"We were missing 12 whole nurses [over the day] and we only have 13 nurses on the morning shift altogether, so we were half staffed. It was absolutely nuts." Remember there is no nursing shortage according then Minister Reti or TWO Commissioner Lester Levy.

Word on the street is that there are a bunch of new folks joining Bluesky right now, so it seems like a good time to re-share my first & biggest STARTER PACK of urbanists & city-making organizations from across the world. Hope you’ll consider following the excellent accounts here. And please share!

It's finally here! "Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile" is now available wherever you buy books. Thank you to everyone who has made this day possible, including our amazing podcast listeners. We hope everyone finds the book valuable! www.lifeaftercars.com

I did NOT vote to review the Golden Mile today. Cities across Aotearoa & the world are revitalising their centres, attracting people back into them. We'll now put NZTA funding at risk, & costs only ever increase. We need to ask how we do it? Not say let's review it! www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

A bunch of great people having an insightful conversation at the NZ Government Roundtable session at the 21st @is4urbanhealth.bsky.social conference in Whanganui-a-Tara today! @richardhills.bsky.social @georgeweeks2014.bsky.social @rachelbrooking.bsky.social Celia Wade Brown and Vida Christeller

What an inspiring first plenary at #ICUH25 on Healthy Built Environments — highlighting the importance of co-benefits & the need to act “on what we know” @hsph.harvard.edu @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz @nchh.org Grateful to our fabulous speakers for shaping this vital discussion! #UrbanHealth

Willis is part of a Govt that is destroying NZ’s core international brand, ripping up our Paris climate commitments, deliberately undermining the climate sections of trade agreements , that has alienated Aus and the Pacific by supporting bottom trawling etc etc www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

On NRT: Why fake breath tests are a problem for police - norightturn.blogspot.com/2025/11/why-...

Loads of useful info and Auckland and NZ content 🥳

Australia: More Homes, better cities. Letting more people live where they want. (Image of how zoning constrains housing close to the centres of capital cities.) Link grattan.edu.au/wp-content/u...

Congratulations from Rongotai, Aotearoa! Inspiring campaign. Thank you for putting up your hand to lead 🙏🥹

The Govt quietly announced a loosening of climate rules at 8pm last night: - Decoupling the ETS from Paris - Shifting ETS resets to every 2 years - Delaying the public sector target by 25 years - Removing CCC advice from *before* emission reductions plans: www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...

Essential research shows that particulate pollution—generated from motor fuels exhaust, tire wear, wildfires, factories, etc—is associated with dementia. More evidence that it is in the interest of public health to reduce pollution. (Gift link)

WARNING: Extended use leads to urbanist activism #bunchmom #cargobike #bunchfam

Huge price-tag inflation. Shocking costs per km. Wildly implausible travel time claims. And: the immense opportunity-cost of this government's mega-motorway mentality. Matt Lowrie follows up last week's banger of a post with more insights on the ludicrously unaffordable plan for "more RoNS". #nzpol

our govt wants to spend 327 times more on a single road ($18b) than they are currently spending yearly on all of basic science in new zealand ($55m) #nzpol

Interested in transport? Get along to this event on Sunday 19th October with @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz, new MP Mike Davidson, and community advocate Harrison McEvoy! RSVP link in the comments 👇

Congratulations!! Mayor @andrewlittlenz.bsky.social, returning Paekawawa councillors @lauriefoon.bsky.social, @nureddinabd.bsky.social new Motukairangi councillors @jonnyosborne.bsky.social, Sam O’Brien, and Karl Tiefenbacher. Look forward to working together for the people in Rongotai electorate!

“Almost 7 in 10 people in New Zealand supported lifting benefits in early 2021; and after the government increased benefits in 2021, 60% thought income support should have been increased further. It’s not the 1980s any more, as much as the Govt wants to drag us back there.” @maxdnharris.bsky.social

Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Chris Finlayson offer praise for the Waitangi Tribunal – and damning criticism of the coalition Government. Sam Sachdeva reports.

Now this is going to come as a shock but it seems that the Cones Hotline is a complete waste of time and money.

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

Three major crashes today on roads where the current NZ govt *increased* the speed limit (previously lowered for safety reasons) in pursuit of "productivity"? Serious injuries. Lengthy closures. Costly disruptions to lives, whānau, the transport network, our health system. This is not productive. 😞

Thursday! Join Greens MPs Tamatha Paul, @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz, @celiawb.bsky.social and Lan Pham for a kōrero and kai, and to learn how the Green Budget works for you! Come along and help us imagine the future we can create together if we put people at the heart of decision making.

Mate, I don't know if you have ever been to New Zealand, but "pride" isn't a national value even on occasions when the government isn't Pontiusly auto-piloting a denial of genocide. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

The most obvious explanation is once again proven true: barring enrolments during advance voting was purely a pretext to deny franchise to a group of people who vote mostly against govt parties, so as to avoid the govt losing seats between election-night & final counts www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Tonight I went to the most creative and positive local government election event I have ever experienced. Louise Hutt, standing for re-election in Hamilton, exhibited her democracy knitting, and it is glorious. And she supports removing library overdue fines! @saycheeselouise.bsky.social

Timeless. Simon Bridges: "....businesses are prepared to bet on the future if conditions stabilise. But the message to government is clear: fiscal restraint has its place, but businesses also need growth-oriented policy settings, infrastructure investment and real relief..."

I think it says a lot about NZ's Green Party being environment/ecosystem/science based rather than some of the cultural trends in other countries, that the Green Party had the fewest voters who had never had a covid vaccination 0.34%. 32.5% of NZ First voters say they never had a covid vaccination.

You know it's bad when Auckland businesses are pleading for government intervention. Auckland's unemployment rate is now at a 10 year high and business liquidations are up 1000% from 2020. #backontrack

Repost: @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz via Instagram Donation link here: www.greens.org.nz/donateneelu2...

The argument against regulation is always the same: “It stifles growth and jobs.” But just as tax cuts for corporations have not trickled down, regulatory cuts have not benefited most people. Big companies enjoy bigger profits. Working people bear the costs.

My sustainable transport policy: "Four lanes from here to the trains", is about ensuring Wellington has the mix on transport infrastructure that it needs. Check out the full policy on my Website - alexbakerwellington.nz/priorities/2

NEW: Our mental health is being destroyed by a collapsing economy

Just a couple of train nerds excited about a new train🚆 @julieannegenter.bsky.social

And part of the same government that wrecked the school lunch program, to feed kids pigswill, all to save $170m a year

NZ has now paid 120% of the full cost of 2 next generation, hybrid ferries for *checks notes* nothing at all. Those ferries were on track for 2025 & 2026 delivery. Extra points: our only rail enabled ferry is being retired on Monday & maintenance costs have doubled Should be sackable #nzpol

anyone else remember when a NZ politician sent a text to cancel a major procurement and cost the country $600 million? is there any other time in NZ history when an MP would've *got away with that*?

Sign the petition if you think it should be Rongotai, not Wellington Bays.

I can’t believe Andrew Little (on the Representation Commission) thought it was a good idea to change the name Rongotai to “Wellington Bays” on the suggestion of his former chief of staff, without checking in with local representatives, mana whenua or, apparently, anyone else.

Wellington Bays is a JK Rowling naming things name.

Love this new resource from the Green Party where you can find out about your Green candidates these local government elections. PS I am on there 💚 www.greens.org.nz/local

👋😊 Thanks for coming to say hi yesterday @ChlöeSwarbrick when you saw us outside ANZ in Pōneke. We were there to tell ANZ to drop Bathurst Resources as a customer, to drop support of Bathurst’s proposed Fast Track coal mine.

Absolutely dystopian juxtaposition from the Guardian front page. Difficult to understand how anyone of decency and conscience can defend this government at this point. Just sheer moral degeneracy to arm a state that does this and arrest people for objecting. Wtf are we doing as a country?

Rongotai means sound of the sea or tidesound. The name change of the electorate to ‘Wellington Bays’ was not consulted on, and does not make any sense. The new boundary brings in no additional bays to the electorate. Why change?

There are no words to describe the feeling I had as I met with Mayor Issa Kassis to sign a Friendly City Agreement. A moment I’ll never forget 🇵🇸 www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

Value Creation over Value Extraction By @julieannegenter.bsky.social www.nzherald.co.nz/business/bus...

If we want to know why four lane motorways are somehow always justified regardless of cost in NZ you just have to see their proponents reaction to being questioned... Here's some clips of Chris Bishop on Q&A recently and @julieannegenter.bsky.social 's Select Committee questioning from June -Part 1

We’re opening! And celebrating with an open day on 6th September 10am-6pm. No gender restrictions on that day, so everyone is welcome to come along and check out our lovely new space! #announcement #wedidit #cahootsworkshop #queer #feminism #pōneke