Articles in ‘Opinion’

Overview · New Zealand’s fuel distribution network is entering a tightening phase, with limited vessel activity and widening gaps across several ports. · So far this month: · Total moorings: 6 Total vessels: 4 · Two vessels have already completed single-port discharges: · STI Opera → Marsden Point Hafnell Bay Trail → Tauranga · The remaining activity is being carried by: · Grand Winner 3 Esteem Endeavour · These two vessels are currently…

Last week, elocal published Kiwibank’s latest economic update. On paper, the outlook suggested a fragile but emerging recovery. But for many New Zealanders reading it, that assessment landed very differently. · The reaction was immediate and, in many cases, blunt. “Fragile? It’s fked… I don’t know where they get recovery underway with all the closures and job losses. It’s horrendous.” · That response, while raw, reflects something increasingly…

It is hard to convince anyone they need to change when they think nothing is broken. The story of the emperor’s new clothes captures it. The whole court agreed the emperor was splendidly dressed. A child had to say he was naked. New Zealand’s public service has the same problem. My recent report Who runs the country? argues that ministers should appoint their chief executives, with statutory protections for the career service below. · The…

In our latest release “The Fall of the House of Biotechnology”, I began by saying it was among the most important articles we have published. One subscriber wrote back saying “If it is so important why can’t you say it in one sentence?”. This was an interesting question, because I realised that we live in a one sentence age, where our leaders and multinational corporations entrap us with empty slogans like “safe and effective” which are…

What is meant by Social Licence to Operate? · In regard to the WRC, social licence to operate means having the trust of the voters or ratepayers to govern on their behalf. · Currently in New Zealand we have democratic systems of local government which provide the councils with their “Social Licence to Operate” by way of elections where all ratepayers have the right to vote for candidates of their choice. · Elections and Candidates · Elections…

NZ Fuel Watch update from Dave Trotter, tracking tanker movements and fuel supply positions across New Zealand. · National Overview · Current shipping data shows no meaningful increase in inbound fuel activity, with vessel schedules remaining thin and increasingly spaced out. The emerging pattern suggests longer gaps between shipments, particularly in key North Island ports. · Tanker Schedule by Port · | Port | Vessel |…

Up to 200,000 women and girls were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army between 1932 and 1945. Last night, a six-member Auckland local board had to decide whether their memory could be marked in a Takapuna park, with the Japanese Embassy’s formal opposition sitting on the table in front of them. The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board voted 4-2 to refuse a bronze statue offered to the Korean community for their own cultural…

A Follow-Up to elocal’s Op-Ed: “New Zealand’s Supermarket Illusion: Why Prices Aren’t Falling and Why They’re About to Get Worse” · The response to today’s op-ed has been immediate and telling. · Across the country, readers are recognising the same pattern: Prices remain high, relief isn’t flowing through, and the system feels increasingly out of balance. · The frustration is real. · But so is something else. · A growing conversation around…

Overview · New Zealand’s fuel shipping schedule is entering another quiet phase, with multiple ports now showing extended gaps between tanker arrivals. · While not yet critical, the pattern is becoming familiar — and it continues to highlight the country’s reliance on tightly timed import logistics. · Current Situation · Marsden Point remains relatively quiet, with only limited confirmed activity: · STI Opera scheduled for May 1 No confirmed…

There’s a growing anger across New Zealand and it’s not hard to see why. · Scroll through any community page, any comment thread, any local discussion group, and the pattern is unmistakable: people are fed up with food prices. They’re not just frustrated they’re angry. · And the assumption driving that anger seems logical on the surface. · Fuel prices have come down. So why haven’t food prices followed? · But here’s the uncomfortable reality:…