I can't match the great job @foxylustygrover.bsky.social and @anneleise.bsky.social have done on Luxon, but I can give you some choice words about his polling tomorrow in the A.M.
And if you are still on X, check out my poll!
Kia ora.
I believe, genuinely, that Nicola Willis will deliver an atrocious budget in May - despite being election year - with no fiscal relief for pretty much everyone.
She and Luxon are determined to implement a steadfastly austere neoliberal vision that will only those who support National.
A quiet day in Otautahi helping Dad do maintenance on the deck. some of the deck boards may need replacing. Before then we've been putting in a new crossbeam.
New blog item drops 0730 tomorrow.
www.leftistkiwiwrites.com
In other news, a new article dropped this morning.
www.leftistkiwiwrites.com
Thanks. And if you live in Christchurch, enjoy the *weather*.
Kia ora. Ditched a head cold that made my eyes water more than onion ever does.
I kind of feel sorry for Catherine, Sophie and Anne in the Royal Family. They seem to be doing their jobs while the boys screw around. William fights Harry; Andrew and Charles skirmish. Meghan makes another demand.. 1/
You and I have a bit in common I think. lol. Lying on the lawn directly under a thunderstorm in the minutes before it starts raining; deliberately arming the alarm and then dashing back into the house to close the window before the alarm arms; ordering a half beer when I should be getting the bus.
Hope everyone had a good weekend. It's overcast here in Christchurch as the low pressure system decides whether to dump heavy rain on the Peninsula.
As my brother's family are here, I might not blog next week. Latest one dropped today.
At my uncles birthday on Sunday, the hosts introduced me and the others to a family of magpies that they feed. Quite an entertaining distraction watching them argue at the trough.
OT: How is your uncle going? I did enjoy the stories you told us on Twitter about him.
Kia ora.
New blog article is dropping tomorrow. I explore the many sad aspects of the Taupo-nui-a-Tia College fire. 0730NZT.
Big congrats to your daughter that is impressive.
Who is writing submissions on the two R.M.A. replacement bills?
I am amending a 2024 effort, and am considering whether to ask to give an oral submission to the Select Committee.
What's up on this Saturday evening?
I went to the Beer Festival in Hagley Park today for a few hours with a couple of mates. We had a great time, but our stellar record of not seeing anyone being evicted for stupidity at the G.K.B.F. was ended by the cops marching a petulant 20-something out.
So. Crusher is retiring from politics.
Has she noticed the water sloshing around in the (not so good) Ship National Party?
Nearly there! What day is his birthday?
I have a few thoughts about the landslide in Tauranga. Read about them tomorrow in my next blog drop.
www.leftistkiwiwrites.com at 0730 NZT.
Rainy ol' Christchurch has had 260% of its normal rainfall for this point in the year. Normally 31mm would have fallen up to yesterday on average. 81mm had fallen up to 6PM yesterday.
Some places up north must be approaching the half way mark for their whole average annual rainfall by now.
Those of you who have been to Australia, what has been your most memorable animal encounter? Good, bad or otherwise?
Me? Nearly stepping on an eastern brown snake - pseudonaja textilis is the second most venomous snake in the world (second crankiest too!).
Watching currawongs fighting over a mate.
I don't think anyone should have to pay more than half of their after-tax income on rent. A landlord with 10 properties 5 charging 400p/w to 5 tenants is $2,000 in rent; the other 5 charging 350p/w to 4 people is $1,400 in rent. Total $3,400p/w; $176,800 per annum.
There is a degree of humility that goes with admitting ones screw ups - however small or massive they might be - but having a Dipstick of the Year award is next level funny.
Kia ora.
Hope everyone is managing to survive the weather up north.
In the meantime, my blog has a new article dropping at 0730 tomorrow. www.leftistkiwiwrites.com
It should have gone to Francesca Albanese, U.N. Rapporteur for Palestine. It would have angered a few people, but it would be 100% deserved and there is no way Francesca would do something that humungously disrespectful.
N.Z. needs to act against the Islamic Republic
It's time for the Islamic Republic to go.
An alternative New Zealand foreign policy in 2026
God Defend New Zealand? Or get a proper foreign policy? (N.A.S.A.) The brazen assault by the Donald Trump administration on the international legal framework that happened when U.S. forces attacked Venezuela was an assault on all that we stand for…
I forecast a grim 2026 globally.
But there are a couple of good news stories..
Outlook for New Zealand in 2026
Are stormy skies a metaphor for New Zealand in election year? (R. Glennie) 2026 begins overcast, with black clouds of various kinds hanging around New Zealand. I do not just mean the thunderstorms that have been striking various parts of the country over the last…
Political winners and losers in New Zealand for 2025
It is that time of year again when the political pundits roll out their nominees for best and worst political performances of 2025. Former Three News reporter, and now TV1 Breakfast co-host (in the new year) Tova O'Brien has just commissioned…
The National M.P. who wants to support Maori broadcasting
Last week was Scrutiny Week. It is a week where bosses of various public service agencies go to Parliament and explain what they are doing in their agencies and why the Government should support them. Meet Greg Fleming, National Party,…
Sir Geoffrey Palmer: use of urgency a danger to New Zealand
New Zealand Parliament and the Beehive (R. Glennie) Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a former Prime Minister, Minister of the Crown, and constitutional expert, has expressed his significant concern about how the excessive use of Parliamentary urgency…
New Zealand superannuation’s $625 billion mistake (and other consequences)
When National Party leader Robert Muldoon was elected Prime Minister in 1975, he made a decision (not Think Big - more on that another time) that should bother every economist in New Zealand to this day. He abolished the…
