Posts Tagged ‘nick kelly’
The political centre has moved, someone should tell the strategists.
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, July 2nd, 2024 - 13 comments
30 years ago, we had Dot Matrix printers, Windows 95 and brick cell phones. Today we live in a world of AI, Tik Tok and 5G. While technology changes have been embraced, including in political campaigns, strategies and methods to connect with voters seem stuck in the MS-DOSS era.
Do the EU elections matter in Britain?
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, June 16th, 2024 - 15 comments
Last weekend the EU elections saw a significant increase in support for the populist/alt-right in European elections.
I deliberately avoid using the term far-right. It would be too simplistic and inaccurate to paint a picture of Europe re-living the 1930s and entering fascism. It is not.
UK General Election – the mood on the doorstep
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, June 10th, 2024 - 12 comments
The UK still has the First Past the Post Electoral system. Something New Zealand should have absolutely no nostalgia for. This means that, while the campaign is UK-wide, a lot of campaign activity is directed into constituencies that are deemed marginal. In marginal constituencies, a General Election brings a conveyor belt of the good and the great supporting their prospective parliamentary candidate. In “safe seats” voters get much less attention.
British politics – hurry up and wait for a general election
Written By: - Date published: 4:58 am, May 21st, 2024 - 16 comments
While I do not pick elections, I think it is safe to make this point. If Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party are holding on for a dramatic change in polling numbers, they are unlikely to see this happen. On current polling, even a 7% swing in their favour would not be enough to stop them from losing the election. Labour should not be complacent, but it is increasingly obvious that the voter coalition that helped the Conservatives win in 2019 has collapsed.
Underrepresented London
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 2nd, 2024 - 2 comments
According to Zoopla, the average monthly rent in London as of April 2024 is £2,121. Council tax, internet, water and energy bills are usually on top of this and have increased significantly in the last two years. The average monthly income after tax is £2,902.50. This means most renters spend well over 2/3 of their income on rent and utility bills, with other costs like train fares and groceries many are left with very little disposable income each month.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office
Written By: - Date published: 6:54 am, February 5th, 2024 - 12 comments
Originally published on Nick Kelly’s blog Many question the value of the performing arts and drama. At the start of 2024, the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office did what journalists, politicians and broader civil society have failed to do over the last 25 years. It raised public awareness of the injustice faced […]
Being a political satirist is difficult these days
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, November 16th, 2023 - 2 comments
One has to really feel for those trying to write political satire these days. How can a satirist be more ridiculous than many of our political leaders they wish to lampoon? Case in point, yesterday’s “resignation letter” from sacked former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
NZ Election result
Written By: - Date published: 6:03 am, October 17th, 2023 - 45 comments
In parliamentary politics, there are no final victories. After losing the 2023 election, Labour must now immediately focus on winning in 2026.
Managing Expectations – the NZ Housing crisis and Labour’s response.
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, October 6th, 2023 - 42 comments
Watching the 2023 election campaign in New Zealand, one of Labour’s challenges appears to be that it has failed to manage voters’ expectations over the last six years. Recalling the election campaign in 2017, Jacinda Ardern gave people hope that politics could be different. However government is about handling problems – like building at scale and pandemics.
Jeremy Corbyn was not fit to be Prime Minister. But is Starmer?
Written By: - Date published: 1:09 am, September 4th, 2023 - 20 comments
It is said that there is a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Posting a link to my blog post which said that Jeremy Corbyn was not fit to be Prime Minister, to the ‘Labour London Left’ WhatsApp group. I will leave it to the reader to decide which one that was.
Decoding the Doorstep: Insights from Canvassing Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Written By: - Date published: 3:22 am, July 10th, 2023 - 13 comments
Support for the Conservative and Unionist Party is collapsing, but this is turning to cynicism and rage rather than enthusiastic support for a Labour Government next year. There is a possibility that in 18 months’ time, UK Labour are in Government, but have lost the London Mayoralty.
The Future of the Monarchy
Written By: - Date published: 12:46 am, May 5th, 2023 - 111 comments
Support for the monarchy is largely based on sentimentality. Democracies are not enhanced by feudal relics performing old-fashioned ceremonies and living in castles. These quaint traditions and displays are all rather nice, and for the most part fairly benign and harmless in themselves. But to pretend that they are in any way relevant to the modern world is absurd.
Gender recognition: woke-ism or human rights?
Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, March 20th, 2023 - 259 comments
This debate is about every teenager, anywhere in the world, questioning their gender and sexual identity. This is about the person who after years of suffering, at some point in their lives decides they wish to identify as having a gender identity different to that of their birth.
Natural disasters test new leaders in New Zealand – some did better than others.
Written By: - Date published: 4:48 am, February 19th, 2023 - 1 comment
After the Auckland flood, Wayne Brown’s election will now be viewed as a cautionary tale. What can happen when someone who is inexperienced and unsuited to political office is elected to important political leadership roles. The blowback of this on the New Zealand right should not be understated, it is bad news for them.
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and Scottish Independence.
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, February 16th, 2023 - 56 comments
While Sturgeon’s strong leadership and vision have helped build support for Scottish Independence, the Conservative and Unionist Party’s arrogance and self-serving incompetence in government have greatly aided her in this.
UK Labour – can they finally beat the Tories?
Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 30th, 2023 - 18 comments
The left in the UK needs to accept they alone do not have majority support and need to work with what they term the “soft left” and more centrist factions to win. The current Labour leadership need to ensure that the left still has a stake in Labour winning, and give enough to motivate the left to vote and campaign for Labour. Look at the lessons learnt by the US Democrats.
Jacinda Ardern – How will her five years in power be remembered?
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, January 24th, 2023 - 52 comments
It is too soon to say what Jacinda’s legacy will be. She will certainly be remembered for becoming a mother whilst being a world leader. For her presence on the world stage as a voice for feminism and progressive politics. She ushered in a generational and attitudinal change in New Zealand politics. While internationally she offered an alternative to the politics of Trump, Bolsonaro, Scott Morrison, and Viktor Orban.
Nick Kelly’s email to Jacinda Ardern
Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, January 20th, 2023 - 6 comments
In particular, I wish to acknowledge the strong compassionate leadership you took after the Christchurch Mosque attack. Your simple statement “they are us” regarding Muslims living in Aotearoa had a profound impact and broke down barriers of hate and ignorance at a time when tensions were so high. I still tear up thinking about how important your showing humanity and compassion was at that dark time. Thank you.
Boris Johnson – why he fell and can he come back?
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, January 15th, 2023 - 1 comment
It is risky to make predictions, but it is safe to assume we have not heard the last of Boris Johnson. And much like Berlusconi in Italy, the results will undoubtedly be bad both for politics and the country.
The Occupy Movement and the response to the 2008 financial crisis
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 am, January 14th, 2023 - 4 comments
As the world currently goes through a post-pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine fuelled economic crisis, it is interesting to reflect on the economic crisis of over a decade ago and how the public responded at that time.
The end of the post war boom
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, January 11th, 2023 - 87 comments
Throughout my time being active in politics, people have discussed the rise of Neo-Liberalism and the free market that occurred throughout much of the world from the late 1970s onwards. Yet few seem to really understand the reasons for this significant shift in economic policy at that time, which continues to shape our society today.
The 2022 midterms and what happens next in US politics
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 am, January 10th, 2023 - 3 comments
Overall, the 2022 midterms were the best for any sitting Democrat President since 1978. Whilst losing control of the House is disappointing, the Republican majority is slim. Should hardliners try to block the Biden agenda as they did with Obama, they risk moderate Republicans breaking ranks. Further, hardline Republicans overplaying their hand in Congress may scare moderate voters away from the party and at the same time motivate the Democrat base to win back the House in 2024. Add to that the prospect of Trump returning in 2024, it could be about to get very messy in the Republican Party.
Democracy is on the Ballot – watershed US midterms this week.
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 am, November 7th, 2022 - 3 comments
At a campaign event last week President Biden said that in these mid-term elections “democracy is on the ballot”. This is absolutely true, and the outcome will be decided by those who show up to vote.
The politics of high inflation – can governments do anything?
Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, May 19th, 2022 - 13 comments
It is clear that we will continue to face these economic challenges with tools that are ill-equipped to face the problems. Only a truly international response can create an economy that delivers for all.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine – an act of aggression
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 pm, May 3rd, 2022 - 140 comments
The invasion that began just over two months ago will have a profound impact on global politics for many years. The conflict is unlikely to end quickly and will take a toll on everyone involved.
How is Boris Johnson still in Number 10?
Written By: - Date published: 2:18 am, February 21st, 2022 - 10 comments
Boris Johnson, should not on balance still be Prime Minister and in the long term, the Conservatives risk being severely punished for not removing him. But despite everything, he remains in post and still, we cannot write him off.
The US withdraws from Afghanistan and the inevitable happened
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 pm, November 29th, 2021 - Comments Off on The US withdraws from Afghanistan and the inevitable happened
The withdrawal in August of US and allied troops from Afghanistan saw the return of the Taliban in control of that country. This sadly was always going to be the outcome once the US and its allies withdrew.
British identity and The Second World War
Written By: - Date published: 2:53 am, November 27th, 2021 - 1 comment
With regards to Johnson’s own leadership to date, his government’s apparent support of herd immunity as the response to COVID-19 in early 2020 had much more in common with Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policy in the 1930s than the Battle of Britain.
What the recent elections tell us about British society
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 pm, May 17th, 2021 - 35 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog In a nation that has suffered over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, one may be somewhat taken aback to see the latest YouGov Poll where The Conservative Party enjoy a 15% lead over the Labour Opposition. 17 months after the Conservatives won the 2019 General Election, it would be easy to […]
The European Super League – a proposal that has united Britain
Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, April 20th, 2021 - 28 comments
There are few issues where UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Labour Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn see eye to eye, yet this proposal has achieved just that. Rarer still to have the Second Heir to the Throne comment on such matters saying it would be “damaging.”
UK COVID-19 death toll hits 100,000 and The PM offers an insincere apology.
Written By: - Date published: 6:11 am, January 29th, 2021 - 21 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog In late March 2020, the medical director of the NHS Stephen Powis said that keeping the UK COVID-19 death toll to under 20,000 would be a good result. Ten months later, almost to the day, the UK’s official death toll from COVID-19 hit 100,000, a few days after an […]
- NZ Herald’s Cancel Culture Targets Winston Peters’ Heckler
The right-wing establishment and their media lapdogs are at it again, this time sinking their claws into a private citizen who dared to heckle Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at a Wellington Railway Station press conference. The NZ Herald, in a particularly vile move, has taken it upon themselves to ...41 minutes ago - Learn from Finland: Australia doesn’t assess its risks, isn’t ready for them
‘Australia was ill-prepared for war in 1941. In 2025, we’re making the same grave mistake’. That’s the headline of an article by Geoffrey Blainey in The Australian on Anzac Day. ‘Australia is not prepared for a ...2 hours ago - Just a Girl
Oh, I'm just a girl, living in captivityYour rule of thumb makes me worrisomeOh, I'm just a girl, what's my destiny?What I've succumbed to is making me numbOh, I'm just a girl, my apologiesWhat I've become is so burdensomeOh, I'm just a girl, lucky meTwiddle-dum, there's no comparisonWriter(s): Gwen Stefani, ...2 hours ago - Trump brings AI, not democracy, to the Middle East
US foreign policy no longer pursues strategic influence through ideological alignment but through advanced technological primacy and infrastructural reach. When US President Donald Trump returned to the Middle East earlier this month, he did not ...6 hours ago
- Bernard Hickey, Peter Bale, Lara Greaves, Craig Renney & Terry Baucher ‘Hoon’ around...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about Budget 2025 with:Vic Uni political scientist Lara Greaves;CTU Economist ; and,Tax commentator Terry Baucher.The Hoon’s podcast version above was recorded on Thursday night during a live webinar for over ...8 hours ago - Danger Is Literally Their Middle Name
Hi,This week was another week of the “students identifying as cats and shitting kitty litter trays” story being spouted as fact by idiots with platforms.It’s frustrating to see. As I wrote way back in 2022:“If you’re even slightly savvy you’ll know the cat article is an implicit attack of trans ...10 hours ago - Gordon Campbell On Budget 2025
Underwhelming, as promised. All week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis had actively reduced public expectations by saying that her second Budget would not be filled “with rainbows and unicorns” although – somewhere over the rainbow – it would somehow deliver the twin unicorns of “hope for the future” and “genuine growth.” ...16 hours ago - Operatunity Knocks
All the things that you needed from meAll the things that you wanted for meAll the things that I should've given but I didn'tOh, darling, make it go awayJust make it go away nowSongwriter: Kate Bush Read more ...19 hours ago - Budget 2025: Nicola Willis Delivers More Austerity
The National-led government’s 2025 Budget, unveiled today by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, dressed up as a “Growth Budget” is gambling with our future and delivering nothing but austerity for the vast majority of New Zealanders.Willis promised a disciplined, growth-oriented plan, but the numbers tell a grim story of cuts, broken ...19 hours ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #21 2025
Open access notables Shifting Gears in a Shifting Climate: Birds Adjust Migration Speed in Response to Spring Vegetation Green-Up, Amaral et al., Diversity and Distributions Our results have direct implications for the conservation of migratory bird diversity in Eastern North America. While birds show some plasticity in adjusting migration pace, this ...20 hours ago - Taiwan, a leader in public health, should be in the WHO
Taiwan urges the World Health Organization and all relevant parties to recognise Taiwan’s considerable contributions to global health. We view health as a fundamental human right and universal value. Improved health results in greater well-being ...20 hours ago
- Trump’s theatre of the absurd.
I know that it is undiplomatic to say so, but I sure wish that some foreign leader would interrupt one of Trump’s Oval Office public humiliation stunts to tell him to his face in front of the media that he is an adolescent bullying imbecile who seems to think that ...21 hours ago - Reverse Robin Hood Budget steals from working people
Budget 2025 takes $12.8bn from low-income, female dominated workforces to prop up the Government’s failed economic policies, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The Government has promised this would be a growth budget, yet it has effectively cut the wages of low-income women workers. We know that one ...21 hours ago - A few short thoughts about the budget
Thought oneTurns out Andrea Vance was understating it.You're substantially and unfairly and unreasonably handicapping the pay equity process, everyone told Nicola Willis,Wrong, she said.This is likely to deprive women who do some of the hardest shittiest unappreciated work of decent pay, they told her.Wrong, wrong wrong, she said.You don't care; ...21 hours ago - ‘Deterrence’—an agreeable word that obscures strategic debate
Deterrence has become the centrepiece of Australian strategic thinking, but its value has become more political than strategic. The focus on deterrence has advantages in terms of messaging, but this has tended to muddy Australia’s ...22 hours ago
- Budget 2025
Get more from Bernard Hickey in the Substack appAvailable for iOS and AndroidGet the app Read more ...22 hours ago - The (deeply underwhelming) Budget
22 hours ago - Drawn
A ballot for three member's bills was held this morning, and the following bills were drawn: Local Government (Port Companies Accountability) Amendment Bill (Lemauga Lydia Sosene) Financial Markets (International Money Transfers) Amendment Bill (Arena Williams) Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges (Modernisation) Amendment Bill (Tim van de ...22 hours ago - Budget 2025 highlights and invite to live chat session at 3.30 pm
Just briefly in Budget 2025 around the areas of housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy:The Government said Budget 2025 was about ‘Going for Growth,’ but the Budget forecast slower growth, higher Government borrowing, less housing spending, lower KiwiSaver contributions and a net fiscal contraction of three percentage points ...22 hours ago - $13 billion
That's how much Nicola Willis thinks she stole from New Zealand women by repealing pay equity: A tax incentive for businesses, boosts to health and education spending, and Crown funding for new gas fields are among new Budget initiatives made viable by nearly $13 billion in cuts to the ...23 hours ago
- National grovels to Trump
Its budget day, and the government has been whining about how it has no money and so can't afford anything. Meanwhile, they've just given away half a billion dollars a year to foreign fascist techbros: New Zealand financial statements filed by tech firms including Google, Facebook and Amazon show ...24 hours ago
- Pay Equity – what did New Zealand women lose under the cover of darkness and without any prior war...
The law on pay equity was changed without any prior warning during the election campaign, without any select committee process. It has shocked New Zealand women and gutted fundamental rights Come and hear from pay equity experts including women whose claims have been cancelled and what the plan is from ...1 day ago - Budget 2025: delivering for whom?
On 22 May, the coalition government will release its budget for 2025, which it says will focus on "boosting economic growth, improving social outcomes, controlling government spending, and investing in long-term infrastructure.” But who, really, is this budget designed to serve? What values and visions for Aotearoa New Zealand lie ...1 day ago
- Is David Seymour Encouraging NZ Civil War?
OPINIONIt’s supposed to be the first day of my time off, but how can I resist when Mihingarangi Forbes has dropped one of the most compelling, and impactful pieces of investigative journalism I’ve seen.There are extraordinary revelations in her latest MATA episode and it packs a punch in under 40 ...1 day ago
- Food banks pray for Budget help before July 1
Food banks have pleaded for renewed funding in Budget 2025 so they can keep providing food parcels for up to 600,000 New Zealanders living in food poverty beyond July 1. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThe six key news items from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...1 day ago - New frontiers of Southeast Asian space diplomacy
Southeast Asian countries were formerly peripheral to debates on space governance. They had nascent space programs and modest capabilities, and their policy interests focused largely on civilian applications. But this is changing. Growing reliance on ...1 day ago
- NewstalkZB’s Ryan Bridge Is A Hack
Ryan Bridge’s latest Newstalk ZB piece, “It’s three strikes for Chippy,” is an exercise in sloppy punditry, slinging mud at Labour leader Chris Hipkins with flimsy claims and zero evidence. His so-called “three strikes” propaganda, claiming that Hipkins’ ambiguity on the Green Party’s alternative budget, not locking in a 50% ...1 day ago
- Realising Darwin’s potential as a marine industry hub
If Australia is serious about defending its interests and shaping its region, building out Darwin’s marine industry must be at the forefront of our national agenda. Darwin is where Australia’s northern frontier meets the Indo-Pacific’s ...1 day ago
- The Politician, The Heckler, and Tonkin + Taylor
..The gentleman who heckled Winston Peters at Wellington Railway Station on 20 May, has been ‘outed' by the media as an employee of engineering firm Tonkin + Taylor. It is unclear why media felt it was necessary to dox this man, but in this world of Anything Goes, personal privacy ...2 days ago - To Play the Queen of Hearts: Published
My first published fictional work of 2025: To Play the Queen of Hearts. https://horrificscribblings.com/toplaythequeenofhearts/ A French Revolutionary Horror-Fantasy with a fairly loathsome narrator. Originally inspired by Morrissey’s Margaret on the Guillotine, and as noted elsewhere, a piece with a frustrating publishing history. For other horror authors featured by Horrific Scribes, ...2 days ago - Dialogi de miraculis Sancti Benedicti, by Pope Victor III (circa 1080) – A Complete English Transl...
Last month, I completed a long-running translation project, rendering (with AI assistance) Giovanni Pico’s work on astrology into English for the first time: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/disputationes-adversus-astrologiam-divinatricem-by-giovanni-pico-della-mirandola-1496-a-complete-english-translation/ I decided to do a follow-up. A less ambitious follow-up – something far shorter and less complicated – but nevertheless a text that for the past ...2 days ago - Climate Adam: Why Has Global Warming Just Spiked?
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate scientists weren't expecting 2023. The planet's temperature is increasing thanks to that whole burning fossil fuels thing. ...2 days ago
- It’s not just software. Physical critical equipment can’t be trusted, either
Just auditing the software in critical equipment isn’t enough. We must assume that adversaries, especially China, will also exploit the hardware if they can. The latest report on the dangers from China-made solar inverters is ...2 days ago
- Fighting The Left, Fighting The Right
2 days ago - Winston Peters: The Architect Of Political Decay
Winston Peters, New Zealand’s 80-year-old Deputy Prime Minister, has once again proven himself unfit for office and a complete hypocrite by dragging political discourse into the gutter while preaching decorum. Last week, Peters lamented declining standards in the House, only to hurl a homophobic slur at Chris Hipkins, calling him ...2 days ago
- Member’s Day
Today is a Member's Day. Unusually, its not starting with bills; instead there will be two debates, the first on ACT MP Joseph Mooney's disallowance motion for the tikanga provisions in the Professional Examinations in Law Regulations 2008, and the second to authorise a select committee inquiry into online harm. ...2 days ago
- Australia should establish a unit dedicated to financial warfare capabilities
In an age of great-power competition, the next major conflict may be waged not in the skies over the Indo-Pacific or in the South China Sea, but through sanctions regimes, targeted financial disruptions and coercive ...2 days ago
- Parliamentary privilege is a threat to all of us
People are rightly outraged about psycho fascist Parmjeet Parmar "inquiring" about using the privileges committee to arbitrarily imprison her political opponents. As Chris Hipkins said yesterday, that is the sort of thing which happens in tinpot dictatorships, undemocratic and wrong, and a permanent stain on our Parliament. But its worse ...2 days ago
- Imprisoning Māori For Doing The Haka?
The ACT Party floating the idea of imprisoning Te Pāti Māori MPs for performing a haka in Parliament isn’t just a shameful overreach; it’s a chilling glimpse into a fascist mindset that seeks to silence indigenous voices through state power. According to RNZ, ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar asked the Privileges ...2 days ago
- Overloaded EDs send patients back to after-hours clinics
‘Lucky’ patients who have made it to a trolley in a corridor. Now many others are being redirected to private urgent care clinics due to ED overloading. Photo: Getty ImagesThe six key news items from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, May 21 are: Emergency departments ...2 days ago - Australia must rethink cybercrime to tackle it effectively
Let’s face it: Australia is seen as a soft target for cybercriminals. Its fragmented cybercrime response makes both individuals and institutions more vulnerable. Australia’s cybercrime framework must be informed by diverse perspectives, and it must ...2 days ago
- Yellow Mellow
Yellow mellow, yellow mellowHello, hello, yellow mellowYellow mellow, yellow mellowOh, marmaladeSongwriters: Baden Jack Donegal / Nicholas Paul Blom / Mitchell Kenneth Galbraith / Lachlan George Galbraith / Thomas Patrick O'Brien / Angus Owen Goodwin.What a mad day in politics. In yesterday’s newsletter, I expressed hope that politicians from the left ...2 days ago - China’s geopolitical dominance game in the South China Sea
For all the talk about the South China Sea’s complexity as a security issue, its geopolitical significance to China is simple: China wants to condition Southeast Asian states to subordinate status. Southeast Asian countries would ...3 days ago
- Chris Hipkins’ Passionate Speech During Te Pati Māori Penalty Debate
Immediately after Hipkins’ speech, National House Leader Chris Bishop rose to defer the debate, without giving the opposition notice.This means no other opposition members were allowed to speak, despite the government scheduling the debate for today.A shortened clip of 3 minutes for those short on time:Tin-Pot DemocracyI was right in ...3 days ago
- 65
Today my heart attack turns 38 and I turn 65. It's now way older than I was when it grabbed me in a hotel bar at ten in the morning on my 27th birthday and squeezed.So many things I think of as just the other day turn out to be ...3 days ago - Indonesia has good reasons to reject Russian aircraft basing
Indonesia has plenty of reason to reject basing of Russian aircraft at its air force base on Biak, an island north of New Guinea at 1,400 km from Darwin. From Russia’s point of view, keeping ...3 days ago
- A desperate delay
So, that was a bit of a damp squib. Everyone having geared up for an epic filibuster battle which would upset the government's legislative program for at least the day, National has now abused its parliamentary majority to adjourn the debate on its outrageous and anti-democratic punishment of Te Pāti ...3 days ago
- Reported back
The Justice Committee has reported back on the Crimes (Countering Foreign Interference) Amendment Bill. The bill as introduced was a tyrannical law which threatened to outlaw protest and ordinary democratic activity in Aotearoa on the basis of government conspiracy theories and fantasies about its motivations. The good news is that ...3 days ago
- Hard to believe really
Take a scenario, just as a thought experiment for now. A new government gets elected, amid a lot of rhetoric about excessive increases in government spending and public service numbers. They pretty quickly move to require government departments – typically funded by Parliament through annual appropriations – to cut their ...3 days ago
- Submission on Industry Skills Boards’ Coverage
This submission to the TEC outlines the NZCTU’s concerns about the ongoing reforms to vocational education and training, and our views on the coverage and membership of the new Industry Skills Boards.NZCTU submission – ISBs, 20 May 2025Download The post Submission on Industry Skills Boards’ Coverage appeared ...3 days ago
- Pay Equity Explainers
It took less than two days for the Government to announce their changes to the Equal Pay Act, and then make those changes. Because things happened this fast, a huge amount of information about pay equity has sprung up in a really short time-frame—which can be pretty confusing for anyone ...3 days ago- Tuesday 21 May
Unions are pointing out that changes to the pay equity system have made it “virtually impossible” for new claims to succeed. The government will spend more than $600 million to upgrade the country’s rail network as part of this year’s Budget. Cabinet has signed off on introducing the Regulatory Standards ...3 days ago- OECD Debt Comparisons For NZ Are Wrong
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand recently patted itself on the back, claiming our government debt-to-GDP ratio of around 44.3% in 2024 was "low" compared to OECD peers like the US (113%) or Japan (242%). Sounds comforting, right? Wrong! This smug comparison glosses over a critical reality: New Zealand’s geographic ...3 days ago- Which side are you on, Labour?
Today will see an unprecedented moment in Parliament. A racist government whose leader opposes the "Maorification" of New Zealand is using its parliamentary majority to suspend opposition MPs from the House for being Māori, silencing them and the people they represent for up to 21 days. It is outrageous and ...3 days ago- Federalism could torpedo AUKUS
AUKUS is under pressure, not from adversaries abroad but from state governments at home. While Canberra drives the security pact forward, Australian states are the ones that that hold the constitutional levers over the land ...3 days ago- Luxon’s Anti-Māori Mask Slips Again
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has once again stocked the fire a racial disharmony, this time with a damning comment that reeks of anti-Māori sentiment. In a recent Newstalk ZB interview with Mike Hosking, Luxon responded to a question about the “Māorification of this country” by saying, “Well where ...3 days ago- How do you stop a pitchfork?
Last night, I put up a video where Luxon said he would not back down on the 21 day penalty for Te Pāti Māori MPs.Then came the pitchforks:“Boot them out. No compromise.”“Why debate....boot them....rules are rules!!!!”There were outwardly racist comments too.It’s hard to explain to an angry mob that there ...3 days ago- Monday 19 May
The PSA says mediation has failed to resolve its conflict with the government over working from home, with the case now heading to the ERA. Food prices have risen at their fastest pace in more than a year driven by more expensive dairy products, hinting that inflation pressures are gathering ...3 days ago- May AMA (+ Webworm Updates)
Hi,One of my favourite things on Webworm is doing these semi-regular AMAs — which I’ve been doing for four years now!In some ways they are daunting — I want to respond to questions with some thought and nuance, but also it can be fun just going with more unguarded-train-of-consciousness responses ...3 days ago- The Coalition’s Disinformation Undermining Our Democracy
The New Zealand government, National, ACT, and NZ First, has been very busy recently earning its moniker: the Coalition of Chaos. This unholy trinity seems hell-bent on trying to rewrite reality, peddling lies that erode public trust in politics, and flouting the rules of decorum in an orchestrated attack on ...3 days ago- The Green Budget: Cutting Through Right-Wing Spin
You might not have heard that the Green Party’s 2025 Alternative Budget is a bold blueprint for a fairer, greener Aotearoa. That's because right-wing spin merchants are twisting its intent and manipulating the narrative with predictable ferocity. From National’s Nicola Willis labeling it “clown show economics” to NZ Herald’s Thomas ...3 days ago- Reuniting ASIO and the AFP under Home Affairs is the right move to address intensifying threats
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to return policy responsibility for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police to the Department of Home Affairs is more than a machinery-of-government change; it’s a long-term ...3 days ago- Volcanic cooling
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The climate has warmed by around 1.4C over the past 170 years as a result of human emissions of CO2 and other GHGs that have accumulated in the atmosphere. However, GHGs are not the only thing that has an impact on the climate system. Major ...3 days ago- Why Did 1 News Downplay Two By Twos Pedophilia?
3 days ago- ‘Weaponise rates to drive housing intensification’
Should Auckland Council set higher higher rates to densify housing around the stations on the City Rail Link, where low-rise warehouses and housing currently predominate? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThe six key news items from Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, May 20 are: Apartment ...3 days ago- Nasty
Catch catch the horror taxiI fell in love with a video nastyCatch catch the horror trainFreeze frame gonna drive you insaneWriters: Raymond Burns, Christopher John Millar, David Vanian, Roman Paul Jug, Bryn Merrick.Speak English.Yesterday, the Prime Minister of our country appeared on the Mike Hosking show to beat the anti-woke ...3 days ago- Nasty
Catch catch the horror taxiI fell in love with a video nastyCatch catch the horror trainFreeze frame gonna drive you insaneWriters: Raymond Burns, Christopher John Millar, David Vanian, Roman Paul Jug, Bryn Merrick.Speak English.Yesterday, the Prime Minister of our country appeared on the Mike Hosking show to beat the anti-woke ...3 days ago- Gordon Campbell On NZ’s Silence Over Gaza, And Creeping Health Privatisation
Since last Thursday, intensified Israeli air strikes on Gaza have killed over 500 Palestinians, and a prolonged Israeli aid blockade has led to widespread starvation among the territory’s two million residents. Belatedly, Israel is letting in a token amount of food aid that UN under-secretary Tom Fletcher has called a ...4 days ago- The Pacific needs to upgrade regional intelligence cooperation
Strengthening regional partnerships can help Pacific intelligence capabilities overcome rising challenges. The Pacific should establish a centralised intelligence hub alongside or through the expansion of the existing Pacific Fusion Centre to deliver greater intelligence capabilities ...4 days ago- There goes the neighbourhood, there goes my loafer
So, a funny thing happened last Friday. I had just dropped a couple of tabs and I was lining up side four of Tales from Topographic Oceans when out of nowhere I had this incredible vision.It got me so damn excited I wrote the whole thing down and put it ...4 days ago- From customer to catalyst: anchoring Australia’s northern marine industry through government procu...
To turn northern Australia’s marine potential into performance, the Australian government must stop acting as a passive regulator and start acting as an active customer. Procurement is power, and in thin, undercapitalised markets such as ...4 days ago- Chipping away at National’s gang-patch ban
National's racist gang-patch was clearly intended to humiliate gangs and allow them to be punished for being seen in public, and police have taken on that mission with enthusiasm, attacking funerals and kicking in doors to seize banned clothing (meanwhile, they've also abandoned domestic violence and mental health callouts, in ...4 days ago- The Coalition of Chaos: Democracy Be Damned
The New Zealand coalition government, a Frankenstein’s monster of National, ACT, and NZ First, has once again shown its utter contempt for our democracy. This time it's the Ministry for Regulation, who didn’t even bother to read thousands of submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill, a piece of legislation so ...4 days ago- Assault From All Sides
The majority of the 23,000 submissions for the Regulatory Standards Bill consultation weren’t even read.According to Marc Daalder1 David Seymour said ‘there just weren’t that many’ worthwhile ideas in the submissions.But how does he know when his new $76 million Ministry, with some of the highest paid public servants in ...4 days ago- National’s Blogger David Farrar Smears Senior Doctors
4 days ago - Pay Equity Explainers
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The National Government has cut $1 billion from the emergency housing budget on the false pretence that demand is reducing, while also ending contracted emergency housing from December this year. ...4 hours ago - Release: $1 billion of Māori funding gone
The Government should hang its head in shame after a budget that takes a knife to more Māori programmes. ...4 hours ago
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The Government’s Budget offers little more than crumbs for our tamariki, while real issues in the ECE system are ignored. ...19 hours ago - Minister for the Environment missing in action in Budget 2025
Budget 2025 makes it crystal clear that this Government has no interest in protecting nature or securing a liveable future for our tamariki. ...21 hours ago
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The Government has failed Māori and ignored its Te Tiriti obligations with its Budget, says Te Mātāwaka, the Green Party’s Māori and Pasifika Caucus. ...21 hours ago
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Budget 2025 makes clear that the Coalition Government has no long-term plan to help communities most in need of public housing. ...21 hours ago
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Budget 2025 has put our climate targets in serious jeopardy, says the Green Party. ...21 hours ago
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The future of the Ka Ora | Ka Ako school lunch programme looks to be uncertain with Budget 2025 failing to provide any funding beyond 2026. ...21 hours ago
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The Government’s Budget is failing families in poverty by pulling the rug on young people receiving income support and allowing more children to go without enough food on the table. ...23 hours ago
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Despite all the promises, Kiwis are still going backwards in Budget 2025. ...23 hours ago
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Today’s Budget is a masterclass in making the wrong decisions for New Zealanders. ...23 hours ago
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Two Labour bills drawn from the Member’s Ballot today would require greater transparency of international money transfers, and bring more public accountability and transparency to port companies. ...23 hours ago
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Budget 2025 represents a significant step backwards for Aotearoa, with the Government adding fuel to the fire when it comes to the climate and inequality crises, says the Green Party. ...24 hours ago
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The Government is taking the Digital Services Tax off their books, effectively handing a $479 million tax break to global tech giants, like Facebook and Google. ...2 days ago
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The Government is moving to let two of the country’s most profitable banks off the hook for money owed to their customers. ...2 days ago
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The Government can’t say if even a single family has received the $250 a fortnight they were promised. ...3 days ago
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The Government’s decision to cut women’s pay could result in an exodus of palliative care nurses from the profession. ...3 days ago
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The Government is quietly cutting more services for women, this time it’s ACC support for survivors of sexual abuse and pausing the expansion of a major sexual violence prevention programme. ...3 days ago
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- Prime Minister must scrap the Regulatory Standards Bill
The Green Party is urging the Prime Minister to get rid of the Regulatory Standards Bill after the Waitangi Tribunal found that the Bill breaches the Crown’s Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. ...4 days ago
- Release: Women in funded sector unlikely to get pay equity
The Government is unlikely to fund pay equity for hospice and Plunket nurses, care and support workers and other workforces made up of mostly women. ...4 days ago
- Chris Hipkins Speech Auckland regional conference
Tēnā koutou katoa. It’s fantastic to be here with you all—grassroots campaigners, organisers, union members, councillors, MPs, and Labour whānau. ...6 days ago
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The Auditor-General has found serious failings in the Government’s review of frontline providers such as counselling and prevention services. ...1 week ago
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Prices for essentials, like milk, butter and electricity continue to get more expensive under National, at the same time as the Government takes money from women’s pockets to save their budget. ...1 week ago
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Te Pāti Māori is gravely concerned by the Government’s approval of the Trans-Tasman Resources (Taranaki VTM) seabed mining project under its fast-track regime. This marks the first time a commercial shallow seabed mining operation has been approved anywhere in the world- pushed through with no transparency, no public input, and ...1 week ago
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The Government’s just-passed Social Security Amendment Bill is set to create more benefit sanctions that will push families deeper into poverty. ...1 week ago
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Today’s report into last year’s Oranga Tamariki contract procurement process confirms the Government’s brutal cuts were rushed, poorly managed, and made with no concern for the impact on tamariki. ...1 week ago
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Today the Privileges Committee handed down a severe punishment. Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have been suspended for 21 days, and MP for Hauraki-Waikato Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has been suspended for 7 days. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt finally admits 180,000 in line for a pay cut
The Government finally admitted late last night that roughly 180,000 people will be affected by its decision to halt pay equity claims. ...1 week ago
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Nearly a quarter of the money spent on the Government’s flagship FamilyBoost policy has gone to administration, not to families to help with childcare. ...1 week ago
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The Green Budget shows how much better our lives could be under a Green Government, instead of one dominated by corporate greed. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party has unveiled its new plan to make Early Childhood Education (ECE) free. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party is delivering for Māori with its Green Budget. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party has launched its plan for Free GPs as part of its Green Budget. ...1 week ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa. Good morning. I read recently that one of the keys to success in life is to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. ...1 week ago
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The Government must do three things in Budget 2025 if it is genuinely going to turn things around for New Zealanders. ...1 week ago
- Release: Peeni Henare takes over foreign affairs
Labour’s Peeni Henare will pick up the foreign affairs portfolio, following David Parker’s departure from Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt better at crushing women’s rights than cars
Rehashing old laws around boy racers is not going to make our communities safer, or distract New Zealanders from the appalling decision to cut women’s pay. ...2 weeks ago
- No Justice for State Abuse Survivors- Kapa-Kingi
Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau calls out the government’s decision to keep funding state abuse, turning their backs on justice and real change for abuse in care survivors. “The government has committed to throwing $744 million down the drain, reinforcing a violent regime of disrespect against the ...2 weeks ago
- Stepping up in a changing global environment
Good evening. Thank you to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs for organising this event, and for your efforts to foster New Zealand’s understanding of international affairs. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. As keen observers and practitioners of international relations, you will all ...2 weeks ago - New High Commissioner to Kiribati announced
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Pati Gagau as New Zealand’s next High Commissioner to Kiribati. “Our diplomats play a critical role in advancing New Zealand’s interests overseas,” Mr Peters says. “Nowhere is this truer than in the Pacific, where we strive to work with our Pacific partners to forge a more ...2 weeks ago
- Changes to improve pay equity process
The Government is amending the Equal Pay Act [the Act] to make the process of raising and resolving pay equity claims more robust, workable and sustainable, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced today. Pay equity is achieved when women and men are paid the same for work ...2 weeks ago
- Proposals to strengthen biodiversity released
Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to better protect our precious biodiversity and its economic benefits for future generations, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is releasing two discussion documents for public consultation, and I ...3 weeks ago
- Trade negotiations with India commence
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- NZ-EU trade deal delivers export growth
The early entry into force of the New Zealand–European Union Trade Agreement (FTA) is paying off, with Kiwi goods exports to the EU surging by 28 per cent during the first year. “In the last 12 months our goods exports to the EU surged from $3.8 billion to over $4.8 ...3 weeks ago
- Celebrating New Zealand Sign Language
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- Boosting high-tech exports with advanced technology
New investment in advanced technology research will boost high-tech exports, strengthen connections between research and industry and generate high value jobs, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “Advanced technology research leads to life-changing innovation,” says Dr Reti. “The breakthroughs that can be achieved through areas like ...3 weeks ago
- Post-Cabinet Press Conference: Monday 5 May 2025
POST-CABINET PRESS CONFERENCE: Monday, 5 May 2025 EPIQ TRANSCRIPT PM: Well, look, good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be joined this afternoon by our awesome Trade Minister, Todd McClay, who’s doing some incredible work. As you know, it’s a big sitting block with the Budget at the end of ...3 weeks ago
- Parent Portal launched to empower parents
Every parent wants to see their child thrive at school — to feel confident, supported, and capable. Today, the Government is taking a major step toward making that aspiration a reality with the launch of a new Parent Portal: an online resource designed to enable families to play their part ...3 weeks ago
- New helicopters a commitment to global security
The Defence Force’s ageing maritime helicopters will be replaced to increase the defensive and offensive capability and surveillance range of New Zealand’s frigates, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. “The replacement of the Seasprite helicopters will also extend the Navy’s ability to support non-combat tasks such as humanitarian assistance and ...3 weeks ago
- Prime Minister congratulates Albanese and Wong
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has congratulated Anthony Albanese on winning the Australian Federal Election, and Lawrence Wong on winning the Singaporean election. “I have been in touch with both Mr Albanese and Mr Wong to offer my congratulations on retaining office,” Mr Luxon says. “When we spoke, Mr Albanese and ...3 weeks ago
- Why Donald Trump has put Asia on the precipice of a nuclear arms race
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Langford, Executive Director, Security & Defence PLuS and Professor, UNSW Sydney For the past 75 years, America’s nuclear umbrella has been the keystone that has kept East Asia’s great‑power rivalries from turning atomic. President Donald Trump’s second‑term “strategic reset” now ...39 minutes ago - Corroboree 2000, 25 years on: the march for Indigenous reconciliation has left a complicated legacy
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heidi Norman, Professor of Aboriginal political history, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Convenor: Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW Sydney First Nations people please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death ...39 minutes ago
- KiwiSaver at a crossroads: budget another missed opportunity to fix NZ’s underperforming retiremen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Gilbert, Professor of Finance, Auckland University of Technology Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images When KiwiSaver was introduced in 2007 it was built on a stark reality: New Zealand Super alone will not be enough for most people to retire with dignity. ...39 minutes ago
- Deaf President Now! traces the powerful uprising that led to Deaf rights in the US – now again und...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma King, ARC DECRA Fellow in Screen Studies, Senior Lecturer in French Studies, Australian National University Archival footage shows Tim Rarus, Greg Hlibok, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl and Jerry Covell, in Apple TV+ Deaf President Now! Apple TV+ In March 1988, students of ...39 minutes ago
- Head knocks and ultra-violence: viral games Run It Straight and Power Slap put sports safety back ce...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Yorke, Lecturer in sport management, Western Sydney University runitstraight24/instagram.com, The Conversation, CC BY Created in Australia, “Run It Straight” is a new, ultra-violent combat sport. Across a 20×4 metre grassed “battlefield,” players charge at full speed toward one another. ...2 hours ago
- NZ Budget 2025: funding growth at the expense of pay equity for women could cost National in the lon...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Curtin, Professor of Politics and Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Pay equity protest outside parliament on budget day, May 22 2025. Getty Images In 1936, when the National Party was created through a merger of the United and Reform ...2 hours ago
- The trouble with all the celebrity travel shows in New Zealand
Why are we watching so many overseas travel documentaries about a place we already live in? Only 3.2% of The Spinoff’s readership supports us financially. We need to grow that to 4% this year to keep creating the work you love. Sign up to be a member today. Conan ...2 hours ago - Protest At Takutai Square During Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Post-Budget Address
"This government must not be complicit in atrocities through silence and inaction," the spokesperson added. "The people of Aotearoa New Zealand demand leadership as the world watches a genocide unfold in real time." ...2 hours ago - Budget 2025: High earners can’t get KiwiSaver credit – but they can get the pension
Commentators say it's "incoherent" the rules are being tightened on young people because it's "politically risky" to touch pensions. ...2 hours ago - Ministers don’t know the scale of the tax break they’ve signed up to
Analysis: Nicola Willis will have to find a way to cap or constrain her new $6.6b Investment Boost, to avoid a complete blowout The post Ministers don’t know the scale of the tax break they’ve signed up to appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago - The House: Budget Q&A with Clerk Assistant James Picker
The House sat down with senior parliamentary clerk James Picker to chat through the Budget process and what you can expect to see in the House today. ...3 hours ago
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A mixed bag (with some Billy T disappointments) in the final week of the comedy festival. Hoani Hotene – IT’S GETTING HOT-ENE, SO TELL ME ALL YOUR JOKES I hadn’t heard of Hoani Hotene before this year’s International Comedy Festival, but some quick research revealed he’s on the rise – ...3 hours ago
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All rental properties must comply with the Healthy Homes standards just weeks from now, including ventilation, heating and insulation. ...4 hours ago
- Some landlords, tenants unaware of Healthy Homes standards despite looming deadline
All rental properties must comply with the Healthy Homes standards just weeks from now, including ventilation, heating and insulation. ...4 hours ago
- Budget 2025: New funding headlines mask deeper cuts to Māori programmes
The government has touted over $700 million in funding for Māori. But when you strip out the reallocated funds and examine what’s actually new, the real number is closer to $38m. Meanwhile, more than $750m in Māori-specific initiatives have been axed. Budget 2025 contains some wins for Māori-focused initiatives, ...5 hours ago
- Budget 2025: New funding headlines mask deeper cuts to Māori programmes
The government has touted over $700 million in funding for Māori. But when you strip out the reallocated funds and examine what’s actually new, the real number is closer to $38m. Meanwhile, more than $750m in Māori-specific initiatives have been axed. Budget 2025 contains some wins for Māori-focused initiatives, ...5 hours ago
- Australian roads are getting deadlier – pedestrians and males are among those at greater risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne At least ten people died in fatal crashes earlier this month in a single 48-hour period on Victorian roads. It was the latest tragic demonstration of ...5 hours ago
- There is a growing number of ‘super-sized’ schools. Does the number of students matter?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Rowe, Associate Professor in Education, Deakin University LBeddoe/Shutterstock Earlier this week, The Sydney Morning Herald reported one of Sydney’s top public high schools had more than 2,000 students for the first time, thanks to the booming population in the ...5 hours ago
- From peasant fodder to posh fare: how snails and oysters became luxury foods
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato An Oyster cellar in Leith John Burnet, 1819; National Galleries of Scotland, Photo: Antonia Reeve Oysters and escargot are recognised as luxury foods around the world – but they were once ...5 hours ago
- Words and Numbers: Beginning Budget Day in the House
The opening stanzas of a new Budget begin in quiet formality, but get loudly political quickly. ...6 hours ago
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The Budget revealed the money saved by income-testing in the first year of a baby's life would instead put more funding into the Working for Families scheme. ...6 hours ago
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With the government's plans revealed, economists, politcians and the public weigh in. ...6 hours ago
- 10 key reads on Buget 2025
Nobody has time to read everything that’s been written on the budget, so Catherine McGregor has a round-up of some of the most interesting takes, in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The true blue, bitsy, no BS, growth budget For ...6 hours ago
- Government Abandons Māori And Pacific Whānau Through Kāinga Ora Cuts
Te Kaihautū Māori of the PSA Janice Panoho says many of the workers losing their jobs are Māori and Pacific, whose cultural competence and lived experience are essential to connecting with communities in a way that upholds mana. ...7 hours ago
- Govt’s ‘Think Big’ Investment Boost: There. Is. No. Limit.
Go now, says Nicola Willis. “It starts today.” The economic growth minister has waved the start flag on a race to the stars for commercial building developers, oil and gas exploration firms, dam builders and right down to the smallest sole traders.Ahead of the Budget, Newsroom had reported the Government ...7 hours ago
- Budget 2025: Retirement saving for 80 percent of NZers to increase under KiwiSaver changes, analysis...
That's despite the reduction in government contributions to member's balances. ...7 hours ago
- Budget 25: Boost will mostly be eaten by inflation, police union says
Police Association president Chris Cahill says the devil will be in the details as to where funding will be focused. ...7 hours ago
- Rabbits, switch-ups and highway robbery: Politicians, economists react to Budget 25
Everyone had their own nickname for the document dubbed the 'Growth Budget' by the government. ...8 hours ago
- This week’s bestselling books – May 23
FICTION1 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)A free copy of the new, quite sensational novel by the reigning superstar of New Zealand fiction was up for grabs in last week’s free book giveaway – but I didn’t think much of the entries. No ...8 hours ago
- Annual health funding likely to lag behind rising costs – doctor
Some question whether the funding will keep up with rising costs. ...8 hours ago
- Māori question lack of targeted funding in 2025 Budget
But David Seymour says there should be no such thing as Māori funding. ...8 hours ago
- Echo Chamber, Budget 2025 edition: Who is Mr Bo-Jandals?
It may not have been a lolly scramble budget, but there were plenty of lollies in parliament during the debate – plus a curious new nickname for one MP. Our Budget 2025 coverage is thanks to The Spinoff Members. The Spinoff is not backed by billion-dollar budgets or billionaires, we’re ...9 hours ago
- Analysis: Finance Minister delivers ‘nip and tuck’ Budget
Despite the promised boost to health, education, and law and order, middle income New Zealanders may well be feeling shortchanged. ...9 hours ago
- A budget for machines, not midwives
The centrepiece of the budget – a tax break for businesses investing in ‘productive assets’ – may makes sense on its own terms, but when contrasted with what’s not being funded, it’s telling, writes Max Rashbrooke. Our Budget 2025 coverage is thanks to The Spinoff Members. The Spinoff is not ...9 hours ago
- Farmers’ M. bovis compensation claims could cost MPI up to $125m
Govt says a ‘small number’ of ‘complex’ claims are still being worked through following 2017 outbreak of infectious cattle disease The post Farmers’ M. bovis compensation claims could cost MPI up to $125m appeared first on Newsroom. ...9 hours ago
- Parliament left speechless as Winston walks, Māori leaders absent
The next razor gang that’s convened at Parliament needs to take a blade to the time allocated for speeches by party leaders on Budget Day.Though they demand efficiency and effectiveness, outputs and outcomes from everyone else, the nation’s biggest political celebrities need to look to themselves: their contributions following Budget ...9 hours ago
- School lunches dominate Budget’s fiscal cliff landscape
Film rebates and NZQA projects join an array of food provision initiatives due to run out of funding in the next few years The post School lunches dominate Budget’s fiscal cliff landscape appeared first on Newsroom. ...9 hours ago
- Gas industry could get far more than $200m if deals keep flowing – Jones
Billion-dollar oil rigs would be eligible for an immediate 20 percent refund from the Government under the new Investment Boost policy, Shane Jones said The post Gas industry could get far more than $200m if deals keep flowing – Jones appeared first on Newsroom. ...9 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 23 May
The post Daily crossword, Friday 23 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...9 hours ago
- Govt’s climate aid reduction ‘betrayal’ of Pacific, NGOs say
A $100 million reduction in New Zealand’s annual climate aid shows a lack of leadership and is a betrayal of the country’s Pacific neighbours, disappointed aid groups say.Foreign Minister Winston Peters had conceded the Government’s aid commitments are lower than he wanted – but has placed the blame on Labour ...9 hours ago
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