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The gun guy and the gun girl agree to disagree on reform
Assuming that there is such a stereotypical thing as a "gun guy", Green Taieri list MP Scott Willis would not be it.
Southern Say
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Ministers and backbenchers alike hunt game in the House
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Ministers and backbenchers alike hunt game in the House
To reverse a famous observation by Oscar Wilde, there is only one thing in life worse than not being talked about, and that is being talked about.
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Brooking battles through the watery preliminary round
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Brooking battles through the watery preliminary round
Preliminary, according to the pocket dictionary I’ve carried everywhere since the 1980s, means something preceding or preparing for the main act.
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Pinning the tail on the Act NZ donkey
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Pinning the tail on the Act NZ donkey
Act New Zealand Southland list MP Todd Stephenson is no-one’s idea of a wild-eyed, rabble-rousing rebel, but he unexpectedly found himself at the forefront of a mini revolt against Speaker Gerry...
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‘Dark shadow’: historic day must lead to historic actions
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‘Dark shadow’: historic day must lead to historic actions
It's not often the House is close to full late on a Wednesday afternoon, and even rarer that all MPs sit through all 12 speeches of a debate. But the debate on the final report of the abuse in care inquiry was something different.
Good morning and welcome, Dunedin is ready for visitors
Good morning and welcome, Dunedin is ready for visitors
For many, politics is the clashes at Question Time, the media scrum of the black and white tiles, and the cut and thrust of public meetings.
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Let them eat cake as the Act roadshow hits a town near you
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Let them eat cake as the Act roadshow hits a town near you
When it comes to winning votes, every little bit helps.
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All hail the dinner bell, the parliamentary lord of the rings
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All hail the dinner bell, the parliamentary lord of the rings
New Dunedin Green list MP Francisco Hernandez this week experienced a rite of passage moment for a newbie from his party: being an almost lone voice in opposition.
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Smoothing down feathers and riding out budget blowouts
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Smoothing down feathers and riding out budget blowouts
Health Minister Shane Reti spent his Tuesday ruffling feathers aplenty in Dunedin, and spent the rest of his week trying to smooth them down.
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Southern say: A mission for ‘Rural Nats’
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Shoring up the vote? Looks like a mission for ‘Rural Nats’
Waitaki National MP Miles Anderson picked up a new job this week ... although quite how different it is to his current job is a moot point.
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A visitor from far, far away finally ventures down to Dunedin
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A visitor from far, far away finally ventures down to Dunedin
Finally, after months of waiting, a really senior National party minister came to Dunedin on Wednesday.
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Happy Christmas, war is over. But has another started?
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Happy Christmas, war is over. But has another started?
Tuesday was either the day that the war on farmers ended or the day the war on nature started, depending on what side of the House you sit on.
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Reading books to escape from the unhappiness of one’s life
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Reading books to escape from the unhappiness of one’s life
As any school pupil or tertiary education student can tell you, there are few things more excruciating than having a teacher or lecturer going through your homework in public and picking holes in it.
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Going round a mulberry bush with hospital funding queries
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Going round a mulberry bush with hospital funding queries
Southern Say has highlighted the many attempts by our local MPs to get any indication at all from Health Minister Shane Reti that he'll deliver a National pledge to restore plans for the new Dunedin hospital (mostly) to the way they were.
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Yeah right — Penny Simmonds supports how the boss rolls
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Yeah right — Penny Simmonds supports how the boss rolls
The new government has had its first "Tui moment".
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Leaders asking us to take the Aukus 2 model for a test drive
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Leaders asking us to take the Aukus 2 model for a test drive
Parliament is in recess and the Prime Minister is sunning himself in Asia — which he may be very grateful for given the heat his government is feeling about its long-promised plans to pare back the public service.
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Southern Say: Simmonds dispenses with rights Bill
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Southern Say: Simmonds dispenses with rights Bill
The James Shaw farewell tour kicked into high gear this week, as Parliament debated - and rejected - his New Zealand Bill of Rights (Right to Sustainable Environment) Amendment Bill at first reading.
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Acting regionally but with the broader electoral map in mind
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Acting regionally but with the broader electoral map in mind
In November 2019, two weary years after he became the minister for regional economic development, Shane Jones came to Dunedin and dished out $60 million of tax payers’ money on a variety of projects.
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Taieri MP’s exercise in trivialities
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Taieri MP’s exercise in trivialities
The voters of Taieri got their money’s worth out of local MP Ingrid Leary this week, at least in terms of time taken up speaking in Parliament.
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Debacle for Simmonds avoidable
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Debacle for Simmonds avoidable
It is something which befalls every new government, and every new Cabinet minister lives in dread it will be them — being the first minister on whose watch something goes catastrophically wrong.