We are a resourceful nation. We say we punch above our weight. We have just staged a wonderful Rugby World Cup. Visitors from many nations have found us to be caring, warm, engaging, generous and hospitable. That’s a reputation worth having and building on. “Why then are we not as caring as a nation when Read more
“France won, I cheered,” says Lakan Beech. Wales may be the fairer team on the field, but as a nation France wins hands down as a fair and just nation. He was blogging at Level with Me, which is a project of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, which uses the Rugby World Cup to get people thinking Read more
An industrial dispute at Freeport, the world’s biggest gold mine in Indonesia’s Papua province, has turned ugly, after a striking worker was shot dead by police. Seven others were critically wounded when officers tried to stop striking workers from going into a facility at the mining complex on Monday. About 8,000 workers have been on Read more
Limitless Greed + Inequality + Market Volatility + Unemployment = An Occupied Wall Street. The small protest known as Occupy Wall Street has grown over the past 4 weeks. Occupy Wall St protests have spread across the United States and are now going world-wide. There is even a group planning a week-long protest at Civic Square in Read more
Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand is calling on the leaders of the four Pacific Island countries that have the death penalty to remove it from legislation. A spokesperson, Margaret Taylor, says although it’s not been practised in the Pacific in the past 30 years, the death penalty remains law in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Nauru Read more
The Child Poverty Action Group report’s main recommendation – “that Working for Families tax credits should be made available to beneficiary families as well – is opposed by Labour and National alike,” writes Gordon Campbell. One in five New Zealand children live in poverty, with subsequent effects on their health, educational achievement, and productivity – to Read more
On Monday the Nauruan government confirmed it was now a party to the UN Refugee Convention. The paperwork necessary to join the convention in June was signed in June. It then had to wait for the UN to process its application. Nauru’s decision to sign the convention bolsters Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s calls to recommence offshore processing Read more
Brooke Fraser is about to get down and dirty in Ethiopia for a cause close to her heart. The Kiwi songwriter, who this week completes a Flags-raising tour of Europe, will return to Africa to visit as many of the Charity Water birthday-funded (she raised US$65,000) projects as possible. ”I recently received a satellite image Read more
Those expressing concern that video surveillance law might be passed without appropriate public scrutiny need to understand that the Justice and Electoral Select Committee has already examined the issue and heard numerous public and expert submissions on it, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said. “The Search and Surveillance Bill was introduced in 2009 following the Read more