All articles
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On the cusp
“We’re on the cusp of something special,” said one of the men on the TV. It’s mysterious. It’s alluring. It leaves just enough to the imagination. Actually, it leaves everything to the imagination. John Key’s repeated election promise during the third leader’s debate on Wednesday night suggests a rosy future, a new era of prosperity…
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Seismic testing stopped in Norway but coming soon to Northland
Seismic testing for oil in the Arctic Barents Sea, commissioned by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has been stopped one month ahead of schedule 4 days after Greenpeace exposed it to…
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Greenpeace’s Supreme Court win made New Zealand’s democracy a little stronger
Sometimes you just have to take a stand. Greenpeace’s win yesterday in the Supreme Court in a precedent setting case about an arcane charity law was one of those times. The story goes back years, when Greenpeace first started applying for charitable status. The Charities Commission (as it then was) said that although the bulk…
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From truffle to light crude; oil doesn’t come cheap
The Governments oil salesman Simon Bridges just can’t catch a break these days. Whether it’s having to admit that he’d never even heard of NZ’s largest forest park (Victoria FP) which he’d just opened up to drillers or getting stick for allowing oil exploration in the home of the last 55 Maui’s dolphins on earth,…
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Anadarko court case lost, but cowboys exposed
After the protests at sea against the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras’ deep sea drilling exploits off the East Cape were so successful, the National Government made certain aspects of protest at sea illegal with the Anadarko Amendment to clear the way for the Texan oil giant Anadarko to have a crack.
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A frosty reception for John Key’s budget from a surprise guest…
If you go down to the concrete jungle today, you’re sure to get a surprise. If you’re in town to cut some deals, you’ll never believe your eyes.
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Is the Green Party banking on an oily future?
Yesterday, the Green Party launched a pre-budget policy … “as a first step in accelerating New Zealand's transition to a smarter greener economy” …but from what we’ve seen so far, there a few glaring issues with how they propose to get the green economy into the black.
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Tuna: The quick species guide
Tuna are fish, and they are wild animals. But to many people, they are simply understood as food. It can be a bit confusing when the short hand of ‘tuna’ is used, as it covers a whole family of species, from the relatively-tiddly and widespread skipjack, right up to the majestic but beleaguered bluefins.
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Sack Simon: The forgotten forest is a bridge too far
Sneaky buggers those forests. Hard to keep track of. One minute they’re there, next they aren’t… a bit like Members of Parliament.
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NZ Govt energy policy: fiscal idiocy and atmospheric self-harm
As the IPPC report predicts dire consequences for New Zealand, our politicians talk only about ‘adaptation’ to Climate Change while carving up NZ for more fossil fuel exploration and maintaining an 'all of the above' approach to energy that even Simon Bridges thinks is just good rhetoric.