I had a wee kōrero with Ryan Bridges and Simon Watts in the Herald Now politics slot this morning. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/mcskimmin...

My speech on the Regulatory Standards bill. It was 10 minutes long, but I think I covered the essence of my message in the first 16 seconds.

Wordle 1,609 2/6 ⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 !!!

Labour will repeal the Regulatory Standards bill.

I'm in! #SecretSantaAoNZ

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Nov. 5, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2320 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Unemployment - 5.3% Underemployment - 12.9% The highest unemployment rate since December 2016. And the highest underemployment rate since September 2015 (except briefly at the peak of the pandemic). The government just doesn't care about New Zealand workers. www.stats.govt.nz/news/unemplo...

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Nov. 4, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2380 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Strands #607 “Good bones” 💀🦴🦴🦴 🦴🦴🦴🦴 Took me a moment to figure out why they did this. 🤦‍♀️

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Where do bad rainbows go? Well they go to prism. But it’s a light sentence. It gives them time to reflect.

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who creates the lively art and music scenes if the rent is too high? who makes cultural life? who serves you food or washes your dishes? who creates the fancy little restaurants that draw you to urban living? affordable housing is at the heart of what makes city life worthwhile.

8 out of 10, and I don't know what is says about me, but I got all the Tolkien ones right.

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Oct. 26, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2320 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Listen to the sound of New Zealand ingenuity in action. Hamilton jets and twin carbon fibre hulls allow our country's newest electric ferry to slice through the water efficiently, all without a single droplet of Victorian-era diesel. Runs on renewable Ecotricity power too! The future is here. 💪🔋

#BREAKING The New Zealand Future Fund is the first step in Labour’s plan to realise our country’s full potential - creating good, well-paid jobs and keeping wealth and talent here at home. A future made in New Zealand. Press release here: www.labour.org.nz/news/release...

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Oct. 17, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2260 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

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A sad day. Jim Bolger's time in office included the ghastly Mother of All Budgets, but he also worked hard on treaty settlements as a matter of fairness. In recent years he argued that neoliberalism had failed, and he worked even harder on equity for Māori. He also defended fair pay agreements. 1/2

My daughter has had her big assessment on her teaching placement and she has been graded as "Ready to teach" on everything. 🥰🥰🥰

"Literacy" not "litrishee" 😖

“The extra warming caused by weakening the methane target is massive: it is roughly equivalent to tripling all of our other emissions out to 2050." - @christinahood.bsky.social, climate policy expert. Story by @marcdaalder.bsky.social

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Our response to the Government's change to our methane targets: www.labour.org.nz/news/release...

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Oct. 12, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2360 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Wordle 1,575 2/6 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💃

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Oct. 10, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2360 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Oct. 7, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2270 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

I left home to study in another city when I was 18. It was a huge challenge. And that was staying in a hostel where I didn't have to worry about bills (except for hostel fees) or cook my own food. It's too easy to suggest that young people should just move. They need a heap of support. 1/3

Mōrena!

OECD comparison of changes in unemployment relative to 2019 average. Second image shows all oecd countries. I remain baffled by the media not asking the obvious questions here: 'How have we fked up so badly? Who is accountable?'

A question from today's Tightrope. I would just like to point out that if it was according to Homer, then it would have been Herakles. #pedant #classics

In our house we have a treats drawer. It is filled with treats (cashews, kitkats, dried fruit, biccies ...). The children are disgruntled that the treats drawer only appeared after they all left home.

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 29, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2360 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Mission accomplished.

I've just realised that my last few posts here have all been trivia results (I love a good trivia game) and nothing more substantial. It's not laziness: the virus I caught a couple of weeks ago has really knocked me about. I've been able to do a few zoom meetings and not much more, alas. 1/2

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 28, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2430 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 23, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2190 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Day five of a nasty cold / sore throat / aching head. I'm hoping that one more day of rest will see me right.

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 22, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2320 www.britannica.com/quiz/tightrope

Carmel on fire at the pay equity rally in Auckland. Labour WILL reverse the changes this wretched government has made to pay equity.

The saying is, "Campaign in poetry, govern in prose" but right now, it's feeling more like "govern in AI generated slop" to me. Former finance minister Sir Roger Douglas calls for Finance Minister Nicola Willis to resign www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 19, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2340

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Here's the transcript of our 8th September episode looking at the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025−26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill. Also, members of the last tax working group debate if we really need a comprehensive capital gains tax. www.interest.co.nz/public-polic...

Tightrope, a daily trivia game | Britannica Sep. 12, 2025 T I G H T R O P E ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🎉 My Score: 2300 💃

We can't cut our way to being a thriving nation. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/... Treasury warning: Kiwis must accept lower quality public services to hit Government spending goal

Mōrena!

I have a new column out today in The Irish Times: “Why ‘No Additional Warming’ Is a Dangerous Climate Loophole.” www.irishtimes.com/environment/...