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thembird.bsky.social
Me & Coffee ☕️
@thembird.bsky.social
360 followers 230 following 1.9K posts
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

Aotearoa New Zealand.
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thembird.bsky.social
So I emailed. Again. I would like to be a fly on the wall of that office when the poor staffer has to read all the angry emails.

#nzpol
An email to Erica Stanford: I'm furious that your government is not backing teachers, students and their parents, by not offering anything more than a pay cut to our hard working teachers. You should be ashamed of the pitiful offers you have been giving them and of the (failed) attempts to get the public to be mad at them. We are not. What we are is mad at you. Your government has money for landlords, money for tobacco companies, money for polluting industries but not for education. I'm also furious that you, as a very well paid Minister, do not know that teachers do not supervise NCEA exams. Or perhaps you do know and just wanted to spread misinformation. The public will not be angry at teachers, but we are certainly angry at your government.
October 14, 2025 at 12:20 AM
thembird.bsky.social
After confirming I wanted to make an oral submission and heard 🦗 for days, got this email today.
Why the urgency?!?
Voters suppression of first order.

#nzpol
An email received from the Justice Committee regarding oral submission on electoral amendment bill: Due to the House moving into Urgency yesterday afternoon, the committee has had to shorten tomorrow’s hearing time from 1:00pm to 1:40pm. Unfortunately, this change means we were unable to accommodate everyone who requested to speak. While we cannot guarantee any future hearings for this bill, we will notify you if further opportunities arise.
September 17, 2025 at 12:04 AM
thembird.bsky.social
August 14, 2025 at 4:08 AM
thembird.bsky.social
😮 I got the opposite response. Two personalities?

#nzpol
May 29, 2025 at 12:12 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Have a party, Foxy. I did a 70s theme one, and everyone looked so fabulous, and I had this cake.
Being 50 means you lived a life, you are wise and wonderful and you have a good excuse to not give a fuck what others think.
70s theme birthday cake
May 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
thembird.bsky.social
Thank you @ninjakitty.bsky.social for allowing us to use your work.

#nzpol #PayEquity
May 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
thembird.bsky.social
It's not going so well for them...
May 13, 2025 at 2:01 AM
thembird.bsky.social
This is the appropriate response to this bullshit mantra ⬇️
May 11, 2025 at 2:16 AM
thembird.bsky.social
I struggled to carry the rage so I let it out in an email to the wanker in chief.

#nzpol
Email to Luxon about his pre budget speech - living beyond our means. Kia ora Chris, I read about your pre-budget speech today in which you claimed that NZ is living beyond its means. I just wanted you to clarify some things for me. You were told tax cuts are unaffordable, yet you kept that election promise, ensuring that the government would be living beyond its means. You had no plan B for funding the tax cuts, as you so arrogantly claimed prior to the elections that you do not need one. You gave tax breaks to landlords who contribute nothing productive to our economy and now you lecture us about living beyond our means so you can justify taking away money from the most hard working low paid workforce of this country. You claim there was an increase in debt relative to GDP from 21.6% in 2017 to around 43% today. I thought I would point out to you, in case you were not informed, unaware or just didn't read the briefing, that it was your government's choice to deliberately exclude the assets of the NZ Super Fund from the measure of crown debt, just so you can claim it has grown to over 40%. Do you think we all are financially illiterate and we wouldn't notice this? The public is taking stock of your cruel government's policies of robbing the poor to give to the rich. You should be ashamed of the destruction that will be your one term government legacy. Ngā mihi
May 8, 2025 at 6:19 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Well, then, wouldn't it be just easier to have all healthcare workers pay evaluated by the same authority that decides that of MPs.
And my latest response to that Irrelevant. But you can solve the problem by having healthcare workers pay evaluated by the same remuneration authority that decides yours.
May 3, 2025 at 5:25 AM
thembird.bsky.social
To which he replied...

🤦🏽‍♀️
To which Bishop replied Well for one thing I don’t control my pay, it is set independently.
May 3, 2025 at 5:25 AM
thembird.bsky.social
My response...
And my response... Thank you for the reply, Chris. Why is it unreasonable for out top doctors to request a 12% pay increase yet it is reasonable for MPs to receive 10%. Please do not respond with "we don't decide." It is irrelevant. You are asking our doctors to accept an effective pay cut while you yourself enjoy a pay increase. You might not have meant to tarnish their reputation but by repeating misinformation about their pay scale you were attempting to get the public angry at these high paid doctors asking for so much. They are paid less than you are paid, even at the highest pay scale. We are not idiots, Mr Bishop. We see what the government is doing. If you can find $3b for landlords and millions for tobacco company you have the money. It's your priorities that are in reverse order.
May 3, 2025 at 5:25 AM
thembird.bsky.social
So I got a response from Bishop.
I'm not sure who does his comms but maybe he should have a word.
A response from Chris Bishop to my email. I wasn’t trying to tarnish their reputation and I don’t believe I did so. I was just pointing out that their pay demands are unreasonable and the government doesn’t agree with them.
May 3, 2025 at 5:25 AM
thembird.bsky.social
I couldn't go and physically show my support of the doctors strike today, so I decided to send emails.
I started with the easy one, to Bishop. Easy because he's only repeating lies.
Next will be to simple Simeon.
I think I'll skip my local MP and Luxon. I have a feeling they blocked me 😛
#nzpol
Email to Chris bishop in support of striking doctors. Kia ora Chris, On the day that our senior doctors are striking I thought to take the opportunity to email you my thoughts as one of the 99% of the people you were talking about on the Breakfast show. You are correct that 99% of the working people did not receive a 12% pay rise. You, Mr Bishop, must be in that top 1% because you received a 10% pay rise. Did you forget about it? Thought we didn't notice? True, it is spread over 3 years. How about you offer the same to our doctors who literally hold our lives in their hands? Our senior doctors have dedicated at least 13 years of their lives to studying and training before they can call themselves specialists. How many years have you dedicated to studying in order to become an MP who's starting salary these days starts at $168,000. I also thought I would share with you that I was not impressed by you repeating the lie about the level of pay. All this information is available or the public can get via OIA request. Did you think we wouldn't find out? The public Mr Bishop appreciates the hard work and dedication of our healthcare workforce, something I'm not sure could be said about any of the ministers in this government. We appreciate all of the healthcare workers. The cleaners, the nurses, the junior doctors, the senior doctors and the administration staff. All of the wonderful people who work tirelessly to make our life better. They all deserve a pay rise and better work conditions. You should hang your head in shame for trying to tarnish their reputation. Ngā mihi
May 1, 2025 at 5:50 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Oh, look, another conservative councilor who is only in it to enrich himself, not doing what he said he will do.
"Or as practicably possible." Yeah right.

I guess he has to be compensated for not being able to collect a board member's fees at the DHB anymore.

#nzpol
Christchurch councilor promises to donate directorship earnings, but already two years behind. Gough said he will donate $54,400 he earned over the two years at the end of his term in October or as practicably possible.
April 16, 2025 at 9:02 PM
thembird.bsky.social
I was inspired by the email
@dimsie.bsky.social sent and decided to send my thoughts to Erica Stanford. She is the Education Minister, so this debacle lies at her feet.
I'm getting so much practice sending these emails that my tea doesn't even get cold before I hit the send button.

#nzpol
Now that kids are being served food with burned plastic in it and a kid was rushed to the hospital with 2nd degree burns, now that we know the food is not up to any standard of nutrition suitable for growing kids who need to study and thrive, perhaps you, as the Minister of Education will show some leadership and remove David Seymour from the responsibility of being in charge of feeding our tamariki. He clearly does not understand how important this responsibility is. You have been trying to distance yourself from the incompetent shambles but at the end of the day you are the Education Minister so you are responsible for this. This neoliberal experiment trying to fool us with the promise you can deliver the same quality for less money is proving to be the disaster everyone has warned you it will be, because in the real world you simply can not deliver nutritious food at the right calorie amount that will be delivered on time and still manage to make a profit for $3. This terrible experiment has cost Aotearoa thousands of jobs at a time when our communities so desperately need jobs due to your government's cutting funding and collapsing the economy. The terrible food you are trying to serve our tamariki isn't even remotely close in quality and quantity to the locally produced food that was a successful initiative under the Labour government. Show some leadership, take responsibility and bring back the locally produced food. While are at it you might want to expand the programme to all school kids like they do in developed countries like Finland. If you wonder how to fund it you can ask the PM to reverse the tax cut he gave the cancer enhancing company Philip Morris or the tax cut he gave to the unproductive industry of landlords.
March 6, 2025 at 9:23 PM
thembird.bsky.social
Immediately put an excess profit tax on the supermarkets, the banks and petrol. I think a one off will send them the message but if not it can continue.
I also sent Nicola Willis my best and brightest ideas. She never replied 😜
January 22, 2025 at 9:19 PM
thembird.bsky.social
Aren't these knives just magnificent. Both in looks and ease of using. Didn't realize how terrible my old ones were until I got this one.
Son traveled to Japan & bought there.
The text exchange was - mum, there are these knives here. They're expensive. Buy?
45 seconds later - never mind, bought.
November 28, 2024 at 1:29 AM
thembird.bsky.social
I was inspired and thought, well, she asked, so I might as well express a few of my bold ideas.
#nzpol
email sent to Nicola Willis with bold economic ideas.
October 24, 2024 at 10:46 PM
thembird.bsky.social
If you see this, quote post with a beach from your gallery
September 1, 2024 at 1:33 AM
thembird.bsky.social
My oldest youngster..
August 7, 2024 at 2:31 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Sent the link to my son, 22 years old, construction apprentice.
This is his response:
22 year old apprentice responding to the article about possible repealing of new insulation standards.
July 16, 2024 at 6:11 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Why is this legal to drive this thing on city roads and what is the owner compensating for 🤔 (apart from inability to stay in the lane).
A massive Hammer vehicle on city road, not keeping to the lane. Way too big and too dangerous for any other inner city road user.
July 13, 2024 at 3:23 AM
thembird.bsky.social
Perfectly normal.
March 4, 2024 at 7:16 PM
thembird.bsky.social
אפשר (😝) גם להגיד - מתי זה קרה?
אני מסתכלת על זאת ⬇️ ותוהה מתי זה קרה שהיא כבר בת 8.
February 28, 2024 at 7:04 PM