Gordon Campbell: On The (Looming) Nurses’ Strike
It is (almost) possible to feel a bit sorry for the DHB negotiators engaged in the current nurses pay round. Come next Monday there’s every sign that nurses will resoundingly reject the pay offer the DHBs have put on the table, as being totally inadequate (a) as fair compensation for the crucial work that nurses do and (b) as a recruitment incentive for a workforce which is already under severe stress, and facing a demographic explosion in patients as the baby boomers lurch into old age. More>>
ALSO:
- Scoop Team - Notes from the PM’s Press Conference 19/3/18
- New Zealand Nurses Organisation - NZNO welcomes Robertson’s pay increase signal - 15,000 signatures supporting a better deal for nurses
- CTU - Nurses deserve a good outcome in Health Board negotiations
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- Earlier: NZNO - More primary healthcare needed
Gordon Campbell: On The PM’s Indonesian Guest, And West Papua
As David Lange once said, it is almost impossible to get New Zealand to think about Indonesia, the huge nation sitting right on our doorstep.More>>
ALSO:
- NZ Govt - Indonesian President Joko Widodo to visit
- Binoy Kampmark - Bullied Relations: Aus, East Timor and Natural Resources
Out By 24,000: Treasury Child Poverty Estimate Wrong
The Treasury has revised the child-poverty projections it provided to the Government in December 2017. As outlined in the Treasury’s 17 January media release, the previous estimate was based on code that included a modelling error...More>>
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Mentions Russia: NZ Joins Condemnation Of Nerve Agent Attack
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the New Zealand Government has grave concerns over the use of a chemical nerve agent in the United Kingdom resulting in critically serious injuries to some of those exposed. More>>
ALSO:
IPCA (And Privacy Commission): Police's “Exit International” Checkpoint Was Illegal
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police were not justified in stopping vehicles at a vehicle checkpoint to identify individuals who had attended an “Exit International” meeting in Lower Hutt on 2 October 2016. More>>
ALSO:
- NZ Police - Police response to IPCA report
- Privacy Commissioner - Operation Painter: Findings in privacy investigation
- End of Life Choice Society - The End-of-Life Choice Society wants an apology from police
- ACT - Police Commissioner Must Resign
- Family First - Police Right To Investigate Promotion & Enabling of Suicide
- Other 'investigatory tricks': NZ High Court - High Court Decision: Crawford v New Zealand Police
NZDF Coverup: Defence Admits Raid Was In Area Described In Hit And Run
When the book Hit and Run was published in March last year, the Chief of Defence Force Tim Keating held a press conference claiming the SAS had been in a different place on that date... The Defence Force has finally admitted that the “three photographs in the book are of Tirgiran Village”. More>>
ALSO:
- RNZ - Afghan raid inquiry needed to dispel confusion - lawyer - NZDF admits Afghan raid same location as in Hit & Run
- McLeod and Associates - Letter to AG on behalf of villagers in Baghlan
- Earlier Nicky Hager - NZDF Had Reports Of Civilian Casualties After SAS Raid - Hit and Run author responds to inquiry decision - Complaint on story published by the Herald and NewstalkZB - Location confusion must not detract from civilian casualties - Hit and Run authors reply to NZDF: The cover up continues - Hit and Run authors say latest NZDF denials incorrect - Hager-Stephenson book on tragic SAS actions in Afghanistan
- 2017 Scoop Report - NZDF Media Conference regarding the book Hit and Run
- 2017 NZ Defence Force - NZDF Statement on Hager/Stephenson Book
- Out-Link - The fog of time: why the Defence Force’s Hit and Run admission really matters | The Spinoff
- 2017 Gordon Campbell - On Shifty Bill’s Last Stand - On war crimes and the Afghan insurgency - On the Hit and Run book
"It Could Work" - Team NZ: New America's Cup Base Option
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has welcomed Emirates Team New Zealand’s acknowledgement that a new fourth base option is workable and would see Auckland host the America’s Cup in 2021. More>>
ALSO:
- NZ Govt - Decision closer on America’s Cup venue - Image February America’s Cup Village proposal offers win-win-win
- Emirates Team NZ - Statement on Latest America’s Cup Bases Plan
- Auckland Council - America’s Cup submission period to close
- Viaduct Harbour Holdings - Eden-Park-sized harbour reclamation unacceptable
- Stop Stealing Our Harbour - Rugby field extension of Halsey Wharf remains unacceptable
- Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board - Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Opposes America’s Cup Applications
LATEST HEADLINES
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- A wellbeing approach to assessing the Govt’s balance sheet 6:33 PM | New Zealand Government
- Twyford MIA while Canterbury exporters suffer 5:35 PM | New Zealand National Party
- Collins: Kiwi ‘build’ anything but 5:27 PM | New Zealand National Party
- Parliament: Questions and Answers - March 20 4:33 PM | Hansard
- Mr Parker’s side letters make no real difference 4:18 PM | New Zealand National Party
- NZ and Fiji to cooperate on maritime surveillance 4:06 PM | New Zealand Government
- Amendments proposed to forestry rights screening regime 3:39 PM | New Zealand Government
- Wellington Scoop
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- Music festival warned about need to test for dangerous drug
- New flood study shows risk for some Carterton homes
- Six-year-old dies after ute goes down a bank near Turakina
- Councillor questions half million dollars for new toilet and kiosk in Hutt park
- Electric cars (and one bus) on show in Cuba Street on Friday
- Judicial conference to hear concerns about delaying hearing on airport’s runway extension
- Art auction sells 99% of family’s collection for $2.9million
Economy: GDP Rises On Strength In Services
The economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew 0.6 percent in the December 2017 quarter, Stats NZ said today. Growth was driven by increases in the service industries but was tempered by falls in the primary sector. More>>
ALSO:
- BusinessDesk - NZ economy softer than expected in 4Q
- RNZ - GDP growth slowed by hot weather
- National - GDP figures show Government must nurture growth
- NZ Council of Trade Unions - Latest economic figures show commentary out of step
Innovative Partnerships:Govt Launches R&D; Programme
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today formally launched the Innovative Partnership programme which aims to attract future-focused international innovators and firms to undertake R&D; and develop their products in New Zealand.... More>>
ALSO:
- National - Megan Woods should stop re-announcing R&D; programmes
- Image Out-Link - Innovative Partnerships
Planes And Oil: Current Account Deficit Widens To $2.0 Billion
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted current account deficit widened to $2.0 billion in the December 2017 quarter, Stats NZ said today. The $407 million increase in the deficit was mainly driven by New Zealand importing aircraft and other transport equipment, and crude oil. More>>
ALSO:
- BusinessDesk - NZ current account deficit narrows in 4th qtr
RMTU: Lyttelton Port StrikeSticking points now include LPC’s insistence on docking the pay of workers who didn’t take part in strike action last week – because they withdrew the strike notice. “In our view this amounts to an illegal lockout.” More>>
ALSO:
- BusinessDesk - Lyttelton port strike causing 'major disruption'
- RMTU - Lyttelton port strike action to proceed from next Tuesday - Lyttelton port workers to picket meeting of Board
- Lyttelton Port Company - Lyttelton Port Company honours confidentiality agreement - Union agrees to extending withdrawal of strike notices - LPC asks Union to extend withdrawal of strike notices - Customer Notice: RMTU Strike Continues at Lyttelton Port - South Island trade gateway shut by RMTU strike - Lyttelton Port disappointed Union strikes will proceed
- National - Unions again hold weak Government to ransom
- 8/3 - Port workers protest against Lyttelton Port lock out
"Licensed To Krill": Greenpeace Report On Antarctic Fishing
A new Greenpeace investigation has exposed the environmental risks of the fast-growing krill industry in one of the most pristine parts of the Antarctic Ocean. More>>
ALSO:
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- MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares down; Synlait, Fonterra fall 8:31 PM | BusinessDesk
- NZ dollar pares gains in light trading ahead of Fed review 8:20 PM | BusinessDesk
- Air NZ's Carter defends airline's independence 7:16 PM | BusinessDesk
- Fonterra tipped to lift milk price forecast 6:51 PM | BusinessDesk
- Smoking can stub out job opportunities 5:57 PM | Employsure
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Video And Report: Cory Doctorow Talks Machine Learning And Big Data
International internet and digital technology commentator Cory Doctorow talked about machine learning and big data at the Privacy Commissioner’s PrivacyLive event on 13 March 2018 in Wellington. More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The #MeToo Movement In Sweden
The #MeToo campaign has been approached by Sweden in an impressively systematic fashion. As Bloomberg News reports, #MeToo subsets have emerged in almost every imaginable sector of Swedish society.. More>>
Binoy Kampmark: Meddling For Empire - The CIA Comes Clean
One of the difficulties behind the podium stance of virtue taken by the US political establishment on Russian interference in the country’s electoral process is one of simple hypocrisy. More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The Gun Debate, Here And In The US
Gun ownership in the US is a mystery to New Zealanders, and so is the constitutional fetish that surrounds it. However, the attitudes involved are not static and unchanging, even if it can feel that way in the wake of each new gun atrocity. More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The Mueller Probe, And Russia’s Economy
In itself, the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for interfering in the 2016 US wlll do little to change pre-existing views about the Robert Mueller investigation into Russia’s meddling in US presidential politics... More>>
Gordon Campbell: On The Nunes Memo
Every now and then the US system erupts and throws up a piece of political magma that can’t be described or explained in any rational fashion... More>>
ALSO:
- Earlier Federal Bureau of Investigation - FBI Statement on HPSCI Memo
- PublicAddress
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- Legal Beagle: A submission on the Electoral (Integ... 4:30 PM | Graeme Edgeler
- Hard News: Bikelash, paralysis – and progress 11:11 AM | Russell Brown
- Hard News: Friday Music: The Roundup 16 Mar | Russell Brown
- Hard News: A medical cannabis korero by the sea 5:39 PM | Russell Brown
- Hard News: Friday Music: NME – it was fun while it... 09 Mar | Russell Brown
- Hard News: ACL: The best of times, the worst of ti... 04 Mar | Russell Brown
- Hard News: Splore 2018 01 Mar | Russell Brown
UN Rights Office On Syria: The “Monstrous Annihilation” Of Eastern Ghouta
Since the Syrian Government and their allies escalated their offensive against opposition-held Eastern Ghouta on 4 February, there have been more than 1,200 civilian casualties, including at least 346 killed and 878 injured, mostly in airstrikes hitting residential areas... Ninety-two of these civilian deaths allegedly occurred in just one 13-hour period on Monday. More>>
ALSO:
- NZ Govt - NZ increases humanitarian funding for Syrian war victims
- UNHRC - Zeid urges international action as violence soars in Syria
- Image via Out-Link - Eastern Ghouta is another Srebrenica, we are looking away again | The Guardian
Cyclone Gita: 70% Of Tonga Population Affected
The full scale of destruction is beginning to emerge from Tonga in the aftermath of the severe tropical cyclone Gita. Around 50,000 people, or almost 70% of the country’s population, have been affected, a third of whom are children. More>>
ALSO:
- NZ Govt - PM to Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands - Further Cyclone Gita help - Emergency relief supplies to depart for Tonga - New Zealand to assist following Cyclone Gita - Cyclone Gita - thoughts with the Pacific, MCDEM staffer sent
- Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific - EU supports the victims of cyclone Gita in Tonga
- Govt of Tonga - Tropical Cyclone Gita: Tonga State of Emergency
- RNZ - Samoas clean up after being swamped by cyclone - Samoa assesses damage
- Council for International Development - The best thing you can do to help Tonga - send cash
- Charities - Oxfam - Tearfund - Rotary - Caritas - Habitat for Humanity - UNICEF - CWS - Rotary - Pacific Humanitarian Team
- Banks - ANZ - NZ Post/Kiwibank
- CLIMsystems - Tracking Models for Tropical Cyclone Gita
- Free calling - Spark - Vodafone - 2degrees donating income
- Digicel - Digicel Tonga’s network restoration well underway
- Heilala Vanilla - Foundation Provides Relief Support to ‘Eua, Tonga - Heilala Vanilla Update | Cyclone Gita
- Marlborough District Council - Mayor urges support for Pacific neighbours
- BusinessDesk - Tower says summer storms will cost about $5 million
- PCRIC - Record Insurance Payout for Tonga Following Cyclone Gita
- Paul Bayly - Pacific led climate change research is vital to development
- Image Out-Link - Tropical Cyclone Gita Slams Tonga : Natural Hazards
Gita: Samoas Clean Up After Being Swamped By Cyclone
Apia in the wake of Gita Photo: Rudy Bartley The clean up is continuing in the two Samoas after Tropical Cyclone Gita hit on Saturday morning. More>>
ALSO:
- Image Out-Link - Severe Cyclone Gita to track over southern Tonga, later Norfolk Island & NZ area (+8 Maps) | WeatherWatch.co.nz
- NZ Govt - Cyclone Gita - thoughts with the Pacific, MCDEM staffer sent
- Council for International Development - Cyclone Gita hits Pacific – Cash is the best way to help
- RNZ - Samoa assesses damage as Cyclone Gita strengthens
- MetService - A Cooler Drier Start to the Week Gives Way to Rain
Grand Coalition : Germany's two main political parties set to govern under Angela Merkel.
The liberal-conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) negotiated through the night in a marathon final push to nail down an agreement. More>>
80 Passengers: Kiribati Ferry Disaster
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working with the Government of Kiribati to support children, families and communities affected by the recent Butiraoi ferry disaster. More>>
ALSO:
- Maritime NZ - Kiribati ferry: Aerial search suspended - Kiribati authorities confirm more than 80 on sunken ferry - Australian and US aircraft join search for Kiribati ferry - Fishing vessel on way to dinghy
- NZ Defence Force - NZDF Finds Survivors From Missing Kiribati Ferry
Campbell On: the US demonising of Iran
Satan may not exist, but the Evil One has always been a handy tool for priests and politicians alike. Currently, Iran is the latest bogey conjured up by Washington to (a) justify its foreign policy interventions and (b) distract attention from its foreign policy failures. More
ALSO:
- Binoy Kampmark - Outing the US Empire: Trump’s Military Parade
LATEST HEADLINES
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- Syria Briefing to the Security Council 9:47 PM | United Nations Human Rights Commissioner
- Fictional Free Trade and Permanent Protectionism 7:43 PM | Binoy Kampmark
- Michel Temer - Water: the right of each of us 5:52 PM | Embassy of Brazil
- New Health Crisis Looms for Rohingya Refugees 2:26 PM | Save The Children
- Syrians Faced Death Or Torture Following Return to Syria 8:59 AM | Euro-Med Monitor
- Earth Hour 2018 in Central and Eastern Europe 8:38 AM | World Wildlife Fund
- Use of Force Against Protestors in DR Congo 8:38 AM | United Nations
Howard Davis Review: A Bigger Splash - Te Papa Celebrates Twenty Years
Considering the available resources, this is a decidedly hit-and-miss affair, mainly due to some highly questionable curatorial decisions. In their overweening wish to "push boundaries," Charlotte Davy and Megan Tamati-Quennell have made a number of serious miscalculations by ignoring a basic rule - keep it simple. More>>
Howard Davis Review: Smelling the Merchandise - The Death of Stalin
Having satirised British democracy with such devastating effect, Armando Iannucci has now turned his lens on the dangers inherent in Soviet authoritarianism. Every gag is girdled with fear and the bleak humour is so pitch black it could only have been pumped from deep underground. More>>
Howard Davis Review: The Creole Stylings of Cécile McLorin Salvant
"You only get a singer like this once in a generation or two," commented Wynton Marsalis, who has repeatedly hired her to front his jazz orchestra and mounted a 25 foot high portrait of her on the exterior of Lincoln Center. “She radiates authority. She has poise, elegance, soul, humour, sensuality, power, virtuosity, range, insight, intelligence, depth, and grace.” More>>
Max Rashbrooke Review: The King's Singers and Voices New Zealand
To be good at one thing is impressive; to be so versatile across a range of genres is truly exceptional. The latest incarnation of this six-strong male singing group includes Kiwi Christopher Bruerton, and it was a delight to hear him sing the solo on the achingly beautiful My Love Is like a Red, Red Rose. More>>
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- Silver Ferns name team to play Malawi Queens 9:50 PM | Netball NZ
- Twinkle comes to town for the school holidays 7:25 PM | Little Dog Barking
- Board changes demonstrate confidence in Isaac Theatre Royal 3:50 PM | Isaac Theatre Royal
- From Paris to Liverpool to Aotearoa 2:35 PM | New Zealand Dance Company
- TECH N9NE Australia & New Zealand Tour Dates 1:04 PM | Metropolis Touring
- The 24HourProject – Global street photography event 12:39 PM | 24hourproject
- Wildly Different Inspirations for Youth Theatre Festival 11:07 AM | Auckland Theatre Compan...
