The Guardian | 15 Oct 2013 How do you settle a rather sizeable bill for your milk delivery? If you are a cash-strapped superpower the answer is, apparently, to offer up a pair of fighter jets and a nuclear submarine as payment. The extraordinary offer was made by Russia to New Zealand in 1993, a…
Scoop | 6 July 2015 Hon Sir Michael Cullen and Dame Patsy Reddy, 6 July 2015 The independent reviewers examining New Zealand’s intelligence and security legislation are calling for public submissions. Hon Sir Michael Cullen and Dame Patsy Reddy have been appointed by the Acting Attorney-General, Hon Amy Adams, to conduct the review. “We are…
NBR | 1 July 2015 The Harmful Digital Communications Bill passed its third and final reading last night. Its criminal and “safe harbour” provisions will come into effect once the legislation is given royal assent, expected Monday morning. Work will then begin on appointing the approved agency (see below). The bill’s key elements: Harmful Digital…
NZ Herald | 27 June 2015 Behind every daring spy is a miserly bean-counter demanding a receipt. That may be the single most significant factor in the French government being exposed as the perpetrator of one of the most outrageous acts of terrorism on a friendly country. CLICK HERE FOR THE HERALD’S SPECIAL REPORT
NZ Herald | 12 June 2015 Who are New Zealand’s rich and powerful? Some recent news stories – especially on Government appointments and Queens Birthday honours – give an indication of the make-up of this country’s elite. Judges are renowned for being out of touch and living in their own elite worlds. Yet it was…
Newstalk ZB | 5 June 2015 Within a fortnight, the government closed the heavy doors of Relationships Aotearoa and opened up a new floodgate for “private investment” into mental health. This is the culmination of five long years of deep funding cuts to various agencies and NGOs tasked with helping the most vulnerable: Relationships Aotearoa,…
NZ Listener | 4 June 2015 Ever get the feeling you’re part of some great global experiment? For many of Silicon Valley’s bosses, the people of New Zealand are precisely that, confides the Economist. “In medicine, trials are conducted on guinea pigs, rats, mice and rabbits,” it says. “In digital businesses, tests are performed on…
Truth In Media | 2 June 2015 A new revelation from the trove of documents released by Edward Snowden reveal the US government and ally nations used spyware in phone apps. A new document from whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals that the United States, Canada, and other so-called “Five Eyes” nations hacked weaknesses in one of the…
Atlas Monitor | 3 June 2015 “The US invasion of Iraq created the ISIS phenomenon in Iraq” according to New Zealand Labour Party Defence spokesperson Phil Goff. However, Goff goes on to say “In Syria al Assad and his father did awful things, and he refused to concede to the demands of the Arab Spring. …
NZ Herald | 30 May 2015 Auditor-General Lyn Provost must investigate Murray McCully’s secret Saudi deal, which is attracting far too much adverse comment on the international stage to be easily swept under the carpet. Cabinet documents do not shed sufficient light on why McCully spearheaded an initiative which at its kindest interpretation resulted in…