Adina Thorn: Lawyer chats NZTA South Auckland property acquisition twist

A New Zealand Herald article a couple of weeks ago revealed 87 properties across South Auckland have either been purchased, are being purchased, or are earmarked for acquisition to make way for the Mill Road corridor. The properties collectively represent around $2 billion worth of taxpayer funded…

Dr Tom Robinson: Senior Lecturer discusses the risk of events like Nepal's flood

Families are desperately waiting to hear from loved ones thought to be caught in the deadly flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal-Tibet border. Almost 400 people were killed in yesterday's torrent - caused by a glacial collapse and landslide, and hundreds remain missing including five New Zeala…

Kerre Woodham: Politicians need to stop ruling out raising the fuel tax

Labour has jumped on the no new taxes bandwagon, promising that if they're elected, there'll be no increase on the fuel excise duty for their first term. I don't know why Labour and National don't just join forces and be done with it and leave the left hand side to the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and th…

Kerre Woodham: What will it take for public servants to be held accountable?

What will it take for public servants to be held accountable for their most egregious mistakes? Not even talking the little faffy silly ones. We're talking really, really big mistakes. Never was a group of people more misnamed than public servants. The current generation are not servants of the pub…

Kerre Woodham: A rates cap won't suddenly balance council books

The Government has decided it will cap annual council rate increases at 4%. We've been talking about it for more than a year now, but the cap will take effect in 2029 – councils will need to consider the cap from next year. Local Government Minister Simon Watts told Mike Hosking the reason for it w…

Suzanne Prentice: Kiwi politician and country singer shares memories of Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton's legacy is being remembered as one that will last lifetimes.  The beloved country music star has died aged 80.   She'll be remembered for songs like 'Nine to Five', 'I Will Always Love You', and 'Jolene' – just some of her 25 number one hits.  Kiwi politician and country singer Suz…

Tami Neilson: Kiwi country singer-songwriter pays tribute to Dolly Parton

Stars are paying homage to the late Dolly Parton, who's died aged 80.   Her team has revealed to CNN that the singer songwriter died after a brief battle with cancer.   Tributes from those close to the singer like Billy Ray Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, and Kaycee Musgraves have swamped the internet.…

Kerre Woodham: A social media ban sends a strong message

National, as you will have heard, is pushing ahead with its social media regulation bill, but it's going to have to do the heavy lifting itself. Neither New Zealand First nor ACT, its coalition partners, are supporting a ban on social media use for under-16s. Labour may yet come to the rescue of th…

Kerre Woodham: We finally have tax promises from both major parties

Yep, it was all about taxes over the weekend. Labour pinned its colours to the mast over the weekend and wants to tax more to spend more. Taxman from the Beatles was written by George Harrison in 1966 when Harold Wilson came to power in Britain. He imposed a super tax of 95% on the extremely wealt…

Steve Watt: Police Association President on the continued exploration of giving body cameras to police

Privacy issues are still points of contention as Police take the next step towards putting body cameras on officers.   Police have begun researching potential cameras but are yet to secure funding or Cabinet approval.   The Privacy Commissioner says it could have a chilling effect on people's civ…