Dammit I can usually do these things – but this one is really hard. Nnnnnnnnn. Ah – got it – only one of them lives in Dipton! Oooops, no, that’s wrong too. I give up – is it a trick question?
To the best of my knowledge, none of the witnesses to Lee and English’s rorts have mysteriously disappeared. Key on the other hand is just missing in inaction.
Sprout, I’m not quite sure if you’re sexist or racist. Either / or – it ain’t pretty.
Shame to see The Standard slipping like this.
[lprent: It is essentially a basic Rorschach inkblot test. The interpretation reveals more about the person doing the interpretation more than anything else…… Which leads me towards your statement?…… Why the obsession with….]
There are some interesting parallels in their career arcs, with English and Singh both putting in the hard yards for years only to have their ambitions overridden by the National Party’s preference for the less competent show-ponies Key and Lee.
As for the odd-one-out, does one of them live in the electorate in which they last stood? Singh, perhaps?
Nah, it is that the three on the left have substantive allegations of corruption against them personally. The allegations against the one on the right are “only” of covering up the allegations against the others.
A bit like a line-up of Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum, Clint Rickards, and John Dewar.
Dewar didn’t actually rape anyone, but he went to jail for covering for those who did.
Bill English is about to be cleared by the auditor general. You just compared him to a rapist. You should apologise to him and his family as should all of the other authors of this blog. .
English is the pick, though farmers who live in Wellington while residing in Dipton are another minority. It is a gallery which shows that people from a minority can do well in Godzone.
Pity about the morality shown, though, by all four.
You guys can inkblot to your hearts content. The proof is in the pudding (or in this case the comments), losers one and all.
Funny to see…but kind of sad too. I was almost growing to like you guys since you lost the election. I was just about feeling a bit sorry for you all. But the mask slips in posts like this and what it reveals isn’t cute or smart, it’s just bitter little boys with no style.
Every time that I see ya,A lightning bolt fills the room,The underbelly of Paris,She sings her favourite tune,She'll drink you under the table,She'll show you a trick or two,But every time that I left her,I missed the things she would doSongwriters: Kelly JonesThis morning, I posted - Are you excited ...
Long stories shortest this week in our political economy:Standard & Poor’s judged the Government’s council finance reforms a failure. Professional investors showed the Government they want it to borrow more, not less. GDP bounced out of recession by more than forecast in the December quarter, but data for the ...
Each day at 4:30 my brother calls in at the rest home to see Dad. My visits can be months apart. Five minutes after you've left, he’ll have forgotten you were there, but every time, his face lights up and it’s a warm happy visit.Tim takes care of almost everything ...
On the 19th of March, ACT announced they would be running candidates in this year’s local government elections. Accompanying that call for “common-sense kiwis” was an anti-woke essay typifying the views they expect their candidates to hold. I have included that part of their mailer, Free Press, in its entirety. ...
Even when the darkest clouds are in the skyYou mustn't sigh and you mustn't crySpread a little happiness as you go byPlease tryWhat's the use of worrying and feeling blue?When days are long keep on smiling throughSpread a little happiness 'til dreams come trueSongwriters: Vivian Ellis / Clifford Grey / ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...
ACT up the game on division politicsEmmerson’s take on David Seymour’s claim Jesus would have supported ACTACT’s announcement it is moving into local politics is a logical next step for a party that is waging its battle on picking up the aggrieved.It’s a numbers game, and as long as the ...
1. What will be the slogan of the next butter ad campaign?a. You’re worth itb.Once it hits $20, we can do something about the riversc. I can’t believe it’s the price of butter d. None of the above Read more ...
It is said that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. That may be an exaggeration but an even better response is to point out economists do know the difference. They did not at first. Classical economics thought that the price of something reflected the objective ...
Political fighting in Taiwan is delaying some of an increase in defence spending and creating an appearance of lack of national resolve that can only damage the islandâs relationship with the Trump administration. The main ...
The unclassified version of the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review (IIR) was released today. Itâs a welcome and worthy sequel to its 2017 predecessor, with an ambitious set of recommendations for enhancements to Australiaâs national intelligence ...
Yesterday outgoing Ombudsman Peter Boshier published a report, Reflections on the Official Information Act, on his way out the door. The report repeated his favoured mantra that the Act was "fundamentally sound", all problems were issues of culture, and that no legislative change was needed (and especially no changes to ...
The United States government is considering replacing USAID with a new agency, the US Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance (USIHA), according to documents published by POLITICO. Under the proposed design, the agency will fail its ...
Hi,Journalism was never the original plan. Back in the 90s, there was no career advisor in Bethlehem, New Zealand — just a computer that would ask you 50 questions before spitting out career options. Yes, I am in this photo. No, I was not good at basketball.The top three careers ...
Mōrena. Long stories shortest: Professional investors who are paid a lot of money to be careful about lending to the New Zealand Government think it is wonderful place to put their money. Yet the Government itself is so afraid of borrowing more that it is happy to kill its own ...
As space becomes more contested, Australia should play a key role with its partners in the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative to safeguard the space domain. Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States signed the ...
Ooh you're a cool catComing on strong with all the chit chatOoh you're alrightHanging out and stealing all the limelightOoh messing with the beat of my heart yeah!Songwriters: Freddie Mercury / John Deacon.It would be a tad ironic; I can see it now. “Yeah, I didn’t unsubscribe when he said ...
The PSA are calling the Prime Minister a hypocrite for committing to increase defence spending while hundreds of more civilian New Zealand Defence Force jobs are set to be cut as part of a major restructure. The number of companies being investigated for people trafficking in New Zealand has skyrocketed ...
Another Friday, hope everyone’s enjoyed their week as we head toward the autumn equinox. Here’s another roundup of stories that caught our eye on the subject of cities and what makes them even better. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Connor took a look at how Auckland ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking with special guest author Michael Wolff, who has just published his fourth book about Donald Trump: ‘All or Nothing’.Here’s Peter’s writeup of the interview.The Kākā by Bernard Hickey Hoon: Trumpism ...
Wolff, who describes Trump as truly a ‘one of a kind’, at a book launch in Spain. Photo: GettyImagesIt may be a bumpy ride for the world but the era of Donald J. Trump will die with him if we can wait him out says the author of four best-sellers ...
Australia needs to radically reorganise its reserves system to create a latent military force that is much larger, better trained and equipped and deployable within daysânot decades. Our current reserve system is not fit for ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, Washington Post/$, Wired/$, ...
I have argued before that one ought to be careful in retrospectively allocating texts into genres. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) only looks like science-fiction because a science-fiction genre subsequently developed. Without H.G. Wells, would Frankenstein be considered science-fiction? No, it probably wouldn’t. Viewed in the context of its time, Frankenstein ...
Elbridge Colby’s senate confirmation hearing in early March holds more important implications for US partners than most observers in Canberra, Wellington or Suva realise. As President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defence for ...
Chinaâs defence budget is rising heftily yet again. The 2025 rise will be 7.2 percent, the same as in 2024, the government said on 5 March. But the allocation, officially US$245 billion, is just the ...
Concern is growing about wide-ranging local repercussions of the new Setting of Speed Limits rule, rewritten in 2024 by former transport minister Simeon Brown. In particular, there’s growing fears about what this means for children in particular. A key paradox of the new rule is that NZTA-controlled roads have the ...
Speilmeister:Christopher Luxonâs prime-ministerial pitches notwithstanding, are institutions with billions of dollars at their disposal really going to invest them in a country so obviously in a deep funk?HAVING WOOED THE WORLDâs investors, what, if anything, has New Zealand won? Did Christopher Luxonâs guests board their private jets fizzing with enthusiasm for ...
Christchurch City Council is one of 18 councils and three council-controlled organisations (CCOs) downgraded by ratings agency S&P. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories shortest:Standard & Poor’s has cut the credit ratings of 18 councils, blaming the new Government’s abrupt reversal of 3 Waters, cuts to capital ...
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today showed that the economy grew by 0.7% ending the very deep recession seen over the past year, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. âEven though GDP grew in the three months to December, our economy is still 1.1% smaller than it ...
What is going on with the price of butter?, RNZ, 19 march 2025: If you have bought butter recently you might have noticed something - it is a lot more expensive. Stats NZ said last week that the price of butter was up 60 percent in February compared to ...
I agree with Will Leben, who wrote in The Strategist about his mistakes, that an important element of being a commentator is being accountable and taking responsibility for things you got wrong. In that spirit, ...
You’d beDrunk by noon, no one would knowJust like the pandemicWithout the sourdoughIf I were there, I’d find a wayTo get treated for hysteriaEvery dayLyrics Riki Lindhome.A varied selection today in Nick’s Kōrero:Thou shalt have no other gods - with Christopher Luxon.Doctors should be seen and not heard - with ...
Two recent foreign challenges suggest that Australia needs urgently to increase its level of defence self-reliance and to ensure that the increased funding that this would require is available. First, the circumnavigation of our continent ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, The ...
According to RNZâs embedded reporter, the importance of Winston Petersâ talks in Washington this week âcannot be overstated.â Right. âExceptionally important.â said the maestro himself. This epic importance doesnât seem to have culminated in anything more than us expressing our âconcernâ to the Americans about a series of issues that ...
Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of "Climate Fresk" and at a guess, this will also be the case for many of you. I stumbled upon it in the self-service training catalog for employees at the company I work at in Germany where it was announced ...
Japan and Australia talk of âcollective deterrence,â but they donât seem to have specific objectives. The relationship needs a clearer direction. The two countries should identify how they complement each other. Each country has two ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the OPCâs decision to issue a code of practice for biometric processing. Our view is that the draft code currently being consulted on is stronger and will be more effective than the exposure code released in early 2024. We are pleased that some of the revisions ...
Australiaâs export-oriented industries, particularly agriculture, need to diversify their markets, with a focus on Southeast Asia. This could strengthen economic security and resilience while deepening regional relationships. The Trump administrationâs decision to impose tariffs on ...
Minister Shane Jones is introducing fastrack ‘reforms’ to the our fishing industry that will ensure the big players squeeze out the small fishers and entrench an already bankrupt quota system.Our fisheries are under severe stress: the recent decision by theHigh Court ruling that the ...
In what has become regular news, the quarterly ETS auction has failed, with nobody even bothering to bid. The immediate reason is that the carbon price has fallen to around $60, below the auction minimum of $68. And the cause of that is a government which has basically given up ...
US President Donald Trumpâs tariff threats have dominated headlines in India in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Trump announced that his reciprocal tariffsâmatching other countriesâ tariffs on American goodsâwill go into effect on 2 April, ...
Hi,Back in June of 2021, James Gardner-Hopkins — a former partner at law firm Russell McVeagh — was found guilty of misconduct over sexually inappropriate behaviour with interns.The events all related to law students working as summer interns at Russell McVeagh:As well as intimate touching with a student at his ...
Climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has slammed National for being ‘out of touch’ by sticking to our climate commitments. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest:ACT’s renowned climate sceptic MP Mark Cameron has accused National of being 'out of touch' with farmers by sticking with New Zealand’s Paris accord pledges ...
Now I've heard there was a secret chordThat David played, and it pleased the LordBut you don't really care for music, do you?It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor falls, the major liftsThe baffled king composing HallelujahSongwriter: Leonard CohenI always thought the lyrics of that great song by ...
People are getting carried away with the virtues of small warship crews. We need to remember the great vice of having few people to run a ship: theyâll quickly tire. Yes, the navy is struggling ...
Mōrena. Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom/$3, NZ Herald/$, Stuff, BusinessDesk/$, Politik-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT/$, WSJ/$, Bloomberg/$, New York Times/$, The Atlantic-$, ...
US President Donald Trumpâs hostile regime has finally forced Europe to wake up. With US officials calling into question the transatlantic alliance, Germanyâs incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, recently persuaded lawmakers to revise the countryâs debt ...
We need to establish clearer political boundaries around national security to avoid politicising ongoing security issues and to better manage secondary effects. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed on 10 March that the Dural caravan ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have reiterated their call for Government to protect workers by banning engineered stone in a submission on MBIEâs silica dust consultation. âIf Brooke van Velden is genuine when she calls for an evidence-based approach to this issue, then she must support a full ban on ...
The Labour Inspectorate could soon be knocking on the door of hundreds of businesses nation-wide, as it launches a major crackdown on those not abiding by the law. NorthTec staff are on edge as Northlandâs leading polytechnic proposes to stop 11 programmes across primary industries, forestry, and construction. Union coverage ...
Itâs one thing for military personnel to hone skills with first-person view (FPV) drones in racing competitions. Itâs quite another for them to transition to the complexities of the battlefield. Drone racing has become a ...
Seymour says there will be no other exemptions granted to schools wanting to opt out of the Compass contract. Photo: Lynn GrievesonLong stories shortest:David Seymour has denied a request from a Christchurch school and any other schools to be exempted from the Compass school lunch programme, saying the contract ...
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, and British Prime Minister John Major signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in ...
Edit: The original story said “Palette Cleanser” in both the story, and the headline. I am never, ever going to live this down. Chain me up, throw me into the pit.Hi,With the world burning — literally and figuratively — I felt like Webworm needed a little palate cleanser at the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler(Image credit: Antonio Huerta) Growing up in suburban Ohio, I was used to seeing farmland and woods disappear to make room for new subdivisions, strip malls, and big box stores. I didn’t usually welcome the changes, but I assumed others ...
Myanmar was a key global site for criminal activity well before the 2021 military coup. Today, illicit industry, especially heroin and methamphetamine production, still defines much of the economy. Nowhere, not even the leafiest districts ...
What've I gotta do to make you love me?What've I gotta do to make you care?What do I do when lightning strikes me?And I wake up and find that you're not thereWhat've I gotta do to make you want me?Mmm hmm, what've I gotta do to be heard?What do I ...
Here’s my selection1 of scoops, breaking news, news, analyses, deep-dives, features, interviews, Op-Eds, editorials and cartoons from around Aotearoa’s political economy on housing, climate and poverty from RNZ, 1News, The Post-$2, The Press−$, Newsroom3, NZ Herald, Stuff, BusinessDesk-$, NBR-$, Reuters, FT-$, WSJ-$, Bloomberg-$, New York Times-$, The Atlantic-$, The Economist-$ ...
Whenever Christopher Luxon drops a classically fatuous clanger or whenever the government has a bad poll â i.e. every week â the talk resumes that he is about to be rolled. This is unlikely for several reasons. For starters, there is no successor. Nicola Willis? Chris Bishop? Simeon Brown? Mark ...
Australia, Britain and European countries should loosen budget rules to allow borrowing to fund higher defence spending, a new study by the Kiel Institute suggests. Currently, budget debt rules are forcing governments to finance increases ...
The NZCTU remains strongly committed to banning engineered stone in New Zealand and implementing better occupational health protections for all workers working with silica-containing materials. In this submission to MBIE, the NZCTU outlines that we have an opportunity to learn from Australiaâs experience by implementing a full ban of engineered ...
The Prime Minister has announced a big win in trade negotiations with India.It’s huge, he told reporters. We didn't get everything we came for but we were able to agree on free trade in clothing, fabrics, car components, software, IT consulting, spices, tea, rice, and leather goods.He said that for ...
I have been trying to figure out the logic of Trump’s tariff policies and apparent desire for a global trade war. Although he does not appear to comprehend that tariffs are a tax on consumers in the country doing the tariffing, I can (sort of) understand that he may think ...
As Syria and international partners negotiate the countryâs future, France has sought to be a convening power. While France has a history of influence in the Middle East, it will have to balance competing Syrian ...
One of the eternal truths about Aotearoa's economy is that we are "capital poor": there's not enough money sloshing around here to fund the expansion of local businesses, or to build the things we want to. Which gets used as an excuse for all sorts of things, like setting up ...
National held its ground until late 2023 Verion, Talbot Mills & Curia Polls (Red = Labour, Blue = National)If we remove outlier results from Curia (National Party November 2023) National started trending down in October 2024.Verion Polls (Red = Labour, Blue = National)Verian alone shows a clearer deterioration in early ...
In a recent presentation, I recommended, quite unoriginally, that governments should have a greater focus on higher-impact, lower-probability climate risks. My reasoning was that current climate model projections have blind spots, meaning we are betting ...
Daddy, are you out there?Daddy, won't you come and play?Daddy, do you not care?Is there nothing that you want to say?Songwriters: Mark Batson / Beyonce Giselle Knowles.This morning, a look at the much-maligned NZ Herald. Despised by many on the left as little more than a mouthpiece for the National ...
Employers, unions and health and safety advocates are calling for engineered stone to be banned, a day before consultation on regulations closes. On Friday the PSA lodged a pay equity claim for library assistants with the Employment Relations Authority, after the stalling of a claim lodged with six councils in ...
Long stories shortest in Aotearoa’s political economy:Christopher Luxon surprises by announcing trade deal talks with India will start next month, and include beef and dairy. Napier is set to join Whakatane, Dunedin and Westport in staging a protest march against health spending restraints hitting their hospital services. Winston Peters ...
At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and deepening global fragmentation, the Ukraine war has proved particularly divisive. From the start, the battle lines were clearly drawn: Russia on one side, Ukraine and the West ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israelâs assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealandâs Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
Itâs been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a âone-size fits allâ standardised test â a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumÄtua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrickâs Memberâs Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jonesâ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
Labour does not support the private ownership of core infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons, which will only see worse outcomes for Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is disappointed the Government voted down HĆ«hana Lyndonâs memberâs Bill, which would have prevented further alienation of MÄori land through the Public Works Act. ...
The Labour Party will support Chloe Swarbrickâs memberâs bill which would allow sanctions against Israel for its illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. ...
The Governmentâs new procurement rules are a blatant attack on workers and the environment, showing once again that Nationalâs priorities are completely out of touch with everyday Kiwis. ...
With Labour and Te PÄti MÄoriâs official support, Opposition parties are officially aligned to progress Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrickâs Memberâs Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in Palestine. ...
Te PÄti MÄori extends our deepest aroha to the 500 plus WhÄnau Ora workers who have been advised today that the govt will be dismantling their contracts. For twenty years , WhÄnau Ora has been helping families, delivering life-changing support through a kaupapa MÄori approach. It has built trust where ...
Labour welcomes Simeon Brownâs move to reinstate a board at Health New Zealand, bringing the destructive and secretive tenure of commissioner Lester Levy to an end. ...
This morningâs announcement by the Health Minister regarding a major overhaul of the public health sector levels yet another blow to the countryâs essential services. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Memberâs Bill that will ensure employment decisions in the public service are based on merit and not on forced woke âDiversity, Equity, and Inclusionâ targets. âThis Bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector. ...
Police have referred 20 offenders to Destiny Church-affiliated programmes Man Up and Legacy as âwellness providersâ in the last year, raising concerns that those seeking help are being recruited into a harmful organisation. ...
Te PÄti MÄori welcomes the resignation of Richard Prebble from the Waitangi Tribunal. His appointment in October 2024 was a disgrace- another example of this government undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi by appointing a former ACT leader who has spent his career attacking MÄori rights. âRegardless of the reason for ...
Police Minister Mark Mitchell is avoiding accountability by refusing to answer key questions in the House as his Government faces criticism over their dangerous citizenâs arrest policy, firearm reform, and broken promises to recruit more police. ...
The number of building consents issued under this Government continues to spiral, taking a toll on the infrastructure sector, tradies, and future generations of Kiwi homeowners. ...
Parliament's recent inquiry and debate on climate change adaptation asked small questions, looked short-term and inched towards reactive solutions. ...
No news is good newsLord Breen of Seymour was taking the watersAt the Head in the Clouds Health Spa.A figure walked up the long, winding stepsTo his mountain top resort.It was the Court Surgeon.âWhatâs up, Sawbones?,â chuckled Lord Breen.âWhy didnât you fly up in the Royal Balloon?ââLo,â said the Court ...
Asia Pacific Report Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick called on New Zealand government MPs today to support her Memberâs Bill to sanction Israel over its âcrazy slaughterâ of Palestinians in Gaza. Speaking at a large pro-Palestinian solidarity rally in the heart of New Zealandâs largest city Auckland, she said Aotearoa ...
The draft bill was intended to stop any move away from the principle of equal suffrage, where each person gets an equal say in electing people, Uffindell said. ...
By Leah Lowonbu, Stefan Armbruster and Harlyne Joku of BenarNews The Pacificâs peak diplomatic bodies have signalled they are ready to engage with Papua New Guineaâs Autonomous Government of Bougainville as mediation begins on the delayed ratification of its successful 2019 independence referendum. PNG and Bougainvilleâs leaders met in the ...
MONDAYThe party of honoured New Zealanders were shown an old fort. “Awesome,” said Mr Luxon.He wore a gold turban, a white linen jacket, a peacock-illustrated waistcoat sewn with exquisite rubies, a white dhoti crafted from finest polyester with 1 1/2″ gold jari border, and a $625 pair of Christian Kimber ...
Christopher Luxon's trip to India included the restart of trade talks, the tightening of defence ties, and more than a spot of cricket - RNZ's deputy political editor takes us behind the scenes. ...
Six months after Vincent Dix and his son Nikau stumbled across remains of an ocean-voyaging waka while searching for driftwood on their property in RÄkohu/ Chatham Islands, the community is still buzzing over the discoveries.The big question locals want an answer to: where did the waka come, from and who ...
Leon Pritchard used to be absolutely ripped, back in the day. He exercised his muscles one by one at the gym, so that each formed its ultimate shape and could be easily seen by passing females, even at a glance. He worked hardest on his upper body and put the ...
Never heard of Acotar? Unsure what makes fairies sexy? Nervous of romantasy? Bemused by the term Medievalcore? Herewith is all you need to know about the hottest publishing trend of the age.What is fairy smut?Fairy smut is a genre of fantasy romance (romantasy) that includes both fairies and ...
The local star of Prime Videoâs fantasy epic takes us through her life in television, including the trauma of 2000s drink driving ads and the Tribe spinoff that time forgot. Local actor ZoĂ« Robins is one of the many, many New Zealanders who have infiltrated huge budget behemoth television shows ...
Court documents suggest Kim Dotcom spent $1,000,000 on Grammy winners, ad campaigns and the best studio in the country. So why was his much-derided album such a disaster? This story was first published in 2015 in Barkersâ 1972 magazine, and is republished here with permission.Read Chris Schulzâs interview with ...
Most people would look at our house and decide painting it was a job for professionals. My mum and dad decided it was a job for their kids.I grew up in a house that was always being renovated. Thatâs not hyperbole, it was literally always being renovated. Just one ...
Asia Pacific Report A joint operation between the Fiji Police Force, Republic of Fiji Military Force (RFMF), Territorial Force Brigade, Fiji Navy and National Fire Authority was staged this week to âmoderniseâ responses to emergencies. Called âExercise Genesisâ, the joint operation is believed to be the first of its kind ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Nicholls, Senior Research Associate in Media and Communications, University of Sydney As the United States recalibrates its trade policies to combat what the Trump administration sees as âunfairâ treatment by other countries, two significant industries have complained to US regulators about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Renwick, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Lincoln University, New Zealand Since the return to power of US President Donald Trump, tariffs have barely left the front pages. While the on-off-on tariff sagas have dominated the headlines, a paper released this week ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Baka, Honorary Professor, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Canada; Adjunct Fellow, Olympic Scholar and Co-Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Research Centre, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University In a surprisingly emphatic result, 41-year-old Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabweâs Sport Minister, ...
More than 12,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater a day could be discharged directly into the Shotover River in the countryâs premiere tourist resort, according to a whistle-blowing councillor. Thatâs almost enough liquid to fill five Olympic-sized swimming pools.The plan, prompted by Queenstownâs failing sewage treatment plant, would use emergency ...
Winston Peters has repeatedly failed to express any concern for the Palestinians killed by Israel since Israel ended the ceasefire and condemn Israel for this industrial-scale carnage, which the International Court of Justice found more than a year ago to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Daria Nipot/Shutterstock Australiaâs supermarket sector has endured a long, uncomfortable moment in the spotlight. There have been six comprehensive inquiries into its conduct, pricing practices, and specifically claims of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gail Wilson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Office of the PVC (Academic Innovation), Southern Cross University Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock In 2023, an academic journal, the Annals of Operations Research, retracted an entire special isssue because the peer review process for it was compromised. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Breen, Professor of Psychology, Curtin University Photo by Daria Kruchkova/Pexels Grief can hit us in powerful and unanticipated ways. You might expect to grieve a person, a pet or even a former version of yourself â but many people are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan B. Williams, Professor of Marine Robotics, Australian Centre for Robotics, University of Sydney Armada 7805, similar to the 7806 vessel that will support the new MH370 search.Ocean Infinity More than 11 years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, $30) A Hunger Games prequel starring young Haymitch, ...
Two poems from the new collection Clay Eaters by Gregory Kan, launched this week at Unity Books Wellington.(Editors note: The poems are untitled but can be found on pages 3 and 19 of Clay Eaters, published by Auckland University Press.)  From Clay Eaters  Satellite view of the ...
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Dammit I can usually do these things – but this one is really hard. Nnnnnnnnn. Ah – got it – only one of them lives in Dipton! Oooops, no, that’s wrong too. I give up – is it a trick question?
Only one of them is hiding Richard Worth on their head ?
And you’re failing to hide the bigot inside yours …
Oh no wodgey is gwumpy
Its obvious, the background to the turbaned gent is bright blue, the backgrouind to the others matches their personalities, dull.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the witnesses to Lee and English’s rorts have mysteriously disappeared. Key on the other hand is just missing in inaction.
Sprout, I’m not quite sure if you’re sexist or racist. Either / or – it ain’t pretty.
Shame to see The Standard slipping like this.
[lprent: It is essentially a basic Rorschach inkblot test. The interpretation reveals more about the person doing the interpretation more than anything else…… Which leads me towards your statement?…… Why the obsession with….]
Ha… classic projection.
đ
This post is a classic wrist off.
đ đ
One of them does not look too happy playing, “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” anymore and is trying to tell them that “it’s time we got serious”…
It depends on the direction they lie – in bed?
There are some interesting parallels in their career arcs, with English and Singh both putting in the hard yards for years only to have their ambitions overridden by the National Party’s preference for the less competent show-ponies Key and Lee.
As for the odd-one-out, does one of them live in the electorate in which they last stood? Singh, perhaps?
Nah, it is that the three on the left have substantive allegations of corruption against them personally. The allegations against the one on the right are “only” of covering up the allegations against the others.
A bit like a line-up of Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum, Clint Rickards, and John Dewar.
Dewar didn’t actually rape anyone, but he went to jail for covering for those who did.
Probably the most retarded comparison I’ve seen on this site ……….congratulations.
Yep. Toad, that’s a pretty vile comparison.
Bill English is about to be cleared by the auditor general. You just compared him to a rapist. You should apologise to him and his family as should all of the other authors of this blog. .
You should get out a dictionary and learn the difference between a comparison and a parallel.
Then you should apologise to Toad and all the other authors of this blog and fuck off while you’re doing it.
Honestly, that’s the sort of shit thinking I’d expect from Farrar or Tim Alice.
Only one surname rhymes with selfish, the others all rhyme with shonky.
Or as an alternative, the one on the right is unique in that he is facing left while walking right.
English is the pick, though farmers who live in Wellington while residing in Dipton are another minority. It is a gallery which shows that people from a minority can do well in Godzone.
Pity about the morality shown, though, by all four.
One is the ring-master of the circus. The others are performers (or non-performers) in the same circus.
oh – only the one on the right has the depth of post-modern irony/cliche parody, to get real enjoyment out of owning a beach-front property in Hawaii?
Tut tut green eyed monster stuff nomey.
Only one of them has increased their approval ratings in the past 12 months to record levels.
Keep up the good work JK.
You other three…sharpen up
One of them got rich of the backs of others, the others are embarrassing themselves trying.
And….. I rest my case.
You guys can inkblot to your hearts content. The proof is in the pudding (or in this case the comments), losers one and all.
Funny to see…but kind of sad too. I was almost growing to like you guys since you lost the election. I was just about feeling a bit sorry for you all. But the mask slips in posts like this and what it reveals isn’t cute or smart, it’s just bitter little boys with no style.
sing – so when a lefty does it “its simply terrible”…..what about the constant right wing propoganda and lies?? spose thats fine!
I rest my case!!!!!!!!