KiwiRail's chair questioned the extensive conflicts of a newly-appointed board member, suggesting they would test his loyalty. O'Donnell is also one of the four directors of Dynes Transport Tapanui, which donated $20,000 to NZ First in July 2024. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic... #NZPol

Philip Morris allegedly pitched draft legislation to NZ First as part of a lobbying campaign for its Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs), according to documents released in litigation against a US vaping company. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept... #NZPol

Should have put an air tag on it. The persistent @eloisegibson.bsky.social finally gets to the bottom of the methane satellite mystery. www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

Fascinating story to work on - octopus farming - who would have thought it's a thing. Plus I learnt the common name for one of our octopus species is Gloomy octopus. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

@kiwifarah.bsky.social so consistent about chipping away on the fast track law. Here's her latest.

Booze lobbyists shape alcohol policy, documents reveal #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Goddamn dust in my eye after reading Dana’s wrap of the Olivia Podmore coronial hearings. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Another defeat in the long-running attempt to quarry QEII covenant protected land. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Brutal Barkley Marathons this year. Nobody will finish five loops.

Best day ever to take an annual leave day. Barkley marathons has started.

Brought stuff from home to work today.

Five of the government's key targets are behind track or at risk of not being met, the latest update shows. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Still following Fast-track this year. McCallum Bros has a project listed for sand mining in Bream Bay. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

The work dishwasher this morning. I work with savages.

Feeling this piece from Richard Larsen about 'enshittification' www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Time to change out the fridge pic? John Richard Allen likely to take-over from Peter Boshier as Chief Ombudsman www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Lol. "But if those options have you instantly reaching for the nearest cold one, there are, of course, other alternatives out there ..." www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Favourite op shop find of the summer. Should be appropriate for court reporting. 😂

Wellington on a good day 😂

Poor old Rhythm & Vines having a bad year. Poo in the sea and now shite weather. Hope it’s not as bad as forecast, that area has taken a beating. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The closest I get to sports reporting. Fast-track application documents reveal surprise hotel & student hostel plan for Eden Park Stadium. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

A recap on the fast-track bill’s journey. It hasn’t been smooth. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Headphones on at desk and wondering what my Spotify algorithm was up to when I realised I was listening to Parliament TV 'hold' music.

Also, Fast-Track related. "He said it was very unusual for the Speaker to override both the Clerk and the Assistant Speaker." #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Another bunch of consent breaches for Macraes mine. There's an expansion project written into the Fast Track bill. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Currently trying to read the 214 pages of proposed amendments to the fast-track bill on my phone while cooking dinner. Hope the family likes food extra brown & dry 😂

Frickin’ targets. #NZPol. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

All of Govt's 2024 coal earnings spent treating damages at a single mine newsroom.co.nz/2024/12/02/a...

Another delay in releasing fast-track information. "A release of some project applications in dribs and drabs a day or two before the bill is debated in the House would also not be good enough.." www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic... #NZPol

Thomas Nash: "We know that making public transport less affordable just pushes people into cars, increasing congestion, pollution and emissions and making roads less safe." www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

J Swap's latest court appeal seeking to quarry land protected by a QEII covenant has been dismissed. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

36 mining projects got initial tick for fast-tracking in single, 3-hour meeting "The minuted-comments that the Fast-track Projects Advisory Group made on that project [TTR offshore mining] were among its more extensive, running to a total of 18 words." www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

Such an awful read. Olivia Podmore inquest. "[The coach] would berate Olivia on all aspects of her personal life. Who she was seeing and when, what she ate, the size of her bottom, her haircut, how many boys she slept with and more. It was relentless." www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

An audit of OceanaGold's Macraes mine by Otago Regional Council, completed in October, found "continued or repeated non-compliances" with several resource consent environmental monitoring conditions between 2019 and 2024. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

“Crawford-Moyle says nothing has changed and that makes the apology empty. ‘You're still sending our babies into boot camps. You're still sending them into residences where you say you will protect them, but you're not protecting them.’ “ www.rnz.co.nz/news/abusein...

Massive court cost award to community groups fighting sand mining at Pākiri beach. This company has a brand new fast track application in for Bream Bay. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Shane Jones on behaviour of a company linked to a donor of his Northland campaign: “I wouldn’t fuss about it too much” #NZPol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zeala...

Shane Jones on behaviour of a company linked to a donor of his Northland campaign: “I wouldn’t fuss about it too much” #NZPol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zeala...

"New Zealand's rocked up with a bunch of waffle and some empty, high-level platitudes with zero financial commitment and no action plan about how these targets are going to be made manifest in our domestic policy." #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Almost minging: Naive, challenging, misguided, ambitious and underwhelming - lawyers reaction to proposed RMA changes. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

Select committee report on Fast Track bill is linked off this page if you fancy some Friday evening reading. #NZPol selectcommittees.parliament.nz/v/SelectComm...

The choosing of the fast track project choosers: Most members of the fast-track independent advisory group were put forward by ministers and political parties, not government agencies. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

From this morning - combined my two hot topics for the past year or so in one story. Political donations & the fast track legislation. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

“The Associate Health Minister Casey Costello's "independent advice" on heated tobacco products is five articles that are either about different products, outdated, or only offer weak support for her view.” #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

'Most benefit' of government's tobacco tax cuts will go to tobacco company Philip Morris, officials told Casey Costello #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

A quarry company's application for Fast-track consideration could have far-reaching consequences for areas of private land which are supposed to be protected in perpetuity. www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept... #NZPol

The Chief Ombudsman has criticised Associate Health Minister Casey Costello for poor record-keeping, as she has been unable to identify the mystery author of the advice on which she based her tobacco policy. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic... #NZPol

The mystery tobacco document saga continues - and becomes more farcical. #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

A leaked document from tobacco giant Philip Morris says the company should target political parties including NZ First to get more favourable regulation for its Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs). #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...

“Costello, who is also Customs Minister, has cut the excise rate on heated tobacco products by 50 percent effective from 1 July - a move silently dropped on the Customs website.” #NZPol www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...