Pillars of the Community by Susan Grimsdell
We’ve been hearing about fraud in the insurance industry lately. Do you remember way back in the distant past when the trusted insurance guy would come to your house and tell you which insurances were best for you? Did it ever enter anyone’s head to suspect for one minute that the one he chose for you was the one that gave him the highest commission? Well, the insurance headlines are saying – look again. The folks dealing in insurance aren’t quite the decent people they seem to be. Don’t bank on it… Read More
The harms of Morpheus by Trevor Plumbly
Perchance to dream Humidity tends to screw up the old thought processes a bit and, instead of the age-regulated two bottles of Emerson’s Pilsner, I sneak a third in to avoid overnight dehydration. This, however, invites all sorts of nocturnal nasties, most of them political. In the latest I was being interviewed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a job as presidential spokesman. Mercifully, unless you’ve conked it, sleep’s an erratic state, but the nasties seem to know opportunity and pounce the minute I drop off. Thus, last night, I ended up in… Read More
How safe is New Zealand? By Angela Caldin
‘On behalf of New Zealand, I would like to apologise to Grace’s family; your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn’t and I’m sorry for that.’ These are the words of Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand, speaking about the recent murder of Grace Millane. She continued, ‘We pride ourselves on being a place where people are welcome, where they are safe and this hasn’t happened. I feel a sense that New Zealanders are carrying this quite personally.’ Homicide rates I was intrigued by her claim that Grace should… Read More
Truth versus opinion by Susan Grimsdell
When did opinion take over from truth? I’ll give you an illustration. Warrants of fitness Recently, it has been found that some garages in NZ who are authorised to issue warrants of fitness (WoFs), certifying the car is safe in all respects, have been doling them out to drivers without actually checking cars. NZ has an enforcement agency tasked with visiting garages to make sure regulations are being followed. It seems that in some cases, these enforcers have very “kind” hearts, and have been turning a blind eye to breaches, merely reiterating… Read More
Values versus science by Susan Grimsdell
New Zealand has been seeing some pretty scary behaviour from seemingly ordinary people lately. Government staff have been the target of a torrent of abuse and threats, on social media, in phone calls and by email. This has included death threats and, following up on that, some staff have had the wheel nuts on their cars loosened. Dead birds have been thrown on the steps of Parliament and thousands of people have marched in fury down the streets of our cities. Predator danger The issue? Dept of Conservation dropping a poison, referred… Read More
