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Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to be in Auckland for the 28th New Zealand First Party Conference. It is our intention and mission to remain the most successful political party outside of National and Labour in the last three decades. So many scribes have tried, and continue to, write our obituary. But we are here today, as always steadfast and resolved to put New Zealand…

Dr Sam responds to the ‘egregious’ personal attack on Dr Simon Thornley, epidemiologist and senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, that was recently published by Stuff.

Doctors for Covid Ethics, April 30, 2021 — COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers have been exempted from legal liability for vaccine-induced harm. It is therefore in the interests of all those authorising, enforcing and administering COVID-19 vaccinations to understand the evidence regarding the risks and benefits of these vaccines, since liability for harm will fall on them. In…

A voyage into how the medical system has lost contact with its very purpose. Can medicine ever redeem itself after the fiasco of 2020?

Asymptomatic Transmission? Sounds pretty dodgy. Time to blow the lid on this one...

The building industry is booming. You will be familiar with the incredible growth in our region. As a result, builders, engineers, planners, consultants, and tradespeople are in strong demand and for those whose homes are being built, new pressures on supply and resource is starting to emerge. In this current climate, this pressure can be reduced if you build with a trusted and…

On the 20th April Panuku Development and Auckland Transport rolled out an ‘exciting temporary trial’ on King Street with a focus on making it safer for people to walk around Pukekohe. The idea? Make King Street one way. Chaos ensued. Drivers felt less safe when they were suddenly unable to access King Street from the main Manukau Road roundabout and the general response to…

War is a barbaric evil stain on our past, but it happened, and the stories live on in its survivors and we owe it to them to retell and remember so that we never endure such suffering again. The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of…

Many of us spend our Saturday’s watching kid’s sports games, with family and friends lunching and catching up on the week’s events or engaged in activities slightly different to the Monday to Friday routine. Then there are those who challenge themselves and inspire others like Wenny Lubbers, Operations Manager at Versatile Pukekohe. On the 22nd of May, he was climbing the 328…

When the current and returning members of the Waiuku Golf club gather to play at the Club’s 100th Year centennial celebration weekend in June, they will be thankful that the hazards they encounter are not hoof marks from cattle and sheep and fences around all the greens and gullies full of tea-tree and prickly blackberries as was the case in the early years of the course.…

The recently announced 2021 Budget was an opportunity missed. With vaccination programmes underway and many countries progressively opening their borders, it’s time to reset and better position our economy for growth. This Budget should have delivered a pathway back to prosperity and to reduce the debt burden on future generations, but instead of supporting businesses to create…

Situated in the far north of the country with beautiful sandy beaches, plenty of history and no shortage of land and water activities sits the popular tourist destination, Paihia. With Waitangi directly to its north, Russell across the shore by ferry and situated only 23 kilometres south-east of Kerikeri (the largest town in Northland) Paihia makes an ideal spot for tourists with…

The strength or success of anything in life is measured in numbers and the annual Repco Beach Hop in Whangamata is no exception. After 21 years it has become Australasia's largest event of its type catering for automotive fun and rock and roll music. With last year's Covid delayed event being held in November, it gave the Beach Hop crew only a few months between this year's event…

Last month, I wrote about the way in which radicals are working to reinterpret the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, often arguing that the Treaty of Waitangi (in English) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (in te reo) are two quite different documents, and that there is no way that Maori chiefs would have surrendered sovereignty in 1840. Given the speeches made by Maori chiefs on 5…

Organ Donation I decided to share some of my thoughts about Organ Donation, frankly a subject that is not often discussed. I have a gorgeous little granddaughter soon to be 7 years old. She was born with hyper active kidneys meaning that they cleaned out everything including her mother’s antibodies protection. This was a traumatic situation caused by one hereditary gene, a…

Introducing our new Expedition Earth team member, a 2020 Jeep Rubicon Gladiator. Named after the Siberian who led us across the frozen tundra of Russia's Yamal Peninsula, we have called him ROMAN. While we wait for borders to reopen around the world, we will be using Roman for local adventures until he can join Gunther on global expeditions.

Accepting the fact that April last year was our great lockdown, April was the strongest it has been for 5 years. Inventory levels continue to fall and whilst adjusted for the seasonal norm of the autumn/winter period they still continue to place still more pressure on the housing market. Low supply and high demand holds prices! There have been less investors in the market for…

Papakura Streetfest – what a wonderful day! Amazing turnout with over 5000 people coming through during the day. Over 45 community stalls, Sustainable Papakura Market Stalls, local entertainment and so much fun for the kids – and the adults too. Check out some of the great photos that Poppa G took for us during the day:…

The Franklin region, and especially Pukekohe is well known for several things. It is the hub of New Zealand’s best volcanic fertile soils where the internationally renowned Long Keeper Onions are grown and Possum Bourne, champion race car driver was born here. It will come as no surprise then to many locals that it will soon have a new claim to fame. That of the biggest car…

“Change is never painful, it is resistance to change.” — Buddha By the time you read this, it will already be the month of May, nearly halfway through the year of 2021 and if you are anything like me, the days just seem to be galloping past. The temperature has dropped, the nights have drawn in and everyone seems to be going about their business pretty much as per usual. May is…