A poem for the 2020 General Election
Election time is coming
And I am worried sick
What candidate and party
Should I award my tick?
I'm reasonably well-informed
And have an open mind
So here's my message to you all
Be truthful and be kind
Drop all your usual rhetoric
Forget the GDP
A genuine focus on wellbeing
Is what I want to see
Leave port moves to the experts
No barrel and no pork
Stick to the facts and evidence
Don't take me for a dork
I won't look at your hoardings
Your ads and your SM
Your bribes and empty promises
To me it's all just spam
And I will certainly not watch
A televised debate
I really have no need to feel
Uplifted by the state
Don't sell me "back to normal"
Forget the "tough on crime"
No crusher and no stardust
Just tell the truth this time
I'm tired of your platitudes
Your kicking of the cans
I want to read your policies
And understand your plans
I'm scared and eco-anxious
I need a dash of hope
And not just referenda
On managed death and dope
Don't be the handbrake all the time
Please pull out all the stops
I want a tidal wave of change
And not just a few drops
When Mother Nature kicks our bum
With fire, drought and flood
She tells us in most certain terms
To nip it in the bud
And when the great pandemic hit
Just like a lightning strike
We rediscovered care and kindness
And what life should be like
So put a cap on cows and diesel
And all that dirty s#!t
And spare me your disinformation
Since I won't fall for it
There's more that needs to disappear
Not just the plastic bag
I want that green recovery
Clean air and regen ag
Plus energy efficiency
Instead of soot and mould
Stop muddying the waters now
It's getting a bit old
And when it comes to transport
There is no "road or rail?"
There's only less emissions
If we want to prevail
Forget the aluminium smelter
We're always bound to lose
Reroute the Manapōuri power
And put it to good use
When you're talking waste and rubbish
I want to smell no rat
Bring on deposits and recycling
And make us pay for that
We are obsessed with housing
So go and take a dare
Kill off the speculation
Just tax it fair and square
Our welfare isn't doing well
And here's the reason why
It's targeted and quite the trap
Why not a UBI?
Business needs certainty
And keeping things on track
So don't campaign that if you win
You will just roll it back
Quit farming our kids like cattle
Repair the ECE
Just let our teachers do the teaching
And go for quality
Enable students overseas
To distance-learn online
So there's no need for quarantine
Remote will work just fine
Be careful with our borders
Whatever it might take
Don't burst our precious bubbles
For tourist dollars' sake
Please honour Te Tiriti
Respect that BLM
And quit the racist notion
That there is Us and Them
So this is it, my laundry list
What I think should be done
I'll go and check that I'm enrolled
Don't want to miss the fun
Just giving me the pen for free
Will certainly not do
You have to take me seriously
To make me vote for you
Poll: Does the building consent process need to change?
We definitely need homes that are fit to live in but there are often frustrations when it comes to getting consent to modify your own home.
Do you think changes need made to the current process for building consent? Share your thoughts below.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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91.7% Yes
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8% No
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0.3% Other - I'll share below!
Food and product recalls
These items have been recalled during the last month. If you have any of these items at home, click on the title to see the details:
Product recalls
Avanti, Malvern Star & Raleigh bicycles
Yoto Kids Speaker
Anko Kids Pyjamas
Battery drill chainsaw attachment
Industrial pedestal misting fan
Yamaha adaptor
Zero Tower safety harness
Naturacoco moisturising cream
Thule child bike seat
Food recalls:
Maketū pies mussel pie
The Catering Studio cottage pie
Matakana Smokehouse gravlax/salmon
Our Fruit Box fruit juices
ProLife Foods value packs - nuts, raisins.
YY Dumplings & Fu Yuan ready-to-eat meat products
Waiheke Herbs italian herb spread
We hope this message was helpful in keeping your household safe.
Say goodbye to tyre waste
About 40% of the 6.5 million tyres Kiwis use every year are recycled, repurposed, or used as tyre-derived fuel. But the rest end up in landfills, stockpiled or dumped.
The good news is now there’s an easy solution to all that tyre waste. It’s called Tyrewise and is New Zealand’s first national tyre recycling scheme.
Tyrewise ensures that tyres in Aotearoa New Zealand are recycled or repurposed properly, saving millions from going to the landfill.
Find out more about the scheme online.