Sad to say, but the Key government has never showed much stomach for saying ‘No’ to corporate lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry or the film industry.
Even before taking office in 2008, Key and his colleagues had promised to over-ride Pharmac’s objections to the funding of a 52 week programme of the anti-cancer drug Herceptin.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman now concedes that this commitment to bypass Pharmac was a big mistake. More>>
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Under The Gun: Police Warnings After Investigation Into TV3/MediaWorks Report
Police in Auckland City District have concluded the investigation into the actions of some TV3/MediaWorks staff involved in the purchase of a firearm for a television report broadcast in October 2015... Police have now issued formal warnings to three TV3/MediaWorks staff. More>>
Housing: $2 Million To Help Homeless Aucklanders
Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett has announced details of the Government’s $2 million contribution to increasing the emergency housing supply in Auckland. Specialist provider Emerge Aotearoa will provide 30 places for individuals or families, for a stay of up to 12 weeks. More>>
Auckland: Bus Strike Escalates
Over 100 FIRST Union members from Howick and Eastern Buses are recommencing strike action as the company makes repeated attempts to remove overtime and weekend rates for drivers, says FIRST Union Bus Organiser Rudd Hughes. More>>
Debts Student And National: Student Debt Time Bomb Clocks $15 Billion
Many students will be reflecting on the life-long impact their student loans will have as total student debt hits $15 billion today, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says. More>>
Gang Plan: New Gang Intelligence Centre Will Reduce Gang Harm
New Zealand’s first multi-agency Gang Intelligence Centre is now operational and collecting intelligence on gang activity, says Police Minister Judith Collins. More>>
Zero Hours Fight: Labour To Support Next Step Of Workplace Law
Labour will support the next stage of National’s proposed workplace law reforms in good faith following negotiations with the Government... “Our position is unchanged. We need to see the end of zero hour contracts and we will only support this Bill thorough its final stages if we see the changes that are necessary to achieve that." More>>
Spy Rules: ISC Receives Intelligence And Security Review
Prime Minister and Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) John Key confirmed the report of the Independent Review of Intelligence and Security has been received by members of the ISC today. More>>
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Emirates: First Dubai-Auckland Non-Stop Arrival
After 15 hours 13 minutes in the air, Emirates’ inaugural non-stop service from Dubai to New Zealand arrived ahead of time at Auckland Airport this morning to the traditional water arch welcome reserved for milestone flights. More>>
Price Of Cheese: ComCom Questions Why Fonterra Has To Take All Farmers' Milk
The Commerce Commission questions whether new dairy conversions should retain automatic rights to supply Fonterra Cooperative Group in its largely unchanged final report on competition in the sector, which recommends a staggered path to further deregulation. More>>
Comestibles: New Food Act Comes Into Force
“The key change is a move away from a one-size-fits-all approach, to one that regulates businesses according to risk. So higher risk businesses, like restaurants, will have more responsibilities than lower risk businesses, like corner dairies." More>>
Balance Of Trade: NZ Terms Of Trade Falls 2% In Fourth Quarter
New Zealand's terms of trade declined in the fourth quarter as weaker prices for dairy and meat resulted in export prices falling more than import prices. More>>
Employment: Minimum Wage To Increase To $15.25
The minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $15.25 an hour on 1 April 2016, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse announced today. The starting-out and training hourly minimum wages rates will increase from $11.80 to $12.20 per hour, remaining at 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage. More>>
Statistics: NZ Building Consents Sink 8.2% As Canterbury Drops Off
New Zealand building consents fell last month as a drop-off in Canterbury construction intentions offset growth in other regions, although Auckland continued to lag behind the estimated level needed to match growth in housing demand. More>>
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3 To 24 March: Flag Referendum Voting Papers Out
3/3 The second referendum on the New Zealand flag begins today, with more than three million voting packs being delivered to mailboxes over the next week. More>>
Flag Referendum: Jitterati 29/2/16
Other Flags: Hōne Heke’s Tribal Flag Comes To Auckland
This powerful taonga from the Te Matarahurahu hapū, the first Māori clan to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, will travel from Waitangi to be unveiled during a dawn pōwhiri at MOTAT on Thursday 3 March 2016. More>>
Flag Debate Moves To Doggerel: Poetry For Sport And War
Robert Kelly: A video, published on YouTube on Monday, features NZ theatre stalwart Ian Mune applying his best gravelly tones to a string of stanzas providing an extremely selective version of New Zealand history titled ‘Lest We Forget: The Real Flag’. Now while I don’t want to address the politics particularly, I do want to talk about the poetry. More>>
Cyclone Winston: NZ Aid For Fiji
22/2 Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced a further Defence Force flight to Fiji and $1.8 million in funding, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to relief efforts following Tropical Cyclone Winston to $2.2 million… More>>
Gordon Campbell: On Rubio’s Last Stand (And Sleater-Kinney)
Well, it certainly was entertaining to watch Rubio succeed in getting under Donald Trump’s skin the other day, in the last debate before tomorrow’s Super Tuesday multi-state sweepstakes... The real killer for Rubio was that the most recent poll from Florida which shows him losing his home state to Trump by a huge margin in the primary due on March 15. More>>
Leaked: UK Counter-Terrorism Training Material
The PREVENT Strategy has permeated all aspects of public life in the UK. It is important that the training provided to public sector workers to implement the strategy is scrutinised for its empiricism. To this end, CAGE has released the most comprehensive leak of PREVENT training material so far. More>>
Weather: Aid Urgently Needed For Drought-Stricken Ethiopia
As the severity of ongoing drought in Ethiopia is exacerbated by the arid effects of ‘super El Nino’, ChildFund New Zealand is appealing to more New Zealanders to contribute to their growing aid response. More>>
'Very Concerned' After Court Ruling: UNHRC On Transfer Of 267 People From Australia To Nauru
Most of these people were reportedly brought to Australia from Nauru to receive medical treatment and are in a fragile physical and mental state. The group includes more than 12 women and at least one child who have allegedly suffered sexual assault or harassment while in Nauru. The group also includes 37 children born in Australia. More>>
Sanctions To Be Lifted: NZ Welcomes Implementation Of Iran Nuclear Deal
Duty Minister Nikki Kaye has welcomed the next stage in the historic nuclear deal between Iran, the Five Permanent (P5) members of the United Nations Security Council, and Germany... “New Zealand has now started the domestic process for removing the UN sanctions." More>>
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Family Statement: Martin Crowe Dies
Diagnosed in September 2014 with terminal double hit Lymphoma he passed away peacefully today, Thursday 3rd March in Auckland surrounded by family. More>>
Review: Prince’s Intimate New Zealand Debut
One piano. One microphone. A couple dozen candles. One Prince. This concert was Prince in a way most people will never hear. Foregoing his usual performance with the backup band, he instead went solo, creating a more intimate but no less powerful atmosphere. More>>
River of Fundament: Wellington To Host New Zealand Premiere Of Epic Film
Wellington audiences have an exclusive opportunity to attend a one-off New Zealand screening of the cinematic production River of Fundament , by superstar New York-based artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney and composer Jonathan Bepler, ... More>>
Ranginui Walker: A Revolutionary Of Our Time
Te Ururoa Flavell: E te hikuroa taniwha o te whawhai mutunga kore: takoto mai, takoto mai rā! Kei te mōteatea te ngākau, kei te heke ngā roimata me te hūpē. E te rangatira, okioki atu rā ki te ukaipō o ō tīpuna. More>>
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