Posts Tagged ‘covid-19’
Parker gives Bridges a lesson in constitutional law
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, May 9th, 2020 - 175 comments
In a Facebook Live event David Parker has schooled Simon Bridges on basic principles of constitutional law. And it appears that Bridges demand that legally privileged advice be handed over is heading to the Privileges Committee.
Bridges pulls a stunt
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, May 7th, 2020 - 93 comments
Simon Bridges threw two stunts yesterday, firstly threatening to try and summons senior Public Servants to publicise confidential legal advice and then by attacking Dr Ashley Blomfield for not answering emails quickly enough despite the existence of a pandemic which the country appears to be handling pretty well.
Top ten things we have learned already
Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, May 6th, 2020 - 53 comments
The top ten things that the Covid pandemic has taught us as a country.
Roger Douglas attacks economic privilege and inequality
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, May 5th, 2020 - 261 comments
Roger Douglas has reverted to his socialist roots by going back on his pro market mantra and criticising the economic privilege and inequality that he helped create.
Covid-19 and climate change
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2020 - 55 comments
The International Energy Agency is forecasting that disruptions caused by Covid-19 will reduce CO2 output this year by 8%. To avoid the worst excesses of climate change the world has a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7.6% for the next decade. How are we going to keep repeating the reductions that we achieved this year for the next decade?
The class politics of the Covid-19 pandemic response
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, April 28th, 2020 - 59 comments
National economics spokesperson Paul Goldsmith has advanced a plan to address the Covid 19 pandemic which includes union bashing and privatisation.
How Covid-19 is smashing councils
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 26th, 2020 - 69 comments
Just as most industries in New Zealand are firing thousands of people to cut costs, local government is getting ready to do the same.
Guest post – Bridges is done, who can save National?
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, April 24th, 2020 - 115 comments
Guest post from former Labour Staffer Clint Smith on the similarities between National’s current predicament and what happened to Labour in 2011 and 2014.
Will National roll Bridges before or after the election?
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, April 23rd, 2020 - 241 comments
It appears that the National Party is engaged in a bitter discussion of when Simon Bridges should be rolled, not if. Will it be before or after the election?
Pandemics and our privacy
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, April 22nd, 2020 - 43 comments
The Ministry of Health is checking with the GCSB to enable full tracing of people to slow further outbreaks. Should we be afraid?
Eat the rich
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, April 22nd, 2020 - 47 comments
Richard Branson, who has arranged his affairs so that he pays tax to no government, is upset that Governments are not bailing his empire out. And an idea has been floated to allow billionaires to set up boltholes in New Zealand.
When Bridges’ social media goes wrong
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, April 21st, 2020 - 77 comments
Simon Bridges’s Facebook post criticising the extension of lockdown level 4 has been met with overwhelming opposition, including from people who are clearly National Party supporters.
Guest post – is it safe to lower the lockdown level?
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, April 20th, 2020 - 58 comments
Guest post by Karl Sinclair on what needs to be addressed before the country can be safely lifted out of lockdown.
Covid-19 decision day
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, April 20th, 2020 - 172 comments
Decision day for the Covid-19 lockdown and my personal view is that although the country has done well it is not quite in a position to ease the lockdown.
The plan for Monday
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, April 18th, 2020 - 30 comments
Even if New Zealand gets out of the immediate Covid-19 infection better than most other countries, the result is still a wrecked world and a slow recovery. What we face is something like an Australian firefighter with a hose and a tanker facing an onrushing wall of flame: they successfully dampen down a defined circle […]
Lockdown 4 – do we stay or do we go?
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, April 15th, 2020 - 147 comments
Over the next few days there will be an intense public debate about whether the lockdown should be continued or loosened.
What Is This Moment Teaching Us?
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, April 14th, 2020 - 53 comments
What is Covid-19 telling us about our response as a nation?
New Zealand’s poor in this new crisis
Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, April 11th, 2020 - 126 comments
Covid 19 is not some great leveller. To succeed the state has to completely redirect the economy to so that ordinary workers and working families are supported.
Has the EU failed during COVID-19?
Written By: - Date published: 5:16 am, April 10th, 2020 - 20 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s blog
For global governance organisations, this is an important moment. This is the chance for them to demonstrate their worth and coordinate the response. In many ways how these structures respond becomes more important than the response of nation-states. This also is where the deficiencies and shortcomings of such organisations become very apparent. The noise coming from the EU in the last 48 hours is far from reassuring.
Pandemics are no a time for inward-looking nationalism
Written By: - Date published: 4:37 am, April 9th, 2020 - 41 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog
Trump is focused on the November US Presidential Election. His anti-Chinese, nationalist, America First rhetoric is his go-to response to keep his political base onside. He is placing his political ambition ahead of millions of lives both in the US and globally. Trump has placed electoral politics ahead of leadership that could save millions of lives.
Beyond mere rescue
Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, April 6th, 2020 - 78 comments
It’s time to plan the re-launch the very idea of New Zealand.
What not to do in a pandemic
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, April 5th, 2020 - 100 comments
The Trump regime has this week plunged new depths in the handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States
David Clark
Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, April 4th, 2020 - 152 comments
He should have been immediately fired.
The kind of imagination we’re going to need
Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, April 2nd, 2020 - 29 comments
More was achieved by and for Americas throughout the Franklin D. Roosevelt era than ever before or since in American history. This may provide us with a model for how we get things back on track.
No Right Turn: A new Ministry of Works
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, April 2nd, 2020 - 22 comments
Idiot/Savant writes: “While the economy is on pause under lockdown, the government is beginning to plan how to cope with the post-lockdown, post-tourism, post-export education world we will eventually find ourselves in”
Not a good day for an April Fool’s joke
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, April 1st, 2020 - 24 comments
David Farrar has shown that many of his commenters and followers do not understand satire.
CTU launches online tool for reporting bad employers
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, March 30th, 2020 - 27 comments
The Council of Trade Unions has launched an online tool allowing employees to log complaints against ill treatment by employers during the Covid-19 lockdown.
How this may play out
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, March 29th, 2020 - 212 comments
Developments on Covid-19 are happening at pace as we enter the make or break stage concerning the virus’s spread.
We are all socialists now
Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, March 26th, 2020 - 131 comments
It seems that the pure free market approach is ill equipped to provide the world with the leadership and guidance it requires.
Political campaigning in a Covid-19 world
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, March 23rd, 2020 - 15 comments
How will the Covid-19 pandemic affect the 2020 election campaign, and are we looking at a postponement?
M.I.A. Joe
Written By: - Date published: 12:48 pm, March 22nd, 2020 - 19 comments
America has a question.
- 2020 Just Reading: The List
Completed reads for 2020: The History of the Britons, by NenniusThe Annales CambriaeThe Life of King Alfred, by AsserThe Wood Beyond the World, by William MorrisThe Life of Merlin, by Geoffrey of MonmouthThe History of the Kings of Britain, by Geoffrey of MonmouthThe Life of Gildas, by Caradoc ...2 weeks ago - 2020 – Blog views by country
As per my blog tradition, here is where my blog viewers came from in 2020: United StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandBrazilGermanySpainSwedenThe Netherlands The top four remain as per 2019. After four years at #6, New Zealand gains a spot. Brazil is up four, and The Netherlands jumps from #16 to #10. ...2 weeks ago - “2020, well that was an interesting vintage…!” And all the other thoughts before it firmly kic...
There was all kinds of musings this blogger had thought about up to this point, the eve of a New Year (at least, in one calendar. Maybe we get to postpone some of this if we’re operating off the Chinese Calendar or Mayan one?). Some of those will ...2 weeks ago - 2020 Just Reading: DecemberCompleted reads for December: Frankenstein, by Mary ShelleyMurder on the Orient Express, by Agatha ChristieA Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Sign of Four, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleDracula, by Bram StokerKing Solomon’s Mines, by H. Rider HaggardThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, ...2 weeks ago
- Coffee Culture (Roslyn – Dunedin)
I have been here several times, and love it every time. Great range of coffees and other drinks, and amazing cakes! The staff are on… ...2 weeks ago - Speights Ale House (Dunedin)My review is from Monday 28th December 2020, in the early evening. Being a public holiday there was a 15% surcharge on the bill, but… ...2 weeks ago
- The Left Has Turned Into a Guild Hall
If you think the American left looks like an association of market actors, it’s because it is. This article by Oliver Traldi looks at woke as a guild rather than an ideology. The difference he says is that the rules of a guild keep changing. Join the guild or have ...2 weeks ago - End of Year Roundup.
We have arrived at the end of another year here at KP, making it the 11th since we started in January 2009. I am the only one left of the original crew and am the only one who posted this year. Lew is still nominally involved with KP as an ...2 weeks ago - Scientists shine in New Year’s Honours
In a fitting bookend to a year of science, over a dozen scientists and health experts have been distinguished in the New Year’s Honours. Every year at New Year and Queen’s Birthday I scan the list of honours looking for familiar names from the research field, and I can’t think ...2 weeks ago - NZ Politics Daily: 31 December 2020
Today’s content New Year’s Honours 2021 list announced Amber Allott (Stuff): Christchurch’s new knight reflects on nearly 30 years in politics Rahul Bhattarai (RNZ): David Carter on knighthood: Speaker’s role vital in a democracy Bridie Witton (Stuff): Wellington epidemiologist who pushed for lockdown honoured John Weekes (Herald): New Year 2021 Honours: Constellation of Kiwi stars shine bright Caroline Williams (Stuff): New Year ...2 weeks ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #52, 2020
Happy Holidays, Crew! Given the smoothing effect of the publication pipeline, it's safe to say that publisher staff took a full holiday this month, as reflected in this edition's paltry collection of 54 articles, around 1/2 of our normal bill of lading. Post-AGW research After viewing a few dozen editions ...2 weeks ago - NZ Politics Daily: 30 December 2020Today’s content Housing Jenée Tibshraeny (Interest): What would actually happen if *shock horror* house prices fell? Rob Stock (Stuff): House prices set to rise further in first half of 2021 Susan St John (Interest): The speech I would like Grant Robertson to give in the New Year Tom Peters (WSWS): Housing crisis fuels poverty and inequality in New Zealand Brendon Harre: Depoliticising ...2 weeks ago
- Masking Alone.A while back I was talking to a friend about the reasons why I believe that the US has failed so miserably in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. Our starting point was the idiocy surround the “masks interfere with our freedom” arguments. Besides the fact that there are all sort of ...3 weeks ago
- Two Degrees, now just as bad as others – maybe worseTwo Degree’s mobile started off with a hiss and a roar – yes they brought us lower prices, yes they created competition for the then… ...3 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 29 December 2020Today’s content Parliament, and end of year reviews Bryce Edwards (Guardian): The secret of Jacinda Ardern’s success lies in her conservatism Chris Trotter (Interest): Jacinda Ardern knows that it’s restoration people want – not revolution Alexander Gillespie (The Conversation): New Zealand’s 2020 report card: doing well but could try harder Martin Van Beynen (Stuff): A year of soul-searching and virtue signalling ...3 weeks ago
- Coping with fire-scorched land more prone to mudslidesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons After a fire, rain can feel like a refreshing mercy. But it also spells fresh danger in fire-struck areas made newly vulnerable to mudslides. Amidst recovering from the trauma of a wildfire, people in hillside homes across much of the ...3 weeks ago
- Capital Vol. 3: The Andy Higginbottom lectures series
This lecture series by Andy Higginbottom on Capital Volume 3 took place from August to December 2020. The series looked at the structure of Marx’s Capital as informed by Hegel’s science of logic. Andy argues that more attention needs to be given to the super-exploitation of labour and examines how ...3 weeks ago - Branko Marcetic: The Tragedy of NZ family separations at the borderIt might not spring from the same intentions as Donald Trump’s policy, but New Zealand is currently pursuing its own version of the “outright cruelty” of US border separations for families. Writer Branko Marcetic details the Covid border policies that are separating families, leaving many in traumatic limbo. These ...3 weeks ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #52Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Graphic of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The Resistance: In the President’s Relentless War on Climate Science, They Fought Back ...3 weeks ago
- When Conservatives Are The Only True Radicals.
Restoration, Not Revolution: Throughout history, the popular call for change has been motivated overwhelmingly by a fervent desire to restore the status-quo ante: to make things the way they were before they went wrong. Only very seldom are masses of human-beings moved to demand a shift towards an entirely new and unfamiliar order ...3 weeks ago
- APEC, NZ and economic interdependence
The Asia-Pacific economy will take centre stage in the next decades. Here's why that might be important for New Zealand. ...2 days ago - Being benched by the Team of Five Million
At a time when Kiwis need their squad the most, Laura Walters writes about the experience of overseas Kiwis who feel sidelined ...2 days ago - NZ absent from major biodiversity pledge
NZ isn't among the 50 signatories to an international commitment to legally protect 30 percent of the world's land and oceans for biodiversity by 2030. ...2 days ago - Siouxsie Wiles: What the new, more infectious strains of Covid-19 mean for us
The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community.I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible ...2 days ago - The Oxford vaccine has unique advantages, as does Pfizer’s. Using both is Australia’s best strat...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Quinn, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University On Sunday, federal Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said most Australians will be offered a vaccine from Oxford-AstraZeneca. Australia currently has agreements in place to receive 53.8 million ...3 days ago - Why is it so offensive to say ‘all lives matter’?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Stollznow, Research fellow, Griffith University This week acting Australian Prime Minister Michael McCormack uttered a controversial phrase. Defending previous comments in which he compared the Capitol riots to the Black Lives Matter protests, he asserted, All lives matter. McCormack ...3 days ago
- Worried about Earth’s future? Well, the outlook is worse than even scientists can graspSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University Anyone with even a passing interest in the global environment knows all is not well. ...3 days ago
- Sydney Festival review: Sunshine Super Girl is destined to become a legacy piece of Australian theat...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liza-Mare Syron, Indigenous Scientia Senior Lecturer, UNSW Review: Sunshine Super Girl, written and directed by Andrea James, Performing Lines and Sydney Festival Evonne Goolagong Cawley is one of Australia’s greatest sportspeople. She was the top woman tennis player in the world in ...3 days ago
- Despite being permanently banned, Trump’s prolific Twitter record lives onSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Audrey Courty, PhD candidate, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University For years, US President Donald Trump pushed the limits of Twitter’s content policies, raising pressure on the platform to exercise tougher moderation. Ultimately, the violent siege of the US ...3 days ago
- Indonesia’s aviation safety has improved, but a lot remains to be doneSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Volodymyr Bilotkach, Associate Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology The Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 disaster serves as a warning for aviation safety regulators, not only in Indonesia but worldwide. Four minutes after taking off from Jakarta in heavy rain on January 9, the ...3 days ago
- Parliament axe attack accused bailed to secure mental health unit
A 31-year-old man accused of an axe attack on Parliament has been bailed to a secure mental health unit. ...3 days ago - Film review: in My Salinger Year, hope and optimism win outSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Maxwell, Professor, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne Review: My Salinger Year, directed by Philippe Falardeau In 2014, Joanna Rakoff published a memoir, My Salinger Year, recounting the events of the year she spent working as a “Girl Friday” ...3 days ago
- Seymour is saying the most as the pollies thrust and parry on the pros and cons of Covid policies
The tightening of the border to keep new strains of Covid-19 at bay and demands to hasten the Covid-19 vaccination programme have dominated political debate – at least insofar as press statements provide a measure – in recent days. Opposition parties have been much busier than the government – or ...3 days ago - Enjoy them while you can? The ecotourism challenge facing Australia’s favourite islandsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, University of South Australia I fell for Kangaroo Island from my first visit. I recall standing on a headland on the island’s southern coast, near Remarkable Rocks (a popular tourist site), and being awestruck by ...3 days ago
- How internet sleuths are tracking down the Capitol insurrectionistsIn the wake of the Capitol invasion and riot, a Twitter-based, crowd-sourced effort to uncover the perpetrators’ identities swung into action. Dylan Reeve, who is involved in the efforts, explains how Open Source Intelligence works, and who it’s helped bring to justice so far.The recent events in Washington DC were ...3 days ago
- The Norse myths behind the tattoos worn by the Capitol riot’s ‘QAnon Shaman’The tattoos on the chest of a prominent participant in last week’s Capitol invasion and riot are Norse symbols now used to indicate adherence to far-right politics, writes an expert in Old Norse mythology.The defining image of the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 was undoubtedly that of ...3 days ago
- What’s at stake for NZ in Australia’s case against China at the World Trade Organisation?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato With the relationship between China and Australia souring in the past six months, New Zealand’s response will need to be nuanced and careful, but also principled. First and foremost, we must ensure the dispute ...3 days ago
- NZ far-right Twitter accounts suspended
As part of its crackdown on far-right and QAnon-related activity, Twitter has suspended the accounts of a number of local far-right activists, Marc Daalder reports Days after removing outgoing United States President Donald Trump from its platform, Twitter's crackdown on far-right and QAnon-related accounts has reached New Zealand's shores. In ...3 days ago - Dietary Requirements: The lockdown sourdough phenomenonSummer reissue: What is sourdough and why did so many people become obsessed with it during lockdown? This month’s Dietary Requirements podcast cracks open the starter to investigate.First published September 11, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members ...3 days ago
- National backtracks on support for Trump's NZ staffer Chris LiddellThe National Party has rescinded its backing for Chris Liddell to take over as secretary-general of the OECD given the recent rioting at the United States Capitol. ...3 days ago
- Local right-wingers caught up in global purge of Twitter accountsSeveral prominent Twitter users on the fringe of right-wing politics in New Zealand have had their accounts suspended amid a wider clampdown by the social media giant. Twitter has suspended the accounts of several prominent members of the right-wing fringe of New Zealand politics, amid a broader crackdown following last ...3 days ago
- Doctors In Training Settle For Improved Working Conditions Over Pay In The Wake Of COVID-19
Doctors in Training negotiate a MECA focusing on improved conditions, reflecting the difficult financial times The Specialty Trainees of New Zealand (STONZ) says its new collective agreement with District Health Boards recognises the exceptional ...3 days ago - We warned Kelvin Davis about the Waikeria uprisingWho could have predicted the stand-off at Waikeria prison? Absolutely anyone, writes Emilie Rākete of People Against Prisons.The Waikeria uprising protesters have come down safely from the rubble of the prison unit they destroyed. The last smouldering embers have been extinguished. As a member of the prison abolitionist group People ...3 days ago
- New Zealand 'pushing the odds toward warmer' – climate scientistThe government needs to take practical action on climate change as the country gears up for warmer years in the future, a climate science professor says. ...3 days ago
- Church leader defends decision to exclude politicians from huiThe Rātana Church will have an opportunity to sort out its long-running problems by deciding not to host politicians this month, its chairman says. ...3 days ago
- Big Business pulls the plug on donations to Republicans who bridled at BridenFollow the money, urged a character in the 1967 film All the President’s Men on the Watergate saga – it’s advice well worth heeding today, a week from the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Several major US companies, including Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Airbnb, Mastercard, Verizon and Dow, the chemical company. ...3 days ago
- What I learned growing up daughter of an ‘extreme’ conservation activistWhen Pete Bethune was bitten by a venomous snake in the Costa Rican jungle a couple of weeks ago, it was far from his first brush with death. Here the Kiwi conservationist’s daughter, Danielle Bethune, reflects on what she’s learnt from her unconventional father. “You haven’t lived until you have ...3 days ago
- Gender Curriculum Rejected, Support For Opt-In Sex Ed – PollA new nationwide poll has found increasing opposition to gender ideology being taught to children in schools, and increasing support for sex education in general to be opt-in, rather than the current status of opt-out. The poll also found support for ...3 days ago
- Artificial intelligence can deepen social inequality. Here are 5 ways to help prevent thisSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tiberio Caetano, Chief Scientist, Gradient Institute, University of Sydney From Google searches and dating sites to detecting credit card fraud, artificial intelligence (AI) keeps finding new ways to creep into our lives. But can we trust the algorithms that drive it? As ...3 days ago
- You could break espionage laws on social media without realising itSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Kendall, PhD Candidate in Law, The University of Queensland Did you know you could be charged with spying if you connect with someone who turns out to be a foreign spy on LinkedIn? Apparently, not enough of us do. Australia’s domestic ...3 days ago
- Net-zero, carbon-neutral, carbon-negative .. confused by all the carbon jargon? Then read thisSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer and DECRA Fellow, University of Newcastle Countries around the world are taking steps to tackle climate change and become net-zero emitters of carbon dioxide (CO₂) by 2050. Most recently, Joe Biden’s presidential election win means the US is ...3 days ago
- In thrall to the sprawl: How Aroha can cure Auckland’s addiction
A protest to save a macrocarpa tree on Avondale’s Ash Street began just before Christmas. Auckland apartment builder Ockham’s Mark Todd argues that while the loss of a lone macrocarpa is not the ideal option, he says it’s far preferable to losing another six hectares to urban sprawl. Every year ...3 days ago - Govt research: NZ importing right-wing extremist content
This country is not immune to the online extremist content that's divided the world, Govt research shows ...3 days ago - No politicians at Rātana in 2021 as celebrations made exclusive to church members
Annual celebrations at Rātana pā will be different this year, amid a decision to hold an internal hui for church adherents only. The Rātana celebrations historically draw in many whānau and members of the community to Rātana Pā near Whanganui - and are also attended by political leaders. The government ...3 days ago - The month the meetings stopped: How summer makes us work smarter
Research shows much of the time we waste in workplace meetings can be better spent on solo tasks and deep thinking. ...3 days ago - Government's latest Covid measures described as both too strong and too weakThe new rules announced yesterday mean nearly all New Zealanders living abroad will soon have to show a negative Covid-19 test before boarding their flight home. ...3 days ago
- Alice Snedden’s Bad News: How come churches don’t have to pay any tax?Summer reissue: In the fourth episode of Alice Snedden’s Bad News, Alice makes some inquiries upstairs about the charitable status of churches after finding out the makers of Weet-Bix have an exemption from paying tax.First published August 20, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The ...3 days ago
- Gone By Luncthime: Mervmania hits the 2020 election campaignSummer reissue: Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020.First published August 11, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support ...3 days ago
- How NZ should respond to new Covid variations
The University of Otago's Philip Hill and Brian Cox look at how findings about new variations in Covid-19 strain transmissibility should influence our approach in New Zealand How should we interpret the reported increased transmissibility of variants of the virus that causes Covid-19? It is important to note that phenomena like ...3 days ago - Vaccine rollout will be 'mammoth undertaking'
Experts on immunisation tell Newsroom distributing and providing the Covid-19 vaccine to the general population will be a 'mammoth undertaking'. Here's what that might look like. ...3 days ago - Simon Bridges: As Trump’s mob storms the Capitol, here’s the book to tells us how we got hereHow did America get to this point? A Time to Build, by leading conservative intellectual Yuval Levin, goes a long way to explaining what has happened there, and in New Zealand, too, writes a former leader of the NZ National Party.Yuval Levin used to be one of the most influential ...3 days ago
- Here for the right reasons: Two Bachelor US fans chew over the new seasonLong-time Bachelor US fans Jane Yee and Tara Ward met for a one-on-one date to discuss the premiere episode of the 25th season, which featured meatballs, vibrators, and a whole lot of feelings. Tara Ward: Jane, everything in my life has led me to this point. I stand before you on ...4 days ago
- No, Twitter is not censoring Donald Trump. Free speech is not guaranteed if it harms othersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Gelber, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, The University of Queensland The recent storming of the US Capitol has led a number of social media platforms to remove President Donald Trump’s account. In the case of Twitter, the ban is permanent. ...4 days ago
- No politicians at Rātana in 2021 as celebrations made exclusive for church adherentsThe decision to make the annual celebrations exclusive is due to internal issues at the pā, according to the MP for Te Tai Hauāuru, Adrian Rurawhe. ...4 days ago
- Asking people to prepare for fire is pointless if they can’t afford to do it. It’s time we subsi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Once again, Australia is on fire. This year it’s the turn of Western Australia and South Australia, where bushfires are threatening homes and lives. In the south of Tasmania, conditions are ...4 days ago
- Vic, QLD and NSW are managing COVID outbreaks in their own ways. But all are world-standardSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University It hasn’t been the start to 2021 many of us wanted. In the past three weeks Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales have dealt with fresh COVID outbreaks, but it’s worth remembering each have faced ...4 days ago
- With COVID-19 mutating and surging, NZ urgently needs to tighten border controlsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Wilson, Professor of Public Health, University of Otago The global COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying, with more infectious variants of the virus, and more rapid spread, especially in countries such as the US and UK. This deterioration has meant a higher number ...4 days ago
- State Of Emergency On The Health Of Our OceansIn mid December, Māori from across Aotearoa gathered on Aotea Great Barrier Island to declare a state of emergency on the health of our oceans. “Mauri o te Moana”, a group focussed on giving voice to this issue, was established from this gathering. ...4 days ago
- Lifewise Strike: Complaints About Care Quality, Methodist Church Members ConcernedLifewise homecare workers continue their action to win a fair collective agreement which protects quality care at the Auckland-based homecare provider, taking strike action from 6am-9pm tomorrow (Wednesday) and picketing outside their employer’s ...4 days ago
- 14 billion litres of untreated wastewater is created each day in developing countries, but we don’...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Thomas, Lecturer in Environmental and Humanitarian Engineering, University of Sydney To limit the spread of disease and reduce environmental pollution, human waste (excreta) needs to be safely contained and effectively treated. Yet 4.2 billion people, more than half of the world’s ...4 days ago
- The right medicine for NZ (we are told) is a matter of Pharmac’s ethnic mix rather than pharmaceut...
Stuff delivered another woke-up call to its readers this morning with a report which presses Pharmac to hire more Maori. There’s nothing in the article to convincingly explain how current staff ratios adversely affect Pharmac’s job of buying medicines or how they actually undermine the nation’s health. The drug-purchasing agency’s ...4 days ago - It’s official: the first 12 days of 2021 show the apocalypse is comingFrom aggressive squirrels to the return of SATC, the start of the year has presented clear evidence that the end is nigh, says Emily Writes.Happy New Year! I think we’re all going to die! The first days of 2021 have shown that those who said “2021 will be better” in ...4 days ago
- 14 billion litres of untreated wastewater is created each day in developing countries, but we don’...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Thomas, Lecturer in Environmental and Humanitarian Engineering, University of Sydney To limit the spread of disease and reduce environmental pollution, human waste (excreta) needs to be safely contained and effectively treated. Yet 4.2 billion people, more than half of the world’s ...4 days ago
- Government expands pre-departure Covid-19 testing rulesThe government will soon expand its pre-departure Covid-19 testing rules to cover most of the world as new strains of the virus run rampant abroad. ...4 days ago
- Pre-departure test rule to be expanded to rest of world
People entering New Zealand from any place other than Australia, Antarctica or a handful of Pacific Island nations will soon be required to get a pre-departure test, Marc Daalder reports The Government says it will expand the requirement for travellers to New Zealand to return a negative Covid-19 test result ...4 days ago - Part teen comedy-drama, part sex ed, The Eggplant is a quintessentially Kiwi watchIt’s an emoji, it’s a vegetable, and now it’s a government-funded comedy-drama that aims to educate young people about digital safety. An enormous eggplant has mysteriously appeared on Hilltop High’s rugby field, only days away from the crucial game of the season. It’s New Zealand’s own mystery of the monolith, ...4 days ago
- CEAC Call On Government Take Climate Change Action Now As Time Is Short‘As this latest study A new study proves all coastal cities will suffer from increased rainfall amounts as Hurricanes/cyclones stay stronger longer after landfall than in past’ and finds that hurricanes are staying stronger longer after striking land ...4 days ago
- Impeaching Trump a second time is a complex and politically risky actANALYSIS: By Markus Wagner, University of Wollongong President Donald Trump is extremely unlikely to capitulate to pressure to resign in the final days of his presidency. And his Cabinet is equally unlikely to force him out by invoking the 25th amendment of the Constitution, despite calls from the Democrats to ...4 days ago
- Tahiti’s covid-19 death tally rises to 122 – 17,000 plus casesBy RNZ Pacific French Polynesia has recorded another covid-19 death, raising the pandemic’s tally to 122. There are 46 people with covid-19 in hospital, 21 of them in intensive care. The first death occurred four months ago at the start of the second wave, which is now reportedly weakening. So ...4 days ago
- Urgent government intervention needed to address housing supply shortage – economistsAs the average house price in New Zealand continues to rise month-on-month, the government is being told it needs to take emergency action to mitigate the severe shortage of property. ...4 days ago
- Unpaid internships: foot in the door or labour exploitation?It’s a common path to employment for young graduates, but being paid in experience doesn’t cover the rent. Sherry Zhang delves into the shady world of unpaid internships.The intern! Eager, earnest, nervous bright young thing. Are we doomed to grab endless cups of coffee, the boss’s lunch and photocopy till ...4 days ago
- Lessons learned, this is the year when brands use tech to positively impact the world
Social media companies are at a crossroads after blocking President Trump’s accounts. Will they now accept they're not mere hosting services? ...4 days ago - When it comes to health, we’re not all in this togetherIt’s time for New Zealand to face up to the hard truths of how our health system is leaving people behind, writes paediatrician Jin Russell.In an almost apocryphal account, my mother often tells the story of how once in the 1970s, after great rains, parts of Christchurch flooded. Their home, ...4 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 12 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Covid, vaccine, and border Matthew Theunissen (RNZ): Government accused of being ‘too relaxed’ over new Covid strains Herald: Judith Collins on urging Govt to accelerate rollout of vaccine Jason Walls (Herald): Government being ...4 days ago
- Impeaching Donald Trump is complex, but here's how it could work
Impeaching Donald Trump in the final days of his presidency is complex and risky, but if the House of Representatives vote to impeach him before January 20, a trial could theoretically happen after that date. This article was first published on The Conversation and is republished with permission. President Donald Trump is extremely unlikely ...4 days ago - 3 reasons to study science communication beyond the WestSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lindy Orthia, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Australian National University Ask a science communicator how old their field is. They might say a few decades, or even centuries, because they’re thinking about the Western science communication tradition associated with a scientist-public gap. ...4 days ago
- Superbugs have an arsenal of defences — but we’ve found a new way around themSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fernando Gordillo-Altamirano, Medical Doctor, PhD Student, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University Researchers have not discovered any new antibiotics in decades. But our new research, published today in Nature Microbiology, has found a way to give a second wind to the antibiotics ...4 days ago
- The cicada’s deafening shriek is the sound of summer, and humans have been drawn to it for thousan...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eliza Middleton, Invertebrate and behavioural ecology laboratory manager, University of Sydney Around Australia, the buzz-saw siren of cicadas heralds the beginning of summer. With 237 recorded species of cicada in Australia, almost no area of the country is untouched by their song. ...4 days ago
- What Clive Palmer must now ask himself: would China’s ‘bastards’ buy a mine from him?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kenneth Yin, Lecturer in law, Edith Cowan University Colourful mining magnate Clive Palmer’s political ambitions appear to be in tatters. But what of his multibillion-dollar legal ambitions? On Sunday he announced his United Australia Party will not contest Western Australia’s state election ...4 days ago
- What’s next after Bridgerton? 5 romance series ripe for TV adaptationSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi McAlister, Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, Deakin University Bridgerton, Netflix’s lush adaptation of Julia Quinn’s historical romance series, has been viewed by 63 million households since its December 25 premiere, and is Netflix’s fifth biggest original series debut. On the ...4 days ago
- Govt accused of being 'too relaxed' over new Covid strains
A former WorkSafe inspector says procedures at airports, ports and MIQ facilities are far too relaxed to prevent one of the new strains of Covid-19 getting into the community. Opposition parties are also accusing the government of drifting into a summer slumber. But officials say they are still at the ...4 days ago - Reserve Bank says it wasn't directly targeted in cyber attack
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand was not the direct target of a cyber attack that breached its data systems, it says. On Sunday, the RBNZ revealed it was responding to a data breach of a third party file sharing system it used to share and store sensitive information. In an ...4 days ago - Government accused of being 'too relaxed' over new Covid strainsA former WorkSafe inspector says procedures at airports, ports and MIQ facilities are far too relaxed to prevent one of the new strains of Covid-19 getting into the community. ...4 days ago
- Alice Snedden’s Bad News: How do we fix the racial bias in our healthcare system?Summer reissue: In the third episode of all new Bad News, Alice recounts her overwhelmingly positive experiences with the health system and wonders: why isn’t it the same for all New Zealanders? First published August 18, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...4 days ago
- A strong recovery depends on investing in talent
To build a more prosperous society we must invest in our top talent, including advanced level tertiary education, Professor Dawn Freshwater writes The context for addressing New Zealand’s long-standing productivity challenge is more complex than ever. Climate change, social inequalities, digital disruptions; the challenges are indeed many and huge. Along ...4 days ago
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