A.J. Ponder
@ponderbooks.com
📤 2207
📥 1738
📝 6216
Author at
https://ponderbooks.com
Poet. Builder of worlds. Player of games. He, she, they.
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A.J. Ponder
Grant Jacobs BioinfoTools/NotJustDNA 🔬🧬🖥️✍️📚
about 21 hours ago
#NZpol
From a few days ago: New modelling shows renewable electricity can meet NZ’s future demand – without importing gas - doubts the logic of “imposing a levy on electricity to fund an LNG terminal”, “because New Zealand also has a goal to achieve 100% renewable electricity generation by 2030,”
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New modelling shows renewable electricity can meet NZ’s future demand – without importing gas
New Zealand could meet its electricity needs through renewables and avoid power shortages during dry years by combining battery systems with pumped hydro schemes.
https://theconversation.com/new-modelling-shows-renewable-electricity-can-meet-nzs-future-demand-without-importing-gas-277215
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D Jukic She/her
2 days ago
Luxon, Seymour & Peters increase the lying when their lying is exposed. “Government ministers’ creative interpretations of the royal commission’s report took spin to scary new levels despite evidence clearly showing “New Zealand had among one of the best pandemic responses in the world”
#nzpol
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The real lesson of the second Covid-19 inquiry? We live in a post-truth world
Government ministers’ creative interpretations of the royal commission’s report took spin to scary new levels.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/11-03-2026/the-real-lesson-of-the-second-covid-19-inquiry-we-live-in-a-post-truth-world
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sophie malice
3 days ago
i'd like to push for a change to STV for general elections, after the next election is cool does anybody support this idea, or am i shouting into the void of tragic lack of civics education across generations of primarily Aotearoa's National government-mandated school curricula
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Elizabeth Warren
14 days ago
Donald Trump canceled Direct File after giant tax prep companies spent millions lobbying. Why? Because Direct File let you file your taxes for free. So today, I’m introducing a bill to make Direct File the law of the land. And 160 members of Congress are joining me.
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Te Ara Paerangi Com - Research Advocacy Capability
14 days ago
I arrived on the shores of Aotearoa over 12 years ago. Every year there have been cuts to public research and redundancies of public researchers. I cannot overstate how dire this is and how much of our future we are losing. Public research is one way we look after one another. It matters.
#NZPOL
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A reminder that it's not too late to submit your objection to this bill
www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/mak...
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6 days ago
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The cats today.
7 days ago
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David Mohring
7 days ago
Worth a read. "They say: - the government must not weaken copyright law, and should instead strengthen licensing, transparency & enforcement - the government should stop prioritising large multinational tech firms"
#nzpol
add a skeleton here at some point
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Glacerys, the birthday present miniature of the ice dragon in The Dragon Society Papers. Such a cute ice dragon. I really love the colourvin this one.
7 days ago
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Char
7 days ago
While Luxon dines on his Michelin Star rated, caviar laden KFC & the finest of ‘Jesus Juice’ in the land, our most vulnerable kiwis are being deprived of EMERGENCY FOOD GRANTS at an alarming rate. 🤬🤨
#nzpol
#OneTermGovernment
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-...
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Emergency food grant decline rates up 60% in two years
The Ministry of Social Development's 'strengthened hardship approvals' are seeing more emergency assistance requests being turned down.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/04-03-2026/emergency-food-grant-decline-rates-up-60-in-two-years
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Timothy Gassin
8 days ago
My submission on the bill the government has just rammed through Parliament. It is a shameful piece of legislation that shreds constitutional norms, rewards illegal behaviour, breeds a culture of bureaucratic impunity, and imposes made-up debts on some of society's most vulnerable.
#nzpol
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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa
8 days ago
What The Disinformation Project warned against, as far back as 2023 in 'Opportunism and Polarisation: Presentations of the violence in Israel and Palestine by Aotearoa disinformation networks'
static1.squarespace.com/static/65c9c...
authored by me, and Kate Hannah.
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Lucy Hamilton
11 days ago
Hey
#NZpol
Your boy Seymour gets a listing.
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Bremain in Spain
about 2 months ago
Zack Polanski: The Green leader giving hope to the left In 3 months, Zack Polanski has reignited the hope of representation for a disenfranchised left and led the charge against the rise of Reform
sussexbylines.co.uk/politics/zac...
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Zack Polanski: The Green leader giving hope to the left
In 3 months, Zack Polanski has reignited the hope of representation for a disenfranchised left and led the charge against the rise of Reform
https://sussexbylines.co.uk/politics/zack-polanski-the-green-leader-giving-hope-to-the-left/?utm_source=Bylines+Network&utm_campaign=a9e8bc3c4b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_12_05_02_06_COPY_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-bbd7d0ee13-563945201
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Tyler, from the Internet
11 days ago
Please make a terrible ruckus about this, if you live in Oregon
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Housing should be a priority for any government.
action.greens.org.nz/housing_2026
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A home for everybody
Sign the open letter supporting the Green Party's plan to make sure everybody has a place they can call home.
https://action.greens.org.nz/housing_2026
14 days ago
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PERFECTLY NORMAL
14 days ago
The ground campaign won, and also in the New York mayoralty race. The same efforts are needed here, which means volunteering in the thousands Let's fucking go💚
#nzpol
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Volunteer
Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing New Zealand.
https://www.greens.org.nz/volunteer
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Jjengar
14 days ago
Let’s do THIS
#nzpol
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The Broke Bonsai Bloke me my coffee & bonsai🇳🇿🌳✂️🌲☕️
14 days ago
#NZpol
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Russel Norman
14 days ago
Just your daily reminder that Chris Bishop is both the chief fundraiser for the National Party election campaign and needs major donations, and the decision maker giving businesses access to the fast track process.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
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Ministers continue to make decisions on fast-track projects after parties take donations linked to applicants
One political scientist believes such donations to political parties could be perceived as creating a conflict of interest but official advice disagrees.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/560641/ministers-continue-to-make-decisions-on-fast-track-projects-after-parties-take-donations-linked-to-applicants
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Ms Hooper
15 days ago
“This is the loss of our productive and most valuable land to urban sprawl and urban development,” he said. “It feels like they’re doing the bidding of the developers not thinking about the good of the country on the whole.”
#nzpol
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Carrots or condos? Govt warned allowing housing on productive soils ‘irreversible’
Where will the 1.6m new homes in Auckland go? The Government’s signed off changes to build on productive soils
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360943321/carrots-or-condos-govt-warned-allowing-housing-productive-soils-irreversible
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National is happy to squander money and give it to tobacco companies at great cost to our health and New Zealand's budget. We are paying so many times for National's corruption, and it's destroying lives.
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17 days ago
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The word for this price gouging is extortion. When it comes to health and public good, private companies on a purely for profit model model cannot be trusted—they're worse than bandits with their "your money or your life" mentality.
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17 days ago
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Mountain Tui
17 days ago
Tamatha Paul Moa Point vote never happened as described. Not only did Councillors invest record amounts, Option 3 was risky & specialist expertise absent (3 Waters would have been useful) Cycleways also came from opex budget, not capex. Context has been removed to paint Moa Point incorrectly
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Sassy Little Hobbit
19 days ago
The reason why we can afford to put homeless people in prison but not housing is because if you house them the homeless person benefits but if you put them in prison we can funnel public funds to a private prison corporation. It’s always about funneling public funds to the wealthy. Always.
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Kieran Kelly - TOITŪ TE TIRITI
18 days ago
#BDS
action in
#Ōtautahi
to protest the selling of Israeli products.
#BoycottSodastream
#NZPol
youtube.com/shorts/jNimg...
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BDS Action in Ōtautahi 260221
YouTube video by PSNA Ōtautahi
https://youtube.com/shorts/jNimgFgTpPQ?feature=share
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Theta Salmon
18 days ago
Did they consider just giving each homeless person $49K & saving the court, police & prisons the effort! Hell, make it $40K, save Kiwis $9K per person & still solve homelessness! But they won’t do that. Because this is about punishment. The cruelty is the point. Even if it costs FAR more.
#nzpol
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Pete Husky
19 days ago
This beggars belief. How is it not a bigger sort that this govt has only managed 45 new social houses in a country of 5 million people since 2023?
#nzpol
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Kent Duston
20 days ago
This is our regular reminder that - according to IRD in 2023 - the richest 350 families in AoNZ pay an effective tax rate of only 8%. The reaction of the government to this news was to tell IRD to stop collecting the data, and give the families a tax cut
#nzpol
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Huia Sue
21 days ago
🍃🌹🌿 yes-
#NZ
Greens “Green Budget” is fully costed & fantastic. Free GPs & Dentists & childcare. Less
#tax
for the majority of NZers, & the
#wealth
tax for the richest, is v similar to Australia’s!
#nzpol
#PartyVoteGreen
www.greens.org.nz/green_budget...
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D Jukic She/her
21 days ago
It’s always a good time to join a union but this is a better time than most imo. Find Your Union Unions fight for workers rights. We fight for pay equity, minimum wage, safe working conditions, paid holidays, equal pay for work of equal value.
#NZpol
union.org.nz/find-your-un...
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Find Your Union - NZCTU
Want to know what union you can belong to? Use our Find Your Union tool that covers over 350,000 working people in Aotearoa New Zealand.
https://union.org.nz/find-your-union/
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A.J. Ponder
East Anglia Bylines
23 days ago
Poverty in Britain isn’t an accident of economics – it’s a result of political choices. The Nicolson Report argues the real scandal is how expensive poverty already is.
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New report: Poverty is an expensive political choice
Poverty is not inevitable, argues the Nicolson Report, but a political choice costing Britain more than £75bn annually
https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/news/welfare/new-report-poverty-is-an-expensive-political-choice/
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A.J. Ponder
Mountain Tui
about 1 month ago
Lies are going around about the Greens after Scoop published a bullshit article about Wellington Council not prioritising water management in 2021 when the facts show they invested a record $2.4b The lies have been spreading fast. The piece was written by NZCPR i.e. the ACT Party affiliated group
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A.J. Ponder
Future Sprog
23 days ago
Worth remembering that Jones took $5,000-$10,000 from a fishing company a few years back. He’s prepared to sell out all coral reefs for a very small amount of money. https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@futuresprog/115997809351254394
@pezmico
#nzpol
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https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/users/futuresprog/statuses/115997809351254394
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Seems like the cartoon was prescient - like it knew it would be banned.
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24 days ago
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A.J. Ponder
Whakamataku - Toitū Te Tiriti 🍉
24 days ago
#nzpol
🤔
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A.J. Ponder
Matt
24 days ago
I want to bring something up that is quite topical, a bill being proposed by penny simmonds, the disestablishment of the ministry of the environment, this while many communities and councils are still grappling with the impacts of floods, still very early and lacking a lot of detail.
#nzpol
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Mountain Tui
24 days ago
The world subsidises fossil fuels (oil and gas) to the tune of US$7 trillion dollars (NZD $11.6 trillion) a year On the flipside, some part of Oz are investing in renewables and seeing electricity prices tumble by 30% in a year
#nzpol
#climate
#kiwi
substack.com/home/post/p-...
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Why would New Zealand disestablish the Ministry of Environment?
Plus: Why James Shaw was right
https://substack.com/home/post/p-188185247
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A.J. Ponder
Huia Sue
25 days ago
#AtlasNetwork
#HumanRights
abusers gather on Trumps “Board of Peace” in Davos.
#Melei
#Orbán
#Trump
No wonder
#NZ’s
far-right Neoliberal Atlas government was invited
#nzpol
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
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Trump-led abuses amid ‘democratic recession’ put human rights in peril, HRW report says
Rights group says growing authoritarianism and abuses in US, Russia and China threaten global rules-based order
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/feb/04/trump-us-china-russia-democratic-recession-peril-human-rights-watch
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A.J. Ponder
Mountain Tui
25 days ago
Some in National are running scared today. I'm guessing Hehir is doing everything possible to protect Nicola Willis by yelling "Look over there!" Willis is on track to borrow more than Labour did during Covid. John Key left NZ with $60bn debt & Ardern had surpluses til Covid
#nzpol
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Alright NZ, it's the last day for Bug of the Year - and of course I had to vote for the hellraiser mite! It's so cute!
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2026-bug-of-...
🇳🇿
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Hellraiser Mite – New Zealand Bug of the Year
https://bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2026-bug-of-the-year-nominees/hellraiser-mite/
25 days ago
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A.J. Ponder
MWT
26 days ago
Just added my name to Gun Control NZ's submission on the Arms Bill (closing tomorrow!). I didn't have the right mindset to write my own so just went with theirs. The bill:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2025/0233/21.0/LMS1533356.html
Gun Control NZ's submission […]
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Original post on mastodon.nz
https://mastodon.nz/@mwt/116073743715217774
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Mountain Tui
26 days ago
In case anyone here needs to hear it, it's very very very close and the odds are with NACT1 by far. I voted Green last time but I'm very clear on this - if Labour lose, everyone of us loses
#nzpol
#kiwi
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Paul Le Comte 🇳🇿🇨🇦📷
26 days ago
Really quick chart to show the rise of declared state of emergencies due to sever weather events. See the trend? Also we are only 45 days into 2026! Can we talk about climate change now?
#NZPol
Notes in Alt Text
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A.J. Ponder
Sophie these days
27 days ago
AoNZ has a massive inequality problem. We have a
#climatecrisis
happening as we speak. We cannot solve one without attending to the other. They must be solved together or they will not be solved at all. If you're voting for flat taxes and roads, you're on the wrong side.
#nzpol
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A.J. Ponder
David Mohring
28 days ago
"Otherwise they will just keep seeing their children & grandchildren leave for Australia where they have already undertaken the Tax Reforms. The New Zealand situation is so bad that even Tax policy parity with Australia would be an improvement." [
bsky.app/profile/nzhe...
]
#nzpol
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Amnesty International UK
28 days ago
BREAKING: government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under terrorism law ruled UNLAWFUL This matters for everyone. For years, the right to protest has been under sustained and deliberate attack. Thousands of people have been arrested for something that should have never been a crime.
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Mountain Tui
28 days ago
These mining fast-track applicants don't appear to genuinely benefit New Zealand. Removing limited resources, returning 2-5% royalties, and paying no tax. Then we get lugged with clean up costs (like Tui oilfields that cost $500m for taxpayers to clean up)
#nzpol
#Kiwi
#NZ
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A.J. Ponder
Louise McLaughlin author she / her
about 1 month ago
I'm ready to be creative. What fantasy chaos am I about to unleash withing these pages? Maybe a dash of Science-Fiction. Of course Scotland will be the backdrop.
##booksky
#fantasybook
#author
#writer
#ScienceFiction
#writercommunity
#fantasysky
#sffsky
#sffbooks
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A.J. Ponder
Grant Jacobs BioinfoTools/NotJustDNA 🔬🧬🖥️✍️📚
29 days ago
#NZpol
LNG If you haven’t read it before, it’s worth reading
@kirstyjohnston.bsky.social
’s piece, The fuel of ‘last resort’: How imported gas became New Zealand’s first choice
www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-dept...
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The fuel of ‘last resort’: How imported gas became New Zealand’s first choice
It's expensive, vulnerable to price shocks and terrible for the planet. So why are we importing gas?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/579152/the-fuel-of-last-resort-how-imported-gas-became-new-zealand-s-first-choice
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