banner
melulater.bsky.social
Melanie D.
@melulater.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.3K following 5.6K posts
Teacher. Karaoke queen. Herder of cats. Politics junkie from the left. Big #ChiefsMana fan. Independently owned and I garden on warm sunny days. If you believe in free quality public education, LIKE Save Our Schools NZ on Facebook.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Melanie D.
kenzime.bsky.social
Ken @kenzime.bsky.social · 9h
My genius financial plan is to maintain high loads of debt because our financial genius government has fucked the local economy so badly that the reserve bank is hitting historical levels of interest rates cuts so when the AI bubble bursts they'll drop to negative interest and pay me for my debt!
1 6
Reposted by Melanie D.
musicalchairs.bsky.social
Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 9h
Wooohoooo! Last time we crashed interest rates like this was after the very brilliant global financial crisis... Oh, and then we did it again after that pesky pandemic shut the global economy down.
The good times are truly here again though. And this time we're going it alone! Great work everyone.
4 7 45
melulater.bsky.social
Melanie D. @melulater.bsky.social · 9h
Not sure if I can tolerate Yungblud's version of Changes much longer either.
melulater.bsky.social
Melanie D. @melulater.bsky.social · 9h
Tonight on #BHN @patbrittenden.bsky.social & @chewienz.bsky.social asked @clrenney.bsky.social how fucked our economy is, 10 being thermo nuclear fucked.

Craig said it's an 8.5.

This is all about the choices made by Nicola Willis.

Nicola, the 1990s called. They want their financial policies back.
1 14
Reposted by Melanie D.
notjustdna.bsky.social
Grant Jacobs BioinfoTools/NotJustDNA 🔬🧬🖥️✍️📚 @notjustdna.bsky.social · 1d
Has anyone heard #NZ’s PM’s Chief Science Advisor speak on anything since he was appointed?

(Honest question: I can’t recall him saying anything on anything.)
3 5 16
Reposted by Melanie D.
nug.monster
Kieran @nug.monster · 13h
No you're not. That's not true. Because we don't have a sickness benefit anymore. Swarbrick should've called him a liar.
Christopher Luxon replied: "When you go on a Jobseeker benefit, you're deemed able and capable of working."
1 16 46
Reposted by Melanie D.
jennykaynz.bsky.social
Kay in the End Times 🏳️‍🌈 💗💜💙📚 @jennykaynz.bsky.social · 13h
A kaupapa Māori youth homelessness group says benefit changes will increase whānau stress and push more rangatahi onto the streets.

If they're living on street and beg for food, cops will move them along for vagrancy. NZ Govt is OK w poor 18 - 19YOs dying off.
#NZpol
www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu...
Government benefit changes could leave more rangatahi homeless, advocate warns
A kaupapa Māori youth homelessness group says benefit changes will increase whānau stress and push more rangatahi onto the streets.
www.rnz.co.nz
3 10 14
Reposted by Melanie D.
sarah4ilam.bsky.social
Sarah Pallett @sarah4ilam.bsky.social · 11d
Just my opinion but …
Postcard campaigns are quite impactful. A couple hundred emails don’t take up much inbox space and are easy to ignore, but a stack of postcards are impressive.

#nzpil
openpolicy.bsky.social
Andrew @openpolicy.bsky.social · 11d
The address to write to is:

[insert MP name]
Freepost Parliament
Private Bag 18 888
Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6160
9 36 91
Reposted by Melanie D.
nicgaston.bsky.social
Ni-cola Ga-stan @nicgaston.bsky.social · 13h
When the PM says ‘we don’t owe them a living’, we should be clear that this is not a metaphor.

A living is life. And I want to live in a society in which it is clear that this is the least we owe each other, and are owed. 💞

I’d like us to aim for lives lived in dignity and with joy, personally 🤷‍♀️
publicaddress.bsky.social
Russell Brown @publicaddress.bsky.social · 13h
Fucksake. It's quite clear now that they only looked at this benefit policy as political marketing and took no advice on who it would impact – which includes young people with serious health issues and disabilities. Just feckless and cynical. Shame on them. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Hundreds of teens with a health condition, disability may be cut from Jobseeker benefit
The government is ending Jobseeker payments to 18- and 19 year olds whose parents earn more than $65,000.
www.rnz.co.nz
5 41 120
Reposted by Melanie D.
writagal.bsky.social
Hayley @writagal.bsky.social · 13h
Fun fact: when you have Long Covid but can’t work you have to go on the Jobseeker benefit because GPs can’t say whether you’ll still have Long Covid in two years - so teens with chronic conditions are now conceivably navigating absolutely debilitating symptoms while also getting zero govt support 👍🫠
Hundreds of teens with a health condition, disability may be cut from Jobseeker benefit
The government is ending Jobseeker payments to 18- and 19 year olds whose parents earn more than $65,000.
www.rnz.co.nz
3 45 110
melulater.bsky.social
Melanie D. @melulater.bsky.social · 12h
It hasn't even been two since since the end of The Rock 2000 2025 and I'm already over every fifth song on The Rock being either an Ozzy Osborne or Black Sabbath song!
Ozzy dying really put people into Ozzy/Sabbath voting mode...

...but at least Lynnard Skynnard's Simple Man is not on high rotate.
1 3
melulater.bsky.social
Melanie D. @melulater.bsky.social · 14h
When the drinking age was 20, and I had not reached 20, I was never denied entry.
Maybe Hamilton was a bit more lax.
1
Reposted by Melanie D.
cpaintingnz.bsky.social
Chrissie Painting @cpaintingnz.bsky.social · 15h
Please consider signing this open letter to Winston Peters on behalf of NZ university staff, students & alumni to demand recognition of a Palestinian state.
forms.gle/BPytbSHRwXE8...
18 22
Reposted by Melanie D.
gotmtv.bsky.social
Get Out The Mid Term Vote @gotmtv.bsky.social · 1d
42 230 950
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
Overall, this cut signals how far we have fallen. Remember that we were supposed to have recovered by now and growth was supposed to have returned. It hasn’t, the policy mix of the government likely makes growth harder. Back on track? More like off the rails.
4 12 53
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
There is also a risk that in the short run we will be driving higher inflation. A lower OCR means a lower NZ$. That likely means higher petrol prices and higher imported food, energy, and goods pricing. That will put further pressure on inflation- likely to breach 3% soon.
1 12 42
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
We should be using fiscal policy to help manage the economic cycle - instead the government is determined to force the Reserve Bank to do all the work. That hinders our recovery and leads to unnecessary misery. Real people will suffer in communities around Aotearoa for this.
2 13 42
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
That in turn means that it is likely to be a year before this cut creates any real new economic activity. So there is no relief for NZ in the short run. Job losses and ‘spare capacity’ will continue for some time. We should have cut earlier, as called for by the CTU
1 9 31
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
We are only just now reaching the point where our interest rates are stimulatory (I.e below the neutral rate). That means the cuts to date have likely done little to stimulate growth. It takes about a year for an interest rate cut to translate to real world
1 11 34
Reposted by Melanie D.
clrenney.bsky.social
Craig Renney @clrenney.bsky.social · 16h
#nzpol The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate by 0.5%. That sounds great. But banks only cut interest rates that much when the economy is in trouble - and not when things are going well. This cut is a sign of economic weakness, not strength. A 😄🧵
2 55 150
Reposted by Melanie D.
drjulieb.bsky.social
Julie Blommaert @drjulieb.bsky.social · 18h
If Nicola Willis thinks we “shouldnt be so precious that we can’t use metaphorical speech” can we go back to why Chlöe Swarbrick was punished so heavily for her comments on the government’s spinelessness?
4 53 170
Reposted by Melanie D.
hannibalbrigade.biz
IDF Hannibal Brigade @hannibalbrigade.biz · 15h
The aid boat Conscience is currently being raided by the IDF in international waters. A helicopter was audible before the audio cut out.

The boat is full of medical staff and journalists trying to bring aid into Gaza.
Live from Conscience Boat to Gaza, FFC & TMTG (Live 3)
YouTube video by Freedom Flotilla Coalition
www.youtube.com
2 55 68
Reposted by Melanie D.
sanjanah.bsky.social
Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 14h
An offline stench that was even more odious online, & to an extent that to this day remains grossly under-appreciated by the same folk flagged by Eddie. It was a historic, & unprecedented inflection point for truth decay, far-right narrative foundations, & worsening information disorders in NZ.
11 27
Reposted by Melanie D.
ecostanley.bsky.social
Margaret Stanley @ecostanley.bsky.social · 14h
Check out NZ Parliamentary Commissioner for Environment's report: 3 points politicians should agree on: 1) our economy is a subset of the environment, not vice versa, 2) critical importance of high-quality spatial data, 3) be realistic about time frames/costs of tackling env. problems. #Aotearoa 🧪🌏
Annual report for the year ended 30 June 2025
The Commissioner has released his annual report for the year ended 30 June 2025. Here is an abbreviated version of his overview. The full version can be read here.
pce.parliament.nz
10 18
Reposted by Melanie D.
jackjenkins.me
Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 18h
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray. “I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.” But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire. “We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
180 4.6K 10K