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Latest FromJohn Roughan

Lauren Southern is essentially a journalist who asks unwelcome questions. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Our town halls are now censored by Goff

14 Jul, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Since when were Auckland town halls closed to "divisive" events?

France's Antoine Griezmann, left, and Argentina's Javier Mascherano challenge for the ball during the round of 16 match between France and Argentina in Kazan, Russia. Photo / AP

SPORT

John Roughan: It's enthralling to see nations at play

7 Jul, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Football's World Cup shows distinctive nations at play.

It is going to get worse in the next week or two if hospital strikes go ahead and schools are hit too. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Nurses not helping Labour's 'fair pay' plan

30 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Public sector strikes will not be helping business confidence.

Jaciunda Ardern and Clarke Gayford with their new baby girl. Photo / Instagram

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Labour needs to treat baby carefully

23 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: The public would not respond well to crass exploitation of our royal baby.

David Seymour in Dancing with the Stars. Photo / Three

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: We're seeing a voters' revolt on TV

16 Jun, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: "Dancing with the Stars" voters are venting and showing their rebellious side.

Sir peter Glickman's report was refreshing to read. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Roughan: Take a long look in the mirror

9 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Blame health and environmental zealots for the over-reaction of meth smoke.

President Donald Trump meets Kim Kardashian in the Oval Office at the White House to discuss prison reform. Photo / White House

WORLD

Kim's strategy harpoons a mighty big fish

2 Jun, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Is North Korea's new tone a vindication of all Trump's tough talk on Twitter?

Palestinian protesters burn tires during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel. Photo / AP

WORLD

John Roughan: Israel's anniversary turned predictably sour

19 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Israel marked is 70th anniversary with provocation and bloodshed.

Our national superannuation fund wants to invest in an Auckland tram line. Image / Auckland Transport

NEW ZEALAND

Rail deal may go off track for Super Fund

12 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: The Super Fund needs to face a financial risk on light rail.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, is welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: This generation needs more than a nuclear moment

21 Apr, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: If we are going to lead the world against climate change, let's hope it follows.

This Government is making the most of the bill for Middlemore. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Don't buy Govt's Middlemore myth

14 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Middlemore gives the Govt a good excuse of a tight budget but don't buy its myth.

If the traffic was as bad as Aucklanders like to complain, why would they get back in their cars every morning? Photo / Nick Reed

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Memo NZ, don't pay for Auckland's follies

7 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: The rest of New Zealand should not have to pay for Auckland's phony problem.

Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran during her press conference over the Hirschfeld saga at Parliament on Tuesday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: A quiet cup of coffee can be good for govt

31 Mar, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: People in government should be able to talk to anyone they need to.

The greatest fallacy in our transport debate is the idea an urban roading system has a finite capacity. It doesn't. Photo / Peter Meecham

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Spare me this March Madness

24 Mar, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Fallacies about Auckland traffic congestion can be costly for the country.

A woman walks by a huge screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in Tokyo. Photo / AP

WORLD

John Roughan: Trump and Kim could end this Korean farce

17 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Trump should withdraw US forces from Korea in exchange for nuclear disarmament.

Ministers pose for an official photo prior the signing ceremony of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Photo / AP

WORLD

John Roughan: TPP is a breakthrough for a UN dream

10 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: TPP is a step towards fulfilling one of the United Nations dreams.

This week Monica Lewinsky joined the #MeToo movement. Photo / Getty Images

LIFESTYLE

#MeToo: God knows why some men don't back off

3 Mar, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: The #MeToo movement should restore some old social graces.

Careers in environmental sciences probably thrive on public health warnings but let's not be ruled by them. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Don't let joy germs keep us out of the water

24 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Should we believe the health warnings on Auckland beaches or are we being played?

Steven Joyce is National's best choice for this term whatever may happen. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Steven Joyce best choice for Nats

17 Feb, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Steven Joyce should be National's next leader.

The Tino Rangatiratanga flag flies. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Māori didn't rally to their own flag

10 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Waitangi confirmed Māori are content to be back in the Labour family.

Bill English is much more than a fiscal conservative. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

English wants to retire despite success

3 Feb, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

OPINION: National's high polls make it hard for Bill English to step down.

Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern with partner Clarke Gayford who will be looking after the First Baby. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Can Ardern juggle ruling country and baby?

27 Jan, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

OPINION: Can a PM function with a baby? She will have her work cut out.

I don't care if we legalise cannabis but don't treat it as a health problem. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: How not to legalise drugs

20 Jan, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMNET: Treating cannabis as a health problem is a recipe for political regret.

What if Jim Anderton had been leading the Labour Party in 1984? Photo / NZPA

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: What if Anderton had been PM?

13 Jan, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Jim Anderton could have been PM and history would have been different.

A sign at Takapuna Beach, Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

Whatever has happened to 'she'll be right'?

6 Jan, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

We can take beach pollution warnings with a grain of salt.

Flooding in Edgecumbe forcing exacuation of residents. Photo / Andrew Warner

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: How was climate change for you?

30 Dec, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Climate change has begun and we hardly remember the storms.

NEW ZEALAND

Homecoming kids make a happy Christmas

23 Dec, 2017 5:30am
5 minutes to read

OPINION: It is remarkable how much young families travel these days.

National leader Bill English during the debate in Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: National ends the year strong

16 Dec, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: December poll shows National still has the confidence of its disappointed voters.

If enough voters in those unfortunate localities don't want treated water, good luck to them. Photo / Stephen Parker

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Let them drink untreated water

9 Dec, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: We don't need a new government agency to monitor drinking water.

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Trump and Brexit did not win our election

2 Dec, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Let's not believe we voted to be a less open, confident country.

Will the quality of universities suffer when students are no longer charged for tuition? Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Free entry does not build a great university

25 Nov, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Free entry could send our universities downhill.

Refugees and asylum seekers hold up banners during a protest at the Manus Island immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Roughan: Manus Island: Kiwis are not busybodies

18 Nov, 2017 10:03am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Kiwis practical, liberal, reserved people who generally do not rush to judgment.

Auckland city. Photo / NitiChuysakul Photography

NEW ZEALAND

Super City oblivious to life on the ground

4 Nov, 2017 11:01am
4 minutes to read

There are eight million stories in the naked city, this is one of them.

NZ First leader Winston Peters and incoming Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Capitalism's human face is not Peters

28 Oct, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Winston Peters has got nothing worse than a regional slush fund from Labour.

NZ First leader Winston Peters gets to choose our government. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Peters appears to mean business this time

14 Oct, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Peters is cooking up something serious this time.

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: A fourth election victory is truly historic

7 Oct, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: National's historic achievement should tell Peters what to do.

Mr 7 per cent (probably, after the specials) is planning to sit like King Solomon and invite bribes from both sides. Photo / Andrew Warner

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: A coalition of losers could happen

30 Sep, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: A personality cult gets to decide our next government.

Former PM Sir John Key was overseas for much of the campaign but says he was able to keep in touch - watching the first leaders' debate in his cabin on a cruise ship off Croatia. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Key: English did better than I would have done

24 Sep, 2017 9:21pm
4 minutes to read

Former PM John Key feels the election result vindicated his decision to resign.

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting. Photo / AP

WORLD

John Roughan: America living with electoral consequences

23 Sep, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Donald Trump continued to prove American voters got it wrong.

Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Labour Finance Spokesman Grant Robertson discuss the economy in front of business leaders at the New Zealand Herald Mood of the Boardroom event. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Well, here's how I'm voting

16 Sep, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Voting is becoming a battle of the head against the heart.

Labour Party Leader Jacinda Ardern visits workers from the Kinleith paper Mill in Tokoroa. Photo / Nick Reed

BUSINESS

John Roughan: Jacinda's economy could be ugly

9 Sep, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Jacinda's economy could get ugly unless she is careful with the money.

Leader Jacinda Ardern visits Western Springs College. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Time feels right for change Ardern represents

2 Sep, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: This is feeling like an election of generational change, writes John Roughan.

Labour Party leader Jacinda Arden. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: National's forgotten benefit boost

26 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Child poverty figures are not up to date and do not tell us what works.

A tax based partly on use would probably punish those who use the resource for its best commercial return and exempt those who waste it. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Bottled water tax pure extortion

19 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: How can we justify a selective tax on bottled water?

Jacinda Ardern strikes me as someone who thrives in the bullshit rooms. Photo / Doug Sherring

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Get real on rail, Jacinda

12 Aug, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: We need to see Jacinda thinking, not gushing.

Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern during the party's new election slogan launch at Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Jacinda faced a fair question

5 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Ardern is a breath of fresh air but needs to be more careful with gender issues.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei is questioned by the media at Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: Turei deserves discussion she wanted

29 Jul, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT:Metiria Turei has at least earned the right to explain her welfare policy.

Climate change debate will miss the calm, sceptical voice of Chris de Freitas. Photo / Greg Bowker

NEW ZEALAND

Roughan: Give de Freitas marks for courage

15 Jul, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Climate change debate will miss the calm, sceptical voice of Chris de Freitas.

Peter Burling (L) and Grant Dalton (R) of Team New Zealand during the Team New Zealand Americas Cup Welcome Home Parade. Photo / Getty Images

SPORT

John Roughan: Amid Cup jubilation, a worry

8 Jul, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Having won the Cup, Team New Zealand's hardest work may be still ahead.

Advocates of sugar tax ignore the damage it would do to the tax system. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Save our taxation from health zealots

1 Jul, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Advocates of sugar tax ignore the damage it would do to the tax system.

SPORT

All Blacks and Kiwi sailors set the pace

24 Jun, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: New Zealanders are battling for the soul of two sports this weekend.

Young voters are more worldly than older generations. Photo / NZME

NEW ZEALAND

Non-voters distrust doom casters

17 Jun, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

OPINION: Complacency is probably the reason so many eligible young voters do not bother.

Three thousand people in Britain are rated more dangerous than Abedi and the London Bridge Killers. Photo / AP

John Roughan: We will have 'one wolfs' on the web

9 Jun, 2017 11:16am
5 minutes to read

Do we have "lone wolfs" lurking in lonely places, susceptible to the dark web?

SPORT

Loving the Cup but give me a long game

3 Jun, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: A Lion's tour, unlike the Cup, is one of sport's few surviving endurance events.

Finance Minister Steven Joyce during his Budget 2017 presentation at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

BUSINESS

John Roughan: Budget's big splash

27 May, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: We could easily poison this growing economy if we are not careful.

May he rest in peace. File photo / 123RF

John Roughan: Requiem for a good man

20 May, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: If my father could be summed up in a word it was "considerate".

The Government sees economic as well as political benefits in moving this far against immigration. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

National playing into Peters' hands

6 May, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

OPINION: The Government's immigration restriction carries economic and political risks.

French independent centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron greets his supporters prior to his address during an election campaign rally. Photo / AP

WORLD

John Roughan: Macron could fix France

29 Apr, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

The French will have to choose between an economic liberal and a protective nationalist.

President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump, gestures while speaking from the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington. Photo / AP

WORLD

Roughan: Trump turns out to be cautious

22 Apr, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Coming up to his first 100 days, Trump's proving more circumspect than his words.

Prime Minister Bill English, right, and Finance Minister Steven Joyce. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

John Roughan: English has found his feet

15 Apr, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Tinkering with the superannuation age has done National no harm.

Typhoid is a communicable disease so I suppose the service had to issue a public notice at some point. Photo / Bradley Ambrose

NEW ZEALAND

Not exactly action stations on typhoid

8 Apr, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: News of typhoid outbreak didn't put medical centres on alert, writes John Roughan

The new format is an admission by the Sanzaar partners that after failing to compete on a level playing field, teams from other countries would be at risk of a shut-out. Photo / Backpagepix / Photosport

SPORT

Super Rugby format tribute to NZ

18 Mar, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: NZ is too strong for Super Rugby to let it compete on a level playing field.