Tag: politics

My column to you this week is online only as our local Howick and Pakuranga Times papers have made the decision to close during...

At the recent National Party conference in Christchurch National leader Simon Bridges outlined National’s plan for cancer care. Cancer is the biggest cause of death...

OPINION: Too many young New Zealanders are struggling to access affordable housing. We don’t build enough houses, and building them is too expensive. At the...

Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross has announced that he will be taking a few months away from Parliament for health reasons. Ross, who is also the...

Transport, congestion and rates were the top issues raised at the Howick Youth Council by-election debate on Tuesday night. Held at Uxbridge Arts & Culture,...

Voting papers for the Howick Ward by-election will be sent to eligible voters from 22 August and voting closes at 12 noon on Thursday...

Employment law reform is one of the most talked about issues in New Zealand right now, as businesses across the country worry what might...

    Mental health is a significant issue facing New Zealand, with Labour coming to Government promising to make radical reforms to the sector. We were repeatedly...

In May the community suffered a tragic loss with the passing of beloved Howick Ward Councillor Dick Quax. His passing left a vacancy on...

Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Tainui Te Waka. Ko Waikato Te Awa. Ko Ngati Maniapoto Te Iwi. Ko Ngati Huiao Te Hapu. Ko Kakepuku Te...

I was very pleased with the announcement earlier this week that the Government will not be going ahead with its proposal to scrap the...

“What is your opinion on state homes being converted to P Labs?” one local asked Leader of Opposition Simon Bridges on his visit to...

The Auckland Council has now voted to open their final stage of consultation on the proposed Regional Fuel Tax for Auckland. If this is...

He's a good mechanic. The last time seasoned politician and former Speaker of the House David Carter visited east Auckland he not only campaigned...

I'm greatly concerned about the proposed Education (Protecting Teacher Title) Amendment Bill currently making its way through Parliament which, as you may guess from...

  They first met when he was 16. Welcoming Judith Collins to the inaugural Pakuranga SuperBlues meeting at the Howick Bowling Club on Friday morning, Pakuranga...

Three years ago I doubt a medicinal cannabis bill would have been able to be passed through the Parliament. Yet earlier this month the...

New Zealand is a country of small and medium-sized businesses, and that's particularly true here in Auckland. Small and medium-sized businesses drive our economy, and...

Transport continues to be one of the most important policy areas for Pakuranga, Howick, and Botany, and my National Party colleagues and I are...

Two of the most important transport projects in our local area have wrongly had their futures thrown into doubt by the new Government. We all...

It’s that time of the year again – summer is officially here! With warmer weather comes a chance for everyone to enjoy a classic...

Pakuranga's new MP Simeon Brown delivered his maiden speech in the House on Tuesday afternoon. He covers a good deal of ground ranging from his...

United Future party leader Damian Light has announced the party will disband. Light, who stood as the party's Botany candidate in the 2017 General Election,...

      Lawrence Yule, National MP for Tukituki electorate was in Botany recently to share his experiences with the SuperBlues in the area at the invitation...

Winston Peters has revealed he has been offered the role of deputy Prime Minister as part of his negotiations with the Labour Party. Peters announced...

Auckland needs the proposed East - West link between Onehunga and Sylvia Park irrespective of the final make-up of the new Government. “It will benefit...

Julie Zhu-local candidate for Green Party in Botany “I am definitely disappointed to see that only two per cent of local voters decided to vote...

If you just couldn't wait until Election Day to cast your vote, you're not alone. More than 1.2 million New Zealanders cast an advance...

Women in New Zealand started voting 124 years ago but it’s been only three years since Telephone Voting was introduced for the visually impaired...

Running as an Independent candidate for Hunua, it's not immediately obvious where Ian Cummings sits on the political scale. "Definitely not left...I'm a conservative as...

National MP Andrew Bayly says ensuring the Hunua electorate gets its fair share of infrastructure and resources is top of his priorities list. Bayly, who...

It's not very often that a former Prime Minister calls on an upcoming politician to tell her that he sees great potential. Labour candidate for...

Dead bored of interviewing politicians mouthing the same lines is the only reason former journalist Chlöe Swarbrick got into politics. Recently invited to Howick Intermediate...

Respectful. That’s the impression that around a 100 people who attended the Meet the Candidates Night  (Botany electorate) on Monday evening, got. The event organised,...

With the General Election just over two weeks away, the Times joined a big crowd at a local church listening to candidates standing in...

I’m fascinated by the business card Wetex Kang hands me. It’s heavy and embossed, a respectable card for the Maori Party’s first Asian candidate...

A group of politically-minded students from East Auckland visited Parliament recently. The East Auckland Youth Forum consists of two senior students from each of the...

She knows it’s a blue electorate, but Maori Party’s Carrie Stoddart-Smith isn’t backing down. “I wanted to stand in a general seat for the Maori...

UPDATED 2:25PM: Peter Dunne is done with politics. The United Future leader has announced he will not seek re-election in the upcoming General Election. Dunne has been...

It was 2002.  Daniel Bedingfield was at the top of the UK singles chart with his catchy hit Gotta Get Thru This, Michael Jackson...

Labour Party candidate for Botany Tofik Mamedov knocked on 500 doors in and around the Golflands area, on the weekend. The hard-working candidate, who arrived...

Barry Kirker, Labour's candidate in Pakuranga in this month's general elections, fancies his chances of increasing both the party and candidate vote in a...

Jami-Lee Ross is no stranger to politics.  He’s confident, he’s determined and he knows what he wants. He first stood for local council in 2004...

Of total enrolled voters in the 2014 General Election, just 62.73 per cent of those aged 18-24 voted. The 25-29 age group was slightly...

Window washing at intersections will be banned within weeks, if not days according to Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross. Ross in September last year drafted a...

A near-full house turned up to hear Auckland Mayor Phil Goff speak at the Howick Residents and Ratepayers Association AGM at Fencible Lounge on...

Deputy Prime Minster Paula Bennett has a good number of portfolios to contend with.

On the July 1, a number of initiatives came into effect which will benefit the Botany community. These are initiatives that deliver for New Zealanders...

Winston Peters gave an impassioned speech at the Grey Power Annual General Meeting held at Pakuranga Bowling Club on Friday morning. A large crowd gathered...

The Botany-Pakuranga branch of the Green Party has kicked off to a grand start after the first public meeting was held on February 16. It...