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Matt Whitehead

@mjwhitehead.bsky.social
925 followers 273 following 5.3K posts

Sometimes writer, ironically straight man-style humour, Wellington NZ

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Reposted by Matt Whitehead
Idiot/Savant @norightturnnz.bsky.social · 7h
Foreigners trying to landleech our vital communications infrastructure (and indirectly hike prices for all of us) sounds like exactly the sort of thing a decent government would regulate. www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-teleco...
nzherald.co.nz
Why US investors paid $600k for a hostel rooftop in NZ – and fell foul of the law
Offshore funds are buying land under cell towers. This deal broke foreign buyer rules.
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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 9h
“LANDLORD IS NOT A JOB” Auckland, New Zealand, 2026 @radicalgraffiti.bsky.social
“LANDLORD IS NOT A JOB”, graffitied in white pen on the railing of a footbridge over Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway, between Arch Hill and Eden Terrace.
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Connor Sharp @connorsharp.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Reject $4,000,000,000+++ gold plated rural motorway. Embrace glorious light rail down Dominion Road.
Meme with Reject Modernity and a render image of Warkworth to Te Hana motorway above, and Embrace tradition and a render of Dominion Road light rail below
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Dylan Reeve @dylanreeve.com · 16h
Honestly pretty funny. National has never found a road they didn't want to build.
Greens promise $2 capped fares and free travel for millionsNational promises $1.75b to start corridor along SH1 in Auckland
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Foxes @foxylustygrover.bsky.social · 11h
Stop trying to make *fiscal hole^ work Nicola, nobody believes you #NZPol
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Jjengar @jjengar.bsky.social · 11h
DON’T ever forget this. Pass it on: #nzpol
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Idiot/Savant @norightturnnz.bsky.social · 12h
David Harvey isn't buying the regime's proposed #OIA "reforms" www.nzherald.co.nz/business/oia...
nzherald.co.nz
OIA reform must fix government failures, not restrict access
OPINION: The review considers fees and wider grounds to refuse requests.
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Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Hahahahahah thespinoff.co.nz/society/03-1...
thespinoff.co.nz
Kiwibank is desperately trying to stop people saying they want to fuck its sheep mascot
But for every lustful post killed by a legal threat, another 10 take its place.
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Idiot/Savant @norightturnnz.bsky.social · 12h
ItS ToO ExPeNsIvE tO TrY To PrEvEnT ClImAtE cHaNgE www.rnz.co.nz/news/regions...
rnz.co.nz
Cost of fixing storm-damaged Whangārei roads balloons to more than $23m
The cost of fixing storm damage inflicted on Whangārei district roads earlier this year has risen to more than $23 million - of which almost $11m has been spent clearing one giant landslide.
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2covet @2covet.bsky.social · 12h
#nzpol 🎯⬇️
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Tze Ming Mok 莫志明 @tzemingdynasty.bsky.social · 12h
Green Party put CHOO CHOO MOTHERFUCKER on a t-shirt challenge: Entirely Possible
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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 13h
“Someone in Government has to wake up each morning with nature as their only job. Economic development against conservation is fast becoming a false choice, because the storms, floods and fires now arriving send the bill for every natural buffer we remove.” #nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/there-is-...
nzherald.co.nz
There is an $11b benefit that belies the Govt's flawed conservation reforms
OPINION: Pitting economic development against conservation is becoming a false choice.
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Miriam Ross @miriamruthross.bsky.social · 16h
Do you know what's awesome about our transport policy, you can download, print and make your own Green transport assets.nationbuilder.com/beachheroes/...
An image of a model kit for a Green Party train that you can print, cut out and folder to make your own train
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McKeen Photos (I shoot people and things for money. And fun.) @mckeenphotos.bsky.social · 20h
Be goose, do crime.
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Ganesh Rajaram Ahirao @ganeshahirao.bsky.social · 18h
#nzpol Really don't think you need *nine* points to tackle power bills. (1) our power (mostly) generated by water falling over a dam (2) water falls due to gravity (3) price of gravity has not changed in millennia🤔 (4) bring gravity back into public ownership✊🏾 Phew, done it in *four* points😁 🙏🏾
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rimu bhū’ī (they/them) @rimubhooi.bsky.social · 18h
Some people online seem to fundamentally misunderstand so let me clarify: if there was a political party further left of the greens many of us would vote for them instead 😀👍🏽
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Peter Green @petergreen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Worth remembering that if it costs the government $4.5b to reverse the gender pay tax, then it costs the women affected $4.5b to leave it in place.
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Graeme Edgeler @graemeedgeler.bsky.social · 18h
The Associate Editor of The Post has either not heard of Jacinda Ardern, or thinks modern political history began in ~2020.
Image of text from linked article:

"To buck this trend Christopher Luxon would have to become the first major party leader in modern NZ history to lift his poll ratings in the months before an election. If he were to do it, it would be an historical comeback. That’s because history suggests it is near impossible."
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Marama Davidson @maramadavidson.bsky.social · 19h
Coleaders have already said we would not lead Greens into any arrangement with them. It's a non goer. Focus is on Party Vote Greens so we have the biggest mandate.
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Heather Paterson @heatherpaterson.co.uk · 03/10/2026
EVERY UK MP needs to read this You are all part of a government that is creating a situation so hostile and unsafe that people are leaving the country This is not an isolated case. You have the power to do something about this.
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Tze Ming Mok 莫志明 @tzemingdynasty.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Luxon's media advisor: Okay boss, be a bit patronising, question the costings Luxon: We do not have enough people to fill a train! Never have done. Just no people. This is why we have roads, because it takes way less people to fill up a road, we are building them for billions of dollars.
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Peter Green @petergreen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Absolutely savage from RNZ: National leader Christopher Luxon did not want taxpayer funding going into a "white elephant" that was not commercially viable. "Of course we're very committed to our 17 roads of national significance and we make no apology for that."
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Sacha @sachadylan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
"Restoring commuter rail will give smaller regions and towns the benefits of more travellers stopping at their town stations, creating more economic opportunities and connecting them to main centres and other towns." @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz #NzPol
1news.co.nz
Greens' $4b rail plan: Overnight trains, Christchurch-Dunedin service
The passenger rail plan includes routes from Auckland to Wellington, Christchurch to Dunedin and extending the current Te Huia train to Tauranga.
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Nicola Gaston @nicgaston.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Omg omg omg omg omg omg 💚
nzherald.co.nz
Greens announce plans for Auckland to Wellington overnight rail service
The party also wants a passenger rail service between Christchurch and Dunedin.
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Ryan Nicholls @royuniscool.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
In the previous parliament, there was another four party government, twice! In anticipation of MMP everything got a little bit chaotic as MPs jumped ship from National and Labour to form their own new parties. National had a 1 seat majority and relies on these splinter parties to keep it.
A table showing the multiple different government arrangements during the 1993-1996 term. National is listed on the left hand side and the various parties supporting them at different points during the term are listed. The parties are Right of Centre, United NZ, Future New Zealand, Christian Democrat, Conservative and there is one Independent MP.
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miravox @miravox.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
They never give up on trying to get the taxpayers' share. We can never give up on idea of making AoNZ a place for all to thrive.
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Yorrike. @yorrike.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is such a good policy because we’re not building the network from scratch. It’s already there and just needs upgrading. We used to build trains and rolling stock ourselves, and we could do it again creating high paid, skilled jobs. It doesn’t need to stack up commercially. It’s the government.
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Cath S @cathsheard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You mean they lied in their advertising,
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Jordan Rivers @jordanriversnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The fact that disgraced National MP Chris Penk is now writing opinion pieces on the election for Stuff News is a real bad look for Stuff News. Why would Penks political opinion be anything but bias? He literally campaigned for National Party THIS YEAR
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Anneleise @anneleise.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I reckon she’d do a far better job than Nicola Willis has. #NZPol simonwilsonhopetown.substack.com/p/theyre-los...
simonwilsonhopetown.substack.com
They’re losing their shit over Chloe Swarbrick
The Prefu’s defective, Opp’s got bottom lines and Luxon’s got “balls”, but Chloe doesn’t know finance?
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🄴🄻🄱🄾🅆 @aotearoaelbow.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
National wish to maintain the status quo. #nzpol
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Mask Up Comments and Opinions @commentsandopi2.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The person who claims no conflict of interest was by her own admission involved in the RFP response from her company. Magical internal mind walls something something #nzpol
1news.co.nz
Labour calls for investigation into $40m school science kit contract
The House of Science had repeatedly lobbied the Education Minister for funding – but Erica Stanford insists it’s all above board.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today's jobs report is a reminder that tax cuts for corporations and the rich don’t create jobs or grow the economy. What's required is investment in working people — and better wages. When workers have money to spend, the economy grows and businesses create more jobs. Remember this.
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Jordan Rivers @jordanriversnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Quick reminder of Nationals biggest promise to you in 2023. Nobody got this.
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D Jukic She/her @dejanajuk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Fictional scenarios; misspoke; incorrect suggestions! I mean you can’t call someone a liar in Parliament because ‘the rules’ but given how often the incumbent crew in Govt have lied, the media have no business giving them the benefit of the doubt or letting the liars choose the words. #nzpol
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PERFECTLY NORMAL @nzpom.com · 02/10/2026
bACk oN tRaCk Solidarity with the University and Polytechnic staff✊🏻 #nzpol
rnz.co.nz
University and polytech staff vote to strike together for first time
The Tertiary Education Union says university and polytechnic staff are fed up with insecure work and insulting pay offers.
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Tze Ming Mok 莫志明 @tzemingdynasty.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
OMG OMG OMG when I read the name of that Dutch NGO guy I immediately knew something amazing was about to happen to @fran4dunedin.bsky.social, but I totally underestimated how far the amazingness would go
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Luke Ontario @coolhand.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Every time I see a serial killer tv show advertised I think of this
My dad used to work with Ted Bundy at the University of Utah and every Friday my dad would say, "See ya Monday-Bundy" and I can't imagine how much Ted actually thought about murdering him for
it.
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David Tong @davidxvx.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It is hilarious that Todd McClay fairly obviously confused Fernando Hernandez Espino of Both Ends with Francisco Hernandez of the Greens but neither he nor Luxon will admit it. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Christopher Luxon walks back 'bizarre claim' about the Greens
Christopher Luxon has walked back claims made by one of his ministers about the Greens, before then suggesting - wrongly - that they originated from the media.
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Nick Young @nickofnz.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A former British high commissioner to New Zealand says our country's "100% Pure New Zealand" brand is at stake, following a Dutch environmental group lodging a complaint with the European Commission alleging New Zealand may have breached parts of its free trade agreement with the European Union.
rnz.co.nz
NZ's 'clean, green' reputation at risk, ex-UK envoy warns
A former British high commissioner to New Zealand says our country's "100% Pure New Zealand" brand is at stake, following a Dutch environmental group lodging a complaint with the European Commission a...
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Ann Pettifor @annpettifor.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Larry Elliott is as eloquent and coherent as ever. The Chancellor needs him...not just us as an economist, but also as a communicator. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Rightwing economic myths could derail Burnham’s project – to destroy them, look to Keynes | Larry Elliott
Borrowing can be good, there is no such thing as the ‘nation’s credit card’, and, yes, you can buck the markets – as previous governments have shown, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott
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Arden Powell @ardenpowell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If you think an artist's style looks like AI but you can scroll back through their portfolio and see them doing the same work before 2020, congrats, you're not looking at an AI grifter. You're looking at one of the original victims whose entire style AI stole.
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 02/10/2026
The rush to accuse, without anything approaching due diligence, artists of using "AI," should be treated with contempt. An artist gets their work *ripped off* to train a plagiarism machine, which then shits out inferior versions of that work, so then you accuse the artist of using "AI"? Fuck you.
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Lyndon Hood @lyndonhood.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
But if we've established that working in line with sinister foreign lobby groups is a problem then I'm sure we have some thoughts
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Michel Mulipola @bloodysamoan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
STOP. DROP. ENROL! STOP what you're doing DROP into www.vote.nz ENROL TODAY! or help ENROL your friends and family 18-24yo rangatahi of Māngere are sitting at 45.16% enrolment rate. That's over 5000 rangatahi still not enrolled
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Terry Baucher @trabaq.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#nzpol The fact that the current coalition deliberately undermined initiatives to reduce our vulnerability to shocks like this ought to be a far bigger deal than it is.
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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 01/10/2026
this video of Chlöe Swarbrick, who leads the Greens in New Zealand's parliament, is worth your five minutes' time
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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A campaign need not generate 10 or 30 additional MPs to matter in a close election. It could influence a marginal electorate, encourage some disaffected supporters to participate, or redirect party votes sufficiently to change coalition bargaining power.
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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I can’t speak for NZ’s electoral history, but can authoritatively say that nothing like what I'm studying at present around the far-right's influence operations, coordinated messaging, & related funding (propped by billionaires) was this evident in the lead up to the 2023 general election. #nzpol
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