Watching  Q&A right now interviewing Rodney Jones and he is bang on the mark.
He says it as it is that NZ sold our cows cheap to China and now they are making dairy products on their own thanks to us.
We have been too reliant on China and we need to diversify our export markets ASAP and farmers need to move to lamb again like NZ was once famous for.

The idiocy of claiming that if Nelson Mandela was alive today, he'd support the ACT party has been strongly refuted by a grandson of Mandela. HOW the devil can a politician - even an ACT politician - be so incredibly stupid as to make such a claim??! Beyond bizarre!


https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/496...andson-say


"Nelson Mandela would not have campaigned for the ACT Party if he were still alive, the anti-apartheid activist's grandson says.
During a speech at the Moutere Hills Community Centre in rural Tasman on Thursday, ACT Party leader David Seymour told a crowd of 250 people that New Zealand had become a "lawless" country.
It was ACT's policy to put more people in prison, which he said was "some of the best money you can spend".

Seymour also touched on co-governance.
"Every country that has ever tried to do what this government has tried to do has either ended in disaster or successfully campaigned to reintroduce liberal democracy.

"I daresay if Nelson Mandela was alive today he would be campaigning for ACT."

Seymour was mocked on Twitter for his comment, which came to the attention of Mandela's grandson, Kweku Mandela.
"My grandfather definitely loved the people of New Zealand and I can say categorically he would not campaign for this today or any other day in the past," he tweeted on Saturday.

Asked for his response, Seymour said: "Far be it from me to question the great man's grandson, but Nelson Mandela did say 'all people are born equal, with each entitled in equal measure to life [and] liberty'.
"That is a core ACT value and why we are so opposed to co-governance."


At the time Mandela made his famous remark, he said people were also entitled in equal measure to "prosperity, human rights and good governance".

Yes it is a bit long - but I can manage to pronounce it without becoming overcome with fatigue, & I suspect most will also manage it. It really isn't that difficult at 17 letters & better than Acacia st which is what they want.



https://www.stuff.co.nz/bay-of-plenty/30...s-too-long


"A 17-letter name, the traditional Māori name for the location, has been rejected by Bay of Plenty residents for being too long, leaving it a street with no name.

• Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein: (44 letters) The Longest Name in Africa and Is a Farm in South Africa In the Afrikaans Language
  
  
• Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä: (35 letters) Located In Lapland, Finland. the Longest Name In The European Union (After Brexit)
  
  
• Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik: (31 letters) A Lake in Manitoba, Canada. A Cree Word for "where the wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks"
  
  
• Andorijidoridaraemihansumbau: (28 letters) A Street in South Korea That Translates As "a road so rocky and rough that even squirrels can't breathe enough."
  
  
• Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta: (28 letters) A Village in India and the Longest Name In India
  
  
• Bovenendvankeelafsnysleegte: (27 letters) Another Afrikaans Named Farm in South Africa
  
  
• Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya: (26 letters) A Hill In South Australia Translating as "Where the devil urinates"
  

Perhaps its time to change the way we do things when it comes to donating to political parties. Perhaps allocating each party a modest amount which they're allowed to accept in donations, & put an end to anonymous donations might work. 
After all politicians are keen to tell voters they might have to tighten their belts - they'd surely welcome the chance to show us all how good their budgeting skills are.



https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside...al-parties



"Our current research into New Zealand's political donations system aims to shed light on this often obscure process.
Last year, just over NZ$2.73 million was donated to 10 of New Zealand's 15 registered political parties.
Current rules require the public disclosure of any donations over $15,000. The government has proposed dropping this public disclosure threshold to $1500 (a move opposed by both the National and Act parties).

The proposed reforms to the political donation rules follow Serious Fraud Office investigations into the handling of donations received by the National, Labour and NZ First parties. All three investigations have resulted in court proceedings, with the first case just ended with the judge reserving his decision.
Given the apparent confusion and disputed legal requirements around transparency,  a basic question needs to be asked: why do wealthy New Zealanders donate to political parties?




Our interviewees' reasons for donating varied.

Most invoked some desire to "participate". Participation took different forms - from supporting a party that had similar values to the donor, to just being part of the political process.



But the donors we spoke to said they did not gain extra influence as a result of their donation, nor did they seek it.



A couple of cautions are in order, however.

The fact they were willing to be interviewed by researchers may suggest our interviewees were more comfortable with their donations than other donors might be.

Second, even while insisting they did not gain extra influence, some made other comments suggesting some level influence was a consequence of the donation.



With two more donations-related court cases to come this year, pressure is mounting for changes to the way political parties are funded.
Such reform appears necessary to create greater transparency about donations and ensure that trust in Aotearoa New Zealand's political funding system is not permanently eroded."




https://theconversation.com/tougher-dona...all-209851

"Less than three months out from New Zealand’s 2023 election, large political donations have been making headlines. Donations to both the ACT Party and the National Party have significantly outpaced large-scale contributions to other political groups.



Should this be a cause for concern? Studies from overseas indicate those who raise the most money tend to win. And, based on our recent “Doughnation” research, donors know that too. Wealthy New Zealanders admitted to gaining access to the levers of power through political donations.



So do our current campaign finance rules do enough to protect a basic principle of democracy – that we should all be equal in the ballot box?
Not according to an interim report from the Independent Electoral Review, which warns New Zealand’s current electoral laws are still “not as fair as they could be”.



https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/n...J7B4TGAUI/




"The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 in large donations, according to Electoral Commission records.

The disparity has seen National raise more money from large donors in one year than Labour has raised in nearly a decade.

Most of National’s funds are thanks to a fundraising blitz from former deputy leader Paula Bennett who tapped richlisters, including New Zealand’s wealthiest man, for as much as $250,000 each last year. 



With Labour declaring just $150,000 in large donations last year, National raised more than $15 from its big money donors for every $1 Labour raised from its own large donors. However, Labour has historically relied on many smaller donations which are not immediately published by the Electoral Commission.

Labour’s coffers were boosted with a late donation of $50,000 from the family of Phillip Mills of Les Mills gym fame in December. Mills has previously donated to Labour and the Greens."

Well of course they bloody well will - can't have the peasants getting anything free, who knows what they might want next, & besides they might learn stuff.

 People who have education tend to have ideas, about things like democracy & fair govt....

What a bunch of absolute elitist  bastards they are.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politic...government


"ACT Party leader David Seymour says the fees-free policy is an "unfair, unprincipled and unaffordable bribe" and would reinstate it if it was part of the next government.

Fees-free education offers students their first year of tertiary study or two years training, up to the value of $12,000, free of charge. The Labour Government brought it in in 2018.

But Seymour said it primarily benefits young people from wealthier background. "They’re being funded by less well-off taxpayers whose children are less likely to go into tertiary education," he said in a statement. 


No it damn well doesn't; my youngest grandson was able to use this because his parents were only just over the income limit. Bloody politicians.


Seymour said the $30,000 tertiary element of this policy, however was different from the fees-free scheme because it was a one-off payment.

National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis, and education spokesperson Erica Stanford, have both promised their party would keep the scheme. "We wouldn't touch it," Stanford said. 


The ACT Party's education policy also sets out a radical shift to the sector. It would give each child a Student Education Account at the age of two. Each year until a student is 18, $12,000 will be placed into that account. At the age of 18, they will receive a further $30,000 for tertiary education, with up to $50,000 available top academic achievers through a scholarship program. Over half of students will receive a scholarship.

She & the other directors of Mainzeal must pay more than $6 million




https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/1327993...peal-fails

Unbelievable how some buyers complain about shipping costs.
Had one buyer question me how shipping could be so expensive for something so small.
We are talking about $7 in total and is for the cheapest mailer bag at $5.80 plus some extra for bubblewrap.
I explained the costs and in the end they paid, but for the sake of $1.20? really?

An outgoing MP thinks so!
I believe the idea was floated way back into making NZ a state of Australia prior to the signing of the treaty if I'm not mistaken.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/a...ory-speech

Bought my new Samsung LU28R550U 4K monitor and Win11 complains that HDR is not supported! 

How to turn it ON?        

This has been returned - twice - to a charity shop with complaints it has a creepy aura.



https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/ar...reepy-aura