeatWe hurt the ones we love the mostIts a subtle form of complimentAfter you’ve watched Christopher Luxon for a while you think to yourself - that ...
The decision taken last December to cancel the contract for the two purpose-built Cook Strait ferries – without having a Plan B in mind, let alone in place – has been a calamity that’s going to haunt New Zealand for decades to come, long after the Luxon government has been ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meets again,so I’ve taken a look through the items on their public agenda to see what’s interesting. Musical Chairs The first item of note is another change to the make-up of the AT Board. The legislation that established Auckland Transport allows for Waka Kotahi to ...
How does France deal with opponents of its colonisation of the Pacific? Arrest them and deport them to France to face prosecution in a foreign court: A group of pro-independence leaders charged with allegedly organising protests that turned into violent unrest in New Caledonia last month was indicted on ...
On this edition of AVFA Selwyn Manning and I discuss post-pandemic economics and the rise of national populism. It seems that a post-pandemic turn to more nationalist economic policies may have encouraged the rise of populists who use xenophobia and … Continue reading → ...
Two weeks ago the climate denier government announced they would be giving farmers what they want and removing agriculture from the ETS. On Friday they introduced the bill for it to the House. Due to past efforts and backdowns, the Climate Change Response Act has a lot of inactive clauses ...
The Struggle Continues: Keith Locke belonged to a generation that still believed in a world that could be, through struggle, relieved of its chains. That struggle constituted the core of a life lived with purpose, courage and determination. MANY NEW ZEALANDERS would, no doubt, have been surprised to discover that Keith Locke was ...
A couple of my stories – A Breath Through Silver, and The Last Libation – have previously earned themselves reprints. Well, I am pleased to report that the nice people at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (https://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/) have included my narrative horror-poem, The Night Before Yule, in their newly-compiled Best Of anthology. ...
TL;DR: Responding to the grounding of the Aratere over the weekend, the Government has signalled it will buy new replacement ferries, but only enough to replace existing freight capacity.That would effectively limit Aotearoa-NZ’s ability to handle any growth in population or the need to reduce emissions by shifting freight from ...
Hi, we’re Greater Auckland. We’ve been a part of the landscape for over 15 years now. Over that time, we’ve provided informed commentary, evidence-based analysis, and inspiring visions for the future of Tāmaki Makaurau. You might know us from such hits as: The Congestion-Free Network2013 (and its 2017 ...
Fancy, a fast carA bag full of lootI can nearly guaranteeYou'll end up with the bootThe Prime Minister arrived home, perhaps a bit surprised, maybe even secretly a little pleased at the diversion, to find the country falling apart. Things going more badly that even his c-list, self back-slapping, trip ...
The problems at KiwiRail go further and deeper than the maintenance issue, which caused the inter-island ferry Aratere to run aground on Saturday. The company is also the subject of a damning report published last week about the way it runs its rail operations from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission. ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 16, 2024 thru Sat, June 22, 2024. Stories we promoted this week, by publication date: Before June 16‘Unprecedented mass coral bleaching’ expected in 2024, says expert, ...
The People’s House:What would it be like to live in a country where a single sermon could prick the conscience of the comfortable? Where a journalist could rouse a whole city to action? Where the government could be made to respond to the people’s concerns? Where real change was possible? And ...
Good morn or evening friendsHere's your friendly announcerI have serious news to pass on to everybodyWhat I'm about to sayCould mean the world's disasterCould change your joy and laughter to tears and painIt's thatLove's in need of love todayDon't delaySend yours in right awayHate's goin' 'roundBreaking many heartsStop it pleaseBefore ...
I loved everything about my first Cook Strait ferry crossing: a day parked in the car in howling Wellington wind and driving Wellington rain, waiting to hear if they were going to sail or not; watching the huge black ministerial limousines come and go; listening to the adventures of Chicken ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by John Mason in collaboration with members from the Gigafact team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Was the Medieval Warm Period a global ...
Your face has fallen sad nowFor you know the time is nighWhen I must remove your wingsAnd you, you must try to flyCome sail your ships around meAnd burn your bridges downWe make a little history, babyEvery time you come aroundWhen I went to bed last night I thought the ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past somewhat interrupted week. Still on the move!Share Read more ...
Mainstreaming need not be inherently anti-Māori. It will be if it is done badly because it will be anti-those-in need, and proportionally more of them are Māori.That the Coalition Government says it will deliver public services on the basis of need rather than, say, race deserves consideration, even though many ...
The Justice Committee has reported back on the government's racist bill to eliminate Māori representation in local government. The report duly notes the Waitangi Tribunal's finding that the bill breaches te Tiriti, and the bill's inconsistency with our international human rights obligations - and then proceeds to ignore both. Instead, ...
This week our Prime Minister Christopher Luxon… mmm, let’s take a moment to consider just how good that sounds. Hope you weren’t eating.Anyway that guy. Better? That bloke from the telly, he said - what I would say to you is… I’m big in Japan. My kind of people, hard ...
Tis the winter solstice! The shortest day and longest night of the year. The good news: we’re on our way back to summertime. Here’s another roundup of stories to brighten up your Friday. Our header image is from CRL and shows Waihorotiu Station lit up for Matariki 2024. The ...
Our economic momentum remains anaemic, and it’s possible the tiny increase in GDP was a ‘dead cat bounce’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Per-capita GDP has fallen 4.3% from its peak over the last 21 months, which is more than it it fell in the Global Financial Crisis recession ...
Hi,I was in Texas recently and couldn’t stop thinking about how in some parts of America they really like to kill their prisoners. As a society we tend to agree murder is wrong, but somewhere along the way Texas figured it’s fine if it’s after 6pm and the killing is ...
A persistent theme has been weaving between the Committee rooms at Parliament all this so-called “Scrutiny” week as MPs have probed Ministers and agencies about their work and plans. The question has been simply what the environmental price might be if the country begins to accelerate its infrastructure building to ...
Open access notables Climate Change Is Leading to a Convergence of Global Climate Distribution, Li et al., Geophysical Research Letters:The impact of changes in global temperatures and precipitation on climate distribution remains unclear. Taking the annual global average temperatures and precipitation as the origin, this study determined the climate distribution with the ...
Readers keeping count will know it's more than five years since I gave up booze. Some of you get worried on my behalf when I recount a possibly testing moment. Anxious readers: today I got well tested.All the way across France I've been enquiring in my very polite and well-meaning but ...
Turn awayIf you could, get me a drinkOf water 'cause my lips are chapped and fadedCall my Aunt MarieHelp her gather all my thingsAnd bury me in all my favourite coloursMy sisters and my brothers, stillI will not kiss you'Cause the hardest part of this is leaving youI remember the ...
Its not often that one has to agree with Judith Collins, but yes, it would indeed cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” (at least) to buy replacement aircraft to fly the Prime Minister on his overseas missions of diplomacy and trade. And yes, the public might well regard that spending ...
A few weeks ago, Auckland Council took another step in the long-running stadium saga, narrowing its shortlist down to two options for which they will now seek feasibility studies. The recommendation to move forward with a feasibility study was carried twenty to one by the council’s Governing Body for the ...
Social Development Minister Louise Upston has defended the Government’s decision to save money by dumping a programme which tops up the pay of disabled workers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: It has emerged the National-ACT-NZ First Government decided to cut wages for disabled workers from the minimum wage to $2 an hour ...
The new Chief Executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) yesterday gave a Select Committee a brutally frank outline of the department’s role as the agency right at the centre of power in Wellington. Ben King, formerly a deputy Chief Executive at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Carbon dioxide is the main culprit behind climate change. But in second place is methane: a greenhouse gas stronger than CO2, ...
Oh, take me, take me, take meTo the dreamer's ballI'll be right on time and I'll dress so fineYou're gonna love me when you see meI won't have to worryTake me, take mePromise not to wake me'Til it's morningIt's all been trueEarly morning yesterday, well before dawn, doom-scrolling.Not intentionally, that’s ...
The first widespread survey of consumers and voters since the Budget on May 30 shows a collapse in confidence. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The belt-tightening and tax-cutting Budget delivered on May 30 has not delivered the boost to confidence in the economy the National-ACT-NZ First Government might have ...
The Air Force 757 that broke down with the Prime Minister on board in Port Moresby on Sunday is considered so unreliable that it carries a substantial stock of spare parts when it travels overseas. And the plane also carries an Air Force maintenance team on board ready to make ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Sometimes you’ll just be so dog-tired, you can only keep yourself awake with a short stab of self-inflicted pain.A quick bite of the lip, for instance.Maybe a slight bite on the tongue or a dig of the nails.But what if you’re needing something a bit more painful?The solution is as ...
After months and months of blocking every attempt by the UN and everyone else to achieve a Gaza ceasefire, US President Joe Biden is now marketing his own three-stage “peace plan” to end the conflict. Like every other contribution by the US since October 7, the Biden initiative is hobbled ...
This is a guest post by Vivian Naylor, who is the Barrier Free Advisor and Educator at CCS Disability Action, Northern Region, the largest disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. She also advises on AT’s Public Transport and Capital Projects Accessibility Groups.Vivian has been advocating and ...
So kiss me and smile for meTell me that you'll wait for meHold me like you'll never let me go'Cause I'm leavin' on a jet planeDon't know when I'll be back againOh babe, I hate to go“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its ...
The election promises of ‘better economic management’ are now ringing hollow, as NZ appears to be falling into a deeper recession, while other economies are turning the corner. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and the housing market are slumping back into a deep recession this winter, contrasting ...
Parliament’s new “Scrutiny” process, which is supposed to allow Select Committees to interrogate Ministers and officials in much more depth, has got off to a rocky start. Yesterday was the first day of “Scrutiny Week” which is supposed to see the Government grilled on how it spends taxpayers’ money and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Barbara GradyIllustration by Samantha Harrington. Photo credits: Justin Lane-Pool/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images, European Space Agency. In an empty wind-swept field in Richmond, California, next to the county landfill, a company called RavenSr has plotted out land and won ...
Although NZ readers may not be that interested in the subject and in lieu of US Fathers Day missives (not celebrated in NZ), I thought I would lay out some brief thoughts on a political subject being debated in the … Continue reading → ...
TL;DR:Chris Bishop talks up the use of value capture, congestion charging, PPPs, water meters, tolling and rebating GST on building materials to councils to ramp up infrastructure investment in the absence of the Government simply borrowing more to provide the capital.Meanwhile, Christopher Luxon wants to double the number of ...
When I was invited to come aboard and help with Greater Auckland a few months ago (thanks to Patrick!), it was suggested it might be a good idea to write some sort of autobiographical post by way of an introduction. This post isn’t quite that – although I’m sure I’lll ...
On the turning awayFrom the pale and downtroddenAnd the words they say which we won't understandDon't accept that, what's happeningIs just a case of other's sufferingOr you'll find that you're joining inThe turning awayToday’s guest kōrero is from Author Catherine Lea. So without further ado, over to Catherine…I’m so honoured ...
Hi,Tickled was one of the craziest things that ever happened to me (and I feel like a lot of crazy things have happened to me).So ahead of the Webworm popup and Tickled screening in New Zealand on July 13, I thought I’d write about how we made that film and ...
Hi,I’m doing a Webworm merch popup followed by a Tickled screening in Auckland, New Zealand on July 13th — and I’d love you to come. I got the urge to do this while writing this Webworm piece breaking down how we made Tickled, and talking to all the people who ...
One simple statistic said it all: China Premier Li Qiang asked Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell what percentage of the company’s overall sales were made in China. “Thirty per cent,” said Hurrell. In other words, New Zealand’s largest company is more or less dependent on the Chinese market. But Hurrell is ...
One occasionally runs into the question of what J.R.R. Tolkien would have thought of George R.R. Martin. For years, I had a go-to online answer: we could use a stand-in. Tolkien’s thoughts on E.R. Eddison – that he appreciated the invented world, but thought the invented names were silly, and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, June 9, 2024 thru Sat, June 15, 2024. Story of the week A glance at this week's inventory of what experts tell us is extreme weather mayhem juiced by ...
After a busy week it’s a good day to relax. Clear blues skies here in Tamaki Makaurau, very peaceful but for my dogs sleeping heavily. In the absence of a full newsletter I thought I’d send out a brief update and share a couple of posts that popped up in ...
Now in the land of Angus beef and the mighty ABsWhere the steaks were juicy and the rivers did run foulIt would often be said,This meal is terrible,andNo, for real this is legit the worst thing I've ever eatenBut this was an thing said only to others at the table,not ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from the Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is ocean acidification from human ...
The Government needs to be transparent about the cuts they are making to hospital infrastructure, so that cities are clear on the health resources they will have into the future. ...
Our students deserve access to fresh, healthy food to fuel their busy school days and lives.That’s why Labour introduced the Ka Ora, Ka Ako healthy school lunch programme. Teachers, parents, principals and health experts all saw the benefits of it. ...
The new Covid-19 Inquiry we campaigned and fought for will start in November.The current Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 response will be divided into two phases. ‘Phase Two’ of the inquiry will start from November 2024 and will be the independent, full scale, and public inquiry we ...
“Today’s announcement is simply a repeat of the Government rejecting decades of evidence and expert advice, as they forcibly try to turn marketing slogans into policy,” said children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
“I am relieved Pharmac will be funded more to buy medicines for Kiwis. It is important that decisions on which drugs get funded remain independent from politics,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
The Green Party welcomes the announcement of more funding for cancer treatments and medicines, however, calls for more to be done to address the severe health inequities that come with cancer. ...
Frivolous check-ins with beneficiaries are the Government’s latest plan to find excuses to punish those on the Job Seeker allowance and add to the stigma they face. ...
The grounding of the Aratere Interislander Ferry is a wake-up call to the Coalition Government; they need to front up with a realistic long term solution to moving people and freight between our islands. ...
New Zealanders need and deserve a strong public health system. Throughout the country, we need to ensure hospitals, clinics and community providers have the resources needed to provide the best level of care. ...
Victims of family violence could fall through the gaps in New Zealand, as Police stop responding to some call outs and the Government chooses to prioritise other things. ...
The lack of bids at today’s ETS auction is a sad indictment on this Government's staggering indifference to the climate crisis and their lack of a plan. ...
“I am deeply disappointed in the National Party's budget. Their broken promises and cuts to essential services, including health, education, and support for vulnerable groups, will have long-lasting negative impacts” – Raymor, Auckland ...
Today marks the beginning of Schools Pride Week in New Zealand, an important calendar event largely run by rainbow rangitahi to advocate for safer, more inclusive school environments. ...
The Government’s announcement of a roadshow consultation on work health and safety is a smokescreen for its plan to throw out regulations which keep workers safe. ...
The Government has reportedly scrapped a policy that would have gone far to fix gender and ethnic pay gaps and instead is implementing a watered-down voluntary system. ...
The Government knew its changes to the school lunch programme would risk achievement, attendance, nutrition and wellbeing of New Zealand children, as well as having wider impacts on reducing child poverty, and made the changes anyway, new documents show. ...
Two months have passed since the National Government said it was a question of ”when, not if” New Zealand would recognise Palestine, in response to Labour’s call. ...
Today the coalition government has announced that a select committee inquiry into banking competition will be led by the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.New Zealand First campaigned to take on foreign owned banks, and we committed to that in our coalition agreement by ensuring the inquiry has a broad ...
The National Government is doing everything it can to delay taking action on climate as it announces that years of work on agricultural emissions will start from scratch. ...
Tens of thousands of people showed up to have their voices heard and march against National’s unpopular Fast Track Approvals Bill in Auckland over the weekend. ...
The Government deciding to lift the oil and gas ban in the middle of a climate crisis is a severe step backwards that will have serious consequences for our future. ...
This week the Justice Select Committee has heard numerous submissions on the removal of Māori Wards. “I am feeling invigorated by the powerful oral submissions that I have heard throughout the week.” Said Local Government spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “People from all facets of life: whānau Māori, whānau Pākehā, rangatahi, kaumātua, ...
Today’s March for Nature sends a clear message that our country is deeply against the Fast Track Approvals Bill proceeding because the cost to the environment would be unacceptable. ...
The Government today repealed legislation requiring the compulsory registration of log traders and forestry advisers. “The existing legislation fails to deliver outcomes and places unnecessary costs on forest businesses,” Forestry Minister Todd McClay says. “I am confident that voluntary registration through the New Zealand Institute of Forestry is a better ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown welcomes the opening of State Highway 1 through the Brynderwyn Hills from midnight tonight, following four months of closure to complete critical recovery and maintenance works. “Northlanders, local businesses, drivers, and freight operators will be relieved to have this important lifeline open. The Government thanks them ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today welcomed the release of the Parliamentary Counsel Office’s (PCO) Secondary Legislation Drafting Toolkit. "Both businesses and people tell us they find it hard to understand their obligations under secondary legislation,” Ms Collins says. “This toolkit, with its focus on design and content, will help with both ...
The Government is reforming sentencing to ensure criminals face serious consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences despite a 33 per cent increase in violent crime. ...
The Education and Training Amendment Bill, which will set up charter schools, encourage more early learning centres to open, and provide increased transparency on school attendance, has been introduced for its first reading in Parliament, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. “Every child deserves an education that enables them to ...
The coalition Government welcomes the presentation of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care to the Governor-General. “This marks the end of the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has today released the terms of reference for the Electricity Authority’s investigation into the Northland transmission tower failure that occurred on 20 June 2024, causing significant power outages in the region.“What happened in Northland last week was unacceptable, with tens of thousands of consumers left without ...
Space Minister Judith Collins is applauding students from Canterbury University’s Aerospace Club on their success at the world’s largest inter-collegiate rocket engineering competition, the Spaceport America Cup. “More than 120 teams from 20 countries participated in Spaceport America Cup, with the team from Canterbury University winning in their ‘30,000 Foot’ ...
Tena koutou.Ki nga kaumatua,Ki nga whanau,Ka maumahara tonu tatou ki a ratou. Greetings.To the elders,To the families,We will remember them. Firstly, a special welcome to all the veterans here this morning and their families. I want to acknowledge the veterans who are marking this day but cannot be with us ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says three appointments to the WorkSafe board have been made to strengthen the organisation, ensuring it has the skills and expertise it needs to carry out its functions. “WorkSafe has faced a number of recent challenges, including accumulating an almost $18 million ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says this coalition Government is delivering on our commitment to expand the terms of reference for the independent Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons Learned. “There will be a second phase to the Royal Commission which features new commissioners and an expanded terms of ...
The Government has introduced a Bill today to restore the Three Strikes sentencing law, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says. “New Zealanders are rightly concerned about violent crime. We are delivering on our commitment to introduce a revised Three Strikes law as one of our key law and order priorities. ...
The Government and the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) are together committing an additional $8 million towards AgriZeroNZ to boost New Zealand’s efforts to reduce agricultural emissions. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the strength of the New Zealand economy relies on effective and affordable emission reduction solutions for New Zealand’s ...
Tākina Puanga. Ko Puanga kei runga. Ko Puanga e Rangi. Tākina mai te ara o Puanga nui o te rangi. Tākina ngā pou o te tau. Ki te whai ao ki te ao marama. Puanga or Rigel celebrations reflect a renewed energy across our communities – to acknowledge those who ...
The coalition Government is delivering up to 26 cancer treatments as part of an overall package of up to 54 more new medicines, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Pharmac estimates that around 175,000 people will benefit from the additional treatments in just ...
The coalition Government is providing more financial support to drought-stricken farmers and growers in many parts of the country to help with essential living costs. “Rural Assistance Payments have been made available in 38 districts affected by dry conditions to help eligible farmers and growers whose income has taken a ...
A new requirement for people on Jobseeker Support benefits to meet with MSD after six months to assess how their job search is going gets underway today. About 20,000 Jobseeker beneficiaries with full-time work obligations are expected to attend MSD’s new ‘Work check-in’ seminars over the next 12 months, Social ...
The decision to deploy more Police on the beat in Auckland CBD has been welcomed by Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello. Starting from 1 July, an additional 21 police officers will be redeployed in Auckland City, bringing the total number of beat police in the ...
The Government is introducing a new declaration for young offenders to ensure they face tougher consequences and are better supported to turn their lives around, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour announced today. The establishment of a Young Serious Offender declaration delivers on a coalition Government commitment and supports the Government’s target ...
Professor Neil Quigley has been reappointed as Chair of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board for a further term of two years, until 30 June 2026. “Professor Quigley has played a key role in establishing the new Board after the commencement of the new RBNZ Act on 1 July ...
School attendance data released today shows an increase in the number of students regularly attending school to 61.7 per cent in term one. This compares to 59.5 per cent in term one last year and 53.6 per cent in term four. “It is encouraging to see more children getting to ...
The Government has announced a record 41 per cent increase in indicative funding for public transport services and operations, and confirmed the rollout of the National Ticketing Solution (NTS) that will enable contactless debit and credit card payments starting this year in Auckland, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“This Government is ...
GDP figures for the March quarter reinforce the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows GDP has risen 0.2 per cent for the quarter to March. “While today’s data is technically in ...
Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees has reached 50 per cent or above for the fourth consecutive year, with women holding 53.9 per cent of public sector board roles, Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston says. “This is a fantastic achievement, but the work is not done. To ...
The Coalition Government is supporting Māori to boost development and the Māori economy through investment in projects that benefit the regions, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “As the Regional Development Minister, I am focused on supporting Māori to succeed. The Provincial Growth Fund ...
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced that the review into better managing the risks of earthquake-prone buildings has commenced. “The terms of reference published today demonstrate the Government’s commitment to ensuring we get the balance right between public safety and costs to building owners,” Mr Penk says. “The Government ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has just finished a successful three-day visit to Japan, where he strengthened political relationships and boosted business links. Mr Luxon’s visit culminated in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio followed by a state dinner. “It was important for me to meet Prime Minister Kishida in person ...
Significant business deals have been closed during the visit of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to Japan this week, including in the areas of space, renewable energy and investment. “Commercial deals like this demonstrate that we don’t just export high-quality agricultural products to Japan, but also our world-class technology, expertise, and ...
Minasan, konnichiwa, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today and thank you to our friends at the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies and NEC for making this event possible today. It gives me great pleasure to be here today, speaking with ...
The National Infrastructure Pipeline, which provides a national view of current or planned infrastructure projects, from roads, to water infrastructure, to schools, and more, has climbed above $120 billion, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop says. “Our Government is investing a record amount in modern infrastructure that Kiwis can rely on as ...
The Government is modernising the Public Works Act to make it easier to build infrastructure, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk announced today. An independent panel will undertake an eight-week review of the Act and advise on common sense changes to enable large scale public works to be built faster and ...
New Zealand will enhance its defence contributions to monitoring violations of sanctions against North Korea, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. The enhancement will see the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) increase its contributions to North Korea sanctions monitoring, operating out of Japan. “This increase reflects the importance New Zealand ...
Good afternoon everyone. It’s great to be with you all today before we wrap up Day One of the annual Safeguard National Health and Safety Conference. Thank you to the organisers and sponsors of this conference, for the chance to talk to you about the upcoming health and safety consultation. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone for the Ōtaki to north of Levin Road of National Significance (RoNS), following the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) signing interim alliance agreements with two design and construction teams who will develop and ultimately build the new expressway.“The Government’s priority for transport ...
The Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is making a significant upgrade to their Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System, which blocks access to websites known to host child sexual abuse material, says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. “The Department will incorporate the up-to-date lists of websites hosting child sexual ...
A vaccine to prevent an infectious disease that costs New Zealand cattle farmers more than $190 million each year could radically improve the health of our cows and boost on-farm productivity, Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard says. The Ministry for Primary Industries is backing a project that aims to develop ...
The Government has today announced that it is making it easier for people to build granny flats, Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop say. “Making it easier to build granny flats will make it more affordable for families to live the way that suits them ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Auckland King’s Counsel Gregory Peter Blanchard as a High Court Judge. Justice Blanchard attended the University of Auckland from 1991 to 1995, graduating with an LLB (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (English). He was a solicitor with the firm that is now Dentons ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says new data released today shows encouraging growth in the health workforce, with a continued increase in the numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives joining Health New Zealand. “Frontline healthcare workers are the beating heart of the healthcare system. Increasing and retaining our health workforce ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has today announced a comprehensive programme to reform New Zealand's outdated and complicated firearms laws. “The Arms Act has been in place for over 40 years. It has been amended several times – in a piecemeal, and sometimes rushed way. This has resulted in outdated ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Riley, Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Wollongong Jason Vanajek/Shutterstock Winter school holidays are either here or coming up, depending on where in Australia you live. Maybe you’re planning a rural escape. Rural tourism is crucial for job growth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor of Public Health, University of Otago Getty Images Australia will become the first country to restrict vape sales to pharmacies from next week. This new policy represents a very different approach to the path Aotearoa New Zealand is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Waddle, Schmidt Science Fellow in Conservation Biology, Macquarie University Anthony Waddle All over the world, frogs are being wiped out by the chytrid fungus. At least 500 species have declined, including as many as 90 species now presumed extinct. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cher McGillivray, Assistant Professor Psychology Department, Bond University Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels , CC BY Have you ever asked your child to do something simple but no matter how many times you ask, they keep ignoring you? For example, on a school ...
"The Uyghur community is seeking action to stop hurtful appropriation of their under-threat culture," said Sam Vincent, spokesperson for Uyghur Solidarity Aotearoa. "We have written to the Minister for Ethnic Communities, Melissa Lee, ...
The swift demise of a business support agency portends a sharp change in how government relates to industry, argues Duncan Greive. A version of this ran in The Bulletin, the Spinoff’s morning newsletter. Subscribe here. KiwiSaaS was born late in 2021, with $11.2m in funding to function “as a community-building ...
A former member of the Reagan administration recalls the clash with NZ over a nuclear ship visit – and offers a fresh warning about Trump.Uranium on your Breath, the third episode of Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government, is now available wherever you get your podcasts.David ...
Does KiwiRail need new ferries to replace the malfunctioning Interislander fleet? Here’s our detailed analysis. The government has come under increasing pressure to replace the Interislander ferries after the Aratere ran aground near Picton. Finance minister Nicola Willis last year cancelled a plan to buy two rail-enabled mega-ferries due to ...
Opinion: This week the Government restated its intention to move forward with a suite of harsher more punitive measures for children coming into conflict with the law. The policies were met by concern and critique from academics and experts who advocate and care for children, including the Chief Children’s Commissioner, ...
Opinion: We should be actively attracting more foreign investment and technological input in our infrastructural development The post NZ is at an infrastructural breaking point appeared first on Newsroom. ...
In a sea of jumpers and puffer jackets, in a packed-out community hall on a chilly winter evening in the southern town of Winton, Tyler Langford describes the experience of watching her husband sink into depression. “It was like those slow fogs that creep in over the valley, so we ...
LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah Cowley Ross host the episodic podcast, SASS Talk, sparking new conversations about women’s sport and the big issues females are facing. LISTEN to Episode 5 below or on your favourite podcast app, including Apple and Spotify. At 35, and the mother of two school-aged daughters, there are few ...
Uyghur advocates have written to the ethnic communities minister over recurring examples of cultural appropriation, while their culture is being erased in Xinjiang The post Uyghurs write to minister over cultural appropriation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The climate wars have been reignited with the Coalition’s release of its controversial plan for nuclear power, an option totally rejected by the government. Meanwhile, a report this week from the Australian Energy Market Operator ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Cullen, Adjunct Professor in Law, The University of Western Australia Today Julian Assange walked out of the Federal Court Building in Saipan, North Marianas Islands, a free man. He pleaded guilty to one count of breaching the US Espionage Act. ...
By Nicholas Mwai in Port Vila French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer to Vanuatu has hit back at criticism about French policy over Kanaky New Caledonia with an op-ed article published in the Vanuatu Daily Post. His article addresses key concerns regarding New Caledonia’s indigenous recognition, the decolonisation process, discrimination, military ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Szuhan, Lecturer, History and Sociology, Australian National University This year, Australian news outlets have covered several highly concerning incidents of AI-generated deepfake porn being used to target women and girls. In May, a Discord list created by Year 11 boys at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosemary Hill, Adjunct Professor, James Cook University Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s pledge to build seven nuclear energy plants, if elected, has triggered heated political debate – mostly about the costs and timetable of the plan. But the concept of nuclear energy in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate in digital technologies in Iran, Deakin University After Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash on May 20, the Iranian government had to schedule an early election to choose a new president. The regime has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol Maher, Professor, Medical Research Future Fund Emerging Leader, University of South Australia Anyone who lived through the COVID pandemic would likely understand that even a small period of isolation can cause physical and mental stress. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash University A key measure of inflation has jumped, climbing to 4% in May after edging up from a recent low of 3.4% in February. The Bureau of Statistics monthly consumer price indicator produced an annual inflation ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Williamson, Professor in Marine Fisheries Ecology, Macquarie University Author provided Last summer, the Great Barrier Reef suffered its worst mass coral bleaching event. Our new data show the devastating damage the bleaching caused to a reef at Lizard Island – ...
Comment: A nine-month-old, right-leaning website based off Newstalk ZB seems to have stopped posting new content and taking subscriptions. ZB Plus, which started with a degree of fanfare in September ahead of the general election, and was ‘edited’ by a former anonymous blogger and lawyer Philip Crump, posted its most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Park Thaichon, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Southern Queensland The property market is a competitive space where finding a nice home, in the area you want, at a price you can afford is a hard ask. With buyers outnumbering available properties, ...
The fabric of New Zealanders’ social security system is being unravelled by Government spending cuts meaning children, young people, workers, those who are injured and others will find they will no longer get the support they need, the PSA said today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia Benjamin Manley/Unsplash With around one in 50 adults diagnosed with cancer each year, many people are faced with the difficult task of sharing the news of their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Glenn Banks, Professor of Geography, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University Minister of Resources and of Regional Development Shane Jones has been busy boosting the prospects of an expanded mining and oil industry in Aotearoa New Zealand. A new mining ...
The four-piece drag queen Māori beat girl collective’s latest show is a beautiful emotional rollercoaster and is already sold out in Wellington.As I entered Circa Theatre’s foyer space for The Tīwhas: A Matariki Spectacular, I couldn’t help but think back to the first time I saw the explosive, jaw-dropping ...
Winston Peters has responded to questions about his approach to the Covid-19 inquiry with verbal attacks on the commissioners, academics and the media. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Associate Professor and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University CandyBox Images/Shutterstock “Fart walks” have become a cultural phenomenon, after a woman named Mairlyn Smith posted online a now-viral video about how she and her husband go on walks about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lester Munson, Non-Resident Fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney As incumbent President Joe Biden and his Republican challenger, Donald Trump, prepare for their first debate later this week, one big question hangs over the US presidential race: who will Trump ...
Has anybody got any boats? Or, failing that, some bolts? It’s increasingly looking like large parts of New Zealand are held together by stray bolts, sticky tape and – the hokiest, least helpful national euphemism of them all – No 8 wire. Steering fails on the Aratere ferry, and it ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Stacy Gregg (Ngāti Mahuta/Ngāti Pukeko/Ngāti Maru), author of Nine Girls.The book I wish I’d writtenAmerican Psycho. I love how funny it is – the Huey Lewis ...
Australia has taken the first step towards greater high seas protection by tabling the Global Ocean Treaty in its Parliament this week, and Greenpeace Aotearoa says New Zealand should follow suit. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering policy analysis modelling tools, National Accounts categorisation of COVID-19 funding allocation and expenditure, and key themes from the Treasury’s Productivity in a Changing World lecture series. ...
While the report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry has not yet been made public, Save the Children Advocacy Director Jacqui Southey says the testimonies from survivors reveal the brutal and shocking abuse that children suffered at the hands of the State ...
Tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau, will bear the brunt of the Government’s spending cuts at the agency charged with supporting children and young people at risk. Oranga Tamariki today confirmed final decisions to axe 419 specialist jobs to meet Government ...
Peace activists today staged a dramatic action inside Defence House in Wellington, in opposition to the deployment of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) troops to the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises. Two protesters were arrested and ...
The indigenous ‘land back’ movement and climate adaptation are intrinsically linked. In a new podcast, Nadine Hura and co-host Ruia Aperahama talk to ahi kaa researchers leading the charge. When ahi kaa take direct action to defend their land, it’s seldom recognised as a form of climate adaptation. That’s because ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is deeply disappointed by confirmation of the Public Service Commission that the Pay Equity Taskforce will be disestablished. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that Waka Kotahi has spent $5,186,358 in the last two years for an app not even in a usable state for New Zealanders. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin University “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” is a famous quotation usually attributed to Thomas Jefferson, a founder of US democracy. For Julian Assange, the price of freedom has been five years in jail ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leila Jameel, Trial Co-ordinator and Research Therapist, Swinburne University of Technology Rawpixel/Shutterstock Have you ever heard something that others cannot – such as your name being called? Hearing voices or other noises that aren’t there is very common. About 10% of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dylan McConnell, Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy & Energy Systems Analyst, UNSW Sydney Teun van den Dries/Shutterstock Coal will no longer be burned for power in Australia within 14 years. To replace it will require faster deployment of solar and wind, ...
Tomorrow, Rachel Ashby will host her very last 95bFM breakfast show after five years in the role. Gabi Lardies joined her in the studio to ask why she’s leaving what seems to be her perfect job.The east of the sky is blushing when Rachel Ashby climbs the three sets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia On June 12, Sydney musician and software engineer Harrison Khannah launched Triple J Watchdog, a website dedicated to aggregating and analysing the music played on Australia’s national youth broadcaster Triple J. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Thwin, PhD Student (Tax Law), Griffith University SewCreamStudio/ShutterstockThis article is part of The Conversation’s “Business Basics” series where we ask experts to discuss key concepts in business, economics and finance. Many of us associate trust funds with their ...
In this extract from The Bulletin, Alice Neville marks the first official rift between coalition partners. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A ‘second phase’ to the Covid inquiryNZ First has triggered the “agree to disagree” provision in the coalition agreement over the ...
Political parties are largely unfazed by the results of the latest 1 News Verian poll, which showed a slight boost for the government, but small dips for the opposition parties. ...
Funding for Matariki events was almost halved in the latest budget, leaving the future of some events uncertain. Liam Rātana looks at what impacts the funding cuts might have. Musicians were booked, extra staff rostered on and all the necessary infrastructure pencilled in. Even the traffic management plans had been ...
Everything keeps breaking. The plane. The ferry. The power pylon. The roads. The pipes. Why? Because maintenance has been less than ideal – classic bad landlord behaviour. When I was 20-something, there was a hole, about the size of a $2 coin, in the hardwood floor of my bedroom. ...
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Paid content: Any levy that disproportionately favours the hotel sector at the expense of the average Kiwi is not a viable solution The post Airbnb: The case for a visitor levy in NZ appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Gill Bonnett always had a sense of an “invisible hand” operating above immigration policy. Her discovery of a Migration5 briefing document to the immigration minister several years ago confirmed it. As RNZ’s immigration reporter, she has spent several years poring over immigration files, refugee reports and asylum-seeker applications, so spotting the M5 ...
Another exposure of unhealthy politics.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/health-minister-dr-shane-reti-doubles-down-on-disastrous-broken-cancer-drug-promise.html
Yet more
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/parliament-speaker-gerry-brownlee-wants-to-boost-security-for-mps-security-teams-could-be-given-powers-to-arrest/DXE5USTRZBHKZMJHNURACIHSOM/
Part of the well being of society is that those in it do not get placed under financial stress.
Yet because of the high cost of housing to income here (No 1) people find it difficult to retain any level of savings to cope with contingency.
So far, the removal of "high cost" lenders preying on the vulnerable (spiraling to a worse position) is about the only improvement. And food banks are growing in importance.
In the USA charity groups buy up health debt, in Oz they help with the debt of beneficiaries (interest free loans).
https://wayforward.org.au/debt-information/emergency-help-and-funding/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350309166/how-cost-living-hitting-our-savings
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/06/19/conservation-minister-says-saving-every-species-may-be-too-expensive/
Slippery slope…..
Forest and Bird's chief executive Nicola Toki destroys Conservation Minister Potaka's money-obsessed approach to native species here.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018943322/conservation-minister-suggests-not-all-species-can-be-saved
This government knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Well, count our blessings. Landlords will be saved from extinction.
Not convinced they actually know the cost!!!
Yea, the old "aspirational" . Yesterday, I did put up something about the Nats and their previous "Natspirational" thinking.
As expected, Luxon has changed his tune on NZAirforce One!
While I might agree with his decision, it has more to do with his prestige than anything else.
I bet they manage to find the money too, even if cancer sufferers have to wait even longer!
Sorry Tony but Lying Luxon said what?
Before the election he said he would travel commercially, but I imagine arriving in Japan virtually unheralded and without the travelling troop of reporters to record his every meal might have changed his mind.
While the government is apparently focused on de-regulation and infrastructure (but without the money to pay for it), it has chosen to neglect focus on growing the economy.
One way is exports online – software as a service.
Unfunding central support of an industry that can operate from anywhere (provinces to urban centres) that does not deplete the planets resources or harm the environment.
Leading opponent of economic growth that does not negatively impact the environment has been the Taxpayers Union.
The wider issue
And it gets worse
The CofC is not going to realise an increase in productivity nor knowledge led economic growth, it is not even trying to.
It is one based on catering to existing activity by deregulation (including worker and tenant exploitation) and keeping government capability small so it is dependent on private capital for infrastructure funding.
It is one of, by and for a class of citizen who exploit a lack of CGT and estate tax (and stamp duty) to have privilege not easily found elsewhere.
https://archive.li/3vYK4
In the Spinoff, Joel McManus calls Luxon out. Christopher Luxon loves localism, until locals have the wrong opinions. Learned, no doubt, from the lying hypocrisy of the UK Tories, and Trump's 360 degree mendacity.
Luxon and National have never loved localism. What they love is provincial Tory fiefdoms perpetuated by shockingly low turnout in local body elections and run by politer Kiwi versions of Faulkner's southern Gothic Snopes Clan.
World of Warcraft
"The game had over one hundred million registered accounts by 2014 and by 2017, had grossed over $9.23 billion in revenue"
2024 and it's still raking it in
That's as may be, but I still don't see game-playing or creation as producing genuine wealth. Though I guess it keeps a few incels occupied and not causing mischief elsewhere.
It is an earner of export revenue, just as saas is.
Does Xero create wealth, or merely reduce compliance cost for business? What is growth in shareholder value called.
Just NZ made gaming had 80.2 million in revenue last year (doubled from the year before).
450 full time staff comes to $178,000 per staff member.
90% of it is overseas purchases. Companies like Pikpok have been around since 1997. Remember buying shatter off them way back when and Gripshift on the Xbox when they were named Sidhe games.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/video-games-industry-boosts-revenue-to-80m/VMA64X2AVBC6FGL6UTLQDRLR7U/
Yes, yes, it shifts a bit of money in our direction. But I'm more concerned with the big picture. Does it on the whole benefit humanity (and the non-human inhabitants of the planet), or is it essentially just a distraction from the real issues requiring attention and resources?
Lets just say its a distraction. An utter waste of time and money. So what? Its still employs people. People all over the world voluntarily choose to buy the products. Its their businesses. Apparently looks to be successful without needing tons of "government" cash or direction to make it successful. Would you wipe them out because they are not doing something to proactively save the planet? Really?
Is reading books a waste of time, going for a walk in the forest, having a beer down the pub, watching a rugby game – pretty sure none of those things are saving the planet?
Anyway it isn't passive as you may think – I've had many very interesting conversations with people from all over the world about lots of things through gaming as have my kids. They are now adult friends with people they met online when they were eight. When one son was 11 we organised all his online friends to meet in real life – they had a ball. I've done the same with my on-line friends including providing free accommodation for them to come and visit or have a break after something bad happening. One Forza artist was stranded with her kids in a massive snowstorm. She reached out to the gaming community. One of the Forza community who didn't know her went and rescued her.
Online a lot of gamers can be themselves without fear or favour or discrimination – nobody can see they have a limb missing, or are a little person, or are a thalidomide baby with deformities they just get treated the same as everyone else. Tis great – and why sometimes meeting in real life is both special and surprising.
Your prejudice is just ignorant and boring.
Well…we will see how that goes. I did see this adjacent..
The supermarket Duopoly. Mega $Millions Profit at the centre of it all.
Aint gonna change till that changes…
And on the "super" markets…..
And yea the Mega Profits !
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/jon-reeves-public-transport-users-association-national-coordinator-on-the-costs-of-maintaining-the-interislander-ferries/
$65 million year to maintain shit ferries that well have to replace at some stage.
If only there had been a plan in progress to replace them?!!
$65 million / yr = $650 million in 10yrs (very conservative)
Sometimes you need to spend money to save money.
Intentional or not, National may well oversee the collapse of significant inter island marine transport. Smaller boats might be able to fill in for passengers, but road and rail…it will be interesting.
Could the C)C have a Master plan? "Pause" many planned projects for a year or so.
In the third year let the brakes off and claim the resultant flow of "recovery."
It will be too little too late judging by the way they've already tanked the economy.
I feel that may be possible to gather the rightwing to greatly help against one particularly unpleasant pleasant form of pollution – you just need an enemy that all sides of the political divide can unite against
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/19/microplastic-discovery-in-penises-raises-erectile-dysfunction-questions
In the 1970's 3M knew about the hazards of forever chemicals used in packaging, non-stick and stain-resistant products and fire-fighting foam.
And they covered it up.
//
Several of 3M’s most successful products contained man-made compounds called fluorochemicals. In a spray called Scotchgard, fluorochemicals protected leather and fabric from stains. In a coating known as Scotchban, they prevented food packaging from getting soggy. In a soapy foam used by firefighters, they helped extinguish jet-fuel fires. Johnson explained to Hansen that one of the company’s fluorochemicals, PFOS—short for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid—often found its way into the bodies of 3M factory workers. Although he said that they were unharmed, he had recently hired an outside lab to measure the levels in their blood. The lab had just reported something odd, however. For the sake of comparison, it had tested blood samples from the American Red Cross, which came from the general population and should have been free of fluorochemicals. Instead, it kept finding a contaminant in the blood.
[…]
Hansen’s team found it in Swedish blood samples from 1957 and 1971. After that, her lab analyzed blood that had been collected before 3M created PFOS. It tested negative. Apparently, fluorochemicals had entered human blood after the company started selling products that contained them. They had leached out of 3M’s sprays, coatings, and factories—and into all of us.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-toxic
IIJM or is this government turning out to be the most incompetent ever?
Totally unfit for office.
https://www.odt.co.nz/southland/nobby-clark-accused-hateful-comments-firefighters-event
Nobby? Or just a knob…
He seems to be a particularly beady eyed characterisation of a redneck. The Anti-woke fleshed, as it were.
A thoroughly unpleasant man, I reckon.
Unfortunately a majority of voters at the last election voted for the guy. He is a well known local 'identity' and they knew what they were voting for.
I suspect it's much like how our Mr Laws got his gig.
Publicly, people loathed him but privately it was he gets things done, and they voted for the prick.