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May 15, 2023 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 15 May 2023

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General Debate

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Yvette

Meka Whaitiri

Having labelled the other MPs amateurs, she [Te Pāti Māori c0-leader] then cast Te Pāti Māori’s votes – including Whaitiri’s independent one – against her own bill in error, before correcting it. Chaotic, perhaps, but certainly not a united coalition.

While it seems Whaitiri has resigned her Labour Party membership,
and “defected to” or “joined” the Maori Party,
does she actually have official Maori Party membership?

And if not, does it make rather a nonsense of all this? –

Whaitiri’s return was treated as a grand event by Te Pāti Māori with a rousing performance in the public gallery, a whakawātea which co-leader Rawiri Waititi later explained to reporters was intended to spiritually clear her path. He said it was based in tikanga Māori

.

And can she transition from Independent to Maori Party, without involving

Standing Order 35 (2) Independent members, or members who cease to be members of the party for which they were originally elected, may be recognised, for parliamentary purposes,—
(a) as members of an existing recognised party if they inform the Speaker in writing that they have joined that party with the agreement of the leader of that party, or …

So, if Meka Whaitiri regards the Maori Party as her Tūrangawaewae – place to stand – where does her membership actually stand?

__________
quotes – https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/focusonpolitics/audio/2018889710/meka-whaitiri-rebellion-hones-parties-loyalties
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May 15, 2023 8:01am
- Suze Wainwright
  
  Wherever Whaitiri stands, Rawiri will not be taking no for an answer in his king making role.
  
  His people have been waiting 180 years for this…
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:53am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Gosh 180 years you say! What elixir of life do they take to be around that long?
    
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    May 15, 2023 2:53pm
    - Suze Wainwright
      
      Superior genes, apparently
      
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      May 15, 2023 4:53pm
- Paulus
  
  She puts herself with the Taniwha !
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:24am
  - Nickc2
    
    She puts herself with the Taniwha!
    Returning to her roots you mean?
    A swamp creature is still a swamp creature no matter what makeup (war paint) she wears.
    
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    May 15, 2023 3:00pm
- peterwn
  
  An independent MP can delegate his or her vote to the whip of any of the parties. This does not mean that the MP is a member of that party. For example Alamein Kopu was never a National Party member despite giving her vote to National in exchange for a weekly cuppa with Jenny Shipley (Alamein desperately needed to feel wanted and loved in what had become a hostile political climate for her).
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:38am
  - Ghost
    
    However in this case the member has made a number of comments that she has joined the Māori party, including when talking about the letter she sent to the speaker.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:39am
    - peterwn
      
      and backtracked pretty quickly when she realised the implications. I am quite comfortable with the final decision that she had not joined the Maori Party.
      
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      May 15, 2023 12:48pm
      - Yvette
        
        As it is unlikely she could have made the step from the Labour Party to the Maori Party in one go, without it telling the Speaker in writing either directly, or in a way that he must understand she had departed one party (under which she was elected) to another (she had not), the question remains: Can she now join the Maori Party, as long as one of the Maori Party co-leaders informs the Speaker of the change, so still to my understanding (which may well be in error) not invoking the party-jumping law.
        In which case the law would disempower the Speaker as he knows exactly what is going on but under law can not do anything about it
        
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        May 15, 2023 2:19pm
      - Ghost
        
        Newshub wee reporting the suggestion that the speaker had allowed her to withdrawal the letter. There is also that grant was meeting with the speaker for a few hours the day before. So I would take a guess that the letter turned up just as she said and labour and the speaker helped her out.
        
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        May 15, 2023 2:34pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Universities NZ’s Chris Whelan is so desperate to boost overseas student numbers that he’s advocating accepting applications from Nigeria.

Nigeria? What an idiot!

Should this come to pass I confidently predict an increase in scams on foolish New Zealanders.
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May 15, 2023 8:01am
- Loddenthinks
  
  Bollocks
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:35am
- Philview
  
  I have had dealings with a couple of Nigerian female students here through an organisation I belong to. They had beautiful faces which was hard to ignore and also very intelligent.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:48am
- Jack5
  
  Are universities trying to resurrect the residency-for-study scam – the sale of NZ citizenship?
  
  Are our universities so poor that they can attract foreign students only by throwing in residency as a path to citizenship?
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:48am
- Taieri
  
  Nigeria? What an idiot!
  ————-
  
  Why not? Should this come to pass, they will be able to deepen their understanding of many important issues that our universities specialise in, such as:
  “(…)decolonising spaces, such as parks, as they are largely westernised concept, reflecting the industrial revolution distinction between work and leisure, with the parks the result of colonisation, space taken from indigenous cultures. They are not innocuous features of the landscape especially in cities, but result from colonialist intervention, and have culturally specific dimension(…)”.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:07am
- Paulus
  
  Hearing from Australia that their immigration enormous growth in Education is from Indian students.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:26am
- pdm
  
  Bollocks 12 years ago I got ripped off by a Nigerian named Michael Adeleye.
  
  Please let this Whelan fellow to watch out for him and get my 12,800 pounds back – actually lets call it 25,000 pounds with penalties and accrued interest.
  
  Michael Adeleye is a shyster of the highest order and student scams would be right up his alley. Last heard of taking refuge in Nigeria because he is/was wanted by London Police for among other things Identity theft.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:32am
Warren

Well it’s that time again when Main Stream Media get to release there monthly political poll and voice there one eyed view on who is leading the race to become the next Government.
You would never have guessed that there choice according to the Newshub poll is
that nice man from Labour that is racing ahead in the preferred Prime Minister’s stakes, but the one problem with this is they forget to remind the public that a vote for that nice man Chris Hipkins is a vote for Co- Governance and Maori’s right to own all water in this great country.
This one eyed media circus also forgets to tell you about the consequences and the civil unrest that this Country could face .
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/newshub-reid-research-poll-results-christopher-luxon-dives-as-kiwis-warm-to-chris-hipkins.html
If the population of this Country decide they want to vote for continuance of this Government so be it, but don’t come crying and winging about the hardship and who will have to pay because Generations will foot the bill for your stupidity.
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May 15, 2023 8:01am
- Philview
  
  That poll was taken when Hipkins was in the UK shaking hands with leaders and appearing in a high profile BBC political interview. No surprise he got a boost.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:52am
  - Ghost
    
    BBC interview didn’t appear in nz did it? Only saw a pic of him with Charles and the PM, who else was he in the nz media meeting?
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:00am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    A boost, as usual Labour dropped in the polls
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:52am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  That poll still has them neck and neck, I still can not believe TPM will get anywhere near 4% this poll would have been finished by the time Luxon put the stake in the ground over TPM, the comments I see in all sorts of sites was a good sign for Nats, even Labour voters are applauding
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:52am
  - Keith White
    
    I’ve noticed over many years that what I believe will happen and what actually happens are… frequently not aligned,
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:06am
    - artemisia
      
      Until its sad demise iPredict NZ was a great way to pony up some dosh for an opinion. (It fell foul of some law or other designed for AML I think.)
      
      PS Keith White, you do some excellent posts here.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:24am
      - Mike
        
        iPredict ran on the premise that opinions backed by money were more valid than mere…opinions. It’s a popular method, especially with institutions such as the US supreme court.
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:50am
  - Wayne Mapp
    
    TPM’s vote mostly comes from Maori, who make up about 15% of all votes. It is no surprise to me that TPM might get 25% of the Maori vote.
    
    Maori have been the most volatile voters over the last 30 years. Shifting from Labour to NZF in 1996 and then back to Labour in 1999. To Maori Party in 2005 and 2008. Back to Labour in a slow shift from 2011 to 2017. Now starting to shift to TPM from 2020 onward.
    
    Will TPM actually get 4% in 2023, perhaps not, but is certainly not beyond the bounds of possibility.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:31am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Hmm, but they will be taking that extra vote from Labour
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:54am
    - Pineapple Lumps
      
      Did you know the latest electoral roll shows:
      
      3.871 million total roll
      251k Maori roll ie 6.5%
      
      So you are right Wayne that they only need 25% of Maori voters. But probably less because some woke handwringers or strategic voters will give them some votes.
      
      The heartening thing for me is it shows that the majority of Maori think as highly of TPM as the rest of us.
      
      TPM – cos-play actors in parliament.
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:44pm
  - Colville
    
    4% for TPM would be low IMHO…there is 17% so its 1/4 of their voter base, it could be a LOT worse.
    They will promise free money and extra “rights” all paid for by Whitey.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:41am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Not true, most Māori I know are not on the Māori roll, do no they are no where near 17% on Māori roll, 17% is the full Māori representation of the whole population, most are not on the Māori roll
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:56am
      - crikey
        
        G: And of the 17% a greater proportion is not of voting age due to the Maori population distribution being skewed to lower ages.
        
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        May 15, 2023 12:48pm
    - kiwikidsnz
      
      That 17% you quote includes the ~98% of Maori with more than 50% of non Maori ethnicity in their genes. Guess how much support TPM will get without the racist “Maori” electoral seats that were supposed to go with the introduction of MMP.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:58am
    - Ghost
      
      The Māori friends I’ve got have never been in the Māori role and think it is a joke. Actually they’d also give you a slap if you call them Māori. They’ve been like that all their lives, don’t want to be known as Māori.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:37am
      - Brian McDonald
        
        So you’ve got one friend, maybe?
        
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        May 15, 2023 1:27pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Yep. Little known fact: Not all “Maori” are they same. Shocking hey?
        
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        May 15, 2023 2:54pm
  - jon
    
    G, agree, the only thing i d add is that poll did include one day and a half post Luxon’s announcement on TPM. Barely time for the public to absorb! TV Three in their commentary should have made that clear.
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:33pm
  - miltonF
    
    I made a prediction a year or two ago on this blog that TPM could become the king maker at the next election.
    
    My prediction had nothing to do with polls or democracy in general.
    
    My prediction is based on three concepts:
    1) The goals of the “shadow govt”. The Māori party is essential in their goals of dividing society and implementing draconian policy under the guise of “racial fairness” etc.
    2) The direction of propaganda. If you take a view that the “news” is not exactly truthful, but more of a representation of what they want you to believe, then you will see there is a concerted effort to protect the Māori party. There is a much different standard applied to TMP and National for example. Luxon would NEVER be able to say anything even 10% as racist or ridiculous as the Māori party statements.
    3) A realisation that our elections are not fair and transparent. Whether it be by directly adjusting the vote, or by “fortifying” the election, AKA propaganda, censorship and lies. The outcome of voting is simply not going to match the wishes of the population. They will try to achieve this through manipulation but I wouldn’t put it past them to actually tinker with the votes.
    
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    May 15, 2023 3:28pm
- kiwikidsnz
  
  “The complete list of Labour’s appalling record just off the top of my head.”
  
  https://twitter.com/mikeall84403276/status/1656898457301549057?t=cktXtTu6v-ahGk4HqEdwlg&s=03
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:20am
  - Thought Criminal
    
    Twitter is rapidly becoming the front line of the communication war with Labour.
    
    While it was once the bastion of the left with non-left voices shadow banned its now a place where you can freely exchange ideas.
    
    https://twitter.com/NuZillund/status/1656826330955259904?s=19
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:56am
    - Deane Jessep
      
      It is indeed a very different place to the Twitter of 12 months ago. Free and frank discourse, issues talked about openly, some genuine examples of modern journalism. So happy with the change that I decided to pay for it; even that has been hilarious, with a bunch of lefties occasionally accusing me of “not knowing how social media works”, etc. They can’t seem to understand that I don’t care if I get no special benefits for the blue tick. I am paying because I support what Elon is doing.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:52am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Holy Crap! National you taking notice? A lot of material to work with there.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:23pm
- alwyn.a
  
  Hipkins racing ahead and Luxon stumbling?
  How do you work that out? I had a look back at preferred PM polls for the elections since 1999. I couldn’t find any for 2005 in Wikipedia but for the other 8 we have, when looking at polls held about five months before the election which is where we are today.
  Every single PM was doing better than Chippie is.
  Only two Opposition leaders were doing better than Luxon. The other five had worse numbers than he does.
  Now how do you decide that Hipkins is doing well and Luxon is a flop?
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:26am
  - Scott
    
    Alwyn – please don’t come at us with any actual facts. The narrative that the mainstream media wants to promote is that Chris Hipkins is a lovely chap who is very popular with the Kiwi voter. Meanwhile that Chris Luxon is a very suspicious fellow and I’m pretty sure we couldn’t trust him to be the Prime Minister.
    
    That’s the narrative that the media is promoting. Let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story. //
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:54am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    As I have stated before, Key Is tgd only leader of the opposition to constantly poll ahead of a sitting pm, he was ahead in every poll for two years, I guess the only other opposition leader and the second one you mention was Ardern, snd she was mainly neck snd beck with English, and the results went either way from poll to poll, to write the only alternative off to get rid of this rotten regime is pathetic, we have to stamp it out.
    
    I note Robertson was extremely subdued on tgd radio this morning, he has been for some time, he either knows they are fine, or he knows his little problem will surface.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:30am
    - alwyn.a
      
      I was looking at polls five month before the election, which is the time that corresponds to today.
      At that time Little was still the leader.
      It was Helen Clark in 1999 who had a higher rating than Luxon does today. She was still behind Shipley at the time by about the same amount that Luxon is behind Hipkins.
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:30pm
    - RightFirstTime
      
      Robbo is subdued for a reason. As I have said on here before, Robbo’s political career ended the day Ardern resigned. This is confirmed by him only being on the Labour list and not standing in Wellington Central.
      
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      May 15, 2023 5:34pm
- Peter Lane
  
  Interesting that Sportsbet have National at $1.45 and Labour at $2.75.
  
  They don’t often get stuff like this wrong whereas biased polls have a history of it.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:19pm
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Great to see Luxon doing so well in the polls then and hate to see what it would like if he wasn’t.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:37pm
- Littletramp
  
  Here’s the thing with these polls – http://www.reidresearch.co.nz/TV3 POLL RESULTS.html
  Telephone interviews were random calls unless a participant refused to participate, then a substitute was used.
  So do we think just maybe, National/Act voters are telling these folk to get stuffed then they ring again until they get a willing lefty to answer the questions?
  We used to get a few online polls emailed to us but got so annoyed with the biased & woke questions that we deregistered from them all.
  Are we the only ones not prepared to waste our time with these loonies any more?
  Bring on the election and we will see how the land lies.
  
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  May 15, 2023 1:30pm
  - Hollyfield
    
    I was polled a couple of years ago – they asked for the youngest person in the household over 15. When she couldn’t be bothered they asked me the questions instead incl if an election were held tomorrow who would you vote for. 16 year olds can’t vote so I’m not sure why they wanted to ask 16 year olds that question. However it does show a possible skewing of the poll results when they are targeting underage voters.
    
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    May 15, 2023 7:47pm
New Zealander

A massive jump in Bay of Plenty drivers fleeing police makes for “chilling reading” and a major change in attitude is needed by offenders who “think it’s cool or a game until blood is spilt”.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/tauranga-and-western-bay-of-plenty-drivers-fleeing-police-numbers-rise-dramatically/3SEUOPAP3BFXPIL7LIB4DAG474/

That’s the view of Waikato and Bay of Plenty Police Association regional director Scott Thompson as new figures show the number of fleeing drivers increased from 521 in 2021 to 902 last year – a rise of about 73 per cent.

Thompson is calling for a significant change in attitudes to this type of dangerous behaviour because fleeing drivers are probably among the “three most dangerous” situations police face regularly.

He said police feared being involved in incidents where someone was injured or killed.
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May 15, 2023 8:01am
- rouppe
  
  It would seem to me that flooring is an aggravating factor.
  
  If you’re not going to be chased, then the consequence of flooring has to be no bail
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:16am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Arkansas State Police know how to deal with it.
    Good driving from Trooper James Byrd
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDQPg-36Axk
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:32pm
Mike

Happy International Conscientious Objectors’ Day!
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May 15, 2023 8:04am
- Che Guava
  
  I must say that the recent Covid tyranny and its effects have altered my views somewhat on conscientious objectors. In some ways, obediently falling into line with the majority and going off to fight a war of others’ making and for reasons you have been deceived about takes less courage than saying “no” in the face of public opprobrium, ridicule, psychological pressure and state sanction. Think about it – being shot at and bombed half a world away was obviously preferable to being repudiated, isolated and cast as a social pariah – sometimes worse – at home.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:28am
  - coge
    
    If you go back at have a look at what was done to dehumanize, segregate and economically persecute CO’s. The State and media’s (including the cartoonists) playbook was pretty much identical. They even took away their right to vote until the 1930’s.
    
    There may well come another time when we’ll see more of this in NZ’s future.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:36am
    - Jack5
      
      Archibald Baxter and Field Punishment No. 1.
      
      https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/34132/field-punishment-no-1
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:52am
      - Mike
        
        Interesting piece of art, although I prefer this one:
        https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/sir-andrew-russell-wwi-memorial#:~:text=Russell%20commanded%20the%20New%20Zealand,was%20named%20in%20his%20honour.
        
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        May 15, 2023 11:29am
  - kowtow
    
    I can see the parallels but it only goes so far .
    
    The great thing about the west is the freedom of those CO’s was established and secured by the men and women who did volunteer .
    
    But yes I do believe there’s a new and frightening authoritarianism in the west . One that would have been actively resisted by the likes of the men and women who volunteered.
    And I can’t help but feel that it would be the likes of the CO’s who’d be insisting we all get vaxxed , to protect them , the ‘vulnerable’.
    
    And lest we get too carried away about the “bravery” of those who resisted being sent , I have a lot more time for the likes of the lads who time and again , went over the top or out on the ridiculous night patrols and trench raids that were deemed so important.
    
    We enjoy the freedoms we now have because of them. Many millions don’t .
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:59am
    - Mike
      
      The WWI conscientious objectors, especially those forcibly sent to France, had some quite strong support from frontline soldiers.
      It seems to me that your contrasting position on what those objectors might have thought of today’s politics is a case of endorsing ‘authoritarianism’ when it is a cause of which you personally approve.
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:05pm
Matt Long

Every $70 increase in ETS units results in an increase of only 16 cents in the price of petrol.
Wow, that was a well designed scheme.
https://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/121094/guy-trafford-says-farmers-should-be-welcoming-shift-focus-get-transport-sector
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May 15, 2023 8:05am
- krazykiwi
  
  The ETS, together with any ‘carbon’ trading scheme are all scams based on junk science. There is zero high-quality evidence showing that anthropogenic emissions are leading to any crisis for life on earth.
  
  The trouble is we now have a Gordian Knot of vested interests perpetuating this scam. I expect the morons from Labour and the Greens to be swept away with this, but having Luxon, Willis et al similarly ensnared is depressing.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:13am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Germany going to he’ll in a hand cart (at least it’s carbon neutral) thanks to the green lunatics.
    
    https://dailysceptic.org/2023/05/13/can-anyone-now-stop-the-greens-from-destroying-germany/
    
    The stealth takeover of the bureaucracy via the education system to blame.
    
    As the old-guard industry-friendly civil servants in the German bureaucracy began to retire, Baake filled their posts with Green technocrats wherever possible, such that when control of the Ministry passed to the centre-Right CDU in 2018, the damage was done. The institutional momentum had already shifted towards climate change and begun to gather strength under its own power.
    
    The same is happening in NZ.
    
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    May 15, 2023 8:40am
    - Stellaboxer
      
      It’s a great way to crash a country without having to fight it. Wonder who’s behind it al.
      
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      May 15, 2023 8:53am
    - thirteenstars
      
      Let me fix that for you:
      
      The same ~~is happening~~ has happened in NZ.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:22am
  - cmm
    
    It is time for farmers to stop this bullshit and point out that their industry is carbon harvesting and turns CO2 into food.
    
    Most agricultural outputs contain large amounts of:
    * Carbohydrates (C6H10O5)n
    * Fats (eg C55H98O6)
    * Proteins (C400H620N100O120P1S1)
    
    Even wine (ie. ethanol C2H6O) contains heaps of carbon.
    
    All agricultural products are jam-packed with carbon. Where do they think that comes from? Do people think that calves drink diesel?
    
    Sure there are some negligible inputs in the form of diesel for machinery and limestone etc, but the vast majority of the carbon is captured from the atmosphere by photosynthesis.
    
    None of this has been at all controversial for at least 100 years.
    
    It is only through dumbing down school science that the population can believe that farmers are carbon sinners.
    
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    May 15, 2023 8:56am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Photosynthesis. That’s a big word. Wonder if the left understand it.
      Photo —- Sin —- Thesis. Yeah, of course they understand.
      And all those agriculture products we eat – a nd fart.
      Cut all farming by 20% now!//
      
      17 2
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      May 15, 2023 9:05am
    - RoboRob
      
      Are but the clever greens dont point to farmers as carbon baddies, they were smart enough to realise that wouldn’t work. Instead farmers are methane baddies and the greens have managed to fool people into thinking methane is a bad greenhouse gas too.
      
      19 1
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      May 15, 2023 9:06am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      ODT today, huge floods in Otago 100 years ago today
      
      15 0
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      May 15, 2023 9:55am
      - Paulus
        
        Was that the first of the 100 years Otago floods or the last – like in Hawke’s Bay the first and last of the 100 year floods, in one month !
        
        7 0
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        May 15, 2023 10:29am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Sadly for the climate “emergency” doomers there are these things called microfiched newspapers, then there is the printing press that goes back hundreds of years prior. Nothing climate related in the last century is “unprecedented” looking back at the bigger picture. Not the scale of the events nor the rate of increase of any of these phenomena. Their sky is falling hypothesis is shot to pieces and only the woke censorship complex props it up.
        
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        May 15, 2023 3:03pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Once upon a time you filled up your vehicle and boat, you paid for the product and the cost of getting the petrol to the pump.
  Now the multiple Taxes are more than that. Then the penalties so EV wanks get subsidised – and they don’t even pay Road User Charges.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:25am
  - RoboRob
    
    The government is very close to the point where they will have to restructure the whole roading tax system. With a massive jump in more fuel efficient cars the actual tax take isn’t keeping up. Road user charges for all (based on Kms driven not ful used) seems the obvious solution but they may be others.
    
    Expect this to happen early in the next term of government.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:09am
    - Cassandra
      
      That appears to be the fairest, except for bicycles. But everyone benefits from roads, so everyone should pay. Bike riding bus users should be registered and made to contribute.
      
      17 1
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      May 15, 2023 9:40am
      - Taieri
        
        And walkers. They also use roads.
        
        6 0
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        May 15, 2023 10:12am
      - kowtow
        
        Protesters .
        
        They get lots of publicity by gluing themselves to roads. They should be charged even more.
        
        12 0
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        May 15, 2023 11:11am
    - zulumonster
      
      The RUC exemption for EV’s has been extended to March 2024. There is a good chance if Labour are re-elected that it will be extended further.
      Not because of any particular logical reason, but more because you can guarantee they have not made any plans on how to actually restructure the RUC regime to make it actually work across EV’s and ICE vehicles in any fair or workable way.
      
      16 0
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      May 15, 2023 10:34am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      I did the right thing with my boat. 2016. A brand new Suzuki 4 stroke, 140HP Lean Burn. Once it loosened up (worn in) it gives me 40+ knots on a Haines V17.
      Anyway it costs way over $330 to fill it with 91.
      
      4 1
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      May 15, 2023 1:37pm
- Spam
  
  Sorry – do you think it should be more?
  
  1 4
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  May 15, 2023 9:04am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    ETS should be scrapped – climate change hoax bullshit.
    
    21 2
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    May 15, 2023 9:08am
krazykiwi

Oh, hey cool! The government is trying to make my life more convenient with a digital currency.

CBDCs will be offered as the solution to the next global financial crisis. Who is up for resisting? The cost of that resistance will be high, but the cost of not resisting will be immeasurably higher.
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May 15, 2023 8:06am
- Frank the tank
  
  Just got back from a work trip to Thailand KK. Still use currency rather than cards for most things. Loved it.
  
  Maybe in 20 years there will be reverse migration into places like Thailand and Vietnam due to that very fact……
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:20am
  - Ian Boag
    
    Had a week in Sydney visiting familya couple of months ago. Despite the fact that I was leaned on quite hard to fund activities (happens to grandparents) I didn’t touch a single Oz banknote …
    
    Card worked everywhere including trains and buses.
    
    5 12
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    May 15, 2023 10:06am
  - NoFax
    
    I lived in Thailand for all of 2022 and I am now in Vietnam. What you might have missed Frank the tank, is that in Thailand there is PromptPay which uses a QR code and the app on the phone. I assume you don’t have a Thai bank account, but this is at 95%+ of the mechants including the street vendors at it only requires them to have a printed QR code. Governments and banks are working together so you will be able to use this across ASEAN.
    In Vietnam they have the QR type system as well and I have noticed more and more places except Visa/MasterCard and it has gotten to the point, at least in Da Nang, that they have to put signs up saying “Cash Only” rather than what they will accept. They all have this cell phone looking device that allows for magnetic, chip, and PayWave.
    And when I was in Malaysia a couple of months ago it was all PayWave using the phone.
    
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    May 15, 2023 2:37pm
- Colville
  
  We have digital currency now. All they need to do is stop filling the ATMs… All you have is some numbers on the screen of your phone.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:24am
  - pdm
    
    Will never work.
    
    I often go out without my cellphone and will never ever put any banking details on it.
    
    11 0
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    May 15, 2023 10:58am
- Mike
  
  Round up a posse of sovereign citizens and arrest those responsible:
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300872706/the-barefoot-smalltown-sheriff-who-allegedly-attacked-a-council-boss
  
  4 20
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  May 15, 2023 9:03am
  - Keith White
    
    Is that you, Ray Epps?
    
    11 1
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    May 15, 2023 10:10am
    - Mike
      
      Just suggesting a ‘movement’ that krazykiwi might join to meet some kindred spirits.
      
      1 9
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      May 15, 2023 10:55am
- Jack5
  
  An interesting view last month by the NZ Reserve Bank’s head honcho on digital cash, Ian Woolford:
  
  https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/-/media/project/sites/rbnz/files/notes-and-coins/future-of-cash/rbnz_cbpn_2023_april_vol6no4.pdf
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:10am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Huh, I swam in the Otago team with Ian Woolford, I new he worked at the RBNZ didn’t realise he had climbed so high
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:52am
Simon

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Willis and “her team” fully support Luxon for the moment. Helen Clark in 1993 undermined Moore / Labo’s election run in 1993 so she could then take over as labo leader.

Will Willis do a Helen Clark and undermine Luxon in 2023? Looks like it. It would explain some of the rubbish.

Willis will undermine Luxon / National in 2023 with a view to taking over National as opposition party leader before Christmas this year. Expecting to sweep in 2026.
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May 15, 2023 8:07am
- Tony Stuart
  
  What a bizarre comment Simon. We know you hate Luxon, but what you are suggesting is a complete fantasy. The National caucus is united behind Luxon and Willis.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:01am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Maybe Simon is a pseudonym for Tova.
    
    23 2
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    May 15, 2023 10:12am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Or red baiter
      
      11 0
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      May 15, 2023 12:10pm
  - peterwn
    
    The Media would really love a leadership spill in National at this stage for two reasons:
    1. Plenty of news to help make more money for their media.
    2. It would ensure that Labour is returned to power.
    Nicola would much rather be Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister after the forthcoming election than Leader of the Opposition.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:50am
    - Ghost
      
      Would it? Jacinda took over from little and went on to form the governments in 2017
      
      8 0
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      May 15, 2023 12:05pm
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Correction, Ardern did nothing, she even gave a speech saying she folds, Peters formed the rabid government, only because he hated English
        
        8 0
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        May 15, 2023 12:12pm
      - septic skeptic
        
        G Labour were nowhere under Little. Cindy taking over at a late stage was a game changer.
        
        5 1
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        May 15, 2023 12:30pm
      - peterwn
        
        Todd Muller was in that position and failed. Then Judith Collins was National’s last ditch hope, but by then it was too late.
        
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        May 15, 2023 1:44pm
- KH
  
  Simon makes stuff up. He is a Labour party staffer perhaps. Or just imaginative.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:28am
- Paulus
  
  Rubbish, as expected, reading his keyboard which he has not turned on.
  
  14 1
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  May 15, 2023 10:31am
- Matt Long
  
  Luxon is Willis’ pick for the leadership, the wet faction now controlling National would be seriously wounded by an election loss, with the Willis faction possibly sidelined to get back to undermining the leadership and leaking to media.
  
  8 1
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  May 15, 2023 10:38am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Where have you heard any leaks from the Nats , not even one small leak has come for two years plus
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:13pm
- Mike
  
  Willis is the brains of the operation, no doubt. Luxon seems pretty secure as leader, unless he isn’t prime minister after this election. The last time the national party retained a leader after an election loss: Bolger in 1987. Given the musical chairs approach to the party leadership in recent years, it’s hard to imagine appetite for a change even if Luxon leads his team to a loss in what seems like an unlosable election.
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:01am
Maggie Pie

A bestie retweets….

chris hipkins has got to be one of the most middle of the road white bread mild butter chicken single shot soy flat white mild butter chicken export gold gluten free sausage roll orange wine gum easy listening new world chook and coleslaw politicians this country has ever seen.
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May 15, 2023 8:08am
- Prince
  
  Who would know ?
  It’s all very careful branding, from the day they were appointed by a vengeful idiot.
  
  19 1
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  May 15, 2023 8:15am
- Simon
  
  Yep he is a bland hologram controlled / programmed by iwi. What a train wreck a Labo/Gween/MP govt are going to be.
  
  About the only thing that can sort of re-balance NZ are NZ’s overseas creditors. They may be able to rein in some of the oncoming wreckage. The overseas bankers dont want to see their security completely wrecked.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:17am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    I have been hearing some older Labour voters saying they won’t vote if it looks like TPM are going to force their way on the country
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:17pm
- Frank the tank
  
  No it’s an act. Just like the ‘kindness’ was an act for Ardern.
  
  Behind the veil is a smarmy, arrogant socialist that hates success. Remember he was in most respects the chief architect of CovidCult.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:18am
- Gravelroad
  
  @MP-
  But, so what?
  So long as Hipkins and his mate Grant keep finding money for everything (which they seem to be quite successful at), people will be happy to vote for them.
  It is all about getting and spending the money for most voters.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:19am
  - Frank the tank
    
    The right need to accept the fact that 35% of the population of this country are quite comfortable with the progression to the third world.
    
    28 1
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    May 15, 2023 8:22am
    - Paulus
      
      Many of his voters have come from third world economies and know no difference even though somebody else is paying for it.
      
      8 1
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      May 15, 2023 10:33am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Much of Labours support will simply not vote, remember the missing million
      
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      May 15, 2023 12:18pm
- New Zealander
  
  Hence why he’s twice as popular as Luxon
  
  7 1
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  May 15, 2023 8:19am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    That’s not what the poll said
    
    4 0
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    May 15, 2023 12:19pm
    - plc
      
      You told us that the next poll would have Labour in the 20s.
      
      I think you are a little bit less than objective
      
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      May 15, 2023 2:08pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Will he get worse before the Election?
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:27am
- artemisia
  
  There was a mention a week or two back that media advisers were suggesting judicious use of swearing to connect with real people in voter land.
  
  Almost immediately Prime Minister Hipkins came out with ‘blimmin’. Perfick.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:27am
- kevn
  
  @maggie… = bland?
  
  7 2
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  May 15, 2023 8:31am
- Mike
  
  Someone in the public eye like Hipkins doesn’t have much scope to pretend to live a life he doesn’t.
  It’s not like he’s a shelf-stacker at the Otahuhu Fresh Choice using an internet profile to pretend to live the life of the rich and famous.
  
  5 18
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  May 15, 2023 9:07am
  - JimBobJoe
    
    LOL
    
    Yeah, yeah Mike. His public life is covered by the PJIF bribed media…. of course nothing untoward is reported about him, like the the truth he is a middle class mummies boy, a committed left winger who wants a centrally controlled New Zealand and also a key Minister in the worst ministry of the last 50 years in Jacinda Arderns Government.
    
    If the Media were being honest Chippie would be fielding questions about his failures in Health, Education(Te Pukenga anyone) and his consistently unfeeling running of the COVID response (Charlotte Bellis can write about that surely). Plus they would be asking were all the money thrown at many areas like mental health has actually gone.
    
    21 2
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    May 15, 2023 10:20am
    - Mike
      
      What do you have against people who love their mothers?
      
      1 13
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      May 15, 2023 11:02am
      - JimBobJoe
        
        LOL Mike, not a bad riposte snark to be fair.
        
        But at your age surely you should be out of home and mums care?
        
        8 0
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        May 15, 2023 12:30pm
      - Mike
        
        I won’t comment here on my family status. Suffice to say, I am pro-motherhood.
        
        4 1
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        May 15, 2023 1:09pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        You realise there is a difference between respecting one’s mother and being a mummies’ boy?
        
        Ofcourse you did. Just another strawman turd hurled out the window while driving by! 🚗 💩
        
        5 1
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        May 15, 2023 3:11pm
- In Vino Veritas
  
  Hmm, on the coffee front, he’d be a triple shot, over caff, double cream, hold the cream, the caff and coffee and make it lukewarm.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:01am
  - Mike
    
    Reminds me of this classic scene from Steve Martin’s L.A. Story:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqqXCiPJTXE
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:05am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Spot on Mike. Decent movie that.
      
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      May 15, 2023 4:16pm
- Burtland
  
  the list is getting quite long…
  
  chippie from the Hutt
  with the working class hair cut
  bread and butter policy
  shops at Pack n Save
  goes to Saturday sport with his (invisible) kids
  eats sausage rolls with NZ made Watties TS
  wears Barkers off-the-shelf suits
  had a blooming good day
  
  the good marxist comrade is quite a phony
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:35am
  - Mike
    
    Invisible kids?
    What do you want, really? The previous prime minister was endlessly criticized for appearing in public with her daughter.
    
    2 7
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    May 15, 2023 11:07am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Only because everyone realises that an 8 hour day doesn’t cut it as Prime Minister.
      
      3 1
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      May 15, 2023 4:19pm
Surely Knott

HRT shortage. Lots of stories about menopausal women, not people who bleed in this story apparently. As Ricky Gervais says, You know the old fashioned the ones with wombs. About 3/4 of the way through they say HRT use has doubled in the last two year. 🤔 but no mention of why, and not a single mention of the other application for HRT that is clearly causing the massive spike in useage. More disinformation. Who is being prioritised for the patches if not women with menopause due to cancer.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/menopause-treatment-shortage-in-northland-causes-women-to-suffer-raft-of-horrible-symptoms/
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May 15, 2023 8:11am
- Thought Criminal
  
  Broken link
  
  2 0
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  May 15, 2023 11:00am
Paulus

On what grounds do the so called media suggest that Te Pati Maori will even get into Parliament as they have to get 5% or are they that special.
As it gets closer to the election their, and other Maori antics, will frighten voters away, and the overall votes will be down with many abstentions.
And they call themselves professional – I see Ardern is still preferred Prime Minister at 10%.
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May 15, 2023 8:11am
- rouppe
  
  You only need 5% if you don’t win a seat
  
  They are in now due to a Māori electorate seat.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:21am
- Cassandra
  
  They’ll safely get seats. Maoris are not stupid. Voting for their racist party earns benefits. Principles not so much, but $$$ is a powerful incentive.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:44am
- Surely Knott
  
  I realise this won’t be popular. But on yesterdays poll, Winston is on 3%. Act on 10% . If 2% of Act voters went with Winston then Nats would win. That’s if Winston kept his word and didn’t go with Labour. (big if) Or they could help Matt King get a seat. But on these numbers they need a partner.
  35.3= nat + 10.8 act + 3winston (total 49.1)
  35.9 = lab + 8.1 greens + 3.5 maori (47.5)
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:54am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Matt King has no show of any seat, there has been a poll in Northland that has him at 10% in third place
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:22pm
  - Hollyfield
    
    “That’s if Winston keeps his word.”
    
    Going on past form I think it is more likely he WON’T than he will. Not just 2017 but also earlier elections whichever party people did not want to be Govt is the one Winston went with. He cannot be trusted. He is incredibly skilled at saying different things to different audiences and somehow people never make the connection until after the election.
    
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    May 15, 2023 7:57pm
- gravedodger
  
  Not so Paulus, Fighteri will waltz into the Eastern Maori seat Ikaroa Rawhiti, that was what that was all about for Tamihere’s master stroke.
  John frontbottom Tamihere’s son in law may not hold Waiariki for them as someone with more talent than Tamati Coffey could easy win there.
  Maori politics is becoming ever more convoluted with low turnout and confusion as to who will garner the greatest rewards.
  What the elite see as the goal does not compute with the rabble.
  
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  May 15, 2023 1:05pm
Matt Long

Brian Tamaki has his first party signed up to Freedoms NZ.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/outdoors-party-reveals-it-s-joining-forces-with-brian-tamaki-s-freedoms-nz.html
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May 15, 2023 8:14am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Out doors party are now done
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:22pm
ClanMcleod

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado sent an email to Rochelle Walensky of the CDC and also to Robert Califf of the FDA critical of the vaccines. Apparently he got an inaccurate and disrespectful reply from them. Sounds very much like David Seymour’s response to me and others.

This is Lapado’s reply to them. Pay attention Mr Seymour.

https://open.substack.com/pub/merylnass/p/dr-joe-ladapo-floridas-surgeon-general
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May 15, 2023 8:16am
Frank the tank

So……

Can we now accept that:

a). There is a large portion of this country that is quite comfortable with the trajectory of the current government and indeed would welcome a Labour/Greens/Maori Government (Note to Chris L/Nicola – they aren’t going to vote for you no matter how woke you go).

b). The center right will likely need NZ First in 5 months time to form a government therefore an arrangement needs to be made in Northland just in case the 5% threshold isn’t exceeded.

Yes there will be some large rats to be swallowed (looking at you Mr Seymour) but the continuation of this country as a democracy is dependent on this.
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May 15, 2023 8:16am
- septic skeptic
  
  Short answer – NO!
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:15am
  - Frank the tank
    
    Enjoy Debs Packer as your Police Minister and Marama Davidson as your associate Finance Minister then.
    
    15 3
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    May 15, 2023 9:37am
    - septic skeptic
      
      Now who was it that secured ministerial roles for Shaw and Davidson in 2017?
      
      4 0
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      May 15, 2023 10:17am
    - ClanMcleod
      
      Yup. Seymour will never get my vote while he continues to ignore the damage done to so many with the covid policies, also his blatant use of misinformation and lies re the vax safety (lack of) and excess mortality numbers.
      I’m am very thankful to Reality Check Radio for asking him the relevant questions that nobody else in msm will ask. His answers highlight the reason why they normally avoid even going near the topic.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:35am
    - ClanMcleod
      
      That’ll be down to Seymour and Luxon then for refusing to admit they were wrong and ignoring the concerns of 30% of the population who supported those protesting the mandates.
      Don’t blame people for not voting for those who hated on them for 2 years and won’t acknowledge it was they who fucked up, not those who won’t vote for them in spite of that hate. Looking at you Seymour and Luxon.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:32am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        Luxon was not in leadership when covid bullshittery was at its Highest, two days after he became leader he stated publicly that the border should be opened completely, and stated that no more lock downs should take place, and he was asked about mandates and he stated he can not see what the point of them is.
        
        4 1
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        May 15, 2023 12:26pm
      - leoj
        
        Attn G: Please provide evidence that Luxon said what you claim.
        
        While you are at it, provide evidence that Luxon reprimanded Bishop for wanting door-to-door jabbing.
        
        I’ll wait here. I’ll be waiting for a very long time because none of the above took place.
        
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        May 15, 2023 1:23pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        G – do you really want me to drag out the videos of both Seymour and Luxon clearly advocating harder sanctions on the unclean? Neither of them have walked that position back. If they have I’ve never seen it. If you’re aware of any time they did I’ll happily look at the evidence.
        I’m not playing hard to get, I know what they said and what they wanted done harder, I’ve yet to see them admit that were even a little bit wrong.
        No, I won’t be voting for anyone who still thinks mandates and coercion of bodily autonomy were appropriate policies.
        
        6 1
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        May 15, 2023 1:25pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Maybe for once, stop castigating the people who are a bit pissed off that nobody in the house of representatives had their back, and all your local MP why they haven’t got the stones to simply admit we got it wrong because we were lied to by labour, if we’d known the truth we would never have supported mandates, and if we get into power well have a proper investigation and hold to account those who caused this nightmare?
        
        Problem solved done the right thing and pissed in at the election.
        
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        May 15, 2023 1:38pm
krazykiwi

He was Formerly Known as Prince
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May 15, 2023 8:16am
- Ehlana
  
  Very clever.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:51am
ClanMcleod

Keep up the great work Seymour.

https://twitter.com/c_plushie/status/1657585644787617792?s=20
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May 15, 2023 8:25am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  The rabid left are attacking David Seymour a lot more often.
  Do they see him as a threat? Best they clean up their own back yard.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:31am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    A lot of Labour voters have gone over to act
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:26pm
    - plc
      
      What are you basing that observation on?
      
      Is there some data you could point me to?
      
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      May 15, 2023 2:11pm
- kevn
  
  @Clan… I gather he is a trained engineer so must know when his house of cards is imminent.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:34am
  - fightingtemeraire
    
    Electrical Engineer I believe.
    
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    May 15, 2023 8:47am
    - Mike
      
      Shocking.
      
      6 20
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      May 15, 2023 9:08am
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        It will be for Labour/Greens/TPM.
        And boy oh boy do they need a shock to stop the rubbish!
        
        9 3
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        May 15, 2023 9:34am
    - Maggie Pie
      
      [Mod – deleted abuse]
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:54am
  - ClanMcleod
    
    kevn, yup, he made the claim in the email to me in which he lied about excess mortality numbers and called my thoughts on the vaccines “lunacy”. It may have been a form letter as I know a number of people had the same words used against them.
    If it was one of his staffers responding on his behalf who got a bit excited, best he front foots it and explains himself.
    He hasn’t done himself any favours, he will have lost an awful lot of potential voters, I’m one of them.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:38am
    - Surely Knott
      
      I voted for him last election. He didn’t return my email at all. It wasn’t lunacy. It was concerns about teen boys being advised not to get the shot or only one shot due to myocarditis. Same advice our cabinet received and ignored. They knowingly mandated 2 for kids when they knew it caused higher rates of myocarditis for kids. Criminal.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:06am
- Matt Long
  
  That’s a startling stupid statement attributed to Seymour “David said that anyone who clings to the idea that mRNA vaccines killed anyone is in his words ‘clinging to total lunacy.”
  Now it could easily be argued that deaths from the vaccine were insignificant but the evidence is overwhelming that people have died from the vaccine.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:42am
  - Mike
    
    Now, that could be easily argued, but only by glib fantasists.
    
    3 29
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    May 15, 2023 9:09am
    - ClanMcleod
      
      What could easily be argued? That people died from the vaccine? If that’s what you’re trying to say then I’m looking forward to you presenting your argument and making a total clown of yourself.
      
      Take your time.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:40am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Don’t expect any serious attempt at an answer. Silly little “crap and run” efforts are the MO.
        
        8 1
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        May 15, 2023 1:34pm
      - ClanMcleod
        
        Nzer In Exile – I know I won’t get a response because I know and he knows and everyone else knows he’s nothing but a hit and run troll with nothing to contribute to any serious discussion.
        It’s good to expose it by asking him a simple question, just in case there is anyone visiting the blog who takes his comments seriously. Call them out, every time. Just like Luxon and Seymour have been called out and found wanting.
        
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        May 16, 2023 6:47am
Tony Stuart

Has a sitting Prime Minister ever polled lower than Chris Hipkins last night, 23.8%? Perhaps the media are so intent on taking Luxon down they are missing the real story that’s hiding in plain sight.
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May 15, 2023 8:25am
- Frank the tank
  
  Maybe Tony.
  
  However as one of the decent ones that has an association with National Party HQ – give the state of the country that National/Act aren’t up by 10+ points is a serious concern. A good deal of this needs to be slated at Luxon as the figurehead.
  
  Otherwise a deal with Winston (looking almost certain now) will need to be cut.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:31am
  - RoboRob
    
    Agreed. It is stunning that National are slightly trailing Labour at this point. With the massive tail wind that is a weakening economy with high inflation and interest rates, they should be well ahead of Labour.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:12am
    - Gravelroad
      
      @RoboRob
      I’m not surprised that Labour is holding its position in the polls.
      Leaving aside all the side-show issues, the fact is that people all still have money in their pockets – largely thanks to the Labour Party and their extravagant populist policies.
      What people actually do with that money is their own affair and problem. – not the Labour Party’s.
      There is quite likely to be more money for swing voters in the up-coming budget.
      I think the Labour Party and their sycophants are awful, but they know how to buy an election.
      Why would a swing voter, for example, risk having the socialist money tap turned off by supporting National?
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:08am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Two points on last night’s poll:
    
    1) It’s only going to need a very small change in National and Labour’s fortunes for National and Act to be able to govern, without a third wheel. As winter bites and things get tougher economically, that’s definitely on the cards.
    
    2) Polling by Reid Research was undertaken between Friday 5 and Thursday 11 May. Luxon announced that National had rejected TPM as a coalition option on Wednesday 10/5, so the impact of that will have only been picked up at the tail end of the poll.
    
    We don’t need to worry about Peters and NZF yet, IMHO.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:15am
    - Colville
      
      The trend is our friend.
      Business as usual has resumed with Labour dropping back after the dead cat bounce.
      
      A couple of percentage points will drift from Labour as people realise that a Labour PM means Waititi as a Minister.!
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:51am
  - septic skeptic
    
    How can you cut a deal with Winston? He will want to sell to the highest bidder after the election, not before.
    Winston is the disease, not the cure.
    
    14 1
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    May 15, 2023 10:20am
  - Paulus
    
    I very much doubt that Winston will stand, as so many of his faithful have gone to the other land, and he woud not like to be considered a failure again by not getting over 5%.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:38am
  - MCōs
    
    How many times how I read on this forum that Winston is nothing, but a two timing, double crossing, lazy, drunken dwarf with a great smile and the best suits in parliament?
    And now you want to make him Foreign Minister, Deputy PM, Treasurer, anything to get back in power.
    Bill English can sleep soundly in his bed at night.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:00am
    - Mike
      
      It should be pretty obvious to most people that any and all post-election deals are up for grabs, regardless of any previously made statements, preferences, etc. All can be justified as being in the ‘country’s best interests’, ‘avoiding another election’, ‘dealing with the parties the electorate has chosen, etc.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:37am
    - Frank the tank
      
      Stop being facetious Cosy.
      
      If the choice for a right-leaning voter was between having to accommodate NZ First or 3 years of Labour/Greens/Maori Party you would have to be pretty retarded politically to take a “principled” view on what happened in 2017.
      
      Would Bill English sleep soundly knowing what the current rabble have done to the economy?
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:59pm
      - Hollyfield
        
        I think the choice for a right leaning voter is vote national or act, or vote Winston and get labour/greens/Māori as well.
        
        Winston is too much of a wildcard to vote for in the hopes of helping national and act. If you want a national/act govt the safest vote is for national or act.
        
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        May 15, 2023 8:02pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Not allowed to report real stories.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:32am
  - kowtow
    
    Paid regime propagandists , and predisposed to anyway.
    
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    May 15, 2023 8:45am
- Cinematic
  
  These polls are a curiosity. Suspecting there’s a very soft left ‘vote’. Hipkins is headed for the teens.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:56am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    If only ………
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:12am
  - G152
    
    They poll who their paymaster orders them to
    
    3 0
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    May 15, 2023 10:46am
  - Paulus
    
    It takes one young voter to know one to vote for him.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:11pm
- RoboRob
  
  On TV this morning I only heard talk of how weak Luxons polling was. The focus is all on Luxons weakness. Does anyone remember that Helen Clark was as low as 3% at one stage before becoming PM.
  
  That said, Nationals polling results should be worrying them. The slow upward trend has stopped and Labour as even with them. With the economy the way it is that should be very concerning to them.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:15am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    I heard Katie Hawkesby on ZB this morning saying it sounds like the poll was taken outside the Lower Hutt WINZ office.
    
    LOL!!
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:32am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Curia no doubt favours KB contributors 🙂
      
      2 1
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      May 15, 2023 5:57pm
  - MCōs
    
    I know Helen Clark is no favourite on Kiwiblog, but she was a politician and knew when to make the tough calls.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:17am
- mogg
  
  It is said that being the incumbent is worth a 10 point head start. If Hipkins continues sitting in the middle of the road on everything he is bound to get run over during the campaign. Just as Jacinda was human platitude, Hipkins is the embodiment of nothingness.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:52am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  You would like the media wet dream would see them not show Hipkins so low in the polls, it says he is up on their last poll, but I don’t think they have polled. Since he was made leader
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:32pm
Frank the tank

https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/132022958/damien-grant-we-arent-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis-were-just-poor

so true……
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May 15, 2023 8:27am
- cmm
  
  Alternatively it’s an entitlement crisis.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:50am
SmokerGuy

Ffs New Zealand wake up and see what these assholes are doing to our beautiful country!! Whether it is crime, education, the economy, health, everything is literally going backwards fast and in crisis territory. Not to mention the chaos going on in the left aligned parties. How can people still support these parties? It just doesn’t add up.
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May 15, 2023 8:34am
Matt Long

An interesting video on Orwell, particularly his view that for people to be captured by totalitarianism they need to be convinced that there is no objective truth.
Based on the current state of discource in English speaking nations we’re well on the way to totalitarian states.
Unfortunately Orwell hitched his wagon to the Trojan horse of Democratic Socialism that has been proven a failure here for the last five years, instead of Compassionate Capitalism.
https://youtu.be/-x57DvB3Oc8
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May 15, 2023 8:34am
Grunter

I see we moved one step closer to an unwinnable WWIII with Germany pledging another $4 billion to Zelenskyy. Escalation by both sides here we come. Ignoring for a moment why there is a war in Ukraine, anyone who still thinks escalating against the worlds largest nuclear power is a good idea must be completely insane.
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May 15, 2023 8:34am
- RoboRob
  
  It is a difficult situation. The ‘Allies’ need to fund Ukraine as thats what they ‘signed up for’. Governments motivated people to support the Uklraine and they cant now pull back.
  
  If they want to end the war they need to give Russia a way to back down without loosing face. Something that all allied countries have refused to do.
  
  If they want to ‘win’ the war for the Ukraine, as it appears they do, then a major increase in support is required. This isn’t happening and Germanys $4b is a drop in the bucket.
  
  In one sence the Americans are the winners here as the war is essentially bleeding Russia dry.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:19am
  - Frank the tank
    
    “In one sense the Americans are the winners here as the war is essentially bleeding Russia dry.”
    
    Are they though? I’m failing to see stories on how life is hard in Russia ATM and all they have done is funnel their natural resources through other countries such as China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and India
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:39am
    - RoboRob
      
      Yes, with the media they way it is, it is very hard to know exactly what is going on in and off the battlefield.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:18am
      - Burtland
        
        is it ? how about the lonely 1940 T34 tank at Victory Day Parade
        
        5 1
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        May 15, 2023 11:02am
      - Burtland
        
        some great trolling – the lonely tank
        https://t.me/dvish_alive_eng/13563
        
        4 0
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        May 15, 2023 11:17am
    - Paulus
      
      If life is getting uncomfortable in Russia we will, and the Russian people, not be told.
      
      2 1
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      May 15, 2023 10:41am
  - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
    
    Looks more like it’s bleeding western europe dry from here. Will Germany ever recover from the collapse of its manufacturing industries?
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:54am
    - RoboRob
      
      IF Trump is to be believed the US is sending around $150b and Europe around $20b. If these numbers are close to correct then Europe needs to get its act together or the US needs to scale their aid back.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:17am
- Cassandra
  
  So the solution is what, Grunter? Allow Russia to dismember Ukraine? Grab a bit of Finland? Resume control of the Baltic states? [Mod – debate without making it personal]
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:52am
  - Grunter
    
    For Ukraine it’s simple – honor the Minsk Agreement and agree to an immediate cease-fire, which is pretty much what the Chinese told them to do 3 weeks ago. Although that option is now probably gone – why would the Ruskies trust the west after the Germans admitted that they were never going to honor the Minsk Agreement?
    Your hyperbole comments about Finland etc just shows you have no idea what you are talking about, you’ve been deluded by the MSM again. The only way the Ruskies could conquer Finland would be to nuke them, which is pointless.
    
    And realise, the only way NATO can destroy Russia is to nuke them…..which is the WWIII scenario.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:29pm
- Burtland
  
  and the Swiss
  
  Switzerland can start supplying weapons to Ukraine, – Euronews. 12May23
  
  2 chambers of the Parliament and the National Council voted to introduce amendments to the Law, which will allow the supply of military equipment to Ukraine in the future.
  
  https://de.euronews.com/2023/05/12/schweiz-waffenlieferungen
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:12am
  - kowtow
    
    Have they returned all the loot they laundered for their German cousins in the 30’s and 40’s.
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:59pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

A new way (or maybe not new) to cheat. There will be tens of thousands who voted multiple times and did not know.
https://billingsreport.com/okeefe-does-it-again-gets-video-of-maricopa-county-election-director-rey-valenzuela-on-how-to-cheat-in-an-election/
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May 15, 2023 8:35am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Antony Blinken. He was supposed to turn over a document from the Kabul embassy staff that warned the Biden administration that its Afghanistan withdrawal was going to devolve into an absolute nightmare.
Why is he dragging the chain? It is not because of 13 dead soldiers.

https://billingsreport.com/house-gop-plans-to-hit-blinken-with-historic-contempt-of-congress-charge/
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May 15, 2023 8:41am
Maggie Pie

Had to larf….

Went shopping at NW last night and chatted with the girl on the checkout.

I asked her what she got for Mothers Day?

She said….. “Stretch marks and a fat arse”

LOL!!
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May 15, 2023 8:41am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Mother’s Day is nine months after Father’s Day.
  
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  May 15, 2023 8:54am
- mogg
  
  Brilliant, best one iv’e heard this year!
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:02am
Bridgenag

Sunday Strip: Home Security
In clown world, hope is action, and reality is whatever you are told it is

https://open.substack.com/pub/rwmalonemd/p/sunday-strip-home-security?r=1aj1bv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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May 15, 2023 8:42am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Pocahontas needs to send up some smoke signals.

https://billingsreport.com/suddenly-elizabeth-warrens-senate-seat-is-vulnerable-to-a-republican/
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May 15, 2023 8:46am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

American News. Well that’s all that interests me.
Partner is watching play school TV1 breakfast, so I look up.
What do I see? A bloody drag queen! Fuck!
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May 15, 2023 8:57am
- DimChappie
  
  Welcome to the Rainbow paradise ruled by degenerates, with puberty blockers encouraged in schools. What is a woman? Anything a tranny says it is. Time to self identify as a Maori lesbian.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:13am
  - Ghost
    
    And yet there were a lot of females at the protest earlier in the year who were claiming that trans woman were real woman. Davidson being one of the more outspoken. So around the world there are a minority of woman that are claiming a trans woman is a real woman.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:30am
- alloytoo
  
  What’s TV1?
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:23am
  - Che Guava
    
    It’s what we all watch to give ourselves something to complain about – that, the Horrid and Stuffed, that is. Of course we don’t deliberately watch or read these sources – it is someone or other (wife, husband, child, mother, cousin etc.) in our households who is much less enlightened than ourselves who has it on or up on screen – so we must take a quick peek now and then. But we’re not watching or reading these things, oh no Sir.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:45am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Correct.
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:53am
      - Che Guava
        
        You quickly glance up at the telly between sections of Hegel’s The Phenomenology of Spirit or Cicero’s De re publica, right Steve?
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:00am
    - alloytoo
      
      Luckily none of the TV’s in my house are connected to an aerial, to watch TVNZ demands deliberate use of the app.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:04am
    - cmm
      
      Regardless of whether we watch it or not, we’re paying for their upkeep so we have a right to complain about them.
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:55pm
      - kowtow
        
        Too right.
        
        And given the huge role they play in skewing our culture , what’s left of it , we do need to know what they’re up to.
        
        1 0
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        May 15, 2023 3:35pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Button 1 I think. I only watch 14 – Iron Restoration atm.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:52am
  - Burtland
    
    TV1 Health Warning – could give you a brain injury
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:30am
peterwn

I would say the attempted coup against Gore’s Mayor has effectively failed and it is all over. Plan was to pressure the mayor to resign (but he is sitting tight) and if that failed Plan B was to ask the Local Government Minister to intervene to effectively cocoon the Mayor. It seemed some councillors made an initial approach to the department on this who could find no reason to cocoon the Mayor and the Minister has confirmed this stance. So these two coup items have effectively failed. Given this, some councillors may have second thoughts about having their names in the meeting minutes as supporting doomed to failure action against the Mayor. This leaves the matter of the proposal to remove the Mayor from all committees. I do not know if individual councillors have read the Local Government Act which states that the Mayor is on all Committees, so a remove motion would be of no effect and if the CEO tried to ‘enforce’ it by denying the Mayor access to such meetings, the Mayor could seek an urgent High Court injunction on this and almost certainly succeed.
Therefore I doubt that the CEO and supporting councillors would want tomorrow’s ’emergency’ meeting to proceed, but the Mayor may be able to force the meeting convene if he was so inclined so the movers of the three resolutions would either have to proceed with them or withdraw them.
This puts things back to square one but the Mayor and the CEO are going to have to speak with each other at some point and probably fairly soon re annual plan and budgets, hence probably the need to bring the matter to a head now.
I cannot tell who is not speaking to whom. The CEO needs to treat the Mayor with the due courtesy and respect and lay aside negative feelings about the new Mayor being young and winning against an old buddy Mayor. The Mayor on his part needs to listen and find out how things work (Keith Holyoake’s ‘breathe through your nose for the first three years’ advice is apt although it can only be for say 3 to 6 months in the case of a new Mayor without Council experience).
One last thing – the media referred to last weeks meeting which resulted in tomorrow’s meeting being requisitioned and an initial approach to Internal Affairs being made as a ‘Council’ meeting. It was only a ‘caucus’ meeting from which the Mayor and one councillor were specifically not invited (it would be interesting to know if the CEO was there – if so he should not have been there). It would be interesting to know if that meeting was held on Council premises – it should not have been. It should have been held in someone’s home or they should have hired a non-Council hall for it.
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May 15, 2023 8:58am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Seymour threw his weight behind Bell.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:56am
  - peterwn
    
    And that moral support will mean much to Ben Bell. It is the opposite of ‘gaslighting’.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:09am
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      It sure is. Also puts the other Coucillors on notice.
      Shape up guys, it is 2023.
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:44pm
tknorriss

I watched the “Sunday” doco on Ben Bell and the Gore council last night.

The take away I took was that the whiners in the council had nothing substantial to complain about. But, the doco did seem to confirm that the CEO and council are a bunch of bullies.

I felt quite sorry for Bell after seeing this. Though, to be fair, that is probably what the doco intended me to feel.
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May 15, 2023 9:02am
- peterwn
  
  I do not feel sorry for the Mayor – the attempted coup against him has already effectively failed since the Local Government Minister does not propose action regarding the Council and since the proposal to remove the Mayor from all committees is illegal.. The CEO and the councillors who are against him is now going to have to take the Mayor seriously.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:14am
  - tknorriss
    
    I feel quite sorry for him from the perspective of what he has had to endure up to date. But, I agree, going forward, things are going to get difficult for the counsellors, and especially, the CEO, especially now that there is a growing petition against him.
    
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    May 15, 2023 9:58am
    - Taieri
      
      In some ways a very similar situation occurred in Dunedin many years ago when Sukhi Turner won the mayoralty. In that case the old boys network won. Mostly through ostracizing the Mayor, who quickly fell into the line.
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:23am
      - tknorriss
        
        I think Bell has played this in quite a smart way.
        
        Because, now this issue has a high public focus in the area, and the voters, who the council is finally responsible to, doesn’t seem very impressed with the council.
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:32am
    - peterwn
      
      Ben will be OK. He has gained 6 years experience in 6 months.
      
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      May 15, 2023 12:52pm
- artemisia
  
  Stuff article today …
  
  Speaking on Sunday, Bell said comments made by councillors, just after a week of being sworn in, saying he lacked communication and wasn’t taking staff advice and ultimately affecting their mental health, was “pretty heart-breaking”.
  
  If one or more councillors have mental health issues a week after the new mayor is sworn in, are they fit for purpose? Or just setting up a new mayor to do what he is told or else.
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:46am
- MCōs
  
  It’s quite clear Parry sees himself as king of the castle.
  If there is a threat to his power he looks for a weakness in their knowledge of their job and burrows in. I’ve come across guys like him before who feel threatened by the new person in the office.
  He probably doesn’t even know he’s doing it.
  Suddenly
  He’s up against someone who’s smarter than he is and won’t cave in to intimidation .
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:56am
  - Paulus
    
    I thought that Gore people elected the Mayor, who won against the much much older mate of the CEO.
    Are they in the “Old Boys Club” together for many years !
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:46am
  - peterwn
    
    Ben Bell still heads up the CEO Performance and Renumeration review committee, councilors did propose removing Ben Bell from that role (then wanted to extend it to all committees) but that would be unlawful. The Mayor is the figurehead employer of the CEO.
    The other thing that the CEO and councillors need to watch out for is s229 of the Local Government Act 2002 – “Obstruction of enforcement officers or agents of local authority” (penalty $5000). Arguably the CEO is coming rather close to obstructing the Mayor and in my opinion would be obstructing the Mayor if the CEO denies the Mayor information on Council committee meetings or tries to stop the Mayor from attending (eg blocking the Mayor’s swipe card).
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:28am
Maggie Pie

The SHOES 😀

https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1657849515846541312
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May 15, 2023 9:06am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Labour’s plan?

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/doesn-t-come-close-act-accuses-govt-of-drip-feeding-cyclone-funding-announcements/ar-AA1b9Ktw
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May 15, 2023 9:30am
Tomtoddy

I have been intrigued by the debate on excess deaths. Apologies if this has already been covered. Dr John Campbell has NZ performing badly with a high percentage of excess deaths using the “Our World in Data” information.

NZ health officials keep saying we have negative excess deaths and David Seymour uses these data. Various officials and politicians say we are the best in the world to support the severe lockdowns and pressure to vaccinate we experienced.

Now Prof John Gibson of Waikato University has shown conclusively that NZ does have a problem with excess deaths. We are placed about midway among the developed countries. It is worth reading – an easy to follow paper . https://repec.its.waikato.ac.nz/wai/econwp/2302.pdf

That raises a heap of questions. Why is it so hard to tell the truth? Most importantly what is causing excess deaths and when will it be taken seriously?
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May 15, 2023 9:33am
- Ghost
  
  I wonder what percentage of that excess deaths is people not getting the treatment they need timely because of the cluster f the health system is in
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:36am
  - Kumbukani Obi
    
    Probably a lot. But if the Government refuses to acknowledge excess deaths, we will never know.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:33am
    - Keith White
      
      I think we will come to know, one day. It may take 10-15 years and a lot of activity by the bereaved, the damaged, the disemployed, the dispossessed, the bankrupt, the disbarred and the forcibly quarantined – but anyway, payback is something generally best served cold, with forethought and after thorough research.
      
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      May 15, 2023 11:06am
    - MCōs
      
      Who said the Govt isn’t acknowledging excess deaths?
      Stats, which is a government department, puts it down to covid-19.
      https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/births-and-deaths-year-ended-december-2022-including-abridged-period-life-table/
      Let me give you an example.
      Me
      I had covid in December last and have never been the same since.
      And when I say never been the same I mean never been the same.
      A number of tests have thus far shown nothing & tomorrow I’m off for more.
      If I fall down dead on the street I expect someone will rummage round and say this or that was cause, but I’ll know it was covid that set off.
      How many people would have been in the same situation as me?
      My wife has a nephew with the same symptoms, only milder, who refuses to see a doctor. Don’t know why, haven’t asked him. If he’s like me he’s probably sick of talking to people about the whole wretched business.
      
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      May 15, 2023 2:55pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        MCos I am sorry to hear of your poor health and your nephews.
        
        Many of us think the symptoms you are experiencing could actually be due to the mRNA medical treatment and that those that have it are susceptible to immune system decline which is incorrectly being labelled long Covid.
        
        This is why proper testing of experimental treatments should be concluded properly and the drug companies who benefit from short cuts should not be allowed to take them ie getting rid of the placebo group and not continuing with longitudinal studies. It means root cause for your situation may take longer to determine and proper treatment be delayed.
        
        I can forgive people who got caught up in the fear of the pandemic latching onto their perceived life ring. But there is no excuse for seasoned professionals in the global pharma industry including here in NZ accepting basic testing practices not to be adhered to. No excuses! It reeks of corruption and a focus on profit before the well-being of humanity.
        
        We were the outliers with our stance during the pandemic – only now starting to hear murmurs from some in our circle that they are starting to distrust some of the big players on the stage.
        
        Anyway best wishes and I hope you bounce back to full health soon!
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:36pm
  - ClanMcleod
    
    Ghost – that’s the saddest part of all this, because of the discombobulation and distorting of statistics, (like not being deemed vaccinated until 2 weeks after you were jabbed) it may be impossible to ever get a proper breakdown of what caused the excess deaths. We know the official stats are garbage because of people dying “with” covid being written up as from covid to help coerce the jabs.
    
    It’s a destruction of trust on a level never seen before.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:38am
    - waikatosinger
      
      You write in the past tense. The excess deaths are ongoing and show no signs of letting up.
      
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      May 17, 2023 4:45pm
- Keith White
  
  The truth implicates all the purveyors of safe and effective propaganda – Ardern, Hipkins, Bloomfield first and worst but also 90% of the medical and nursing managers in NZ – and likely 75% of the rank and file who went along with it without protest.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:29am
- ClanMcleod
  
  Please forward that to Seymour. Maybe he will stop calling us lunatics and we might even consider supporting him again.
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:40am
- mandk
  
  I looked at the NZ death stats for 2022 on Stats NZ, and it was clear that the number was considerably above the 5-year pre-covid average.
  
  The number of excess deaths was about double the number of deaths attributed by the MoH to the disease.
  
  Allowing for the fact that the number of covid deaths is inflated, there is obviously a problem that the govt does not want to admit.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:26pm
Maggie Pie

TRENDING

This will be an interesting case….

See where that champion New Zealand UFC Fighter’s ex-girlfriend is taking him to court – claiming half his money on the grounds she supported his career.

And I’d say that’s “fair enough” if she paid his bills etc while he was poor.

https://twitter.com/DailyLoud/status/1657829388342132746
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May 15, 2023 9:45am
- MCōs
  
  If two people live as man and wife for a certain period of time , married or not, it is my understanding assets are split down the middle unless there is a legal agreement otherwise.
  
  I met a 70yo woman a few years ago because she had a house for sale. Turns out her husband had buggered off with her friend and wanted his half of the house.
  After talking to her for half an hour I had some sympathy for her the husband.
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:45am
  - Keith White
    
    So, bounty on the mutiny?
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:08am
  - David Garrett
    
    MC; Yes, the crucial period is three years of cohabitation: after that, it’s a 50/50 split (other than where rare exceptions apply)
    
    For some reason many people continue to think it’s TWO years…it’s always been three
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:47pm
  - kowtow
    
    ‘unless there is a legal agreement otherwise.’
    
    I believe that courts have overturned wills , on the basis of “equity”.
    
    Is anything safe anymore .
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:55pm
    - Paulus
      
      I believe that legal agreements can be voided here by a female prejudiced Judge, as they are often in the USA too.
      
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      May 15, 2023 1:17pm
      - MCōs
        
        A certain amount of misogyny in that comment.
        
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        May 15, 2023 2:24pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        MCos – that would depend on whether the judge is female and prejudiced or just predjudiced towards females.
        
        Paulus – are you able to elucidate?
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:41pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Adesanya floored
  
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  May 15, 2023 9:22pm
trout

Things are warming up in politics in US land getting closer to the primaries.. Business Desk in NZ (paywalled) has re published (from Bloomberg) a hit piece on Tucker Carlson. The writer Tara Setmayer is a senior advisor to the ‘Lincoln Project’, a particularly odious organization that has a collective visceral dislike of Trump and the MAGA movement. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/10/09/what-lincoln-project-founders-have-in-common-with-trump-voters-00060993 The Lincoln Project people could be termed ‘RINO’s.
The critique of Tucker Carlson is full of invective, exaggeration, and mistruths. What is interesting is how he is perceived to be a major influence in US politics. An audience of three million (which includes a good number of Democrats) in a population of three hundred million does not seem much but with so much political power concentrated in Washington and New York the local cable news outlets and print media seem to dominate the political landscape.
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May 15, 2023 10:00am
- covfefe
  
  Love Tucker !!
  
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  May 15, 2023 10:37am
- All_on_Red
  
  One of the co-founders of the Lincoln Project is a Pedo
  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/report-details-sexual-misconduct-allegations-against-lincoln-project-co-founder_n_6017143dc5b6bde2f5c0889c
  Seems to be lots of Groomers on the Left
  
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  May 15, 2023 1:00pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Stop Co-Governance. Julian Batchelor.

Hmilton meeting was cancelled by the Waikato District Council. The Horsham Downs Community Center was overpowered by the Council. Samantha Baker from the Council, rang the Police who said their attendance would depend on resources for the day.
Iwi have infiltrated NZ Councils to stop any type of free speech they don’t agree with.

Seems another venue was found by Hamilton Real Estate Agents, congratulations.

The names Samantha Baker, Stefan Pollard, and David someone are MUD!

https://www.stopcogovernance.kiwi/blog/hamilton-council-cancel-our-hamilton-meeting-last-minute-shameful/
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May 15, 2023 10:59am
Maggie Pie

It’s reported that before the Tauranga-City-Council could commence building the new cycleway along Cameron Road, they were first required “to engage with Mana Whenua to help them explore and understand the Whakapapa of the road”.
The design team were then able to work under the principles of Ahi Kaa.

Honestly, you couldn’t make this shit up! We blame Ardern.
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May 15, 2023 11:06am
- Keith White
  
  Whisky Tango Foxtrot.
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:10am
  - Mike
    
    Things named after Cameron (I assume this road is named for the general) might not be popular with the descendants of those who opposed his invasion force. It’s complicated, of course, as Cameron resigned his command as he came to realize he was prosecuting an unjust war.
    
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    May 15, 2023 11:40am
- Allan
  
  I would assume that the culturally appropriate amount of Koha was paid to the Mana Whenua for their advice on the Whakapapa of the road. !!! What absolute b/s it is just another bloody rort by them inorder to extort yet more money from the long suffering taxpayer and ratepayers. As you say thanks for nothing Ardern.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:05pm
  - Inandout
    
    Allan, there is a scale used to buy off whanau starting with wages paid to those cultural chaps (never women) who watch major earthworks for signs of Maori chicken bones. You then move up to the ‘consultants’ who advise on roadways such as this cycleway and charge accordingly. Then the big earners are the Brown Table which deals in millions of dollars for shaping legislation such as the 3 Waters Trojan Horse and free seats on Councils. Of course the whole thing is a rort but it is embedded in legislation and will be next to impossible to remove completely.
    
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    May 15, 2023 12:51pm
  - Paulus
    
    Try driving along Cameron Road and avoid every Taniwha exploited hole, pedestrian and cycle way.
    I drove about 2 kms the other day alongside the only cyclist I have ever seen there.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:21pm
- cmm
  
  It’s one thing to talk about the Whakapapa of a pah site or a green stone river. But a road?
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:36pm
  - mandk
    
    Didn’t you know that Maori had highways for their wheeled vehicles before the nasty colonists arrived?
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:06pm
    - Keith White
      
      I did not. What was their best tribal quarter mile time, and did they have nitrous or rely on superchargers?
      
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      May 15, 2023 4:39pm
Maggie Pie

Question –
https://twitter.com/thenation/status/1657064344415268864

Answer – Because she’s got a DICK, silly!
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May 15, 2023 11:52am
- mandk
  
  More accurately, it is because Thomas went through puberty as a male, which gave it a major physiological advantage over people who were born and remain women.
  
  Reducing testosterone levels does little to mitigate the advantage.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:17pm
cmm

I’ve been looking at getting a new car. It has been daunting.
I just want something relatively simple, but it is getting harder to find something like that.
These new cars are full of all sorts of electronics and crap which seem to be put there as “safety features” but really look like they are more driver distractions than anything else.

The worst I have seen is the Honda CRV with its automatic lane keeping. Basically the computer decides you’re drifting out of lane so applies corrective steering to put you back in the lane. There are just so many things wrong with that:
* Do you really want some software taking over control of the vehicle?
* Why the hell do you want the feature anyway? Pay attention to the bloody road!
* If it works well enough, it is going to encourage people to do dumb stuff: eg. turn on lane assist and let that drive while they scratch through their handbag or whatever.

Ditto with their braking assist, automatic vehicle following, etc etc.

C’mon people you don’t need all this crap in your lives!
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May 15, 2023 12:32pm
- kowtow
  
  Gives them more “guilt free” time on their phones while in charge of the vehicle .
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:50pm
- All_on_Red
  
  Usually you can turn the Lane Keeping off.
  I am a fan of Adaptive Cruise though.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:58pm
  - Keith White
    
    I am also a fan of the HUD which projects current speed in my line of vision, and nothing else.
    
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    May 15, 2023 1:12pm
- Inandout
  
  cmm, my brother has a Honda CRV and lane assist can be turned off. Most new vehicles have this feature and many other bells and whistles as well. A word of advice on features is that Japanese is the way to go if the vehicle is over 5 years old because most Euro ones have shit wiring which starts to degrade as it ages.
  
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  May 15, 2023 12:58pm
- mandk
  
  My 2021 Yaris has automatic lane keeping and braking assist, but I don’t use either of them because I don’t want to fall into sloppy driving habits.
  
  The car also has a lane departure warning alarm which really annoys me because it seems to fire off at random.
  
  But the car performs well. It is nippy enough, and it gets 4.5 ltr/100km.
  
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  May 15, 2023 1:03pm
  - kowtow
    
    Nippy ?
    
    Ah so !
    
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    May 15, 2023 3:39pm
    - Keith White
      
      ISWYDT 🙂
      
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      May 15, 2023 5:03pm
  - greybeard
    
    My 2020 Yaris GX returned 4.0l/100km on a recent trip from Picton to Dunedin ! Who needs a hybrid !
    
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    May 15, 2023 4:39pm
    - Pineapple Lumps
      
      Putting it in neutral down the kilmog were you?
      
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      May 15, 2023 10:48pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  Saw examples that show the cost of repairs for modern cars getting much higher. All that sophisticated in-car electronics is very expensive for some reason.
  
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  May 15, 2023 1:16pm
- MCōs
  
  For all that there are some things that are marvelous.
  Bluetooth phones, gps navigation particularly if it’s from your phone
  All manner of stuff we take for granted that wasn’t in my last car; a 2009 Corolla that never let me down.
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:20pm
  - Keith White
    
    I’d also like to give a big thumbs up for the technological marvels of insulin pumps, ambulatory /continuous glucose testing, ambulatory/continuous oxygen saturation measurement, thrombolysis after heart attacks and thrombotic strokes, and organ transplantation.
    
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    May 15, 2023 4:38pm
    - MCōs
      
      I’ve been reading a book about Henry VIII
      He was stricken with a variety of terrible ailments that would have been easily cured these days.
      Back then the treatments were often worse than doing nothing
      
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      May 15, 2023 5:41pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        Were any of those ailments named Anne, Jane, Catherine …?
        
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        May 15, 2023 10:49pm
Maggie Pie

Shot up to the Dairy before to get some fresh curry powder.
Talking with Raj and his wife, he reckoned that prior to Jacinda being anointed Prime Minister, neither of them had even heard of Fog-Cannons.
Now they’ve got 2.

Just saying.
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May 15, 2023 1:06pm
- MCōs
  
  Did you check the expiry date on the fresh curry powder?
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:01pm
  - Mike
    
    Do people still use curry powder?
    
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    May 15, 2023 2:12pm
    - Maggie Pie
      
      Old poofters don’t. For obvious reasons 😀
      
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      May 15, 2023 4:06pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Curry powder cannons. Now, there’s a thing!
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:27pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Needs a 45 cannon.
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:14pm
Paulus

Did I not read that Ardern has 10% vote for Prime Minister in some latest poll.
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May 15, 2023 1:22pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  That would be the “Out of Touch Club.”
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:15pm
gravedodger

The “Petition” in support of CEO Parry garnered 1000 ticks on day one, whereas the one to support the Mayor did double that on day one with over 2000 signatories.
Says what ??
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May 15, 2023 1:51pm
- I remember when
  
  “Parry and thrust?”
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:05pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Says someone should say ‘sorry’ and stop the nonsense.
  
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  May 15, 2023 2:17pm
  - Pineapple Lumps
    
    The toxicity has been around a long time as has Parry. Saying sorry ain’t going to cut it. Parry needs to go.
    
    Hicks and Robertson offering long term contracts to Public servants which will exceed the current election cycle and potentially the next show we need some law changes around these laws. Contracts should be expired 6 months after the elections, allowing continuity and newly elected to appoint their own team. If the people are any good they will keep their role. If they are political hacks they will go.
    
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    May 15, 2023 10:54pm
I remember when

Has Andrew Hoggard turned the Rangitikei seat into
(a) a win for ACT.
(b) a contest between National and ACT.
(c) a unexpected win for Labour because the National/ACT split the vote for the right.
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May 15, 2023 2:03pm
- greybeard
  
  I hope it will not be (c):
  I must admit I can’t understand why ACT chose to contest a safe National seat !
  Surely it would be more logical to contest a marginal Labour seat, rather than confuse the voters ?
  
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  May 15, 2023 4:37pm
- MCōs
  
  Andrew Hoggard is going to find out a few home truths about politics if he doesn’t bring home the bacon.
  
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  May 15, 2023 5:06pm
- Pineapple Lumps
  
  I have been disappointed with ACT lately. Turning this election into a turf war on the right is moronic. Strategically they had many on the right looking to give them the party vote but I’m starting to waiver.
  
  1. They have attacked conservative right Nat politician in Tamaki.
  2. Standing Hoggard in Rangitikei.
  
  Why are they not putting their energy into weakening the left. Such as, standing good candidates against Chloe and in Mt Albert against newbie Helen White. Brooke against Helen would be an interesting tussle.
  
  The right side of politics doing its best to lose the election. Dumb and dumber!!!
  
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  May 15, 2023 11:00pm
  - waikatosinger
    
    Nah – I’m voting ACT this time. I don’t trust National not to wimp out, and Luxton’s WEF connections remain a concern. The only thing that could stop me voting ACT is if it starts to look like they won’t reach the 5%. But no danger of that the way things are going.
    
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    May 17, 2023 4:55pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300878937/nails-glued-upside-down-on-new-childrens-playground-by-vandals
By God the Waikato is feral.
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May 15, 2023 2:49pm
- Inandout
  
  grey, once long ago razor blades were found on park equipment.
  
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  May 15, 2023 3:55pm
Maggie Pie

Anyone else hear David Seymour say that if te Maori Pardy were to become kingmakers after the elextion, New Zealand would become a “BIG FIJI”.
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May 15, 2023 2:56pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  More like a Zimbabwe or South Africa.
  
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  May 15, 2023 3:07pm
  - Keith White
    
    Given the propensity for utu and blunt trauma, I’d say we’re more likely heading for PNG (with Auckland as Port Moresby) – or Venezuela if we’re lucky.
    
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    May 15, 2023 4:36pm
Maggie Pie

My partner’s mum txt with the very sad news that one of her besties has died…..

RIP Dame Rosie Horton.
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May 15, 2023 3:08pm
- Keith White
  
  What a lovely lady who did her very best for those she thought she could help, in her way. R.I.P.
  
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  May 15, 2023 4:34pm
  - Paul Marsden
    
    She was a delightful woman, but could get a bit surly in the supermarket queue 🙂
    
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    May 15, 2023 5:41pm
    - Keith White
      
      If she was in the 10 items per basket queue behind someone with 24 items and a payment method buried until the last minute, I’d be surly there right along with her 👍
      
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      May 15, 2023 6:12pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        YIP me too!
        Same with old idiots that think they’ve been over charged and want to go back and check the price on the shelf.
        
        3 1
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        May 15, 2023 6:54pm
      - Muttonbird
        
        People who use the cashier are a drag on society and should be put to pasture.
        
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        May 15, 2023 7:55pm
Surely Knott

The west Auckland liquor monopoly barrons want to spend 40 million on new liquor stores and venues! Which politician campaigned on this. All said the money would be returned to the community and the advantage was we would have less liquor stores than south Auckland. West Auckland’s two licensing trusts merged together to be run by a single management company Wats Ltd. How is this legal – where is the commerce commission. State gives liquor control to Wats Ltd monopoly. It’s not re-tendered ever. And it’s a monopoly from Avondale to kumeu. Enough. They control All Liquor sales. And word is we will be getting generic super liquor stores anyways. Where is the supposed freedom party, Act, on this. Wats Ltd is running this behind the scenes. The politicians don’t run it. It is a breach of our monopoly laws.
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May 15, 2023 3:27pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  Used to live in Henderson and the price of our favorite red wine was double (yes, double) the price of the same bottle of wine outside of the trust area. We used to buy it by the case in Silverdale and refused to pay the Henderson price.
  
  Some of the charities that the trust supported financially with the profits were not worthy of support as far as we were concerned.
  
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  May 15, 2023 5:22pm
Nickc2

Coming to Lil-Olde-NZ very soon, if it’s not here already.
US MSM lambasted for scripted and pre-recorded questions featuring Joe Biden.
https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2023/05/14/its-just-one-big-play-packers-player-david-bakhtiari-blasts-media-for-allowing-joe-biden-to-pre-screen-questions-from-press-corps/
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May 15, 2023 3:40pm
- Ghost
  
  Na been here for ages with the patsy questions from the media to jacinda and now hipkins
  
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  May 15, 2023 3:55pm
Maggie Pie

Twitterati based up north saying it was a ‘KO’ house in Ruakaka 🙁
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May 15, 2023 4:09pm
- Keith White
  
  Well, surely there is some way to say this was caused by white supremacy / sarc.
  
  (Because that is after all the prevailing narrative).
  
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  May 15, 2023 4:33pm
- MCōs
  
  What point are you trying to make?
  That was on the news this morning
  
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  May 15, 2023 5:21pm
  - Keith White
    
    The point I make MCos is that until the people beating their children to death are made to accept responsibility for that and not be excused by blaming white people and colonialism and assorted racist BS for their implemented violence, they will continue to inflict a disproportionate casualty rate on their families and their communities. There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?
    
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    May 15, 2023 5:44pm
    - Muttonbird
      
      A white South African woman murdered her three kids [Mod – deleted, details of their death are suppressed] the two years ago in Timaru. Should we hold all South Africans responsible for their disproportionate casualty rate on their families?
      
      Computer says yes.
      
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      May 15, 2023 7:48pm
      - Muttonbird
        
        [Mod – court suppression aren’t up for debate, neither are bans if you keep it up]
        
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        May 15, 2023 8:26pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    I’m calling BS on you there Cossie…NONE of the msm has mentioned ethnicity or housing provider at the stage of posting.
    Prove me wrong and I’ll give you a nice fresh duck.
    
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    May 15, 2023 5:52pm
Surely Knott

Trump’s CNN interview was interesting. The reason he is popular is because he talks directly to the people and the audience. In NZ your mp’s don’t return emails, visit your town hall, engage in dialogue or answer questions on any of the political blogs or twitter. It’s broadcast only. You’d have more likelihood of getting a response from Elon Musk.
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May 15, 2023 4:33pm
- MCōs
  
  As it happened our local mp, Aupito William Sio, was at the Mangere Memorial Hall on Anzac Day & anyone who wanted could have gone along and spoken to the guy.
  
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  May 15, 2023 5:30pm
  - Keith White
    
    Ah yes, the MP who claims his ethnic community is “traumatised” by being required to observe New Zealand’s immigration laws. Clearly does not represent anyone in his electorate who abides by laws and expects equal treatment regardless of melanin or origin. You could have picked a better example than this MCos.
    
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    May 15, 2023 5:48pm
    - MCōs
      
      Only two local MPs
      
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      May 15, 2023 9:13pm
greybeard

Emma Cook: following faithfully in the putrid footsteps of her idol, Sharon Murdoch.
Do they ever try to read the room ?
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May 15, 2023 6:34pm
Ghost

Greg Abbott Tweet on Tucker and Dominion.

If the public reporting is accurate that Dominion Voting Systems demanded that Tucker Carlson be fired as part of a litigation settlement, then I am happy that Dominion does not operate in Texas, and I don’t think that they should do so in the future. We may disagree with other’s positions, but we should never try to improperly silence views contrary to our own. If Dominion wants to do business with Texas in the future, they should first answer questions about what role, if any, they played in silencing a prominent conservative journalist. The answers to those questions, and other factors, should guide whether we want them to operate here.

Twitter

Tucker Carlson, two weeks after being ousted by Fox News, accused the network Tuesday of fraud and breach of contract — and made a host of document demands that could precede legal action.

Why it matters: The aggressive letter from his lawyers to Fox positions Carlson to argue that the noncompete provision in his contract is no longer valid — freeing him to launch his own competing show or media enterprise.

Article
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May 15, 2023 7:36pm

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