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The Bondi Beach attack demonstrates how foreign political and religious conflicts can be imported into Western societies. · New Zealand is uniquely positioned to manage migration and establish clear boundaries on which conflicts it accepts. · Perhaps New Zealand’s social cohesion should be recognised as a legitimate policy constraint, not a moral taboo. NZ has a rarely discussed advantage when it comes to immigration · The terrorist attack at…

Your dog looks up from his food bowl and speaks to you with the voice of your best friend. A lover you haven’t seen in years has appeared at your door with a bundle of roses. Or, perhaps, you’re screaming and flailing your arms and legs as you plummet from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Dreams can be moving, hilarious or terrifying by turn, but they are almost always absurd. It only adds to Freud’s mystique that he put stock in them as a source…

Centrist Publishing arranged for television advertising for the book Jacinda: The Untold Stories; an unauthorised biography by David Cohen which was screened during the Graham Norton show on TVNZ 2, Friday 12th December. The advertising has galvanised Jacinda’s supporters and got them outraged and calling for complaints to be made to the Broadcasting Standards board such as the example that follows: “for airing a book known for spreading…

The local government election donation returns are in, and they tell a familiar story. Money talks in local government, and it speaks loudest on behalf of those with the most to gain from council decisions. The 2025 campaigns in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin were awash with cash from property developers, corporate magnates and other vested interests. Big money in the big city · Nowhere was the money gap starker than in…

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is demanding a full breakdown of Mayor Wayne Brown’s historic 7.9 percent rates increase.On Monday, the council’s Budget and Performance Committee approved the mayoral proposal for public consultation early next year. Earlier this month, the Ratepayers’ Alliance challenged Mayor Brown’s claim that the planned 7.9 percent rates rise is due to the cost of running the City Rail Link (CRL). · Auckland Ratepayers’…

Pine is one of my favourite ingredients and a scent I associate strongly with Christmas. One of the joys of having a real tree is that it can play a part in your cocktails, too. Spruce, Douglas fir and pine are all delicious in this drink, but if you’re snipping a branch from a wild tree, just make sure it’s not yew. The shrub will keep in the fridge for three weeks and makes 20 drinks, and it’s also lovely topped with sparkling water as a…

Could you imagine being able to "feel" the images on your screen? UCSB researchers have made this sci-fi-like idea a reality. They've developed a display where pixels physically rise off the surface when activated by laser light. Even our most advanced screens today have a limitation that makes them distinctly still feel like, well, screens: they're flat. They can display entire worlds with a level of detail that just a couple of decades ago…

Dear Director · Sometimes information helps us to understand puzzling situations. Business models can be very informative. It won’t have escaped your notice that the public health sector has no clear business incentive to understand what is making more people more sick more often with more serious conditions as we reported this week. · The opposite is the case with health insurance companies like yours. You have an absolute need to understand…

Not too long ago, the Peugeot 103 was ruling the streets of France. These were "pedal-and-pop" bikes, meaning they required the rider to pedal them for the two-stroke 50cc engine to kick in. And you didn’t even need a license – since they were limited to around 28 mph (45 km/h) – so they were all the rage back then. Now, after five decades, Peugeot has revived the nameplate as an electric moped. And unlike most revivals, the 103 still retains a…

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has insisted her electorate overspend was authorised, saying her office had an agreement to provide support to Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp (who passed away in June) while Kemp was unwell. · Party president John Tamihere flatly rejects that such an agreement ever existed. · In High Court filings, the party states there was no approval from Kemp for Kapa-Kingi to draw on Tāmaki Makaurau resources,…