Latest Top Scoops Headlines
Taskforce feeding: Call it what you want, it doesn’t work.
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 7:51 pm | Richard Major
Having lived in Brisbane, Australia, since 1987 until my recent deportation back to New Zealand, I am beginning to witness some disturbing law and order parallels. More >>
Claims of gynaecology patients' consent breaches
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 4:56 pm | RNZ
Health board says it's made improvements since claims of gynaecology patients' rights breaches Phil Pennington , Reporter More >>
Electoral Commission chair calls for greater powers
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 4:37 pm | RNZ
The new chair of the Electoral Commission would like greater investigative powers for the watchdog. More >>
New details around NZ First conflicts of interest timeline
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 4:25 pm | RNZ
New information has emerged showing it was the New Zealand First chief of staff who identified potential conflicts of interest between a forestry company and two senior government ministers, sparking a series of declarations. More >>
We love you Sāmoa
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 3:07 pm | Le ausalilo Sadat Muaiava
To date, the outbreak of misela (measles) in Sāmoa has killed 60 people, mostly infants and children, over the course of the last two weeks. Ongoing updates suggest that an increase in the number of fatalities is inevitable. As a result, the Samoan ... More >>
Gordon Campbell on the recent upheavals inside Iran
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 3:03 pm | Gordon Campbell
I n 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 >>
The Tree of Life
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 12:38 pm | Marco Fantham
“...On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” More >>
West Coast Iwi Call For Conservation Board Review
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 11:55 am | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
West Coast iwi are backing a call by the Mayor of Westland Bruce Smith to disband the West Coast Conservation Board, because it is stacked with conservationists. More >>
Controversial Otago Daily Times cartoon: 'We got it wrong'
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 10:27 am | RNZ
Garrick Tremain's cartoon making light of the measles epidemic was labelled racist and insensitive and the paper is to cease publishing his work until a review of his future with the publication is completed. More >>
DIA criticises public 'beating up' of Hepatitis Foundation
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 10:23 am | RNZ
The Department of Internal Affairs is defending the Hepatitis Foundation and says publicly shaming it does nothing to help the charity sector. More >>
Government funds to continue investing in fossil fuels
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 10:18 am | RNZ
Two multi-billion dollar government guaranteed investment funds say they will continue investing in fossil fuel companies, despite the government's efforts to fight climate change. More >>
Jones Declared Conflict of Interest Same Day Questions Asked
Thursday, 5 December 2019, 10:10 am | RNZ
Shane Jones' office received official documents about a forestry company's bid for public money five times over four months, but the New Zealand First minister only declared a conflict of interest on the day RNZ began asking questions. More >>
Kawerau: Reserve may become residential development
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 5:31 pm | Charlotte Jones - Local Democracy Reporter
Kawerau District Council will soon be consulting the public on whether Stoneham Park reserve should become a residential development. More >>
Whakatane: Rural areas holding highest rate debt
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 5:07 pm | Charlotte Jones - Local Democracy Reporter
Murupara, Ruatoki and other rural areas are responsible for over 70 percent of Whakatane District Council’s outstanding rates. More >>
DOC reviewing decision to blast rocks on Truman Track
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 4:40 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
The Conservation Department is reviewing the way it decides when to destroy nature to protect the public. More >>
Thousands of quake-prone buildings yet to be identified
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 4:16 pm | RNZ
Councils estimate they have yet to identify 10,000 buildings nationwide that are earthquake-prone and need upgrading or demolition. More >>
Green's Swarbrick says cannabis prohibition has failed
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 4:06 pm | RNZ
Green Party's drug reform spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick says the prohibition-based model for cannabis is not working and has induced inequity for Māori who are disproportionately convicted over the substance. More >>
Binoy Kampmark: Myanmar, Genocide and Aung San Suu Kyi
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 2:03 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Leaders currently in office rarely make an appearance before either the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court. International law remains affixed to the notion that heads-of-state are, at least for the duration of their time in ... More >>
Extending New Zealand's fibre network
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 1:26 pm | Digitl
Last week engineers completed the first UFB stage. The so-called UFB1 fibre network reaches three quarters of the country. More >>
Spark dips toe as Vodafone plunges into 5G
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 1:11 pm | Digitl
Vodafone's 5G network will launch any day now. Spark wants you to know it already has New Zealand's first commercial 5G service . More >>
Auckland councillor complaint thrown out on technicality
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 1:00 pm | Nick Truebridge - Local Democracy Reporter
The reasons why a code of conduct complaint against Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley was thrown out have been revealed. More >>
Whakatane: A plague of rabbits infests cemetery
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 12:53 pm | Charlotte Jones - Local Democracy Reporter
Rabbits burrowing into recent burial sites at the Hillcrest Cemetery has distressed a regular visitor who wonders why the council chooses to leave them unplanted. More >>
ODT cartoon sparks calls for anti-racism training
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 12:11 pm | RNZ
The Otago Daily Times has been told it needs to do anti-racism training after it was forced to apologise for a cartoon joking about the Samoa measles outbreak. More >>
Russian on NZDF : 'No reason for us to react' - Peters
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 11:26 am | RNZ
The foreign minister won't be calling in the Russian ambassador concerning comments made about New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan. More >>
COP 25: Pacific nations demand greater commitments
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 11:14 am | RNZ
Small island countries in the Pacific are demanding greater commitments at this week's Madrid climate talks, saying what's been done so far is far from enough. More >>
Gordon Campbell on stoking fears about cannabis law reform
Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 9:53 am | Gordon Campbell
I t was always going to be hard to have a rational debate on cannabis reform. Far easier for politicians to win votes by stoking alarm. With National and New Zealand First already competing for the “who’s the toughest sheriff in town” badge ... More >>
NZ Cricket lodge complaint with police over Archer abuse
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 5:27 pm | RNZ
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has lodged a complaint with police over the reported racial abuse directed at Jofra Archer during the first Test between New Zealand and England at Bay Oval last week. More >>
Glass bits found in strawberry punnet from supermarket
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 5:15 pm | RNZ
A man is warning people to check their strawberries after his friend was taken to hospital when she had eaten some with glass in them. More >>
NZ's silence on West Papua 'costing lives'
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 5:03 pm | RNZ
About 50 activists flew the Morning Star flag at New Zealand's Parliament on Monday to mark the 58th anniversary of the declaration of West Papuan independence. More >>
Samoa's measles epidemic: Death toll rises to 55
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 4:53 pm | RNZ
There have been another two deaths in Samoa's measles epidemic, bringing the toll to 55. More >>
Marlborough could get boost after Jetstar Nelson withdrawal
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 4:23 pm | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Jetstar has done Marlborough a favour by pulling flights from regional centres in New Zealand, the region's tourism boss says. More >>
Traces of chemicals, sunscreen in Marlborough drinking water
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 4:11 pm | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Sunscreen, sweetener and chemicals have trickled from Marlborough's sewerage system into its drinking water and irrigation supplies. More >>
Wild weather: Flights cancelled, roads closed, lakes rising
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 3:26 pm | RNZ
Strong winds in Wellington have forced multiple domestic flights to and from the city to be cancelled. More >>
Integrated schools upset over exclusion from property funds
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 12:49 pm | RNZ
More than 300 integrated schools are challenging the government's decision to leave them out of its $400 million boost for maintenance. More >>
Kawerau speed cushions to deter hoons
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 11:24 am | Charlotte Jones - Local Democracy Reporter
Kawerau District Council will be trialling three polyethylene speed cushions in an attempt to slow hoons in the town and increase pedestrian safety. More >>
Mangawhai’s $15 million dollar community plan
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:59 am | Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter
Mangawhai locals will this summer have their chance to contribute to a $15 million Kaipara District Council management plan for their coastal settlement – one of the fastest growing centres in New Zealand. More >>
Northland LED streetlight retrofitting moratorium call
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:49 am | Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter
A Whangarei doctor is calling for a moratorium on Northland’s $6.2 million dollar ‘street lighting technology revolution’. More >>
Farmers miss lambing deadline as slip repair begins
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:31 am | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
The road has been closed to heavy vehicles since a slip in August, leaving Waikura Valley farmers unable to ship livestock to the works – and without income – during one of their most lucrative seasons of the year. More >>
Gisborne: Council launches app for service requests
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:26 am | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
From today, requests for service lodged through it will be sent to the council’s customer service team to be assigned to a council officer or contractor. Users can attach pictures of the issue and locate it on a map, and those details will be collated ... More >>
Kaikōura CEO refuses to cut ratepayers loose
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:17 am | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
A bid by some northern Kaikōura residents to get their homes rezoned to Marlborough is off the table, a council boss says. More >>
Kaikōura curbs freedom camping ahead of summer
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 10:04 am | Chloe Ranford - Local Democracy Reporter
Tough new freedom camping rules that ban camping at a number of areas are being praised by Kaikōura residents. More >>
Our Vanishing World: Wildlife
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 9:47 am | Robert J. Burrowes
Throughout its history, Earth has experienced five mass extinction events. See, for example, ‘Timeline Of Mass Extinction Events On Earth’ . It is now experiencing the sixth. More >>
Leaders urged not to COP out of climate action in Madrid
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 9:46 am | RNZ
The latest round of global climate talks has opened in Spain with the head of the UN warning the world risks sleepwalking past a point of no return. More >>
It’s time for Virginia to end the death penalty
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 9:12 am | David Swanson
The death penalty’s slow death is accelerating. At least 140 nations no longer use it. No nation in Europe uses the death penalty. No nation in the Western Hemisphere uses it, except the United States. More >>
The End of Netanyahu’s Era and Political Earthquake ahead
Tuesday, 3 December 2019, 9:10 am | Ramzy Baroud
This time, nothing seems to work. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has tried every trick in the book to save his political career and to avoid possible prison time. But for Israel’s longest-serving leader, the honeymoon is certainly ... More >>
PM's Post-Cab 2/12/19: Once More, The Breach
Monday, 2 December 2019, 4:56 pm | The Scoop Team
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's began her weekly post-cabinet press conference by discussing schools' responses to the school property funding announced at the Labour Party conference this weekend. More >>
Julian Assange in Videoconference
Monday, 2 December 2019, 4:55 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Judge José de la Mata of Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, had been facing a good deal of stonewalling on the part of his British colleagues. He is overseeing an investigation into the surveillance activities of a Spanish security firm aimed ... More >>
Claire Szabo Labour's new party president
Monday, 2 December 2019, 12:05 pm | RNZ
Former president Nigel Haworth quit in September, amid claims he had mishandled complaints about sexual assault. More >>
Bridges condemns climate protest vandalism at his office
Monday, 2 December 2019, 11:49 am | RNZ
The National Party leader, Simon Bridges, is criticising protesters for vandalising his Tauranga electorate office. More >>
Schools welcome maintenance boost, criticise allocation
Monday, 2 December 2019, 11:35 am | RNZ
Principals across the country are pleased with a surprise cash injection from the government, but say the allocation of funding has been somewhat mysterious. More >>
Gordon Campbell on PPPs and Labour’s infrastructure plans
Monday, 2 December 2019, 10:54 am | Gordon Campbell
Yet the same argument that Robertson has been making (ie, that this is a good time to launch these projects, while interest rates are so low) should apply equally to why it would make more sense for the government to borrow the money to build these ... More >>
Legitimised Surveillance: Kim Dotcom’s case against GCSB
Sunday, 1 December 2019, 3:16 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Surveillance activities and the law are often at loggerheads. The former specialises in destroying privacy; the latter, in so far as it might be adequate, sometimes furnishes a means of preserving it. When it comes to exposing overly-eager surveillance activity, ... More >>
Moving minerals law away from promotion
Sunday, 1 December 2019, 1:40 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
The review of the Crown Minerals Act has been released and as expected focuses on changing the purpose of the law away from the promotion of mining. More >>
Govt sets mandate for climate change negotiations
Sunday, 1 December 2019, 1:37 pm | NZ Energy and Environment Business Week
The Government has released its negotiating mandate ministers will be taking to the UNFCCC COP meeting in Madrid next week. More >>
Government signals big new infrastructure spend
Saturday, 30 November 2019, 2:00 pm | RNZ
The government plans to loosen the purse strings and spend up large on infrastructure - but the details are still some weeks away. More >>
The Liveris Formula: Dow’s Inclusive Capitalism
Friday, 29 November 2019, 3:53 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Parasites have a certain weight in history. Donors to a system, a state, a company, always claim to be giving back what they advertise as their hard earned cash. Andrew N. Liveris is one such character. Former CEO of the Dow Chemical corporation, he ... More >>
DOC scraps plan to expand Lake Ianthe campsite
Friday, 29 November 2019, 3:37 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
The Department of Conservation has scrapped plans to expand its campsite at Lake Ianthe/Matahi, in Westland after strong objections from conservation groups and locals. More >>
Multimillion-dollar repair bill for Wairoa in storm’s wake
Friday, 29 November 2019, 2:43 pm | Aaron van Delden - Local Democracy Reporter
State Highway 38 to Lake Waikaremoana was blocked by several slips. PHOTO: Facebook / Wairoa District Council Millions in financial aid to repair storm-damaged roads have helped keep Wairoa District Council from running at a loss. More >>
Goff refuses to answer questions on Ihumātao
Friday, 29 November 2019, 2:27 pm | Nick Truebridge - Local Democracy Reporter
Mayor Phil Goff is refusing to say whether he supports Auckland Council purchasing disputed land at Ihumātao. More >>
Co-operative housing the future in the Eastern Bay
Friday, 29 November 2019, 2:22 pm | Charlotte Jones - Local Democracy Reporter
The Eastern Bay could soon become the epicentre of co-operative housing in New Zealand. More >>
