Government's plans to tighten up on benefit eligibility do not go far enough. Work-testing parents on the DPB when their youngest child turns six will encourage those who want to avoid work to simply expand their families. Currently about 5000 babies... Read More

I once read that every one thousandth of a second the each of your 50 trillion or so cells perform hundreds of different chemical reactions. Of course this is some sort of estimate but it is quite staggering to know the things your body does every second... Read More

Asset confiscation; suspension of your right to silence; expanded search and surveillance powers for an extraordinary range of government departments - I tell you what: I'm with Danyl here asking why is it that Minister for Police Judith Collins... Read More

This Saturday brings the start of the Baywide cricket championship, which decides the best premier club side in the Bay of Plenty, by way of a round robin followed by semi-finals and a grand final. The prize at stake in the Baywide competition is the... Read More

Politicians can certainly act quickly when they want something badly enough. As of last Sunday, it is illegal to use a handheld cellphone while driving on New Zealand roads. I've been opposed to this legislation since it was first mooted a few years... Read More

The fact that one man with a forklift was able to take out the power supply to the top half of the North Island shows how fragile New Zealand's electricity network really is. Friday's accident, in which a container hit a high-voltage power line in Otahuhu,... Read More

At monitoring committee, elected members had a presentation from Warren Banks, Chairman of Tauranga City Aquatics (TCAL), the organisation that runs all council swimming pools. The bad news could have been worse. Ratepayers' subsidy for all aquatic... Read More

Andy Moles has been unceremoniously dumped from the Black Caps. That is an amazing turn of events. One could say it is like sport in Pakistan where powerful men can change the team on their command. Why has this occurred? It has been said that several... Read More

The Bay's boaties couldn't believe it when finally, for the first time in a long time, we had a fine and settled Labour Weekend. Supposed to signal the start of summer, we'd nearly given up on Labour Weekend; but not this year. The waters of the... Read More

Well a couple of problems actually. Problem 1. Why is it, that all you female twoleggers get all sentimental over a frisky fraulien? My little cuzz Ady gets taken for a walk down to the local bank and all the female tellers invite her in, she does... Read More

This is a French drama set in spring 1936 in a working-class district in the north of Paris. In the centre of town there is a small square, a few shops, lopsided buildings, cobbled streets and the peeling facade of the neighbourhood music hall: the... Read More

It was a brilliant weekend on the water, sailing the clear blue waters off Mayor Island and beyond. Many Bay boating families were out there, making the best of a fine, classic spring weekend, a rare treat for a Labour Weekend. One incident noted:... Read More