Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

There is something undemocratic in a society of machines. Men receive more or less power, honor, and esteem because of their capacity to purchase the use of certain devices—not because of who they are. The capacity to “go camping” proves to a man and his fellows that his access to this or that machine is not a cheat or a fraud, but an aid and assistance to an underlying skill that he really does have. In the midst of untold luxuries, families…

After a difficult 2025 marked by recession and slow activity, New Zealand’s economy is showing broad signs of stabilisation and budding recovery — not just in isolated sectors, but across the board, according to KiwiBank’s latest economic outlook. 📉 · KiwiBank Economic Commentary — 13 November 2025 · Interest Rates Have Reached Supportive Levels · Economists at KiwiBank highlight that interest rates are now much lower than they were this…

A Market Gently Waking Up - For the first time in a long while, the signals coming from the economy, the banks and everyday buyers are starting to all line up at the same time. It is not a boom. It is not even a surge. But it is a clear shift away from the uncertainty that has weighed on the property market for the past three years. The latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey sums it up neatly: buyers now see conditions as the most favourable in…

For nearly her entire life, Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, kept a diary detailing royal life, world affairs, political intrigue and even her passion for her husband, Prince Albert. Starting in 1832 when she was 13, Victoria wrote nearly every day for nearly 69 years—sometimes jotting thousands of words at a time and occasionally studding the pages with her own drawings and watercolors.…

The government has formally rejected every recommendation from the Climate Change Commission to toughen New Zealand’s long-term emissions targets. · Climate Minister Simon Watts confirmed the decision, despite the Commission warning climate impacts are arriving “sooner and more severely than expected” and that New Zealand “can and should be doing more.” · The coalition had already signalled it would soften the methane target. The government has…

New documents released by Cam Slater of The Good Oil have intensified scrutiny of Willie Jackson’s handling of staff disputes inside the Manukau Urban Māori Authority, where his wife serves as CEO. The materials, which appear to support key parts of Matt McCarten’s complaint to Parliament, emerged after several days of silence from major news outlets. · Slater, who first published the documents, said he released them because the public…

Andrew Coster’s interview on Q+A has blown the police integrity scandal wide open again. It’s now obvious the public has been left with a mess of clashing accounts, shifting explanations, and gaps that the existing investigation was never designed to resolve. If the Government wants any hope of restoring confidence in the Police, it needs to authorise an independent inquiry with proper powers. Coster went on television insisting he’d “acted…

It is too hard and costly to get things built in New Zealand, and the Resource Management Act is a big reason why. · So, we are scrapping it and replacing it with a new planning system built on the idea of private property rights. The new planning system will save ratepayers and taxpayers $13.3b by only regulating what is necessary and reducing the number of consents by up to 46% every year. · The economic benefits of this new system are…

Adding to the growing body of research that proves our microbiome is a powerful ally in fighting disease, scientists have found that an easy-to-get nutrient in our food causes our guts to produce powerful insulin-regulating compounds. For decades, medical science has been focused on developing treatments that are administered to patients from outside their own bodies. Now, however, more and more research is being focused on ways to marshal the…

With the release of its new National Security Strategy (NSS), the United States — the world’s most powerful nation — has officially abandoned the global-hegemony doctrine that defined the post-Cold War order. · For the first time since 1945, Washington is no longer claiming the mantle of global policeman, architect of the “rules-based international order,” or moral crusader for universal liberal democracy. Instead, the U.S. has accepted —…