Image credit:How To Write High-Quality Blog Posts For Search Engines and Readers I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low ...
So New Zealand has a general election in October, which means politicians. In the interests of having my worst fears confirmed reporting back on the Dunedin situation, I thought I’d attend a local candidate forum. I’m in Taieri, of course – the old Dunedin South, with rural Clutha added.
Janet Hoek, Lindsay Robertson, Jude Ball, Richard Edwards, Anaru WaaOn August 11 2020, the NZ Parliament passed legislation that extends existing regulation of tobacco and herbal smoking products to vaping products (or electronic nicotine delivery systems [ENDS] and heated tobacco products (HTPs]. The new Act represents an important step ...
Morning all. Last evening Aotearoa New Zealand was excited by the opportunity to watch the two main party leaders square off in a shouting match hosted by Patrick Gower. MyThinks were on the scene recording all the intricacies and minutia as Judith Collins and Jacinda Adern battled each other in ...
Ghost forests grow in North Carolina as sea level rises Lindsey Smart leads a team of researchers to publish findings on carbon loss from forests dying as sea level rise causes transition to salt marsh. From the abstract: Coastal forests sequester and store more carbon than their terrestrial counterparts ...
Last week I was asked by some school students about the nature of gravity. What is it? Isaac Newton, and a whole pile of textbooks following him, treat gravity as an attractive force between two objects. It’s a force that is proportional to the product of the masses of the ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
As the public decide who to vote for, the matter of whether wealthy interests have been able to influence Government decisions has arisen once again. This relates to controversy from late last year about whether junior coalition partner New Zealand First is using their fundraising mechanism to illegally hide the ...
Completed reads for September: On the Mortality (or Plague), by Cyprian of CarthageThe Origin and Deeds of the Goths, by JordanesThe Book of Gomorrah, by Peter DamianThe Poem of the Cid, by AnonymousThe Song of Roland, by TuroldThe Death of Aoife’s Only Son (two versions), by AnonymousThe Pursuit of ...
Idiot Wind by BOB DYLANIt took only ten minutes to grasp the sheer scale of the Democrat's failure. This sad old man, Sleepy Joe Biden, hasn't a hope of defeating Donald Trump. Goddammit! It's a wonder that he still knows how to breathe!Idiot Wind indeed!Video courtesy of YouTube.This posting exclusive to ...
Some commentators, and particularly – not surprisingly – those who wished to remain in the European Union, have been making much of the difficulties the UK has experienced in extricating itself from the embrace (if that is the right word) of the EU. They cite the difficulty the UK has ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzI’m seeing quite a few “climate-friendly” products at the supermarket. ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The enjoyable lull in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity over the past week may come to an end this weekend, when a large low-pressure system that is expected to develop in the western Caribbean has a 50% chance of spawning a ...
Police say the two victims were found lodged “firmly underneath” the bus. Two people are in a serious condition this evening after an incident apparently involving the New Zealand First campaign bus. They are presently unable to be identified.Authorities say two people were found underneath the bus shortly after ...
The SFO has finally reported back on NZ First's dodgy foundation, and charged two people with "obtaining by deception". They're at pains to say that neither of the people charged (who have name suppression, but we can all guess who they are, even if we cannot say publicly) is a ...
For a campaign of positive abstention in the 2017 elections 9/4/17 by Phil Duncan In 2014, most of us at Redline favoured not voting in the New Zealand general election. There was simply no party that represented the interests of workers, much less that attempted to politicise and organise workers to ...
Dunedin has had a succession of mild winters – our last genuinely cold one was in 2015. 2020 was no exception. But that still leaves spring… and having lived through the week-long spring blizzard of 2011, I am not unaware that September snows are a thing. Such was this morning, ...
Crusher Collins - National Party LeaderEverybody should know by now that Judith (Crusher) Collins is a very malicious person. She is perhaps the most vindictive MP ever to disgrace our halls of power.Some of her unprecedented nastiness over the decades has been well documented in the book Dirty Politics: How ...
Quo Vadis, Winston?Where are you going, Winston, Son of the winterless north? We have lost count of the summers Since first you ventured forth. This track on which we find you, Unmarked on any map, Leads travellers to strange places. Do you not fear mishap? Countless roads I’ve travelled, Oh ye ...
Over in Switzerland, the racist "People's Party" tried to have a Brexit-style referendum on ending freedom of movement with the EU, so they could stop the "flood" of foreigners. But the Swiss people said No: Swiss voters have resoundingly rejected an attempt to tear up the country’s agreement with ...
Today, 28 September, is International Right To Know Day (or, as the UN puts it, the "International Day for Universal Access to Information"). The Ombudsman is celebrating with a poll showing that while most people don't know about their freedom of information rights, those that use them mostly get what ...
Back in July, when foreign polluters (and archaeological criminals) Rio Tinto announced they planned to close Tiwai Point, I was dancing on its grave. Why? Because the carbon subsidies alone were more than enough to fund alternative jobs - or even just to pay everyone dependent on it a reasonable ...
In a few weeks, New Zealanders will make a choice whether we implement into law the End of Life Choice Act 2019. My scientific expertise includes developing and validating methods to predict future events of ill people including death. There is one section of the Act that concerns me deeply.Section ...
My wife and I are at an age when we have begun to think (and worry) about the kind of world we will leave behind for our children and, particularly, our grandchildren. We have experienced during our own lives, like others of our generation, our fair share of hard times ...
There are few things written more deeply on the human heart than religion. Differences between us on the purpose and ultimate destiny of human existence have sometimes inspired great intolerance and even wars. But what would we make today of a Catholic who refused to countenance a meaningful relationship ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The Warming Climates of the Arctic and the Tropics Squeeze the Mid-latitudes, Where Most People LiveMelting Arctic ice sends ...
Naomi Forrester-Soto, Keele University Viruses jumping from animals to humans have been the starting point of numerous outbreaks, from Ebola to Zika. Given the similarity of SARS-CoV-2 to coronaviruses found in bats, this probably marked the beginning of COVID-19 too. We know that viruses have passed from animals to humans ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 20, 2020 through Sat, Sep 26, 2020Editor's ChoiceClimate Disruption Is Now Locked In. The Next Moves Will Be Crucial A crack on the Amery Ice Shelf in ...
When Todd Muller resigned as leader of the National Party and allowed for Judith Collins to assume command, you could tell the blue “team” was desperate and in search of past glories. After all, Crusher is towards the end of her political career and from a bygone era where dirty ...
Samantha Vanderslott, University of Oxford If you have been following the media coverage of the new vaccines in development for COVID-19, it will be clear that the stakes are high. Very few vaccine trials in history have attracted so much attention, perhaps since polio in the mid-20th century. A now ...
‘The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update’ (PREFU) tells us something about the future of the Public Sector but it requires careful analysis to assess how it is going. The 2020 PREFU is the most important economic statement during any election campaign. Unfortunately the commentariat tends to treat it briefly ...
Farmers are whining again about being expected to clean up their act: Canterbury farmers want politicians to stop painting them as climate change villains, listen to their needs and allow them more time to boost environmental standards. [...] “The targets are necessary for the environment, but do we ...
Qantas Airlines’ 7-hour “flight to nowhere”, that sold out in 10 minutes with prices from A$787 to A$3787, seemed like a sick joke to climate advocates. Apart from the waste of fuel and the pointless emissions, passengers would be able to see first-hand, from a plane just like those that ...
Cannabis is part of our culture: 80% of adults have tried it sometime. Intuition tells us that legalising cannabis will increase use – science suggests that is not likely. Our Dunedin and Christchurch studies show that cannabis use peaks in our 20s. Older people are less frequent users whether it ...
Yesterday morning I got up (at the rather early and unaccustomed hour of 3.30am) to listen to a webinar by paleoanthropologist Dr Jeremy DeSilva¹. Titled “First Steps”, his presentation was about the origins of bipedalism in the human lineage. It was a fascinating session & I thought I’d turn my ...
Down The Rabbit Hole: "Social psychologists have found that when fearful people contemplate potential misfortunes, they tend to feel helpless and pessimistic, but when angry people contemplate the same, they feel a sense of optimism and control. And one simple way to transmute fear into anger is to perceive an evil ...
Fifty Percent Plus One: New Zealand’s genuine-majority-delivering two-party system endured for five elections only (1938, 1943, 1946, 1949, 1951) a period of just 16 years. Very few New Zealanders alive today can boast of participating in an election which delivered a true majority to either Labour or National. Someone who ...
This is the second in the lecture series by Andy Higginbottom on superexploitation. Here he looks at Marini’s theory of labour super-exploitation and Capital ...
Sorry for the late notice on this one, but I only just heard myself, in common with most of the human race. A small asteroid, somewhere between the size of a truck and the size of a house in dimensions, will hurtle past the Earth tonight, dipping closer to ...
When someone commits trespass, assault with a weapon, and kidnapping, you'd expect them to be prosecuted, right? But apparently the rules are different if you wear a blue uniform: A police investigation has found officers in Northland trespassed on a man's property, then unlawfully pepper sprayed him and arrested ...
Howard Hurst, University of Central Lancashire and Jack Hardwicke, University of Winchester Competitive road cycling is a demanding and unique sport. One where crashing is inevitable – especially at the professional level. While the risk of head injury is relatively low in cycling – approximately 5-13% – compared to contact ...
That's the only way to describe the SIS, who - like their British counterparts - decided to look the other way on child abuse: The SIS knew a young woman was being sexually abused by her father but failed to lodge a complaint with the police, effectively allowing the ...
The National Party’s campaign has gone from bad to worse with a further two large miscalculations being uncovered in their alternative fiscal plan. Firstly, National’s economic spokesperson and list MP, Paul Goldsmith, used May's Budget figures instead of last week's PREFU numbers, and came up with a whopping $4.3 billion ...
The initial session was a struggle. Annalax and Magni tried sorting out the details with the Isaac twins (the people pursuing the mountain trip). Annalax happened to mention his devotion to Lolth… whom the Isaacs, being ...
On March 13, three plainclothes police officers kicked in Breonna Taylor's door under a no-knock warrant targeting another person. When a person inside reasonably assumed they were home invaders and (this being America) started shooting, they shot up the place and everyone around them - killing Taylor. Today, one of ...
Laura O’Connell Rapira | Contributing writer, the spinoff, 21 Sept, 2020. Let’s put tax at the core of this election. Sharing wealth is how we share care and responsibility for this land and all of the people in it, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira It’s election season in the middle of ...
Tom Rippeth, Bangor UniversityArctic sea ice today (white) is covering a much smaller area than in 1980-2010 (orange line). National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CC BY-SA Each September, scientists like me look out for the point when the Arctic’s meagre summer fizzles out and ...
Prof John D. Potter*This blog briefly surveys the emerging scientific evidence on the longer-term burden of symptoms and disease in survivors of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these symptoms point to damage in the brain and heart. These long-term harms add to the wide range of other reasons for ...
Uncrushed: Jacinda Ardern knew exactly what was expected of her in the first Leaders' Debate. Labour’s dominant position, three weeks out from the general election, is constructed out of the admiration and gratitude of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who, more often than not, vote National. Nothing she said ...
George Thomson*, Nick Wilson, Janet Hoek, Andrew Waa, Richard EdwardsIn this time of Covid-19, helping people who smoke to quit their addiction has an even greater importance. Smokers are more vulnerable to many harmful health effects, including severe effects from the virus. Policies that support people who smoke to ...
Bryan Bruce, https://www.facebook.com/www.redsky.tv, 19 September 2020 National’s economic policy of temporary tax cuts yesterday proved, if proof be needed, that they are unapologetic neoliberals. While their claim that with more money in their pockets people will spend more might sound attractive, the reality is that tax cuts always benefit the ...
Highlighted article: Carbon pricing and planetary boundaries Engström et al take what might be called a systems approach to evaluating carbon pricing, taking into a account various economic sectors affected by and affecting paying for emissions. The conclusions are overall a rare pleasant surprise— a feature predicated on cooperation. Abstract: ...
Nathan Mietkiewicz, National Ecological Observatory Network and Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder CC BY-ND Summer and fall are wildfire season across the western U.S. In recent years, wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes, forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and exposed tens of millions to harmful ...
China has increased its climate change ambition, and set a target to be carbon-neutral by 2060: China will reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and ensure its greenhouse gas emissions peak in the next decade, Xi Jinping has told the UN general assembly. “China will scale up its intended nationally ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzHow much climate variability have humans dealt with since we ...
By Genomics Aotearoa researcher Maui Hudson, University of Waikato It is vital that genomics research respects genomic data and genetic heritage from indigenous communities. Genomics research is a rapidly growing field of study, and there is a strong push to make the huge amount of data being produced open ...
What is bad luck? Bad luck is spilling spaghetti sauce down your shirt right before an important meeting. When the person in front of you gets the last seat on the bus, that’s bad luck. Bad luck is when it’s sunny outside, so you leave the house without a coat, ...
Is the private health system impacting negatively on the public health system? Health commentator Ian Powell evaluates a recent NZ Herald article by Natalie Akoorie (“Public v private healthcare: Moonlighting, skimming, duplication – should NZ do better”), and looks at how the dual system works, and concludes that the answer ...
We live in strange and unusual times. It’s been a century since we’ve endured a global pandemic like this, more than half a century since we’ve had economic woes like this. So maybe we got an opening election debate for the times - because that was a strange and unusual ...
Tonight, The Civilian will be live-blogging the first of too many debates between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and National Party leader Judith Collins, and also the last fifteen minutes of the news. Be sure to tune in from 6:45pm for regular updates, which can be accessed by refreshing this page ...
An enormous drive-in party, shown here, was held this morning on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, where police were forced to intervene. Hundreds of Aucklanders were arrested this morning on public health grounds, after an apparent illegal mass gathering on the city’s Harbour Bridge. Police say hundreds of Aucklanders gathered in their ...
Social Distancing Be Damned - It's Jacinda! Shortly after ascending to Labour’s leadership, Jacinda described herself as a “pragmatic idealist”. It was an inspired oxymoron – packing into just two words the essence of the social-democrat’s dilemma. It was good to know that she knew what lay ahead of her. ...
For the past decade, Australia has had a racist, anti-refugee policy. Those claiming refugee status are imprisoned without trial and left to rot in the hope they would "voluntarily" return to be tortured and murdered. When the courts have granted them visas, the government has immediately revoked them on racial ...
Yesterday afternoon I had to call on my car’s anti-lock braking system (ABS). For reasons best known to its driver, a car pulled out of a side road right in front of me while I was driving home after work, and I needed to stop in a hurry. I rather ...
There are a fair few misconceptions about conditions within New Zealand’s Quarantine Hotels. Madeline Grant’s misplaced accusations being one prominent example, though she is not alone. Today, I thought I’d share the inside word, so to speak. A friend of mine has recently returned to New Zealand from overseas, and ...
Last week, major newspapers carried a full-page ad as part of the campaign for a "No" vote to the referendum question about supporting the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill. The ad was authorised by the SAM NZ Coalition, which takes its name from a controversial American anti-cannabis group and includes ...
New Zealand has a serious homelessness problem, due to skyrocketing rents and a lack of state houses. One of the ways we stick a band-aid on it is to put people up in motels. Previously, they were charged full commercial rates, saddled with odious debt due to the government's failure ...
by Ani O’Brien In the absence of a better word with which to refer to the rabid activists who claim progressivism while demanding adherence to an increasingly prescriptive set of political beliefs, I call them “woke”. With its roots in Black American slang, the term originally denoted a person or ...
Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health reported a case of Covid-19 in Auckland that is not related to the current Auckland cluster. Before we start to panic, here’s how I think the case happened and how we can strengthen our current border controls. The new Covid-19 case is someone ...
Becky CasaleElon Musk reckons his Neuralink brain implant is much more than a medical device–that one day it will drive a symbiosis between humans and artificial intelligence. “Good morning! I’m Dr Benedict Egg and I’ll be supervising your Neuralink insertion today. Do you have any questions?” “Yes, Doc. ...
We believe that when New Zealanders need healthcare, they deserve to have it delivered in a safe and healthy environment. Patients and staff shouldn’t have to worry about mould or rot in hospital walls – but that was the reality when Labour came into Government in 2017. We inherited a ...
Labour has a proud history of standing for fairness at work, supporting the development of high-quality, high wage jobs and for improving the quality of life for New Zealand workers. ...
Farmers play a key role in our economy and in our communities, and will be at the forefront of our COVID recovery. Labour has worked in partnership with Kiwi farmers over the past three years and together we’ve tackled Mycoplasma bovis, worked through droughts and flooding, started cleaning up our ...
National tells New Zealanders to trust them with the economy, but recent data shows they’re not the strong economic managers they like to claim. Labour has a strong track record of keeping debt under control. We’ve worked hard over the past three years to pay down the debt we inherited ...
This election, Labour and National have set out very different proposals for growing our economy and supporting New Zealanders through our COVID recovery. But when it comes to real results, the experts are clear – only our plan will keep New Zealand moving. ...
As our economic rebuild gets underway, New Zealand needs a strong, responsible government to lead our recovery. National bills itself as the Party with economic credibility, but that’s not what the numbers show or what voters believe. In the past five months, three polls have consistently shown that more New ...
From mental health support in every primary and intermediate school to more publicly-funded medicines, Labour’s plan for health will ensure New Zealanders can get quality care. ...
Green Party spokesperson on Electoral Issues Golriz Ghahraman said: “We’re glad to see the SFO has laid charges before the election, so voters have more clarity on what is going on before they cast a vote. ...
The Green Party has today outlined a major transport plan for Auckland including new investments in light rail, busways, an expansion of regional rail services, and quick improvements to buses. ...
The Green Party has today outlined a major transport plan for Wellington including investments in light rail, an expansion of regional passenger rail, and fast-tracking improvements to buses. ...
The Green Party has today outlined a major transport plan for Christchurch including new investments in commuter rail, a high frequency bus service to the airport, and cycleways. ...
The Green Party will transform how New Zealanders get around to address the climate crisis, with a comprehensive climate-focused transport package. ...
Claims of illegal fishing and live finning of great whites in New Zealand waters show once again that cameras on fishing boats are long overdue, and must be urgently rolled out. ...
The Green Party is calling for a review into the gender split of training programmes offered by government to help New Zealanders retrain following COVID-19 job losses. ...
As part of our plan to build back better, we’re taking action on waste and improving recycling to protect our environment, create jobs and future proof our economy. ...
As part of our plan to build back better, we’re taking action on waste and improving recycling to protect our environment, create jobs and future proof our economy. ...
Today marks three weeks until the election, and the campaign is ramping up. This week, we’ve continued to focus on our economic recovery, announcing our plan to reduce costs for farmers and growers. We also set out our commitment to continuing our partnership with Māori as we rebuild together. ...
Together, Māori and Labour have walked a new path in our first term of Government. Based on the articles of the Treaty and the promise of equality, this path has been one of partnership and collaboration. Our Māori Manifesto builds on the work we’ve undertaken with Māori during our first ...
New Zealand’s farmers and growers play a key role in our economy and in our communities. Labour has set out a clear vision to transition to a carbon-neutral economy and today we committed to supporting our farmers and growers to achieve this goal. ...
Tonight was the first Leaders’ Debate, broadcast live on TVNZ 1. It was the first time New Zealanders have seen Jacinda Ardern side-by-side Opposition Leader Judith Collins this campaign. ...
Everyone deserves a warm, dry place to live. As part of our plan for housing, Labour’s making sure more New Zealanders have a healthy place to live, while tackling long-term issues like homelessness and housing affordability. Here’s how we’re helping Kiwis into homes. ...
Last updated 30 July 2020. The whole world is battling with COVID-19, and no country is immune. In New Zealand, our focus is getting the latest resurgence under control and making sure we put in place immediate financial supports to cushion the economic blow.As before, the best economic response is ...
Led by Jacinda Ardern, our strong, stable government has delivered results and put people first every step of the way. In health, housing, education and more, we've got a strong track record of delivering for New Zealanders. Now, we’re continuing to put people first with our decisive response to COVID-19. ...
Labour has a strong track record of making progress on the big issues facing our country. Now, as we recover and rebuild from COVID-19, we’re rolling out our plan to grow our economy, support businesses and communities, and keep New Zealand moving. If you’re still undecided ahead of this year’s ...
Creating jobs is a key part of our plan to grow the economy, support communities and seize the opportunities created by our world-leading COVID response. We’ve already started rolling out initiatives that are creating thousands of jobs right around the country, and we’ll keep up this momentum as we continue ...
New Zealand is not immune to the global economic impacts of COVID-19, but our strong health response means we’re now in a better position than many other countries. We’re taking advantage of this headstart by rolling out our plan to protect jobs, create new ones and grow our economy – ...
Child poverty is a complex issue that won’t be fixed overnight, but so far under Labour’s leadership seven out of nine child poverty indicators have already started to improve. Under National’s nine years of neglect, seven out of nine indicators got worse. ...
We went hard and early in our health response to COVID-19 – and it worked. After a short period of lockdown, we were able to safely ease restrictions and open up our economy much quicker than many other countries. We had a plan in place to combat a resurgence, which ...
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, robust border controls are essential to protect New Zealanders and keep our economy moving. Labour will continue to carefully manage our borders to keep New Zealanders safe, while ensuring businesses can access the skilled workers they need for our recovery. ...
One of the key ways we’re keeping New Zealand moving through our COVID-19 response is by investing in shovel-ready infrastructure projects. No country is immune to the economic impact of COVID-19, but with targeted infrastructure projects throughout New Zealand, we are creating new jobs and ensuring our communities have the ...
It’s now less than one month until election day. If you still haven’t decided who you’re voting for, check out our handy guide below to help you make up your mind! ...
During our time in Government, the Labour team has worked hard to improve the wellbeing of New Zealanders while making progress on the long-term challenges facing our country. There’s still more to do, but our track record shows that our team is leading New Zealand in the right direction. Read ...
Still weighing up who to vote for in this year’s election? Here are five key differences between National and Labour to help you make your decision. ...
The Green Party is calling for Waka Kotahi the NZ Transport Agency to convert a lane over the Auckland Harbour Bridge to bus-only and make buses free to use across the bridge until all lanes are back in operation. ...
The Green Party has released its Thriving Oceans Plan, which would dramatically increase marine protected areas and ban bottom trawling on seamounts. ...
It was another busy week out on the campaign trail, with Labour focused on jobs, training, and supporting Kiwi workers. As we continue to roll out our five-point plan for recovery, we’re investing in our people, businesses, communities and vital services, so we can keep our economy moving as we ...
Our regions are a vital part of our economic recovery plan. They’re home to innovative and creative businesses, and the backbone of our export economy - which is why Labour will continue to support our regions to grow as together, we rebuild better. ...
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today show healthy growth in residential building consents in an environment of Government support for the sector during COVID-19, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. Statistics New Zealand reported today that a record 10,063 townhouses, flats, and units were consented in the August 2020 ...
Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) support for a pathways to work hub in Tauranga will help address high youth unemployment in the Bay of Plenty by connecting young people with training and meaningful employment opportunities, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced. “Priority One Western Bay of Plenty ...
A new acute inpatient mental health facility at Rotorua Hospital will provide more patient-centred and culturally appropriate care to better support recovery, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Improving mental health and addiction services remains one of the biggest long-term challenges facing New Zealand,” says Chris Hipkins. “Lakes DHB’s existing Whare ...
Round two of the Community Languages Fund (CLF) will provide even more support for Pacific grassroots community and family language projects with the introduction of a second funding tier of $10,000, in addition to the $2,500 tier, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. During the first round of the ...
The Government is committing nearly $9 million to ensure educators in early learning services and schools get the wellbeing support they need. Education Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement, which includes providing frontline counselling and advice services for educators, during his address at the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) annual ...
Pasifika churches around the country will receive a total of nearly $10 million in government funding for renovations and improvements which will improve facilities for the communities they serve and create jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio have announced. The funding will ...
New data from Stats NZ today shows a rise of more than 9,000 filled jobs from July – driven mostly by the education and training sector, Grant Robertson says. Filled jobs were up 9,147 to 2.2 million in August 2020 compared with July – with 7,409 of those in education ...
Māori development projects across the country will receive a total of $18.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund that will create infrastructure and permanent jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “These projects will support economic development in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti, Manawatū-Whanganui, Waikato and Southland to ...
From today, owner-occupiers of unit and apartments living in earthquake-prone buildings can apply for financial support to fix their homes, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. The Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme will help unit owners facing financial hardship over earthquake strengthening costs. “We understand how complicated ...
Whanganui will benefit from a Provincial Growth Fund investment in a local food-processing company which will help the company increase production and create jobs, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. Kii Tahi Ltd, which is owned by South Taranaki iwi Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, will receive a Provincial Growth Fund ...
Seddon House in Hokitika, once a hub for government on the West Coast, has been earmarked for government use once again. “Today we’re announcing a $22 million investment from the Government’s $3 billion infrastructure fund for shovel ready projects for the purchase and restoration of Seddon House in the heart of ...
Town halls, war memorials and other community landmarks across the country will be renovated thanks to grants totalling just under $12.4 million from the Provincial Growth Fund. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says more than 1000 jobs are expected to be created during the renovation programme. “Town halls, other ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced two new diplomatic appointments: • Michael Appleton as New Zealand’s first resident High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. • Tredene Dobson as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Viet Nam. Sri Lanka “New Zealand is opening a post in Colombo in 2021 because we are ready ...
The Minister of Conservation Minister, Eugenie Sage, today presented Aotearoa New Zealand’s most prestigious conservation award, the Loder Cup, to the 2020 winner Graeme Atkins while in Gisborne/Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. “Graeme Atkins of Ngāti Porou is a Department of Conservation ranger whose contribution to conservation goes well above and beyond his employment,” ...
The Government is investing in a new, whānau-centred early intervention prototype designed to strengthen families and improve the safety and wellbeing of children. The new programme, Ngā Tini Whetū, is a collaboration between Oranga Tamariki, Te Puni Kōkiri, ACC and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) and was announced today ...
Parliament is leading by example by taking action to cut its carbon footprint by installing solar and improving energy efficiency, the Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw said today. The Minister confirmed that Parliamentary Services will receive support through the Clean-Powered Public Service Fund to install solar PV and LED ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio says the 2020 Tuvalu Language Week theme of “Fakatili Te Kiloga Fou” which means “Navigating the changing environment” is a call on all Pacific peoples to be strong and resilient in the face of COVID-19. “This theme is a reminder to us ...
The Government is welcoming today’s announcement that the West Indies and Pakistan cricket teams will tour New Zealand this summer. “A lot of hard work has been undertaken by sports officials including New Zealand Cricket, Netball New Zealand and government officials to ensure that international sport can return safely to ...
Northland’s indigenous tree canopy is set to grow for the benefit of mana whenua and the wider community thanks to nearly $2 million in One Billion Trees funding, Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced today. Te Komanga Marae Trust has received more than $1.54 million to restore and enhance the native ...
The Government has delivered a new hospital for Greymouth and is starting work on a much needed new health centre in Westport, ensuring local communities will benefit from better access to high quality integrated health services. Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare officially open Te ...
A West Coast distillery will benefit from a Provincial Growth Fund investment that will enable it to expand its operations and create jobs in the town of Reefton, Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Reefton Distilling Co will receive a $928,000 ...
Primary sector exports and jobs are up again, demonstrating the sector’s underlying strength amid the COVID-19 global pandemic and US-China trade war, and supporting New Zealand’s economic recovery. Stats NZ today reported New Zealand’s merchandise exports in August were up 8.6% on a year ago, driven by an increase in ...
Schools across Aotearoa New Zealand will be supported by the Government to upgrade to run on clean energy, the Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. The Minister has allocated $50 million from the Clean Powered Public Service Fund to replace, or convert, coal boilers in schools with clean ...
New training and tools for digital commerce will give small businesses, especially in the tourism sector, the support they need to adapt and innovate in a COVID world. Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash have announced details of how $20 million digital capability funding set aside ...
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is investing $1.4 million to develop new predator lures that would be game-changers for trapping and surveillance towards a predator-free Aotearoa, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage, announced in Christchurch today. The proposal is to develop long-life lures attractive to a range of predators—rats, mustelids ...
Supporting new and creative Pacific education practices as part of our COVID-19 response and recovery is the focus of a new $28.5 million Pacific Education Innovation Fund announced today by Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa. “There is already an incredible amount of innovative and creative work going on in ...
The expanded scheme will cover: People who have COVID-19 like symptoms and meet the Ministry of Health’s criteria, and need to self-isolate while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test. People who are directed to self-isolate by a Medical Officer of Health or their delegate or on advice of their ...
The Government is putting in place a range of immigration policy changes to help fill labour shortages in key industries while ensuring New Zealanders, who have lost jobs due to COVID-19, have the chance to find new employment. “Two key sectors we are moving to help are horticulture and wine ...
The Government has established class exceptions for border entry for a limited number of veterinarians, deep sea fishing crew, as well as agricultural and horticultural machinery operators. “Tight border restrictions remain the backbone of the Government’s border strategy to protect New Zealand against COVID-19 and ensure New Zealand citizens and ...
The Crown will not appeal the Court of Appeal decision in the Dodds v Southern Response case, Grant Robertson announced today. “Southern Response will be paying the damages awarded by the Court to Mr and Mrs Dodds shortly. The Crown was already meeting their legal costs for this appeal. “The ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing nearly $30 million in a diverse range of projects that will create immediate and long-term jobs and lift economic and social outcomes for Northland and its people. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcement today in ...
The Coalition Government has committed to invest $27 million in COVID-19 vaccine development through the global COVAX Facility, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today. “The COVAX Facility is a key part of our COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy to obtain safe and effective vaccines. It allows us to invest in a high-quality, ...
The Government will provide up to $1.69 million through the One Billion Trees programme to Māori landowners to make their whenua more productive through the planting of forests, both native and exotic, and improve economic and environmental outcomes, Forestry Minister Shane Jones has announced. “Around 1.5 million ha of land ...
People planning to head outdoors now have a resource that lets them know how accessible an area is for people with varying levels of mobility, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The Halberg Foundation, Sensibel, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) have launched Accessibel, a new tool which helps ...
One of the most significant battle sites of the 1860s Land Wars will receive $2.96 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to improve the site and help tell the New Zealand story to visitors, Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. Nanaia Mahuta ...
The journey towards recognising Māori as an official language and taonga has been captured as a web series and launched today during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “Te reo Māori is a living language, and understanding its significance, and pathways to ...
Today’s better-than-forecast GDP figures show the expected impact of the decision to act quickly to protect New Zealanders from the global COVID-19 pandemic. GDP fell 12.2% in the June quarter from March, reflecting decisions to close New Zealand’s borders and enter Alert Level 4. “This result was better than the ...
The Government is investing $39.7 Million over four years to support the educational needs of Pacific learners and families in the regions hardest hit by COVID-19, with Auckland getting an immediate boost, Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa says. “Like all New Zealanders Pacific families want learners to do well ...
New Zealand’s goal of 100,000 kiwi by 2030 is being helped by an extra $19.7 million in funding to accelerate iwi and community efforts to protect kiwi, Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced. “$19.7 million of Jobs for Nature funding is being invested in kiwi conservation activities including increased predator ...
Ensuring New Zealanders can get the best deal on their electricity takes a step in the right direction today with the South Island launch of the EnergyMate pilot run by the Electricity Retailers’ Association, says Minister of Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods. EnergyMate is an industry-led programme providing coaching ...
What happens when you put a bunch of farming students in a deeply National electorate in a room with their local candidates? Alex Braae went to the Lincoln University election debate to see the political equivalent of an abattoir. Despite the protestations of most of the candidates, there’s only going to ...
Those with severe disabilities around the country are waiting five or more years for access to an assistance dog that would give them independence and provide crucial daily aid. Assistance Dogs NZ Trust (ADNZT) is calling on the New Zealand public ...
Voters will head to the polls on Saturday when nearly 450 advance voting places open their doors for this year’s election and referendums. Chief Electoral Officer Alicia Wright says the popularity of advance voting has been rising steadily – ...
Spend up large, your country needs you. That’s the message from a survey of small businesses, but it runs counter to most Kiwis’ conservative instinct to avoid ostentatious consumerism, writes Jonathan Milne. ...
A plan for opening our border safely to international students, business travellers and essential skilled workers should be the incoming government’s highest priority, according to ExportNZ’s Election Manifesto released today. "ExportNZ holds ...
As this year's election campaign got underway the Prime Minister described it as the "Covid19" election. Her subliminal hope was obviously that voters would take the opportunity to reward the government – and the Labour Party in particular ...
In this week's campaign column, Ryan Bridge outlines an improbable path to power for Judith Collins This was the Mixed Martial Arts debate of the campaign that made the last one feel like a game of tiddlywinks. Round after round of drama and laughs and substance, too. Judith Collins emerged ...
An international report says the world has failed to meet any of its 2020 biodiversity targets for birds. The Aichi targets were set in 2010 at a meeting of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan. The BirdLife International report ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Associate Professor of Politics, Monash University We have long been accustomed in Australia to the Commonwealth’s pre-eminence over the states and prime ministers dwarfing premiers. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has given us a practical reminder of the extensive day-to-day powers ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vasso Apostolopoulos, Professor of Immunology and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research Partnerships, Victoria University Vaccines are traditionally administered with a needle, but this isn’t the only way. For example, certain vaccines can be delivered orally, as a drop on the tongue, or via a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew G. Allen, Professor of Development Studies, The University of the South Pacific This week, 156 people from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, an island in Papua New Guinea, petitioned the Australian government to investigate Rio Tinto over a copper mine that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland The economic crises that have punctuated the 21st century, most notably the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 crisis, have led to a growing realisation that alternatives to our present system are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul S.C.Taçon, Chair in Rock Art Research and Director of the Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit (PERAHU), Griffith University Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, has a remarkable range and number of rock art sites, rivalling that of Europe, southern Africa ...
On International Day of the Older Person, New Zealand aged care workers are adding their voices to the global call to create a “shield against COVID-19” with better conditions for workers and residents in aged care homes around the world. E tū members ...
National's finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith is speaking to RNZ Nine to Noon's Kathryn Ryan about his party's economic plan should it be elected. Follow live updates here. ...
After surviving breast cancer, Sarah Gandy has made it her mission to make sure New Zealand women know the signs of the disease so they can too.Sarah Gandy is so delightful you can’t help but smile when you speak to her. She speaks in a flurry and giggles often. It ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 1, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m ...
'My husband is Samoan,' Judith Collins repeated in the debates. But support from the big Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands and other Pacific communities could help Labour over the line, despite challenges from other parties, writes Jonathan Milne. When Winston Peters stepped aboard his imposing black-and-white campaign bus outside Westfield Manukau ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sommer Kapitan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Auckland University of Technology If social media engagement rates determined which parties form the next government, New Zealand’s parliament would soon look a lot different. With its daily social media interactions commanding an average 7.7% engagement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert McLachlan, Professor in Applied Mathematics, Massey University New Zealanders are polarised on climate change policy, according to a recent Stuff/Massey University survey of 55,000 readers. This puts the two major political parties in a difficult position as they seek options that ...
In the reality TV show The Bachelor a group of women compete to "win" the bachelor - a single guy looking for his one true love. Throughout the series, the contestants get to continue if they are awarded a rose. The art is to get enough roses an ...
Te Hiku Media are proud to be hosting the second ‘BATTLE FOR THE NORTH’ political debate for the three northern electoral seats of Aotearoa - Whangārei, Te Tai Tokerau and Northland - this Saturday 3rd October at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri. Our pre-production ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Poll puts spotlight on tight East Coast race, Ardern and Collins go toe to toe in very different debate, and solo mother speaks out over denied benefit.The East Coast is going to be a fascinating electorate to watch on the ...
Power Play - The second leaders' debate felt more like a "pub quiz" at times for Jacinda Ardern, but she stood her ground against Judith Collins making for a more lively affair, writes RNZ political editor Jane Patterson. ...
Powerplay - The second leaders' debate felt more like a "pub quiz" at times for Jacinda Ardern, but she stood her ground against Judith Collins making for a more lively affair, writes RNZ political editor Jane Patterson. ...
There is much talk about whether the Republicans should try to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of the late Justice Ginsburg. And much of it misses the point. Leave aside the diversions about not filling vacancies during an election campaign or leaving it to the next ...
It was a better performance by Jacinda Ardern in the second leaders' debate, writes Mark Jennings, but she doesn't seem as comfortable as Judith Collins in the debate setting. It's unanimous. This was an enjoyable debate, a better debate, and finally, a debate that produced some answers. To be fair, it ...
Suggestions by the two J’s on the Leader’s Debate that they both favour a four year parliamentary term are simply a self serving attempt to further entrench the two party dominance of New Zealand’s political scene. This is a classic example ...
You asked us to make the climate emergency, housing, health, and justice reform key election issues. Today, we share the fourth of the top five election questions, chosen by you - our readers - for the political leaders vying for your votes. It has long been a cliche that politicians must be ...
It's been a week of big spending online for political parties with over $200,000 flowing to Facebook and Google in an attempt to woo voters The two big parties spent just shy of $70,000 each on advertisements running on Facebook and Google this week as the race for ballot box ...
After a passive first showing, the Prime Minister brought a bit of fire to the second leaders' debate - but Judith Collins again showed she will scrap to the bitter end, Sam Sachdeva writes Well, at least we’re not them. The second leaders’ debate of New Zealand’s election may not ...
Redmer Yska on the long, strange story of Bill Sutch, the Wellington civil servant busted for spyingA plaque appeared during lockdown under a grove of pohutukawas by the corner of Holloway Road and Aro Street in Wellington. It marks the spot where civil servant Bill Sutch was arrested on ...
Olympic paddler Kayla Imrie has struggled for a decade with the debilitating condition menorrhagia and now wants to help other young women to talk about their periods. Kayla Imrie remembers the embarrassment she felt returning to the jetty after an international race in a kayak awash with blood. It would be the ...
New Zealand’s main party leaders are women and yet women can’t really get onto the agenda this election. The parties are offering little to help the half of the population most likely to suffer the worst of what Covid-19 is throwing at us, Justin Giovannetti reports.The burdens of Covid-19 will ...
Thousands of new houses are set to be built in South Auckland over the next 10 years, but the gentrifying impact of this influx of new residents is raising concerns in the existing communities.As Liz Filimoemaka crossed the bridge between her predominantly state housing community and a newly established development ...
Wellington is trying to prepare for its projected population growth, but potential housing developments are being held up by the fierce protection the city holds over its heritage buildings. Wellington is trying to prepare for a projected population explosion, in a city desperately short of housing. Partly it’s because ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal government is selecting six priority areas for support in a $1.5 billion manufacturing plan Scott Morrison will outline in a pre-budget address. They are resources technology and critical minerals processing, food and beverage, ...
Analysis - The second leaders' debate sparked up the election campaign, with Jacinda Ardern finally fessing up to using cannabis - albeit, a long time ago, Leith Huffadine writes. ...
The second leaders' debate saw Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins clash on the tough issues, and share laughs over lighter topics, in a fiery and engaging face-off. Laura Walters reports Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins clashed over Covid-19, housing, health, tax and gangs in a fiery leaders' debate, which proved ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra On Tuesday, the 2020 budget will be brought down. It will show a huge deficit for this financial year and massive government spending, aimed at promoting economic recovery and reducing unemployment. In the wake of ...
Toby Manhire watched the second leaders’ debate among a crowd of undecided voters at Q Theatre.Maybe the afternoon meal of pulled teeth and gravel soup in the presidential debate emphasised it but, shit, that was a good debate.Whether it was a motivational speech or a few Red Bulls, Jacinda Ardern ...
Who came out on top in the second leaders’ debate? Here are our debate watchers’ verdicts. Duncan Greive: Collins finds her voiceThe second debate was superior in every way. The staging and lighting more dramatic, the question lines more urgent, the leaders more determined to clearly demark the territory between them. ...
ACT Leader David Seymour has welcomed a commitment by both Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins to have an investigation into the way PHARMAC funds medicine. “Earlier today ACT committed to independent review of PHARMAC’s operating model to allow ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcus Banks, Social policy and consumer finance researcher, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University In 1988, then federal education minister, John Dawkins, drew upon the politics of class privilege to justify rolling out HECS student loans. A university user-pays system ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Arrow, Professor of History, Macquarie University “Show business”, Helen Reddy once said, “was the only business that allowed you to earn the same salary as a man and to keep your name”. The singer and actress best known for her trailblazing ...
It is a national disgrace that 6,000 Kiwis are being accommodated in motels, and a further 7,000 were in transitional housing, camping grounds, boarding houses, and other temporary accommodation. Another 31,000 are staying with others in a severely ...
Activists and researchers are warning toxic stress, food insecurity and isolation are set to rise for many families in poverty almost immediately, as their weekly incomes reduce by $63 from tomorrow [Thurs 1 Oct]. "The Winter Energy Payment ...
Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins are teeing off in the Newshub leaders debate this evening, two days after a poll put Labour on 47 percent support and National on 33 percent. We're bringing you live updates as it happens. ...
Advance NZ co-leaders Jami-Lee Ross and Billy Te Kahika have challenged MediaWorks' decision not to include their party in its multi-party debate in the High Court. ...
As a comedy genre dad jokes are having their moment. In this election campaign who is best using the funny groaners to their advantage? José Barbosa investigates.Everyone’s hitting the hustings desperate to connect to the common person in the electorates. The superweapon in this respect is the dad joke because ...
Winston Peters cannot claim complete exoneration for his party while the identity of the two people facing Serious Fraud Office charges remain secret, Jane Patterson writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna O’Shea, Lecturer, Ethical Hacking and Defense, Edith Cowan University The source code of the Windows XP operating system is now circulating online as a huge 43GB mega-dump. Although the software is nearly two decades old, it’s still used by people, businesses ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy J. Lynch, Associate Professor in American Politics, University of Melbourne After nearly an hour of bickering — at times shouting — between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor moderating the first US ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leigh Boucher, Senior Lecturer – Modern History, Macquarie University Review: Wonnangatta by Angus Cerini, directed by Jessica Arthur, Sydney Theatre Company Theatre is back in Sydney after the COVID–induced hiatus decimated the cultural life of the city. Wonnangatta begins with socially distanced ...
It was all awful, but these were the most awful bits.Well, that was…. Something. All those who made it through the first Donald Trump/Joe Biden debate are now bonded by the horror of the experience, one which veteran journalists are variously calling “a disgrace”, “a train wreck” and “the worst ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marcus Banks, Social policy and consumer finance researcher, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University In 1988, then federal education minister, John Dawkins, drew upon the politics of class privilege to justify rolling out HECS student loans. A university user-pays system ...
The United States is fracturing under the weight of racial hatred and the coronavirus pandemic, writes Marc Daalder When a democracy falls apart, you might not notice until after it's happened. It takes time and concerted effort to erode democratic conventions and legal norms. Each individual barrier that falls seems ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin University COVID-19 has affected our relationship with technology in many ways, from the pleasures of mass online choirs to the perils of the endless Zoom meetings rendering us “zoombies”. Connectivity is so hard-wired in our lives, ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. As the public decide who to vote for, the matter of whether wealthy interests have been able to influence Government decisions has arisen once again. This relates to controversy from late last year about whether junior coalition ...
They’ve been on the album charts for two years, they’ve had a number one single, and now they’re one of our biggest live draws too. So what comes next for L.A.B?Even in a year marked by disruption, L.A.B’s 2020 has been more eventful than most. Forced to postpone local shows ...
The country’s two main parties are trading shots after a poll was leaked showing Labour ahead in the East Coast. National’s deputy leader called it a push poll only for Labour to release the details of a poll without any sign of push.Labour is hitting back at allegations from the ...
Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu is celebrating the opening of a new Wave commissioning round, and is calling for applicants from Te Waipounamu, Rekohu/Wharekauri and Rakiura. Applications are open now and will close on Wednesday 28 October. Pouārahi Helen ...
Image credit: How To Write High-Quality Blog Posts For Search Engines and Readers I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low ...10 mins ago
So New Zealand has a general election in October, which means politicians. In the interests of having my worst fears confirmed reporting back on the Dunedin situation, I thought I’d attend a local candidate forum. I’m in Taieri, of course – the old Dunedin South, with rural Clutha added.31 mins ago
Janet Hoek, Lindsay Robertson, Jude Ball, Richard Edwards, Anaru Waa On August 11 2020, the NZ Parliament passed legislation that extends existing regulation of tobacco and herbal smoking products to vaping products (or electronic nicotine delivery systems [ENDS] and heated tobacco products (HTPs]. The new Act represents an important step ...2 hours ago
Morning all. Last evening Aotearoa New Zealand was excited by the opportunity to watch the two main party leaders square off in a shouting match hosted by Patrick Gower. MyThinks were on the scene recording all the intricacies and minutia as Judith Collins and Jacinda Adern battled each other in ...4 hours ago
Ghost forests grow in North Carolina as sea level rises Lindsey Smart leads a team of researchers to publish findings on carbon loss from forests dying as sea level rise causes transition to salt marsh. From the abstract: Coastal forests sequester and store more carbon than their terrestrial counterparts ...16 hours ago
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...19 hours ago
As the public decide who to vote for, the matter of whether wealthy interests have been able to influence Government decisions has arisen once again. This relates to controversy from late last year about whether junior coalition partner New Zealand First is using their fundraising mechanism to illegally hide the ...20 hours ago
Completed reads for September: On the Mortality (or Plague), by Cyprian of CarthageThe Origin and Deeds of the Goths, by JordanesThe Book of Gomorrah, by Peter DamianThe Poem of the Cid, by AnonymousThe Song of Roland, by TuroldThe Death of Aoife’s Only Son (two versions), by AnonymousThe Pursuit of ...20 hours ago
Idiot Wind by BOB DYLANIt took only ten minutes to grasp the sheer scale of the Democrat's failure. This sad old man, Sleepy Joe Biden, hasn't a hope of defeating Donald Trump. Goddammit! It's a wonder that he still knows how to breathe!Idiot Wind indeed!Video courtesy of YouTube.This posting exclusive to ...21 hours ago
Some commentators, and particularly – not surprisingly – those who wished to remain in the European Union, have been making much of the difficulties the UK has experienced in extricating itself from the embrace (if that is the right word) of the EU. They cite the difficulty the UK has ...23 hours ago
Police say the two victims were found lodged “firmly underneath” the bus. Two people are in a serious condition this evening after an incident apparently involving the New Zealand First campaign bus. They are presently unable to be identified. Authorities say two people were found underneath the bus shortly after ...2 days ago
For a campaign of positive abstention in the 2017 elections 9/4/17 by Phil Duncan In 2014, most of us at Redline favoured not voting in the New Zealand general election. There was simply no party that represented the interests of workers, much less that attempted to politicise and organise workers to ...2 days ago
Dunedin has had a succession of mild winters – our last genuinely cold one was in 2015. 2020 was no exception. But that still leaves spring… and having lived through the week-long spring blizzard of 2011, I am not unaware that September snows are a thing. Such was this morning, ...2 days ago
Crusher Collins - National Party LeaderEverybody should know by now that Judith (Crusher) Collins is a very malicious person. She is perhaps the most vindictive MP ever to disgrace our halls of power.Some of her unprecedented nastiness over the decades has been well documented in the book Dirty Politics: How ...2 days ago
‘The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update’ (PREFU) tells us something about the future of the Public Sector but it requires careful analysis to assess how it is going. The 2020 PREFU is the most important economic statement during any election campaign. Unfortunately the commentariat tends to treat it briefly ...6 days ago
Cannabis is part of our culture: 80% of adults have tried it sometime. Intuition tells us that legalising cannabis will increase use – science suggests that is not likely. Our Dunedin and Christchurch studies show that cannabis use peaks in our 20s. Older people are less frequent users whether it ...6 days ago
This is the second in the lecture series by Andy Higginbottom on superexploitation. Here he looks at Marini’s theory of labour super-exploitation and Capital ...6 days ago
The initial session was a struggle. Annalax and Magni tried sorting out the details with the Isaac twins (the people pursuing the mountain trip). Annalax happened to mention his devotion to Lolth… whom the Isaacs, being ... 7 days ago
Laura O’Connell Rapira | Contributing writer, the spinoff, 21 Sept, 2020. Let’s put tax at the core of this election. Sharing wealth is how we share care and responsibility for this land and all of the people in it, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira It’s election season in the middle of ...7 days ago
We live in strange and unusual times. It’s been a century since we’ve endured a global pandemic like this, more than half a century since we’ve had economic woes like this. So maybe we got an opening election debate for the times - because that was a strange and unusual ...1 week ago
There are a fair few misconceptions about conditions within New Zealand’s Quarantine Hotels. Madeline Grant’s misplaced accusations being one prominent example, though she is not alone. Today, I thought I’d share the inside word, so to speak. A friend of mine has recently returned to New Zealand from overseas, and ...1 week ago
We believe that when New Zealanders need healthcare, they deserve to have it delivered in a safe and healthy environment. Patients and staff shouldn’t have to worry about mould or rot in hospital walls – but that was the reality when Labour came into Government in 2017. We inherited a ...16 hours ago
Green Party spokesperson on Electoral Issues Golriz Ghahraman said: “We’re glad to see the SFO has laid charges before the election, so voters have more clarity on what is going on before they cast a vote. ...2 days ago
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today show healthy growth in residential building consents in an environment of Government support for the sector during COVID-19, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. Statistics New Zealand reported today that a record 10,063 townhouses, flats, and units were consented in the August 2020 ...17 hours ago
What happens when you put a bunch of farming students in a deeply National electorate in a room with their local candidates? Alex Braae went to the Lincoln University election debate to see the political equivalent of an abattoir. Despite the protestations of most of the candidates, there’s only going to ...13 mins ago
Those with severe disabilities around the country are waiting five or more years for access to an assistance dog that would give them independence and provide crucial daily aid. Assistance Dogs NZ Trust (ADNZT) is calling on the New Zealand public ...20 mins ago
Spend up large, your country needs you. That’s the message from a survey of small businesses, but it runs counter to most Kiwis’ conservative instinct to avoid ostentatious consumerism, writes Jonathan Milne. ...1 hour ago
National's finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith spoke to RNZ Nine to Noon's Kathryn Ryan about his party's economic plan should it be elected. ...1 hour ago
In this week's campaign column, Ryan Bridge outlines an improbable path to power for Judith Collins This was the Mixed Martial Arts debate of the campaign that made the last one feel like a game of tiddlywinks. Round after round of drama and laughs and substance, too. Judith Collins emerged ...1 hour ago
Editor’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 Newshub Leaders debate Spinoff: Leaders’ debate #2, election 2020: The verdicts Toby Manhire (Spinoff): How Ardern, Collins and Gower rinsed away the Trump bile Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern steps ...2 hours ago
'My husband is Samoan,' Judith Collins repeated in the debates. But support from the big Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands and other Pacific communities could help Labour over the line, despite challenges from other parties, writes Jonathan Milne. When Winston Peters stepped aboard his imposing black-and-white campaign bus outside Westfield Manukau ...3 hours ago
There is much talk about whether the Republicans should try to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of the late Justice Ginsburg. And much of it misses the point. Leave aside the diversions about not filling vacancies during an election campaign or leaving it to the next ...5 hours ago
Business confidence is improving, but still remains negative. ...5 hours ago
It was a better performance by Jacinda Ardern in the second leaders' debate, writes Mark Jennings, but she doesn't seem as comfortable as Judith Collins in the debate setting. It's unanimous. This was an enjoyable debate, a better debate, and finally, a debate that produced some answers. To be fair, it ...6 hours ago
You asked us to make the climate emergency, housing, health, and justice reform key election issues. Today, we share the fourth of the top five election questions, chosen by you - our readers - for the political leaders vying for your votes. It has long been a cliche that politicians must be ...6 hours ago
Inland Revenue is eyeing up a tax take that could potentially be worth millions. ...6 hours ago
From 'hangi hole' roads to rotting houses Northland's infrastructure is crumbling while its population grows ...6 hours ago
It's been a week of big spending online for political parties with over $200,000 flowing to Facebook and Google in an attempt to woo voters The two big parties spent just shy of $70,000 each on advertisements running on Facebook and Google this week as the race for ballot box ...6 hours ago
After a passive first showing, the Prime Minister brought a bit of fire to the second leaders' debate - but Judith Collins again showed she will scrap to the bitter end, Sam Sachdeva writes Well, at least we’re not them. The second leaders’ debate of New Zealand’s election may not ...6 hours ago
Redmer Yska on the long, strange story of Bill Sutch, the Wellington civil servant busted for spying A plaque appeared during lockdown under a grove of pohutukawas by the corner of Holloway Road and Aro Street in Wellington. It marks the spot where civil servant Bill Sutch was arrested on ...6 hours ago
Olympic paddler Kayla Imrie has struggled for a decade with the debilitating condition menorrhagia and now wants to help other young women to talk about their periods. Kayla Imrie remembers the embarrassment she felt returning to the jetty after an international race in a kayak awash with blood. It would be the ...6 hours ago
Wellington is trying to prepare for its projected population growth, but potential housing developments are being held up by the fierce protection the city holds over its heritage buildings. Wellington is trying to prepare for a projected population explosion, in a city desperately short of housing. Partly it’s because ...6 hours ago
The second leaders' debate saw Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins clash on the tough issues, and share laughs over lighter topics, in a fiery and engaging face-off. Laura Walters reports Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins clashed over Covid-19, housing, health, tax and gangs in a fiery leaders' debate, which proved ...12 hours ago
The ACT leader's skills are likely to be tested in quite a different way than to date. ...18 hours ago
The United States is fracturing under the weight of racial hatred and the coronavirus pandemic, writes Marc Daalder When a democracy falls apart, you might not notice until after it's happened. It takes time and concerted effort to erode democratic conventions and legal norms. Each individual barrier that falls seems ...18 hours ago
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