NZ: No jobs, expensive housing, time to leave
Written By:
Date published: 4:26 pm, August 21st, 2024 - 63 comments
It gets rather depressing reading the statistics on National’s induced recession as they steadily push New Zealand into stagflation. The Reserve Banks unplanned OCR decision last week wasn’t a hopeful sign. We’re in for a few years of a National led and created recession. Get out while you still can
Open mike 21/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 21st, 2024 - 90 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 20/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 20th, 2024 - 3 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Is the Treaty Principles Bill dead or has it just suffered a flesh wound?
Written By:
Date published: 12:31 pm, August 20th, 2024 - 21 comments
Even though National and NZ First have ruled out supporting Act’s Treaty Principles Bill beyond the first reading David Seymour thinks that the Bill has a chance of succeeding and wishes to proceed with introduction of the bill.
Open mike 20/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 20th, 2024 - 25 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 19/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 19th, 2024 - 12 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Open mike 19/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 19th, 2024 - 50 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Lester Levy Asks Kiwis To Pray For Him – Again
Written By:
Date published: 6:52 pm, August 18th, 2024 - 33 comments
Lester Levy again asks Kiwis to pray for him. But who will pray for us, Dr Levy?
Luxon’s Support for AUKUS 2 is Against Our Interests
Written By:
Date published: 9:29 am, August 18th, 2024 - 21 comments
It is well time the Prime Minister set out how it is in our interests to move against China by buying into AUKUS.
Open mike 18/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 18th, 2024 - 29 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Is a Transformational Left-Wing Leadership of the NZ Labour Party Possible?
Written By:
Date published: 4:57 pm, August 17th, 2024 - 79 comments
It is a painful experience, to have fought long and hard for something you knew was inadequate and to have even that taken away. The Labour Party has long urged activists to be ‘realistic’. Elliot Crossan argues that it will not return to be a socialist party of the working class.
Waitangi Tribunal slams Treaty Principles Bill
Written By:
Date published: 9:27 am, August 17th, 2024 - 15 comments
The Waitangi Tribunal has in a scathing interim report slammed Act’s Treaty Principles Bill. And Christopher Luxon has underlined his weakness by refusing to halt the bill.
Open mike 17/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 17th, 2024 - 44 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 16/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 16th, 2024 - 7 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Curia Market Research Found In Breach Of Professional Standards
Written By:
Date published: 1:43 pm, August 16th, 2024 - 43 comments
It appears that Curia Research has resigned from the professional standards group Research Association of NZ (RANZ).
Chhour needs to go
Written By:
Date published: 10:52 am, August 16th, 2024 - 24 comments
It is a shame that Ipredict is not still around. Otherwise I would be putting money on Chhour being the first to go.
Lester Levy: “Significant, Not Painless” Changes Needed
Written By:
Date published: 10:08 am, August 16th, 2024 - 14 comments
Lester Levy gave a keynote address this weak signalling painful, strong medicine is needed for Health NZ. But his claims contradict frontline staff and experts.
Open mike 16/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 16th, 2024 - 35 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 15/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 15th, 2024 - 36 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Open mike 15/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 15th, 2024 - 77 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 14/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 14th, 2024 - 6 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Mountain Tui: Luxon’s $1000 A Week Is His “Entitlement”. Just Not Yours.
Written By:
Date published: 1:06 pm, August 14th, 2024 - 32 comments
When Luxon claimed $1000 a week of tax-free, taxpayers money for accommodation, because he didn’t want the 2 free properties he was offered, he said he was entitled to it. But according to the government, all beneficiaries now require harsher rules or risk having their entitlements stripped. Yet only ~5% aren’t compliant and last quarter, 1500 were cut off. What do the numbers say?
Open mike 14/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 14th, 2024 - 87 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 13/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 13th, 2024 - 31 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
Mountain Tui: Beneficiary sanctions & targets don’t add up
Written By:
Date published: 1:23 pm, August 13th, 2024 - 9 comments
The jobseeker beneficiary sanctions and targets are not adding up. It also inflicts a lack of dignity and shame on recipients at a time when austerity is actively increasing unemployment.
Calculated cruelty
Written By:
Date published: 12:44 pm, August 13th, 2024 - 36 comments
National has engaged in more performative and calculated cruelty designed to make some poor people’s lives worse and all so that the Government can feed its base.
Open mike 13/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 13th, 2024 - 56 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 12/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 5:30 pm, August 12th, 2024 - 20 comments
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …
NZ not attending Nagasaki event, insists decision unrelated to Israel invite snub
Written By:
Date published: 1:41 pm, August 12th, 2024 - 27 comments
New Zealand’s decision to stay away from the event in Nagasaki paying tribute to victims of the city’s 1945 nuclear bombing called outrageous.
Open mike 12/08/2024
Written By:
Date published: 6:00 am, August 12th, 2024 - 38 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
What does this Government have against Te Ao Māori?
Written By:
Date published: 10:24 am, August 11th, 2024 - 28 comments
Te Ao Māori forms an increasingly important part of our cultural identity. And most of us realise this and celebrate it. This Government’s stance is at odds with this increasingly strong consensus.
- How satellites are bridging New Zealand’s connectivity gap
Many parts of the country still lack mobile coverage, but that’s about to change thanks to One NZ and Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellite technology. For those who need to stay connected in remote areas, the project could be transformational, reports Jihee Junn. Despite being one of the most developed ...2 weeks ago - Welcome To Summer School For Ministers Toy Assembly (Climate Change 101 Curriculum Delivery)
Parents for Climate Aotearoa are holding the Toy Assembly to welcome the Prime Minister and cabinet Ministers to the Climate Change 101 Summer School to highlight that they also need to get the basics right and do them brilliantly. ...2 weeks ago - No booze after 9pm: What you need to know about Auckland’s new alcohol rules
From today, liquor stores will have to close at 9pm. This article was originally published in August when the new rules were announced. In August, after almost a decade of legal battles with the supermarket duopoly, Auckland’s councillors unanimously voted to adopt a new local alcohol policy that will restrict ...2 weeks ago
- Raft Of Politicians Expected At Save Our Mill Meeting In Tokoroa
The deputy PM is among those attending a community meeting about the mill, with calls for worker relief heading into Christmas. ...2 weeks ago
- The Greens try and rev up the climate debate
It’s been a tough year for the opposition party. Now, it has its sights set on 2025 and beyond, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...2 weeks ago
- Too hot to handle: How climate-friendly housing is becoming unliveable
Sustainable housing is focused on density and warmth. But as New Zealand’s climate warms, that might be a downside, not a drawcard. My partner and I live in a north-facing apartment that’s perfect for low-pollution living. We live near a bus stop, and everything we need is a 15-minute ...2 weeks ago
- Windbag: Did Te Rauparaha really drink at the Thistle Inn?
According to a Wellington urban legend, the notorious Ngāti Toa chief used to pull his waka onshore to have a drink at the city’s oldest pub. Is it true? Windbag is The Spinoff’s Wellington issues column, written by Wellington editor Joel MacManus. It’s made possible thanks to the support of ...2 weeks ago
- Extinction Rebellion Will Cease To Exist If Greens Policy Is Enacted
‘The Green Party Emission reduction Plan – He Ara Anamata, will obviate the need to take ongoing actions’, says Caril Cowan, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion Tāmakai Makauraru. ...2 weeks ago
- Are We Counting On The Right Evidence?
What counts as evidence when important decisions are made about social well-being in Aotearoa is the focus of a new study at the University of Auckland. ...2 weeks ago
- Greenpeace Welcomes Action On Dairy Emissions In Greens’ Alternative Emissions Reduction Plan
"At a time when the Luxon-led government is caving to polluting industry lobbyists and undermining climate action across all fronts, it is refreshing to see an alternative pathway," says Greenpeace spokesperson Amanda Larsson. ...2 weeks ago
- The Weekend: Seriously, you need to wear sunscreen
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. It is officially summer. And it is officially hot. Typically, I love the first few days of summer, when the chill in the wind turns into a pleasant breeze. But there’s been a sad and necessary evolution in my feelings about long ...2 weeks ago
- Review: A decolonial trip through femininity in Ngahuia Murphy’s Intuitive Ritual
‘The perfect sleeper decolonisation tool’: Lyric Waiwiri-Smith reviews Ngahuia Murphy’s stunning pink book, Intuitive Ritual. My fingernail clippings are buried in the garden outside my flatmate’s window. Cut on takirau, the eighteenth moon of the maramataka, the clippings of keratin are submerged under the Earth next to a kūmara, banana, ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Damn near knocked me out’: Scotty Stevenson’s biggest live TV headache
The TVNZ sports commentator and writer looks back on his life in TV. When The Spinoff reaches Scotty Stevenson he’s in a reflective mood, caught in between calling an intriguing test cricket series, and a second round of deep staffing cuts at TVNZ. Asked how he’s going, and he immediately ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Māori Bass should be its own genre’: Mokotron’s perfect weekend playlist
Ngāti Hine historian and producer Mokotron shares his perfect weekend playlist. Producer Mokotron might be feasting on the treats from Indian Sweets and Snacks on Dominion Road. He’s eyeing up the paneer, idli and kahori for the weekend, which he’ll pair with “mowing the lawns, taking bubba to ride her ...2 weeks ago
- What I ate while I grieved
Remembering what makes the food of mourning taste a little sweeter. My husband Bill died unexpectedly one afternoon. He’d been unwell for a while but there was no suggestion that he would be gone so suddenly. It was a shattering day. Our two sons and I spent time with him ...2 weeks ago
- Booze, brawls, batons and blood: The Queen Street riot, 40 years on
On December 7, 1984, more than 10,000 peopled piled into downtown Auckland for a free concert in Aotea Square. A few hours later, Queen Street had descended into chaos. What happened? Gabi Lardies asks people who were there. With special thanks to Bryan Staff and Bruce Jarvis for use of ...2 weeks ago
- Cuts To Humanities And Social Sciences Research Will Impact Māori Most
Humanities and social sciences are foundational to advancing and nurturing the next generation of Māori scholars. Without this funding avenue, the future for them looks pretty grim. ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Commission Methane Advice A Chance To Pull Climate Emergency Brake: Greenpeace
The intensive dairy industry, led by Fonterra, is NZ’s worst climate polluter, belching out vast amounts of superheating methane gas, Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn says. ...2 weeks ago
- Review: Double Whammy’s first all-ages gig proves punk is for the children
Former underage gig-goers turned average-age music lovers Gabi Lardies and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith review Double Whammy’s first all-ages gig, featuring Dartz, Dune Rats and Groopchat. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith: Gabi, do you remember your first all-ages gig? I was 15 and watched Miss June tear up the grimy little stage at the Old ...2 weeks ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Lamium purpureum’ by Joel LeBlanc
A new poem by Joel LeBlanc. Lamium purpureum I found an old notebook containing research for an article I wrote nine years ago on Deadnettles. On impulse, I googled it. The words of my younger self echoed through years, bold and clear and sure of himself, lecturing me on anti-inflammatory ...2 weeks ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending December 6
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Tiahuia: A Karanga for My Mother by Merenia Gray (Huia Publishers, $45) Striking cover! Here’s the ...2 weeks ago
- Special Honours List 6 December 2024 (Bravery Awards)
The King has been pleased to approve the New Zealand Bravery Awards. The Governor-General, under authority delegated by The King, has been pleased to approve the New Zealand Bravery Awards. ...2 weeks ago
- Commission Delivers First Review Of The 2050 Target And Advice On The Fourth Emissions Budget
These reports are our final advice on the fourth emissions budget (for 2036–2040), and the first five-yearly review of the 2050 emissions target. The target review advice also includes a one-off review of whether international shipping and aviation ...2 weeks ago
- Interim Financial Statements Of The Government Of New Zealand For The Four Months Ended 31 October 2...
The October results are reported against forecasts based on the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2024 (BEFU 2024), published on 30 May 2024, and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...2 weeks ago
- National Government Continues To Punish People For Being Poor
This National government continues to gaslight those experiencing poverty and they're so clearly out of touch with what's happening on the frontline, it's disappointing, embarrassing and to be frank quite reckless. ...2 weeks ago
- How Does Te Tiriti o Waitangi Compare To Treaties In Other Colonial Countries?
Aotearoa is unique among settler colonial states in having one treaty with the indigenous people, but how does that compare with treaties made with other first nations in Canada, the US and Australia? ...2 weeks ago
- An Investigation In The Carbon Emissions Of Members Of Parliament (MPs) In NZ
This study was sparked by an interest in examining New Zealand’s carbon emissions, focusing on specific corporations and groups within the country. It reflects a global trend of heightened environmental awareness as individuals and organisations increasingly ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s Personal Grievance Changes Will Empower Bad Employers
“The Prime Minister and his cabinet continue to demonstrate that they are governing only for employers and couldn’t care less about the people who get up every day and go to work to keep this country running,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s Methane Review Designed To Disguise Ideology As Fact – Greenpeace
The methane review is designed to disguise political ideology as scientific fact. It was set up to bypass the independent scientific advice of the Climate Change Commission because that advice didn’t say what the Government - & the livestock industry lobbyists ...2 weeks ago
- Beyond ‘Depopulation’: The Brutal Truth Of New Zealand’s Bird Flu Outbreak
Bird Flu Bombshell: 80,000+ Chickens Set to Die – When Will We Wake Up? ...3 weeks ago
- Norway Stops Seabed Mining, Putting More Pressure On NZ To Follow
Greenpeace spokesperson Juan Parada says, "This move by Norway to stop the seabed mining in its tracks is a historic win for ocean protection and for the growing movement opposed to the damaging new extractive industry, and puts the spotlight firmly on ...3 weeks ago
- Christchurch Airport Firefighters To Strike Over Poor Pay Offer
The firefighters will refuse to carry out a range of duties over a 21-day period, beginning 8am Wednesday 18 December 2024 and ending 6pm Wednesday 8 January 2025. ...3 weeks ago
- Supreme Court Decision Shows Need For Government To Stop Interfering In The Judicial Process
The Court noted, crucially, that the rights of customary marine title holders and all New Zealanders can co-exist. This whole political debacle, dominated by extreme voices, has obscured the reality that the customary interests of iwi and hapū and ...3 weeks ago
- Honeymoon Over For National, Poll Suggests
Assuming all seats are held, and using the Electoral Commission’s seat calculator, these results would deliver an overhang in Parliament with both Te Pāti Māori and National winning more electorate seats than their party vote entitlement. ...3 weeks ago
- AJP Demands Stronger Laws To Protect Animals Like Rocky
“This failure highlights the urgent need for stronger laws and enforcement,” said Danette Wereta, AJP spokesperson. “Dogs like Rocky deserve better. Life-chaining and neglect are preventable - weak laws let this cruelty continue.” ...3 weeks ago
- CRL: Greater Transparency Needed For Our Largest Infrastructure Project
“Human error has given us a glimpse into how dire the situation really is” said Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesman, Sam Warren. ...3 weeks ago
- “Same Old Labour” Clearly Not Ready To Return To Treasury Benches
“Labour has never met a tax it didn’t like” said Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman, Sam Warren. ...3 weeks ago
- Labour’s Commitment On Tax Welcomed – With Caveat
“Labour’s commitment to tax reform appears to be strong this time around and that is certainly good news,” says Glenn Barclay, chair of Tax Justice Aotearoa. ...3 weeks ago
Recent Comments