It’s great enjoying winter’s charms ( bracing walks, a roaring log burner, lots of music, spending time cooking time consuming recipes) when you’re NOT experiencing a 19 hour power cut as we were last weekend post the solstice eve storm. (Although of course the log burner kept a roarin’ the whole way through)
Power is at hand this weekend to watch a Hunter S Thompson doco I got out from the library “Buy the ticket, take the ride”. Should be interesting. That and trying a new recipe along the lines of a vego meal centred around Yorkshire puddings! Yorkshire puddings! And feeding the ducks that are returning to the lawn after being away since spring last year.They still know where their feeding stations are.
All the best to those all around the country affected by massive snows and ferocious storms last week. Hope the clean up’s are going well.
Where are you this week ianmac? A very pleasant low 20s forecast here for this weekend. Much better than last weeks mid-30s. But we’re not doing much – 3 more sleeps until the op on the man’s bad back.
Hi rosy. Not going to Vienna this time. A short sharp thunderstorm has just blasted Ho Chi Minh city here and coled the air to 29 degrees. Off to Croatia tomorrow because when my wife says go, I go quickly. But I am keeping track of nz via the standard. Afraid John key does not seem to need my advice. “Are you surprised?” Says my wife rather unkindly. Humph!
Lovely to hear your ducks are back Rosie. If I remember correctly I told you they would be back. They spent the summer in Ennui’s back yard and beyond, but they know where the good lurks are in the middle of winter.
Each morning after I’ve fed and watered the budgies (and cleaned their beds perches), I let the wild winged creatures have the left overs. Problem is they now number about 50 to 100 and include grey doves, blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, mynas, two pair of thrushes and a bolshie pigeon. It’s getting a bit expensive.
Ah yes indeed Anne, you did say they would be back! They’ve started settling in to a bit of a routine. Two of them came here with their mother, as chicks last year and stayed until they had learnt to fly. I remember their markings and personalities, and they know their way around.I don’t have a clue who the others are. These two young hens have brought with them two young drakes plus an older drake who is already in full breeding colours. He gives the young drakes a hard time and there was quite a scene this morning when a fight broke out.
You have certainly got your hands full with your lot – it must get noisy at feeding time. I can relate to the cost issues. Ours get poultry feed and we can manage the budget for feeding a pair but I’m not sure how it’s going to work with five of them………..
eww. Power cuts are not fun in winter. Glad my power has held up so far – not sure about the power bill though. There seems to have been a pretty virulent cold swept through my work team this week. And I had to ring in sick today for about the first time since my accident a couple of years ago.
Nice sunshine through my window though.
Glad to hear you have power now. Some people still without.
It should have eben a great weekend /What with the Handel Opera at the Hamilton Lido and the sunny Cambridge weather Unfortunately our good friend and Labour Party stalwart died .Noeline Nuttall was a wonderful worker for the Labour Cause a truthfully caring person who believed in a just fair world for all . My wife and I will miss Noeline a lot but vwewill remember her with much affection.
International research shows that there is a socioeconomic status (or class) gradient, in which those with low SES experience higher morbidity from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, rheumatoid disorders, a number of cancers, psychiatric diseases, dementia and so on.read more ...
In the 1980's, the revolutionary government "reformed" the public service, splitting it up into competing agencies. This was supposed to produce better focus and greater accountability: agencies would focus on their area of expertise and argue their corner, and chief ...
49 publications for this week. The last paper in this week's list features Skeptical Science volunteer and highly cited researcher Stephan Lewandowsky along with Skeptical Science founder John Cook as first and second authors respectively, working with regular collaborator Gilles Gignac. ...
The basic principle of democracy is "one person, one vote". Everyone's voice counts equally. But our local government system obeys a different system of "one house, one vote" - effectively giving extra votes to the rich. While there are restrictions ...
Today is a Member's Day, and its crunch day for David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill. But its only third on the Order Paper, and has to wait a bit. First up is the third reading of Kieran McAnulty's ...
PICTURED: Judith Collins and her chief benefactor (inset) When Simon Bridges resolved to wrestle the infrastructure portfolio from perennial rival Judith Collins this week, he had to utilize a mechanism not usually exercised in the halls of Parliament. Removing a ...
PICTURED: Folau’s updated list of hell-bound sinners. Following a difficult week for Israel Folau, under fire and alleged financial pressure due to his public condemnation of homosexuals, the former rugby union star has revised the list that landed him in ...
The Stuff story on the renewable energy target quotes National climate change spokesperson Todd Muller as opposing cuts to electricity sector emissions:National's climate change spokesman Todd Muller said the report exposed the "economic lunacy" of being fixated on greenhouse emissions ...
Few tears will be shed in the regions at the departure of Christopher Luxon as CEO of Air New Zealand. Under his watch, the supposedly “national” airline lost sight of its national responsibilities and abandoned regional centres such as Whakatane ...
Turning Their Backs On Fear: The students of 38 years ago didn’t run to the nearest authority figure tearful and distraught: they padded-up, put on crash helmets, and went out onto the streets; risking pro-tour fists and police batons to ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has now made it into the modern world, but not that of a strong and diversified economy, of democratic rights, nor the rule of law. No, that is not the modern world that Colombia has ...
Local body elections are happening in October. With councils around the country declaring or debating climate emergencies, climate change is likely to play a big role, and the surge in younger candidates should provide some welcome and necessary representation against ...
Grant Illingworth QC is concerned that if David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill is enacted, we somehow would be breaching the social contract on which our entire system of law rests.read more ...
This article is about what can happen if a drug substitution programme is suddenly cancelled. In 1978, the Dunedin Hospital Board followed a New Zealand-wide trend and began an opiate substitution programme for local addicts using the synthetic narcotic, methadone. The ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jun 16 through Sat, June 22, 2019 Editor's Pick A Degree of Concern: Why Global Temperatures MatterCredit: NASA-JPL/CaltechPart ...
Impaired Vision: Judging from the invaluable testimony obtained from two Taliban commanders by Jon Stephenson, video evidence may exist of a US gunship firing at fleeing insurgents, as well as the Tirgiran villagers fleeing with them. Such a sequence would ...
EXC: The Conservative Muslim chief has been expelled from the Tory Muslim group. Mohammed Amin tells me he has been expelled following an intervention by CCHQ because he criticised the 'moral integrity' of Boris Johnson: https://t.co/5pkY2JR1C2— Shehab ...
One of the central demands of the Extinction Rebellion campaign has been for climate change to be taken out of the hand of corrupt establishment politicians and put in the hands of the people via a citizen's assembly. Now, it ...
Maire Leadbeater is a longtime anti-imperialist activist based in Auckland. In recent years she has been particularly active in solidarity work with the cause of freedom in West Papua, which has been under vicious Indonesian occupation since the early 1960s. ...
For the past four years, Saudi Arabia has been indiscriminately bombing Yemen, attcking hospitals and other civilian targets and committing war crimes. They're doing it in part with British weapons, exported by British arms dealers with the approval of the ...
Power Grab: With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to argue that the economic, administrative, social and cultural institutions mandated by New Zealand’s much-praised bicultural project were simultaneously a means of releasing political pressure and mechanisms for securing the ...
Last month, Catalans elected three exiled and jailed pro-independence politicians to the European Parliament. Unfortunately, Spain no longer seems to respect the results of democratic elections, and the Spanish Electoral Commission today declared their seats vacant. The reason? None of ...
Yesterday the government announced some minor tweaks to the electoral system, including more locations for advance voting, and allowing people to enrol on election day. The changes were recommended by the Electoral Commission in its post-mortem on the 2017 election, ...
James Robb looks at the systemic issues surrounding the state taking children from their families. A shocking documentary video released last week by Newsroom reporter Melanie Reid, shows the attempts by social workers employed by Oranga Tamariki, the New Zealand state’s child welfare agency, ...
The inquiry into whether the SAS acted illegally during a nighttime raid on a suspected insurgent’s hideout in Afghanistan in 2010 (code named Operation Burnham), which resulted in six civilian deaths and serious wounds to 15 others, is slowly coming ...
The core claims of Jon Stephenson and Nicky Hager's Hit & Run are that the New Zealand SAS raided two villages in Afghanistan in search of "insurgents" who weren't there, and in the process killed six civilians including a three-year-old ...
The Original White Supremacists: The current misuse of the term “white supremacy” is highly dangerous politically. By singling out this particular form of racism and misapplying it to famous figures from the past, as well as to people living in ...
One of the major issues which face a democratic nation is the challenge of keeping its bureaucracy accountable and responsive to the public. Over the years a variety of arrangements have developed with this objective.read more ...
Statistics New Zealand is planning to track everyone through their cellphones "for statistical purposes":Stats NZ is partnering with cellphone companies to launch a new way of tracking people's movements every hour. The population density programme will launch next month and ...
Reaching Out For The Zeitgeist: Act Leader, David Seymour, and his neoliberal colleagues, have (perhaps unconsciously) grasped the multiple political implications of declaring ACT to be the “freedom party”. What they clearly have not grasped, however, is the fundamental incompatibility ...
Another major oil company has given up exploring in New Zealand: Chevron and Norwegian oil giant Equinor have opted to abandon their joint exploration efforts off the east coast of the North Island. The two firms have applied to surrender ...
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NZ has dethroned GDP as a measure of success, but will Ardern’s government be transformational? When you’re in politics, words are a high-stakes game. Voters and journalists hold you to them and there is a risk in using ...
A note of appreciation and a changing of the guardFor the past over eight years Skeptical Science staff volunteer Ari Jokimäki has produced a weekly list of links to recent academic publications concerning the fundamental science of climate change, global ...
The article below first appeared in the April 7, 1978 issue of the fortnightly left-wing workers’ paper Socialist Action. The article is referred to in Maire Leadbeater’s new book on NZ and West Papua – we’ll be reviewing the book ...
If humanity is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid making the Earth uninhabitable, we need to stop burning fossil fuels. Transport is a key emitter, so this means we need to stop using fossil fuelled vehicles. A number of ...
The government's Operation Burnham whitewash has become a farce, with the SAS's victims refusing to participate any further:Afghani villagers are turning their backs on a Government inquiry into allegations six civilians were killed and a further 15 injured in a ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The world’s oceans are deeply affected by climate change – and vice versa. But until recent years, ocean advocates throughout California had long tackled issues like over-fishing ...
There’s so much one could say about Key’s assessment of Hisco right now… Suffice to say it was definitely the following: A) Perfectly reflective of the ...
New Zealand's spy agencies are supposedly subject to the rigorous oversight of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, an independent watchdog appointed to keep an eye on them and ensure they don't break the law again. But that watchdog depends ...
. . This morning, a little after 4am, Sharlene lost her brave fight against cancer. Rest in peace, Sharlene. You were always one of my brightest stars… . . Advertisements ...
Just Following Orders: None of the awfulness associated with Family Court "Uplift" orders exposed by Melanie Reid and Newsroom would be possible without the active assistance and institutional protection afforded to Oranga Tamariki by the nation’s DHBs. These latter, through ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jun 9 through Sat, June 15, 2019 Editor's Pick Costa Rica Doubled Its Forest Cover In Just 30 Years! Costa ...
Conflicting Messages: With so few publicly available opinion polls being conducted in this country, we really do need to know how one reputable polling agency can put National on 46 percent, while the other puts it on 37 percent. Nine ...
The End Of Civilisation: Despairing of the major powers ever agreeing to take the steps necessary to slow global warming, The Daily Blog Editor, Martyn Bradbury, has drawn up what amounts to a survivalist agenda for New Zealand. Quite rightly, ...
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New Zealand needs to decarbonise its electricity supply, while also increasing it to cope with the extra demand from electric vehicles. Wind energy is an obvious solution for this: we have an excellent wind resource, and its cheaper than fossil ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh The coca issue has gained a new lease of life in Duque’s Colombia, although to be truthful it never really lost its importance to the state. Trump’s scolding of Duque for not doing enough to halt ...
Director-General of OPCW Fernando Arias Gonzales admits Douma engineers report was legit and he was part of the FFM – but attempts to justify suppression of the report. France 24 reports that the head of the Organisation for the ...
When teachers demanded more time and more money to do their jobs, Education Minister Chris Hipkins was adamant: there was no more money and they should expect disappointment. No, after a joint strike and facing five weeks of rolling stoppages, ...
Ecuador's Constitutional Court has legalised same-sex marriage:Ecuador's highest court has approved same-sex marriage in a landmark ruling in the traditionally Catholic country. The vote at the nine-member Constitutional Court came as they ruled on the lawsuits by two same-sex couples ...
Arundhati Roy is speaking at the Auckland Writers Festival on July 17. In this interview in The Guardian Roy discusses her writing and political activism. Gary Younge: One of the things I’m intrigued by at this moment is the way ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Daisy Dunne The record-breaking 2018 summer heatwave in Japan in which more than 1,000 people died “could not have happened without human-induced global warming”, a study finds. And the extreme heat felt in ...
I've had a bit to say of late about YouTube, its algorithms and the escalating allure of certain facile "creators" to young men. I worry about this stuff. But I think it's also important to acknowledge that the alt-lite and ...
OMV's application for resource consent for drilling offshore exploration wells has highlighted a major flaw in our environmental legislation. Climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, is our most pressing environmental threat. But the EPA, which is deciding the application, ...
I saw an interesting article from FOIMan - a UK-based fredom of information site - on the subject of agencies googling requesters. This is apparently a common practice, but their short advice is "don't": its not just creepy and intimidating, ...
The article below is part of our ‘From the Vaults’ series and first appeared in the fortnightly left-wing NZ paper, Socialist Action, February 10, 1978. We hope to be expanding our Pacific coverage in future. The Republic of Vanuatu came ...
There are a number of ways of reading Sarah Gaitanos’s biography Shirley Smith: An Examined Life. In my view – I knew Shirley a little – she would want to you to read it as her struggle to be recognised, ...
Multiple motivations are behind my various attempts to reduce involvement in online life. The preciousness of time is a big one. The pointlessness of digital feuds is another. The inevitable temptation to meanness is a third.read more ...
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The Government is taking action to expand and strengthen the protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins with an updated plan to deal with threats to these native marine mammals. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash ...
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A new record for the number of Police officers deployed to the regions in a single year has been created with the graduation today of Recruit Wing 326. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the graduation of 78 new constables means ...
A Dunedin man has been sentenced in the Dunedin District Court on 26 June 2019 to ten months home detention for possession of child sex abuse and exploitation images. ...
On the 22nd of June, UNANZ National Conference presented attendees with the privilege of being able to listen to and learn from a collection of experts in their specialised fields in regard to climate change, disarmament and non-aggression. During the ...
With the second reading of the “End of Life Choice Bill” today, the public are left wondering if all the effort to make a submission to the Select Committee was worth it. Of the 38,000 submissions, 91.8 per cent are ...
The Auditor-General’s report Using different processes to protect marine environments was presented to the House of Representatives today. New Zealand’s marine environment covers over 4 million square kilometres of ocean and is home to more than 15,000 ...
1/ Donald Trump has announced that he is running for re-election in 2020 and has started campaigning (in reality that is all he's ever been doing while supposedly "governing" as President). In light of that, put the dates November 8-14, ...
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One in three New Zealand households rent their homes and are less likely to be satisfied with their housing compared to home owners, Stats NZ said today. ...
The importance of geospatial intelligence in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) work has been underlined at a course at Devonport Naval Base in Auckland. ...
The New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA) is offering its support and resources to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Transport Minister Phil Twyford as the regulatory body comes under increasing criticism. ...
In a first of its kind, the Department of Internal Affairs has granted Hamilton-based Grassroots Trust [Grassroots] a three-year Class 4 Gambling licence. Grassroots demonstrated best practice through their strong policies and practice and commitment to harm minimisation. ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority and Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council, Matthew Tukaki, has this morning written to Maori members of Parliament to consider, for the time being, voting against the third reading of the ...
THE key difference between the BERL rail study reports and the botched ‘2014 MBIE/NZTA rail reports’ on the Napier-Gisborne rail line is that BERL considered environmental and social responsibilities, and community wellbeing while MBIE/NZTA did not. ...
Stats NZ has today released its latest findings to Wellbeing of New Zealanders, Well-being Statistics: 2018 . The facts are clear; working Kiwis need to be paid more to make ends meet. ...
Restaurant Brands Ltd (RBL), is asking staff to authorise the deduction of so-called overpayments from the annual leave money they owe their current and former staff. ...
Primary teachers have voted to ratify a proposed settlement that will give them pay parity with their secondary colleagues, but disappointed primary principals have rejected a settlement that was unchanged from a previously rejected offer. ...
“New Zealand voted for MPs to enhance their lives, not extinguish it. This sends a message that we’re giving up on our own.” said Hannah Tamaki, Leader of Coalition New Zealand. ...
The number of deaths caused by drugged drivers – 71 last year and 88 the year before - means there must be better testing to get these people off our roads, says Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett. ...
The Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand) will hold a rally in Wellington, as part of the global campaign of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the World Socialist Web Site to demand freedom for Julian Assange. The WikiLeaks ...
Sign up now to receive Deloitte’s State of the State 2019 series, written in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, 26 June 2019 – Launched today, the Deloitte State of the State New Zealand 2019 series, written in partnership ...
Whanau First new parent advocacy group is calling on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse and the Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft and the Children’s Commission for urgent and immediate intervention into a current situation of abuse ...
A call for a Māori inquiry into child protection agency Oranga Tamariki has been heeded by the North Island’s Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency. A national hui on 13th July 2019 at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae, Māngere will launch the Māori-led ...
The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) joins the growing chorus of those calling for an inquiry into the banks, particularly the Gang of Four big Australian-owned banks that completely dominate the sector (and do very nicely out ...
Public consultation on Medicinal Cannabis is not due until mid-to-late July, after multiple delays in the scheduling. Early OIA requests showed the initial date was planned for the 22nd April, putting the scheme 3 months behind, with 6 months to ...
Today is the beginning of a period known as Matariki, heralded by the sighting of seven stars in the Matariki cluster, which can usually be spotted during atapō (before dawn), north of the constellation Tautoro. ...
The power of Community Housing Aotearoa as a catalyst to drastically increase the supply of adequate, affordable housing for families living in poverty has been recognised by the Peter McKenzie Project of the J R McKenzie Trust. ...
A Palmerston North man has been sentenced after neglecting to provide appropriate and timely health interventions for his pony, which resulted in the pony suffering from chronic, active inflammation laminitis. ...
Today, the widower of Lecretia Seales, Matt Vickers, released a video in support of the End of Life Choice Bill, which is almost certainly up for debate and potentially a vote tomorrow. The Bill is due for its second reading. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that, following a pursuit in Auckland, a man was dealt with inappropriately and unprofessionally by a Police officer during his arrest. ...
Yesterday's e-scooter death was the result of corrupt and reckless mismanagement by the government and the minister of transport should resign, says the car review website dogandlemon.com . ...
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes has today announced Dr Caralee McLiesh, PSM, to the position of Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Executive, the Treasury. ...
“Good on the Government for banning smoking in vehicles when there are children inside. We wholeheartedly support this move and we’re pleased Parliament’s dealing with this issue separately to vaping,” says Jonathan Devery, director of Alt New ...
A reduction in construction waste going to landfill is a step closer, following the release of a draft specification recognising good environmental practice in waste management and minimisation. The specification has been developed by the New Zealand ...
The PSA is calling on the Government to pave the way for Fair Pay Agreements, as new research shows they will both reduce inequality and provide a better balanced economy. ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa has welcomed a BERL-authored report released by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions this morning, which finds that New Zealand’s abandonment of sector bargaining in the 1990s is linked to a decline in wages. ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released an independent report conducted by economic research company BERL into the validity of sector bargaining. And the findings are clear - there is no economic reason not to implement sector bargaining but ...
New parent advocacy group Whanau First is calling for the resignation of the Chair of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions Sir Anand Satyanand and its Executive Director ...
The bank deposit insurance scheme just announced by government is no more then a licence for banks to create even more money out of thin air than they already do and be less responsible about who they lend it to, ...
Assalaamu Alaikum Wa Rahumatullahi Wa Barakatuh. May the Peace and the Blessing of God be Upon you FIANZ, the voice of New Zealand’s Muslim community since 1979, is opposed to euthanasia and the End of Life Choice Bill. We give ...
New Zealand’s economy has stabilised, with solid growth supporting well-being through jobs and incomes. Ongoing implementation of the government’s new well-being approach to policymaking will offer further opportunities to create a more sustainable and ...
Disability Commissioner Paula Tesoriero outlayed her concerns about the End of Life Choice Bill to John Campbell on TVNZ’s Breakfast yesterday morning . "I'm concerned that the safeguards are woefully inadequate,” she said. “I'm deeply ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says it’s still a moot point as to whether Iran was responsible for planting mines on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. “The more intelligence we see, the more we'll be able to make ...
Members of FIRST Union who work in the banking sector felt vindicated by the FMA and Reserve Bank of New Zealand announcement that all banks had committed to remove sales incentives from frontline staff and their managers. ...
Officials believe a third of all rental homes won't be insulated in time for the deadline next week. However preliminary results from a NZ Property Investors’ Federation (NZPIF) survey show that the real number of properties which are unlikely to ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour's member bill that would give terminally ill people the right to choose assisted dying has passed its latest hurdle in Parliament. ...
Clauses in insurance company life and trauma policies bar people with HIV and Aids from cover, or refuse to pay out if HIV is acquired through sexual contact or drug use. ...
Mt Albert is a town at a crossroads. The pressures of growth are set to radically reshape the area, but so far change has left some of its residents and business owners pining for the past. Hayden Donnell travels to ...
Alex Casey chats to a group of 16 year-olds about the pressures of Instagram, weird men in the DMs, and their multiple online identities. “I’m planning on getting it,” says Neha. “Just my breasts. They’re just too small. It doesn’t look ...
In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day takes a walk around Eden Park with one of the most unlikely legends of New Zealand sporting history.He probably shouldn’t have even been there. In the year before the 2015 ...
The gap between lectures and exams is often a crucial time for students to regroup and prepare for the oncoming exam storm. So it’s understandable that a proposal by Victoria University of Wellington to remove it is causing a stir.Faced ...
Peter Dunne concludes that the major reason this reshuffle has taken so long to finalise is because of the PM’s distaste for that side of politics. ...
Twenty-seven years ago, Trevor McKewen’s book about New Zealand rugby heroes celebrated a stoic, machismo national character. Recently his daughter asked him: would you want your grandsons to read that?I had always wanted to write a book. For a lot ...
Dairy technology company GEA Milfos has been ordered by the High Court in Auckland to pay $825,000 after admitting to a charge of price-fixing with a competitor, Dairy Automation Limited. ...
The red, yellow, and black trikes are everywhere. But where did they come from and how did they get here? Madeleine Chapman investigates.Walk past any daycare centre or kindy in New Zealand and you’ll hear the sound of plastic wheels ...
About as far as you can get from Aotearoa’s rural heartland, a new breed of farmers are rethinking the way we grow. At the heart of that shitshow of an Auckland city confluence where Symonds St, New North Rd, Khyber Pass ...
A Victoria University report is proposing extending the parliamentary term to four years, and increasing the number of MPs, so politicians can plan better for the future. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentNational Party Richard Harman (Politik): Bridges shores up his ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow, University of Wollongong People who live in regional or remote areas may be at lower risk ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Jarvis, Senior Lecturer in Education, Flinders University Less than half (38%) of Australian teachers feel prepared to teach students with special needs when they finish their formal training. This is despite ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Lawson, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Australia will need another 730,000 social housing dwellings in 20 years if it is to tackle homelessness and housing stress among ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Dinale, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney The traditional understanding of women’s economic empowerment is that, as participation in paid employment increases, fertility decreases. This was certainly true in industrialised nations up ...
Video: National leader Simon Bridges has reshuffled his caucus after senior MP Amy Adams relinquished her portfolios. He talks to Morning Report about the new line-up. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition:Some win, some lose from National reshuffle, End of Life choice bill facing crucial vote tonight, and Luxon-ad supporter lobbies against predatory lending controls.In any reshuffle, for someone to move ...
As a result of giving ourselves too much private space, New Zealanders are missing out on the benefit of communal public space, writes Dr Rebecca Kiddle. ...
Hong Kong protesters and the Court of Appeal in NZ have something in common, writes Ling Yee Wong. They both don't trust the Chinese justice system. ...
1000 Words is a Spinoff series talking to the photographers behind our most iconic political images. In this instalment, Don Rowe speaks to David White, the photographer who shot Colin Craig. Following a failed attempt at the Auckland mayoralty in 2010, ...
A new list of prioritised research for infertility topics shines a light on the areas where a real difference can be made. For too long people confronting infertility have been overlooked in those decisions, writes Cindy Farquhar, fertility expert and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The attitudes of Australians towards China have soured dramatically in the past year, according to the Lowy Institute’s annual poll released on Wednesday. Only 32% ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will warn of the danger of any further escalation in US-China tensions and declare Australia won’t let its relations with China be dominated ...
By RNZ Pacific French Polynesia’s former president, Gaston Flosse, and 12 others have been ordered to jointly repay millions of francs they misspent on so-called phantom jobs. In 2013, the group was found to have funded a vast network ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Wood, Associate Professor, Discipline of Childhood and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney This year, we’ve seen a resurgence of measles around the globe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recorded more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Thompson, Coordinator of Studies: Systematic Theology, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity For many Christians, Israel Folau has become the talisman in the fight for religious freedom. This week, some Australian ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Almond, Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland Martyn Iles, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, dodged the question this week when asked by Lisa ...
Art history tells us a lot about the present moment through its interpretation of the past. In historicising the work of bygone artists, it reveals changing attitudes and contemporary concerns, writes Emma Ng.This year Wellington is host to three exhibitions ...
Marian Keyes is a stone-cold legend: terrifically funny and emotionally intelligent, and never afraid of the dark. She deserves all the prizes. In lieu of that, here’s a heartfelt piece by Scarlett Cayford, who grew up steeped in Keyes’ stories ...
Consumers are being warned that some exotic mushrooms being sold in supermarkets and high-end restaurants as 'New Zealand grown' are being actually imported from China, a local grower says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jade Sheen, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Deakin University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You ...
Weekend social 28/06/2013 
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever.
International research shows that there is a socioeconomic status (or class) gradient, in which those with low SES experience higher morbidity from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, ulcers, rheumatoid disorders, a number of cancers, psychiatric diseases, dementia and so on.read more ...6 hours ago
In the 1980's, the revolutionary government "reformed" the public service, splitting it up into competing agencies. This was supposed to produce better focus and greater accountability: agencies would focus on their area of expertise and argue their corner, and chief ...9 hours ago
49 publications for this week. The last paper in this week's list features Skeptical Science volunteer and highly cited researcher Stephan Lewandowsky along with Skeptical Science founder John Cook as first and second authors respectively, working with regular collaborator Gilles Gignac. ...10 hours ago
PICTURED: Judith Collins and her chief benefactor (inset) When Simon Bridges resolved to wrestle the infrastructure portfolio from perennial rival Judith Collins this week, he had to utilize a mechanism not usually exercised in the halls of Parliament. Removing a ...1 day ago
PICTURED: Folau’s updated list of hell-bound sinners. Following a difficult week for Israel Folau, under fire and alleged financial pressure due to his public condemnation of homosexuals, the former rugby union star has revised the list that landed him in ...1 day ago
Few tears will be shed in the regions at the departure of Christopher Luxon as CEO of Air New Zealand. Under his watch, the supposedly “national” airline lost sight of its national responsibilities and abandoned regional centres such as Whakatane ...2 days ago
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by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has now made it into the modern world, but not that of a strong and diversified economy, of democratic rights, nor the rule of law. No, that is not the modern world that Colombia has ...2 days ago
This article is about what can happen if a drug substitution programme is suddenly cancelled. In 1978, the Dunedin Hospital Board followed a New Zealand-wide trend and began an opiate substitution programme for local addicts using the synthetic narcotic, methadone. The ...3 days ago
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jun 16 through Sat, June 22, 2019 Editor's Pick A Degree of Concern: Why Global Temperatures Matter Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech Part ...4 days ago
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And now this:
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James Robb looks at the systemic issues surrounding the state taking children from their families. A shocking documentary video released last week by Newsroom reporter Melanie Reid, shows the attempts by social workers employed by Oranga Tamariki, the New Zealand state’s child welfare agency, ...6 days ago
The inquiry into whether the SAS acted illegally during a nighttime raid on a suspected insurgent’s hideout in Afghanistan in 2010 (code named Operation Burnham), which resulted in six civilian deaths and serious wounds to 15 others, is slowly coming ...6 days ago
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Another major oil company has given up exploring in New Zealand: Chevron and Norwegian oil giant Equinor have opted to abandon their joint exploration efforts off the east coast of the North Island. The two firms have applied to surrender ...1 week ago
NZ has dethroned GDP as a measure of success, but will Ardern’s government be transformational? When you’re in politics, words are a high-stakes game. Voters and journalists hold you to them and there is a risk in using ...1 week ago
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The world’s oceans are deeply affected by climate change – and vice versa. But until recent years, ocean advocates throughout California had long tackled issues like over-fishing ...1 week ago
There’s so much one could say about Key’s assessment of Hisco right now…
Suffice to say it was definitely the following: A) Perfectly reflective of the ... 1 week ago
. . This morning, a little after 4am, Sharlene lost her brave fight against cancer. Rest in peace, Sharlene. You were always one of my brightest stars… . . Advertisements ...1 week ago
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A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Jun 9 through Sat, June 15, 2019 Editor's Pick Costa Rica Doubled Its Forest Cover In Just 30 Years! Costa ...2 weeks ago
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Director-General of OPCW Fernando Arias Gonzales admits Douma engineers report was legit and he was part of the FFM – but attempts to justify suppression of the report. France 24 reports that the head of the Organisation for the ...2 weeks ago
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Daisy Dunne The record-breaking 2018 summer heatwave in Japan in which more than 1,000 people died “could not have happened without human-induced global warming”, a study finds. And the extreme heat felt in ...2 weeks ago
Inland Revenue is to gain greater oversight of land transfer information to ensure those buying and selling properties are complying with tax rules on property speculation. Cabinet has agreed to implement recommendation 99 of the Tax Working Group’s (TWG) final ...1 week ago
A Dunedin man has been sentenced in the Dunedin District Court on 26 June 2019 to ten months home detention for possession of child sex abuse and exploitation images. ...8 hours ago
David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill has passed its second reading - but the battle is far from over. ...1 hour ago
ACT Party leader David Seymour's member bill that would give terminally ill people the right to choose assisted dying has passed its latest hurdle in Parliament. ...4 hours ago
Clauses in insurance company life and trauma policies bar people with HIV and Aids from cover, or refuse to pay out if HIV is acquired through sexual contact or drug use. ...5 hours ago
It seemed like a done deal, but the latest salary rejection raises further questions about the process. ...7 hours ago
About-to-be-former Spark CEO Simon Moutter says he has one more big corporate role in him. ...8 hours ago
Mt Albert is a town at a crossroads. The pressures of growth are set to radically reshape the area, but so far change has left some of its residents and business owners pining for the past. Hayden Donnell travels to ...9 hours ago
Alex Casey chats to a group of 16 year-olds about the pressures of Instagram, weird men in the DMs, and their multiple online identities. “I’m planning on getting it,” says Neha. “Just my breasts. They’re just too small. It doesn’t look ...9 hours ago
The Reserve Bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.5 percent, but warns further cuts may be coming to support a slowing economy. ...10 hours ago
The gap between lectures and exams is often a crucial time for students to regroup and prepare for the oncoming exam storm. So it’s understandable that a proposal by Victoria University of Wellington to remove it is causing a stir.Faced ...11 hours ago
Peter Dunne concludes that the major reason this reshuffle has taken so long to finalise is because of the PM’s distaste for that side of politics. ...11 hours ago
Twenty-seven years ago, Trevor McKewen’s book about New Zealand rugby heroes celebrated a stoic, machismo national character. Recently his daughter asked him: would you want your grandsons to read that?I had always wanted to write a book. For a lot ...12 hours ago
A legal challenge is planned to the way Oranga Tamariki seeks court orders allowing it to take newborn babies from their mothers. ...12 hours ago
Dairy technology company GEA Milfos has been ordered by the High Court in Auckland to pay $825,000 after admitting to a charge of price-fixing with a competitor, Dairy Automation Limited. ...12 hours ago
The red, yellow, and black trikes are everywhere. But where did they come from and how did they get here? Madeleine Chapman investigates.Walk past any daycare centre or kindy in New Zealand and you’ll hear the sound of plastic wheels ...13 hours ago
Primary teachers have accepted an historic win, but principals have rejected an offer that would leave them short-changed. ...13 hours ago
About as far as you can get from Aotearoa’s rural heartland, a new breed of farmers are rethinking the way we grow. At the heart of that shitshow of an Auckland city confluence where Symonds St, New North Rd, Khyber Pass ...14 hours ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow, University of Wollongong People who live in regional or remote areas may be at lower risk ...17 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Jarvis, Senior Lecturer in Education, Flinders University Less than half (38%) of Australian teachers feel prepared to teach students with special needs when they finish their formal training. This is despite ...17 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Lawson, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Australia will need another 730,000 social housing dwellings in 20 years if it is to tackle homelessness and housing stress among ...17 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Dinale, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney The traditional understanding of women’s economic empowerment is that, as participation in paid employment increases, fertility decreases. This was certainly true in industrialised nations up ...17 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Some win, some lose from National reshuffle, End of Life choice bill facing crucial vote tonight, and Luxon-ad supporter lobbies against predatory lending controls.In any reshuffle, for someone to move ...18 hours ago
As a result of giving ourselves too much private space, New Zealanders are missing out on the benefit of communal public space, writes Dr Rebecca Kiddle. ...20 hours ago
Hong Kong protesters and the Court of Appeal in NZ have something in common, writes Ling Yee Wong. They both don't trust the Chinese justice system. ...20 hours ago
1000 Words is a Spinoff series talking to the photographers behind our most iconic political images. In this instalment, Don Rowe speaks to David White, the photographer who shot Colin Craig. Following a failed attempt at the Auckland mayoralty in 2010, ...20 hours ago
A new list of prioritised research for infertility topics shines a light on the areas where a real difference can be made. For too long people confronting infertility have been overlooked in those decisions, writes Cindy Farquhar, fertility expert and ...20 hours ago
Research backs a move towards organised sector bargaining, saying NZ has 'nothing to fear'. ...23 hours ago
By RNZ Pacific French Polynesia’s former president, Gaston Flosse, and 12 others have been ordered to jointly repay millions of francs they misspent on so-called phantom jobs. In 2013, the group was found to have funded a vast network ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Wood, Associate Professor, Discipline of Childhood and Adolescent Health, University of Sydney This year, we’ve seen a resurgence of measles around the globe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recorded more than ...1 day ago
Future budgets will see the existing spending, as well as new spending, subjected to a wellbeing analysis, Robertson says at OECD report launch. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Almond, Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland Martyn Iles, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, dodged the question this week when asked by Lisa ...1 day ago
Parliament is too small, and committees too poorly resourced, to properly hold the Government to account, review says. ...1 day ago
Art history tells us a lot about the present moment through its interpretation of the past. In historicising the work of bygone artists, it reveals changing attitudes and contemporary concerns, writes Emma Ng.This year Wellington is host to three exhibitions ...1 day ago
Marian Keyes is a stone-cold legend: terrifically funny and emotionally intelligent, and never afraid of the dark. She deserves all the prizes. In lieu of that, here’s a heartfelt piece by Scarlett Cayford, who grew up steeped in Keyes’ stories ...1 day ago
Consumers are being warned that some exotic mushrooms being sold in supermarkets and high-end restaurants as 'New Zealand grown' are being actually imported from China, a local grower says. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jade Sheen, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Deakin University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You ...1 day ago
“Will you still love me when I’m no longer Young and Beautiful “
What ever happened to Plastic Bertrand?
touche pas ma planete (Poupee de cellophane, chiveux chinois).
I liked his underground shit, before he sold out.
the lyrics to Ca Plane Pour Moi are still quite clever.
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Dangerous Rhythm
It’s great enjoying winter’s charms ( bracing walks, a roaring log burner, lots of music, spending time cooking time consuming recipes) when you’re NOT experiencing a 19 hour power cut as we were last weekend post the solstice eve storm. (Although of course the log burner kept a roarin’ the whole way through)
Power is at hand this weekend to watch a Hunter S Thompson doco I got out from the library “Buy the ticket, take the ride”. Should be interesting. That and trying a new recipe along the lines of a vego meal centred around Yorkshire puddings! Yorkshire puddings! And feeding the ducks that are returning to the lawn after being away since spring last year.They still know where their feeding stations are.
All the best to those all around the country affected by massive snows and ferocious storms last week. Hope the clean up’s are going well.
It is a humid 35degrees where I am. Long for cool days, reading by the winter fireside.
Where are you this week ianmac? A very pleasant low 20s forecast here for this weekend. Much better than last weeks mid-30s. But we’re not doing much – 3 more sleeps until the op on the man’s bad back.
Hi rosy. Not going to Vienna this time. A short sharp thunderstorm has just blasted Ho Chi Minh city here and coled the air to 29 degrees. Off to Croatia tomorrow because when my wife says go, I go quickly. But I am keeping track of nz via the standard. Afraid John key does not seem to need my advice. “Are you surprised?” Says my wife rather unkindly. Humph!
Do the words ‘Lucky Bugger” mean anything ? I’s like 4 degrees here, with snow on the hills just to keep the chill going.
Enjoy the Sun.
120F experienced in Phoenix and Las Vegas (49C); 130F (54C) possible in Death Valley. “jet- streams more erratic in past few years”.
Lovely to hear your ducks are back Rosie. If I remember correctly I told you they would be back. They spent the summer in Ennui’s back yard and beyond, but they know where the good lurks are in the middle of winter.
Each morning after I’ve fed and watered the budgies (and cleaned their
bedsperches), I let the wild winged creatures have the left overs. Problem is they now number about 50 to 100 and include grey doves, blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, mynas, two pair of thrushes and a bolshie pigeon. It’s getting a bit expensive.Ah yes indeed Anne, you did say they would be back! They’ve started settling in to a bit of a routine. Two of them came here with their mother, as chicks last year and stayed until they had learnt to fly. I remember their markings and personalities, and they know their way around.I don’t have a clue who the others are. These two young hens have brought with them two young drakes plus an older drake who is already in full breeding colours. He gives the young drakes a hard time and there was quite a scene this morning when a fight broke out.
You have certainly got your hands full with your lot – it must get noisy at feeding time. I can relate to the cost issues. Ours get poultry feed and we can manage the budget for feeding a pair but I’m not sure how it’s going to work with five of them………..
eww. Power cuts are not fun in winter. Glad my power has held up so far – not sure about the power bill though. There seems to have been a pretty virulent cold swept through my work team this week. And I had to ring in sick today for about the first time since my accident a couple of years ago.
Nice sunshine through my window though.
Glad to hear you have power now. Some people still without.
Hi Karol. I hope you’ll be your way to recovery soon. It’s great you have the sunshine. Rest up:-)
Heading out to this tomorrow, bring it…
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?383838
It should have eben a great weekend /What with the Handel Opera at the Hamilton Lido and the sunny Cambridge weather Unfortunately our good friend and Labour Party stalwart died .Noeline Nuttall was a wonderful worker for the Labour Cause a truthfully caring person who believed in a just fair world for all . My wife and I will miss Noeline a lot but vwewill remember her with much affection.
Sincere condolences Pink Postman. Noeline sounds like a true friend and comrade who will be missed by many.