Michael Fletcher, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington One of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s favourite exhortations is that we all “be kind” to one another. It’s part of the reason she and her government have won admiration around the world for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their latest income support program, however, has led many …
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Can you socially distance at a BLM rally in Australia & NZ? How to protest in a coronavirus pandemic
Philip Russo, Monash University The death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of police has sparked protests across the United States and inspired many people to reflect on our own history of police violence against Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand. After thousands marched across New Zealand on Monday, a series of rallies and vigils are planned …
Read More »Graham Adams: Should we have a Royal Commission of Inquiry into our Covid-19 response?
In mid-April, as New Zealand entered its fourth week of alert level 4, the Prime Minister warned us not to make comparisons with other countries over our Covid-19 pandemic response. This extraordinary advice came after Simon Bridges had urged the government to adopt a less-stringent lockdown similar to those in some Australian states. He told media that Australia “has …
Read More »China moves on Hong Kong
China and Hong Kong will this week reach a major turning point, with the expected signing of the new National Security Law in Beijing. The law is designed to quell the continuing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, but marks a departure from the “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement Hong Kong has worked under since 1997, which includes a high degree of …
Read More »Coronavirus has turned retail therapy into retail anxiety – keeping customers calm will be key to carrying on
Jessica Vredenburg, Auckland University of Technology and Megan Phillips, Auckland University of Technology So you finally hit the shops and cafes after weeks of lockdown. After disinfecting your hands, following the arrows around the shop or to your table, taking care to avoid others where possible and, in some cases, providing your contact tracing details – how enjoyable was the …
Read More »The vaccine we’re testing in Australia is based on a flu shot. Here’s how it could work against coronavirus
Kylie Quinn, RMIT University and Kirsty Wilson, RMIT University A new trial has begun in Victoria this week to evaluate a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The vaccine is called NVX-CoV2373 and is from a US biotech company, Novavax. The trial will be carried out across Melbourne and Brisbane, and is the first human trial of a vaccine specifically for COVID-19 …
Read More »Dominic Cummings: powerful people most likely to break rules even if they make them
Andre Spicer, City, University of London A very large number of people in the UK have been complying with coronavirus lockdown rules and staying at home, according to recent study. That, in part, explains the outrage that has followed the revelation that Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, was not among them. Cummings has admitted travelling across the country in …
Read More »Why Trump’s Make America Great Again hat makes a dangerous souvenir for foreign politicians
Dominic O’Sullivan, Charles Sturt University It looked just like any posed political picture. The politician, in this case the National Party’s newly elected leader, Todd Muller, standing by a bookcase. So far so normal. It wasn’t even a new photo. Except that clearly visible in the lower left-hand corner was a powerful piece of political symbolism – a red Make …
Read More »Australian economy must come ‘out of ICU’: Scott Morrison
Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Scott Morrison says it is vital to get the Australian economy “out of ICU” and “off the medication” of government support “before it becomes too accustomed to it”. In speech on his government’s plans to reset economic growth over the next three to five years, Morrison says, “We must enable our businesses to earn our …
Read More »Rich and poor don’t recover equally from epidemics: Rebuilding fairly will be a global challenge
Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, disaster recovery plans are almost always framed with aspirational plans to “build back better”. It’s a fine sentiment – we all want to build better societies and economies. But, as the Cheshire Cat tells Alice when she is lost, where we ought to …
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