Had to post in my Facebook, I’m sure it won’t be necessary here…
“While I think Sunny is self interested and dodgy it doesn’t mean it’s ok to post anything generalizing about people from India. If you post things like “Go Back to India”, they will be deleted and you’ll probably be blocked. Racism is never ok.”
Very well said Nick. There are angels and arseholes in every race, creed, colour and shape across the world. I hope I won’t offend anyone if I put a Biblical quote in here, but it came to mind when I saw your comment.
“Take the log out of your own eye before you try to remove the splinter from your brother’s”
One quote I think that fits all of us from time to time. 🙂
What a gobsmackingly awful day of news for the CoC. The grifters are being exposed. Anyone who had anything to do with Sunny when he was standing for selections in multiple seats for Labour years ago knew this would all end in tears. Sadly he has managed to leave us with an ill thought out piece of legislation now in the House on citizens arrest ; despite the retailers, police and many others warning it was dangerous. There's also something about instant fines for shoplifters I think in the same legislation. And his next job before he is sacked in May - working on facial recognition - he and his mate from a Liquor outlet. OMG! Then Winston. Honestly I am not surprised, but going to a boxing match in the UAE, sitting in the front row, then saying going to the races was the purpose of this jaunt, is just so breathtakingly outrageous. I thought our Labour / Greens team were great in the House yesterday exposing the shoddy energy "policy" of the Nats. Expecting another day of it today in the House, but also please watch the Brooke van Velden screw the workers even more Employment Relations Bill up to committee stages this afternoon. For the record NZ First (and of course ACT and National) voted in favour of the second reading. There is so much damage being done to workers by this bill. I will report accordingly, but it will become law, probably by the end of this week.
AND repeating myself from yesterday - why are ELECTRICITY users supposed to pay for all the LNG import infrastructure through the levy, whereas GAS users don't - particularly relevant for Methanex, which uses 30-45% of natural gas used in NZ each year - so they get their gas supply firmed through a subsidy from electricity consumers - say what now? Corporate welfare!
We already give Methanex about $30mn of free carbon credits every year to stay and in return they send most of their money offshore to "repay a loan" from a parent/sister company so they don't have to pay much tax in NZ (less than a million dollars a year I heard - i.e. much less than the $30mn handout they get), whilst providing just 300 jobs - what a very poor benefit to cost ratio for NZ, particularly for NZ electricity consumers (of course, Methanex use electricity, so will contribute a little, but nowhere near what they should given how much of the NZ gas they use overall, either directly to make methanol or from the electricity they use
It really is time to show Methanex and the Aluminium Smelter owners the door - they are parasites who give very little to NZ
The Ram Raid lie really bugs me - the latest bar chart National has put out on Facebook using annual figures deliberately misrepresents the official police data that you can find in Graph 2 of the link below - [I can't post pictures here it seems - Nick could you add a snip of the graph to the top somehow maybe?] - ram raid levels were virtually back to pre-TikTok craze levels of 10 to 15 per month before the election/coalition agreement
There is another massaged graph doing the rounds that has 6-month rolling TOTALS versus time - normal statisticians might use a 6-month rolling AVERAGE, but not totals - this deliberately makes the peak much higher and happens to make the peak closer to the election data - deliberately misleading people
Would love to know what the brief was for the group. Did they achieve anything while they were being paid by the taxpayer? As for Winston, he did say he was going into campaign mode when he stepped down from DPM.
Loved the "I took stock" joke. Apparently, Sunny is thinking of applying for the job recently vacated by Greg Bovino, heading up ICE for Donald. The uniform would be a bonus.
How freely and without conscience parliamentarians spend taxpayers dollars. Justification and value for every dollar spent should be uppermost in these tight times NOT the constant gifting to the political gravy train
Had to post in my Facebook, I’m sure it won’t be necessary here…
“While I think Sunny is self interested and dodgy it doesn’t mean it’s ok to post anything generalizing about people from India. If you post things like “Go Back to India”, they will be deleted and you’ll probably be blocked. Racism is never ok.”
Very well said Nick. There are angels and arseholes in every race, creed, colour and shape across the world. I hope I won’t offend anyone if I put a Biblical quote in here, but it came to mind when I saw your comment.
“Take the log out of your own eye before you try to remove the splinter from your brother’s”
One quote I think that fits all of us from time to time. 🙂
What a gobsmackingly awful day of news for the CoC. The grifters are being exposed. Anyone who had anything to do with Sunny when he was standing for selections in multiple seats for Labour years ago knew this would all end in tears. Sadly he has managed to leave us with an ill thought out piece of legislation now in the House on citizens arrest ; despite the retailers, police and many others warning it was dangerous. There's also something about instant fines for shoplifters I think in the same legislation. And his next job before he is sacked in May - working on facial recognition - he and his mate from a Liquor outlet. OMG! Then Winston. Honestly I am not surprised, but going to a boxing match in the UAE, sitting in the front row, then saying going to the races was the purpose of this jaunt, is just so breathtakingly outrageous. I thought our Labour / Greens team were great in the House yesterday exposing the shoddy energy "policy" of the Nats. Expecting another day of it today in the House, but also please watch the Brooke van Velden screw the workers even more Employment Relations Bill up to committee stages this afternoon. For the record NZ First (and of course ACT and National) voted in favour of the second reading. There is so much damage being done to workers by this bill. I will report accordingly, but it will become law, probably by the end of this week.
Thanks for that Darien, it certainly isn’t subtle.
AND repeating myself from yesterday - why are ELECTRICITY users supposed to pay for all the LNG import infrastructure through the levy, whereas GAS users don't - particularly relevant for Methanex, which uses 30-45% of natural gas used in NZ each year - so they get their gas supply firmed through a subsidy from electricity consumers - say what now? Corporate welfare!
We already give Methanex about $30mn of free carbon credits every year to stay and in return they send most of their money offshore to "repay a loan" from a parent/sister company so they don't have to pay much tax in NZ (less than a million dollars a year I heard - i.e. much less than the $30mn handout they get), whilst providing just 300 jobs - what a very poor benefit to cost ratio for NZ, particularly for NZ electricity consumers (of course, Methanex use electricity, so will contribute a little, but nowhere near what they should given how much of the NZ gas they use overall, either directly to make methanol or from the electricity they use
It really is time to show Methanex and the Aluminium Smelter owners the door - they are parasites who give very little to NZ
The Ram Raid lie really bugs me - the latest bar chart National has put out on Facebook using annual figures deliberately misrepresents the official police data that you can find in Graph 2 of the link below - [I can't post pictures here it seems - Nick could you add a snip of the graph to the top somehow maybe?] - ram raid levels were virtually back to pre-TikTok craze levels of 10 to 15 per month before the election/coalition agreement
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/ram-data-text-identified-operational-offence-15-november-2025.pdf
There is another massaged graph doing the rounds that has 6-month rolling TOTALS versus time - normal statisticians might use a 6-month rolling AVERAGE, but not totals - this deliberately makes the peak much higher and happens to make the peak closer to the election data - deliberately misleading people
Thanks Martin, unfortunately it’s a ‘feature’ of Substack comments that images aren’t supported. National sure do get creative with numbers.
Thanks Nick - I guess it reduces the data hosting requirements significantly if you don't let people post images!
Wouldn’t Shane Jones be the best candidate to go to a stud farm?
Or perhaps Winston was checking out options for being put out to stud?
That's a picture I can't easily forget 🤢
Sorry!
What, a stud farm to breed pompous gits?
I think he’d probably prefer to watch
Would love to know what the brief was for the group. Did they achieve anything while they were being paid by the taxpayer? As for Winston, he did say he was going into campaign mode when he stepped down from DPM.
Loved the "I took stock" joke. Apparently, Sunny is thinking of applying for the job recently vacated by Greg Bovino, heading up ICE for Donald. The uniform would be a bonus.
Nice, I can see him in a uniform.
How freely and without conscience parliamentarians spend taxpayers dollars. Justification and value for every dollar spent should be uppermost in these tight times NOT the constant gifting to the political gravy train
Thank you Nick.
I came here late to read your writings.
Then, there was Patti Smith.
I watched Patti Smith on the 'sacred wounds' of grief.
She is such an honest and true speaker and writer of songs. Love her.
If anyone is interested PODCAST All there is with Anderson Cooper.
If Kaushal wants shopkeepers to bear arms, why doesn't he emigrate to America?
Incisive writing from you again Nick!
(Fantastic song from Patti Smith - I bought the album aged 16. Thanks for helping me reminisce!)
Thanks for the jokes, Nick. Needed today
Cool song from Patti's band, Nick...new to me....
Always on tbe money Nick, if you'll forgive the pun.