Gordon Campbell : On Dealing With Impeccable, Impeachable Lies

WINZ Quarterly Report: More People Getting Into Work

The December quarter benefit numbers released today show the Government’s plan to get people off the benefit and into work is starting to pay off,” Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said. More>>

ALSO:

• National - 7000 more young people on the dole under Labour - Government failing to get Kiwis back into work
• ACT - Labour's soft line on welfare sees 25,000 more on benefit
• Lindsay Mitchell - Benefit numbers continue upward trend

Changing lives: Boost In Whānau Ora Funding

Whānau throughout New Zealand are set to benefit from an extra three million dollars that will go directly to Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies, the Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. More>>

ALSO:

• Peter Dunne - Dunne Speaks: Turia is Right on Whanau Ora
• Maori Party - Whānau Ora claim must be fast tracked, says Māori Party

PGF Kaikōura $10.88M: Boost In Tourism & Business

The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $10.88 million to boost business and tourism opportunities in Kaikōura, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. More>>

ALSO:

• Kaikoura District Council - $10.98 million of PGF funding announced

Whitebaiting: Govt Plans To Protect Announced

With several native whitebait species in decline the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage has today released proposals to standardise and improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. More>>

ALSO:

• Forest And Bird - Proposed whitebait rules are pitiful, won’t save native fish - Whitebait rules needed to save fish from extinction
• Science Media Centre - Fisheries management helps prevent overfishing - Reaction
Earlier:
• National - Whitebaiters set to lose thousands on stands - Government attempting to ban whitebaiting

Australian Bushfires: SMC Expert Reaction

Fires continue to rage across south-eastern Australia and three blazes may join forces to create a mega fire on the Victoria-New South Wales border. More>>

ALSO:

• Gordon Campbell - On the Aussie bush fires and Suleimani
• The Conversation - Bushfire Crisis: Climate Politics Turning Point Aus Needs? - Scott Morrison: the bushfires demand a climate policy reboot
• Binoy Kampmark - Incendiary Extinctions: Australian Fires
• NIWA - Aussie bushfire smoke reaches NZ – update 2nd Jan 2020
• SMC - 2019 NZ's fourth warmest year on record - Expert Reaction
• UN - 2019 second hottest year on record, UN confirms
• Eoin Higgins - Fossil Fuel Companies Called On To Foot Australia Fires Bill

And June Annual Growth Revised Up: Higher Retail Consumption Lifts GDP

Gross domestic product increased 0.7 percent in the September 2019 quarter, boosted by retail spending, Stats NZ said today. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - GDP growth reflects a strong economy
• National - NZ in ‘GDP per person recession’ under Labour
• Kiwibank - Kiwi growth remains potential
• NZ Council of Trade Unions - Economy serving working Kiwis better

Gordon Campbell: On Why The Dice Are Loaded Against Women In Public Life

If they enter public life, women can expect a type of intense (and contradictory) scrutiny that is rarely applied to their male counterparts... More>>

Gordon Campbell: On The Harry/Meghan Affair, And Iran

Those “Meghzit” headlines seem apt, given how closely Britain’s January 31 exit from the European Union resembles the imminent departure from the Royal Family’s top team of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. For young Iranians, the accidental downing of the Ukrainian airliner is just the latest example of the deadly incompetence and dishonesty of their leaders... More>>

Gordon Campbell: On The Iran Aftermath

So, evidently, you can get away with murder. It looks as though a further escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and the US has been avoided – mainly thanks to Iran NOT responding in kind to the recklessly unhinged behaviour by the United States. Given the massive outpouring of public grief in Iran over the murder of Qassem Soleimani, some reciprocal action by Iran was necessary, but (so far) it has been almost entirely symbolic in nature... More>>

Gordon Campbell: Chilling The Warm Fuzzies About The US/China Trade Deal

Hold the champagne, folks. This week’s China/US deal is more about a change in tone between the world’s two biggest economies – thank goodness they’re not slapping more tariffs on each other! - than a landmark change in substance. The high ... More>>

Gordon Campbell: On The Iran Aftermath

So, evidently, you can get away with murder. It looks as though a further escalation in the ongoing war between Iran and the US has been avoided – mainly thanks to Iran NOT responding in kind to the recklessly unhinged behaviour by the United States. ... More>>

ALSO:

• Caitlin Johnstone - “Iran Must Begin Acting Like A Normal Nation,” Says Totally Normal Nation - So The US Is Invading Iraq Again - Full-Scale War Avoided, Trump Right Back To Warmongering - “We Do Not Seek War,” Says President Who Just Started A War - US Assassination Of Iranian Military Official May Ignite War - US Empire’s Passion For Iraqi Democracy Magically Disappears
• Eric Zuesse - Soleimani’s Successor Is Failing - How Iran Can Checkmate Trump
• John Stanton - The USA’s System of Checks, Balances and Reality Crumbles
• Julia Conley - World Leaders Call on US To Resume Diplomacy With Iran
• Jake Johnson - Iran Launches Rocket Attack on US Airbase in Iraq - UN Rapporteur Demands Probe of Soleimani Assassination
• Binoy Kampmark - Vague Imminence: US policy on Pre-emptive Force - Disruptive Assassinations: Killing Qassem Soleimani
• Hugh Steadman - Avoidable Nuclear War
• Paul Martin - Soleimani & the Red Flag of Qom
• Eoin Higgins - Did the Iraq War Just End? - Ocasio-Cortez Joins Chorus Against War With Iran
• United Nations - Guterres pledges ‘active engagement’ in de-escalation effort - UN chief calls for de-escalation across Gulf region
• NZ Govt - Statement from Acting PM Winston Peters
• National - Statement on unfolding events in Iraq

Gordon Campbell: On The Recent Upheavals Inside Iran

In the fortnight since the Internet got switched back on in Iran, the ferocity of the crackdown on the recent demonstrations has become evident. Reportedly, hundreds of people have been killed, thousands wounded and thousands more have been arrested. More>>


ALSO:

• Image November - Iranians of NZ became the voice of the protesters in Iran

Howard Davis: 1917's 1,000 Yard Stare

Sam Mendes has created a terrible and barbarous trek, one that we appreciate all the more for being catapulted right into the midst of this ear-splitting melee from the film's opening sequence. More>>

Floorball: NZ To Host World Cup Of Floorball In 2022

In a major coup for a minnow nation in the European-dominated sport of floorball, New Zealand has won the rights to host one of the sport’s marque international events. More>>

National Voyage Continues: Tuia 250 Ends

Tuia 250 has unleashed an unstoppable desire to keep moving forward and continue the kōrero about who we are, say the co-chairs of the Tuia 250 National Coordinating Committee, Dame Jenny Shipley and Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Tuia 250 ending is just the beginning
• Tuia 250 - Final stop for Tuia 250 Voyage celebrates past and future - Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla arrival in Capital - Image Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla arrival in Capital