Once upon a time, New Zealand’s Parliament looked quite different. Instead of having just one chamber of Parliament to debate and make laws, we had two. In 1950, our Upper House, called the Legislative Council, was disbanded, making New Zealand the only country in Australasia to have just one chamber of Parliament. In a Guest Paper for Maxim Institute, Professor…
Read MoreCategory: August 15, 2011 Issue
Government tightens student loan criteria
The Government has ushered in changes to the Student Loans Scheme to make borrowers more responsible, improve the effectiveness of the benefits extended and ensure a better repayment system, two Ministers of the Crown have said. Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said in a statement issued on July 18 that the changes introduced in Budget…
Read MoreEducation leads suffering Indians to success
I have always held the view that in Fiji, Indo-Fijians invested heavily in the education of their children and built schools, while I-Taukei, the indigenous people, invested heavily in churches. Indo-Fijians perceived education as the ultimate liberation from discriminatory policies and practices of the Government. In the Colonial era, the Government wanted Indians to be the hewers of wood and…
Read MoreMaths mavin gets Silver at global contest
When Arun Shanmuganathan won a Silver Medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2011) held recently in Amsterdam, we were happy and proud but not surprised. The teenager, now in Year 13 pursuing International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme has several such records to his credit. He topped the list of New Zealand boys at the Asia Pacific Mathematics Olympiad held…
Read MoreVirtual explorer wins first FP Scholarship
A west Auckland business student researching the marketing secrets of the ‘Virtual Frontier,’ has won a scholarship set up to support innovation. Unitec Institute of Technology student Neil Gautam won the inaugural Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Master of Business Thesis Award, valued at $5000. He hopes to complete his thesis on Branding in the Virtual Realm of Video Games in…
Read MoreAn attempt to rescue people from Dole
Iain Duncan Smith is a man with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. As Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for the British Government, he oversees the allocation of state support to the more than five million people on out of work benefits in the UK. Mr Smith has not settled for being a mere steward of the…
Read MoreIndo Fijians concert efforts to lift child poverty
While a number of so-called community organisations pay lip service to promoting the cause of the needy, there are a handful of selfless individuals who devote their spare time to do more and talk less. Among them are the promoters and members of the Foundation for the Education of Needy Children (FENC) in Fiji Trust based in Auckland. Though less…
Read MoreWelfare Reforms must be drastic
UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith ruffled a few feathers in New Zealand with his hard (extreme?) views on welfare benefits and other issues affecting individual lives and careers. His lectures in Auckland (hosted by Maxim Institute as a part of its Annual Sir John Graham Lecture series) and in Wellington (Institute of…
Read MoreIs Independence Day losing significance?
The concept of blissful enthusiasm comprises rigour, which emerges from conscious turmoil of thought and feeling. When this psycho-mechanical process does not stir us, we lose the nerve to participate and associate in any socio-cultural activity. The youngsters of ‘Generation Next’ are accused of lacking the urge, which comes out of concordant initiatives and a natural erudite and patriotic public…
Read MoreCongress Party reaches Crossroads
A new strategy may be on the anvil for Indian National Congress to refurbish its image, as fresh charges of corruption seem to devour its leaders. New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is the latest VIP under scanner of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. She has been implicated with the much-flawed Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games held…
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