What happens if Twitter dies?

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, November 8th, 2022 - 95 comments
Categories: internet, Media, twitter, uncategorized - Tags:

It seems strange to type this but Twitter may be terminal.

The social media site that has become the go to for many years for journalists, politicians and any one interested in news especially breaking news may be on its death bed.

If this happens it can be traced back to Donald Trump, whose infamous banning for the promotion of an insurrection has caused some whose extreme views of the right of free speech as well as the rights of unfettered capitalism to take action.

Eion Musk, backed by a shady coalition of financiers, has since bought the platform and promised there would be greater free speech, essentially for right extremist groups to say what they want.  It appears that the structure of the deal will essentially wreck the platform.  It will either fold under the weight of debt and diminishing advertisement income as advertisers flee an increasingly hostile environment or Musk may sell before it does so.

Either way I doubt it will ever return to its former glory.

Twitter shows all that is good about the Internet, as well as all that is bad.

It has allowed for breaking news to be spread world wide, for nuance and detail to flesh out news stories.  It allowed for like minded groupings of people online to form and for friendships to develop.

It has also allowed for disinformation to be spread widely.  It accentuated anger and conflict, more temperate postings did not usually get the same attention.

It replaced blogs.  It is clear to me that in the heyday of the Standard, where intense debates involving the likes of Whaleoil and Cactus Kate as well as Standard authors used to be quite common.  Those debates and interactions have since moved onto twitter.

What Twitter came to resemble was a great big commons where information and disinformation was laid out for all to see.

Twitter’s actions in holding back Trump’s assault on democracy was a perfectly valid and much needed step to take.  Using your platform for the mass promulgation of fake news should not be tolerated.

When Musk announced his take over of Twitter he said:

Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

But now that he is in control he has engaged in the sort of censorship which does not normally comply with usual understandings of the freedom of speech.  Like banning parody accounts:

Musk’s response appears to be a response to accounts that parody him.  He has the thickness of skin of Donald Trump.

It also reflects a general response by the right to parody.  Remember when Trump threw DOJ resources into attempts to find out who on twitter was impersonating Devon Nunes’ cow?

Musk’s attempts to improve profitability includes an attempt for tick holders to pay a monthly price for the benefit of doing so.  This has not gone down well.  He has responded by blaming activist groups for Twitter’s financial woes when clearly it is a case of spooked advertisers backing away.

And if you think that Musk is politically impartial he has just advocated for people to vote Republican.

This is like watching a slow motion train wreck.  I predict that Twitter will never be the same.

95 comments on “What happens if Twitter dies? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Tiger Mountain 1
    8 November 2022 at 8:50 am

    Surely those with even half a brain, have either already deleted their Twitter account, or are seriously considering doing so.

    What an oaf Mr Musk has turned out to be–spring loaded revenge sackings at Twitter, and a union buster in his own businesses. Monopoly capitalist ownership of media demonstrates an adage from analogue days–“the freedom of the press belongs to those that own one…”

    • lprent 1.1
      8 November 2022 at 10:48 am

      I haven't deleted it, but I certainly don't notice it.

      For the last few years the twitter composite e-mails about tweets have been my main contact – and they have their own special folder that go into automatically (along with facebook and medium come-ons). They just clog my mailbox otherwise.

      I go into them for a quick scan when I have dead time. That is usually in the middle of the night when I wake up and need an anodyne flare of people saying nothing much of interest to put me to sleep.

      I didn't even realise that twitter has advertising – because I just ignore that.

      I have also found that google discover (which is on within chrome on the cellphone) is a lot better at finding articles that I might want to read.

  2. James Simpson 2
    8 November 2022 at 8:56 am

    Twitter has been a cesspit for as long as I can remember.

    People from every side of the political spectrum go on there and abuse each other all day every day. People that think it has (or has ever had) any value need their heads read.

    • tc 2.1
      8 November 2022 at 9:57 am

      It got alot worse as soon as Elon stated he wanted to buy twitter which speaks volumes about Musks' perceived values out there.

      Much like Rupert, it's all about the power of the platform as it never appeared smart financially (non profitable, full of debt) and probably why he's got the Saudi's with a strategic stake using their dark deep pockets.

      IMO Twitter can and probably will be replaced mickey, like mySpace was. Plenty of gifted engineers no longer at Zuck central etc sitting on the wealth their share options made for them feeling bad about the monsters they helped create. Funding would be the biggest challenge.

    • Phil 2.2
      8 November 2022 at 10:09 am

      People from every side of the political spectrum go on there and abuse each other all day every day.

      Meh. Not that different to an average day here.

      The comedy and creative arts scene has a vibrant and thriving Twitter community.

      Sports twitter has a wonderful mixture of intense fandom, incredible analytical thinking, and archival footage from bygone eras.

      • observer 2.2.1
        8 November 2022 at 6:42 pm

        Yes, I'd agree overall. Some Twitter threads have been very funny, in fact non-political Twitter can be a gem.

        I'd miss that.

        • Sacha 2.2.1.1
          8 November 2022 at 7:08 pm

          It is as good as the people you follow. Some brilliant people; some arseholes. Best human search engine I have ever been lucky enough to find.

          What will topple it is not the ethical/advertising tightrope but the cocky overlord firing all the engineers who keep it running.

  3. Clive Macann 3
    8 November 2022 at 9:02 am

    I have never had a Twitter account and never will.

    I think I saw the train wreck in a vision and stayed off the tracks completely.

  4. Tony Veitch 4
    8 November 2022 at 9:13 am

    The moment Musk completed the purchase of Twitter, I ceased to comment on the platform!

    'One small step for mankind . . ."

  5. tsmithfield 5
    8 November 2022 at 9:27 am

    What I find Twitter useful for is as a source of immediate information on topics I am interested in.

    The downside is that the information also has to be taken with a large grain of salt as it hasn't been fact-checked or verified. However, with that in mind, I still find it useful.

    I try and stay away from the abusive stuff as that is not my style, and not something I enjoy.

  6. Sabine 6
    8 November 2022 at 9:35 am

    Nothing will happen. No more then when myspace died, or when Facebook will die, or when Linkedin will die. People will move to a different service. Rinse repeat.

  7. Sanctuary 7
    8 November 2022 at 9:51 am

    If twitter dies Elon Musk loses 44 billion dollars, so there is that to look forward to.

    • tc 7.1
      8 November 2022 at 10:05 am

      Does he ? or do bankers and others as rarely do the billionaires tip their own cash in.

      One financial commentator, and he's not alone was puzzled how Elon made it work as he reckons Tesla's 80% pixie dust it's soooo overvalued. Interesting times.

      • Sacha 7.1.1
        8 November 2022 at 7:10 pm

        He loses Tesla. And some non-US backers lose a few billion between them.

      • roblogic 7.1.2
        8 November 2022 at 10:40 pm

        Yeah Elon could lose Tesla, he's loaded a pile of debt on to Twitter but he also tied up heaps of his Tesla shares with the transaction. There's a reason he tried to back out of his crazy overvalued offer.

        The previous owners evidently had some faith that their trajectory would become profitable in time, given the high engagement & celebrity involvement. But attempts to monetise all that activity have proven elusive. Elon has taken away any semblance of a carefully planned business model

        Perhaps he thought he could cut costs with no consequence, and find revenue by magic as he has done with his government funded ventures (scams) in the past.

        Perhaps he thought he could use Twitter as a huge marketing channel for his own crypto schemes, or pump & dump the shares.

        Turns out the "titan of business", "10x engineer", "billionaire playboy genius" is just another shabby amoral opportunist, who tripped over his own hubris.

    • roy cartland 7.2
      8 November 2022 at 10:17 am

      No way. He'll make any loss into a gain for himself, just watch. The deck is stacked, all his 'investments' are completely risk-free for him. Depressing, but you'll see.

  8. Corey Humm 8
    8 November 2022 at 10:04 am

    As someone whose main priority politically is regulating and breaking up big tech and ending data mining…isn't it glorious.

    Meta lost 70% of it's stock value. Compared to twitters 200 million global users there are 2 billion Facebook users plus a billion IG users. Plus Whatsapp and oculus. Mass lay offs coming.

    Amazon, Tesla, Twitter , Google stocks all in the absolute crapper and the BEAUTIFUL thing is because these billionaires refuse to pay tax their money is all in company stock so when company stock crashes so does their net worths. I <3 it

    Social media was a mistake. Algorithms have turned every aspect of life has become ugly and hateful, not just politics, rivalries between fans of sports teams, musicians, movie franchises book series it's all gone to the sewer.

    These companies have put billions of people in our own individual dimensions where our prejudices and bias are reinforced to the point everyone we disagree with is an enemy.

    My generation doesn't know much of what society was like pre social so much of it genuinely sees disagreement and political debate no matter how polite as a form of hate speech.

    If these stocks continue to crash and these companies go under…. Good. As long as TikTok owned by the Chinese (and banned in their country for a reason) is banned , maybe people can connect again and learn to agree to disagree on some issues.

    Social media radicalizes people. Everyone on it gets radicalized in some way. Its algorithms are designed to upset you and make you feel worthless while reinforcing your bias so you think everyone agrees with you.

    Social media going may just save the world, not to mention big tech and crypto are worse for the environment than big oil due to their server farms.

  9. Sanctuary 9
    8 November 2022 at 10:12 am

    "…Social media was a mistake…"

    Not so sure of Social Media is a mistake. However, giving control of it to the sociopathic crypto-fascist techno-libertarians who own the globalised corporations defintely is.

    Properly regulated social media should be an absolute boon for society – like it was in it's infancy, when it brought people together.

    • Maurice 9.1
      8 November 2022 at 10:21 am

      "Properly regulated social media should be an absolute boon for society"

      Ah! ….. but exactly whom or what will "properly" regulate?

      A Left or Right wing Government appointed 'regulator' ….. or perhaps a UN Agency?

      • Sanctuary 9.1.1
        8 November 2022 at 10:29 am

        We've never had issues as a society in the past with the principle that the government has a right to regulation of content, be it the chief censor or statutory media regulation bodies.

        Personally I would like to see social media companies treated like any other publishers and subject to the same libel and criminal laws as the traditional print and broadcast media. They are responsible for their content – see how quickly a few big libel payouts would change their behaviour.

        • Maurice 9.1.1.1
          8 November 2022 at 10:37 am

          A basic problem arises in that Social Media is Trans National and very mobile/nimble which evades individual Government reach and very difficult to subject to constrained local legislation.

          Only Trans National entities could regulate … but do not have the power or reach to effectively do so in a comprehensive manner. There would be veto in there somewhere!

        • Ad 9.1.1.2
          8 November 2022 at 10:59 am

          +100

    • theotherpat 9.2
      8 November 2022 at 10:52 am

      and together the people came….hunched over their screens in silent rooms……

    • lprent 9.3
      8 November 2022 at 11:01 am

      Properly regulated social media should be an absolute boon for society – like it was in it's infancy, when it brought people together.

      I must have missed that period. However I only really started with jumping on BBSes with dialup followed by usenet.

      Umm plus playing multi-user star trek on VT100s in Waikato's DEC 1170 back in 1979/1980 in the middle of the night. The chat dialog was full of surprised and spontaneous comments as someone would come out of warp with front-screens on full and ram me.

      • Sanctuary 9.3.1
        8 November 2022 at 11:56 am

        Facebook was enormous fun when it started, that is why it exploded. QED.

        • lprent 9.3.1.1
          8 November 2022 at 12:35 pm

          I was rather blasé about facebook myself. Been there and done it on usenet and previous systems.

          It was kind of fun seeing the non-tech family and acquaintances coming online. It also reminded me about just how damn sensitive and outright lazy most people really are when challenged on their beliefs and opinions. Plus how little they had actually thought about the implications of their touted solutions and grizzles themselves.

          Twitter just felt like the dick comparison advertising forum by smart arses. A deft implied slander substituting for intelligence.

          Never got into it because, especially with the original short text, most participants never really got into the habit of explaining why I should click on their reference links.

          • roblogic 9.3.1.1.1
            8 November 2022 at 11:04 pm

            Twitter is like a garden, it can be pleasant and full of goodness when used well, but utter garbage if not curated and sifted over time.

            There are some brilliant people on there, but (per the 80:20 rule) also a surplus of trolls, fools and scammers.

  10. riffer 10
    8 November 2022 at 10:36 am

    I will miss it, but it will be replaced with something else soon enough. You see, the platform isn't the participants. It just enables them. I have been, like many others, flirting with Mastodon. It's quiet, but I hope it picks up.

  11. Ad 11
    8 November 2022 at 10:41 am

    Why aren't there more social democrats running big tech?

    There is nothing inherently politically regressive about social media.

    On the contrary as Habermas implied it could be communicative utopia.

    Pretty weird after massive security bot breaches before US elections that such speech isn't Broadcast Commission regulated.

    Until social media is broadcast-regulated the pitiful instability is going to get worse and worse.

    • arkie 11.1
      8 November 2022 at 10:48 am

      How many social democrats have the capital to purchase overvalued big tech companies? How many social democrats own traditional media?

      The model of private ownership over public services will always result in capitalist accumulation.

    • weka 11.2
      8 November 2022 at 12:53 pm

      Why aren't there more social democrats running big tech?

      ethics.

    • Andy 12.1
      8 November 2022 at 1:14 pm

      This seems legit. Kathy Griffin just got banned for impersonating Musk, claiming that he was a friend of Ghislaine Maxwell.

      Griffin is an alleged comedian whose idea of a joke is holding the severed head of Trump in her hands.

  13. SPC 13
    8 November 2022 at 10:48 am

    The former president has told his allies that he can’t leave his Twitter clone because he’s propping it up, and he doesn’t want a site so closely associated with his brand to collapse.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/07/trump-once-reconsidered-sticking-with-truth-social-now-hes-stuck/

  14. Andy 14
    8 November 2022 at 10:56 am

    Meanwhile, as Twitter users fiddle with their pronouns, the US war machine pumps money and arms into Ukraine and Haiti and thousands die

    • Sanctuary 14.1
      8 November 2022 at 11:13 am

      As long as lots more Russian soldiers than Ukrainian ones are dying I am pleased to see the US war machine doing some good for a change.

      • Andy 14.1.1
        8 November 2022 at 11:16 am

        I'm not happy about the US war machine killing anyone.

        But I guess we're heading off topic.

      • gsays 14.1.2
        8 November 2022 at 2:58 pm

        ”As long as lots more Russian soldiers than Ukrainian ones are dying“

        During Bush War One, Bill Hicks quipped he was for the war but against the soldiers.

        His motive for saying it was comedy…

      • roblogic 14.1.3
        8 November 2022 at 11:25 pm

        What a damnable waste of human potential. Putin is destroying Russia's future. It was already in demographic free-fall.

        The illusion of Russia being a modern G8 nation was founded on oil & gas. Now it's gone up in smoke

    • newsense 14.2
      8 November 2022 at 3:02 pm

      Just imagine if they could load those extra letters onto a transport or load them into artillery!
      Give ‘em L sergeant! Mind the Ps and Qs private! E’s a good egg, captain!

  15. Stoops1 15
    8 November 2022 at 11:15 am

    How can twitter be on its deathbed when it has like 230 million daily active users?

  16. joe90 16
    8 November 2022 at 11:18 am

    And if you think that Musk is politically impartial he has just advocated for people to vote Republican

    And now he's backpedaling…

    https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1589730392420278272

  17. Peter 17
    8 November 2022 at 11:31 am

    Asking "What happens if Twitter dies?" is like asking what happens when Trump wins the Presidential election.

    If Twitter dies other platforms will happen. If there is money to be made it will happen.

    The bit about Trump? One thing for sure, they'll all be lining up for pardons and clemency.

    All the legal wranglings Trump himself is involved in will come to nought as he'll block, overturn or stretch out anything against him. The only hope is that a bit of 'fast track' happens miraculously. Imagine him holding one of his massive rallies in jail!

  18. joe90 18
    8 November 2022 at 11:42 am

    What happens if Twitter dies?

    The former owner swings by and picks over the bones for anything useful?

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey might have something for you – Bluesky Social, a new “decentralized social network” that reportedly aims to reclaim user data. Dorsey stepped down as CEO of the social network he co-founded in 2006 in May 2022.

    https://www.geekmetaverse.com/jack-dorsey-unveils-bluesky-social-the-decentralized-twitter/

    • roblogic 18.1
      8 November 2022 at 1:34 pm

      "Bluesky", is so abstract that there is no actual network yet, just a pile of theoretical protocols. @Jack is more interested in his crypto crap nowadays.

  19. AB 19
    8 November 2022 at 11:45 am

    I'm suspicious of 'free speech' warriors on the right. Mostly what interests them is maintaining the cultural and political dominance of the sort of speech they prefer. They become particularly enraged when their formerly hegemonic opinions start to experience some minor nibbling away at the edges. This minor nibbling is reviled as 'political correctness gone mad'.

    • newsense 19.1
      8 November 2022 at 4:10 pm

      I mean we could be watching what the history books may be allowed to call a stage of American fascism. There is a concerted attack on the essential mechanics of a democratic state. The former president asked people to ‘find’ votes for him. Many of those who were not inclined to do that have been hounded out of their jobs. We’ve got thousands of election deniers getting jobs at a low level right through all levels of the system. We had the army turned out for a presidential photo op under the last presidency. The judiciary has had a concerted effort to flood their ranks with one side of politics. There’s a sympathy for dictators in Russia who push white nationalism and an anti-women, anti-sexual diversity ideas and elsewhere over democratic allies.
      We see the Supreme Court has been pushed away from the people’s polled opinions. They may not be a sufficient check on executive and legislative power. The wife of a long serving justice was in contact with the president’s chief of staff trying to push a coup det’at. It didn’t succeed, so they’re improving on it at every point. Plus a considerable number of people in the US believe there will be another civil war and have been arming themselves accordingly.

      So yeh that’s where your free speeches come from – or maybe as someone said it’s the final sulk of a fading power base and it’ll pass as every election there’s a panic about something. But it does rather feel like the culmination of decades of ‘conservative’ organising in many areas.

  20. Adrian Thornton 20
    8 November 2022 at 11:46 am

    " extreme views of the right of free speech"…you do understand that in most democratic countries including the USA, speech is is well covered in law…so hate/racist speech etc could and should be easily be moderated by those existing guidelines…what we don't need is extra, often murky layers on top of those laws (which is exactly what is happening)..especially when they are implemented by unelected boards on what is in effect are public forums.

    • Sanctuary 20.1
      8 November 2022 at 12:42 pm

      But the problem is that since the end of the cold war the West has allowed itself to be persuaded by neo-liberal politicians and self-serving libertarian technology billionaires that we've always had an absolutist right to unfettered free speech – something that was carefully (if informally) controlled when western capitalists lived in mortal fear of the spread of the contagion of Soviet & Chinese communism.

      Since the collapse of communism the liberal democracies have essentially complacently allowed globalised and completely unregulated free speech, something quickly identified as an obvious weakness and massive propaganda opportunity by the weak, fearful and reactionary Russian successor state as a way to wage undeclared asymentric warfare and exploited to the max by Putin's troll farms (and all the rest). The result – Trumpism, the alternative facts news ecosystem of the US right, the rise of right wing populist culture war polticians – has been massively exacerbated by the parallel atomisation of society and celebration of narcissistic hyper-individualism.

      Any attmept now by nation states to put the genie back in the bottom has to contend with a phalanx of porn addicted fan bois worroed about losing access to pornhub, techo-libertarians, billionaire Randian fanatics, trolls of every description and well funded lobbyists. hence, short of an emergency like a war politcians are only glacially moving toward formal regulation using both existing and potentially new mechanisms.

      • Adrian Thornton 20.1.1
        8 November 2022 at 3:32 pm

        Sanctury…you are so far down the rabbit hole that even the weasels won't be able to touch you….for what ever reason you seem determined to ignore the plain that by far the largest and most significant misinformation/disinformation on the planet comes from the West and Western allies…unfortunately now led in large part by once was considered Liberal media, now nothing more than mouthpeices for Western neo-imperialism.

        Researchers Find Massive Anti-Russian ‘Bot Army’
        "An Australian university has unearthed millions of Tweets by fake accounts pushing disinformation on the Ukraine war, Peter Cronau reports. The sample size dwarfs other studies of covert propaganda about the war on social media."

        "By aggregating account groups we find significant information flows from bot-like accounts to non-bot accounts with behaviour differing between sides. Pro-Russian non-bot accounts are most influential overall, with information flows to a variety of other account groups. No significant outward flows exist from pro-Ukrainian non-bot accounts, with significant flows from pro-Ukrainian bot accounts into pro-Ukrainian non-bot accounts."

        • Andy 20.1.1.1
          8 November 2022 at 3:37 pm

          Adrian I think you are spot on here. We are not being told the truth about Ukraine in the MSM. Jeffrey Sachs just did an interview with Russell Brand on this very topic

      • roblogic 20.1.2
        8 November 2022 at 10:08 pm

        That is the dark side of social media. But it also has huge potential to enhance democracy and call the powerful to account.

        Twitter and similar platforms give a voice to the voiceless, per the Arab Spring and other pro-democracy movements in places like China.

        This is why Musk's takeover of Twitter just in time for the US midterms is highly suspect. The people he fired were responsible for keeping the platform relatively open and free of the worst speech (Trump)

  21. javier gil 21
    8 November 2022 at 12:05 pm

    Since he took over the company, he has already fired half of the staff and announced several changes, the most controversial being the one that will make us pay $8 a month to keep or put blue verification on our profile, a relevant change, since unverified accounts will lose visibility.

  22. Stuart Munro 22
    8 November 2022 at 12:27 pm

    If Twitter dies:

    – a handful of less-clever-than-they-thought politicos will avoid trashing their careers

    – third rate journalistic hacks will need to find some other grounds for their reckons

    – a tiny proportion of the VRWC will find itself briefly unmusked

  23. weka 23
    8 November 2022 at 12:50 pm

    I still have a twitter account. Musk is an uber fuckwit with a massive ego whose doing a lot of damage to the world, but are any of the big tech companies run by anyone else?

    I'm enjoying Mastodon. Different structure, different culture, more ethics in both. More conversational than confrontational. If you're in NZ join mastodon.nz if you want to follow the NZ accounts and content.

    • roblogic 23.1
      8 November 2022 at 1:38 pm

      Yesterday I applied for a login at the techy server, mastodon.nzoss.nz, but haven't gotten an email yet. How long did the signup for mastodon.nz take?

      • weka 23.1.1
        8 November 2022 at 1:42 pm

        Not sure for the ones you have to request access. Afaik the others are instant. I’ve had an account at .nz since earlier in the year and remember

    • Andy 23.2
      8 November 2022 at 2:53 pm

      An uber fuckwit who is the richest man in the world, made the coolest EV and got SpaceX going. I'm no man of the man but your description does seem a little, erm, harsh, shall we say?

  24. roblogic 24
    8 November 2022 at 1:55 pm

    All the stories are coming out now, you can't fire half of your staff in 1 week and still have a functioning company. The feed algorithm doesn't seem to be surfacing stuff like it used to — much more repetitive. There is a huge drop in the number of ads. It is only a matter of time before systems that require maintenance will crap out because the people that owned them have left. RIP twitterverse.

    I really enjoyed it – the rough and tumble of random discussions – the ability to express yourself honestly – the immediacy of being able to ratio politicians/ flunkies and their PR crap.

    I followed some major themes: Politics, Science, Religion, Philosophy, Photography, Economics, Tech Gossip, Tolkien, Culture … and learned a lot.

    It takes a while (months/years) to curate an interesting variety of accounts to follow and keep it fresh. But the most important tool for quality of life is block/mute/unfollow. "Do not feed the trolls" is a truism as old as Usenet. There are infinite bad takes out there, most of them are not worth engaging. Like anything, your personal wellbeing and boundaries should be of primary concern.

    I've blocked and reported dozens of gross & hateful accounts. It can be a real sewer. Probably written a few toxic tweets myself but I try to stay positive mostly.

    • Andy 24.1
      8 November 2022 at 1:58 pm

      I can't recall the exact amount but Twitter is a company losing several million a week.

      I'm not sure how this qualifies as a "functioning company" by anyone's standards.

      In the early days, maybe by projecting on future growth, but Twitter has been around for a long time

  28. joe90 28
    8 November 2022 at 6:19 pm

    By Christmas it'll be Musk, assorted wingnuts, nazis, and a weird troupe of Muskateers.

    https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1589797015780982786

  29. Mike the Lefty 29
    8 November 2022 at 6:30 pm

    If/when Twitter dies – the world as we know it will not end.

    Perhaps a lot of people might get a life.

  30. Hanswurst 30
    9 November 2022 at 4:40 am

    The biggest problem with Twitter is that almost any idea (as opposed to reckons and throwaway opinions like this one) that can be expressed in 280 characters or fewer probably isn't worth expressing anyway.

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    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    13 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    14 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    16 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    17 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    19 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    20 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    2 days ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
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  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
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  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
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  • Taupō takes pole position
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  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
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  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
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  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
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  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
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  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
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  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
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  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
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  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
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  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
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  • Navigating an unstable global environment
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  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
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  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
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  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
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  • Joint US and NZ declaration
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