Posts Tagged ‘sleazy deals’
Point of order, Mr Speaker!
Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, October 17th, 2013 - 35 comments
The Speaker’s ability to do his job is being questioned strongly after Metiria Turei was thrown out of the debating Chamber after calling the SkyCity deal “sleazy”. How can John Banks provide an impartial vote on the SkyCity Bill? It should be delayed! [Update: Video]
- 2022 General Reading: November (+ Old Phuul update)
Completed reading for November: The White People and Other Weird Stories (collection), by Arthur Machen Not So Barren Or Uncultivated: British Travellers in Finland 1760-1830, by Tony Lurcock J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead Legends of Aotearoa (collection), edited by ...9 hours ago - Publishing a long overdue explainer about a scientific consensus
Recently, we happened upon a neat and detailed article, explaining what a scientific consensus is. This made us realize, that - even though we have a lot of material about the consensus - we were lacking an explainer about what a scientific consensus actually is. We have now remedied this ...11 hours ago - The SIS: spying on the government’s political critics
The big worry about the SIS and GCSB is that they will be used to spy on the government's political critics. Whenever this worry is expressed, the spies and their Ministers say that of course that would never happen. The problem? It has: Journalist Nicky Hager will receive $66,000 ...15 hours ago - Gordon Campbell on the gaslighting about inflation
Reportedly, we’re going to need to have a recession next year in order to curb our wild spending habits and bring inflation under control. According to some economists, we’ve all been spending our hefty wage rises so freely that up to 50,000 of us may have to lose our jobs ...20 hours ago - Political Roundup: 30 November 2022
Items of interest and importance today THREE WATERS Jane Patterson (RNZ): Three Waters anti-privatisation blunder adds to storm of controversy Jo Moir (Newsroom): The chaos behind the Greens’ controversial Three Waters amendment Emile Donovan (RNZ): The problem with entrenching party policy Thomas Cranmer: Mahuta ditches ‘no surprises’ policy Anne Salmond ...23 hours ago - Has Labour Become A Co-Governed Party?
The Power Of Two: It is possible that, formally or informally, the Labour caucus arrived at its own version of co-governance. What the Māori caucus decide upon as its priorities are not to be overridden or gainsaid by the broader Labour caucus’s Pakeha majority. An arrangement of this sort would ...24 hours ago - Hope Defeats Hate.Third Time Winner: Daniel Andrews’ Victorian victory is of a piece with the general failure of the American Right to achieve the gains it was expecting in the recent mid-term elections. Generally speaking, voters not already addicted to the Right’s ideological Kool-Aid find very little to like about candidates who ...1 day ago
- We need greater transparency on party fundingYesterday Max Rashbrooke and Lisa Marriott released their report on political party funding. The gist of it can be gathered from the title: Money for Something. Big donors are donating big money for big influence over policy, and the current regime seems designed to facilitate rather than prevent this ...2 days ago
- Political Roundup: 29 November 2022Items of interest and importance today POLITICAL FINANCE, PARLIAMENT, VOTING AGE Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Big money donors get access to PMs and party leaders – report Anna Whyte (Stuff): Political donations: Identity over $1,500 should be disclosed, new report recommends Brent Edwards (NBR): Research reveals influence bought through political donations Jem ...2 days ago
- How 2022 has substantially, and favorably, changed global climate outlookThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Anew analysis by the Global Carbon Budget, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, shows global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have fully recovered from the temporary dip driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, setting new records in 2021 and 2022. But it’s not ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on entrenchment, and being ‘soft on crime’Good grief. Is it really a grave misuse of power to entrench safeguards against the irreversible sale of key public assets? Hardly. If this country has learned anything over the past 40 years, it should be that New Zealand has suffered lasting economic and social damage from the previous sales ...3 days ago
- Entrenching anti-privatisationLast week, Labour put the House into urgency to push on with its legislative agenda. Part of this included the committee stage of the three waters bill, and something unusual happened: they passed an entrenchment clause protecting the bill's anti-privatisation clause - meaning that a future government would need the ...3 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: The Misuse of power to entrench Three Waters legislationWhen governments become tired and lose their popularity – usually in their third term – they often become desperate to get their way and prone to misusing their power. This is currently in evidence with the Labour Government’s push to lock in elements of their Three Waters reform programme by ...3 days ago
- Revenge and rage optics continues to dominate the politics of the Right, even here. All voters deser...
The vapid cycle of self-serving performative rage when it suits… the screaming for repeal here, there and everywhere… the constant calls from columnists and the airwaves to “be angry”, for the public to just get up and be “stomping mad!”… Of course, none of this is the stuff from ...3 days ago - Top tweets on the Government’s Three Waters law entrenchmentCatching up on constitutional developments while I’ve been deep in the marking cave. And this one is a doozy — and perhaps concerning? An SOP entrenching a point of policy (ownership/control of water assets) was agreed, ie 60% majority needed to repeal.https://t.co/GRRXrmr6ZW pic.twitter.com/sm4MCOD85w — ᴅʀ ᴅᴇᴀɴ ...3 days ago
- A Strange Hill To Die On.Last Stand? Has Labour’s caucus chosen the Government’s deeply unpopular Three Waters policy as the hill upon which it will stand and die? And, if that is the case, then – why?CURIA RESEARCH recently conducted a poll in the Napier electorate. Bad news for Stuart Nash, the Labour incumbent, whose ...4 days ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 20, 2022 thru Sat, Nov 26, 2022. Story of the Week The Art at COP27 Offered Opportunities to Move Beyond ‘Empty Words’ In Egypt, visitors encountered creative works about climate anxiety, sustainability ...4 days ago
- Revisiting the Big Three of Weird Tales: H.P. Lovecraft, C.A. Smith, and R.E. Howard
My October 2022 reading was marked by a reacquaintance with old-school Pulp Fantasy and Horror, specifically a binge through the collected works of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard. Two of those three are still well-known names among fantasy readers, but in the first half of ...4 days ago - Open Government: Another farceYesterday the government released its draft Fourth Open Government Partnership National Action Plan 2023-24 for consultation. Like previous versions, the plan was meant to be "co-created" with civil society. And like previous versions, that obligation seems to have been observed mainly in the breach, with the government conducting a series ...6 days ago
- The Crypto Casino
Financial activity is too often gambling. Cryptocurrencies are the latest example.Gambling is a zero sum game: the proceeds of the winners are offset by the losses of the losers. That statement is not quite true because typically there is someone between taking a margin on each transaction. Patrons leave a ...6 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Why Labour capitulated on hate speech lawsThe Labour Government is currently fighting on multiple fronts that threaten its popularity in the run-up to next year’s election. Therefore, when a call had to be made about whether to push through divisive and poorly-designed hate speech laws, there really was no decision for Justice Minister Kiri Allan to ...6 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: Wayne Brown’s first monthWayne Brown has been Mayor for a month, and already he has done more to change Auckland than Phil Goff did in six years. The changes began even before Brown was sworn in. Only hours after the election results were announced on 8 October, the Chair of Auckland Transport Adrienne ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2022Open access notables: Web bulb temperatures verging on unsurvivable are creeping into our world and heading toward familiar. That's the lesson we can infer from Dong-Quan & Sun's Effects of anthropogenic forcing and atmospheric circulation on the record-breaking welt bulb heat event over southern China in September 2021. Analyzing an event including 32.8°C the authors find: ...6 days ago
- An engineered recession is class warfareThe Reserve Bank has just come out and admitted that they are engineering a recession to protect the rich: The Reserve Bank is deliberately engineering a recession to reign back inflation after being slow to raise interest rates, Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr admitted to a select committee on ...7 days ago
- That’s no how you do democracyLast night, the English Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish government cannot hold an independence referendum. Having said that Scotland is not a colony, they then turned around and effectively said that they are, by forbidding them from holding a democratic vote on their own constitutional arrangements unless another country ...7 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the centre-right’s internal ructionsFor donkey’s years, political commentary has been all about the binaries: left/right, Labour/National, government/opposition, she said/he said. Yet currently, a lot of the fascinating conflict is occurring amidst the centre-right. That’s because National, ACT and New Zealand First all happen to be fishing in the same pond for cranky and ...7 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Politicians and the Reserve Bank are being blamed for an escalating economic crisisWill the looming economic recession kill off Labour’s re-election chances? Is the Reserve Bank making things worse? And could a National Government do any better? These are some of the big political questions floating around after the full extent of the economy’s plight was made clear by the Reserve Bank ...7 days ago
- Josephine Varghese: From Obama to Sunak–do representational milestones mean anything more than sym...New Zealand media have recently discussed two major representational milestones in politics. Firstly, New Zealand Parliament achieving 50% women’s representation with the induction of Labour list MP Soraya Peke-Mason. Secondly, Rishi Sunak becoming the UK’s first non-White Prime Minister. Major media outlets have been celebrating these events as watershed moments ...7 days ago
- Gustavo Petro and the Civic – Military Campaigns
Gearóid Ó Loingsigh looks at the new government in Colombia and how it talks of peace while increasing militarisation The Petro–Márquez government is one which proposes to bring us to what they term Total Peace. The term and the proposal as such have been subjected to justifiable criticism, not least ...7 days ago - Labour attacks LGOIMA – in secretToday the government used urgency to introduce a new Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Bill. The bulk of the bill deals with land information memorandums (LIMs), requiring local authorities to notify of natural hazards and granting them immunity for doing so in good faith (hopefully forestalling lawsuits by ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Fixing the Crown Minerals Act?Back in August, the High Court ruled that the Zero Carbon Act isn't worth shit and that the government can continue to approve new fossil fuel exploration without having to consider climate change. The core of the problem is the Crown Minerals Act, and in particular its purpose: "to promote ...1 week ago
- The True Cost
It is hard to take seriously the voices of those currently asserting that Brexit has come with a considerable economic cost. Where were those voices at the very beginning of what became the Brexit saga, when we were assured that membership of what was then the Common Market would produce ...1 week ago - Political Roundup: 23 November 2022Items of interest and importance today VOTING AGE Henry Cooke (Guardian): New Zealand’s supreme court has forced voting age on to agenda, exposing absurd arguments for status quo Henry Cooke: The only reasonable argument for retaining the voting age Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Local election voting age looks set to change ...1 week ago
- Phil Ferguson: a firsthand account of the Irish strugglePhil Ferguson is a founding editor of Redline and was a regular contributor. He has been out of action for the past year after suffering a stroke. He is learning to walk again and hoping to get back to writing. Tim Leadbeater sat down with Phil to talk about topics ...1 week ago
- The Most Pertinent Question.Why Now? As Rebecca Wright pointed out to Justice Minister, Kiritapu Allan, on Newshub Nation, a great deal of political travail could have been avoided by the Labour Government if they’d simply accepted the Royal Commission’s recommendation to extend the already existing legal protections against the incitement of racial hatred ...1 week ago
- FinallyAt the 2020 election, Labour promised to regulate property managers. Now, they're finally doing it: The Government’s announcement that rental property managers will be regulated has left the industry asking for more detail, and tenants calling for landlords to be regulated too. Regulating property managers was one of the ...1 week ago
- Young people must be allowed to vote
Let me just start out by saying that young people must be allowed to vote. Not because they are more enlightened than previous generations, but because the earlier people become voters, the more likely they will continue to participate in democracy.We have a serious problem in New Zealand with low ...1 week ago - How to counter holocaust denial – a particular type of hate speech
Plebity – a left free speech website looks at how to ‘counter hate speech with more speech’. This excellent article addresses one of the points discussed in the interview with Daniel Ben-Ami about how tolerance doesn’t mean silently allowing bad ideas or adopting a relativist outlook. WHAT DOES IT MEAN, ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: The High barriers to lowering the voting ageSixteen-year-olds aren’t about to get the right to vote anytime soon. Despite yesterday’s Supreme Court declaration that a voting age of 18 violates the Bill of Rights, there are still many barriers to get over before the voting age could be lowered. In fact, as a best-case scenario, youth voting ...1 week ago
- The Iran protests and the battle for Women’s RightsIn this Free Speech Union podcast Daphna Whitmore speaks with Dr Forough Amin about what’s happening in Iran after two months of growing protests across the country. Forough is a women’s rights activist and the founder of the Iranian Women in NZ Charitable Trust. Forough discusses the dire state of ...1 week ago
- The Sagas and Fairy Tales of the South Pacific: Maori Legends, as collected by Sir George Grey (1855...
As a Pakeha New Zealander who spent the majority of his school-level education in the lower North Island in the 1990s, I received a smattering of Maori cultural infusion. I learned how to count to ten in Maori, learned the names of colours, some rudiments of pronunciation from singing ...1 week ago - A victory for democracy!Today, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Make it 16 Inc v AG, declaring that the law forbidding 16 and 17 year olds from voting was inconsistent with the right to be free from discrimination, and that it had not been justified under the BORA. Its a ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on Qatar, Joyce Carol Oates and Mimi ParkerThe FIFA World Cup has kicked off amid laments about Qatar’s terrible human rights record, and FIFA’s greed in awarding them the Cup hosting rights in the first place. The criticism raining down on Qatar over its murderous treatment of migrant workers errs and its persecution of its LGBT community ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Does New Zealand need to up its game with World Cup host Qatar?As the FIFA World Cup gets underway in Qatar, it is worth looking at the state of New Zealand’s wider relationship with the host nation. While New Zealand often likes to think of itself as a small country, it comfortably outranks Qatar in both size and population. In terms of ...1 week ago
- Elizabeth Rata: The Curriculum, intelligence, and democracyThe intelligence of the New Zealand population increased during the 20th century. Nutrition played its part but so too did education. Young people were taught the abstract knowledge of academic subjects and in the process developed secondary intelligence. Since the 1990s, the emptying out of prescribed academic knowledge from the ...1 week ago
- Where are Ukrainian refugees going? – an update
A temporary tent camp set up for Ukrainian refugees in Donetsk, in Russia’s Rostov region near the Russian-Ukrainian border, June 22, ... 1 week ago - If It Ain’t Broke, Why Fix It?Still Going Strong: Why has the Minister of Justice cobbled together a group of “progressive” academics, most of whom subscribe to the core beliefs of Māori nationalism, “decolonisation”, and te Tiriti revisionism, to “review” our political system? In the absence of any convincing evidence that our electoral machinery is “broke”, ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 13, 2022 thru Sat, Nov 19, 2022. Story of the Week Is COP27 the End of Hopes for Limiting Global Warming to 1.5 Degrees Celsius? The climate talks are going into overtime ...2 weeks ago
- Labour grovels to the bigotsIn the wake of the March 15 terror attack, the inquiry recommended tougher hate-speech laws. And after dragging their feet on it for a full year, the government has basicly said "fuck that": The Government has drastically watered down its hate speech reforms, Justice Minister Kiri Allan said on Saturday. ...2 weeks ago
- Are We in a Stagflation?
Recently, I have often been asked whether we (New Zealand or the World) are experiencing a stagflation. There is no meaningful ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. You have to define the term before deciding what is going on.Rutherford once said there were only two kinds of science: stamp collecting and physics. ...2 weeks ago - More police racismThe police annual report was released this month, with the usual statutory information on surveillance warrants and DNA samples. And it turns out there's some shocking evidence of racism among the latter: The proportion of youth DNA samples collected by police that belong to rangatahi Māori continues to rise, ...2 weeks ago
- The Political MinefieldPoor Christopher Luxon. His lack of political experience (and judgment) is constantly being highlighted – not least by his recent foray into the treatment of child criminality. So keen was he to draw attention to his assertion that “Labour is soft on crime” that he was prepared to run the ...2 weeks ago
- Media Link: “AVFA” on US midterms and Trump’s return.
After a small hiatus due to Covid hitting my household, Selwyn Manning and I resumed our weekly ” A View from Afar” podcast series with an analysis of the 2022 US midterm results and a look at what Trump’s decision to run for president again means for the GOP. You ...2 weeks ago - Bryce Edwards: National wants to brand the Govt as soft on crimeAs Government politicians put the boot into National’s bootcamp announcement yesterday, Christopher Luxon would have been celebrating. His populist announcement wasn’t only designed to scratch an electoral itch, but to cynically trap his opponents into looking soft on crime. And it probably worked. Soon after announcing his policy for bootcamps ...2 weeks ago
- Free Speech to fight anti-SemitismFree Speech Union member Daphna Whitmore talks with Daniel Ben-Ami, an author, and journalist based in London. His website “The Radicalism of Fools” https://www.radicalismoffools.com/ aims to develop a better understanding of anti-Semitism and its root causes. Daniel talks about different forms of anti-Semitism from the right and the left. He explains ...2 weeks ago
- Hello, do you know the difference? The Raytheon, Goldman Sachs Left is not the LeftThe left free speech site Plebity has published this handy chart. When you say left, you probably aren’t actually talking about the left. Find another name. Or at least understand the difference between the woke left and the traditional left which although largely silenced does still exist. Here is a ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2022Notables: Presence or absence of stabilizing Earth system feedbacks on different time scales Arnscheidt and Rothman confirm the stabilizing effect of carbonate geochemistry on Earth's climate, at least on "short" timescales. More provocatively: "We have shown that the observations are inconsistent with a dominant stabilizing feedback on the longest time scales ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on the case for universal free dental careLike Banquo’s ghost, the issue of universal free dental care keeps hovering into sight at Labour’s top table. ‘Tis a goodly, progressive idea, but it is also one that’s been done in repeatedly down the years by the shafts of political expedience, some of which were fired again this week ...2 weeks ago
- Political Roundup: 17 November 2022Items of interest and importance today FOREIGN AFFAIRS Claire Trevett (Herald): Russia, China, a Trump comeback – PM Jacinda Ardern will face a big plate of troubles at Apec (paywalled) Thomas Manch (Stuff): Risky business: NZ seeks greater trade with Vietnam as China dependency causes concern Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister ...2 weeks ago
- New reports spell out climate urgency, shortfalls, needed actionsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Michael Svoboda In the weeks leading up to the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, often called COP27, several organizations released major reports detailing the many difficult tasks on the climate negotiators’ agenda. Some of ...2 weeks ago
- Climate change: The cost of inactionA couple of days ago I highlighted National's opposition to all actual policies to reduce emissions. Now, the government has put some numbers on the cost of that, and it is staggering: nearly 24 million tons by the end of the decade: Labour says National’s promises to repeal its ...2 weeks ago
- The Facts Don’t Always Tell The Truth.2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Labour’s decaying policy on free universal dental careGrant Robertson has once again ruled out implementing a popular Labour Party policy: free universal dental care. He did so yesterday on RNZ’s Morning Report, citing the cost factor. The Acting Prime Minister suggested that spending on dental care wasn’t a priority for the Government and that the health budget ...2 weeks ago
- Grant says “no” againYesterday the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists released a report on dental care in Aotearoa, highlighting its unaffordability and recommending free, universal dental care. This is something the left has been campaigning for for a long time - Jim Anderton pushed for it before the 2011 election, and Helen Clark ...2 weeks ago
- On NZ foreign policy “independence.”For many years New Zealand elites have claimed to have an “independent” foreign policy, so much so that it has become a truism of NZ politics that transcends the partisan divide in parliament and is a shibboleth of the NZ foreign policy establishment that is parroted by media and pundits ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Momentum growing to reform lobbying lawsThis week global anti-corruption agency Transparency International released a report on lobbying, which described New Zealand’s lack of regulation as “glaring”. Transparency International New Zealand has developed an international comparison of New Zealand’s lobbying regulations so that MPs here can decide whether to reform this sector. Currently, a group of ...2 weeks ago
- The “Us versus Them” Worldview.Behind Closed Doors: What were the organisers of He Whenua Taurikura, the second hui called into existence by the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque shootings, afraid of? Were they worried that journalists not 100 percent sympathetic to the ideals animating the hui might report ...2 weeks ago
- Don’t get fooled: Electric vehicles really are better for the climateThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons You may have heard the myth that electric vehicles are just as bad for the climate — or worse — than gas-powered cars and trucks. One common myth claims that the climate-warming pollution caused by manufacturing electric vehicle batteries ...2 weeks ago
- Privatisation screws the futureThere's a major report out today from 350 Aotearoa, First Union and the CTU about how National's privatisation of the electricity sector has led to entirely predictable outcomes of price gouging and underinvestment: Meridian, Mercury, Genesis and Contact Energy paid out $8.7b in dividends to shareholders between 2014 ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on abortion politics, Murdoch and the DeSantis surgeSo the Democrats did a whole lot better than OK in the midterm elections despite the cost of living crisis and despite the President’s low approval ratings. How come? In a word, “abortion” was the key mobilising issue. It inspired many women (and some men) to register to vote. In ...2 weeks ago
- New BookI have a new book being published this month. It is entitled “What Does It Mean to Be Human?” and is an attempt to arrive at a moral code of our own making – one that will serve all our interests and those of other creatures and of the planet ...2 weeks ago
- Three Little Words!The crucial moment in the Black Ferns’ Rugby World Cup triumph came in the closing minute. The Red Roses had used a penalty to kick to the corner, and from the throw-in that followed they had clearly planned to use a rolling maul to get the ball across the line ...2 weeks ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern’s Asia trip rekindles New Zealand’s independent foreign policyNew Zealand’s independent foreign policy is back. That’s a key underlying message from Jacinda Ardern’s trip this week to Southeast Asia. The New Zealand Prime Minister attended the East Asia Summit in Cambodia over the weekend. She will head to Thailand for the APEC leaders’ meeting later in the week. ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 6, 2022 thru Sat, Nov 12, 2022. Story of the Week What the tiny remaining 1.5C carbon budget means for climate policy The latest estimates from the Global Carbon Project (GCP) show that total worldwide CO2 ...3 weeks ago
- David Farrier’s unsettling new documentary ‘Mister Organ’ – a film to watch through your fin...
In this age of entitled white men behaving badly, it’s common to hear the term “malignant narcissist” Anyone who’s had the misfortune to be sucked into the orbit or one of these miscreants, (let alone been obliged to, say, sue one for copyright infringement) eventually learns that the ONLY ‘exit ...3 weeks ago
- Backing farmers with a strong record on trade
As countries around the world continue to face economic challenges, there is real reason for New Zealand to be optimistic about the future – and our primary sector is at the heart of that. ...18 hours ago - US court decision shows need for stronger protection of Māui dolphin
A decision by a United States Court to ban seafood imports from New Zealand shows the Government needs to do more to protect Māui dolphins. ...2 days ago - NZ needs strong protection against water privatisationNew Zealanders deserve strong protection against the future privatisation of water assets, the Green Party says. ...3 days ago
- Political parties call for action on IranParties from across Parliament have come together to call on the Government to take decisive action to hold those responsible for violence and human rights violations in Iran to account. ...7 days ago
- Social workers need to see pay equity immediatelyThe Green Party is welcoming today’s announcement that pay equity will be extended to more social workers, and urges the Government to work with unions to get this sorted as quickly as possible. ...7 days ago
- Case for excess profit tax on banks clearer than everThe Government should adopt an excess profits tax and use any revenue raised to help people make ends meet, following the rise in the Official Cash Rate today. ...1 week ago
- Easing the pressure on New ZealandersSince taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to create economic security for all. ...1 week ago
- Crown mineral change does not go far enoughLong overdue changes to the Crown Minerals Act are a welcome step in the right direction but the Government needs to go further to end the nonsensical search for fossil fuels. ...1 week ago
- Healthy Homes for all means a WOF and Landlord RegisterThe Government’s decision to exclude landlords from property management regulations means more than half of Kiwi rentals will be left out in the cold. And, where they’re kicking the can down the road on Healthy Homes Standards, the Government falls short on the basics that a Rental Warrant of Fitness ...1 week ago
- Time to extend the voting ageThe Green Party is calling on the Government to take immediate action to lower the voting age to 16. ...1 week ago
- Supporting Kiwi kids this Children's DayOur Government has put the wellbeing of children at the heart of everything we do. As we celebrate World Children’s Day, we’re taking a look at some of the ways Labour is working to make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child. ...2 weeks ago
- Hate speech change welcome, but still leaves communities at riskThe Green Party welcomes hate speech reform to protect religious groups, but is concerned that the exclusion of gender, rainbow, and disability communities sends a signal that these groups are less deserving of protection. ...2 weeks ago
- Young people deserve betterThe National Party’s plan to put children into military boot camps is so flawed it is dangerous. ...2 weeks ago
- Thousands more homes under LabourWe’ve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, we’re making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party solution better for Māori voters, not deal with NationalAn agreement between Labour and National misses an historic opportunity to make our democracy more accessible for Māori voters. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt must extend Samoa visa changes to all Pacific countriesThanks to Green Party pressure, visitors from Samoa can soon travel to Aotearoa without a visa – a right that should be extended to every Pacific country. ...2 weeks ago
- A cheaper, faster, better resource management systemOur Government is delivering a new resource management system that will better protect the environment while cutting red tape, lowering costs and speeding up the time it takes to approve new homes and infrastructure projects. ...2 weeks ago
- Nature missing in RMA reformThe Government has missed a crucial opportunity to redesign the resource management system with climate and nature at its heart. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt continuing to prioritise high income earners in immigration systemThe resumption today of the parent visa category needs to be followed by an end to the Government’s unfair salary based family reunification policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Supporting more Kiwis into jobsWe’re helping more Kiwis into work, to help support whānau, grow our skilled workforce and secure our economy for future generations. During our time in Government, we’ve delivered record low unemployment rates, as well as a steady fall in the number of New Zealanders receiving a main benefit, and we’re ...2 weeks ago
- Fix electricity market to help both climate and cost of livingThe four big electricity companies should be required to reinvest massive profits into cutting both household bills and climate pollution, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Next Waitematā Harbour crossing must be climate-friendlyThe Minister for Transport can show climate leadership and consider only the lowest carbon ways of crossing Waitematā harbour. ...3 weeks ago
- Changes needed to three waters plansGreater local oversight and control, seven instead of four entities, stormwater staying with councils, and stronger safeguards against privatisation are among the changes the Green Party wants to three waters legislation. ...3 weeks ago
- Bold action needed on food prices and supermarket profitsSupermarkets are profiteering from families struggling to put food on the table. ...3 weeks ago
- Exports tracking towards new record high growth
Primary industry exports to reach new record high of $55 billion in 2023 Forecasts $2.9 billion higher than in June 2022 Tracking strongly towards a 4 per cent increase in the year ending June 2023, despite global downturn New Zealand’s record food and fibre export revenue is projected to reach ...2 hours ago - New guidance for climate action at the local levelThe Government has released new guidance to support stronger links between New Zealand’s climate change goals, and local and regional planning. From today, it has become a legal requirement for local governments to consider the Government’s National Adaptation Plan and Emissions Reduction Plan when preparing or changing regional policy statements, ...16 hours ago
- World-first bedside blood test good for people, good for health systemA single blood test that can diagnose heart attacks in minutes instead of hours, saving the health system millions of dollars and getting patients treated faster, is being rolled out in New Zealand hospitals, says Health Minister Andrew Little. “This research, led by emergency doctors at Christchurch Hospital, is ground-breaking,” ...17 hours ago
- New rongoā workstream announced alongside Therapeutic Products BillA new workstream has been established within government to consider how rongoā might be protected in legislation. This comes as the Therapeutic Products Bill is introduced in Parliament today, Associate Minister for Health (Māori) Hon Peeni Henare said. “Under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown has an obligation to actively ...18 hours ago
- Therapeutic Products Bill introducedLegislation to modernise the way medicines, medical devices and natural health products are regulated has been introduced in Parliament today. The Therapeutic Products Bill replaces the Medicines Act 1981 and Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 with a comprehensive regulatory regime that is fit for the future. Health Minister Andrew Little said ...18 hours ago
- New Climate Action Centre to support farmers maintain international edgeNew Climate Action Centre launched to support farmers reduce ag emissions through R&D investment 50:50 joint venture between Government and agribusiness to accelerate product development First Centre projects launched to get farmers the emissions reducing tools sooner Indicative funding commitment rising to $35 million per year by Joint venture partners, ...19 hours ago
- Progress on firearms register and safety authorityThe launch today of a new firearms regulator to ensure the legitimate possession and use of firearms, and an online portal to apply for licences, marks a significant step towards modernisation and improvements in gun safety, Police Minister Chris Hipkins says. Police is moving from being an administrator of ...19 hours ago
- Government sets out next steps for on-farm sequestration strategyGovernment to work with primary sector on developing a sequestration strategy Government confirms today it will bring all scientifically robust forms of sequestration into the Emissions Trading Scheme, starting from 2025. This will be done at full value, rather than at a discount, so farmers can realise the true potential ...21 hours ago
- Prime Minister concludes bilateral talks with Finnish PMPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin have concluded their first in person bilateral meeting in Auckland this morning. The Prime Ministers reiterated how their respective countries shared similar values and reflected on ways to further strengthen the relationship between New Zealand and Finland. “New Zealand and Finland ...21 hours ago
- Plan to boost value & lift sustainability of NZ forestry sectorSector ITP to grow domestic processing and low-carbon wood products Grow the wood processing sector by 3.5 million cubic metres (25%) by 2030 Grow export earnings from value-added wood products by $600 million by 2040 Increase the use of domestic timber in construction by 25% by 2030 The Forestry and ...21 hours ago
- Government supports more energy-saving projects to help more Kiwis save money17 community energy-saving education projects share $1.7 million Builds on success of previous Government projects that have supported more than 13,000 households and 440 energy education events with more than 80,000 LEDs distributed Helping households to reduce their energy bills and make their homes warmer and more energy-efficient, is the ...22 hours ago
- Govt funds new 80-bed mental health unit for CanterburyThe Government has granted final approval for a new 80-bed acute mental health facility at the Hillmorton Hospital campus, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “This is the second stage of Hillmorton’s major infrastructure redevelopment programme and is one of the largest investments ever made in New Zealand’s mental health infrastructure ...1 day ago
- Māori education momentum rolls on with new wharekuraA new Year 1-13 wharekura will extend Māori Medium Education into Porirua West from 2027, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. “The establishment of Te Kākā Kura o Ngāti Toa Rangatira will over time provide a local option for up to 200 tamariki and rangatahi on the western side ...1 day ago
- Easing administrative burden on farmers through new integrated farm planning projects37 new investments to simplify planning and reduce paperwork for farmers and growers Targeted projects for Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, West Coast, Canterbury, and Otago Resources, a digital wallet and template tools to help farmers develop and integrate their farm planning. The Government is ...2 days ago
- New Commerce Commission Chair appointedCommerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr David Clark has today announced the appointment of Dr John Small as the new Chair of the Commerce Commission. “Dr Small has made a valuable contribution to a broad range of the Commission’s work in his roles as associate member and member, which he ...2 days ago
- Realising housing dreams for the Kāpiti CoastMuch needed public housing is on the way for the Kāpiti Coast thanks to the Government’s purchase of a large vacant plot of land at 59-69 Raumati Road in Raumati Beach. “This purchase will ultimately mean more families have a place to call home and demonstrates our commitment to resolving ...2 days ago
- Decarbonisation industry milestone reached in TimaruA pioneering boiler conversion project is now up and ready to go, using woodchips to make potato chips, while slashing emissions. “McCain’s newly converted coal boiler will reduce CO2 emissions at its Timaru factory by 95% and is an excellent example of the great climate gains we can achieve through ...2 days ago
- Fiftieth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations With ChinaChinese Embassy Reception Te Papa, Wellington Tēnā koutou katoa, Da jia hao Let me first acknowledge Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, thank you for the invitation this evening, it is a pleasure to be here. I would also like to acknowledge current and former Parliamentary colleagues, as well as members of ...3 days ago
- Govt keeps AM on the air in NorthlandMinister of Broadcasting and Media Willie Jackson and Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty today announced a $1.48 million package to fund the repair and replacement of three transmission masts in Northland to ensure AM radio can stay on air in the region. “This funding will secure the reinstatement of ...3 days ago
- Multi million dollar package to tackle retail crime and reoffendingA multi million dollar package to tackle retail crime and reoffending is the most significant crime prevention financial package in recent memory New fog cannon subsidy scheme set up. Government to provide $4000 for all small shops and dairies in New Zealand who want a fog cannon installed, with shops ...3 days ago
- Funding boost to support NZ’s game development industryNew Zealand’s game developers will receive an immediate funding boost to help support the growth of local studios beyond the current Dunedin centre. “New Zealand’s game development sector has been rapidly growing. The latest data from the New Zealand Game Developers Association shows the total revenue for the industry is ...3 days ago
- A new strategy for Pacific housingNew and existing housing initiatives are being brought together to improve home ownership for Pacific people said Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio. Fale mo Aiga: Pacific Housing Strategy and Action Plan 2030, launched today, is the Government’s targeted response to the housing challenges faced by Pacific Aotearoa. Minister ...3 days ago
- Government takes action on pay parity for healthcare workersThousands of frontline community health workers – including nurses in aged-care facilities - are in for a pay rise as the Labour Government takes action on pay parity in the health sector. “I’m pleased to announce that Cabinet has agreed to on-going funding of $200 million a year so that ...3 days ago
- World’s first algae-based local anaesthetic another step closer to realityA partnership between the Government and the Cawthron Institute has delivered a breakthrough in the production of a potent microalgal ingredient for the world’s first algae-based pain medication, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced. “Scientists at Cawthron Institute in Nelson have developed a reliable and commercially scalable method for producing neosaxitoxin, ...5 days ago
- Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and the Crown sign Agreement in Principle| Ka waitohu a Ngāti Mutunga o...Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and the Crown have signed an Agreement in Principle marking a significant milestone towards the settlement of their historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. Ngāti Mutunga are based on Wharekauri/Chatham Islands and are the second of two iwi/imi to reach agreement with the Crown. “Today’s signing follows ...6 days ago
- Further ACC reforms introduced to ParliamentNew reporting requirements on access to ACC Earlier access to minimum rate of compensation Refinement to ACC purpose to focus on supporting all eligible injured people to access ACC The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill which aims to improve access to ACC for all injured people, ...6 days ago
- Government supports Chatham Islands' resilienceThe Government is supporting the Chatham Islands’ resilience to extreme weather events and natural hazards through a grant to secure safe drinking water, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty said. “Many households in the Chatham Islands lack easy access to drinking water and have been forced to get water to ...6 days ago
- New Chief Coroner appointedCoroner Anna Tutton has been appointed as the new Chief Coroner, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Anna Tutton was appointed as a Coroner in January 2015, based in Christchurch, and as Deputy Chief Coroner in 2020. After the previous Chief Coroner, Judge Deborah Marshall, retired Ms Tutton took on the ...6 days ago
- DIRA Amendment Bill passes third readingThe Government has passed an Amendment Bill today to support Fonterra’s move to a new capital structure and the continued success of New Zealand’s dairy industry. The Dairy Industry Restructuring (Fonterra Capital Restructuring) Amendment Bill will allow the Fonterra co-operative to make changes to its capital structure, as well as ...6 days ago
- Minister Whaitiri to attend Food Ministers’ Meeting with Australian counterpartsMinister for Food Safety Meka Whaitiri will attend the Fourth Australia and New Zealand Food Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne on Friday. It will be the first time the meeting has been held in person since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted international travel. “The Food Ministers’ Meeting sets the policy direction for ...6 days ago
- New Kiwibank parent appoints directorsDavid McLean and Sir Brian Roche have been appointed as the first two directors of the newly incorporated Kiwi Group Capital Limited (KCG), the parent company of Kiwibank. In August, the Government acquired 100 percent of Kiwi Group Holdings, which also operates New Zealand Home Loans, from NZ Post, ACC ...7 days ago
- Defence Ministers meet in CambodiaMinister of Defence Peeni Henare attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. “The first face to face meeting of the ADMM-Plus members is an opportunity for me to highlight New Zealand’s position on key regional security matters,” Peeni Henare said. “In ...7 days ago
- Pay equity extended to thousands more social workersThe Government will extend pay equity to all community and iwi organisations who employ social workers and receive funding from the Crown, Minister for Women Jan Tinetti announced today. We expect this will improve the lives of approximately 4,600 social workers. “This extension means thousands more social workers will be ...7 days ago
- Taskforce set up to protect construction industry from product shortages & delaysNew ‘Critical Materials Taskforce’ will trouble shoot building materials shortages Focus on maximising productivity & cushioning businesses from supply chain risks Successful ‘Plasterboard Taskforce’ reshaped to include broader sector knowledge and expertise Will provide guidance, data and information to support builders, designers and business owners A new Critical Materials Taskforce ...7 days ago
- Bigger ED, more theatres and more beds in new Whangārei HospitalA new emergency department with three times more space will be part of the first stage of a two-stage project to build a new hospital for Whangārei and Northland. The Government has today confirmed funding for stage one of the new hospital – an acute services building and a child-health ...7 days ago
- Finnish PM to visit New ZealandFinland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin, accompanied by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and a business delegation will visit New Zealand next week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The two leaders will meet in Auckland. “New Zealand and Finland are natural partners. We share similar approaches ...1 week ago
- New recreational rules to support hāpuku and bass fisheriesThe daily limits on recreationally caught hāpuku (also known as groper) and bass will be lowered to a total of two per person in some areas, with a new accumulation limit of three per person on multi-day trips. Oceans and Fisheries Minister, David Parker said the rule changes would take ...1 week ago
- Jobs for Nature enabling Mātāuranga MāoriMātāuranga Māori is at the heart of the latest tranche of Jobs for Nature projects set to promote biodiversity and reduce impacts of climate change on Māori land, Minister of Conservation Poto Williams says. Project work will include the creation of an ecological corridor in Tairāwhiti, protecting 60 hectares of ...1 week ago
- Supporting resilient shipping infrastructure in VanuatuThe Government has announced further support to Vanuatu to assist in constructing climate-resilient wharves as part of the Vanuatu Inter-Island Shipping Support Project (VISSP). “Aotearoa New Zealand is committed to supporting the economic recovery of our Pacific region in a way that continues to provide growth and supports climate resilience,” ...1 week ago
- Government welcomes High Court ruling on climate caseThe High Court has today confirmed the legality of the advice provided by the Climate Change Commission (the Commision) to inform New Zealand’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) and the first three emissions budgets. Minister of Climate Change James Shaw says New Zealanders can have confidence in the Commission and of ...1 week ago
- The fog of Orr
As Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr paints a gruesome picture for the year ahead, Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire ask what it means for the election ahead. Plus: National kills its tax cut darling, Christopher Luxon stumbles on super numbers, the boot camp brouhaha, Winston Peters’ break from ...7 hours ago - Niue faces covid-19 community transmission for first time
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist The Niue government has confirmed the country is experiencing covid-19 community transmission for the first time since the virus was recorded at the border in March. “We don’t have additional resources to be finding sources of infection, previously we haven’t done that before. “This ...7 hours ago - Word from The Hill: Federal parliament’s ‘salt mines’ final weekSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...10 hours ago
- Parents refusing vaccinated donor blood for baby should consider decisions carefully – Little
The Minister of Health says the parents who want only unvaccinated blood for their baby's heart surgery should "listen to the health advice on offer". ...11 hours ago - View from The Hill: Scott Morrison makes parliamentary history – for the worst of reasonsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Among the slew of mostly predictable speeches that culminated in the first-ever House of Representatives censure of a former prime minister, one stood out. Bridget Archer, Liberal backbencher from Tasmania, was brief and brave, ...13 hours ago
- 20 years of tracking sexual harassment at work shows little improvement. But that could be about to ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Heap, Doctoral Researcher, RMIT University Shutterstock The fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, published today, shows little has changed since the last survey in 2018 – or indeed since the first survey in 2003. It ...14 hours ago
- Nicky Hager wins apology and $40,000 compensation from NZ spy agencyThe Security Intelligence Service has agreed to issue a public apology and pay $40,000 compensation and $26,400 in legal costs to investigative journalist Nicky Hager over the unlawful capture of call logs from his phone. It follows a 2019 ruling by the spy agency watchdog, the IGIS, which determined the ...14 hours ago
- It’s time we closed the political donation backdoorA new report by researchers Max Rashbrooke and Lisa Marriott into the laws around political donations in Aotearoa suggests there are significant gaps in our current regulatory system – and that people are actively taking advantage of them. In this comic, we take a look at what’s wrong with the ...14 hours ago
- NZ’s terror threat level drops to lowest since March 15 attackNew Zealand’s terror threat level has dropped to low – the first time it has been at that level since the March 15 mosque attacks in Christchurch more than three years ago. As Stuff reported, that means the risk of a terror attack on our shores has dropped down from ...14 hours ago
- Two prime ministers meet to talk about meetingFinland’s prime minister Sanna Marin met with Jacinda Ardern at an official ceremony this morning. Against the backdrop of global unrest, it took on added significance. Stewart Sowman-Lund was there. It was on the “special request” of Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin that she sat down today on New Zealand ...14 hours ago
- The bar for supporting women’s rugby is still on the floorWe shouldn’t celebrate brands for finally doing what they could’ve done years ago, argues Madeleine Chapman. On Monday night, Sanitarium announced through consumer affairs programme Fair Go (and later on Instagram) that the Black Ferns would feature on Stat Attack cards in 2023. The cards, which come as a collectible ...14 hours ago
- Curious Kids: What would happen if all animals on Earth were herbivores?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mitchell G. Nye-Wood, Research Fellow, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock What would happen if all animals on Earth were herbivores? – Molly, age 9, Melbourne Thanks for the great question, Molly! We hear a lot about how ...14 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Essay – How do Left-Wing Elites Make their Money?Analysis by Keith Rankin. The academic study of history, more than anything else, is about the relationships between social elites and the lower classes. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Yet, when it comes to ...15 hours ago
- Could the Nationals’ refusal to support a Voice to Parliament derail the referendum?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Melleuish, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Mick Tsikas/AAP The Nationals have declared they will support the No case for the Voice referendum. This position has not been endorsed by all the Nationals, with the ...15 hours ago
- Chlorophyll water can’t clear your skin or detox your liver. But this TikTok trend got one thing r...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Beckett, Senior Lecturer (Food Science and Human Nutrition), School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle Shutterstock If you follow health trends online, you might have heard about “chlorophyll water”. Claims range from clearing your skin, stopping body ...16 hours ago
- NZSIS Apologises To Nicky Hager For Unlawfully Obtaining Private Phone Records
...16 hours ago - Australia’s national anti-corruption agency arrives. Will it stand the test of time?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith University Australia’s long-awaited National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has become a legislative reality, after the House of Representatives today accepted a final amendment imposed by the Senate ...16 hours ago
- Windfall taxes on power companies may not be a good idea when advancing towards decarbonising the ec...
Meridian Energy has chosen Australian resource firm Woodside Energy as its preferred partner to develop a green hydrogen project in Southland. Meridian CEO Neil Barclay expects broad, future economic gains from the project. “We believe a large-scale hydrogen and ammonia facility in Southland, focused on the export market, will ...16 hours ago - Ardern meets her Finnish counterpartIt’s November 30 and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates – made possible by our members. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund, reach me on [email protected] The agenda Jacinda Ardern has met with Finnish PM Sanna Marin for a bilateral discussion in Auckland. A permanent successor to Ashley Bloomfield for director ...16 hours ago
- NZ Skeptics’ Bravo And Bent-Spoon Awards 2022<img src="https://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/2211/66c3ddf6b47726fe9e2c.jpeg" width="720" height="720"> Every year the New Zealand Skeptics have presented their awards to prominent people and organisations who have made an ...16 hours ago
- Three businessmen guilty of political donations deception avoid prisonThree men found guilty of obtaining by deception in relation to one or more concealed political donations to the National Party have avoided prison sentences and been handed discounts for their past philanthropy. ...16 hours ago
- More Job Cuts At AUTTe Wānanga Aronui O Tamaki Makau Rau | Auckland University of Technology has released fresh change proposals that, if confirmed, will see a further 36 job losses – all allied (non-academic) staff – with more expected in the new year. Te Hautū Kahurangi ...16 hours ago
- Youth Daily Smoking Rates Remain At Record Low In Annual ASH Year 10 SurveyYouth daily smoking rates have continued to stay at a record low in New Zealand, with only 1.1% of Year 10 students (14-15 years of age) in the annual ASH survey saying they smoke at least once a day. That amounts to around only 700 students across ...16 hours ago
- Te Rangiwaituhi Ceremony Signals New Relationship With Ngāti Maniapoto And The CrownTe Rangiwaituhi is the Maniapoto Settlement Ceremony that will be held this Sunday (4th December). It’s an opportunity for all whānau to come together for this historical occasion, with a formal apology from the Prime Minister being presented, setting ...17 hours ago
- Govt curries favour with farmers with climate change investments – but a collaborative strategy (d...
Buzz from the Beehive Governmental news for the farm and forestry sectors flowed too fast from the Beehive for your Point of Order team to quickly grasp all the implications. At first blush, we are tempted to wonder if something that looks like good news for farmers has been deftly ...17 hours ago - New Zealand drops terror threat level to 'Low'New Zealand's terror threat level has today been dropped from "Medium" to "Low" after an annual review. ...17 hours ago
- Radical Rethink Required If We’re Serious About Fixing New Zealand’s Housing CrisisNew Zealand’s housing crisis must be radically reframed and thought about much more holistically claims new research from JLL New Zealand, published today. Planning reforms, shared-ownership, build-to-rent and improved access to finance for building ...17 hours ago
- The 20 most memorable MAFS AU participants of all timeAs we reflect on the year of 2022 and the many years that have come before it, we thought it was the perfect time to look back at the 20 most memorable MAFS AU characters (from mostly the last four seasons). Join us as we reminisce about Pasta a la ...17 hours ago
- Gun Control NZ Welcomes The Launch Of Te Tari Pūkere: The Firearms Safety Authority“We welcome the launch of Te Tari Pūkere, the new Firearms Safety Authority. This is an important step in implementing our new firearms law and ensuring improved vetting of gun owners.” says Philippa Yasbek, co-founder of Gun Control NZ. “Gun ...17 hours ago
- Women are often told their fertility ‘falls off a cliff’ at 35, but is that right?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karin Hammarberg, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University Shutterstock It’s a fact women’s fertility declines as they age. But the common description of fertility decline after age 35 as a ...17 hours ago
- ‘A three-storey, luminous birdcage with suspended hanging gardens and an extensive crypt below’:...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National University Aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new SANAA – designed building, 2022. Photo © Iwan Baan The Sydney Modern Project had the odds stacked against it since its ...17 hours ago
- Coastal property prices and climate risks are both soaring. We must pull our heads out of the sandSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tayanah O’Donnell, Honorary Associate Professor, Australian National University Australians’ well-documented affinity with the sun, surf and sand continues to fuel coastal property market growth. This growth defies rising interest rates and growing evidence of the impacts of climate change on people living ...18 hours ago
- SPCA Appealing To Owners Not To Leave Dogs In Cars During Sizzling Summer MonthsRNZSPCA is appealing to dog owners to think twice before leaving their dogs in the car as the summer months approach. SPCA inspectors have already received several calls from concerned members of the public after spotting dogs locked in cars during ...18 hours ago
- Fog Cannon Subsidy Must Include Petrol Stations...18 hours ago
- The Block NZ postponed due to ‘challenging’ housing marketThree’s staple reality series The Block NZ won’t air in 2023 as originally planned. Instead, a local version of Australian reno show House Rules has been commissioned. In a statement, Warner Bros Discovery’s Vicki Keogh said that the “challenging” housing market had made it necessary to push back The Block ...18 hours ago
- Fish and chips in New York are miserly, expensive and taste like cornflakesFor a New Zealander in NYC, real fish and chips are a nothing but a deep-fried memory. Trying to relive the experience just leads to poverty and chip counting. There are few greater pleasures in life than digging into a bundle of sand-speckled fish and chips on a windy overcast ...18 hours ago
- Marin’s ‘special request’ to visit NZ, meet with ArdernJacinda Ardern has wrapped her meeting with Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin. The two met for the first time this morning at Auckland’s government house for what, by all accounts, was a cordial and productive engagement. After a pōwhiri welcome, the two smiled and shook hands on the lawns of ...18 hours ago
- New director general of health confirmedDiana Sarfati has been appointed director general of health, a role she has held in an acting capacity since the departure of Ashley Bloomfield earlier this year. It comes at a crucial time for the ministry as it adjusts to the new health system and prepares for a potential new ...18 hours ago
- Netflix shares trailer for White Island eruption documentaryThis morning Netflix shared the trailer to its White Island eruption documentary, The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari, which chronicles the minute-by-minute accounts of the eruption in 2019. The film comes from Academy Award-nominated director Rory Kennedy (The Last Days of Vietnam, The Ghosts of Ahu Grahib), is executive produced by ...18 hours ago
- Hear me out: Bring back camping out for concert ticketsIf Taylor Swift can’t get tickets into the hands of fans, maybe it’s time to return to overnight slumber parties on the street. The concrete was cold, the toilets were hard to come by, the snacks and drinks were BYO, and the screech of tyres, the honking of horns and ...18 hours ago
- The Galactica AI model was trained on scientific knowledge – but it spat out alarmingly plausible ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Snoswell, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Computational Law & AI Accountability, Queensland University of Technology Tengyart / Unsplash Earlier this month, Meta announced new AI software called Galactica: “a large language model that can store, combine and reason about scientific ...18 hours ago
- Greenpeace Appeals Against Hiringa Hydrogen-to-urea With Hapū BackingWith the support of Hapū of Ngāruahine in South Taranaki, Greenpeace Aotearoa is appealing against the High Court’s approval of the proposal to create hydrogen for the manufacture of urea at the Ballance-owned Kapuni fertiliser factory, in Te ...19 hours ago
- Headwear and hegemony: how ‘turban tossing’ protests are threatening Iran’s ruling clergySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Negar Partow, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies, Massey University A protest image of Mahsa Amani, whose death ignited anti-regime demonstrations across Iran and the world. Getty Images The ongoing protests in Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the ...19 hours ago
- Businesses Demand Urgent Response On Canterbury Crime And Antisocial BehaviourAs the frequency and severity of crime and antisocial behaviour throughout the Canterbury region increases at pace, 80 businesses from throughout the region have signed a joint letter, coordinated by the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, requesting ...19 hours ago
- THOMAS CRANMER: Mahuta ditches the ‘no surprises’ policy
As Cabinet Ministers have been blindsided by developments in the Three Waters legislation, the events of last Wednesday night give a glimpse of the power politics that are at play within government. THOMAS CRANMER writes: As the furore over the government’s attempted entrenchment of the anti-privatisation provision within the ...19 hours ago - Ten things you can say about Finland’s prime minister that don’t use the word ‘party’An extensive Spinoff investigation using google.co.nz. Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin is currently in New Zealand and is meeting with New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern this morning. She will then head to Australia to meet Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese. Marin was recently cleared of all misconduct after ...19 hours ago
- Thousands Call For Parliament To Keep Terrorist Charges For Terrorist Activities And Material OnlyIn less than 24 hours, over 5,000 Kiwis have signed the Free Speech Union's petition calling on Parliament to drop Clause 15 of the Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Bill . The Justice Select Committee must protect Kiwis' ...19 hours ago
- What’s with all the ads for candlelit concerts?These days my Facebook feed seems to mostly consist of ads for photogenic ‘candlelight concerts’ – and yours is probably the same. But are they for real? As Twitter slowly implodes and we all disperse to various other social media platforms, I’ve returned to Facebook. And with that change of ...20 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Te Whatu Ora headed to court over baby requiring heart surgeryThe Herald is reporting that Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand is heading to court to seek guardianship of a baby in need of heart surgery. The child’s parents are refusing to allow blood from people vaccinated against Covid to be used in the operation. Court records show documents were filed with ...20 hours ago
- Working People Excited To Initiate FPAs TomorrowWorking people across Aotearoa New Zealand are excited that the process for improving standards and conditions through Fair Pay Agreements kicks off for three key industries tomorrow. Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs), which became law last month, will allow working ...20 hours ago
- A Fairer Society For AllChildren are bearing the brunt of entrenched inequality in New Zealand. Bryan Bruce’s documentary’s Inside Child Poverty Revisited shown last night on TV3 shows that while there have been some improvements in the 11 years since his first documentary ...20 hours ago
- Primary Care Exclusion From Pay ParityThe College of Nurses Aotearoa urges Minister Little to reconsider the position of excluding Primary Health Care Nurses from the pay parity announcement made yesterday. Primary Health Care nurses are highly skilled front-line staff who make a positive ...21 hours ago
- Stuff Union Members Take Strike Action Over Pay OfferJournalists at the larger Stuff newsrooms across Aotearoa have voted to take strike action starting this week, to push for a decent pay rise in their new collective agreement. The E tū members will take several two-hour strikes this week, including ...21 hours ago
- After A Perfect Summer’s Day, Gift A Summer Safe NightAs the sun sets, share that summer feeling by gifting a $20 Summer Safe Night. It’s that magical hour, when the sun sinks after a perfect summer day. The skies turn a dusky pink, you grab a refreshing drink and relax into an easy evening. Finally, ...21 hours ago
- It Is About Time Nurses And Other Healthcare Workers In The Aged Care Sector Got Pay ParityThe Grey Power Federation has given a qualified welcome to the Government’s new $200 million fund for non-hospital healthcare workers. Federation president Jan Pentecost said the salaries of nurses in aged care facilities should never have been allowed ...21 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern and Finland PM Sanna Marin hold media briefingSanna Marin is visiting New Zealand and has been speaking to media alongside Jacinda Ardern. ...21 hours ago
- Newsletter: November 30 2022 – Items of interest and importance todayNew Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance today THREE WATERS Jane Patterson (RNZ): Three Waters anti-privatisation blunder adds to storm of controversy Jo Moir (Newsroom): The chaos ...22 hours ago
- OP-ED: Can Asia and the Pacific get on track to net zero? – Armida Salsiah AlisjahbanaOP-ED by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering ...22 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern meets with Finnish PMJacinda Ardern is meeting face-to-face for the first time with her Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin. It’s the first official visit by a Finnish prime minister to New Zealand, and comes in the wake of ongoing negotiations over a free trade deal with the European Union. Marin arrived in the country ...23 hours ago
- The cost of living (and dying) as New Zealand ages upWe’re currently preoccupied with the present day cost of living but a series of new reports from the Retirement Commission bring the future into much closer view, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday morning, sign up here. 40% of ...23 hours ago
- You’ve got a friend: young people help each other with their mental health for 3.5 hours every wee...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Hanckel, Senior research fellow, Western Sydney University Pexels/Ron Lach, CC BY Young people experience mental health difficulties at a higher rate than any other age group. While there’s ongoing discussion about the formal supports they need, young people say ...23 hours ago
- Many forests will become highly flammable for at least 30 extra days per year unless we cut emission...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hamish Clarke, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Without strong climate action, forests on every continent will be highly flammable for at least 30 extra days per year by the end of the century – and this fire threat is far ...23 hours ago
- As more biometric data is collected in schools, parents need to ask these 10 questionsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Teresa Swist, Researcher, University of Sydney Shutterstock A Sydney high school recently introduced fingerprint technology to “help narrow down” students who were vandalising school toilets. Under the plan, students needed to to scan their fingerprints to get access to ...23 hours ago
- Christmas Ransom: I quite enjoyed watching this (terrible) new Aussie Christmas filmSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Stan There’s something about the wintry quality of so much Christmas iconography – snow, mistletoe, fireplaces – that just doesn’t gel with the Southern hemisphere. So it’s not ...23 hours ago
- We built an algorithm that predicts the length of court sentences – could AI play a role in the ju...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lensen, Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence | Pūkenga, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to its deployment in courtrooms overseas. In China, robot judges decide on small ...1 day ago
- My marriage is finally over. My fight against New Zealand’s archaic divorce law goes onLast year Ashley Jones went to parliament to plead for ‘quickie’ divorces to be allowed in cases of violence or abuse. This week, almost three years after leaving her husband, she finally won her own freedom. In June 2021 I brought my fight for changes to our archaic divorce laws ...1 day ago
- New Zealand’s other looming housing crisisNZ Super was designed with the assumption that most people will own their home and be mortgage-free by the time they retire. That’s increasingly not the case. This article was first published in Bernard Hickey’s newsletter The Kākā. Retirement commissioner Jane Wrightson published her three-yearly retirement policy review yesterday with a ...1 day ago
- Hamilton West by-election: Crime and cost of living top of mind for votersCommunity leaders say most people are more concerned about getting by day to day than worrying about an election that does not affect who is in power. ...1 day ago
- The problem with entrenching party policyThe Detail - A move from the Greens to entrench a piece of the Three Waters reforms has thrown public discourse into chaos. ...1 day ago
- Rally To Defend Reproductive Rights On 3rd DecemberPōneke Anti-Fascist Action (PAFC) is calling for Wellingtonians to stand up for the right for people to have safe, supported abortion - and to reject spaces that enable the far-right to spread their politics of misinformation. On December 3rd, ...1 day ago
- Albanese insists Voice will help ‘close the gap’, as divisions flare in NationalsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As the Indigenous Voice provoked divisions in the Nationals, Anthony Albanese rejected the party’s claim it wouldn’t help “close the gap” for First Nations Australians. The federal Nationals, announcing this week they’ll oppose the ...1 day ago
- We all know the Great Barrier Reef is in danger – the UN has just confirmed it. AgainSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon C. Day, PSM, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Kristin Hoel/Unsplash, CC BY-SA You might be forgiven for thinking it’s Groundhog Day reading headlines about the Great Barrier Reef potentially ...1 day ago
- How Australian economist Sean Turnell came to be in and freed from a Myanmar jailSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney Macquarie University economist Sean Turnell is free and living in Sydney after 650 days of imprisonment in Myanmar, for what appears to be the “crime” of doing an economist’s job, which ...1 day ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva on her book Bulldozed, Scott Morrison and the Liberals’...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Six months after Scott Morrison was ousted, he remains a centre of attention, with parliament set to censure him on Wednesday over his multi-ministry power grab. In exquisite timing, journalist Niki Savva’s book Bulldozed ...2 days ago
- Yes, the Chinese protests are about politics and freedom. But they are also about what COVID might d...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania Kanis Leung/AP/AAP While a lot of attention has been given to the unprecedented protests in China about the “dynamic zero COVID” policy, not much has been written about the wider political ...2 days ago
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