“Time to sever the tie with these soap opera characters,” wrote Joe Bennett in Stuff of the British Royal Family.

Andrew Washington is a respected Wellington senior valuer and as such we should listen to what he has to say on property matters.

The position in New Zealand is really quite simple.
“Maori” are said to be 16% of the population – but this is entirely incorrect – because, almost without exception, those people who say they are ‘Māori’ have less than 50% Maori genetic background.  However, let’s be overly generous here and say that perhaps one eighth of these people have 50% or more Māori genes in their makeup.
That means that only 2% of our population have the right to call themselves Māori. The other 14% illogically deny the majority of their genetic background. This is simply irrational and could not stand up in a balanced debate.

The latest Listener  has devoted five pages to the forthcoming Nelson mayoral election.