Farmers howls echo around corridors of power rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Bryce Edwards
Opinion - This week New Zealand was officially pronounced the second most peaceful nation on Earth - just behind Iceland - in the publication of the annual Global Peace Index. New Zealand s high peacefulness score was based on the country s low amount of violence, conflict and terrorism.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare said defence spending is business as usual .
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
However, New Zealand was marked down in the results this year because of an increase in weapons imports and military expenditure. You can read the full report here: Global Peace Index 2021.
Also in this last week, Labour has reconfirmed that the massive increases in defence spending agreed to during the last term of government are to be largely retained.
Analysis - New rules are coming for masks and scanning, but the question is asked: has the government itself become complacent? The prime minister gets herself in a muddle with proposed hate speech laws and takes a lashing from the media, a former National minister berates his own party and the Three Waters proposals run into problems.
Top from left: Jacinda Ardern, Kris Faafoi, Chris Finlayson and Nanaia Mahuta.
Photo: RNZ / Getty Images
Ardern said use of the app was consistently low across the country. Of the 2600 potential contacts of the infected Sydney man who visited Wellington a fortnight ago only 585 had used it.
Bryce Edwards: The confusing and concerning hate speech reforms rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.