Trish Keeper, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Laid-off Supie staff were paid by an anonymous donor – but many employees never get what they’re owed when a company fails. New Zealand should follow overseas examples to better protect workers.
Timothy Welch, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
With the Clean Car Discount under threat, more large, polluting and dangerous vehicles will hit New Zealand roads. That will further discourage walking and cycling.
Susan St John, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Working for Families tax credits favour those in work, yet discourage them from working or earning more. But there is a cost-effective way to improve the system for those on welfare and low incomes.
Group therapy can be at least as effective as individual therapy. It improves mental health by giving people a stronger sense of belonging – without medicines, hospitals or expensive professionals.
Phar Lap’s famous 1930 Melbourne Cup victory united Australia and New Zealand in celebration. Almost a century on, people still flock to visit his remains, on display at three different museums.
National and ACT will need to get past their animosity towards NZ First, and its mercurial leader Winston Peters, if the right wing coalition is to have any hope of forming a government.
Everyone involved in the tourism industry will need to manage risk differently after a court found the landowners of Whakaari/White Island guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
David Ackerley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Bacterial DNA extracted from soil includes many genes whose function remains unknown. The novel enzymes these genes code for could be useful in efforts to clean up persistent pollutants.
Ahead of Friday’s final election results, the most likely outcome is National and ACT will need to add NZ First to form a right-wing coalition government. These are the results and seats to watch.
Bringing together worker, business, and government representatives helped set clearer rules for everyone on public holidays. We need to try that same approach to lift NZ’s poor productivity.
Preliminary findings show that managed retreat, structural flood protection and climate-resilient development projects are most at risk of maladaptation.
A conflict resolution expert – and rugby fan – explains how the game can restore spectacle and avoid farcical and dangerous mismatches due to players being sent off.
Considered a pipe dream not too long ago, research on RNA therapeutics is progressing rapidly. Now a new manufacturing protocol will help researchers to advance the technology.
Manufacturers have too much legal freedom to sell products that don’t last or are hard to repair. It’s time local law caught up with global efforts to address this environmental and consumer issue.
Stringent measures are needed to prevent plastic pollution. But concerns about carbon leaching from plastic waste would be better aimed at emissions from producing more plastic in the first place.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University