Some things have become cheaper over the past 10 years.RNZ
Sometimes it seems as though everything is just continually getting more expensive – especially when war in the Middle East sparks major inflation warnings.
But some things have become cheaper over the past 10 years, according to Stats NZ.
In comparison, general inflation as measured by the consumer price index, was up about 35 percent over the period.
Here are seven.
Audio-visual equipment – down 77 percent, telecommunication equipment – down 67 percent, computing equipment – down 51 percent
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said it was not surprising that technology-related items topped the list.
“The way it’s recorded in the consumer price index (CPI) is it’s quality adjusted … there are two things going on. One is the actual price of the product, and the other is the improvement of quality of the product. Both of those things are happening at a great pace, particularly in things like technology.
“Computer equipment, telecommunications, audiovisual, those things are getting better over time and they have been relatively constant or falling in price so it’s the twin force that comes through.”
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub.
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen agreed.
“It’s not that the actual price of a computer has halved it’s more that what you get from the computer is a whole lot better. On a quality adjusted basis a decade ago your computer could do a lot but it wasn’t as smart, it didn’t have as many tips and tricks and everything else in it. Now, for probably relatively the same dollar price, you’re getting quite a bit more in terms of what it can achieve.
“It’s similar with telecommunications equipment – the clear example there is mobile phones. The quality adjustment there is enormous.
“Every year phones get a better camera, they get faster processing. In recent times, they’ve had AI interactions and a whole lot of other stuff besides.”
A display of new Apple iPhones.AFP / Nic Coury
Direct credit service charges – down 30 percent
Olsen said banks had cut a number of fees in recent years.
“Effectively, the overall aggregate average for those direct credit fees are becoming smaller.
“A lot of people don’t pay the various fees at their bank unless they’re in a very particular type of account.
“Those that do … banks do try to lower those over time. So you’re not having to pay $5 every time you log into your bank account just to see your balance or anything.
“Effectively you are seeing those various banking transaction fees more generally pull back over time.”
Pharmaceutical products – down 10 percent
The removal of the prescription fee was cited as a big driver of the drop in pharmaceutical product prices.
“We don’t pay a lot for medicines in New Zealand,” Eaqub said.
Olsen said Pharmac’s suite of drugs was also expanding.
“You’d probably expect that to broadly continue … there’s a lot of expensive drugs around the world that New Zealanders are looking for. Government doesn’t have an endless bucket of money, but Pharmac does drive pretty good value in those areas, which is important, I think, for the overall costs that households might have to cope with.”
Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Purchase of new cars – down 4 percent
Eaqub said cars could be affected by a lack of demand.
Olsen said there was also a compositional shift and quality shift reflected in the data. “You’re getting much more efficient vehicles over time, their technology is of a higher standard and there are more safety features.
“Over time as well we have seen, certainly in the last couple of years, a bit of a focus around some of those cheaper entry models that are coming through.
“Some of the prices have been lower particularly over the last couple of years when you look at how many vehicles are being pumped out around the world and that sort of oversupply, particularly coming out of China, has been limiting price increases to a degree.
Early childhood education – down 3 percent
The introduction of the Family Boost policy, which covers a portion of many households’ childcare costs, may have been responsible for this drop.
Olsen said, overall, the data showed that it was unusual to see an outright fall in sticker prices.
“The closest example would be if Stats NZ was still looking at the price of, say, DVD players, they would probably have fallen 90-plus percent because there’s no demand.
“If you want an old vintage one you are probably getting it for $2 at the op shop or something … compared to what it might have originally retailed for. A lot of the time those that fall out of favour and which would have implicitly have had a big price plunge because there is no demand for them anymore, we just don’t collect the prices because they aren’t something that people buy.”
Social development minister Louise Upston.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Beneficiary numbers have soared to a 12-year high, under a government that promised a reduction.
They were the highest both by volume and percentage of the working-age population since at least the 2013 welfare reforms.
Social development minister Louise Upston said in 2024 – less than three months after taking office – that the government was taking action to “curb the surge in welfare dependency” that ocurred under the former Labour government.
But the most recent Ministry of Social Development data revealed that was yet to take hold.
As of December last year, 427,236 people – about the population of Christchurch – were receiving a main benefit.
That was 13.2 percent of the working-age population, the highest recorded since at least 2013, when reforms replaced multiple benefits with three main benefits: Jobseeker, Sole Parent Support and Supported Living Payment.
More than half of beneficiaries – 223,512 people, or 6.9 percent of the working age population – were on the Jobseeker benefit. That was also a record.
Soon after taking power the government set a target of 50,000 fewer people on the Jobseeker benefit by 2030.
So far, there had been an 18 percent jump: from 190,000 in December 2023 to 223,500 in December last year.
The 18 to 24-year-old age group on the Jobseeker benefit had grown the most in that period, rising 32 percent.
Minister blames former Labour government
Upston said the numbers were a result of the coalition inheriting “difficult economic conditions and a tough labour market” from the former Labour government.
“Unemployment has been rising since 2021 and is always one of the last things to improve after a recession,” she said.
“We know there is more work to do to grow the economy, fix the basics and build a welfare system focused on getting more people into work.”
More than 83,500 people came off a main benefit and found work last year, she said.
The government’s initiatives to curb benefit numbers included the traffic light system which was working well to ensure jobseekers were fulfilling their obligations, she said.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Labour’s Willie Jackson grilled Upston about rising Jobseeker numbers.
Upston said Labour’s increased spending during the Covid-19 pandemic drove up inflation, leading to higher unemployment.
“That’s why the forecast has always been due to get worse before it gets better,” she said.
Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon needed to take responsibility.
“It’s been more than two years since National took office, their excuses are getting old and shows just how out of touch they are,” she said.
“Christopher Luxon promised to fix the cost of living. He hasn’t just failed – he’s made it worse.”
Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime.VNP / Phil Smith
High unemployment driving benefit dependency, but set to improve – economist
The rise was largely driven by a weak labour market, said Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said.
“There has been a larger proportional increase in Jobseeker support benefit requirements compared to all other benefits on average,” he said.
The government had options to intervene but they were not all politically or socially palatable, Olsen said.
That included clamping down access to benefits.
Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“Which could well reduce the overall numbers, but would likely leave a number of New Zealanders out in the cold and facing very challenging circumstances at a time when we know that the number of jobs being advertised in the economy are still 25 percent lower than pre-pandemic and the unemployment rate is at a 10-year high.”
The government could also try to create jobs but that was expensive and could lead to higher inflation, said Olsen.
“The government doesn’t have a lot of spare money to all of a sudden magic up a whole bunch of jobs there in the short term without generating other economic challenges in other areas.
“So at the moment, our expectation would more be that the government will look to try and reduce the number of beneficiaries over time as the labour market improves, and we do expect that will happen over the next couple of years.”
Although unemployment was high, there had also been a 0.5 percent expansion in the number of jobs which was the largest in about two and a half years, he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
New Zealand’s most notorious slavedriver and trafficker has failed in a bid to have his sentence shortened.
Joseph Matamata was jailed for 11 years in 2020 for using 13 people as slaves and 10 charges of human trafficking.
But the Court of Appeal has set aside two of the trafficking convictions, because the attorney general had not given delegation for a decision on those charges being brought.
The court had previously ruled the 11 year term imposed by Justice Helen Cull was ‘lenient in the circumstances’, and declined to cut it down further.
“We are satisfied that the outcome of the recall application should not impact Mr Matamata’s sentence,” said the Court of Appeal judges in yesterday’s decision.
“The number of convictions was a very minor consideration in setting the starting point and was just one of many considerations. Cull J also considered the extent of the emotional and financial harm caused to the victims, the abuse of Mr Matamata’s position of trust and authority in relation to the victims, the number of victims (which remains unchanged), the vulnerability of the victims and the high level of premeditation”
Matamata has served his minimum term of imprisonment of five years. The parole board twice refused him parole last year and he is due to reappear before the panel in June.
The 71-year-old brought people from Samoa to New Zealand to supply labour to orchards in Hawke’s Bay over 25 years from 1994 to 2019, promising them a better life.
But he kept their wages, restricted their movements and communications, and used threats or violence to control them.
They worked up to 14 hours a day in the fields, seven days a week, completing chores at Matamata’s home late into the evening and beaten up if they broke rules, including speaking to their families in Samoa or leaving his Hastings home without permission.
The oldest victim was in his 50s and the youngest was just 12. The boy described being beaten, stabbed and fed stale food.
“When the bamboo stick breaks, then it’s the belt,” he told police. “When he gets a sore hand from the belt, from holding the belt, then that’s when the stick comes.”
Matamata denied a nine-foot fence around his property was to lock his slaves in. Immigration New Zealand “conservatively estimated” he kept more than $400,000 in wages they had earned.
He used three-month holiday visas to recruit new workers, and adopted three young people in 2016.
A 15-year-old girl, who thought she had come to New Zealand for schooling, told the jury she was instead made to look after Matamata’s children, cook and clean. She said she ran away to Auckland but Matamata caught up with her and tied her up in his car for the journey back, when she was placed in a storeroom for the night.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Former Tactix team-mates Jane Watson (left) and Te Paea Selby-Rickit are about to play their first season in the Australian netball league.Photosport Ltd
Te Paea Selby-Rickit did not see it coming.
Last year the Tactix shooter received a text out of the blue from former ANZ Premiership coach Kiri Wills – now head coach of the Queensland Firebirds. Wills wanted to sound out the former Silver Fern about a move across the Tasman.
“It was in the middle of the ANZ Premiership season, I didn’t expect it but at the end of Tactix season the timing felt right,” Selby-Rickit said.
For Selby-Rickit, further surprises awaited when she arrived at the Firebirds set-up in Brisbane late last year – world-class facilities, intense training, and a level of professionalism she hadn’t experienced before.
Selby-Rickit is among nine current and former Silver Ferns that will feature in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) when it begins this weekend, with the challenge of testing themselves in the world’s toughest netball league drawing a strong Kiwi contingent across the Tasman.
The 34-year-old will play alongside two Silver Ferns at the Firebirds, with Kelly Jackson and Maddy Gordon also making their SSN debuts. The trio are living together in Queensland.
One of the biggest things players notice when they start playing in Australia are the access to resources and quality of the facilities.
“I’ve also been blown away actually by the professionalism, the systems they’ve got in place, you can tell it’s just a really high performance environment and the attention to detail and everything,” Selby-Rickit said.
“The intensity is really high here and the standards are really clear, it’s definitely pushed me but that’s what you want and I’ve been here a couple of months now and I feel like I’m finally starting to get used to it.
“At the same time it still feels fun and connected so I’ve been really impressed and really stoked with how it’s gone so far.”
The experienced goal attack is teaming up with Ugandan goal shoot Mary Cholhok. Standing at 2.0m, Cholhok is the tallest player in the competition and the Firebirds will be wanting to unlock her full potential.
“We’ve been working hard trying to build that connection. I like playing with a tall shooter, I’ve played with tall shooters before with Jhaniele [Fowler-Nembhard] back in my Steel days, and Ellie Bird at Tactix so I’m really excited about how that connection can grow.”
Former Silver Fern Gina Crampton.PHOTOSPORT
Former Silver Ferns skipper Gina Crampton is also about to enter her first season in the SSN. She had a taste of it in 2024 as a training partner for the Giants.
After taking time away from the court last season to have baby, the specialist wing attack will take up a fulltime role with the NSW Swifts alongside Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke.
It was Nweke who essentially forced Netball NZ to revisit its eligibility rules when she joined the Swifts last year. Previously only players plying their trade in the New Zealand competition were eligible for national selection. But when the prolific shooter elected to take up a contract with the Swifts, the national body subsequently loosened their rules, which saw six players apply for and granted exemptions to still be able to play for the Silver Ferns.
The last time Crampton played with Nweke was at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, before Crampton made herself unavailable for international netball.
“It’s really nice having someone I know well coming into it but also she’s just such a huge person in the game at the moment and she’s just an amazing player so getting to feed her has been really awesome,” Crampton said.
While players in the SSN have enjoyed pay increases and access to world-class facilities, their counterparts in the ANZ Premiership face a different reality.
This year, players agreed to a 20 percent pay cut after Netball NZ were forced to rein in costs of the competition after their broadcast revenue took a massive hit before the 2025 season.
With no long-term broadcast deal in place beyond 2026, uncertainty continues to hover over the domestic competition.
“I’m sure that Netball New Zealand is doing everything they can to keep the competition running and having something solid back home. You want all the players to be able to get as much support as they can and not having to work on the side as well, that’s what we’d all be aiming for in terms of trying to be an elite environment and getting into that professional space,” Crampton said.
Maddy Gordon (right) will test herself against the best Australian players when she suits up for the Queensland Firebirds.AAP / www.photosport.nz
Just how well resourced the SSN is in comparison to New Zealand’s domestic competition, was obvious to Crampton from day one.
“That’s huge, I think there’s not much difference from coach to coach but just the resources and facilities and things that are available is definitely a step up.
“Just having your own changing room at the one stadium that you train at. At the Stars we sort of travelled all round South Auckland training at different venues and things like that.”
Crampton is excited to see how her old New Zealand team-mates go in the league. Cross town Sydney rivals, the Giants, signed former Silver Ferns Whitney Souness and Jane Watson.
“I’m quite close with Jane and excited to see how she goes. I’m sure she’s someone who was probably thinking she was getting near the end of her career and then this opportunity with the Giants showed up so I think it’s awesome to see we’ve got a few Kiwis in the competition and I think it will bring a bit of flair to the league hopefully.”
Watson said playing in the SSN had always been a goal of hers.
“When we had our old trans-Tasman competition, you’d always come over here and get a little bit of a taste of it, that was always something I thought would be amazing to do, I just didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to do it,” Watson said.
Watson, who won the ANZ Premiership title with the Tactix last year, said SSN players had what they needed at their finger tips.
“If I compare it to our Tactix facility, there’s definitely a lot more things to offer over here, pretty much everything is in one area but then you’ve got your recovery as well, you’ve got a cafe so you can have your lunch and then come back and do your next session so it’s definitely very well set up over here.”
When it comes to routine and attention to detail, Watson said some things were different.
“The likes of our footwork and agility drills we do at the start of trainings and things, that is one thing that stands out for me.”
Whitney Souness is hoping a season in the SSN will help enhance her Silver Ferns chances.Aaron Gillions / www.photosport.nz
Souness was named Giants captain last month and said she was thrilled to have the backing of her new team-mates so soon after joining the franchise.
The former Silver Fern is excited by the new challenge and eager to play against other import players from the likes of England, Jamaica, and South Africa.
“Being part of the ANZ for a long time, you just want to experience that competition and the SSN is obviously a competition we all look up to and getting to play some international players weekly, it challenges our game so it was always something that I looked at as a great opportunity to grow and further my game. It had been something I had been wanting to do for a while,” Souness said.
Souness, who is hoping to force her way back into the Silver Ferns, has played wing attack most of her career, but could also see some time at centre.
“I’m not sure, we’ve got a couple of us in the midcourt that can play both so I feel like it could be either wing attack or centre, I’ve been playing both at the moment so I guess it’s dependent on the combos and the teams we come up against.”
Kiwis playing in 2026 SSN
*Grace Nweke – NSW Swifts
*Kelly Jackson – Queensland Firebirds
*Maddy Gordon – Queensland Firebirds
*Kate Heffernan – Adelaide Thunderbirds
*Karin Burger – Sunshine Coast Lightning
*Whitney Souness – Giants
Jane Watson – Giants
Te Paea Selby-Rickit – Queensland Firebirds
Gina Crampton – NSW Swifts
* Have been granted an exemption
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Like many young, urban professionals, we run on coffee. We especially enjoy frequenting independently owned cafes that pride themselves on ethically sourced beverages, strong local ties and a hip aesthetic.
They’re the kinds of places that sneer at the homogenization and predictability of Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Dunkin and Starbucks.
What was up with all the exposed brick? Why did so many of the baristas look cooler than us, but also so similar to one another? And why did most menus appear on a chalkboard, as if we were still in kindergarten?
Weren’t we supposed to be in one-of-a-kind, authentic settings that make us feel unique and, let’s admit it, slightly elevated?
As it turns out, the visual patterns we noticed had never been backed up by research. So after a quick cortado, we set out to test our hunch that local coffee shops had adopted a uniform aesthetic.
Measuring homogeneity
We asked over 100 American and Canadian young professionals living in cities to share an interior image of their favorite independent coffee shop, describe why they liked the shop’s appearance, and document aspects of its interior design.
They could select these interior design features from a list of 23 common elements that we had identified in a pilot study – brick walls, marble counters, indoor plants, local art, vintage furniture and even the look of the baristas. Respondents could also write down other details they noticed.
Baristas led the pack: Two-thirds of the participants’ favorite local coffee shops had staff with tattoos or piercings. Over half had baristas with beards. Well over half of the respondents noted that their favorite shop had chalkboards, reclaimed wood features, local art, milk foam designs on beverages, local event posters and exposed brick. A large share of the shops had vintage furniture, community message boards and free books available to patrons to read. One-third of the images had indoor plants, trees or greenery.
Next up, we challenged the participants to identify the city where these coffee shops were located.
Using the images provided by the respondents from the initial survey, we asked 158 new and prior participants if they could match the location of the shops depicted in six photographs to Cincinnati, St. Louis or Toronto – cities chosen for their different architectural and aesthetic qualities.
Not a single participant was able to correctly identify the correct city for all the photos.
We gave respondents another chance by showing two pictures of coffee shops, one at a time. This time, the two shops were located in Chicago and San Francisco – again, places that pride themselves on their unique and recognizable design culture. They were now given the choice of these key cities to select from, as well as three wrong cities. Only 6% successfully located both coffee shops, and nearly 20% immediately gave up.
As one participant conceded: “Honestly, these aesthetics are very transferable now … they were random guesses and they could have been in any of the cities mentioned.”
In other words, independent coffee shops in North America have become so similar aesthetically that their location cannot be picked from a lineup. The purportedly unique and local feel of coffee shops has instead been homogenized into a singular, palatable, North American aesthetic.
Ironically, these shops have narrowed their aesthetics like a de facto brand franchise – exactly like the chain stores that their patrons ostensibly reject.
New Yorker cultural critic Kyle Chayka has attributed aesthetic homogenization to popular social media platforms like Instagram. He calls it the “tyranny of the algorithm”: Social media algorithms promote the visuals that users are most likely to engage with. This, in turn, causes the same types of visuals to be liked and shared, since users encounter them more often. Because the algorithm sees they’re popular, it continues to promote them, in a self-reinforcing cycle. In turn, coffee shop owners also see these online images and try to replicate them in their own establishments.
Artificial intelligence will likely accelerate the digital homogenization of visual culture, since AI models are trained on massive datasets that feature widely circulated images. Whether it’s popular fashion, architecture or interior design, idiosyncrasies are collapsing into a generic, hegemonic aesthetic – what scholars Roland Meyer and Jacob Birken call “platform realism.”
Finance plays a role as well. With the average cost of starting a new coffee shop between US$80,000 and $300,000, and with only a small share of coffee shops expected to stay open beyond five years, banks are keen to reduce their risk. Many of them will therefore ask aspiring coffee shop owners to opt for cheaper interior design choices that appeal to the broadest customer base.
The consumer also plays a role
But patrons of hip coffee shops may also be to blame.
Decades before the rise of social media, AI and financial risk management, scholars such as Sharon Zukin revealed how young urban professionals paradoxically embrace the homogenization of their environment in their quest for authenticity.
Those exposed brick walls? Zukin already described how Manhattan real estate brokers had marketed them to gentrifying SoHo yuppies in the early 1980s.
Like their predecessors, today’s hipsters, creative professionals and knowledge workers are essentially cultural and aesthetic consumers. Many of them crave visuals – from fashion to architecture – that are different enough to feel cool and authentic, yet safe enough to match their lifestyle and their social status. They want a tasty latte as much as a palatable interior to drink it in.
Businesses and developers are eager to appeal to these upwardly mobile consumers. At the same time, they want to reach the biggest number of customers. So they tend to create repeatable, homogenized environments in what Zukin describes as a “symbolic economy.”
In coffee shops, patrons want more than a good espresso. They want to immerse themselves in a “scene” that matches their lifestyle and aspirations. And the exposed brick and the vintage furniture do just that – even if they’ve been copy-and-pasted in cities, small and large, across the nation.
As we chase authenticity, we may just be finding comfort in carefully curated conformity.
Israel’s war on Iran reveals a deeper crisis: the collapse of a psychological doctrine built on fear and invincibility. The Palestine Chronicle reports.
ANALYSIS:By Ramzy Baroud
Israel’s military strategy has long relied on psychological dominance and deterrence built on overwhelming violence.
Massacres during the Nakba helped establish fear as a strategic tool to weaken Palestinian resistance.
Doctrines such as the Dahiya Doctrine and “mowing the grass” reinforced Israel’s image of invincibility.
The Gaza genocide and regional escalation have severely weakened Israel’s psychological deterrence.
The war on Iran may accelerate the collapse of Israel’s most important strategic asset: fear.
Wars are rarely fought only on battlefields. They are also fought in the minds of societies, in the perception of power and vulnerability, and in the political imagination of entire regions.
Israel understood this principle early in its history, and psychological dominance became a central component of its military doctrine.
From the earliest years of the Zionist project, the idea that power must appear overwhelming was openly articulated. In 1923, the Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky wrote in his famous essay The Iron Wall that Zionism would only succeed once the indigenous population became convinced that resistance was hopeless.
Only when Palestinians realised they could not defeat the Zionist project, he argued, would they accept its permanence.
The Nakba reflected the logic The events surrounding the Nakba of 1947–48 reflected this logic. Between 800,000 and 900,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee their homes, as hundreds of villages were destroyed or depopulated.
The expulsions occurred through a combination of direct military assault, forced displacement, and the collapse of Palestinian society under war.
Massacres played a crucial role in spreading fear. The killings at Deir Yassin in April 1948, in which more than 100 civilians were killed by Zionist militias, quickly reverberated across Palestine. But Deir Yassin was only one among many massacres that occurred during that period.
Killings in places such as Lydda, Tantura, Safsaf, and numerous other villages contributed to a climate of terror that accelerated the depopulation of Palestinian communities.
The psychological impact of these events was enormous. News of massacres spread from village to village, convincing many Palestinians that remaining in their homes meant risking annihilation.
The lesson was clear: war could function not only as a tool of conquest but as an instrument of psychological domination.
The Doctrine of Fear Over time, this approach evolved into a broader strategic culture that emphasised deterrence through overwhelming violence. Israel’s wars were designed not only to defeat enemies militarily but to reinforce a perception that resistance against Israel would always end in devastating consequences.
Israeli leaders have frequently expressed this philosophy openly. In the early years of the state, Moshe Dayan, one of Israel’s most influential military figures, famously declared that Israelis must be prepared to live by the sword.
The remark captured the belief that Israel’s survival depended on constant readiness to use force and on maintaining a reputation for military ruthlessness.
Decades later, Israeli leaders continued to frame the country’s identity in similar terms. In the mid-2000s, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak described Israel as a “villa in the jungle,” a phrase that reflected a worldview in which Israel saw itself as a fortified island of civilisation surrounded by hostile and supposedly barbaric surroundings.
This perception reinforced the idea that Israel must always project overwhelming strength. Any sign of weakness, according to this logic, would invite attack.
The doctrine took more concrete form in the early 21st century. During the 2006 war in Lebanon, Israeli strategists articulated what later became known as the Dahiya Doctrine, named after the Beirut suburb that was heavily bombed during the conflict.
The doctrine advocated massive and disproportionate force against civilian infrastructure associated with resistance movements.
The purpose was not only to destroy military targets but to inflict such devastation that entire societies would be deterred from supporting resistance groups.
A similar philosophy guided Israel’s repeated wars on Gaza. Israeli strategists began referring to these periodic campaigns as “mowing the grass.” The phrase suggested that Palestinian resistance could never be permanently eliminated but could be periodically weakened through short and devastating military operations designed to restore Israeli deterrence.
For decades, this strategy appeared to work. Israel’s military superiority, combined with unwavering American support, reinforced an image of invincibility that shaped political calculations across the Middle East.
But psychological dominance depends on belief, and belief can erode.
Gaza and the crisis of deterrence The first major rupture in Israel’s aura of invincibility occurred in May 2000, when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon after years of occupation and sustained resistance from Hezbollah. Across the Arab world, the withdrawal was widely interpreted as the first time Israel had been forced to retreat under military pressure.
Israel attempted to restore its dominance in the 2006 Lebanon war, but the outcome again challenged the image of decisive Israeli military superiority. Despite massive bombardment and ground operations, Hezbollah remained intact and continued to launch rockets until the final days of the conflict.
Yet the most profound blow to Israel’s psychological doctrine occurred decades later with the events surrounding October 7 and the war that followed.
Israel’s response to October 7 was the devastating Gaza genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were killed or wounded, and nearly the entire Strip was destroyed,
The scale of violence was unprecedented even by the standards of previous Israeli wars on Gaza. Yet the objective was not merely military retaliation or collective punishment. It was also an attempt to restore the psychological balance that Israel believed had been shattered.
This logic had been expressed years earlier by Israeli leaders. During Israel’s earlier war on Gaza in 2008–09, then-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni openly suggested that Israel must respond in a way that demonstrates overwhelming force: When Israel is attacked, “it responds by going wild — and this is a good thing”.
In other words, war itself functioned as psychological theatre. But the Gaza genocide produced a very different outcome.
The myth begins to collapse Modern wars unfold not only through military operations but through images that circulate instantly across the world. During the Gaza genocide, countless videos spread across social media showing Israeli armoured vehicles — including the once-feared Merkava tanks — being struck by relatively simple Palestinian anti-tank weapons.
For generations, Israel’s military power had been associated with technological invincibility. Suddenly, millions of viewers were witnessing something entirely different: a powerful army struggling against resistance fighters operating under siege conditions.
The war on Iran has intensified this psychological transformation.
For decades, Israeli society — and much of the region — believed that Israel’s territory was protected by an almost impenetrable defensive shield. The sight of waves of Iranian missiles striking targets inside Israel has therefore carried enormous symbolic weight.
These images challenge one of the most deeply embedded assumptions in Middle Eastern politics: that Israel is militarily untouchable.
At the same time, other actors are exploiting this shift in perception. Hezbollah continues to maintain significant military capabilities despite repeated Israeli attacks. Palestinian resistance groups remain active despite the devastation of Gaza.
Meanwhile, Ansarallah in Yemen has disrupted shipping routes in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, demonstrating how even non-state actors can reshape strategic realities.
Existential frame Israeli leaders themselves increasingly frame the current confrontation as existential. Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly described the war as a struggle for Israel’s survival, echoing earlier language about living by the sword.
Yet the deeper crisis may not be purely military. Israel remains one of the most heavily armed states in the world. But the aura of invincibility that once magnified that power is fading.
Once fear begins to disappear, restoring it becomes extraordinarily difficult.
And that may be the most important consequence of the war on Iran — not the destruction it produces, but the collapse of the psychological doctrine that sustained Israeli power for decades.
Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of eight books. His latest book, Before the Flood, was published by Seven Stories Press. His other books include Our Vision for Liberation, My Father was a Freedom Fighter and The Last Earth. Dr Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). This article was first published by The Palestine Chronicle and is republished here with permission. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L.HENDRIK SCHMIDT
Greenpeace is calling on the government to drastically cut the legal limit of nitrates in drinking water as the Danish government moves to drop its legal limit by almost 90 percent.
The Danish government plans to lower its limit to just over one milligram of nitrate-nitrogen per litre (mg/L) of drinking water, a steep drop from its current limit of 11.3mg/L.
New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L, but there was growing evidence of health impacts at levels as low as 1mg/L.
An expert group commissioned by the Danish government in 2024 to examine nitrate levels reported back late last year and recommended reducing the nitrate contamination limit to 1.3 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen.
Danish state broadcaster DR reported Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke had received the group’s recommendations and has committed to adopting them.
“It is an urgent matter. When there is such a clear conclusion from our independent experts, of course we have to react to it. There is no other choice,” DR reported the minister as saying.
Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said the organisation had sent an open letter to Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Health Minister Simeon Brown, urging them to follow the Danish government’s lead.
RNZ approached Watts and Brown for comment.
“The Danish government aren’t operating off a secret playbook or anything, they don’t know anything we don’t know. They’re just following the scientific evidence and choosing to prioritise people’s health. Meanwhile, our government is burying its head in the sand,” Appelbe said.
The panel’s report quoted 2023 University of Copenhagen research, which found lowering nitrate contamination would save 2.2 billion Kroner ($580m NZD) by preventing approximately 127 cases of bowel cancer per year linked to the current nitrate levels.
Fertiliser use was the primary source of nitrate contamination, the report said.
Appelbe said there was overwhelming evidence that the same was true in New Zealand.
“Anyone suggesting otherwise isn’t being particularly honest about what the science is telling us,” he said.
“We need to urgently take measures to reduce that risk. That means reducing cow numbers and reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.”
Appelbe said the government was more concerned with protecting dairy industry profits than human health and he called for reductions in the size of the dairy herd, an end to ongoing dairy expansions and limits to the use of nitrate fertiliser.
“The evidence is clear nitrate contamination is a risk to human health – there’s a growing body of evidence that says so – and the government needs to take action to lower the nitrate limit so people can rely on the drinking water they need.”
Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said nitrate contamination was a risk to human health.RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Rural communities were disproportionately affected and faced considerable costs installing filters to make their water drinkable, he said.
“We need, as a country, to have a grown-up conversation about nitrate contamination in drinking water – the evidence is pretty overwhelming on what’s causing it and there’s a growing body of evidence that links risks to human health.”
Appelbe said the current limit of 11.3mg/L is based on World Health Organisation guidance from the 1960s to avoid Blue Baby Syndrome, an acute illness that could affect babies.
A 2025 GNS Science research paper estimated there could be more than 21,200 people drinking water above the legal limit of 11.3 mg/L and 101,000 people drinking water above half that (5.65mg/L) across rural New Zealand.
The authors found Waikato, Canterbury and Southland were disproportionately affected by elevated levels of nitrate
New research from Australia’s Edith Cowan University and the Danish Cancer Research Institute found a link to early-onset dementia as low as 1.2mg/L with nitrates from processed meat and drinking water posing a higher risk, while nitrates from vegetables were associated with a lower risk.
The Canterbury Regional Council declared a nitrate emergency last year and there have been calls for Southland to do the same since the release of a regional council report mapping nitrate pollution across the region.
Canterbury’s dairy herd has increased by about 1000 percent since 1990 to well over a million cows.
Between 1990 and 2022, Southland’s dairy herd increased by 1668 percent from 38,000 to 668,000 cows.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Otago University was working with public health to contain the infection.RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Otago University has confirmed a case of meningococcal disease within the student community.
In an email to students, vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said the university was working with public health to contain the infection.
He said close contacts had been notified and offered antibiotic and vaccination protection.
Grant Robertson said the risk was low for the wider student community as the meningococcal disease infection was passed on only though close or prolonged contact with an infected person.
Meningococcal bacteria live in people’s noses and throats and are spread by coughing, sneezing, or contact with nose and throat secretions.
“Although the bacteria can be passed from person to person, it is relatively uncommon for even family contacts to become ill,” Robertson said.
He said it was important to know the symptoms and seek medical help quickly if students felt unwell. Symptoms could appear suddenly and may include:
Fever
Severe headache
Neck stiffness
Sensitivity to light
Nausea or vomiting
Cold hands and feet or limb pain
Drowsiness or difficulty waking
Confusion
A rash that does not fade when pressed.
“If you experience fever together with headache, neck stiffness, or feel suddenly very unwell, please seek medical help immediately.”
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Eggs from the country’s rarest parakeet, the kākāriki karaka, have been retrieved from a nest inside a Nelson sanctuary and flown to Christchurch in a bid to help the species recover.
More than 100 kākāriki karaka, or orange-fronted parakeet, were translocated into Nelson’s Brook Waimārama Sanctuary between 2021 and 2023, and their numbers have since doubled.
The kākāriki karaka is critically endangered and its estimated there are up to 450 birds left in the wild. There are two remaining wild populations in alpine beech forest valleys in Canterbury, the Hawdon and Hurunui South Branch.
Department of Conservation (DOC) and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu lead the recovery programme which is focused on monitoring and protecting the sites where kākāriki karaka are found, breeding birds in captivity to release into the wild, research, and finding safe new sites where the species can be introduced.
DOC kākāriki karaka recovery programme lead Wayne Beggs said the number of birds in the wild populations fluctuated wildly, peaking in 2020 and 2021 at around 300 birds before plummeting due to the impact of predators. Current estimates have between 50 and 60 birds in each valley.
DOC biodiversity ranger Megan Farley has been working with kākāriki karaka for 16 years and said harvesting their eggs was “incredibly challenging”.
The birds nest inside tree cavities and sanctuary volunteers had identified 12 nests for rangers to check, but only one nest was suitable to harvest eggs from.
Sean McGrath / Department of Conservation
In February, Farley carefully extracted five eggs from the nest cavity, one at a time, with a small scoop on the end of a pole. They were placed in a pouch, lowered down via a rope, put into a special padded case and flown to Christchurch, where they were taken to The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust centre.
Three of the eggs had since hatched under the care of a surrogate bird, an older infertile female who had raised most of the harvested eggs over the last few years.
She said it was the first time eggs had been taken from the sanctuary, as it was a relatively new population, and it had genetics that weren’t found anywhere else.
Farley said without harvesting eggs, the kākāriki karaka would be extinct.
“The purpose of the egg translocation is to keep the genetics flowing through the captive population and keeping all of our sites genetically viable because if that genetic transfer doesn’t happen, they start having more issues, like more infertility, as an example.”
The birds from the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary will remain in Christchurch and become breeding birds, with their offspring used to bolster the existing populations.
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary chief executive Chris McCormack said since the birds were first introduced into the sanctuary, they had seen remarkable growth in the population and a lot of work had gone in from staff and volunteers to ensure the first egg retrieval was a success.
Sean McGrath / Department of Conservation
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kākāriki karaka Species Representative Yvette Couch-Lewis said it was fantastic the population at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary was at the point it could support the genetic diversity of the wild populations.
“While Ngāi Tahu fully supports the need for this mahi currently, it is our aspiration that one day the wild populations of these manu can grow to the point that there will be less need for these kinds of interventions.”
The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust CEO Rob Kinney said the recovery of kākāriki karaka was a great example of what can be achieved when organisations work together with a shared purpose
“These kinds of collaborative partnerships are critical if we are going to see species like kākāriki karaka recover and thrive in the wild.”
As part of the recovery programme, 22 kākāriki karaka had recently been transferred from The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust and Orana Wildlife Park to the South Branch in North Canterbury.
DOC is still in the process of investigating new predator free sanctuaries and islands where new populations could be established, in order to safeguard the species if the mainland populations have another serious decline.
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New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L.HENDRIK SCHMIDT
Greenpeace is calling on the government to drastically cut the legal limit of nitrates in drinking water as the Danish government moves to drop its legal limit by almost 90 percent.
The Danish government plans to lower its limit to just over one milligram of nitrate-nitrogen per litre (mg/L) of drinking water, a steep drop from its current limit of 11.3mg/L.
New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L, but there was growing evidence of health impacts at levels as low as 1mg/L.
An expert group commissioned by the Danish government in 2024 to examine nitrate levels reported back late last year and recommended reducing the nitrate contamination limit to 1.3 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen.
Danish state broadcaster DR reported Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke had received the group’s recommendations and has committed to adopting them.
“It is an urgent matter. When there is such a clear conclusion from our independent experts, of course we have to react to it. There is no other choice,” DR reported the minister as saying.
Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said the organisation had sent an open letter to Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Health Minister Simeon Brown, urging them to follow the Danish government’s lead.
RNZ approached Watts and Brown for comment.
“The Danish government aren’t operating off a secret playbook or anything, they don’t know anything we don’t know. They’re just following the scientific evidence and choosing to prioritise people’s health. Meanwhile, our government is burying its head in the sand,” Appelbe said.
The panel’s report quoted 2023 University of Copenhagen research, which found lowering nitrate contamination would save 2.2 billion Kroner ($580m NZD) by preventing approximately 127 cases of bowel cancer per year linked to the current nitrate levels.
Fertiliser use was the primary source of nitrate contamination, the report said.
Appelbe said there was overwhelming evidence that the same was true in New Zealand.
“Anyone suggesting otherwise isn’t being particularly honest about what the science is telling us,” he said.
“We need to urgently take measures to reduce that risk. That means reducing cow numbers and reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.”
Appelbe said the government was more concerned with protecting dairy industry profits than human health and he called for reductions in the size of the dairy herd, an end to ongoing dairy expansions and limits to the use of nitrate fertiliser.
“The evidence is clear nitrate contamination is a risk to human health – there’s a growing body of evidence that says so – and the government needs to take action to lower the nitrate limit so people can rely on the drinking water they need.”
Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said nitrate contamination was a risk to human health.RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Rural communities were disproportionately affected and faced considerable costs installing filters to make their water drinkable, he said.
“We need, as a country, to have a grown-up conversation about nitrate contamination in drinking water – the evidence is pretty overwhelming on what’s causing it and there’s a growing body of evidence that links risks to human health.”
Appelbe said the current limit of 11.3mg/L is based on World Health Organisation guidance from the 1960s to avoid Blue Baby Syndrome, an acute illness that could affect babies.
A 2025 GNS Science research paper estimated there could be more than 21,200 people drinking water above the legal limit of 11.3 mg/L and 101,000 people drinking water above half that (5.65mg/L) across rural New Zealand.
The authors found Waikato, Canterbury and Southland were disproportionately affected by elevated levels of nitrate
New research from Australia’s Edith Cowan University and the Danish Cancer Research Institute found a link to early-onset dementia as low as 1.2mg/L with nitrates from processed meat and drinking water posing a higher risk, while nitrates from vegetables were associated with a lower risk.
The Canterbury Regional Council declared a nitrate emergency last year and there have been calls for Southland to do the same since the release of a regional council report mapping nitrate pollution across the region.
Canterbury’s dairy herd has increased by about 1000 percent since 1990 to well over a million cows.
Between 1990 and 2022, Southland’s dairy herd increased by 1668 percent from 38,000 to 668,000 cows.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Tawhai Reti says being away from his children to get treatment in Australia has been “horrible”.Supplied
A New Zealand blood cancer patient has been forced to leave his four children behind and make a last chance dash to Australia for treatment
His case has prompted dozens of doctors to write an open letter to the prime minister, pleading for change.
Tawhai Reti was 29 when he was diagnosed with myeloma in 2019.
After going through two stem cell transplants, Reti started on the last funded drug treatment available in New Zealand last year.
But his health continued to rapidly decline, and in December he developed pneumonia and sepsis.
Having exhausted all funded treatment options, he was told he had weeks to live.
The 37-year-old former shearer and his wife then made the difficult decision to leave their family and go to Australia to get drugs that are not funded here.
Reti’s wife Lani told Checkpoint they had spoken about moving to Australia in October, but were hesitant about leaving their children behind.
But after his rapid decline, Lani knew it was time to go.
“After a couple of weeks watching Tawhai just lying around, not able to do anything other than sleep and be in pain, I woke up and just realised I couldn’t accept it.
“He was dying right in front of my eyes.”
Tawhai Reti and wife Lani Reti.Supplied
Having lived and worked in Australia for a time while he was in remission, Reti still qualified for Medicare cover, and was able access daratumumab – the drug he needed for a chance at survival.
Daratumumab, or dara, is funded in Australia as well as more than 45 other countries, and has been on Pharmac’s “options for investment” list for years and is considered a high-priority drug – meaning it would fund it if it had the money.
Reti received his first dose of dara last week, something Lani said was a long-time coming.
“I can’t tell you how many tears we had when we found out that he was accepted for dara.
“It’s something that we’ve been fighting for such a long time and trying to spread awareness about and writing letters to the government to try and push for this so that we didn’t have to leave home. And within four weeks of being in Australia, he received his first dose.”
While finally being able to access the treatment has been a happy change for the couple, it had not been an easy ride.
The pair had to leave their four children at home in New Zealand with Reti’s sister.
In order for Reti to reach remission he will need to remain in Australia for at least a year, if not more.
He told Checkpoint being away from his children had been “horrible”.
“We’ve always sort of been a pretty close family… I see them every day, every night, every morning, know everything about them. Now it’s sort of just on the end of a phone.”
Fundraising done by the family through a Givealittle page helped them to travel to Australia, while still looking after their bills back home.
But now the money was running out.
“We have a mortgage, we have bills like everybody else, we also have four children at home.
“Sadly, I do have to come home. I am leaving next week and Tawhai will have to stay here by himself so I can come home and go back to work to help fund both our home and needs at home and [help] Tawhai stay here.”
Tawhai and Lani’s family have now set up another Givealittle page to help with their everyday expenses while Reti is in Australia.
‘Unnecessary loss of Kiwi lives’
Professor Judith Trotman, a New Zealand-trained haematologist working in Sydney, co-ordinated the open letter from 35 doctors, nurses and clinician researchers.
“We note with alarm the unnecessary loss of Kiwi lives,” it reads, because patients are deprived of access to treatments that are available globally and also missing out on clinical trials.
Professor Judith Trotman.Sam Hubel
Trotman is treating Reti, who suffers from myeloma, a form of blood cancer which disproportionately impacts Māori and Pacifica patients. Improving survival rates rested solely on access to drug treatments.
“I commend my patient and his wife on their grace and tenacity in facing this painful, progressive cancer. Having for so long been champions for New Zealand’s myeloma community, we now focus on his survival and recovery after his immunochemotherapy.”
Trotman said the “medical migrants” heading to Australia highlighted the fact that without access to medicines, they will die.
Meanwhile, doctors feel disempowered.
“The lack of modern medicine and technology access and the inability to run many clinical trials are key factors driving highly trained professionals away from New Zealand or prohibiting their return,” according to the letter.
A three-point plan put to the government calls for more funding for medicines that are considered ‘standard of care’ overseas, pointing out that only 0.4 percent of New Zealand’s GDP is spent on medicines, compared to the OECD median of 1.4 percent.
It also seeks a taskforce of experts to address blood cancer treatment in Aotearoa and asks for more support for research and development to make the country ”a credible and competitive destination for clinical trial research”.
The blood cancer specialists – backed by the Australasian Leukaemia Lymphoma Group and the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand – say Kiwi patients were also being left behind in accessing clinical trials.
“For these trials to return to New Zealand, access to what are now global standard-of-care comparator drugs is critical.”
Auckland haematologist Dr Rory Bennett was one of 35 healthcare professionals who signed the letter.
He told Checkpoint he was disturbed by the state of blood cancer therapy in New Zealand.
“We feel that there’s a clear gap between the standard of care that we can deliver here in New Zealand compared with what is achieved overseas, and that gap that is well established is continuing to widen.
“We are very worried about the future of blood cancer therapy in New Zealand and the welfare of New Zealanders with blood cancer.”
Bennet said he was frustrated by the situation, but ultimately it was about the patient, not the doctor.
“We find ourselves in difficult circumstances frequently and I feel incredibly sympathetic and sorry for the patients that we have that had they had they lived overseas would have been able to access a more successful or less toxic or frankly just even a therapy that wasn’t available in New Zealand.
“Those are hard conversations to have, but it’s not about us. It’s about the patients at the end of the day and what they are missing out on. And I think that that’s the hardest thing.”
He hoped that the letter will push the prime minister to work with healthcare professionals on moving blood cancer treatment forward.
“Engage with us… acknowledge the data, hear us out, work with us to try and work this through.
“We’re in a desperate, desperate state at the moment, New Zealanders are dying prematurely from blood cancer and we need to sort it out.”
‘Take us seriously and start listening’
Reti said the letter has left him with no words.
“It just blows me away every time.”
Lani hoped that after all their years of crying out for help, the letter will push the government into action.
“I really ask them. to take into consideration the 21,000 blood cancer sufferers in New Zealand that are dying every day because of the lack of funding, because of the lack of standard care.
“I would just strongly urge them to take this letter seriously, take us seriously and start listening and putting things in place for people to continue to be able to live long lives.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown said in a statement that improving cancer treatment and outcomes was a key priority.
“Last year we invested $27.1 million to expand stem cell transplant services, helping more patients access life-saving treatment sooner. This funding will strengthen the specialist workforce, increase hospital capacity, and upgrade infrastructure to support more timely transplants.”
Brown noted that Health New Zealand was actively recruiting for blood cancer specialist roles across the country.
“I encourage doctors currently working overseas who want to make a difference for Kiwi patients here at home to consider these opportunities.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Peeni Henare calls for politicians to “work to devolve power to communities and families”. (File image)VNP / Phil Smith
Outgoing Labour MP Peeni Henare has farewelled Parliament, telling MPs they needed to move away from “gotcha style politics” in his valedictory speech, saying they had a “role and responsibility” to rebuild trust in the institution of politics.
“I have seen this place work hard for the benefit of this country,” he told the House.
“I see it as a true mechanism of change, and we must protect it as a bastion of representative democracy when the world is turning against it.
“I am not surprised to see, however, the waning of trust and belief in this institution. We have a role and a responsibility each and every one of us to rebuild that trust.”
He also called for politicians to “work to devolve power to communities and families”.
Henare’s shock resignation was announced at Waitangi, after he confirmed he wasn’t contesting the Tāmaki Makaurau seat.
Following a messy media standup with Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Henare announced he was calling time on his 12-year Parliamentary career, citing exhaustion and a desire to spend more time focusing on his family and future.
Henare began his valedictory by speaking at length about all the staff who had worked with him.
“Mr. Speaker, in my 12 years here in Parliament, I have been truly blessed to have been served by so many amazing people.
“So with your indulgence, I would like to acknowledge them, for without them, my time here would have been very different, and I suspect, very difficult.”
The public gallery was filled with rangatira from Ngāpuhi, such as Waihoroi Shortland, Pita Tipene and Julian Wilcox, along with Henare’s family and his pick for who should replace him as the Labour candidate for Tāmaki Makaurau, Nathaniel Howe.
He acknowledged his son and daughters, and teared up while acknowledging his partner.
“Taku taringi [my darling], for too long, my dreams have been your dreams. It is now time for your dreams to be our dreams.”
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A woman has died after a car mounted the curb and ploughed into a cafe in Auckland.
The crash, about 9am on Wednesday, closed William Souter Street in the North Shore suburb of Forrest Hill.
Three people were initially hurt – one critically, one with moderate injuries and one with minor injuries. Two were taken to hospital.
Police have confirmed one of those injured had since died.
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
“We just heard a massive crash sound,” Jess, who works in a neighbouring store, told RNZ.
“I was out back and I thought maybe some of our shelves had fallen down, so I rushed out to the front of the store, and lo and behold, there’s just a car on the sidewalk.”
Jess said she and her manager both rushed out and could see that the car had “obviously” crashed into the cafe.
“The first thing we saw was obviously the lady that was really injured, she was lying on the ground and there was, like, another girl, it looked like quite a young girl, whose face was bleeding as well so there were like two very noticeably injured,” she said.
“And the first thing was just to call 111, just because obviously we saw that the lady who was hit was in a not so good situation, she was in a lot of pain and she kind of looked super, super confused so we called emergency right off the bat.
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
“The car obviously has taken out the door area, the whole glass panel, it’s almost like a split glass panel and the one glass panel is literally floating in mid-air.”
Jess said they then tried to keep people away from the entrance so there were no further injuries.
She credited another nearby worker.
“The cat doctor next door to us, there is a cat nurse, she was brilliant in that situation, she ran right across from the cat doctor and she sat on the ground with the injured lady and she just sat with her and talked her through it. She was amazing,” Jess said.
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
A worker at the cafe that was hit by the car said a woman and her daughter were sitting at the time.
“Very sad news to see today. Thinking of all those involved,” North Shore MP Simon Watts said in a post on Facebook.
St John sent three ambulances and two rapid response units.
Police said only one vehicle was involved.
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The families of victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings say the terrorist is a witness “like no other” and he should not be allowed to give oral evidence at a coronial inquest.
But a lawyer appointed to assist the court said the public deserves the most thorough and rigorous coronial inquest possible to ensure a similar horror does not happen again.
Survivors and families of victims of the March 2019 terror attack are fighting in the Court of Appeal to prevent terrorist Brenton Tarrant from giving evidence at the inquest into their loved ones’ deaths.
They are seeking judicial review of Deputy Chief Coroner Brigitte Windley’s decision to call him as a witness.
The High Court dismissed the application last year.
The second-phase inquest began in October 2024 and is examining how the terrorist came to obtain the guns used in the massacre.
It adjourned part-heard after objections were raised to the terrorist giving evidence.
A lawyer for some of the families, Nikki Pender, told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday that it was highly unusual for a coroner’s decision to be reviewed.
“This is an exceptional case, these are extraordinary circumstances, this particular witness is like no other witness.”
Pender said Sunday marked seven years since the massacres at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre, and the coronial inquest was extremely important to survivors and their families.
Tarrant not only murdered 51 people, he did so by invading and violating “a sacred place” during prayers, she said.
“That has resonated for years for the community.”
The therapeutic nature of the coroner’s court was highly visible in this specific inquest, and calling the terrorist as a witness would breach that, Pender said.
Each phase of the inquest started with a karakia and a recital from the Quran from Al Noor Mosque Imam Gamal Fouda, as well as a roll call of every victim’s name.
“They [the families] are at the heart of this… this is a safe space and therefore any decision to bring in this individual, to have him appear as a witness, needs to take account of the fact just how significant that is to the arena, to the jurisdiction that has been created, and to the safe space that has been created to those family members,” Pender said.
The coroner should have started from a presumption of whether it was absolutely necessary to invite Tarrant as a witness, Pender said.
Calling someone as a witness in an inquest could afford them a degree of mana and could dilute the aims of his life-without-parole sentence, as well as risking platforming his message of hate, she said.
“He has lost his right in public society, in civic society, and yet, if you call him as a witness too readily, what signal does that send?” Pender said.
“He does seem to enjoy the occasion in terms of the questions and answers and the interrogatories, and the community believe that it sends mixed messages – and if they’re a proxy for the public then … [the Coroner has] got to take note of that and just got to be really careful around that.”
The lawyer appointed by the court as a contradictor, Kerry Cook, said the Coroner’s decision to allow written and oral evidence from the terrorist was one that was “lawful, reasonable and proportionate”.
“The Coroner’s Act prioritises the public good associated with a full and independent investigation into the causes of death, and it prioritises that over subjective feelings – no matter how reasonably held – of abhorrence or difficulty in hearing from that particular person.”
Cross-examination was the best tool for testing the terrorist’s claims and excluding that evidence would leave a gap in the inquiry, Cook said.
The process of hearing live evidence and subjecting it to cross-examination might reveal information or bring to light inconsistencies and details otherwise not known, he said.
Coronial inquests were rigorous, fact-finding inquiries and required the coroner to make evidence-based recommendations or comments in public, he said.
Constraining evidence in the inquest risked the coroner making incorrect decisions and the conclusions might reflect only “what was allowed to be seen, rather than what actually occurred”.
“To stop something similar happening in the future, you must clearly understand what caused it to happen in the past,” Cook said.
The community wanted a thorough inquiry and to have all relevant evidence before it, even if it was uncomfortable, he said.
Another lawyer assisting the court, Sarah Jerebine KC, said any oral evidence the terrorist gave in the inquest and the cross-examination could be restricted to suppression orders decided by the coroner.
She said she had huge sympathy for what survivors and families had experienced and the test of deciding whether the terrorist should be orally cross-examined fell on whether the evidence was necessary, whether it met the interests of justice and balanced against the harm done to the families.
Justice Sarah Katz, Justice Jillian Mallon, and Justice Matthew Palmer reserved their decision.
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Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon says hard conversations need to be had.Supplied/ Facebook
Selwyn District Council is attempting to drastically limit rates rises this year but the plan comes with some caveats.
Councillors agreed on Wednesday to consult the public on an average rates increase of 5.4 percent.
Ratepayers would also be asked to give feedback on options of 4.9 percent and 6.5 percent – all had different trade-offs.
The preferred option was less than half of last year’s hike of 14.2 percent.
However, all options excluded water charges which were now handled by a separate company – Selwyn Water Ltd.
Councillors were also searching for savings by possibly shifting some costs from general rates to user-pays.
That could result in increases to building consent costs, aquatic and fitness class fees, and dog registration fees.
The council would also have to reduce its library programmes and exhibitions to achieve the 5.4 percent increase.
Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon said there would need to be some hard conversations with the community.
“My view around community services is not to try and cut everything but to look at how we do it and work smarter with what we do have to provide benefit for our community as well,” Gliddon said.
“This is our first annual plan as a new council and it reflects what we heard clearly during the election – that rates affordability matters and the council must live within its means while continuing to deliver essential services,” she said.
The draft plan said the rates increase could be reduced to 4.9 percent by significantly reducing recruitment at Selwyn District Council for the next year, removing some roles from budgets and significantly reducing consultant costs.
It was not recommended by staff, who said it could affect the council’s ability to meet its legal obligations and deliver services.
The plan included investments in roading upgrades and maintenance, Lincoln’s town centre, replacement of the Whitecliffs Bridge and remediation of the Leeston Medical Centre.
The plan said they were needed to support the district as it was one of the fastest growing areas in the country.
The council was predicting $213.6 million in revenue during the next financial, while it would spend $196.5m on operating expenses and $86m on capital infrastructure.
Consultation opens on Monday.
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There are calls for fuel rationing following the effective closure of Hormuz Strait as a result of the war in the Middle East which has caused the price of oil to fluctuate.
Chairperson Nathan Surendran told Checkpoint on Wednesday the plan and rationing should be activated as a precaution.
“So rather than waiting for us to hit an issue, if we did not receive one of the deliveries that we are supposedly contracted to do, but which force majeure measures implemented by our suppliers may lead to not arriving, then, yeah, it’s something that we really should take seriously.”
Having an adequate fuel supply was critical for New Zealand’s economy, Surendran said.
“The critical question isn’t what’s here now, it’s whether the next round of deliveries will arrive.
“Australia’s wholesalers are rationing deliveries to petrol stations, despite that nation having 36 days of reserves and two domestic refineries, New Zealand has neither, and I’d rather be accused of raising the alarm too early and being wrong than staying quiet and being right.”
The Wise Response Society was calling for the government to tell the public how much physical fuel was in New Zealand, as well as to activate the National Fuel Security Plan, and begin rationing.
“We’ve got the Petroleum Demand Restraint Act, which gives the government the power to implement rationing by order of the Governor-General,” Surendran said.
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Last month, the government agreed to reduce Auckland’s minimum housing capacity from roughly two million to 1.6 million in the coming decades. That is still 400,000 more than the 1.2 million under its current Unitary Plan.
Mayor Brown said his council would be asking the government to allow more housing density within 10 kilometres of the city, where there is good public transport and infrastructure.
Sally Hughes, from the Auckland heritage group the Character Coalition, said she was worried about what the council’s plans would mean for suburbs with historic architecture.
“We’re very concerned about Kingsland, Mount Eden, and the North Shore, which are all included in that 10km where intensification isn’t going to be reduced. We’re very unhappy about that decision,” Hughes said.
Auckland Councillors are yet to see any of the more than 10,000 public submissions it received on a future housing plan for Auckland last year.
About 50 council staff were working to summarise the feedback for councillors to review in the next few months.
Mayor Wayne Brown said his council would be asking the government to allow more housing density within 10 kilometres of the city.RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Hughes said the public’s concerns should be heard before any decisions are made.
“A number of councillors have expressed concern that they were making this decision, including the arbitrary 10km, without seeing any of the submissions,” she said.
“That’s our concern, too. We fear Aucklanders aren’t being listened to.”
Long-time Parnell resident Laurie Mayne said he, along with two other people, including his wife Stephanie, had brought on a lawyer and an economist to put an alternative proposal to the council and the government.
They are proposing that intensification be restricted to the city centre, metropolitan centres, and within 800 metres of rapid transit stops, with greenfield development making up the rest of the housing capacity required.
“The threat for the likes of my wife and I, and every other Parnell resident and every other Ponsonby and Mount Eden resident, is not that we will be inundated with 15-storey buildings. We’re not concerned about that because that’s not an issue. That will never happen,” Mayne said.
“What we’re concerned about is the theft of our property rights by a developer coming in, being enabled to and encouraged to build a 15-storey apartment building right on my boundary.
“That’s what’s getting people in Auckland, rightly very wound up.”
St Georges Bay Road in Parnell, Auckland.RNZ / Marika Khabazi
He said their proposal could deliver the 1.6 million capacity needed.
But Jon Reeves, of the Public Transport Users Association, welcomed the council’s decision.
He said the government had invested a lot in improving the city’s public transport network, including the City Rail Link, which was due to open later this year.
“It would make logical sense to increase housing and intensification around the public transport nodes. We obviously want more bums on seats to help pay for the investment,” Reeves said.
But he said there was a balance to strike.
“We don’t want to just demolish every heritage area to put up large apartment blocks. Places like Parnell, you have to weigh it up. Do we want to demolish what character is left there or not, and that’s a question that not only the council but residents should have a say about.”
Director of the transport advocacy website Greater Auckland, Matt Lowrie, also agreed with the mayor’s approach.
“It makes sense that the focus of intensification will be in the areas closest to the city centre, on good public transport routes, and in town centres. Those are the areas where there’s the highest amenity and the most attractiveness for development, and also the best transport links to the city centre, where a lot of people are working,” Lowrie said.
“There’s a whole lot of noise that’s gone on from people who have been successful in the past in forcing development out to the fringes in places like Flatbush, leading to people having long commutes because they’ve tried to prevent housing in their areas.
“What we’re seeing now is housing being put in the places where it should be put, which is close to the city.”
He believed people did not need to be fearful about suburbs being taken over by high-rises.
“Just because something is zoned for an apartment doesn’t mean that it’s going to be built.
“For example, we’re already seeing where zoning allows for five-and-six-storey apartments, two to three-storey townhouses are being built instead.
“That’s a key point that often people miss about this. It’s just allowing development, should people want to. But those locations close to train stations and busway stations are ideal for more homes.”
Final decisions about Auckland’s housing needs aren’t expected to be made until mid-2027.
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For years, long-range electric trucks seemed impossible. But much has changed in a short time. Rapid improvements to batteries and chargers mean battery electric trucks are already viable for urban and short-range trucks. In December, battery-electric and hybrid trucks outsold conventional trucks in China for the first time.
For trucking fleet managers, this is both crisis and opportunity. Some will wonder whether it’s time to go from trialling electric trucks to deployment. Cheaper running costs are one drawcard for going electric – but there are others. As a manager involved in a trial told the ABC:
I was sceptical at the start. I still love proper diesel trucks. But this thing was light years ahead. It was significantly faster uphill, kept up with traffic easily, and the torque delivery was immediate.
What’s wrong with diesel?
Until the 1960s, most of Australia’s freight was carried by train. After that, trucking started to take over.
These days, diesel trucks dominate due to their high power, long range and quick refuelling.
Diesel for many heavy trucks is even subsidised through the government’s Fuel Tax Credit Scheme. This costs the public purse more than A$10 billion a year and acts as a barrier to cleaner options.
The problem is, diesel trucks are a big contributor to transport emissions, which will soon be Australia’s largest source of emissions. Air pollution from diesel costs us around $6.2 billion a year. Australia imports almost all its liquid fuels, exposing the freight sector to volatile global oil markets.
Australian diesel prices closely follow the international benchmark of Brent crude. Diesel typically trades at a premium of A$14-28 per barrel above crude.
Are electric trucks ready for the job?
New heavy-duty electric trucks can travel 400–500 kilometres on a single charge, making them suitable for many regional freight routes and long distance corridors. Some models have battery warranties good for 1.5 million km, or aerodynamic performance much better than diesel.
The new megawatt charging standard can charge large truck batteries in roughly 30–60 minutes. This is compatible with the rest breaks long-haul drivers are required to take.
Battery swapping is also gaining traction. Instead of waiting for a truck to recharge, the depleted battery can be switched for a fully charged one in just a few minutes.
China is leading the shift to electric freight, deploying large numbers of trucks and dedicated charging infrastructure along major logistics corridors. More than 200,000 are sold each year in China.
Electric truck battery swapping in less than 5 minutes.
More expensive to buy, much cheaper to run
Electric trucks are more expensive to buy. The real attraction is in their cheaper running costs. Consider a simplified example of a medium-duty delivery truck.
To drive 100km, a diesel truck would burn roughly 35 litres of diesel, depending on vehicle size, load and driving conditions. At about $2.30 per litre this week, that’s roughly $80.
To go the same distance, an equivalent electric truck uses an average of 130 kilowatt-hours. At a commercial rate of 30 cents per kWh, that’s about $39 – roughly half the cost of diesel.
For truck fleets travelling tens of thousands of kilometres each year, those savings can add up quickly – even before the lower maintenance costs that come with much simpler engines. Analyst David Leitch estimates going electric for trucks on the Melbourne-Sydney route could be financially worthwhile in 2–4 years.
What are the barriers?
Electric trucks cost roughly 1.3–2.4 times the price of a diesel equivalent, due largely to battery costs. This gap is closing. Prices have fallen 50% over the past five years.
Heavy trucks have to be charged at extremely high power – often hundreds of kilowatts or even megawatts. This means truck depots and freight corridors will need major electrical upgrades. Dedicated truck-charging hubs are starting to be announced along major freight routes.
The charging issue creates a familiar chicken-and-egg problem. Fleet operators are reluctant to commit if there aren’t enough chargers, while investors are unwilling to build large charging hubs until more trucks are on the road.
Electric trucks are only now emerging in Australia. A growing number of fleet trials are underway, while major logistics operators already use electric trucks on urban delivery routes with predictable distances and overnight depot charging.
Several manufacturers now offer electric trucks, from medium-duty city delivery vehicles to heavy-duty prime movers. Volvo is expected to begin building heavy-duty models in Brisbane this year.
State governments and industry groups have backed trials to better understand how these vehicles perform under Australian conditions – long distances, heavy loads and high temperatures.
Some heavy-duty electric trucks will be built locally at Volvo’s Wacol factory in Brisbane.Volvo
The road ahead
If the barriers are addressed, the economic case for electric trucks could become compelling. Lower running costs, less reliance on oil markets, and improved air quality all strengthen the argument for electrifying freight. Truck drivers favour them for their smoother, quieter ride.
Rising oil prices remind us of how dependent Australia and many other countries are on imported fossil fuels. Electric trucks won’t replace diesel overnight. But their advantages are getting ever clearer.
French Polynesia’s President Moetai Brotherson says growing global instability is a reminder that Pacific nations must strengthen cooperation within the region.
Speaking to PMN News in an exclusive interview, Brotherson said the Pacific must focus on deeper partnerships with neighbours such as New Zealand to build resilience against external shocks.
“When we see the turmoil in the world, it’s a reminder to us, as all the Pacific Island nations, that our first and foremost vicinity is our region,” Brotherson said.
“We have to increase cooperation between ourselves to make us more resilient to outside crises.”
Brotherson has held the presidency since 2023 and previously represented French Polynesia’s third constituency in the French National Assembly from 2017.
He made the comments following discussions with New Zealand Foreign Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters during Peters’ visit to French Polynesia.
Peters described the meeting as a unique opportunity to strengthen ties between Pacific neighbours.
“We had a very good, quite unique discussion,” he said.
‘Pretty special’ “Where in the world would you sit down like that, with a president, and have a friendly New Zealand-type discussion, or Pacific-type discussion? It’s pretty special.”
Peters said New Zealand must place greater importance on its relationships in the region.
“We underrate the value of this. Because when we talk about the Pacific, it’s not our backyard like we used to say decades ago,” he said.
“It’s our front yard. And the sooner we understand that, the better.”
Brotherson said the historical, cultural, and genealogical ties between the two nations provided a foundation for closer cooperation.
He said collaboration could cover areas such as climate adaptation, maritime and air connectivity, digital infrastructure, and economic development.
“We have many areas of cooperation that needed to be discussed, and these were the topics that were addressed during our meeting,” he said.
Geopolitical competition The French Polynesian leader also raised concerns about the growing geopolitical competition in the Pacific, particularly between the United States and China.
“We don’t want to align with anyone. I mean, either China or the US,” he said. “We want to be able to discuss with everyone and to have relationships, be it cultural or economic relationships with everyone.”
The Pacific has become an increasingly contested strategic region in recent years, with China expanding its economic and infrastructure partnerships with several island nations.
The United States and its allies have also increased diplomatic engagement, development funding, and security cooperation.
Climate change remains another major concern, particularly for the low-lying atolls of the Tuamotu archipelago — the world’s largest chain of coral atolls, located in French Polynesia northeast of Tahiti.
The French territory consists of 118 volcanic islands and coral atolls across five archipelagos in the South Pacific. Comprising 78 low-lying atolls (like Rangiroa and Fakarava) spread over 3.1 million sq km, this destination is renowned for its remote, pristine lagoons, world-class scuba diving, and black pearl farming
“They are facing the same issues as Tuvalu or other Pacific island nations that are at the forefront of climate change and the sea level rise,” Brotherson said.
‘Salination of water’ “What we are seeing currently is a salination of the water lentils on those atolls, rendering life very hard. It’s not impossible.
“So water management is going to be a real issue in the upcoming years related to climate change but you also have the coastal erosion that we have to tackle.”
The President of the Government of French Polynesia and the Foreign Minister of New Zealand.
For communities on these low-lying atolls, the impacts of climate change are already being felt through declining freshwater supplies, erosion, and pressure on traditional food sources.
Brotherson also reiterated his support for greater political sovereignty for French Polynesia. He said economic development and resilience must come first.
French Polynesia enjoys a high degree of autonomy under France, which retains control over defence, currency, and aspects of foreign policy.
Brotherson said the pathway toward greater sovereignty must be gradual and carefully managed.
He added that economic resilience will be key before any move toward full independence and said the territory could achieve political sovereignty within the next 10 to 15 years.
“It’s all about interdependencies, that’s how we’re going to build independence. When it comes to strengthening our economy, you know, we still have a lot of work to do on food security, on energy transition, and then we’ll be able to be more confident as a nation.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZand PMN News.
The past 48 hours in Australia has showcased the dramatic complexities of the country’s migration and asylum landscape, and the power of ministerial intervention in this federal portfolio.
On the one hand, the federal government pulled out all stops to safeguard members of the Iranian women’s soccer team from returning to Iran – after competing in Australia at the Asian Women’s Cup – by providing them with refugee status.
On the other hand, as this drama was unfolding in Queensland and then Sydney Airport, the government announced it was also introducing legislation to ban people entering Australia for set periods of time if they held temporary visas from designated countries.
So, why have authorities bent over backwards to help some people stay in Australia, while banning others from entering the country?
How the soccer players were helped
The Iranian soccer team drama started when players refused to sing the national anthem before their first match on the Gold Coast.
The silent protest sparked fury in Iran, with the athletes labelled “war traitors” on state television. It is a crime that attracts the death penalty in wartime in Iran.
Then on Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed two more people (a player and a support staffer) had sought asylum in Australia.
He said the rest of the group – with the exception of a “small number” – were given a chance to discuss their options with Department of Home Affairs officials before the flight home. Some spoke with family members but ultimately declined the chance to stay.
A toughening of immigration laws
As Australian officials were helping the Iranian soccer team, news broke the federal government was planning to toughen immigration laws by banning people from some countries travelling to Australia even if they held valid visitor visas.
Assistant Minister for Citizenship Julian Hill introduced the proposed laws to parliament only ten days after US/Israel-Iran war began.
This action could be seen as a way of future-proofing the case of the Iranian women’s soccer team being repeated on a wider scale.
No specific countries were listed but this could be applied to citizens from Iran or any other country affected by the current Middle East conflict, or future conflicts.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong defended the timing of the announcement on ABC’s Radio National:
I know there’s been some political criticism but it should be based on fact. It’s not legislation that targets humanitarian visas – it’s legislation which enables us to manage temporary visas. We have to work out how we manage our borders in the context of a very large-scale event.
The law, if passed, would likely be used to prevent some people from nominated countries from travelling to Australia if their visa was issued before the US and Israel struck Tehran, and if there are concerns they may overstay their visa or apply for protection while in Australia.
Power would rest with the minister for Home Affairs to determine the specific countries and visas this would apply to – for instance student, tourist or business visas.
People holding valid visitor visas would have paid their visa application fees and possibly already made travel arrangements. They might be coming to study or visit family.
The federal government is concerned about a possible influx of immigrants as conflict continues in the Middle East.
Some endure long waits
Managing borders in the instance of a large-scale event was treated very differently by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke who offered asylum to about 42,000 Chinese students after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
Other groups of Iranians living in Australia have not received similarly preferential treatment like the soccer players.
For instance, several hundred Iranians are in the so-called “legacy” caseload of people who claimed asylum in Australia more than a decade ago and are still waiting for permanent visas.
Iranians who have been granted postgraduate research (student) visas waiting to take up their places in Australian universities could be affected if the proposed changes go through, delaying their chance to travel.
Additionally there are Iranian students currently studying in Australia who may be unable or unwilling to return to Iran after the completion of their studies.
Migration policies should be equitable
Australia’s migration program is complex, resulting in a form of “manifactured precarity”.
Just three weeks ago, Australian women and children – families of so-called Islamic State fighters – were refused permission to return. This was despite groups like Save the Children calling for their safe and dignified return on humanitarian grounds.
Fit for purpose migration policies need comprehensive approaches that are transparent and applied equitably.
Policy on the run, as we’ve seen in the case of the legacy caseload of people on temporary visas and the Iran soccer team drama, can lead to bigger issues down the track.
Matt Canavan was once Barnaby Joyce’s staffer, and later his closest ally and most vociferous spruiker. Not to mention his best political friend.
Now, in selecting Canavan as their new leader, the Nationals have chosen him to spearhead the party’s life-and-death fight against One Nation. Its latest weapon is Joyce, who defected from the Nationals late last year.
Canavan can perhaps thank the surge in One Nation’s vote in recent months for his leadership victory. It’s a direct response to this threat. After the 2025 election, Canavan only received seven votes when he ran against David Littleproud, who quit the leadership unexpectedly on Tuesday.
Canavan is right wing and hard line, but not uniformly or predictably so. He’s not just anti-net zero but aggressively pro-coal. On the other hand, he openly expressed concerns about the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran, which was at odds with the Coalition’s position.
Having formerly worked for the Productivity Commission, Canavan has a good economic background, although the commission would look askance at some of the views he espouses nowadays on economic questions.
He is a strong communicator – his very direct speech cuts through, whether people agree with him or not.
Canavan doesn’t shy away from a fight, and he won’t be inhibited when the battle is against Joyce. He was appalled and outspokenly critical of Joyce’s defection.
Historically, the Nationals have always done best when they have had strong leaders. Canavan can be expected to lead from the front, and it will be interesting to see how the party room, used to Littleproud asking them their view about everything, will find the new regime.
Canavan entered the Senate from Queensland in 2014 and served as resources minister in the Coalition government. In 2020 he resigned from the cabinet to support Joyce’s attempt to dislodge Michael McCormack from the Nationals’ leadership,
Having its leader in the Senate (for the first time) will have its inconveniences for the National Party. On the other hand, Canavan will often be facing off against Pauline Hanson. At the next election he will seek to move to the lower house, especially if, as seems likely, Michelle Landry retires from her seat of Capricornia, where he lives.
What will Angus Taylor think of the choice of Canavan? He will be pleased the Nationals will have a powerful voice and a good campaigner. But Taylor is a conventional economic dry, which Canavan is not. How their differences will work out will be a test for both.
The Nationals have chosen Victorian Darren Chester as deputy. This will be another match with its potential frictions. Chester is on the left of the Nationals. His views on some issues will be a useful counterweight to Canavan’s, but their challenge will be to manage divergences.
Canavan will have to get used to the discipline leadership requires. He previously declined to serve on the opposition frontbench so he could be free to speak and act as he wished. He crossed the floor at will, including last week when he voted to censure Hanson over her anti Muslim comments while the opposition wanted to take a softer position.
Canavan hopped into Hanson at his first news conference as leader:
“Identity politics of division that we’ve seen on the left is creeping into the right now. And I was very critical of Pauline’s comments, dividing Australians into different groups, suggesting there are no good in certain groups of Australians. I totally reject that. We are all Australians.
“What unites us as a country is more than what divides us. Even when we have these robust debates, we have a wonderful country with wonderful people from all different backgrounds, religions, etc. And I’m sorry, I worry about where Pauline is.”
Meanwhile Hanson was quick to the draw, tweeting that “Canavan has joined the woke pile on, choosing to attack One Nation instead of opening the door to working together in Australia’s interests”.
Joyce had another take. In what he described as a “first volley” he told Sky News, “I think there’ll be a lot of similarities between Matt, myself, and Pauline. Not so much Darren [Chester]. The trouble is there won’t be the same similarities between Matt, myself, Pauline and the Coalition.
“I know Matt strongly believes in income splitting. […] So do you still believe in income splitting?
“I know that Matt does not believe in net zero nor the Paris agreement. But does he now believe in the Paris agreement?”
Joyce threw out a very cheeky challenge. “Are the Nationals going to be the deputy of the Coalition, or will the Liberals immediately continue to shut them down?
“Because now you’ll have the leader of the Liberal party in the house […] and then it becomes whether it’s Matt or Jane as the deputy of the Coalition in the Senate.”
Joyce says he’s looking forward to the contest with his old mate. “You know, when you play first grade, you want to play with the first graders. That’s how you judge yourself.” The Nationals had been hopeless, he said.
When it was put to him that Canavan was a potent communicator and a smart politician, Joyce quipped, “I trained him well”.
He then pulled himself up. “That’s hubris. I don’t mean that. He trained himself.
“I think the biggest issue is – I know Matt, I know him very well, and he is an exceptional guy and a good fella. But his policy beliefs are just a million miles away from where a lot of the Liberal party are. And to be quite frank, they’re quite a distance away from where Darren is.”
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has released its much-anticipated investigation into the six people referred by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
The report reveals the identity of the referred people, which was previously not public knowledge: five bureaucrats and former prime minister Scott Morrison, who was social services minister at the time.
NACC found that two of the six individuals (Mark Withnell and Serena Wilson) had committed serious corrupt conduct. Notably, Morrison had no findings of corruption made against him.
Why did NACC decide to investigate?
On July 6 2024, the Robodebt royal commission referred six people involved in the Robodebt scheme to the NACC.
Initially the NACC declined to investigate, stating that the issues had been fully ventilated by the royal commission.
Following hundreds of complaints from the public about this decision, the inspector of NACC conducted an investigation into NACC’s decision not to investigate. She found it was flawed due to the NACC’s commissioner’s conflict of interest with one of the referred persons.
Former High Court judge Geoffrey Nettle was then appointed in December 2024 to reconsider whether and how the NACC should deal with the referrals. Nettle determined each referral raised a corruption issue under the NACC act, and it was in the public interest for the NACC to conduct a corruption investigation.
This finally prompted the NACC to decide to investigate the matter. This investigation was conducted by a deputy commissioner, Kylie Kilgour, to avoid a conflict of interest.
NACC held private hearings for this investigation, where the six referred people and 33 witnesses were called to give evidence. There were no public hearings.
What were the main findings?
The investigation found that two of the six referred people had committed serious corrupt conduct.
The commission found that Mark Withnell (previously general manager of business integrity at the Department of Human Services) engaged in corrupt conduct by intentionally misleading officers of the Department of Social Services in 2015 in preparing a submission to the Expenditure Review Committee of Cabinet of the Robodebt scheme proposal.
It also found that Serena Wilson (previously secretary at the Department of Social Services) engaged in corrupt conduct by intentionally misleading the ombudsman in 2017 during the ombudsman’s own investigation into the Robodebt Scheme. Wilson had concealed from the ombudsman legal advice that the Robodebt scheme was unlawful, and made misleading statements about the scheme.
However, NACC also concluded there was insufficient admissible evidence to establish the alleged offences against either Withnell or Wilson beyond reasonable doubt. It was therefore not appropriate to refer them to the director of public prosecutions.
NACC found Scott Morrison did not engage in serious corrupt conduct. This was because he was entitled to rely on departmental advice. The report lays the responsibility for misleading Cabinet on the public servants.
Is this adequate?
Key admissions and statements made during NACC investigations are not admissible in criminal proceedings.
This is because anti-corruption commissions often have extraordinary powers to abrogate fundamental privileges that normally apply to legal proceedings. These include legal professional privilege, public interest immunity and the privilege against self-incrimination. These privileges are necessary in order to allow anti-corruption commissions to uncover acts of corruption without impediment.
However, the abrogation of privileges is always twinned with “use immunity”. This prevents the compelled evidence from being used against the individual in a criminal prosecution, ensuring it is used for investigation rather than for the punishment of that person.
On the one hand, we now have a full ventilation of the truth of the matter and the role of each person in this sorry saga, both through the Royal Commission and the NACC investigation. And we have findings these two public servants have engaged in serious corrupt conduct.
However, as the public servants are not likely to be criminally prosecuted, it is unclear what other repercussions there will be beyond reputational damage.
More tellingly, the Robodebt scheme has exposed fundamental failings in our system of public administration. Public servants have lost power over the decades, with the rise of ministerial advisers and senior bureaucrats being in fixed-term contracts and in constant fear of losing their jobs. As a result, it is more difficult for public servants to provide “frank and fearless advice” – they are instead often focused on pleasing the minister. In the case of Robodebt, the public servants manoeuvred to put together this unlawful scheme that has caused significant harm to hundreds of thousands of Australians.
The Robodebt royal commission lambasted the scheme as an “extraordinary saga” of “venality, incompetence and cowardice”.
We also have a situation where ministers are able to evade responsibility for these policy choices. This is because they have plausible deniability. They can simply use the phrase: “I was not advised”. As long as they are careful enough, they can simply blame their advisers when things go horribly wrong. Here, the minister who orchestrated the whole scheme is not fully held accountable.
The Robodebt scheme shows the rise of automation in government may lead to significant harm. Therefore, stronger safeguards are needed before we deploy such technologies.
The NACC’s investigation has provided us with detailed examination of the conduct of the six people who were primarily responsible for the Robodebt scheme. It has shown some of these actions have amounted to serious corrupt conduct.
But there are broader issues at stake here. If we want to avoid another Robodebt, the government needs to look at broader reform on automated government decision-making and measures to strengthen the public service.
Will Warbrick scores a try for Melbourne Storm in the NRL Grand Final.AAP/Photosport
With his NZ Warriors linked to a high-profile signing across the Tasman, coach Andrew Webster warns to take the NRL rumour mill with a grain of salt.
Australian media reports the Auckland club has made strong advances on Melbourne Storm wing Will Warbrick, who is off contract this season and looking for a landing place in 2027.
Warbrick, 28, is a former All Blacks Sevens star, who won Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, before switching codes and bringing up 50 games with the Storm last year. When he debuted for NZ Kiwis in 2024, he effectively became a triple international – he had also played for the NZ Aussie Rules side as a teenager.
Webster usually steers well clear of discussing contract rumours and was clearly in neither-confirm-nor-deny mode at the Warriors’ weekly media session, but also urged caution over such speculation.
“If he were to come here or if it were to eventuate, I would comment more, but at this stage, he’s off contract, as are another 40-50-60 players in the NRL,” he said. “Every player we get tagged to, we just can’t be commenting straight away.”
Often, these rumours are simply a case of managers creating a market for their players by driving up demand. If a player is supposedly talking to one club, he can leverage that to ask more from another.
“I honestly believe most of the time it is, but not all the time,” Webster agreed. “Because I’m in the know, I look at it case by case, and I’ll either laugh or say, ‘Jeez, they’re onto something there’.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster.DAVE HUNT/Photosport
“A lot of the time, we’re linked to players that we’re not even close to signing or I get a text message from someone saying, ‘I heard so-and-so is starting tonight’, but no, they’re not.
“I don’t know where it comes from, but sometimes where there’s smoke, there’s fire and sometimes they’re just miles off. Sometimes they’re just trying to pump up the price.”
That same rumour mill has current Warriors co-captain Mitch Barnett landing with the Brisbane Broncos next year, when he leaves the club early and returns across the ditch for family reasons.
The Warbrick signing would make sense for the Warriors, with veteran wing Roger Tuivasa-Sheck also off contract this year.
“Will’s career so far has been awesome, going from rugby and given a shot at rugby league with Melbourne,” Tuivasa-Sheck said. “He’s been awesome.
“I can’t fault how he’s been playing and big ups to him for getting these big-deal chats.
“There’s nothing negative about it. I’ll just stay here and make sure I focus on my footy, and see how it all falls out.”
The former All Black will celebrate his 150th game for the club this week against Canberra Raiders and has been linked with a switch back to rugby union for the proposed R360 rebel tournament, which has now moved its launch back to 2028.
The NRL has threatened a 10-year ban on any player signing for the breakaway competition, and Kangaroos and NSW Origin star Zac Lomax has had to switch to Western Force in Super Rugby Pacific in the meantime.
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Police say there is no information to suggest a threat made towards a Timaru school was credible.
Police were alerted to the message about 7.45pm on Tuesday.
“We will not detail the specifics of the threat, however, investigators are actively pursuing positive lines of enquiry to identify the person responsible for sending the message,” Aoraki Area Commander Inspector Vicki Walker said.
“Officers are providing reassurance patrols in the area, and we are working closely with the school as the investigation progresses.”
Police are unable to comment further.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.
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Lyall Bay beach and the rest of Wellington’s south coast has been off limits since the Moa Point treatment plant failed on 4 February.RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
A preliminary report into the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant has been handed to Wellington City Council officers, but will not be made public while the Crown review is taking place, Wellington Water says.
Wellington Water said the report it commissioned was handed to staff on Tuesday night.
The plant suffered huge damage in a failure in February, and since then millions of litres of raw sewage have been pumped into Cook Strait.
The government announced a Crown Review Team would investigate the failure under the Local Government Act 2002, in the weeks following the incident.
A rāhui was also put in place on the stretch of southern coast from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay, and was lifted a few weeks later.
The majority of wastewater is being screened and discharged through the long outfall pipe, but excess volumes of unscreened wastewater are going into the sea through the short outfall pipe.
Wellington Water said Moa Point can only pump between 1300 and 1500 litres per second through the long outfall – more than enough for average dry weather flows.
It said a preliminary assessment has been completed, and specialists are working through further assessments following a detailed physical inspection of the plant.
Wellington Water said final assessments are needed to figure out the repair timeframe, and assured the community all parties involved are acutely aware of the need to deliver this as quickly as possible, without jeopardising the quality and accuracy of the recovery.
Initial equipment has also been ordered to keep the plant operating in an interim state.
Wellington Water said not everything will be ordered to get the plant operational again until final assessments have been completed and repair options have been agreed with the council.
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Anthropic insists its technology should not be used for the mass surveillance of US citizens.NIKOLAS KOKOVLIS/AFP
US artificial intelligence company Anthropic is expanding its presence in Australia and New Zealand.
The company, which is in the midst of suing the US government over its retaliation for a dispute about safeguards in its AI technology, says it is opening an office in Sydney.
“The expansion reflects strong demand from businesses in Australia and New Zealand, and will help us better serve the country’s unique AI ecosystem,” says a company statement.
Anthropic says Australia and New Zealand rank 4th and 8th globally in Claude usage, relative to population, according to the company’s latest Economic Index.
It lists current Australia-based clients as Canva, Quantium, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
“We’re excited by the ways organizations in Australia and New Zealand are applying AI to areas of national importance-financial services, agricultural technology, clean energy innovation, healthcare delivery, cutting-edge deep tech and scientific research, along with AI transformation in the enterprise,” said Chris Ciauri, the company’s managing director of international.
Anthropic’s court action against the Pentagon comes after it labelled the company a supply chain risk, which affects how it does business with other firms working with the Department of Defense.
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The White Ferns have pulled off another series sweep against Zimbabwe after winning the third and final One Day International in Dunedin by 200 runs.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the White Ferns set the visitors 304 to win thanks to a 94-run knock from Maddy Green and 80 runs from opener Amelia Kerr.
Kerr, the captain, then picked up five wickets.
Earlier, the White Ferns won the T20 series 3-0.
Read back on the action:
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Right now, the United States and Israel are continuing their bombardment of Iran.
As the confirmed death toll climbs past 1330 and hospitals, schools, and residential neighborhoods are hit daily, the media apparatus that sold you the Iraq war and denied Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians for the last two years is now running the same playbook.
The Atlantic is laundering Netanyahu’s reputation as a “conflict-averse” leader while he tells the world this war lets him do what he’s “yearned for” for 40 years.
Bari Weiss is tweeting fire emojis at pro-war clips, falsely suggesting Iran has nuclear weapons, and devoting journalistic resources to tracking the Instagram likes of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife.
CNN is giving unchallenged airtime to International Criminal Court (ICC)-indicted Israeli officials claiming American soldiers have an “obligation” to die for Israel.
And that’s before the cable news network is taken over by Paramount, the Weiss operation run by the nepo-son of Larry Ellison, the single largest donor to Friends of the IDF.
The BBC, meanwhile, leads with nine dead in Israel while relegating some 180 children killed by the U.S. in a girls’ school in Minab to a footnote.
This is what the legacy media machine looks like in wartime. It has always looked like this.
And it is exactly why we launched Drop Site less than two years ago.
While Weiss and CBS were manufacturing consent for this war, Drop Site has had reporters on the ground reporting the facts.
In just the last week:
Reza Sayah reported from Tehran on a double-tap bombing that killed over 20 people at a popular square during Ramadan, connecting the tactic to US strikes in Afghanistan, and Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza.
Drop Site correspondent reported from Minab, where a missile struck a girls’ elementary school and killed 180 children, and from Lamerd, where a sports hall full of teenage girls was bombed during practice.
We were among the first outlets on the ground verifying the strike in Minab as US and Israeli propagandists sought to deny and deflect.
We have consistently obtained exclusive information from senior Iranian officials who have contradicted claims by Trump, claims that have just as consistently fallen apart under scrutiny.
We exposed the fabricated CIA narrative about “tracking Khamenei for months” to his “secret location” — his secret location was his office, and he had refused to relocate.
Whenua Tapu Cemetery in Porirua.Supplied / Porirua City Council
A car which was driven recklessly through a cemetery in Porirua has been seized by police.
Police said the blue Ford Falcon and several other vehicles were seen speeding through Whenua Tapu Cemetery for about 15 minutes on Monday evening.
Kapiti-Mana area commander Inspector Renee Perkins said it was lucky that no one was hurt.
“Not only is this a dangerous activity within a cemetery, but it is also incredibly disrespectful for a place where people go to grieve and remember their loved ones who have passed.
“Thanks to information provided by the public, and through our initial enquiries, we were able to seize one of the vehicles and we continue our search for the other vehicles and their drivers.”
Anita Baker Mayor of Porirua said this type of dangerous behaviour would not be tolerated.
“It costs money to fix damage left by unruly drivers.
“We are grateful to members of the public who contacted police at the time the incident was taking place.”
Anybody else who may have witnessed the incident or has CCTV or dashcam footage is urged to contact police.
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Warning: some readers might find images in this article disturbing
We all know cats represent a major threat to native animals and birds. Australia’s 5.3 million domestic cats kill a total of 546 million animals each year in Australia. What’s less well known is allowing your domestic cat to roam outside exposes them to considerable danger – and the risk of a short life.
About two-thirds of all Australian cat owners have had a cat die while out roaming. The top risks are road traffic accidents, fighting and falls.
Our recent research review found keeping your cat at home at all times isn’t just good for wildlife – it’s much safer for your cat.
Losing a cat is tragic. But there are other risks too. Many owners rack up large veterinary bills while their cats are left with lifelong health conditions. Our review also found this situation is not unique to Australia, but reflects the global risk faced by free-roaming cats.
A suspected bird of prey attack on a cat’s cheek.Claire Sharp, CC BY-ND
What are the risks?
Cameras mounted on collars provide a cat’s-eye view of the hazards roaming cats face. In one study of 55 free-roaming felines in the United States, 25% risked poisoning by eating or drinking while away from home – any substance could be hazardous. Nearly half (45%) crossed roads, 25% encountered other cats, 20% crawled under houses and 20% explored storm drains.
This isn’t just American feline bravado. When cameras were fitted to 37 cats in New Zealand, 59% drank away from home, 40% ate away from home, 32% crossed roads and 21% risked falling by climbing onto roofs.
Australian cats are no exception. In one study, 428 radio-tracked cats averaged 4.8 road crossings per day.
Jaw and dental injuries caused when the cat was hit by a car.Claire Sharp, CC BY-ND
What are the outcomes?
If you’re a fan of The Simpsons you might recall the fate of their family cats: Snowball I and Snowball II died on the road, Snowball III drowned, Coltrane (AKA Snowball IV) fell to his death, and Snowball V is still with us. The reality is uncomfortably similar. Our review found that trauma – mainly road traffic accidents, fighting and falls – kills or injures many free-roaming cats globally.
In a recent UK study, road traffic accidents were the leading cause of death for cats aged less than one year old all the way to eight-year-old cats.
This aligns with European estimates, which suggest 18–24% of cats are struck by a car during their lifetime, with around 70% of those incidents proving fatal. Victims are often under five years old and predominantly male. Risks are higher for those not desexed, as they tend to roam wider and more frequently.
Love and status offer no protection. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s cat, Paddles, colloquially known as New Zealand’s first cat, died after being hit by a car in 2017.
While it’s hard to quantify the instances of deliberate human cruelty to cats, there is global evidence for deliberate poisoning and injury to roaming cats, many of which die before receiving medical intervention.
In one study tracking 55 roaming cats in Western Australia over just eight months, two were poisoned, one lost a front leg in a traffic accident, one fractured two canine teeth in a fall, and two required veterinary treatment for fight-related injuries.
Drawing all these factors together, we estimated outdoor pet cats have lives at least 2–3 years shorter than the population of contained pet cats. Those that survive accidents or disease may have lifelong disabilities.
The simplest way to protect your cats is to contain them on your property, just as Australians do with other domestic animals. Extensive advice is available on how to keep cats happy and healthy while contained.
Importantly, containment doesn’t mean keeping your cat indoors at all times. Backyards can be modified with fence-top rollers to prevent escape. Some owners enclose part of the yard to create a “catio” – an outdoor cat enclosure – allowing their cats to enjoy fresh air and sunshine while remaining secure.
Many cats can also be trained to walk on a harness or leash, making it possible to take them for supervised outings. A recent report from Norway found providing controlled outdoor access is often important for maintaining cat wellbeing.
Cats need to be entertained when in the house. They enjoy outside views, toys, scratching surfaces, above-ground climbing and sitting spaces, and opportunities for play. They are naturally solitary animals, so places to hide are useful.
If cats can’t go outside to toilet, they will need two indoor litter trays. Because cats are fastidious, trays must be cleaned frequently. In multi-cat households, provide one litter tray per cat, plus an extra. Place the trays in separate, quiet locations, and never beside the food bowl.
Responsible cat ownership
Australians love their cats. In 2019, roughly a quarter of Australian households owned a cat. By 2025, that figure had risen to a third. Over the same period, households reporting they kept their cats indoors rose from 36% to 48%.
Perhaps we are finally valuing our cats as we do our dogs and listening to Aussie songwriter and singer Eric Bogle’s sage advice:
Oh you who love your pussy be sure to keep him in. Don’t let him argue with a truck, the truck is bound to win. And upon the busy road don’t let him play or frolic. If you do I’m warning you it could be CAT-astrophic.
Justin Lester, director of Dot Loves Data said this trend was likely a consequence of tightening restrictions around marketing and flavours.123rf
Under-35s are spending less on vapes each year, according to an analysis of bank transactions by Dot Loves Data.
Eighteen to 24-year-olds spent $90 million on vape products throughout 2025, down from $105 million in 2024.
And among those aged 25 to 34 – historically the largest spending cohort – spend was down from $122m in 2024, to $113m in 2025.
Justin Lester, director of Dot Loves Data, said those numbers had been trending down since 2023 – and so far, were continuing to fall in 2026.
Dot Loves Data, based in Wellington, was bought by ANZ in 2022, giving it exclusive daily access to ANZ transactions on credit and eftpos cards, which made up 35 percent of transactions nationwide.
Overall, Lester said, vape spend was down, after peaking at $34 million a month in 2025. By this January, that figure had dropped to $32 million.
Annually, New Zealanders spent a total of $401 million on vaping products in 2025, compared with $417 million in 2024.
It was not possible to see what products people were buying based on the data, Lester said, and they didn’t collect data for under-18s.
Lester said this trend was likely a consequence of tightening restrictions around marketing and flavours.
The government had made a range of regulation changes in recent years, including a ban on disposable vapes and a restrictions for marketing and flavours.
However, it was a different story among older demographics. For age groups over 35, spending remained comparatively steady, even increasing in line with price increases.
In general, men spent more on vapes than women.
According to the 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey, 11.7 percent of adults were daily vapers, with the highest rates found among those aged 18 to 34, Māori and Pacific people, and adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods.
Jonathan Devery, chairperson of the Vaping Industry Association (VIANZ), said the figures were encouraging, and pointed to those restrictions targeting young people having an effect.
While data wasn’t available for under-18s, the ASH Year 10 Snapshot Survey of up to 30,000 students each year, showed regular vaping was on the decline.
Devery said those who didn’t experiment with vapes as teenagers were less likely to carry the habit into their twenties.
“Daily and experimental use amongst that age group has been on a steady decline for five years now, so I think you’re seeing a relationship between those under-18s not experimenting or using those products as they were five or so years ago, and those Kiwis falling into the new dataset no longer using those products.”
Devery said, according to retailers, the disposable ban had had the largest impact on sales.
He said research had shown the older generation tended to be the ones who had replaced a smoking habit with vaping, and were not such big users of the disposable, fun-flavoured alternatives.
ANZ data far higher than government estimate
The ANZ number was far higher than the Ministry of Health’s estimated total sales for “notifiable products” (vaping, smokeless tobacco, and herbal smoking products).
In 2024, the most recent year available, it was “at least $280 million”, compared to ANZ’s $401 million. The ministry noted its estimate was based on specialist vape retailers reporting their sales data, and was incomplete.
Data for 2025 was not available for comparison.
Devery explained those estimates relied on retailers and distributors accurately reporting their sales, but that wasn’t always happening, and a better, clearer platform for reporting data might help.
“Retailers, distributors, suppliers are all doing their best with the education and platform that they have available to them.”
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said it continued to work with industry to improve the usability and reliability of the annual returns system.
As the law left a relatively short window in which to submit annual returns, it had taken “a pragmatic approach” to ensure industry participants had enough time to submit complete and accurate information by allowing late or corrected submissions.
“This helps ensure that any information released publicly reflects the most accurate picture of the market,” it said.
But Letitia Harding, chief executive of the Asthma Foundation, said there needed to be harsher consequences for retailers for poor reporting. “It’s got to have enforcement, and that’s definitely been lacking,” she said.
The ministry said for the past year its compliance focus had been on retail practices that presented the greatest potential public health risk, like sales to minors, visibility and advertising restrictions.
“Annual returns reporting remains important for regulatory oversight; however, it has not been an area where limited compliance resources have been heavily directed.”
The ministry said it was unable to comment on the reported discrepancy between its number, and ANZ’s, “as we do not have visibility of how ANZ has collected or calculated its information, including what market segments or assumptions may have been included”.
Regulations may be having an effect, but there’s more still to do: Asthma Foundation
Harding said while there was no doubt regulations were having an impact, she was still concerned by other studies which showed 18 to 24 year-olds maintained a high rate of daily vaping. “They’re the ones we’re concerned don’t have the support to quit vaping.”
She was also cautious the data didn’t show what products people were buying, and how many. “It would be interesting to see what’s going out.”
Box mods, or non-disposables – typically favoured by older generations – tended to be more expensive. But you only needed to buy it once, and then the only ongoing expense was vape juice.
The data on locality, however, was well supported by existing evidence, she said, and it was concerning to see vape spend highest in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.
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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, 10 March 2026.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
There is a widespread perception in Aotearoa New Zealand that the ‘Gulf States’ are similar, and closely aligned to each other. The States most familiar to New Zealanders are United Arab Emirates (‘Dubai’ to the many New Zealanders who do not appreciate that Dubai is just one of six Emirates) and Qatar.
Further we’ve long-forgotten the dispute which, not-so-long-ago, led to Qatar being isolated by the Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Sunni Arab countries (noting Egypt in particular). This started with the Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict, which in 2017 escalated into the Qatar diplomatic crisis. This conflict related to allegations of inappropriate financial connections between Qatar and Hamas. While apparent resolution took place in 2021, there is now a new division; a division even more opaque to casual western observers, and noting that western observations of other parts of the world are rarely anything other than casual.
In October 2021, the popular government of Sudan (the result of a popular revolution in 2019) was overthrown by the Sudanese Armed Forces. On the eve of the coup, ‘Protestors held signs stating, “the Emirates will not govern us, nor the implementation of Sisi”.’ For Sisi, read Egypt.
Essentially the anti-Qatar nations were developing their interests in the military and economic exploitation of Sudan. Then, in April 2023, the two parties to the 2021 coup – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces – split in spectacular fashion, creating the present Sudanese Civil War. The UAE backed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while Egypt and Saudi Arabia backed the SAF. This is a hideous civil war (see my War in Sudan), with most of the reported atrocities allegedly being committed by the RSF.
This present division of civil-war-sponsorship is compounded by the diverging relationships of these three Arab states – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE – with Israel. The Trump-sponsored 2020 Abraham Accords brought Saudi Arabia and UAE (and Bahrain) into line with Egypt as an ally-of-sorts with Israel. According to this Wikipedia account:
“On August 14, 2021, the Associated Press reported that a secret oil deal between Israel and the Emirates, struck in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, had turned the Israeli resort town of Eilat into a waypoint for Emirati oil headed for Western markets. It was expected to endanger the Red Sea reefs, which host some of the greatest coral diversity on the planet. As Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia also share the gulf’s waters, an ecological disaster was likely to impact their ecosystems.”
Since then, relations between UAE (and Bahrain) and Israel became particularly close. Relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia (and Egypt), on the other hand have soured since the outbreak of the present Sudan war. At the same time, as revealed by Sudan, relations between UAE and these two large Red Sea nations have substantially deteriorated.
That is the backdrop to Iran’s greater hostility, at present, towards the UAE than towards Qatar. Western reports of the present conflict tend to equate Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait as ‘peas in a pod’. The reality is that UAE is a substantial – albeit understated – ally of Israel. (There has been suspicion that UAE has provided substantial secret support for Israel in its recent wars, especially Israel’s genocidal war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran will be well aware of the extent of this UAE-Israel alliance.)
UAE is now in an antagonist relationship with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. (Indeed, it’s now UAE rather than Qatar which is the isolate on the Arabian Peninsula.) In Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia back the SAF. The RSF, on the other hand, is funded and supplied through an opaque deal with UAE; which means that Israel – through its UAE proxy – may in fact be the most important backer of the RSF. And we should note that Israel is, formally, the most important global proxy of the United States; though it may now be that the United States has become Israel’s most important proxy.
(For security reasons, and as a protest against the UAE’s geopolitical cynicism, I decided that I would never again fly to London via the Emirates. Tip for Air New Zealand: put on more flights to Vancouver, and publicise the route to London via Canada.)
Qatar, Hamas, and Israel
The matter of Qatar’s financial connections with Hamas are distinctly murky. I quote here from the ABC (Australian) 60 Minutes documentary Gaza, the Forever War (11 March 2024). The programme features interviews with former senior Israeli political and military personnel.
JOHN LYONS, REPORTER: It now appears that Netanyahu wanted to sow seeds of division between the hardliners who ruled Gaza and the more conciliatory Palestinian Authority, running the West Bank.
AMI AYALON, FMR HEAD OF SHIN BET: We did something very, very simple. We did everything in order to make sure that Hamas will go on controlling Gaza and Palestinian Authority will control the West Bank so they will fight each other.
JOHN LYONS, REPORTER: Netanyahu allowed Qatar to give massive amounts of cash to Hamas in Gaza.
AMI AYALON, FMR HEAD OF SHIN BET: So what we did with the permission of our prime Minister is to let Qatar to transfer a huge amount of money in cash, probably more than $1.4 billion, and to make sure that they will be able to send people to work in Israel and to achieve or to get intelligence if they need. By doing it, we increase the power of Hamas.
EHUD BARAK, FMR PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: That served Netanyahu who wanted to avoid any discussion of two state solution.
JOHN LYONS, REPORTER: So, are you saying Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately boosted Hamas to try to prevent a Palestinian state?
EHUD BARAK, FMR PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Yeah, sure. He deliberately and systematically even told on record, whoever wants to avoid the threat of a two-state solution has to support my policy of paying protection money to the Hamas.
JOHN LYONS, REPORTER: Netanyahu maintains the Qatar money was to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. Having helped build up Hamas, Netanyahu has vowed to destroy it.
YEHUDA SHAUL, FMR ISRAELI ARMY COMMANDER: He fed the beast and it exploded in our face.
The Hexagon Alliance
From Netanyahu says Israel will forge regional alliance to rival ‘radical axes’ (Al Jazeera, 22 Feb 2026) we have: ‘Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, also referred to Greece, Cyprus and other unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries. “In the vision I see before me, we will create an entire system, essentially a hexagon of alliances around or within the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, according to the Times of Israel. “The intention here is to create an axis of nations that see eye to eye on the reality, challenges, and goals against the radical axes, both the radical Shia axis, which we have struck very hard, and the emerging radical Sunni axis”.’
In Will Ethiopia be part of Israel’s ‘hexagon’ alliance rivalling its enemies? (Al Jazeera, 25 Feb 2026): “In December, Israel recognised Somaliland’s statehood, becoming the first country to do so. Months before, there were unconfirmed talks about plans to move displaced Palestinians to Somaliland or to South Sudan, another key Israeli ally in the region. Analysts speculate that countries like South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, another close friend of Israel, may also recognise Somaliland.”
So the hexagon would appear to be Greece, Cyprus, India, UAE, Somaliland, and Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a Judeo-Christian heritage, in sharp contract to most of its regional neighbours. (See my reference to Judeo-Christian techno-supremacism in The Greater Evil, Scoop, 2 March 2026.)
Re the “emerging radical Sunni axis”, this article from India – The Hexagon Alliance, by Ayaan Ahmad and Arjun Dev Singh, 26 Feb 2026 – suggests “Sunni-majority states such as Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, alongside Jordan and Iraq”. You would have to add Egypt to that.
And from Is Türkiye Israel’s next target in the Middle East? (Al Jazeera, 21 Sep 2025): “In Washington, Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, suggested that Türkiye could be Israel’s next target and warned that it should not rely on its NATO membership for protection.”
This reflects the significance of Greece and Cyprus within the hexagon. It also points to the United Kingdom, indirectly. Part of the island of Cyprus is British sovereign territory; ie not at all a ‘foreign airbase’. And another part of the island of Cyprus has been a Turkish realm state, albeit unrecognised by the international community (as Somaliland – formally British Somaliland – is also unrecognised).
We may note that the tension between UAE and Saudi Arabia is revealed in Google Maps. Despite there being a long border between the two countries, there is only one road crossing, to the far west of Abu Dhabi. Indeed, Doha in Qatar is closer to that border crossing than is either Dubai or the city of Abu Dhabi. 95% of UAE’s population lives in that country’s northeast corner. Along most of the border, there are parallel roads, but no crossing points. In Saudi Arabia that road is Highway 95. In UAE, its road is labelled ‘Boarder [sic] Patrol Road CIVILIAN VEHICLE PROHIBITED’.
The Yemen and Somaliland affairs
As noted by Al Jazeera: ‘Saudi Arabia is embroiled in an ongoing rift with the United Arab Emirates over how to deal with the conflict in Yemen.’
Yemen is one of those many places that are geopolitically important, but completely off New Zealand’s media radar. Historically Yemen was host to an important Jewish population (Yemenite Jews). Southern Yemen – especially Aden – was, for a century, a critical cog in the British Empire. Post-colonially, Southern Yemen became a ‘radical’ country in the world order, whereas Northern Yemen was a religiously conservative society, the Shia Zaydi Imamate until 1962 and then the Yemen Arab Republic.
In more recent years, that conservative north has become a Shia ‘Iranian proxy’, the ‘Houthis’. And the internationally recognised government of Yemen – operative in the south – has become, in that same sense, a Saudi Arabian proxy regime.
On 2 December 2025, the failed 2025–2026 Southern Yemen campaign began, essentially an attempt by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) to overthrow the Saudi-backed government. It was in the midst of this Israeli-backed campaign that Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland – close to the geographical Horn of Africa’, and juxtaposed to Aden – as a sovereign state.
This has to be understood in the context of Israel’s Hexagon Alliance; indeed, an attempt to impose UAE/Israeli control over the geopolitically sensitive southern coastline of the Arabian peninsula. From Why Israel’s recognition of Somaliland backfired, (16 Jun 2026) by Abdi Aynte, former minister of planning and international cooperation of Somalia: “By empowering breakaway regions, Israel, with the backing of key regional partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, has sought to reshape the regional order.”
Aynte: “What some experts describe as an ‘Axis of Secession’ is already visible in Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Syria. Led by Israel and supported by a network of regional partners, this axis targets countries whose central governments, hollowed out by conflict, exercise only partial control over their territory. The logic is simple: weaken central authority, bolster breakaway regions, and cultivate dependent entities willing to align with Israel and sign onto the Abraham Accords.” Aynte calls these nations “emerging client polities” of Israel, though resistance remains strong in Somalia, Yemen and Sudan.
Beyond these smaller fractured nation states, there are several large nation states in the region which Israel is trying to fracture. While these attempts in Iran are all too visible, a literal smokescreen, quietly Israel is adding Ethiopia – a country with 100,000 people – to its client list. We note that Ethiopia is hosting RSF training camps, further undermining Sudan’s sovereignty. See Reuters: Ethiopia builds secret camp to train Sudan RSF fighters, sources say, 10 Feb 2026.
This is not regional geopolitics which New Zealand can naively pretend-away. Aynte adds: “Somaliland’s decision to cultivate ties with Taiwan inevitably drew Beijing’s attention”. “The result [of Israel’s meddling through client third parties] is an increasingly crowded and volatile theatre, where global power rivalries intersect with unresolved local aspirations.” “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, once close partners, are now increasingly at odds, while Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have begun coordinating to counter what they view as a destabilising ‘Axis of Secession’.”
And we note “widespread claims that Israel is exploring resettlement of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in Somaliland”. (An echo of Britain’s former plan to settle European Jews in Uganda!)
If we look at a map of the so-called ‘Middle East’ (nobody refers to Near East or Far East anymore!) and paint the hexagon countries in ‘Star-of-David’ blue – including Israel itself and its occupied territories, and including the RSF-controlled parts of Sudan – the obvious missing links are Egypt, Türkiye, and Iran. Hence the present war in Iran, and the concerns already noted re Türkiye. But what about Egypt?
Egypt, Iran and the Bible
Even today, Israel’s reference point is the Old Testament of The Bible. Note Al Jazeera’s Inside Story episode of 2 March 2026, What dangers does the Iran war pose for Israel?, featuring Mitchell Barak, “former speech writer for Israeli PM Ariel Sharon”, noting that Sharon was nicknamed Butcher of Beirut on account of his responsibility for the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre.
Interviewer: “Mitchell, I’m going to start things off with you. Please give us a broad brushstroke of how you see things unfolding.”
Barak: “First of all, I’d like to wish a Ramadan Kareem to all of the people watching who are celebrating and commemorating this holiday. It is also a fast day in Israel, the Fast of Esther, which commemorates ironically and interestingly enough the victory of the Jewish people over an evil Persian empire 2,500 years ago.”
He is referring to the Purim holiday. Note, in these Wikipedia references, the references to Amalek, the word that Benjamin Netanyahu invoked to justify the subsequent genocide of Gaza. Refer The Biblical story of Amalek evoked by Netanyahu, ABC24 Jan 2024.
Barak did not go on to answer the “broad brushstroke” question.
Two polities which feature strongly in that biblical narrative are Egypt and (in the guise of Babylon) Persia aka Iran. To fully understand Israel’s agenda today, we really need to see that regime and its cultural acolytes as playing a long game; a very long game. Israel is trying to reverse the wrongs that it believed it suffered, around 2½ to 3 thousand years ago, at the hands of those two ancient civilisations. (The irony is that Israel denied that there was any historical context – not even a day’s historical context – to the ‘blue-sky’ shock events of 7 October 2023.)
Seen in this context, it is credible that the principal target of the Hexagon Alliance is Egypt, not Türkiye.
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.
The primary teachers’ union is angry that the government is offering pay rises to teachers on individual employment agreements.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said from Wednesday, schools could offer staff on individual agreements a 2.5 percent pay rise from 20 March, with a further 2.1 percent on 28 January next year.
She said the teachers had a right to a contract.
“It is fair and reasonable that nearly a third of primary school teachers, who are not part of the NZEI, should be offered a contract so they can receive the pay increases that the government has already offered,” she said.
“This would equate to approximately $50 to $76 each week and is pay that non-union teachers could already be receiving if not impacted by the NZEI’s ongoing approach to bargaining.”
The Educational Institute Te Riu Roa rejected the same deal for teachers in the collective agreement.
RNZ understands it is unusual for an individual offer to be made before the collective is settled.
NZEI primary teacher leader Liam Rutherfod said the move was a serious breach of good faith and undermined collective bargaining.
“The government is employing divisive tactics to undermine teachers’ fight to get fair recognition of our work. Our teachers deserve a fair deal that reflects their value, not sinister manoeuvres designed to break our unity,” he said.
“The government is demanding we implement sweeping, rushed curriculum changes, yet they refuse to pay us for doing the extra work and consistently undervalue our work in supporting students through these changes. There is widespread frustration regarding the pace of curriculum changes and its impact on ākonga and their learning.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Council strategy, planning and regulatory general manager John Higgins said the revitalised concept design would go to the public for consultation later this year.
“The current programme has largely focused on surface improvements like upgrading roads and footpaths, paving and landscaping.
“We now have an opportunity to build on the design work done by Regenerate Christchurch to further recognise the role and importance of Cathedral Square as our central civic space.”
The council was seeking expressions of interest for the project.
Previous feedback had shown people want Cathedral Square to be an accessible and vibrant place to gather, Higgins said.
“For many, the square has historically been a gathering place for everyone who calls Christchurch home. We want to acknowledge its role as the heart of our city, connecting all our new and existing facilities and creating a space that reflects that importance.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Have you visited a petrol station recently? You might have been in for a shock – and not just because the price on display was probably over A$2 a litre.
As the world grapples with one of the most severe energy shocks in decades, Australians have flocked to the fuel pump in their thousands, filling up cars, trailer-mounted fuel tanks and even jerry cans. In response, some stations have begun rationing fuel and closing pumps.
But many Australians will be feeling a sense of déjà vu. In early 2020, as the COVID pandemic sent shockwaves through global supply chains, consumers rushed to stock up on essentials from pasta to toilet paper, leaving shelves bare around the world.
So, why do some people rush out to stockpile, and why does simply telling them not to often not work? Our previousresearch has explored these questions in detail. To get people to stop, we need to give them a smarter message.
Who panic buys – and why?
Panic buying doesn’t help anyone. When many people do this at once, the sudden intense spike in demand creates new supply chain problems that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
Back in 2020, in the wake of lockdown-driven panic buying, we surveyed almost 800 Australians to try and understand the psychological factors that drive panic buying.
We looked at three key categories: non-perishable foods (such as canned food), cleaning products, and hygiene products (including toilet paper).
Nearly empty shelves at a Sydney supermarket in March 2020.Kate Trifo/Unsplash
Our research drew on well-established psychological theories that describe how our perceptions of the world and internal beliefs influence the way we act.
What we found
Across all three product categories, we found people’s attitudes and risk perceptions were linked with how much they bought.
Put simply, when people believed stocking up was sensible or wise, they were more likely to buy extra. Similarly, if people felt there was a risk in not stocking up, they tended to purchase more.
We found social influences also played a role, but only for non-perishable food items. People were more likely to stock up if they felt others approved of doing so, or that people like them were doing the same.
Interestingly, a number of important factors were not linked to increased panic buying in our study. For example, differences in age, gender, income and household size did not predict whether people would buy more.
On top of this, people’s personality traits – such as tolerance for distress and uncertainty, and even past hoarding tendencies – did not consistently predict stockpiling.
This suggests panic buying behaviour is largely driven by how everyday people interpret risk and decide what feels reasonable in uncertain situations.
Crafting better messages
Based on these findings, we conducted a follow-up study. This time, we used our research to design an intervention that would stop panic buying, then tested its effectiveness on a sample of Australian community members.
We showed them a video that described supply chains as stable and emphasised why buying normally helps the community and protects vulnerable people. It also highlighted the fact most people were behaving responsibly and appealed to shared values about doing the right thing.
This successfully reduced people’s intentions to stockpile. It also measurably shifted their attitudes and perceptions of social norms. And they saw choosing not to stockpile as less risky.
Fuel prices have surged as a result of conflict in the Middle East.William West/Getty
Lessons we can learn
So, what can we learn as a community to help us curb panic buying this time around?
Back in the early part of the pandemic, some politicians framed panic buying as “selfish” or even “un-Australian”.
However, to actually reduce panic buying, smart messaging needs to respect people’s intelligence and acknowledge their fears. It can do that by providing reassurance while still acknowledging the disruptions they’re seeing are real. People can then reassess whether stockpiling is truly necessary.
There are reasons this time might be different. For one, early COVID panic buying was mostly about shortages. There weren’t immediate sharp price rises for many consumer products in early 2020.
The current oil shock has flowed through to prices at the fuel pump almost immediately. This could exacerbate some of the psychological factors driving panic buying.
That makes how the situation is communicated even more important. Our research suggests panic buying is driven less by selfishness and more by how people perceive risk and decide what feels reasonable during uncertainty.
With fuel shortages and visible price rises likely amplifying these perceptions, the focus should be on reassurance, normalising responsible behaviour, and appealing to people’s sense of responsibility to their community.
Major food company Heinz Wattie’s has proposed changes to discontinue some manufacturing operations in New Zealand.
The company, said the proposal would result in the closure of three manufacturing facilities in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. Packing would also cease at the associated frozen lines in King St, Hastings.
The company said about 350 jobs were expected to be affected.
It would also no longer produce dips sold under the Mediterranean, Just Hummus and Good Taste Company brands.
Heinz Wattie’s said it would consult with staff on the plan, which it said had come about because of increasingly difficult manufacturing conditions.
“Globally high inflation and various industry challenges have all placed ongoing pressure on the commercial performance of the business,” the company said.
Suppliers would also be affected with pea and other vegetable growers, specifically 220 growers in Canterbury supplying the Christchurch site, losing their contracts.
“The decision to start this process was not taken lightly,” Heinz Wattie’s Managing Director Andrew Donegan said.
“Numerous alternatives and options were explored before reaching this phase. It is a necessary step to position our company for the future.”
The proposal is subject to a two-week consultation period with staff, union representatives, growers, suppliers, retail partners and other local stakeholders.
Last October, Wattie’s announced it would further reduce its fruit and vegetable crops it sourced from its home in Hawke’s Bay, citing an ongoing struggle against cheaper imports.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 11, 2026.
Do Middle-earth and Westeros make sense? Climate scientists modelled them to find out Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne When English author J.R.R. Tolkien crafted his fantasy world Middle-earth, he argued storytellers are essentially “sub-creators” – they build fictional realms with internally consistent laws. For a world to be truly immersive and
Commercial space technology is shaping the Iran war – the law can’t keep up Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Marie Brennan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Waikato When the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran nearly two weeks ago, the first confirmation didn’t come from governments. It came from commercial satellites. Images from US companies Planet Labs and Vantor captured
My mind keeps on going blank. How worried should I be? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Andrews, Associate Professor and Lead, Healthy Brain Ageing Research Program, Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast We’ve all been there. Whether it’s at a crucial moment of an exam, walking into a room for a specific purpose, or making an impromptu speech, your mind goes
‘We’re the good guys’: why moral storytelling doesn’t make the war on Iran necessary or legal Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tamer Morris, Senior Lecturer, International Law, University of Sydney Since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, most international law experts appear to be speaking with one voice on the legality of the attacks. Legal experts have said the attacks violated Article 2(4) of
What’s it like to be a bat? Scientists develop new solution to the puzzle of animal minds Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cristina Luz Wilkins, PhD Candidate, Department of Environmental Studies, University of New England In 1974, philosopher Thomas Nagel posed a deceptively simple question: “what is it like to be a bat?”. His point wasn’t really about bats. He was offering a provocative challenge about the limits of
Can exercise reduce period pain? And what kind is best? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mike Armour, Associate Professor at NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University Having your period can be a painful experience. Period pain, also known as dysmenorrhea, is a very common condition with around nine in ten young women aged 13 to 25 in Australia having regular period
The Oscars are usually a mess, but this year’s Best Picture nominees are strong. Here’s who should win Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Film critics – myself included – love to bemoan the death of high-quality cinema in the age of streaming, pointing to mediocre Best Picture Oscar nominees as evidence that the production of great (or even
Tucker Carlson helped make Donald Trump and JD Vance. Could he be the next president? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Altman, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University It’s well known that Donald Trump consumes television broadcasts and often makes policy based more on Fox News punditry than advice from political or government advisors. So it’s unsurprising
Iran oil shock: the EU has very few options to limit the war’s economic impact – and prevent a recession Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sergi Basco, Profesor Agregado de Economia, Universitat de Barcelona After the US and Israel began their military strikes on Iran on February 28, oil and gas markets were plunged into chaos and energy prices shot up. As of today, Brent Crude Oil prices are 20% higher than
Trump’s war against Iran is uniquely unpopular among US military actions of the past century Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Walldorf, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University It’s clear that regime change is among the biggest objectives of the U.S. war in Iran. “I have to be involved in the appointment” of Iran’s next leader, President Donald Trump said on March 5, 2026.
Who profits from war with Iran? Understanding that will be key to resolving the conflict Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kingston University When US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iran, the shock waves were felt far beyond the region. As the conflict escalates, understanding who benefits from this crisis might be as important as counting its costs. The timing could
Animals can talk over huge distances – but humans might be changing their range Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben JJ Walker, Researcher, UNSW Sydney Animals are noisy. And their noises can travel a long way. But making sounds can be a double-edged sword: it can help them communicate, sometimes over long distances, but it can also reveal them to predators. In new research published in
Sex, pink and empowerment are used to sell alcohol to women. They don’t always like it Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristen Foley, Research Fellow, Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing, Torrens University Australia Ellidy pops into the bottle shop on her way out to dinner with friends. She’s faced with rows of evocative labels – using artwork, imagery and symbols to help portray the essence
All it takes is paint and pancakes. How to boost your preschooler’s science skills Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Goutam Roy, PhD Candidate in STEM education, Charles Sturt University Parents of young children will be aware of the need to encourage early reading and maths skills in their kids. They know it’s important to make time to read with their children. Or point out that “cat”
Amid a surge in energy prices, a windfall tax on gas profits could be the best way to protect households Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Locky Xianglong Liu, Research fellow, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University The war in Iran has once again exposed how vulnerable the world’s energy markets are to geopolitical disruption. In wild swings, benchmark crude oil prices spiked as high as US$120 per barrel, roughly 50% higher than
Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere exposes the business model of misogyny Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Roberts, Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Monash University Over the past two years, viral clips, news headlines and TV series such as Adolescence have ensured much of the public has encountered the “manosphere” – an online ecosystem that repackages misogyny, anti-feminism and male grievance
Taking the wealth – the plunder and impoverishment of West Papua REVIEW: By Lee Duffield Declining population in West Papua, and critical loss of life through clashes with the Indonesia military raise the question of genocide in a new book by Brisbane writer Dr Greg Poulgrain. This work, Curse of Gold, published in English by Kompas, as the title indicates traces the roots of subjugation going
View from The Hill: David Littleproud quits as Nationals leader, declaring ‘I’m buggered’ Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals leader David Littleproud has unexpectedly quit his post, declaring he is “buggered” and “out on my feet”. His announcement came as a shock to colleagues and follows a period of extreme turbulence for his party and the Coalition, which
Australia is sending an aircraft and personnel to the Middle East. Does this mean we are entering the war? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is off to another Middle Eastern war, which is likely a surprise to many given how contentious the country’s involvement in the Iraq war was. The Albanese government has decided to send a
