Comment

GCSB uncertainty no excuse

GCSB OPINION: The unhappy saga of the Government Communications Security Bureau continues. In the latest development, director Ian Fletcher said the bureau had been cleared of unlawfully spying on New Zealanders.

Stalled meat may be a statement

China meat "Ah minister, thank you for getting back to us so swiftly. We appear to be having a wee bit of a problem getting our sheepmeat consignments across the Chinese border."

Maintenance not off the rails

Train derails OPINION: Since Monday's Ganz Mavag train derailment, there has been much public speculation about what happened and why.

Urewera travesty not unnoticed

Operation Eight OPINION: Unlawful, unreasonable, unjustified. Those words appear 77 times in the Independent Police Conduct Authority report on Operation Eight. There should have been no mention of them at all.

Letter: No shelter at Clifford Bay for ferries

Earlier this month, I witnessed the extreme difficulty Kaitaki and Arahura had in trying to berth at Picton. The wind was about 50 knots, with sheets of spray. There was no swell, just a wind-driven chop. The Kaitaki took two hours before abandoning her berthing attempts and returning to Wellington.

Letter: The provenance of the British Lions

The Irish Rugby Football Union represents rugby players from the island of Ireland and takes perverse pride in that. As far as it's concerned, nothing changed with Irish independence in 1922. Its teams continued to include players from north and south of the border and all four provinces. The term British Lions was originally applied to the British Isles rugby touring team. More recently, it's been termed the British and Irish team, which might be more PC, but distorts the facts.

Letter: Elite can set a bad example

Letter: The perspective of an escapee

Passengers owed a safe ride

Train derails The derailment of a Wellington train are timely reminders of the duty public transport operators have.

Defaulters break 'social contract'

Education helps not just the students themselves, but also wider society. So the costs should be shared.

Cop chases strictly governed

No-frills budget is sensible

Left holding the baby

Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta has fired a broadside at Parliament's rules after she found herself stuck with her baby.

Time etched on all our faces

Rachel Hunter Let me tell you what my spectacle frames have in common with Rachel Hunter – weirdness around the eyes.

Wondering what you missed

The moment I saw it, held together with a rusting paper clip, I knew what it was. "Dear Paul," it began.

NZ's workplace toll a cause for national shame

National redrawing lines on the battleground

A dearth of election-year sweeties

Remember the Budget? No? Well, a week is a long time, especially for such a pared-back spending programme.

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