Local Opinion

Be a ‘bigger’ person

A pithy saying goes, “being wrapped up in ourselves, we make very small parcels”. It’s particularly relevant in a culture where multiple influences push us increasingly into self-absorbed life-styles with isolationism reducing contemplation and thoughtful…

Be alert for those who are not

Starting with some recent good traffic catches – for one of our traffic constables. A 7am traffic stop last week brought more than he expected. A roadside breath test resulted in the driver returning a…

Catastrophic events

Aotearoa has not experienced a catastrophe. Cyclone Gabrielle and the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes were disasters that impacted many lives, but they were not catastrophes. A catastrophe is much worse – on the staggering scale…

Back where we belong

A labour of love occupying hours over many weeks, engaged a father and son in a project where dad passed on his creative woodworking skills to his eagerly involved 11 year old. Following the classic…

Rates: it’s a fail for me

In my last column I said my main mission while remaining as a councillor was to try and keep the rate rise for the 25-26 year and future years under three per cent.  I am…

Drive on … or not

This week I am addressing not only those who are approaching 80 years of age (and above) but also their families on the matter of the ability to remain officially licensed to drive a vehicle….

School-up on online threats

For our parent community, last night and tonight, Cambridge High School hosted Rob Cope speaking about online safety for our rangatahi. While the online world can have many positive impacts, there is certainly a troubling…

Understanding deformation

Measuring deformation is an important part of the volcano monitoring toolbox. Deformation is a change in the ground surface or shape, whether that’s up (inflation), down (deflation), or sideways. Understanding what the cause could be,…

Is this confidence justified?

Three central banks, the US Federal Reserve, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand have announced decisions on their Official Cash Rates in recent weeks. The US Fed was first…

Something’s missing …

Have you ever tossed around in your mind the question of ‘is there something missing in my life?’ If so, you’d certainly be in good company because it appears to be one of the most…

1 3 4 5 6 7 82