The divisions roiling National might be forgivable if they resulted in a newly invigorated party. That seems highly unlikely now, writes Liam Hehir. The challenge to Simon Bridges’ leadership has damaged the National Party and its election chances. This is true whether Bridges or his challenger, Todd Muller, prevails. Nobody is indispensable and leadership tensions … Read more
Simon Day shares some lessons from his first three months as a dad. When my twin boys were born on Boxing Day 2019, Corona was still just a beer. The first 12 weeks with our boys felt like a lifetime, and after seven weeks of lockdown, those first 12 weeks now feel like a lifetime … Read more
Not only could carbon-neutral dairy farming be a sustainable way to mitigate climate change, but it could also be a profitable enterprise for New Zealand’s farmers, writes Prem Maan from Southern Pastures. The Covid-19 crisis has shown us what can be achieved in New Zealand if we work towards a common goal rather than wholly … Read more
As the sharp, lockdown-induced reduction in peak-hour congestion starts to dissipate, let’s not lose this chance to improve Auckland’s legendarily terrible traffic, writes transportation researcher Paul Minett. The first image below is from 9 March 2020, the second from 20 May, both at about 7:45am during the morning peak travel period. On a typical pre-pandemic … Read more
A bill is currently being read in parliament that could radically shift employee rights in the screen and gaming industries. Mickey Treadwell writes on the implications of the bill. On March 3, the innocuous sounding Screen Industry Workers Bill quietly passed its first reading. The bill, which has garnered little attention outside of game development … Read more
We need an overhaul of our social safety net, with more of us needing help than ever before, writes Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. A genuinely transformational overhaul of our social safety net would mean supporting everyone to live the life they want with dignity. A fit-for-purpose set-up means prompt, kind, understanding support when you … Read more
The ‘spend local’ mantra should apply to our biggest infrastructure projects too. Yet trade and investment agreements curb the government’s freedom to use procurement for a range of economic and social objectives, argues Jane Kelsey. The government has a limited number of ways to kick-start the economy in the wake of a crisis like Covid-19. … Read more
The hugely successful coronavirus response means New Zealand is well-placed for an export-led recovery, writes Charles Finny in this paper for the SSANSE Commission for a Post-Covid Future at the University of Canterbury. New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has come at an enormous economic cost. If we don’t move very fast that cost will increase … Read more
Covid-19 has demonstrated what resolute government leadership can achieve to address a serious problem. Now let’s do the same to improve our justice system, writes former Parole Board member Rhonda Pritchard. I’ve spent time in every prison in New Zealand. It was part of my job in a previous career, making repeated visits to each … Read more
This year’s budget was a chance to re-orient our economy to help it work better for Māori, not just now but into the future. The government failed to grasp the opportunity, writes Missy Te Kanawa. For Māori, the budget met the Covid-19-created need but missed the long-term mark. There were some good wins, but overall … Read more
With billions paid out through the government’s wage subsidy scheme, Vanessa Schouten asks if all that was claimed by businesses was actually needed, and if it should be paid back. When the government introduced the wage subsidy scheme back in March, it was on the basis that the money would “help keep people attached to … Read more
Call it unity, or solidarity, or kotahitanga, Covid-19 made us realise something we’ve known all along: we are all responsible for one another. There is a chance we can now act with common purpose to address intergenerational inequality. For older people, this means curtailing some of our choices, writes public health expert Charlotte Paul. As an … Read more
Budget 2020: Although it was called “Rebuilding Together”, it’s hard to see what exactly yesterday’s budget is rebuilding. Budget 2020 was never going to be a transformational budget. Not for Māori. Not for Aotearoa New Zealand. It is easy to understand the disappointment of many across the country who hoped for something more and who … Read more
Talks about the future of men’s rugby have dominated rugby news during the Covid crisis, but ex-Black Fern Melodie Robinson says it’s crucial New Zealand Rugby starts considering how the women’s game will fare with equal urgency. Sports organisations around the world are scrambling to figure out ways their codes can viably continue into the … Read more
Regulation of online content has received little attention amid a global health crisis. But violent extremist activity has not stopped, and we need to get our response right, writes Anjum Rahman. Today marks the first anniversary of the Christchurch Call, a response to the mass murder at two Christchurch mosques last year, a massacre livestreamed … Read more
The shortcomings seem to reflect a broader problem with how Māori have been overlooked in the plans to move to level two. On Tuesday and Wednesday, parliament raced into law the “new normal” framework for our lives until Covid-19 is finally vanquished. That sounds dramatic, but it’s true. The now in force Covid-19 Public Health … Read more
Budget 2020: The Labour government must not forget the unjust bailouts of the first Great Depression when it decides New Zealand’s path out of the current one. Whakapapa is the long and never-ending line of connection from the deities to earth to us. It is the long memory of indigenous people in a world that … Read more
Budget 2020: From supermarket workers to machine operators to cleaners, the people at the bottom of the socioeconomic pile deserve to be be part of the post-pandemic conversation – and to be allowed to speak for themselves, writes Stacey Shortall. While there is an audible sigh of relief in New Zealand that we are now … Read more
Budget 2020: While the cost of Covid-19 means crown debt will increase dramatically, setting the right priorities means the economy can recover sooner. The government should have two priorities in this budget. First, and most importantly, the health system needs to be ready for the medium-to-long term changes that the pandemic has forced on the … Read more
What do you do when you’re brown and a white woman you like gets cancelled? We can probably all agree that so far this year has been relatively bad. One thing that has made it somewhat bearable for me, many of my friends and evidently a lot of other people has been the writing of … Read more
A willingness to see health and economy as interwoven, as part of something larger, is at the core of thinking around wellbeing, and it is strikingly absent in the White House, writes David Hall. It was a bleak event. The conference title was “Averting Systemic Collapse” but, truth be told, there wasn’t much talk of … Read more
Te Ohu Kaimoana chief executive Dion Tuuta gets to the heart of institutional racism, and adds his voice to the chorus calling for a better Treaty partnership as we emerge from the pandemic. Koi Tū – the Centre for Informed Futures, led by Sir Peter Gluckman, recently released a paper titled Social Cohesion Enhancing Kotahitanga … Read more
Budget 2020: With the unemployment rate growing and predicted to rise further, many more people face financial hardship and poverty. Alan Johnson explores how the government could address this in Thursday’s budget. In previous budgets the finance minister Grant Robinson proved himself a fiscal conservative, suggesting that it wasn’t time to fully address our various … Read more
Where is the ‘other’ Treaty partner in this pandemic response, asks public health expert Rhys Jones. Looking at the outward face of the Covid-19 pandemic response in Aotearoa/New Zealand, you’d be forgiven for wondering where one of the Treaty partners is. No matter where you look – cabinet, those delivering official communications, experts informing the … Read more
In alert level two, a slew of hospital and GP services become available again. That presents a challenge to get back to normal, and ‘normal’ should not be what we are seeking in any case, write Richard Hamblin and Carl Shuker of the Health Quality & Safety Commission. Surgeries have been halted. Hip and knee … Read more
Four seasons and… an interactive special? Sam Brooks reviews Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs The Reverend, an interactive special and epilogue to the one-time critical darling. If you talk about Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt now, chances are that the response will be, “Oh I used to love that show!” What was once part of Netflix’s then-exclusive … Read more
Expected to be the most significant in a generation, Thursday’s budget will reveal how the government will offset the monstrous cost of Covid-19. Terry Baucher explores the likelihood of tax changes. As usual, the finance minister is not lacking for advice in the run-up to this week’s budget. It ought to be something of a … Read more
Dr Alex Kazemi, an ICU specialist, writes here in his personal capacity on the opportunity Covid-19 provides to rebuild our healthcare system. The tooth fairy never showed. My daughter had written a note – “You are invited to a tea party on Saturday at 10.30. If you cannot come please leave this note behind” – … Read more
They’re calling level two a return to normality, but for many of us that’s not really true. Sam Brooks, for one, is anxious as hell about the prospect of a world that’s more open, and more dangerous. Less than two minutes after Jacinda Ardern announced we would be moving to level two, I messaged two … Read more