ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 5, 2026.
Blame the NZ govt for ‘selective’ human rights morality, not activists
COMMENTARY: By John Minto Forough Amin in her opinion piece “The consequences of selective morality” (The Press, 28 April 2026) argues that the Palestine solidarity movement’s call for sanctions against Israel is “selective morality”. She says we should be calling out all human rights abuses everywhere — which in her case means Iran. We agree … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Hollow-Earth myths and Nazi UFOs on TikTok are bringing white supremacism into the mainstream
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marten Risius, Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland Eighty-one years after Adolf Hitler died by his own hand in a Berlin bunker, a viral video on TikTok shows an AI-generated vision of the Nazi dictator standing in Antarctica, shoulders broad and face smiling, … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
How to talk to your kids about separating and managing the change
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jaimie Northam, Lecturer in Clinical Child Psychology, Western Sydney University If you’ve decided to separate from your partner, and you have kids together, it’s normal to worry about the potential impact on them. Although some studies have shown a higher risk of mental health problems for children … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Is New Zealand sliding toward a US-style approach to immigration and asylum?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jay Marlowe, Professor of Social Work, Co-Founder Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau A person fleeing persecution may not travel with extensive documentation, legal advice or even a neatly ordered account of their situation. Trauma, fear, language barriers, fragmented evidence and … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Hostage‑taking by rogue states is on the rise. New research provides fresh ways to tackle it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Research Fellow, Security Studies, Macquarie University Hostage-taking by nation-states is emerging as an overlooked consequence of the more unstable and dangerous world that’s been created by the fracturing rules-based order. In an increasingly might-is-right system of international relations, malign actors have become even more emboldened … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
‘Demand the impossible’: how lived experience leaders make systems and policy better
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morgan Cataldo, Visiting Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University There’s a growing awareness policy works best when shaped by the people and communities who have lived through the issues it aims to address. If we don’t listen to and learn from those who … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
‘Decision fatigue’ could be hurting your health. A nutritionist explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Beckett, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition and Food Science, Australian Catholic University You’re standing in a supermarket aisle, weighing up whether to buy a microwave meal or a bunch of fresh carrots. We all know making healthy eating choices can be tough. That’s especially true if you are … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Keith Rankin Analysis – “I am a Semite”
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 4 May 2026. Not me personally; and, of course, all ethnicities are equal. A week or so ago, as I was casually doing something else, I saw being interviewed a gentleman who I understand was a Gazan intellectual. When asked about antisemitism, on the presumption that many Gazan people are somehow … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Keith Rankin Analysis – New Zealand’s Dependence: Wheat, Rice, Fuel, Ships
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 1 May 2026. New Zealand is almost completely dependent on four things for its survival in the contemporary world. Imported wheat, rice, and refined fuel. And ships. Wheat New Zealand grows wheat in the South Island, most of which becomes animal feed. Reliance on New Zealand grown wheat is forestalled by … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Pacific political caricatures: Why criticising a leader’s actions isn’t a personal attack
POLITICAL CARTOONS: By Campion Ohasio My name is Campion Ohasio, and I am currently the only political cartoonist in Solomon Islands. In recent weeks, I have received many questions and comments from people across the country about my cartoons. Some ask why I draw our national leaders in certain ways. Others wonder whether my caricatures … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Copyright law is being used to hide alleged animal abuse. Here’s what’s at stake
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lev Bromberg, Lecturer, La Trobe University Over the decades, journalists and activist groups have revealed horrendous animal cruelty using covert recordings. A 2011 Four Corners investigation of abuse of Australian cattle in Indonesia is among the most well-known examples. Many attempts to record agricultural operations have involved … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Chinese companies are increasingly taking on foreign governments. It’s not just the Port of Darwin
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Colin Hawes, Associate professor of law, University of Technology Sydney The Chinese-owned firm that operates the Port of Darwin isn’t happy about the federal government’s push to return it to an Australian owner. Now, the situation is escalating, with the stage set for an international legal showdown. … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
How a sense of awe can be good for your mental health
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nikki-Anne Wilson, Lecturer, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney; Neuroscience Research Australia Words escape you. Your skin tingles. You are overwhelmed by how small and insignificant you really are, bursting with a feeling that is hard to define. This is awe. Awe is a complex emotional state we … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
From Taylor Swift to Bollywood, stars turn to the civil courts to fight deepfakes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Austin, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne; Chair of Private Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Music superstar Taylor Swift has applied to trademark her voice and image to head off the threat of AI-generated impersonations. But the problem extends much further than … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Red button or blue button? What a viral question tells us about game theory and the state of the world
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Conway, Senior Lecturer – Games and Interactivity, Swinburne University of Technology Everyone on earth takes a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If more than 50% of people press the blue button, everyone survives. If less than 50% of people press the blue … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Next week’s budget to reduce electric vehicle FBT concession
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week’s budget will contain cutbacks to the concessional treatment of electric vehicles (EVs) that will save the government $1.7 billion over the budget period. Announcing the changes to the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) exemption for EVs, Treasurer Jim Chalmers … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
After Israel’s brutal attack on Kiwis the NZ government does nothing
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Kiwi Julien Blondel’s face may be bloodied but it is unbowed. So far the New Zealand government has done nothing after Blondel and other New Zealand peace activists were savagely beaten by Israeli soldiers who attacked the Global Sumud flotilla near the Greek Island of Crete on April 30. The flotilla … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Keith Rankin Analysis – China and Taiwan; a geopolitical solution?
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 30 April 2026. There is a narrative going around that the war in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman – Israel/USA versus Iran – is a training exercise for the big one, a war between the United States and China centred on the Taiwan Strait. In Hormuz Today, Taiwan Tomorrow … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Fiji jumps, Samoa plunges in World Press Freedom Index
By Stefan Armbruster of Pasifika TV Fiji has recorded a dramatic jump in its media freedom rating to be in the top 25 nations globally while Samoan government press restrictions have seen its rating plummet in the latest World Press Freedom Index. Advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) said globally it was the first time … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>
Keith Rankin Analysis – Inflation versus our Cost-of-Living Crises of Choice
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 24 April 2026. Inflation is a topic which has, for a long time now, been at the forefront of normative economics. Normative economics is the economics of mainstream ideology, not the economics informed by concept or science. The latest New Zealand CPI-inflation data – released this week – have been called … <a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="Read more about ">Read more</a>