Phil Campbell   In Wellington in August, 2013, a mood for change of mayoralty in Rotorua was sensed by a prominent MP. “A sea change,” he said, “Rotorua will have a new mayor”. For the first time since...... Read More

Phil Campbell   After a soft start, Rotorua’s election campaign hardened as the issue of homelessness surfaced at a candidates’ meeting last week. One council candidate, John Rakei-Clark, lit the wick with a view...... Read More

Phil Campbell   On Friday August 30, the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust opened its nomination for its November elections. Stewart Edward the chairman will stand again, regular trustee Sandra Kai Fong has indicated she will...... Read More

Phil Campbell   Pollsters, trollsters, satirists and flatterists – where to draw the line? Recently, a Rotorua mayoral candidate laid a complaint to the Police (not Sting, its lead singer) about a parody of his site...... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder Global temperatures are compiled for various areas including global (land-ocean), global (meteorological stations), three latitude bands, and hemispheric, by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies...... Read More

Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP With its eyes firmly focused on generating a more productive economy and supporting innovation, the Government has fine-tuned its Research and Development tax credit scheme, to allow loss-making...... Read More

Phil Campbell   With a tendency to speak on the hoof, did Shane Jones accidentally drop a tube of glycerine in Rotorua on Monday. The Minister of Regional development with $3 million in his portfolio to oil the communities,...... Read More

Phil Campbell   In June 2001, a retired unionist Stewart McCaffley was hospitalised in Rotorua. As he lay supine on his hospital bed, he, unable to sleep, reminisced about his union days. They were good old days for this...... Read More

Phil Campbell   A week of eruptions had the nation gassing for Rotorua this past week. A blowout adjacent the Whakarewarewa village on the southern reaches of the city precincts was enough. By the end of the week, citizens...... Read More

Phil Campbell   An early morning email sent to a Rotorua Lakes councillor triggered a week of intrigue in Rotorua local body politics. An email from Rotorua mayoral candidate Reynold Macpherson to a former ally Rob Kent, a...... Read More

Phil Campbell   Rob Kent thought he had a water-tight case to issue defamation proceedings against a political opponent. At last week’s full meeting of the Rotorua Lakes Council he gave reasons why he could or should. He...... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder The ‘Maunder Minimum' is the name given to the period from 1645 to 1715 when the number of sunspots – ‘storms' on the sun – became almost zero. The period is named after...... Read More

Phil Campbell   A new group in Rotorua has a strong ring of coincidence about it. Evolve Rotorua, a mix of lawyers, politicos and plain folks it seems, plans only positive things for Rotorua. It sees itself as an advocacy...... Read More

Tamati Coffey Labour MP From taking mental health seriously to breaking the cycle of domestic violence and supporting Māori aspirations, our Wellbeing Budget lands on May 30. A budget addressing the long-term challenges facing...... Read More

Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz Dear Auntie Roger I’ve got myself in a spot of bother. I promised to build a thousand houses but so far there’s only 80 and I think most of them were in the pipeline...... Read More

Angie Warren-Clark Labour MP As some readers may know, before becoming an MP I worked as a volunteer from for Ministry of Justice for 11 years (from 1991) as a Domestic Violence Advisor and spent five years as the manager at Tauranga...... Read More

Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP Even when traditional economic indicators have been good, many New Zealanders have continued to struggle in their everyday lives. The wellbeing approach prioritises what is most important and...... Read More

Phil Campbell   Tinkering with the established order in politics can lead to isolation and much publicity about nothing. Today, May 13, a lucky day for one, Rotorua council aspirant and recent journalist Matthew Martin has...... Read More

Phil Campbell   Within a week Rotorua was at peace with the world; by the end it was at war with itself.  A week of commemorations leading to and including Anzac Day reinforces an unbreakable bond in Rotorua unity. On...... Read More