His sociological analysis of the ACT supporters uses a tetrad:
1. Rich landowning urban white Christians who don’t like Māori political aspirations but enjoy the aesthetics of the culture to not feel so white. The kids are totally in private schools and their names are ‘Apple’ and ‘Bruschetta’. Most aren’t sure what a Libertarian is.
2. Chinese and Indian Migrants who don’t understand why poor people and the Māoris get welfare. These small business owners lust for political influence and see National Party local events as a chance to work business contacts while demanding to know why New Zealand can’t have the death penalty like they do back home.
3. [Those] who complain about Te Reo in the Weather report on TVNZ. They live in the South Island and believe the solution to every problem is ‘More Cows’.
4. Edgelord Culture War Boomers voting for ACT because of shrill definitions of sovereignty and democracy. Like Chris Trotter at a dinner party no one wants to be at.
I don't know any ACT supporters but readers who do can have fun filing them into these categories. Meanwhile, I'll predict that all 4 sub-tribes are incapable of grasping Seymour's alt-principles but will support him regardless – but the ACT poll ratings will struggle to achieve double figures again. My logic is simple: Lux does complacency just as easily as Hipkins, whereas Seymour is a change advocate. The legendary kiwi complacency will defeat him. Too many think the Nat/Lab duo are just like them.
Toby Manhire draws a parallel between Aotearoa & Germany:
Just look at Germany – the prototype for our own proportional system, where the “traffic light coalition”, the country’s first three-party coalition in more than 60 years, has just collapsed, triggering an early election to be held next February. No doubt David Seymour will be keeping an eye on developments in his downtime: the German government came a cropper after the free-market Free Democratic Party balked at what it saw as a leftward budget. The FDP is of special interest to Seymour – he was so impressed with them when trying to rebuild the Act Party that he borrowed everything from ideas to the colour strip.
Any shot Labour might have of restricting Luxon’s government to a single term will surely be dependent on forming a government with TPM support, as well as the Greens. Expect Hipkins – should he lead Labour into the election – to spend a lot of time talking about the Greens, and even more about Te Pāti Māori. Is withdrawal from the Five Eyes alliance a bottom line? Is the establishment of a Māori parliament? Does he go along with the latest example of histrionic rhetoric?
Well, his & Labour's default is to ignore anything contentious (on the basis that ignorance is bliss) so we can expect him to equivocate and evade until its too late.
After their defeat to New Zealand, India is at risk of missing out of a place in the Test championship for the first time.
Australia now ranked number one stands in their way.
Fortunately for them the best opener in Oz, is not wearing the baggy green any longer, because DW and SS had him carry the yellow under arm badgeof lack of courage onto a South African cricket ground.
The sound of the red ball on willow not heard during a test match in Perth.
Major European Union States, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Austria, as well as the EU itself , as well as Major Commonwealth countries the UK and Canada say that they will abide by the judgement of the ICC and will arrest the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Galant, for them to stand trial in the Hague for war crimes committed against the civilian population of Gaza, that is if either of them set foot in their countries.
The New Zealand government has not, unlike many other Rome Statute countries governments, yet released a statement on this country's position on the ICC judgement.
But New Zealand is also a signatory to the Rome Statute and as such is legally bound to act on the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant in the unlikely event that they ever set foot in this country.
Though the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister are unlikely to visit this country, many lower ranked IDF soldiers are likely to, and do, visit this country on a regular basis.
The legal precedent has been set, the floodgates are about to be opened. The many hundreds of IDF soldiers that have been identified as having committed war crimes in Gaza will inevitably have individual arrest warrants issued against them by the ICC.
As a signatory to the Rome Statute. Any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, must by law be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague.
Al Jazeera Investigates:
This feature length investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the medium of photos and videos posted online by Israeli soldiers themselves during the year long conflict. The I-Unit has built up a database of thousands of videos, photos and social media posts. Where possible it has identified the posters and those who appear. The material reveals a range of illegal activities, from wanton destruction and looting to the demolition of entire neighbourhoods and murder…..
Q: Can the Minister confirm, that in the unlikely event that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israel Minister of Defence Yoav Galant enter this country, that they will be arrested by the proper authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague as required by our international obligations and legal commitments?
Yes or No?
A: Yes.
Supplementary Question for Answer:
Q: Can the Minister confirm, that any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, will be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague?
I did leave the last answer void to indicate that it is a hypothetical. This is the question I would like an answer to.
Anyone who has spent any time walking New Zealand's world famous walking tracks will have encountered a proportionally high number of Israeli hikers. In conversations with them it always struck me how they glibly talk how much they enjoy their overseas holidays, when they must know that most Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in the enclave and cannot leave even for a holiday, or if they can leave are never certain that they will be allowed back.
How many of these Israeli tourists are IDF enjoying their furlough away from the killing fields of Gaza?
How many of them, if any, have been identified as involved in committing war crimes?
Someone knows.
Tracking international criminals and suspects entering the country is one of the thngs we have an Intelligence Service for
No Exit in Gaza
Left With No Other Options, Residents Should Have a Right to Flee
1 Apr 2024 — When all other human rights are denied, the right to flee is the last remaining option…..
……Israeli authorities have continued to block Palestinians in Gaza from fleeing into neighboring Israel to seek even temporary refuge from the hostilities, in violation of international law.
Neighboring Egypt’s borders are mostly closed, too. Only a relatively few Gaza residents have been allowed to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing, including foreign passport holders, the wounded and their companions, and some who have paid exorbitant sums to flee via Egypt….
[even those few exceptions for leaving have been closed off by Israel. after the IDF violently seized control of the Rafah Crossing, killing an Egyptian soldier in the process] …
…..But what about Palestinians in Gaza who feel their only chance to survive is to leave Gaza? How much longer can Israel and Egypt block desperate people from fleeing?
Thank you for the response. When I read the comment I thought they were very good questions and I had a look at Hansard to see who put them forward and who had answered them.
I certainly would love to see them put, and answered.
It would have saved me a search if I had known that they were, at least to date, only hypothetical ones. Maybe someone from the Green Party might pick them up. I don't think anyone else will be allowed to.
Israeli Mayor called the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum in Poland Anti-Semitic for criticising him for saying Gaza should become like Auschwitz is now.
Calling the whole world anti-Semitic, devalues the crime of anti-Semitism, Devaluing the crime of Anti-Semitism emboldens the real anti-Semites
Our MPs owe it to the victims fo the Holocaust and the victims of the genocide in Gaza to stand up to the bullies who try to conflate opposition to genocide to Anti-Semitism.
……The charge of anti-Semitism has been instrumentalized to shut down speech in ways that should be acutely alarming for anyone who cares not only about free speech in the public domain, but academic freedom on college campuses. When even calls for ceasefire are considered anti-Semitic, only those who support Israel’s annihilationist war against the Palestinian people in Gaza are exonerated of the charge….
The suppression of pro-Palestinian voices is not fighting anti-Semitism because there is nothing anti-Semitic about opposing genocide.
On December 5, 2023, I joined fellow Jewish university students outside the United States Congress to protest against a resolution conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Our calls to reject the resolution were not heard. Two weeks earlier, a hearing was held where our concerns were yet again ignored; only pro-Israeli witnesses were called to testify.
To us, progressive Jews, it appears elected officials who proudly stood by former President Donald Trump after he refused to condemn neo-Nazis and dined with anti-Semites value our voices only when they can tokenise a select few to fulfil their political goals…..
A strategy or pattern of behavior by a politician, political party, or advocacy group which is intended to have a divisive effect on one's political opponents or on the electorate especially by emphasizing an issue which polarizes opinion…..
The thin edge of the Wedge?
Should we tolerate banning gang members from wearing a patch, because some gang members commit crimes?
Would we tolerate banning women of Islamic faith from wearing a Hijab, because some Muslims commit acts of terrorism?
Would we tolerate banning nuns of Catholic faith from wearing a whimple, because some Catholic clergy have abused children?
The success of Wedge Politics:
Would any opposition party dare promise to reverse the patch ban?
Consequently, as CBC News senior defense writer Murray Brewster recently argued, the war’s ending “has the potential to secure either Ukraine or Russia’s economic future for the next century.” The Kremlin’s control over these critical mineral reserves would be a game-changer, allowing Russia to increase its influence over multiple facets of Western countries’ energy security spectrum. However, controlling these reserves is not synonymous with their immediate commercialization, as the extraction and refining processes are no simple tasks.
China is the world leader in lithium refining, with 72% of the world's capacity for processing and refining lithium. China's dominance in the lithium supply chain is due to several factors, including:
Lithium reserves
China only has about 7.9% of the world's lithium reserves, but it has secured a large share of the global lithium supply chain.
Anti-competitive practices
China has used anti-competitive practices, such as subsidizing production and dumping products at below-market prices.
Investment in other countries
China has invested in mines in other countries, including Africa, where it's expected to increase lithium production more than 30-fold by 2027.
Control of critical components
China controls 70% of the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is home to almost all of the world's cobalt.
Europe has zero lithium-mining or lithium-processing capacity………There is “a very high level of uncertainty” associated with many of Europe’s proposed lithium-mining projects, says Chris Heron, communications director for Eurometaux. Local opposition is causing delays, the economics can be challenging, and untested technologies need to be demonstrated at scale, he says……..
Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s top counter-terrorism adviser, is a formal member of a Hungarian far-right group that is listed by the U.S. State Department as having been “under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany” during World War II, leaders of the organization have told the Forward.
The elite order, known as the Vitézi Rend, was established as a loyalist group by Admiral Miklos Horthy, who ruled Hungary as a staunch nationalist from 1920 to October 1944. A self-confessed anti-Semite, Horthy imposed restrictive Jewish laws prior to World War II and collaborated with Hitler during the conflict. His cooperation with the Nazi regime included the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Jews into Nazi hands.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that firebrand former Trump administration aide Sebastian Gorka will return to the White House in a senior national security role.
In a statement, Trump said that Gorka will be deputy assistant to the president and serve as senior director for counterterrorism, a role housed within the White House National Security Council. He praised Gorka, saying that “since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement.”
He says oil and gas need long term certainty … and wants to give them the right to claim damages from future governments … .
Then thinks taking less royalties might help …
He says seabed mining has first right – the C of C is allowing them to side-track the environment process (they were being blocked by).
He claims to be sure offshore wind farms can occur later, despite those planning to do it, once the seabed mining is kicked to touch, now walking away.
Two sprouts from rotten Filipino families, F. Marcos Jnr and Sara Duterte, got together to run social media electoral campaigns, and became President and Vice-President, respectively.
Now one has organised assasination for the other, and their near family, if they are first assasinated. From the Guardian.
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In the 1980s and early 1990s when I wrote about Argentine and South American authoritarianism, I borrowed the phrase “cultura del miedo” (culture of fear) from Juan Corradi, Guillermo O’Donnell, Norberto Lechner and others to characterise the social anomaly that exists in a country ruled by a state terror regime ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you would have noticed that New Zealand’s government, under the guise of economic stewardship, is tightening the screws on its citizens, and using debt as a tool of control. This isn’t just a conspiracy theory whispered in pub corners...it’s backed by hard data ...
The budget runup is far from easy.Budget 2025 day is Thursday 22 May. About a month earlier in a normal year, the macroeconomic forecasts would be completed (the fiscal ones would still be tidying up) and the main policy decisions would have been made (but there would still be a ...
On 25 April 2021, I published an internal all-staff Anzac Day message. I did so as the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for Australia’s civil defence, and its resilience in ...
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Nicola Willis, National’s supposed Finance Minister, has delivered another policy failure with the Family Boost scheme, a childcare rebate that was big on promises but has been very small on delivery. Only 56,000 families have signed up, a far cry from the 130,000 Willis personally championed in National’s campaign. This ...
This article was first published on 7 February 2025. In January, I crossed the milestone of 24 years of service in two militaries—the British and Australian armies. It is fair to say that I am ...
He shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.Age shall not weary him, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningI will remember him.My mate Keith died yesterday, peacefully in the early hours. My dear friend in Rotorua, whom I’ve been ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news New Zealand abstained from a vote on a global shipping levy on climate emissions and downgraded the importance ...
Hi,In case you missed it, New Zealand icon Lorde has a new single out. It’s called “What Was That”, and has a very low key music video that was filmed around her impromptu performance in New York’s Washington Square Park. When police shut down the initial popup, one of my ...
A strategy of denial is now the cornerstone concept for Australia’s National Defence Strategy. The term’s use as an overarching guide to defence policy, however, has led to some confusion on what it actually means ...
The IMF’s twice-yearly World Economic Outlook and Fiscal Monitor publications have come out in the last couple of days. If there is gloom in the GDP numbers (eg this chart for the advanced countries, and we don’t score a lot better on the comparable one for the 2019 to ...
For a while, it looked like the government had unfucked the ETS, at least insofar as unit settings were concerned. They had to be forced into it by a court case, but at least it got done, and when National came to power, it learned the lesson (and then fucked ...
The argument over US officials’ misuse of secure but non-governmental messaging platform Signal falls into two camps. Either it is a gross error that undermines national security, or it is a bit of a blunder ...
Cost of living ~1/3 of Kiwis needed help with food as cost of living pressures continue to increase - turning to friends, family, food banks or Work and Income in the past year, to find food. 40% of Kiwis also said they felt schemes offered little or no benefit, according ...
Hi,Perhaps in 2025 it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the CEO and owner of Voyager Internet — the major sponsor of the New Zealand Media Awards — has taken to sharing a variety of Anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories to his 1.2 million followers.This included sharing a post from ...
In the sprint to deepen Australia-India defence cooperation, navy links have shot ahead of ties between the two countries’ air forces and armies. That’s largely a good thing: maritime security is at the heart of ...
'Cause you and me, were meant to be,Walking free, in harmony,One fine day, we'll fly away,Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?Songwriters: Paul David Godfrey / Ross Godfrey / Skye Edwards.I was half expecting to see photos this morning of National Party supporters with wads of cotton ...
The PSA says a settlement with Health New Zealand over the agency’s proposed restructure of its Data and Digital and Pacific Health teams has saved around 200 roles from being cut. A third of New Zealanders have needed help accessing food in the past year, according to Consumer NZ, and ...
John Campbell’s Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation series starting today, rips the veil off Destiny Church, exposing the rot festering under Brian Tamaki’s self-proclaimed apostolic throne. This isn’t just a church; it’s a fiefdom, built on fear, manipulation, and a trail of scandals that make your stomach churn. ...
Some argue we still have time, since quantum computing capable of breaking today’s encryption is a decade or more away. But breakthrough capabilities, especially in domains tied to strategic advantage, rarely follow predictable timelines. Just ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Pearl Marvell(Photo credit: Pearl Marvell. Image credit: Samantha Harrington. Dollar bill vector image: by pch.vector on Freepik) Igrew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, ...
The political petrified piece of wood, Winston Peters, who refuses to retire gracefully, has had an eventful couple of weeks peddling transphobia, pushing bigoted policies, undertaking his unrelenting war on wokeness and slinging vile accusations like calling Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick a “groomer”.At 80, the hypocritical NZ First leader’s latest ...
It's raining in Cockermouth and we're following our host up the stairs. We’re telling her it’s a lovely building and she’s explaining that it used to be a pub and a nightclub and a backpackers, but no more.There were floods in 2009 and 2015 along the main street, huge floods, ...
A recurring aspect of the Trump tariff coverage is that it normalises – or even sanctifies – a status quo that in many respects has been a disaster for working class families. No doubt, Donald Trump is an uncertainty machine that is tanking the stock market and the growth prospects ...
The National Party’s Minister of Police, Corrections, and Ethnic Communities (irony alert) has stumbled into yet another racist quagmire, proving that when it comes to bigotry, the right wing’s playbook is as predictable as it is vile. This time, Mitchell’s office reposted an Instagram reel falsely claiming that Te Pāti ...
In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
In a world crying out for empathy, J.K. Rowling has once again proven she’s more interested in stoking division than building bridges. The once-beloved author of Harry Potter has cemented her place as this week’s Arsehole of the Week, a title earned through her relentless, tone-deaf crusade against transgender rights. ...
Health security is often seen as a peripheral security domain, and as a problem that is difficult to address. These perceptions weaken our capacity to respond to borderless threats. With the wind back of Covid-19 ...
Would our political parties pass muster under the Fair Trading Act?WHAT IF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES were subject to the Fair Trading Act? What if they, like the nation’s businesses, were prohibited from misleading their consumers – i.e. the voters – about the nature, characteristics, suitability, or quantity of the products ...
Rod EmmersonThank you to my subscribers and readers - you make it all possible. Tui.Subscribe nowSix updates today from around the world and locally here in Aoteaora New Zealand -1. RFK Jnr’s Autism CrusadeAmerica plans to create a registry of people with autism in the United States. RFK Jr’s department ...
We see it often enough. A democracy deals with an authoritarian state, and those who oppose concessions cite the lesson of Munich 1938: make none to dictators; take a firm stand. And so we hear ...
370 perioperative nurses working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike for two hours on 1 May – the same day senior doctors are striking. This is part of nationwide events to mark May Day on 1 May, including rallies outside public hospitals, organised by ...
Character protections for Auckland’s villas have stymied past development. Now moves afoot to strip character protection from a bunch of inner-city villas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories shortest from our political economy on Wednesday, April 23:Special Character Areas designed to protect villas are stopping 20,000 sites near Auckland’s ...
Artificial intelligence is poised to significantly transform the Indo-Pacific maritime security landscape. It offers unprecedented situational awareness, decision-making speed and operational flexibility. But without clear rules, shared norms and mechanisms for risk reduction, AI could ...
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Britain once risked a reputation as the weak link in the trilateral AUKUS partnership. But now the appointment of an empowered senior official to drive the project forward and a new burst of British parliamentary ...
Australia’s ability to produce basic metals, including copper, lead, zinc, nickel and construction steel, is in jeopardy, with ageing plants struggling against Chinese competition. The multinational commodities company Trafigura has put its Australian operations under ...
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On Twitter on Saturday I indicated that there had been a mistake in my post from last Thursday in which I attempted to step through the Reserve Bank Funding Agreement issues. Making mistakes (there are two) is annoying and I don’t fully understand how I did it (probably too much ...
Indonesia’s armed forces still have a lot of work to do in making proper use of drones. Two major challenges are pilot training and achieving interoperability between the services. Another is overcoming a predilection for ...
The StrategistBy Sandy Juda Pratama, Curie Maharani and Gautama Adi Kusuma
As a living breathing human being, you’ve likely seen the heart-wrenching images from Gaza...homes reduced to rubble, children burnt to cinders, families displaced, and a death toll that’s beyond comprehension. What is going on in Gaza is most definitely a genocide, the suffering is real, and it’s easy to feel ...
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The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review found the NIC to be highly capable and performing well. So, it is not a surprise that most of the 67 recommendations are incremental adjustments and small but nevertheless important ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkThe world has made real progress toward tacking climate change in recent years, with spending on clean energy technologies skyrocketing from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars globally over the past decade, and global CO2 emissions plateauing.This has contributed to a reassessment of ...
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“What I’d say to you is…” our Prime Minister might typically begin a sentence, when he’s about to obfuscate and attempt to derail the question you really, really want him to answer properly (even once would be okay, Christopher). Questions such as “Why is a literal election promise over ...
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Chris Luxon’s tenure as New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been a masterclass in incompetence, marked by coalition chaos, economic lethargy, verbal gaffes, and a moral compass that seems to point wherever political expediency lies. The former Air New Zealand CEO (how could we forget?) was sold as a steady hand, ...
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In the week of Australia’s 3 May election, ASPI will release Agenda for Change 2025: preparedness and resilience in an uncertain world, a report promoting public debate and understanding on issues of strategic importance to ...
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Four eighty-year-old books which are still vitally relevant today. Between 1942 and 1945, four refugees from Vienna each published a ground-breaking – seminal – book.* They left their country after Austria was taken over by fascists in 1934 and by Nazi Germany in 1938. Previously they had lived in ‘Red ...
Good Friday, 18th April, 2025: I can at last unveil the Secret Non-Fiction Project. The first complete Latin-to-English translation of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s twelve-book Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (Disputations Against Divinatory Astrology). Amounting to some 174,000 words, total. Some context is probably in order. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) ...
National MP Hamish Campbell's pathetic attempt to downplay his deep ties to and involvement in the Two by Twos...a secretive religious sect under FBI and NZ Police investigation for child sexual abuse...isn’t just a misstep; it’s a calculated lie that insults the intelligence of every Kiwi voter.Campbell’s claim of being ...
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The Government must support Northland hapū who have resorted to rakes and buckets to try to control a devastating invasive seaweed that threatens the local economy and environment. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law. “This is not about being anti-anyone or anti-anything. This is about ensuring we as a country focus on the facts of biology and protect the ...
After stonewalling requests for information on boot camps, the Government has now offered up a blog post right before Easter weekend rather than provide clarity on the pilot. ...
More people could be harmed if Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey does not guarantee to protect patients and workers as the Police withdraw from supporting mental health call outs. ...
The Green Party recognises the extension of visa allowances for our Pacific whānau as a step in the right direction but continues to call for a Pacific Visa Waiver. ...
The Government yesterday released its annual child poverty statistics, and by its own admission, more tamariki across Aotearoa are now living in material hardship. ...
Today, Te Pāti Māori join the motu in celebration as the Treaty Principles Bill is voted down at its second reading. “From the beginning, this Bill was never welcome in this House,” said Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Rawiri Waititi. “Our response to the first reading was one of protest: protesting ...
The Green Party is proud to have voted down the Coalition Government’s Treaty Principles Bill, an archaic piece of legislation that sought to attack the nation’s founding agreement. ...
A Member’s Bill in the name of Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter which aims to stop coal mining, the Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill, has been pulled from Parliament’s ‘biscuit tin’ today. ...
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Members Bill to make the law simpler and fairer for businesses operating on Easter, Anzac and Christmas Days has passed its first reading after a conscience vote in Parliament. ...
Nicola Willis continues to sit on her hands amid a global economic crisis, leaving the Reserve Bank to act for New Zealanders who are worried about their jobs, mortgages, and KiwiSaver. ...
To sleep, perchance to dreamIn the shadowy chambers of Lord Winston,The great clock strikes thirteen.All remains untouched, covered with dust,As it has done since the 1970s,In a simple world where boys were boys,Ladies were mini-skirted and compliant ladies,And Italian law students ruled the streetsIn their wide lapel zoot suits.King Lux ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will launch another push on health on Sunday, announcing a re-elected Labor government would set up a free around-the-clock 1800MEDICARE advice line and afterhours GP telehealth service. The service would ...
Asia Pacific Report Activists for Palestine paid homage to Pope Francis in Aotearoa New Zealand today for his humility, care for marginalised in the world, and his courageous solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza at a street theatre rally just hours before his funeral in Rome. He was remembered ...
By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific presenter The doors of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican have now been closed and the coffin sealed, ahead of preparations for tonight’s funeral of Pope Francis. The Vatican says a quarter of a million people have paid respects to Pope Francis in the last ...
By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific presenter The doors of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican have now been closed and the coffin sealed, ahead of preparations for tonight’s funeral of Pope Francis. The Vatican says a quarter of a million people have paid respects to Pope Francis in the last ...
Once or twice a week, Dr Margaret Henley rolls up the door on a windowless storage locker in central Auckland, pulls her plastic chair up to a picnic table and sifts through the history of netball in New Zealand.She works alongside netball archivist and statistician Todd Miller, together trawling through ...
Corin DannThe time is 7:36am on Wednesday, April 23, and you’re listening to Morning Report, New Zealand’s voice of the educated left on good incomes. I’m joined now by acting Prime Minister Winston Peters. Good morning Mr Peters.Winston PetersIt was, until I saw you. I much prefer your brother.Corin DannLiam ...
When Professor David Krofcheck got an email congratulating him on winning the Oscar of the science world, he dismissed it as a hoax.“I thought it was a scam, I thought it was a phishing email,” recalls Krofcheck, nuclear physicist at Auckland University.“Yeah right, I’ve won the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.I’ve been re-watching Girls lately, the HBO classic that perfectly captures millennial women in the most painful way. I highly recommend it especially if you haven’t watched it before. Every character on the show is deeply flawed and frustrating in their own ...
With the double-header long weekend comes a welcome chance to escape streaming slop, writes Alex Casey. Over Easter I texted my husband Joe a sentence that perhaps nobody in human history has ever texted: “hurry up geostorm is starting”. No punctuation, no capitalisation, not because I was trying to ...
April 27 is Moehanga Day, the anniversary of the day in 1806 when Ngāpuhi warrior Moehanga became the first Māori to visit England. This is his story. The wooden ship sailed down the River Thames, past smoke stacks and brick factories, until it reached a wharf in industrial south London. ...
Heidi Thomson on how her husband’s illness and Daniel Kalderimis’s book Zest have enhanced her understanding of George Eliot’s great novel.Sometimes a book finds you at just the right time. In early December my husband John had a stroke. At the time we were both reading George Eliot’s Middlemarch, ...
The musician, actor and star of upcoming documentary Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds takes us through his life in television. Musician Marlon Williams has been on our My Life in TV wish list ever since he revealed during his My Boy tour that he wrote ‘Thinking ...
When she walked dripping into the lounge, hair wet from the shower, she took one look at Hamish and dropped her towel.He was holding her phone.—How long has it been going on for?His blue eyes blazed. She wanted to pluck them out and blow on them gently, cool them off. ...
Comment: Democracy globally is in crisis. Around the world we are seeing the rise of nationalism and declining trust in democratic institutions. Politicians, even in Aotearoa, undermine the authority of core institutions like the media and the courts, which are critical for a functioning democracy. To live well together, in ...
Journalist Rod Oram, who died last year, would have been delighted to see the commitment to addressing climate change shown by the 23-year-old winner of a prize established in his memory.Mika Hervel, a student at Victoria University of Wellington, is today named winner of the Rod Oram Memorial Essay Prize, ...
A citizens’ assembly of 100 Porirua locals has provided the city council with more than a dozen recommendations about how to tackle climate change and make sure the region is resilient to worsening extreme weather events.Ranging from expanding access to renewable energy and incentivising the planting of native trees through ...
COMMENTARY:By Nour Odeh There was faint hope that efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza would succeed. That hope is now all but gone, offering 2.1 million tormented and starved Palestinians dismal prospects for the days and weeks ahead. Last Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister once again affirmed ...
An ocean conservation non-profit has condemned the United States President’s latest executive order aimed at boosting the deep sea mining industry. President Donald Trump issued the “Unleashing America’s offshore critical minerals and resources” order on Thursday, directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to allow deep sea mining. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In this election, voters are more distrustful than ever of politicians, and the political heroes of 2022 have fallen from grace, swept from favour by independent players. A Roy Morgan survey has found, for ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The former head of BenarNews’ Pacific bureau says a United States court ruling this week ordering the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to release congressionally approved funding to Radio Free Asia and its subsidiaries “makes us very happy”. However, Stefan Armbruster, who has ...
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 25, 2025. Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continuesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With just eight days until the May 3 federal election, and with in-person early voting well under way, Labor has taken a ...
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.AUCKLAND1 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Fictionalised true crime for foodies. 2 Sunrise on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taneshka Kruger, UP ISMC: Project Manager and Coordinator, University of Pretoria Healthcare in Africa faces a perfect storm: high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, a rise in non-communicable diseases, and dwindling foreign aid. In 2021, nearly half of ...
Australia and New Zealand join forces once more to bring you the best films and TV shows to watch this weekend. This Anzac Day, our free-to-air TV channels will screen a variety of commemorative coverage. At 11am, TVNZ1 has live coverage of the Anzac Day National Commemorative Service in Wellington. ...
Our laws are leaving many veterans who served after 1974 out in the cold. I know, because I’m one of them.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.First published in 2024.As I write this story, I am in constant pain. My hands ...
An MP fighting for anti-trafficking legislation says it is hard for prosecutors to take cases to court - but he is hopeful his bill will turn the tide. ...
NONFICTION1 No Words for This by Ali Mau (HarperCollins, $39.99)2 Everyday Comfort Food by Vanya Insull (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)3 Three Wee Bookshops at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw (Allen & Unwin, $39.99)
This Anzac Day marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings by soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps - the ANZACS. It signalled the beginning of a campaign that was to take the lives of so many of our young men - and would devastate the ...
The violent deportation of migrants is not new, and New Zealand forces had a hand in such a regime after World War II, writes historian Scott Hamilton. The world is watching the new Trump government wage a war against migrants it deems illegal. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.This Sunday Essay was made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
A new poem by Aperahama Hurihanganui, about the name of Aperahama and Abby Hauraki’s three-year-old son, Te Hono ki Īhipa (which translates to ‘The Connection to Egypt’). Te Hono ki Īhipa what’s in a name? te hono – the connection to your tīpuna, valiant soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion ...
The next TV1 poll ought to give us a preliminary indication of whether the ACT chihuahua's marketing campaign appeals to Nat supporters or not. This Green voter is gung ho re that potential: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/11/22/why-act-will-hit-double-digits-in-2026-election-and-why-its-an-existential-crisis-for-national/
His sociological analysis of the ACT supporters uses a tetrad:
I don't know any ACT supporters but readers who do can have fun filing them into these categories. Meanwhile, I'll predict that all 4 sub-tribes are incapable of grasping Seymour's alt-principles but will support him regardless – but the ACT poll ratings will struggle to achieve double figures again. My logic is simple: Lux does complacency just as easily as Hipkins, whereas Seymour is a change advocate. The legendary kiwi complacency will defeat him. Too many think the Nat/Lab duo are just like them.
Toby Manhire draws a parallel between Aotearoa & Germany:
Biodiversity prevails in the German political situation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_German_federal_election – so deal-making between parties is more imperative than here. The Greens have dropped 4 points in the past year despite having 2 cabinet ministers.
Toby makes an interesting point though:
Well, his & Labour's default is to ignore anything contentious (on the basis that ignorance is bliss) so we can expect him to equivocate and evade until its too late.
After their defeat to New Zealand, India is at risk of missing out of a place in the Test championship for the first time.
Australia now ranked number one stands in their way.
Fortunately for them the best opener in Oz, is not wearing the baggy green any longer, because DW and SS had him carry the yellow under arm badge of lack of courage onto a South African cricket ground.
The sound of the red ball on willow not heard during a test match in Perth.
Major European Union States, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Austria, as well as the EU itself , as well as Major Commonwealth countries the UK and Canada say that they will abide by the judgement of the ICC and will arrest the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Galant, for them to stand trial in the Hague for war crimes committed against the civilian population of Gaza, that is if either of them set foot in their countries.
The New Zealand government has not, unlike many other Rome Statute countries governments, yet released a statement on this country's position on the ICC judgement.
But New Zealand is also a signatory to the Rome Statute and as such is legally bound to act on the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant in the unlikely event that they ever set foot in this country.
Though the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister are unlikely to visit this country, many lower ranked IDF soldiers are likely to, and do, visit this country on a regular basis.
The legal precedent has been set, the floodgates are about to be opened. The many hundreds of IDF soldiers that have been identified as having committed war crimes in Gaza will inevitably have individual arrest warrants issued against them by the ICC.
As a signatory to the Rome Statute. Any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, must by law be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague.
Al Jazeera Investigates:
RIP Alice.
https://theberkshireedge.com/alice-brock-of-alices-restaurant-dies/
edit:
Boston Globe
51 things about Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’
https://archive.li/6nOv5
‘
Question Time in the House
Question for Answer:
Q: Can the Minister confirm, that in the unlikely event that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israel Minister of Defence Yoav Galant enter this country, that they will be arrested by the proper authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague as required by our international obligations and legal commitments?
Yes or No?
A: Yes.
Supplementary Question for Answer:
Q: Can the Minister confirm, that any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, will be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague?
Yes or No?
A: (…….) ?
Is it too hard to provide a link to Hansard for when that question was asked, and answered?
I think that is a suggestion, hasn't happened yet.
Correctamundo
That is fine, but if you are posting a suggestion for a question that you think should be asked I think you should make that clear.
The way the comment is posted make it look like a quote from Hansard, which is apparently not the case.
My apologies for any confusion caused.
I did leave the last answer void to indicate that it is a hypothetical. This is the question I would like an answer to.
Anyone who has spent any time walking New Zealand's world famous walking tracks will have encountered a proportionally high number of Israeli hikers. In conversations with them it always struck me how they glibly talk how much they enjoy their overseas holidays, when they must know that most Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in the enclave and cannot leave even for a holiday, or if they can leave are never certain that they will be allowed back.
How many of these Israeli tourists are IDF enjoying their furlough away from the killing fields of Gaza?
How many of them, if any, have been identified as involved in committing war crimes?
Someone knows.
Tracking international criminals and suspects entering the country is one of the thngs we have an Intelligence Service for
Thank you for the response. When I read the comment I thought they were very good questions and I had a look at Hansard to see who put them forward and who had answered them.
I certainly would love to see them put, and answered.
It would have saved me a search if I had known that they were, at least to date, only hypothetical ones. Maybe someone from the Green Party might pick them up. I don't think anyone else will be allowed to.
It hasn't been asked.
In the wake of the ICC decision. It seemed to me to be a rational and timely question to put to the government.
Maybe the opposition MPs are scared to ask it, in fear of being labeled anti-Semitic.
Behind the anti-Semitic slur
One genocide being used to condone another.
Netanyahu called the United Nations General Assembly anti-Semitic for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-un-israel-antisemitism-gaza-lebanon-hezbollah-rcna172977
Netanyahu calls the ICC anti-Semitic for indicting him for war crimes being committed in Gaza.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/nov/21/netanyahu-calls-icc-arrest-warrant-antisemitic-video
Israeli Mayor called the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum in Poland Anti-Semitic for criticising him for saying Gaza should become like Auschwitz is now.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-genocidal-statements
Calling the whole world anti-Semitic, devalues the crime of anti-Semitism, Devaluing the crime of Anti-Semitism emboldens the real anti-Semites
Our MPs owe it to the victims fo the Holocaust and the victims of the genocide in Gaza to stand up to the bullies who try to conflate opposition to genocide to Anti-Semitism.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350321622/todays-news-chat-vote-quiz-and-share-your-views
30% think the gang patch ban will reduce crime
what a bunch of morons
The CoC allows guns but bans patches. Geniuses.
And may create an arms race by arming the police.
‘
Wedge Politics
Noun
The thin edge of the Wedge?
Should we tolerate banning gang members from wearing a patch, because some gang members commit crimes?
Would we tolerate banning women of Islamic faith from wearing a Hijab, because some Muslims commit acts of terrorism?
Would we tolerate banning nuns of Catholic faith from wearing a whimple, because some Catholic clergy have abused children?
The success of Wedge Politics:
Would any opposition party dare promise to reverse the patch ban?
Right Wing Wedge Politics – 1
Liberal Democracy – zero
Juice Media provide the "honest with one voice" welcome to Trump on his election victory.
The resource in play in Ukraine, Russia diversifying away from dependence on oil and gas is lithium (battery).
https://www.renewablematter.eu/en/ukraine-all-lithium-reserves-and-mineral-resources-in-war-zones
Key locations.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/ukraines-critical-minerals-and-europes-energy-transition-motivation-russian-aggression
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/504A/production/_133645502_ukraine_invasion_east_map_181224-nc.png.webp
Our enemy is Eurasia it has always been Eurasia. (George Orwell skewers imperialist rivalry and shifting alliances), and enemies)
As the real world super powers pivot for control of resources and market share
From the link you supplied;
"….controlling these reserves is not synonymous with their immediate commercialization, as the extraction and refining processes are no simple tasks."
Maybe China could help out there, (whichever side wins)
23 Jan 2024 by Alex Scott
Well done 'Murica.
/
https://forward.com/news/366181/exclusive-nazi-allied-group-claims-top-trump-aide-sebastian-gorka-as-sworn/
President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that firebrand former Trump administration aide Sebastian Gorka will return to the White House in a senior national security role.
In a statement, Trump said that Gorka will be deputy assistant to the president and serve as senior director for counterterrorism, a role housed within the White House National Security Council. He praised Gorka, saying that “since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/22/sebastian-gorka-trump-administration-national-security-00191382
Harris comparing Trump to Hitler really worked.
Hitler reacts to Trump winning the election.
Great fun.
All fast track mouth.
He says oil and gas need long term certainty … and wants to give them the right to claim damages from future governments … .
Then thinks taking less royalties might help …
He says seabed mining has first right – the C of C is allowing them to side-track the environment process (they were being blocked by).
He claims to be sure offshore wind farms can occur later, despite those planning to do it, once the seabed mining is kicked to touch, now walking away.
He has no plan to reduce power costs to business.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/534582/offshore-oil-and-gas-ban-worst-political-decision-shane-jones-says
Two sprouts from rotten Filipino families, F. Marcos Jnr and Sara Duterte, got together to run social media electoral campaigns, and became President and Vice-President, respectively.
Now one has organised assasination for the other, and their near family, if they are first assasinated. From the Guardian.