It is truly shite that after running NCEA level 2 for 20 years NZQA still haven’t figured out how to get images into past exam papers. (And also that exemplars are images of handwritten scripts. Accessibility anyone?)

Err BUT... ❌️Potaka made it harder to access emergency housing ❌️Upston made it harder for teens to access Jobseeker ❌️Bishop cancelled thousands of planned social housing builds AND sold off existing social housing ❌️Chhour slashed OT investment into youth employment programs

It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas, With sign up going live!🎶🎵 So here's the Bluesky Secret Santa AoNZ, with some friends from Mastodon along for the ride. We hope you are looking forward to some fun, and that we can bring it to you 🎄 Official hashtag: #SecretSantaAoNZ App: secretsanta.nz

Awful to see this; the Plateau is such a special place.

One new case with no links may indicate undetected measles

Bendigo - Ophir Mine as seen from the Wanaka Cromwelll road www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bby... #nzpol

Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).

It's the states response to abuse in care in a nutshell: do nothing and just wait for people to die www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

I had a 😔 experience when I played this (the last NZ post year). My recipient had never tweeted so I had to guess what they might like, and then they still never tweeted after I sent their gift! Might be brave enough to try it again this year though….

RBNZ to the Waitangi Tribunal...

Stuff poll. The question was “should fireworks be banned for private use?” Looks like we’re all in agreement (and it’s a tiny minority making the rest of us miserable)

OMG I hate fireworks more every year. Big public display done safely for ten mins? Ok if you must I guess they’re pretty. Random bangs and flashes every night in summer from Nov onwards? Bloody horrible.

💻Online hui about #measles for Deaf and disabled people, their whānau, carers, support services, about the measles outbreak. Link to event details: facebook.com/share/1CJX5y15DT/ NZSL interpreters will be provided. 👍 Info on measles in alternate formats/NZSL: info.health.nz/measles#measles

There are still people without electricity in Southland two weeks after the (latest) mega-storm. Meanwhile, the regime is lowering climate change targets and gutting policy, to ensure more storms and power cuts www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Japan: "Wear a Mask"... Over 1,000 Schools Closed in Japan as Early Flu Cases Surge Japan reported 24,276 new flu cases from Oct 20–26. Since last month, 1,015 kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools have implemented class closures or temporary shutdowns to prevent influenza spread.

Finally, some longitudinal data on faculty morale.

Dunedin students doing their bit to support a ban on fireworks. Can’t come soon enough. www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

hire all the fired political teen vogue writers and make a new magazine call teen rogue. we’ll all subscribe en masse

NZ English teachers: The rights to The Essential Shakespeare: Macbeth have reverted to me. I have updated with mātauranga Māori teaching & learning resources. Send me a message if you would like to know more. I attach a screenshot of some of the extra material as well as the contents page.

Hey anyone at #mpi or #biosecuritynz. We do wasp genomics. I reckon I could tell you in about 24 hours if these invasive yellow legged #hornets you have found in Auckland are sisters, or a larger invasion. For free. Hit me up now!

You could put this in front of anti-vaxxers and all you'd get is: "Yes, but... [insert pseudo-science/feels/influencer "advice"]. www.rnz.co.nz/life/people/...

National Party Campaign Chair Chris Bishop, wearing his Infrastructure Minister hat, is restricting the parties that Expert Panels can ask to provide evidence in the fast track process. And is changing law so if you are not asked to provide evidence you can't appeal #Trump eds.org.nz/wp-content/u...

It’s not unusual that 14% of people are wrong about something

Show and tell

doomscroll break

This coming week is a Measles Immunisation Week, launched to raise awareness and boost vaccine uptake www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/corporate-in... 3/3

"The Nazi Party had come to power complaining about corruption, so why were they, some Germans wondered, now living it up in plush hotels while ordinary people had to struggle? Why did the party build such absurdly grand buildings when many lived in poverty?" -- How To Win an Information War p. 101

Im right aren’t I?

Morning peeps! I’ve written a piece for @thespinoff.bsky.social on why I ended up taking legal action against my employer and a little bit about how it played out. The whole story needs a book to tell but this is a good start 😂 thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1... thespinoff.co.nz/society/01-1...

Your chilly sneer Of cold command Your trunkless legs Upon the sand Once awed the Persian, Turk, And Damascene A pedastal Beside your smirk Proclaims “Look up, You lazy jerk! Behold the mighty work Of great Jolene.”

Look out for these little bastards. "The most effective method for surveillance is through public involvement. Early nests can be as small as a tennis ball & may appear quickly. Do NOT disturb the nest, take a photo, & report it to Biosecurity NZ" - 0800 80 99 66. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Three @theguardian.com books cartoons from previous halloweens: 1. Haunted Bookshop

Octobush was a hit in NZ

Because I could not stop and look - His works despaired for me - His trunkless legs and boundless sands - His Immortality.

so @matteowong.bsky.social & I wrote on data centers: arguably the most important buildings in the world & are, in a way, holding the economy hostage. Byzantine financial instruments, private equity, depreciating tech, hype, $trillion valuations. it’s all there. an ai crash prob starts here.

World leader recognised. 🇳🇿

Yes, there's obvious environmental destruction and costs associated with farming that urban New Zealanders have to pay for, but don't forget, that's offset by the massive financial benefits that farming brings to [*checks notes*] .... farmers and Australian banks.

Ata mārie and happy Halloween to all who celebrate! In recognition of the year's spookiest day I will be sharing some of the most "cursed" images from our digital repository, #CanterburyStories. #CursedImages (Mute this thread if you are of a sensitive disposition! 😱) ^MT

For those tracking the efforts to steal Kelston and give it to a dodgy trust, note who appears to involved in setting up the legal structures around Bangerz: www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/struck-of...

Oh my God. For a poetry nerd like me, this is astonishing.

🚨 Measles Update: Two new cases confirmed today. This brings our total to 13 cases in the current response. Our contact tracing is moving fast, and we're urgently working to identify new locations of interest. The best protection is the MMR vaccine. Book today: spr.ly/6332371DCf

YES GOOD. Go get 'em e te whānau. Plunket offers measles vaccines for entire families amid outbreak: www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

#Wikidata has been recognized as a digital public good! Wikidata is always the mostly-invisible powerhouse in the background, so this is especially meaningful to me and a great recognition of the work that thousands of people put into structuring the world’s knowledge every single day.

Wikidata has been recognized as a digital public good by the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) 🎉 Learn how Wikidata, which houses over 1.6 billion facts, advances education, innovation, and public institutions ➡️ wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/10...

Nightmare Before Christmas…..a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?

A reminder that the Greens have a much more thorough proposal based on tax reform that not only includes free GP visits but also... * Free dental care * Income support increases * Building 35,000 new homes * Residential clean power subsidies * Unwinding pretty much all of Luxon's cuts ...and more.

Gov enacting massive ACC austerity cuts by stealth.. effectively sanctions.. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

RANKINGS SUCK - an alternative title for this article - "Together, universities can take back control of their data" www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto... "This dual role – both referee and coach – would raise eyebrows in any other field...universities seem to accept that arrangement. Why?"

the biker bar sequence from Terminator 2 but Arnie’s POV keeps getting everything confidently wrong. A biker is “Volvo Estate”. A knife is “Old Lady”.