Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 8h

experiencing a swell of patriotism over our officials repeatedly losing secret government documents at second hand stores

RNZ: Confidential Wellington council documents found by man in mayoral desk bought from dump

Newsroom: Secret defence notes pointing to sensitive China preparation left at op shop

Nothing happened for a year. Then in August 2025 a shopper browsing through a pile of op shop goods made a most surprising discovery. The trove of secret documents from the Portsmouth meetings had been accidentally donated to a Hutt Valley Salvation Army store.

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 1d

I got a fake ID so managed to avoid having a more healthy and well-rounded personality

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 3d

I have been back at The Spinoff for a while and once again I am doing very well thank you thespinoff.co.nz/politics/06-...

Hello, are you in the hospital? OK you are using government. But did you do a poo in the hospital toilet? That’s pipes. Council. Did you get driven to the hospital on a road? Probably council unless it was a motorway straight to the hospital door. Are you in school? Fine that’s government. But did you use a pedestrian crossing to get to school? Council. Did you go on a bus? Again, council.

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 8d

Was surprised to learn on Waatea News recently that the deputy PM doesn’t think politicians should change election rules without a public vote, and am expecting that Act will withdraw its support for restrictions on voter registration any day now thespinoff.co.nz/politics/01-...

But if you don’t live by your principles, they start to look less like principles, and more like self-interest. On Waatea, Seymour left no room for doubt: he believes meaningful election changes should be put to a public vote before they’re enacted. Surely what’s good for the lefty goose is good for the libertarian gander. The Electoral Amendment Bill will have its second reading in the coming months. There’s still time for the deputy prime minister – and the government – to have a change of heart, and show some consistency.

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 8d

Really big day for our nation's headline writers

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Reposted by Hayden Donnell

Charlie Mitchell @comingupcharlie.bsky.social · 8d

A public service announcement about why you shouldn’t defame a lawyer

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Reposted by Hayden Donnell

David Farrier @davidfarrier.com · 8d

as reported in webworm today, the nz media council has ruled against RNZ, saying it lacked balance and fairness in its reporting over the death of trans teen alex. hopefully this encourages RNZ to look at all their reporting on trans issues - they need to (www.webworm.co/trainhopping/)

In their ruling, released today, the NZMC also took issue with that, writing:

The parents are entitled to express their views about the tragic events and their views on the teen’s gender identity and RNZ is entitled to report them. But their perspective came from a particular point of view and drove the narrative. The fact that the story was brought to RNZ by a group that is regarded as having an anti-trans perspective should have alerted RNZ to the fact that there was a wider agenda at play.

The NZMC concluded:

The Council believes RNZ should have been aware that there was a wider agenda at play and another side of the story that needed to be told, particularly when further information emerged after the publication of the first story. They could have provided a balancing alternative perspective in a number of ways, in the original story or subsequently.

The complaint is upheld for lack of balance and fairness.

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 11d

Personally think we should consider making this not just the way it is

If a wealthy sex offender donates a large amount of money to charity, should they be eligible for a reduced prison sentence?

A top King’s Counsel says it’s not unusual for a court to award a sentence discount for reparation or compensation.

Does that put a rich criminal in a better position at sentencing than someone with less money?

“Yes, and that’s just life. That is just the way it is,” Marie Dyhrberg, KC, told the Herald

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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 12d

“There is a 0% chance that Peters’ admonishment of the vast majority of UN member states, and continued delay in NZ’s own action, will have any impact on how they take their own stands. There is a 100% chance that it will be remembered as the time New Zealand punched above its weight in cowardice.”😔

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 12d

New Zealand is punching above its weight in cowardice

Winston Peters promised that New Zealand’s recognition of Palestine was a matter of 'when, not if', which has a real deadbeat-dad-promises-he’ll-have-his-shit-together-next-week air about it....

thespinoff.co.nz

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Reposted by Hayden Donnell

Sacha @sachadylan.bsky.social · 12d

Always wondered why it was not in supermarkets.
@haydendonnell.bsky.social

New Zealand’s best sauce: how BurgerFuel’s aioli broke the tomato monopoly

New Zealand used to have two options for sauce: red or yellow. Then an unsung culinary hero at a fledgling burger chain came along and changed everything.

thespinoff.co.nz

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 12d

Feel like our priorities on what's urgent may be a bit skewed

Not good enough to take 20 days to count special votes

But recognising Palestinian statehood is not a race

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 21d

no dead babies guy is a different libertarian. Damien Grant was convicted of credit card fraud

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Reposted by Hayden Donnell

Byron C Clark @byroncclark.bsky.social · 21d

The people who spent years telling us that deplatforming was censorship and they opposed it on principle, not because they agreed with the people being deplatformed, seem to have gone awfully quiet lately

Mediaite @mediaite.com · 21d

BREAKING: Nexstar Will No Longer Air ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on Its ABC Stations Because of Host’s Charlie Kirk Comments

Nexstar, the owner of dozens of ABC affiliate stations across the country, will not air Jimmy Kimmel Live! "for the foreseeable future." The post BREAKING: Nexstar Will No Longer Air ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on Its ABC Stations Because of Host’s Charlie Kirk Comments first appeared on Mediaite.

dlvr.it

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 21d

Our strongest anti-cancel culture warriors once again hard at work defending free speech

Sean Plunket and Damien Grant trying to get David Farrier deported for being rude about Charlie Kirk

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 24d

guess not, but that's the kind of thing I was thinking of

Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 24d

Green Party pitched their wealth tax as a way to fund a $10k income tax-free threshold at the last election

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 24d

someone replied with an article from 2023 but the thing I was commenting on was from today

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 24d

100%

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 24d

on the one hand, this sounds like it won't raise enough money for them to fund meaningful tax relief for the people struggling the most with the cost of living, but on the other it will be ruthlessly attacked and exploited by their political opponents

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 27d

wow me too!

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · 27d

go for my amazing feature image design skills, stay for an in-depth discussion of infrastructure thespinoff.co.nz/politics/12-...

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · Sep 7

Yeah they still can keep nearly all their villas but that main street would really benefit from having some density. One of the most beautiful beachside suburbs and the shops struggle

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · Sep 7

First day back at The Spinoff but the damn mayor is stealing all my story ideas

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is having none of it, telling the Star-Times that the “desperate deputy prime minister” shouldn’t “stick his nose in it”.

“So they want to build out in Pukekohe so they can get re-elected in Epsom? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?” says Brown.

The wealthy peninsula suburb has a large number of historic villas and has largely resisted intensification.

“We want the Devonport ferry to be marked up as a mainline transit so we can concentration of building design as you do in other high speed transit.”

“You’re not going to be building high rises in Devonport, are you? This is going to upset everyone,” Brewer challenged Brown.

“Yeah, but they deserve to be upset,” Brown responded.

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · Aug 26

They are but I don't think for me??

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Hayden Donnell @haydendonnell.bsky.social · Aug 26

What is sex but wrestling perservering

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