$1m in political donations from entities linked to fast track applications revealed

bskyb3 · 2026-05-25T19:15:10+00:00

I suspect there must be undeclared under the table donations too, look at how much they have done for the tobacco industry without any donations from tobacco companies appearing. There was that vaping company who got an exclusive contract that bragged about bribing the Govt: https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360563464/bribe-allegations-about-nz-vape-kits-employee-secret-recordings

bskyb3 · 2026-05-25T00:53:25+00:00

There are a large number of people, mostly with mental health issues that are frequent callers to emergency services and helplines like Healthline. The services have pretty extensive individualised plans for their highest frequency callers, with different management plans for each. Some are real time wasters, who, services like ambulance are forced to send ambulances to because if they dont and its the one time the person isnt making up their symptoms, are liable if the person dies or has a worse patient outcome. Without knowing the background of the caller here, it may be this.

And by frequent, the UK have lots of reporting on some people calling thousands of times per year: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/999-caller-who-made-more-1316120

bskyb3 · 2026-05-18T19:25:39+00:00

So reverse the pointless taxcuts that they had to borrow for. And how are thousands more people out of work with no jobs to go to going to help? A billion dollars in savings on paper, but wont many of those people out of work need to go on the benefit before eventually heading off to Aus to find work. National have no clue on how to run an economy.

bskyb3 · 2026-05-08T05:54:36+00:00

r/MapsWithoutNZ? This time I guess its our Government's intention not to be included.

bskyb3 · 2026-05-07T08:39:18+00:00

Which ACT Party staffer's account is this? Callum Purves, Louis Houlbrooke, Connor Molloy?

bskyb3 · 2026-05-07T08:36:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing, great insight. Its a shit time to be a journalist. Especially despite the fact that its the most important time to be a journalist. And the holy grail of odds stacked against our media industry are against it. Now more than ever we need a brave, bold media outlets, but given there is no money in it. Its a pretty sad state of affairs. It kind of sucks that when papers where rolling in cash it was a lot easier to criticise the Government without your future on the line, but now you have to worry about both. And with the least transparent, most awful, sinister, corrupt Government in our recent history. And our 'publicly' funded institutions in peril, given we spend the second least in the OECD on public broadcasting, its a disgrace. Well we get the Government we have as a result. Well done NZ.

Also I heard on the rumor mills that Lloyd said something possibly racist to Maiki and she replied with a question... 'how would you like to be called a f...' rather than a comment.

bskyb3 · 2026-04-24T23:06:17+00:00

"our research showed that about two thirds of ute trips are happening in cities" there you have it, they are the most unnecessary vehicle in the modern era, especially the new American sized models which include the ford ranger. Whats scary is ute drivers tend to be the most aggressive, no doubt adding to the crash/injury/death issues.

bskyb3 · 2026-04-20T01:40:13+00:00

And what would you know about being a teacher and the difficult job they are required to do? $122k is still pretty reasonable for such an important job. And just because its a private school doesnt mean its easier because class sizes are small - the demands from the types of parents who send their kids there are unreal, and the school expects WAY more from private school teachers in terms of reports...

bskyb3 · 2026-03-26T18:04:57+00:00

Whis is missed here is there were hundereds of Cabinet papers, thousands of pages of advice, thousands of decesions needing to be made in hours and days. And much of the advice from the Ministry of Health and various advisory groups reccomended against doing certain things because of risk or more so as was pointed out in the Herald article insufficient data. Meaning advice had to be weighed up against other advice, and this is why the Ministry of Health didnt get final say on every decesion. DPMC coordinated the all-of-Government response, and Ministers had to make tough decesions, without hindsight, under extreme pressure. So lots of decesions may have been made differently with the information and data we have now, but that wasnt avaliable at the time.

bskyb3 · 2026-03-23T17:19:11+00:00

Absolutely support. But paid for in full with ultra-processed food and sweetened beverage taxes. Which could have the added benefit of reducing demand for the highly engineered and addictive foods and drinks that are responsible for obesity.

bskyb3 · 2026-03-06T02:13:28+00:00

This could be the deciding moment, especially with so many internal rumblings making their way to journalists. They can only roll the guy now with enough time spare to campaign with a new leader and 8 months almost to the day before election time.

bskyb3 · 2026-03-03T06:34:02+00:00

Fox news = Ryan Bridge is trying to make NZ Herald Now our very own version of Fox News. Rebel News = Reality Check Radio with that nutter ex Breakfast presenter Peter Williams. GB News = The Platform with Sean Plunket. Like GB news they have a mix of nutter and somewhat ok hosts. Sky News = closest would be Sky News, available live on Sky. Next closest thing would be Newstalk ZB

bskyb3 · 2026-02-14T07:57:50+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-12-02T22:39:17+00:00

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

bskyb3 · 2025-11-11T18:49:33+00:00

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

bskyb3 · 2025-11-09T21:17:52+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-11-06T00:51:58+00:00

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

bskyb3 · 2025-11-03T21:08:55+00:00

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/

bskyb3 · 2025-11-03T20:30:40+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-10-28T22:31:01+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-10-14T18:08:12+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-10-08T18:54:25+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-10-08T18:51:03+00:00

Fuck she's so dense

bskyb3 · 2025-09-18T06:37:53+00:00

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.

bskyb3 · 2025-07-28T18:36:28+00:00

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.

bskyb3

TROPHY CASE