The self-proclaimed governors of transformation have not so far infused the ‘wellbeing’ idea they trumpeted into everyday speech. Do they dare do so now, asks Colin James. Jacinda Ardern claimed a “mandate” on election night to “accelerate our response [to Covid] and our recovery”. Does that portend the “government of transformation” she proclaimed three years … Read more
Since the late 1990s, suicide rates among young men in New Zealand have increased by almost 50%. ‘Zero Suicide Aotearoa’, the latest report from a cross-party mental health group, is looking to address these dismal suicide rates. After New Zealand placed 35th out of 41 OECD countries for our child wellbeing in the Unicef 2020 … Read more
A new report measuring New Zealanders’ financial wellbeing highlights how key sectors of our population are feeling stressed over money, and how Covid-19 has made that worse. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can help. After all, it’s what puts food on the table, a roof over our heads, and the power to buy … 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
An upcoming three-day conference in Auckland aims to ‘envision our future’, but the Ed Hillary-branded event appears to feature some odd guests, including one who thinks astrology can explain important historic events, and a self-help guru who’s been labelled a fraud. David Farrier reports. A new year, a new pricey three-day conference, this time courtesy … Read more
Body Mass Index (BMI) is particularly flawed as an indicator of health in children and ethnic minorities. So why do we still use it? In a new comment piece published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, registered dietician Lucy Carey argues that the use of the Body Mass Index in assessing children’s health is both … Read more
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI. Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below. To download this episode right click … Read more
Last week saw the publication of the new Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, on which the future of New Zealand quite literally depends, writes Claire Achmad of Barnardos. Something that has never happened before for children and young people in this country happened last week. Behind the school lunches policy (which you probably heard a … Read more
More than 600 psychologists in New Zealand have voted to continue the strike they began last month. They say poor pay, long hours, and an institutional lack of respect are causing a mass exodus. A month ago, on the 31st July, 600 APEX psychologists in 16 District Health Boards (DHBs) stopped working overtime. APEX has since … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt gives and takes with first Wellbeing Budget, Treasury Secretary under immense pressure, and dozens of kākāpō sick from fungus. The question was asked in yesterday’s Bulletin – what does this government value enough to put real money towards? In the end, the Budget that was delivered wasn’t … Read more