Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

There's been a fair bit of teeth gnashing over breastfeeding lately. A quick survey of my mates reveal they're all for it, although some noted it's hard to find a willing woman these days. Especially one prepared to spice it up with a tot of rum.

You've got to feel for Piri Weepu. He's gone from having the country telling him how he should feed his backline; to the country telling him how to feed his kid.

You just can't win being a celebrity. Suddenly even the smallest of personal matters becomes a news item of national interest. When a guy can't lovingly feed his child without it becoming a national crisis, you have to wonder if we are a bit short of things to worry about.

Same goes for Jon Gadsby this week, splashed all over the news, not because of what he did; but who he is. Thousands of New Zealanders are busted drink driving every month, but they don't make the six o'clock news. Even ones that have been nailed four times don't make those headlines. It doesn't make it right; but the punishment is way out of kilter with that handed down to ordinary drunk New Zealand drivers.

Gadsby's story was big news because he's famous. Just as a certain local rock star, enjoying the odd doobie, found out recently – the average person is obsessed with seeing justice handed out evenly, no matter your station in life or fame or fortune.

Yet for these people, the punishment and level of public humiliation is so much greater than for the Average Joe. Is that reasonable? I don't believe so. They should not suffer a greater punishment than the average person, simply because they are not perceived in the public mind to be ‘average'.

If you think they should fall harder because they're a celebrity, that surely is Tall Poppy nonsense at its worst.

The irony is, they are just average people. Granted, very good at what they do, but they put their underwear on one foot at a time, just like the rest of us. (Although, if you are ever short of amusement, it's worth trying to put both feet in together. Just don't tell ACC I suggested it.)

And don't you go pointing the finger at 'the media”. This obsession with celebrity trivia is driven by the public. All yous. It's the readership in general that drives popularity of stories. You want it, the media delivers. Supply and demand. So next time you hear someone generally slagging 'the media”, it translates: You lot.

And speaking of free milk: If you can't get it from a nearby breast or don't have a cow in the back yard, then like the rest of us, you're buying it from a supermarket, dairy or gas station.

Now a price war has broken out with some outlets offering cheap milk. Federated Farmers are pretty excited about this, saying that it's about time the supermarket margin was the focus. If you take off GST, the latest price squeeze puts the cost of a litre at the same as Australia.

Federated Farmers hopes this milk skirmish is the first step in a wider retail milk price war between Foodstuffs and Progressive. It's happened in the UK and Australia so why not here?

The focus really needs to be on the supermarkets, because if dairies can sell milk cheaper and a small supermarket like Nosh can sell it as a loss leader, surely Foodstuffs and Progressive can do the same?

Bring it on

And if the government was serious about encouraging New Zealanders to live healthier, it would be not only dropping the tax on homegrown health foods such as milk, but tripling the tax on the imported rubbish, soft drinks and fast food garbage.

Finally, a couple of interesting photos; the first from my friend Tommy and his thoughts on Waitangi Day:
This shot I took says it all about Waitangi Day. We will never travel by waka again, but remembering what was, by bringing out our Takitimu waka, is paramount. Waitangi Day this year was a step forward for Tauranga Moana. Let's hope we continue to walk forward together remembering the old and celebrating the new. Tommy Kapai, Te Puna.

Parting shot:
Spotted in downtown Tauranga this week, a nice piece of Maori humour (left). By the way, he had a 'real” WOF on the other side of the windscreen. Go bro!