Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

We hold our farmers to some of the highest standards in the world and then wonder why local food costs what it does. I’ve spent my life working with animals, raising them carefully, and making sure every step is done right. I’m accredited, audited regularly, and every animal that leaves my farm is tracked and accounted for. I invest in proper transport, infrastructure, and paperwork, and I follow every rule not only because it’s the right…

In March 2022, at the height of New Zealand’s COVID response, a documentary was produced that told a very different story to the one dominating the nightly news. · It featured ordinary New Zealanders — not politicians, not commentators — but people who said they had been harmed following vaccination. Families. Workers. Young people. Parents. Within a short time, that documentary was effectively pushed off mainstream platforms. Removed.…

New Zealand’s economic narrative is shifting. · According to the latest insights from Kiwibank’s Kiwi Economics commentary, the country is emerging from a difficult period — with signs of recovery beginning to appear across housing, employment, and consumer activity. Lower interest rates are starting to “do their job,” easing pressure and lifting confidence. ([Kiwibank][1]) · On paper, the outlook looks encouraging. · But beneath the surface,…

Arguments about the current energy crisis have shifted. It is no longer just about what ministers are doing now. It is also about what they chose not to do when they had the chance. This morning brought the clearest accountability journalism to this debate. Kate MacNamara in the Herald and Edward Miller in The Post both zero in on the same issue: New Zealand was left more exposed than it needed to be, and ministers were warned about the…

In this episode of Duncan Garner, Editor-in-Chief, we dive into the mounting pressure on Labour leader Chris Hipkins. · Read my full take here: https://www.rova.nz/articles/opinion-... · Duncan argues that the case for his resignation is now black and white following revelations about COVID vaccine advice for 12 to 17-year-olds. We break down the timeline of a March cabinet paper that referenced health risks for teenagers, which Hipkins told…

Not Resource Poor — Policy Poor · New Zealand has been told for decades that it is an energy-dependent nation. · Too small. Too remote. Too reliant on global supply. · But the data tells a different story — not of scarcity, but of system design. · The Numbers Don’t Lie · Between April 2020 and March 2021, New Zealand produced about 1.48 billion litres of oil, condensate and LPG, exported about 1.11 billion litres of that total, and imported…

The Strait of Hormuz is closed. Flights through the Middle East have been cancelled. Petrol has surged well past $3 a litre. · Four thousand shipping containers of New Zealand meat and dairy sit stranded on rerouted vessels. Tourism operators are fielding mass cancellations. The Reserve Bank Governor gave an emergency speech to business leaders on Tuesday. · The national conversation, understandably, is about issues such as fuel prices,…

The first four parts of this series traced the hollowing out of New Zealand from structure to consequence. We began with a country that was once highly sovereign in practical terms — productive, internally anchored, and comparatively resilient. We followed the monetary shifts, the capital liberalisation, the foreign banking dominance, the housing-led financialisation, the deindustrialisation, and finally the shock exposure of recent years. Par…

Retirement Has Never Been This Much Fun – Acacia Cove Village · At Acacia Cove Village, retirement isn’t about slowing down — it’s about stepping into a whole new way of living. · With the everyday taken care of, your time is finally your own. Whether it’s enjoying the beautifully maintained grounds, joining in vibrant social activities, or simply relaxing in comfort, life here feels more like a permanent holiday than retirement. ·…

New Zealand did not simply “transition” its fuel system. · It restructured it. · And the blueprint for that restructuring—its logic, its drivers, and its consequences—is laid out plainly in the Cabinet paper authored by then Energy Minister Megan Woods. · What follows is not conjecture. · It is the system, described in its own words—and understood in full. · The System Before: A Country That Still Had a Stake · Before 2022, New Zealand…