NZ

Consumer Magazine - is New Zealand’s icon of consumer protection hopelessly compromised?

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Laura Munro

Consumer New Zealand has long had a reputation as the guardian of the New Zealand consumer. Active since 1959, they claim they are “dedicated to getting New Zealanders a better deal.” And their biggest pitch has always been their independence. When Critic spoke to David Naulls, Deputy CEO and Read more...

Government still wants you to stop smoking

Posted 5:55pm Sunday 31st August 2014 by Nina Harrap

October has been christened “Stoptober,” as the government pushes to implement a new anti-smoking campaign. According to a recent press statement, “the campaign, funded by the Ministry of Health’s Pathway to Smokefree New Zealand 2025 Innovation Fund, aims to generate 43,000 quit attempts, with 10 Read more...

Labour announces tertiary education policy

Posted 12:53am Monday 18th August 2014 by Nina Harrap

The Labour Party has announced the tertiary education policy that they plan to implement if they are elected to government. The policy was released by Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street. It promises “a Labour Government will fully review the student support system – including Read more...

New regulation sees five-year learner license limit

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Laura Munro

A new law will see a limit imposed on the length of time individuals can hold learner and restricted licences in New Zealand. The new regulation, announced on Wednesday, will be enforced from 1 December this year. Individuals who do not move onto the next stage of the Graduated Driver Licensing Read more...

Greens bribe student vote with free travel

Posted 9:16pm Sunday 10th August 2014 by Nina Harrap

In a statement released on 5 August, the Green Party have vowed to provide free off-peak public transport to all students, through the introduction of a new “Green Card.” Under the policy, all students attending universities, polytechnics, wānanga, Private Training Establishments and those Read more...

World War One Centenary 2014 – 2018

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Josie Cochrane

The 28th of July marks the beginning of the First World War Centenary, which will last until 2018. $17 million in lottery funding has been allocated by the Lottery Grants Board to commemorate next year’s centenary of ANZAC landings at Gallipoli. The University plans to mark the 100 years since WWI Read more...

Apathetic student voters just don't give a fuck

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 27th July 2014 by Carys Goodwin

Voter enrolment statistics as at 20 July 2014 reveal that Dunedin North is one of the worst electorates in terms of 18-24-year-old voter enrolments. With just 51.35 per cent of the young population enrolled, Dunedin North is only better than the 35.47 per cent of Auckland Central. National enrolment Read more...

Examination recounts result in seven per cent of marks changed

Posted 6:52pm Sunday 13th July 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Following investigations by Critic, it has been found that in 2013, there were 315 applications for a recount of examination results at the University of Otago. Of these, 21 people had their marks changed (6.7 per cent of applications), with 10 of these resulting in a whole letter grade change. In Read more...

Pinging for better grades

Posted 1:08pm Sunday 6th July 2014 by Laura Munro

Recent research conducted at the University of Auckland has shown that six per cent of the 400 students surveyed had used drugs as a study aid. The most common drug used by students was Ritalin, a B class drug often referred to on the streets as “Ritz.” Ritalin is a medication prescribed to Read more...

Textbooks: Funding lecturers to wine and dine

Posted 2:07pm Sunday 25th May 2014 by Josie Cochrane

Purchasing textbooks is yet another cost universities expect students to meet every semester. The cost and quality of textbooks ranges enormously between papers and, too often, the matter is aggravated when lecturers only use a few chapters of the textbook, or require a new edition of the text Read more...