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Veronika Meduna

@veronikameduna.bsky.social
11K followers 732 following 633 posts

Sci/env/health editor The Conversation | writer Science, Nature, Eos, Guardian, Nautilus, NZ Geographic, NZ Listener | Books Science on Ice bit.ly/2YsvVxv Towards A Warmer World bit.ly/3ObP2Er

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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 6h
A simple idea for regulating data center mania: "No large data center...should receive the permits or grid connection it needs unless its developer brings enough new carbon-free generation, energy storage and transmission online to meet its additional electricity demand—and pays the full cost."
wsj.com
Opinion | Let Physics Regulate the AI Industry
No new data centers without enough clean power to run them.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Nature @nature.com · 07/10/2026
None of this year's science Nobel Prizes have gone to women. The number of these prizes to go to women remains at 27 out of more than 600. See how many you can name in our quiz: www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Pacific leadership was instrumental in getting 1.5°C written into the Paris Agreement. Pacific leaders are meeting this week, ahead of the COP31 climate summit, to amplify the same collective voice to keep the 1.5°C within reach theconversation.com/ahead-of-the...
theconversation.com
Ahead of the global climate summit, Pacific leaders call on nations to keep 1.5°C within reach
Pacific leaders are seeking support for regional climate-finance options that give communities better access and stronger input into global decision making.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 04/10/2026
"Australia is a major producer of fossil fuels. We all know fossil fuels are the primary driver of the climate crisis," [Ralph Regenvanu] said. "The very least a country like Australia should be doing is stopping future expansion, and it's not doing that." www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...
abc.net.au
Australia's fossil fuel expansion 'slap in the face' to Pacific nations
Having just approved a major coal mine expansion, Australia's climate credentials will be under the spotlight at pre-COP talks in Fiji.
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VAW Glaciology @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Switzerland's glacier report 2026 is out. Swiss glaciers have lost 5% of their ice volume this year. Only the last 5 years accounted for nearly 20% of the total ice loss across Switzerland. The numbers are devastating. Full report → doi.glamos.ch/pubs/annualr...
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
When it comes to future sea-level rise, Antarctica matters. Now researchers who looked at hundreds of thousands of potential emissions futures and the impact of each on the ice sheet found that Antarctica’s ice loss this century is locked in. theconversation.com/antarcticas-...
theconversation.com
Antarctica’s ice loss is locked in, and extra snowfall won’t save it – that’s bad news for low-lying coastal areas elsewhere
The Antarctic ice sheet’s future depends how a chain of events plays out. A new study finds the evidence points in one direction.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Wilkes Subglacial Basin is a part of East Antarctica that sits well below sea level (like much of West Antarctica). If all the basin’s ice melted, it would raise sea levels 3-4 metres and disrupt vital ocean currents. That's why it's important to study it. theconversation.com/tragedy-stop...
theconversation.com
Tragedy stopped Mawson exploring this remote Antarctic region. We must get there to study its melting ice
If all the ice in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin melted, it would raise global sea levels 3 to 4 metres. It happened before – at temperatures we’re heading towards
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham. I spent the last month diving deep into a massive academic scam spanning continents, for @nature.com
nature.com
Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers
A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"It is morally repugnant – to Hager, to his TU informants, to many others – that you would deliberately stir up hatred in a society, simply because it was an effective way to achieve your goals." Great read by Simon Wilson on Nicky Hager's book simonwilsonhopetown.substack.com/p/dirty-work...
simonwilsonhopetown.substack.com
Dirty work and the disinfecting sunshine it deserves
Nicky Hager’s new book ‘Dirty Work’ reminds us how much we’ve lost in the last three years
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
🌊 For 100 consecutive days, from June 2 to September 10, the global ocean outside the polar regions maintained record-high average sea-surface temperatures, reaching a peak between August 22–27 at 21.18°C. And here comes El Niño. news.mongabay.com/2026/09/glob...
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In thisa piece for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social I express the wish for a better level of public discourse around AI that doesn't leave us hanging on every word of the alleged tech gurus. www.thenewworld.co.uk/philip-ball-...
thenewworld.co.uk
Apocalyptic AI fantasies are a stupid, annoying distraction from its real problems
The people who work in AI are not gurus and most of their predictions have been wrong. Working in the industry makes them less reliable commentators, not more
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This El Niño isn’t just unusually strong, it’s unfolding in a warmer world. Evidence suggests its atmospheric “teleconnections” are shifting: places that once warmed or cooled during El Niño can now respond differently ...making historical analogues less reliable. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
The super El Niño is already wreaking havoc: here’s what’s in store
The extreme weather of this year’s mega El Niño could look different from past events.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
NSF has funded over 80% of the world's BGC-Argo floats via GO-BGC, which ends in October 2026, so the global array will start shrinking. NSF is asking US researchers to weigh in on future ocean observing priorities: www.go-bgc.org/nsf/nsf-requ...
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A 40-year-old unvaccinated woman in Pennsylvania has just died from measles. There is no controversy. She needlessly died from a disease that is preventable with a vaccine. But HHS Secretary RFK Jr. thinks measles isn’t that bad. Nobody should die of measles in the United States.
washingtonpost.com
Pennsylvania woman dies of measles-related complications, local coroner says
The 40-year-old woman, who was from Jefferson County was unvaccinated, according to the coroner. The state health department is conducting a "thorough review" of the case.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🧵CO₂ removal (CDR) is back in the news, but just because the UNEP report says we need CDR, it doesn't mean we'll have CDR. Many challenges will take decades of research and negotiation to solve. Here are some examples: Technological: We currently don't have any durable CDR method that scales.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Michael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
First H5 bird flu death of endangered Australian sea lion recorded amid fears for small population
South Australian authorities say case discovered on Kangaroo Island is first for species of which less than 12,000 animals remain
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"He’s a Māori MP who’s opposed to Māori names and Māori seats. He’s our top diplomat and is undiplomatic to the point of offensive." Great profile by @annafifield.bsky.social of Winston Peters, from Muldoon to "an increasingly MAGA-ish NZ First" annafifieldnz.substack.com/p/the-winsto...
annafifieldnz.substack.com
The Winston Peters Paradox
He’s a nationalist internationalist, a xenophobic diplomat, a charming antagonist. What kind of legacy does Peters leave after three terms as foreign minister?
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's a "paradox that we see throughout Europe: people vote for the far right in places where there is not much immigration”. “People become more pro-immigration when they interact with migrants, for example if their kids have foreign-born friends.”
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
How an AI math breakthrough ignited a controversy | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
How an AI math breakthrough ignited a controversy
In solving the Navier-Stokes problem, did OpenAI peek at others’ work?
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Climate.us @climate.us · 09/09/2026
Sea Ice Today is back! For nearly two decades, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, or NSIDC, have helped people understand what is happening to sea ice in the Arctic and around Antarctica. Its monthly science analyses were paused last fall. buff.ly/e20zCU6
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The @smcnz.bsky.social asked political parties about their science policies (NOTE National and Te Pāti Māori did not respond by deadline; ACT declined the invitation) www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2026/09/09/2...
sciencemediacentre.co.nz
2026 Election Q&A - Science
Ahead of the 2026 General Election, scheduled for Saturday 7 November, the Science Media Centre asked political parties about their science policies. Responses to all 12 questions on science policy an...
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Australia introduced draft digital duty of care legislation to protect people from online harms. Among the measures is a requirement that social media platforms give users an option to switch off recommendation algorithms - by @lisagiven.bsky.social theconversation.com/digital-duty...
theconversation.com
‘Digital duty of care’ laws will force tech platforms to look after users
The new bill puts the onus on tech platforms to protect Australians from harmful content and design features.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Potato enthusiast 🇵🇸🥔 @br3nda.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I wished that this site existed, so I spent the last week building it. Track which way an MP votes on various issues across their whole time in Parliament: hotair.nz
hotair.nz
Hot Air
Hot Air links every New Zealand MP to what they've actually said and how they've actually voted in Parliament — built from the official Hansard record, so you can look past the press release and see the voting history for yourself.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Two years ago, I joined the Tairāwhiti Ngutukākā Trust to celebrate one of NZ's rarest plants in the wild (as rare as kākāpō). Each of us was gifted a few seeds (from the wild plants, not the commercial variety), and this is what happened in my tiny urban garden.
Ngutukākā grown from a seed, now in full flower.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 07/09/2026
Breaking News! Code: Hot! The Nino 3.4 SST-anomaly is rising fast, now at 2.89°C above the 1991-2020 baseline. The all-time daily peak (3.03°C, Nov. 19, 2015) is within reach in a few days. The Climate 8-Ball is sober, hasn't had a drink, waiting for the Jack of Hearts.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This is very useful analysis of a very unsettling result of state elections in Germany's Saxony Anhalt theconversation.com/even-if-it-d...
theconversation.com
Even if it doesn’t form government, the far-right AfD has shaken Germany’s political establishment to the core
Voters in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt punished the major parties for their handling of the cost-of-living crisis.
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Melaine Le Roy @subfossilguy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The Alps are no longer white 🏔️🧊 And it's entirely our fault! 🏭🔥 Spectacular retreat of the Corvatsch Glacier on Piz Murtel (3,433 m asl, Engadin, CH) over the last 57 years compiled by @landervt.bsky.social !
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"This tragedy transcends Nepal and signals blatant climate injustice," writes economics researcher Astha Guragain. Nepal requested help from the UN fund for loss and damages, but damages are estimated at US$5b; the fund is under-resourced at only $820m in pledges nepalitimes.com/what-is-lost...
nepalitimes.com
What is lost and damaged in Nepal
The government has taken a firm stance on global climate justice and the same reckoning is owed at home
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Reposted by Veronika Meduna
Reuters @reuters.com · 04/09/2026
Two people pulled alive from Nepal hydropower tunnel reut.rs/4gJ9z2I
reut.rs
Two people pulled alive from Nepal hydropower tunnel
The two workers pulled from the tunnel are the first to be rescued from the hydropower projects, nine days after a ice, rock ​and mud slide swept through a valley in Nepal, killing more than 1,200 people.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"It is hard to overstate the depth of emotion for those of us living on the frontline after having fought so hard to put the 1.5 degree limit at the heart of the Paris Agreement ..." Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr in response to @unep.org's overshoot report theconversation.com/a-landmark-u...
theconversation.com
A landmark UN report says the world will overshoot the 1.5°C climate target. What happens now?
It’s no longer possible to hold climate change to 1.5. But it’s not game over – it’s game on.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Nepal is seeking $5 billion in aid from the UN’s climate-disaster recovery fund after devastating floods. The fund, established in 2023, has received $820 million in pledges but faces a significant financing gap because wealthy nations, including the US, haven't been willing to contribute.
nytimes.com
Nepal Puts Cost of Disaster at $5 Billion, Blaming Climate Change (Gift Article)
The country is seeking urgent help from a special U.N. climate fund, but the program lacks money because the United States and others have been reluctant to contribute.
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RNZ News Feeds @rnzrss.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
US pushes critical minerals agenda in Cook Islands with new Penrhyn port
rnz.co.nz
US pushes critical minerals agenda in Cook Islands with new Penrhyn port
RNZ's Teuila Fuatai in Koror, Palau
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
325 - that's the new population count of the critically endangered night parrot kākāpō after 90 chicks from the 2026 breeding season reached 150 days and could officially be added. The youngest chick is Awarua-A3, hatched on March 30. @digs.bsky.social et al 👏 📷 DOC/Mahina Walle
The youngest chick of the season, Awarua-A3, is 150 days old and was added to the official population.Awarua as a younger chick earlier this season.
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Andrew Dickson @andrewdickson13.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
In December 2023 the Secretary of Education emailed the Director-General of Health asking her to "soften" the stay-home-if-sick messaging. Not a doctor. Acting for a Minister who is also not a doctor. I have the email, via OIA. #nzpol 🧵 1/
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Mladic ist dead. "...it is devastating to see there are hardly any facts about the war that are accepted by all Bosnians. Until we have that, Bosnia will remain divided." by Olivera Simic theconversation.com/ratko-mladic...
theconversation.com
Ratko Mladić is still viewed as a hero by many Bosnian Serbs. It’s a reminder how divided my country remains today
Bosnia remains a country divided by contrasting histories and narratives about the war. Mladić is a symbolic reminder of this.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Youth unemployment is high, but thousands of young people will lose access to unemployment benefits, after a welfare bill passed into law under urgency. From November, the government will end Jobseeker payments to 18-19-year-olds whose parents earn more than $67,225 www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Thousands of youths to lose access to unemployment benefits after welfare law change
Thousands of youths across the country are set to lose access to unemployment benefits, after a welfare bill passed into law under urgency on Friday night.
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 26/08/2026
I've added a new interactive warming map to my Climate Dashboard, powered by the Berkeley Earth high-res (~25 km resolution) dataset. Click anywhere on the planet to see how temperatures have changed since 1850, and download data for that location in csv form: dashboard.theclimatebrink.com#map
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Investigators are examining a chain of events high in the Himalayas where one natural hazard seems to have triggered another theconversation.com/nepals-flash...
theconversation.com
Nepal’s flash floods show the devastating power of ‘cascading hazards’
Early evidence suggests this was not an ordinary rain-driven flash flood. So what caused it?
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
An abrupt glacier collapse triggered the Nepal floods. In a warming climate, the "Himalayas are especially vulnerable, because the steep slopes of many of these very tall mountains are made of permafrost", writes Levan Tielidze @monashuniversity.bsky.social theconversation.com/tsunami-of-d...
theconversation.com
Tsunami of dirt: what caused Nepal’s deadly glacial flood?
The glaciers of the Himalayas aren’t safe from climate change. The sudden collapse of a glacier looks to have triggered disaster in Nepal.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The "error" meant thousands of pensioners missed out on their winter energy payment
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
“I’m old enough to get it, and I’m smart enough to get it”, quipped Parton, before reworking her hit song Jolene to include the words, “vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate”. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Dolly Parton dies aged 80 – researchers celebrate her contributions to science
The country singer was an advocate for vaccines, public health, literacy and marginalized communities.
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Andy Reisinger @andyreisinger.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Not a single mention of “greenhouse gases”, “fossil fuels” or "climate change". Ministry claims students will still learn how the climate system works, why it changes, and its impacts. Withholding core vocabulary from curriculum to express causal relationships amounts to disinformation.
newsroom.co.nz
Climate change omitted from new science and social science curriculums
The Ministry of Education drops all mentions of climate change and fossil fuels from new school curriculums, sparking alarm from an academic and educator
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henry cooke @henrycooke.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The police released the OIA behind this - which was five weeks late - at 10.43am yesterday morning in the midst of the National Party leadership crisis. www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...
thepost.co.nz
Top cop apologises after incorrect info given to media about Labour candidate
OIA reveals Labour candidate told his supervisor about two weeks ahead of time.
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Alfred Wegener Institute @awi.de · 12/08/2026
Arctic cyclones can accelerate sea-ice loss, especially when they occur in rapid succession. An international research team led by the AWI has now systematically investigated how this cyclone clustering affects the future of Arctic sea ice and coastlines. www.awi.de/en/about-us/...
awi.de
Cyclone clusters in the Arctic reduce sea ice and threaten coastlines
In the Arctic, the weather plays a key role in determining how much ice covers the ocean. One weather phenomenon that has a significant influence on this is Arctic cyclones: they cause unusually warm ...
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Maybe this will finally get politicians to care about climate change: “The brutally hot summer is set to cost the EU economy €180 billion this year — that’s equivalent to roughly 1 percent of GDP, which is all the growth the bloc was expected to generate in 2026, according to new analysis.”
politico.eu
Europe’s scorching summer is erasing its economic growth, says report
Dutch growth is set to be almost entirely wiped out, and France could be pushed into a contraction.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Really appreciate @foxmeyer.bsky.social's quick turn-around on this, amidst calls for clearer campaign ad regulation. National's new attack campaign says Labour’s tax plan doesn’t "add up", but numbers used in the AI-generated website don’t make any sense. newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/11/n...
newsroom.co.nz
National uses nonsensical AI website to attack Labour’s tax policy
National’s new website uses AI-generated currency and graphics to persuade voters to trust its economic guidance
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Grumpy @grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Judge rules Crown must protect buried remains of ancient waka in Chatham Islands www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu...
rnz.co.nz
Judge rules Crown must protect buried remains of ancient waka in Chatham Islands
A judge has ruled the government cannot sidestep its statutory responsibilities for a centuries-old voyaging canoe buried in Rēkohu sand dunes, rejecting the Crown's argument that its obligations exte...
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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 30/07/2026
one road, not even long enough to run a marathon on, for the low low price of 42 times the entire 2027 budget for scientific research in new zealand #nzpol
nzherald.co.nz
Biggest-ever PPP: $3.6b Northland expressway deal signed
The 26km expressway will include twin tunnels through the Dome Valley.
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Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The tribunal found ministers made the decisions "without adequately informing" themselves of the effects the reforms would have on Māori, "prioritising coalition agreement commitments over the need to make informed policy decisions", and "in the absence of meaningful engagement with Māori".
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Marc Daalder @marcdaalder.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Comment: In the collective obsession to avoid every little mistake from the Covid-19 response, we risk failing to learn from what went *right*. newsroom.co.nz/2026/07/30/b...
newsroom.co.nz
Brown promises 'future-focused' pandemic plan while relitigating the past
Comment: In the collective obsession to avoid every little mistake from the Covid-19 response, we risk failing to learn from what went right.
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