Sign in

Parua Sarah

@paruasarah.bsky.social
243 followers 240 following 460 posts

Writer of murder mysteries, technical writer, gardener. Living in a small beach town in the North of New Zealand. sarahhorth.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
The upside-down world continues. It's hard to make prescriptions cheaper than free... #nzpol
National party facebook post reading we've made it cheaper  and easier to get prescriptions
25411
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
We're in the upside down. "The Government has spent and budgeted $8 million to purchase facilities to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), $4m of which was recently redirected from a pot of funding previously earmarked for “decarbonising” industry"#nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/business/hal...
nzherald.co.nz
Govt taps shuttered green fund to push ahead with LNG import plan
The cost of buying an LNG terminal is coming from a closed "decarbonising" industry fund.
26635
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Best takedown of Luxon's kiwisaver policy. Robert MacCulloch calls the policy a comms lie and the PM a plagiarist. Tell us how you really feel, Robert 😆 #nzpol Low income earners biggest losers in Kiwisaver changes - economics expert www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
rnz.co.nz
Low income earners biggest losers in Kiwisaver changes - economics expert
The biggest losers in National's bid to super size Kiwisaver are low income earners and small businesses according to an economics expert. If re-elected National is proposing to raise Kiwisaver contri...
062
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Timeline cleanse: duckling invasion this morning!
An image looking down at 5 ducklings at climbing around a human's gumboots, with mama duck looking on.
030
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Well worth the depressing read. @clrenney.bsky.social gives clear budget analysis #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/craigren...
open.substack.com
The Reverse Robin Hood Budget
Do you feel back on track yet?
040
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
It's that time of year! Feijoas are back, baby! #kikorangi 🌱🇳🇿
A feijoa in its deliciousness cut openNew baby feijoa tree full of fruit.
050
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
We planted our mostly nz native windbreak, mostly following the miyawaki forest method, and it's growing so fast. Close to 3x as fast as the trees planted on their own! This section is a bit over a year old and started as tiny seedlings. #tinyforest #miyawaki 🌱🇳🇿 #nzgardening
Nz native plant windbreaker about 4 to 5 feet tall, including manuka, kowhai. Whau, five fingersNz native plant windbreaker some plants over 5 feet tall, including manuka, kowhai. Whau, flax, pohutukawa Nz native plant windbreaker some plants over 5 feet tall, including manuka, kowhai. Whau, flax, pohutukawa
0100
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Sharon Murdoch @domesticanimal.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
PM Christopher Luxon promised to “supercharge” the EV network. So, how’s that working out? Let me draw you a picture. My Stuff #cartoon today #NZpol #EVs #ClimateTargets #ZeroCarbon
Cartoon. Two drawings. The left one shows PM Christopher Luxon flying in under a lightning bolt balloon, waving two flags that read “EV chargers” and shouting “Woohoo!”. 2023 written underneath. The other shows Luxon landed, balloon deflated, holding a flag that says “Petrol” and he’s muttering “Woohoo” Underneath it says 2024.
517168
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Managed to very the teenager out of his cave on this beautifully sunny day. It feels like AoNZ summer with the flowering pohutukawa. #kikorangi #aonz
A teenager paddling a kayak from the perspective of another kayaker.Flowering pohutukawa with a very blue sky above
050
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
A great Saturday morning open to everyone to read/ listen. Bernard nails it as usual! "the Government is playing for time with vague, handwavey and gaslighty comments about both meeting the targets and not doing anything..." #nzpol #climatechange open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...
open.substack.com
My Saturday Soliloquy for Dec 7
Six things that mattered this week: Luxon's austerity strategy; Reneging on Paris; Evidence-light NZ Inc; 'Break up the gentailers'; 'We won't borrow to build'; Homelessness worsens.
084
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Mike Bartley @anothermike100.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
New Zealand drug buying agency, Pharmac is planning to stop funding Estradot HRT patches. The planned alternative is universally regarded as shit by medical professionals. Please take a few seconds to sign this petition. www.change.org/p/mandate-go...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Mandate Government Funding for keeping ESTRADOT HRT Patches funded for Menopausal Women
22422
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Green mulch! I've been so happy with my Tithonia (Mexican sunflower) as a green mulch-grows aggressively and is easy to chop up, easy to propigate, and gives me so much leaf matter. Only issue is, it grows so well it feels a bit like a triffid, ready to take over. 🌱
A close up of a tithonia plant
010
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
My strawberries are taking off! There's something so magical about plants giving you food! #kikorangi 🌱
A giant strawberry held in a hand with plants in the background.
140
Reposted by Parua Sarah
JAS & Ten regen @jasandten.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
another way to show support for Hīkoi mō te Tiriti is to vote in the Stuff poll. you can be sure they're monitoring all the clicks they get on anything Hīkoi-related and we need to show them it's important - and drown out the noes. #ToituTeTiriti #kikorangi #nzpol www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3503...
stuff.co.nz
Stuff
46657
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
So many inspiring speeches in Whangārei today! #ToitūteTiritihīkoi
Hīkoi activation crowd at Whangārei
02910
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 17/05/2024
Swedish author Fredrik Backman talks about creative anxiety and writer's block. Just 4 minutes long but it made my day 😄 #writingcommunity💙📚 youtu.be/NSuSyZ92Cjg?...
youtu.be
Fredrik Backman on Creative Anxiety and Procrastination
At the Simon & Schuster centennial, author Fredrik Backman discusses the highs and lows of being an author, from attempting to get along with the voices in your brain, to the hidden joys of jet lag. Learn more about Fredrik's book, THE WINNERS: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Winners/Fredrik-Backman/Beartown-Series/9781982112806 Celebrate our 100th anniversary with us: https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/simon-and-schuster-100th-anniversary Watch more author highlights ►►https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-71r3OWGsTGaKXZIrM2GHRsLfdGkDU5I&si=keFF0VaGUrw37v1U
090
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 26/04/2024
I really appreciated the writing in this dystopian book (not a YA novel). As a skimmer of overly detailed descriptions, I found myself having to go back as the writing was sparse and deliberate. There's a core mystery, PNW-setting, and plenty of character-driven storyline. Well worth a read. 💙📚
Cover of the novel, Poster Girl, by Veronica Roth
050
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 12/04/2024
A bit late, yesterday's WIP Snips word: Bring When you're interviewing neighbors about a missing girl and you bring some banter. #WIPSnips #writingcommunity #authors
Quote from the WIP book, The Damp Zone
“All I could see were the penises they had instead of heads.” She smiled, showing a row of uneven teeth.
Hazel made a production of bringing out her notebook. “Peens for heads,” she drawled as she wrote.
The woman let out a huge barking laugh and stuck out her hand. “I like you. Tanya Brown, born and bred Seattle.”
030
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 12/04/2024
#pukapuka 📚💙 Just picked this up on sale at the Warehouse. Will review soon.
Book cover: under the weather
170
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 10/04/2024
When you ask your mentor for help with a murder case. #WIPSnips #writingcommunity #murdermystery #climatefiction
Quote from The Damp Zone novel: "Afternoon, Tommy, you old codger.” Hazel leaned into his shirt, inhaling the smell of damp wool and cloves.

He pulled back, his eyes crinkling into a smile, and turned to Oscar, his arm still around Hazel’s shoulders. “Thank God you guys showed up, gives me a break from my taskmaster. I’m a fucking terrible carpenter. What I wouldn’t give to go back to murder and mayhem and hire someone else to do the fixing.”

“We could help with that,” Hazel said.
040
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 09/04/2024
Sanity: "There's very good reasons why we still want parents to keep their kids home if their kids have got the flu, or a cold, or Covid... other kids get sick, teachers get sick, then other parents get sick and it has a flow on consequence for everybody," he said. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
Chris Hipkins says sick children shouldn't be at school
Labour leader Chris Hipkins says sending children who are unwell to school has consequences for everyone.
195
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 09/04/2024
When your bad guy starts on one of his rants, it's hard to not to be sceptical. #WIPSnips #writingcommunity #climatefiction #authors
Exerpt of the WIP book The Damp Zone: “You’ll be the example, the Eve.”
What the hell was he talking about? “If I marry you.”
“Not if. When.” He patted her hand. “The other choice is not good. Providing sex as a utility isn’t a fun place to be. You doubt me, and yes, I suspect this seems strange to you. We traditionalists  see the world more clearly. You will come to see my view is true.”
030
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 09/04/2024
#WIPSnips #WritingCommunity Thought I'd join in with my WIP Cli-fi mystery. Backstory with a glance:
Grey box reads "As they walked down the wide front stairs, Hazel glanced over to the mural covering the apartment building in front. Dozens of faded eyes looked back from the cubist-style artwork, painted as a memorial to the people they had lost during the influenza pandemic of 2035 and 2036."
261
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 07/04/2024
💙📚 Interesting murder mystery. The format is unusual: a collection of written evidence being reviewed by young lawyery types. Good puzzle, but missed having an emotional connection with an investigator-protagonist striving for justice. A busman's holiday as I often search docs for info for my job!
030
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 07/04/2024
So these kids "push through" and come to school with snot or a cough. So my kid gets the cough, but his symptoms are worse, then I get it... Have we learnt nothing? www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
rnz.co.nz
Students' tips for high attendance: 'Push through' minor illnesses to come to school
As the government announces a crackdown on truancy, students with high attendance rates say they ignore coughs and runny noses and go to class.
5378
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 03/04/2024
Can't imagine Act voters would like being fined 3k to visit relatives half a world away, what with them being libertarians. #nzpol www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/education...
nzherald.co.nz
Sickness-related school absences to be targeted under government plan
David Seymour questions a spike in health-related school absences.
130
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 02/04/2024
How to stir up a hornet's nest: "New Zealand First doesn't seem to have much influence at all over what's happening, so it does make us question who is running the country and making the decisions moving forward." Carmel Sepuloni www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic... #nzpol
1153
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 02/04/2024
Thankful for: Eggplant chutney bought at the local market. I bought the beetroot relish, commented on the chutney. That lady knew how to sell. Not many eggplants this year. Her kids took most of it. Last two jars. So I bought and it is the best. Went back this weekend for more but she wasn't there.
000
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 06/03/2024
Highlight of my week ‐ my @pepperraccoon.bsky.social trash panda, awesome kiwi-artist drinking vessels turned up! My 13yo has bagsed the death moth one.
Gay juice artist glass
1132
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 02/01/2024
WTF is this, RNZ? She dies because she is struck by a ute. Oh hang on, third paragraph and after a photo caption: her husband killed her by hitting and dragging her with his ute. Why not lead with that?
From RNZ article: Melissa Hoskins died in hospital in Adelaide from injuries she sustained after she was struck by a ute. Photo: Instagram / Rohan Dennis
The family of world champion cyclist Melissa Hoskins say they are devastated and struggling to process what has happened.

The 32-year-old former professional cyclist and mother-of-two died in hospital in Adelaide from injuries she sustained after she was struck by a ute on Saturday night.

Her husband, former two-time world time trial Rohan Dennis has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life.
061
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Bernard Hickey @bernardchickey.bsky.social · 20/12/2023
So what do the experts with the most at stake from ‘fiscal vandalism’ think about New Zealand’s budget situation? Bond investors actually saw a less risky budget outlook after yesterday’s mini-Budget. The experts don’t agree with the Finance Minister’s rhetoric. thekaka.substack.com/p/a-smoking-...
thekaka.substack.com
A smoking gun without smoke or a barrel
Budget hyped as proof of 'fiscal vandalism' has no real surprises, no blowout of deficits or debt & few tax cut details; Govt's plan is 'fiscally neutral', but not distributionally neutral
02311
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
Can't understand excitement over visiting superyacht. From Guardian article: "superyacht with permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines and pools emits about 7,020 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, more than 1,500 times higher than a typical family car." #kikorangi www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
rnz.co.nz
$240 million superyacht berths in Northland
One of the world's most exclusive superyachts has berthed in the Northland port of Ōpua for a two-week stay.
031
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 18/12/2023
'Tis the season for broken sewers, Fa la la la la, la la la la. We need 3 waters #nzpol
Caution sign about not eating shellfish,  not swimming
0162
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Grant Jacobs BioinfoTools/NotJustDNA 🔬🧬🖥️✍️📚🇳🇿 @notjustdna.bsky.social · 16/12/2023
#NZpol To hold National to account, we need to account the social and environmental deficits of their policies – to measure the wellbeing impacts of every decision. They can be harder to measure than financial ones, but they’re important too. www.thepost.co.nz/a/nz-news/35...
33812
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Ms Hooper @mshooper.bsky.social · 15/12/2023
“Ultimately, the ferries decision looks like it has been taken to rescue National from the political embarrassment of conceding that yes, its tax cuts really were unaffordable all along, just as its critics had argued.”
scoop.co.nz
On The Ferry Follies Of Nicola Willis
Cook Strait can be one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. Thanks to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, New Zealand is now going to have to rely for the next decade or more on a couple of ca...
24216
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 15/12/2023
No way do we want to copy US health system. It's like reverse lotto - even with insurance you're waiting for bad luck and bankruptcy. It's far more expensive for the country, they spend US$11K per person, $6.5K pp public money vs our 3.2K pp public money. #nzpol data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH...
22811
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 10/12/2023
The Kākā has opened up this article about the state of the government. Thanks @bernardchickey.bsky.social. If you have some extra pennies in your pocket, it is worth the subscription - he even has a discount at the moment. #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/so-much-no...
thekaka.substack.com
So much noise and so little signal
Our 54th Parliament opened last week with our leaders shouting past each other into a void where the nation’s debate should be. They didn’t address our problems or suggest real solutions. Here's a...
1139
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
It's getting political in our house: American husband commenting on Trump trials, me commenting on Luxon's bitter version of the American Carnage speech as his opener, and our child's frustration with the cellphone ban (creative representation below).
Illustration showing Luxon with raw chicken as a brain
160
Reposted by Parua Sarah
Mike @drmike.bsky.social · 05/12/2023
Understand this; indigenous people get in the way of unbridled capitalism and profit seeking. They can frustrate access to natural resources, eg mining, oil & gas, they can demand co-governance, or simply a voice. They can impede the capitalist project. All of this gets in the way of profit
1409
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
Felt like I needed to be in a happy place this morning. Baking oaty ginger slice got me there! #kikorangi
040
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 01/12/2023
Got a reply from Luxon. I asked what evidence he had about the increase in crime with the smokefree law change. No evidence in the reply, instead "we think Labour’s changes would have resulted in a black market and an escalation of ram raids" So there you go folks, policy based on feels. #nzpol
129927
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 27/11/2023
After reading today's Kaka, I'm going to have to update my letter to Nicola Willis re the smokefree rollback. The costs are eye wateringly high. Thanks @bernardchickey.bsky.social for opening it up. #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/the-very-o...
thekaka.substack.com
The very opposite of social investment
Reversal of smoke-free laws to pay for tax cuts estimated by Treasury to add $5.25b in health costs, cut productivity growth by $5.88b and destroy 588,000 Health Adjusted Life Years
13813
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 27/11/2023
Today's action: after his statement yesterday, I emailed the PM to ask him what evidence he has that the Smokefree legislation he is repealing would have resulted in an increase in crime (ramraids and a black market). #nzpol
2172
Reposted by Parua Sarah
David Mohring @nzheretic.bsky.social · 26/11/2023
🇳🇿🚭 "The National Party campaigned on "better health outcomes" and said it would "relentlessly focus on results" - but this goal would be completely undermined by the repeals, Swinburn said." Contact every National MP to ask them to vote with their conscience. Smoke no more - Cross the Floor.
nzdoctor.co.nz
Repeal of Smoke-free laws - a massive set back for health
Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) is extremely disappointed the new coalition Government plans to repeal world-leading Smoke-free laws, including de-nicotisation of cigarettes, a reduction in retailers ...
12818
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 26/11/2023
Today's action, wrote to Nicola Willis re the $1billion tax cuts taken from reversing the smokefree legislation, and asking her about $1.3b in extra healthcare costs over 20 years. What is her plan to pay for the extra costs? Shall let you know her reply. #nzpol
5518
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 24/11/2023
Decided to channel my fear of this new government into action. Sent my first email to my MP, Reti, to get him to clarify the government's commitment to the Whangarei Hospital (exactly when and how much$). Contacted the council to complain about the cooker billboards in our neighbourhood. #nzpol
4295
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 30/10/2023
Me waiting for the Northland summer to arrive.
010
Parua Sarah @paruasarah.bsky.social · 21/10/2023
A lovely labour day Sunday, and a carboot fair at our school. NZ Summer is on the way, I can feel it!
020