Otago Daily Times: Opinion

Opinion: 'Hysteria' against mining has only scratched surface

John Armstrong — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:57:00 +1300

Hysterical? Who's being hysterical? Not the media, Prime Minister.

Pussyfooting no substitute for firm leadership

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Is the National-led Government losing its way? Dipping toes into political waters to test the heat is no way to govern. We need vision and decision, argues Garth George.

Dome-busters upholding gift of universal peace

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Kevin Toomey says the acquittal of three men in the Waihopai "spy" satellite case is "a celebration of the privilege of living in a democratic society".

How cross is the superpower?

Gwynne Dyer — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

The very public row over the Israeli Government's humiliation of US vice-president Joe Biden has led to excited speculation that the US Government might actually defy Israel this time. Don't hold your breath.

Certain road rule changes sensible, but...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

John de Bueger has little time for the the recent proposals on possible road-rule changes.

Harbour uncertainty jeopardising industry

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Council critic Calvin Oaten sees a disservice to the city in the way the "redevelopment" of the harbour basis has been touted.

Mark Twain, rabbits and matters of race

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

It was Mark Twain who said of Dunedin's Scots settlers, "They stopped here on their way from home to heaven - thinking they had arrived."

Time to review Parliament's structure

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Alan Collier outlines the case for reintroducing an "upper house" in the New Zealand Parliament.

Nigerian paralysis deepens

Gwynne Dyer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

There are notable differences between Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, and Umaru Yar'Adua, the current president (more or less) of Nigeria.

Timely rental tax change may help not harm

Peter Lyons — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Will rents go up if the Government moves against property investors? Unlikely, suggests Peter Lyons, who nonetheless counsels against sudden or radical change.

Chistchurch usurper leaves Yorick waiting in the wings

Roy Colbert — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

The red letterbox went down last weekend.

Birthdays have become a yearly ritual

Lisa Scott — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Today is my birthday. Please, no presents (obviously I don't mean that: the ODT will be happy to provide a forwarding address - for large items a courier charge may apply).

Catching up with Australia a debatable goal

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

John de Bueger can't quite understand the obsession with catching up with Australia.

Monday's poem

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Leaving Home

By Heather Bauchop

The sparrow folded
the air into a corner.
I wondered, lying on the grass
while digging potatoes out
of the lettuces, how
its parents taught it to do this:

Standards debate needs revision

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

The battle lines have been drawn and hostilities commenced. But, for the sake of children and parents, the warring over the introduction - however flawed - of National Standards should stop, says John Langley.

Public backlash kept to a minimum

John Armstrong — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Whatever you think of Anne Tolley and her trenchant advocacy of national standards, the Minister of Education deserves some credit for having the good grace and fortitude to front this week's announcement of the restructuring of her ministry.

Flaws of secular dogma

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:55:00 +1300

Celebrated atheist Richard Dawkins has been in Wellington. Ian Harris went to hear him speak.

Twitter no timewaster when other line of communication fail

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Too busy for Facebook, let alone Twitter? Tracey Barnett has second thoughts.

School choice report can make a difference

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

One early morning, an elderly man walking on a beach came across a mass of starfish, stretching as far as the eye could see, stranded on the beach by the tide. Nearby, a small child was running back and forth from the beach, picking up starfish and throwing them into the water.

Otago should cash in on clean-burning wood

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:57:00 +1300

Shaun Bowler extols the virtues of "wood energy".

Exposure to the 'woman's division' a serious topic

Elspeth McLean — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Too late, I realised they were not taking my concerns seriously.

The fact they kept pulling down the necks of their T-shirts, exposing their bras and shrieking "You've been cleavaged!" should have been a clue.

Phoenix opening a new vista for sports fans

Brent Edwards — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

I never thought I'd take more than a casual interest in the progress of a New Zealand club football team.

A rush of blood to the head?

Simon Cunliffe — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

David Garrett has been thinking.

Unkind people might suggest this is an oxymoron

Stolen medal saga's difficult unwinding

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Some time after Eva Helen Dickson's death, her son, Alistair, brought the George Medal, awarded to her for bravery in the Aramoana tragedy, into the Port Chalmers Museum and signed a long-term loan agreement.

Borrowing, lending, laughing all the way to the bank

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

How to get rich quickly in New Zealand. A primer, by Peter Lyons.

Dreams of sporting endeavour enough to give a captain nightmares

Roy Colbert — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

Most rational thinkers would agree that the stuff in our dreams is what we really think.

Confusion exists over care cuts

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

The debate over reducing some aspects of care for the elderly is in danger of becoming a single-issue controversy. Richard Thomson argues that it must be considered in the full context of the ODHB's service provision.

Monday's poem

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

On the shore, listening (At Tautuku)

By David Karena-Holmes

Lessons from the swine flu pandemic

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:55:00 +1300

What has the swine flu pandemic taught us, asks Wendy Orent, writing for the Los Angeles Times.

Yes, it's even hotter than a Dunedin summer

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:57:00 +1300

"Hot" is not a word one would usually associate with a Dunedin summer.