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It’s safe to assume most New Zealanders understood this as meaning we have the potential for the virus to be gone, out of here, see you later, because elimination generally implies “the complete removal or destruction of something”. Also, the Covid-19 we…

He was one of the most respected writers and poets of the Beat generation alongside his friends, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. He was unconventional and championed for gay rights at a time when homosexuality acts were criminal in every state and em…

The Government’s state of emergency has created a dangerous political vacuum. Decisions that profoundly affect everyone’s lives are being undertaken in an autocratic fashion without any attempt at democratic involvement. Even the typically reserved La…

ANZAC day 2020 will be a vastly different day to years previous, but still bears little resemblance to the horrors that young Sargeant James Stanton experienced during the First World War. Thanks to a canny series of events, we know a little about wh…

Day 28 Update: Managing your hair! examples of people helping their communities; new SOS Cafe Facebook page initiative; and planning for the ‘Stand at Dawn’ commemoration on ANZAC Day.

While public ANZAC Day services will not be able to go ahead this year, we can still take time to reflect on the sacrifice made by our ANZACs and show our appreciation to all of our veterans and service personnel. Defence Minister Ron Mark joined Defenc…

Day 23 Update: Recent business tax changes; New electorate boundaries announced; and congratulations to Sam at Port Waikato for reopening his dairy.

Day 19: Need to keep exercising; distribution of free face masks to the local community and special issue to a retirement home in Tuakau; good news for golf and bowling clubs; and please email me at andrew@baylymp.co.nz if you would like my assistance

Since January, I have been following international coverage and debate about Covid-19 closely. Looking back over almost three months now, what seems extraordinary is how flat footed the international response has been. An exception to that has been that…

Day 14 Update: Delivery of face masks & face shields, online sales from butcheries & fresh produce stores, thanks to Blooming Hill Flowers for gifting flowers to hospitals, and update from IRD Commissioner on what do with changes to child support/family …

The Health Ministry must be more transparent with the information it's giving to the public. Like all journalists in New Zealand right now, I've been covering stories day after day, all of which relate to our current coronavirus crisis. It's the …

To all Dutch New Zealanders, While we work from home, walk in empty streets, wait in lines to do our shopping in supermarkets in compliance with the 2 m social distancing, life in New Zealand and the rest of the world seems to be on hold. No plans ar…

Day 10 and we are making great progress - together. Supplying face masks for our health workers and horticultural growers across the electorate and our 17 community response teams working really well now. New food arrangements for the vulnerable taking s…

When John and Liz van Winden moved into the large, purpose built New Zealand Home Loans building in Manukau Road earlier in February of this year, they would never have dreamed that by the end of the following month, that new office would be shut due to…

It’s hard to believe the events that have transpired in the last few weeks, but happen they have and as we enter another week in our bubbles, our daily routines are very much different than they were a few weeks ago. We go out for ‘essential supplies…

New Zealand has grown to be a multi-cultural nation and encompasses a wide range of groups and beliefs. But as of the 2018 census, statistics show almost half of our population doesn’t identify with any religion. As churches all over the country celebrat…

It’s hard to believe that when I signed off my article for the March edition of Elocal, on 11 February, I didn’t mention the words ‘pandemic’, ‘coronavirus’, or ‘Covid-19’. In the four or five weeks since, the media – and I mean all the media – have tal…

A terrific read that touches more of us than we would care to admit. This coming of age story is set in the small towns of Warkworth and Pukekoke and has a warm familiar touch, as does the subject matter. This novel asks the question – ‘When you hate yo…

If you have been suffering from migraines on a regular basis, then you should know how bad this can affect your life quality because the pain is usually bad enough to stop you from doing anything although the pain killer able to reduce the intensity of t…

On their way from England to settle in New Zealand in 1875, my grandparents William and Maria Bliss broke their journey at Hobart, Tasmania, where my father Albert Edward Bliss was born. He was named after the husband of Queen Victoria. The family, whic…