Gordon Campbell: On The Farming Sector’s Persecution Complex

The narrative that our farmers are ‘doing it tough’ plays into a number of wellworn stereotypes ... More>>

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• National - National backs farmers marching against Govt policies
• Ag Proud - Ag Proud NZ encourage positive not provocative actions
• NZ Forest Owners' Association - March on Parliament deliberately created confusion
• DairyNZ - Who will pick up Essential Freshwater’s $80b price tag?
• Fish and Game NZ - DairyNZ claim of economic ruin "misleading"
• Beef And Lamb NZ - New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef launched
• Lincoln University - Personality important in farmer anxiety

Corrections: Independent Review Of Prisoner Mail Management

The independent review into the prisoner mail system has today been released, with Corrections accepting all 13 recommendations and making a number of changes to strengthen the management of prisoner mail. More>>

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• Department Of Corrections - Kindness-based prison programme is a recipe for success
• RNZ - Big rise in suicide, self-harm attempts in police custody

IPCA: Unlawful Detention Of Teenager; Influence Of Investigation

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that former Inspector Hurimoana Dennis unlawfully detained an Auckland teenager in 2015, and improperly influenced the outcome of a criminal investigation into his own son in 2014. More>>

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• NZ Police - Police acknowledge findings of IPCA

Reserve Bank: Official Cash Rate Unchanged At 1 Percent

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 1.0 percent. Employment remains around its maximum sustainable level while inflation remains below the 2 percent target mid-point but within our target range... More>>

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• National - Reserve Bank predicts further economic slowdown
• ACT - Reserve Bank gets it right by keeping OCR steady
• XE Money Transfer - XE Data Update - RBNZ Official Cash Rate decision

Food Prices: Avocados At Lowest Price In Almost Three Years

Avocados are at their cheapest average price since February 2017, with tomato, lettuce, and cucumber prices also falling, Stats NZ said today. More>>

Auckland Port Move: Cabinet Ministers Deliberate On Report

Cabinet ministers now have a copy of a report urging the government to move the Auckland port up north, but say no final decisions have been made. More>>

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• National Road Carriers - Moving port will cost Government, consumers and environment

Hope For Nature: A New Deal For The Commons

Joseph Cederwall on The Dig: To fully understand the biodiversity crisis and explore what comes next, it is necessary to address this mind-virus at the heart of our modern civilisation – the dominion worldview. More>>

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• HiveMind - Biodiversity HiveMind: Final Report

Peace Plan: Ten Ways To Tackle Online Hate

A Helen Clark Foundation project to reduce online harm will be presented today in competition at the Paris Peace Forum... 'The Christchurch Principles' is the only Australasian initiative out of the 120 international projects chosen to be highlighted at the forum. More>>

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• UN - Multilateralism must weather challenges of today & tomorrow

Good Death: A Historical Perspective On Euthanasia

Some critics of the bill present religious and moral objections against euthanasia, while proponents have focused on the trauma and pain of terminally ill patients and their families. All these arguments have a long history. More>>

Climate Strike: At UN, Youth Activists Press For Bold Action

This first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit follows Friday’s global ‘climate strike’, which saw millions of young people from across the globe walk out of school and jam streets in major cities, from New York to New Delhi and Santiago to San Francisco. More>>

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• School Strike 4 Climate - 4 days until intergenerational climate strike
• The Nation - Simon Shepherd Interviews James Shaw
• National - Coal use increasing under Labour-Green policies
• NZ Council of Trade Unions - NZCTU calls on employers to release staff for Climate Strike
• Interim Climate Change Committee - Interim Climate Change Committee Call for evidence launched
• Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre - Climate change is here - we all need to do our part
• University of Queensland - Preventing climate change cheaper than dealing with damage
• Video via UNFCCC - Winners of 2019 Global Youth Video Competition
• Binoy Kampmark - Extinction Rebellion: Leaving it to the Students
• Greenpeace - Major IPCC report: ‘The climate crisis is an oceans crisis’
• Citizen News Service - Inside out: Climate change induced migration
• ITUC - Just Transition for climate ambition

Pacific: Tongan PM 'Akilisi Pohiva Dies, Aged 78

A constant thorn in the side of the monarchy and nobility, Mr Pohiva's lifelong battle for representation had seen him fired from the public service and charged with sedition... More>>

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• NZ Govt - New Zealand express condolences on passing of Tonga’s PM

Untied Kingdom: UK PM Moves To Suspend Parliament In Weeks Before Brexit

The Prime Minister has briefed Cabinet colleagues that the government will bring forward an ambitious new legislative programme for MPs’ approval, and that the current parliamentary session will be brought to an end. More>>

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• UK Labour Party - Jeremy Corbyn responds to plans to suspend Parliament
• Out-Link - Brexit | The Guardian

Transit Of Mercury: Historic Viewing Recreated

Keen stargazers gathered at Te Whanganui o Hei, or Mercury Bay, on the Coromandel Peninsula to watch a rare astronomic event this morning. More>>

ALSO:

• Image Out-Link - Ian Griffin on Twitter

Forest And Bird: Hoiho Crowned Bird Of The Year For 2019

Widely considered an underdog, the valiant hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) has smashed the feathered ceiling to win Bird of the Year, a first for seabirds in the competition's 14 year history. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Hoiho get extra support
• Image Out-Link - Michaël Catanzariti
• University of Canterbury - Without Paris Accord, emperor penguins are in dire straits

Howard Davis: Very Silly Stormtroopers - Jojo Rabbit

Described as “an anti-hate satire,” Taiki Waititi's latest movie depicts the growth of a young boy in Nazi Germany who seeks advice on how to become a tough man from his 'imaginary friend' - a highly eccentric version of Adolf Hitler.
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Howard Davis: Tricky Dicky - Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon

At a time when talk of presidential impeachment has once again become a political reality, there is no more apposite drama than this gripping 'true story' about the most-watched TV interview in history. More>

Scoop Review Of Books: 'the everrumble' by Michelle Elvy

This is Zettie’s tale from her birth date in 1965 through to her ‘passing’ at the age of 105. Yet, Zettie’s tale is our own tale, as humans still all-too-often hell-bent on destroying our environment and therefore our fellow creatures – and thus – symbiotically and inevitably – ourselves. More>>