Columns

What’s the Buzz – Why does ACT Bee-lieve in Paul Henry? 

Election campaigns are always learning opportunities for political parties. This year, it seems as though ACT is learning the lesson that it is not good practice to take on people with sections of their Wikipedia pages labelled “controversies” to run for List MP.   While I wouldn’t put it past ACT voters to look beyond

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Features

The iPad Kids Aren’t Alright 

A New Plymouth primary school has phased out the use of iPads for students in years one to four.  Omata School was one of the first in the country to adopt the use of devices in the classroom, but Principal Karen Brisco is now not so convinced that they are

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News

School lunches inquiry: What went wrong? 

The Audit Office has responded to an Official Information Act request regarding the changes to the Healthy School Lunches programme.  The changes were proposed in 2024 by Associate Minister for Education David Seymour, and rolled out over 2025.  The original Healthy School Lunches programme was expected to cost between $5.78 and $8.62 a lunch

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Reviews

Hooked 

Rating: 3/5 Hooked by Asako Yuzuki is a perfect example of how interesting it can be to read a work initially written in a different language, for a completely different audience.  The novel follows two women plagued by the ailment of loneliness. They become each other’s only female friends, but for

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Columns

What’s The Buzz – MMBee

Some people have a countdown until Christmas. I’m crossing off the days on the calendar until it reaches the 7th of November: Election Day.  Whether you’re anxiously watching the votes get counted, you’re actively avoiding any mention of politics, or you have no idea how to even wrap your head around the election, it’s important to understand

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Features

Maiki Sherman’s resignation: more than just a controversy

Maiki Sherman has resigned from her role as political editor for 1News at TVNZ.   That’s the headline, but it’s not the full picture. The circumstances surrounding her resignation have been only one part of an ecosystem of muddied waters that now make up the relationship between Parliament, the media, and the New Zealand

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Columns

What’s the Buzz: Winnie the Pooh wants his honey

If you pay attention to what goes on in New Zealand politics at all, you’d know the Beehive contains more drama than a high school theatre kid friend group. The politicians that we trust with our country with are… volatile, to say the least.   What’s ever-so-slightly concerning is how high-school-style drama has recently encapsulated New

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Features

The Rise and Fall of Fees Free

The tumultuous history of deciding who pays for university  The University of Waikato opened in1964, and its students back then had a much different experience financing university than we do today. From 1962 until 1989, the government paid for tertiary tuition fees in full with the state bursary.   As the story often goes, all good things

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Columns

The ultimatum: Central government x local government (sfw)

In November of 2025, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop and Minister for Local Government Simon Watts announced reforms to local government. On Tuesday the 5th of May, they gave councils three months to figure out how they would do it before the New Zealand Government steps in. According to

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Columns

What’s the Buzz: The search for a new Queen Bee

What year is it? Because I thought it was 2026, three years after New Zealand’s last election, making it an election year. The behaviour of our political leaders does not seem to line up with this.  There’s no denying that as idyllic as the world would be if we all made educated votes

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