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RNZ News
15 minutes ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Oral Answers for 25 June 2025
Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all the Government's statements and actions? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister of Finance: What is the Depositor Compensation Scheme and when does it start? Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Does he stand by his statement, "The bottom trawling techniques that are pursued by the New Zealand fishing industry are relatively harmless"; if so, are current levels of bycatch acceptable? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Associate Minister of Housing: How many New Zealanders are homeless now, compared to when the Government was elected? TODD STEPHENSON to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Minister of Statistics: How will he ensure that scrapping the five-yearly Census will not magnify the problem of under-counting Maori and Pasifika populations? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister for Infrastructure: What recent reports has he seen on New Zealand's infrastructure sector? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by statements made on her behalf that high inflation and high interest rates were main factors in job losses in the construction sector? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Climate Change: Does he stand by his statement that "it is our expectation that we will remain an associate member" of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance; if not, why not? MILES ANDERSON to the Minister of Agriculture: Why is the Government proposing to ban full farm-to-forestry conversions on our highest quality productive land? INGRID LEARY to the Associate Minister of Housing: Does he stand by statements made on his behalf that his proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act 2003 would "include provisions for repayments but not mandate them"? TOM RUTHERFORD to the Minister for Mental Health: What recent announcements have been made for the assessment and prescription for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
15 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Surely it's safe to go back in the water now?! JAWS turns 50
media life and society 41 minutes ago For 50 years, the movie Jaws has kept us looking down for what might be beneath the waves when we go swimming. Carl Cottlieb is one of the screenwriters responsible for our discomfort. His friend Steven Spielberg handed him the original script and asked him to eviscerate it. Gottlieb was there every day on set to witness the mechanical shark constantly breaking down, the budget overruns, the delays and ultimately the making of highest grossing film of all time. Carl Gottlieb shares his memories as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jaws.
RNZ News
30 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Bookmarks with composer John Psathas
books music 2:35 pm today Ioannis (John) Psathas is one of Aotearoa's most acclaimed composers. He made a name for himself in 2004 by composing the music for the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics. From there accolades flowed, including multiple wins at the New Zealand Music awards and an ONZM. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the New Zealand School of Music. John joins Jesse Mulligan to talk about his upcoming "Composer In Residence" role at the Worlds Edge Music Festival, and share his bookmarks picks.
RNZ News
32 minutes ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
'An international embarrassment' - Argentine media on Auckland City's draw with Boca
Boca Juniors' Argentine defender Lautaro Di Lollo, left, and Auckland City's New Zealander midfielder Dylan Manickum fight for the ball during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group C football match. Photo: AFP / FEDERICO PARRA Argentine media and football fans have been scathing of Boca Juniors draw with Auckland City at the Fifa Club World Cup in the United States this morning. After two significant losses in their first pool matches, Auckland City managed a 1-1 draw in Nashville on Wednesday , preventing the Argentinean powerhouse from progressing in the tournament. The national newspaper La Nacion said Boca has suffered an "international embarrassment". "Their Club World Cup campaign ended in the worst possible way, with a draw against amateur club Auckland City." Boca's poor performance came at a high price, the article said. It called it an "unexpected and devastating ending". It also highlighted that the popular club lost to a team made up of "road engineers, civil servants, hairdressers, and cell phone salesmen". Fans of Auckland City cheer for their team during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group C football match between Auckland City and Argentina's Boca Juniors at the Geodis Park stadium in Nashville. Photo: AFP / FEDERICO PARRA In comments from fans online, much was made of goalscorer Christian Gray's regular gig as a physical education teacher. "The person who just screwed Boca Juniors, is a school teacher who had to ask for annual leave to play at the World Cup," one commentator wrote on Youtube. Another suggested Gray would receive a warm welcome from his students on his return to work. Newspaper Clarin quoted a X post which called Auckland City a team of "11 hardware store owners". It said social media was full of photos and videos of people making fun of the game. Clarin's liveblog did have praise for Auckland City's goalkeeper, 20-year-old Nathan Garrow, who it said had done a "spectacular job" and "has established himself as player of the match". Boca Juniors' Argentine defender Marco Pellegrino takes part in the hydratation break during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group C football match between New Zealand's Auckland City and Boca Juniors. Photo: AFP / FEDERICO PARRA In contrast, sports site Ole carried a defiant quote from Boca's striker Uruguayan Edison Cavani who claimed: "I don't think it was that disappointing." But he admitted the Boca players were sad not to be progressing. However, Ole journalist Ramiro Scandolo was not quite as forgiving. He said Boca's performance not only did not live up to the club's status, but "they weren't even able to beat such a weak opponent".
RNZ News
32 minutes ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
New York mayoral primary: Mamdani on brink of stunning win
By Arit John, Edward-Isaac Dovere and Gloria Pazmino for CNN New York mayoral candidate State Rep. Zohran Mamdani, out on the campaign trail. Photo: AFP / MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO New York state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is on the brink of a stunning Democratic primary win for New York City mayor, with his top challenger former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo conceding the race. CNN projects Mamdani's initial support will remain below 50 percent, meaning the race will formally be decided by ranked-choice votes that will be announced starting 1 July. Mamdani's strong performance will reverberate beyond America's largest city, catapulting both Mamdani and his policy ideas into the national spotlight. A three-term state assemblyman who represents parts of Queens, one the most diverse areas in the nation, Mamdani vaulted from being a virtual unknown with a mix of viral videos and proposals appealing to younger progressives. His detractors have argued his limited legislative experience, progressive policies and criticisms of Israel make him too extreme for the city. Cuomo was attempting a comeback less than four years after he resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment and mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has denied the allegations against him. "Tonight was not our night; tonight was Assemblyman's Mamdani's night," Cuomo told supporters. His spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, confirmed that Cuomo was conceding the primary race while leaving the door open for a November run on a different party's line. Mamdani was leading each of the city's three largest boroughs, including in Queens where Cuomo grew up. Besides Mamdani and Cuomo, the only candidate getting more than 5 percent of the vote was city Comptroller Brad Lander. While not all of Lander's voters will go to Mamdani when their candidate is eliminated, the two had told their supporters to rank the other on their ballots. Mamdani is positioned to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent after he bypassed the primary he won four years ago, as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa and at least one of his rivals running on a separate ballot line. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (left) and Andrew Cuomo. Photo: AFP If Mamdani remains ahead, it would be a stunning result for a 33-year-old assemblyman with less than five years in government who just months ago was running a fledgling campaign relying on creative online videos. It would also be the biggest win to date for the Democratic Socialists of America: Mamdani is a proud DSA member and geared his volunteer-driven campaign around talking up the affordability crisis in New York through moves that include proposals to freeze rents, make buses free and open government-owned grocery stores, all paid for by a massive tax hike on the rich he will need to convince the state government to pass. Many Democrats in New York are adamantly opposed to Mamdani, both due to those socialist proposals and anger over his positions related to antisemitism and support for Israel. Mamdani refused to say he believed Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish state or to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," referencing an Arabic term used by Palestinians to describe their uprising against Israel. Cuomo repeatedly accused Mamdani of fueling antisemitic hate, a charge Mamdani denied. Mamdani will have his own work to do on the left too, including other candidates and their supporters who may like him personally but oppose his socialist politics. And he will have to convince sceptics that he is the right manager for a city facing compounding crises of affordability, crime rates, overall dysfunction, along with a massive influx of migrants that has complicated all three, all while being able to stand up to Trump. Plus, Mamdani could have a rematch against Cuomo ahead, with the former governor potentially running on his own ballot line, making the case that he is the person speaking to the mainstream of where Democrats and New Yorkers overall are as they grapple with the crises facing the city and the incoming pressure from Trump. For Cuomo, losing to Mamdani marks an embarrassing end to his attempted political comeback. Many Democrats still criticize him for the combination of the sexual misconduct and nursing home death scandals that led him to resign in 2021. He has a record of long, bitter fights with progressives that haunted him through the campaign - even as he accomplished long-held liberal goals while governor, including the legalization of same-sex marriage. Cuomo positioned himself as an antidote to both President Donald Trump - with whom he has allied and feuded for decades - and more progressive politics amid growing concerns about crime and immigration in liberal-led cities. He argued that he had the brand of politics to reconnect disillusioned Democrats to their party and the stature to push back on Trump, while also being the right manager for a city facing compounding crises of affordability, crime rates, overall dysfunction and a massive influx of migrants that has complicated all three. To an extent, it worked. Many of those same critics who called for him to leave office four years ago backed his run for mayor, citing his experience. Among them was state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a fellow mayoral candidate who made a surprising endorsement of the former governor earlier this month. Other high-profile Democrats from outside the city have also weighed in to support Cuomo, including South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn and former President Bill Clinton, under whom Cuomo served as housing secretary. But other Democratic primary opponents didn't look past his sexual harassment allegations. During one debate, former state Rep. Michael Blake quipped that the people who feel unsafe in the city are "young women, mothers and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo." Lander, who cross-endorsed Mamdani, appeared with two of Cuomo's accusers in the final days of the race. "The votes are still being counted, and the ranked-choice tabulations will take a few days. But this much is clear: together, we are sending Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs," Lander told his supporters. "With our help, Zohran Mamdani will be the Democratic nominee for the mayor of the city of New York. And we are on a path to win a city that all New Yorkers can afford, and where everyone belongs." - CNN
