Local Opinion

  By Nanaia Mahuta I recently attended a mass community vaccination event at Hopuhopu in Ngaruawahia “Aio Nuku, Aio Rangi”. Targeted at the wider Waikato region, it was great to see the so many whānau…

District plan? What district plan? Mary Anne Gill asks what faith residents in Waipā can have in it when the body that drew it up won’t back it. “Council staff were attempting to change the…

By Peter Nicholl New Zealand has had very low inflation for over a decade. Yet many New Zealanders who return from living overseas or people who immigrate here often say that New Zealand has a…

By Peter Carr  Those who have had the benefit of spare time may well have attended (as the public) meetings of the local council. Not, I hasten to add, just the Waipā Council but any…

By Peter Matthews It seems trite to moan about recycling soft plastics in Cambridge New Zealand when across the world people are dealing with such crises as the earthquake in Haiti, unprecedented rainfall and flooding…

The axing of community boards is being considered by district councils from Wānaka to Waipā. And in both centres the boards are aggrieved. That’s not surprising – they have proved valuable mouthpieces for communities. What…

By Peter Matthews The biggest manufacturer in the world of plant based meat is called Beyond Meat. The founder of Beyond Meat is called Ethan Brown, and he has said a tax on meat (animal…

Here’s an idea: did New Zealand make a big mistake on June 8, 1987? That was the year and the month, of course, that New Zealand banned anything nuclear from our island. In the aftermath…

By Peter Carr There are times when one just must stop and marvel at what is around us. The sheer splendour of this lovely country starts to set the mind wandering at what we have…

By Peter Carr  From time to time most people reflect on what is around them and how their surroundings affect their daily lives. Surroundings may include one’s home, village, weather, personal relationships and often matters…