Late last year and again earlier this year I warned about a small Auckland valuation firm planning to start a commercial property syndication business. They intend to trade under the name “MATES INVEST”.

The above, the lead heading on today’s The Herald’s website.

The incoming government will have such a huge majority as not to need New Zealand First.

I believe New Zealand First will easily crack the 5% mark as Winston, being half maori, alone feels safe addressing the big issue upsetting New Zealanders, namely outrageous co-government propositions, maori favouritism and the like.

He’s pulling sizable audiences of older folk, a sector noted for their high voter turn-out.

While the National-ACT coalition won’t need NZ First to form a government, they’d be mad not to give Winston a Cabinet post. Better to have him inside the tent, than sniping at them from outside.

The Labour opposition will be a mess, such will be their decimation and the new government may take the view that no-one (rightly) takes attacks from the Greens and Maori Party seriously. That leaves Winston, a problem easily avoided by including him, and possibly Jones in minor Cabinet roles.

Stuff reports MP Rachel Boyack saying “Fundamentally, everyone has the right to live in a safe, warm and dry home”.

Shambles is a self-employed economist, frequently quoted in the press stating what we already know. With his latest utterance headed “food prices up”, Shambles then astutely pointed out “…the same basket of food might take a bigger share of your weekly budget”. By God, who’d have worked that out? The man’s a genius.