Latest Top Scoops Headlines
Incinerating Logic: Bush Fires and Climate Change
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 7:20 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Despite the Internet, connectivity, and linking technologies, distance has not shrunk the Australian sense of self, an often provincial appraisal of the world seen in slow motion and stills. Whether it’s the “flower revolution” or Michel Foucault, ... More >>
The Detail: How realistic is our Predator-Free 2050 goal?
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 5:15 pm | RNZ
It’s just over three years since the Predator Free 2050 goal was announced, with the aim of restoring New Zealand’s spectacular bird chorus. More >>
Big rise in suicide, self-harm attempts in police custody
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 4:48 pm | RNZ
Suicide or self harm attempts in police custody have increased to 77 in the year to September, almost quadrupling over four years, police data show. More >>
RNZ Live Updates: Fires in New South Wales, Australia
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 3:50 pm | RNZ
An unprecedented number of wildfires have burned through 850,000 hectares in New South Wales in recent days, closing about 600 schools and leaving at least three people dead. Follow our live blog below for updates on the situation. More >>
Increased fire risk with hotter than average summer expected
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 3:38 pm | RNZ
Fire and Emergency is warning people to prepare for an increased risk of fires starting and spreading over summer. More >>
Auckland port move: Cabinet ministers deliberate on decision
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 3:34 pm | RNZ
Cabinet ministers now have a copy of a report urging the government to move the Auckland port up north, but say no final decisions have been made. More >>
Gordon Campbell on why Sustainable NZ isn’t self-sustaining
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 11:38 am | Gordon Campbell
It has become a familiar story. National is the party that wins the most votes but – since the demise of the Maori Party – it has lacked sufficient partners on the centre-right to form a governing majority. Enter from stage right, the Sustainable ... More >>
Mercury transit: Stargazers mark historic moment
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 10:44 am | RNZ
Keen stargazers gathered at Te Whanganui o Hei, or Mercury Bay, on the Coromandel Peninsula to watch a rare astronomic event this morning. More >>
Firearms Prohibition Orders - fears of warrantless powers
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 10:33 am | RNZ
The government's firearms prohibition order (FPO) proposal is being met with both approval and alarm bells. More >>
Russian Connections in Albion: The ISC Report
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 9:07 am | Binoy Kampmark
The UK election campaign has kicked off, and merrily confused are the major candidates. The chaotic scene was made a touch more interesting with the refusal on the part of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to clear the release of a report by the intelligence ... More >>
PM's Post-Cab 11/11/19: Disarming Criminals, Armed Police
Monday, 11 November 2019, 5:05 pm | The Scoop Team
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined for her Monday press conference by Minister of Police Stuart Nash to launch a discussion document proposing Firearms Protection Order powers for Police. More >>
Vanuatu minister won't intervene over Daily Post director
Monday, 11 November 2019, 12:18 pm | RNZ
Vanuatu's Minister of Home Affairs has ruled out intervening in the work permit case of the Daily Post newspaper's media director, Dan McGarry. More >>
The Detail: Will Armed Police Patrols Increase our Safety?
Monday, 11 November 2019, 12:09 pm | RNZ
Armed police now roam parts of New Zealand, but many residents in the places being patrolled don’t want them there. More >>
Dead rats washed up on beaches sent for toxicology testing
Monday, 11 November 2019, 11:41 am | RNZ
The theory that it was 1080 that killed about 600 rats, an octopus, a calf and other animals that washed up on a West Coast beach is highly unlikely, a Department of Conservation (DOC) regional manager says. More >>
Sustainable New Zealand party: Other parties unruffled
Monday, 11 November 2019, 11:03 am | RNZ
The new political party Sustainable New Zealand thinks they have what it takes to be the next minor party in Parliament, with a simple approach to politics. More >>
Police Armed Response Team in 'low level' suburban arrest
Monday, 11 November 2019, 9:43 am | RNZ
Residents and politicians fear new armed police teams are being used for lower-risk responses and "preventative patrolling" after an arrest in suburban Hamilton over the weekend. More >>
Oranga Tamariki Services Not All Bad
Monday, 11 November 2019, 9:40 am | Ray Avery
Friday last week I cried for the first time in a long time, for the memory of myself and the joy of meeting a young Maori kid who had been rescued by Oranga Tamariki. More >>
Walls in the Head: Ostalgia and the Berlin Wall
Sunday, 10 November 2019, 3:40 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Walls have always served a dual purpose: they keep people in, and others out. The mentality of the wall is one of imprisonment and exclusion. Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we see such infrastructure, both symbolically and in actuality, ... More >>
Electricity sector changes should be treated with caution
Sunday, 10 November 2019, 1:32 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
First published in Energy and Environment on October 31, 2019. The BusinessNZ Energy Council has warned the Government to be cautious about making changes to the electricity sector without thinking through the potential unintended consequences. More >>
Hydro exemption from water standards debated
Sunday, 10 November 2019, 1:25 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
First published in Energy and Environment on October 31, 2019. Treasury officials suggested to ministers all hydro generation schemes should be exempted from proposed freshwater quality standards. More >>
Charter for Conservatism: The ALP Campaign Review
Saturday, 9 November 2019, 3:51 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Reports on electoral strategies are often written in order to be avoided. They are scripted for the express purpose of gathering dust on shelves, or decaying in digital files rarely to be consulted except by historians. But the review of the reasons ... More >>
Unfree Media – State Stenography And Shameful Silence
Saturday, 9 November 2019, 12:19 pm | MediaLens
A recent viral clip of Jeremy Corbyn featured vital truths about the corporate media that ought to be at the forefront of public consciousness in the approach to the UK General Election on December 12. The clip began: More >>
Another Armistice Day With No Trump Weapons Parade
Friday, 8 November 2019, 10:11 am | David Swanson
November 11, 2019, is Armistice Day 101 (or 102 if you want to be all mathematically accurate and elitist about it). Anyway, it’s been over a century now since World War I was ended at a scheduled moment (11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month ... More >>
The tragedy of the horse racing industry
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 7:54 pm | Lynley Tulloch
The recent Melbourne Cup event, where yet another horse has been injured, has highlighted animal welfare concerns. The race, held in November every year corresponds with a national holiday in Australia. It is an 158 year old institution, and the cause of ... More >>
Sikhs overjoyed new temple can be built in Hawke's Bay
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 4:52 pm | RNZ
The Sikh community in Hastings is celebrating after the Hastings District Council changed its mind and granted it resource consent to build a new temple on productive land. More >>
Royal Commission: Commissioner says state care failed
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 4:49 pm | RNZ
The Children's Commissioner has told the Abuse in Care Royal Commission that his office has failed to properly monitor the state care system. More >>
Anne Tolley admits 'outburst' in Peters super case
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 4:46 pm | RNZ
Former National minister Anne Tolley has admitted telling her sister about Winston Peters' pension overpayment while she was "tired" and "cross" in a conversation she regretted. More >>
Kerala's multi-layered approach to #endTB
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 10:59 am | Citizen News Service
As part of the #EndTB Dialogues series launched in lead up to the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health last month, we got an opportunity for exclusive interview with Dr M Sunil Kumar, State Tuberculosis Officer, Ministry of Health and Family ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on National’s anointing of Christopher Luxon
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 9:58 am | Gordon Campbell
Amid excited whispers of bigger things in line for Luxon further down the track. Such are the levels of anticipation that this week, Luxon was instantly forgiven for making up welfare policy, off the top of his head. More >>
Coalition partners stand their ground on partnership visas
Thursday, 7 November 2019, 9:22 am | RNZ
Power Play - The weekly Cabinet meeting might be a touch awkward on Monday with a serious split between senior Labour and New Zealand First ministers over the volatile issue of immigration. More >>
Scientists warn: climate change isn't just about temperature
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 10:03 pm | The Conversation
Land clearing, cattle populations and carbon emissions stand alongside temperature as important measures of climate change. DAN PELED/AAP More >>
Australia could fall apart under climate change
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 10:00 pm | The Conversation
Australia could fall apart under climate change. But there's a way to avoid it More >>
Petition for homosexuality to be decriminalised in Cooks
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 10:27 am | RNZ
An online petition has been launched calling for homosexuality to be decriminalised between consenting adults in the Cook Islands. More >>
Sonny Bill Williams reportedly signs with Toronto Wolfpack
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 9:19 am | RNZ
Sonny Bill Williams looks set to become the highest paid rugby league player on earth after reportedly signing a $10 million two-year deal with the Toronto Wolfpack. More >>
Debate rages after Whakatane councillor ousted
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 1:11 pm | RNZ
A recount of votes following a random chance election in the Murupara-Galatea Ward has seen one councillor ousted after just one week and a new one elected. More >>
China FTA and RCEP: ideal in the circumstances - Jacobi
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 12:50 pm | RNZ
New Zealand's free trade upgrade with China and RCEP are probably the best that could be expected considering global trends to protectionism, International Business Forum head Stephen Jacobi says. More >>
Gordon Campbell unnecessary new Police powers, and Spain
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 11:07 am | Gordon Campbell
Safety can be dangerous stuff. Paradoxically, when governments say they’re doing things to make us more safe, the effects often make us feel less safe. Police pursuits for example, have a track record (and a body count) that makes them more dangerous ... More >>
Local control of fishing rules upheld by Court of Appeal
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 10:07 am | RNZ
A Māori trust says the decision to give local councils the right to set fishing regulations is the right one. More >>
Firefighters monitor Hawke's Bay, Otago blaze sites
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 10:01 am | RNZ
Fire crews are keeping a close watch on the site of two blazes in Hawke's Bay and Otago. More >>
Ex-Air New Zealand boss wins National's Botany candidacy
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 9:47 am | RNZ
Former Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon has been chosen as the National Party's candidate for the Botany electorate. More >>
Hope is fading for the Kiwi nurse missing in Syria
Tuesday, 5 November 2019, 9:24 am | RNZ
Hope is fading for Louisa Akavi, a New Zealand nurse who has spent decades on the front line of war zones, who has now been missing for six years. More >>
The Hillary Clinton Resentment Machine
Monday, 4 November 2019, 4:24 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Only a sadomasochist would consider it a genuine prospect. A failed presidential candidate, the louse in the locks of the Democratic Party, keen to make yet another vain tilt at the White House. But in the rogues’ gallery of the defective and disturbed, ... More >>
November heat spike "unusually early"
Monday, 4 November 2019, 11:03 am | RNZ
The weekend heat set the third highest ever recorded temperature for November in the Bay of Plenty, a meteorologist says. More >>
'This is a step towards the militarisation of the police'
Monday, 4 November 2019, 10:56 am | RNZ
Dozens of South Auckland residents have railed against the "Americanisation" of New Zealand's police force, fearing the number and scope of armed groups of police officers will slowly expand until it becomes normal. More >>
Documents: Treasury endorsed the government's water reforms
Monday, 4 November 2019, 10:32 am | RNZ
The government's financial and economic advisor, the Treasury, basically supports the principle of the government's water reforms, material acquired by RNZ has shown. More >>
East Asia Summit: Jacinda Ardern and Thai PM meet
Monday, 4 November 2019, 9:57 am | RNZ
Sheep placenta cream - ever heard of it? Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has, and named it while talking with Jacinda Ardern about their respective countries working more closely together on high value agricultural goods. More >>
Winston Peters' privacy lawsuit against National MPs starts
Monday, 4 November 2019, 9:46 am | RNZ
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters is expected to take the stand at the High Court in Auckland today, as his privacy lawsuit against former National ministers kicks off. More >>
Conservation Authority worries about working with Fonterra
Sunday, 3 November 2019, 1:20 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
Conservation Authority worries about working with Fonterra The Conservation Authority has told the Department of Conservation it is concerned its work with Fonterra isn’t a good look. More >>
MBIE plans for budget changes due to ‘no new mines’ policy
Sunday, 3 November 2019, 1:17 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is budgeting for a decrease in funding as a result of the ‘no new mines’ policy announced in 2018. More >>
Electric Kiwi says market power test needs strengthening
Sunday, 3 November 2019, 1:14 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
Electric Kiwi and Haast Energy say the Commerce Act’s test for use of market power needs to be strengthened as the status quo is holding back the electricity sector. More >>
Crushing Anti-Mining Protest in Australia
Saturday, 2 November 2019, 2:34 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The Prime Minister of Australia is fuming. Having made his mark on Australian politics by being the mining sector’s most avid defender, Scott Morrison was disturbed by the week’s events in Melbourne that saw clashes between police and protesters outside ... More >>
Tethering Pegasus: WhatsApp takes NSO Group to Court
Friday, 1 November 2019, 2:51 pm | Binoy Kampmark
A lawsuit filed in a US federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday threw up a few interesting, and disturbing considerations. In it, the Facebook-owned platform WhatsApp advanced an allegation that now seems commonplace: that the Israeli spyware Pegasus ... More >>
Where to next for the Kiwi dollar?
Friday, 1 November 2019, 9:33 am | Milford Asset Management
Milford Asset Management Portfolio Manager Mark Riggall has been tracking the shrinking Kiwi dollar and says there is scope for it to fall further yet. More >>
Gordon Campbell on National’s Stone Age package
Thursday, 31 October 2019, 9:29 am | Gordon Campbell
B ad enough that the National Party led by Simon Bridges is still aiming to run a modern economy with a package of ideas - tax cuts, de-regulation, small government – that were fashionable in the late 1980s, but which became discredited over a ... More >>
Sir Ray Avery on School Lunches.
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 2:45 pm | The Sir Ray Avery Foundation
The Government has announced it will roll out a trial school lunch program in 120 schools in early 2020 providing healthy lunches to schoolchildren. They must be applauded for this initiative and it’s long overdue. Many countries have well proven heathy ... More >>
Boris Johnson Against Parliament
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 12:04 pm | Binoy Kampmark
A pretty odd thing, this. The prime minister of Britain, supposedly of the conservative creed, making an almost violent dash against both parliament and the courts of law. While his presence is barely a patch on Margaret Thatcher, there is something about ... More >>
A Touch of Plagiarism: The Nazari Precedent
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 10:13 am | Binoy Kampmark
The academy is filled with wonder. There are professors who cannot teach. There are associate professors who cannot write. There are tenured academics who have been promoted on the basis of being able to be the fourth author on all their papers, ... More >>
Bragging About Murdering People You Turned into Terrorists
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 10:10 am | David Swanson
You cannot promote the rule of law by loudly bragging about committing murder. You cannot end terrorism by committing terrorism. Here is a U.S. president openly proclaiming that he has committed murder in order to let people be afraid they’ll be next. ... More >>
Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 10:07 am | Ramzy Baroud
Palestine’s Christian population is dwindling at an alarming rate. The world’s most ancient Christian community is moving elsewhere. And the reason for this is Israel. More >>
Should vegans be locked up for economic treason? A reply
Tuesday, 29 October 2019, 7:20 pm | Lynley Tulloch
Ryan Bridges has suggested that vegans be locked up and accused of treason if they don’t want to eat meat. This seems to me to be a hyper aggressive response - even if (and I’m going to be kind and assume this) it was tongue in cheek. More >>
