New Zealand Listener Issue 17 2019

If last year’s Massey University cancellation of a speaking engagement by former Opposition Leader Don Brash showed anything, it should have been that the culture of free speech needs support in New Zealand. Instead, Justice Minister Andrew Little has called for a hastening of a review of existing statutes that make it an offence to say or publish words that incite discrimination. It is one thing to urgently review gun laws in the wake of an atrocity that claimed 50 lives by gunfire, but it would be quite a different thing to allow one man’s criminal rampage to curtail in any way New Zealanders’ freedom of speech. Owning firearms is not a cornerstone of democracy; free speech certainly is. Little says the current legal provision “in relation to what we would call…

The April 13 Editorial (“Port in a storm”) is even-handed if rather pessimistic. In its analysis of the future of the Ports of Auckland, however, it lists one problem too many. If, as stated, most of Auckland’s sea traffic originates south of the city, it seems easier, and probably faster, to route it through Tauranga rather than Marsden Point. Yes, it is further, by up to 50km, but it avoids truck travel through the highway bottleneck north of Auckland and the harbour bridge, or the necessity of an upgraded rail link. Even between Auckland and Tauranga, rail and/or road upgrades would probably be necessary, but to a non-engineer, it looks easier to avoid central Auckland. Peter Brocklebank(St Heliers, Auckland) LICENSING ANSWER TO GUN LAWS As a keen hunter, I applaud the Prime Minister for leading…

Rex McGregor, Auckland FINALISTS Prince Charles: “Man in the middle? Story of my life.” – Kath Jones, Waikanae A prince, a knight and a commodore. – Alan Petrie, Te Anau Tom Jones: “I’m pretty sure I never sang, ‘Someday my Prince will come’.” – Clark Robbie, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland Jones: “You may be the Prince, but I’m the king of Wales.” – John Edgar, Spreydon, Christchurch Lionel Richie: “And I thought it was tough just keeping up with the Joneses.” – Keith Davidson, Blenheim Jones: “We wanted the other Prince!” – Elise Graham, Whanganui Jones: “Reign is forecast.” – Robert Morey, Dunedin Jones: “Why, why, why Camilla?” – Dave King, Christchurch Richie: “Hello” Charles, “Have you come far?” Jones, “It’s not unusual.” – Paul Kelly, Palmerston North…

“May you have a long and preposterous life.” – Kath & Kim“[Country singer] Steve Earle has been married seven times. Now you might call six divorces a sign of personal issues, but in country music that’s called research.” – US radio host Peter Sagal“It is true that we are weak and sick and ugly and quarrelsome, but if that is all we ever were, we would, millenniums ago, have disappeared from the face of the Earth.” – John Steinbeck“He wrote, ‘The Republican Party will be known as the Party of great HealtCare.’ He spelled it ‘HealtCare,’ yeah. Trump’s cut so much from health care that now he’s just taking letters.” – US comedian Jimmy Fallon“[Trump] misspelled health care. Also, it turns out this whole time he’s actually wanted to build…

A reporter described the quake as sudden, brief and unusual. “It was a really big thud. I thought my wife had fallen down or a plane had crashed.” Otago Daily Times, 11/1/19 The man was able to be freed before firefighters arrived and suffered back pain. Southland Times, 29/11/18 “I’m all for competing equally against men, we are all the same when we put our helmets on.” Herald on Sunday, 13/1/19 A possum tangled in power lines on Andersons Rd was the cause of a fire in Charteris Bay last week … Chief fire officer Bob Palmer said nobody was hurt but the possum did not survive. Star, 27/2/19 Kerry Amer from Greerton Barber said removing the double lanes was a mistake and asked the mayor: “Whose idea was it to come up with this? Was this Auckland…

1. Breton is a regional Celtic language of which country? ❑ England ❑ Scotland ❑ Wales ❑ France 2. True or false? Violet and purple are words for fundamentally the same colour. ❑ True ❑ False 3. Which is the correct spelling of the expression below? ❑ Anchors away ❑ Anchors aweigh 4. Which music star created the costumed alter-ego MacPhisto for live performances? ❑ Lady Gaga ❑ Sting ❑ Beyoncé ❑ Bono 5. Colonial goose is a New Zealand dish that is traditionally made using which type of meat? ❑ Duck ❑ Mutton ❑ Turkey ❑ Venison 6. Which of these was discovered by farmers in China in 1974? ❑ Dinosaur graveyard ❑ Terracotta Army ❑ Royal treasure ship ❑ Peking Man 7. Which famous leader was referred to by contemporaries as “Old Nosey” because of their distinctive profile? ❑ Queen Elizabeth…