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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 Law Society has raised concerns about the lack of transparency and consultation associated with the lockdown: “As far as possible,…

ANZAC day 2020 will be a vastly different day to years previous, but still bears little resemblance to the horrors that young Sergeant James Stanton experienced during the First World War. Thanks to a canny series of events, we know a little about what he endured by the contents of his diary, written in the trenches and in the safekeeping of local man Mr Phil Gibbs for many…

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 Defence Force personnel in urging all New Zealanders to stand at the end of their driveway, living room, balcony, or their essential…

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 longest-running, bulletin dominating story I've ever known and is impacting every single Kiwi, young and old. Given the ongoing…

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 are made, many worry about their health, the health of vulnerable relatives here and in The Netherlands, and what the future will…

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.

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

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 assistance payments and paying PAYE and other taxes.

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 shape now.

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 celebrate somewhat differently this Good Friday and Easter Sunday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, elocal looks…

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 talked about almost nothing else. What I write now, for publication at the beginning of April, could also be totally blind-sided by…

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 your body. How can you love yourself or anyone else?’ Research shows that over 40% of woman are consumed by this question but…

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, which later grew to two sons and three daughters, later settled in Woodville, New Zealand, where grandfather was the original town…

“Dad was 68 when he married Mum. She was a herd tester he met on the farm – she was 28. He had been married before but his first wife died and they had no children. He was born in 1886 in Wiltshire, one of a family of 14, leaving school at 10 to make wagon wheels. He later went to Sydney where he had a cousin in the Irish Guards who used to guard convicts. Dad worked in the…

The general feeling of the time was that it would all be over by Christmas. For four long years the people of Papakura waited for that end and when it came on Armistice Day 11th November 1918, the final tally of the roll of the dead for Papakura and Karaka stood at 32. It was billed as The Great War and it was said it would never happen again as the walking wounded and…

Every now and then you hear about a story that totally captivates you… that takes you away and leaves a lump in your throat. This is a story of enduring love, tragedy, broken families, separation, war…. It sounds as if it Shakespearean, but I can tell you no it’s not. This is a true story and it’s about a couple who I admire greatly, my Mother and Father. They have now both…

The men of Franklin’s Home Guard had a busy war, as the country prepared the best it could to defend itself. From all walks of life, people rallied to the call, leaving farms, market gardens and businesses to take part in training and the laying of traps to slow any advancing invader. The service began in August of 1940 and when Japan entered the war, joining the Home Guard…

Feeding those on active service was vital during the war and by 1944 one of four vegetable dehydration factories nationwide was in full production in Manukau Road, Pukekohe. The factory was in constant operation, processing produce from extensive market gardens that were planted on farms all over the district for the war effort, including on part of Pukekohe Golf Club. A large…

Officially, Kepa Kepa of Mercer is almost 90 years old, but the Maori Battalion veteran could be much older. When he was born, there were no birth certificates for Maori. Kepa speaks mainly in Maori and his memories of the war years are sketchy, but several key memories tell a vivid story of ferocious close quarters fighting and comradeship, of valour and loss, of the dedication…