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South Australia brings trains back into public ownership.

Howick real estate agent Janet Dickson's celebrated High Court action over having to do a mandatory 90- minute course focused on Māori culture, language and te Tiriti o Waitangi has been dismissed "in its entirety" by a judge. She faces a five-year ban if her licence is revoked.

Judge: "The fact Te Kākano was conducted as a webinar that did not allow participants to discuss their opinions of the topic within the course setting does not prevent them from doing so outside of it, as Mrs Dickson has herself demonstrated through her public comments."

3/ "A 90-minute prescribed course is not a disproportionate burden compared to the ability of the course, from the Authority’s perspective, to better enable licensees to meet their professional obligations."

Excellent piece on public housing, how construction costs have risen worldwide, and how therefore New Zealand’s public housing choices are political: thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360562…. (Also written by my very talented sister, Alexis Harris, who has long-standing experience in this area.)

David Seymour refused to say whether Philip Polkinghorne gave a donation to ACT, before or after Seymour wrote to police on Polkinghorne's behalf. If Polkinghorne hadn't donated, wouldn't Seymour say? Doesn't this leave ppl assuming Polkinghorne donated under the $1500 threshold?

Excellent conversation between Thomas Coughlan and Marco de Jong on NZ foreign policy and the Pacific: open.spotify.com/episode/3C2gKK…. This conversation moves quickly and incisively across lots of topics, including New Caledonia and the Cook Islands. Need more conversations like this!

We criticise the NZ government’s signalled increase of defence spending towards 2% of GDP. “If the government was serious about regional security and New Zealand’s influence in the Pacific, they would invest in development and diplomacy." Dylan Asafo

.Marco de Jong "This is wasteful spending that will only benefit the military industrial complex...We should be buying ferries not frigates. Our budget priorities must reflect urgent national issues, foremost of which is the cost of living crisis.” Read more: scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2502…

Dental for All published a new report today telling the stories of 10 people struggling in NZ's privatised dental system. It shows the $1000 WINZ dental grant is not fit for purpose,+makes the case for universal, free, Te Tiriti-consistent oral healthcare: dentalforall.nz/research

Health workers from NZPSA speak out: health cuts are hurting staff and patients. Similarly, PSI's global survey found half of world's health workers on verge of quitting and a third have seen needless patient deaths due to under staffing. Time for govts to revalue health

My essay on the visionary, affecting and extraordinarily funny work of Janet Frame. Focused on the novels and short stories she wrote while she lived in Camberwell in the early '60s, when she was freed of her ‘schizophrenic fancy dress’. lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/…

Thank you comrade. I've decided to collate pieces I have written onto a Substack, Levellers & Revellers - 'Class-critical and socialist perspectives on New Zealand political economy and society' - here: levellersandrevellers.substack.com

Congratulations, Zohran Kwame Mamdani! Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city. Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won.

In 2023 Uber paid $1.2m in tax on an estimated $867m in revenue while transferring $200.2m in "intercompany service fees" - profits - offshore. Check out our latest report "The business of misclassification" on the costs of the Uber model in NZ. cictar.org/s/Uber-Report-…

Wrote this on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on Israel’s unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories: waikatotimes.co.nz/nz-news/360752…. What was said, including on apartheid and obligations of other states like NZ, deserves more attention.