If you think these 'new' school projects sound familiar..

So this $413m of classroom building is from: $58m "maintenance work" $175m "brought forward funding" $180m "pre-allocated funding" This is just shuffling spending around to make them look good. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Speaker after speaker at this memorial is explicitly likening him to Jesus Christ. (Slain in early 30s, etc.) Don't know how this goes over with people raised in other faiths. Having been raised as a church-going Protestant Christian, I say: What the hell! This is not how Christians talk.

Right wing New Zealand government decimates the construction industry then 2 years later trumpets it will help the country by helping keep what is left of the construction workforce in work. It’s been a disaster from beginning to end #auspol #nzpol #BHN www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Is it really "fast-tracking" or "accelerating" when it's basically restarting some of the 100-odd projects you iced a year ago, putting the construction sector into a nosedive? www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Is this not just restarting all the stuff they stopped in 2023 and 2024? You know, when they stopped projects with builders literally on site to save money for their tax cuts?

Lack lustre, out of ideas govt restarts a build program that it stopped out of spite to help revive the economy it killed. Honestly if they hadn’t shit down all of Labours programs they might have gotten away with the Landlord welfare www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

I love my job, and I'd love to keep doing it. You've got till Saturday October 11th, midday to get your vote into a ballot box and make sure your city is represented by people who love to represent you.

"No Farmers, No Food" they love to wail, demanding we bail them out and cut the tax on their utes, and yet 27% of our kids are going hungry. This country is a failed state when it comes to self-sufficiency. It would rather sell its soul than feed its children.

Just attended the release of the results of the first RCT test of basic income versus vouchers and WOW. What a difference. This was a 3.5 year trial. Average cash payment was $800-$900 per month, same as avg voucher. Cash had DRAMATIC impact on homelessness. At 18-mo cash was -67%. Voucher was -19%.

Things that always work all of the time, with studies to prove it, boosting the economy and productivity, and increasing quality of life and public health, and that will never, ever be implemented within my lifetime: 1. UBI 2. 4-day working week

It also ignores that leaving was a form of influence! Millions sent a clear message about the minimum standards of fairness and respect we believe are foundational for civic conversation. Their obsession with our departure makes clear it was effectively communicated; they just don't like it

Yeah man we should really fight back by staying on X

this about 3% of what National gave to landlords in tax cuts www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

So Simeon Brown just announced $20m "investment" in ED frontline staff, immediately after it was revealed Christchurch hospital is in code red every single day. But it turns out it's just OLD money from the 2025 budget & already allocated. Brown strikes again #nzpol #Kiwi

The decision of the Luxon Govt to cancel the NZ Battery Project, which would have underpinned security of the nz electricity network, sure looks short sited as we watch the wave of industrial closures driven, in part, by security of supply and high prices of electricity.

RSE workers win landmark case over unlawful wage deductions by their employer - Pick Hawkes Bay. #nzpol Brave workers. 5 years of their lives on this case for justice Pick Hawke’s Bay is a ‘not for profit’ profiteering off RSE workers by being really despicable greedy humans & employers imo.

We are seeing the same in NZ, with our ex-CEO PM. This govt is full of lies, corruption, and all about lining their own pockets and those of their wealthy mates - all at the expense of ordinary, everyday kiwis.

An ever-so-casual reminder that the bill for the leaky buildings deregulation fiasco is around fifteen to twenty times larger than all Tiriti settlements either finalised or in progress put together. www.1news.co.nz/2025/09/20/m...

It is hard to take the Disability Strategy seriously when so much is being done to actively prevent culturally competent care, undermine health professionals, and slash much needed digital infrastructure investment: open.substack.com/pub/drbex/p/...

Where the separate divisions of ANTIFA landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944:

Quick fire round follows the 3 minutes elevator pitch introductions. Host asks the questions, and candidates have to hold up a green or a red card, if they agree/disagree. Great round! Interesting, easy to tell responses, some good questions (although some needed clarifying 👀)

Also, if keen on something more in depth - I wrote something earlier this week: open.substack.com/pub/drbex/p/...

Attending a local Hamilton meet the candidates event. The local cookers, sov cits, and conspiracy theorists have been packing out events, being disruptive, and generally being jerks, so am here to support local lefties.

National promised 1000 social homes would continue being built in Auckland each year. They've done 45. Labour oversaw 18,000 over its term. National is now at -577. Incredible #nzpol

#nzpol What the poster says.

A great piece from Alex Casey about the noxious soup: "It’s like men’s potential suffering is tragic, and women’s actual suffering is just our lot in life." thespinoff.co.nz/society/17-0...

In open workshop discussing plan changes & Cr Williamson is claiming yet again that no one can explain to him where 2 million capacity comes from, despite multiple past explanations, & then several more attempts to explain it to him now, & he just refuses to understand because he doesn't like it.

its kind of insane that we’ve been forced to watch rightwingers openly celebrate and taunt everyone over the death of people like trayvon martin for over a decade now and now they’re trying to grandstand over the one time it’s personally affected them and political project

All Kiwis value healthcare. Private healthcare doesn't cover complex cases, ED, accidents. Simeon Brown & National lied about healthcare funding, using 2018 data & GST. They refuse to reveal privatisation contracts. And funding private healthcare investors 350% + more than community GPs. #nzpol

“Māori were two times more likely to receive a prison sentence than non-Māori (20% versus 10%), whereas non-Māori were more likely to receive a monetary sentence (37% versus 17%).” It’s unclear why this is happening. #nzpol

#nzpol The minimum wage increased 1.5% this year. Data from Stats NZ shows: - Food prices up 5% - Fruit & Veg up 8.9% - Meat up 9.4% - Bread up 9.5% (white sliced up 41.7%) - Cheese up 14.3% - Milk up 15% - Electricity up 11.4% Laser focused on the cost of living www.stats.govt.nz/information-...

Such a thrill to see Maiki Sherman flip straight into Te Reo questions when TPM refused to take questions in English on the bridge run in Patliament today. #nzpol

Look, did a bunch of us organise to have a pro Māori wards billboard on the same sign Hobson’s Pledge put their bullshit? Absolutely. Did we all put our names to it cause we're community leaders staunch in our position? Absolutely.

Can't possibly think how this might go wrong....

Handy summary and hot takes for Hamilton voters: open.substack.com/pub/drbex/p/...

Literally nobody thinks collared priests protesting war and injustice are "intimidating' but mad props to Wilis for making them seem bad ass 🤣🤣🤣

'Protesters'? Well yes. They were PRIESTS - both in Wgtn and Akl. So weird that it's in the actual headline of the story and the lede, but not anywhere visible in the social feed.

Tell you what tho, the 70,000 plus people who left for australia are definitely not going to concerts in NZ. Nor are all the people out of a job. Or the people barely making ends meet whose housing/food costs are taking up all their income. Or the people who are sick all the time.

Is this a small step on the way to family members being expected to do all the overnight cares for their sick relatives, bring in meals etc etc……because we can’t properly staff our hospitals?

"…and Magda Goebbels made a great strudel.”

reposting with alt text because this feels incredibly significant. the right-wing disinfo machine means a lot of the people grieving Charlie Kirk never heard any of the things he said that would have tarnished his brand as Guy Who Just Wants to Have Dialogue Across the Aisle

I'm seeing some people post this and not realize this is PART of the radicalization. Building an audience from reasonable sounding videos and converting them into the pipeline. Weiss is doing this now as I get The Free Press ads about things like "low tech parenting" and workout fads.

The times we are living in eh? Determined to do what I can to make things, including the divisiveness of politics, better not worse. Actually better, not “Better Wellington”.

If you’re wondering how a culture steps from camps and cages to killing chambers, here it is.

With help from her whānau City Vision’s @juliefairey.bsky.social was able to join the many thousands at the March for Humanity today

The one obvious thing is the shooter was raised steeped in gun culture and nobody on the news seems to want to have that conversation.

Off-putting that CBC platformed Charlie Kirk’s widow’s lengthy video message tonight, about continuing his “mission” even more aggressively, without comment on how repugnant much of that mission was. And who are the “they” who killed him she referenced? The even more extreme alt-right “Groypers?”

If you haven’t been following what’s going on in Nepal, it is UNBELIEVABLE. I don’t event know where to begin but between the time you had your morning coffee on Monday and lunch on Friday they just had a total Gen Z-led revolution resulting in the first female PM. Like seriously.

Perfect way to deal with Destiny Church