November 11, 2010
The shouting and the tumult die. The captains and the kings depart. Well, not quite. The captains and kings remain sitting round the council table at the Palace in Dalton Street, Napier. I refer, of course to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the recent election of the new chairman and deputy chair. It was [...]
August 22, 2010
Ideally, election issues reflect the concerns of the community. The community then votes in the people best qualified for sorting them out. Identifying the issues is therefore vital. It is also very difficult. Issues can be manufactured distorted and manipulated by interest groups, the press, the civil service and by politicians themselves. The machinery of [...]
May 29, 2010
One of the great privileges of my life is membership on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Transport Committee. As its name suggests, it is concerned with transport issues in Hawke’s Bay. One of these issues is road safety. We angst at length about the road toll and how to reduce it. We discuss enforcement, publicity campaigns, [...]
April 9, 2010
In John Le Carre’s classic novel, The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, the Hero is asked what he really believes. He replies “I believe a Number 11 Bus will take me to Clapham. I don’t believe Father Christmas will be driving it.” Well, that’s a great line. I like it. That always seemed [...]
February 15, 2010
I once believed that we were living in the Age of Reason. I now realise that I confused it with the Age of Aquarius, which was dawning about the same time as I was becoming aware of such things. It is a common delusion. Because technology is advancing so swiftly, we assume that society is [...]
December 12, 2009
We had heroes aplenty in my boyhood days. Most of them were returned soldiers. We had so many war heroes that I didn’t know until my twenties that one of my neighbours had won the Military Cross at Cassino, and another had been in Ngarimu’s platoon on Takrouna when the Te Aute Old Boy won [...]
November 16, 2009
The most remarkable goes most often unremarked. I’m sure Shakespeare or Ben Jonson made this observation. If they didn’t they should have. If not I will lay claim to the eternal verity which it contains, helping me to earn a reputation for wisdom and profundity which, who knows, will one day lead to fame fortune [...]
Guest Writers
- Alan Dick
- Allan Baldock
- Andrew Newman
- Andy Walker
- Angela Hair
- Anna Lorck
- Anne Tolley
- Anne Wilson-Hunt
- Arts in Profile
- Barbara Arnott
- Brendan Webb
- Brian Duggan
- Bridget Sutherland
- Brooks Belford
- Chris Tremain
- Claire Hague
- Claire Vogtherr
- Craig Foss
- Dale Moffett
- Damon Harvey
- David Cranwell
- Dean Hyde
- Des Ratima
- Diana Kirton
- Dinah Williams
- Douglas Lloyd Jenkins
- Elizabeth Sisson
- Ewan McGregor
- Georgina Miller
- Graeme Norton
- Hastings, Napier & Regional Councillors
- HB Regional Council
- HB Wine Country Tourism
- Helen Clark
- Henare O'Keefe
- Iain Maxwell
- Ian Purdon
- Jacob Scott
- Jacoby Poulain
- Janet Takarangi
- Jeff Harman
- John Newland
- John Roil
- Judith Anderson
- Katherine Edmond
- Kathy Webb
- Keith Newman
- Kent Baddeley
- Kevin Snee
- Kevin Trerise
- Kim Thorp
- Kirsten Wise
- Kym Hamilton
- Lawrence Yule
- Liz Remmerswaal
- Local Students
- Louis Chambers
- Margaret Cranwell
- Marie Dunningham
- Mark Cleary
- Mark Story
- Mark Sweet
- Matthew Miller
- Metiria Turei
- Michael Wan
- Michelle Pyke
- Mick Lester
- Mike Mohi
- Morry Black
- Murray Douglas
- Neil Kirton
- Neville Smith
- Ngahiwi Tomoana
- Nick Stewart
- Pat Magill
- Paul Paynter
- Peter Holley
- Phyllis Tichinin
- Rachel Cornwall
- Raewyn Peart
- Rick Barker
- Robert Burnside
- Robin Gwynn
- Rod Drury
- Roger Coleman
- Roy Dunningham
- Russel Norman
- Sandras Hazlehurst
- Scott Henderson
- Sean Bevin
- Shaun Lines
- Simon Nixon
- Sophie Stewart
- Stefan Olsen
- Stuart Nash
- Tim Gilbertson
- Tom Belford
- Wayne Bradshaw
- Andrew Reyngoud on DAM(N)! A half-billion dollar water storage scheme
- Margaret Donnelly on WATER. What's all the fuss about?
- Elizabeth Sisson on 'Dump Council' campaign
- Paul Bailey on Cows in Karamu Stream
- Rob Pharazyn on Cows in Karamu Stream
- John J Harrison on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Anne Parker on Let's get Council meetings online
- Stuart Nash on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Kylie Fowler on Let's get Council meetings online
- Paul Bailey on Let's get Council meetings online
- ‘Dump Council’ campaign
- Cows in Karamu Stream
- Questions for HB ‘regional study’ director
- Let’s get Council meetings online
- 5 mayors in HB … ‘Yeah right’ says Tui
- Crucial Environment Court hearing underway
- Regional Council warns on pollution standards
- Democracy in action?
- 1+1+1 = 3 hours
- Councils’ reorganization survey results
- Andrew Reyngoud on DAM(N)! A half-billion dollar water storage scheme
- Margaret Donnelly on WATER. What's all the fuss about?
- Elizabeth Sisson on 'Dump Council' campaign
- Paul Bailey on Cows in Karamu Stream
- Rob Pharazyn on Cows in Karamu Stream
- John J Harrison on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Anne Parker on Let's get Council meetings online
- Stuart Nash on 5 mayors in HB ... 'Yeah right' says Tui
- Kylie Fowler on Let's get Council meetings online
- Paul Bailey on Let's get Council meetings online
- ‘Dump Council’ campaign
- Cows in Karamu Stream
- Questions for HB ‘regional study’ director
- Let’s get Council meetings online
- 5 mayors in HB … ‘Yeah right’ says Tui
- Crucial Environment Court hearing underway
- Regional Council warns on pollution standards
- Democracy in action?
- 1+1+1 = 3 hours
- Councils’ reorganization survey results
