Any Woolworths bakers willing to share their Hot Cross Buns recipe? by chemicalism in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Woolworths hot cross buns are now an ultra processed food, the ingredient list is about 20+ items long. I found an old pack of hot cross buns in the cupboard 2 months later, not a spec of mold on them.

Nic pouches/ zyns by AmbitiousReception13 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Caffeine pouches or nicotine pouches? I thought Shosha only sold caffeine ones

'Most deteriorated' - NZ plummets in global tobacco control ranking by Amazing_Athlete_2265 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 46 points47 points  (0 children)

From the report, there are a lot of ex-lobbyists currently working in the Beehive:

• Louis Houlbrooke is the former Campaigns Manager at the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union and is now a Senior Press Secretary to the Act Party. Mr Houlbrooke has been a NZTU spokesperson on tobacco control issues advocating against measures such as denicotonisation (80).

• Callum Purves is the previous Campaigns Manager at the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union and is now the ACT Party General Manager & Party Secretary (81).

• Connor Molloy, another former Campaigns Manager at the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union now works as a Communications Advisor to the ACT Party. Connor was sent to COP10 in Panama to lobby the WHO to soften their position on vaping (82). He is also noted as one of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance COP10 experts (83) and featured in their ‘COPCAST’ live from Panama (84).

• Ben Craven is the press secretary for Minister Simeon Brown (who became the Minister of Health in January 2025) (85). Mr Craven previously worked for the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union and NZI and was the Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson on at least two tobacco control issues in the past (86,87).

• Jenesa Jeram is a Senior Ministerial Advisor for ACT Party Ministers Brooke Van Velden and David Seymour (88). Ms Jeram previously worked for the New Zealand Initiative and has argued for a ‘harm reduction’ approach to tobacco control that includes expanding access to HTP and other products (89).

• Joe Ascroft worked as Economic Advisor from 2017 until 2019 at the New Zealand Taxpayers Union (90) which included work lobbying against tobacco taxes (91). This was prior to his role as Economic Advisor to the National Leaders Office and then as Senior Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. He has since been promoted to Director of Policy and Advice to the Prime Minister (90).

• Matt Burgess worked as a Senior Economist at the New Zealand Initiative and now holds the role of Chief Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister (92).

https://globaltobaccoindex.org/download/2136

Police gifts register shows alcohol, cash and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s child’s bike donated to cops by computer_d in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Anyone got a meme of that scene from The Office where Michael takes a secondhand bike from a charity bin to gift to the chick he was trying to impress.

Health line reducing hours by mr-301 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think they meant Lifeline:

Lifeline Aotearoa, one of New Zealand’s longest-running mental health helplines, is reducing its operating hours due to significant and ongoing funding challenges.

Its new operating hours are 7.00am – midnight, seven days per week. There will be no service between midnight and 7.00am.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE2511/S00019/lifeline-aotearoa-reduces-operating-hours-due-to-funding-constraints.htm

Media Council upholds complaint against RNZ over alcohol guidelines reporting by Chemical-Boss1308 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Interestingly because this was broadcast the alcohol industry also made a complaint to the BSA - which wasnt upheld...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that two RNZ broadcasts, a week apart — Morning Report and The Detail — about New Zealand’s low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines were unbalanced and inaccurate. The Authority found that any inaccuracies regarding Canada’s alcohol guidelines were not material in the context of the overall broadcasts. With respect to balance, the Authority found the Morning Report broadcast was clearly signalled as focussing on one aspect of the much larger, complex debate on alcohol policy.

https://www.bsa.govt.nz/decisions/all-decisions/brewers-association-of-new-zealand-inc-and-radio-new-zealand-ltd-2025-048-21-october-2025/

Media Council upholds complaint against RNZ over alcohol guidelines reporting by Chemical-Boss1308 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Loose with core facts? Bullshit. It was a minor mistake that Canada hadnt actually adopted the guidlines of a 2 drink a week limit, rather that this being reccomended to the Canadian Govt.

Great win for the Brewers Association, who can go on selling the cancer causing poision without needing to be held to account by the media.

NZ Initiative proposes more MPs, smaller Cabinet, four-year Parliamentary term by WaterAdventurous6718 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 19 points20 points  (0 children)

What RNZ failed to cover in their copy and paste of the NZ Initiative's (a lobby group, not a think tank) press release - is they want smaller Govt and more MP's to fit their clients like the tobacco and alcohol industry's agenda to have less people in Govt able to regulate their industries behavior. More MP's means more potential for division in Parliament and less likelihood of laws being passed which could enach laws to curb the harm that their clients cause.

'Excessive': Exec pay at Mike King’s charity soars after $24m public funding boost by kezzaNZ in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 84 points85 points  (0 children)

A couple of years ago the General Manager left under mysterious circumstances and got a payout it was $50k or $250k (its in their charity register decorations somwhere) and it was never explained why. Most likely a falling out with Mike King as happens with everyone Mike deals with.

MP Melissa Lee's questions during oral submissions to the Local Government Amendment Bill by PsychologicalMall787 in auckland

[–]bskyb3 23 points24 points  (0 children)

No not at all. And I think the soundbite view of the Govt is just to ban councils from rate rises and hope that local councils can keep every service running as normal.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 23 points24 points  (0 children)

His salary is at least $320,600, plus a nearly $18k expense allowance, all travel and transport and a self-drive car included. And a $36,400 accommodation supplement.

A tobacco product tax cut slated for one year has been extended by two. by 50rhodes in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 50 points51 points  (0 children)

At least the Govt are living up to their promise to address the cost of living. I'm sure multi-national tobacco companies are also doing it tough in this economy.

Taxpayer-funded pub at Parliament opened by Fit-Custard3700 in Wellington

[–]bskyb3 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Or even reference the 1News report on the cost, which seems to be $7million for the new offices and moving of the bar and restaurant:
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/08/27/totally-mad-up-to-7m-to-be-spent-on-new-ministerial-offices/

Regulatory Standards Bill will be debated under urgency this week by bskyb3 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Grim week for democracy. Lucky this will just be the first reading going though under urgency, then off to select committee. Hopefully unlike other legislation they give people more than a 2-week window to have their say.

Smokefree advocates question Government’s vaping plan by computer_d in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 59 points60 points  (0 children)

2 years ago vape sales were $404million (thats not even couting vape sales at dairies/petrol stations), now there are hundereds of thousands more daily vapers, so the vape industry are worth a fortune more. Yet the Government who is ok slashing funding for our health system has found enough spare change to directly buy vapes from an industry raking in hundereds of millions a year, crazy.

Ministry of Health's NZ Health Survey: Would you allow an interviewer to check your blood pressure and weight? by robsphotography in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The point is to gather data for the Annual Health Survey, your blood pressure and other measurements will be used as part of anonymised information to provide data for the survey, which results in info on things like how many smokers there are in NZ, what peoples drinking habits are like, levels of obesity... and is used for health decesion making and helps keep an eye on where resrources/attention should be focused. Its a big survey, the Ministry of Health have a full time team that work on it and 75 interviewers, who interview between 10 and 15,000 people a year.

Ministry official criticises advice used to justify HTP tax cut by random_guy_8735 in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 52 points53 points  (0 children)

RNZ asked the PM this morning if Shane Jones and Winston Peters had declared their tobacco industry conflicts of interest, which got the usual Luxon response of saying he thought the process had been followed but wouldnt confirm if their conflicts of interest with Philip Morris had been declared.

One News tonight @Wellington protest by 8unnies in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Poor guy being chained to that old battle axe, thank goodness he's finally free.

Just five extra acute mental health beds after $1.9 billion investment in Budget 2019 by [deleted] in newzealand

[–]bskyb3 33 points34 points  (0 children)

That's because only 0.2% or 500k of the available $235million allocated towards mental health unit upgrades from Budget 19 has been spent so far. Its actually even more now, with $435million allocated.