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In my previous column, I argued that the Manage My Health breach revealed a hollowed-out state. But there’s something even more damning than the structural failures I outlined. This wasn’t a bolt from the blue. It was foreseeable. And it was ignored. Previous column click here · The most uncomfortable fact about the theft of 430,000 medical documents isn’t that hackers got in. It’s that someone tried to warn us six months earlier, and nothing…

Technological power holds a perennial fascination for leaders of every persuasion. The supposed ability to alter the genes of whole populations is the ultimate dream of power. In this mad dream, leaders will no longer have to put up with the deficiencies of employees or citizens, who might fall sick, fail in their appointed tasks or exercise their free will. Instead you can aspire to create an army of long lived invincible supermen who will…

Bayer on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson of unlawfully using mRNA optimization technology — originally developed by Monsanto to enetically engineer crops — as the platform for their COVID-19 vaccines, Reuters reported. Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018. by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. · Bayer is suing COVID-19 vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in federal court. · The chemical giant…

The US has announced it is withdrawing from dozens of international bodies that no longer serve American interests, including major UN and non-UN forums focused on climate, migration, social policy, peace, and democracy. US President Donald Trump © Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images · President Donald Trump had signed a memorandum suspending support for a total of 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions “that operate contrary to US national…

Overnight results from the Global Dairy Trade auction showed prices rising more than 6 percent, reversing a slide that had seen the index fall nine times in five months. The lift comes after fears that farming, one of the few bright spots in last year’s economy, may have already peaked. · The increase was stronger than anticipated. Cristina Alvarado, head of dairy insights at the New Zealand Exchange, said a rise had been expected, but the size…

The New Zealand government confirmed it was represented at a high-level meeting in Paris involving the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of countries considering peacekeeping and security guarantees if a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is achieved. New Zealand’s involvement, however, remains diplomatic rather than operational. · The meeting brought together Britain, France and other European allies, with a joint declaration…

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, New Zealand responded with unusual speed. Sanctions followed. Condemnations were issued. The language was unambiguous. We were told this was about defending the “rules-based international order” – a phrase our politicians have grown remarkably fond of. Winston Peters has deployed it frequently in his time as Foreign Minister. So where is that principled clarity now? · On Saturday, the United States…

The image we are taught is romantic and obsolete: ragged men, black flags, cannon smoke, plunder taken at sea. That version of piracy was crude, inefficient, and ultimately unsustainable. What replaced it was far more sophisticated—and far more destructive. The modern pirate does not board ships. He boards balance sheets, parliaments, and central banks. · To understand neo-piracy, we must begin where it was perfected: the British East India…

How much taxpayer funding will politicians spend this year on election advertising? It will be many, many millions of dollars, but we won’t know much about it, because the rules have been written to help MPs electioneer with parliamentary funding, without transparency. You would have already seen plenty of billboards and election ads for the various parties. National MPs have recently been carrying out a blitz of billboards and online ads, but…

On December 16, the Salvation Army and Community Housing Aotearoa released survey results indicating that in Auckland, the number of people living without shelter rose from 426 in September 2024 to 940 in September 2025. The figures relate to people sleeping rough or without any form of accommodation. · Government housing support fell over the same period, with funding reduced from $655 million last year to $577 million in the year to June…