Bob Edlin: Why the PPTA needs PoO.....

Why the PPTA needs PoO – to help them identify the extremists who need expelling from the classroom

Too late, the PoO team today realised that time was fast running out to pitch for a $10,000 (plus GST) contract plus expenses. The job is up for grabs for “experienced writers and educators”, a category into which we modestly reckon we comfortably fit.

The challenge would be to develop advice and guidelines on dealing with extremism in the classroom.

Ryan Bridge: Should we worry about extremism in NZ?

Did you see the cops put out a handy warning for us all yesterday?

Hide, tell, escape.

The spooks in Wellington reckon extremist violence is a realistically possibility in this country.

Now, they’ve been saying this for some time.

Alexander Gillespie: Out of the shadows

Why making NZ’s security threat assessment public for the first time is the right move

Today’s release of the threat assessment by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) is the final piece in a defence and security puzzle that marks a genuine shift towards more open and public discussion of these crucial policy areas.

Bryce Edwards: The need to take disinformation seriously

Political deception is as old as politics itself. There have always been political actors who have attempted to twist and manipulate information. Sometimes this includes politicians, political activists, journalists, and even governments. When the inaccuracy of information is accidental and innocent it is referred to as “misinformation”, but when it is deliberate and malign it is labelled “disinformation”.

Arguably political deception is getting worse. The technological and media landscape is changing in ways that allow disinformation and misinformation to be spread more easily, with dangerous consequences.

Frank Newman: Extremism

I had intended to write about the proposed capital gains tax. That topic seems a little trivial following the recent events in Christchurch.

It seems more appropriate to address ‘extremism’. It's ugly and destructive and can sometimes be tragic, as we have witnessed on World News over the years, but now more closely in our own back yard. Last week it was others around the world who were watching our tragedy on their TVs.

I applaud and admire the manner in which our Prime Minister has led the country during this time of crisis and grieving. And I applaud the nation for supporting those directly affected by the actions of what appears on the face of it to be a lone extremist.

I’m not sure that I fully agree with the PM describing the actions of this individual as "terrorism", simply because I am no longer sure how to define it. Terrifying yes, but this nutcase does not appear to be part of an organisation.