Posts Tagged ‘Blueskin Bay’
Europe 1 Dunedin 0
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, May 20th, 2016 - 79 comments
In Europe different communities and countries have managed to rely solely on renewable electricity sources, but in Dunedin some locals are fighting a community’s attempt to become sustainable.
Blueskin Bay
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, November 24th, 2015 - 28 comments
The Blueskin Bay settlement north of Dunedin provides an example of people working collectively at a local level to live sustainably.
- 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20
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 ...17 hours ago - Anti-abortion arguments are increasingly secular, but remain unconvincing and misogynistic
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 ...1 day ago - New research, May 6-12, 2019
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 ...2 days ago - Workers increasingly less keen about British Labour Party
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 ...2 days ago - Valuing Xero again
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%. ...2 days ago - Climate Change: Tweaking the ETS
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 ...2 days ago - Neither socially not environmentally responsibleDunedin 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 ...2 days ago
- Time to get out of IraqCabinet will be considering whether to pull out of Iraq this month. Meanwhile, thanks to the US openly threatening war with Iran, other countries with military forces there are withdrawing them:Germany and the Netherlands have suspended their military training programmes ...2 days ago
- A handmaid party?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 ...2 days ago
- Frustrations of an unreconstructed, unrepentant Keynesian
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 ...3 days ago - What Do We Mean by Wellbeing?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 ...3 days ago
- UK spies are not above the lawIn 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 ...3 days ago
- Ghostwriitng Unacceptable says TEU
‘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. ...3 days ago - Climate Change: A climate emergency in CanterburyECan 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 ...3 days ago
- Beneficiaries are treated worse than criminalsAn 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 ...3 days ago
- International Support Personnel DayWith trade unions across the world, we are standing up as members of Education International to mark International Support Personnel Day. ...3 days ago
- Hard News: Rip It Up: A history of us, a history of me
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: ...4 days ago - Why is John Bolton constantly given power instead of a one-way ticket to a padded cell?
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 ...4 days ago - Above the lawA 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 ...4 days ago
- Britain wants its troops to commit war crimesThat's the only conclusion that can be drawn from its "vow" to introduce an amnesty for crimes committed by soldiers and to derogate from the ECHR:The new defence secretary has promised to introduce an amnesty on historical prosecutions for military ...4 days ago
- Left Network for Free SpeechHate 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 ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: The Zero Carbon Bill and the ETSOne 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 ...4 days ago
- Highway to Hell!
(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 ...4 days ago - Defending Privilege
“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 ...4 days ago - IPCC Updates Methodology for Greenhouse Gas InventoriesKYOTO, 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 ...5 days ago
- Does international chemical watchdog cherry-pick evidence to confirm a bias?
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 ... 5 days ago - Rotuman Language Week 12 – 19 May 2019Rotuman bisikete: reactivating forgotten words ...5 days ago
- Money for Reform Vocational EducationThe 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. ...5 days ago
- Is Donald Trump Really A Deal-Maker?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 ...5 days ago
- Netanyahu does a BerlusconiIsraeli 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 ...5 days ago
- Chipping away at the OIALast 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 ...5 days ago
- Over 600,000 views on RedlineEarlier 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 ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: Shifting the groundThe UK's Climate Change Committee has recommended toughening their target to net zero emissions by 2050. And the change has the overwhelming support of the UK public:A majority of voters would support radical action to slash greenhouse gases to nearly ...6 days ago
- CapturedWhy 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 ...6 days ago
- Teachers have had enoughSo, 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 ...6 days ago
- Sharing With Our Feathered FriendsMy 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 ...7 days ago
- Access: You just need a sense of humour“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 ...7 days ago
- The Giddens Project: New Times, the Third Way and the future of politicsThe 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 ...7 days ago
- 2019 International Solidarity Conference in Cubaby 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 ...1 week ago
- 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
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 ...1 week ago - All is trueFilm 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 ...1 week ago
- New research, April 29 – May 5, 2019A 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 communication Climate change and educational attainment in ...1 week ago
- Ngā piki, ngā heke – Ten years togetherThis week Tertiary Update reviews the major speeches of the 2019 AnnualConference so that all members have a chance to engage with our largest ...1 week ago
- National Secretary’s ReportAddress of the National Secretary, Sharn Riggs, to TEU’s 2019 Conference.Following another fantastic turnout at our tenth annual conference ...1 week ago
- Sending out an SOS – 130 take the pledge so far130 general and academic staff from community tertiary education providers,polytechnics, universities, and wānanga pledged to get their ...1 week ago
- British government wants impunity for its crimesImagine if a government argued that murderers and rapists should not be "pursued unfairly for events that took place decades ago". That's exactly what the British Minister of Defence is arguing for soldiers:The new defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, declared that ...1 week ago
- Awhi atu, awhi mai – Fighting Islamophobia, hate, and racismIbrahim Omer, union organiser at E Tū and Chair of Change Makers Resettlement Forum,reflects on his journey in New Zealand as a refugee, and ...1 week ago
- From the conference floor and beyondTEU’s annual conference was two days of mahi, debate, fun, and planning for 130 TEU members and the staff who support them. ...1 week ago
- TEU Awards 2019Two new members of the TEU were inducted as life members at the Annual Conference 2019 – Carol Soal, Ara Aoraki, and Sandra Grey, Victoria Uni ...1 week ago
- Government’s climate change plan does not go far enoughNew Zealand’s lead author on the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) report has said the ...1 week ago
- Hard News: Music: Some deep beliefThere'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 ...1 week ago
- “Pure sophistic bollocks”That's how normally mild-mannered ex-MP Peter Dunne describes the government's excuses on its "binding" cannabis referendum:The Minister tries to justify his position by saying that no Parliament can bind its successor Parliaments. This is, to put it politely, pure sophistic ...1 week ago
- Why do MPs hate capital gains taxes?Just look at all the houses they own. Parliament's Register of Pecuniary Interests was released yesterday, showing all the pies our MPs said they have their fingers in. And their favourite pie is houses. NewsHub has a list here, and ...1 week ago
- Ireland declares a climate emergencyLast week, the UK Parliament became the first in the world to recognise the seriousness and urgency of the environmental situation by declaring a climate emergency. And last night, Ireland followed suit:Ireland has become only the second country in the ...1 week ago
- A New Crime of EcocideTwo developments over the past week or so demonstrate how serious is the existential crisis we now face, in terms of the damage we are doing to our planet, and how far we are from facing up to our responsibilities. ...1 week ago
- Psychology of Russiagate – an adult discussion for a changeThis is a fascinating interview – and not only because it is a highly respected independent journalist, Aaron Maté, interviewing his highly respected mental health expert father, Dr. Gabor Maté. It is fascinating because it is objective and adult ...1 week ago
- Hubbard Bubble: Toil and TroubleAt the core of a successful economy is ‘trust’. Buy a can of beans and your decision depends on trusting a whole chain of suppliers. Admittedly, you also trust that the law is working in your favour too; it usually ...1 week ago
- Fox News made the US a hotbed of climate denial. Kids are the cure.A new 23-country survey conducted by the YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project found that America has the highest percentage of climate denial among first-world nations, behind only Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in all the countries surveyed. A total of 13 percent of Americans responded that ...1 week ago
- ‘TERF’- the new bogey wordby Don Franks Way back in the bad old days before cell phones and computers, I helped a fellow car factory militant campaign for a union position. My mate belonged to what was then called the Engineers Union, at that ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Missing the obviousWriting in The Spinoff, former National Minister Wayne Mapp argues that a good first step to meeting the targets of the Zero Carbon Act would be to end fossil fuelled cars. He's right (and I've talked at length about how ...1 week ago
- Petitioning our employer so students can have a brighter futureMichael Gilchrist, TEU National President, looks at the lengths staff in tertiary education are going to in order to be heard by their employers. ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: The fudge is not going to survive realityYesterday the government announced its Zero Carbon Bill, which would establish a framework for long-term emissions reductions. The most controversial aspect of the Bill is its agricultural targets: for the first time, farmers will face an explicit responsibility to clean ...2 weeks ago
- Donation, deception and the limits of the lawThis week, TVNZ’s Sunday programme led with a feature about sperm donation. Specifically, about a ‘freelance’ sperm donor, going by the name Tauranga Tony. Real name Tony Ross, he has donated sperm to a number of women. Quite a large number, ...2 weeks ago
- “The most transparent government ever” – still bullshitShortly after being elected, Labour promised to be "the most open, most transparent Government that New Zealand has ever had". I've commented repeatedly on how Labour is failing to meet that promise in its behaviour over parliamentary written questions. And ...2 weeks ago
- Odious secrecySomething odious about the Zero Carbon Bill: it expands the Climate Change Response Act's existing secrecy clause to cover "the Climate Change Commission, in respect of the performance of its functions or exercise of its powers under Parts 1A to ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: The Zero Carbon BillThe government has finally released its proposed Zero Carbon Bill. Following the framework set by the UK Climate Change Act (and advocated by Generation Zero), the bill establishes a framework for continuous emissions reductions, with long-term targets, five-yearly carbon budgets ...2 weeks ago
- Women’s group warns sacking of gender critical tax expert is a sign of things to comePress Release by Speak Up For Women Wellington, 8 May 2019 Speak Up For Women NZ says the sacking of a gender critical British tax expert in the United Kingdom serves as a warning of what is to come if ...2 weeks ago
- Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’This is a media release from ipbes Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report ...2 weeks ago
- The fixSo why did the government choose to have a non-binding referendum on cannabis? Watching Question Time today, the reason is clear: the Prime Minister is going hard on the fact that all three government parties have committed to pass the ...2 weeks ago
- Launching into trouble?
On May 5 the NZ-US joint venture company Rocket Lab successfully completed a night-time launch of its Electron booster carrying three US Air Force small satellites (smallsats) named Harbinger, SPARC-1 and Falcon ODE. The STP-27RD mission is part of the ...2 weeks ago - Reeferedum thoughtsToday we sort-of found out what we are going to get to vote on at this election’s “reeferendum”. We are going to get to say whether we want to have an as-yet-unwritten Bill allowing for the legalisation of cannabis passed into law ...2 weeks ago
- Farewell Guyon
I’m sorry to see Guyon depart the presenter’s chair on RNZ’s Morning Report. I think he’s one of the best interviewers RNZ has ever had. He is well-informed, thoughtful and persistent. He consistently asks good questions and presses for answers. ...2 weeks ago - No MMP referendumLast year, Justice Minister Andrew Little teased us with the prospect of a referendum at the next election on the unfair MMP threshold. But buried in the announcement on their (not) "binding" cannabis legalisation referendum is some bad news: that ...2 weeks ago
- Not bindingThe government has revealed its plans for its "binding" cannabis legalisation referendum. As demanded, people will be voting on detailed legislation, laying out the purchase age, home-growing options, and regulatory regime, including an advertising ban. But will it actually be ...2 weeks ago
- Former climate ‘denier’ regrets ‘how wrongheaded but certain I was’
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk John Kaiser wheeled a cart with a TV and VCR into the lobby of an academic building on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, popped in a well-worn ...2 weeks ago
- Safety focus in improved drug driver testing
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 ...3 days ago - Making it easier to get help from PolicePolice 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 ...6 days ago
- More Police deployed to the regionsFrontline 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. ...1 week ago
- Taxpayers get a smarter and fairer systemOne of the biggest IT projects ever undertaken in the state sector has successfully passed its latest hurdle with the transition of more than 19.7 million taxpayer accounts from one Inland Revenue computer system to another. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash ...2 weeks ago
- Early insights into use of restricted drugsThe first nationwide snapshot of the consumption of restricted drugs indicates the prevalence of methamphetamine use in New Zealand, says Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The first quarterly analysis of the nationwide wastewater testing programme reinforces the coalition government’s determination to ...3 weeks ago
- Budget focus on family violence prevention a big step
The National Network of Stopping Violence Services today welcomed the Ardern Government’s Family Violence and Sexual Violence Package announcement, part of its Wellbeing Budget. ...7 hours ago - Whanau First in support of GrandmotherA distressed and traumatized grandmother from the Rodney Electorate will meet with Rodney Electorate MP Mark Mitchell on Monday, May 20, 10am at the Rodney Electorate Office, Tamariki House, 7 Tamariki Avenue, Orewa. The Rodney Electorate MP has been ...7 hours ago
- Groundswell of demand for medicinal cannabis, reveals pollOver 400,000 New Zealanders say they would definitely seek out medicinal cannabis products when they become widely available from 2020, according to a large independent survey and the first of its kind, just released. ...7 hours ago
- Whanau First call on Minister for Children for discussionWhanau First call on Minister for Children for discussion on the housing crisis and child removal ...7 hours ago
- New Zealand PM leads global Internet censorship campaignThe so-called “ Christchurch Call ” summit in Paris on Wednesday, led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, marked a significant escalation of the drive by governments throughout the world to censor ...8 hours ago
- New poll shows less support for euthanasiaA new nationwide Curia Market Research poll shows the gap between supporters and opponents of euthanasia is narrowing, and that many people withdraw their support when asked to consider some of the details involved in the End of Life Choice ...12 hours ago
- International Student reputation dragged through the mudThe recently published article by TVNZ is yet another piece of over sensationalised journalism that drives a wedge into New Zealand society. International Students are an integral party of what makes New Zealand a diverse and unique country in the ...1 day ago
- The Nation: Privacy Commissioner John EdwardsJolliff: The Privacy Commissioner says MSD’s powers to investigate have been taken too far. I asked him how serious the breaches have been. ...1 day ago
- The Nation: Minister for Children Tracey MartinSimon Shepherd: Minister for Children Tracey Martin, Thanks for your time this morning. So, we’ve seen this jump in the number of newborn Maori babies being taken from their parents in the last three years. Is that because it’s a ...1 day ago
- Young people are the world’s greatest untapped resourceRecently I was talking with a group of people about the growing issue of internet harassment, and in particular, gender based online abuse. We talked about how online violence directed at women is a symptom of deep-seated gender inequality, and ...1 day ago
- Whanau First call for Urgent Inquiry into Oranga TamarikiFormer Hawke’s Bay woman Lou Hutchinson, who has this week been setting up action group Whanau First in response to a meeting she staged in Raglan on Sunday to challenge Oranga Tamariki child removal strategies, said she’s not surprised by ...1 day ago
- Ghahraman’s smear tactics truly appallingGolriz Ghahraman’s attempts to smear her political opponents as racist are truly appalling, according to ACT President Ruwan Premathilaka. ...2 days ago
- How biochar fits into the NZ Climate Change Response BillHow biochar fits into the New Zealand Climate Change Response Amendment Bill ...2 days ago
- Aquaculture could be central part of climate planNew Zealand King Salmon says aquaculture could be central part of action plan following ‘State of Climate Emergency’ ...2 days ago
- Disappointment at lack of pay transparency mechanism in billDisappointment at lack of pay transparency mechanism in Equal Pay Amendment Bill ...2 days ago
- Public invited to have their say on access to the outdoorsNew Zealanders with an interest in the outdoors are being invited to have their say on legislation that helps them access nature throughout the country. ...2 days ago
- Mayor Supports Random Roadside Drug TestingMayor Supports Random Roadside Drug Testing South Taranaki District Mayor Ross Dunlop urges the Government to take immediate action on the introduction of random roadside drug testing. Mayor Dunlop makes the call for action after reading the coroner’s ...2 days ago
- Fish & Game welcome investigation into ORC RMA practicesFish and Game New Zealand welcomes the decision by Environment Minister David Parker to appoint a formal investigator to assess Otago Regional Council’s performance of their RMA functions in relation to freshwater management. ...2 days ago
- Travellers to TanzaniaPRESS RELEASE “Tanzania has been at the forefront of cleaning up their environment of plastic waste in recent years” says Stuart Batty, Honorary Consul for the United Republic of Tanzania . The Government have announced that Effective 1 June 2019, ...2 days ago
- Forest industry says Te Uru Rākau expansion vitalForest industry leaders say the pre-Budget announcement by Forestry Minister Shane Jones of additional regional resources for Te Uru Rākau is potentially of great benefit to regional New Zealand. ...2 days ago
- Eight regions to receive $14M to expand 3D mappingEight Regional Councils, in partnership with their Territorial Authorities and others, have applied for and will receive $14 million of co-funding from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) to obtain, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) elevation datasets. ...2 days ago
- Majority of New Zealanders want a New Zealand head of state"The latest opinion poll results are in, and 55% of New Zealanders want a New Zealander as our next head of state, only 39% want the next British monarch. This is the third poll in the past three years showing ...3 days ago
- KFC, Carl’s Jr and Pizza Hut workers to strike this weekendKFC is off the menu this weekend as hundreds of Fast Food workers employed by Restaurant Brands and members of Unite Union take strike action this weekend. ...3 days ago
- ESR supports calls for a saliva test for roadside drug testsThe Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) who conduct drug tests on blood samples for a range of government organisations is supporting the introduction of a roadside saliva (oral fluid) test for drug-impaired drivers. ESR forensic toxicologist ...3 days ago
- ANZASW observes the International Day Against HomophobiaToday, we celebrate sexual and gender diversity in our communities and welcome the fact that more people than ever are free to identify their gender and love whom they choose. We welcome the progress that has occurred, both in Aotearoa ...3 days ago
- New research announced at Rainbow Excellence AwardsThe first New Zealand Workplace Equality Study has just been released at the inaugural Rainbow Excellence Awards, being held at SkyCity today. ...3 days ago
- Nga Aho Whakaari response to Maori Media Review reportMāori screen organisation Ngā Aho Whakaari says Māori screen practitioners are having to wait until the end of the year for decisions to be made about the promised overhaul of the Māori Media sector in the review being conducted by ...3 days ago
- Staff walking out from Access Community Health todayUp to 120 PSA and E tu union coordinators, contact centre workers and administrators at Access Community Health will be walking off the job from 9:00am as part of a nationwide walk-off. ...3 days ago
- AAAP calls on MSD CEO and deputy CEO to resignAuckland Action Against Poverty is calling on the CEO and deputy CEO of the Ministry of Social Development to resign following a report by the Privacy Commissioner, which found that the Ministry was unlawfully breaching beneficiaries’ privacy. The report ...3 days ago
- Sustainable whitebait fishery survey – Expert reactionPublic survey about whitebait fishing finds 90 per cent of respondents support efforts to make the fishery sustainable. Almost 2,900 people completed the survey put forward by the Department of Conservation , including iwi, recreational and commercial whitebait ...3 days ago
- Commissioner welcomes Select Committee’s Privacy Bill reportPrivacy Commissioner John Edwards today [ 13 May ] welcomed the Justice Select Committee’s report on the Privacy Bill. ...3 days ago
- Public overwhelmingly support changes to whitebait fishingForest & Bird is heartened that 90% of respondents to a Department of Conservation survey support changes to whitebaiting regulations. ...3 days ago
- Fish & Game welcomes the Government’s Tourism StrategyFish & Game New Zealand welcomes the Government’s New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy, which sets out a plan to better manage the challenges of growth on the environment. However, we are concerned with the lack of focus on protecting ...3 days ago
- Air Force Band Helps Musician Live His DreamRoyal New Zealand Air Force Band drummer Corporal Jeremy Richardson is in Italy marking the 75th anniversary of the Battles of Cassino. ...3 days ago
- New resources focused on children in State CareMaori Council launch new resources focused on children in State Care – “end violence; change the system” ...3 days ago
- Public calls for changes to ensure sustainable whitebaitChanges are needed to make New Zealand’s whitebait fishery sustainable, according to 90% of respondents to a Department of Conservation (DOC) survey. ...3 days ago
- Deployment should end amidst Iran tensions“The Coalition Government must move to withdraw NZ troops out of Iraq as the US threatens a new war on Iran,” said Valerie Morse from Auckland Peace Action. ...3 days ago
- Appropriate responses needed to address Māori homelessnessThe full report from last year’s first Auckland-wide Point in Time count was released today by Auckland Council and the Housing First Auckland Collective. The additional findings highlight the overrepresentation of Māori among those who were homeless ...3 days ago
- Environment Canterbury declares climate emergencyEnvironment Canterbury has today declared a climate emergency, highlighting both the urgent need to address the issue, and the work already being done to help the region respond. ...3 days ago
- Zero Carbon Bill – right direction, wrong methane targetFederated Farmers is right on board with the purpose and framework of the Zero Carbon Bill but not a methane target that has no grounding in science or economic sense. ...3 days ago
- Project Jonah’s State of Marine Mammals in AotearoaNew Zealand has always been a nation where ordinary people play a key part in caring for our environment and native species. However, it’s important that those of us who are committed to preserving New Zealand’s wildlife are up-to-date with ...3 days ago
- Report shows organisations failing to deal with cyber abuseWith Pink Shirt Day being marked tomorrow, it’s important to understand the developing nature of cyber abuse and bullying. In a report funded byNetSafe’s Online Safety Partnership Grant, Massey’s Healthy Work Group analysed data from 205 victims to ...4 days ago
- MSD systematically misused its investigatory powersAn Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) inquiry has found the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) systematically misused its investigatory powers while pursuing benefit fraud, unjustifiably intruding on the privacy of many beneficiaries. ...4 days ago
- Christchurch Call emphasizes human rights but more neededToday, a group of governments led by New Zealand, and major tech companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Twitter, signed and published the “ Christchurch Call ,” a voluntary pledge with commitments aimed at eliminating terrorist and ...4 days ago
- Major internet providers endorse Christchurch Call to ActionThe chief executives of Spark, Vodafone NZ and 2degrees, the three internet companies which took the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending access to web sites hosting the Christchurch gunman’s video, have today given their support to the Christchurch ...4 days ago
- Challenge to Finance MinisterFinance Minister Grant Robertson’s claim that ‘there is simply no more money to go into the [education] sector” is a lie, according to Social Credit Party Leader, Chris Leitch. ...4 days ago
- Christchurch Call outcome is a vital first stepChristchurch Call outcome is a vital first step in addressing terrorism and violent extremism online ...4 days ago
- Privacy Commissioner report shows Govt breaching privacyPrivacy Commissioner report shows Govt unlawfully breaching privacy of thousands of beneficiaries ...4 days ago
- Auckland rail workers suspended; an employer trend?The Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard is calling on Auckland Transport, part of Auckland Council to intervene, and "remove the suspensions which are preventing the people who keep Auckland’s trains safe, from doing their work." ...4 days ago
- MSD accepts Privacy Commissioner’s recommendationsThe Ministry of Social Development has made changes in its approach to cases of high risk fraud investigations. ...4 days ago
- Eurovision shock: is ironic appreciation now unnecessary as slick singing styles reign?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sini, Lecturer in Screen Media, University of the Sunshine Coast This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was perhaps the most controversial in its more than half a century history. Held in Tel ...1 hour ago - Eurovision shock: is ironic appreciation unnecessary as slick singing styles reign?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sini, Lecturer in Screen Media, University of the Sunshine Coast This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was perhaps the most controversial in its more than half a century history. Held in Tel ...2 hours ago - Labor’s election defeat reveals its continued inability to convince people it can make their lives...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoffrey Robinson, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University The election result was a triumph for the Coalition and a defeat for pundits. The result is even more striking ...5 hours ago - Abbott’s loss in Warringah shows voters rejecting an out-of-touch candidate and a nasty style of p...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stewart Jackson, Lecturer, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney On election night 2019, as Australia voted to return the Liberal-National Party government of Scott Morrison, one seat defied the ...5 hours ago - Morrison has led the Coalition to a ‘miracle’ win, but how do they govern from here?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marija Taflaga, Lecturer, School of Political Science and International Relations, Australian National University The man that has “always believed in miracles” has just delivered one for the Liberal party. It’s not clear ...5 hours ago
- Morrison has lead the Coalition to a ‘miracle’ win, but how do they govern from here?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marija Taflaga, Lecturer, School of Political Science and International Relations, Australian National University The man that has “always believed in miracles” has just delivered one for the Liberal party. It’s not clear ...6 hours ago
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Over its eight seasons, Game of Thrones demonstrated some of the most screwed up inter-personal relationships ever shown on screen. But there were some bright spots, says relationship expert Holly Dixon.Contains Game of Thrones spoilers up to and including season ...7 hours ago - Majority or minority Coalition government? Here’s what happens nowSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney The election is over, the Coalition has won the most seats. But we don’t yet know if it will form a majority or ...8 hours ago
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The Prime Minister has unveiled a plan to tackle family and sexual violence. ...12 hours ago - Will MPs let voters make the call on euthanasia?
If David Seymour’s assisted dying bill gets knocked out in Parliament, hopes of a referendum at the 2020 election die with it, writes Graham Adams. We will soon find out — probably in the next six weeks — which of our ...12 hours ago - Scott Morrison hails ‘miracle’ as Coalition snatches shock victory in Australia
All the polls pointed to a Labor win in Australia yesterday. That’s not what happened at all, writes Michelle Grattan.The Coalition has been re-elected in a shock result in which Labor lost seats in Queensland, Tasmania and NSW and failed ...13 hours ago - For the last time: veganism is not child abuse
Stories linking cases of extreme child neglect to plant-based diets are peddling dangerous rhetoric, writes Jai Breitnauer.When I read about the malnourished toddler in Sydney this week, who at 19 months was so severely starved she looked like a newborn ...15 hours ago - Listen: RNZ’s Australia election specialRNZ will be dissecting the unexpected result in Australia, with presenter Philippa Tolley hosting a series of guests exploring the politics, implications for New Zealand, and where Australia goes from here. ...15 hours ago
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There was no way Fonterra could compete in the intense global ice cream market through its Tip Top brand ...17 hours ago - What walking the South Island taught me about low-carbon life
There is a lifetime of adventures to be had in New Zealand without ever once setting foot on a plane, writes Melanie Vautier.A little while ago I stepped out of my front door in Queenstown with the intention of walking back ...18 hours ago - Scott Morrison hails ‘miracle’ as Coalition snatches unexpected victory
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition has been re-elected in a shock result in which Labor lost seats in Queensland, Tasmania and NSW and failed to make more than ...20 hours ago - Coalition likely to win election in Trump-like upset, but Abbott loses WarringahSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne With 57% of votes counted in the election, the ABC is projecting that the Coalition will win 74 of the ...23 hours ago
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Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk A Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper reader has protested over Facebook addiction, describing it as ruining the lives of teenagers and youth who spend most of their time on smartphones. The reader says that Facebook and ...1 day ago - New ‘anti’ force shakes up New Caledonian political landscape
By Duke Menango in Noumea The provincial elections last Sunday have shaken the political landscape in New Caledonia with an upheaval in the Southern province that will influence developments leading up to the next two referendums on independence. The ...1 day ago - New Zealand, Chile and Singapore work on digital trade agreementThe Trade and Export Growth Minister is working on a digital trade agreement with Chile and Singapore. ...2 days ago
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In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Little Yellow Bird founder Samantha Jones whose social enterprise makes sustainably and ethically-made uniforms ...2 days ago - Holy shit, we won!
Last night at the Voyager Media Awards in Auckland, The Spinoff was named website of the year. Managing editor Duncan Greive is still in shock.It’s 8.43am and I’ve had I’m guessing ~4 hours sleep, but who in the world needs ...2 days ago - Form guide: Who will win the Cricket World Cup?
Does New Zealand have any chance of winning the Cricket World Cup? Wood and leather enthusiast Alex Braae casts his eye over where every team stands heading into the tournament, and puts his credibility on the line with some predictions. You ...2 days ago - How to deal with life after giving up booze2 days ago
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Alice Neville drank a lot of cocktails at New Zealand’s first dedicated cocktail festival in Wellington last weekend… here are a few standouts. Wellington’s always been a good booze town. These days it’s all about the craft beer and natural wine, ...2 days ago - Review: NZSO Shed Series – Responses is the modern way to enjoy classical music
Anna Knox reviews the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Shed Series – Responses and finds that Shed 6 transforms the experience of live classical music entirely.Last time I wrote about the NZSO, I claimed that hearing them perform was not about the ‘whole ...2 days ago - Newsroom wins three* journalism awards
Three Newsroom journalists have been honoured at the national media awards in Auckland. ...2 days ago - The breakaway Christian party: a gamble, gambit or godsend?
For the National opposition, a breakaway Christian party is a Hail Mary of the highest order, writes Craig McCulloch for RNZ.While to Roman Catholic faithful the Hail Mary is an essential prayer and path to redemption, most often nowadays the ...2 days ago - Shayne Carter’s rock confessional
Drunk, Shayne was the baddest man in the whole damned town. He could be boorish, an asshole, plain mean. But it makes for wildly entertaining reading. ...2 days ago - Weekend Poem: Men who paid to touch me
ReadingRoom introduces its Weekend Poem: first-up, Hadassah Grace ...2 days ago - Disciplined cadavers: Crafting an ideal male body in the internet age
The thought leaders of the late 2010s subject themselves to a regimen of terrible eating and self-imposed abeyance. The funniest part is that half the time, so do I.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is a man under pressure. His company’s profit ...2 days ago - Disenfranchised and disenchanted: a Kiwi on Australia’s strange electionIt’s Scomo versus Shorten as Australians go the polls today, ending an all-pervading campaign. New Zealander Paul Davies has been watching it from his sofaBillboards have been defaced, eggs thrown and vile old Facebook posts dug up. It’s difficult to ...2 days ago
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- You are what you vote: the social and demographic factors that influence your voteSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob J Hyndman, Professor of Statistics, Monash University Australia has changed in many ways over the past two decades. Rising house prices, country-wide improvements in education, an ageing population, and a decline ...2 days ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thornhill, Research botanist at the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia/Environment Institute, University of Adelaide Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter here, and suggest a plant ...2 days ago - Vital Signs: for the best election predictions, look to the betting markets, not the opinion polls
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Opinion polls haven’t done too well in some important recent elections. Polls failed to foresee the Brexit decision, and suggested Hillary Clinton would be elected president ...2 days ago - Authorities focused on fentanyl
Police are remaining vigilant to avoid an opioid crisis like that in the US. ...2 days ago - Week in politics: Ardern scores again with Christchurch CallAnalysis - The prime minister's management of the Christchurch Call will enhance her standing at home and abroad, making it even more difficult for National to bring her down, writes Peter Wilson. ...2 days ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, J.W. Nevile Fellow in Economics and host of The Airport Economist, UNSW When I was growing up in Adelaide in the 1970s I wanted to be like Bob Hawke. Other ...2 days ago - How five years of R&D proved a local skincare company had a product that actually worksBusiness 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 ...2 days ago
- GetUp!’s brand of in-your-face activism is winning elections – and making enemiesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Rolfe, Honorary associate, School of Social Sciences, UNSW It can be hard for a political cause to get noticed in a jaded world awash with information, but conspiracy theories can go ...2 days ago
- Fletcher-commissioned Deloitte report shows building material costs are low
The cost of building materials in New Zealand account for between 16-24 percent of the cost of residential housing development costs, depending on the type of building and location. ...2 days ago - Domestic violence really a workplace issue?
Is a new law making domestic violence a workplace issue really necessary? ...2 days ago - Recipe: Cavolo nero, apple and sunflower seed saladThis Italian dark leafy green comes into its own in the cooler months, and makes a delicious autumn/winter salad with apple and sunflower seeds. Now that the weather has cooled and the white butterflies have finally disappeared, my cavolo nero has ...2 days ago
- ANZ ticked off by regulator, forced to hold $760m of capital
The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) has censured the country's largest bank, ANZ, for not properly calculating its risk and ordered it to increase its capital. ...2 days ago - The best of The Spinoff’s Voyager Media Awards-nominated work
Tonight the nation’s journalists, photographers, videographers, reviewers and columnists gather at Auckland’s glamorous Corbis Hotel for the most glittering night in media, the Voyager Media Awards. Read a selection of The Spinoff’s rip-roaring 16 nominations here.Website of the YearPlease discover ...2 days ago - VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the passing of Bob Hawke – and the final campaign pushSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Deputy Vice-Chancellor Leigh Sullivan speaks to Michelle Grattan about the week in politics. They discuss the passing of former Labor prime ...2 days ago
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