Dope News: Binding Cannabis Referendum To Be Held At 2020 Election

The referendum on cannabis for personal use is part of Labour's confidence and supply agreement with the Greens. It could be one of potentially three referenda - decisions have yet to be made about euthanasia and changes to electoral laws. More>>

ALSO:

• Greens - Green Party welcome binding referendum on cannabis
• ACT - ACT welcomes cannabis referendum
• Cannabis Referendum Coalition - #makeitlegal Campaign "Ready To Go" As Referendum Date Set

Vic: Victoria University Name Change Rejected

Education Minister Chris Hipkins has declined Victoria University of Wellington Council’s application for a legal name change. More>>

ALSO:

• National - Willis welcomes refusal of Victoria Uni name change
• NZ Taxpayers' Union - Rejection of Vic name change is a victory for taxpayers

PM's Post-Cab 17/12/18: Chief Justice, M Bovis

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's final post-cabinet press conference of the year focussed on announcing the appointment of Helen Winkelmann as the next Chief Justice, and an update on effort to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis from New Zealand. More>>

ALSO:

• BusinessDesk - Helen Winkelmann to replace Sian Elias as NZ Chief Justice - PM never saw Peters' pro-US speech before delivery
• NZ Govt - Mycoplasma bovis eradication is making substantial progress - Helen Winkelmann appointed Chief Justice of New Zealand - Earlier Speech: Peters - “Pacific Partnerships” - Georgetown

Law Commission Issues Paper: Use Of DNA In Criminal Investigations

In the 22 years since the Act came into force, it has become clear that the modern-day fingerprint analogy is increasingly inapt... Theoretically, whole genome sequencing could ultimately become the standard method of analysing a DNA sample. Such a development will give a new perspective on the concept of genetic surveillance in the criminal context. More>>

State Highways: $1.4 Billion For Road Safety Improvements

The Safe Network Programme will make 870 kilometres of high volume, high-risk State Highways safer by 2021 with improvements like median and side barriers, rumble strips, and shoulder widening. More>>

ALSO:

• National - Safety announcement pales in comparison to RONS
• Road Transport Forum - Road safety programme should include new highways
• NZ Transport Agency - Passing lanes on SH2 to be closed for safety during holidays

Dealing Crackdown, Addiction Support: Government Action On Synthetics

The NZ Drug Foundation has welcomed the Government’s response to synthetic drug deaths. The response strikes a balance between giving law enforcement the tools they need to target criminal networks and changing drug law to make it easier for people to access help when they need it. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Crackdown on synthetic drug dealers
• National - Government moves to decriminalise drugs - Earlier Filibustering means synthetics Bill won’t pass this year
• NZ First - NZ First Endorses Government Action Against Synthetics
• Greens - Drug addiction to be treated like a health issue
• ACT - Government plays whack-a-mole on synthetics
• Hapai Te Hauora - Hāpai Te Hauora applauds ‘significant step’
• Police Association - Police Association conditional support to drug initiatives
• DAPAANZ - Response to Govt crack-down on synthetic drug dealers
• Auckland City Mission - City Mission Welcomes Measures to Tackle Synthetic Drugs
• Salvation Army - New Approach to Drugs Will Save Lives
• National Addiction Centre - Important step in the right direction
• Out-Link - Just quietly, this is a big deal • Hard News • Public Address

Strategy Committee Unanimous: Wellington To Forge Ahead With Convention Centre

The three-storey Cable Street building, with around 18,000-square metres of floor space, will comfortably be able to host 1500 people for conventions. It includes a 1651sq m exhibition area that will attract international exhibitions too big for nearby Te Papa and provide an always-changing visitor attraction. More>>

ALSO:

• Wellington Chamber Of Commerce - Wellington Business Looking Forward to New Convention Space

Working Group Update: Mycoplasma Bovis Eradication Making Substantial Progress

International experts are impressed by New Zealand’s efforts to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis and are more confident the campaign is working... More>>

ALSO:

• The Scoop Team - PM's Post-Cab 17/12/18: Chief Justice, M Bovis
• Federated Farmers - Federated Farmers cautiously optimistic on M.bovis plan
• MPI - New NAIT compliance officers in the field

Immigration: Arrest For Human Trafficking And Slavery

It is alleged that the man, who is a Samoan national and New Zealand resident, has been regularly bringing Samoan nationals to New Zealand to work illegally for him in the horticultural industry. More>>

ALSO:

• The Scoop Team - PM's Post-Cab 17/12/18: Chief Justice, M Bovis
• First Union - Darker side emerging of exploitation of migrant workers - Reducing the exploitation of migrant workers

NZ's Space Programme: Rocket Lab Launches NASA Satellites

On Sunday, December 16, 2018 UTC, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle successfully lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula. More>>

ALSO:

• Image Trevor Mahlmann - via Out-Link - Rocket Lab

Conservation Plan: Celebrity Kiwi Released Into The Wild

One of the nation's most famous kiwi was among four released onto Taranaki Maunga... Atara, a five-year-old male, hatched while David Attenborough's cameras were rolling. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - New plan to save kiwi in the wild
• Rotoroa Island - Takahē pair released at Rotoroa Island

Viva Scoop 3.0! Rounding Up 2018 And Looking Ahead

2018 has been quite a year for Scoop. We are so thrilled to have successfully met the funding target for the first stage of the ‘Scoop 3.0’ plan raising $36,000. This means we can now proceed with the planning phase for the delivery of this bold vision for a community-owned, participatory, independent newsroom... More>>

ALSO:

• Scoop's PledgeMe Campaign Finishes
• Open Letter Part 2: Who Are The Biggest Freeriders?
• Why We Care about Scoop, and Why We Think You Should
• It's Crunch Time For Scoop.co.nz - An Open Letter To Readers
• Saving The News
• Building a Community Newsroom: “Scoop 3.0”
• Stopping Freeriding - Help Scoop Survive (and Thrive!)
• Your Organisation Can Now Sponsor a Section on Scoop.co.nz!
• Scoop Section Sponsorships: An Opportunity to Collaborate

Gordon Campbell: On Whether Trump Is Likely To Be Impeached

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and for wrapping a plea bargain under the Christmas tree for all ye formerly merry, Trump-connected gentlemen... More>>

Binoy Kampmark: Australia’s Jerusalem “Compromise”

Morrison is a masterfully ignorant practitioner who finds himself in the arms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yet still keen to press the idea that international law is being observed. More>>

ALSO:

• Vacy Vlazna - The Australian Prime Minister’s Rapture for Jerusalem

Gordon Campbell: On The Brexit & Huawei Clusterfudges

Come December 2019, the West’s social democracies could be gone through quite a few changes at the top. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Foreign Minister to visit United States of America
• Gordon Campbell - On Judgment Day for Theresa May

UN Rights Declaration At 70: We Are All Born Free And Equal

On Article 1 of the UDHR: Dignity is the foundation of all human rights. Human beings have rights, and should be treated with utmost care, precisely because each one possesses intrinsic worth. More>>

ALSO:

• Binoy Kampmark - Charters and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Amnesty International - Amnesty publishes review of human rights in 2018
• Image via Out-Link - Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

Gordon Campbell: On The (Delayed) Judgment Day For Theresa May

When under stress, British PM Theresa May reportedly eats peanut butter straight from the jar. Crunch time is looming... More>>

ALSO:

• Out-Link - Theresa May calls off MPs' vote on her Brexit deal - BBC News
• Out-Link - Labour MP grabs the mace during parliament – video | The Guardian
• Out-Link - Andy Serkis reprises Gollum to mock Theresa May, Brexit
• EU Court of Justice - Judgment: UK free to revoke article 50 notification

Deal On Paris Implementation: Rapid Action Urged At Climate Change Conference

Following a year of devastating climate disasters around the globe, from California to Kerala, and Tonga to Japan, the annual UN Climate Change Conference opens with the goal of finalising the implementation guidelines for the Paris Climate Change Agreement. More>>

ALSO:

• Out-Link - COP24: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Katowice | Carbon Brief
• RNZ - UN climate conference agreement: Mixed reactions - Climate change risk assessment faces uninsurable 'conundrum'
• United Nations - At COP24, world nations agree on a concrete way forward - New Era of Global Climate Action To Begin - UN Secretary-General's remarks at the conclusion of the COP2 - ‘Going green’ is good business says private sector at UN - COP24 addresses climate change displacement - G20 told COP24 climate change conference 'must succeed' - CO2 emissions on the rise for first time in four years - UN - #TakeYourSeat at the UN Climate Change Conference
• Carbon Market Watch - COP24 countries fail to agree on basic accounting principles
• Greenpeace NZ - COP24 ends without firm promises to raise climate action - NZ called on by global leaders to step up at COP24
• NZ Govt - Climate Change Minister James Shaw COP24 comments - Conference to write rules on climate change action
• Global Climate and Health Alliance - COP24 Must Put Health First in Climate Negotiations - Lancet Countdown Climate and Health Report
• Maori Climate Commissioner - Culture of climate change denial - Maori Climate Commissioner demands government response
• NZ Climate And Health - Major health report shows urgent climate action needed
• Association of Salaried Medical Specialists - Senior doctors urge action on climate change
• SPREP - The battle for 1.5 at the UN Climate Conference in Poland
• Iwi Chairs Forum - National Iwi Chairs Forum Delegation at COP24 UNCCC Katowice
• BusinessDesk - Govt opens $238M of grants to encourage tree planting
• NZ Energy and Environment Business Week - Crown Minerals Act Review coming, as DoC mining ban delayed
• University of Otago - Cycle lanes and walkways cut car use

New Report: Refugees In PNG Being Pushed To The Brink

Refugee Council of Australia and Amnesty International paint a stark picture of a traumatised refugee population hit hard by Australia's recent healthcare and counselling service cuts, as well as continued threats to their safety. More>>

ALSO:

• Amnesty International - Australian and PNG leaders must act urgently to save lives

Jamal Khashoggi: UK, France, Germany Join Calls For Credible Investigation

Germany, the United Kingdom and France share the grave concern expressed by others including HRVP Mogherini and UNSG Guterres, and are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness. More>>

ALSO:

• Gordon Campbell - The West’s role arming Khashoggi’s killers - On the polls and National’s leadership (and Erdogan)
• NZ Govt - Death of Jamal Khashoggi
• United Nations - Business leaders standing up for missing Saudi journalist - UN experts deeply concerned by State-sponsored abductions - Saudi Arabia urged to reveal all it knows about Khasoggi - UN demands probe into disappearance of Saudi journalist
• Binoy Kampmark - Embassy Disappearances: Jamal Khashoggi
• Ross Meurant - Praetorian Guards - Protection for They Who Expose Bad Things
• UN Watch - Saudi rights record praised by 75 UN delegations

MSF Not Wanted: Nauru Government Shows Continued Callousness

The Nauruan Government’s decision to ask Doctors Without Borders to immediately leave shows continued callousness towards asylum seekers desperately seeking a safe place to call home, Green MP Golriz Ghahraman said today. More>>

ALSO:

• Pacific Media Watch - NAURU: Loss of MSF mental health carers heightens fears
• Binoy Kampmark - Australian Complicity: Nauru and Silencing Journalism
• Royal Australasian College of Physicians - Child, family immigration detention is health emergency

Gordon Campbell: On The Best Music Tracks Of 2018

Oliver Godji, who records as Octavian, is a French/British/Angolan rapper based in London. As someone born in Lille, France, he didn’t qualify for welfare in Britain... More>>

Programme Launch: Pussy Riot Leads The Auckland Fringe

The full programme for Auckland Fringe arts festival 2019 has landed with a giant international announcement for the blockbuster programme which features Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot. They are set to make their New Zealand debut, coming to Auckland for one night only. More>>

Howard Davis: Three Reasons for Film Fans to Get Netflix

The past two months have finally seen Netflix come into its own, providing the financing for three films that will warm the hearts of cinephiles everywhere - Orson Welles' The Other Side of The Wind, The Coen Brothers' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and Alfonso Cuarón's Roma. More>>

Scoop Review Of Books: The Rift by Rachael Craw

Rachael Craw's first series, Spark has been extremely well received by the YA community in both Australia and New Zealand (it has a hashtag, #SparkArmy), and The Rift looks like it’s going to be just as popular. More>>

Porn And Teens Report: 'Wake-Up Call' On Sexuality Education

Family Planning: The Office of Film and Literature Classification’s survey of more than 2000 young people about pornography highlights that sexuality education provides an opportunity for a vital counter-narrative to porn that could reach most young New Zealanders... More>>

ALSO:

• Office of Film and Literature Classification - Young people and porn – the real story
• Netsafe - Parents’ top online concerns
• Family First - Time For Action, Not More Research, On Porn Harm
• Sexual Abuse Prevention Network - Education needed to reduce impact of pornography on youth
• Out-Link - Tumblr’s porn ban is going about as badly as expected | Ars Technica
• Out-Link - Tumblr’s Porn Ban Will Delete A Huge Part Of Internet Culture