Hekia Parata to introduce new ‘COOL’ initiative

Posted 10:27am Sunday 4th September 2016 by Joel MacManus

In an effort to seem innovative and exciting, Minister for Education Hekia Parata has announced a poorly thought out initiative with an even worse name, which would allow school-aged students to register in online operated charter courses as opposed to attending a regular school.  Any Read more...

Eggs benedict and our humanitarian myth

Posted 10:32am Sunday 4th September 2016 by George Elliott

At New York’s Turtle Bay, where the United Nations building stands, there’s a breakfast club for Security Council diplomats to meet and start the day with a meal and a chat. It has become quite a tradition, and it is all thanks to New Zealand. The bringing together of some of the most Read more...

North Dunedin bar leaves student staff high & dry

Posted 10:00am Sunday 4th September 2016 by Joe Higham

Part of the Employment Standards Legislation Bill came into force on 1 April 2016. The bill amended various statutes and sought to address the growing issue of exploitative employment contracts, most notably zero hour contracts, along with changes to the law relating to the cancellation of employee Read more...

Somalia: Hope after 25 years of bloodshed

Posted 10:37am Sunday 4th September 2016 by George Elliott

While most people’s knowledge of Somalia might come from the 2001 blockbuster Blackhawk Down or occasional horrific news stories popping up, there has been some recent optimism that the state could pull itself out of its long running civil war in time for the 2016 elections. Sadly, this Read more...

Grocery Prices

Posted 10:36am Sunday 21st August 2016 by Critic

With the price of groceries requiring a small mortgage these days, we at Critic decided it’d be a good idea to compare prices of the big three supermarkets and see where you can get the best bang for your buck. Countdown= $89.80 New World= $84.53 Pak N Save= $77.63  Few top Read more...

Meningitis case serves as reminder

Posted 10:13am Sunday 21st August 2016 by Hugh Baird

Brittany Arthur, an Otago Polytechnic nursing student in her final year, died last Saturday after an acute case of meningococcal meningitis.  Arthur had been out for dinner, celebrating her final nursing exam. She awoke the next day with a headache and decided to go back to bed. However, she Read more...

National’s Lost Luggage Bill ­— a worthless, cynical attempt to waste everyone’s time

Posted 10:47am Sunday 21st August 2016 by Joel MacManus

National MP Nuk Korako has proposed an entirely ineffective and meaningless Bill in parliament that will do absolutely nothing, is not necessary, and appears to be a deliberate attempt by the government to stall the democratic process. It has resulted in criticism across the board, government Read more...

75 turn out to protest Animal Research Centre

Posted 10:16am Sunday 21st August 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Around 75 people attended a protest on Saturday July 13 against the $50 million animal research centre being built on the University of Otago campus. The protest took place at the facility building site on Great King street. It was reportedly peaceful, with no police attendance required and campus Read more...

Island of horror: abuse at Australia’s Nauru detention centre exposed

Posted 10:48am Sunday 21st August 2016 by George Elliott

A cache of 2000 reports pertaining to Australia’s infamous asylum seeker detention centre on the island-nation of Nauru has found its way into the hands of UK newspaper, The Guardian. The leaked documents are sickening, shocking and shameful, which illustrates the scale and severity of the Read more...

New World employees vow to continue fight for pay parity

Posted 10:18am Sunday 21st August 2016 by Joel MacManus

Protests at Centre City New World over a $2 an hour pay gap between North Island and South Island stores have resulted in multiple trespasses, a breakdown in negotiations, and threats of legal action after employees and management failed to reach an agreement after months of Read more...