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Pine is one of my favourite ingredients and a scent I associate strongly with Christmas. One of the joys of having a real tree is that it can play a part in your cocktails, too. Spruce, Douglas fir and pine are all delicious in this drink, but if you’re snipping a branch from a wild tree, just make sure it’s not yew. The shrub will keep in the fridge for three weeks and makes 20 drinks, and it’s also lovely topped with sparkling water as a…

Dear Director · Sometimes information helps us to understand puzzling situations. Business models can be very informative. It won’t have escaped your notice that the public health sector has no clear business incentive to understand what is making more people more sick more often with more serious conditions as we reported this week. · The opposite is the case with health insurance companies like yours. You have an absolute need to understand…

Not too long ago, the Peugeot 103 was ruling the streets of France. These were "pedal-and-pop" bikes, meaning they required the rider to pedal them for the two-stroke 50cc engine to kick in. And you didn’t even need a license – since they were limited to around 28 mph (45 km/h) – so they were all the rage back then. Now, after five decades, Peugeot has revived the nameplate as an electric moped. And unlike most revivals, the 103 still retains a…

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has insisted her electorate overspend was authorised, saying her office had an agreement to provide support to Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp (who passed away in June) while Kemp was unwell. · Party president John Tamihere flatly rejects that such an agreement ever existed. · In High Court filings, the party states there was no approval from Kemp for Kapa-Kingi to draw on Tāmaki Makaurau resources,…

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without all the traditional trimmings and sides – the very best roasties, oozy veg bakes, gorgeous greens, gravy and more. · This stunning salad or traybake if you want to be fancy, is both a visual spectacle on the Christmas table that is sure to get you appreciation, it is also a gastronomic feast! Ingredients: · - 4 cups butternutsquash, peeled and cubed - 3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved - 2…

The government has launched its new Govt.nz app, marketed as a convenient place to find information, bookmark services, and receive emergency alerts. · However, the real transformation arrives next year. Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins told RNZ’s Morning Report that digital driver’s licences and other identity credentials will be added once legislation passes early in 2026. The identity functions cannot go live until then. ·…

There is something undemocratic in a society of machines. Men receive more or less power, honor, and esteem because of their capacity to purchase the use of certain devices—not because of who they are. The capacity to “go camping” proves to a man and his fellows that his access to this or that machine is not a cheat or a fraud, but an aid and assistance to an underlying skill that he really does have. In the midst of untold luxuries, families…

After a difficult 2025 marked by recession and slow activity, New Zealand’s economy is showing broad signs of stabilisation and budding recovery — not just in isolated sectors, but across the board, according to KiwiBank’s latest economic outlook. 📉 · KiwiBank Economic Commentary — 13 November 2025 · Interest Rates Have Reached Supportive Levels · Economists at KiwiBank highlight that interest rates are now much lower than they were this…

This is not a doom and gloom article, it documents the extensive benefits of natural, cost effective preventive approaches to health which can help to solve our national health crisis. It contains new information. But first let’s briefly review problems that need solving and contrast the restrictive and blinkered NZ approach with the latest safety protocols being rapidly introduced in the USA health system. Last week an article in Stuff…

A Market Gently Waking Up - For the first time in a long while, the signals coming from the economy, the banks and everyday buyers are starting to all line up at the same time. It is not a boom. It is not even a surge. But it is a clear shift away from the uncertainty that has weighed on the property market for the past three years. The latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey sums it up neatly: buyers now see conditions as the most favourable in…