Political analysis and commentary shaping the progressive debate in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on power, policy, and accountability.
WHY IS BRITAIN falling apart? The whole world is shaking its head in disbelief at the spectacle unfolding in Westminster. Well within a single human lifespan, Great Britain has undergone a profound transformation: from industrial behemoth and global empire, to one of the six economic also-rans which, alongside the USA, make up the G7.
It is clear and proper that New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is closely monitoring a concerning situation of deteriorating violence in West Papua.
SHOULD NEW ZEALAND have declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939? This is the startling question posed by Stevan Eldred-Grigg, one of New Zealand’s more interesting historians, in an essay posted on The Spinoff.
This fake news about New Zealand funding for UNRWA is being deliberately spread by the US and fanatical pro-Israeli groups in New Zealand to try and undermine UNRWA and create a stampede of other countries to also withdraw support for the agency.
The same day that the Chief Coroner issued the 2018-19 0fficial suicide statistics, showing an awful 685 kiwis had fallen victim to suicide during the year, our family and many other Waikato residents received another kick in the guts when the body of yet another Waikato DHB acute mental health inpatient was found in the Waikato River near the Waikato Hospital’s Henry Bennett Centre.
There was no police presence there on Friday afternoon, when I, my colleague Grant, and my injured leg (it has its own presence at the moment) set off across the enforced cordon sanitaire to visit with those staying on the land.
On the 27 August we received an email from Ron Mark in answer to our emails of 24 July and 1 August, regarding the purchase of military equipment from the Israeli company Robo-Team. We have replied to the Defence Minister expressing disappointment that he had failed to respond to deal with the particular points we had raised in our earlier emails. We asked Ron Mark to clarify the final three paragraphs of his response as follows:
“WHO OWNS NEW ZEALAND’S water?”
ON SATURDAY, 31 August, it will be 45 years to the day since Norman Kirk died. He was no age at all, just 51, and although he died in hospital, hardly any New Zealanders were aware that his reasons for being there were likely to prove fatal.
What if you believed that people you know, or meet on the streets, or live next door to, are actively plotting to steal your handbag, improve their lives at your expense or occupy your space?