Good News Not Much Good
Good news for the Labour-Greens Government is going to do little for them come the elections in less than 3 weeks.
The recession is over - as if we even felt there was one.
PM Hipkins performed reasonably well in the rather poorly moderated leader's debate against Chris Luxon even though the latter had the best lines (including Labour's election promise of taking GST off fruit and veggies was "saving the public a few cents on carrots and beans"). I hold Luxon under suspicion of being something else other than what he is attempting to portray.
The NZ Warriors have gone into Sunday's play -off to get into the NRL grand final with a huge win last Saturday when it seemed all of NZ and most of Australia were watching the match.
The AB's have restored much of their mana against Namibia in pool play in the William Ellis Rugby World Cup.
These major successes in sport in a sporting nation are always going to boost the Government of the time in raising a 'feel good" emotion.
But no matter what at this juncture is going to change the fate of the 2023 general elections. I am going to win the two bottles of wine bet I have had from last year.
Forgettable Labour MP, Greg O'Connor who holds the Ohariu seat has already conceded defeat for his party at the polls. But he managed to cast a gloom in predicting Wellingtonian Nicola Willis is likely to be the Finance Minister. Of course she is. Willis will spearhead the plan for job losses in the Wellington region including many workers living in Upper Hutt in slicing public service jobs by many hundreds if not thousands and severely trimming funding as a National Government has done previously.
Meanwhile: UP THE WAHS
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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