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September 19, 2025 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 19 September 2025

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

“More than half of all public servants – 55 percent – do not typically work from home, or do so infrequently, about 42 percent work one day a week from home, and only 22 percent work from home two days a week.“

These numbers are misleading. No matter what they say, anyone with eyes can see that there are noticeably fewer people in central Wellington on Mondays and Fridays. I assume PSC’s numbers must include people with no prospect of working from home, such as customer facing counter staff or DOC rangers.

If the stats focused on head office workers only, I think you’d see much higher numbers of those “working from home”.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/573433/public-service-commission-to-stop-tracking-if-public-servants-working-from-home
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September 19, 2025 8:01am
- david in Aus
  
  Working from home benefits everybody. The average commute times in Sydney has decreased when compared to before the pandemic. This has been attributed to workplace flexibility.
  
  We should be paying workers by productivity, if we can.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:49am
  - john1234
    
    Due to a large project being spread out all over Australia and NZ I’ve been 90% WFH for a couple of years now. Everyone travels to an onsite meeting week periodically but that’s expensive. Overall it works fairly well but it’s not for everybody it is a project not BAU. I don’t think this would be appropriate for BAU.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:44am
- cmm
  
  Well clearly frontline staff (cops, military, hospital workers, teachers, etc) can’t work from home.
  
  But back office (aka Wellington) types are a very different matter.
  
  Take MoE. There are perhaps 75k teachers in NZ and 4500 or so people working at the ministry offices themselves. Every one of those 4500 could work from home and the education sector as a whole would still be over 90% going to their workplace to work.
  
  Do the same with police, health and others and it is easy to see how these numbers can be gamed.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:14am
  - Taieri
    
    4500 or so people working at the ministry offices themselves
    ————
    
    Wonder what they actually do…?
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:24am
  - mandk
    
    I think there are around 110,000 teachers with a practising certificate in NZ.
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:34pm
  - Paulus
    
    Are we not told that somthing like 50,000 actually are working teachers on any one day.
    Can this be confirmed ?
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:55pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  So what’s the problem? I included a post in GD yesterday explaining why I work at home three to four days a week. I won’t repeat the reasons again.
  
  Are you suggesting that people should be forced to travel to Central Wellington for no good reason? Supporting over priced cafes does not count.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:17am
  - Cassandra
    
    You must be the exception.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:40am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    Nikola, some thought must be made about why are the Wellington cafes so over priced.
    The principal reason is that to recover the myriad of needless compliance costs the price put on a cup of coffee must reach an awful level.
    Consider measures to reduce those compliance costs and the competition will reduce those dreadful prices.
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:38am
    - Spam
      
      I suspect a lot of those cafes attract the business of people who are using expense accounts as well.
      
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      September 19, 2025 10:41am
- Ipanema69
  
  Agree, in my job I have a customer who is a major NZ company. They allow 2 days per week WFH. The inside joke in our office is that it is virtually impossible to schedule a meeting on Monday or Friday.
  
  At best those WFH probably have the laptop on and respond to the occassional email to appear to be working.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:22am
  - sirknz
    
    I worked for a company prior to the 08 GFC years ago that had a large number of consultants who all seemed to have a lot of client meetings on a Monday morning and Friday afternoon (office was a ghost town at those times) but there never seemed to be any work generated from it.
    
    This isn’t a new phenomenon.
    
    Oh, and I am responding during a break, while I work from home…
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:53am
David Garrett

12C outside this morning…less than half what it is in the Kingdom! Still, good to be back at the ranch…
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September 19, 2025 8:02am
- mandk
  
  Just work in degrees Kelvin and it makes the difference less than 5%.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:18am
  - cmm
    
    Yup, Kelvin (or Rankine if you really must use the old stuff) is the only scale worth using for comparing temperatures,
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:30am
  - Michael Johnston
    
    And 285K just sounds so much warmer than 12C.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:45am
    - cmm
      
      513 in Rankine!
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:16am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Global boiling!
      
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      September 19, 2025 10:53am
- Simon
  
  Where will you be watching NZ vs Canada semi finals in Tonga?
  
  Canada have a quick close in passing game. NZ play the usual across the park style. Should be a good game.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:22am
  - pdm
    
    Rugby is not a game for women.
    
    I won’t be watching and from what I have seen of Sky’s figures there are a lot like me.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:44am
    - David Garrett
      
      pdm: YES!! Rugby is nothing more than organized thuggery – although to be fair it is less thuggish than it was – now TV cameras are everywhere.
      
      I absolutely agree it is not a game for women – but then most of the players don’t look much like ladies!
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:42am
      - john1234
        
        I happened to watch a NRLW match the other day. Because there’s no requirement for lumbering props etc in league the participants were much easier on the eye IMHO.
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:46am
      - pdm
        
        dg – I am still a regular watcher of mens rugby including NPC.
        
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        September 19, 2025 10:23am
      - Swifty
        
        I think many would be surprised at the skill levels and athleticism being shown in women’s rugby these days.
        
        It’s come on massively in the last decade or two particularly at the elite level.
        
        Credit where credit is due.
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:59pm
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      pdm, it’s way worse than that. The RFU took money from the Government (why in hell the Government gives money to RFU is beyond me, and I’m a big rugby fan). One of the caveats is that a decent chunk was to be used on woman’s rugby and another, that the Board had to be more gender diverse – thanks Grant Robertson. Problem is, the woman’s game costs a shitload more than the money the Government gave. And now men’s rugby subsidises woman’s rugby. Because no one watches women’s rugby. Sky gave the RFU a haircut of around 25% for TV rights, the RFU has made a healthy loss, and have saddled themselves with a product no one, including women, want to watch, and one that they cannot get rid of. I have heard the RFU offered Sky a split product, men’s and woman’s, but Sky valued woman’s rugby near zero (when compared with men’s).
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:57pm
      - Sacha
        
        I don’t know any women who are even slightly interested in women’s rugby. I have NEVER had a conversation about it, and men who like the rugby game only ever seem to have a passing interest before they get on to the analysis of the results of the male game.
        
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        September 19, 2025 6:48pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Cool 25c overnight in the Kingdom of Wonder.
  Rainy season (occasional downpour -not the 5 day drenching NZ style)
  
  This weekend is the 4-day holiday, when locals celebrate ancestors by going back to their home towns to celebrate with family.
  
  The government puts on free buses to take people from the Capital City back to the Provinces.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:30am
Nigel Kearney

Here’s how I’m planning to vote. I don’t know much about most of these people so any comments would be appreciated.

Mayor

Ray Chung
Karl Tiefenbacher
Rob Goulden
Joan Shi
Diane Calvert
Kelvin Hastie
Scott Caldwell
Josh Harford
Donald McDonald
William Pennywize
Alex Baker
Andrew Little

Regional Council

Alice Hurdle
Simon Woolf
Glenda Hughes
Sarah Free
Mark Kelynack
Tom James
Yadana Saw
Henry Peach
Daran Ponter
Tom Kay
Belinda McFadgen

Lambton Ward

Stuart Wong
Rodney Barber
David Lee
Nicola Young
Zan Rai Gyaw
Dan Milward
Teal Mau
Tim Ward
Tony de Lorenzo
Afnan Al-Rubayee
Geordie Rogers
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September 19, 2025 8:06am
- Wandering Star
  
  Why are you voting for people whom you concede you don’t know much about?
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:09am
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    It’s a ranking.
    
    It’s not essential to rank them all but when you don’t know which ones are close between getting in or missing out, is is better to rank them all.
    
    And when you know for sure which one(s) should be dead last, you have to rank all the others to make that happen.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:36am
    - rouppe
      
      Yes it’s a ranking. But by ranking someone you don’t want, even ranked last, there is the possibility that ultimately your vote for them counts.
      
      In porirua there are three mayoral candidates. None of them signed the rates Pledge. Two of them I know little about, but they wear the tiki, support Maori wards, promote co-governance and included lots of “equity”, “partnership” type words in their bio.
      
      So I only ranked Anita Baker first as the best of a bad lot, not ranking the other two because I do not want my vote counting towards them.
      
      I know some think that’s a failure to understand STV, but i disagree. I don’t want my vote transferred to either of the other two.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:59am
      - Ronin
        
        I’m in the exact same situation. I’ve left that section of my voting paper blank, sitting on the kitchen table for the past three days, waiting for me to make a decision. I don’t let like any of them. But I don’t like not voting either…
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:17am
      - Nigel Kearney
        
        That’s incorrect. If you don’t rank one candidate, that is exactly the same as ranking them dead last.
        
        If you don’t rank two or more candidates, you are expressing no preference between them. Ranking them at the bottom, still puts them lower than every other candidate and lets you show a preference between them.
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:42am
      - rouppe
        
        Nigel,
        
        Is that true when the vote is for a single winner, such as the mayoral vote?
        
        For a multi winner ballot such as councillors, “excess” votes from a winning candidate get transferred to second preference etc. (Quite how they chose which votes are “excess” I don’t know, as different collections of 1000 excess votes would have different second and third preferences. But anyway…) So then yes, if my first preference vote is excess and I have no second and third preference, my least preferred candidate can bubble up.
        But in the mayoral vote there only 1 winner.
        
        And even in a multi winner environment, if I exclude Labour and Green candidates because they are all odious – for different reasons, but nonetheless – what am I risking? For four winners I’ve ranked 6 of the 8, leaving the Labour and green candidates unranked.
        
        You have to remember also that the Labour candidate in my ward, Josh Trlin, is popular. This is a Labour town… So he is likely to be highly ranked from other votes, my preferences are likely to be eliminated and it’s not inconceivable that my 7th or 8th preference vote come into play. So I end up voting for him even though I don’t want to? Maybe it the price of ensuring the Green candidate is last…
        
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        September 19, 2025 10:13am
      - Steve Todd
        
        @rouppe @ 8:59AM
        
        But by ranking someone you don’t want, even ranked last, there is the possibility that ultimately your vote for them counts.
        
        That is not correct. It is not possible for a vote to transfer to a candidate ranked last. That is because the count stops at the conclusion of the iteration at which all seats are filled. Votes (or parts thereof) given for the last-elected candidate and for the runner-up candidate are not transferred, because the election is over.
        
        (See page 3 of the document at ‘Description’, at my response to you, here, https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/09/general_debate_03_september_2025.html/comment-page-1#comment-3756158. The final keep value for Firkins is 1.000, because that candidate is either the last-elected candidate, or the runner-up candidate.)
        
        Here in Wellington’s Eastern Ward, I am ranking all 11 candidates for the same reason Nigel is ranking all 11 candidates in the Lambton Ward: to make sure my vote cannot (and will not) help elect the candidate I least like. (As Nigel says, if he ranks 10 candidates, 1 to 10, and leaves the box beside Geordie Rogers’ name blank, he is ranking Rogers “dead last”.)
        
        With regard to your first preference for Anita Baker, your vote will help re-elect her – in my view. However, if she is the runner-up candidate, your vote will simply stay with her. If, however, she is the candidate who is excluded during the count, your vote will fall to the total of non-transferable votes. As I’m sure you understand, in the extremely unlikely event of that happening, it would have the same effect on the election outcome as if you hadn’t voted at all.
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:18am
      - rouppe
        
        …in the extremely unlikely event of that happening, it would have the same effect on the election outcome as if you hadn’t voted at all.
        
        And in my gut, as far as the mayoral vote is concerned, I’d rather not vote at all than vote for racism. Anita Baker is by no means perfect, promoting maori wards at least and presiding over some questionable spending but the alternatives in my opinion are much worse.
        
        I’ve ranked the ward positions now with Labour 7 and Green 8 but it leaves a foul taste in my mouth
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:37pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @rouppe @ 12:37PM
        
        Thank you for responding, rouppe.
        
        Now that you have decided to rank all the candidates in your ward, this is what could happen.
        
        It could be that there is one seat still to fill, and the two remaining hopeful candidates are ‘7 Labour’ and ‘8 Green’. A tiny portion of your vote that is remaining (see column 6 of my ‘Count’ paper), after it has already helped elect three candidates, will go to help elect Labour over Green. You are not overly happy (especially if Green fills that fourth seat), but at least you won’t have helped her get elected. If, however, Labour fills that fourth seat, you will have helped secure for yourself an ever so slightly better overall outcome.
        
        That’s not a bad result for just one vote.
        
        Whether Labour or Green fills that fourth seat, in my scenario they will each have a final keep value of 1.000 (because they are the last-elected and runner-up candidates). That is why there is no possibility of your vote transferring to ‘8 Green’. That tiny remaining portion of it that went to ‘7 Labour’, stays with Labour.
        
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        September 19, 2025 3:37pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      I think the strongest statement, particularly if you don’t know who they are, is to not vote for any of them, in which case, ranking them becomes redundant.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:05am
      - In Vino Veritas
        
        There are always a good few that one doesn’t know WS. I find the easiest thing is to ignore any Labour affiliated candidates. Any candidates that mention climate change or sustainability are similarly discounted. All candidates that use Aotearoa or Tamaki Makarau (seeing as I live in Auckland) are given the boot as well. That only leaves a few. Easy.
        
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        September 19, 2025 1:00pm
      - Paulus
        
        I have a strong statement – we have not seen our voting papers yet !
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:00pm
- Eastlander
  
  You don’t have to give a tick to everybody, especially not to candidates you presumably don’t want elected (like Little).
  
  Otherwise:
  
  Regional council:
  Sarah Free is a waste of space who doesn’t read reports and votes the way the staff tell her to. Nobody is less deserving of being elected aside from the green-endorsed idiots.
  
  Lambton ward:
  I’d suggest Dan Milward for your top three.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:36am
- 2ic
  
  You don’t need to rank every candidate. Just give your vote to the ones you want to vote for.
  
  The Taxpayers’ Union have a Ratepayer Voting Guide at https://ratepayer.vote/ “giving voters a clear picture of where local body election candidates stand on rates, transparency, and unelected appointments”.
  
  Unfortunately though it’s all a lost cause, with a recent poll showing 58% support for Andrew Little:
  https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/09/14/wellington-mayoral-poll-one-candidate-holds-commanding-lead/
  
  It seems the people of Wellington just can’t help themselves. Not content with sending this sad, pathetic city to the bottom of the economic pile, they just want to keep kicking it while it’s down:
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/573048/wellington-slumps-to-bottom-of-economic-scoreboard
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:42am
  - Colville
    
    Little is a total POS (in my humble opinion) but probably a lot more effective than what Wellington has had in an age.
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:16am
    - JackRabbit
      
      Yes, Little will be effective, but at what? Effective at furthering his Marxist agenda!
      
      Remember he was Ardern’s handler.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:29am
      - Paulus
        
        He stilll only has one vote along with the rest of the left wing Councillors and the Council Staff who fix everything behind closed doors.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:02pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Vote for none of them.
  Councils should be run by engineers and an accountant. If councils stuck to essential services the rates would more than halve.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:52am
- john1234
  
  Sorry Nigel but this is Wellington so you’re screwed.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:46am
- Colinxy
  
  And don’t forget the new Rotton boroughs (Maori Wards) that the previous regime encouraged at the local level:
  
  https://nominister.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/are-maori-wards-new-zealands-rotten-boroughs/
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:32am
- PurplePen
  
  I did the first two you have for mayor. No-one else as my filter is to exclude:
  
  Green
  Labour
  Climate change
  DEI
  Too much use of the word community
  Religious
  If I need it – not born here.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:02am
  - Jethrod
    
    That’s a very good gauge for voting!
    
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    September 19, 2025 5:16pm
Simon

“Her own Treasury contradicts her claim that NZ is on a path to surplus. It is not. Treasury’s long term fiscal forecasts show out-of-control deficits due to pensions and health-care spending from an ageing population,” they said in a statement.

“Willis is not up to the job and is not levelling with the New Zealand public.”

These neolib ACT type clowns. National can’t run surpluses as it crash the economy. Luxon Willis inherited the problems. Although of course they ain’t up to fixing anything.

The reasons for deficits are bloated public sector. Massive welfare state and mass low wage immigration. To a lesser extent climate change measures and Maorification.

One in three working age either employed by the state or on permanent welfare. When Clark was PM it was one in four.

Low wage immigration doesn’t pay its way in government services.

$30 billion pa on welfare – non national super if you include social housing.

National are not up to the task but these ACT types are at best just useless
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September 19, 2025 8:07am
- cmm
  
  Sure, they are not up to it, but how are the ACT types?
  
  They have not supported Act in any way, so I can’t quite get what you’re trying to say.
  
  Willis has openly, and frequently said she is “Blue Green” (or maybe Green Blue). Why would you expect anything else?
  
  Policy wise, National is closest to Labour. They should just be honest and make a National/Labour coalition that would would have over 60%.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:36am
  - imalwaysright
    
    A National/Labour coalition would be a larger group of the same incompetents.
    
    NZ needs a benign dictator. Kiwis are crying out for a father figure.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:58am
    - john1234
      
      We had a mother figure and that’s how we got here.
      The trouble with dictatorships is you often get the wrong one.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:47am
      - AitchW
        
        More like a senile aunty figure.
        A bit doddery and indecisive and prone to irrational outbursts with a messiah complex thrown in for good measure.
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:53am
    - peterwn
      
      Yes, have a troika dictatorship of Chris L, Nicola W and Bish.
      
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      September 19, 2025 2:39pm
      - Groggy
        
        Can we at least get someone competant! Massive NO to Willis and Luxon, they haven’t got a clue of how to turn things around
        
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        September 19, 2025 3:19pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        I think they do have a clue, but don’t have the courage to do it.
        
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        September 19, 2025 5:17pm
- artemisia
  
  About that bloated public sector –
  
  Graduates looking to start a career in the public service are finding themselves at a loose end – qualified and ready to jump into the workforce, but with nowhere to go. In the past two years, close to a third of graduate roles and internship places have been cut from the public service.
  
  Maybe the subject choice net could have been cast a bit wider than studying for a public service career. Not surprising that entry level roles have been cut when experienced staff are losing their jobs.
  
  Did I mention bloated?
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/573473/grads-look-offshore-as-public-sector-jobs-dry-up
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:40am
  - Michael Johnston
    
    It says a lot about the dismal state of our universities that they only thing their graduates are fit for is the public service.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:48am
    - Taieri
      
      It says a lot about the dismal state of our universities
      ————–
      
      We have 8 of them in the country of 5 million…and still, we have to bring an ever increasing number of “skilled” immigrants into the country every year. Am I missing something here?
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:28am
      - R
        
        Missing something. YES, there are no employment opportunities for graduates of what, on the whole, are basically basket weaving degrees.
        
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        September 19, 2025 4:45pm
    - Sacha
      
      Blame Helen Clark. It was she who decided that New Zealand needed more graduates, and that universities were spending too much money on ‘elitest’ degrees which were not needed in New Zealand.
      And entry qualifications were adjusted accordingly, with the results we see today. University is just like another few years in 6th form,or whatever its called these days.
      
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      September 19, 2025 7:08pm
  - Eastlander
    
    ‘cut’ meaning here that roles that were planned but not filled. No tears for these undoubtedly green-voting nitwits who expected the taxpayer to furnish them with middle-class lifestyles regardless of the state of the economy.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:56am
    - Boy Geoff
      
      Yep, that’s pretty much it…
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:27am
    - artemisia
      
      Those laid off in the public sector will be the result of functions and roles cancelled, or they are not performing adequately. Some will qualify for the Jobseeker benefit at less taxpayer cost. Quite a lot will not qualify for welfare. Sounds like a plan.
      
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      September 19, 2025 10:51am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    The argument could be made (but hasn’t been) that severely reducing the public sector is likely to shrink the economy more.
    Large cutbacks to the public service would have been a far better response to Labours overspend than jacking up interest rates (too far too fast too long) and making home owners and business pay for government stupidity,
    That opportunity was not taken.
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:06am
  - Sir Henry Morgan
    
    If only they’d thought to take degrees in interpretive fruit picking.
    
    But seriously, you’d expect that fewer roles in the public service might see more fruit getting picked and hence less need to import workers (some of whom inevitably turn out to also be rapists etc.) from the islands and elsewhere. Will this actually happen? Probably not until society develops the balls to massively cut welfare back. Maybe make it something you can apply for once showing signs of starvation. Sounds cruel, but the current system is also cruel – e.g. essentially breeds multi-generational dysfunctionality, undermines ambition, incentivizes greedy and resentful passivity, robs the hardworking of the fruits of their labour, and so on and so forth. In any case, long term we don’t exactly have a choice. The current set up just isn’t affordable and hence isn’t sustainable.
    
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    September 19, 2025 2:52pm
    - artemisia
      
      Huge increase in benefit sanctions though. Has to help, though struggling economy is still losing jobs.
      
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      September 19, 2025 6:05pm
- Jethrod
  
  Are you Simon Wilson by some chance?
  
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  September 19, 2025 5:18pm
Nakibob

So I haven’t been here for a while, it seems like the number of commenter’s has fallen dramatically, is this the case?

Over at the Good oil it seems more people are engaged.
Am I just here on a bad day?
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September 19, 2025 8:09am
- G152
  
  Good oil hid behind ads……
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:28am
- David Garrett
  
  Naki: Well for a start, I like to think the comments here are more about quality than quantity. I consider myself a very well informed person – but it is a rare day when I don’t learn something here.
  
  Secondly there are a hard core of perhaps 20-30 of us who have been contributing here for years – others come and go. Which I think is a good thing – an echo chamber would be pretty boring.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:43am
  - Nakibob
    
    Yes and no.
    Just seems to be less posts than was in past.
    Could be wrong.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:03am
    - David Garrett
      
      Naki: depends on the thread mate…some just aren’t very interesting, so rather than make some inane comment – which might happen on other blogs – people here just don’t bother.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:17am
      - Colville
        
        Just mention David Bain and see the comments hit 1000….!
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:18am
      - Ghost
        
        Or Mark Lundy. Thankfully that murderer can’t comment on the case. Don’t expect to hear from the Phillips supporters once the injunction is lifted
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:28am
    - greybeard
      
      “Just seems to be less posts than was in past.”
      Naki, you are lucky you have so far escaped censure from DG for saying “less” when it should be “fewer”.
      
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      September 19, 2025 3:08pm
- Ghost
  
  Are there more people there and just less conversation? I had a look, yesterday kiwiblogs general debate had 256 comments. The good oil had 190 comments,….
  
  August the good oil got 822.6K views. Kiwiblog 1.3 million
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:29am
  - Ghost
    
    I wondered how the stats were going before I log off for the night
    
    Good oil general discussion has had 126 comments
    Kiwiblogs general discussion 311 comments
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:40pm
- [email protected]
  
  I read KB daily and click my likes and dislikes but don’t comment very often.
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:52am
  - Nakibob
    
    Ok guys obvious it’s my perception as opposed to fact, thanks everyone, stay safe.
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:58am
David Garrett

I see “Angry Andy” looks to be a shoe in in Wellington…once a trougher, always a trougher…I guess trying to earn a living as a lawyer was too hard.
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September 19, 2025 8:09am
- Foxfour
  
  Did he ever have a practicing certificate…
  
  I see former MP/Minister and Geotech engineer Nick Smith seems to be doing a good job as Mayor of Nelson
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:14am
  - Wandering Star
    
    Little has a current NZ practising certificate.
    
    https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/register/andrew-james-little/
    
    I am no fan of Little at all, but it’s a bit rich for some people to criticise an individual who is a more highly qualified lawyer than themselves.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:23am
    - David Garrett
      
      WS: How on earth to you know what Foxfour has by way of qualifications”
      
      Talking of which, because of your insults regarding the intelligence of your fellow commenters, I recently asked you to tell us what qualifications you have. You never answered. Why was that I wonder?
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:46am
      - David Garrett
        
        So, WS is “too busy” to share his qualifications with us…and YES it is relevant information given he makes derisive comments about his fellow commenters.
        
        9 2
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        September 19, 2025 10:59am
      - Ghost
        
        This is someone who has commented before he wants to make NZ like Russia. Don’t waste your time
        
        9 2
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        September 19, 2025 11:02am
      - Wandering Star
        
        Anyone can find out Little’s qualifications, which are quite significant in terms of his political and his legal career. As I said, he’s certainly not my cup of tea politically, but since you seem obsessed with formal qualifications, then Little’s are probably superior to most commenters here, including yours David. Anyone can also freely search the public Law Society registry and determine that you don’t have a NZ practising certificate.
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:18am
      - David Garrett
        
        WS: A classic bit of “look a squirrel!”
        
        A practising certificate is not a “qualification” you clown…it’s simply a licence to charge for services…the LL.B (Hons) is my qualification,/I>. The services I provide – and charge handsomely for – are in Tonga these days. I have held a licence to practise there for 26 years.
        
        What’s yours again?
        
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        September 19, 2025 4:10pm
  - john1234
    
    Always back an engineer. It’s the pick of the professions.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:48am
- pdm
  
  `Angry Andy’ will be getting very excited I think.
  
  This could be his first ever Election Win of any type.
  
  Sorry Wellington you will not get the changes Wellington needs if he does win.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:20am
  - David Garrett
    
    pdm: I believe Little is an evil guy. Some may laugh at me saying this, but I truly believe he doggedly sought repeal of the three strikes law because of personal animosity to me. He tried and failed to do it when Winston First wouldn’t support him; he got his chance when Labour was able to govern alone.
    
    All he ever said about the law was that it was “silly”; when asked to explain why, or in what way it was silly, he refused to elaborate.
    
    When they were in government Labour would have had access to all the stats – and they would know very well that it was working exactly as intended – a 40% drop in “strike” offending in the first five years after the law came into force compared with the five years prior,
    
    Justice officials refused to do a ten year before and after comparison because it would be “too complex”; that is total bullshit – a ten year comparison would have been no more difficult than the earlier one.
    
    They – and Angry Andy – knew it was working; for pure ideological reasons they didn’t want to acknowledge it.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:28am
    - kowtow
      
      Follow up on Plunket’s Platform . Apparently he was quite the Angry Andy , literally grabbing Ray Chung’s notes and having a barney with a woman afterwards , at a recent “moderated” by A Vance meeting.
      
      I don’t expect this to get the type of cover that say a member of the blue team would get .
      
      Which in itself is a shocking indictment of our ‘progressive” , so called 4 th Estate , who only hold power to account , if it’s the “wrong” power.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:33am
      - Eastlander
        
        This election should be cancelled. There has been enough intimidation and and vandalism from green and labour supporters and now that their candidates are joining in, it’s clear that the city cannot govern itself.
        
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        September 19, 2025 10:33am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Very weird….
        
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360827691/weird-wonderful-and-downright-nasty-wellingtons-mayoral-race
        
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        September 19, 2025 1:13pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Apparently at a debate yesterday Little took Ray Chungs speech notes from him.
      
      When Ray’s assistant tried to get them back Andy got angry and she said she felt intimidated.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:38am
      - Ghost
        
        I don’t think there is anything in this. All he did was pick up the pre written speech, looked at it, stopped the woman taking it off him the gave it back to Ray
        
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360827691/weird-wonderful-and-downright-nasty-wellingtons-mayoral-race
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:53pm
      - Beach Haven expat
        
        Agree with Ghost. No fan of Little but the video shows it was literally nothing. If anything, Chung’s assistant made the classic faux pas in trying to snatch it back and escalating the situation.
        Chung would have been far better just calmly asking Little to hand the notes back to highlight he shouldn’t have done it.
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:24pm
    - Eastlander
      
      Leftoids genuinely have more sympathy for criminals than victims, especially if the latter are ‘privileged’ in some way. ‘Evil’ is the word for it.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:39am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Andrew Little when he was leader of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) was donkey-deep in dealings with the Pike River Mine owners and managers.
      
      https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2506/S00034/families-continue-fight-to-expose-cover-up-of-pike-river-mine-disaster.htm
      
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      September 19, 2025 10:08am
  - cmm
    
    “Sorry Wellington you will not get the changes Wellington needs if he does win.”
    
    I disagree.
    
    The biggest change that Wellington needs is for its voters to figure out that they are voting for the wrong sort of policies. The politicians are downstream of the voters. The politicians will only change once the voters change.
    
    Since they are not open to reflection, the only way this can happen is through experiencing sufficient pain.
    
    Wellington will only change when the voters change their thinking. A few years of Angy might do the trick.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:42am
    - mandk
      
      Wellington voters have elected four useless Mayors in a row.
      
      I don’t believe they have the nous to avoid electing the fifth.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:58am
    - rouppe
      
      Will they ever? A quick google search shows:
      Victoria university student population: 23,090
      Wellington city population: 210,000
      
      So about 11% of the city voter base are students who largely seem to be socialists.
      Add into that the government sector workers, a large proportion of whom appear to be socialists.
      Those on the Maori roll will vote for the candidates most likely to support their separatist agenda.
      The Green supporters will put Andrew Little towards the top of their ranking, after the Green candidates.
      
      There may well be other factions. Is it any wonder that centrist or conservative leaning candidates generally don’t stand a chance?
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:19am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Hmm. Just about all tertiary students will be old enough to vote, but I suspect many will either flat outside Wellington City (eg Hutt Valley) or will be enrolled back at their parent’s home address up country.
        
        On the other hand, many Wellingtonians are under the age of 18, so cannot vote.
        
        So it’s hard to draw too many conclusions from those numbers.
        
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        September 19, 2025 6:40pm
    - greybeard
      
      What Wellington needs is a decent CEO, Group Managers and Specialists, not elected officials. The CEO & minions control the council.
      
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      September 19, 2025 3:13pm
  - gravedodger
    
    He was Labour leader pdm was that because no one else stood?
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:45am
  - Paulus
    
    Som far he has never won an election, so this will be his first.
    
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    September 19, 2025 2:07pm
- Ian Boag
  
  looks to be a shoe in
  
  You might mean “shoo-in” …. never thought I might have a chance to correct DG English 🙂
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:39am
  - David Garrett
    
    ARRRRGH: Mea Culpa guys…you are quite right. That uptick was mine Ian.
    
    I blame the cold!
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:47am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Mea Culpa
      
      I guess you might not get to use a lot of Latin in the Kingdom 🙂
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:04am
    - Dave
      
      DG, I’m surprised you resisted the urge to comment on Nakibob’s “Just seems to be less posts than was in past.” Are you mellowing with age, or is NZ’s cool weather slowing you down?
      
      But yes, it’s an unusual day on KB when you don’t learn something useful from reader’s comments.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:39am
      - David Garrett
        
        Dave: Well, having just dropped a clanger myself, it didn’t seem right to correct his “less” rather than “fewer”…but now you have forced my hand!
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:01am
  - jonno1
    
    Thanks Ian. I knew about the hyphen but had always thought it was ‘shoe-in’, as in ‘foot in the door’.
    
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    September 19, 2025 3:47pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  “shoo-in” not “shoe in”
  
  Little will not be good but will be an improvement. And if things do not improve, Labour will get blamed for it. That’s the best we can hope for here in Wellington, unfortunately. To serve as an example to others.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:41am
  - My-Gumboot
    
    If Little gets in things won’t improve, Labour won’t get the blame. Little will land on
    The National Gov
    Climate Change
    Trump
    Israel
    Ukraine
    A pandemic
    AI
    Ultra right wing
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:29am
  - Paulus
    
    Rubbish, it will be Luxon’s fault that Little an incompetent Mayor.
    
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    September 19, 2025 2:11pm
- R
  
  Once a trougher, always a trougher! Work is a anti social four letter word to them
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:55am
- AitchW
  
  David, I believe you mean “ a shoo in”.
  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shoo-in
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:01am
- leoj
  
  Wellington is a lost cause because there are too many public servants who typically support the left.
  
  The fact that failed unionist and Labour List MP Angry Andy is leading the polls tells us everything we need to know about Wellington voters.
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:38am
- PurplePen
  
  His high polling could work against him. Some might not bother to vote as he’s polling high, ‘he’s a shoo-in so I won’t bother’. Previous election Eagle polled highest but lost to .. well I won’t repeat her name here. But you know who.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:07am
- Mod88
  
  Watch him grab Ray Chung’s papers from in front of him off the table and refuse to give it back. “Angry” Andy personified and Yes Wgtn will vote him in and then squeal for the next 3 years how hard done by they are. Wgtn You Asked For It.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:19am
  - Ghost
    
    Grabs the papers to make a point that rays speech was written for them, doesn’t let a woman take them off him, the. He gives them back to ray. Really nothing in this, certainly not what people want it to show
    
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360827691/weird-wonderful-and-downright-nasty-wellingtons-mayoral-race
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:14pm
    - Eastlander
      
      No, it’s the behaviour of a thug (as all trade unionists are really), and if anyone had acted like this to Whanau all hell would break loose.
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:46pm
      - Ghost
        
        No, it’s theatre for the cameras.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:19pm
      - Eastlander
        
        Again, it would not be shrugged off if positions were reversed and I’m sure as hell not going to either, especially not when his cultists have been vandalising billboards in the name of Hamas.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:34pm
      - Ghost
        
        You’re trying to make something out of nothing. Seriously there is nothing there. Gawd, people have become so precious
        
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        September 19, 2025 10:38pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yes, more like bad manners rather than anger.
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:50pm
      - Ghost
        
        Just putting on a show for the camera
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:19pm
Cassandra

Maori Language Week: Mmethamphetamine and cannabis are consumed at epidemic levels within Māori communities. Yet these words have no te reo equivalents. We get shiny new translations for “internet” and “email” within minutes, but when it comes to words linked to addiction, abuse, and crime? Silence. Apparently, the architects of modern te reo are only interested in translating the pretty parts of life, not the ones that might, in the words of Matua Kahurangi “tarnish the glossy PR veneer.” And that’s what much of the Maori language is, a veneer – nobody uses it for practical purposes, it’s just the Latin mass, all show and no meaning. NB Jesus spoke Aramaic.
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September 19, 2025 8:10am
- Foxfour
  
  Latin is the language of the Roman Catholic church. The Greek orthodox church uses Greek. The Coptic Churches uses its variant of the Egyptian language known in the west as Coptic.
  Warawara or manakonako are some the words for addiction
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:21am
  - Taieri
    
    Latin is the language of the Roman Catholic church.
    ———–
    
    Not anymore. Most of masses are celebrated in vernacular these days, although priests are permitted to celebrate mass in Latin outside of scheduled times.
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:34am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  “nobody uses it for practical purposes,…”
  
  I don’t want to labour the points that I have made this week. I will just say that the state sector is having a very good crack at requiring government agencies to use the language “for practical purposes”. ie its use is well beyond greetings and short introductions. It is being used in business.
  
  For example, in the state sector, every working group, discussion document, business process, IT system, has a Maori name, usually with no English translation.
  
  I use a Maori English dictionary daily.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:23am
  - Cassandra
    
    Nobody uses it for practical purposes. You use it because you have to go through the motions.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:39am
  - cmm
    
    Those are not practical purposes. Those are ideological barriers thrown up to exclude non-Maori speakers and artificially enhance the “value” of Maori speakers.
    
    A practical purpose enhances operation, it does not thwart operation.
    
    For example, some Russian engineers I dealt with would communicate in Russian and then switch to English completely (or at least drop in English phrases) when communicating about technical matters. Why? Because the majority of the textbooks and tool documentation they were using for their work is written in English. Likewise, they commented all their code in English.
    
    PS: Even if you learn to speak Maori fluently, you still won’t be good enough.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:50am
    - imalwaysright
      
      The real purpose of learning the language and singing the songs is so they can spot the ideological nonconformists.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:03am
  - rouppe
    
    It must be incredibly demoralising.
    
    The only positive aspect I can offer is that if you become fluent (enough) in Te Reo then you remove their power. Which is why they’re using it.
    
    I thought about doing that about 10 years ago but just couldn’t muster the energy.
    
    My thinking was that at some point if some were speaking Te Reo to exclude, all it would take at some point is to interject with a relevant phrase and then all of a sudden they would realise they have to be careful what they say.
    
    Either that or take notes of what they say, and use it later.
    
    It’s a crap reason to learn it but…
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:31am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Record everything….
      
      Tell your masters that it helps you with your listening and learning of Te Reo.
      (If you are not permitted to record, ask why).
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:07am
      - rouppe
        
        Somewhat agree. It’s perfectly legal to record conversations you are a party to.
        
        However if Nikola discovered something particularly objectionable and complained or reported it, it would likely again lead to her being punished, not the other way around.
        
        That’s why something like “he aha koe i penei ai?” can be more powerful once some fluency is achieved.
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:44pm
    - AitchW
      
      I’ve read that when European settlers first arrived Maori had only about 800 words in their vocabulary.
      Given that we have probably learned 100 or so through the prevalence of Manglish how hard can it be to learn? I don’t imagine that the conjugation of verbs is especially complex.
      Perhaps someone with more understanding of the language can enlighten us.
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:00pm
      - Paulus
        
        And we are told that whilst few actual words they were often totally different in dialogue or alternative understanding, but they went on to invent the wheel.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:14pm
  - gravedodger
    
    For reading or writing Nik
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:48am
  - Dougal10
    
    It is a compulsory year 9 subject next year at our state boys school.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:12pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Cannabis/grass – tarutaru
  cannabis/weed – taru rauhea
  
  meth – pī
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:18am
- Handyman
  
  Yes it is conspicuous that the only place tribal affiliations are not routinely added by TVNZ and Stuff is when reporting crime.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:42am
- PurplePen
  
  Something worth considering, Ireland has been at it longer and only about 3 percent speak Gaelic daily.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:20am
  - Sir Henry Morgan
    
    In the Irish situation though everyone is white, so there’s been minimal virtue points to be gained from ostentatious use of Gaelic in the workplace, in government, etc. Also, everyone can just call the dickheads out without fear of being labelled ‘racist’, hence the dickheads tend to keep a lid on their dickishness. So it’s very different to the New Zealand situation.
    
    One interesting phenomenon (maybe a sort of counter-example?) would be those dickhead ‘Gaelic rappers’ called Kneecap. When they first appeared I was kind of interested in the idea, but it quickly became obvious they couldn’t speak Gaelic fluently, much less ‘rap’ in it. But anyway, they’ve got plenty of mileage out of their linguistic schtick. Can maybe see some Maori equivalent also going viral, though in the case of Maori I guess you don’t have that same global diaspora of plastic patriots who can be leveraged to spread the word. On the flipside though, even the whitest of Maori is officially ‘non-white’, which lends credibility in an age of ‘anti-racism’.
    
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    September 19, 2025 3:05pm
AitchW

Te metehi?
Te marawhana?
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September 19, 2025 8:15am
David Garrett

Cass: Maori language is, a veneer – nobody uses it for practical purposes, it’s just the Latin mass, all show and no meaning.

An excellent analogy!

Maori language was effectively “lost” because Maori had no use for it. The best way to maintain a language is to speak it in the home – which is why all my kids’ cousins speak fluent Tongan. My ex didn’t think it was important – despite my urgings that she use it with them – so my kids know very little Tongan – they certainly can’t speak it.
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September 19, 2025 8:15am
- pdm
  
  Except DG Latin still has some standing.
  
  Phrases that I learned from secondary school Commercial Practice still apply as far as I know;
  
  Caveat Emptor
  Carp Diem
  
  Being two two that spring readily to mind (school was over 60 years ago) – I could probably have another half dozen by 2am in the morning.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:24am
  - David Garrett
    
    pdm: I take your point, but I’m not sure carpe diem (seize the day) was ever used in commercial practice!
    
    It is still somewhat relevant in law though…the de minimis rule (the law is not concerned with trifles) res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) and Generalia specialibus non derogant (the specific applies where there is conflict with the general law) are a few examples.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:34am
    - pdm
      
      re carp diem.
      
      I seem to recall a teacher who liked to use it to rally us a long maybe. Anyway it has stuck in my mind.
      
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      September 19, 2025 8:51am
      - David Garrett
        
        pdm: you may be remembering the teacher Robin Williams played in Dead Poets Society. What a talent that boy had.
        
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        September 19, 2025 8:59am
      - AitchW
        
        I’ve never seen the need to “seize the carp”.
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:16am
      - Taieri
        
        carp diem
        ———-
        
        Carpe diem.
        
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        September 19, 2025 11:38am
    - rouppe
      
      De minimus is also used a bit financially. The FIF rules only apply to an investment above the de minimus value of $50,000.
      
      I examine my fund manager for their long term per annum returns. Measured in percent, derived from per centum…
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:40am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Brings back memories. I’m sure my old Contract Law text had beauties such as A priori, Causa proxima et non remota spectatur (for insurance geeks), Supra, Ultra vires, De facto, Prima facie, Inter alia, Ex post facto, Obiter, Pari passu, Bona fide, Non est factum. Jeez, they all just roll off the tongue!!
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:20pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Mens rea always raised a chuckle
        
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        September 19, 2025 6:45pm
- cmm
  
  The Latin Mass analogy is a good one.
  
  Part of the reason for the Latin was to enhance the status of priests. The common man could not speak Latin, but the priests could (well at least the subset used in a mass).
  
  This meant the only path to speak with God is through a priest. This gave the priests immense power and kept the coffers filled.
  
  Huge parallels to be drawn here.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:54am
  - Don Beckett
    
    That’s rubbish. The Latin language has ben used by the Church since the establishment in Rome in the first century. Latin is the language of the Church, & is still used in preparing documents – then translated into other languages throughout the world.
    Latin was commonly used throughout the middle ages & up to the 20th. century. The formal task of a priest is to offer sacrifice, and be a servant & teacher.
    Yes, I know many don’t fit that description – but a much greater number do.
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:05am
    - David Garrett
      
      Don B: Just curious…are you still a member of the Holy Mother Church? I walked away from it 50 years ago when a priest told me my father – who was an Anglican – could not got to heaven unless he became a Catholic…and under further questioning he told the 12 year old me that an African who had never heard of Christianity much less Catholicism couldn’t go either. I said something like “You can’t believe that, surely”, and got three strokes of the cane for my trouble.
      
      Oh, and the Marist Brothers were fiddling with at least one of my school mates at Edmund Campion Gisborne, and another later went to jail for fiddling with boys at his previous school. A truly evil religion IMO.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:47am
      - AitchW
        
        To be fair DG the religion itself isn’t inherently evil, it’s the interpretation by priests seeking some advantage over their congregation which makes it so.
        Having said that the Catholic Church really needs to look at its deeply misogynist rules.
        And stop buggering the choir boys.
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:07pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Aitch: The problem is “buggering the choir boys” still goes on, and I have yet to see any convincing evidence that any Pope within my lifetime was or is serious about rooting it out (pardon the pun…)
        
        And it wouldn’t be that hard if they were serious: routine and mandatory ex-communication for any and all clergy convicted of a sexual offence on a minor, and full co-operation with law enforcement authorities in their investigations.
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:52pm
      - Jack5
        
        Elaborating on Don Beckett’s …The Latin language has ben used by the Church since the establishment in Rome in the first century.
        
        This source says the Bible was translated into “old Latin” from the second century CE (i.e. AD).
        
        St Jerome’s Latin Vulgate was completed in the late fourth century (i.e. just before or around CE/AD 385-400).
        
        The Bible books were originally written respectively in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
        
        https://www.freebiblestudyhub.com/archives/35593
        
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        September 19, 2025 1:24pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        Hi David, yes I am still a staunch practicing Catholic. I am an ordained deacon, but retired.
        It’s unfortunate that the priest spoke as he did – attaining salvation is much more nuanced than that black & white statement by the priest – it developed from an incorrect teaching called Jansenism in the 18th or 19th century, and a knee jerk reaction from the reformation.
        Sexual abuse has been a problem – not only with the Catholic Church, but all denominations, and the Catholic church was not the worst – check the Ray Report from- I think – late 1990’s. However, it has been a serious scandal and done much damage – there are a number of dioceses in the US which have had to declare bankrupt because of payouts to those abused, mounting in the billions. Much of that is now behind us. I’m a little surprised that you haven’t heard a pope or bishop speak out against it – it is often in the news & all the recent popes have spoken out against sexual abuse – not just pederasty but rape as well.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:22pm
      - Ghost
        
        They were serious in covering it up, and still do. The current pope helped cover up the abuse, never investigated two complaints taken directly to him in 2020.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:35pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        More misinformation from Ghost. The current pope has been in the Chair of Peter for 3 months & has not had the chance to comment, but his record as a bishop shows that he has spoken out in the past. The previous pope, Francis, condemned it, despite his heterodox views on some issues. And so with Benedict, John Paul etc.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:51pm
      - Ghost
        
        The newly-elected Pope Leo XIV is facing accusations of ‘looking the other way’ when confronted with child sex abuse allegations against a priests in his Chicago and South American churches, it has emerged.
        
        Robert Prevost, who became the first North American pontiff on Thursday, was accused by a survivors’ group of failing to act upon allegations of abuse in the U.S. and in Peru – concerns they relayed to the cardinals who selected him.
        
        Article
        
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        September 19, 2025 3:07pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Don: It’s all very well “speaking out about it”…but actions speak louder than words.
        
        As I have said – and do you disagree? – there are two things the present incumbent (you would call him the Holy Father) can do tomorrow: Firstly, declare that wherever sexual misconduct is alleged to have occured in the world, the church will co-operate fully with law enforcement; second, that any pederast who is convicted is automatically – and without further enquiry – ex-communicated.
        
        When the present holder of St Peter’s ring does those two things I might revise my opinion. But of course he won’t; as someone else has noted, to do so would probably bankrupt the church, and that’s never going to happen.
        
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        September 19, 2025 5:22pm
  - Wandering Star
    
    Latin, and French later on, were historically the languages of learned discourse in Europe, including theological disputations. For example, the German polymath Liebniz wrote nothing in his native tongue. So too Descarte, Spinoza and the others until as late as around the mid-18th century.
    
    Also, with late Roman Empire Rome being the seat of Catholicism, it’s quite natural that Latin should predominate.
    
    It’s logical that if intellectuals from different European nations wanted to discuss ideas among themselves, they’d use a common language to do so.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:14pm
- Simon Arnold
  
  I did three years of Latin and it helped. English isn’t called a Romance language for nothing.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:16am
  - NoFax
    
    English isn’t called a romance language at all. It is a Germanic language, although with lots of French words.
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:15am
    - Simon Arnold
      
      Well that was three years wasted then.
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:40pm
    - Jack5
      
      NoFax is right. English is a West Germanic language, like its cousins, German and Dutch.
      
      The current view is that English’s closest relative is the Dutch-Danish-German regional language of Frisian.
      
      English vocabulary has been greatly expanded with thousands and thousands of French, Latin, Greek and other words, but the core hundred English words needed in basic life is still Germanic.
      
      Scots English (now regarded by some academics as a language rather than a dialect), like Northern England dialects, seems to have been less diluted by the Norman conquerors. Hence you find Scots words like “kirk” for church.
      
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      September 19, 2025 2:23pm
- Nukuleka
  
  I’m sure you will concur DG that in Tonga educated Tongans who wish to communicate complex issues with subtlety will use English not Tongan. Why? Because the Tongan language is simply inadequate to express a variety of connotations and depth. It’s the same, I am sure, with the Maori language. Fine for superficial communication but wholly inadequate as a 21st language requiring breadth of vocabulary and depth of connotation.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:41am
  - David Garrett
    
    Nuku: You are of course quite right. I actually find it somewhat amusing listening to my secretary speaking Tongan on the phone – her speech is sprinkled with English words, sometimes “Tonganised”, often not.
    
    The language of the Supreme (High) Court is English, and I doubt that will ever change – even as more Tongan judges are appointed to the bench.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:50am
    - Gravelroad
      
      Some years ago someone I know attended an international conference in Tonga.
      One day the delegates were told to expect an official visit from a member of the Tongan Royal family – a Princess in fact. Not everyone got such favour apparently.
      This older lady arrived with a large entourage of helpers and and agreed to say a few words in a very stilted, “second language” English.
      Later it was it was claimed by someone who knew the Princess that she had lived in Auckland for 30 years and in fact had a degree in English and/or literature from Auckland University.
      Not sure if entirely true story, or not.
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:45pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Gravel: IF that woman was “princess” at all – half the women in Tonga claim to be related to the Royals – she can’t have been high in the heirarchy.
        
        The “senior” royals – think the Tongan equivalent of the English “working royals” – are all very well educated, and speak English as well or better than most native English speakers.
        
        The present King has a Masters in politics from Sydney university, and the last one was a graduate of Sandhurst. He spoke better English – old fashioned RP – than Prince William does!
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:58pm
- leoj
  
  I don’t want to be alive when te reo becomes compulsory.
  
  My fear is that there is only one party prepared to stand up to the maori takeover.
  
  Luxon has failed the country with his stance.
  
  One can only hope that he is made aware of that this time next year. He will bring down the Nats but they deserve it. They have allowed it to happen.
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:45am
- Paulus
  
  Tonga’s are I would understand a pure Polynesian race alone, whereas Maori are neither, but a jumble of whatever they want to be but in no way any more one race.
  
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  September 19, 2025 2:17pm
Nikola Donatello

Sadly, Roger Douglas is correct.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/573459/former-finance-minister-sir-roger-douglas-calls-for-finance-minister-nicola-willis-to-resign

The government is ignoring the economic and fiscal crises. Just head in the sand stuff.

Maybe we can persuade Taylor Swift to come here.

Let’s celebrate Maori language week.

Let’s subsidise some airlines.

The Paris Accord obligations will wreck the nation. That’s OK. We will just stop talking about it. 😒

Yes the government has done some good things. Transport is good. The upcoming RMA changes are good. Those new Acts will be passed before the election. Erica Stanford is the best Education Minister in decades. However that is against the last ten or so education ministers who have been awful, including all the National ones.

So, yes some good things. But two years in, they are profoundly disappointing.

BTW another terrible GDP result in the September quarter would mean real problems for the Finance. Minister. Mark 19 December in your calendar.
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September 19, 2025 8:17am
- Foxfour
  
  Paris Accord and the ‘30% less by 2030’ was John Keys slogan on the Paris conference stage
  Would the leopard’s cub change its spots ?
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:25am
- Philview
  
  Nicola was effective in Opposition but I am not convinced about her recently. It might be framing by the media that is colouring my perception but she seems to be on the backfoot a lot. It was typical last night to blame Trump but please show a bit of strategic thinking.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:33am
  - pdm
    
    Has anyone thought she (Willis) may be being dragged down by Luxon who seems to have a one track (inflexible) mind as far as solutions are concerned.
    
    I don’t know re that but, am floating the proposition that Willis may be a bit better than she is allowed to show.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:54am
    - cmm
      
      I think you are white-knighting to some extent, but I think there is some merit to what you say.
      
      Luxon does seem to jump in front of the camera whenever possible and does not seem to give others room to develop (a bit like Aunty Helen).
      
      I think they are equally problematic. Worse yet is that Willis seems to be the solid number 2 position so if Luxon gets rolled then Willis is the next one up.
      
      Both are immensely green of leaning and are open about it.
      
      The puddle is pretty shallow though. Are there any strong contenders for PM? Maybe Bishop?
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:04am
      - septic skeptic
        
        I think Simeon Brown is the best hope in National at present
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:24am
      - My-Gumboot
        
        I actually had a dream last night where Bill English was back in Parliament on the list because of some vacancy (didn’t get the detail on that). He was immediately bumped to PM and led a landslide victory.
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:39am
      - gravedodger
        
        I do not think the right of center politician to counter the divisive racist meme at present involving Politics and Bureaucracy is born yet?
        Until New Zealand truly embraces one people all equal the chaos will continue
        
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        September 19, 2025 9:55am
      - R
        
        A very very pale shade of green, environmentally realistic, as is the National Party in general.
        The ‘puddle’ of talent is very deep. Try stepping outside the media for factual information.
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:16pm
    - RoboRob
      
      In my view, they are a team. The economy is not ALL Willis’s fault. Luxon as leader is at least equally to blame.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:19am
    - R
      
      Willis and Luxon are very much on the same track.
      The coalition problems are the ‘two wanabe PM egos’ in the coalition, and the Marxist media
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:13pm
  - cmm
    
    Being effective in opposition is completely different to being in the hot seat.
    
    Perhaps the best example of this is Melissa Lee. She was excellent as a probing opposition member but really failed to shine in a ministerial portfolio.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:58am
    - David Garrett
      
      cmm: Yes…until recently this was Peters as well: a very skilfull opposition politician, but crap in government. He appears to be doing OK as Minister of Foreign Affairs…but then in that role he gets to travel business class a lot, and have lots of deferential fanboys wherever he goes.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:23am
      - R
        
        Travel Business class, GOOD for his image and ego. The elephant in the room is Winston
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:18pm
    - Colville
      
      cmm.
      ….and then there his Hipkins who was totally useless in the big seat and is a total waste of space in opposition.. really poo fingers.
      
      he cant have long until he gets knifed?
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:27am
      - Eastlander
        
        He’s got narrowly positive favourability ratings and he’s standing in a talent pool which scarcely reaches up to his ankles. They’d be mad to drop him now.
        
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        September 19, 2025 8:09pm
- Southern Raider
  
  My issue with Willis is she seems to be in preacher mode all the time about how she can lead us all to redemption, but I don’t see any delivery or proof points. I’m not a pray and hope kind of guy.
  
  This morning was a classic listening to one of her interviews blaming the drop in GDP and the slaughter in manufacturing being due to the Oil and Gas ban and how she and the Govt are working hard to ensure cost competitive energy supply in the future sometime.
  
  Yes anyone half intelligent knows the oil and gas ban along with climate goals as killed consumers and businesses with sky rocketing energy prices. This has been predicted for years and chicken is just coming home to roost now.
  
  My issue is that Willis etc have been in power for two years and apart from numerous studies and many stern conversations with CEO’s the situation has got way worse and nothing has changed.
  
  How is this Govt in capable of making decisions and getting things done. There is a massive empty port at Marsden, massive empty land and industrial site and a massive pipe network back to Auckland. Taranaki probably has the same.
  
  Why couldn’t they kick off and back LNG imports on mass scale from Australia why they explore these longer term domestic solutions? Because it’s easier to do nothing and blame everyone else.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:32am
  - R
    
    Raider, get a life; and broaden your reading.
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:21pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    I agree Willis’s manner is a turn-off. She’s if anything even less likeable than Luxon. And I have no idea how she got to be finance minister.
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:28pm
    - lifesgood
      
      John Key on ZB this morning couldn’t praise her more highly. He has worked with her and said he has every confidence in her.
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:54pm
      - Quail
        
        Key’s opinion does not inspire any confidence. His background allegedly is in currency speculation.
        Don’t forget it was Bill English who was the very good Finance Minister during that National era. Perhaps someone should ask him?
        
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        September 19, 2025 7:35pm
      - Pope Punctilious II
        
        But I have zero confidence in John Key.
        
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        September 19, 2025 8:16pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Like Ardern, Willis seems to be the sales rep rather than the product designer.
      
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      September 19, 2025 2:06pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Of course Gummint slashing spending would further cut GDP.
  
  Governmnet spending more increases GDP.
  
  I love the way Media blame the Minister of Finance, like she woke up one morning and decided to do stuff out of the blue.
  
  She is just the mouth piece for loads of advise from Treasury, Ministry of Finance, Bank Economists etc etce. ANd her decisions are approved by cabinet.
  
  GDP is a metric of change. Doesn’t not mean growth.
  
  New Zealand GDP per capita for 2021 was $49,624, a 18.76% increase from 2020.
  
  Yep, that Government spend up!!! No growth.
  Perspective is such a wonderful thing.
  
  https://www.macrotrends.net/datasets/global-metrics/countries/nzl/new-zealand/gdp-per-capita
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:40am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Cutting taxes along with government expenditure will see more money retained by taxpayers. Could be that they’ll spend it, thereby seeing GDP maintained.
    
    And of course, I’d rather spend my money myself, or save it, than hand it to some public service apparatchik to spend on God only knows what.
    
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    September 19, 2025 6:57pm
imalwaysright

It looks like the great ship that was once our economy has turned into a life boat occupied by public servants, MPs, and maori activists, while we tread water.
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September 19, 2025 8:22am
- Cassandra
  
  Very apt description. Agribusiness doing okay to well but everything else dismal. Nothing to do with Trump. The bloated public sector, welfare and the koha industry – the Mafia 20% – are ruining New Zealand. Luxon needs strategy not slogans. And reducing the bloat would be a good first step.
  
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  September 19, 2025 8:48am
  - AitchW
    
    It’s a constant mystery to me why the public service hasn’t been at least decimated. Are the Sir Humphreys doing what they do best and blocking every meaningful objective?
    Between the hostile, truculent, and obstructive public service and the left leaning media, both of whom undermine every objective it is a truly Herculean task to reduce the bloat.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:25am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      AFAIK public service numbers are now close to what they were at the start of the government’s term. The Wellington based public service should have been cut by 40 percent. That is totally realistic.
      
      Disclosure.. I am a Wellington based public servant.
      
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      September 19, 2025 10:32am
      - R
        
        The bloating took place over six years of Labour lead mismanagement
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:26pm
    - R
      
      As the mainland cheese commercial says, GOOD things take TIME. the present mess was made over a six year period; ir will take more than 21 months of competent management to rectify
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:25pm
  - Southern Raider
    
    Are farmers and growers actually spending up though or just paying down debt?
    
    The later is very logical for them but doesn’t kick the economy in the arse
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:36am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      Also it’s going to harder and harder for farming to save the economy when sheep and cattle numbers are being sacrificed for pine trees to make the weather better.
      
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      September 19, 2025 9:46am
    - Gravelroad
      
      We are farmers – small family owners.
      Expenditure is on essentials only at the moment because every week the stuff we need to buy to keep things going for the stock and land goes up in price.
      Every week.
      Inflation.
      Might be ok for the increasing number of big business corporations to manage, but it is crushing the life out of our production.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:14am
    - AitchW
      
      I imagine the 20% instant tax write off for capital purchases will encourage them to spend a bit as well as paying off debt.
      Although the prospect of a Labour/Green/Maori government next year will definitely encourage them to pay off debt…
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:12pm
      - Paulus
        
        The prospect you refer to will not happen (a bit like the EC – 29 Countries, languages and places).
        There will be no Government after the elction as a Coalition of the crazy blob mob can never agree and will not get the numbers.
        Election again will follow some 3 months after this balls up again, with further balls ups, as New Zealand goes further Marxist Left.
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:26pm
    - R
      
      The economy was ‘kicked in the arse’ by Adern, Hipkins, and Robertson. The country is now in recovery mode. Will a painful process.
      Think deeply about your choices in upcoming Local body election. Good training for the nation’s general election next year
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:49pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Banks and commercial fisheries are also being looked after ahead of the dirty voting public, don’t leave them off your list.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:44am
  - Quail
    
    Just heard HDPA on her program blaming totally the Reserve Bank for today’s economic mess.
    Great example of why these people need to do a course in economics before trying politics by radio.
    The adage a poor workman blames his tools is very appropriate in the case of this government.
    The coalition have and are continuing to spend money they don’t have and there is nothing the RB could do to change that.
    All the RB can do is follow their brief ( remit)from the Government to keep inflation in their specified band.
    That means managing the currency with the OCR
    Put the responsibility where it actually lies Heather!
    
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    September 19, 2025 5:20pm
Tom Hunter

The American Left are now threatening to boycott Disney because of Kimmel’s firing.

Most US Righties are hearing this and playing the great song from Panic! At The Disco.

“Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time”
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September 19, 2025 8:46am
- pb
  
  Disney must be rattled. In the same week we’ve seen Antifa designated officially terrorist. Now we wait for the thunder. Will anything come of it? Antifa and its associates, funders and sympathizers are internationally legion.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:09am
- john1234
  
  That’s a banger!
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:01am
- NothingLeft
  
  I’d bet Kimmel was fired because his rating suck – just 40% of 10 years ago even though hes paid $10’s of millions a year. Spreading misinfo on Kirk Assassin was just corporate cover when really it’s because Disney is in financial shit, movies and streaming losing billions, only theme parks are profitable.
  
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  September 19, 2025 12:12pm
- virtualmark
  
  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
  
  Kimmel was papped today walking into his lawyer’s office. No surprise to go see your lawyer after a day like yesterday.
  
  Where that gets interesting is that just last year SCOTUS ruled 9-0 in a case between the NRA and NY State about basically exactly the same behaviours as the FCC vs ABC/Nexstar yesterday (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association_of_America_v._Vullo and https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-842new_e29f.pdf)
  
  Here’s the opening sentences of the SCOTUS decision:
  “Six decades ago, this Court held that a government entity’s “threat of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercion” against a third party “to achieve the suppression” of disfavored speech violates the First Amendment. Today, the Court reaffirms what it said then: Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors.”
  
  Then there’s this historical tweet from Brendan Carr: https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1521117482303602689
  
  Awkward. I suspect Carr may find himself caught up in some form of legal action over this.
  
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  September 19, 2025 1:54pm
  - pb
    
    But if you don’t like corporate censorship, you should just make your own country, legal structure and mythological literature.
    
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    September 19, 2025 2:45pm
  - Conservatarian
    
    It will be interesting to see how hard the Trump admin / MAGA haters jump on the angle that Jimmy Kimmel is the biggest victim of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
    
    I’d say very hard.
    
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    September 19, 2025 3:03pm
sirknz

I did not have the Macrons starting an Only Fans page on my 2025 bingo card:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/macrons-to-offer-photographic-evidence-to-prove-brigitte-is-a-woman/KXG3424MXVC7JHQC6BUZXUCTSE/

For those of you who don’t know what Only Fans is, think of it is a diy porn platform where mostly women sell their bodies online via a subscription service to men who have nothing much going for them for $10 a month.
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September 19, 2025 8:53am
Flossie

I watched part of the broadcast of parliament yesterday. Some of the speakers used Maori, and people appeared to have earpieces through which they heard the English translations. As a viewer I had no idea what the question to the Minister was, and therefore no appreciation of what the questioner’s point was. A wasted opportunity to convert me to their way of thinking perhaps.
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September 19, 2025 9:17am
- David Garrett
  
  Flossie: They are not remotely interested in converting you to their way of thinking …it’s all for show.
  
  One good thing about parliament this week: that freak of nature Doyle has gone… the next one was apparently 19th on their list…that would not indicate a stellar performer.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:33am
  - Ghost
    
    greens believe that everyone is a winner, there are no losers. They’re just letting everyone have a go at being an MP. The just real question is, who will be the next to resign and why……
    
    Flossie, instructions for how to get the translation for Māori language are on the government website, but do you really want to know what they are asking?
    
    https://www.parliament.nz/mi/footer/website-help/the-parliament-tv-and-radio-page-explained/#Interpretation
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:38am
  - Flossie
    
    The Greens sitting there draped in those shawls… Maybe they should reflect on how Hamas treat homosexual people, which many of that group are.
    They seem rather fixed on Palestine but quite honestly I am not sure on their positions on much else.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:50am
    - Conservatarian
      
      Spare a thought for New Zealand’s disabled, non-binary, pro-noncing community – they have just lost their representative in Parliament. Though Doyle is currently still listed as a sitting MP:
      
      https://www.greens.org.nz/our_people
      
      The party of batshit crazy communists (many of whom are imported into this country) are now engaged in internecine warfare as to which fringe constituency group within their party will claim the next list seat.
      
      The tension is palpable…will the faction be selected based on immutable genetic characteristics, or degenerate sexual behaviour, or identifying with a tea towel clad foreign victim group, or all of the above? Of course, the faction will also cloak itself in “net zero” and “sustainability” and the normies and Simon Watts will nod along.
      
      And this party is only the second worst in Parliament.
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:23pm
    - Paulus
      
      Do they even know where Palestine is ?
      
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      September 19, 2025 2:28pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “…that freak of nature Doyle…”
    
    Don’t blame nature DG, Doyle is all his own work.
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:52am
    - PurplePen
      
      Excellent point.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:29am
RoboRob

Heard a clip of Willis on Hosking this morning. She (rightly) points to the oil and gas ban / energy crisis as an anchor on the economy.

However, National cant blame labour for all their woes. It is TWO YEARS into this government adn we are still waiting on Minister Watts & Luxon to release their PLAN on what to do about it. Thats two years wasted.

Watts claims he promised to release the plan in the third quarter of this year. That ends this month. Why are we leaving it to the last minute? Or is this going to be delayed again? Originally it was promised before Winter 2025!

The previous government was probably the worst ever. However this government cant continue sitting on their hands procrastinating.
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September 19, 2025 9:25am
- David Garrett
  
  Robo: As I – and others – have said here many times, the oil and gas exploration ban has killed the New Zealand industry, and it will remain dead as the moa.
  
  No foreign explorer will ever come back, knowing that the money they spend will all be wasted when Labour/Greens gets back in and reinstates the ban.
  
  The only alternative would be a “Petrocorp 2.0”, but that would be a massive waste of taxpayers’ money – Labour would liquidate it when they got back, meaning a fire sale of whatever assets the company had over and above exploration leases.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:37am
  - Southern Raider
    
    Agree so build a massive import terminal and do a deal with Australia.
    
    Plus in the meantime railroad through approvals for mining and alternative energy generation including more dams
    
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    September 19, 2025 9:45am
    - RoboRob
      
      Perhaps that is the solution. The issue I raise, is why we are waiting two years to decide what to do? Thats two years we could have been building the port!
      
      For example the Northern Woodend by pass in Christchurch was accepted almost immediately when National came in (good on them). They have recently announced the building company who will start construction next year. Thats ~2+ years from decision to start of construction. We have yet to make the decision with regards to Oil & Gas. Let alone electricity.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:55am
    - nz_aj
      
      It would be cheaper to gassify our coal, or extract our coal seam gas, than import LNG.
      Methanex cannot economically operate on imported LNG.
      Sooner we restart lignite mining the better, we’ve been left with little choice.
      
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      September 19, 2025 12:31pm
      - Southern Raider
        
        Agree as I was just proposing an urgent quick win as the longer term solutions could take 5 years plus to build and commission and our economy can’t wait that long.
        
        Southland could be a perfect location as heaps of high quality lignite and the local population is more willing to support investment and job opportunities
        
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        September 19, 2025 3:32pm
    - Taieri
      
      build a massive import terminal and do a deal with Australia
      —————-
      
      Terminal doesn’t need to be “massive”. All that is needed is a floating storage regasification unit connected to the existing (?) distribution system and a suitable mooring site.
      
      Something like this:
      
      https://www.exxonmobillng.com/-/media/project/wep/exxonmobil-lng/lng-us/pdf/110-fsru.pdf
      
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      September 19, 2025 1:30pm
  - Foxfour
    
    Labour /Greens only blocked new exploration licenses offshore.
    They didn’t can cancel existing ones. Indeed the explorers shut up shop and handed back their licenses ( use it lose it) around 2015 when global oil prices plunged.
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:19am
    - Jack5
      
      The Ardern Government in 2018 banned offshore exploration with the exception of Taranaki, where there was existing production.
      
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      September 19, 2025 7:02pm
  - Dougal10
    
    China will come for the oil and gas one day it will depend on who is in charge at the time how they will achieve it.
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:16pm
- Southern Raider
  
  Completely agree and replied to another post above on exactly same topic and points.
  
  The Govt gets accused of trying to run the country as a business but in fact just act like ineffectual public servants who can’t make a decision. I’m starting to partly admire Jacinda, I fiercely disagreed with everything she did but at least she made her captains calls. Luxon, Willis etc are trapped in a quagmire of trying not to offend anyone and so do nothing.
  
  No business would have faced an energy crisis and not attempted to quickly make some immediate changes while coming up with a longer term solution and they don’t even have the power and mandate of a Govt
  
  Just so disappointing.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:43am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Luxon never told us a vision of what he wanted for NZ and a plan to get there. Nothing wrong with that, Lange/Douglas never told anyone about Rogernomics before they got elected. But Douglas declared a crisis immediately and hit the ground running. By the time Lange pulled him up with the “cuppa tea” speech Douglas had made transformational changes. Ardern did the same. Massively expanded the lefty PR type roles in government service, bought off the media and set about he puapua.
    What has Luxon done? RMA reform and scuttled the treaty principles bill. Oh and also achieved the gold standard for any National leader – won an election and kept Labour out.
    
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    September 19, 2025 7:18pm
- imalwaysright
  
  “That’s two years wasted.”
  
  Everyone has known about the ban since 2018, so that’s seven years. The five years in Opposition were plenty of time to engage informally with the oil and gas industry and find out what, if anything, they could do when elected.
  
  All Opposition parties should prepare to hit the ground running if elected. Lets not forget that we pay them a lot of money while they aren’t in Government.
  
  Instead, they get elected, complain about the state the former Government left the country in, and then piss off until the following March.
  
  No wonder we are going backwards.
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:12am
  - Ghost
    
    Doesn’t matter when they started, oil and gas is dead in NZ. There is nothing that this government can do to bring that back to life. It’s gone, and never coming back.
    
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    September 19, 2025 10:13am
    - Taieri
      
      There is nothing that this government can do to bring that back to life.
      ————–
      
      Disagree…
      There’re plenty of “greenfield” developments around the world. Including in the small countries like Guyana and Mozambique. Even Australia is still full on. The problem with NZ is disconnection from the reality, unfortunately shared by just about all political parties. May be they will wake up when the shit hits the fan…
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:50am
    - RoboRob
      
      Please note my original post was about Energy. I include our electricity crisis in that! There is plenty that can be done re electricity but we are sitting on our hands waiting.
      
      If I didn’t know better I would think its all too hard for National and they are hoping for brown outs in an election year so they have an excuse to lose.
      
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      September 19, 2025 11:59am
      - Ghost
        
        And note we are commenting on what imalwaysright has said
        
        Currently 289 generation projects being put forward, as they say not all will go ahead, but it’s certainly not sitting on their hands
        
        https://www.ea.govt.nz/news/eye-on-electricity/generation-investment-pipeline-updates-and-current-insights/
        
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        September 19, 2025 12:38pm
      - RoboRob
        
        @Ghost
        
        There is a big difference between a pipeline of plans waiting for consent vs the major structural issues we have with our energy system. That is what minister Watts review is of, how do we change our system to ensure supply at a reasonable price. Clearly the current system has failed in those regards.
        
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        September 19, 2025 1:20pm
      - Ghost
        
        Well, unlike you I’m not too worried. It’s been 2 decades of being told that there could be power shortages in the next summer, the next winter….
        
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        September 19, 2025 2:25pm
      - Southern Raider
        
        Ghost that is exactly the problem we are raising about Luxon, Willis etc. 289 proposals is great but until someone digs a hole and pours some concrete it’s just PR and marketing.
        
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        September 19, 2025 3:34pm
      - Ghost
        
        Projects take time to come through
        
        Here are a couple at their current stages
        
        Genesis Energy is actively developing several solar farms:
        Edgecumbe Solar Farm (127 MWp): Engineering and procurement underway; construction expected to begin after final investment decision in late 2025.
        Leeston Solar Farm (67 MWp): Conditional purchase agreement signed; construction expected to start in 2027.
        Foxton Solar Farm (220 MWp): Awaiting Fast Track approval; construction forecast to begin in 2027.
        Grid-scale battery at Huntly Power Station (100 MW / 200 MWh): Construction of the first stage is already underway
        
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        September 19, 2025 4:03pm
  - Foxfour
    
    Oil and Gas exploration ended in 2015 when the oil explorers went home and gave up their existing paid for exploration rights- the reason was the global plunge in oil prices
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:16am
  - David Garrett
    
    Imalways: The five years in Opposition were plenty of time to engage informally with the oil and gas industry and find out what, if anything, they could do when elected.
    
    I’m sure they did consult – and they would have been told what many of us have been saying on here since the infantile “captain’s call”. There is nothing this or any other government can do to revive the industry.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:04pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      DG
      
      Yes, more than likely that is the case.
      
      But my points about the Opposition preparing for governing still apply. They could have policies in many areas ready to go on day one.
      
      Remember Trump earlier this year enacting policies at his inauguration, that showed that he and his team had already done the heavy lifting.
      
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      September 19, 2025 2:25pm
- Mod88
  
  The quite simply got their first 100 Days stuff backwards. Now the Lab/Green/Te Pati mongrel will get to run with them. Another failed National election strategy coming up. Let us finish the job, Bwaahaahaa…
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:33am
- PurplePen
  
  Apart from RMA and building consenting, they’ve left it too late for any significant change elsewhere such. What they need to do is get all their big changes lined up ready to implement immediately post the next election. That way they’ll have plenty of time for any resulting pain from the changes to subside and positive results to emerge well before the next election. I just don’t get why successive governments don’t do this. It seems that whenever they’re in opposition they just go to sleep until the next election. And then take way too long to ramp up and implement any significant change following an election. For this reason alone I can’t trust them to use an extra 12 months in a 4 year term. If they can’t manage themselves well in a 3 year term, they can’t be trusted to a 4 year perm.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:35am
- virtualmark
  
  All Governments in all Western countries are facing the same key economic/financial challenges.
  
  The Baby Boomer generation are retiring (the youngest Boomers are about 60 now). So that’s driving the pension outlays ever upwards.
  
  And the Baby Boomers are at the age where you incur your highest medical costs. So that’s driving the health budget ever upwards.
  
  Meanwhile the generations following on behind are smaller and so the ratio of beneficiaries to workers is going to shit. There’s just not enough tax income to offset the rising pension and healthcare costs.
  
  And it’s going to get worse. The next 25 years aren’t going to be pretty for any Western government.
  
  Demographics underpins everything.
  
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  September 19, 2025 2:07pm
  - Quail
    
    VM..
    Big picture but you are right.
    Don’t think immigrants are the “best “ answer but pretty impossible to change the script!
    
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    September 19, 2025 8:11pm
Pope Punctilious II

Latest Talbot poll brings more bad news for Luxon and the government. And for NZ, I might add:
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360828447/weaker-expected-economy-political-polls-turn-pm
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September 19, 2025 9:46am
- Ghost
  
  Talbot ask very leading questions. They also fluff up the answer options for questions relating to Hipkins, then give only negative answers for Luxon.
  
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  September 19, 2025 9:49am
  - Foxfour
    
    Similar poll results to other reported ones, including Curia.
    Perhaps selecting the polls you approve of has become impossible
    
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    September 19, 2025 11:11am
  - R
    
    For Talbot, read LABOUR ideology INFLUENCING POLL
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:05pm
I remember when

Health Briefs: Watch for falls: NZ Listener.

“Tailored exercise programmes, vitamin D supplements and better nutrition are leading ways to help prevent falls in age-care homes, a Flinders University. Adelaide, study found.
The major review of 104 clinical trials involving nearly 69,000 older people in rest homes in 25 countries found one of the most effective strategies to reduce falls was regular, supervised exercise, which reduced falls even in residents with dementia.
Calcium rich foods such as dairy to strengthen bones also helps.”
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September 19, 2025 9:49am
- NothingLeft
  
  Definitely vit-D. We are not evolved to sit covered in clothing all day indoors – which is what majority of population in all walks of life and ages now does.
  
  And evolution was mostly done with us after we had kids, so our vit D production gets worse with age.
  
  Supplementing is ridiculously cheap (ideally with K2 to reduce arterial plaquing and instead direct calcium to bones) and has high correlation with improved health in lots of areas – disease resistance in particular.
  
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  September 19, 2025 12:17pm
Swifty

Swarbrick flies to London at the peak of a climate ‘crisis’?

https://x.com/suitandtie9999/status/1968779320006221864?s=46

And watch her piss on the economic system which has been the greatest force for good in human history. And which enables her to take trips to London for social media content.
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September 19, 2025 9:53am
Ghost

I would like to know what she wrote,

Police have become embroiled in a free speech row after officers told a cancer patient to apologise for a social media post.

Deborah Anderson, an American citizen living in Slough, was confronted by an officer from Thames Valley Police after someone complained about an offensive Facebook post.

Article

I wonder how many extra police NZ would need under Ardern to visit the homes of everyone that wrote hurty posts about Ardern,
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September 19, 2025 9:55am
- nigel2010
  
  it gets worse as a US citizen if she flies home she will be on a list and will probably be barred from returning to the UK, she will however be able to catch an inflatable boat from France and never have to work again
  
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  September 19, 2025 10:19am
  - Bullion
    
    To do that she would need to apply for asylum – and never get her asylum case processed ever, and live off of 49 pounds per week while being barred from being able to work.
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:01pm
Keith White

“You may not be interested in the jab, but the jab is interested in modifying you…”

Study: “COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination: Implications for the Central Nervous System.”

Authors: Kirstin Cosgrove, BM, CCRA; James A.
Thorp, MD; Claire Rogers, MSPAS, PA-C; Steven Hatfill, MD; Nicolas Hulscher, MPH; and Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH.

Summary: “Using VAERS data from January 1990 through November 2024, we compared adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination to those after influenza vaccination and all other vaccines combined. We focused specifically on the central nervous system (CNS) — the brain and spinal cord, which control everything from memory and thought to movement and vital body functions. In total, we identified 63 serious safety signals involving the brain and nervous system, ranging from meningitis and encephalitis to brain abscesses, herpesvirus reactivations, demyelinating syndromes, and even prion diseases.”
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September 19, 2025 9:55am
- Foxfour
  
  What was normal incidence of these events.
  What are even ‘safety signals’? in medical terminology
  
  1 3
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  September 19, 2025 11:07am
  - Keith White
    
    A vaccine ‘safety signal’ is a statistical correlation (of bad medical events) in time with a vaccine – that is supposed to trigger rapid investigation of whether the vaccine is the cause, or there is correlation without the vaccine causing it i.e. whether there is another contemporaneous event causing the bad medical events.
    
    (Some*) Specific correlations with the JODAD from this study:
    
    *not all
    
    Meningitis (all types) — OR 34.2 (23.7–50.0), p<0.0001 → 34× more likely than after flu vaccination
    
    Aseptic meningitis — OR 52.8 (33.5–83.1), p<0.0001 → 53× more likely
    
    Bacterial meningitis — OR 35.7 (16.7–76.0), p<0.0001 → 36× more likely
    
    Autoimmune encephalitis — OR 78.9 (45.4–137), p<0.0001 → 79× more likely
    
    Limbic encephalitis — OR 146 (43.7–485), p<0.0001 → 146× more likely
    
    Toxic encephalopathy — OR 157 (69.1–355), p<0.0001 → 157× more likely
    
    Progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML) — OR 44.6 (9.48–210), p<0.0001 → 45× more likely
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:37pm
  - JackRabbit
    
    Paste “What are even ‘safety signals’? in medical terminology.” into Google.
    
    Spend 100 hours searching and reading and you will know the answer.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:10pm
- imalwaysright
  
  One or two minor side effects being discovered after a mass rollout would be understandable and even forgiveable if it did its job.
  
  But 63 side effects from a drug that effectively does nothing that it was supposed to, makes it seem like it is more a chemical weapon than a flu jab.
  
  The US military continually monitor health statistics in order to detect possible biological warfare as soon as possible, I wonder what they make of this.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:08am
  - Keith White
    
    The US are rehiring the personnel they fired for not taking the jab…
    
    “Under an Executive Order signed by President Trump on January 27th, 2025, if you were involuntarily separated from Military Service due to COVID-19 vaccination requirements, you may be eligible for reinstatement to your former rank and eligible for back pay, bonuses, or other compensation that accrued…”
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:39pm
  - JackRabbit
    
    As do insurance companies. And the rate of rise of turbo cancers is of major concern.
    
    As is motor vehicle accident caused by people dying or having medical incidents at the wheel.
    
    Cars out of control and driving head on into trucks, who have dash-cams, show drivers slumped over the wheel.
    
    So driver, non drunk, but unconscious or dead before accident. Becoming a very regular occurrence.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:15pm
- Bullion
  
  This is good starting point to doing research in if there is an actual connection – VAERS being available for anyone to submit, and given the politicisation of and often misinformation and scaremongering of the covid vaccine, VAERS data at this time might have been a bit more reactive than during earlier periods. Under reporting previously or over reporting during covid. So, this is a signal that there may be a connection which needs scrutiny.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:58am
  - Keith White
    
    As just one example – bacterial meningitis is reportable by public health regulations regardless of VAERS. So yes, while VAERS data would very likely have been more reactive for this ‘vaccine’ – records of diagnoses made on actual sick people such as patients with meningitis are not increased by VAERS data collection.
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:46pm
I remember when

No deaths, $173m Saved: The benefits of Transmission Gully and Kapiti expressways: The Post.
“The economists at Infometrics determined the three expressways – Transmission Gully, Mackays to Peka Peka, and Peka Peka to Otaki – saved travellers 3.8 million hours of driving time in 2024, put 74,000 more of the population within 60 minutes ‘ drive of the Porirua city centre, and closed a gap in house prices between Wellington city and the rest of the region by $63,000.”

Time to buy in Levin and Foxton?
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September 19, 2025 10:14am
- NothingLeft
  
  Wellington is going to empty out as AI automates more and more govt admin work. People migrate to nicer weather on average given a choice, and Wellington weather sucks.
  
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  September 19, 2025 12:19pm
Swifty

Oh dear!

The Jezbollah Islamic Party turns out to be a sexist boys club?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkn3v1e7g3o.amp

I’m shocked! 😂😂😂
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September 19, 2025 10:20am
Swifty

The UK has become a sick joke – it’s civic institutions have broken down:

https://x.com/romanhelmetguy/status/1968670565297717673?s=46
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September 19, 2025 10:29am
- Foxfour
  
  Says a Roman helmet guy ….really
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:05am
  - Swifty
    
    From a ‘Foxfour’ guy?
    
    You do know how anonymous posting works right?
    
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    September 19, 2025 12:24pm
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Correction: they have BEEN broken down. By misguided British politicians, and the European Human Rights Commission.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:09am
  - Swifty
    
    Yes, true.
    
    I could have been more specific in my wording.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:20pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    They may be misguided, but it is also possible that they are intentionally weakening Britain.
    Maybe its retribution for Brexit or it is to facilitate the Muslim influx. Who knows.
    
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    September 19, 2025 1:33pm
I remember when

The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Scheme – Forestry Conversion) Amendment Bill has passed its third reading, introducing policy changes to limit how much farmland is converted to exotic forest and registered in the ETS.
The next step is for the bill to receive Royal Assent.
The proposed commencement date for these changes is 31 October 2025.
Ministry for the Environment.
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September 19, 2025 10:37am
- imalwaysright
  
  They should make the limit zero.
  
  Failing that, they should mandate that trees planted for this purpose should be a type that doesn’t spoil the land for future crops and that the trees are properly pruned, managed, and harvested.
  
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  September 19, 2025 11:13am
- Handyman
  
  The economics of forestry are about to seriously change.
  An integrated forestry company could prune the lower part of the tree at wider spacing to get high price from their plywood mill or timber mill. The remaining part of the log could be sent to their nearby pulp mill for dried pulp or on to paper production.
  
  Without a plywood mill, (Kinleith), timber mill (Nelson), pulp mill (Kariori) or paper mill (Kawerau/Kinleith) there will be many stranded forestry assets.
  Add on the financial liability of slash damage (East Coast) and the removal of carbon credits then the “whole of forest” model breaks down.
  
  The next Green/Maori government will make matters worse by banning conversion of forestry land to dairy or cattle.
  
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  September 19, 2025 1:38pm
- Quail
  
  Handyman,
  Note the exemptions for Maori interests.
  This is the most gutless Government NZ has had to put up with ever,
  
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  September 20, 2025 8:51am
Southern Raider

Just seen strike details for local primary school.

Thursday is strike
Friday is teachers only day
Saturday to Monday is labour weekend

So two very short weeks near start of Term 4.

But it’s all about the kids and learning
14 1
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September 19, 2025 11:43am
- Gravelroad
  
  No, it is all about spoilt, leftist teachers and their money.
  I don’t think learning comes into it much anymore.
  
  10 2
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  September 19, 2025 1:55pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Too many teachers see the work week as an interruption to their weekend.
    
    7 2
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    September 19, 2025 2:37pm
  - Steve Otto N Shore
    
    It’s about getting the beach bach cleaned up ready for summer.
    The traffic will prove it.
    
    8 3
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    September 19, 2025 4:00pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      Hi Steve – haven’t heard from you for a while.
      How’s it going with you?.
      
      3 2
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      September 19, 2025 5:41pm
Taieri

It’s official…

“”Nicola Willis is the best Finance Minister New Zealand’s ever going to have, she’s an outstanding person, she’s an outstanding person, she’s an outstanding Finance Minister, Economic Growth Minister, she’s doing an exceptionally good job in a very tough situation”

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/willis-best-finance-minister-nzs-ever-going-have-luxon-rnz
9 1
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September 19, 2025 12:26pm
- RoboRob
  
  Luxon is totally tone deaf.
  
  8 6
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  September 19, 2025 1:21pm
  - mogg
    
    This is a beat up by the Labour MSM propaganda unit. You will have noticed that thes GDP figures are 3 months out of date, plus when they compared NZ GDP to a group of other economies who were all in growth phase they forgot to mention that their trade figures were distorted by the rush to get imports into USA before the Trump tariffs were applied. Calls for Willis to be replaced or resign are a calculated move and you are being sucked in.
    
    8 2
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    September 19, 2025 3:57pm
- Inandout
  
  Tai, no no Robertson was more outstanding. He borrowed more than any other finance minister in history.
  
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  September 19, 2025 1:35pm
  - PeterTrentham
    
    Nicola Willis, hold my chardonnay.
    
    7 2
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    September 19, 2025 3:39pm
- Southern Raider
  
  You hit the uptick or the downtick buttons to represent the rolling around on the floor laughing emoji?
  
  3 2
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  September 19, 2025 1:39pm
- Don Beckett
  
  But she’s not the best finance minister we have ever had.
  
  3 3
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  September 19, 2025 2:39pm
Swifty

The Left have no principles:

https://x.com/tomselliott/status/1968790900911255870?s=46

More steaming hypocrisy from them with regards to the Jimmie Kimmel issue and free speech.
8 1
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September 19, 2025 1:19pm
fredonas

A joke from the interwebs:
“After a night of drinking, two men stopped at a brothel.
The madam told her girls, “Put them in rooms with blow-up dolls. They’re too drunk to notice.”
Walking home later, one man said, “I think mine was dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yeah, cold and didn’t move.”
The second man said, “Well, mine was a witch.”
“Why?”
“When I bit her ass, she farted and flew out the window.”
6 2
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September 19, 2025 4:19pm
Ghost

If only the Ardern government resigned, the country wouldn’t be in the mess it currently is, thanks grant, thanks Jacinda, thanks little, thanks Hipkins.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is calling for a Government-wide resignation in light of yesterday’s GDP data release.

Article
13 2
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September 19, 2025 4:26pm
- NothingLeft
  
  GDP is a shit measure as it includes govt borrowing. You want good GDP numbers? Just borrow and spend 6% of GDP per year for 4 years like Ardern/Hipkins and their band of incompetents did
  
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  September 19, 2025 4:55pm
Swifty

Are men and women in New Zealand equal before the law?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/enraged-woman-sharanjit-kaur-whose-bad-driving-led-to-a-fatal-head-on-crash-appeals-prison-sentence/BYFVOORSARG2FJTXQNWHQQTNIU/

If this were a man, he would be pilloried for ‘toxic masculinity’ being possessive of women and unable to contain his rage.

But in this case a woman is being presented as a mere victim of circumstances and unexplained ‘cultural factors’.

RIP Jono Baker. What a tragic waste.
5 1
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September 19, 2025 4:34pm
Scooter

So now the crazy judges are giving sentencing discounts if you are a meth druggie. So do more crime do less time.

“In sentencing, Judge Bidois gave a total 20% discount for Ware’s guilty plea, being “entrenched in a methamphetamine addiction” at the time of offending and the fact he was considered a first-time offender – apart from a theft charge in 2008.

The result of two years’ jail was transferred to a 12-month home detention sentence.”

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/crime/man-with-5000-child-abuse-images-avoids-prison-term/
1 0
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September 19, 2025 6:08pm

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