Bob Edlin: Hooton shows his editing skills on Page 2 of The Post...

Hooton shows his editing skills on Page 2 of The Post – and the words “NZ Herald” are among the excisions

PoO is wondering about the fate that might befall the Stuff website staffer who posted news of two editorial appointments at The Post. Whoever it was might have provided readers with more information than presumably was intended by newly appointed editor-in-chief Matthew Hooton.

Both The Post print version (on Page 2) and website (here) have recorded the appointments of Henry Cooke as The Post’s political editor and Amelia Wade as Auckland editor.

Bob Edlin: Bishop aims to trim outdated laws from the statute books....

Bishop aims to trim outdated laws from the statute books – but won’t this permit sales of watery stuff as “milk”?

This rates among the more bemusing headlines to attract the attention of the PoO team this week:

Bob Edlin: Simeon Brown applies his scalpel to the Medical Council.....

Simeon Brown applies his scalpel to the Medical Council – but Treaty ideology has spread through the health system

The Post reports:


Health Min­is­ter Simeon Brown has removed the lead­er­ship of New Zea­l­and’s med­ical reg­u­lator, accus­ing the Med­ical Coun­cil of pur­su­ing an “ideo­lo­gical agenda” and becom­ing dis­trac­ted from its core respons­ib­il­it­ies.

Bob Edlin: KiwiRail directors have a track record with infrastructure....

KiwiRail directors have a track record with infrastructure – but what about safety?

Just over a year ago, announcing new appointments to the KiwiRail board, Rail Minister Winston Peters said they brought commercial, freight and rail experience and a ‘can do’ attitude.

But when it comes to safety issues, can they do it as urgently as recent incidents demand?

Bob Edlin: Media quiet about poll which exposes strong public disapproval of political policing by professional bodies

At first blush, the mainstream media have yet to report the results of a poll which found strong public disapproval of political policing by professional regulators.

The results were set out in a media statement which said:

Bob Edlin: Health NZ wants hospital staff to be savvy about the Treaty......

Surgical equipment should be well sterilised, but Health NZ wants hospital staff to be savvy about the Treaty, too

A post on Breaking Views steered PoO to this further exposure of the Luxon Government’s failure to root out racism in the deliverance of health services.

Headlined Hospital Says Maori Patients The Most Important In New Job Description, it highlighted a broadcast on The Platform by Michael Laws:

Bob Edlin: Throw away your telescopes and mobile phones....

Throw away your telescopes and mobile phones – Ngāti Rangi’s star compass will teach the next generation of astronomers

PoO is puzzled that the building of a traditional Māori star compass has not been given much wider publicity. The potential seems to be enormous.

Bob Edlin: Green MP wins gold for gift of the gab....

Green MP wins gold for gift of the gab – but a party co-leader scores much better for media attention

The PoO team was surprised to learn from The Post that Lawrence Xu-Nan, a first-term Green MP, has spoken more in Parliament than any other MP this term.

Not by a little either – Xu-Nan has said 420,000 words, over four times the 102,000 words the average MP has managed.

Bob Edlin: The Press and politicians’ perks....

The Press and politicians’ perks – the spotlight goes on Brownlee while he considers the fate of Stuff journos

Checking on what’s doing in the country today, PoO spotted this on The Post website, on the top row of items on the menu under “News / Ā-motu” –

Bob Edlin: There has been lots of counting the costs of opening new library....

There has been lots of counting the costs of opening new library – but has anyone counted the books?

Wellington’s newly refurbished central library has cost heaps. As well as building costs (estimated at $217.6 million in an RNZ report last September), there have been Maori blessing costs, opening ceremony costs, and the costs of “a glitzy website”.

The website, The Post reports, cost nearly $600,000, pushing the costs associated with the library opening to more than $800,000.

Bob Edlin: Let’s listen to Dame Lynda on the matter of Defence spending....

Let’s listen to Dame Lynda on the matter of Defence spending – Bob Jones (who contributed to NZ Ballet) was dismissive, too

Bob Jones created his libertarian New Zealand Party in 1983 out of disgust with the Muldoon-led National Government’s policies, such as wage and price freezes. And Supplementary Minimum Prices (SMPs), the government-funded agricultural subsidy scheme introduced in 1978 to guarantee floor prices for pastoral products like meat and wool.

Bob Edlin: A lot of fuss about a simple Bill......

A lot of fuss about a simple Bill – its purpose (to make English an official language) is spelled out in 22 words

A researcher and computational linguist says the government’s push to make English an official language raises a question of “what exactly is English being protected from?”.

But that invites another question: why should English have to be protected from something to be entrenched as an official language?

Bob Edlin: Budget surprise for the banks...

Budget surprise for the banks – but Willis says she will be surprised if the “tiny” levy costs are passed on to customers

One News reports:

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says she would be “extremely surprised” if banks passed a new $200 million prudential levy announced in Budget 2026 onto their customers, though Cabinet has not yet decided what action it would take if they did.

Bob Edlin: ZB apology and musings about Mike....

ZB apology and musings about Mike – could he be jailed for protecting sources he does not have?

The Post reported a few days ago:

Newstalk ZB has apologised to a National MP accused on live radio of leaking to the media against Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Bob Edlin: Yes, CAB will have to cut its services.....

Yes, CAB will have to cut its services, but does it begrudge the capital the benefits that flow from blessing ceremonies?

A picture of Wellington Mayor Andrew Little, splendidly decked out with his chain of office and brandishing his trusty rate-trimming scissors, features today on The Post’s page of letters to the editor.

The picture illustrates a grouch from a reader about the extravagance – extravagances, if you care to include all library costs and the functions to open the city’s new library – about a blessing ceremony.

Bob Edlin: Budget Day surprise – Upston’s Bill to modernise social security systems is rushed through three readings

Fresh from telling us she is comfortable about collecting $1000 a week to live in her own Wellington apartment because she has “followed the rules”, Social Development Minister Louise Upston popped up yesterday to announce the Government is making changes “to improve and update the efficiency of the welfare system by modernising its processes”.

Bob Edlin: The name that shall not be spoken in Parliament....

The name that shall not be spoken in Parliament – you can find it in the third paragraph below

By the time MPs had taken their seats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, The Post had named the official who (the newspaper contended) had received briefing notes from Z Energy and Fonterra which, curiously, have disappeared.

Bob Edlin: The point rightly raised by Peters is that the same Parliamentary question has been asked umpteen times before

Before Opposition leader Chris Hipkins had a chance to put Question Two to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, Winston Peters had intervened to raise a point of order.

It was a welcome point of order, at least for those familiar with the Parliamentary questioning procedure.

Peters said the question had been asked before.

Indeed, it had.

Bob Edlin: The PM (after initial stalling) declares his confidence that FTA obligations are being met

Lawyers for Climate Action were among those who kicked up a fuss when the Government announced it would pass a law preventing companies from being sued over climate change damage.

Now they have come up with another niggle. Newsroom reported yesterday that – according to a new legal opinion – two of the Government’s key energy policies are fossil fuel subsidies which breach New Zealand’s international trade obligations.

Bob Edlin: Big bucks are paid for council’s Chief Maori Officer (and his staff).....

Big bucks are paid for council’s Chief Maori Officer (and his staff) – and more are paid for advice on library blessings

The Wellington City Council’s veneration of the Treaty of Waitangi comes at a cost for ratepayers.

It has resulted in the council: