Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

The OECD says New Zealand has “no future in gas.” · That may sound visionary inside policy circles and international climate forums. · But there is a major problem. · Modern New Zealand still runs on carbon fuels. · Not hypothetically. Not ideologically. Physically. · Every single day New Zealand consumes approximately 23 million litres of liquid fuels across transport, freight, aviation, shipping, agriculture, heavy machinery, construction…

The Marlborough Sounds, where the pair were last seen. New Year’s Eve, 1997. Hundreds gathered in the Marlborough Sounds for celebrations on the water. Among them were two young New Zealanders: Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. By morning, both were gone. · The final journey · Witnesses reported that the pair had boarded a water taxi in the early hours. From there, accounts suggest they transferred to a yacht belonging to an unknown man. ·…

Radio New Zealand recently published a piece expressing concern over coalition politicians increasingly criticising mainstream media institutions. The framing was predictable. · Politicians attacking the media, readers were told, risk undermining “independent journalism” and democratic accountability. · But buried inside that argument lies the contradiction now driving one of the biggest collapses in public trust across the Western world: ·…

A growing group of engineers, physicists, and energy specialists are warning that New Zealand’s Net Zero 2050 agenda may not only be economically damaging, but technically impossible to achieve. Report By elocal · In a newly published paper titled “Why New Zealand Must Drop Net Zero 2050,” Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering John Raine, Cambridge technology professor Michael Kelly, and power systems engineer Bryan Leyland argue that…

New Zealand’s business sector is showing increasingly visible signs of strain, with new data revealing a sharp rise in company liquidations across multiple industries, led overwhelmingly by the construction sector. By elocal Report · According to new commentary from Kiwibank economist Alexandra Turcu, annual company liquidations across New Zealand are now running 15% higher year-on-year, with construction firms accounting for by far the…

Unelected European Union officials are moving forward with a controversial new vehicle monitoring mandate that will require newly registered vehicles across the EU to include inward-facing “driver-monitoring camera” systems beginning in July. New EU rules will require inward-facing monitoring systems in newly registered vehicles from July · By Frank Bergman · The systems, known as Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) technology, are…

New Zealand’s fuel distribution network is continuing to show signs of increasing operational strain as tanker movements become more concentrated around key ports while several regional terminals remain without confirmed incoming shipments. Exclusive report for elocal by Dave Trotter · The latest NZ Fuel Watch interim shipping charts, updated Friday May 8, reveal only five new fuel vessels currently entering the national distribution cycle this…

A German economist writing satire about New Zealand sounds like the opening line of a bad joke. · The joke gets longer when you learn the plot: two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa expecting humanity at its best, are promptly fined for parking without consent, and proceed on a reluctant tiki tour of the country in the company of a Wellington bureaucrat named Ben, who has quietly decided his career is over and he may as well help them. What…

The Free Speech Union (FSU) has welcomed the Government’s decision to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), describing the move as a major reversal of what it calls years of regulatory overreach into online speech. By elocal staff · In a media release issued on May 6, Free Speech Union Chief Executive Jillaine Heather said the Government had made “the right call” by abandoning the BSA model and instead investigating voluntary…

Migrants applying for New Zealand citizenship will soon be required to pass a new multiple-choice citizenship test under a government initiative expected to take effect in late 2027. By RNZ Parliamentary reporters · The proposed test will require applicants to demonstrate knowledge of what the government describes as the “responsibilities and privileges” of being a New Zealand citizen. Topics are expected to include democratic principles, the…