Pippa Coom

Beautiful and thoughtful writing @nzdodo.bsky.social making sense of the climate disaster, the personal tragedies and the real story behind the headlines.

State of the Nation impressions:

Tone and affect both miles away from encouraging, let alone inspiring; very flat delivery, including in the Q&A. If there was a glimmer of a smile at all, it passed me by.

Also, the clink and clank of cutlery in the background is its own particular subtext. #nzpol

"Just in the nick of time, New Zealand’s trans youth—and the people who love them and care for them—can breathe a sigh of relief" 🥰

This is the heart of it. Everyone who knows and loves a trans kid knows how vital—as in literally life-saving—this injunction feels (and will hopefully continue to be)

The Government's 'Road Cone Hotline' to close The Government will close its “Road Cone Hotline” at the end of this week, after just six months in operation.

womp womp. Performative culture war policy doesn’t last long. www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Over a quarter of a trillion dollars being poured into expensive & complex infrastructure (roads) with almost zero transparency.

What is the public interest in hiding basic information about these billion-dollar projects from the public? Good question @connorsharp.bsky.social
#releasetheRONSfiles

It's only going to get better.

Honestly, with a lot of things happening right now, it's easy to feel down.

But then you go see (and celebrate) the great things that are happening, and cheer right back up :)

Need to talk up the good way more tbh!

Boards Chair here - before our BOT passed a motion affirming our commitment to Te Tiriti, I received emails from parents and teachers urging the board on.

The union never said a word.

Amazing that reaffirming a commitment to Te Tiriti is viewed as "anti-govt" (his words)

Anne Salmond: We're reforming the wrong part of government Coalition Govt ministers insist their reform of regional councils is 'not a power grab' - but all the evidence suggests the opposite, to democracy's detriment

'.. it seems that local and regional government are being set up as a target to distract New Zealanders from their dissatisfaction with the current regime.' - Anne Salmond

Ok I will bite. As one of the 17 vollies on the stand over the Festival (incl my mum in the pic) I found it was a great convo starter. Lots of people just used the dot board to express how much they want to see the back of this govt. No one was debased on the day.

'It just seems cruel': Councillor shocked by comments after cycling accident Councillor Julie Fairey has become accustomed to abusive comments - but she was still stunned.

The abuse Julie Fairey copped after being HIT BY A CAR is exactly what happens when we treat online harm as background noise. Women in politics bear the brunt, especially women of colour. Until NZ actually regulates platforms properly, this will keep happening #nzpol

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

This is a great op-ed on the immense value of complete and connected bike networks but author @connorsharp.bsky.social is too modest. He wasn't just there at the celebration he helped open the Westmere to Pt Chev cycleway

"Power confers this hypocrisy, as does increased aggression, less empathy and a sense of entitlement, all of which characterise this Government. It’s the ultimate judge of character and, at its worst, strips politicians of any authenticity" - Janet Wilson (no paywall on The Post articles today)

Minister admits RoNS reality is biting – and hard - Greater Auckland “Whatever the problem, build another road” has been a hallmark of policy from the current government. And we’ve long suggested that is simply not affordable or practical – including just

Matt @greaterauckland.bsky.social drills down on Chris Bishop's speech about how expensive all the mega-roads his government keeps promising will be. If they ever get built. www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2025/11/20/m...

Sweet vindication after the nasty culture war #bikelash election 3 yrs ago. Turns out communities do want safe streets & cyclelanes.
Not the complete result we wanted but very happy to have been part of a campaign built on positive progressive policies with a great group of candidates
#nzpol

Happy Halloween!

The scariest thing about tonight isn't the costumes, it's the road safety stats.

Halloween sees a 30% spike in crashes involving people walking or cycling w/ 1/3 of these crashes between 4-8pm, peak trick-or-treating hours.

Drivers: slow down tonight so everyone gets home safe.

Three of us in Aotea Square with our colourful signs: nibling’s says “TEACHERS ARE THE BEST”, mine says “Things are so bad even the freelancers are here” (and on the back, “If you can read this, thank a teacher and pay all essential workers properly”), and sister’s says “Happy to be a member of this cult(ure)”

Little kids near us with beautiful hand-drawn signs in rainbow colours and embellished with love hearts: “Teachers Rock! Pay them more!” “We love our teachers!” “I love teachers” etc.

A chaotically brilliant sign that reads: “If Robin White had not been a teacher at Mana College then Noel Crombie wouldn’t have gone to Art School and there’d be no Split Enz and this is massive!”

A fraction of the crowd, with a big sign visible that reads “don’t make me use my teacher voice!”

At the #nzstrike with the fam. Good vibes, massive turnout, righteous signs, perfect birthday outing! 🥳 #nzpol

It’s going as well as you might expect

Sometimes this is what it takes. Shortly afterwards AT made it official for the Grey Lynn greenway through Hakanoa Reserve #tacticalurbanism

Comment of the day (so far):

"I would rather have a smaller road on my way to a high-class hospital." 🎯

Reality bites: RoNS will bankrupt the nation The government’s mega-roads programme is now looking to cost an astonishing $40-50 billion, based on new documents released yesterday by the NZTA.On Monday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop touted the ...

What was actually in the fine print of yesterday's roading announcement: a $40-to-$50 billion bill that we could not pay without bankrupting ourselves. This has been implicit for a long time and should be in the damn headlines. greaterauckland.substack.com/p/reality-bi...

Waikaraka cyclepath, Manukau Harbour, Auckland NZ

Took a bike ride along the Waikaraka cyclepath on the Manukau Harbour last week checking out whether a 50km loop has potential as an Auckland tourist trail. It could be stunning but the area is neglected & weedy bc the East-West Link is going to rip through the coastline.

Simeon Brown accuses doctors of crossing 'ethical line' with mega strike There were audible cries of disbelief during the Simeon Brown's speech to a senior doctors' conference.

Doctors cross ethical line says man who raised speed limits for no reason despite extensive evidence it would lead to more injuries and death.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Unfortunately, the Labour team is unlikely to win back the majority on specials

The same Victoria Slapper who loves to troll the Pt Chev Community page and hate on bike lanes!
(Not their real name, surely)

This is all the votes up till midday Saturday. Specials still to come to come! Will know final result on Friday.

That feeling when the special votes tip your local board back towards favouring kid-friendly and bike-friendly streets…

Congratulations @connorsharp.bsky.social It is disappointing to miss out but you and Theo can be proud of the gains you have made with the preliminary results after all your hard work

Really happy to also see Future West claim the majority on Waitākere Ranges Local Board with the election of @westaklresident.bsky.social and Hannah Slade.