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Nearly everyone needs a jab to avoid more level four lockdowns, according to the government’s latest research, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.Vaccinations alone won’t be enough to control delta. Jacinda Ardern made the case for near universal vaccination rates yesterday as she unveiled new modelling from Te Pūnaha Matatini that suggests up to 7000 people […]

THERE’S A LOT TO LIKE about the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). Anyone anxious to refresh their understanding of the tone and style of unreconstructed Trotskyism is only ever a mouse-click away from the revolutionary rhetoric of the Fourth International.

At present, it seems that the virus has moved into the Underworld – with several gangs reporting cases in the past week or so.

Lightforce’s Luke Nutting joined Simon Pound on Business is Boring this week to talk about catching New Zealand up with the rest of the world on solar power.Follow Business is Boring on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.Solar power is pretty amazing – this super abundant, super powerful source of energy, just shining […]

Ronia Ibrahim reflects on the fearlessness of We Are Lady Parts, the comedy series about an all women Muslim punk band that hilariously smashes tired tropes.  I’m one of those people who you might describe as “prudish” or “conservative” type. “Frick” is an unironic part of my vocabulary, and I struggle to say the word […]

Even before Covid, the idea that spending too long away from New Zealand should lose you the right to vote made little sense. Now’s the ideal time to do away with the rule for good, argues Andrew Geddis.Covid’s arrival, and our collective response to that arrival, emphasises the fundamental importance of community. But at the […]

Celebs are being forced to dive for puzzle pieces, lug bags of sand through waist-high water, and work their way through mazes made of sharp sticks. Who did this? And why?Richie Barnett and Johnny Tuivasa-Sheck are pictures of concentration. The former rugby league players are facing off, tasked with balancing black rubber balls on long-stemmed […]

Linda Burgess finds a kindred spirit in Tim Heath’s memoir, The Accidental Teacher.Not far into Tim Heath’s book, I was thinking how much fun he’d be to sit next to at a dinner party. No tensions there: I’d be sitting next to him pretty much agreeing on everything. By this stage in both of our […]

People who use drugs aren’t inherently unable to be reached and vaccinated – they just need someone to take the initiative, writes the NZ Drug Foundation’s Sarah HelmThroughout the most recent delta outbreak, it’s been clear that vaccinations will be our collective ticket to freedom. Ashley Bloomfield is among those saying we should aim for […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 23, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Say hello at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.1.50pm: How the outbreak’s trackingNew case numbers dropped back to 15 today, with the three-day average showing a slight drop on the second day of Auckland’s stint in alert level three.This graph and more available on The Spinoff’s Covid Tracker […]

The climate change minister says for all his irritations at the pace of change in government, momentum is growing to finally start emission cuts, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.The road to COP26. James Shaw is booked to fly to Glasgow at the end of next month for a United Nations climate conference where the world […]

THE LAST PLACE a young, well-educated, socially-liberal, mask-wearing Melburnian should be found today (22/9/21) is on the streets of downtown Melbourne. All morning, squads of increasingly angry and frustrated riot police have been clashing with groups of even angrier and more frustrated young men – most of them construction workers – protesting furiously against mandatory […]