Opinion

Early morning on Saturday 31st March, just north of Auckland, a man was shot after he threatened the police with a machete. From what we know, it's a pretty clear-cut case.

Maybe Thirty odd hardy souls (including officials and spectators) sat through the third reading of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2017–18, Employment and Investment Income, and Remedial Matters) Bill on Tuesday night.

This was said a year ago by Julius Malema, a political party leader who has long been calling for the "land expropriation" that is now coming into effect. Apartheid is returning to South Africa.

When I wrote about the Iranian hand-shake affair, I was not expecting to be revisiting this topic so quickly, but this story about a senior staff member being fired from the University of Auckland caught my attention.

On his first day as National Party leader, when confronted by a media inquisition, Bridges recanted his stance on gay "marriage". Hang on a minute: he wasn't actually asked about it. He just volunteered that information out of the blue.

When preparing for a meeting with the Iranian ambassador, a female Labour MP was told not to shake his hand as this would be inappropriate. The problem with this "handshake snub" by the Iranian delegation isn't one of cultural understanding.

The resignation of Bill English as leader of the New Zealand National Party has triggered the first open leadership contest in the party since 2001, when English was elected for his first stint as party leader.

The Ministry for Primary Industries is introducing a proposal for a regulatory export assurance framework on products that are labelled halal or would require certification on export.

Step one: Open a Krispy Kreme in South Auckland. That's it. Just check the local rags the next day to see how well you did.

Last year I wrote about the demographics of the west as the controversy raged about how it was so inappropriate to ask Jacinda if she was going to have a baby. Never mind that she had told us she wanted a baby.