Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories.
This week, we looked at what karakia really is and why it's caused a fuss in local council meetings, how the pension protests in Paris compare to the state of retirement over here, the bail-out that saved New Zealand's only radio observatory, and whether the new Dunedin hospital will still get the job done amidst budget cuts and delays.
Whakarongo mai to any episodes you might have missed.
The core of karakia
The recitation of karakia at meetings around the country has attracted a degree of controversy recently.
From Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson banning (and unbanning) them, to Otago regional councillor Kevin Malcolm walking out on a meeting in protest, misconceptions and discomfort about karakia's role in the workplace and public sphere have spread.
Tom Kitchin speaks to journalist Mihingarangi Forbes (Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Maniapoto) and tikanga educator Blackie Tohiariki (Ngāti Kahungnunu ki Wairoa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Aroha) about what karakia really are; what role they perform; and why there's a new resistance to them.
Why there's no comparison between pensions in France and NZ
In the same week that hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets again in France in fury over the plan to raise the retirement age to 64, talk in New Zealand that our retirement age should go to 70 barely raised an eyebrow.
Lyon-based New Zealand journalist Seamus Kearney tells Sharon Brettkelly it's all about the work-life balance. “That’s really a sacrosanct subject here in France.”
New Zealand’s Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says the two countries' state pension schemes can't be compared.
“There’s a terrible problem that President Macron has got. Their pension costs are nearly 14 percent of GDP, which is very large. Ours is only 4, and we’re projecting to only increase it to 6.4 by 2061,” she says. “So we’re on a very different scale here."
Warkworth satellite spat shines light on science underfunding
New Zealand's only radio observatory is a familiar site for many travelling north of Auckland.
But when its future was threatened, there were fears its demise would affect some critical scientific data: as a radio telescope, it makes observations based on radio waves to learn new things about the universe. It also communicates with spacecraft and collects data for the accuracy of GPS navigation. Some of its functions are almost unique in the Southern Hemisphere.
At the heart of the issue is scientific funding - not just the lack of it, but the lack of coordination throughout the country.
Tom Kitchin speaks to NZ Herald science reporter Jamie Morton and University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther.
Dunedin Hospital rebuild: Will it live up to expectations?
Dunedin locals are mobilising to ensure they get the "brand-spanking new hospital" they were promised back in 2018.
The $1.5 billion project has been beset by delays and budget blowouts, with health authorities now trying to find cost-savings. That means beds, operating theatres and labs have been cut from the design.
Tom Kitchin speaks to Otago Daily Times associate editor of news Mike Houlahan and Dunedin emergency department doctor and former district health board member John Chambers.
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