The camera upgrade became a flashpoint for locals against a backdrop of community board ructions.ODT Files
A Southland town has overcome years of disagreement over people’s privacy and public costs to proceed with new surveillance cameras.
Winton is one of several spots grappling with whether and how to roll out new, more powerful cameras that police or volunteers monitor to combat crime.
Police in the town say they are “elated” and the local business association call it a “massive relief”.
“The community has just thrown their hands in the air and said, ‘Oh, when is this ever going to happen?’,” said association president Daphne Fairbairn. “Commonsense has prevailed, thank goodness.”
The camera upgrade became a flashpoint for locals against a backdrop of community board ructions, including the ousting of the chair in 2024.
Cattery owner Dave Diack was on the previous Oreti Community Board that twice vetoed an upgrade, despite overwhelming local backing – but said it was with good reason.
“The cameras were never declined in the sense that we voted, ‘No, we don’t want the cameras’,” Diack said. “All we wanted was to have the proper privacy arrangements in place for people and to get some certainty around costs.”
They received some of that certainty with more info from a working group about a year ago, but in the run-up to the local body elections, they were still waiting for the old data protection rules around the old cameras to be overhauled.
‘Singing from the rooftops’
Now, there is a new letter of agreement on privacy between the council and police, a newly-elected board and solid backing for a $65,000 upgrade plan that goes to Southland District Council for sign-off next week.
The $65,000 covers four replacement cameras, and installation of a fifth in a new spot overlooking the playground and skate park.
“Put it this way, if I was on that board now and we had got it over the line, I would be out there singing from the rooftops that we probably would have the most comprehensive agreement with the … regional police regarding the use of the CCTV cameras,” said Diack
Board chair Margie Ruddenklau was sure it ticked all the boxes and did a favour for other towns looking at installing CCTV.
“Yes I think so, absolutely,” she said. “There was a lot of work that went in behind it.
“It was a complete update of the agreement… in regard to the information that the CCTV cameras provide around privacy.”
Last month, the public was excluded from the community board meeting that discussed the plan and will be excluded again next week at the district council for commercial reasons.
Diack hoped this did not signal any walking back on privacy or uptick in costs.
“I’m hopeful that the town has got an acceptable outcome, not only in terms of price… but also in terms of acknowledging that privacy is an issue”, although he would wait to see the details.
‘Police are elated’
Police Senior Sergeant Peter Graham began the push for new cameras in 2023.
“Police are elated the Winton community board have renewed CCTV public safety cameras,” Graham told RNZ.
The existing cameras had been “invaluable” for deterring and resolving crime, but were at the end of their life.
“I applaud the hard work of those who fought for the cameras and the current community board’s decision to make their community safer.”
Although the former community board ran out of time to fully green-light the upgrade, in November, the district council felt confident enough to put out a tender.
Fairbairn said the community would benefit hugely from the new cameras to deter and prosecute crime, including petty stuff.
The upgrade had become too political and the previous community board was “overly cautious”.
“They’ve used it for all sorts of reasons and played around with the issue for far too long,” Fairbairn said.
Another problem was that the privacy protection agreement was not kept up to date with all the new tech coming on, she added.
Security camera projects around the country have taken different approaches, but often hit problems.
In Featherston, a community patrol group received grants to install cameras, but was now struggling with the ongoing fees from a security firm to monitor them.
On the Hibiscus Coast, north of Auckland, a patrol group [. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/580464/cameras-used-by-police-after-killings-but-who-covers-the-cost pulled out over cost complications], although the work is going ahead
Horowhenua holds itself up as a model of what is affordable. A local trust has volunteers who monitor cameras – including some new ones for spotting number plates – from a room at Levin police station.
Co-ordinator Ted Melton said Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Police Commissioner Richard Chambers were in the room after a thousand boy racers and 200 cars descended on the town last King’s Birthday, pelting officers with rocks and bottles.
The annual Rātana celebrations which traditionally mark the start of the political year are getting underway on Thursday.
Thousands of followers of the church known as Te Iwi Morehu congregate in the small settlement of Rātana Pā south of Whanganui every year in the lead up to the 25th of January, the birthday of the movement’s founder Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana.
Iwi from Whanganui, Taranaki and Ngāti Rangi alongside the Rangitikei and Whanganui District Councils will be welcomed on Thursday.
Iwi from around the motu, including the Kiingitanga and Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, will be welcomed on Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon politicians, including the prime minister Christopher Luxon and leader of the opposition Chris Hipkins, will be welcomed to Rātana.
Both Luxon and Hipkins will be speaking in the afternoon ahead of a busy election campaign this year, with an election date of November 7 confirmed just this week.
It will also be the last Rātana celebrations for Adrian Rurawhe as a Labour MP, after he announced his retirement from politics.
Rurawhe is a follower of the Rātana faith and said he spent the summer thinking about whānau and church, and that retiring from politics would give time to be more involved.
Rurawhe held the Te Tai Hauāuru seat, where Rātana is located, for nine years before it was taken by Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
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A sand-mining dredge in action off Pākiri Beach.Supplied
A sand-mining dredge in action off Pākiri Beach.
Sand-mining company McCallum Bros is under investigation for alleged wildlife breaches, while dredging offshore at Pākiri, north of Auckland.
Pākiri local Damon Clapshaw said he provided information to the Department of Conservation (DOC), showing protected stony coral was discovered in March 2025 by an ecological testing company working for McCallum Bros.
He said it was formally identified three months later, but dredging continued during the three-month period.
He believed DOC should have been notified of the discovery at the time, and was concerned coral may have been disturbed in the months between its discovery and the cessation of dredging.
Stony coral is a living organism protected under the Wildlife Act. It provides a protective environment for many forms of sealife to breed and shelter.
Clapshaw said the company later found stony coral in almost all of the areas it was allowed to dredge in.
He sent what he described as a “dossier” of information to DOC for it to assess for potential breaches.
Department of Conservation (DOC) border and species trade manager Ben Cornelius confirmed an investigation was underway.
“DOC’s role is to investigate two alleged breaches of the Wildlife Act 1953,” he said.
Cornelius was unable to comment on specific details, while the investigation was ongoing, but he said a company taking or disturbing protected marine wildlife could face an infringement notice of up to $800, or face prosecution and a fine of up to $300,000.
Failing to notify DOC of accidental death or injury of protected marine wildlife can incur an infringement notice of $600, or prosecution and fine of $10,000.
“The preliminary investigation has been completed and we will undertake an internal review before determining the next steps,” Cornelius said. “We expect to confirm an outcome in the first quarter of 2026.”
DOC said this was the first time the company had been investigated.
McCallum Bros chief operating officer Shayne Elstob told RNZ the company had responded to DOC’s queries.
“An allegation, which is not admitted, regarding breaches of the Wildlife Act whilst MBL [McCallum Bros Limited] was operating its Pākiri sand extraction consent, has been made by a private party to the Department of Conservation,” he said.
Clapshaw said he had monitored the dredging path of the boat during 2025 and was concerned it repeatedly dredged the same path. When he asked the company why, he was told this was because most of the area was off-limits, due to the presence of stony coral.
“There has been a history of poor performance. There have been consent breaches and there has been operational conduct that the court found of grave concern.”
The company breached a temporary consent, by taking more sand than was allowed during a 30-day period, Clapshaw said. In a letter RNZ has seen, a McCallum Bros staff member told Auckland Council the error was due to an incorrectly set-up spreadsheet.
No formal enforcement action has been taken against McCallum Bros by Auckland Council for the trenches, although the company was unsuccessful in an Environment Court case to dredge at Pākiri.
The Environment Court said evidence about the ecological effects of the mining provided by the company had been “patchy”, “inconclusive” and even “incorrect” in the past.
McCallum Bros then abandoned a High Court appeal of the decision, settling costs of $450,000 with the Manuhiru Kaitiaki Charitable Trust.
“McCallum’s proven under-performance at Pākiri raises concerns for Bream Bay, in particular for marine ecology and protected species,” Clapshaw said.
The company has ceased sand-mining at Pākiri, but has applied for consent to mine sand at Bream Bay, further up the coast from Pākiri.
The proposal is to use a suction dredge to remove up to 150,000 cubic metres of sand a year for an initial three years and up to 250,000 cubic metres a year for the next 32 years.
In total, more than 8 million cubic metres of sand would be removed from a 17 square kilometre area of seabed.
Councillor David Baldwin said sand-mining offered no jobs or economic benefits to Bream Bay or Northland, even though regional benefit was a requirement of the fast-track law.
From left, Malcolm Morrison, Damon Clapshaw, Mary Sinclair and Bruce Copeland.Supplied
The Bream Bay Guardians are fighting the fast-track application to sand-mine at Bream Bay. Spokesperson Malcolm Morrison said, if proven, the allegations raised serious concerns.
“If an operator is allegedly failing to comply with environmental and wildlife protections elsewhere, it is entirely reasonable to question what risks Bream Bay would face, if sand-mining were approved under a fast-tracked process.”
The company’s attempt to gain approval for dredging at Pākiri to be included in the Fast-track Approvals Act was unsuccessful, but an application for Bream Bay was approved.
A substantive application for the project has not yet been lodged. This will be assessed by an expert panel.
Pākiri’s sand was used in construction and infrastructure projects in Auckland.
The company’s fast-track application for Bream Bay says the project will supply a long-term, sustainable source of sand for Auckland, Northland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty that is suitable for concrete production.
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This three-bedroom home in Glenfield is advertised for $1.049m, just above the median first-home buyer price being paid in the area.Supplied/Screenshot
First-home buyers are paying the highest prices for their homes on Auckland’s North Shore, new data shows.
Cotality data for the last quarter of last year shows how much first-time buyers are paying around the country.
On the North Shore, first-home buyers paid a median $1.035 million.
Trade Me listings indicate that, at about that pricepoint, buyers could get a Mairangi Bay townhouse or a three-bedroom house in Glenfield.
Nearby Rodney was in second place at $987,000 and central Auckland at $975,000.
This three-bedroom house in Helensville is advertised at inquiries more than $950,000 just below the median Rodney price.Supplied/Screenshot
Queenstown came fourth at $938,750. Manukau was just after at $865,000, followed by Western Bay of Plenty at $850,000.
Trade Me said an increase in the number of properties available under $800,000 – the typical first-home buyer bracket – was a reason why the city’s average asking price dropped in its latest data update. Bay of Plenty had overtaken it as the most expensive of the regions for the first time in a long time.
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said what buyers would get for for their money varied around the country.
“The median property in Auckland is different from the median in Invercargill.”
He agreed Auckland had more diverse property options, with 9 percent apartments, 17 percent townhouse and 70 percent houses.
Canterbury had 1 percent apartments, 18 percent townhouses and 74 percent houses.
The Cotality data showed the cheapest first-home buyer houses were in Whanganui, where people paid a median $469,000 and Invercargill, with a median $482,000. Timaru was only a little more expensive at $490,000.
This three-bedroom house is listed at inquiries more than $479,000, just above the median for Whanganui first-home buyers.Supplied/Screenshot
“We’re definitely still seeing first-time buyers very, very active,” he said. “You’d call them the dominant force in some ways.
“If you look at market share, the fourth quarter of last year was another record high, pushing up towards 28-29 percent of the market.
“First-time buyers have been strong for a long time – there’s nothing new there – but they just keep getting even stronger. They’re able to get in at reduced prices compared to what would have been the case 2-3 years ago.”
He said lower interest rates and more options were helping.
Banks were willing to lend to people with a smaller deposit too, he said.
“A lot of people are getting in with 15 percent or 10 percent, so it is not saying it’s easy. It’s never easy to buy a first house, but at the moment, first-time buyers are finding conditions in their favour and really making the most of it.
“Whether you look in expensive parts of the main centres or cheaper parts of provincial markets, it is pretty much across the board.”
He said that was probably because incomes varied for first-home buyers, too.
“Houses might cost more in Auckland or Tauranga, or markets like that, but the incomes will be higher too. Generally, housing affordability has improved and that’s helping first-time buyers into the market.
“In a place like Ashburton or Invercargill or Whanganui or wherever it is, maybe they can find that 20 percent deposit, whereas if you’re looking in, say, Auckland, you might be getting in with 10 percent, so that helps even out the numbers as well.”
For some buyers, paying a home loan was cheaper than covering rent.
“That incentive to get into the owner-occupier market is still pretty strong,” he said. “Yes, you’ll have extra costs of rates and insurance, and that sort of thing, but if you just look at a simple weekly living cost number, in many cases, it is going to be cheaper now to pay that debt than pay rent.”
Financial coach Shula Newland said it happened every year.
“There’s the hangover of Christmas, where you might have overspent and potentially taken on more debt, especially Afterpays, then you’ve got back-to-school costs.”
She and other financial mentors say you can do a few things, if you’re worried or stuck.
[h[Plan ahead
The ideal scenario is to plan ahead, so you have money set aside.
North Harbour Budgeting Services financial mentor David Verry said, when he worked with families, he put school costs such as uniforms, stationery, devices and school camps into their budgets, and suggested money be saved for them through the year.
Newland agreed.
“Ideally, they would have back-up money for this in savings to access, in an ideal world, but it’s not an ideal world.”
[h[Consider your options
If that was not possible, Verry said there were ways to save on some costs.
A secondhand uniform can be a lot cheaper, as can secondhand laptops.
He said some people could buy secondhand textbooks or use stationery items left over from last year.
Newland said some seemed reluctant to buy secondhand uniforms.
“Sometimes, you can get the generic ones from places like The Warehouse.”
Other school costs
Verry also encouraged people to consider whether a non-compulsory school donation was included in the costs they were facing, and whether they could put that off or not pay it.
“School camps can be expensive – can the cost be staggered or, unfortunately, not go to camp?”
He said, sometimes, people who were on a benefit could ask for more support from Work and Income, or organisations such as the McKenzie Trust could help with things like uniform costs.
Juggle cash flow
Newland and Verry said some juggling might be required to consider what could be put off until later, or what costs could be spread.
Newland said some items around the house could be sold to raise some money.
She said people should be careful about using buy-now-pay-later to shift the cost of purchases.
“It’s probably what a lot of people will look to, but the problem with Afterpay is it’s going to have consequences. There’s a hangover from the Afterpay that is then going to put you on the back foot for the next four pays and so on.
“The ‘Afterpay trap’ traps you into using it constantly, because it’ s so disruptive to your finances.”
Debt consolidation
Westpac said it saw people looking for debt consolidation options to handle debt left over from the holiday period.
Newland said an overdraft could be another option, because it gave people more flexibility about how they repaid it – although, in some cases, the discipline of a loan might be helpful.
“I’d be reluctant to encourage people to use a credit card, unless it’s the last option.”
KiwiSaver
If people are badly in debt arrears, they may be able to get help from their KiwiSaver provider, through a hardship withdrawal.
This needs to be done carefully, because of the impact on your retirement savings.
A spokesperson for Public Trust, a supervisor for many KiwiSaver schemes, said hardship application numbers usually dropped in January.
“Many KiwiSaver members who need support tend to get their applications in before the holidays and scheme providers work hard to process them ahead of the break.
“While we do sometimes see new year applications linked to back-to-school costs, this hasn’t historically been one of the major drivers of hardship withdrawals.”
Get help
People could ask for help, either from their lenders or a financial mentor.
“If people are struggling, let something good come out of it and seek some help,” Newland said. “If you can access EAP funding for financial coaching to put a plan in place, really hit your new year’s resolutions.”
She said people who did not want to pay could also benefit from listening to podcasts or reading about ways to improve their financial situation.
“There are different things they can do to improve their education and motivation – it is changing that mindset – instead of being stuck in this position, thinking ‘what can I do to better myself?’”
About 37 percent of employers cite company performance or profitability as a driver of salaries.123rf
How your boss decides how much to pay you
Have you ever wondered how your boss decides what you will be paid?
Sometimes, salary-setting can seem like a bit of a mysterious dark art.
New research from recruitment firm Robert Half has found that, for familiar roles, New Zealand employers lean heavily on online salary guides.
More than 40 percent of employers said they would use them to help determine what staff would be paid. Next were industry benchmarking tools and recommendations from direct managers.
For unfamiliar roles, such as new positions, they were less reliant on external sources. Four in 10 would turn to fixed-salary scales for these, just ahead of recommendations from direct managers, or guidance from HR and internal salary benchmarks.
Robert Half managing director Megan Alexander said recruitment firms that frequently placed people in roles could provide information that allowed companies to benchmark their salaries in the market.
“Where the challenge also lies, though, is there’s always that internal business knowledge that an employee has and how much value that becomes.” she said. “That’s where sometimes you see salaries become a little bit subjective.”
What can you do if you’re not happy with what you’re offered?
Alexander said much would depend on the economic climate.
About 37 percent of employers cited company performance or profitability as a driver of salaries.
“We’re in a climate where there’s a lot of restructuring and unemployment around, so there’s been less room to negotiate in the last couple of years than previously.
“We’re seeing less ability, because companies are under great cost control and it’s a real balancing act. They don’t want to lose good people, but at the moment, the same people aren’t able to go out and just command a big pay increase across the market, because it doesn’t exist.”
She said employees could use many of the same tools to get a sense of where their salary would sit.
“Where the disconnect can often lie is the conversations around someone’s soft skills – you know, their initiative, their drive – versus the actual skills that they’re using on a day-to-day basis. If you look at a job spec, yes, this is my job and this is my job title etc, but how well on the spectrum is that person able to execute?
“There may be differences in perception between the hiring manager and the employee.”
Alexander said employers must look at salaries carefully and not opt for an across-the-board increase.
“That’s what happened last year in a lot of places.”
She said an employer could get out of step with the market quickly.
BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said conditions in the labour market were still weak.
“I think we’ll see overall wage growth remain pretty low and slow in a 2-3 percent area this year. That’s potentially problematic for inflation-adjusted incomes, given headline inflation is still around 3 percent.
“Real growth in labour incomes will be modest at best. As we move through the year, though, some improvement in real wage growth is anticipated, as the spike up in inflation starts to unwind.”
Construction jobs recorded the strongest monthly growth.UnSplash/ Silvia Brazzoduro
The number of jobs ads stalled in December, ending six months of consecutive increases.
The latest SEEK NZ employment report shows job ads fell 0.3 percent in December, compared with November, but still ended the year 6.7 percent higher than a year earlier.
SEEK NZ country manager Rob Clark said he was not reading too much into a single month’s data.
“This first decline in ad volumes in more than a year was only slight, but it has halted the stable-to-positive trend we were enjoying throughout 2025,” he said.
“Despite the pause, some sectors are demonstrating positive longer-term momentum.”
Meanwhile, applications per job declined by just 0.1 percent, indicating that competition for jobs remained strong.
Construction job ads recorded the strongest monthly growth, rising 3.4 percent, followed by engineering, and trades and services.
On an annual basis, demand for construction workers rose 42.9 percent, which Clark attributed to major infrastructure projects getting under way.
“Ongoing and new investment in major infrastructure projects continues to drive employment growth in the construction and affiliated industries, with most regions recording rising demand for workers in those roles,” he said.
Growth in job ads was strongest in the South Island and in the provincial regions of the North Island.
Job ads remained weak in Auckland, falling 1.1 percent in December and 0.7 percent over the year.
Wellington was unchanged in December, but total job ads were up 9.4 percent year‑on‑year, albeit from a low base.
Clark attributed the challenges in Auckland and Wellington to the types of jobs their economies supported.
“Not all sectors are growing, with softer activity in the professional and consumer services, and public sectors stagnating monthly growth in Wellington and leading to a decline in Auckland,” he said.
Despite the December result, Clark was upbeat about the outlook for jobs in the year ahead, pointing to improving signals in recent data releases.
“Overall, the long‑term data points to a recovering labour market, with pockets of expanding opportunity – albeit at a measured pace – as we head into 2026.”
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When we think of the world’s oldest art, Europe usually comes to mind, with famous cave paintings in France and Spain often seen as evidence this was the birthplace of symbolic human culture. But new evidence from Indonesia dramatically reshapes this picture.
Our research, published today in the journal Nature, reveals people living in what is now eastern Indonesia were producing rock art significantly earlier than previously demonstrated.
These artists were not only among the world’s first image-makers, they were also likely part of the population that would eventually give rise to the ancestors of Indigenous Australians and Papuans.
A hand stencil from deep time
The discovery comes from limestone caves on the island of Sulawesi. Here, faint red hand stencils, created by blowing pigment over a hand pressed against the rock, are visible on cave walls beneath layers of mineral deposits.
By analysing very small amounts of uranium in the mineral layers, we could work out when those layers formed. Because the minerals formed on top of the paintings, they tell us the youngest possible age of the art underneath.
In some cases, when paintings were made on top of mineral layers, these can also show the oldest possible age of the images.
The oldest known rock art to date – 67,800-year-old hand stencils on the wall of a cave. Supplied
One hand stencil was dated to at least 67,800 years ago, making it the oldest securely dated cave art ever found anywhere in the world.
This is at least 15,000 years older than the rock art we had previously dated in this region, and more than 30,000 years older than the oldest cave art found in France. It shows humans were making cave art images much earlier than we once believed.
Photograph of the dated hand stencils (a) and digital tracing (b); ka stands for ‘thousand years ago’. Supplied
This hand stencil is also special because it belongs to a style only found in Sulawesi. The tips of the fingers were carefully reshaped to make them look pointed, as though they were animal claws.
Altering images of human hands in this manner may have had a symbolic meaning, possibly connected to this ancient society’s understanding of human-animal relations.
In earlier research in Sulawesi, we found images of human figures with bird heads and other animal features, dated to at least 48,000 years ago. Together, these discoveries suggest that early peoples in this region had complex ideas about humans, animals and identity far back in time.
Narrowed finger hand stencils in Leang Jarie, Maros, Sulawesi. Adhi Agus Oktaviana
Not a one-off moment of creativity
The dating shows these caves were used for painting over an extraordinarily long period. Paintings were produced repeatedly, continuing until around the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago – the peak of the most recent ice age.
After a long gap, the caves were painted again by Indonesia’s first farmers, the Austronesian-speaking peoples, who arrived in the region about 4,000 years ago and added new imagery over the much older ice age paintings.
This long sequence shows that symbolic expression was not a brief or isolated innovation. Instead, it was a durable cultural tradition maintained by generations of people living in Wallacea, the island zone separating mainland Asia from Australia and New Guinea.
Adhi Agus Oktaviana illuminating a hand stencil. Max Aubert
Getting there required deliberate ocean crossings, representing the earliest known long-distance sea voyages undertaken by our species.
Researchers have proposed two main migration routes into Sahul. A northern route would have taken people from mainland Southeast Asia through Borneo and Sulawesi, before crossing onward to Papua and Australia. A southern route would have passed through Sumatra and Java, then across the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Timor, before reaching north-western Australia.
The proposed modern human migration routes to Australia/New Guinea; the northern route is delineated by the red arrows, and the southern route is delineated by the blue arrow. The red dots represent the areas with dated Pleistocene rock art. Supplied
Until now, there has been a major gap in archaeological evidence along these pathways. The newly dated rock art from Sulawesi lies directly along the northern route, providing the oldest direct evidence of modern humans in this key migration corridor into Sahul.
In other words, the people who made these hand stencils in the caves of Sulawesi were very likely part of the population that would later cross the sea and become the ancestors of Indigenous Australians.
Rethinking where culture began
The findings add to a growing body of evidence showing that early human creativity did not emerge in a single place, nor was it confined to ice age Europe.
Instead, symbolic behaviour, including art, storytelling, and the marking of place and identity, was already well established in Southeast Asia as humans spread across the world.
Shinatria Adhityatama working in the cave. Supplied
This suggests that the first populations to reach Australia carried with them long-standing cultural traditions, including sophisticated forms of symbolic expression whose deeper roots most probably lie in Africa.
The discovery raises an obvious question. If such ancient art exists in Sulawesi, how much more remains to be found?
Large parts of Indonesia and neighbouring islands remain archaeologically unexplored. If our results are any guide, evidence for equally ancient, or even older, cultural traditions may still be waiting on cave walls across the region.
As we continue to search, one thing is already clear. The story of human creativity is far older, richer and more geographically diverse than we once imagined.
The research on early rock art in Sulawesi has been featured in a documentary film, Sulawesi l’île des premières images produced by ARTE and released in Europe today.
Maxime Aubert receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Google Arts & Culture and The National Geographic Society.
Adam Brumm receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
Adhi Oktaviana receives funding from The National Geographic Society.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
The federal Coalition was imploding on Wednesday night, with all Nationals frontbenchers, including leader David Littleproud, quitting the shadow ministry.
They were retaliating against Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s insistence three Nationals senators must resign for defying shadow cabinet solidarity.
The Nationals ratified the mass walkout in a special party hook up at 6pm. This followed Ley accepting the resignation of the trio – Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald – who voted, in accordance with their party’s decision, against the government’s hate crime bill, which passed with Liberal support on Tuesday night.
The chaos deepened further when Ley declined to accept the latest batch of resignations.
As she desperately tries to hold the disintegrating opposition together, she said in a 9pm statement,
This evening, I spoke with Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, and strongly urged him not to walk away from the Coalition.
I have received additional offers of resignation from National Party Shadow Ministers, which I and my Liberal Leadership Group have determined are unnecessary.
The Liberal Party supports the Coalition arrangements because they deliver the most effective political alliance for good government. I note that in David’s letter, he has not indicated that the Nationals are leaving the Coalition.
No permanent changes will be made to the Shadow Ministry at this time, giving the National Party time to reconsider these offers of resignation.
The crisis plunges Ley’s leadership into fresh turmoil, and is also putting Littleproud under pressure.
While the resignations do not automatically break the Coalition, its future appears untenable in the present circumstances. Ley sent Littleproud a message on Wednesday evening, asking him to pass it on to Nationals colleagues, in which she said maintaining a strong and functional Coalition “is in the national interest”.
Early Wednesday Littleproud warned Ley of the walkout if the Senate trio was forced off the frontbench.
The Nationals had put the Liberal leader in a diabolical position. The party’s Senate frontbenchers had defied the principle of shadow cabinet solidarity, and convention would indicate they should resign or be sacked. As Cadell told Sky early Wednesday, “I understand if you do the crime you take the time”.
But the question for Ley was: should she press the convention, or let the “crime” go unpunished, to avoid a blow up?
To turn a blind eye, however, would be seen as weakness and further harm her fragile leadership. To let the Nationals get away with their defiance would be interpreted as a dramatic case of the tail wagging the dog.
Liberals, who are now getting blowback for voting for the hate crime legislation, would have been infuriated if the Nationals had been shown lenience.
Former Liberal prime minister John Howard backed Ley, telling The Australian, “She had no choice. She behaved absolutely correctly.”
After hours of public silence in which she consulted with her senior colleagues, Ley issued a statement just before 3pm, indicating the three Nationals would pay the price for their action.
“Shadow Cabinet solidarity is not optional. It is the foundation of serious opposition and credible government,” she said.
She said shadow cabinet had on Sunday night examined the government’s hate crime legislation. “The unanimous Shadow Cabinet decision was to negotiate specific fixes with the government and having secured those amendments, members of the Shadow Cabinet were bound not to vote against the legislation.”
Ley said that when the Coalition re-formed after last year’s brief split, “the foundational principle underpinning that agreement was a commitment to Shadow Cabinet solidarity”.
She said she’d made it clear on Tuesday to Littleproud “that members of the Shadow Cabinet could not vote against the Shadow Cabinet position”.
Littleproud understood action was now required, she said.
But a letter Littleproud sent Ley early Wednesday made it clear the Nationals’ leader disputed her version of events.
He wrote that there was “also a conventíon of shadow cabinet that a final bill position must be approved by shadow cabinet”.
“This did not take place for this bill, nor was the position presented to the joint partyroom,” he said.
Littleproud wrote that, “If these [three] resignations are accepted, the entire National Party ministry will resign to take collective responsibility.
“Opposing this bill was a party room decision. The entire National Party shadow ministry is equally bound.”
In her statement Ley said the three senators had offered their resignations from the shadow cabinet, “as is appropriate, and I have accepted them”.
“All three Senators have written to me confirming that they ‘remain ready to continue serving the Coalition in whatever capacity you consider appropriate,’” and she’d asked them to continue serving “in the Coalition team”, outside the frontbench.
She’d also asked Littleproud to nominate replacements.
Last year, Ley was seen as emerging well in her post-election tussle with the Nationals, even though Littleproud extracted concessions.
Anthony Albanese, who a week ago had been on the defensive over his legislation has now had passed much (albeit not all) of what he initially wanted, and had the additional advantage of seeing the opposition thrown into chaos. The political wheel can turn very fast.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Ask people how Stonehenge was built and you’ll hear stories of sledges, ropes, boats and sheer human determination to haul stones from across Britain to Salisbury Plain, in south-west England. Others might mention giants, wizards, or alien assistance to explain the transport of Stonehenge’s stones, which come from as far as Wales and Scotland.
But what if nature itself did the heavy lifting in transporting Stonehenge’s megaliths? In this scenario, vast glaciers that once covered Britain carried the bluestones and the Altar Stone to southern England as “glacial erratics”, or rocks moved by ice, leaving them conveniently behind on Salisbury Plain for the builders of Stonehenge.
This idea, known as the glacial transport theory, often appears in documentaries and online discussions. But it has never been tested with modern geological techniques.
Our new study, published today in Communications Earth and Environment, provides the first clear evidence glacial material never reached the area. This demonstrates the stones did not arrive through natural ice movement.
While previous research had cast doubt on the glacial transport theory, our study goes further and applies cutting-edge mineral fingerprinting to trace the stones’ true origins.
However, near Stonehenge, these tell-tale clues are either missing or ambiguous. And because the southern reach of ice sheets remains unclear, the glacial transport idea is open to debate.
So, if no big and obvious clues are present, could we look for tiny ones instead?
If glaciers had carried the stones all the way from Wales or Scotland, they would also have left behind millions of microscopic mineral grains, such as zircon and apatite, from those regions.
When both minerals form, they trap small amounts of radioactive uranium – which, at a known rate, will decay into lead. By measuring the ratios of both elements using a technique called U–Pb dating, we can measure the age of each zircon and apatite grain.
Because Britain’s rocks have very different ages from place to place, a mineral’s age can indicate its source. This means that if glaciers had carried stones to Stonehenge, the rivers of Salisbury Plain, which gather zircon and apatite from across a wide area, should still contain a clear mineral fingerprint of that journey.
Searching for tiny clues
To find out, we got our feet wet and collected sand from the rivers surrounding Stonehenge. What we discovered was striking.
Despite analysing more than seven hundred zircon and apatite grains, we found virtually no mineral ages that matched the bluestone sources in Wales or the Altar Stone’s Scottish source.
Zircon is exceptionally tough: grains can survive being weathered, washed into a river, buried in rocks, and recycled again millions of years later. As such, zircon crystals from Salisbury Plain rivers span an enormous stretch of geological time, covering half the age of the Earth, from around 2.8 billion years ago to 300 million years ago.
However, the vast majority fell within a tight band, spanning between 1.7 and 1.1 billion years old. Intriguingly, Salisbury River zircon ages match those from the Thanet Formation, a blanket of loosely compacted sand that covered much of southern England millions of years ago before being eroded.
This means zircon in river sand today is the leftovers from ancient blankets of sedimentary rocks, not freshly delivered sand from glaciers during the last Ice Age 26,000 to 20,000 years ago.
Apatite tells a different story. All grains are about 60 million years old, at a time when southern England was a shallow, subtropical sea. This age doesn’t match any potential source rocks in Britain.
Instead, apatite ages reflect the squeezing and uplifting caused by distant mountain-building in the European Alps, causing fluids to move through the chalk and “reset” apatite’s uranium-lead clock. In other words, the heating and chemical changes erased the mineral’s previous radioactive signature and started the clock ticking again.
Much like zircon, apatite isn’t a visitor brought in by glaciers but is local and has been sitting on Salisbury Plain for tens of millions of years.
A new piece of the Stonehenge story
Stonehenge sits at the crossroads of myth, ancient engineering and deep-time geology.
The ages of microscopic grains in river sand have now added a new piece to its story. This gives us further evidence the monument’s most exotic stones did not arrive by chance but were instead deliberately selected and transported.
Anthony Clarke receives funding from the Australian Research Council.
Chris Kirkland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
A group of Australian Palestine supporters in the state of Victoria have been attacked as tensions continue over the right to protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza in the wake of the Bondi massacre last month.
As Geelong and Victoria Southwest branch members of Independent Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) were packing up their “Peak Hour for Peace in Palestine” action — the first for the year on Friday — they were attacked.
A lone provocateur, on foot, snatched a Palestinian flag from one, ripping it and clipping the activists’ ear with the flagpole, before taunting and pushing another onto the road, before fleeing the scene.
Police and an ambulance were called and an older activist was transported to hospital — they needed hip replacement surgery for a broken hip.
IPAN said the attack was “unprovoked”, given the network was “peacefully exercising their democratic, legal right to protest against the continuing genocide in Gaza”.
One IPAN member, who tried to retrieve the Palestine flag, told Green Left the attacker had called them “a bunch of terrorist bastards”.
IPAN Geelong and Victoria Southwest organiser Jaimie Jeffrey told GL that politicians and the media have whipped up a “blame game” that is “dangerously divisive”.
Blaming protest movement “They have tried to blame the Palestine movement for the horrific Bondi massacre. This is outrageous, because the Palestine movement opposes violence, opposes all forms of racism, including antisemitism and is trying to stop a genocide.”
The group started a weekly action in April 2024 with three activists; it has now grown to a regular group of 15–20 activists flying Palestinian flags and holding signs opposing genocide and local weapons manufacturing that assists in arming Israel.
IPAN said that, before the cowardly attack, it had noticed “more supportive toots and less abuse than . . . towards the end of last year”.
It said government and media spin about “hate speech” and “improving social cohesion” is “having the opposite effect”, by “tacitly encouraging violence against those of us campaigning to stop the genocide”.
“We have never let aggression from those who disagree with our views deter us from protesting the Israeli genocide of Palestinians or any other injustice,” IPAN said.
“We won’t be deterred after this latest incident. Because we are on the right side of history and our commitment is unshakeable.”
Rose Lewis, Ariana ‘Missy’ Te Whata, Te Atakura Crawford and Pagan Rimene established a new world record near Owaka.Supplied/Rose Lewis
Four female shearers have established a new world record, shearing 1938 lambs in eight hours in a South Otago woolshed.
Rose Lewis, Ariana ‘Missy’ Te Whata, Te Atakura Crawford and Pagan Rimene set the four-stand women’s eight-hours strongwool lamb record on Tuesday at Melrose Station, near Owaka.
No previous record existed for the category, which is recognised by the World Sheep Shearing Records Society.
Crawford from Gisborne, who beat an otherwise all-male field to win the 2013 NZ merino shears senior title, topped the tallies with 530, averaging 54.34 seconds a lamb, caught, shorn and through the porthole.
Te Whata – who grew-up in Mossburn, Southland, and is the niece of two world recordholders – was credited with 504, while master woolhandler and 2019 world teams woolhandling champion Pagan Rimene of Alexandra shore 481.
The remaining 423 were accredited to Lewis from Manutuke, on the East Coast, who now lives in Dubbo, New South Wales, where she works shearing merino sheep.
A fifth-generation shearer, she took up the sport six years ago at the age of 35, after working as a ‘rousey’ or woolhandler.
The record attempt required serious training and Lewis was hospitalised with a condition called RCVS (Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome) five months ago, which meant she had to ease back on her training schedule, but she didn’t let it stop her from competing.
While she initially found it hard to find her rhythm on the cold Otago morning, she found her stride, and said it was overwhelming and exciting to be part of the recordsetting team.
“My father and his three brothers are in the world record book, so it was cool to be the first Lewis female to get in there and make my family proud.”
While it took some time to become a shearer, she said she now couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Rose Lewis was hospitalised five months ago, but returned to participate in the record attempt.Supplied/Rose Lewis
“It’s a great job, great industry, you can go in so many different places.”
She hopes to set more records, including in Australia.
“I’ve got some pretty big goals on the world record stage, so setting one and with the team was definitely a cool start – you’re not going into it alone.”
Referee Neil Fagan said more women were getting into shearing and the new record would give those entering the sport something to aim for.
“It’s just great to see those four girls getting out there and setting [a record], inspiring another four girls to have a go one day.
“They’ve got a target to beat now, which is not an easy target, but it’s something for them to aspire to.”
The event was the first of two multi-stand shearing record attempts in the southern regions this summer.
On 31 January, Shane Ratima, Paerata Abraham and Leon Samuels will tackle the three-stand, eight-hours strongwool lambs record at Waihelo Station, Moa Flat, in west Otago.
The current record of 1976 was set by Coel L’Huillier, Kaleb Foote and Daniel Langlands in 2019 at Puketiti Station, near Piopio.
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Whitianga Campground is flooded, with the water halfway up the doors of vehicles.Charlotte Cook
Five districts have now declared states of emergency, as a tropical low hammers the North Island with heavy rain, causing widespread flooding.
In the face of this threat, communities are rallying to keep each other safe.
Here are some of the images to emerge from the storm.
Whitianga residents stock up and prepare to wait out the floods, despite knee-deep water.RNZ / Charlotte Cook
Car stuck in flood water.
Motutara Road flooding in Ōakura, Northland.RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Police inspect a section of Falls Road, where a person and their vehicle was believed to have been swept into the Mahurangi River.Lucy Xia
Ohawini Bay resident braces for more incoming weather after a week of rain.
Slips on Rapata Road in Ōakura, Northland.Calvin Samuel
Slips on Rapata Road in Ōakura, Northland.Calvin Samuel
Ōakura resident evacuating to neighbouring property, as slip threatens driveway.
John Welch paddles Jazmyn Welch’s partner, Holly, to safety, after their Kūaotunu home was surrounded by fast-moving, neck-deep floodwaters.Peter de Graaf / RNZ
The entrance to the Ōakura Community Hall, where a slip came through the back wall earlier this week.Calvin Samuel
Northland’s Mōkau Marae prepares for evacuees ahead of incoming weather.
Sand bags are dropped off at Ōakura.Kim Baker Wilson
Road workers clear fresh slips on the Russell Road, heading to Ōakura.Calvin Samuel
Flooding in paddocks on Russell Road, just off SH1.Calvin Samuel
One of the slips blocking State Highway 2, through Waioeka Gorge, between Opotiki and Gisborne.Supplied
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A Wellington man says his businesses lost up to $2000 a day after their Instagram and Facebook accounts were banned mistakenly.
Alex Hoang is the general manager for two businesses in the capital, Pho Viet Street Food and Velvet Nail Room.
On 14 January he was notified that the Instagram and Facebook accounts were locked due to sexual content on his page which he completely rejected.
Hoang immediately appealed which resulted in Meta services saying he was permanently banned.
He told RNZ after he was not getting anywhere with the normal process of escalating these issues, he contacted an email address that was not public after seeing an influencer use it who had similar problems.
Following that the ban was reversed on Saturday.
Hoang said his businesses relied social media a lot.
“Social media is really important for those businesses as it is a channel for us to communicate with customers.”
He estimated the two businesses were losing between $1000-$2000 per day.
“A lot of customers very luckily they contacted me, they thought something was wrong with me [or] something was wrong with the business, which is really, really frustrating.”
Pho Viet Street food in Wellington.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Hoang was concerned he’d have to wait months for the issue to be resolved and noted he also contacted a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment mailbox that was set up for people in similar situations.
Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Chris Penk told RNZ around 100 requests had been received through the dedicated inbox since the beginning of October.
“The consistent concern raised by these businesses is the disruption caused by losing access to their accounts. For many small businesses, social media platforms are a primary channel for communicating with customers and promoting their products and services.”
Penk said MBIE continued to engage constructively with Meta and was passing on emails received directly for the company to review in cases where small businesses alleged their accounts may have been incorrectly suspended.
A Meta spokesperson told RNZ it took action on accounts that violated their policies, and people could appeal to the social media company if they thought it made a mistake.
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An earlier version contained a criminal offence of promoting or inciting racial hatred. The government dropped this part of the legislation after both the Coalition and the Greens opposed it.
However, inciting racial hatred remains relevant to the other key provisions, which permit the banning of “prohibited hate groups”.
How can a group become a prohibited hate group?
A group can be prohibited under the new law if the governor-general makes a regulation prohibiting it. The governor-general acts on the advice of the minister for the Australian Federal Police. There are a number of conditions that must be met before a group can be banned.
First, the minister must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the group has engaged in conduct constituting a “hate crime”, or has been associated with a hate crime, by preparing, planning, assisting, or advocating engaging in such conduct. This is the initial trigger for banning a group.
Second, the minister must be satisfied that banning the group is reasonably necessary to protect the Australian community from social, economic, psychological and physical harm.
The bill was altered to water down this requirement in two ways. It now also applies to protecting “part of the Australian community” from such harm. In addition, it says this social, economic, psychological and physical harm can simply be the continued presence in Australia of the group that has engaged in or been associated with the conduct constituting a hate crime. The minister would therefore have little difficulty being satisfied of this second condition.
The third condition is that the minister must have received advice from the director-general of security (who is the head of ASIO) recommending consideration of banning the group. The director-general must be satisfied the group has engaged in activities that are likely to increase the risk of politically motivated violence or communal violence, and has either itself advocated for or engaged in such violence, or there is a risk that it may do so in the future.
In addition, the minister must get the attorney-general’s agreement to ban the group, and arrange a briefing for the opposition leader about it. Any regulation banning a group could be disallowed (that is, overturned) by either House of Parliament.
Banning a group is therefore not easy. However, as we have seen in other countries, such protections could be overcome by appointing politically motivated cronies to positions, and contending that all opposition or dissent increases the risk of politically motivated violence and community harm.
What is a ‘hate crime’?
The key issue is whether action is a “hate crime”, as this is necessary to satisfy the initial trigger. A hate crime is defined as including acts of violence against people based on their race, colour or national or ethnic origin, or serious damage to their property. It includes threatening or advocating such violence or damage. Displaying Nazi or terrorist organisation symbols also qualifies as a hate crime.
The original bill made promoting or inciting racial hatred a hate crime. This raised concerns, due to uncertainty about the scope of the offence. While the government dropped it as a standalone offence, it slipped inciting racial hatred back in as a “hate crime” for the purpose of banning groups.
It did so by saying that a hate crime includes conduct that involves publicly inciting racial hatred that would constitute an offence against a Commonwealth law (for example, it might also breach a law about sending offensive communications by post). It would also include conduct that would constitute a specified state or territory offence. The conduct must also cause a reasonable person from the targeted racial group to be intimidated, fear harassment or violence, or fear for their safety.
This reliance on state offences makes the law very messy. This is because in the listed offences from Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, incitement to racial hatred is tied to threatening physical harm, whereas in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, no threat of harm is required. No relevant laws are listed for Tasmania or the Northern Territory. This means that whether a group can be banned on this basis may depend on where the conduct took place.
To complicate matters, the act says no crime need actually have been committed, and no one needs to have been convicted. In addition, conduct can be a “hate crime” even though it happened in the past when it wasn’t a crime. It is enough for the minister to be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the group has engaged in or been associated with the conduct constituting a “hate crime”.
This leaves it up to the minister to decide what was done and by whom, whether they had the necessary intent, whether their conduct can be attributed to the group, whether any defences apply, and whether the conditions of the law of the relevant jurisdiction have been met.
Ordinarily, we leave such assessments to independent courts and judges. For example, should a minister be the one deciding whether a defence of acting in good faith should apply, when the minister has a political interest in banning a particular group?
Would criticism of a country’s actions amount to a hate crime?
Is it a “hate crime” under the act to criticise the actions or policies of another country? Ordinarily, one would assume such criticism, which is a political communication, would not be regarded as inciting hatred against a group because of their race, colour, ethnic or national origin.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland was asked on the ABC’s 7.30 program whether a group could be banned if it accuses Israel of genocide or apartheid, and as a result, Jewish Australians feel intimidated. She replied that a number of other factors would need to be satisfied. This would include advice by the director-general of security. She also noted it would depend on the evidence gathered.
The attorney-general was asked again whether, if protesters were saying “Israel is engaged in genocide, or condemning Israel, saying it shouldn’t exist” and it led to Jewish Australians feeling harassed or intimidated, they could be banned. She replied “If those criteria are satisfied, then that is the case”. This seems to suggest she would consider the initial trigger of engaging in a hate crime by inciting racial hatred would be satisfied by such public criticism, but that the other parts of the test would still need to be satisfied.
Concern about such an interpretation and its consequential impact on the freedom of Australians to criticise the conduct of foreign governments, led to amendments to the bill being moved in the Senate. Senator Lidia Thorpe moved severalamendments to the bill, including inserting the following statement:
As per the judgement of the Federal Court in Wertheim v Haddad [2025] FCA 720, criticism of the practices, policies, and acts of the state of Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces or Zionism is not inherently criticism of Jewish people and is protected political speech, and not hate speech.
This amendment was rejected by 43 to 12, with the major parties opposing it.
This leaves uncertain what conduct is intended to be caught. Freedom of political communication by those who wish to protest against the conduct of a nation’s government could potentially be chilled.
If the minister were satisfied that such conduct did constitute a hate crime and a regulation was made that a group was a prohibited hate group, that decision might be challenged on administrative law grounds. There might also be a constitutional challenge to the relevant provisions in the act. Until then, one can only speculate about the potential impact of this new law.
Anne Twomey has received funding from the Australian Research Council and occasionally does consultancy work for governments, Parliaments and intergovernmental bodies. She also has a YouTube channel, Constitutional Clarion, which discusses constitutional issues, including this one.
Whitianga Campground is flooded, with the water halfway up the doors of vehicles.Charlotte Cook
Five districts have now declared states of emergency, as a tropical low hammers the North Island with heavy rain, causing widespread flooding.
In the face of this threat, communities are rallying to keep each other safe.
Here are some of the images to emerge from the storm.
Whitianga residents stock up and prepare to wait out the floods, despite knee-deep water.RNZ / Charlotte Cook
Car stuck in flood water.
Motutara Road flooding in Ōakura, Northland.RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Police inspect a section of Falls Road, where a person and their vehicle was believed to have been swept into the Mahurangi River.Lucy Xia
Ohawini Bay resident braces for more incoming weather after a week of rain.
Slips on Rapata Road in Ōakura, Northland.Calvin Samuel
Slips on Rapata Road in Ōakura, Northland.Calvin Samuel
Ōakura resident evacuating to neighbouring property, as slip threatens driveway.
John Welch paddles Jazmyn Welch’s partner, Holly, to safety, after their Kūaotunu home was surrounded by fast-moving, neck-deep floodwaters.Peter de Graaf / RNZ
The entrance to the Ōakura Community Hall, where a slip came through the back wall earlier this week.Calvin Samuel
Northland’s Mōkau Marae prepares for evacuees ahead of incoming weather.
Sand bags are dropped off at Ōakura.Kim Baker Wilson
Road workers clear fresh slips on the Russell Road, heading to Ōakura.Calvin Samuel
Flooding in paddocks on Russell Road, just off SH1.Calvin Samuel
One of the slips blocking State Highway 2, through Waioeka Gorge, between Opotiki and Gisborne.Supplied
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Markus Wagner, Professor of Law and Director of the UOW Transnational Law and Policy Centre, University of Wollongong
The renewed campaign by United States President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland has escalated, with tariff threats against European allies. Asked on Tuesday how far he is willing to go to “acquire” Greenland, Trump replied: “You’ll find out”.
This is the latest episode in a long-running effort under Trump 2.0 to remake the international order with major geopolitical implications:
the potential rupture of NATO
further pressure on transatlantic trade
a shock to stock and bond markets.
There is a chance of both escalation and de-escalation when Trump holds meetings this week on Greenland with European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
US–Greenland relations and the ownership question
Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland during his first presidency, which at the time was dismissed as “absurd” and a diplomatic curiosity.
Greenland, while part of the Danish realm, is a self-governing territory with its own parliament and a right to self-determination under international law. Under a 1951 agreement, the US already has extensive rights to install and operate military bases in Greenland.
Trump’s arguments around Greenland have shifted from access to resources to defence arguments.
Trump has now explicitly linked the acquisition of Greenland to trade sanctions against eight – ostensibly allied – European countries unless they cooperate in facilitating a deal. He is using trade as a weapon.
Tariffs as foreign policy coercion
Trump announced tariffs of 10% on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland beginning February 1, rising to 25% by June 1, until the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” has been achieved.
These tariffs are in addition to the so-called Liberation Day tariffs announced in April 2025. The legality of these tariffs under US law is currently under scrutiny by the US Supreme Court. The outcome is important: if Trump loses, he would not be able to impose tariffs over Greenland without Congressional involvement.
This is not regular trade policy. Tariffs are traditionally imposed as remedies against trade measures by other governments. Here, they are being used outside any international legal constraints as leverage to extract unrelated territorial concessions from allies. While national security exceptions exist, its use against close allies – and in pursuit of territorial objectives – pushes that exception well beyond its limits.
What is the EU’s trade ‘bazooka’?
European leaders are forced to choose between multiple unattractive options.
They strongly rejected this latest round of US coercion, emphasising Greenland’s sovereignty and self-determination.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Davos, said the “endless accumulation of new tariffs […] are fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty”.
“We do prefer respect to bullies. And we do prefer rule of law to brutality,” Macron said. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was more conciliatory.
European leaders warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” in transatlantic ties and possible retaliatory measures. Such counter tariffs had already been drafted up in response to Trump’s 2025 tariff threats, up to a value of €93 billion (A$162 billion).
While such tit-for-tat trade measures are already concerning, the EU has another measure at its disposal: its Anti-Coercion Instrument or ACI, sometimes referred to as its “trade bazooka”. This was initially designed to deter economic coercion by China.
Macron has raised the spectre of using the Anti-Coercion Instrument against the US. This would allow the EU to select from a range of measures, including:
the imposition of tariffs on US goods
restrictions on imports and exports of good and services such as banking or insurance
investment screening, such as preventing US investors from buying companies in the defence or energy sectors
restrictions on intellectual property rights, which would put pressure on US tech giants.
The decision over whether to impose such measures has to be taken by EU member governments in the Council of the European Union.
In addition to the time it takes to reach such a decision (officials indicated it could take up to six months), it would also test the ability of EU leaders to resist opposition from within. Hungary’s Victor Orban, a close Trump ally, could try to play the role of spoiler. Although even for him, Trump’s power play over Greenland may be a step too far into unknown waters.
In financial markets, Europeans are also large holders of US government bonds. One Danish pension fund on Tuesday announced plans to sell off its holdings of US Treasuries worth US$100 million (A$148 million). Any broader sell-downs could put pressure on the US bond market.
For the time being, European leaders appear to want to keep the EU trade bazooka dry, indicating a path of de-escalation bordering on appeasement rather than outright confrontation despite Trump’s tactics.
If the EU retaliates, it is likely Trump will respond in kind, possibly resulting in a ratcheting up of trade measures on both sides of the Atlantic. This would have devastating consequences for consumers and exporters alike.
NATO’s greatest test
Trump’s antagonism is not just an odd foreign policy episode, but a test of the strength and depth of the NATO alliance, international legal norms, and trade governance.
The outcome of this conflict – which is entirely of Trump’s making – will signal whether the post-Cold War order can withstand transactional geopolitics cloaked as national security.
Trump has had multiple off-ramps, none of which he appears to be willing to take. His actions will determine whether the US can retain its status as a reliable superpower or will be seen as a pariah in international relations.
Markus Wagner receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence as principal investigator for the Weaponised Trade project.
Michael Webster said it is clear a privacy investigation is needed given the scale of the incident, the sensitivity of the information and some of the systemic issues that were identified.
He said the inquiry will help determine whether Manage My Health had appropriate security safeguards and, if not, why not.
It will also look at what steps will be taken to prevent such an incident happening again.
At the end of December Manage My Health confirmed it had been hacked, later revealing that information of about 120,000 users could be affected.
More to come…
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Police are seeking the public’s assistance to locate missing 23-year-old Liam.NZ Police
The police say they have “concerns for the wellbeing” of a man reported missing from the town of Bulls in Rangitikei District.
Liam, 23, was last seen on Watson and Walton Street between 11am and 2pm on 19 January.
A spokesperson said police were seeking the public’s assistance to locate him.
“Police are wanting to hear from anyone in the area who might have seen Liam.
“Police and his family have concerns for his wellbeing.”
Liam is described as approximately 170cm tall with sandy brown hair, and was last seen wearing a black hoodie, brown trackpants and a small gold chain necklace.
If you have seen Liam, or have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the police on 105 and quote the reference number P065187380.
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US cybersecurity company Palantir has received a high-level Australian government security assessment despite concerns about its surveillance and complicity in the Gaza genocide in occupied Palestine.
In November 2025, Palantir Technologies was assessed as meeting the protected level under the Australian Information Security Registered Assessors Programme (IRAP). This protection is a key requirement for companies seeking to handle sensitive government information.
The assessment enables a broader range of Australian government agencies and commercial organisations to use Palantir’s Foundry and artificial intelligence platform, AIP.
In a statement, Palantir said the assessment was conducted by an independent third party assessor in line with requirements set by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and demonstrated its ability to meet “stringent national security and privacy standards”.
The company described Australia as an “important market”, saying the clearance would open “new opportunities” across the public and private sectors.
Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp . . . experts warn that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability. Image: palantir.com/MWM
Mass surveillance without accountability Palantir has been mired in controversy internationally over how its data analysis and AI tools are deployed by government and military clients, with experts warning that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability.
An ASD spokesperson stated that IRAP status should
not be interpreted as government approval or endorsement of a company’s broader conduct or use of data.
“IRAP assessments are third-party commercial arrangements between IRAP assessors (or companies offering ‘IRAP assessment’ services) and assessed entities,” an ASD spokesperson said.
“ASD does not sign off or approve IRAP assessments.”
Journalist Stephanie Tran . . . Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia. Image: Michael West Media
Lobbying push amid political pressure Palantir’s expanded access to Australian government work comes amid growing political scrutiny. According to reporting by Capital Brief, in July 2025, the company hired lobbying firm CMAX Advisory, after the Greens called for an immediate freeze on government contracts with the company.
I want to talk to you about Palantir and its expanding footprint in Australia. TLDR: You should be worried.
This US surveillance tech company has secured multiple Defence contracts worth over $11 million. We need transparency about what data they’re accessing & why. 🧵
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) July 7, 2025
CMAX Advisory was founded by Christian Taubenschlag, a former chief of staff to Labor Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who is a special counsel at the lobby firm. CMAX Advisory represents a number of major defence contractors, including EOS and Raytheon.
Gaza, ICE and Coles Palantir has faced sustained criticism globally over how its software is used by government clients.
In April 2025, CEO Alex Karp dismissed accusations that Palantir’s technology had been used to target and kill Palestinians in Gaza, saying those killed were “mostly terrorists”.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Palantir had “provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision-making”.
In the United States, Palantir has long worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An investigation by 404 Media revealed that the company was developing a tool that generated detailed dossiers on potential deportation targets, mapped their locations and assigned “confidence scores” to their likely whereabouts.
The company has also attracted attention in Australia for its work with private sector clients, including Coles, where they were hired to cut costs and “optimise” the company’s workforce.
‘We kill enemies’ Karp has been blunt about Palantir’s mission. Speaking to shareholders and investors last week, he described the company’s purpose as helping the West “scare enemies” and, “on occasion, kill them”.
Karp also joked about “getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us”.
Millions in government contracts Despite the controversy, Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia.
According to Austender data, the company has secured more than $50 million in Australian government contracts since 2013, largely across defence and national security-related agencies.
The 2024 financial report of its Australian subsidiary, Palantir Technologies Australia Pty Ltd, show $25.5 million in revenue from customer contracts in 2024, though the company’s local financial reports are not audited.
In 2020, Palantir recommended that the Australian government consider “expanding the exemption from public access to disclosure documents”, arguing that filing financial reports with ASIC “is expensive” and “gives competitors access to confidential information”.
Stephanie Tran is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.This article was first published by Michael West Media and is republished with permission.
US cybersecurity company Palantir has received a high-level Australian government security assessment despite concerns about its surveillance and complicity in the Gaza genocide in occupied Palestine.
In November 2025, Palantir Technologies was assessed as meeting the protected level under the Australian Information Security Registered Assessors Programme (IRAP). This protection is a key requirement for companies seeking to handle sensitive government information.
The assessment enables a broader range of Australian government agencies and commercial organisations to use Palantir’s Foundry and artificial intelligence platform, AIP.
In a statement, Palantir said the assessment was conducted by an independent third party assessor in line with requirements set by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and demonstrated its ability to meet “stringent national security and privacy standards”.
The company described Australia as an “important market”, saying the clearance would open “new opportunities” across the public and private sectors.
Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp . . . experts warn that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability. Image: palantir.com/MWM
Mass surveillance without accountability Palantir has been mired in controversy internationally over how its data analysis and AI tools are deployed by government and military clients, with experts warning that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability.
An ASD spokesperson stated that IRAP status should
not be interpreted as government approval or endorsement of a company’s broader conduct or use of data.
“IRAP assessments are third-party commercial arrangements between IRAP assessors (or companies offering ‘IRAP assessment’ services) and assessed entities,” an ASD spokesperson said.
“ASD does not sign off or approve IRAP assessments.”
Journalist Stephanie Tran . . . Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia. Image: Michael West Media
Lobbying push amid political pressure Palantir’s expanded access to Australian government work comes amid growing political scrutiny. According to reporting by Capital Brief, in July 2025, the company hired lobbying firm CMAX Advisory, after the Greens called for an immediate freeze on government contracts with the company.
I want to talk to you about Palantir and its expanding footprint in Australia. TLDR: You should be worried.
This US surveillance tech company has secured multiple Defence contracts worth over $11 million. We need transparency about what data they’re accessing & why. 🧵
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) July 7, 2025
CMAX Advisory was founded by Christian Taubenschlag, a former chief of staff to Labor Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who is a special counsel at the lobby firm. CMAX Advisory represents a number of major defence contractors, including EOS and Raytheon.
Gaza, ICE and Coles Palantir has faced sustained criticism globally over how its software is used by government clients.
In April 2025, CEO Alex Karp dismissed accusations that Palantir’s technology had been used to target and kill Palestinians in Gaza, saying those killed were “mostly terrorists”.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Palantir had “provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision-making”.
In the United States, Palantir has long worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An investigation by 404 Media revealed that the company was developing a tool that generated detailed dossiers on potential deportation targets, mapped their locations and assigned “confidence scores” to their likely whereabouts.
The company has also attracted attention in Australia for its work with private sector clients, including Coles, where they were hired to cut costs and “optimise” the company’s workforce.
‘We kill enemies’ Karp has been blunt about Palantir’s mission. Speaking to shareholders and investors last week, he described the company’s purpose as helping the West “scare enemies” and, “on occasion, kill them”.
Karp also joked about “getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us”.
Millions in government contracts Despite the controversy, Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia.
According to Austender data, the company has secured more than $50 million in Australian government contracts since 2013, largely across defence and national security-related agencies.
The 2024 financial report of its Australian subsidiary, Palantir Technologies Australia Pty Ltd, show $25.5 million in revenue from customer contracts in 2024, though the company’s local financial reports are not audited.
In 2020, Palantir recommended that the Australian government consider “expanding the exemption from public access to disclosure documents”, arguing that filing financial reports with ASIC “is expensive” and “gives competitors access to confidential information”.
Stephanie Tran is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.This article was first published by Michael West Media and is republished with permission.
US cybersecurity company Palantir has received a high-level Australian government security assessment despite concerns about its surveillance and complicity in the Gaza genocide in occupied Palestine.
In November 2025, Palantir Technologies was assessed as meeting the protected level under the Australian Information Security Registered Assessors Programme (IRAP). This protection is a key requirement for companies seeking to handle sensitive government information.
The assessment enables a broader range of Australian government agencies and commercial organisations to use Palantir’s Foundry and artificial intelligence platform, AIP.
In a statement, Palantir said the assessment was conducted by an independent third party assessor in line with requirements set by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and demonstrated its ability to meet “stringent national security and privacy standards”.
The company described Australia as an “important market”, saying the clearance would open “new opportunities” across the public and private sectors.
Palantir’s CEO Alex Karp . . . experts warn that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability. Image: palantir.com/MWM
Mass surveillance without accountability Palantir has been mired in controversy internationally over how its data analysis and AI tools are deployed by government and military clients, with experts warning that the company’s technology enables mass surveillance and data collection with limited accountability.
An ASD spokesperson stated that IRAP status should
not be interpreted as government approval or endorsement of a company’s broader conduct or use of data.
“IRAP assessments are third-party commercial arrangements between IRAP assessors (or companies offering ‘IRAP assessment’ services) and assessed entities,” an ASD spokesperson said.
“ASD does not sign off or approve IRAP assessments.”
Journalist Stephanie Tran . . . Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia. Image: Michael West Media
Lobbying push amid political pressure Palantir’s expanded access to Australian government work comes amid growing political scrutiny. According to reporting by Capital Brief, in July 2025, the company hired lobbying firm CMAX Advisory, after the Greens called for an immediate freeze on government contracts with the company.
I want to talk to you about Palantir and its expanding footprint in Australia. TLDR: You should be worried.
This US surveillance tech company has secured multiple Defence contracts worth over $11 million. We need transparency about what data they’re accessing & why. 🧵
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) July 7, 2025
CMAX Advisory was founded by Christian Taubenschlag, a former chief of staff to Labor Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who is a special counsel at the lobby firm. CMAX Advisory represents a number of major defence contractors, including EOS and Raytheon.
Gaza, ICE and Coles Palantir has faced sustained criticism globally over how its software is used by government clients.
In April 2025, CEO Alex Karp dismissed accusations that Palantir’s technology had been used to target and kill Palestinians in Gaza, saying those killed were “mostly terrorists”.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Palantir had “provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision-making”.
In the United States, Palantir has long worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An investigation by 404 Media revealed that the company was developing a tool that generated detailed dossiers on potential deportation targets, mapped their locations and assigned “confidence scores” to their likely whereabouts.
The company has also attracted attention in Australia for its work with private sector clients, including Coles, where they were hired to cut costs and “optimise” the company’s workforce.
‘We kill enemies’ Karp has been blunt about Palantir’s mission. Speaking to shareholders and investors last week, he described the company’s purpose as helping the West “scare enemies” and, “on occasion, kill them”.
Karp also joked about “getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts that tried to screw us”.
Millions in government contracts Despite the controversy, Palantir has quietly built a substantial footprint in Australia.
According to Austender data, the company has secured more than $50 million in Australian government contracts since 2013, largely across defence and national security-related agencies.
The 2024 financial report of its Australian subsidiary, Palantir Technologies Australia Pty Ltd, show $25.5 million in revenue from customer contracts in 2024, though the company’s local financial reports are not audited.
In 2020, Palantir recommended that the Australian government consider “expanding the exemption from public access to disclosure documents”, arguing that filing financial reports with ASIC “is expensive” and “gives competitors access to confidential information”.
Stephanie Tran is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.This article was first published by Michael West Media and is republished with permission.
Debbie Gray’s 94-year-old father was staying at a Tairua bach, when heavy rain started to flood the garage.
Her father was unable to open the garage, with water both inside and surrounding it.
As the weather wasn’t improving, Gray put out an ‘SOS’ on the Tairua community Facebook page to see if anyone could get to him and open the garage.
Hikuai flooding on the Coromandel Peninsula.Supplied
“I see that Tairua is flooded, but if he has a car, he could move out of the danger zone,” she wrote.
Gray said she had an incredible response from the community.
“I tell you what, the people were amazing,” she said.
“Honestly, within five minutes, I had responses of ‘we’re heading down there now, we’ve seen him, the car’s out’, so I just can’t say enough for that community – it just rallies around.”
Gray said this wasn’t the first time the community had banded together to check on their neighbours.
Coromandel land slip, November 2025.Supplied / Mieke Kregting
“I remember [Cyclone] Gabrielle – and even the one before that – the community just seem to pull together and support one another with things like ‘get out and check on your neighbours, and look out for each other’,
“It’s just incredible.”
Her father’s car was taken out of the garage and moved to a dryer spot, Gray said, and his house hadn’t flooded.
She said it was comforting to know people on Facebook were prepared to care for others.
“People heading down and they’ve shared it around, so obviously there’s more than one or two,” Gray said. “There’s a community of carers up there doing amazing work.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
One person is in a serious condition after a crash near a busy Christchurch intersection.
Emergency services were called to the crash near the intersection of State Highway 73 – Yaldhurst Road and State Highway 1 – Masham Road in Russley about 1.30pm.
St John says one person was taken to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition while another person with minor injuries declined treatment.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
In an otherwise mixed month for the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), its leadership is hailing a win for Pacific conservation efforts with the UN Treaty on the High Seas coming into effect.
The legally binding UN High Seas Treaty officially received more than 60 ratifications, and following years of negotiations, has this month become international law.
It is a welcome positive development for Pacific conservation in a month when the US announced it was going to leave SPREP.
SPREP’s Director-General Sefanaia Nawadra described the treaty coming into effect as a testament to the long-running work by Pacific Island countries on ocean governance.
The treaty will give Pacific Island countries the ability to better manage high seas pockets in between their national waters, he said.
“The Pacific is peculiar in that within the national jurisdictions of countries in the Pacific, in between, there are what I call donut type spaces, international waters,” he said.
“So this [treaty] allows us to implement management measures beyond our national jurisdictions into these areas that are of particular concern to countries within our region.”
“So it’s a very important agreement for us, and is the continuation of the global leadership that Pacific Island countries have shown on oceans throughout the history of global oceans management, starting off with UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], which is the primary instrument that governs oceans.”
A Pacific Ocean marine ecosystem . . . Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument is an area spanning more than 1.2 million sq km of ocean. Image: USFWS
Asked whether the treaty might make it easier for deep sea mining to take place in the Pacific, Nawadra said: “Primarily it’s meant to be a conservation or sustainable management instrument. So you would allow conservation and protection in some cases, but in other cases, you would allow for managed activities”.
He said the onus would be on Pacific countries to work together in groups or sub-groups to settle on what activity is allowed.
The US retreat Nawadra was philosophical about the US withdrawal from SPREP, but uncertainty lingers over what it means for the various programmes which the Pacific community cooperates with the US on.
Greater impact than withdrawal of US funding is likely to be on the work SPREP does with various US government agencies. Image: RNZ/Johnny Blades
He said he was not worried about the removal of US funding, but indicated the greater impact is likely to be on the work SPREP does with various US government agencies.
“We do a lot of joint activities with NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmoshperic Administration], with US CPA, US Department of Agriculture, Geological Service,” Nawadra explained.
“Those are joint activities that benefit the US as much as it benefits the Pacific. I’m not sure how that will pan out going forward over technical cooperation. That’s something that we have to work through with the US.”
Meanwhile, the director-general denied media reports that China’s latest funding offer to SPREP was about filling the gap left by the US.
Shortly after the US announcement, China, which is not a member of SPREP, announced a donation to the organisation of US$200,000 — which is approximately the amount of the funding shortfall created by the US departure.
The timing and amount of China’s donation was merely coincidental, Nawadra said.
“They didn’t step in because of the US. We’ve received funding from China for almost 10 years now,” he said.
“So it’s just a continuation of the annual contribution that they voluntarily give to SPREP. So it wasn’t additional to what they normally donate.”
He said the US retreat was not because of anything outside SPREP’s mandate that the organisation had done.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The Prime Minister has announced this year’s election will be held on 7 November.
Christopher Luxon made the announcement from National’s caucus retreat in Christchurch.
The date had been widely tipped beforehand, and Luxon said he chose it as it was a “logical time,” with eight of New Zealand’s last 12 elections also held in October or November.
“When you look at the international events beforehand, when you look at the national events, sporting events, that was sort of the logical time,” he said.
The announcement began with a lengthy preamble of what National had done so far in government, including its tax cuts, education and law and order policies, and its reforms to the Resource Management Act.
Luxon said in the lead up to November, New Zealanders would have to weigh up who was best placed to provide “strong and stable” government in a “very volatile and uncertain world,” pitching that National would provide a strong economy, safer streets, a world-leading education, and more affordable housing.
Luxon said the economic recovery was now “up and running,” and a November election would mean National could “demonstrate more of that” throughout the year.
“We’ve been doing a big turnaround, we’ve been fixing a lot of the basics. We now have an opportunity, as this recovery comes through, not just to watch it come through but to actually shape the future of this country and to put in place the long-term reforms that actually will help the country realise its potential and to lift all of our collective living standards.”
Asked whether he had given any thought to going early, to prevent ACT and New Zealand First from absorbing more of the limelight, Luxon repeated that when he had looked at the calendar and sporting events that he had got to late October and early November.
As Prime Minister, the date was Luxon’s decision. But he confirmed he had informed David Seymour and Winston Peters of the date on Tuesday.
Luxon said he was “open” to working with his current coalition partners again, but he would be making the case that the “strongest and most stablest” form of government would be a strong party vote for National.
“They do not care” – Labour ready for election
Labour MPs were holding their own caucus retreat in West Auckland as news of the election date came through.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the contest could not come soon enough.
“New Zealanders face a very clear choice at this year’s election between a government that’s offering more cuts, more division and more negativity, or a change of government to a government with a positive vision for New Zealand’s future.”
Labour held their caucus retreat in West Auckland.RNZ / Lillian Hanly
Hipkins said Luxon had failed to deliver on his promises, adding the number of people that left the country last year was an indictment on his government.
“We need to do better as a country. All National’s offering is more of the same, more excuses, more backtracking, more going backwards. They do not feel the pain that New Zealand families are feeling right now and they do not care.
“We deserve a government that is going to put working Kiwis first. That’s going to make sure that New Zealanders who go out every day, slog their guts out and work hard, actually have the opportunity to get ahead. National cannot offer that future, Labour will.”
“We’re proud of our record” – ACT
The ACT Party said it would be giving the public a clear choice at the election: “To avoid the reds and greens, without settling for beige.”
ACT leader David Seymour said the party was “proud of our record,” and had proven it could cut red tape, shrink government waste, and provide better value for the taxpayer dollar.
“We’ve also proven we can work collegially and effectively with our partners in coalition. In everything from youth justice to medicines, we have delivered. ACT provides the full package for voters who rightly fear the Labour-Green-Māori menace, but also want faster action on waste, red tape, and pride in our country,” he said.
“Retirement date” for Luxon – Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori said in announcing the election date, Luxon had also announced his retirement date.
“The pain this government has inflicted on our communities and our taiao will be felt for generations,” said co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“Aotearoa cannot afford another term of this government. If we do not change the government, poverty and the environmental desecration will be entrenched as a normal part of life in Aotearoa.”
The party encouraged its supporters to enrol early, following changes the government made to scrap same-day enrolment.
“Game on” for National MPs
Ahead of the announcement National MPs, gathered for their first caucus meeting of the year.
On their way in, senior ministers would not give anything away about the date, but said they were ready.
Finance minister Nicola Willis.RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Finance minister Nicola Willis was optimistic that economic fortunes would improve before the election.
“There’s always more to do, and we have ahead of us several months before an election, and our government will be working hard every week to make more progress, to make more changes, to make a difference to New Zealanders’ everyday lives,” she said.
“I’m always conscious that yes, the GDP data has improved. Yes, the Official Cash Rate is down. Yes, the business confidence index is up. But families need to feel that at home.”
National’s campaign chair Chris Bishop said it was “game on” and it would be a big year.
“It’ll be a really clear contrast at the election, and I’m really confident people will make the right decision, but there’s a long way to run between now and the end of the year.”
National’s campaign chair Chris Bishop.RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Bishop said he expected his workload would loosen closer to the start of the campaign.
“I don’t sleep a lot as it is. So it’s all good,” he said.
“I like being busy, and I like the portfolios that I’ve got the privilege of being in charge of, but ultimately that’s over to the Prime Minister. We will probably be having a chat about potentially freeing me up to focus on the campaign, because that is a really key responsibility. But that’s all down the line, and I’m really relaxed about it.”
While a ministerial reshuffle was not announced at the retreat, Luxon has previously said that retirements may necessitate one.
No MPs have announced their retirement at the retreat, and none would give much away of their intentions on their way into the caucus meeting.
Bishop said any retirement announcements were for the individuals to make, and he would not divulge chats he had had with his colleagues.
National party president Sylvia Wood said National went into the end of last year “really, really well” and the party was feeling good.
“We’ve got a great ground game. We’ve got a great set of members. So it’s going to be good,” she said.
Ahead of the 2023 election, the party gave its membership a goal of hitting 45 percent of the party vote, which it did not meet, landing on 38 percent.
Wood would not say whether there would be a target again this time, only saying she wanted a “really, really good” party vote.
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa protested outside the event at the Commodore Hotel.
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa protested outside the National caucus retreat.RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Organiser John Minto criticised the government for not sanctioning Israel and not recognising Palestinian statehood.
He said pro-Palestine groups would continue to protest other National Party events “again and again” throughout the election year.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 21 January 2026
Truth in world affairs is not a single expert-narrated story.
National Politics
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
In our ‘official’ ‘United Nations’ world – the world referenced by the expression the international rules-based order – there are about 200 sovereign nation states (ie ‘countries’) which are equal members of the global community of nations. We mean equal in a juridical sense, not an economic or demographic sense; as recognised by ‘one nation, one vote’ in the United Nations General Assembly. Further, in this sanctioned and sanctified view – using the verb ‘sanction’ in its original old-fashioned sense – neither history nor geographical proximity matter; Mexico is as independent of the United States as it is of India.
Before moving on to geopolitics, there are four exceptions allowed within this official view. First is that there are numerous pieces of territory which are understood as too small – in population and/or land area – to be viable independent sovereign nation states. Second, some sovereign nation states – usually neighbours – may form a voluntary Union, whereby certain aspects of their sovereignty are ceded to centralised institutions. Third is that many citizens do not reside in the territories associated with their nationalities. And three exceptions not allowed for, but acknowledged to varying extents: countries that don’t exist but do exist; territories subject to internationally tolerated military occupation; and territories within recognised nation-states pushing for secession, though falling well short of either self-government or union with similarly-placed neighbouring territories.
An example of the first type of exception is Greenland, accounted for as a ‘realm’ territory of Denmark. (Other familiar realm territories are: Cook Islands [in the realm of New Zealand], American Samoa, and New Zealand’s closest foreign neighbour [Norfolk Island, in the realm of Australia].) The second exception is the European Union (noting that, in some circumstances – consider FIFA – the United Kingdom is also a Union of [four] nations). Might Canada join the European Union this century?
The third exception – the diaspora exception – applies to a degree to all nation states; and it applies particularly to New Zealand. New Zealand possibly has more citizens resident outside of New Zealand relative to citizens resident inside New Zealand; at least if we only consider countries with resident populations in excess of one million. Is New Zealand its citizenry or its territory? Given the realities of dual-citizenship, it is probably better defined as its territory along with its residentcitizens and denizens.
The fourth generally accepted exception is territories that are formally non-sovereign. Our example here is Antarctica. We may add the Moon.
Re the unsanctioned exceptions, Taiwan is the obvious example of the first type (other examples include Abkhazia and Somaliland) and Palestine is the obvious example of the second type. For the third (secessionist) type, I would cite Eastern Congo in which substantial domestic forces are in reality more aligned to nearby Kigali than faraway Kinshasa; I would also mention Myanmar’s Rakhine state, home to the Rohingya people.
Geopolitics
While the above ‘national politics’ narrative is real and contains a legal structure satisfying to its liberal architects, it is overlaid by an equally real (and quite different) geopolitical layer. Conflicts of big ego and big ideology can neither be understood nor resolved without substantial reference to geopolitics. Geopolitics is tied to both contested histories and geographical proximity. More than anything geopolitics is about empire (formal and informal), the unequal coalitions and powerplays among and between identities of people beyond and within territorial boundaries.
Geopolitics is about the centres of political power – the ‘great powers’ to use an expression from World War One – and their rival claims over the planet and its people. Geopolitical texts commonly refer to cities that are power centres, such as Washington and Berlin, rather than the countries in which those cities are located. Most conflict in the world can only be understood with recourse to geopolitics, which is largely the sociopathic politics of power masquerading as a set of struggles of ‘Good versus Evil’.
At least the president of the United States, DJT, is in a sense more honest than most ‘democratic’ leaders of powerful countries, in that he frames his acquisitive sentiments in the name of America rather than in the name of Good or in the name of God. Coveted Greenland looms larger in geopolitics than in national politics; in national politics it successfully hides in plain sight, as a large appendage of a semi-sovereign nation with a population barely larger than New Zealand.
Greenland: History
Greenland presently – at least formally – lies within the realm of Denmark, noting that ‘realm’ is itself a sanctioned rules-based exception. Denmark, as a member of the European Union, has delegated aspects of its sovereignty; from Copenhagen to Brussels and Paris and Berlin.
The first question to ask about Greenland is: why is it in the possession of the Kingdom of Denmark? Greenland was never conquered or colonised by Danes or by Denmark. Over 1,000 years ago, Greenland was colonised by Norse (ie Norwegian) Vikings. Greenland’s first people were Inuit, and the present population is substantially an Inuit/Norse mix. Around 500 years ago, Norway and Denmark formed a political union – a kingdom in which Denmark was the dominant partner – which lasted around 300 years. In that age of imperialism, Greenland became formally subject to that kingdom. This was a marriage between Denmark and Norway during the constrained period of the Little Ice Age. Greenland was ‘matrimonial property’ in this Union.
In 1814, Norway was passed on to Sweden through the Treaty of Kiel, in an era in which the wife was regarded as the property of the husband. Thus, Denmark formally gained Greenland as part of the divorce settlement. That remains the historical basis for Denmark’s claim over Greenland today. Though we remind ourselves that today’s reality is that Denmark is a somewhat junior partner in the polyamorous European Union. (Would Denmark get to keep Greenland if Denmark was to do a ‘Dexit’? Or would Greenland be passed on to the other husbands and wives?)
Greenland: Geography
Functionally, at least in geo-environmental terms, Greenland is the northern land-analogue of Antarctica. Arctica. While it doesn’t literally cover the North Pole (except that a large sheet of sea-ice extends from northern Greenland), it is near enough; and its land ice-sheet is certainly the northern analogue of the West Antarctica ice sheet. Based on this analogy, Greenland could become subject to a similar extranationalism to that which governs Antarctica. The difference of course is that Antarctica has no formally resident population; almost nobody was born there. The model could be adapted, with authentic Greenlanders becoming limited-power-landlords over an essentially international territory.
When I was a child, it was very common for families to have a globe in their living rooms, somewhere between the mantlepiece and the piano. About 15 years ago, I was lucky enough to have acquired a 3D jigsaw puzzle of the world; indeed, a small self-assembly globe. To see Greenland in perspective, it’s necessary to look at a globe. Short of that, see this satellite picture of North America from the Turtle Island page on Wikipedia.
(I was privileged to learn about Turtle Island when I visited Winnipeg in May 2019. When I walked through the Peace Park at The Forks, I learned for the first time about Turtle Island. See on YouTube: Winnipeg – the heart of Turtle Island. [And note this 16 December 2025 BBC story FBI foils New Year’s Eve terror plot across southern California, officials say relating to the Turtle Island Liberation Front.] I have a personal story about Greenland. While never having set foot there, I remember having a window seat flying from London to Los Angeles one October day. I saw the sun set somewhere northwest of Scotland; then a couple of hours later I saw it rise again, from the west, over Greenland. This was only possible because at such polar latitudes, an east-west flight is fast enough to be able to reverse the sunset.)
The map, in correct perspective, very much shows Greenland as a not-very-green part of North America. Its closest neighbour is of course Canada; indeed since 2022 Greenland has shared a land border with Greenland, on Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel, following the resolution of the Whisky War between Canada and Denmark. (It is unknown whether the Kennedy Channel was named after a Canadian fur-trader and politician, or the guy who was United States Secretary of the Navy in 1852 and 1853. If the latter, this might give false credence to DJT’s claim on Greenland for the United States.)
Greenland certainly looks to be geographically American – just as Norfolk Island geographically connects to New Zealand (on the Zealandia continent). But a geographical argument must also based on the connectivity between population centres. The flight distances from Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to other capital cities are: Reykjavik, Iceland (1,430 km); Ottawa, Canada (2,560km); Dublin, Ireland (2,800km); Oslo, Norway (3,150km); London, UK (3,250km); Washington DC, US (3,260km); Brussels, EU (3,520km); Copenhagen, Denmark (3,530); Berlin, Germany (3,820); Moscow, Russia (4,630km); Beijing, China (8,400km).
Washington is closer to Nuuk than is Copenhagen. Dublin is the closest EU capital city to Nuuk, and is a more economically connected city to the North Atlantic than is Copenhagen. Brussels, formal capital of the EU is the same distance from Nuuk as is Copenhagen. Berlin, the geopolitical capital of the EU, is nearly 4,000 km from Nuuk (whereas New York, the power capital of the US is less than 3,000km from Nuuk). Moscow and Beijing are both much further from Greenland, have had no geopolitical influence there, and constitute no plausible geopolitical threat; future security issues in Greenland are more likely to emanate from piracy than from power centres in Asia.
While there is no argument in favour of the United States annexing or otherwise acquiring Greenland, the case for European Union control of Greenland is even weaker than that of the United States. The only European countries with credible claims to form a Union with Greenland are Norway and Iceland, on the basis of shared history and shared maritime geography.
Greenland: Demography
Greenland’s population of just under 60,000 is only slightly higher than the populations of the American realm territories of American Samoa and the Northern Marianas Islands. Guam has three times more people than Greenland. The American Virgin Islands, with 100,000 people, is more populated than Greenland. The largest American realm territory, Puerto Rico, has 300 times as many people as Greenland. Of these ‘countries’, only Puerto Rico is a serious candidate to become the 51st state of the United States. The Virgin Islanders don’t even drive on the same side of the road as the rest of the United States.
I suspect that the DJT vision for Greenland is for it to become something like the former Panama Canal Zone; a former American territory that existed when I sailed through the Panama Canal in 1974. Of course we are aware that DJT would like to re-acquire that Panamanian territory for the United States.
Greenland is different though, in the same way that Antarctica is. It has many potentially valuable mining resources; and it lies on economically significant sea channels which are becoming more navigable thanks to climate change. And it has global environmental values. A collapse of the Greenland Ice Sheet would drown all of Manhattan and most of the rest of New York; as well as much of other cities mentioned above such as Dublin, London and Copenhagen.
Greenland as Arctica
Greenland’s people can become landlords – but not landlords with monopoly power – able to procure citizens’ royalties (public property rights) from both extractive industries and the use of its sea-lanes. Greenland requires a Treaty of Nuuk, with a limited concession of sovereignty in return for those benefits; but a concession that leaves property rights in Greenland essentially the same as property rights in Antarctica.
The Greenland question needs to be addressed. It is not sufficient for it to become a de facto territory of Europe – which eventually means Berlin. And it is too large a landmass to be independent in the way that Iceland is.
Warning
By understanding Greenland essentially as an inhabited Anti-Antarctica – as Arctica – we have to realise that the present United States regime may seek to undermine (literally and metaphorically) current arrangements for Antarctica. And when DJT turns his gaze southwards, he may look upon independent sovereign countries in the South Pacific as parts of his growing fiefdom. The South Pacific is America’s gateway to McMurdo Sound, in Antarctica. A number of ‘independent’ and proud countries in the South Pacific – Tonga, for example – already dutifully vote largely according to the United States’ say-so in the United Nations.
If Antarctica becomes a template for Greenland, that’s a definite improvement on the present accidental and unsustainable arrangement; but only if Antarctica’s present governance arrangements are preserved.
Watch what happens if Nasa’s Artemis Program successfully re-lands American men on the Moon. The Washington regime may lay claim to privileged property rights over the Moon – much as Wentworth acquired New Zealand’s South Island in 1839, requiring a treaty (Treaty of Waitangi) to repudiate that claim. If the United States believes it owns the Moon, it may stake a similar claim on Antarctica; and also seek to extend its Pacific realm. Citing America’s security! And breaking the Seventh and Tenth Commandments.
While current American-led geopolitics poses a deeply problematic story for resource-rich and low-populated territories, the expert-led official story of international politics is problematic too. The status-quo is not necessarily the best solution.
*******
Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
More than 3200 patients left the emergency department without being treated.RNZ / REECE BAKER
Wellington Hospital’s emergency department went into its most critical code red status nearly twice a day last year.
An Official Information Act response released to the Labour Party reveals the department recorded 575 code reds between January and October, when demand outstripped available staff and beds.
The data also shows only about half of patients were treated and moved on within six hours, below the government’s target.
More than 3200 patients left the emergency department without being treated – around 10 people a day.
In a statement, Health New Zealand group director operations Capital Coast & Hutt Valley, Jamie Duncan said emergency department escalation and scoring systems helped to identify periods of pressure and guide consistent responses.
“They reflect a highly dynamic environment that can change throughout the day as patient volumes, staffing and bed availability fluctuates,” he said.
“While we acknowledge there is still work to do, Wellington Hospital’s ‘Shorter Stays in ED’ performance is improving, with 2025 year-to-date results around five percentage points higher than 2024, with a clear upward trend since July 2025, increasing from 48.4 percent in July to 61.0 percent in December 2025.”
Wellington Hospital emergency nurse Ryan O’Donnell said staffing shortages at the hospital meant patients were receiving sub-optimal care.
“We are trying to run between patients left, right and centre and we are trying to look after more patients then we can at that given moment and that’s when sub-optimal care happens, that’s when mistakes can happen,” he said.
O’Donnell added that patients were being left in emergency department corridors.
Labour’s Health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said the code red figures represented a 135 percent overload.
“Code reds mean staff cannot cope with demand, meaning patients aren’t able to get the care they need when they need it. Patients who don’t stick around are likely to get worse and need more urgent care in the future,” she said.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said Wellington Hospital’s emergency department had unacceptable wait times and was among the lowest-performing in the country.
“Our ED doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers work incredibly hard and are focused on delivering the best possible care for patients, but they need infrastructure that supports them to reduce wait times and improve patient flow,” he said.
The Minister said the Wellington ED redevelopment had been prioritised and fully funded through Budget 2025, with work already underway across the hospital campus.
He said the government had also directed Health New Zealand to progress extended hours for urgent and after-hours care in central Wellington, to reduce pressure on the emergency department.
“In the meantime, I have been very clear with Health New Zealand that the current situation at Wellington Hospital’s Emergency Department is not good enough for patients or staff, and I expect to see improvements.”
The Minister pointed to a $20 million funding boost announced in September last year to increase frontline emergency department staffing nationwide over nine months, including additional support for Wellington Hospital.
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ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 21, 2026.
Jeremy Rose: Mexico – the revolution isn’t being televised Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s support for resettling Palestinian children orphaned by Israel’s genocide in Gaza barely rates a mention, reports Towards Democracy. COMMENTARY: By Jeremy Rose At the beginning of last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stood in front of an estimated 600,000 supporters in Zócalo Square and reflected on the achievements of her first
Period pain and heavy bleeding cost the Australian economy billions every year in lost productivity: study Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University Photo by Karola G/Pexels While period pain and heavy menstrual bleeding are common, they’re often dealt with privately. Yet they take a profound toll on a person’s health – and finances. Now, our new study has calculated
We interviewed Australian women who sexually abused children. This is what we learnt Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bricklyn Priebe, Associate Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast Hoi An and Da Nang Photographer/Unsplash Child sexual abuse cases involving female perpetrators are confronting and distressing. When these cases make the news, they often provoke shock and outrage.
Rob Hirst was not the figurehead of Midnight Oil – but he was its backbone Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Nichols, Professor of Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne The death of Rob Hirst from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70 is the close of a long and, in many ways, surprising career. Hirst was the drummer and songwriter who, though far from the figurehead
Morgan poll has One Nation surging at Coalition’s expense; Trump’s net approval in negative double digits Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne One Nation continues to surge after the Bondi terror attack, as a Morgan poll has them gaining six points at the Coalition’s expense. A national Australian Morgan
New study sheds light on the threat of ‘marine darkwaves’ to ocean life Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By François Thoral, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, University of Waikato Surfers caught in a marine darkwave. Jean Thoral, CC BY-NC-SA Life in the ocean runs on light. It fuels photosynthesis, shapes food webs and determines where many marine species can live. Gradually, that light is fading.
4.87 tonnes of cocaine seized in French Polynesian waters – bound for Australia RNZ Pacific France’s High Commission in French Polynesia has reported the seizure of 4.87 tonnes of cocaine in its maritime zone. The armed forces in French Polynesia (FAPF), the national gendarmerie and the local branch of the anti-narcotics office (OFAST) were involved in the intercept. A statement from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have congratulated
A stronger focus on prevention could help governments rein in health care and social spending Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Jackson, Social Policy Commissioner, Productivity Commission, and Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Tasmania Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images At the start of the new year, many of us will commit to joining a gym, eating healthier or cutting back on drinking and smoking. We
How to cut down on trans fats if cooking from scratch isn’t an option Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Beckett, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition and Food Science, Australian Catholic University RDNE Stock project/Pexels Work is finished, and you’re tired and hungry. Maybe you’re rushing home or to daycare pickup. You know you should be cooking dinner from scratch for the healthiest choice but that isn’t going
A stronger focus on prevention could help governments rein in healthcare and social spending Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Jackson, Social Policy Commissioner, Productivity Commission, and Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Tasmania Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images At the start of the new year, many of us will commit to joining a gym, eating healthier or cutting back on drinking and smoking. We
What Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story tells us about Mormonism Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Academic Status in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University Netflix The new Netflix documentary Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, directed by Skye Borgman, seeks to understand the shocking crimes of both Hildebrandt and business partner Ruby Franke. In 2023, Hildebrandt
How NZ can survive – and even thrive – in Trump’s new world of great-power rivalry Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Ross Smith, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury Sean Gallup/Getty Images In the wake of the US military intervention in Venezuela and Donald Trump’s repeated threats towards Greenland, a wave of pessimism has swept the western world. For countries wedded
How NZ can survive – and even thrive – in Trump’s new world of great-power rivalry Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Ross Smith, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury Sean Gallup/Getty Images In the wake of the US military intervention in Venezuela and Donald Trump’s repeated threats towards Greenland, a wave of pessimism has swept the western world. For countries wedded
How NZ can survive – and even thrive – in Trump’s new world of great-power rivalry Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Ross Smith, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury Sean Gallup/Getty Images In the wake of the US military intervention in Venezuela and Donald Trump’s repeated threats towards Greenland, a wave of pessimism has swept the western world. For countries wedded
How NZ can survive – and even thrive – in Trump’s new world of great-power rivalry Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Ross Smith, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury Sean Gallup/Getty Images In the wake of the US military intervention in Venezuela and Donald Trump’s repeated threats towards Greenland, a wave of pessimism has swept the western world. For countries wedded
The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that means Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaveh Madani, Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back
The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that means Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaveh Madani, Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back
The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that means Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaveh Madani, Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back
The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that means Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaveh Madani, Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back
View from The Hill: defiant Nationals break with Liberals over hate bill, putting strain on Coalition Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Nationals have defied shadow cabinet solidarity, voting in the Senate against the government’s hate crime legislation, which passed late Tuesday night with the support of the Liberals. The Nationals’ action puts new strain on Coalition relations, and is destabilising
A crash near a busy Christchurch intersection is causing delays.
Emergency services were called to the crash near the intersection of State Highway 73 – Yaldhurst Road and State Highway 1 – Masham Road in Russley about 1.30pm.
St John says one person has been transported to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition while another person with minor injuries declined treatment.
Waka Kotahi says the vehicles involved in the crash are blocking the road and people should avoid the area if they can.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s support for resettling Palestinian children orphaned by Israel’s genocide in Gaza barely rates a mention, reports Towards Democracy.
COMMENTARY:By Jeremy Rose
At the beginning of last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stood in front of an estimated 600,000 supporters in Zócalo Square and reflected on the achievements of her first year in office and the seven years since the Morena Party, which she heads, came to power.
It was quite a list: 13 million people lifted out of poverty; the minimum wage increased by 125 percent; Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities allocated budgets to run their own affairs; a locally produced people’s electric car about to roll off production lines; a new fast rail system crossing the country; a national park spanning 5.7 million hectares across Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala; a 37 percent drop in homicides — and on it went.
Sheinbaum is Mexico’s first woman president, its first Jewish president, and a climate scientist who was part of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize–winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team.
In short, she has a story to tell, but it’s not one our media pays enough attention to.
That speech — where she declared the end of neoliberalism in Mexico — barely rated a mention in the world’s English-language press.
The grope that trumped the anti-Trump In fact, Sheinbaum’s extraordinarily popular first year in office — El Paísreports she has an approval rating of over 70% — has been largely ignored by the English-language media, with three notable exceptions: when she was groped by a man on the streets of Mexico City last November, it made front-page news around the globe; a much-hyped series of “Gen Z” protests; and her dignified, and at times witty, responses to bellicose threats to Mexico’s sovereignty from the US president — which have seen her labelled the anti-Trump.
So why the lack of interest? Some possibilities, none of them edifying, spring to mind: if it doesn’t involve violence, Latin America rarely rates a mention in the media; Sheinbaum is a woman; and she’s leftwing.
But for each of those, there’s at least one counter-example that suggests this isn’t always the case.
Argentina’s right-wing libertarian president, Javier Milei, is widely reported on despite coming from a country with little over a third of Mexico’s population and GDP. Milei is a poster boy for right-leaning pundits from Auckland to London.
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern — leader of a country of just five million people compared to Mexico’s 130 million — was widely reported on while in office, and with the recent publication of her memoir has been the subject of more feature articles in recent months than Sheinbaum has generated in a year in office.
And finally, and perhaps most interestingly, there was the saturation coverage of Zoran Mamdani’s run and eventual victory in the New York mayoral election.
Sheinbaum’s successful campaign to become the equivalent of mayor of Mexico City — with a population significantly larger than New York’s — in 2018 was barely reported, despite running on a similarly leftwing, if notably more ambitious, platform.
Mamdani’s campaign and victory were newsworthy but, on any metric, less significant than Sheinbaum’s time in office.
World’s most popular leader She is arguably the world’s most popular leader, delivering on promises more far-reaching and consequential than anything on offer in the Big Apple.
A promise by Mamdani to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York — something he almost certainly cannot deliver on — was widely reported, while Sheinbaum’s support for resettling Palestinian children orphaned by Israel’s genocide in Gaza barely rated a mention. (Mexico has also joined South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel.)
The contrast between the saturation coverage of Mamdani and the paucity of coverage of Sheinbaum holds true for both conservative and liberal media.
The Wall Street Journal ran 50-plus editorials and op-eds criticising Mamdani in the run-up to his election but just three or four on Sheinbaum in her first year in office, all focusing on her alleged failure to tackle violence and the cartels. (In fact, homicides are down, though still extremely high.)
Even Jacobin magazine, one of the few US outlets to provide in-depth coverage of Mexico’s so-called “Fourth Transformation,” has given far more coverage to Mamdani, with a recent podcast declaring New York the epicentre of global socialism.
Whatever the explanation for the scant coverage of Sheinbaum, the achievements and popularity of the Morena movement are worth talking about.
The Donroe Doctrine’s threat to Mexico There’s little doubt we’ll be hearing more about Mexico over the coming months, but the focus will almost certainly be on the threat from the north, not the achievements and promise of the Fourth Transformation.
After the illegal abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, President Trump turned his sights on Mexico, declaring Sheinbaum to be a “tremendous woman, she’s a very brave woman, but Mexico is run by the cartels”.
Having designated the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels as terrorist organisations at the beginning of his second term in office, Trump had already signalled the possibility of military intervention in Mexico.
Sheinbaum’s response to both the Venezuelan intervention and the implied threat to Mexican sovereignty was resolute and principled:
“We categorically reject intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. The history of Latin America is clear and compelling: intervention has never brought democracy, never generated well-being, nor lasting stability.
“Only the people can build their own future, decide their path, exercise sovereignty over their natural resources, and freely define their form of government.”
Trump has other ideas, recently declaring that the US military could attack the cartels without congressional approval.
“I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.”
Trump has dubbed the new era the Donroe Doctrine — a reference to his regime’s embrace of the Monroe Doctrine, named for President James Monroe, who declared the Western Hemisphere an area of US influence in the 1820s.
200 years of brutal interventions It was the beginning of more than 200 years of brutal interventions by the US state, including a war on Mexico that resulted in the US taking over approximately 1.36 million sq km of Mexican territory — about 55 percent of the country.
Last year Trump hung a portrait of the country’s 11th president James Polk in the White House. Polk was responsible for the Mexican-American war of 1846-1848 which ended with the ceding of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming to the USA, in exchange for $15 million.
Trump has pointed to the portrait and told visitors: “He got a lot of land.”
His play on words with the Donroe Doctrine is characteristically narcissistic but also painfully accurate. It is the geopolitics of a gangster state.
In a world reeling from the criminal actions of that gangster state — from its continued bankrolling of genocide, to the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug smugglers, to SS-like round-ups of “foreigners” on its city streets, to threats to take over the sovereign territory of an ally — Mexico and its president, Claudia Sheinbaum, are a beacon of hope.
There is plenty I haven’t even touched on:
The election of an Indigenous lawyer, Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, as head of the Supreme Court;
The construction of 1.1 million affordable homes over the next six years, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs;
The launch of SaberesMX, a free national online platform designed to democratise access to knowledge and provide lifelong learning opportunities across Mexico; and
Sheinbaum’s daily morning press conferences, where she speaks directly to the nation.
If past experience is anything to go by, the mainstream media’s ignoring of Morena’s successes is unlikely to end any time soon.
The good news is that there are alternatives. Mexico Solidarity Media is a great source of original articles, translations from local media, and podcasts, and Substack writer and former Boston Globe and LA Times journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez regularly writes about Mexico from a progressive perspective.
Jeremy Rose is a Wellington-based journalist and broadcaster and his Towards Democracy blog is at Substack. This article was first published at Towards Democracy and is republished with permission.
The latest weather warning and watches map from MetService for Wednesday.MetService
This is the latest weather advice from MetService.
A strong and extremely humid northeasterly flow precedes a tropical low that is forecast to approach New Zealand from the north today. Heavy rain, downpours and easterly gales are expected to affect many areas. The rain and wind should ease Thursday after the low crosses the country. Red and Orange Warnings are in force for many areas.
Please stay up to date with the latest forecasts.
Heavy Rain Warning – Red
Area: Northland
Period: 14hrs from 9am – 11pm Wed, 21 Jan
Forecast: Expect another 90 to 120 mm of rain on top of what has already accumulated, or possibly more in some localised areas, especially in the north and east. Peak rates 25 to 40 mm/h in localised downpours from this afternoon.
Impact: Threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips. Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities.
Action: Do not enter floodwaters and avoid travel. Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water. Be ready for power and communications outages. Preparedness advice.
Area: Coromandel Peninsula
Period: 18hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 3am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect a further 200 to 250 mm of rain on top of what has already accumulated, especially about the higher ground. Peak rates of 25 to 40 mm/h in downpours from this afternoon.
Impact: Threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips. Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities.
Action: Do not enter floodwaters and avoid travel. Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water. Be ready for power and communications outages. Preparedness advice.
Area: Bay of Plenty including Rotorua
Period: 24hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 9am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect a further 180 to 240 mm of rain on top of what has already accumulated. Peak rates of 25 to 40 mm/h in downpours from Wednesday evening. Note that downpours may affect any part of the area.
Impact: Threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips. Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities.
Action: Do not enter floodwaters and avoid travel. Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water. Be ready for power and communications outages. Preparedness advice.
Area: Gisborne from Tolaga bay northwards
Period: 26hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 11am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect a further 250 to 350 mm of rain on top of what has already accumulated. Peak rates of 25 to 40 mm/h in downpours from late this evening.
Impact: Threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips. Conditions will disrupt travel, make some roads impassable, and isolate communities.
Action: Do not enter floodwaters and avoid travel. Act quickly to self-evacuate if you see rising water. Be ready for power and communications outages. Preparedness advice.
Heavy Rain Warning – Orange
Area: Tasman west of Mapua
Period: 18hrs from 4pm Wed, 21 Jan – 10am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect 80 to 120 mm of rain. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/h expected. Low chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.
Impact: Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible.
Action: Clear your drains and gutters to prepare for heavy rain. Avoid low-lying areas and drive cautiously. Preparedness advice.
Area: Auckland and Great Barrier Island
Period: 17hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 2am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect 80 to 120 mm of rain with the largest accumulations in the east and about Great Barrier Island. Peak rates of 25 to 40 mm/h in downpours in the east and about great Barrier Island expected from about noon today. Low chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.
Impact: Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible.
Action: Clear your drains and gutters to prepare for heavy rain. Avoid low-lying areas and drive cautiously. Preparedness advice.
Area: Gisborne south of Tolaga Bay and Hawke’s Bay
Period: 24hrs from 10am Wed, 21 Jan – 10am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Expect 100 to 150 mm of rain. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/h expected. Low chance of upgrading to a Red Warning.
Impact: Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible.
Action: Clear your drains and gutters to prepare for heavy rain. Avoid low-lying areas and drive cautiously. Preparedness advice.
Heavy Rain Watch
Area: Waikato, Waitomo and Taupo
Period: 18hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 3am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Area: Tasman and Nelson Districts east of about Mapua
Period: 18hrs from 4pm Wed, 21 Jan – 10am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Area: Buller and Grey Districts
Period: 18hrs from 3pm Wed, 21 Jan – 9am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Area: Canterbury
Period: 19hrs from 6pm Wed, 21 Jan – 1pm Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Area: Westland District
Period: 18hrs from 3pm Wed, 21 Jan – 9am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Periods of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Low chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Strong Wind Watch
Area: Auckland and Great Barrier Island
Period: 14hrs from 9am – 11pm Wed, 21 Jan
Forecast: Easterly winds may approach severe gale in exposed places. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
Area: Waikato, Coromandel Peninsula, Waitomo and Taupo
Period: 18hrs from 9am Wed, 21 Jan – 3am Thu, 22 Jan
Forecast: Easterly winds may approach severe gale in exposed places. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.
– All information from MetService
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While period pain and heavy menstrual bleeding are common, they’re often dealt with privately. Yet they take a profound toll on a person’s health – and finances.
Now, our new study has calculated how much these menstrual symptoms cost the broader Australian economy.
Our study was based on a survey of 1,796 Australian working women and is published today in The Australian Journal of Social Issues. We found period pain and heavy bleeding costs the Australian economy about A$14 billion every year in lost productivity.
Women aged 35–44 reported significantly higher lost productivity than their younger counterparts.
Our findings highlight the substantial economic rationale for government and workplace policies to help people manage menstrual symptoms.
Periods can be debilitating
In Australia, girls experience their first period (menarche) around 12 years of age.
Periods (menstruation) typically happen every 21–34 days. Most women (and those who menstruate) have regular periods until around 45–55 years of age. Then, menstrual cycles become less regular before stopping altogether at menopause.
Most women will experience around 400–600 periods over their lifetime, unless their menstrual cycles are suppressed by hormonal contraception.
Two common causes of problematic periods are dysmenorrhea (period pain) and heavy menstrual bleeding.
The most common type of period pain (primary dysmenorrhea) affects around 90% of young women under 25 in Australia.
This type of period pain is often worst during the first two days of bleeding. It is primarily caused by high levels of prostaglandin hormones, which are responsible for cramps. Many women also feel fatigue, dizziness, back pain and headaches.
The stigma and taboo associated with menstruation means many women feel they must work very hard to conceal period problems at work. This labour is usually invisible and exhausting. Some women quit work altogether.
Pain inquiry finds gender bias.
What we did and what we found
Our research aimed to investigate:
how common period pain and other menstrual symptoms are for Australian women in paid employment over 18 years and
the impact of menstruation on work productivity (via presenteeism and absenteeism).
Presenteeism accounts for productivity losses at work while an employee is present but not working at full capacity. It’s like going to work with a migraine: you might be physically present but you aren’t doing your best work.
Absenteeism is being away from work on paid or unpaid sick leave.
We collected data via an online survey of 1,796 Australian working women.
Survey participants were over 18, currently living in Australia and had had at least one period in the last three months. They were in paid employment (including self-employment) and/or volunteering for at least three months.
Our study found that 97% of women who responded had period pain in the last three months, and 75% said they always have period pain when menstruating. Previous research in Australia has found that over 90% of young women report period pain and around 71% worldwide.
Because of this we used more conservative estimates of 90% of women experiencing period pain (high) and 70% experiencing period pain (low) to calculate our range of economic figures for the population.
We estimated lost productivity in Australia associated with menstrual symptoms at A$7,176 per person annually, with an estimated total annual economic burden of $14.005 billion.
Together, presenteeism and absenteeism accounted for 46% of total productivity loss.
And remember, our study only looked at paid employment among full‑time and part‑time workers. The implications for unpaid labour, particularly women’s unpaid care work and its profound economic and social importance, demands further study (which we are progressing).
We also note that the impact of menstruation on the Australian economy is more complex than is established through our current data set, which doesn’t account for things such as the economy-wide costs of medical care and treatment.
In other words, our estimate is conservative.
Why does this matter?
Given the substantive economic impacts demonstrated through our study, menstrual symptom management in the workplace is not a private concern to be managed by individual workers.
Menstrual symptoms affect the broader economy and society. Workplace policies and guidelines are needed to support employees experiencing period pain, fatigue and associated symptoms.
At the workplace level, employers have an opportunity to start a dialogue with staff about changes to workplace conditions that could enhance employee productivity, health and wellbeing.
This could, for instance, include things such as reproductive leave (on top of the usual sick leave provisions), remote and hybrid work arrangements and flexible time management policies (including rest periods).
Our study findings also highlight the significant economic rationale for government to address this workplace issue with laws and policies.
Enshrining minimum standards for workplaces to support employees impacted by menstrual symptoms reduces the burden on individual workplaces to formulate policies and eliminates reliance on senior management’s interest.
If governments and employers want to increase productivity, our research shows the answer could be hiding in plain sight.
Mike Armour receives funding from the MRFF for projects related to menstrual health literacy outside this work.
Michelle O’Shea does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bricklyn Priebe, Associate Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, School of Law and Society, University of the Sunshine Coast
Child sexual abuse cases involving female perpetrators are confronting and distressing. When these cases make the news, they often provoke shock and outrage.
Yet, in the United States, approximately 7.6% of confirmed cases are perpetrated by women or girls, though some US states report it to be as high as 36%.
In Australia, recorded sexual assault offences involving women and girls have increased from 222 offenders in 2008–09 to 678 in 2023–24: a 205% rise.
Public attention has long focused on male perpetrators and on what happens after abuse is uncovered (including prosecution and punishment or cases not proceeding to court).
Prevention, however, requires us to act earlier and to ask a different question: what might have prevented these women from sexually abusing a child in the first place?
We spoke directly with 18 women convicted of child sexual abuse offences in three states/territories in Australia.
These conversations were not about minimising or excuse-making, but about uncovering missed opportunities for support and intervention throughout their lives that they believe may have prevented them from sexual offending.
Many of these women described needing help long before they abused a child. Many had grown up experiencing their own abuse or neglect.
They talked about wanting counselling, mental health support, guidance around relationships and practical help with parenting.
For some, these unresolved needs and vulnerabilities were closely tied to their experiences in intimate relationships.
One participant who co-offended with her male partner reflected on how early support might have changed her situation:
It would have been good just to have the opportunity to get out of the relationship earlier […] so having resources or counselling or anything really. It got to a point where it was just too late. I was stuck.
Others spoke about repeated attempts to get help from support services, only to encounter barriers that left them feeling dismissed, unsupported and their concerns minimised. As one participant explained:
I really was trying to engage and get help […] they just turned [me] away, it’s like they didn’t want to help me.
Some women did not know what services existed to help them at different times in their lives. Others faced long waitlists and cost barriers.
Several women also described how shame and fear fuelled their silence, including fear of judgement or legal consequences. One woman said:
I should have opened up […] but I didn’t know how to. It’s not that I needed more people to talk to, it’s that I needed to know how to talk to them.
Together, these accounts highlight a key limitation in current prevention and early intervention efforts.
Availability of services alone is not enough; accessibility matters. If people cannot find, afford or safely connect to support then prevention efforts will likely fail.
It’s not just prevention that’s needed
We also acknowledge that while accessibility matters, not everyone will seek support.
In fact, a minority of women in our study admitted nothing would have prevented their offending.
Some felt they weren’t aware they needed help until it was too late, or they would not have accepted it at the time anyway.
This reinforces the necessity for both effective prevention and response.
The women’s accounts in our study reinforce growing calls for gender-responsive strategies.
While risk factors such as trauma, isolation and substance use are not exclusive to girls and women, they often intersect differently with gendered social roles and expectations compared with men.
For example, parenting stress, relationship toxicity and financial insecurity disproportionately affect women and can compound vulnerability.
By no means do these factors minimise or excuse offending, nor do they fully explain it.
Rather, it is about recognising that prevention and early intervention efforts need to address these gendered risks in order to better protect children from harm.
Importantly, these findings support much of the broader prevention work already underway in Australia, such as:
These are all designed to intervene earlier, reduce isolation and support people as ways to prevent harm and safeguard children.
Our findings align with a growing body of evidence suggesting prevention works best when it is practical and embedded from childhood through adulthood.
The challenge that remains is ensuring services are not only available but visible, accessible, nonjudgmental and clearly inclusive of girls and women.
The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Larissa Christensen is affiliated with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Bricklyn Priebe, Nadine McKillop, and Susan Rayment-McHugh do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The death of Rob Hirst from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70 is the close of a long and, in many ways, surprising career.
Hirst was the drummer and songwriter who, though far from the figurehead of Midnight Oil, was nonetheless an integral part – perhaps the backbone – of one of the most consistently adventurous and principled groups of the last half-century.
For most, Midnight Oil means Peter Garrett. But it was Garrett who answered an ad to join Farm, Hirst’s band with Jim Moginie and Andrew James, in 1972. Were it not for his arrival, the group might not have gone far beyond the northern beaches of Sydney: Garrett was striking as a performer and his singing was distinctive (though, like Jimmy Barnes, he did not sing all the great songs his band was famous for).
While Midnight Oil’s members recognised a common purpose and achieved an extraordinary amount on a range of fronts, Hirst’s memoir of their early 21st century United States tour shows there was always some measure of tension between them.
In 1980, Hirst told Toby Creswell of Rolling Stone he didn’t like Garrett’s taste, “and he doesn’t like mine […] You’re really putting together people who don’t get on socially or musically.”
Not there to compromise
Midnight Oil’s records were exceptionally high quality from the outset.
Their self-titled first album was what you’d expect from a group which took pleasure in Australian surfing “head” music bands like Tully and Kahvas Jute.
Their second, Head Injuries, was brash and stark: they had emerged, for better or worse, at the time of punk/new wave but fitted as uneasily with X or The Saints as with blunter, more traditional rock groups like AC/DC.
Their 12″ EP Bird Noises was as fine a summation of their approach as could be imagined. The Hirst/Garrett cowrite No Time for Games has a social message, a distinctive vocal from Garrett and of course, extraordinary drums, restrained when they had to be but ever servicing the song’s dynamics.
From the very beginning, they made it clear that they were not available to undertake the usual compromises the record industry expected for career furtherance.
Famously, they refused to play Countdown. In hindsight, they would have been severely out of place there.
Nevertheless, they gave the major groups of the 70s their due; Hirst praised Skyhooks’ Greg Macainsh, for instance, for his use of Australian places and scenes, making it “possible for you to write about, in his case, Carlton and Balwyn […] [now] we’ve got this whole palette of Australian places we can use without a cringe factor.”
On their own terms
Sales and impact of subsequent Midnight Oil albums trace the rise of a group attaining international prominence on its own terms through hard work and consistent attention to detail.
The commercial peak came with the 1987 single Beds are Burning (a cowrite between Garrett, Hirst and Moginie): top ten in France, the US, the Netherlands, Australia and Belgium – and number one in Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
That it was a song on the world stage highlighting Australian Aboriginal dispossession was perhaps an even greater achievement.
Hirst’s memoir Willie’s Bar and Grill gives a good sense of a group finding the very common way down from the top: the trajectory of the one-hit wonder, in this case experienced while touring post-9/11 US.
They disbanded soon afterwards, not for this reason but because Garrett had been picked by Mark Latham to stand as Labor candidate for Kingsford-Smith in the 2004 federal election. They reunited 13 years later.
A varied career
Hirst had other irons in the fire as early as 1991 when he formed Ghostwriters with Rick Grossman. Perhaps the band’s name signalled a frisson of bitterness about the concentration of attention Garrett garnered in Midnight Oil, but paradoxically its first album was essentially an anonymous release.
Two others followed, and Hirst was also involved in the Backsliders and the Angry Tradesmen.
In 2020 he recorded an album with his daughter, Jay O’Shea, who he had put up for adoption in 1974. In 2025 he released the second of two albums recorded with noted songwriter Sean Sennett.
A 50-year career is almost impossible to sum up briefly, but one song speaks volumes about Hirst. Power and the Passion, the 1983 Midnight Oil hit, features a simple (if infectious) drum machine and what might almost pass for a rap from Garrett, listing a host of demons besetting the citizen at the end of the 20th century, not least from Americanisation and corporatisation.
Hirst plays along with the beat then engages it in an epic battle, executing a remarkable solo which enhances the song while making a statement about working with and against the pernicious machine.
In a career of great work, it’s one highlight that speaks louder than words.
David Nichols does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins prepares to address his party’s caucus retreat in West Auckland,RNZ / Lillian Hanly
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has come out swinging at the government in his first speech of election year, saying its responsible for the situation New Zealand is in.
Hipkins said New Zealanders were looking for a “sense of hope” this year as he addressed his party at its caucus retreat in West Auckland, saying people weren’t getting that sense of hope from this government.
“They’re seeing more cuts, more negativity, real doom and gloom from the current government, and what they want is a sense of hope that better is possible and that a better future for New Zealand is possible.”
Hipkins took aim at the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation speech, saying New Zealanders got “another litany of blame and excuses” from Christopher Luxon on Monday when what they wanted was a “plan for the future.”
“Stringing together a bunch of management buzz words is not a plan, and it’s certainly not a vision,” said Hipkins.
There was no leadership from this government, he said, and referenced the comments Luxon had made in the past about New Zealanders.
“We have a prime minister who thinks that low-income New Zealanders are bottom feeders, who think that fundamentally, New Zealand is a wet, whiny, miserable country,” said Hipkins.
He joked that it was “little bit wet today” acknowledging the wind and rain outside the venue.
“But actually, what I heard from Kiwis over the summer break was not whiny and miserable, it was desperate for something to get excited about, for some sense of hope, some sense that the government has an idea about how to make the country better.”
He greeted his MPs at their first gathering following the summer break saying “welcome to election year.”
Hipkins said the party had done the “hard work” over the last couple of years, listening, taking stock, refreshing and renewing themselves after its defeat in 2023.
“Now we are into election year – that means we get to talk about what we want to do, how we will do things differently, but also remind New Zealanders of the absolute mess this government has created.
“Because while they will try and find everybody else to blame for the mess they’ve created, make no bones about it, this government are responsible for the situation that New Zealand is in at the moment.”
Speaking off the cuff to a conference room at the Quality Inn Lincoln Green in West Auckland filled with Labour MPs and staff, who nodded throughout the speech commenting “that’s right” in agreement.
Hipkins spoke of the “record number of Kiwis” who left the country last year looking for “opportunity elsewhere” they couldn’t find in New Zealand.
“That is an absolute indictment on Christopher Luxon and his government.
“New Zealanders now are looking to us to provide that alternative.”
Hipkins said the party had listened, taken stock and renewed itself after its defeat in 2023.RNZ / Lillian Hanly
He spoke of the “structural deficit” Nicola Willis had “created”, pointing to the pre-election fiscal update in 2023, “New Zealand was on a pathway to recovery.”
“We were heading back into surplus.
“The economy was going to start growing again, and the first thing that this government did was a slash and burn exercise that ended all of that.”
Hipkins said Labour wouldn’t be “shy” in reminding New Zealanders the situation they found themselves in now was because of the “bad choices of this government.”
“Tax cuts for landlords and tobacco companies, whilst hard working, New Zealanders find it harder to buy their first home or go and see the doctor.”
He pointed to Labour policies such as the New Zealand Future Fund and three free doctor visits, paid for by a capital gains tax, saying it had been “well received” by people.
“New Zealanders want it. They have made that very clear. They want to see investment moved out of the speculative housing market and into providing opportunities for New Zealanders.”
He blamed the current government for increased unemployment in New Zealand, and more people on job seeker benefits.
“Despite all of their tough talk about sanctions, they’re actually making it harder for New Zealanders to get a job, and we will hold them accountable for that.”
But he said Labour would do more than that by offering a “real and compelling alternative”, because “better is possible.”
He said Willis, Luxon, David Seymour and Winston Peters “all want to tell you that this is as good as it gets” and if they stand back that “somehow things will fix themselves.”
“They won’t.
“It requires some leadership from government, and there’s been no leadership from this government at all.”
Hipkins closed his opening remarks by saying the party was “fired up and excited for election year” and welcoming incoming Labour MP Georgie Dansey, as former Speaker Adrian Rurawhe announces his retirement from politics.
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