Today is World Bicycle Day - enjoy the bike rides people! Thank you for your waves, smiles and support, it is very much appreciated 🚲❤️ Ngā mihi nui

It’s disappointing to see our government ignore the advice of road safety experts in New Zealand and around the world by repealing this legislation. Slower streets enhance safety, build community, and improve neighborhoods! (1/3)

For Road safety week, Spokes would like to highlight the efforts of Christchurch City Council and its staff in designing and providing some great cycling infrastructure that provides safe routes through our city. (1/3)

We have to do a better job protecting young women from the trolling and brutality of politics

This is a rough call… part way through day one in 2024 and the health app tells me this year’s average activity energy is below that of 2023. I don’t think I’ll get too concerned - there’s plenty more bike rides and walks to be had this year 🚲🚶🏽🙂

Kia ora e hoa mā ❤️

NEW: New Zealand’s new Transport Minister has halted dozens of important local council projects designed to encourage biking, walking and public transport ridership across the country, to reduce car dependency. Likely just the start of the damage that the new right-wing govt will do to Kiwi cities.

Active transport (travelling via wheelchair, walking, cycling and similar) is very good for people’s health. Decisions being made by this National Government will create a load on our health system that will be expensive and unmanageable. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/transport...

Smokefree repeal protest in Auckland, Wellington as pressure piles on Govt’s tobacco laws www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/smokefr...

This maiden speech is wonderful. Powerful, emotional, and focused on a future of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. A future that is right there within our grasp... as long as we don't sit back and let this government take it away. Toitū te Tiriti! www.1news.co.nz/2023/12/12/t...

Shocking. I can’t stress enough how unusual it is for Cabinet to leak like this, or how seriously we should take this assault on our democratic process. #nzpol

Also Brooke van Velden lied to Cabinet about who she had consulted. Total contempt for her fellow ministers and the Cabinet Manual. www.newshub.co.nz/home/politic...

Sharing this because Clint isn't here and the press gallery cannot be relied on to point this out. #nzpol

Andrew Hoggard, ex-Fed Farmers and new ACT Minister, listed as contributor to Daily Telegraph NZ , which is currently spreading Liz Gunn's fatuous vax claims and has pages of anti-vax articles dailytelegraph.co.nz/category/cov... Please, someone in the media challenge him on this. #nzpol

National have talked a lot about getting tough on crime. Misleading the public on this scale is a crime, misrepresenting data that affects people’s health is a serious matter. Media needs to ask Luxon how he’s going to get tough on disinformation. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/te-whatu-...

IDK who needs to hear this but diversity initiatives in healthcare are not about lowering standards they are about creating additional pathways to achieving the standard.

The National led Government is fuelling the fire of racism. We must call it out in every form, including when that racism appears in Local Government. Here a couple of racist individuals take exception to the name Ōtautahi. Well done those Elected Members that remove racist comments like this.

These youth need stability to help them to a good path. It is a serious fail from Erica Stanford and National not to continue funding The Kauri Centre. Also, more centres like this are needed. www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zea...

Canterbury needs to nearly halve levels of nitrogen polluting our rivers and lakes just to meet minimum water quality standards. Impossible without real change to what and how we farm www.thepress.co.nz/environment/...

Young people can help solve the climate crisis. Let’s give them a seat at the table

Having to defend the use of te reo Māori tells us Aotearoa New Zealand has much to do to improve inclusion and value diversity. Language from a country’s indigenous peoples must be well supported and unconditionally accepted. Anything short of that is racism.

Tenants will not benefit from this landlord payday. In addition every teacher, caregiver, nurse, cleaner, support worker, community worker, and those in similar occupations have got to be disgusted by this. This National led Government will make it tough for those that give their all for society.

If you want to petition the new government to keep the Smokefree Act of 1990 and amendments, please voice your support here: petitions.parliament.nz/a2eaafbd-ded... Repost for visibility 🫶🏼

Whilst reading this is hugely embarrassing, they ARE asking for comments. Go! #nzpol

I've seen a lot of people talking about using the #OIA to hold the government to account. Here are my rules for effective #OIA requests #NZPol norightturn.blogspot.com/2022/03/rule...

As Ayesha Verrall, labour MP (and previous health minister) on the other site said: “The coalition government is funding tax cuts by repealing smokefree laws. That’s right - they’re raising money by letting more kids get hooked on tobacco.”

Righto. Mourning is over, organising begins now. Or yesterday, if you needed less mourning than I did! I’m going to share, in no particular order, some thoughts on what we can do … 1. Stick together. It’s where our power sits. I understand there’s a need to blame and criticise - it’s unhelpful 1/n

In coming months, you’ll hear Shane Jones and the coalition Govt justify reverting to oil & gas exploration by chanting “jobs for the regions”. Call it out. There are more jobs in clean energy —and they are SECURE jobs. Oil and gas is a sunset industry.

A challenge with walking or cycling is people blocking intersections. This behaviour takes away the option for people to use active transport. People using wheelchairs, mobility scooters, trikes and cargo bikes would all have difficulty navigating the narrow gap between the motor vehicles.

Great to see this innovative approach on water management / flood prevention by the Dunedin City Council and thanks to the Dutch Embassy and MP Ingrid Leary for supporting this. 👏👏

BOOM! Toyota SUV adverts banned for condoning driving that disregards its environmental impact in a landmark ruling, that the SUV ads had been created without “a sense of responsibility to society”. An important precedent because, arguably, none are.

People, this erasure of te reo Māori is wrong (obviously). The place this RW Government is taking us will be bad for everyone.

A lesson for the National, Act, NZFirst coalition. You lessen crime by eliminating poverty. You lessen crime... #nzpol #nz

What gets me is he's read enough to know how wrong his position is. Which means the misinformation path he's leading his followers down is paved with malice, not ignorance.

This is racist filth that will ruin our country, destroy history and culture. This is wrong in every sense; what’s worse, it is coming from a coalition trying to form a Government. I cannot stand by and see a loss of Māoritanga. I will not hesitate in marching against this BS.

Why are we hearing this now? Everything Tova says is accurate but it was equally true before the Election. It was something that really grated for me that no-one in the Press Gallery paused to ask "Is a first-term MP really capable of governing the country?" Winning an election yes, but governing?

Tova is fucking brutal #NZPol

Vulnerable communities are overexposed to alcohol outlets and advertising - the outlets are themselves massive billboards. This reckless tactic preys on our people and must stop. www.nzherald.co.nz/talanoa/call...

My cartoon in today's www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3501... Sunday Star Times It's #BirdOfTheYear again and the alarm is sounding. The German climate diplomat said there's no room for new oil or gas exploration. Yet we know old Luxo has said he will allow new permits on his campaign trail...

Mobil’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions… making social media post showing two people riding bikes.🙄 We see it a lot in the motor vehicle industry - organisations promoting sustainability with images of bicycles, but they are never speaking up in support of safe cycling infrastructure.

🧵Little thread on how to effectively advocate for issues in Parliament 1. Email your MP. This will always generate a response. 2. Get your local buddies who share an MP to write to the same MP. Three emails on the same subject will always get attention. 3. Don’t write via snail mail…

Vanuatu urges National not to restart offshore oil and gas

Via Russell Brown on Twitter.

It is well known driver distraction is a problem on the roads. NZ Police have frequently expressed their disappointment. Waka Kotahi and Councils must continue with projects to improve safety on the roads. This morning, these two drivers were using mobile phones while waiting at a Kea Crossing.

November 5 should be Parihaka Day www.nzgeo.com/stories/pari... #kikorangi

This pause on funding for active and public transport from Waka Kotahi puts our country, people’s wellbeing and our future at risk. This funding gave people transport choice, without it we will see congestion, pollution and health problems. People we need your mahi. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Frequent red-light running continues to be concerning. Driver behaviour needs to improve, however it won't happen without tools. This is why raised platforms are becoming necessary at intersections. Today this driver ran two red lights in one minute. youtu.be/BWBqE1yEmCs youtu.be/5as21hn4LtA

Christchurch City Council's "What matters most" consultation used several methods to find out what citizen's priorities for the next long-term plan were. It made special efforts to reach residents in the East, Māori, Pasifika & Asian residents. Guess the council had better pay attention then

Christchurch City Council are making safety improvements to this intersection. There are always some that oppose this. Unsurprisingly, those people also talk of running over people that bike. 🤷 Attitude and behaviour creates the need for safety treatments. newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/s...

“a car drove into the front yard…” Unbelievably bad wording from RNZ - it completely ignores the fact that there was a person driving the car and they were responsible for this. I really hope the person that was hit makes a full recovery. So sad this has happened.