Latest Top Scoops Headlines
SSC investigation into Thompson + Clark could include DoC
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 4:25 pm | RNZ
From Checkpoint , 5:15 pm on 24 April 2018 Zac Fleming , Checkpoint Producer Benedict Collins , Political Reporter More >>
Govt bureaucracy needs 'political laxative' - Jones
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 4:08 pm | RNZ
The Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones wants politicians to have more control over the state sector, even though state sector workers must be politically neutral and independent. More >>
Auckland airport charges 'not justified' - Comm Comm
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 3:45 pm | RNZ
Auckland International Airport's forecast profits for the next five years look too high and will cost passengers more to fly, the Commerce Commission says. More >>
'Poor families really can't wait' for Work and Income change
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 3:11 pm | RNZ
An announcement on the government's welfare system overhaul can be expected in the next three to four weeks, the Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni says. Carmel Sepuloni said under the previous government, it became more difficult for people ... More >>
Worst Possible Pick for U.S. Ambassador to South Korea
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 2:46 pm | David Swanson
In Joseph Hickman’s book Murder at Camp Delta , he describes a hideous death camp in which guards were trained to view the prisoners as sub-human and much greater care was taken to protect the well-being of iguanas than homo sapiens. Chaos was ... More >>
On the perils of using PPPs to meet Auckland’s roading needs
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 1:42 pm | Gordon Campbell
More than once, the coalition government has ruled out using public private partnerships (PPPs) to fund the country’s infrastructure needs in health and education – apparently private profiteering in those areas is recognised as being undesirable. Not the same ... More >>
Watch live: New $30b plan to tackle Auckland transport woes
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 12:37 pm | RNZ
Nearly $30 billion will be spent on Auckland transport in the next 10 years, partly funded by a fuel tax, private finance and tolls. More >>
Op-ed: Time to look beyond labour and consumption taxes
Thursday, 26 April 2018, 8:46 am | PSA
New Zealanders need public services, and healthy New Zealand communities need good public services. But it’s time to look beyond labour and consumption taxes to raise the revenue we need for them, PSA National Secretaries Glenn Barclay and Erin Polaczuk ... More >>
Plunder Down Under: Rot in Australia’s Financial Services
Wednesday, 25 April 2018, 4:23 pm | Binoy Kampmark
It has all the elements of a crudely crafted if effective tale: banks and other financial services, founded, proud of their standing in society; financial service providers, with such pride, effectively charging the earth for providing elementary services; ... More >>
Post Cabinet Press Conference 24/04/2018 – Veterans Funding
Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 5:11 pm | Joseph Cederwall
Prime Minister Jacinda Adern held a Post Cabinet press conference today on the announcement of Government funding for support of New Zealand’s returned service men and women with a particular focus on support for post-traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) . More >>
Commonwealth trade deal 'long way off' - Minister
Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 12:44 pm | RNZ
Any possible Commonwealth free trade deal is a long way off, Trade Minister David Parker says. More >>
'We need culture change at the ministry' - PM
Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 12:35 pm | RNZ
Stopping a woman's benefit before a tip she was cheating the system had been properly investigated is "not okay", and a culture change at the ministry is needed, says the prime minister. More >>
On why France could become our closest ally in Europe
Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 10:22 am | Gordon Campbell
As PM Jacinda Ardern returns from a triumphant tour to Britain and the capitals of Europe, her officials have probably begun to assess what the more substantive gains from the trip might have been. Most of the chatter has been about potential trade ... More >>
Remembering the troops from our patch
Tuesday, 24 April 2018, 9:16 am | Don Franks
At the end of our street, there’s a little stone memorial. It was raised in 1920, for local working people whose lives were cut short or ruined by the Great War. The young men from Holloway Road and surrounding streets came from tiny dwellings of ... More >>
North Korea: 'It's the next steps that are important' says P
Monday, 23 April 2018, 4:58 pm | RNZ
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has cautiously welcomed North Korea's move to halt all weapons testing - saying it lays the foundation for a conversation about further disarmament. More >>
Bankrolling the big prizes for NZ journalism
Monday, 23 April 2018, 4:22 pm | RNZ
The awards for the best New Zealand journalism have been sponsored by a global camera-maker, a paint firm and even Australia’s national airline in recent years. Now a local ISP is picking up the tab. Voyager boss Seeby Woodhouse tell s Mediawatch he's been ... More >>
Tackling money-laundering in NZ: More needs to be done
Monday, 23 April 2018, 12:36 pm | RNZ
Opinion - Does the news that Auckland-based wealth-management company Denton Morrell may be caught up in a money-laundering controversy mean the reforms introduced following the Shewan Inquiry in 2016 didn't go far enough? More >>
Excitement over Commonwealth-wide free trade agreement
Monday, 23 April 2018, 12:32 pm | RNZ
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters is talking up the prospect of a free trade agreement between all 53 commonwealth nations after discussions in London over the weekend. More >>
Quantifying climate change policy changes a difficult exercise
Sunday, 22 April 2018, 7:03 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
The Westpac commissioned study on the economic impact of climate change and climate change policy has some assumptions which means it could be optimistic. More >>
Military and media missiles
Friday, 20 April 2018, 4:14 pm | David Cooke
President Trump's speech on the US-led missile strike on Syria will no doubt resonate enthusiastically with his base in the US, and to judge from letters to the editor, with his supporters in NZ. But there are good reasons for not getting too dewy-eyed ... More >>
Urban sprawl eating up NZ's productive land - report
Friday, 20 April 2018, 3:04 pm | RNZ
The government plans to make it harder for councils to approve new homes and lifestyle blocks on productive land near urban areas. More >>
Fair Enough? - Tax HiveMind Midpoint Update
Friday, 20 April 2018, 2:39 pm | HiveMind
Join our HiveMind exploration on this important issue: Fair enough? How should New Zealanders be taxed More >>
The present day composer refuses to die – NZSO plays Zappa
Friday, 20 April 2018, 1:23 pm | Joseph Cederwall
The first of the NZSO’s Shed Series concerts at the more informal and intimate space of Wellington's Shed 6 last Friday night featured music composed by, or with a connection to Frank Zappa. Zappa, a psychedelic rock legend, activist and popular ... More >>
MFAT used Thompson + Clark for security at TPP protest
Friday, 20 April 2018, 11:22 am | RNZ
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade used controversial firm Thompson + Clark to provide security services for the 2016 Trans Pacific Partnership signing in Auckland. More >>
On Thompson+ Clark, and Russia’s FIFA World Cup
Friday, 20 April 2018, 11:12 am | Gordon Campbell
Daily, the coalition government keeps running into examples of the toxic legacy left behind by National – and just as regularly, even the simple fixes are proving stubbornly difficult to enact. Take the case of the security firm Thompson + Clark, which has ... More >>
Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 4:14 pm | RNZ
The chances of a crash in house prices are not high, but some controls on lending are needed, according to new Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr. More >>
No Flies in Syria
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 2:59 pm | Paul Martin
The recent cruise missile attack by the U.S. and its allies the U.K. and France (former colonial exploiters in the region) raises some interesting dilemmas for Western military planners. More >>
NZ losing 192 million tonnes of soil every year
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 2:48 pm | RNZ
A new report has found New Zealand is losing 192 million tonnes of soil every year from erosion. More >>
The Daphne Project: New Zealand still a haven for some?
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 12:00 pm | RNZ
Nicky Hager: An Auckland company may be caught up in an international money laundering controversy after it was identified helping to manage a network of New Zealand-registered companies and trusts for its secret clients. More >>
NZ 'prevented harm being done' by state-backed hacks - PM
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 11:50 am | RNZ
New Zealand's spy agencies have had to take action to stop hacking attacks by foreign powers from doing harm here, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. More >>
NZNO seeks to derail nurses’ struggle
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 9:37 am | Socialist Equality Group
Over the past week thousands of healthcare workers and their supporters have rallied outside hospitals across New Zealand to demand decent wages and working conditions. More >>
The Bullish And Bearish Case For Oil
Thursday, 19 April 2018, 8:16 am | James Stafford
Oil prices could rise due to the “perfect storm of stagnant supply, geopolitical risk, and a harsh winter,” according to an April 12 note from Barclays. More >>
Irrigation body confident of big projects despite govt cuts
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 4:57 pm | RNZ
Irrigation New Zealand is confident that an end to government subsidies will not spell the end of large-scale irrigation projects. More >>
Seabed mining consent challenged in court
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 4:54 pm | RNZ
Consent to mine ironsand off the south Taranaki coast was approved without proper data to show how many endangered species live there, the High Court has been told. More >>
NZ government supports imperialist assault on Syria
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 4:10 pm | World Socialist Web Site
New Zealand Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared on April 14 that New Zealand “accepted” the US-British-French missile strikes on Syria. Ardern revealed that her government had been informed about the attack hours in advance. More >>
Minister surprised journalist included in reference group
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 2:35 pm | RNZ
The Minister responsible for New Zealand's spy agencies is surprised that a journalist has been included on a new reference group established by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. More >>
The Unintentional Extremist: Israel Folau
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 1:44 pm | Binoy Kampmark
What limits opinions? Especially by sportspeople, who are often confused for geniuses of the mind and ambassadors of tact outside their very limited field of endeavour. (Yes, he can dribble a ball with sigh-inducing majesty, so he must know a thing or ... More >>
Cracking the Enigma Code (of NZ foreign policy)
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 12:45 pm | RNZ
Analysis - To outsiders New Zealand foreign policy must look like a riddle wrapped in a mystery, perhaps clear only to the enigmatic deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. More >>
EQC Minister: Houses not properly assessed could cost millions
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 12:36 pm | RNZ
The government could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars over the Earthquake Commission's failure to assess earthquake damage in Christchurch, Minister Responsible for EQC Megan Woods says. More >>
PM's Europe trip highlights delicate nature of trade agreeme
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 12:30 pm | RNZ
There was a time when New Zealand prime ministers made an annual pilgrimage to Europe, cap in hand, imploring incumbents of gilded palaces not to cut New Zealand's UK butter quota. Times have now changed - New Zealand is still talking trade but, judging by ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the GCSB’s security hang-up with Russia
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 11:58 am | Gordon Campbell
So our GCSB has chimed in, alongside its British, Australian and US allies, with warnings about a “fresh wave” of Russian cyber attacks, although the warning has been curiously framed : More >>
The Winners and Loser of our tax system
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 11:13 am | The Opportunities Party
Taxation has very much been in the limelight in recent weeks. We have the seen the government chastised for a plan to implement increased taxes on fuel by around 10c per litre over the next few years. There has been the constant spectre of the Tax ... More >>
Gaza and the Media Cover-up
Wednesday, 18 April 2018, 10:40 am | Ramzy Baroud
The term 'media bias’ does not do justice to the western corporate media's relationship with Israel and Palestine. The relationship is, indeed, far more profound than mere partiality. It is not ignorance, either. It is a calculated and long-term campaign, ... More >>
Macron’s Syria Game
Tuesday, 17 April 2018, 3:54 pm | Binoy Kampmark
There is a certain bullishness in French circles these days, even if there was an initial attempt, with the Macron government, to calm matters down. The need to assert Gallic might in the face of brutality has again surfaced; and has a familiar ring ... More >>
On the chemical weapons attack (and response) in Syria
Tuesday, 17 April 2018, 12:59 pm | Gordon Campbell
The past week’s headlines about the chemical attacks in Syria - and the military response by the US, France and Britain - have tended to overshadow a few of the downstream outcomes. For starters, the chemical weapons assault on Douma seems to have succeeded ... More >>
One News/Colmar Brunton Poll - April 16
Monday, 16 April 2018, 6:23 pm | The Scoop Team
National - 44 percent, up one percentage point. Labour – 43 percent, down five points Greens - six percent, up one NZ First -five percent, up two. Maori Party - one percent, unchanged. More >>
Fair enough? How should New Zealanders be taxed?
Monday, 16 April 2018, 4:19 pm | HiveMind
Scoop and PEP invite you to share your issues, ideas and perspectives on the NZ tax system with other New Zealanders using Scoop’s HiveMind. More >>
Expressway past Levin a high stakes game
Monday, 16 April 2018, 3:14 pm | Veronica Harrod
The land and property development agenda of Horowhenua District Council and council's in-house economic development board would implode if the New Zealand Transport Agency decides not to proceed with the expressway past Levin, demonstrating just how high ... More >>
On the prevailing media narratives about the Govt coalition
Monday, 16 April 2018, 2:07 pm | Gordon Campbell
The media reports the facts…. but that’s not the end of it, and nor should it be. It also marshals those facts and creates a story from them, usually one with a moral that’s implied or explicit. After six months though, it is still unclear ... More >>
Blind Assault: Trump Strikes Syria
Saturday, 14 April 2018, 4:35 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Feeling that some display of force was needed, US president Donald Trump issued orders on Friday to demonstrate some form of muscle, albeit exercised some thousands of miles away. “A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch ... More >>
ECE problems bigger than official figures show
Friday, 13 April 2018, 4:38 pm | RNZ
Problems in the early childhood sector run much deeper than official complaint figures indicate, an early childhood researcher says. More >>
NZ-EU trade deal negotiations tipped for May
Friday, 13 April 2018, 3:26 pm | RNZ
Formal negotiations for a trade deal between New Zealand and the EU are set to get the green-light in just over a month, National MP Todd McClay says. More >>
Trump employing R2P to save the remaining Syrian people?
Friday, 13 April 2018, 3:23 pm | Franklin Lamb
The word in parts of Beirut this morning is that Trump’s bluster about bombing Syria in the next few days is, are like many of his emotional threats during his three months in office, to be taken with a shovel of salt. Few are rushing to grocery ... More >>
Oil exploration: Govt faces reality of coalition marriage
Friday, 13 April 2018, 2:43 pm | RNZ
Power Play - Shane Jones' face during the three party media conference at Parliament on the future of mining for oil and gas in New Zealand said it all. More >>
Govt tells oil industry: 'The world is changing'
Friday, 13 April 2018, 2:36 pm | RNZ
The government is telling the New Zealand oil industry that the world is changing and it is time it faced the facts. More >>
Forging New Frontiers in Impact-focused Business
Friday, 13 April 2018, 12:26 pm | Joseph Cederwall
The New Frontiers Festival hosted by the Hillary Institute this week in Upper Hutt gave me real hope that New Zealand can achieve the much-needed and complex transition to a new type of economy. The timing of the festival was impeccable as this week ... More >>
Should Govt agencies adopt Facebook’s business tool?
Thursday, 12 April 2018, 3:55 pm | RNZ
A cyber-security expert is sounding a warning about government organisations use of a Facebook business tool, 'Workplace by Facebook'. More >>
Health Minister 'disappointed' with Middlemore bosses
Thursday, 12 April 2018, 3:27 pm | RNZ
Health Minister David Clark is refusing to be drawn on whether jobs will be lost over over the Middlemore Hospital rotting building troubles. More >>
Oil, gas exploration move a 'kick in the guts' for Taranaki - Mayor
Thursday, 12 April 2018, 3:10 pm | RNZ
The government has announced it will not grant new deep-sea oil and gas exploration permits, but New Plymouth's mayor says he has not heard of a specific plan for transitioning to green energy. More >>
Govt scorns oil industry's 'surprise' over permits move
Thursday, 12 April 2018, 2:56 pm | RNZ
No one should be surprised by the government's decision to halt offshore oil and gas exploration permits, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. More >>
