I am (shamelessly) reposting this for the week day shift. I have added BLiP's comment from the first posting to the end of it. There's a confusing amount of detail swirling around the release of SIS briefing notes to Cameron Slater – one of the main issues…
lprent: My response at YourNZ follows. Personally I think you are a credulous fool who never bothers to check facts thoroughly, prefers to believe your biases and simple bigotry rather than any facts that are presented to you, have a strong tendency to ...
lprent: This is a copy of a post by Pete George on YourNZ. Since he was complaining that he was currently banned, I've put it here for him using his details for completeness. Basically it is the usual mindless lack of attention to details and a blind ...
I’m surprised micky didn’t mention Normans speech which was also excellent yesterday. micky is partisan Labour, which means that most of his attention will be on Labour's performances. I can testify how much that happens. Even now when I'll be party ...
For a long time, many of us on the left knew it was happening. The National Party has been feeding its pet bloggers, and some tame mainstream (MSM) journalists with its smear lines. Now it has been publicly outed, and some in the MSM seem remarkably …
' Anyone been listening to the General Debate as National Ltd™'s ministers, one after the other, rant on about the government's care and consider for the environment? Each and every one of them are lying through their teeth. Since its election to ...
Excellent article by Chris Trotter: Hence the near panic induced by Geoff Bertram’s analysis of New Zealand’s energy sector in which he sharply criticises the three-decades-worth of price-gouging engaged in by both the publicly- and privately-owned energy ...
' Its not just climate change that's being ignored. In fact, the John Key-led National Government will go down in (what remains of) history as the single government most determined to destroy New Zealand in order to satisfy the short term business ...
1.) If only you’d actually been part of the conversation, eh, rather than bravely reimagining its sequence some time later. Errrr, I WAS a part of the conversation. I actually made my debut on Public Address to refute Hooton's appalling abuse of Russell ...
' Surprise, surprise, surprise . . . the John Key led National Ltd™ government doesn't care about climate change. Who woulda thunk it, eh? At least the tacit admission is consistent with the National Ltd™ campaign to facilitate and encourage the ...
On Radionz now - for all people interested in international aid suggestions that might apply to NZ and within NZ to give a way forward, in these difficult times, through community strength. 10:06 Ideas International Aid - What works and what doesn’t? ...
' The OP headline carries the assumption that National Ltd™ ever cared about the environment. Since its election in 2008, the John Key led National Ltd™ led government has: been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and during the election campaign ...
' When it comes to the 100% Pure slogan how can the John Key led National Ltd™ government be worried? Its not like National Ltd™ have even the slightest concern for such things, or maybe it just thought the world wouldn't notice that since its election to ...
If there’s something you don’t know about, you don’t know. You don’t automatically take the side of authority. Chris Trotter does. I think he still has his heart set on a political career.
' Huh? Why would National Ltd™ care about "climate change". I mean, have you seen its record on environmental matters? Since coming to power in 2008, the John Key led National Ltd™ government has . . . been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and ...
' National Ltd™'s record on the environment is an international disgrace. Since its election in 2008, the John Key led National Ltd™ government has . . . been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and during the election campaign about its real ...
A good article by Chris Trotter on feeding the kids: As still happens in Finland today, the school-children of Red Vienna were given both breakfast and lunch, free of charge, by the city authorities. For the benefit of Hone Harawira and the Mana Party, ...
You've got to hand it to Kim Dotcom for his great choice of timing and ability to make the MSM headlines. John Key is leading the House into unnecessary, and politically motivated urgency to push through his anti-democratic Big brother GCSB surveillance …
I have mentioned before how John Key's government having been bringing in a range of seemingly small law changes that add up to a major shift. I particularly mentioned it in relation to the Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill. This has been …
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34253.htm The Amazing Rise and Fall of Presumption Of Innocence March 11, 2013 "Information Clearing House" - The most bizarre part of Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is ...
After Eddie dissed the usual beltway year in review style of column/post I was a little chary about doing this one. And then I realised the good thing about The Standard is we do real world and beltway issues. So here goes my once-over assessment of the …
I am becoming increasingly despondent about the state of left wing politics in NZ as I watch the struggles in the Labour Party unfold: lurching from one contested tension to another, in an on-going bitter conflict. Currently, to govern in NZ the Left …
. New Zealanders elected National Ltd™ to forward their best interests. So far as the environment is concerned, since coming to power in 2008 National Ltd™ has: has been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and during the election campaign about ...
. Sigh - another item for this list: has been caught out repeatedly lying in the run up to and during the election campaign about its real intentions in relation to the environment celebrated the opening of the foreign-owned Pike River Coal Ltd mine on DOC...
The inaugural Money Week has just ended. A week of events and activities to raise awareness about how people can better manage their money (if they have any) and get help to do so. With so many financial instruments out there all prostituting themselves …
There's been some talk around the 'sphere about a speech where David Parker made comments that some (*cough* Chris 'the Right's favourite Leftie' Trotter *cough*) thought meant he supported asset sales. That obviously caused confusion because Parker and …
Chris, don't get sucked in. It says that on thee website because that is the way it was set up - it allowed the farmers to become a statutory requiring authority, which was one of the biggest rorts to go down in Canterbury in recent times. Note in ...
A Movement Too Big to Fail By Chris Hedges October 17, 2011 "Truthdig" - - There is no danger that the protesters who have occupied squares, parks and plazas across the nation in defiance of the corporate state will be co-opted by the Democratic Party or ...
Ian Wishart is the one some of them want to 'string up'. It's a bloody disgrace this 'witch hunt / book burning' bullshit. How do the 'book boycotters' even know what has been said in the book if they haven't read it???? Duh? http://www.facebook.com/pages/...
Carol - You and those interested in your comments here may be interested (actually don't miss hearing this on replay radio from your internet site) in the lively and informative discussion noted below about today's economics, why and how they are and what ...
Forgive me, you can’t see the author but it was Chris Trotter – should be easy enough to substantiate. Someone else might have made a reasonable guess that Stuff isn't in the habit of publishing column length comments by anonymous commenters. Apology ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...
Another day, another constitutional outrage in the UK. This time, the government is saying that if parliament passes a law to stop Brexit before being prorogued, they may just ignore it:A senior cabinet minister has suggested Boris Johnson could defy legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit if it is forced ...
Environment Canterbury has finally proposed nitrogen limits to stop dairy farmers from poisoning Christchurch's water supply. And naturally, farmers are whining about it:A proposed move by Environment Canterbury (ECan) to protect Christchurch's drinking water by setting tough – some would say, draconian – nitrate reductions in the decades ahead and ...
The Zero Carbon Bill is currently before select committee. While its targets are weak, its a generally sensible bill that promises to establish a long-term framework to guide emissions reductions. But National hasn't made up its mind on whether it will support it - and according to Andrea Vance in ...
Dum-de-doo. Children across New Zealand have known him for generations as the lovable giraffe who tells them to exercise, hydrate and not to shove lit cigarettes up their nostrils. But a world renowned giraffe expert says we shouldn’t be getting attached to Life Education’s Harold the Giraffe, as he is ...
By Mike Hosking. Yesterday morning, I waltzed into work, and as I walked past the drones aggressively typing out news on the computers I’ve repeatedly asked to be moved further away from, I caught a glimpse of the words “climate change”, and noticed that suspiciously they weren’t in condescending quotation ...
by Tony Norfield US political opinion against China has two solid bases. The first is the longstanding racist and protectionist sentiment in the white working class; the second is a more recent anxiety about China’s economic prowess in America’s ruling elite. This article notes some historical aspects of anti-Chinese racism ...
Sonny Bill Williams is now listed at 278cm tall. When the All Blacks face South Africa in their first match of next month’s Rugby World Cup, Steve Hansen’s bold plan to field 16 players by stacking two All Blacks on top of each other in a giant black coat will ...
National is concerned what will become of the nation’s soon-to-be-fed children when they take their lunches away. Opposition leader Simon Bridges has criticized the Government’s plan to give primary and intermediate school children free lunches, saying that they could “become dependent” on them, and not know how to fare for ...
God Forbid - But, What If? Recalling Kirk’s death raises some troubling thoughts about New Zealand’s current prime-minister, Jacinda Ardern. God forfend that it should happen, but if she were to die, suddenly and unexpectedly, in the second year of her premiership – how would she be remembered?ON SATURDAY, 31 ...
No Laughing Matter: Simon Bridges and his National Party team are all too aware of the voters’ disinclination to confront too much in the way of political and economic reality. It is why, presumably, they are not only expecting them, like Lewis Carroll's Red Queen, to believe in six impossible ...
. . It’s not often that it happens, but every so often one will stumble across examples of journalism that probes deeper than the immediacy of the here-and-now, and actually takes a step back in very recent history to put political events and utterances into context. National’s desperation to remain ...
Many of the man’s family members are afraid he’s only got out of bed to drink. 31-year-old Jeffrey Twigg finally got out of bed this evening after the 2019 Cricket World Cup final between New Zealand and England. With a blood alcohol concentration of 380mg, Twigg went to bed on ...
None of the other four Parliamentary parties have reacted to Seymour’s policy. Responding to National’s announcement that it would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 in 2037, ACT leader David Seymour has announced his party’s intention to see the age raised to 69. “After extensive consultation with caucus, ...
The government is trialling a free school lunch programme:The Government has launched a trial free lunch in schools programme which it expects to extend out to 21,000 children once the policy is fully rolled out in two years' time. Starting next year, roughly 5000 year 1-8 children across 30 schools ...
That is the only way to describe Boris Johnson's request to suspend the UK parliament to prevent it from voting on Brexit (or voting him out of office). The UK parliament is the sole source of democratic legitimacy for that country's government. For the executive to purport to suspend it, ...
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...
Responding to reports that Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarette liquid, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says: ...
Māori and non- Māori value different aspects of plantation forestry, which owners should bear in mind if they want to maximise their social licence to operate, a new study shows. ...
The Prime Minister’s Award in the first annual Spirit of Service Awards has been won by the Ministry of Health and five agencies who teamed up on the Healthy Homes Initiative. ...
Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...
A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...
For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...
The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...
“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...
An unannounced inspection at Tongariro Prison has found a safe and well-managed prison, with a clear sense of purpose and striving for continuous improvement. ...
The Auditor-General’s discussion paper Public accountability: A matter of trust and confidence was presented to the House of Representatives today. ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) are proud to announce the winners of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less 2019 competition. ...
The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was not justified in tasering a man for a second time during an arrest in Picton on 23 June 2018. ...
The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...
“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...
The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) says the current partial strike by 600 psychologists working in district health boards is a sign that temporary fixes to ongoing workforce shortages in the profession are not working. ...
New Zealand’s contribution to military operations in Malaya and Malaysia from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s will be commemorated in a national service held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at 11.00am on Monday 16 September. ...
The Christchurch mosque attack might not have occurred had police had the resources to enforce firearms restrictions they control, according to the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO). ...
The resignation of the President of the Labour Party over the sex pest allegations was inevitable. It was inevitable because of his appalling handling of the situation so far; and, because in situations like this where there has to be a “fall guy” ...
“It’s disappointing that Parliament failed to address the accountability issues in the End of LifeChoice Bill ,” says Renée Joubert, Executive Officer of Euthanasia-Free NZ . ...
Yesterday Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance issued a welcome ‘clear directive’ in the press to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets . ...
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has written to Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters today urging that New Zealand condemn the Israeli Prime Minister’s planned annexation of vast tracts of the occupied West Bank of Palestine. ...
A groundbreaking tool launched today at The Spinoff will help voters across New Zealand see who’s running for local government election in their area and what they stand for. ...
Today Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence (NPM) releases its next Te Arotahi paper calling on government to pay even closer attention to the issues of whānau and whakapapa within the criminal justice system. ...
“Technology adoption supports higher productivity growth, higher income growth and increased resources to pay for the things New Zealanders’ value. But the main problem facing New Zealand today isn’t too much technology, it’s not enough,” ...
DairyNZ Biosecurity Manager, Dr. Liz Shackleton, will be appearing before Parliament’s Primary Production Select Committee today to submit on the National Animal Identification and Tracing Amendment Bill (No 2). ...
Federated Farmers is asking nicely - please can the Government immediately extend the timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation so we can find a pathway forward that provides for both the health of the water, the health of people and the health ...
Youthline applauds the Government’s commitment to boosting mental health and addiction programmes and its intention to establish a Suicide Prevention Office but we urge swifter action in relation to implementing the programmes announced in the last budget ...
ANZASW welcomes the release of Every Life Matters , the government’s newly-announced strategy and action plan for suicide prevention, which contains many much-needed initiatives. ...
“I’ve come to the conclusion that regardless of the outcome of the appeal process into complaints about a Party member, fresh leadership will be required to take forward any recommendations from that process. ...
Today Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) shared findings from its second Wellbeing Index showing that Kiwis continue to enjoy relatively high levels of personal wellbeing despite concerns of a slowing global economy and its impacts on New Zealand. ...
The high-risk live export ship Yangtze Fortune, due to berth at Napier Port this weekend, is currently embroiled in an investigation into a biosecurity breach in Australia. ...
The latest ‘firestorm’ over the Labour Party accusations over staff bullying/ abuse and now police bullying are now showing a similar pattern of ‘staff coverups’ and a pattern of ‘mental abuse’ and bullying. ...
AUCKLAND, September 10, 2019 – Lifeline says the Government’s acknowledgment that suicide is not exclusively a mental health problem could be a turning point for suicide prevention in Aotearoa New Zealand. Lifeline Aotearoa Clinical Manager ...
Our children may never swim in the Waiau River if the Government’s draft National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management is approved. The Government has committed to putting the health of the water first – but not for Southland’s Waiau River. ...
“New Zealand’s financial system is approaching crisis point due to a crippling level of household debt at 96% of our GDP. Our total debt passed the half trillion-dollar mark last year,” according to Don Richards, National Spokesperson for Positive ...
After putting some feelers out, the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Wellington regional ratepayers have paid almost $6,000 for “ Frank the Crayfish ”, a man in an elaborate crayfish suit who scolds ratepayers for their environmental ...
CEAC supports ‘Infrastructure NZ’ (INZ) CEO Paul Blair to seek an increase in more ‘transformation rather than incremental’ change to promote ‘national’ community wellbeing so that is a positive step forward if increased use of rail is ...
“National offer NZ to globalist’s with money.” September 2019. Press Release: Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre Now National has shown their plan to offer NZ to globalist’s with money, so will foreign finance conglomerates run our country ...
Local Government New Zealand's Regional Sector Water Subgroup has today released a report assessing some of the potential impacts of the reforms proposed under the Essential Freshwater Package. ...
Commenting on the Government’s Suicide Prevention Plan, “Every Life Matters: He Tapu te Oranga o ia tangata released by the Prime Minister today, a leading suicide prevention expert, Barry Taylor, describes the strategy as full of motherhood statements, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Belgrave, Professor History, Massey University From 2022, New Zealand history will be taught at all schools as part of the compulsory national curriculum. The announcement is an astonishing turnaround, given that the ministry of education and parliament’s education and workforce select ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZDF under inquiry scrutiny, competing statements on Labour investigation released through lawyers, and a thorough look at Air NZ’s carbon offsets. Ever since the book Hit and Run was published, the Defence Force have been under various degrees of pressure over whether ...
Yesterday Newshub revealed something shocking and disheartening about the spending practices of our local councils. Hayden Donnell registers his disappointment.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Councils often get a raw deal in ...
If NZ wants to address its housing crisis, there are vital planning measures we must take first. The University of Auckland's Lee Beattie explains. ...
Irene van Dyk reckons she “hit the jackpot” when she was asked to mentor Paris Lokotui, who at 17 has already played for NZ in three different sports. ...
His passion for conserving New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and his love of whales and dolphins made Wade Doak a conservation icon. Sue Halliwell farewells a legend. ...
Droughts and dying trees are hardening forest floors and starving Northland's kiwi. Climate change threatens to double the region's time spent in drought. ...
Kiwibank says the four big Australian owned banks are sending five billion dollars in profits a year back to Australia and it's time New Zealand hung on to some of it. ...
Professor Elizabeth Rata argues the introduction of a standard course of NZ history in schools should be a start, not an end, and should lead to agreed nationwide curricula in other subjects. ...
Covering Climate Now: ‘Click here to offset your emissions.’ It’s an appealing, guilt-assuaging idea. But what does it really amount to, asks Mirjam Guesgen.New Zealanders travel overseas a lot, with trips totalling close to 3 million a year. And every time a Kiwi takes flight, tonnes of earth-heating gases spew ...
The prime minister has admitted mistakes, and outlined measures to change the party culture.Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, yesterday addressed at length the situation around allegations of sexual assault by a Labour volunteer and an investigation into a Labour staffer. “We have a duty ...
A new inquiry into the 2017 Auckland Airport fuel outage says fuel companies need to invest in more resilient infrastructure, particularly as the airport uses ever more fuel. ...
Could it be that that the press, especially the US press, is finally waking up to the climate story? Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, co-founders of the Covering Climate Now initiative, report. ...
In spite of Jacinda Ardern’s exhortation that ‘it would be preferable if this case were not in the public domain’, differing accounts of what was said in an inquiry into the conduct of a (now former) Labour staffer, who denies wrongdoing, have been issued today to media from the chair ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s time to change Australia’s economic course “in a responsible and affordable way which doesn’t jeopardise the surplus”. Chalmers predicts the budget outcome for last financial year, forecast to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, James Cook University Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has ...
One of the people who investigated complaints about a Labour staffer has hired a forensic computer expert to prove he was never told about sexual assault allegations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Sherwen, Director Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, University of Melbourne Each year, from September to mid-October, the tiny and very precious mountain pygmy-possums arise from their months of hibernation under the snow and begin feasting on billions of bogong moths ...
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Alex Braae breaks down the surprisingly bitter Hutt City mayoral race.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Where?Hutt City covers the ...
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus ...
Covering Climate Now: Grim post-apocalyptic settings are a dime a dozen in gaming, but which ones are the most realistic? Sam Brooks talked to climate scientist David Tong to find out.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Every year there’s a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kassia Beetham, Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Expectant mothers receive an avalanche of information about potential risks to their baby. There’s a growing list of foods, toxins and environmental threats to avoid. It’s normal for this to lead to an increased ...
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Labour Party sexual assault allegations John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the ...
Facebook electioneering.Dr Bryce EdwardsThe National Party is in trouble again for its Facebook advertising campaigning. Late last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against one of the party’s social media ads targeting the Government’s vehicle efficiency feebate scheme. The authority ruled it was “likely to confuse or ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsIf the political reputation of the Labour-led Government and Jacinda Ardern have been badly or even fatally damaged by the ongoing #MeTooLabour scandal, it will be because they’ve disappointed their own supporters, and failed to live up to their own values. This is very different to a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, Academic Director of the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official visit to Washington this week carries some prestige. It is just the second “official visit” (including a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...2 weeks ago
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...2 weeks ago
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...2 weeks ago
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...2 weeks ago
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...2 weeks ago
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...2 weeks ago
Dum-de-doo. Children across New Zealand have known him for generations as the lovable giraffe who tells them to exercise, hydrate and not to shove lit cigarettes up their nostrils. But a world renowned giraffe expert says we shouldn’t be getting attached to Life Education’s Harold the Giraffe, as he is ...2 weeks ago
Image credit: 22 BLOGGERS WITH ADVICE FOR RESEARCHERS AND EVALUATORS, ILLUSTRATED I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your ... 2 weeks ago
By Mike Hosking. Yesterday morning, I waltzed into work, and as I walked past the drones aggressively typing out news on the computers I’ve repeatedly asked to be moved further away from, I caught a glimpse of the words “climate change”, and noticed that suspiciously they weren’t in condescending quotation ...2 weeks ago
Sonny Bill Williams is now listed at 278cm tall. When the All Blacks face South Africa in their first match of next month’s Rugby World Cup, Steve Hansen’s bold plan to field 16 players by stacking two All Blacks on top of each other in a giant black coat will ...3 weeks ago
National is concerned what will become of the nation’s soon-to-be-fed children when they take their lunches away. Opposition leader Simon Bridges has criticized the Government’s plan to give primary and intermediate school children free lunches, saying that they could “become dependent” on them, and not know how to fare for ...3 weeks ago
God Forbid - But, What If? Recalling Kirk’s death raises some troubling thoughts about New Zealand’s current prime-minister, Jacinda Ardern. God forfend that it should happen, but if she were to die, suddenly and unexpectedly, in the second year of her premiership – how would she be remembered?ON SATURDAY, 31 ...3 weeks ago
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. . It’s not often that it happens, but every so often one will stumble across examples of journalism that probes deeper than the immediacy of the here-and-now, and actually takes a step back in very recent history to put political events and utterances into context. National’s desperation to remain ...3 weeks ago
Many of the man’s family members are afraid he’s only got out of bed to drink. 31-year-old Jeffrey Twigg finally got out of bed this evening after the 2019 Cricket World Cup final between New Zealand and England. With a blood alcohol concentration of 380mg, Twigg went to bed on ...3 weeks ago
None of the other four Parliamentary parties have reacted to Seymour’s policy. Responding to National’s announcement that it would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 in 2037, ACT leader David Seymour has announced his party’s intention to see the age raised to 69. “After extensive consultation with caucus, ...3 weeks ago
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...4 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Belgrave, Professor History, Massey University From 2022, New Zealand history will be taught at all schools as part of the compulsory national curriculum. The announcement is an astonishing turnaround, given that the ministry of education and parliament’s education and workforce select ...13 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZDF under inquiry scrutiny, competing statements on Labour investigation released through lawyers, and a thorough look at Air NZ’s carbon offsets. Ever since the book Hit and Run was published, the Defence Force have been under various degrees of pressure over whether ...15 hours ago
Yesterday Newshub revealed something shocking and disheartening about the spending practices of our local councils. Hayden Donnell registers his disappointment.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Councils often get a raw deal in ...15 hours ago
If NZ wants to address its housing crisis, there are vital planning measures we must take first. The University of Auckland's Lee Beattie explains. ...16 hours ago
Irene van Dyk reckons she “hit the jackpot” when she was asked to mentor Paris Lokotui, who at 17 has already played for NZ in three different sports. ...16 hours ago
Climate change is at the centre of a remarkable international drilling operation into Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf this summer. ...16 hours ago
His passion for conserving New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and his love of whales and dolphins made Wade Doak a conservation icon. Sue Halliwell farewells a legend. ...16 hours ago
Droughts and dying trees are hardening forest floors and starving Northland's kiwi. Climate change threatens to double the region's time spent in drought. ...16 hours ago
Jim Kayes recounts his jousts with the All Blacks coach as the clock winds down on Steve Hansen's reign. ...16 hours ago
Kiwibank says the four big Australian owned banks are sending five billion dollars in profits a year back to Australia and it's time New Zealand hung on to some of it. ...16 hours ago
Professor Elizabeth Rata argues the introduction of a standard course of NZ history in schools should be a start, not an end, and should lead to agreed nationwide curricula in other subjects. ...16 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: ‘Click here to offset your emissions.’ It’s an appealing, guilt-assuaging idea. But what does it really amount to, asks Mirjam Guesgen.New Zealanders travel overseas a lot, with trips totalling close to 3 million a year. And every time a Kiwi takes flight, tonnes of earth-heating gases spew ...16 hours ago
A new gang in south Auckland has raised tensions and is being blamed for a spike in violence. ...17 hours ago
A new inquiry into the 2017 Auckland Airport fuel outage says fuel companies need to invest in more resilient infrastructure, particularly as the airport uses ever more fuel. ...17 hours ago
Could it be that that the press, especially the US press, is finally waking up to the climate story? Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, co-founders of the Covering Climate Now initiative, report. ...23 hours ago
The media and climate activists must “name and shame” laggards, says the UN special envoy. Mark Hertsgaard reports. ...23 hours ago
While eight candidates are vying for the top job in Hamilton, only three appear to be front-runners. ...1 day ago
Six months on from the terrorist attacks, and after years of frustrations, the Office of Ethnic communities is changing. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, James Cook University Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has ...1 day ago
Labour Party member tasked with investigating misconduct doubles down on claims he never received sexual assault complaints. ...1 day ago
Germany doesn't need a grand scale infrastructure programme, it needs a different Chancellor in a different coalition government. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Sherwen, Director Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, University of Melbourne Each year, from September to mid-October, the tiny and very precious mountain pygmy-possums arise from their months of hibernation under the snow and begin feasting on billions of bogong moths ...1 day ago
More than 42,000 households switched power companies last month, the highest amount for a month since 2011. ...1 day ago
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus ...1 day ago
Covering Climate Now: Grim post-apocalyptic settings are a dime a dozen in gaming, but which ones are the most realistic? Sam Brooks talked to climate scientist David Tong to find out.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Every year there’s a ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kassia Beetham, Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Expectant mothers receive an avalanche of information about potential risks to their baby. There’s a growing list of foods, toxins and environmental threats to avoid. It’s normal for this to lead to an increased ...1 day ago
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...1 day ago
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...1 day ago
Builders are setting up a new scheme to lessen the chances that companies close to collapse can win major contracts. ...1 day ago
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...1 day ago
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...1 day ago
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...2 days ago
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