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A petition to change the New Zealand flag got underway and attracted a flurry of support in its first days, including hints of support from the PM. The organisers are hoping to gather around 300,000 signatures by May, which would be enough to force a non-binding referendum on the issue.
The National leader, Don Brash, attempted to gain momentum heading into the election year with a promise to reduce welfare hand-outs and end the beneficiary 'free-lunch' at his old Orewa stomping grounds. He has since had to demote his dissenting welfare spokeswoman and deny rumours of a party rift, much as he had to farewell his Maori affairs spokeswoman after last year's speech.
Helen Clark promptly included plans to get more single-women working in the 2005 agenda (and re-election campaign) articulated in her opening address to Parliament.
No Peter Jackson for a change (in fairness, he didn't actually release a film last year) but two Kiwis were included in this year's Oscar nominations: the Kiwi director of Shrek 2 and Taika Waititi for his live-action short film Two Cars, One Night.
The 120 Kiwi troops helping to rebuild Afghanistan were promised an extra year there by the Government.
The airline war continued, with Pacific Blue offered several thousand $1 fares across the Tasman to celebrate its first birthday. Flight Centre has been forced to replace its slogan, "Lowest prices, guaranteed," with the less catchy "Price beat, guaranteed."
Kiwi scientists, responding to new global warming data, warned that NZ could be suffering Brisbane-like temperatures within a few decades. Equally concerning is the prospect of a mass Australian influx as the Lucky Country becomes unliveable. |
