Gir

Why not spend $2.7b on solar & batteries instead? Govt to pay up to $180m/year or $2.7b over 15 years to lease LNG re-gasification plant, paid for by $15-$30 'levy' per household per year. That $2.7b would build four Benmore Dams worth of electricity

FYI I’ve opened this up for full public reading, listening & sharing after requests from paying subscribers. Their support allows me to do this kind of public interest journalism on Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate & poverty in public. #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/why-not-sp...

Aotearoa Renter's Survey 2026 This is about gathering stories and information about what it's like being a renter in Aotearoa in 2026 - to support you, your flatmates and your neighbours to advocate, organise and campaign for dece...

Renting in Aotearoa NZ? Please fill in the survey; if nothing else the results will help me with council decision-making!

Own your home? Please share it widely to get max responses.

Siouxsie Wiles: Why this giant worm should be crowned New Zealand’s best bug It's more than a metre long and can expel glowing yellow ooze from its anus. Doesn't that sound like Bug of the Year material to you?

Not voted for #BugOfTheYear yet? Thanks to @thespinoff.bsky.social for letting me make the case for the North Auckland Worm. Vote now! thespinoff.co.nz/science/09-0...

Māori leaders reflect on political pōwhiri at Waitangi Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu kaumātua Mike Smith says it’s “both tragic and absurd” that the time meant to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi descended into a “public political squabble”.

Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahu kaumātua Mike Smith says it’s “both tragic and absurd” that the time meant to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi descended into a “public political squabble”.

Pied shag asleep on a log over the water, mirrored along with the greenery in the lake below.

Close-up of a male hihi poking his head out of a feeding box.

Tieke with orange berry in beak.

Korimako perched amongst the ferns in the sunlight.

Took a long long weekend burning off excess leave balance; of course I was back to Zealandia and it was an absolute day for it.

Ha, yep!! bsky.app/profile/oldm...

Not an artefact, but an ancestor: why a German university is returning a Māori taonga For Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Te Pou o Hinematioro is an ancestor, not an object.

Not an artefact, but an ancestor: why a German university is returning a Māori taonga www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu...

It can be one of our new ferries

‘It was worth it’: Siouxsie Wiles on her employment stoush - NBR | Business news & analysis | Independent, ad-free reporting Read premium business news, economic analysis, and market reporting from New Zealand’s most trusted business newsroom. Subscribe to support independent journalism.

Morning all! I recently did an interview with NBR about why I took legal action against my employer despite knowing I was going to lose money. They’ve just made the interview free to view so here’s the link if you are interested www.nbr.co.nz/toil-and-tro...

Red poppies and orange daisies (yes I know they’re not really daisy’s), purple spiky mysteries popping through

Another angle of the wildflower experiment. Lots of reds, oranges and purples. Acid yellow snapdragons in the background

Deep magenta snapdragon blossoms

The random wildflower seed mix packet did really well . Especially considering how poor the soil is in here after decades of agapanthus in this spot 🌱 living the random magenta snapdragon & all the poppies

This is the business practice known as what?

a. Circling back
b. Putting it in the pipeline
c. Rawdogging
d. Grabbing the low hanging fruit

🧵Spotted on a Very Hot Market Day in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A woman (60s?) suddenly stops and plucks at the seam of her undies through her shorts.
Her partner laughs, asking: "Ya right there?"
She nods. "Yep. We've all got bums. I just had my knickers riding up mine. Happens to the best of us." (1)

Grocery store sign of bagel that reads: pick your own. Part of the sign is obscured to look like it reads: fuck your own

Relax, bread department

Sunrise, WAITANGI DAY, 6 February, from Okitu Beach, Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Toitū te tiriti

The sunrise of rich orange and pink clouds on an urban horizon on this day 6 February 2026, Waitangi Day.

Ata mārie e te Kikorangi whānau! Toitū te Tiriti!! ✊

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue

BREAKING! Fast Track panel rejects seabed mining PRESS RELEASE Kiwis Against Seabed Mining are celebrating the Fast Track Panel's draft decision to decline Trans Tasman Resources' bid to mine the SouthTaranaki seabed. The draft decision was publis...

BREAKING: Fast Track panel declines seabed mining bid.
"This is a victory for the moana, for all the people across Taranaki and Aotearoa, from Iwi and hapu and councils and everyone who loves our ocean," said KASM chairperson Cindy Baxter.
#nzpol
www.kasm.org.nz/post/breakin...

Day off & I've hung out the washing, taken the dogs for a big walk, taken my recycling to the depot & done my fortnightly big supermarket shop. Now to spend the rest of the day continually telling myself that I've got plenty of time left to get on to the gardening that I've been neglecting for AGES

two men are standing in front of a car with the word video club on the bottom ALT: two men are standing in front of a car with the word video club on the bottom

And yes, I am in fact following it up with Grosse Pointe Blank

three men are standing in a record store talking to each other . ALT: three men are standing in a record store talking to each other .

Hands up if you think High Fidelity is one of the best movies of all time 🙋🏼

Never moving again 😍 #teorangawhaikurī

There’s no such thing as a normal brain: Best ideas of the century Neurodiversity research has reshaped how we think about autism and ADHD, revealing that a “normal” brain doesn’t exist – and that unusual brains also come with unique strengths

Neurodiversity research has reshaped how we think about autism and ADHD, revealing that a “normal” brain doesn’t exist – and that unusual brains also come with unique strengths.

Happy Anniversary to those who celebrate cat attorneys.

My wife and I were on a beach in the Wellington area and found this at a car park, in the grass.

It is approximately the size of a person's hand,made of bone, and intricately carved.

I've masked the lower half,as only the legitimate owner will be able to fully describe it.

Please share this...(1)

Any recommendations for aborists in Wellington? Little sis is looking for one. RTs appreciated 👍

a man in a suit is scratching his head ALT: a man in a suit is scratching his head

I just walked into a petrol station that was playing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" & now it's stuck in my head. Do you think I have grounds for a lawsuit?

Any recommendations for aborists in Wellington? Little sis is looking for one. RTs appreciated 👍

Lying on the couch with Dax snuggled up against my chest

It's so lovely to have a cuddly dog again 😍😍😍 #teorangawhaikurī

MAJOR UPSET ALERT: Democrat Taylor Rehmet has just been projected the winner of the Texas SD9 special election — flipping a district that went Trump +17 and hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1991.

Trump personally endorsed Leigh Wambsganss and spent days hyping this race… and still lost.

What colour is purple or is it maroon. We live in a kaliadescope