Archive
The Most Famous Pub In New Zealand Is Up For Sale... Again
Posted 10:56am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham
The Captain Cook Hotel is once again up for sale. With a name arguably as well known as any other pub anywhere in the country, the recently renovated Cook (as it’s known to most students) should, it is hoped, be snapped up as quickly as possible. ABC Business Sales, who are tasked with Read more...
Tenants Receive Financial Payout After Council Flats Found to be Unsafe
Posted 10:51am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joel MacManus
Eleven tenants, many of whom are students, at a council-owned flat complex have received financial payouts after investigations found faults in the fire alarm system which would have put residents in danger in an emergency. The boarding house on the upper two levels of the Moray Place carpark Read more...
Dunedin Hospital Rebuild may Cost Millions, Billions or Squillions
Posted 10:48am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham
Dunedin’s Hospital rebuild has suffered yet another setback in its completion dates, with the Otago Daily Times reporting that the best case scenario is now 2027. They claim the worst-case scenario is a completion date of 2031, which would be a “part rebuild and part refurbishment on Read more...
Unipol Struggling to Keep In Shape
Posted 10:45am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joel MacManus
The University Plaza Building, which houses the Unipol Recreation Centre, is suffering structural issues in the stonework. The cause of many of the issues has not yet been identified, although efforts are underway. Since the building was completed just over five years ago, a number of cracks have Read more...
Dr Timothy Molteno University of Otago Physicist and Internationally Wanted Criminal
Posted 10:42am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham
What names do you associate with Interpol’s wanted criminal list? El Chapo? Osama Bin Laden? Pablo Escobar? The list of infamy goes on and on. One name a little closer to home than downtown Medellín or the mountains of Afghanistan is Dr Timothy Molteno. Currently a Senior Lecturer Read more...
Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 14
Posted 10:37am Sunday 9th July 2017 by Joe Higham
Your OUSA Executive continued to meet up and work on your behalf throughout the semester break. With the results of the referendum coming just before the beginning of first semester’s exam period, they spent much of the meeting discussing the complaints arising out of the voting period and the Read more...
UKIP Tries to Stay Relevant by Turning to Islamophobia
Posted 11:51am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Cameron Meads
The Brexit vote rattled Britain and the world. The death of the European Union and the rise of a new world order seemed imminent with Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen’s mobilisation of alt-right voters. Almost a year on, many of these fears have faded while new implications have Read more...
Labour Confronting Important Issues
Posted 11:48am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Jack Pacey
The Labour Party has added to its promises for the upcoming election with another set of policy announcements centred around the growing housing debate and the issue of mental health in New Zealand. These plans represent the start of what Labour hopes to develop into a coordinated effort to present Read more...
The G.O.A.T. Series Part Two: Womens Edition
Posted 11:37am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Charlie Hantler
Following on from the men’s edition, we now turn our focus in on the women’s sport and their greats. Names such as Venus and Serena Williams, Flo-Jo and Irene van Dyk spring to mind, due to their sheer dominance of their codes, but they have plenty of competition for their respective Read more...
Winston Peters Speaks at Otago Uni, Doesnt Like Tomato Sauce
Posted 11:17am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham
NZ First leader Winston Peters spoke at the University of Otago’s Main Common Room last Wednesday, and within just a few minutes of his speech beginning, began targeting Critic for an article we published in Issue Four. The article, entitled “Winnie Blues: Winston Peters on Yet Read more...
Opinion Piece: On The Upcoming OUSA Referendum
Posted 11:13am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Sam McChesney
A few years back, when the government was pushing through Voluntary Student Membership (VSM), students’ associations across the country were being slammed as leftwing fringe groups. Students’ associations, it was claimed, had no business making political statements on behalf of students Read more...
Students Outnumbered By Pizzas at OUSA Student Forum
Posted 10:57am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham
OUSA’s annual Student Forum took place on Monday 22nd May, providing a chance for students to ask questions in relation to the 11 questions included in the upcoming referendum, due to begin from 9am on 29 May. The event is notoriously poorly attended, and this year saw even the amount of Read more...
Announcement of Financial Help for Students Not All It Seems for Dunedin
Posted 10:54am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
Students in financial trouble may breathe a slight sigh of relief after the changes announced in the 2017 Budget, although little help is on the way for those studying in Dunedin. Minister for Finance Steve Joyce announced a $20 per week increase in the accommodation supplement for those on Student Read more...
CompSci pips Biology for hardest subject at Uni
Posted 10:51am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
If you’re looking for an easy pass on that last paper of your degree, we’ve got your back. A request made by Critic under the Official Information Act (OIA) has revealed the average pass rates by subject area at the University of Otago for the last several years. As a public Read more...
Otago Scientist leads New Zealand Study in Opioid Addiction Recovery
Posted 10:38am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Anna Linton
An Otago Medical Anthropologist, Dr Geoff Noller, has conducted a study in New Zealand into the controversial use of ibogaine in treating opioid dependency. Ibogaine is a plant-alkaloid derived psychoactive substance. It has been toted as an alternative medicine treatment for drug addiction, Read more...
University To Finally Provide Late Night Study Spaces To Students
Posted 10:32am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
The University of Otago has responded to student demand for more late night study spaces on campus. From 22 May to 21 June the St David lecture theatre concourse and surrounds, as well as the upstairs, will be available 24 hours with student swipe card access. From 29 May to 18 June the Union Read more...
Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 13
Posted 10:27am Sunday 28th May 2017 by Joe Higham
This OUSA Executive meeting was the final one before the vital referendum kicks off at 9am on Monday 29 May. During the meeting, Education Officer Bryn Jenkins pointed out that “this is the most important [OUSA] referendum in a decade,” a statement that caused the other eight members of Read more...
Teams I Hate and Why You Should Hate Them Too: Liverpool FC
Posted 11:22am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Charlie Hantler
Everyone has sports teams they love, for me these are Otago, the mighty Highlanders, the Black Caps, Manchester United, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I thoroughly enjoy cracking open a Speight’s, putting my feet up and watching them do their thing. It really is a great time. However, like Read more...
Ransomware attack: Mass infrastructure catastrophes no longer sci-fi
Posted 11:15am Sunday 21st May 2017 by George Elliott
The ransomware attack last week, coined WannaCry, has been heralded as a wake-up call for the world on the very material dangers that cyberwarfare can have on society’s infrastructure. First appearing in Spain on 12 May, WannaCry spread via email, exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Read more...
Animal Research at Otago
Posted 11:09am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Oska Rego
Animal testing is always a hugely controversial and divisive topic, with each side rigid in their beliefs. The University of Otago are following through on plans to spend $50 million on a new animal research facility meaning the debate has reared its head once again throughout campus. If Read more...
OUSA Referendum Questions
Posted 11:00am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Critic
Voting on student issues in the OUSA Referendum begins next week and will finish at 4pm on Wednesday. To discuss any of the questions head along to the OUSA Forum this Monday at 1pm in the Main Common Room in the Link. The things you can vote on are: Should the Otago University Students’ Read more...
Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 12
Posted 10:55am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Joe Higham
Concern over the Bible Elohim Academy, which some have labelled as a ‘religious cult’, was discussed, due to the group wanting to affiliate with OUSA. They are seen by OUSA Recreation Manager Michaela Tangimetua as being an “extension of” controversial South Korean religious Read more...
CCTV Debate Continues In The Run Up To Vital OUSA Referendum
Posted 10:49am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Joe Higham
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 8.0px Helvetica} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 11.3px; line-height: 12.0px; font: 8.0px Helvetica} Dunedin City Councillor Lee Vandervis, who has long been a vocal advocate for extra surveillance to be Read more...
Iconic Dunedin Castle May Soon Be Open To The Public
Posted 10:47am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Joel MacManus
One of Dunedin’s greatest historic landmarks may soon be accessible to the public, if plans go smoothly, according to Steven De Greef, Chairperson of the Cargill’s Castle Trust. Cargill’s Castle, one of only two castles in New Zealand (the other being Larnach Castle, also in Read more...
Satire: The Truth is Out There
Posted 10:36am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Charlie OMannin
Over the past week construction has stopped on the stretch of the Leith River between Union St and the Leith St footbridge, around the same time as a mysterious blue tarpaulin appeared. They have clearly found something that has halted construction. One anonymous law student said that he “saw Read more...
Hepatitis C Resource Centre Closes Doors Due To Funding Shortfall
Posted 10:32am Sunday 21st May 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi
After facing a tumultuous period in recent years, the Otago and Southland branch of the Hepatitis C Resource Centre Trust has shut its doors for good. Since the government cut the centre’s already meagre funding (they only received $45,000 per year, to cover wages amongst all the other Read more...
Labour floats Māori-run prison idea
Posted 11:05am Sunday 14th May 2017 by George Elliott
Last week, Labour’s corrections spokesman Kelvin Davis mentioned an idea to turn the existing Ngawha prison in Northland to one run sole on Maori values: "A prison based on Māori values, not exclusively for Māori but for anybody, but they'll know that the values that the Read more...
You Can Count On Us To Keep Workplace Gender Identity Issues Down
Posted 10:55am Sunday 14th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
Countdown supermarkets have garnered praise from LGBT support organisations after releasing a new policy to support employees transitioning between genders. The policy, which has been introduced at all Countdown supermarkets, distribution centres, processing plants, and support offices allows for Read more...
After Hours Oral Pleasure Cumming to Campus
Posted 10:52am Sunday 14th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
The University of Otago is seeking to revamp and extend its campus food and beverage offerings, with a specific focus on increasing availability and atmosphere outside of typical study hours. A tender has been put out to consultants to provide a “campus wide food, beverage, and retail Read more...
Love Another Mother Campaign Begins, Helping Dunedins Vulnerable Women
Posted 10:49am Sunday 14th May 2017 by Anna Linton
Te Roopū Pūtaiao (TRP), the University of Otago Māori Science Students’ Association, has expanded their ‘Love Another Mother’ volunteer initiative, which is aimed at giving gifts to vulnerable women in the Ōtepoti community for Mother’s Day. The Read more...
Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 11
Posted 10:41am Sunday 14th May 2017 by Joe Higham
The University of Otago’s Deputy Proctor Andrew Ferguson and Team Leader for Media Engagement Jo Galer were both present to inform the executive confidentially about the university’s plans. Ferguson began his pitch selling the initiative to the executive, although, approximately two Read more...
Otago University To Install 60 CCTV Cameras in North Dunedin's Streets
Posted 9:16am Friday 12th May 2017 by Joe Higham
A procedural mistake made during the latest OUSA Executive meeting (Monday 8 May) has provided Critic with an unintended and exclusive insight into Otago University’s controversial plans to drastically increase the amount of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV), the large majority of Read more...
The G.O.A.T. Series Part One: Male Athletes
Posted 11:57am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Charlie Hantler
G.O.A.T., or the ‘greatest of all time’, is an American phrase which has now become commonplace in sporting circles with discussions about which sportsperson is the best to ever grace their code’s pitch/ring/field and so on. Throughout the rest of the year, Critic will conduct a Read more...
Interview with Nicky Hager
Posted 11:43am Sunday 7th May 2017 by George Elliott
George Elliot: There’s been a lot of blowback from Hit & Run. What is your assessment from the response to that? Nicky Hager: So far the book is going very well. It could seem like the goal was that the government announced the enquiry, and that was the test of whether it worked, but Read more...
Critic Sides With Scientific Evidence As Pro- and Anti-Vaxxers Lock Horns
Posted 11:31am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joe Higham
An OUSA Facebook post promoting National Immunisation Week (1-7 May) provided the latest platform for both sides of the vaccination debate to lock horns. OUSA made the post on 2 May to help spread awareness for the Southern District Health Board’s program of providing free human Read more...
National Drafts New Law Following Landmark $2 billion Pay Equity Settlement
Posted 11:24am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Anna Linton
The National Party has announced that they are currently drafting legislation to overhaul the pay equity laws. The new law will provide a non-judicial framework for pay equity claims and narrow the current ‘comparator’ process. Under the current Equal Pay Act 1972, employees must find Read more...
License Suspensions Handed Out For Bransons Bar and Alley Cantina
Posted 11:20am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
Two Dunedin bars popular with students have had their licenses suspended following rulings from the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. Branson’s Bar on St Andrew St and Alley Cantina on George St had their licenses temporarily revoked, for 72 and 48 hours respectively, for serving Read more...
NZ Government Pissed Off With Australias Backstabbing Education Reform
Posted 11:15am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joe Higham
The Australian Government has decided to impose international tuition fees on New Zealand students at Australian universities as part of their recently introduced Education Reform Package. The changes will come into effect from 1 January 2018 and will likely affect thousands of New Read more...
NZME & Fairfax Merger Declined Amid Concerns for NZ Democracy
Posted 11:11am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi
The authorisation for a merger between media companies NZME and Fairfax has been declined by the Commerce Commission. The decision came after a year of lobbying and speculation involving some of the country’s largest media brands. NZME’s subsidiaries include the NZ Herald and Newstalk Read more...
Winnie Blues: Winston Peters on Yet Another Anti-Immigration Rant
Posted 11:07am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joel MacManus
Winston Peters has targeted international students in his latest crusade on immigration, calling on the government to get rid of rules that allow foreign students to earn work visas and permanent residency after completing their qualifications. “We’re going to restore the integrity of Read more...
Human Rights Commission Report Shows Serious Mistreatment in NZ Prisons
Posted 10:52am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joe Higham
An independent report, conducted by the Human Rights Commission, has raised several serious concerns about the use of seclusion and restraint practices in New Zealand’s prison system. The report, written by international expert Dr Sharon Shalev, “indicates that seclusion and Read more...
Keeping tabs on the Exec | Issue 10
Posted 10:46am Sunday 7th May 2017 by Joe Higham
The Otago Students Against Animal Testing group was affiliated to OUSA without any issue. President Hugh Baird and Campaigns Officer Eden Lati recently returned from visiting the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) in Wellington, where they were determining a strategy Read more...
Folkloric Heroes: NZ Crickets All-Time Battlers XI
Posted 11:34am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Charlie Hantler
Kane Williamson. Martin Crowe. Richard Hadlee. Ross Taylor. These are but a few of the names that have been carved into national cricket history as heroes for the right reasons. Unfortunately, in a nation of roughly 4.5 million people, and with a professional cricket population of about 100, Read more...
Kaye Takes Education & Brownlee Takes Foreign Affairs in Safe Cabinet Reshuffle
Posted 11:21am Sunday 30th April 2017 by George Elliott
The reshuffle has been perceived as a safe refresher for PM Bill English’s team—a balanced response to the departure of two senior officials. Nikki Kaye will replace Hekia Parata as Education Minister; Gerry Brownlee will replace Murray McCully as Foreign Affairs Minister. Gerry Read more...
Frances Radical Centrist Macron to Face Populist Le Pen in Election Second Round
Posted 11:18am Sunday 30th April 2017 by George Elliott
Newcomer centrist Emmanuel Macron and hard-right populist Marine Le Pen will face off in the second round of France’s presidential elections on the 7th of May after no candidate won a majority last week. Macron came away with 24.01 percent of the vote, while Le Pen was a million votes behind Read more...
Does Andrew Little Have a Point On Immigration Policy? No, he does not.
Posted 10:59am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Joe Higham
As with any election year, political parties tend to ramp up their immigration rhetoric, and with five months left until we know who will be leading our country for the next three years, this trend is already well underway. With net permanent and long-term migration (arrivals minus Read more...
Second Blackest Black Paint in the World Not That Black
Posted 10:54am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Lucy Hunter
Critic recently obtained a small bottle of “Stuart Semple Black”, which was meant to be a replica of the world’s black- est material, “Vantablack”, of which controversial artist Anish Kapoor has exclusive rights. Vantablack absorbs about 99.6 percent of light, Read more...
Common Sense Prevails in Australias Bloody Battle With Sharks
Posted 10:46am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Sam Fraser-Baxter
The Western Australia (WA) Government has announced that they will not cull sharks following the death of a teenage girl in the Australian state two weeks ago. 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer was surfing with her father near Esperance in South Western Australia when she was mauled by what is Read more...
Otago University Coy Over Plans to Replace Dept. of Politics Staff Member
Posted 10:45am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Joe Higham
Critic understands that a second staff member from the Department of Politics has taken an offer of voluntary redundancy, with the University keeping tight-lipped on whom, if anybody will be replacing them. It is not publically known at this stage which staff member has taken up the offer. The Read more...
What the Hell is Going On with the Hospital Rebuild? A Short History
Posted 10:42am Sunday 30th April 2017 by Joel MacManus
The Dunedin hospital rebuild has been continually stalled for the last two years, dragging along with more reluctance than a student finishing a research assignment. Another roadblock appeared this week with news that the Ministry of Health apparently doesn’t know what parts they can Read more...
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