web analytics

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Will there still be Santa?
    Amelia Sharman I’ve got some bad news about Santa Claus. The North Pole may be far, but it’s not too far to avoid the tentacles of technological change. While Santa is no slouch when it comes to adopting technology (having adopted assembly lines about 100 years ago, and more recently ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    22 mins ago
  • Paula Bennett wrong to condemn PM
    Warning: This article contains sensitive topics some people might find offensive.It seems rather tedious to have to reiterate this on the eve of Christmas, but people are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt under New Zealand law. Evidently certain journalists and politicians have forgotten this basic tenet of ...
    2 hours ago
  • Plagiarism, copyright infringement. Potato, potahto.
    I’ve had skin in this game in the past, and reason to think about it recently in relation to the actions of local (New Zealand) lobbyists The Maxim Institute (see Unlikely online bully, Liam Hehir). So a recent discussion caught my eye. This strikes me as a good working definition: ...
    The PaepaeBy Peter Aranyi
    1 day ago
  • Where are all the part-time students?
    John MacCormick You’d think that with low unemployment and ever-improving technology for distance education, the proportion of tertiary students studying part-time would be on the rise. But it’s not. There’s a puzzle here that may help to reveal some of the challenges our tertiary education system faces in meeting the ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 days ago
  • If You Want To Know Why Clinton And Corbyn Lost – Watch This.
    This short documentary explains brilliantly why the candidates and parties of the Left keep on losing to the Right. Highly recommended viewing.Video courtesy of YouTubeThis posting exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    2 days ago
  • Reconnecting Jacinda With her Inner Swashbuckler.
    Let's Do This - Again? If all Labour has to take to the electorate in September 2020 is an automobile-driven infrastructure programme borrowed wholesale from the last National Government, then Simon Bridges is going to make sure that being the prime minister of a one-term Labour government is the only ...
    2 days ago
  • Kiwi exoworlds are named
    The International Astronomical Union (IAU) this year invited nations to propose names for distant stars selected on the basis of having planets (exoplanets) discovered to be orbiting them. The New Zealand entries, now adopted officially by the IAU, are Karaka for the star, and Kererū for its associated exoplanet.  In ...
    SciBlogsBy Duncan Steel
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: We need this to happen more often
    Farmers are outraged over approval being granted to Dryland Carbon - a dedicated New Zealand offsetting firm - to buy 1065 hectares of farmland on the east coast. It's taking land out of production, they say. People will never farm there again! Yes, and that's the point. Farming is our ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Blow, wind of fruitfulness
    A short update on wind power in New Zealand, where there has been a string of positive announcements since I discussed the Turitea wind farm in May: On 22 May, Genesis committed to buy all the electricity from Tilt Renewables proposed 133 MW Waipipi wind farm at Waverley, south Taranaki, ...
    SciBlogsBy Robert McLachlan
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Planning for failure again
    Last night the government introduced its latest proposals for the Emissions Trading Scheme. While the Zero Carbon Act has established a process for setting long-term carbon budgets, the government still needs to set an interim one. In addition, it needs to set volumes for planned ETS auctions and the prices ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 15 years of editing Wikipedia
    Stuart Yeates Today is my 15th-anniversary editing Wikipedia under my own name. I was recruited to join Wikipedia from the Everything2 community, one of several predecessors to Wikipedia, where I’d been editing since 2000. Everything2 was fun to write, editors voted on each other’s articles and humour was an important ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    3 days ago
  • Tourism and the ETS
    Eloise Gibson covers the carbon costs of tourism over at Newsroom: But in reality: “value-led tourism growth may actually worsen those pressures that are linked with consumption. Higher-value visitors, by definition, consume more goods and services, all of which have an associated greenhouse gas and solid waste footprint. To the ...
    SciBlogsBy Eric Crampton
    3 days ago
  • Scotland’s Secret Weapon.
    Defensive Position: What will be Nicola Sturgeon’s equivalent of Robert the Bruce’s shiltrons when proud King Boris sends his army north against a people determined to “be a nation again”? For this is the twenty-first, not the fourteenth century. Courage and a 12-foot spear might be enough to turn aside ...
    3 days ago
  • A victory for democracy in Catalonia – and in Europe
    Back in May, jailed Catalan politician Oriol Junqueras ran in the European parliamentary elections as head of the Ahora Repúblicas. AR won 5.6% of the Spanish vote, enough for three MEPs. But Junqueras was not allowed to take his seat, after Spanish authorities refused to release him temporarily from pre-trial ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • When Rights Collide

    This article is about competing rights and material reality. It is timely as a British employment court has ruled against Maya Forstater who took a case against an employer who sacked her for expressing gender critical views outside of work hours. Kathleen Stock noted “the judgment removes women’s rights and ...
    RedlineBy Daphna
    4 days ago
  • Impeached!
    The US House of representatives has just voted to impeach Donald Trump, making him only the third US president to earn that dubiou distinction. But before anyone gets their hopes up, this isn't any return to constitutional normalcy. Once the House votes for impeachment, the Senate is supposed to conduct ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • What to put in a Wikipedia biography – and what gets left out
    Stuart Yeates continues a blog series following the process of creating biographies in Wikipedia. See part one here. What does (and doesn’t) get included There is some information I deliberately leave out of biographies of the living: dates of birth are out (but not year of birth, since this is ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    4 days ago
  • Legal Beagle: Did Parliament give the New Zealand Defence Force the power to prohibit newspapers fro...
    Yesterday news broke that a member of the New Zealand Army had been arrested and was in military custody. Details were sparse, but Stuff journalists Florence Kerr and Thomas Manch, and Newsroom’s Marc Daalder in particular seemed to be quick to print with details of the individual’s far right ties.Later ...
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: The scale of failure
    The government released its Fourth Biennial Report under the UNFCCC today, setting out our emissions reduction targets, policies, and emissions projections. The projections paint a dismal picture of failure: we are not on track to meet our 2030 target, and we will meet our 2020 one only by relying on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: Compromised
    The Climate Change Commission is going to be a key body in determining future climate change policy. Under the Zero Carbon Act, it will effectively be responsible for setting long-term carbon budgets and emissions reductions plans, setting a long-term downward pathway for emissions, as well as reviewing the agricultural target ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Fluoridation science and political advocacy – who is fooling who?
    misinformation It is a false balance to equate the advocacy of scientific and medical experts concerned with truth and child health to the advocacy of ideologically-motivated anti-fluoride and anti-vaccination activists known for their misrepresentation of science. Credit: World ...
    4 days ago
  • Congratulations “realists”: “Public Enemy No. 1” is down, why the panic?
    The panic is because after taking down the “unapologetic anti-semite” and “terrorist sympathiser”, being the two most consistently carried and talked about tropes about Jeremy Corbyn, was in very real terms the only project they took most seriously of all. This was firmly aided and abetted by pretty much ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    5 days ago
  • How I came to be writing Wikipedia biographies for female New Zealand professors
    Stuart Yeates In August 2017, the Royal Society Te Apārangi provided physical space and some funds for a group of people to get together and edit Wikipedia on topics related to Women in Science, to try and combat the overwhelming maleness on Wikipedia.
    Participants at the Women in Science ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    5 days ago
  • Hard News: “OK Boomer” wins Public Address Word of the Year: Services alerted
    Public Address readers have chosen "OK Boomer" as their Word of the Year for 2019, causing emergency support services to scramble in anticipation of a wave of injured feelings among New Zealanders over 55."I'm really terribly sorry this has happened and I just hope the system can cope with what's ...
    5 days ago
  • The one thing the government is delivering on
    Last year the government gave us the biggest ever increase in the minimum wage, from $15.50 to $17.70 an hour. This year, they're doing it again:New Zealand's minimum wage will rise to $18.90 an hour from April 1, the Government has confirmed. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • What is Archives New Zealand scared of?
    What is Archives New Zealand scared of? We're not allowed to know. All government agencies should be maintaining risk registers of threats to their operations and what they do. Its simply good planning: by knowing about a threat - like the potential for earthquakes, or fires, or corrupt staff - ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Which countries are likely to meet their Paris Agreement targets
    Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz Which countries in the world have met or bettered their ...
    SciBlogsBy Robert McLachlan
    5 days ago
  • Scientific integrity & fluoridation – Dr Ghali responds
    Video produced by Calgarians for Kid’s Health which is campaigning for the return of Community water fluoridation to Calgary, Canada. Dr Ghali’s presentation to recent Calgary City Council hearings on fluoridation has been promoted by anti-fluoridation activists. In my recent article Scientific integrity requires critical investigation – not blind acceptance ...
    5 days ago
  • The Aftermath, Part 3 – Who Is To Blame?
    So, following the catastrophe that overtook the Labour Party last week, blame is inevitably being directed at Corbyn.  As pointed out in my last post, there is some dubiour research that supports that conclusion, if you are minded to accpet it at face value.I think, however, that blaming Corbyn's leadership, ...
    6 days ago
  • Judicially review the OMV decision
    Today the Environmental Protection Authority granted consent to Austrian oil-giant OMV to drill for oil and gas in the Great South Basin. Its a decision which makes no sense, given our need to reduce emissions: we can't burn the oil and gas we already have and stay within the planet's ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Daily secrecy
    Another day, another secrecy clause from this secretive government. This time its in the seemingly boring looking Financial Market Infrastructures Bill, which is about stock exchange and bank settlement regulation. It uses existing bodies subject to the OIA as regulators, and gives them powers to require information both from each ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Ten things we can learn from new smoking and vaping data about progress to Smokefree Aotearoa 2025
    Richard Edwards, Janet Hoek, Nick Wilson, Andrew Waa [All from Department of Public Heath, University of Otago, Wellington] New NZ Health Survey data show some encouraging recent reductions in smoking prevalence. However, progress remains inadequate to achieve the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal and the government needs to take urgent action, ...
    SciBlogsBy Public Health Expert
    6 days ago
  • The HRC on hate speech
    The Human Rights Commission has published a paper today on Kōrero Whakamauāhara: Hate Speech - An overview of the current legal framework. It examines the principles behind hate speech regulation, as well as current New Zealand and international law. While it draws no formal conclusions, it is clear from that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Skeletons in the closet: my ancestry DNA story
    Are you sitting down?’ the ominous words came down the phone line. Usually, that means something less than happy is about to be imparted. ‘It’s about your grandparents …. I grew up in the sunshine capital of Aotearoa New Zealand. My maternal grandparents lived just down the road. My grandfather ...
    SciBlogsBy Nic Rawlence
    6 days ago
  • Aftermath, Part 2 – Why Did All The Votes Go?
    Predictable, there has been a lot of effort being put into saying the disaster of Friday the 13th is down to Corbyn, Corbynism and Corbynistas.There was a poll published by Opinium the day after the election, asking why people did not vote labour, and why Labour voters who voted for ...
    6 days ago
  • Aftermath, Part 1 – Where Did All The Votes Go?
    So, that didn't go so well.Immediately after the election, the Guardian published data showing where Labour's vote had gone:Labour to Conservative - 4.72%Conservative to Lib Dems - 1.34%Labour to Lib Dems - 6.06%The impact of the Brexit Party (BXP) on Labour has already been noted - in seat after seat, ...
    6 days ago
  • The Trick Of Winning Power Under Capitalism.
    “Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick. A shadow on the wall. And a very small man can cast a very large shadow.” - Varys to Tyrion in Game of Thrones.CORBYN’S DEFEAT, and the defeat of the Labour Party his leadership made possible, is a defeat for the Left everywhere. All ...
    6 days ago
  • Ignorance of basic science isn’t a virtue
    I’d intended to write a post about science literacy (& its lack). And I still will. But first, I’m going to address the claims made by a commenter on a post that shared advice and commentary by the Samoan ombudsman. (Yes, a post related to that country’s measles epidemic.) ...
    SciBlogsBy Alison Campbell
    6 days ago
  • Gun nuts say they’re criminals
    The government gun buyback ends this week. One problem with the buyback is that, thanks to our previously lax gun laws, the police have no idea how many soon-to-be-illegal guns are actually out there. And the gun-nuts are keen to paint it as a failure by claiming that most of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Why do people criticise emergency services and their decisions following a disaster?
    Why we have seen some criticisms of the emergency response to the decision to delay recovery rather than take immediate action? Why do some people think they can make better decisions that the Police and other authorities? To understand this better, we need to think about how and why we ...
    SciBlogsBy Sarb Johal
    7 days ago
  • Sleep disorders and fluoride: dredging data to confirm a bias
    Sleep disorders are common and have many causes. But anti-fluoride activists will now be blaming them on community fluoridation. Image credit: Sleep Disorders and Problems There is a pattern to the recent research aimed ...
    7 days ago
  • Climate Change: Wasting our time again
    For the past two weeks delegates were meeting at the UN climate change talks in Madrid. The meeting finally ended, having achieved... nothing. The IPCC has made it clear that we need to halve emissions by 2030 if we are to avoid making the planet uninhabitable, so countries needed to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • From sewing machinist to software programmer
    Amelia Sharman I’m sure you’ve heard some version of this popular prediction – about two-thirds of children entering primary school today will end up working in jobs that don’t exist yet.1 This prediction assumes rapid or accelerating technological change. But looking at historical trends and current data, rates of technological ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    1 week ago
  • Some fluoride-IQ researchers seem to be taking in each other’s laundry
    Image credit: Publish Peer Reviews. Illustration by David Parkins Scientific peer-review is often touted as a guarantee of the quality of published research. But how good is peer-review? Does it guarantee poor ...
    1 week ago
  • Spread the Word
    If you like any article please help promote it (and the blog). Link to it on facebook and other social media, write about it anywhere or re-blog it. We’re very happy to have other people re-blog our material, all we ask is that you mention the original source and put ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    1 week ago
  • Pronouns etc
    by The Council of Disobedient Women   John Fenaughty is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. In a recent column Fenaughty suggested that school teachers should use students’ “correct names and pronouns (e.g., he, him, they, them, she, her, etc.)” ...
    RedlineBy Daphna
    1 week ago
  • “People’s Faces” by Kate Tempest
    Heard this on Radio NZ this afternoon. Perfectly captures how I'm feeling just now.It's always good to find new music, though it would be nice to be hearing something celebratory. Even "Things Can Only Get Better" would be welcome, if it was accompanied by a thumping Labour victory. ...
    1 week ago
  • A reflection on the British general election
    by Don Franks Like New Zealand, Britain is officially a country of equal opportunity under the rule of law, with increasing hardship for those at the bottom. When there’s an election, and the party most obviously callous towards poor people wins, decent folks are dismayed and bewildered. “What the hell ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    1 week ago
  • Well, crap
    UKanians went to the polls yesterday in early elections aimed at resolving the Brexit impasse. And they certainly have, delivering a huge majority to the Tories, and (barring internal rebellions of the sort which delayed Brexit) giving them the power to do whatever they want. And thanks to the UK's ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Austerity meets fresh resistance in Iran
      by Karim Pourhamzavi Mass protests are occurring across Iran, taking place in over 100 cities.  The protests have been sparked by the government’s cutting of fuel subsidies, a measure which caused fuel prices to double overnight. Mass protests are hardly new in Iran, but there is an important difference ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    1 week ago
  • Oh No! It’s a …..
    What other song could we play as the UK's political rule book gets torn up and thrown away?Video courtesy of YouTubeThis post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    1 week ago
  • Election 2019 – The Legendary Liveblog
    Legendary in my own mind, I mean.  All times are NZ, which is an hour10.00am (NZ) There's about an hour to go until the exit poll is released.  At that point, half of the British voting public will devastated, and the other half celebrating wildly.  Unless everyone is simply confused.Turnout seems ...
    1 week ago
  • Some Thoughts On Socialism As Jeremy Corbyn Loses The UK General Election.
    Forlorn Hope: When the call came down to make Corbyn unelectable, the Establishment's journalists and columnists rose to the challenge. Antisemitism was only the most imaginative of the charges levelled against the old democratic-socialist. There were many more and, sadly, they appear to have worked. Boris Johnson may not be much ...
    1 week ago
  • Cartoonist David Low’s Radical Sympathy.
    "Rendezvous" by David Low, September 1939.DUNEDIN IS THE BIRTHPLACE of, for my money, the world’s greatest cartoonist, David Low. At the height of his powers, in 1930s London, Low’s cartoons represented the visual conscience of the civilised world. His most famous cartoon, “Rendezvous”, penned a few weeks into the Second ...
    1 week ago
  • The UK has a choice as to whether it chooses to be manipulated… or not.
    If you want to study propagandist techniques, you are typically told to study Dictatorships. Not unfair, but what’s always been more interesting to me is so-called “democratic” countries and their broader information systems. Why? Because people opt for it, even as they decry “totalitarian regimes!”.. It’s quite an eye ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 weeks ago
  • Today’s secrecy legislation
    Introducing legislation which shits on the public's right to know seems to have become a daily occurrence for this government. Today's example is the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Bill. The bill establishes a framework for the establishment of "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) to hide debt from local government balance sheets ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Hard News: Public Address Word of the Year 2019: Time to vote!
    Below is the longlist of words and phrases generated in the korero phase of Public Address Word of the Year 2019, with some editorial moderation. Now it's time to vote. As you'll doubtless be able to see, you get three ranked choices. Use your power wisely. Or frivolously, whatever.As usual, ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Encryption, passwords, and self-incrimination
    The University of Waikato and New Zealand Law Foundation have released a report today on the law around encryption in New Zealand. There's stuff in there about principles and values, and how proposed government policies to provide for "lawful access" by creating backdoors would destroy the trust which makes encryption ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Drawn
    A ballot for two Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance (Prompt Settlement of Claims for Uninhabitable Residential Property) Bill (Stuart Smith) Social Security (Exemption for Ex Gratia and Compensation Payments) Amendment Bill (Willow-Jean Prime) Neither bill seems likely to be particularly controversial. This is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Bougainville votes for independence
    Earlier in the month, Bougainvilleans went to the polls in a landmark referendum to decide on whether they would remain part of Papua New Guinea or become independent. Yesterday, the results came in, with over 97% support for independence. The referendum wasn't binding - instead it means negotiations with the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Bus strikes, suspensions and solidarity
    by Daphna Whitmore This week 800 unionised bus drivers in Auckland were suspended from work after they refused to collect fares as part of a campaign of industrial action. Drivers working for Auckland’s largest bus company NZ Bus are asking for more pay and better working conditions after being offered ...
    RedlineBy Daphna
    2 weeks ago
  • How to support after the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption
    As details emerge about what unfolded on Whakaari / White Island two days ago, my thoughts go out to all the families affected by this terrible event. My thoughts are also with the first responders who worked in perilous circumstances to assist and protect those affected. Both local and ...
    SciBlogsBy Sarb Johal
    2 weeks ago
  • Final BMG poll – nothing to see here
    BMG research have unleashed their final poll of the 2019 campaign:Westminster voting intention: CON: 41% (-)LAB: 32% (-)LDEM: 14% (-)GRN: 4% (-)BREX: 3% (-1)via @BMGResearch , 06 - 11 Dec Chgs. w/ 06 Dec That's a bit of a "Dunno why we bothered" sort of poll. "Phillip, I'm afraid I've been a ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Grant Robertson Spends Up Large – On The Establishment!
    Grant Keeps On Trucking: Out of the $12 billion Robertson has announced for infrastructure investment, $8 billion will be allocated to specific projects, with the balance of $4 billion held in reserve. What does it say about this Government's "transformational" ambitions that 85 percent of that $8 billion is to ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Boris Johnson … Hides … In a Fridge
    I am not making this up.First few lines of the Dail Mail write up:Boris Johnson's exasperated media minder swore on live TV today as the PM refused to speak to Good Morning Britain before trotting into a fridge as he started an early milkround in Yorkshire. Piers Morgan was visibly ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Shy Labour Voters?
    In previous elections pollsters have bemoaned the 'shy Tory' - the respondent who is so fearful of being judged as a cruel and heartless bastard by an anonymous pollster, or their spouses, workmates and friends, that they lie about their intention of voting Conservative, skewing the poll figures in Labour's ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Seven reasons to be wary of waste-to-energy proposals
    Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz I was in Switzerland recently and discovered that they haven’t ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 weeks ago
  • Reviewing the whitewash
    Back in 2015, then Ombudsman Beverley Wakem conducted a review of the OIA, Not a game of hide and seek. The "review" was a whitewash, which found no need for legislative change, and instead criticised the media and requesters - which destroyed Wakem's reputation, and undermined that of the Office ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • You Gov MRP Poll Out
    So, You Gov's MRP poll - the weird one that tries to reflect what will happen at a constituency level and which pretty much nailed the hung parliament in 2017 - is not looking too good for Labour:
    UK #GE2019 MRP seat projection:CON: 339 (-20)LAB: 231 (+20)SNP: 41 (-2)LDEM: 15 ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Climate Change: Accountability?
    We've known about climate change for over forty years now,and it has been a major political issue for twenty. And yet fossil fuel companies have kept polluting with impunity, while government have looked the other way and twiddled their thumbs and refused to do anything because "the economy", or just ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Delusional And Irrational: The Rise Of Paranoid Politics In New Zealand.
    Sheer Loopiness: Many of those expressing bemusement at the antics of these #turnardern effacers, were convinced that they were yet another expression of the National Party’s increasingly spiteful anti-government propaganda campaign. They marvelled at the oddness of the perpetrators’ mindset and questioned the common-sense of allowing the rest of New Zealand ...
    2 weeks ago
  • Things to know about Whakaari/White Island
    Brad Scott, GNS Science VolcanologistThis post was originally published by GeoNet. Following the 9 December devastating eruption at Whakaari/White Island we have put together some information about the island. New Zealand’s most active volcano Whakaari/White Island is currently New Zealand’s most active volcano, it has been since an eruptive episode ...
    SciBlogsBy Guest Author
    2 weeks ago
  • Status quo supports status quo
    The Justice Committee has reported back on its Inquiry into the 2017 General Election and 2016 Local Elections, with a host of recommendations about how to improve our electoral systems. Some of their recommendations are already incorporate din the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, but there's also a recommendation ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • The Greens abandon NeoLiberalism
    Back in 2017, in order to make themselves "electable" in the eyes of rich people who oppose everything they stand for, the Greens signed up for NeoLiberalism, adopting a restrictive set of "Budget Responsibility Rules" which basicly prevented them from using government to make things better. Now, they're finally abandoning ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago
  • Lying about a failed war
    Since invading in 2001, the US has consistently claimed that their war in Afghanistan has been going well, even when it continued year after year after year. Of course, they were lying, and thanks to the Washington Post and the US Freedom of Information Act, we get to see just ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 weeks ago

  • History made as Rua Kēnana vindicated
    After 103 years Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu Charitable Trust have cleared the name of their tupuna Rua Kēnana of a criminal conviction in 1916.  Rua Kēnana is the sixth recipient to receive a statutory pardon in New Zealand and the fourth arising ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Gun buyback over, next phase underway
    The Minister of Police has thanked around 33,000 firearms owners for helping make New Zealand a safer place by participating in the gun buyback. “The six-month firearms buyback and amnesty drew to a close last night and Police were processing some latecomers well into the evening,” Stuart Nash said. “When ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill Introduced
    The Waitangi Tribunal has today released a report recommending the introduction of the Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill once Mana Ahuriri Trust undertake to hold trustee elections. “I am pleased the Waitangi Tribunal has made practical recommendations for how the Ahuriri Hapū settlement should proceed. I will today be introducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Govt supports West Coast businesses
    The Government is backing a $280,000 marketing push to support West Coast businesses after storms lashed the region, says Rural Communities Minister and local MP Damien O’Connor. “The closure of State Highway 6 after the bad weather earlier this month is having an effect on visitor numbers and bookings. That ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Clock ticking down to end of buyback
    The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says the clock is ticking down for firearms owners who wish to stay on the right side of the law. “The buyback and amnesty for prohibited and unlawful firearms ends tonight,” Mr Nash said. “There has been a last minute surge in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Graduation tops massive year for Police
    A new record has been set for Police numbers with the graduation of 60 new Police officers today. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the constables from Wing 333 are being deployed to the frontline just in time for the busy summer months. “Today’s graduation at the Royal New Zealand Police ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealanders asked to help shape future climate and energy policy
    Switching New Zealand to full renewable energy and solving the challenge of climate change will ensure a better planet for our kids and grandkids, the Minister for Climate Change and the Minister for Energy and Resources said today as they invited all New Zealanders to have their say on to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Policy Statement for Venture Capital Fund
    The Government has today issued the Venture Capital Fund Policy Statement outlining the requirements for investments from the new $300 million fund set up to support New Zealand firms as they expand beyond the start-up phase. The statement accompanies the recently passed Venture Capital Fund Act and provides high-level policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Reserve Bank chair reappointed; new director
    Reserve Bank of New Zealand Chair Professor Neil Quigley has been reappointed for a two-year term from 1 February 2020. Finance Minister Grant Robertson said it was important to retain Professor Quigley’s experience as the Reserve Bank board transitions to its new governance role. The Government announced yesterday that the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New road safety investment and action plan to save lives
    The Government will boost investment in road safety upgrades and road policing tools as part of its new Road to Zero strategy and initial action plan launched today by Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter. “Most fatal and serious crashes are preventable. Road to Zero follows international best practice ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • GDP growth reflects a strong economy
    GDP growth for the September quarter has exceeded expectations, showing the economy is in good shape, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ data today showed the economy grew 0.7% over the quarter, and 2.7% over the year. There was strength across the economy, with services industries, manufacturing, construction and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • More motorway lanes to help Aucklanders get around this Christmas
    Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today that additional lanes on Auckland’s western and southern motorways are now open in time for Christmas. The Lincoln to Westgate section of SH16 has been widened to three lanes in each direction and SH1 has also been widened to three lanes in each direction ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Emissions report shines a light on the road ahead
    New Zealand is making progress to drive down its greenhouse gas emissions, but must go further and faster. That was the verdict of Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw as he welcomed the release of New Zealand’s Fourth Biennial Report today. “Our children and grandchildren will look back on reports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Southland’s Waituna Lagoon vulnerable to changing climate
    The vulnerability of New Zealand’s aquatic environments to climate change is highlighted in a new report on Waituna Lagoon in Southland’s internationally recognised Awarua Wetland. Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage says the Department of Conservation (DOC) report illustrates the need to act now to manage climate change impacts. “Waituna Lagoon is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Research into drug checking impacts
    A new research project will examine the effectiveness of drug checking programmes at music festivals to find out whether it helps keep people safe and reduces harm. The Ministry of Health is to fund research by a Victoria University of Wellington criminology team which will study the impact of drug ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Roadside Drug Testing to be Introduced
     Police will be given new powers to conduct random roadside oral fluid drug testing to deter, detect and prosecute drugged drivers in order to save lives, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today.    “Last year 95 people were killed in preventable crashes where the driver was found to have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Restoring the reputation of Rua Kēnana 103 years after unjust arrest
    Tūhoe prophet Rua Kēnana was officially pardoned and the Crown apologised during the final reading of Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana: Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill in Parliament today.  Rua Kēnana was wrongfully arrested when 70-armed police invaded Maungapōhatu in 1916. The fateful Sunday ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Contemporary and historical claims in progress report
    Government’s second report on Waitangi Tribunal claim progress, released today, highlights the importance of emerging contemporary claims as well as historic claims.  In releasing the latest Section 8I Report (1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019), Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta says that in approaching the conclusion of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Fairer pay with minimum wage rise for quarter of a million workers
    The Government is making sure we share the prosperity of our strong economy fairly with those on the minimum wage by lifting it to $18.90 per hour on 1 April 2020 – the next step in the Government’s plan for a $20 minimum wage by 2021, Workplace Relations and Safety ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Regulations pave way for quality medicinal cannabis manufacturing
    Minister of Health Dr David Clark says new regulations will allow local cultivation and manufacture of medicinal cannabis products that will potentially help ease the pain of thousands of people.  Today's regulations, which come into effect on 1 April 2020, set out the quality and licensing requirements for manufacturing and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Keeping banks safe and holding executives accountable
    Keeping Kiwis’ money safe and ensuring they have confidence in the people running our banks are the focus of the latest decisions out of the Government’s review of banking laws. Finance Minister Grant Robertson today announced the latest Cabinet decisions from Phase 2 of the Review of the Reserve Bank ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Auckland Point Primary School in Nelson to be redeveloped
    The 120 students at Auckland Point Primary in Nelson will benefit from a much-needed upgrade of six rundown classrooms, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins announced today. “The school’s six classrooms were originally built in the 1970s. They have served the school well for a long time, but their condition has ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Rules around gifting donation tax credits
    In response to a Court of Appeal decision today, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says he intends to introduce legislation to clarify the law regarding donation tax credits. “We need to act swiftly to provide certainty,” Mr Nash says. “Today’s decision opens the way for claims to be made to Inland ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • New space payload principles protect the national interest
    Cabinet has approved a new set of principles to strengthen the New Zealand’s Space Agency regulatory function and ensure decisions about payload permits are made in the national interest, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. “Our existing regulatory framework encourages the growth of a safe, responsible and sustainable space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Legislation to stamp out unfair business practices introduced
    Unfair business practices are being targeted in new legislation introduced to Parliament. Small Business Minister, Stuart Nash, and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, Kris Faafoi, say the Fair Trading Amendment Bill will make two major changes to better protect consumers and businesses. “The first set of changes will prohibit conduct that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Independent expert advisors on future emission reductions announced
    Expert, trusted and independent advice will be essential to ensuring New Zealand plays its part solving the challenge of climate change. Today, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw announced the team of experts who now have the important task of providing governments with that advice. “Some issues are too ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Tuia 250 ending is just the beginning
    The telling of our history that has been encouraged by Tuia – Encounters 250 must continue and the Government will play its part, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. She was speaking at Tuahuru Marae in Te Māhia today as part of the official closing ceremony for Tuia 250. “Over the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • New strategy for resolving historical claims
    The Crown has adopted a new strategy for resolving historical claims arising from abuse in state care that better reflects its principled response to the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, State Services Minister Chris Hipkins and Attorney-General David Parker said today. The review of the historical claims resolutions ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Workforce Development Councils to lead a stronger industry voice
    Six industry-led Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) will be established to provide industry with greater leadership across vocational education and training, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The selection and make-up of the WDCs is a key decision in the reform of vocational education. “These new WDCs will ensure industry takes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • New Zealand will continue to showcase ambitious climate action
    With the global climate change talks closing overnight, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said New Zealand will continue to show the world what meaningful, ambitious and lasting climate action looks like. “Lasting action on climate change demands that we keep working every single day. This is the only ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • More progress in delivering te reo Māori in schools
    600 new te reo advocates are being sought following the success of a programme that supports the Government’s plan to integrate te reo Māori into education, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. Registrations for Te Ahu o te Reo Māori 2020 are now open, with courses starting from February ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Maori voice to help shape tertiary education
    Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced the members of Te Taumata Aronui, a group to work with Government on tertiary education policy from a Māori community and employer perspective. “Te Taumata Aronui is an opportunity for Māori and the Crown to work more closely on changes to the tertiary education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Courthouse redesign a model for the future
    The Government will invest $100 million on a new courthouse in Tauranga which will be a model for future courthouse design for New Zealand, Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced. The courthouse will be designed in partnership with iwi, the local community, the judiciary, the legal profession, court staff and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government enables early access to 5G spectrum
    The Government has given the go ahead to enable further development of 5G networks by making appropriate spectrum available. The Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister, Kris Faafoi, has confirmed Cabinet approval for the allocation of short-term rights to an unused portion of 3.5 GHz spectrum. 3.5GHz is the first ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Record export highs picked for primary sector
    Sustained high growth in primary industry exports looks set to continue over the next two years with strong prices predicted for farmers, fishers, growers and rural communities. Minister of Agriculture and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor today released the latest Situation and Outlook report for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New partnership to boost screen sector job opportunities
    Auckland’s growing screen sector is the catalyst for a new partnership between the Ministry of Social Development and Auckland’s economic development agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). The launch today at FilmFX in Henderson, is to celebrate the partnership which looks to capitalise on the social and economic development opportunities ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • A minute’s silence for Whakaari White Island victims
    A minute’s silence will be observed at 2.11pm on Monday 16 December in honour of the victims of the Whakaari White Island eruption, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed. “Wherever you are in New Zealand, or around the world, this is a moment we can stand alongside those who have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ to help fund fight against measles in the Pacific region
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$1 million of funding towards the joint United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) Pacific Regional Action Plan for Measles.   “Prevention through vaccination is the most effective way of avoiding illness and a costly health emergency. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand remembers Sir Peter Snell
    New Zealand is today remembering one of our true sporting heroes, triple Olympic gold medal winner Sir Peter Snell. “He was a legend, here and around the world,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “Our thoughts are with Sir Peter’s wife Miki and their family.” “Sir Peter is recognised as New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • PM congratulates Boris Johnson on election victory
    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory.  “New Zealand and the United Kingdom are close friends and despite our distance we are strongly connected by our history and people,” Jacinda Ardern said.  “I look forward to continuing to work with Prime ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago