Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he’s comfortable being called a socialist, arguing New Zealand needs “a more active role for the state” to tackle what he sees as excessive profits by supermarkets, banks and energy companies. Speaking to RNZ’s 30 with Guyon Espiner, Hipkins praised New York’s newly elected socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, saying his win reflected global frustration with capitalism. Hipkins said the “economic system isn’t…

The late Bruce Jesson captured something essential about New Zealand politics when he observed in the 1980s: “The National Party governs for capitalists. The Labour Party for capitalism”. Jesson was writing for Metro Magazine at the time, as their politics writer. What he meant was simple: National tends to hand out favours to their mates in business, cutting deals that keep the rich happy one by one. Labour, on the other hand, steps in during…

The Free Speech Union is thrilled that the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No 2), which it was extensively involved in, has passed its Third Reading and will become law. This is a huge victory and a pivotal moment as the Bill promises to restore free speech on university campuses and their character as institutions that protect and value rigorous debate, says Stephanie Martin, spokesperson for the Inter-University Council on Academic…

Yesterday’s bombshell report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority has exposed what Public Service Minister Judith Collins starkly described as corruption within New Zealand’s police force. On the question of whether the IPCA findings amounted to corruption, Collins was blunt: “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck”. Her assessment of the scandal was equally damning: “a total lack of leadership and integrity at the highest…

In my opinion, this is the best way to cook pork so that it’s still lovely and juicy. You can make the colcannon ahead of time and reheat it in a saucepan on a low heat. Just add a little more milk to loosen it. The sauce is very rich and has a strong flavour, so use sparingly. Ingredients · For the colcannon · - 40g butter - 2 onions, finely sliced - 150g savoy cabbage, shredded - 1kg potatoes (choose good mashers), peeled and cut into…

‘[This] has been the busiest, gloomiest and most exciting fortnight I have ever passed. The war has suddenly left Taranaki and broken out here.’1 So wrote Rev Vicesimus Lush, Anglican minister, in his journal on July 19th 1863. Only a month before, he had speculated that the fighting was not expected to ‘extend beyond the Taranaki.’2 With war breaking out within his parish borders, rather than hundreds of miles away, Lush stopped being a casual…

Caffeine appears to do the opposite of what you might think when it comes to the heart. Scientists have found that a cup of coffee a day actually protects the heart from atrial fibrillation – a condition that can lead to stroke and heart failure. University of Adelaide and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers have led a randomized clinical trial of 200 adults from Australia, the US and Canada with AF to test coffee's…

Hani lay face down as the blood from his two neighbours’ heads seeped into the sand around him. · The bullet wounds were still fresh and rifle barrels were warm in the hands of the Arab militiamen standing above him. · The two women’s lives had ended on the outskirts of the Sudanese city of El Fasher because they had dared to move. · They were among dozens that were shot for disobeying the order to lie still by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)…

On June 26, 1974, a checkout employee at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio became the first person to scan a grocery item—a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum—using a Universal Product Code (UPC). Better known as a barcode, UPCs soon became ubiquitous, used everywhere from grocery and retail stores to hospitals and Mars rovers. · The innovation arose as a way to solve the manual, time-consuming processes that plagued grocery stores, but…

NZ First has quietly withdrawn its members’ bill defining “man” and “woman” in biological terms to make way for a new proposal banning public fireworks sales. · Many supporters of the party are dismayed by the move, while others say it shows the party’s preference for publicity over policy. · The “ban on fireworks” announcement was timed for maximum attention, landing a day before Guy Fawkes Night and featuring a press release quoting Winston…