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March 2, 2023 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 02 March 2023

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General Debate

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peterwn

Rob Campbell (sacked health authority chair) still does not seem to get it. He says people like himself would be unwilling to accept such appointments if they are constrained from expressing their opinions on political and other matters. I would call BS on this. When Rob was involved with unions (pre Rogernomics days) unionists frequently made political comments claiming support of their members even though many members would not have agreed. Unionists would also bully and harass its dissenting members (one broadcasting guy got kicked out of the PSA and the PSIS then demanded that he pay back his second mortgage as he was no longer a member of an associated union). This is partly the reason that the trade union movement disintegrated in the Rogernomics era.
So Rob still thinks that he can express political views without regard to stakeholders or organisations where is a chairman, director, etc. Sorry, chum, this is not the case especially when it causes major embarrassment.
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March 2, 2023 8:02am
- James Stephenson
  
  Well if it means people like him won’t accept these roles, I’d say that’s a feature not a bug.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:19am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  A leftie who thinks he is invincible and deserves a job for life.
  A perfect example of deadwood in the Public Sector that needs to be cut out.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:25am
  - tf78
    
    Half me wonders if he was sort of pushed to be replaced by : I wonder?!
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:41am
  - Wayne Mapp
    
    Steve,
    A political appointment, as Campbell was, is not really part of the public service in the way you imagine.
    What will happen if National is elected is a likely freeze on new hiring in the public service. Wholesale sackings of public servants in the way you want simply doesn’t happen. Way too disruptive.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:48am
    - Nickc2
      
      Wholesale sackings of public servants in the way you want simply doesn’t happen.
      Wayne, it doesn’t have to be this way. AFIK, there’s nothing stopping a future Govt going through the Public Service and hoovering up all the leftist and racist trash and disposing of them is there?
      It may prove expensive, but that doesn’t preclude it being done eh?
      
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      March 2, 2023 8:59am
      - Albert_Ross
        
        What methodology do you envisage this future government using, to identify which public servants are leftist and/or racist trash? Remember, it has to be defensible in an employment tribunal.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:24am
      - Nickc2
        
        Albert_Ross @9:24AM
        Get rid of the employment tribunal!
        In the ideal world, I should be able to employ a person and have them sign up to a set of standards stating that if breached, they are liable to instant dismissal without recourse.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:05am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Expensive? That will be countered by the non productive deadwood getting the DCM.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:05am
      - Matt Long
        
        AR, perhaps we could ask Elon for clues, and also perhaps the Government could pass start with the Employment Tribunals.
        I know, the Nats will be too busy chasing Climate mirages and lack kahunas.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:05am
      - Albert_Ross
        
        Right, so a system where anybody can be accused, by anybody, and on any or no basis, merely of holding non-approved opinions – not even doing anything about those opinions, in or out of the workplace – and lose their livelihood as a result solely of that. No proof required, no need to show that their work is affected, no opportunity to defend.
        
        And this is something you’d want from a future National government?
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:22am
      - Ghost
        
        So you want a public service that is only employing the political leanings of the government of the day?
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:25am
      - Nickc2
        
        Albert_Ross @10:22AM
        Nowhere in my posts on this subject have I mentioned the Nation Party/Govt!!!
        Are you answering my posts as a paid-up member of Te MSM/Labour Party (if there’s a difference)?
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:34am
      - Widogast Corwin
        
        “Wayne, it doesn’t have to be this way. AFIK, there’s nothing stopping a future Govt going through the Public Service and hoovering up all the leftist and racist trash and disposing of them is there?”
        
        Sorry – it is not as simple as that. The Government does not employ public servants. It does not even have the power to appoint Chief Executives.
        
        I disagree with Wayne Mapp – just “freezing” public servant numbers will mean that the useless ones will stay! The growth we have seen in the last 5 years is such that attrition will not solve the problem.
        
        So what to do?
        
        Replace the Public Service Commissioner. he is part of the problem.
        
        Set budgets for Government departments over 3 – 5 years that will result in restoring the size of the public service back to the size it needs to be. Yes that will require redundancies in some agencies. One government department has increased from 270 to 1100 in 5 years. How the hell do you fix that with a “hiring freeze”?
        
        And it is not just numbers – it is capability. Look at the RBNZ. Its staffing has ballooned but – again – it is not just numbers – it is full of HR folk and communication experts. You can’t fix the RBNZ and all the rest of them with a “hiring freeze”. The new Government will need to fix crises on many fronts. It needs to be supported by a fit for purpose public service. Not a bloated army of activists.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:52am
      - Nickc2
        
        Ghost @10:25AM
        The term ‘apolitical’ describes the requirement.
        having no interest or involvement in political affairs. also : having an aversion to politics or political affairs. : having no political significance. apolitically.
        When I was in the Military, we were required to be ‘apolitical’ and were frequently reminded of it because the Military’s role is to carry out responsibilities assigned by the Govt of the Day.
        Well, that was until Norman Kirk came along!!
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:03am
      - Ghost
        
        You’re not going to get apolitical people in public service and neither should you ask of that. Just because someone takes a job in public service doesn’t mean they should lose their ability outside of their job to openly support/condemn a political party or political policies.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:14am
      - Albert_Ross
        
        Nickc2, you said you’d want employees to sign up to a set of standards whose breach would render them liable to instant dismissal without recourse. Earlier, you said that being leftist and racist trash should be a reason for disposal.
        
        So, it follows that one of your set of standards would be “not being leftist and racist trash”.
        
        Again. How would you propose to determine whether any given individual is leftist and racist trash and therefore breaches your standards? Do you envisage requiring proof of how they voted? Going through their social media? Listening in on their conversations at the pub?
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:21am
      - leoj
        
        Can you imagine Luxon hoovering up the leftists?
        Look at his record. He hid behind Jacinda’s skirt during the protest and now throws one of his own MPs under the bus for daring to ask for proof of climate change.
        Glass chin Luxon will never use the hoover on the Public Service. He has too much in common with their left-leaning beliefs.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:25am
      - Opie
        
        @ Albert Ross
        
        “Right, so a system where anybody can be accused, by anybody, and on any or no basis, merely of holding non-approved opinions – not even doing anything about those opinions, in or out of the workplace – and lose their livelihood as a result solely of that. No proof required, no need to show that their work is affected, no opportunity to defend.”
        
        This is what we have now.
        
        If I said that I disagree with a chocolate bar having a Maori name then I would lose my job at an unrelated company after being picked on by a social media mob. You may even remember this happening.
        
        A society waiting to be offended where the perceived upset of a few prevents any kind of difference of opinion is not healthy.
        
        I’m not saying to remove all the leftists as suggested above, but I am in favour of removing anyone that views any race differently to another.
        
        Unfortunately leftists and racists are often the same thing at the moment here with their determination to promote one culture ahead of all other cultures.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:51am
      - bjools
        
        Albert Ross
        Time to go back to the 1990’s, they had it right.
        Employment contracts act…1991.
        “Employees could choose to work under either an individual or collective employment contract, which affected only the specific employers and employees who signed the agreements. Bargaining over contracts and disputes was entirely voluntary.11/03/2010”
        ie you are responsible for doing the work YOU agreed to, otherwise, don’t take the job.
        
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        March 2, 2023 12:44pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Disruptive? You mean it makes others wake up and do their job, or they are next?
      For many years I have seen the Public Sector slowly deteriorate. It has become a resthome for lazy bastards.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:14am
    - Cassandra
      
      Surely we’re at the stage when disruption is mandatory. Labour has increased the public sector (I started to type “service”) for political advantage. Time to correct that. The old norms no longer apply. The 10 Waters staff have had plenty of warning – they should all go without notice or compensation. The Undoing Damage Inflicted by the Labour Party Act will achieve just that.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:21am
      - pdm
        
        Cass. Mahuta Corp and Tainui can compensate the 3/5/AllWaters hangers on.
        
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        March 2, 2023 12:20pm
    - slightlyrighty
      
      Perhaps, but I feel that there are some departments that do need a wholesale clear out with a view to replacing key personnel, such as Immigration.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:51am
    - kowtow
      
      ‘Way too disruptive.’
      
      Given so many have been hired in the last 5 years and nearly all “metrics” are way worse , I suspect we wouldn’t notice a huge clear out of back room types .
      
      Esp in the fields of human resources , diversity , inclusion , ethnic this that and the other , media relations ,engagement etc
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:00am
      - Widogast Corwin
        
        Totally agree. This problem needs urgent action. The solution is not mass sackings of thousands in the first 100 days. But neither is it the Wayne Mapp solution of a “hiring freeze”.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:54am
      - Matt Long
        
        A reforming government in waiting could be sending teams to Twitter to see how a bloated leftist organisation could be made apolitical and efficient.
        
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        March 2, 2023 1:35pm
    - artemisia
      
      Could start with the top tiers, and review their KPIs. A new government could adjust these and tilt them to core delivery functions. Seems atm that there is delivery of some functions that are growing the ideology but not the pie.
      
      In the past there have been sinking lid policies, with new functions and staff only permitted with a robust business case and even more robust KPIs. Can do that again, if the ministerial will and attention to detail is there.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:12am
      - Widogast Corwin
        
        I can’t emphasise this enough. The Government needs to replace the Public Service Commissioner. He employs and appoints every Chief Executive. Not the Government.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:55am
      - Ehlana
        
        And sensibly, that is how you do it. First decide what it is you want them to deliver and set that up with the people in charge. Then hold them responsible for delivering it.
        
        There should be a laser focus on efficient, effective delivery of agreed services to the public.
        
        Conveniently, this is great for the believers in catastrophic human-induced climate change, as using the least resources to generate the most, is very environmentally friendly and sustainable.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:41am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        The whole system is rotten to it’s ineffective core. It’s a fucking joke and a disgrace. It happens repeatedly throughout history. Nothing new. Time for a cleanout.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:46pm
    - GJM
      
      A freeze won’t get rid of the overstaffing and dead wood. The useless will stay, the useful have options.
      There are entire departments, commisions and quangos that can be chopped wholesale. If National aren’t sure what they are, then it shows why they are part of the problem.
      Get rid of
      Human rights commisioner, who’s gob is to promote racial disharmony to keep their jobs
      Childrens’ comsioner, whcih was a sop to Peter Dunne years ago (remember him?
      Womens affairs. Women have been arranging their own affairs for millenia
      etc
      
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      March 2, 2023 12:23pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Musn’t cause a ruckus, must we. 😝
      
      How about the attrition plus “active measures” to identity and “manage” activist nutbags getting too big for their boots?
      
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      March 2, 2023 3:50pm
  - kowtow
    
    Maybe his head got too big cos all those “capitalist” corporations had him as a director ……..
    
    One wonders what they were thinking .
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:02am
- rockape
  
  He also is head of the health service. If one of his workers speak out about management failures or bad service to patients they would be looking for a new job. See todays headlines in Stuff an nurse being disciplined for posting on social media about the “special” people.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:27am
- Gravelroad
  
  Let’s turn it around the other way –
  National/Act win the election and then set about appointing bulk party members/financial supporters/relatives and mates to head up various boards, groups and ministries. Jobs for electoral support.
  So they all sign up to all the requirements via the various paperwork and contracts required.
  Then the Labour/Maori/Green opposition leaders start up complaining and questioning.
  And a National Party “rich prick” appointee goes on social media to attack them politically and personally because he/she/ they feel entitled to so do.
  That ok?
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:37am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    You point is mute, can you give just one instance of a Nat appointed bureaucrat that has done this? No you can’t, but it’s not the first time a Labour appointee has had to be sacked
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:02am
    - plc
      
      Moot
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:24am
      - kowtow
        
        Campbell was far from mute .
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:01am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    No no no no. We all know it is different when the left do it!
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:16am
  - Cassandra
    
    Exactly, Gravel. Labour would be up in arms. National needs to toughen up and kill this stone dead. See my Act above for the means.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:24am
- slightlyrighty
  
  I still do not understand how Rob Campbell can be the chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency and head of Te Whatu Ora. and do both jobs justice.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:36am
  - hullkiwi
    
    …and yet we are being told that his sacking will cause a vacuum in the management of the health sector.
    
    What a load of Toshiba. What exactly are his qualifications and experience to be managing for delivery health services and policy in NZ?
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:25am
    - Cassandra
      
      Nil. Exactly nil.
      
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      March 2, 2023 11:46am
      - Mike
        
        Crown entity boards are typically composed of a mix of directors with governance experience, subject expertise and those owed political sinecures.
        
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        March 2, 2023 12:25pm
  - Nickc2
    
    He can do it because he’s a Labour Govt appointee and aligned to the Trade Union Movement and the Labour Party is the Political Wing of the Trade Union Movement.
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:47am
  - peterwn
    
    He isn’t now, David Parker has just given Rob Campbell the boot from the EPA job.
    
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    March 2, 2023 2:34pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  It matters not a bit what he did when he was a unionist, though as you point out it helps us understand his motivations. Neither does it matter if his statements embarrassed anyone.
  
  The only thing that matters is that he has undermined public confidence in the PUBLIC sector by inserting his political views. His job is to be impartial and independent, and while everyone understands that very few people meet that high standard, he’s not allowed to breach it publicly in this way.
  
  David Seymour spells it out very clearly in this interview on The Platform, well worth a listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnJF87wysJQ
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:42am
- Brian McDonald
  
  What’s the major embarrassment about it? Luxon accepted the apology. I suppose you’re into thought control as well, how’s that going to work?
  All bleating here about free speech and next minute…
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:07am
  - Keith White
    
    Campbell had freedom of speech. Then he expected financial freedom to persist after he spoke freely and savaged the hand that feeds him. He’s not smarter than the average bear…
    
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    March 2, 2023 11:21am
    - Loddenthinks
      
      Neither’s Brian
      
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      March 2, 2023 7:20pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Why do the left use ridiculous conflation when they’ve run out of a leg to stand on? It fools people for about 5 seconds.
    
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    March 2, 2023 3:53pm
- Lee C
  
  Looks like he’s set to be dumped from another role.
  
  Perhaps he’s just a bit of a dick?
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:34am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    I don’t think he’ll be on struggle street soon.
    
    https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/primary-sector/nz-rural-land-co-raising-38m-to-pay-for-forestry
    
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    March 2, 2023 12:27pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Not bad for a trade unionist
      
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      March 2, 2023 2:46pm
- JJ56
  
  The way he’s carrying on I can only surmise that all those years hobnobbing with the hoi polloi have rubbed off. He must be batting for the Nats.
  
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  March 2, 2023 5:56pm
  - Loddenthinks
    
    You don’t hobnob with the hoi polloi. They are the common people, from whence he came.
    
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    March 2, 2023 7:22pm
Chuck Bird

Rodney Hide talks to Leighton Smith

https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/rodney-hide-talks-to-leighton-smith
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March 2, 2023 8:03am
- Nickc2
  
  I thoroughly recommend this Podcast.
  Rodney Hide outlines how and why everything surrounding us is being politically manipulated to achieve an outcome that is only known to those behind the political push.
  If you thought your kid’s education is substandard and racial disharmony is being fostered in everything political, you are right, it’s all part of the plan.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:36am
  - Matt Long
    
    Listening now, he talks about the ” need” to cut off independence to make the population compliant with particular regard to farmers.
    Interesting I heard a talk a few years ago from a Nuffeild Scholar,which is a scholarship for aspiring farming leaders, that many farmers, particularly older farmers, had chosen farming because of a regrettable affinity for freedom and because of this are not regarded as sufficiently mindlessly compliant.
    His conclusion was that such regrettably freedom loving people would have to coerced and need to face penalties in order that they comply with whatever stupid rules are proposed.
    This was in the early stages of the fart tax rules supported by Luxon and about to be imposed on farmers.
    
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    March 2, 2023 11:20am
- NZer In Exile
  
  Generic fluff stops and podcast starts at 5:35 mark.
  
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  March 2, 2023 4:02pm
Chuck Bird

For those in or near Hamilton David Seymour will be speaking tonight.

Kiwi families are struggling to keep their heads above water with rising interest rates. Our streets are lawless. And we’re being divided against each other with co-government.

ACT is ready to take on the real issues this country faces with a raft of common-sense solutions. At the next election, a new coat of paint – from red to blue – won’t be enough to save our country. The last five National Governments opposed Labour’s policies while in opposition but then kept them. We can’t afford to have National babysit Labour’s policies again.

ACT is the circuit breaker to that pattern. A vote for ACT is a vote to make sure promises to repeal Labour’s policies are kept. Changing the Government next year isn’t enough – we need to change direction.

This is your invitation to be a part of our movement for real change. We hope you’ll join us at our public meeting in Hamilton.

When

March 02, 2023 at 6:00pm – 7pm

Where

Waikato Indian Association Hall
82 Duke St
Building 3
Frankton
Hamilton 3204
New Zealand

https://my.act.org.nz/pm_hamilton
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March 2, 2023 8:08am
- hmmokrightitis
  
  Will he be brave enough to explain why he didn’t support the rule of law (BoRA) and wanted to inject children?
  
  Or has that been forgotten?
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:14am
  - Random T Person
    
    Good questions, hmmo, and no, it is not forgotten. No votes for the unprincipled, sorry.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:56am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      So who will you vote for?
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:49am
      - Random T Person
        
        I won’t. I’m filth, remember, all the major and significant minor parties made that very clear.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:53am
      - Fuzzysnuggleduck
        
        Not voting is a cop-out in my opinion.
        And if it is on a single issue, then that is really cutting off the nose to spite the face.
        
        I disagree with my wife, I disagree with myself in hindsight, I don’t share the same politics with every one of my friends – and I don’t hold a grudge where there isn’t/wasn’t a malicious intent.
        
        The world has mostly moved on from Covid.
        You wouldn’t know it from Kiwiblog, but I simply don’t hear it come up any more. Ram raids or stolen generators are more interesting.
        Cov-19 was a big nothing compared to the true import. We were mislead or misunderstood, and some people figured it out sooner than others.
        But others live in fear even today – be it the vaccine, or the virus. Both are sad. It is 2023.
        
        Don’t forget, (1 year on from the Parliament protests, and the media lies) 100%, that our freedoms were constrained, our rights trampled, and huge damage done to the nation -but it is not the only issue.
        Other things will be of prime importance in 5, 10 or 20 years. The only thing left from Covid by then will be debt.
        Our education system, our health system, justice, co-governance, health/freedom/prosperity: these things WILL matter.
        
        If those that feel ‘betrayed’ really want to come to some peace, then I suggest they meet David face to face like I have done.
        You might find he is a bit more philosophical with the passing of time.
        But what the fuck is the point of any politician coming out with a loudspeaker and dredging over the Covid farce, and taking sides now?
        All that will happen is a media hijack, around ACT siding with the so-called “anti-vaxers”.
        I think David speaks well on matters of principle, and doesnt mind saying things that could be unpopular – but he is not going to shoot himself in the foot when he needs the government in his gun sights.
        And if ACT is not for you, then pick something else which is the least worst or closest fit to requirements.
        That’s what we do in all other aspects of life.
        Perfect is the enemy of good.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:28am
      - Random T Person
        
        Maybe it is a cop out, fuzzy, and I see the reasoning. But screw these political parties taking my vote for granted. I’m nobody important anyway, the rest of you can get on with it, but my principles say no thanks, social contract is irretrievably broken.
        
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        March 2, 2023 1:00pm
    - Phronesis
      
      There’s still time for one of these traitors to admit they were wrong. The evidence is now undeniable. For example this from the Lancet:
      
      “It supports the idea that those with a documented infection should be treated similarly to those who have been fully vaccinated with high-quality vaccines.” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02465-5/fulltext
      
      Whoever breaks ranks and turns on the coalition of the wilfully ignorant (which is all of them at the moment) will get my vote and I suspect many others. There’s a lot to be said for a politician that can admit when they are wrong, and in this case they have the chance to rub it in their oppositions faces. Better late than never.
      
      (Children in particular had very high rates of covid infection prior to the vaccination being made available to them in NZ, yet it was still strongly promoted as advantageous when it was known to not be.)
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:57am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  National is Labour Lite. Hopefully Davis Seymour calls them out by mentioning this.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:28am
  - peterwn
    
    The stark reality is National has to set its policies to where it thinks the majority of votes lie, and if this means a ‘labor-lite’ stance then so be it. If National sticks to its alleged founding principles etc and adopts policies further to the right, it would just hand Labour the election on a plate. Similarly if electors think that National would be unduly influenced by hard right ACT policies. David Seymour and ACT has to be very careful here. If people think that ACT could have National over a barrel in any coalition talks, people could be scared off voting National and Labour/ Greens could proclaim this possibility from the roof tops.
    It was indeed fortunate that National had such strong support at the recent Hamilton West byelection. It could easily have gone Labour’s way because of ACT draining votes off National and ACT would have had egg all over its face. ACT should not have put up a candidate. Similarly ACT needs to be very careful with its stance it takes leading up to this years election.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:43am
    - Matt Long
      
      Yeahs and everyone should vote Labour so the Greens don’t get in. //
      
      18 6
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      March 2, 2023 8:55am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        There is only one way to keep the greens out this time, their plan failed last election
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:05am
      - peterwn
        
        I did not make that implication concerning ACT and National. There is definitely a place for the ACT party under MMP and it would appeal to voters who may otherwise not vote or, heaven forbid, vote Winston. My point is the while it can take a stance to the Right of National it needs to be done with moderation but ACT needs to be careful not to be greedy about it. I think David Seymour has hit it off OK over the years on this and ACT under his leadership has deserved the increasing support that ACT has.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:22am
      - Tom Hunter
        
        The Precious Midpoint….is there to be moved, not just accommodated while others move it.
        
        – Vice President Nelson Rockefeller dismissed Reagan as “a minority of a minority” who “has been taking some extreme positions.”
        
        – New York’s Republican Senator Jacob Javits: Reagan’s positions are “so extreme that they would alter our country’s very economic and social structure and our place in the world to such a degree as to make our country’s place at home and abroad, as we know it, a thing of the past.”
        
        – Illinois Republican Senator Charles Percy said Reagan’s candidacy was “foolhardy” and would lead to a “crushing defeat” for the Republican Party. “It could signal the beginning of the end of our party as an effective force in American political life.”
        
        This sounds familiar:
        
        So you see a repeating pattern to American politics: There isn’t a true back-and-forth. Instead, Democrats change the country a lot while they’re in power. Then Republicans hold power and push the pause button. There’s no rollback that a new executive order can’t undo.
        
        Maybe they cut taxes; bring back the Mexico City policy; junk a regulation that Democrats created but didn’t manage to implement; but that’s about it. When was the last time Republicans passed a huge law — one that changed America forever the way Democrats do every time they hold serve in American politics? You don’t see it.
        
        I’ll leave the last to Mrs Thatcher:
        
        The result of this style of accommodationist politics, as my colleague Keith Joseph complained, was that post-war politics became a ‘socialist ratchet’ — Labour moved Britain towards more statism; the Tories stood pat; and the next Labour Government moved the country a little further left. The Tories loosened the corset of socialism; they never removed it.
        
        In NZ it’s starting to look like the 1960’s/70’s, with the two major parties having consensus on the big issues – which also means that we’re heading for another 1984 period before anything can truly be changed.
        
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        March 2, 2023 12:39pm
    - Random T Person
      
      You’re not wrong, Peter, but National abandoning principle is a very shabby look for a great many. Have they done the maths on what compromised principles gets them, vs what it may cost them?
      
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      March 2, 2023 8:57am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      I have already heard instances of friends going back to Labour because of this very reason
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:05am
      - plc
        
        Socialists are not your friends
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:26am
    - RoboRob
      
      Agree that National needs to chase center voters. However many of the lefty voters are simply unaware of the alternative policies. If National clearly and forcefully define the benefits of their right wing policy they wouldnt need to pretend (be?) so left wing on so many issues.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:10am
      - Sideoiler
        
        …..If National clearly and forcefully define the benefits of their right wing policy…..
        
        The National party has right wing policies?
        Bugger me who knew.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:30am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Then National need to move the centre back to where it belongs in the middle.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:32am
      - Its only I
        
        I would have though working or non working policy would be a better description than left or right.
        
        I would have thought National would have shut down this left is normal, right is actually wrong, shyt Labour and its MSN have been nurturing.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:55am
      - Wayne Mapp
        
        Clan
        You say National has to reset the middle.
        Just to pick one policy area, climate change. Around 80% of the population accepts the science of anthropogenic climate change, as indeed do a large number of National MP’s. Many here, including yourself don’t. And in fact say that not what the science says. That there can be no such thing as a science consensus.
        How do you reset the middle by going to the 20% who don’t agree with science consensus?
        It would be impossible, especially given that National is not in this space simply out of expediency. The majority of Nat MP’s, including the leader, accept the science consensus.
        I picked this area because it is not fundamentally a left/right issue, though the hard end of the right seem to see it that way.
        On things that are obviously left/right then the battle should be about resetting the middle. Taxes, size of government, level of regulation for instance.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:38am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Wayne, you move the centre by presenting persuasive arguments, citing facts & drawing conclusions. It’s called political discourse.
        
        Chris Luxon should try it some time.
        
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        March 2, 2023 2:52pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        WM: “Around 80% of the population accepts the science of anthropogenic climate change, as indeed do a large number of National MP’s.”
        
        This is just lazy sloganeering. What the hell is “the science”? Please elaborate. Whose science? Those who follow the narrative and are just perpetuating ideological cancel culture?
        
        National is incredibly naive on all this.
        
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        March 2, 2023 4:30pm
    - Cassandra
      
      Surely politicians have got to say what they believe in? What you’re advocating is dishonest.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:27am
      - Random T Person
        
        Absolutely. What did Groucho say? These are my principles, if you don’t like them, I have got others.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:55am
    - Simon
      
      “The stark reality is National has to set its policies to where it thinks the majority of votes lie, and if this means a ‘labor-lite’ stance then so be it.”
      
      Wrong. Its because National political leadership is weak & woke. Just take crime. Wide voter support to solve. However National refuse in any meaningful way to address a basic fundamental like crime as this would greatly upset the left.
      
      National are swimming in sewage of the left as they consider themselves Labo-lite, Swimming in left wing sewage there is no future except you become the sewage.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:31am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      Peter, I do not like parties of the left like Labour or the Greens. However, I think Hipkins is more principled than Luxon. How do you think Act went from 1 MP to 10 and is polling for about 15?
      
      It is because David is not almost totally poll driven. Hi was on his own by not supporting Labour’s firearm confiscation. He has a scientific education so he looks at science in regard to climate change.
      
      Below is an email I got from Muller
      
      Hi Chuck
      
      Personally I do think the world is in a climate emergency. The challenge as it always has been is to get global action as opposed to global speeches and talk fests.
      
      I am in strong agreement with Scott that we have to get NZ action in a sensible place – function of ETS price, available technology, and sensible conversations with larger emitting sectors to build a plan – cutting cows and stopping NZ steel etc.
      
      Kind regards
      Todd
      
      He is supporting taxing farmers for methane and reducing stock numbers.
      
      As David has said many times, a vote for Act will not just change the government but change policies.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:06am
      - My
        
        Yep.. I’m in BOP. If ACT can put up a decent candidate with some name recognition I’d give them two ticks. There are allot of traditional Nat voters who don’t want to vote for Todd.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:27am
      - Chuck Bird
        
        My, I would say in most case party vote Act but in the electorate vote National. However, in the BOP you are right.
        
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        March 2, 2023 12:00pm
    - hullkiwi
      
      Peter well said. Act and their cheer leaders need to learn to compliment National rather than seek to destroy National. Else we will get eternal Labour/Green governments.
      
      Further, the advocats for Act have to remember for the past 21 years National have been gifting Act Epsom to support the National/Act alliance.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:39am
      - Chuck Bird
        
        Act is not trying to destroy National. They are trying to get people who normally vote National to vote Act.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:48am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      The Ham West by-election is another thing that made me resign from National. Candidates in active electorates are normally chosen by the electorate committee. Luxon thought the candidate should be Maori so he interfered. That pissed me off for two reasons. Firstly, the committee should have chosen the candidate. Secondly, the candidate should have been chosen on merit and not on race or sex.
      
      I wonder if Luxon would support abortion like the Catholic Biden if it would help him get PM on his CV.
      
      There is no way I would vote for a party whose leader is more concerned about himself than the country.
      
      I do not consider him a good person.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:42am
    - H. Upmann
      
      …”hard right ACT policies”.
      I am very surprised to see that from you peterwn. I have always viewed you as a thinker.
      
      What exactly defines Hard Right or have you just been sucked in by the corrupt MSM?
      
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      March 2, 2023 12:06pm
      - Matt Long
        
        Perhaps Peter could expand on some of these hard right policies?
        
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        March 2, 2023 1:44pm
  - Observer of Life
    
    RTP: I totally understand where you’re coming from and agree, it’s never too late for the likes of David Seymour to say “I was wrong”. Covid may be over for some, and yesterday’s news for the majority, but for those marginalised, divided off as “filth” and mocked, they won’t forget. I won’t forget and I wasn’t in that group. Remember, if it’s brushed under the carpet, and forgotten, you can guarantee it’s going to rear it’s ugly head in another form down track. Opposition politicians need to come clean and admit they got it wrong. We all know the Liemore Party are never going to. They’re the instigators so are going to want it ignored.
    I am like Fuzzy though. ACT aren’t perfect for me, but I cannot bring myself to Party vote National as Luzon is proving daily that he is just Liemore Lite.
    
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    March 3, 2023 9:27am
- ClanMcleod
  
  Chuck – in your promotion of Act you mention the division of the population via co governance and you are correct to do so.
  But please, if you have contact with the Party, make sure Mr Seymour and others in the Party remember that 30% of the NZ population supported the protest in Wellington a year ago.
  
  I would contend that the division created during that despicable period is at least equivalent to the division of co governance policies. The only difference being one is on race, the other was medical freedom. In the former, nobody is being excluded from normal society and vilified as “granny killers” as happened to the latter.
  
  Any political Party that continues to try and pretend the horrific events of the last 3 years didn’t happen, or hopes people will just forget and move in, are making a very big mistake.
  
  It’s almost exactly a year to the day since the “heroic” police went in and battered and attacked NZ citizens with tear gas, rubber bullets, sonic canons and batons with what certainly seemed like great enthusiasm. In the intervening year, real criminals and gangsters have been mollycoddled or at best, their activities excused or totally ignored.
  
  It has been a very distressing time. Act would do well to remember those affected and at the very least, acknowledge the harms inflicted on them.
  To fail to do so would be morally repugnant and an act of betrayal. To try and pretend these events didn’t happen and to ignore those affected would be a disgraceful position to take.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:29am
  - Matt Long
    
    Interestingly about a third of people in the Milgram experiment refused to give what they believed was a lethal dose of electricity to the actors who they believed we’re the actual subjects of the experiment.
    Were the COVID mandates and lockdowns actually a mass Milgram experiment? Do we now know that 60% of the population will do anything evil authorities prompt?
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:41am
    - Matt Long
      
      Were dammit, were.
      
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      March 2, 2023 8:46am
      - Random T Person
        
        Yes dammit, yes. On the 60 percent. These are our neighbours, colleagues, and ‘friends’. Takes very little for them to turn on you, aye.
        
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        March 2, 2023 8:59am
  - Gravelroad
    
    Yes – National’s timid lack of response to the protest at Parliament shook my confidence in that Party.
    But I guess they were under orders from Mr Mallard to comply- and they obeyed.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:43am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Mallard forced party leaders into signing a declaration not to engage with protesters, remembering of course speaker is the boss around parliament
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:07am
      - Random T Person
        
        Which makes all those signed parties yellow bellied traitors to the people.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:56am
      - ClanMcleod
        
        “forced” – I understand some think Mallard was intimidating, but any politician bowing to this sort of garbage should hang their head in shame and immediately resign.
        Labour and Green I totally get, but National and Act? Excuse me while I get the sick bucket.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:52am
      - Observer of Life
        
        No excuse for an opposition party. Sign this or what?????
        
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        March 3, 2023 9:33am
  - Chuck Bird
    
    There is no party I totally agree with all their policies. If you do not live in or near Hamilton there are a number of events where Act will be around the country. I would imagine there will be people who agree with you and can ask him questions about your issue.
    
    Who are you going to vote for with your party vote?
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:56am
    - RoboRob
      
      Yeah so many of the Covid protest people here dont seem to understand the ‘perfect is the enemy of the good’. I don’t agree with all Acts policy (or nationals) but I agree with more than I do say the Greens, Maori or Labour.
      
      Act likely wont change their stance on the (now historic) protests. No other party will either. So either dont vote next election or suck it up and vote for the party that best matches your other views.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:14am
    - hmmokrightitis
      
      I vote, as some do, based on what I see as priorities. Economic handling is only one. National are generally way better than labour on that score, if only because they generally do what they say they are going to do. Labour will just spout shit and know the media and their dyed-in-the-wool supporters wont change their votes.
      
      But rule of law is huge for me. Did I expect labour to not give a fig about it? Of course. National, not really no, and the sheer volume of noise being spouted about forced vaxxing from them surprised and horrified me.
      
      But ACT, ACT were special. They touted themselves as the freedom party. The party that stood for the rule of law. And then (metaphorically) laughed as they pissed on that particular notion, as BoRA was ignored. The sheer bald faced hypocrisy was breathtaking. And that Seymour has not once addressed this makes it, to my mind, even worse.
      
      The man cannot be trusted. He is as bad as the rest of them – say one thing then, when expedient, do another.
      
      BoRA was there to protect our rights, as simple as that. Seymour happily trod those rights into the dirt. Was he alone? No. But he of all people should have stood up to be counted.
      
      Spineless.
      
      Yes, Ill party vote ACT. But Seymour is to my mind a fair weather charlatan up there with – dare I say it – The Pensioner.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:29am
      - Random T Person
        
        Your thoughts are aligned with mine again hmmo.
        
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        March 2, 2023 9:57am
      - Phronesis
        
        The best thing about being a minority party is that you don’t need to appeal to the “middle”, you only need to appeal to those who might actually vote for you. Not only is Seymour a fair weather charlatan but he’s not clever enough to sniff that the winds have changed.
        
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        March 2, 2023 10:07am
    - ClanMcleod
      
      Chuck I have yet to decide, but we aren’t talking about “policy” here, we’re talking about an obnoxious assault on the human rights of a very large segment of the population. Smeared and censored and excluded from society. Then physically attacked by the police for daring to protest this abuse.
      
      Imagine the furore had it been a smaller group based on race. Indeed, imagine…..
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:56am
  - Grunter
    
    ClanMcleod – well written. I’ll copy & paste and email it to Seymour. He is one politician who at least reads emails and often responds.
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:15am
    - Bridgenag
      
      Good idea email address for Seymour please
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:43am
    - Grunter
      
      David Seymour’s reply to my email of ClanMcleoad’s post just received (an 11 minute turnaround – I kid you not!)
      
      “ACT’s positions of allowing vaxx or test, and letting each organisation make its own policy would have avoided the division that led to the protest. The problem today is the same as with the protest at the time. You can’t talk to the rational without the truly insane getting in the way with their crackpot theories. If you have a way around that I’m all ears.
      Best
      David”
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:45am
      - Fuzzysnuggleduck
        
        And I recall at the time, this is what ACT did say – that individual businesses should decide and manage risk.
        In that sense, anti-mandate people could retail to anti-mandate people and whomever they chose. Come in to work, or don’t.
        
        Would have made sense, and people take some personal responsibility to manage their own risk or comfort level.
        But from the top down, MOH & podium, it was decreed that businesses had to close, locked down – and vaccine passes needed later on – all to stop {in truth, delay} spread (Which turns out, the vaccine did not do anyway, and they didn’t even use the delay to prepare ICU capacity in any case 🙁 ).
        
        But yes, David is right about the truly insane fringes, because the ‘died suddenly’ brigade is also being caught out using statistics just how the Covidiots did. i.e lies, damned lies, and cherry picked statistics.
        Why would a politician even touch such topics with a 10 foot pole? The science is settled, some say? Nope. Far from it.
        Note – I found out that ‘died suddenly’ types in the USA were even fishing for cause of death info for a teenaged rugby player who died recently at my boys school. Unfortunately, I know the boy died in a farm bike accident – but you can see that they are shopping for scary anecdotes like that.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:48am
Maggie Pie

“We’re Gonna Fuck You Up For Good Bitch”

See where Meng has confirmed the Human Rights Commission has received multiple complaints about the published excerpts from…. ‘The-Savage-Coloniser’ book.

In a statement released by the HRC, it reads in part…..

“James Cook is a well known figure across the Pacific as an 18th century British explorer who voyaged across the region contributing significantly to science and modern mapping of the region.

However, his legacy is a source of hurt and intergenerational trauma for some, especially around the treatment of indigenous people which is often seen as exploitative and harmful”

Sounds like that’s it then? There’s nothing to see here, obviously 😀
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March 2, 2023 8:19am
- Souvlaki
  
  Well….Willie Jackson , Te Pati Maori & Meng Foon would to well to read Trotters piece & reflect ……
  
  https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/03/02/fing-things-up/
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:28am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    That’s one of Trotter’s better pieces. People should read it and pay attention.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:36am
    - lastmanstanding
      
      I say unless this racist Government and the rest of the racist activists are stopped this country is heading for civil war. The majority will only take so much of the taunting from the Government and their activists before they push back.
      The result will not be pretty. When a large portion of an otherwise peaceful society is pushed over the edge with racisim and aparthied and priviledges for one sector they will turn.
      What we need is clear and cool heads governing this country.
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:20am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Thnx Souvie. Summed up beautifully by Chris Trotter.
    
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    March 2, 2023 8:40am
  - Cassandra
    
    Read the comments below Trotter’s thoughtful column. “Zionist invaders” etc. We are headed for civil war. Maori will push and push. It’s already too far. Breaking point just round the corner.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:36am
- graham
  
  Meng Foon is the Race Relations Commissioner.
  
  From the Human Rights Commission’s own page about Mr Foon:
  
  Mr Foon is responsible for leading the work of the Human Rights Commission in promoting positive race relations.
  
  How on earth can he reconcile defending this garbage with his responsibility to “promote positive race relations”?
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:34am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Meng-the-Merciless is also on record advocating for yet another Public Holiday to mark the ‘New Zealand Land Wars’!
    
    He said at the time…”A New Zealand Land Wars public holiday would serve as a memorial day similar to ANZAC DAY. It would be a chance to pause and remember the events of the 1800’s, including the many battles where Maori lives were lost, their incarceration, and land confiscated”
    
    As my partner’s mum just said…he’s about as impartial as Rob Campbell.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:11am
    - Cassandra
      
      Gone by lunchtime?
      
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      March 2, 2023 9:29am
    - Jack5
      
      Meng Foon smears the legacy of James Cook, as though modernity wouldn’t have descended on Polynesia without Cook.
      
      But Meng Foon’s own legacy in Poverty Bay isn’t unquestionable.
      
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125494841/race-relations-commissioner-meng-foon-receives-full-support-from-hrc-after-revelations-of-dia-investigation
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:34am
- Matt Long
  
  Was Foon as useless as a mayor or does the office make the man?
  Until Devoy was in public office I had had a huge amount of respect for her.
  Just goes to show success in sport doesn’t necessarily mean great character.
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:44am
  - Random T Person
    
    Susan Devoy was an expert at hitting a rubber ball against a wall. Why we lionise people playing what are essentially kids games is beyond me.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:04am
  - RoboRob
    
    Devoy was given a job that was un related to her skill set. It was a bizzare appointment. Foon was always a useless windbag, so probably met the criteria for this role.
    
    Lets face it the role for the race relations commision is simply to come out with public statements when something race related is in the news. They certainly don’t make race relations in NZ any better, never have. It would be on my ‘to scrap’ ministry list. Along with such stars as…
    the ministry for woman
    Ministry for Maori development
    Ministry for Children (where the fuck are they on the education system?),
    social wellbeing agency
    climate change executives board
    Arts council
    Climate change commsion
    Radio NZ & TV NZ.
    
    We could scrp all that and probably be running a balanced budget without any impact to nz society
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:25am
- G152
  
  So which race killed and ate Cook?
  Was it Polynesian
  Thats pretty much a crime
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:34am
- kowtow
  
  Some wallah from some arts thingy or other was on HDPA last night saying it was ok cos it’s a “fantasy” piece .
  
  I think artists should be able to say what they like ( within the very broad limits of the law of course)
  
  However , in the current atmosphere of all things nice , inclusive , race , diversity , cancelling etc the fact is there’s no place for tax payers to fund this shit that has no artistic merit , which contributes nothing to society is downright negative and morally abhorent.
  
  As to Trottersky ; his piece is still “loaded” with lefty themes around Jews being “settlers” and talk of “occupation” . So while he is issuing a warning to NZ he still uses the same lefty language of “exclusion” of the Jew , which tacitly makes the Palestinian the good guy there.
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:37am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    There are many nutters in plain sight now who believe “the Jews” are behind everything bad happening in the world. I even know lefties who seriously believe this monstrous crap.
    
    Imagine if that murderous nutcase poem was about the Jews. Would Foon and the “arts community” pull their heads out of their backsides and take action then?
    
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    March 2, 2023 4:54pm
- Fuzzysnuggleduck
  
  Terrible response from Meng Foon.
  You can acknowledge all that, but then state that reference to violence or revenge fantasies, or even targetting people by race, is not appropriate or acceptable in a civilised society.
  The race relations commission should have expressed some concern over the content.
  
  Again, need I state the obvious, that it is the race of the person that is saying it that means there is a less-than-weak non-response.
  
  Had the races been switched – HYSTERIA! Lead Story and Front Page! Cancelled! Condemned! Quotes published by public figures, all lining up to express disgust!
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:53am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Time for an artist of similar stature to Ms whateverhernameis to come up with an outrageous statement, then document the resulting furore.
    
    Performance art, you see. Bound to be a candidate for the next biennale.
    
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    March 2, 2023 3:08pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Doors would have been smashed down by the cops and the “poet” would have been on the front page of every NZ-govt controlled Pravda rag portrayed as a deeply dangerous terrorist lunatic.
    
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    March 2, 2023 4:57pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

An angry group of protesters recently stormed the Oklahoma state capitol.
Media quiet, why? If the Conservatives did this the media would be like flies on shit.
No Donald Trump, that’s why.
https://gopnewsfeed.com/insurrection-at-state-capitol-media-ignores-2/
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March 2, 2023 8:21am
Warren

Is this another example of Chris Hipkins our Prime Minister and the Police Commissioner Andrew Coster trying to outdo former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on who is best at telling lies , these people don’t know the meaning of the word truth.
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March 2, 2023 8:24am
- Warren
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/explained-why-police-didnt-tell-pm-chris-hipkins-that-roadworkers-were-threatened-with-guns/SDAMR4MBCBC3FNUZSIIT2WRNUI/
  
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  March 2, 2023 8:28am
  - RoboRob
    
    I call BS on that explaination. Much more likely they either hadn’t done the proper breifing to the Minister or (since Cuddles also didn’t know) they simply lied and hoped the journos wouldn’t follow up.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:27am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    What a load of bollocks from Cuddles Coster. Can’t even stay on topic talking to the ferald about firearms. Keeps deflecting. As much use as an ashtray on a motorbike.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:31am
igm

What in hell is going on here, can one not state an opinion (fact) without the left-wing scum wanting retribution?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131368191/christchurch-health-worker-faces-employment-backlash-after-racist-social-media-posts
I am sure Pacific Radiology or Aus will have a better position awaiting her.
This pushing te reo crap is creating one hell of a division in our society, most disgusted with it.
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March 2, 2023 8:38am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Hmm. Strong similarities to the Rob Campbell case, in particular that that she identified her workplace.
  
  If she’d just commented as a health professional or frequent visitor to CDHB then it would, I think, be a different story.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:12am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Shirley Kirby best go to Oz. The woke Public Sector does not deserve her, or her skills.
  The Public Sector is destroying NZ with their nonsense. Can’t they just do their job instead of poking around on social media looking for things that will hurt their feelings? The Net Taxpayer is paying them for what?
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:38am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Scum of the earth, telemarketers. How to fix them.
https://gopnewsfeed.com/heres-a-brilliant-way-to-scare-telemarketers-2/
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March 2, 2023 8:42am
- peterwn
  
  And some are rather thick – they will not let go the call even though it should be obvious they are being strung along.
  I use another trick for ‘we have found a problem with your internet’. I ask them what the IP number of the connection was. One guy told me to hold then seemed to have consulted with his supervisor and the call went dead when the supervisor said I was taking them for a ride.
  
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  March 2, 2023 5:12pm
O C Smith

Anyone intending changing their party vote in Oct?
6 2
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March 2, 2023 8:43am
- Gravelroad
  
  Yes, probably.
  I still don’t really know why I should totally support National.
  Is just because they are not Labour/Green enough?
  I don’t find the current National Party or it’s leadership inspiring.
  Wish I could – but I don’t.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:17am
- RoboRob
  
  Recently moved from Natinoal to Act. May move back to National depending on policy announcements and Luxons performance.
  
  Anyone have an opinion on TOP. I am in Gerry Brownlees old electorate and a mate recomments voting for the local TOP candidate. Certainly have no idea who my local National candidate is.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:30am
  - Cassandra
    
    ACT. Two ticks. Don’t waste it on TOP, that’s = 50% Labour.
    
    16 2
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    March 2, 2023 9:38am
    - O C Smith
      
      Better to Party Vote National ensure Labour does not retain seat.
      
      14 1
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      March 2, 2023 9:55am
    - Captain Mainwaring
      
      Cassandra, obviously you live in Epsom, otherwise your electorate vote is wasted.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:06am
      - Phronesis
        
        We’ve had MMP for a generation. You can’t waste your party vote as it’s irrelevant to the balance of power in parliament.
        
        6 0
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        March 2, 2023 10:13am
      - septic skeptic
        
        Suspect that’s a mistake by Phronesis. Even in Epsom now you can electorate vote at random. The party vote counts.
        
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        March 2, 2023 11:51am
  - MCōs
    
    National policy announcement
    Repeal Repeal Repeal. Smash the gangs
    
    7 0
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    March 2, 2023 9:57am
    - Libertarians are right
      
      Sweet. The idea that Governments have to interfere in our lives is a fallacy pushed by those that want to interfere in our lives. National don’t need to release a huge amount of policy, especially this far out from the election where it may get stolen. Repealing bad policy that is already in place can’t be stolen which is why it gets released.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:13am
  - kowtow
    
    If your Nat local candidate has a chance then hold your nose and vote Nat .
    
    Anything else is giving Labour a chance at an extra seat and another 3 years.
    
    Party vote Act.
    
    The primary goal must be to get rid of the current regime.
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:08am
    - RoboRob
      
      The way I see it, it doen’t matter if Labour win my Electorate. If they only get 20% party vote, winning my electorate might just mean that a high ranking Labour list MP (Robertson?) might not get in. Electorate vote isn’t really all that important, unless you can push in a minor party (ala Act in Epson).
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:20am
      - rockape
        
        Depends on who you push out. Eg in my electorate if Pugh wins she gets rid of a serving minister and lazy MP so the electorate does matter in some cases. It may not influence the overall makeup of government but it does matter.
        
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        March 2, 2023 2:14pm
  - Matt Long
    
    TOP, “Why should you live rent free in your house just because you paid for it.”
    land taxes.
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:14am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Can’t see any reason to Party Vote National atm. They need to wake up.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:40am
  - lifesgood
    
    The reason is to keep labour out, unless you want them back I suppose.
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:10am
    - RoboRob
      
      You can vote Act to do that too.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:20am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      I don’t want them back, but really, National seem to think they will glide to victory.
      This is where they need to sharpen the pencil. Insentives are not coming my way atm.
      
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      March 2, 2023 2:36pm
- O C Smith
  
  Again I ask — why down tick a question??
  
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  March 2, 2023 5:53pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Some Trump percentages that the leftist media will not report.
Trump 43%
De Santis 28%
The rest are single digits. Trump is coming back and the left know it.
#TRUMP 2024.
https://valiantnews.com/2023/02/virginia-gov-youngkin-has-1-support-among-gop-voters-after-trump-feud-poll/
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March 2, 2023 9:05am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  When you poll just Trump and DeSantas only, then DeSantas leads, something the right don’t tell us, so down to a two horse race DeSantas would win the election, not so sure Trump would, he seems to have toned down his rhetoric, if he had down that 4 years ago, he would have bolted in
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:10am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    4 years ago the Dems cheated so bad it was not funny. Cheated for a man that is very mentally ill. Dems have no morals.
    
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    March 2, 2023 9:44am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Trump 55%. De Santis 25%.
    https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/trump-leads-desantis-2024-gop-nominee-polls-show/
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:14am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Some fun.
      https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gJrOR6oKRxY
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:17am
    - Matt Long
      
      Bernie Sanders always has terrific numbers at the start of primaries, but they don’t rise as other contenders drop out.
      
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      March 2, 2023 10:19am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Bernie hits the ground running!!
        
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        March 2, 2023 2:57pm
I remember when

Vision Matauranga:
The Vision Matauranga stream is lead by Shaun Awatere from Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.
He and his team seek to understand extreme weather damage from a te ao Maori perspective.
Iwi and hapu narratives of past extreme events are a valuable source of otherwise inexcessible information that can be used to shape adaption of climate chamge and inform emergency.
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March 2, 2023 9:12am
- Cassandra
  
  Which is why so many marae are built on a flood plain and now under 10 feet of silt. Matauranga BS.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:40am
  - Swifty
    
    I’ve seen that.
    
    Not long ago I saw an article in one of our dailies talking about a marae flooded out and how it was all climate change related – blah, blah, blah.
    
    Then I read that it was also flooded several decades back and that they had just repaired it all but no re-siting nor mitigation measures taken.
    
    They think we’re mugs.
    
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    March 2, 2023 4:18pm
Ghost

The FBI has joined the US energy department in assessing that Covid-19 “most likely” originated from a laboratory incident in China.

FBI director Christopher Wray told Fox News on Tuesday (local time) the agency had long thought the lab leak theory was more likely than the animal-to-human alternative.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” he said.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/us-canada/300819839/fbi-joins-us-energy-department-in-endorsing-covid-lab-leak-theory
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March 2, 2023 9:23am
- sirknz
  
  Throw into the mix the removal of the TikTok app from all US Government devices and you have something interesting going on here.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:39am
- NoCash
  
  I believe that Department of Energy theory of lab leak was qualified with “low confidence”, unfortunately that bit is not reported by many news outlets.
  
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  March 2, 2023 3:37pm
Littletramp

Some 17 minutes of Charlie Munger wisdom/insight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fF6DXc8fHo
All worth a watch but particularly from 8.45m on where he covers the danger of inflation, and on to the general state of the world and it’s people, how we got here and where to next.
“Inflation is a real danger once the populace realises it can vote itself money.”
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March 2, 2023 9:23am
Ghost

Sometimes you come across a mother so pathetic you hope the child is removed from her and a public flogging allowed. No arrest made

Sickening footage shows an Australian baby being given a vape to suck on as women laugh in the background.

Disturbing videos shared on social media show the 10-month-old boy spluttering after being handed the vape, which he puts in his mouth before coughing out the toxic vapour.

In one clip, a woman can be heard asking the baby, “want to try?”, before sticking the vape in his mouth.

In another video, a friend is seen laughing along as the baby struggles after breathing in vapour.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/mum-watches-on-as-baby-forced-to-vape-hits-back-at-bum-critics/7FDIEPW62JEADBDZ3GBA3UCT4I/
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March 2, 2023 9:27am
Maggie Pie

SAGE ADVICE…

“Cliffs grow backwards”

– Wayne Brown: Mayor of Auckland
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March 2, 2023 9:29am
cas

I know who to blame for all this ghastly weather. The orchardist down the road put in irrigation a couple of years ago after not having it for decades. It’s been used only a couple of times .

I did tell him you won’t need it, it will rain all the time now. And it has.
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March 2, 2023 9:32am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Murphy’s Law.
  
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  March 2, 2023 9:48am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Which is why I always take an umbrella to Test cricket.
  
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  March 2, 2023 3:12pm
Bridgenag

When parents disagree about vaccination of their kids, who should win?
Canadian Justice R. T. Bennett got it right: the courts should NOT take judicial notice that the vaccines are “safe and effective.” The health authorities are stating opinions, not facts.

https://open.substack.com/pub/stevekirsch/p/when-parents-disagree-about-vaccination?r=1aj1bv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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March 2, 2023 9:33am
sirknz

Anybody know which gang this ‘person’ is from?

https://archive.fo/u4Hyz [NZ Herald]

This is about an attack at a gas station yesterday.
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March 2, 2023 9:33am
I remember when

Had conversations with four travellers who had used State Highway 1 through the middle of the North Island yesterday.
They all commented on, and were amazed by, the number of pine trees that have been decapitated about halfway up their trunks.
Wondered whether the wood is to soft for our conditions.
Much of the forest will have to be cleared and maybe replanted with natives.
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March 2, 2023 9:41am
- kowtow
  
  Who plants trees next to roadways ?
  
  Really dumb , on so many counts.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:17am
I remember when

Average NZ temperature chart produced by NIWA:
Like all such charts uses dark blue thru to dark red/brown.
However, by cherry picking it is possible to come up with some interesting results.
1916 – 12.99: 2012 – 12.46:
1924 – 12.81: 2014 – 12.79:
The average temperature for the eleven years 2012-2022 is 13.24
Less 1916 – 12.99
Difference – .25
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March 2, 2023 9:53am
- kowtow
  
  You know they “adjust” those figures don’t you.
  
  In any event UHI could easily account for any “rise”.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:16am
  - Phronesis
    
    They have to adjust them because they are taken in different places at different times by different people using different instruments. So adjustments are made and yet they are still apparently accurate to one hundredth of a degree.
    
    It’s truly miraculous.
    
    (If you ever see a number given for something measured that doesn’t include an indication of the estimated error inherent in the measurement then you’re being conned.)
    
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    March 2, 2023 10:52am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Yep, false degree of precision
      
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      March 2, 2023 3:13pm
- cmm
  
  The differences are so small that one cold front or Nor Wester per decade would swing it either way.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:22am
kowtow

Kerry Woodham on talkback read a longish piece from a self professed member of an organised crime group. Dennis Riley of so called Black Power in the East Cape area.
Re the situation up there.

NZME refuses to publish people like Michael Basset , but give a platform to these people ?

Media hypocrites. We really have gone into an alternative reality .
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March 2, 2023 10:13am
- Ghost
  
  Kerry had a good show I think last week, people ringing up and talking about the gangs. One lady rang up and had a good yack, then ended it saying she hopes the gang don’t come after her for talking. Kerry said they can’t. Lady explained to Kerry they do.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:17am
Maggie Pie

NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR 2023 FINALISTS

‘The Topp Twins’

‘Sir Mark Dunjtschik’

Let me see.
Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe……
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March 2, 2023 10:16am
- MCōs
  
  The actual Finalists are
  Sir John Kirwan
  Jools and Lynda Topp – The Topp Twins
  Professor Rangi Mātāmua
  Ruby Tui
  
  Finalists for Senior of the Year are
  Marie Jujnovich
  Sir Mark Dunjtschik
  Professor Sir Pou Temara
  
  Personally I think Ruby Tui is more suited to Personality of the Year, but that ain’t a category.
  
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  March 2, 2023 12:39pm
  - Mike
    
    Maggie Pie missed out again?
    
    2 6
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    March 2, 2023 1:21pm
    - MCōs
      
      At the Halberg Awards there’s a favourite moment award.
      Maybe something like that could go to a person who does/saying something inspirational under adversity.
      
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      March 2, 2023 2:07pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Why do they have a Senior of the Year category?
    
    Sir Mark as NZer of the Year gets my vote.
    
    6 1
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    March 2, 2023 3:15pm
    - Mike
      
      To make money?
      
      0 5
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      March 2, 2023 3:24pm
I remember when

Hunga-Tonga Eruption:
It produced water vapor that was roughly 10% of that usually found in the atmosphere.
This vapour is likely to stay there for years heating the atmosphere.
NASA atmospheric scientists stated they have never seen anything like it.
Ash, vapour and gases sent as hign as 35 miles – a record in the satellite era.
January 15 eruption emphatically disrupted annual water patterns in the stratosphere, which also holds most of the atmosphere’s ozone.
January is usually the middle of the ‘dry’ period for the stratosphere’s annual water patterns.
By short-circuiting the pathway through the cold point it has disrupted this ‘heartbeat’ signal in the planet’s normal atmospheric water pattern, the researchers said.
Scientist do not know how long the water vapour will remain in the stratosphere.

Mentioned the eruption and floods in conversation yesterday and was meet with something I presumed meant it was man-made climate change.
Don’t think they were a scientist and doubt they really knew facts about the eruption either.
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March 2, 2023 10:20am
- rangitoto
  
  Just to be clear, it increased “stratospheric” water vapour by 10%, not the atmosphere as a whole.
  
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  March 2, 2023 2:30pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Probably best to get the opinions of Emeritus Profs (somewhat immune to cancel culture) not on the alarmist gravy train with very long experience and expertise in this stuff.
    
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    March 2, 2023 4:38pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Stop Co-Governance. Julian Batchelor.
Seems the hand is always out for more koha.
https://www.stopcogovernance.kiwi/blog/more-strong-evidence-apartheid-is-now-well-and-truly-alive-in-new-zealand/

https://www.stopcogovernance.kiwi/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Cyclone-Gabrielle-Maori-given-15-million-to-support-a-Maori-led-recovery-of-flood-hit-communities-.pdf
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March 2, 2023 10:28am
Maggie Pie

New Single just released 😀

‘An-Ode-To-Jacinda-Ardern’

https://youtu.be/YCygwG6UTmg
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March 2, 2023 10:37am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Never forget, never forgive.
  I do hope Jaspinda hears this song.
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:15am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

The CCP doesn’t want Elon Musk to talk about the COVID lab leak.
Once again, censoring free speech?
https://valiantnews.com/2023/02/ccp-chastises-elon-musk-for-sharing-wuhan-lab-leak-reports/
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March 2, 2023 10:38am
Bridgenag

One of the blokes at bowls said his daughter is building a house on acreage[ over 50 acres] with alot of fenced off bush. They are having their plans delayed because the council is not sure what the government is going to do with the Resource Management Act. So….they have to pay $5,000 to the council and wait a couple of months, employ someone to help and get the old owners to certify no hazardous materials and the effect building one house will have if the soil quality is productive…..or some such nonsense…………sigh
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March 2, 2023 10:41am
Ehlana

Great news. Covid is officially over. The PM says so:
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who was Covid-19 minister at the time of the riots, would not be drawn much on the riots themselves but acknowledged “frustration” while defending the Government’s preferred metric for success: death from Covid-19.

“I acknowledge now as I acknowledged then the frustration that many people were feeling at that time. In the year since, vaccine mandates have been removed, we have had incredibly high vaccination rates and the borders have reopened.

“We came out of Covid-19 with lower death rates and lower hospitalisations than most other countries.”

I didn’t know we’d come out of Covid-19. I thought it was still around, like that 1918 flu virus.
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March 2, 2023 10:43am
- bjools
  
  So…if Covid is over Mr Hipkins….can we please have our $59billion, that you have put aside, back.
  
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  March 2, 2023 12:51pm
- ClanMcleod
  
  Ehlana – Hipkins is an unmitigated liar. We did NOT come out of “covid” with lower death rates. That is a LIE.
  We kicked the can down the road in the first 6 months with moronic policies. We are now seeing excess deaths off the charts. What a pos Hipkins is.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:14pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

VIDEO: Trump Blasts Biden’s ‘Pro-China’ Economics, Reveals Pro-America Agenda
“The Biden agenda taxes America to build up China. My agenda will tax China to build up America.”

https://valiantnews.com/2023/02/video-trump-blasts-bidens-pro-china-economics-reveals-pro-america-agenda/

Looks like Trump is right into Election mode. Joe is selling America out.
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March 2, 2023 10:46am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

what could be achieved in America if there was a leader with Bukele’s passion and drive. Same in NZ. Just put the gangs in jail. Make them pay for the harm they have caused to society. Rehabilitation does not work. Time to harden up. Video 2.57.
https://thepatriotnation.net/sneak-peek-inside-a-massive-prison-that-will-be-home-to-40000-gang-members-video/
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March 2, 2023 10:55am
BeaB

Under National we got things done. Huge improvements in roading and health, infrastructure like fibre and even education with a greater focus on what schools and tertiary institutions should be doing. The list is a long one despite the GFC and earthquakes. Add the superb, fast rebuild of SH1 through Kaikoura and the list is an impressive one.
We have had five years of expensive failure – nothing achieved, billions squandered, just about every major government department like health and education going backwards. A government based on spin and lies.
You may not like Luxon. You may, madly, think National should espouse every right-wing-ish cause you believe in.
All I want is an efficient government doing the right stuff well. Labour has shown us they are utter failures.
Ideology is irrelevant. Competence is what counts.
The choice is simple. Vote National, let them get on with the job and spend your time nursing your pet causes.
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March 2, 2023 11:00am
- septic skeptic
  
  In the long run competence is irrelevant. Ideology is what counts.
  
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  March 2, 2023 11:34am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    You forgot the /sarc/.
    
    6 1
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    March 2, 2023 12:33pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Competence + integrity in equal measure
  
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  March 2, 2023 3:17pm
- ClanMcleod
  
  Because “climate change” is man made and we should have vaxxed more and harder? Right. Gets my vote every time…….get a grip of yourself.
  Leave Labour to their own devices, but stand aside when people have had enough. Fuck this kow towing to so called social “norms”. It is bollocks, and any part playing along deserves the contempt they get.
  
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  March 2, 2023 10:26pm
andretti

How many people are aware of just how many young people are dying from heart attacks,its approaching an epidemic.Even one of my staff (37) had a huge attack on sat,they say a blockage to the heart.
Today a Fijian rugby player (18) let that sink in (18) collapsed and died.This is getting worse and no way is it normal.
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March 2, 2023 11:20am
- Mike
  
  Heart failure has been recognized as a leading cause of death in fit athletes since the 1930s. Let that sink in.
  
  6 11
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  March 2, 2023 12:29pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    [Mod – tone it down]
    Heart Failure leading cause of death – really? The heart fails when the other bits don’t work anymore.
    If I cut myself it is the leading cause of bleeding.
    Back to the basement boy!
    
    4 4
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    December 2, 2022 4:35pm
    - Ghost
      
      Sudden Cardiac Death in Athletes
      
      Cardiac Disease in Young Trained Athletes
      
      5 0
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      March 2, 2023 4:41pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Ghost – I have no idea what your point is and I am not going to second guess, therefore I will not read your links until you actually explain what you think it is they say.
        
        2 1
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        March 2, 2023 10:32pm
      - Ghost
        
        It’s just pointing out to Steve that heart failure has been an issue with athletes for a long time.
        
        0 0
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        March 2, 2023 11:14pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Reading over today and I have no idea what I wrote there. If it was an insult, I apologise.
      
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      March 3, 2023 8:52am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Comparative figures would be interesting
    
    5 2
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    March 2, 2023 3:18pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    [Mod – do not abuse people like that again. I came very close to giving you a time out because of this comment, if I see you abuse someone again you will get a ban]
    
    1 2
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    March 2, 2023 10:29pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    hahahahahahahahahaha!
    Comedian. First class.
    
    2 2
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    March 2, 2023 10:34pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Donald Trump Jr and the media. (United Spot)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxZbUI67fYU
1 3
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March 2, 2023 11:51am
- NZer In Exile
  
  That’s one seriously bad trip!
  
  1 1
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  March 2, 2023 4:46pm
Ghost

Another Jacinda fan bites the dust

An acclaimed Kiwi author has attacked former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, accusing her of not addressing the inequity she believes is skyrocketing in New Zealand at a “terrific rate”.

News hub
10 1
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March 2, 2023 12:34pm
- mandk
  
  I don’t have a lot of time for Catton’s lefty politics, but she is correct, in that Ardern delivered virtually nothing of benefit to NZ.
  
  Ardern’s major policy initiatives and their outcomes:
  1) The Christchurch call – internet nastiness is worse than ever
  2) Gun control – gun crime is worse than ever
  3) Banning plastic bags – what has this done for climate change?
  4) Banning future permits for oil and gas exploration – we’re just importing more coal and gas from higher emitting sources
  5) Abolishing child poverty – some indicators suggest an improvement, some a worsening
  6) Solving homelessness – don’t make me laugh.
  
  Worst PM ever
  
  18 1
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  March 2, 2023 1:33pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  So sad when besties fall out
  
  3 1
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  March 2, 2023 3:19pm
- Swifty
  
  Well she’s a bit late to the party then isn’t she?
  
  And a bit dim it seems, as well as gullible.
  
  Is she admitting she fell for Ardern and Labour’s snake oil in 2017 and 2020 when plenty of her fellow New Zealanders were pleading with her not to get sucked in?
  
  Silly. Naive. A dupe.
  
  Hopefully she’ll know better next time.
  
  4 1
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  March 2, 2023 4:10pm
Ghost

Good interview

Was Cyclone Gabrielle really a product of climate change?

Sean Plunket talks to Ian Wishart – Was Cyclone Gabrielle really a product of climate change?

Ian Wishart report

CLIMATE OF FEAR: NIWA’s Missing Storm Data & Its Impact On Extreme Climate Claims
9 2
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March 2, 2023 12:56pm
Maggie Pie

We watched Prince Harry on The-Late-Show being interviewed by Cindy’s bestie Stephen Colbert.

When he was asked, “What’s your favorite smell?”…..Hazza replied “Meghan Markle”

My partner remarked “It’s fish then” 😛
10 4
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March 2, 2023 1:08pm
- Ohm my
  
  To be precise, Shark.
  
  3 1
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  March 2, 2023 4:23pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Marko sharks are quite active….
    Like a pitbull on steroids.
    
    3 2
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    March 2, 2023 4:36pm
Ghost

Rob Campbell has been sacked from his other Government role, as chairperson of the Environment Protection Authority.

He’s lost two jobs this week, after publicly criticising the National Party’s policy on Three Waters. He described the policy, in a post on LinkedIn, as a “thinly disguised dog whistle on co-governance”.

Stuff
10 1
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March 2, 2023 1:28pm
- Matt Long
  
  Score one for Wayne Mapp calling this correctly.
  
  7 1
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  March 2, 2023 1:52pm
  - Matt Long
    
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/rob-campbell-fired-from-second-government-role/B7EFANA7IFFVTABNARUTBG3V7A/
    Campbell no longer restrained, muzzled, free to say he was fired for trying to bring co governance to the EPA.
    
    6 1
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    March 2, 2023 2:12pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      I do hope Julian Batchelor from Stop Co Governance is aware of this.
      I don’t think Rob Campbell is even part of the Elite Maori Coup.
      Maybe he was climbing up the ladder?
      More questions to be asked Media! No such luck, they will report the least they can get away with.
      
      5 4
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      March 2, 2023 2:44pm
greybeard

Today I received a second Census Form by post.
It differs from the first form by having more maori language words and some new/adjusted paragraphs.
I wonder how much money has been wasted already by this incompetence.
They have one job to do…….
13 1
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March 2, 2023 3:17pm
- Blog-aholic
  
  same.
  
  7 1
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  March 2, 2023 3:40pm
- bjools
  
  I get so much bull shit mail and EMail, now I’m getting calls from Australia, when you call back, there is no such number.
  Please tell me, since I haven’t opened this letter for 2 days, how do I know this isn’t a scam for my information?
  
  4 1
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  March 2, 2023 3:58pm
  - Ghost
    
    Don’t ever call back numbers you don’t know
    
    5 1
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    March 2, 2023 4:00pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Do it on a burner phone.
      I doubt they will do it again.
      
      2 3
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      March 2, 2023 4:39pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Call the company in question (if you have an account with them). Don’t click on email links. If possible use Linux instead of big-tech operating systems (Pop! OS or Fedora are pretty polished and user friendly).
    
    Avoid big tech products and services.
    
    Email generally speaking is highly insecure. Get a “degoogled” phone (you can order one off the shelf from brax.me if you have about $500 NZ)
    
    Use VPN (a virtual private network), especially if you will send sensitive data.
    
    Look for security and authenticity signs on websites before you type any data. The padlock symbol on the address bar is a good beginning.
    
    Avoid strange links on the web. Not clicking blindly can save you from dangerous traps.
    
    Read privacy tips websites like:
    
    Restore Privacy
    https://restoreprivacy.com/
    
    and
    
    Privacy Tools
    https://www.privacytools.io/
    
    2 0
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    March 2, 2023 5:19pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Sorry
      
      https://brax.me/prod/host.php?f=_store&h=rob&p=&version=
      
      is the link to the store for the Rob Braxman degoogled phones.
      
      1 1
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      March 2, 2023 5:48pm
Ghost

How did the USA ever go from such a great president to what they have had since.

President John F. Kennedy’s “Peace Speech”
3 1
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March 2, 2023 4:37pm
Jack5

Phase 2 of the State media’s grandiose plan to change the language of more than 90 per cent of New Zealanders …

First, you print dual Maori and English names for government departments.

Second, you drop the English name.

Happens today in Stuff, when many, probably most, of us don’t know the Maori name for the Health Department: Te Whatu Ora.

Ironic that Te Whatu Ora is printed without the dual English name in a report about a person accused of racism.

Dumping the English language entails dropping its proverbs, such as this one, whose use goes back at least eight and a-half centuries:

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/131368191/christchurch-health-worker-faces-employment-backlash-after-racist-social-media-posts
6 2
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March 2, 2023 4:39pm
- Mike
  
  NZ doesn’t have a ‘Health Department’.
  
  1 11
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  March 2, 2023 5:10pm
  - Jack5
    
    “Mike” wants precision in names for the bureaucratic, Woke mess Labour has made of our health system.
    
    – The Ministry of Health – Manatu Hauora – was set up by Labour to focus on policy, strategy, and regulation.
    
    – Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora – took over functions of the 20 district health boards.
    
    – The Maori Health Authority – Te Aka Whai Ora – works in parallel with Health NZ, but for Maori.
    
    5 0
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    March 2, 2023 5:50pm
    - Mike
      
      That wasn’t too hard, was it?
      
      2 3
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      March 2, 2023 6:33pm
      - Jack5
        
        Mike, can you place your hands on the part of your chest where a heart should be, and swear this?:
        
        I, Mike, the Kiwiblog poster known also as Mikenmild, and informally to other bloggers, as Milky, do solemnly swear that I am not Chris Finlayson, and never have been Chris Finlayson.
        
        2 0
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        March 2, 2023 8:20pm
  - Prince
    
    75% of Kiwis have no idea what new structures have been created, and what their names are.
    Perfect when you are tearing apart the whole setup.
    
    3 1
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    March 2, 2023 6:26pm
    - Ghost
      
      Oh I don’t know, I think everyone knows the new name for the health system is Te Fucked
      
      5 0
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      March 2, 2023 6:56pm
MCōs

If you have time on your hands a spin along the Whanganui River Rd on a sunny day with a stop at Jerusalem is good for the soul.
https://www.facebook.com/126893757361888/posts/pfbid036dD5csy8LwtRgqonGxQjzPApQCYgMrtnbaHK56SP7r7rJts7ggGu9Xhc9Hbk6WoRl/
3 1
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March 2, 2023 5:09pm
Maggie Pie

WHAT A LEGEND!

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown tells journalist to…..

“FUCK-OFF!!”

https://twitter.com/TheSpinOffTV/status/1631103293291102208

If only some of the National MP’s had the same balls 😀 😀 😀
8 3
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March 2, 2023 5:53pm
- Prince
  
  Sure, that’s one way to ensure they finish second in October.
  
  3 1
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  March 2, 2023 6:25pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  sEE the o’l queen from lower hutt has loged in twice alrady 😀
  
  2 1
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  March 2, 2023 6:50pm
- Chris Nisbet
  
  Sheesh, one of the comments shouts out that he should “borrow!” to fund the arts. Auckland is already up to its eyeballs in debt.
  
  2 0
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  March 3, 2023 5:37am
Ghost

A dad says he is proud of his son who faced his bullies in shocking footage showing a school-time attack in Richmond, near Nelson.

Dad Mike Harvey told Newshub he received the heart-breaking call from his 14-year-old son who was attacked at school by a small group while 30 people watched.

The school also confirmed immediate action was taken last week and along with using stand-downs and suspensions, they offer counselling, learning and behavioural support, regular monitoring and check-ins, and bringing in external expertise to address any antisocial behaviours. Students are also reminded of who they can talk to if they are experiencing an issue, both inside and outside of school hours.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/03/dad-says-he-s-proud-of-his-son-for-not-fighting-back-after-gut-wrenching-footage-shows-nelson-teen-being-beaten-at-school.html

Well that will surely teach these kids a lesson….. How about treating this as assault and involving the police. Admittedly once it goes before the courts they justice system would likely give them a participation certificate and a gift basket.
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March 2, 2023 6:55pm
slightlyrighty

https://www.todayfm.co.nz/home/opinion/2023/02/rachel-smalley-pharmac-ceo-sarah-fitt-is-hiding-from-my-questions-so-ill-ask-them-here.html

Well well well?
3 0
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March 2, 2023 7:53pm
fernglas

“https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/485164/some-freight-railway-lines-will-remain-closed-for-months-due-to-cyclone-gabrielle-damage-kiwirail”
The particular line that will be closed for months is that from Whangarei to Auckland. Containers are having to be transported by road. Just shows what a good idea Northport and an enhanced passenger rail link is.
3 0
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March 2, 2023 8:07pm
Swifty

Aussie’s Network 10 show ‘The Project’ has a comedian on who mocks Jesus Christ with a sexual joke during the 6.30pm to 7.30pm time slot.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8VssHH9rDl8

All stunning and brave stuff.

I’m going to tune in tomorrow to (hopefully) see him mock Mohammed with sexual innuendo to see just how stunning and brave he really is.
5 0
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March 2, 2023 8:09pm
Ghost

You can think it all you want, but you won’t ever have the votes for it, so stop wasting time and money on it

The Government will consider whether the voting age should be brought down to 16 “in the next little while”, senior minister Michael Wood says.

It follows a Supreme Court declaration late last year the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the right in the New Zealand Bill of Rights to be free of discrimination on the basis of age.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/senior-government-minister-michael-wood-hints-at-voting-age-referendum.html
0 0
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March 3, 2023 9:57am

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