ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 30, 2025.
Fiji’s Dr Prasad unveils $4.8b budget as deficit widens
By Kaya Selby, RNZ Pacific journalist The Fiji government is spending big on this year’s budget. The country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Biman Prasad, unveiled a FJ$4.8 billion (about NZ$3.5 billion) spending package, complete with cost of living measures and fiscal stimulus, to the Fijian Parliament on Friday. This is about F$280
Cities are heating up the planet – how they can do more to fight climate change
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Hurlimann, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Quality Stock Arts/Shutterstock Cities have a central role to play tackling climate change. They contribute 67–72% of the greenhouse gas emissions which are heating up the planet. At the same time, cities are increasingly at risk
Tahiti prepares for its first Matari’i public holiday
RNZ Te Manu Korihi Tahiti will mark Matari’i as a national public holiday for the first time in November, following in the footsteps of Matariki in Aotearoa New Zealand. Matari’i refers to the same star cluster as Matariki. And for Tahitians, November 20 will mark the start of Matari’i i ni’a — the “season of
Scientists look to black holes to know exactly where we are in the Universe. But phones and wifi are blocking the view
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucia McCallum, Senior Scientist in Geodesy, University of Tasmania ESA / Hubble / L. Calçada (ESO), CC BY The scientists who precisely measure the position of Earth are in a bit of trouble. Their measurements are essential for the satellites we use for navigation, communication and Earth
Could we live with a nuclear-armed Iran? Reluctantly, yes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Zala, Senior Lecturer, Politics & International Relations, Monash University As the ceasefire between Israel and Iran seems to be holding for now, it is important to reflect on whether this whole episode was worth the risks. Wider escalation was (and remains) possible, and we do not
How to reform the NDIS and better support disabled people who don’t qualify for it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Bennett, Disability Program Director, Grattan Institute Australia is spending more than ever on disability services – and yet many people with disability still aren’t receiving the support they need. Since the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) began in 2013, it has transformed the lives of hundreds
Mr Smith or Gary? Why some teachers ask students to call them by their first name
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Brownlie, Lecturer in Education, University of Southern Queensland Johnny Greig/ Getty Images When you went to school, did you call your teacher Mrs, Ms or Mr, followed by their surname? Perhaps you even called them Sir or Miss. The tradition of addressing teachers in a formal
NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Stand on any car park on a sunny day in February and the heat will radiate through your shoes. At 30°C air temperature, that asphalt hits 50–55°C – hot enough to cause
Murdoch’s News Corp has moved into the mortgage business. Where are the regulators?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roberta Esbitt, Associate, RMIT University If you want to advertise a house online in Australia, you don’t have many options. Just two companies dominate the market. Australia’s largest property listings platform, realestate.com.au, belongs to digital media company REA Group, which is majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch’s US-based media
Clark warns in new Pacific book renewed nuclear tensions pose ‘existential threat to humanity’
Asia Pacific Report Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has warned the country needs to maintain its nuclear-free policy as a “fundamental tenet” of its independent foreign policy in the face of gathering global storm clouds. Writing in a new book being published next week, she says “nuclear war is an existential threat to
‘Bridge for peace – not more bombs,’ say CNMI Gaza protesters
By Bryan Manabat in Saipan Advocacy groups in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) disrupted the US Department of Defense’s public meeting this week, which tackled proposed military training plans on Tinian, voicing strong opposition to further militarisation in the Marianas. Members of the Marianas for Palestine, Prutehi Guahan and Commonwealth670 burst into
Why manufacturing consent for war with Iran failed this time
COMMENTARY: By Ahmad Ibsais On June 22, American warplanes crossed into Iranian airspace and dropped 14 massive bombs. The attack was not in response to a provocation; it came on the heels of illegal Israeli aggression that took the lives of more than 600 Iranians. This was a return to something familiar and well-practised: an
A return to Nature.
Headline: A return to Nature. – 36th Parallel Assessments Thomas Hobbes wrote his seminal work Leviathan in 1651. In it he describes the world system as it was then as being in “a state of nature,” something that some have interpreted as anarchy. However, anarchy has order and purpose. It is not chaos. In fact,
