Disunity is death
OPINION: Staying with politics, with less than nine months to go before the general elections, there’s confusion in the Labour Party when it comes to working with the divided Maori Party.
OPINION: Your old mate was a little confused by Maori Party MP Rawiri Waititi’s stance over not wanting to wear a tie in Parliament’s debating chamber.
Waititi was booted out of Parliament on the first day back this month, after a dress code scuffle with Speaker Trevor Mallard.
As he was leaving the house, after being ejected by Mallard, Waititi said: “This is not about ties, it is about cultural identity.”
The Hound suggests Waititi may very well have had a valid point about the archaic rule around wearing neck ties in Parliament, which has now been relaxed.
However, he suggests if Maori Party co-leader is going to pull the old ‘cultural identity’ claim then he’d probably have more truck and ‘mana’ if he were not wearing his omnipresent, ridiculous-looking cowboy hat, which is hardly traditional Maori garb!
“We’re not normal.” That’s how Jack Walters, executive director of Pungent Pukeko, describes his gin brand, which has just won gold at the World Gin Awards.
Dr Tim Harwood, a seafood food safety research leader, has been awarded the 2026 Significant Contribution Award at the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) Food Industry Awards.
Today marks the first day of operations for Waikato Waters, a new council-controlled organisation established by six district councils to deliver water and wastewater services for their communities.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has announced has opened applications for the 2026/27 funding round of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund.
New Zealand’s vegetable sector will take centre stage at Parliament today, celebrating a vital industry and sharing a clear, future focused vision for how it can continue to thrive.
New Zealand red meat exports reached a second consecutive monthly record in May, rising to $1.6 billion, according to the Meat Industry Association.

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