Written By:
Zetetic -
Date published:
4:00 pm, October 22nd, 2009 - 19 comments
I love the ASB ads saying “We’ve been a Kiwi bank since 1847” No. You were a Kiwi bank. Since 1989 you’ve been owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Also, what’s up with calling themselves ASB Bank? Auckland Savings Bank Bank?
Three Christians walk into a bar. A Catholic, a Presbyterian and a Life Church member... None of them vote for the same party. No, it's not much of a punch line, I confess. But then the idea of a Christian ...
Over two centuries ago, the first-ever professor of economics, Thomas Malthus, predicted that levels of personal income would stagnate. He argued that there was a limited supply of land and that, given diminishing returns, additional farmers would produce less additional ...
Back in 2003, Destiny Church theocrat Brian Tamaki founded a political party, Destiny New Zealand, to rail against modern society. In the 2005 election, it gained just 0.62% of the vote. But Tamaki is undeterred, so he's trying again:Destiny Church ...
Back in February, the International Court of Justice ruled that UK had violated international law in its ethnic cleansing of the Chagos Islands, and ordered that they be handed back to Mauritius. Today the UN General Assembly voted on a ...
A new European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) called “The fast, fair and effective solution to climate change” was launched on May 6. The proposal asks that the European Commission introduce a carbon-pricing policy known as Carbon Fee and Dividend at the ...
Comments about Green MP Golriz Ghahraman by ACT MP David Seymour on a reactionary radio talk show, and the threats that followed and which the Police deemed serious enough to merit a security detail for her, got me to thinking ...
Today is a Member's Day. While it was originally expected to be the second reading of David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill, National's bigots have successfully filibustered the past few Member's Days, so that now looks like it won't ...
A couple of years ago the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warned us of a "slow-moving red zone" due to sea-level rise. According to their estimates, tens of thousands of homes and billions of dollars of infrastructure were at risk. ...
Last week, ACT leader David Seymour called Green MP Golriz Ghahraman "a real menace to freedom in this country" over her views on hate speech. He said this in an environment where Ghahraman regularly receives death threats. And now, thanks ...
There's been another dump of documents from the Operation Burnham "inquiry", this time about rules of engagement. In the past, NZDF has refused to release these due to "national security", on the odd theory that if it were publicly known ...
Perhaps it’s because of the sheer size – and therefore enormous potential – of their country, but Australians have always demonstrated a harder-edged nationalism than have Kiwis. And that tendency has become even more apparent in recent years, when they ...
Current member of the National Party, List MP Alfred Ngaro, has declared he has an intent towards the possibility of setting up a Christian-oriented “values” party. Simon Bridges initially denied discussion, but we all know his denials are really never ...
Australians went to the polls over the weekend, and have apparently re-elected the shit party to government. It was unexpected, but I guess that's what happens when you have a media landscape utterly dominated by a highly partisan monopoly. Meanwhile, ...
Back in 2017, Taiwan's highest court ruled that violated “the people’s freedom of marriage” and “the people’s right to equality”, and gave the legislature to enact a marriage equality law. And over the weekend, just one week before the deadline ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, May 12 through Sat, May 18, 2019 Editor's Pick 12 excuses for climate inaction and how to refute themUsing moral ...
While abortion laws in New Zealand are likely to be liberalised, in the US abortion rights are being rolled back. This article from Feminist Current looks at the way the anti abortion movement is reframing its arguments. by Karen Jolly ...
by Sean Kearns It appears that even in Britain, where a lot of unions remain affiliated to Labour, the working class itself is less attached to Labour. The bureaucratic leaderships keep unions chained to Labour, the workers are just not ...
In October 2013 I wrote about “Valuing Xero in one hour“, and (although it had a bug) came up with a forecast that justified the then $2.2 billion valuation of Xero with a Weighted Average Cost of Capital of 18%. ...
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has announced the latest decisions in the government's programme to tweak the Emissions Trading Scheme to make it actually discourage pollution rather than subsidise it. There's a commitment to begin auctioning units from late next ...
Dunedin will play host to the New Zealand Minerals Forum at the end of the month, where the companies who dig up New Zealand and destroy our natural environment for private profit will conspire on how to pillage more effectively ...
Earlier in the year, National helped failed Green leadership candidate Vernon Tava set up a "teal" astroturf party, sustainablenz. It seems to have sunk without a trace, without even registering a logo with the Electoral Commission, let alone applying for ...
Those with a progressive agenda (and yes, I count myself as one) have been frustrated by our own inability and reluctance to engage head-on in the most important argument in political discourse – the role, function and objective of government.read ...
There is a story of a little old lady who woke up after a close election and was told that the result was a ‘hung parliament’. She responded that she did not know what that meant, but it sounded like ...
In a major decision, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that that country's spies are not above the law:Government security decisions will in future be open to challenge in the courts after judges ruled that a secretive intelligence tribunal could ...
‘Cheating by university students paying ‘ghostwriters’ to write essays for them is totally unacceptable and requires a nationally co-ordinated response’, says the New Zealand Tertiary Education Union. ...
ECan has just declared a climate emergency, becoming the first local authority in New Zealand to do so. But what does it mean? Their declaration included this:Environment Canterbury declares a climate emergency and commits to continue to: robustly and visibly ...
An investigation by the Privacy Commissioner has found that WINZ systematically misused its powers, conducting intrusive and illegal searches into beneficiaries' lives in violation of both the Social Security Act and Privacy Act. Searches like this:“In one instance, a beneficiary ...
I love the National's Library's Papers Past archive. I've used it many times for work and sometimes just for fun. The one thing I never thought I'd be able to do is vanity-search on it. And yet, here it is: ...
Bolton has never conceded that invading Iraq was a mistake, in fact he considers it to this day still as a roaring success. His history in public life is that of an unrepentant, ignorant thug of a politician, a persona ...
A big myth in this country is that we are all equal under the law. If someone commits a crime, they get prosecuted, regardless of who they are. We already know that that's a myth when it comes to race ...
Hate speech’ laws are being considered in New Zealand. We believe it is important to defend free speech. This is an important issue that the left should take up. If you’d like to be a part of the Left Network ...
One of the criticisms of the government's Zero Carbon Bill is that it is toothless: the independent Climate Change Commission can set budgets and advise on plans, but has no power to implement anything. Greenpeace for example wanted the Commission ...
(fire, California)Some time ago Jeanette Fitzsimons described our action on climate change like a car driving rapidly to a precipice while the occupants argue about whether they should maybe change down a gear. If we are to continue with this ...
“Business as usual” is always the catch-cry of those who are happy with the way things are. “Let’s not change anything” makes sense to those who are doing well and see no reason to run any risks in case that ...
KYOTO, Japan, May 13 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on Monday an update to its methodology used by governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Governments are required to report their national greenhouse gas ...
The Tertiary Education Union Te Hautū Kahurangi welcomes the pre-budget announcement of $197 million for the reform of vocational education saying it’s a step in the right direction. ...
As Donald Trump surveys the current state of his relationships with China, Iran and North Korea, with all of whom he has recently engaged in a somewhat confrontational way, even someone as resistant to self-doubt as the US President might ...
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being prosecuted for corruption. So how is he planning to avoid it? A law granting him immunity would not survive judicial scrutiny. So, he plans to remove that scrutiny entirely:The new far-reaching bill would ...
Last week I highlighted an odious secrecy clause in the government's Zero Carbon Bill, which unnecessarily exempted information from the Official Information Act, undermining transparency and accountability. The government's Equal Pay Amendment Bill is back from select committee today, and ...
Earlier today Redline reached a total of 600,000 views since we began in June 2011. This is a modest total, but not bad for a hardcore marxist blog at the arse-end of the world, and based in perhaps the most ...
Why is MBIE so supportive of the oil industry, why do they come up with outrageous estimates of the value of the oil industry to New Zealand, and why do they see environmentalists as a threat to be suppressed by ...
So, its on. On May 29, the day before Labour's "wellbeing budget", the centrepiece of its political year when it tries to send a good news message about what its doing, the teachers are going on strike. They've been overworked ...
My wife grew up in suburban London – not an environment that was conducive, one might think, to developing an interest in wild life. But her father was a bird lover and he helped her, too, to develop a love ...
“You just need a sense of humour”. I heard this patronising and unhelpful advice from a panellist at an Autism New Zealand Conference many years ago. What about access to education and services, understanding, financial and other support?These words came ...
The Giddens Project has its origins in my association with 'Third Way' politics during my time as a member of the New Zealand parliament between 1990 and 2008.read more ...
by Jon Flanders Once again this year I traveled to Cuba on a delegation that visited many interesting sites on the island, once of them being the huge May Day march in Havana. Cuba celebrates May Day as a national ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, May 5 through Sat, May 11, 2019 Editor's Pick Proposal to spend 25% of EU budget on climate change Schoolchildren ...
Film review by Don Franks All is not true but lots is good in the Shakespeare movie now showing in Wellington. In “All is true” , Ben Elton’s script combines, happily to this viewer, the little that’s known of historical Shakespeare ...
A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below. This post has separate sections for: Climate Change, Climate Change Impacts, Climate Change Mitigation, and Other Papers. Climate change mitigation Climate change communicationClimate change and educational attainment in ...
There's a strange thing about having songwriters as longtime friends. On the one hand there are years when you're mates getting in the same scrapes; they're smoking your weed and you're drinking their riders; you're all fitfully growing up, not ...
Improving the safety of all road users is the focus of a new public consultation document on the issue of drug driver testing. Plans for public consultation on options to improve the drug driver testing process have been announced by ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash says calling a cop suddenly got a whole lot easier with the launch of a ground-breaking new service for non-emergency calls. “The single non-emergency number ‘ten-five’ is designed to provide better service for the public and ...
Frontline Police numbers have been boosted with today’s deployment of 77 new officers to the regions.Police Minister Stuart Nash today congratulated the recruits of Wing 325 who graduated at a formal ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Police College. ...
Welcoming today’s announcement of a change in New Zealand’s debt from 20% to a band of between 15-and-25% of GDP, Barnett said it is a step forward. It could allow the injection of $15b or more into the NZ economy ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has signed up a number of major partners for the Vote 2019 campaign to lift nationwide voter turnout in local elections and increase the public’s engagement with their local council. Although local election turnout ...
The Palestine Solidarity Network has written to Minister of Defence Ron Mark asking him to urgently cancel a reported New Zealand Defence Force multi-million-dollar purchase of military equipment from an Israeli company. ...
World-renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall and a coalition of Aotearoa's leading environmental organisations have released an ambitious plan for reversing New Zealand’s environmental crisis. ...
The Heart Foundation welcomes this week’s announcement by the Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa that the Government’s Wellbeing Budget will include $12 million to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever amongst Maori and Pacific people. ...
When the Government presents its first Wellbeing Budget next week, it will be looking beyond traditional measures, such as GDP, to define New Zealand’s success. This is also at the core of the Shared Prosperity Index launched by Massey University ...
FIRST Union has released its In It For The Long-Haul survey of truck drivers that reveals an ageing workforce who say the job isn’t attractive anymore due to low pay and driver surveillance. ...
"The announcement by the Minister of Finance that the Government was moving from a rigid 20% debt target to a range between 15% and 25% is welcome," CTU Economist Bill Rosenberg says. "At a time when interest rates are low ...
In a world where the human impact on the environment is becoming more and more apparent every day, it’s refreshing to hear of break-through companies that are having a positive impact. Ethical clothing company , Little Yellow Bird has, in ...
The success of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s inaugural state visit and Hon. David Parker in April to Beijing has been the impetus for a multi-sector China Trade Mission confirmed for 9-11 September 2019. The China Chamber of Commerce in New ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that a Police officer should not have tried to stop or pursue a car thought to contain young people in Palmerston North on 28 May 2018. The pursuit ended when the fleeing car ...
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is supporting the training of detector dogs, which help New Zealand Customs catch smugglers trying to bring illegal drugs and undeclared cash into the country. ...
A pre-budget analysis conducted by the Council of Trade Unions and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists has highlighted a vast spending shortfall in health since 2009/2010. ...
Bill Rosenberg, Economist and Policy Director for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) and Lyndon Keene, Director of Policy and Research, for the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) have conducted a detailed analysis of what ...
New Zealanders’ concerns about the cost of living will take a further hit when road user charges (RUCs) go up again in July, says Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett. ...
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind From Blowin’ in the wind. Bob Dylan ...
Landlords have just over one month to ensure their rental properties meet the 2016 insulation requirements or face exemplary damages of up to $4,000, and Tenancy Compliance and Investigations says there will be no room for extensions. ...
The PSA and E tū bargaining team are hopeful for an improved offer from Access Community Health as they resume mediation today, following a week of nationwide strike actions by Access coordinators, administration, and call centre workers. ...
Business and parliament need to step up to stronger integrity systems says TINZ roadmap It is beyond time for serious and urgent action to protect and extend integrity in New Zealand The National Integrity System Assessment 2018 update (NIS 2018) ...
Child Poverty Action Group is pleased to see the Government set ambitious 10-year targets for child poverty reduction , but we are disappointed not to see a target set for improving thousands of young lives where the worst of poverty ...
The Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) strongly welcomes the government’s pledge to increase funding to tackle family and sexual violence. The government estimates that around a million people including 300,000 children ...
The Government has recently released mandatory planning standards for councils to meet. The new standards address the structure and form of plans, as well as setting national definitions and requiring plans to be accessible and interactive online ...
Social workers employed by community organisations are hoping next week’s wellbeing budget will help bridge the pay gap with their colleagues in Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children. ...
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has determined that former Dunedin taxi company directors are personally liable for leaving former employees nearly $100,000 out of pocket by treating them as contractors. ...
Twelve activists from climate action group 350 Aotearoa have disrupted a Petroleum Club meeting in New Plymouth. The group targeted event sponsors, ANZ, in a bid to highlight the discrepancies between the bank’s public statements on climate change ...
The Change One Challenge is your chance to join a community of change makers. This annual event challenges Kiwis to 'change one thing' in their daily lives to reduce waste and live more sustainably. ...
The Wellbeing budget could be a turning point for community health NGOs, says Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ CE Letitia O’Dwyer. ARFNZ has provided resources, education, and support for the 700,000 New Zealanders living with respiratory conditions ...
A man’s threat to sue Government children’s agency Oranga Tamariki over false claims by department staff comes as no surprise to new action group Whanau First. ...
The Zero Carbon Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament today, and Forest & Bird is welcoming the progress on this landmark legislation to make Aotearoa carbon neutral. "We're very pleased to see the Zero Carbon Bill pass its ...
We broadly support the findings and recommendations of Debbie Francis’ independent review into Bullying and Harassment in the New Zealand Parliamentary Workplace. We want to thank staff for taking the difficult and brave step of making their voices ...
"The Minister is talking in platitudes but saying nothing new!" according to Leanne Otene, Principal of Manaia View School in Whangarei and executive member of Te Tai Tokerau Principals’ Association. ...
The group representing 29 of the Pike River Families - the Pike River Family Reference Group - has welcomed the unsealing of the mine at a private family event this morning. ...
A Police Asset Recovery Unit investigation into the misappropriation of funds from a government department is leading to the recovery of about $620,000. ...
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in Care has announced the appointment of a Survivor Advisory Group. The group will represent survivors of abuse in State care and those from faith-based institutions. Commission Chair Sir Anand ...
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) strongly condemns the 30-day suspension without pay of union members by the Spanish employer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) in Auckland, New Zealand. ...
We all have a stake in the End of Life Choice Bill conversation, but for some people, this Bill is more than a thought experiment – it is a clear and present danger. For this reason, some of the people ...
Land Information New Zealand will release calicivirus K5 in some areas of the Residential Red Zone to manage a significant increase in rabbit numbers. ...
Minister Twyford’s announcement this morning of reform of the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) will be a timely fix for bad legislation that has cost jobs and pay for drivers and left public transport systems broken says New Zealand Council ...
A report claiming that Predator Free NZ could be derailed by conflict over how to maintain biodiversity should not discourage New Zealanders from getting involved in conservation, says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
Oppose the gender pay gap? You should be appalled by the wage exemption for disabled workers too, argues Michael Pulman.Disabled people, and others in marginalised communities, have long been exploited for cheap, even free labour.According to a NZ Heraldreport, ...
First the Francis Review revealed the scale of harassment and bullying within parliament. Then the Speaker, Trevor Mallard, said he believed a repeat rapist remained working there. If there’s to be culture change, writes former MP Catherine Delahunty, perhaps it ...
If you’re put off by the concept of protests, you’re not alone. Josh Drummond explains why you should bite the bullet and go along to today’s climate protests anyway.Argh, protests! They make me cringe. Here’s the big secret: protests make nearly ...
Pharmac attracts a lot of criticism for its failure to fund expensive but life-prolonging drugs - but it's also the envy of health authorities world wide for its ability to screw down prices. Is the balance right? ...
‘Milkshaking’ is on the rise in Brexit-divided Britain. But is throwing milky treats the best form of political protest? Hayden Donnell investigates.With just hours to go until polls opened in the European elections, Nigel Farage cowered in his campaign’s Brexit ...
On March 15, New Zealand school students led a global day of strike action on climate change. Grace Wilkie and Libby Morrison explained then why they were taking the day off school. They’re doing it again today, and this is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has said he likes doing the family shopping, nevertheless Tuesday’s front page picture in The Australian did capture the savagery of changing political ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amitabh Mattoo, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of Melbourne The resounding victory of the Bharitya Janata Party (BJP) coalition in India’s federal election represents a key marker in the modern history ...
The government intends to ease its self-imposed rules around how much money it can borrow, and give itself the licence to take on up to 15 billion dollars more debt, if it's re-elected. ...
Vanuatu-based journalist Ben Bohane raises West Papuan questions with UN Secretary-General António Guterres during his visit to Vanuatu. Video: Ben Bohane/Ginny SteinBy Dan McGarry in Port Vila During his visit to Port Vila last weekend, United Nations Secretary-General ...
After finally signalling a much-needed loosening of debt rules, Grant Robertson should look to go further and end New Zealand's infrastructure drought. ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and ...
The launch of a party fronted by Destiny Church leaders was a media event to remember. Alex Braae was there.Somewhere along their journey through the public eye, Hannah and Brian Tamaki got the idea that the media hates them and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Burne, Lecturer, BFA Screenwriting, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, University of Melbourne Why do we tell stories, and how are they crafted? In this series, we unpick the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Wiseman, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne It was framed as “the climate election”, but last week Australia returned a government with climate policies that make the task of building a zero-emissions, ...
All four seasons of Laura Linney’s cancer comedy The Big C drops on Lightbox today. Sam Brooks writes about the series’ surprisingly uplifting journey through a woman’s nightmare.There’s a moment late in the first season of The Big C that hits you right in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Hurst, Faculty of Arts Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow, Indigenous and Settler Relations Collaboration, University of Melbourne A body hangs over me. I am so close I can feel there is weight to ...
Last week, Dame Fiona Kidman won the 2019 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for her eleventh novel. Her first, A Breed of Women, was published 40 years ago in 1979. Here, you can read the opening chapter. A Breed of Women is a ...
Enough of those inoffensive, latte-sippin’ jams selected purely to appease the baby boomers: the most memorable places to dine use music as just one more way to express themselves.If you’ve worked in a restaurant or café in the past 20 years ...
Spark New Zealand has been told off by the Commerce Commission for the way it hiked copper-line broadband prices last year when it didn't let customers know they could cancel their agreement. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stanley Shanapinda, Research Fellow, La Trobe University The United States and Australia are deliberately restricting the place of Chinese telco Huawei in their telecommunications landscapes. We’re told these changes will be worth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne Since Scott Morrison became PM in August 2018, Newspoll has usually been the best pollster for Labor. This was particularly ...
Alex Casey talks to the woman behind @trademebae, the Instagram account archiving the most bizarre items that Trade Me has to offer. Every detail is somehow funnier than the last. “Sex noveltys” the listing reads. $1 reserve. Condition: Used. Description: ...
The Green MP has been given extra security following threats of violence. She tells the Spinoff about the ‘barrage of hate’ she confronts.Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has described the “barrage of hate” she has received since becoming a member of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niraj Lal, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, Australian National University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
The government is likely to ease its self-imposed Budget Responsibility Rules, giving itself the scope to spend up to $15 billion more a year if it is re-elected. ...
LEGO Masters Australia is a new show that will grab you by the heart with its extendable Technic arm and never let go.Before LEGO Masters, Lego was nothing to me. It was an evil beast that gave me the shits ...
Chris Lee has written an insider’s analysis of the collapse of Allan Hubbard’s SFC business empire. In this poignant extract, he describes the events leading up to Hubbard's death. ...
Now that we know what theWellbeing Budget is, the question is how we can create the right political and social environment to support it, says Grant Thornton’s Barry Baker.Growing up in Southland in a single-parent home, my family relied ...
The Environmental Protection Authority has approved the introduction of a root-feeding beetle to control a noxious weed, the moth plant, or Araujia hortorum. ...
ANZ has been placed on the banking naughty step for potentially lending to New Zealanders without enough capital to protect deposits. How did this happen?Any journalist will tell you that Friday is a great time to issue an embarrassing press ...
The Reserve Bank is willing to ease the loan-to-value restrictions (LVR) on bank property lending as long as it does not compromise the integrity of the financial system. ...
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 contentFrancis Report RNZ: Speaker accepts some responsibility for chaotic ...
Fonterra Cooperative Group narrowed the range for its forecast payout to farmers this season, cut its earnings guidance and says it may sell more assets. ...
A National MP says this week's report on bullying in Parliament shows how hard it is for some staff to make complaints and to feel that they will be dealt with fairly. ...
GJ Thompson has been the PM's friend for 14 years, her chief of staff, a sounding board, and the director of a lobbying firm with sensitive clients like Huawei. Is there enough separation? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Cavosie, Senior research fellow, Curtin University In the remote desert of western Egypt, near the Libyan border, lie clues to an ancient cosmic cataclysm. Libyan desert glass is the name ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University I recently had cause to look at a large file of material I collected about Mark Latham ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Beth Armstrong, Foundation Chair in Speech Pathology, Edith Cowan University This article is the fourth part in a series, Where culture meets health. Aboriginal Australians continue to face serious health challenges. Life ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Krummel, Research Group Leader, CSIRO A mysterious rebound in the emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals – despite a global ban stretching back almost a decade – has been traced to eastern China. ...
Three Christians walk into a bar. A Catholic, a Presbyterian and a Life Church member... None of them vote for the same party. No, it's not much of a punch line, I confess. But then the idea of a Christian ...6 hours ago
The Environment Committee has called for submissions on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. To submit, fill out the online form by Tuesday, 16 July 2019. This is an important bill, and I urge everyone to submit on ...15 hours ago
A new European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) called “The fast, fair and effective solution to climate change” was launched on May 6. The proposal asks that the European Commission introduce a carbon-pricing policy known as Carbon Fee and Dividend at the ...19 hours ago
Comments about Green MP Golriz Ghahraman by ACT MP David Seymour on a reactionary radio talk show, and the threats that followed and which the Police deemed serious enough to merit a security detail for her, got me to thinking ...2 days ago
A review of the last ever episode of Game of Thrones (Spoiler alert!) ...3 days ago
Perhaps it’s because of the sheer size – and therefore enormous potential – of their country, but Australians have always demonstrated a harder-edged nationalism than have Kiwis. And that tendency has become even more apparent in recent years, when they ...4 days ago
Current member of the National Party, List MP Alfred Ngaro, has declared he has an intent towards the possibility of setting up a Christian-oriented “values” party. Simon Bridges initially denied discussion, but we all know his denials are really never ...4 days ago
New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations National President JamesRanstead argues student voice is crucial in the Reform of VocationalEducation ...4 days ago
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, May 12 through Sat, May 18, 2019 Editor's Pick 12 excuses for climate inaction and how to refute them Using moral ...5 days ago
While abortion laws in New Zealand are likely to be liberalised, in the US abortion rights are being rolled back. This article from Feminist Current looks at the way the anti abortion movement is reframing its arguments. by Karen Jolly ...6 days ago
A selection of new climate related research articles is shown below. This post has separate sections for: Climate Change, Climate Change Impacts, Climate Change Mitigation, and Other Papers. Climate change An example of principal component analysis application on climate change ...6 days ago
by Sean Kearns It appears that even in Britain, where a lot of unions remain affiliated to Labour, the working class itself is less attached to Labour. The bureaucratic leaderships keep unions chained to Labour, the workers are just not ...6 days ago
In October 2013 I wrote about “Valuing Xero in one hour“, and (although it had a bug) came up with a forecast that justified the then $2.2 billion valuation of Xero with a Weighted Average Cost of Capital of 18%. ...7 days ago
I love the National's Library's Papers Past archive. I've used it many times for work and sometimes just for fun. The one thing I never thought I'd be able to do is vanity-search on it. And yet, here it is: ...1 week ago
Bolton has never conceded that invading Iraq was a mistake, in fact he considers it to this day still as a roaring success. His history in public life is that of an unrepentant, ignorant thug of a politician, a persona ...1 week ago
(fire, California)Some time ago Jeanette Fitzsimons described our action on climate change like a car driving rapidly to a precipice while the occupants argue about whether they should maybe change down a gear. If we are to continue with this ...1 week ago
Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons headquarters in The Hague. Image credit: Prensa Latina Ready Syria to Cooperate with Organization Against Chemical Weapons Multinational bodies, like ... 1 week ago
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, May 5 through Sat, May 11, 2019 Editor's Pick Proposal to spend 25% of EU budget on climate change Schoolchildren ...2 weeks ago
Improving the safety of all road users is the focus of a new public consultation document on the issue of drug driver testing. Plans for public consultation on options to improve the drug driver testing process have been announced by ...1 week ago
Welcoming today’s announcement of a change in New Zealand’s debt from 20% to a band of between 15-and-25% of GDP, Barnett said it is a step forward. It could allow the injection of $15b or more into the NZ economy ...10 hours ago
Oppose the gender pay gap? You should be appalled by the wage exemption for disabled workers too, argues Michael Pulman.Disabled people, and others in marginalised communities, have long been exploited for cheap, even free labour.According to a NZ Herald report, ...24 mins ago
If you’re put off by the concept of protests, you’re not alone. Josh Drummond explains why you should bite the bullet and go along to today’s climate protests anyway.Argh, protests! They make me cringe. Here’s the big secret: protests make nearly ...30 mins ago
Pharmac attracts a lot of criticism for its failure to fund expensive but life-prolonging drugs - but it's also the envy of health authorities world wide for its ability to screw down prices. Is the balance right? ...31 mins ago
‘Milkshaking’ is on the rise in Brexit-divided Britain. But is throwing milky treats the best form of political protest? Hayden Donnell investigates.With just hours to go until polls opened in the European elections, Nigel Farage cowered in his campaign’s Brexit ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has said he likes doing the family shopping, nevertheless Tuesday’s front page picture in The Australian did capture the savagery of changing political ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amitabh Mattoo, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of Melbourne The resounding victory of the Bharitya Janata Party (BJP) coalition in India’s federal election represents a key marker in the modern history ...6 hours ago
The government intends to ease its self-imposed rules around how much money it can borrow, and give itself the licence to take on up to 15 billion dollars more debt, if it's re-elected. ...8 hours ago
Profits continue to elude the country’s biggest private broadcaster. Now its hopes rest on a billboard company to light up its prospects. ...10 hours ago
Vanuatu-based journalist Ben Bohane raises West Papuan questions with UN Secretary-General António Guterres during his visit to Vanuatu. Video: Ben Bohane/Ginny Stein By Dan McGarry in Port Vila During his visit to Port Vila last weekend, United Nations Secretary-General ...10 hours ago
After finally signalling a much-needed loosening of debt rules, Grant Robertson should look to go further and end New Zealand's infrastructure drought. ...10 hours ago
The launch of a party fronted by Destiny Church leaders was a media event to remember. Alex Braae was there.Somewhere along their journey through the public eye, Hannah and Brian Tamaki got the idea that the media hates them and ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Burne, Lecturer, BFA Screenwriting, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, University of Melbourne Why do we tell stories, and how are they crafted? In this series, we unpick the ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Wiseman, Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne It was framed as “the climate election”, but last week Australia returned a government with climate policies that make the task of building a zero-emissions, ...13 hours ago
All four seasons of Laura Linney’s cancer comedy The Big C drops on Lightbox today. Sam Brooks writes about the series’ surprisingly uplifting journey through a woman’s nightmare.There’s a moment late in the first season of The Big C that hits you right in ...13 hours ago
The Government has announced a new debt range, succeeding its old target. But does it go far enough to plug the infrastructure deficit? ...13 hours ago
Last week, Dame Fiona Kidman won the 2019 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for her eleventh novel. Her first, A Breed of Women, was published 40 years ago in 1979. Here, you can read the opening chapter. A Breed of Women is a ...14 hours ago
Enough of those inoffensive, latte-sippin’ jams selected purely to appease the baby boomers: the most memorable places to dine use music as just one more way to express themselves.If you’ve worked in a restaurant or café in the past 20 years ...15 hours ago
Spark New Zealand has been told off by the Commerce Commission for the way it hiked copper-line broadband prices last year when it didn't let customers know they could cancel their agreement. ...15 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne Since Scott Morrison became PM in August 2018, Newspoll has usually been the best pollster for Labor. This was particularly ...15 hours ago
Alex Casey talks to the woman behind @trademebae, the Instagram account archiving the most bizarre items that Trade Me has to offer. Every detail is somehow funnier than the last. “Sex noveltys” the listing reads. $1 reserve. Condition: Used. Description: ...17 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niraj Lal, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, Australian National University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...17 hours ago
LEGO Masters Australia is a new show that will grab you by the heart with its extendable Technic arm and never let go.Before LEGO Masters, Lego was nothing to me. It was an evil beast that gave me the shits ...17 hours ago
Chris Lee has written an insider’s analysis of the collapse of Allan Hubbard’s SFC business empire. In this poignant extract, he describes the events leading up to Hubbard's death. ...18 hours ago
The Environmental Protection Authority has approved the introduction of a root-feeding beetle to control a noxious weed, the moth plant, or Araujia hortorum. ...18 hours ago
Glass manufacturer Metro Performance Glass' profit has dived 69 percent on last year, as its Australian business continues to struggle. ...19 hours ago
The Reserve Bank is willing to ease the loan-to-value restrictions (LVR) on bank property lending as long as it does not compromise the integrity of the financial system. ...19 hours ago
Protests to challenge the presidential election results have escalated in the capital of Jakarta for two nights running. Video: Jakarta Post Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan says six people have been killed during the worst riots ...19 hours ago
Fonterra Cooperative Group narrowed the range for its forecast payout to farmers this season, cut its earnings guidance and says it may sell more assets. ...20 hours ago
GJ Thompson has been the PM's friend for 14 years, her chief of staff, a sounding board, and the director of a lobbying firm with sensitive clients like Huawei. Is there enough separation? ...20 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Cavosie, Senior research fellow, Curtin University In the remote desert of western Egypt, near the Libyan border, lie clues to an ancient cosmic cataclysm. Libyan desert glass is the name ...21 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Beth Armstrong, Foundation Chair in Speech Pathology, Edith Cowan University This article is the fourth part in a series, Where culture meets health. Aboriginal Australians continue to face serious health challenges. Life ...21 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Krummel, Research Group Leader, CSIRO A mysterious rebound in the emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals – despite a global ban stretching back almost a decade – has been traced to eastern China. ...21 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, University of South Australia Tourism today has a problem and needs an entire rethink. Pundits are debating overtourism, peak tourism and tourismphobia. Cities such as ...21 hours ago
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