Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

13 June 2026 – New Zealand is sleepwalking into an energy crisis, and the Government’s proposed solution will cost every household and business in the country dearly for decades to come, warns the New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party (NZOFP). For years, New Zealand relied on abundant, low-cost domestic natural gas to stabilise the electricity grid, support industry, and keep winter power prices under control. That era is ending far faster than…

Labour has unveiled its first significant election policy announcement of 2026, promising a $20 weekly cap on public transport fares in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with a $10 weekly cap for regional public transport users. ELOCAL REPORT · The party says the policy would cost approximately $65 million per year and deliver savings of up to $1,200 annually for some commuters. · However, while the announcement generated headlines, public…

As global food trends swing back toward animal protein, whole foods and clean-label products, New Zealand's agricultural sector is enjoying renewed confidence. At Fieldays 2026, industry leaders pointed to rising global demand for meat and protein-rich foods as evidence that consumers are increasingly choosing traditional food sources over highly processed alternatives ![](https://i0.wp.com/newsroom.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/image-4.png?f…

This article addresses some of the most profound philosophical and spiritual questions that we ask as we seek to understand our existence. It challenges some popular notions that have derived from the discoveries of Darwin and modern genetics, from the perspective of an interdisciplinary comprehensive scientific understanding. On June 5 a paper was published by the prestigious journal Cell entitled “Replaying germinal center evolution on a…

The coalition government remains narrowly ahead in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll, but the result shows no meaningful post-Budget bounce for National, ACT or New Zealand First. The poll gives the three governing parties a combined 62 seats, just one more than the 61 needed to command a majority in Parliament. · That is the same seat outcome recorded in last month's poll, suggesting Budget 2026 has not shifted the political dial in the…

Three police staff have been charged following investigations triggered by the discovery of objectionable material on former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming's work devices Photo: RNZ · Three Officers Charged · Three New Zealand Police staff members are facing criminal charges relating to the alleged possession of objectionable publications following an internal review of staff internet activity. · According to court documents obtained by…

Across the Tasman, anger has propelled Pauline Hanson’s One Nation from a fringe outfit to the most popular party, on 31 percent in a recent poll, ahead of both Labor and the Coalition. Yet Australia’s preferential voting, which redistributes losing candidates’ votes, could still return a Labor government. By Dr Oliver Hartwich · The same anger is loose across the democratic world, the product of a decade of crises that squeezed household…

!Image · !Image · !Image · !Image · !Image · Over the past couple of days, the fuel network has continued to function much as expected, although if you're watching vessel movements closely, you'll notice everything seems to be moving at a slower pace than normal. · My own feeling is that weather has played a part. I was recording wave heights yesterday ranging from around five metres to over ten metres in some areas, and that sort of sea state…

The US and Israel carried out their latest strikes on Iran and Lebanon in a deliberate effort to sabotage the ongoing peace talks, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has told RT. On Wednesday local time, the US struck Qeshm Island and targets in southern Iran in response to the crash of a US AH-64 Apache attack helicopter off the coast of Oman – an incident US President Donald Trump blamed on Iran. Tehran, however, has refused to confirm that it…

We analyzed paper money printed by Ben Franklin to uncover his anti-counterfeiting techniques and materials innovations By Khachatur Manukyan, University of Notre Dame · Benjamin Franklin understood something fundamental about money that still shapes modern economies: Money only works when people believe it is real. · In the early 18th century, the British colonies suffered from a chronic shortage of gold and silver coins, forcing local…