ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 25, 2025.
Gangs are going global and so is the illegal gun trade – NZ can do more to fight it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato According to the Global Organised Crime Index, international criminal activity has increased over the past two years. And the politically fractured post-pandemic world has made this even harder for nations to combat. New Zealand is far from immune. According
Historic ICJ climate ruling ‘just the beginning’, says Vanuatu’s Regenvanu
By Ezra Toara in Port Vila Vanuatu’s Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Ralph Regenvanu, has welcomed the historic International Court of Justice (ICJ) climate ruling, calling it a “milestone in the fight for climate justice”. The ICJ has delivered a landmark advisory opinion on states’ obligations under international law to act on climate change. The
3 reasons young people are more likely to believe conspiracy theories – and how we can help them discover the truth
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jean-Nicolas Bordeleau, Research Fellow, Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies, Flinders University Conspiracy theories are a widespread occurrence in today’s hyper connected and polarised world. Events such as Brexit, the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections, and the COVID pandemic serve as potent reminders
Waiting too long for public dental care? Here’s why the system is struggling – and how to fix it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Santosh Tadakamadla, Professor and Head of Dentistry and Oral Health, La Trobe University Just over one-third of Australians are eligible for public dental services, which provide free or low cost dental treatment. Yet demand for these services continues to exceed supply. As a result, many Australian adults
Butter wars: ‘nothing cures high prices like high prices’ – but will market forces be enough?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Renwick, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand RobynRoper/Getty Images The alarming rise of butter prices has become a real source of frustration for New Zealand consumers, as well as a topic of political recrimination. The issue has become so serious that Miles Hurrell, chief
Ultrafast fashion brand Princess Polly has been certified as ‘sustainable’. Is that an oxymoron?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Harriette Richards, Senior Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University Carol Yepes/Getty Images Last week, the ultrafast fashion brand Princess Polly received B Corp certification. This certification is designed to accredit for-profit businesses that provide social impact and environmental benefit. Established on the Gold Coast in
AI will soon be able to audit all published research – what will that mean for public trust in science?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Kaurov, PhD Candidate in Science and Society, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamillah Knowles & Digit/Better Images of AI, CC BY-SA Self-correction is fundamental to science. One of its most important forms is peer review, when anonymous experts scrutinise research before it is
Columbia’s $200M deal with Trump administration sets a precedent for other universities to bend to the government’s will
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Cantwell, Associate Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Michigan State University Students at Columbia University in New York City on April 14, 2025. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images Columbia University agreed on July 23, 2025, to pay a US$200 million fine to the federal government
Miles Franklin 2025: Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities is a haunting comedy about tyranny. Is it the funniest winner ever?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joseph Steinberg, Forrest Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, English & Literary Studies, The University of Western Australia Siang Lu David Kelly/UQP The Miles Franklin judges described Siang Lu’s Ghost Cities, winner of the 2025 award, as “a grand farce and a haunting meditation on diaspora”. To my mind, it
Keep fighting for a nuclear-free Pacific, Helen Clark warns Greenpeace over global storm clouds
Asia Pacific Report Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark warned activists and campaigners in a speech on the deck of the Greenpeace environmental flagship Rainbow Warrior III last night to be wary of global “storm clouds” and the renewed existential threat of nuclear weapons. Speaking on her reflections on four decades after the bombing
Business coalition calls for 25% cut in the cost of red tape by 2030
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Business, universities, and investors have jointly urged the federal government to commit to cutting the cost of red tape by 25% by 2030, in a submission for next month’s Economic Reform Roundtable. The push to reduce regulation is in line
Grattan on Friday: net zero battle has net zero positives for Sussan Ley
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra There’s no other way of looking at it: Sussan Ley faces a diabolical situation with the debate over whether the Coalition should abandon the 2050 net zero emissions target. The issue is a microcosm of her wider problems. The Nationals,
The Murray–Darling Basin Plan Evaluation is out. The next step is to fix the land, not just the flows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Stewardson, CEO One Basin CRC, The University of Melbourne Yarramalong Weir is one of many barriers to the passage of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin. Geoff Reid, One Basin CRC A report card into the A$13 billion Murray–Darling Basin Plan has found much work is needed
The Murray–Darling Basin Plan Evaluation is out. The next step is to fix the land, not just the flows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Stewardson, CEO One Basin CRC, The University of Melbourne Yarramalong Weir is one of many barriers to the passage of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin. Geoff Reid, One Basin CRC A report card into the A$13 billion Murray–Darling Basin Plan has found much work is needed
Reserve Bank says unemployment rise was not a shock, inflation on track
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has fleshed out the central bank’s thinking behind its surprise decision to keep interest rates on hold this month. In a speech today to the Anika Foundation, Bullock said there has been:
Reserve Bank says unemployment rise was not a shock, inflation on track
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has fleshed out the central bank’s thinking behind its surprise decision to keep interest rates on hold this month. In a speech today to the Anika Foundation, Bullock said there has been:
Israel waging ‘horror show’ starvation campaign in Gaza, says UN chief
This is Democracy Now!. I’m Amy Goodman. More than 100 humanitarian groups are demanding action to end Israel’s siege of Gaza, warning mass starvation is spreading across the Palestinian territory. The NGOs, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, warn, “illnesses like acute watery diarrhea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and
Israel waging ‘horror show’ starvation campaign in Gaza, says UN chief
This is Democracy Now!. I’m Amy Goodman. More than 100 humanitarian groups are demanding action to end Israel’s siege of Gaza, warning mass starvation is spreading across the Palestinian territory. The NGOs, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, warn, “illnesses like acute watery diarrhea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and
Historic ruling finds climate change ‘imperils all forms of life’ and puts laggard nations on notice
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Peel, Professor of Law and Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, The University of Melbourne Hilaire Bule/Getty Climate change “imperils all forms of life” and countries must tackle the problem or face consequences under international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found. The court delivered its
Jet ski accidents are tragic but preventable. Here’s how to reduce the risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Richard Hamilton Smith/Getty Two teenage boys were thrown from a jet ski during a ride on the Georges River in Sydney’s south this week. One died at the scene. The other
