This piece was originally published on The Daily Blog.
Australia’s election result was a big downer. But there was a bright spot in the gains made by the Australian Greens.
The Green vote in the Senate went up from 8.65% in 2016 to 10.88% today. This was a gain of 2.22%,...
It is shameful that the New Zealand government supports the American/Saudi war on Yemen, which is causing such suffering. The UN reports that 7,700 people have been killed so far, including 1500 children. Millions have been displaced, primarily as a result the Saudi bombing of homes, hospitals and other infrastructure. It is a catastrophe.
(An opinion piece published in the New Zealand Herald, 13 December 2016.)
Most of us know there were conscientious objectors who refused to fight in World War I. Many were sent to jail for their stand. Less well-known are the 107 New Zealanders who were convicted for "sedition", simply for...
(A talk by Keith Locke to a seminar on "Just War?", hosted by the NZ Christian Network, NZ Peace and Conflict Studies Centre Trust, Pax Christi and the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship,in Auckland, 19 November 2016.)
The message of this talk is that war, as it becomes a more technological enterprise,...
The Mt Albert by-election is a good opportunity for the Greens to get their message out. It will essentially be a two-horse race between two capable candidates, the Greens Julie Ann Genter and Labour’s Jacinda Adern. Whoever wins, both will still be in Parliament, as both are now sitting party list MPs.
The evidence now shows that Watson did not kill Olivia Hope and Ben Smart in the Marlborough Sounds on or after New Year’s Day, 1998. Since the trial, the Crown case against Watson has collapsed on all essential points, as demonstrated in books by Mike Kalaugher (The Marlborough Mystery) and Keith Hunter (Trial by Trickery), articles by Mike White, and two major TV documentaries, Murder on the Blade? and another, Doubt: the Scott Watson Case, on TVNZ two months ago.
I was disappointed that the mass media largely bought the National Party’s spin on the Mt Roskill by-election. National said a loss would be catastrophic for Labour (and Andrew Little would be toast) but a loss for National wouldn’t mean a thing.
When he dismissed Fidel Castro as a “brutal dictator” Donald Trump again showed how out of touch he is. Most of the world is mourning the death of Cuba’s revolutionary leader.
How do we counter the right-wing populist currents emerging in several Western countries? The Trump victory shows that backing a liberal establishment alternative, like Hillary Clinton, is not a successful strategy.
Amit Kumar’s vote-swapping app for the US presidential election shows up how third parties are disadvantaged by the one round, first-past-the-post race.