Dear Todd, I am writing to you as the National Party spokesperson on climate change. I, no doubt like hundreds if not thousands of National Party supporters, was outraged at the treatment handed out to Maureen Pugh on Tuesday. How she was treated smacked of the ‘bully boy’ tactics employed
In my last article, I made the point that I thought Maori were good navigators. This was in relation to Rawiri Waititi and his ill-considered remarks to do with replacing Valentine’s Day with Captain Cook Day. In effect, he wanted to replace celebrating love with celebrating murder and
If Cyclone Gabrielle has taught us anything it is that when it comes to so-called climate change or global warming, charity begins at home. It’s past time we stopped trying to save the world (which we can’t) and looked at the crises we have in our own
Unlike Mike Munro, who has Chris Hipkins as the PM for the next four years with the election in the bag, Bruce Cotterill in his article asks whether he is a man of action or a man of words. Bruce describes Hipkins as a good communicator, sharp, witty and likeable.
The Business section of the Weekend Herald, Saturday February 4, contained a lot of good reading for which the paper deserves credit. High praise coming from yours truly. There was an in depth article on the airport and the problems confronting it. Fran O’Sullivan was sensibly suggesting giving Mayor
I am writing this piece on Waitangi Day. As I’m retired, it’s the same as any other day to me. Get up, do things, go to bed. The sooner the country rids itself of Waitangi Day in its current form the better off we will be. We cannot
Mayor Wayne Brown calling the media “drongos” was simply echoing what the majority of us have been thinking for some considerable time. It is very clear to all, except the precious little luvvies in the country’s newsrooms, that the mayor doesn’t suffer fools gladly. The likes of Simon
The Ship of State is an ancient and oft-cited metaphor expounded by Plato in the Republic, Book 6, which likens the governance of a city/state to the command of a vessel. He expands on the metaphor by arguing the only people fit to command the ship are philosopher
Saturday morning is one of routine for me. Having completed the ablutions and taken the vast array of medications needed to enable me to continue to write for the BFD I venture out to purchase the Weekend Herald. This paper is the closest the publishers get all week to what
Does anyone remember the children’s programme that ran for nearly two decades on our television screens? It was called Play School. It returned to TV One Breakfast on Tuesday morning. Just to reflect they were up with the times, the current presenters brought a gun along with them. Admittedly
The old saying “A leopard doesn’t change its spots” remains as fresh as ever thanks to our departing Prime Minister. Speaking as the Oracle of Truth from the Podium of Truth she outlined her reasons for her resignation, choking back the tears. Whether the tears were in recognition of
When one goes to investigate the meaning of the word ‘spare’ one finds it can be used as an adjective, a noun and a verb. As an adjective it means what Harold is – additional to what is required for ordinary use. As a noun it means ‘an item kept in
Many people are fond of making New Year resolutions. This being an election year I prefer to make a political prediction. I predict that the election result will see Jacinda Ardern able to present herself with a well-deserved medal – the DCM medal. This will not be for Doing Communications
The last Weekend Herald before Christmas featured a summing up of the political year from three of its regular opinion writers: Fran O’Sullivan, Mike Munro and Bruce Cotterill. Fran, a seasoned journalist, mostly writes objectively without fear or favour, as the saying goes, through her media lens. Mike Munro,
The pressure Jacinda Ardern is now under is there for all to see. She has gone from the giddy heights of 60% adulation, thanks to her buddies at the UN putting the fear of God into everyone over Covid, to 29% popularity in the latest polls. Her apology in Parliament
The old saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ came into play in Parliament this week. Not surprisingly it concerned the Prime Minister. It followed her answer to a question from David Seymour who, in my opinion, is the most eloquent questioner on the Opposition benches. He frames his
