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June 29, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 29 June 2026

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General Debate

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peterwn

Another indictment of NZ’s education. A bar manager could not calculate the age of a patron from his date of birth. He went to the office to use a calculator. By the time he returned an inspector had potted the bar for serving underage drinkers.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360999101/underage-beer-sting-becomes-maths-problem-bar-manager
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June 29, 2026 8:08am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Couldn’t you just write the magic date on a post it note at the start of the shift? So today would be “29 June 2008”?
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:33am
  - rouppe
    
    Yep. In fact all you have to do is remember the year and look at your watch or phone for the day and month
    
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    June 29, 2026 8:41am
  - peterwn
    
    Exactly – I was going to mention that but wanted to keep things short.
    
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    June 29, 2026 8:47am
    - lastmanstanding
      
      The rise and rise of TOP should come as no surprise. Over the past 6 months social media and the MSM has been full of stories about the Party and its photogenic leader. Of course the MSM being economic pygmies dont understand their policy of a UBI funded by a land tax is a sure fire way of destroying the economy. The only good thing is like the Greens their polling is always higher than their election day vote.
      
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      June 29, 2026 9:00am
      - peterwn
        
        TOP party is just a new version of Social Credit which also had UBI like policies. Interesting that TOP seems to be gaining more traction than the old Social Credit Party (which subsumed itself into Jim’s Alliance Party then withered away).
        
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        June 29, 2026 2:08pm
  - pdm
    
    Modern tills have for some years calculated change to be given when payment is made in cash.
    
    I suspect they can do simple subtraction as well.
    
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    June 29, 2026 9:42am
    - septic skeptic
      
      Notwithstanding that, it’s amazing how difficult people find it when you hand over $21.50 for an item priced at $11.49!
      You don’t need to bother with Dilbert’s sadistic joke. “It comes to $23.72 so I’ve given you $28.48 to make the change easier”.
      
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      June 29, 2026 11:28am
  - Groggy
    
    yes the Hospitality Association provide posters for staff that do just that
    
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    June 29, 2026 1:19pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    BY: That’s a stretch.
    
    Far too many people couldn’t figure out that 29 June 2008 is before 17 April 2011.
    
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    June 29, 2026 1:43pm
- Colville
  
  It must have been 2009 (having done the maths) in Gold Coast we had our son and his mate on holiday with us.
  
  Son and mate go to a pub and line up at midnight. Son was over 18 but mate wasnt according to bouncer.
  Discussion with bouncer…see its 5 past midnight so I have been 18 for 5 minutes!
  They got in, had a beer and left again . Perfect.
  
  Next night they went to Surfers on a pub crawl bus and were not seen again for 36 hours!!
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:53am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Alas, not surprising…
  I see a number of high school youngsters who can’t subtract 8 from 25, let alone 2008 from 2025.
  
  Somewhere along the line (primary and intermediate school) no-one has checked whether they understand the concept of borrowing from the 10s column, let alone being able to perform this basic type of calculation.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVrOut8fNUA
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:08am
  - R
    
    For basic arithmetic, ‘borrowing from the 10’s column’ hasn’t been taught for about four decades, other than teaching from old school grandparents.
    
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    June 29, 2026 9:33am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    I have mentioned this before but here it goes again.
    The loss of simple arithmetic skills has contributed to the loss of popularity of darts. The scoring system is too complex for people who have been taught by members of the NZEI. I have also seen young men troubled by the scoring system at snooker.
    
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    June 29, 2026 9:38am
    - Biscuit
      
      Not had any real probs there, TN.
      I fluke a red.
      ‘That’s 1 pt!’
      I miss the subsequent colour.
      ‘A break of 1!’
      
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      June 29, 2026 10:05am
      - septic skeptic
        
        Been there, done that. And then your smart arse opponent reminds you – “put your break up”.
        
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        June 29, 2026 2:03pm
    - septic skeptic
      
      I knew a darts player back in my youth who was hopeless at arithmetic – except he could instantly sum up anything that equated to a 3 dart finish.
      
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      June 29, 2026 11:32am
    - Steve Otto N Shore
      
      As a retired snooker player I have seen this.
      The head does not work! I have seen a marker/ref move the counter one digit at a time.
      How the fuck does the ref even know if one player needs a snooker???????
      
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      June 29, 2026 3:19pm
  - Jigsaw
    
    Maggy- That made me laugh as at 85 I recall being taught that way of borrowing from the 10s column when really the much easier way is to think of 26 as being 10 and 16 then subtracting 8 is easy. The reason young people are so unable to do this is not because they don’t know how, but simply because they lacked the practice. As a primary teacher I gave the kids this practice every day-it was fun.
    
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    June 29, 2026 12:02pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Maths was never my strong subject and I only succeeded in (barely) passing maths tests/exams by “mastering” one strategy.
      
      It was the main reason I chose not to teach Maths as I lack flexibility in explaining number concepts /operations to pupils.
      
      Hubby, by contrast, has always been strong in maths and like you, just quickly went to the expanded form to subtract.
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftDYsFGZvm4
      
      As a little kid, I really think I would have got lost in maths altogether if I had been shown multiple ways to solve problems (especially if I never properly mastered even one of them).
      
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      June 29, 2026 3:41pm
- AndyW
  
  Don’t be too quick to assume that the manager is a New Zealander and/or one who has gone through our education system. In saying that, I do agree that the current system is rubbish.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:08am
- Handyman
  
  When I worked in the old Bush Inn as a student there was only the old (even then) mechanical till. I had to add up in my head and depress the keys all at once. It never seemed hard at the time, and the customers could do it too.
  More memorable was the beer price, which was set by someone in government who had never worked in a bar. A jug was $1.12 which meant no matter what money was tendered, the change was one of everything in the till.
  For example, the change for $10 was
  1 x 1c coin
  1 x 2c coin
  1 x 5c coin
  1 x 10c coin
  1 x 20c coin
  1 x 50c coin
  1 x $1 note
  1 x $2 note
  1 x $5 note.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:41am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Ah, but was it someone who never worked in a bar? Or someone with a sadistic sense of humor?
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:35am
  - Fender
    
    $1.12 a jug
    Bloody Mary how old are you?
    
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    June 29, 2026 1:42pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      That price might seem low, but to be fair, it is all the beer was worth.
      
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      June 29, 2026 2:51pm
    - Handyman
      
      Hehe. At least it was decimal currency.
      Another quirk of the times was that I was working behind the bar before I was legally able to drink on the other side.
      
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      June 29, 2026 3:05pm
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      lol Fender. First jug I bought was 60c!
      
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      June 29, 2026 4:20pm
surfing

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/only-16-maori-land-homes-in-five-years-tauranga-launches-support-fund/A443XE2I5NB4TIKBQOIRRFSCTA/

Maori are complaining only 16 houses were built on Maori land in Tauranga.

I sense, Maori want more free money.
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June 29, 2026 8:09am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  When don’t they?
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:07am
- Raphael
  
  This is really something Iwis should be doing with the millions they have received in Treaty Settlements, rather than with my rates.
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:33am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Not a word in the article about funding from the local iwi.
    
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    June 29, 2026 2:55pm
- GCA1
  
  The reporter disingenuously states “only 16 have been issued CCC”. So how many are under construction, or are just starting, or never bothered to apply for CCC at completion?
  
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  June 29, 2026 12:00pm
greybeard

Ben Stokes retires.
If NZ wins this test and the series I would not be surprised if McCullum also chucks in the towel before long.
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June 29, 2026 8:14am
- Colville
  
  He should have his towel taken from him by the ECB. !!
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:55am
- pdm
  
  Watching the first hour of play last night Stokes seemed to be on some sort of unpredictable high.
  Some of his gestures, excessive clapping, over exuberance when Mitchell was given out LBW (only for it to be overturned) and the fact he bowled 8 overs on the trot at the start of play seemed unusual at best from an England Test Captain.
  
  Maybe keeping the secret of his retirement announcement was too much for him.
  
  BTW that was a hell of a batting effort by Ravindra and Mitchell in the first hour. Especially from Mitchell who took most of the strike. The ball did a lot with uneven bounce and Mitchell was hit on the arm and fingers at least 5 times but battled on and got a deserved ton. Ravindra’s 94 was equally valuable.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:50am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    PDM, you ought to be a sports reporter on radio. You are so far ahead of those that prattle on each morning.
    A good part of Kiwiblog is that one learns from knowledgeable people such as PDM.
    
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    June 29, 2026 10:19am
    - pdm
      
      Tauhei Notts thank you.
      
      Biscuit just emailed me with your very generous praise.
      
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      June 29, 2026 4:43pm
  - Colville
    
    pdm.
    A wag commented on a site I was looking at regarding the cricket that the mood Stokes was in my have come via a couple of lines Columbias best powder!
    
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    June 29, 2026 5:38pm
Gravelroad

https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360998565/will-labour-cancel-tax-breaks-landlords-heres-what-it-could-mean-rents-and-house-prices
(Paywalled)
Good heavens!
Has someone in the media decided to challenge the widely believed and pushed “evil rich landlords getting tax breaks at the expense of the poor” barrow?
Not offering some balanced reporting, surely…..
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June 29, 2026 8:14am
- greybeard
  
  In other words, the media people are doing the calculations which Labour have not been able to do.
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:17am
- Benedict Yu
  
  The reporting on this. 😫 It is not a “tax break”. Jacinda et el imposed rules on owners of rental properties different to those of other businesses. The current government simply reinstated the status quo.
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:37am
  - Spam
    
    Yes – describing a decision not to tax something is not a tax break (nor is it a loophole). Yet that’s the narrative that the left have maintained.
    
    Almost as annoying as describing tax cuts as a “cost”: “The government has indexed tax brackets for inflation. This will cost xxx million”.
    
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    June 29, 2026 8:55am
  - RoboRob
    
    Yes. This is a great example of the lefts superior messaging. People really believe that landlords are getting (positive) special treatment and that adjusting tax brackets is the government giving people more money.
    
    Yes the MSM are partially at fault, but in their defence many of the so called journalists are <25yr old woman who probably think what they are saying is true. If only NZ had some proper basic financial course as part of the education system.
    
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    June 29, 2026 9:07am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Meanwhile the little or no tax paid by certain Maori organisations is ignored.
      
      Apartheid is being normalised.
      
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      June 29, 2026 9:16am
      - igm
        
        Do not overlook rates avoidance and preference to maori firms or those employing maori when tendering for government contracts.
        
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        June 29, 2026 12:18pm
  - Neebone
    
    Honest reporting would refer to reinstating tax penalties.
    
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    June 29, 2026 9:39am
  - Tom Hunter
    
    Ohh!! So that’s what Ian Boag was going on about the other day when I said I hadn’t seen any reduction in my taxes!!!
    
    Ask Nicola – she will explain how your your tax was cut after they were elected in ’23. If you are paying lots of tax you must be making lots of money. I’m happy for you 🙂
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:36am
  - Ian Boag
    
    not a “tax break”
    
    Arguably residential rental investing is a unique sort of “business” … leveraged purchase with deductible costs and hold for the (tax-free) capital gain.
    
    Someone buys a rental with 40% deposit – doesn’t wash its face and won’t do so for umpty years. Buyer puts on a straight face and tells IRD that this is done for “income” …. yeah right.
    
    Man complains that his four property portfolio would go under water cashflow wise if this happens. Simple answer is that he has geared himself up too far.
    
    I would find that the deductibility is OK if the capital gain is taxed. Interestingly noone seems upset about how the costs are ring-fenced and can’t be claimed against other income …
    
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    June 29, 2026 12:17pm
    - Taieri
      
      Arguably residential rental investing is a unique sort of “business” … leveraged purchase with deductible costs and hold for the (tax-free) capital gain.
      —————-
      
      “If you have a regular pattern of buying and selling property, you may be considered a property dealer and may have to pay tax when you sell.
      
      This applies to both commercial and residential property.
      
      It may even apply to your main home, if you have a pattern of buying and selling the home you live in.”
      
      https://www.ird.govt.nz/property/buying-and-selling/when-you-need-to-pay/history-of-buying-and-selling
      
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      June 29, 2026 1:49pm
    - artemisia
      
      It is common for residential rentals to break even after a few years, often 5 years or more, if rents rise and principal is paid down. They start producing income, and as losses are ring fenced there will be a tax credit.
      
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      June 29, 2026 2:53pm
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      Yep Ian, and the buyer has to make up the monthly shortfall out of his own money, for those “umpty years”.
      Interest is a legitimate business expense as there is a direct nexus between incurring that expense and any income made (now or in the future). If it is OK to deny this, the question I would ask is which expense(s) will Labour deny to businesses next?
      
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      June 29, 2026 4:32pm
- Simon
  
  The tax around residential rents is a classic National vs Labour clown show theatre. Dancing monkey act without any real consequences to the rental market. Solely designed for low information voters to think there is difference between National and Labour. Many such performances
  
  Shame on low information voters. You are being played
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:23am
  - Prince
    
    Not really. Putting a special tax on landlords, which is immediately passed on to renters, is hardly ‘without any real consequences’…
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:12am
- pdm
  
  Gravel – FWIIW it wasn’t paywalled on Stuff when I read it just after 7 this morning.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:54am
  - Gravelroad
    
    Just refreshed and looked again . Still a fade-out but maybe that was the end of the story. Didn’t look like it though.
    I am not signed up or financial contributor to Stuff.
    
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    June 29, 2026 10:28am
Benedict Yu

Interesting. A job ad for a senior position at the Ministry of Education. This is a $400k+ job. Nothing about the need to implement the Treaty or te ao Maori. The requirements look reasonably sensible.

https://jacksonstone.co.nz/job/bh-11688-deputy-secretary-curriculum-centre-hautu-te-poutahu/?gad_source=5&gad_campaignid=13967578485&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjIPSBhCCARIsABGyK7sbns2Myj4heBPIiePkHez8YmM3Fd843v5kEpNstlDCwJjBsEbVd_gaAnToEALw_wcB
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June 29, 2026 8:42am
- Blog-aholic
  
  It’ll be there it is just being smoke screened at the minute…..
  
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  June 29, 2026 8:54am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    The subtlety will be in the candidate interviews.
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:09am
- imalwaysright
  
  The nine bullet points under ‘You will bring’ suggests there will be a very small number of suitable applicants.
  
  Probably just one….
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:00am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Perhaps the Ministry has got cunning…..and leaves the Te Reo and Te ao Maori questions for the interview stage….
  
  (as it was with me nearly 20 years ago….. different Ministry tho’)
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:12am
- RoboRob
  
  Pretty scary really. The role is all about proving ‘equity’ to students. I thought we had moved away from that progressive ideology.
  
  I am all for equality, in that all students are given the same opportunities. Equity on the other hand is about treating people differently with the aim of all people having the same end outcome. That is silly, not everyone can be an Olympic athlete no matter how much ‘extra’ training we provide. However, we can get everyone to the same sporting ability if we remove support for the top athletes, that would get us equity. This is the danger, it is much easier to have equal outcomes if we lower the outcomes.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:15am
- Simon
  
  “The Ministry of Education plays a critical role in shaping New Zealand’s education system to deliver equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners. “
  
  lol. It opens with a massive lie.
  
  Treaty rubbish is already embedded, doesn’t need to be spelt out.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:26am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    “Equitable and excellent outcomes”! Gawd, I’ve had to read that ridiculous phrase so many times in documents emanating from the Tertiary Education Commission.
    
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    June 30, 2026 2:30pm
- R
  
  Perhaps the coalition is getting some cooperation from the buraucracy. This isn’t an election year is it?
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:36am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  How many people at the Monistry are worth $400k?
  
  I’m willing to bet the traditional servo pie that you could offer $250k and you’d get pretty much the same applicants.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:53am
- kowtow
  
  Nope.
  
  It might not be explicit , but itll still be there.
  
  The real problem is a useless desk jockey shiney arsed public servant , pushing more paper and regs when that wasted 400k could buy 8 police constables or other genuinely needed ‘front line’ folk ,doing real work in the real world.
  
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  June 29, 2026 10:25am
  - imalwaysright
    
    400k is the base salary.
    Add on kiwisaver, an office, travel (they always have to go somewhere nice for some reason), support staff, etc.
    
    Most people could start and staff a business for much less than just the first year cost of whoever this eedjit might be.
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:13am
- NothingLeft
  
  Don’t worry, HR will screen out any applicants to the right of Stalin.
  
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  June 29, 2026 2:42pm
Tomtoddy

Most people who stop and weigh up all the issues come to the conclusion that economically we are in bad shape with few options available to build productivity and real wealth.

It is disturbing that we are watching election campaigning from all parties based on unfunded promises, small incremental changes, aimed at buying votes in a world where most ask, “what’s in it for me.”

We are very dependent on agriculture where there are few opportunities to add value, add jobs and increase wealth. Fonterra’s ditching its brand business may have been good for Fonterra but it was bad for a country needing more sales of high value branded items.

Where are the ideas and policies that might transform our lagging position? Who is going to stand tall and plot a reform course that will give us some hope and new life?
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June 29, 2026 9:17am
- surfing
  
  New Zealand is trapped in a low productivity environment due to our ever changing constitutional arrangement and democratic system. Additionally, the failed education system means we don’t even have the skills to somehow sneak by.
  
  Look at the Ports of Tauranga expansion plan, Maori are demanding a half billion dollars for permission. This government backed blackmail occurs across the nation.
  
  Maori entitlements are expanding and out of control – between maori and MMP very little reform can be made. I’d argue that reform is impossible without a major war or financial collapse. Until then , NZ’s decline will continue .
  
  Take note of recent Waikato hospital emergency room numbers. This is a nation wide emergency with no money to fix. Immigrants can’t pay, they only use.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:30am
  - Dougal10
    
    The tribe with their hands out should be given unsaleable dividend bearing shares not cash , this way it would be in their best interests to push the development along , meridian probably should have done the same .
    
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    June 29, 2026 11:12am
- artemisia
  
  Put simply, maybe simplistically, increasing productivity means doing more with less. These days ‘less’ is likely to mean fewer. Fewer people with jobs that is.
  
  And that is a problem in itself as household incomes shrink, and more time on the sofa is not necessarily going to be positive.
  
  A few years ago there was an article in the media about a UK university that set up an experiment to prepare a piece of land through to harvest completion, totally untouched by human hands. Some stages are already here on our farms.
  
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  June 29, 2026 9:35am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Interestingly, I heard Jeff Bezos offering an alternative view, which is that AI will not result in fewer jobs. He posits that what it will do is create space for people to follow their dreams. Who hasn’t had a great business idea that might lead to a positive outcome, but which never got off the ground through lack of time to give to it?
    
    Now, I accept that not everyone has such ideas or the capability to follow through, but it’s an interesting alternative view to the usual “human redundancy/ end of times” slop that is usually served up to us.
    
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    June 29, 2026 10:28am
    - wsk12345
      
      A few years ago a UBI experiment was run in Texas. They gave people money do nothing as suggested here by TOP. No people did not start up new businesses, or enter education, many reduced their work hours and used the time for leisure, caregiving and personal activities. That may be a good thing but perhaps people can do that in their own time??!
      
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      June 29, 2026 12:51pm
- Dougal10
  
  Re the fonterra bit , nothing was stopping anyone from putting their hand up and buy the brands and product from fonterra and do processing here. The issue was nz dairy farmers had better things to do with their capital than own a down stream business. I have the same problem with Winstons opinion on this , put up your capital mate or shut up.
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:07am
  - Tomtoddy
    
    Yeah, I had a lazy $5 billion i could have chucked in. It was always going off shore as that money doesn’t exist here.
    
    I don’t blame the farmers – it was a sugar hit. If “better things” is buying boats you would be right.
    
    Fonterra were telling us that brands only fetched $% return and ingredients brought in 9 to 10% so QED. What they failed to tell us was that organic products yield over 40% so I remain a sceptic. A lot of smoke and mirrors.
    
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    June 29, 2026 8:19pm
Rusty

I wonder if Simeon Brown is asked his age in bars?
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June 29, 2026 9:17am
- imalwaysright
  
  I wonder if Simeon could find a bar that hasn’t gone under…
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:15am
rouppe

How brave was this woman?

I’d have been bricking it with a grizzly bear doing that to me.
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June 29, 2026 9:36am
- wsk12345
  
  Must be a Millennial to also produce a good video while trying to escape!
  
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  June 29, 2026 10:53am
- Gary Benner
  
  Golden rule is NOT to run away, as that triggers them more. Apparently you walk, and make loud noise. A dog also helps there of course!
  
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  June 29, 2026 12:15pm
  - rouppe
    
    Seems like the dog was the main attraction of the bear.
    
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    June 29, 2026 2:07pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  Yes, I think I would require a change of underwear when I got home!
  
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  June 29, 2026 1:16pm
Swifty

As harsh as it may be for individual cases – New Zealand families must not be responsible for the expensive healthcare needs of foreign nationals who just wash up here (or who in fact conspire to achieve this result).

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360968955/its-gonna-be-death-sentence-16-year-old-new-zealand-says-too-sick-stay

We have our own healthcare needs and finite healthcare funding. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars for this person (especially if transplants are involved) is the same amount not available to NZ families.
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June 29, 2026 9:38am
- wsk12345
  
  Agreed. Harsh but we have queues for dialysis to the point where older people are not even being offered it, or are having to take the overnight shift at the hospital so they can get 3 people through each machine each day.
  
  I’m sure he has already cost hundreds of thousands to which we may be adding a kidney transplant.
  
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  June 29, 2026 10:59am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  I note that both parents work, and I was struck by the following comment:
  
  “I was so upset. I was torn between doing what was legally right and morally necessary,” she said
  
  The fact that the mother acknowledges and can articulate this point indicated to me that these are people we want to keep.
  
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  June 29, 2026 6:23pm
BeaB

Why is the media calling the ACT rally ‘Trumpian’ but not the Labour one where there was similar razzmatazz, loud music etc ?
26 2
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June 29, 2026 9:44am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  You know why.
  
  Guilt by association.
  
  The MSM have been at war against Trump and the administration since forever.
  
  To the unthinking, some of which we have here, putting the 2 together is simple dog-whistle stuff.
  
  12 2
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  June 29, 2026 11:12am
- Raphael
  
  because of the Narrative™
  
  15 2
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  June 29, 2026 11:36am
Yvette

Collaring Christopher Luxon and Winston
I have been seemingly stupid sometime ago in suggesting a small matter in Christopher Luxon’s dress code works against his image. This minor detail still irks me, and I have often wondered if it, although of minimal importance, does not unconsciously help his over all image I : it being shirt collar styles and the angle of the ‘points’.

To illustrate this please see the image/photo accompanying the article “Christopher Luxon hits back at Labour’s spending plans, brushes off Winston Peters on India FTA” link:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/640336/christopher-luxon-hits-back-at-labour-s-spending-plans-brushes-off-winston-peters-on-india-fta

People of a more sturdy bodily build should not wear this style if they don’t want to add to a “fat cat” image.
Compare Christopher Luxon’s shirt collar style to Winston’s, although Winston’s particular tie choice is crap.
The problem I perceive is of course emphasised in the frequent close-ups or head shot as here.
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June 29, 2026 10:08am
- Philview
  
  Perhaps the suit and tie needs to be changed to something that doesn’t look like such a blue corporate uniform.
  
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  June 29, 2026 10:33am
  - kowtow
    
    The last PM pranced around cosplaying as a tribal princess like some Disneyfied cartoon character ; that worked for enough of the population here and to international adulation.
    
    Mind you I don’t think Luxo could pull off a a few strategically placed flax leaves around his loins ( with only a g string to protect his modesty) , so I think he should stick to the suits………
    
    6 2
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    June 29, 2026 12:50pm
- rouppe
  
  Just a “spread collar” vs a “cutaway collar”?
  
  https://priveeparis.in/blogs/article/shirt-collar-design
  
  Because you’ll notice the tie knots are different – and actually suit the collar type – in both instances.
  
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  June 29, 2026 10:35am
- imalwaysright
  
  Have noticed the collar. Very unflattering for a head like his.
  He reminds me of an art deco globe lamp.
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:17am
NeverMindTheBollocks

I see that the Rewiring people are making claims once again about how much the average Kiwi will save if they switch to solar.

The problem with this is that it assumes a static electricity market, which I think is unlikely. Generators still need to cover the cost of their assets, which they will recover from all consumers, one way or another, as will Transpower and the lines companies.

The only way to avoid these charges is to go off-grid. But the lines company will not let you keep the line from the power pole to your house. They will charge you to remove the line, and charge you double to put it back – which unless you live remotely, you will want to do prior to selling your house. That will be an ouch moment for some.

Certainly there are benefits to the country in that electricity sold back into the market on sunny days will help preserve water behind the dams (assuming the dams are not otherwise full and in spill mode), but I am skeptical about how much will be saved in reality.

Still, if people want to buy panels then I say, go for it. But, no subsidies please.
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June 29, 2026 10:09am
- wsk12345
  
  You’re right about trans and distribution costs (and retail – essentially risk mgt) but not generation.
  
  And that is fair – the system is still sized to include connected solar users – the assets anre there for uou to take power or feed it back – and all the other users should not subsidise those with solar.
  
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  June 29, 2026 11:03am
- Gussy
  
  The research backing those claims was peer reviewed by Shaun Hendy.
  Maybe every household will save $80,000 a year by buying a new electric car.
  
  6 2
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  June 29, 2026 2:41pm
  - Ghost
    
    no one is going to save $80,000 per year buying an electric car.
    
    4 3
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    June 29, 2026 2:47pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      I think this is jesting around Hendy’s famous “80,000 in danger of dying from Covid” numbers.
      
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      June 30, 2026 4:32pm
kowtow

A headline in today’s NZME Herald .

Worst day in 18 years in some hospital or other …….

What short memories they have, of their own role in the media hype over the covid scam , when the world was coming to end only some 6 short years ago .And we’re still paying for it.
16 2
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June 29, 2026 10:32am
- Raphael
  
  But that was when Hospitals were so busy that staff were having to work on choreography for TikTok videos to show how busy they were
  
  9 1
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  June 29, 2026 11:37am
- Ghost
  
  Article
  
  300 patients at the ED in one day is a massive load of work for people who do an amazing job. What roll did the ED staff have in the Scam? They did what their employer instructed them. Well done on the moronic acrobatics to turn this into a covid attack on them
  
  1 9
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  June 29, 2026 11:47am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    A california roll at lunchtime perhaps?
    
    1 0
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    June 29, 2026 2:17pm
Damocles11

The marxist TOP Party has selected a former migrant sex worker, who was rejected by the Greens, as their candidate to contest the Southland electorate in the upcoming election.

https://www.opportunity.org.nz/candidate-bianca-beebe

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/591140/greens-deny-former-sex-worker-s-background-was-a-factor-in-candidate-decision

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/survivor-of-attempted-sexual-assault-says-migrant-sex-workers-are-targeted-due-to-nz-law/3H434JHI2SEANQCRWH2PDDBUSA/
8 5
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June 29, 2026 10:35am
- rouppe
  
  First question from her bio was “what the heck is”solarpunk”?
  
  Solarpunk is a literary, artistic, and social movement, closely related to the hopepunk movement, that envisions and works toward actualizing a sustainable future interconnected with nature and community.
  
  When I read “envisions and works toward actualizing” it makes me think of all those nonsense word salad grant applications. I hear the little chimes of alarm bells.
  
  The “solar” represents solar energy as a renewable energy source and an optimistic vision of the future that rejects climate doomerism, while the “punk” refers to do it yourself and the countercultural, post-capitalist, and decolonial aspects of creating such a future.
  
  So the party applicant that is all for “do it yourself” wants a UBI and tax the nasty property owners.
  
  No one ever describes what post capitalist and decolonial aspects actually looks like.
  
  Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!
  
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  June 29, 2026 2:01pm
- MCōs
  
  You know people are worried when they call you a Marxist
  
  2 2
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  June 29, 2026 2:06pm
  - RoboRob
    
    True, Marxists are very worrying and dangerous people!
    
    3 2
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    June 29, 2026 2:22pm
- mogg
  
  The London Met has got cops who can’t speak English.
  
  4 3
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  June 29, 2026 2:08pm
  - MCōs
    
    I find that claim extremely unlikely particularly as it’s a legal requirement that all British police read and write English
    
    1 1
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    June 29, 2026 4:40pm
    - Ghost
      
      yeah
      
      You must have – or be working towards one – 2 A-Levels or a Level 3 qualification. Training or work experience equivalent to a Level 3 qualification is also acceptable. You also must have a Level 2 in English at either a GCSE Grade C or above or Grades 4 to 9. We will also consider an English Language equivalent overseas qualification.
      
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      June 29, 2026 5:15pm
Local Miller

Nanny State in the extreme.
My teacher daughter informed me that she is now officially the only teacher at school allowed to use a step ladder! She is the only teacher in the school to have completed the “step ladder safety course”.
Have we become so dumbed down that we now need a safety course to use a step ladder?
26 1
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June 29, 2026 11:00am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  It’s called being risk adverse.
  
  If you haven’t done the course you almost can’t blame anyone else when you cock it up.
  
  9 0
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  June 29, 2026 11:17am
- imalwaysright
  
  On Country Calendar last night a little girl of 4 or 5 years age confidently climbed an 8 foot ladder to pick one of her apricots while her parents and little sister looked on.
  It was heartwarming to see.
  
  14 0
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  June 29, 2026 11:41am
- NothingLeft
  
  Find the people responsible for this policy and fire them. Also blacklist them to ensure that they should never be employed by public sector again.
  
  8 0
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  June 29, 2026 2:47pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  I’m amazed that high shelves weren’t just banned.
  
  Banning stuff is so much easier.
  
  6 0
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  June 29, 2026 3:02pm
  - Steve Otto N Shore
    
    Libraries off the list then.
    Books at ground level only——-
    
    3 1
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    June 29, 2026 4:12pm
Jack5

This time: ACT First, NZ ~~First~~ 2nd …

ACT leader David Seymour stayed a move ahead in this litle political chess play.

Seymour says if he were in Shane Jones’s position he would pay back the stand-by limousine bill incurred by NZ First’s Shane Jones at a mining conference in Toronto.

“I probably would. I’d be so embarrassed, but what he does is up to him.”

Aha! Could NZ First counter-attack by citing the case of then ACT leader Rodney Hide taking a girlfriend on trip?

Well …. Rodney paid the trip money back.

ACT’s Rodney Hide pays up:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/16233/contrite-hide-to-repay-cost-of-girlfriend's-trip

And:

Shane Jones in Toronto:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360999251/id-be-so-embarrassed-seymour-takes-swipe-jones-over-5k-limo-bill
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June 29, 2026 11:07am
- greybeard
  
  Has the identity of Jones’ companion on the trip been published ?
  
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  June 29, 2026 1:23pm
  - PeterTrentham
    
    Debbie from Dallas
    
    7 0
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    June 29, 2026 2:24pm
Ghost

Iran has “no choice” but to develop a nuclear bomb, a media outlet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said — the latest threat to the peace deal.

The article, titled “No choice but to build the atomic bomb,” claims that Iran must negotiate with its enemies from a position of strength, and was published by Iranian state news outlet Fars on Sunday.

Article

From the same link, it now appears obvious what is going wrong in the middle east. The USA and Iran are, according to the article, attaching each other

The US and Iran have agreed to stop attaching each other and take part in technical talks in Qatar, according to Axios.

A US official told the publication both nations will stand down “for now”, after three days of retaliatory strikes.
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June 29, 2026 11:13am
Notsofast

From the anthropogenic global warming is a hoax files, Paris is being blow torched by the USA. Non paywalled because everybody must know:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/paris-official-blames-us-for-heatwave-as-tourists-mock-citys-lack-of-air-con/NE6AUARNUREB3O5K7HQ2HQWBGY/

I have little doubt this is mankind driven, and if true, Ardern was right about one thing!
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June 29, 2026 11:42am
- NothingLeft
  
  Only a couple of French temp records from this heatwave.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extreme_temperatures_in_France
  
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  June 29, 2026 5:54pm
Sacha

I suspect that Winston does his own Windsor Knots, but Chris might have a selection of knots on a string.
Maybe a bow tie? Or maybe not.
I also have a problem with the cut of some suit jackets – cut away so that there is a lot of shirt front showing, and as a result the jacket tends to slide back off the shoulders so that the collar doesn’t sit properly –
The general picture is of a Johnny-come-lately who has never been properly fitted for a suit, or learnt how to choose one that does.
And that tells me that he might not be particular about other matters –
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June 29, 2026 11:49am
- mogg
  
  I know my own measurements, so I can buy a tweed jacket or suit direct from Harris at almost half the price of buying on Lambton Quay. Harfords Wgtn made in Hong Kong are very overpriced.
  
  2 1
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  June 29, 2026 2:05pm
- MCōs
  
  There was an Indian guy in our Bangkok office who always wore well fitting tailored clothes so I had my clothes made at the same place.
  Not expensive, good material, and always fitted properly. Much better than buying stuff off a rack somewhere.
  There were numerous tailors in the vicinity of our office, but it was handy to go to a bloke you could trust.
  
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  June 29, 2026 5:09pm
Swifty

Happy 100th Birthday Mel Brooks:

https://x.com/michaeldickson/status/2071331775293624501?s=46
2 0
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June 29, 2026 2:17pm
- cas
  
  A brilliant man. There was a 2 part documentary on Sky recently called Mel Brooks: The 99 year old man. It was very interesting. I loved The Producers.
  
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  June 29, 2026 3:45pm
  - mandk
    
    Blazing Saddles was brilliant, too.
    
    I’m not sure you could make films like that anymore.
    
    2 0
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    June 29, 2026 4:59pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      I’m absolutely certain that Blazing Saddles could not be made today.
      
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      June 29, 2026 6:30pm
NothingLeft

Notiicable that throughout the west as the electorate rejects woke lunacy and open boarders and shifts right the legacy center-right parties are being rejected as too milque tost and part of the problem due to their compromising with left wing extremism and racism, with new right wing upstarts taking their place and in many places now leading polls: Reform (UK), AfD (Germany), RN (France), OneNation (Australia), and most other OECD nations too.

Spineless National should take note – the excreble Winston First is eating your lunch for exactly the same reasons, get rid of the weak left wing apologists, those supporting Maori preferentialism and subsidies and special treatment – or willing to compromise with it, and exorcise the left from control of taxpayer funded institutions and media of NZ while it is still in your power, or your party will die like all the others in the west
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June 29, 2026 3:05pm
- Colville
  
  I believe National is slowly but surely eating the lunch of Labour and the Greens.
  
  Kiwisaver contributions and solar panel loans are just the amuse bouche of the election bribe menu that is coming to our tables in the next months whether we ordered it or not!
  
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  June 29, 2026 5:53pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Tricky stuff, this English language….

Maipi-Clarke’s office said the post had been misread and removed once the issue was raised.

“There was an error in the wording of the post,” the office said.

https://centrist.nz/te-pati-maori-mp-cites-wording-error-after-at-risk-youth-claim-unravels/
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June 29, 2026 7:37pm
Prince

Simon Doull in the Pom Commentary Box last night after Stokes’ retirement, and the standing ovation from the crowd as he walked back…
‘Ovations, emotions, you name it, for a great Kiwi’.
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June 29, 2026 7:48pm

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