I'm thinking Tourism, Airline and Airport stocks would be worth investing in for the semi-long run (6 months?) Anything that lost more than 50% due to Covid-19.
We have vaccines now, within the year things will be 'mostly' normal. Quarantine-free travel, an utter explosion in immigration and tourism.
Here in NZ, when we ended our 2 local lockdowns the amount of retail spending and 'local tourism' exploded to the point where it practically wiped away any losses caused due to Covid.
I'm thinking the same will happen with international travel. BOOM millions of people booking trips overseas.
I've got 80% of my portfolio in Air New Zealand, and am thinking of buying into Sky City Casino, Auckland Airport and Kathmandu (camping gear). If something similar exists in your country, I'm pretty sure it's a safe bet to return 40% +

Deftones 2020 Tour Dates: 03/15 – Auckland, NZ @ Trusts Arena 03/18 – Brisbane, AU @ Fortitude Music Hall 03/20 – Melbourne, AU @ Download Festival 03/21 – Parramatta, AU @ Download Festival 03/23 – Adelaide, AU @ Thebarton Theatre 05/03 – Charlotte, NC @ Epicenter Festival 05/08 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville 05/17 – Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Festival 05/22 – Porto, PT @ North Music Festival 06/02 – Budapest, HU @ Budapest Park 06/04 – Katowice, PL @ Metal Hammer Festival 06/05-07 – Nurburg, DE @ Rock am Ring Festival 06/05-07 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock im Park Festival 06/10 – Zurich, CH @ X-Tra 06/12 – Donington, UK @ Download Festival 06/14 – Naas, IE @ Sunstroke Festival 06/19 – Clisson, FR @ Hellfest 06/20 – Landgraaf, NL @ Pinkpop 06/21 – Dessel, BE @ Graspop Metal Meeting 06/22-26 – Zagreb, CR @ InMusic Festival 06/23 – Grugliasco, IT @ Gruvillage Festival 06/27 – Seinajoki, FI @ Provinssi Festival 06/28 – Helsinki, FI @ Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 07/01 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival 07/03 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit 36 07/04 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle 07/09 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival 07/12 – Moscow, RU @ Park Live Festival 07/27 – Portland, OR @ Theatre of the Clouds at Moda Center ^ 07/28 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater ^ 07/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^ 08/01 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort ^ 08/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre ^ 08/04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre ^ 08/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater ^ 08/07 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater ^ 08/08 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Ballroom ^ 08/09 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory ^ 08/11 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island ^ 08/12 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheater at Freedom Hill ^ 08/14 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena ^ 08/15 – Montreal, QC @ Place Bell ^ 08/17 – Toronto, ON @ RBC Echo Beach ^ 08/19 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17 ^ 08/20 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage ^ 08/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia ^ 08/23 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem ^ 08/24 – Bridgeport, CT @ Harbor Yard Amphitheater ^ 08/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center ^ 08/27 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Amphitheatre at White River State Park ^ 08/29 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park ^ 08/30 – Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium ^ 09/01 – San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center ^ 09/02 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^ 09/03 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^ 09/05 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center ^

Christmas Day 2019
This is an update from last year's list which is an update of some list from a year or two ago.
Outdoor Activities
If the weather is good (check forecast[1]), here's some outdoor activities:

• Go to the beach
• Go to the gardens
  • Auckland Botanic Gardens is open for people to wander around but visitor centre will be closed. Sculpture in the gardens (or Our Auckland listing)
  • Parnell Rose Gardens.
  • Auckland Domain. Auckland Domain Walks including a sculpture walk.
  • Albert Park and University of Auckland grounds
  • Cornwall Park. Visitor info has links to the map for Christmas tree trail as well as map for the park.
• Walking Tracks around Auckland - Auckland Council and Department of Conservation.
• Visit the various volcanoes in Auckland. Both Mt Victoria and Mt Eden will have beautiful views of the city. There's public transport. You will need to walk up.
  • Mt Eden (Bus is 27W or 27H)
  • Mt Victoria lookout (or wikipedia) - Take the ferry to Devonport, walk from ferry to the top of Mt Victoria.
  • One Tree Hill (and Cornwall Park surrounding it)
  • Rangitoto Island. Take one or more of the walks there. Definitely ensure you go up to the top of the crater for the view. Some people stay a bit longer and have a picnic morning tea/lunch. You can't buy lunch there. Rangitoto. It is a pest-free island reserve and so you have to ensure you leave it as you arrived. Info about visiting pest free islands. Ferry - Fullers timetable.
  • See 6 volcanoes and never leave Auckland. CNN Travel. 27 June 2017.
  • Auckland Volcano Cones by Auckland Tourism, Wikipedia, GNS science, Science Learning Hub
• Muriwai Gannet Colony.
  • Only an option if you have your own transport and able to walk as it is about 30 mins walk from the carpark. Discussion in 2018 about the duration of walk from carpark.
  • World famous in New Zealand: Gannet Colony, Muriwai. Stuff. Aug 05 2018.
  • Info by Auckland Council, NZ Birds, Wikipedia. Go to the beach too.
• Ride around in a bike (ONZO). Maps and Rides suggested by Auckland Transport and Bike Auckland. On Bike Auckland's site, if you hover your mouse over the "Maps & Rides" menu, you'll find other options like easy rides.
• Auckland Transport's Public Transport holiday timetables from 23 December 2019 - 12 January 2020.
• Scooters - one or two scooter services you can hire by the minute. Flamingo. Possibly Jump, Neuron, and Beam. No Lime and Wave scooters. Articles: NZ Herald or Newshub.

[1] Weather forecasts by Metservice and Weather Watch.
Indoor Activities:

• Go to church - you can experience christmas day service in a number of languages in Auckland.
  • St Patrick's Cathedral (Catholic) https://www.stpatricks.org.nz/ You'll find other Auckland Catholic parishes here https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/
  • Anglican Diocese - Christmas Services 2019. Also Christmas at St Matthew-in-the-City.
  • There are other denominations like Methodists, Baptists, AOG, Salvation Army, etc. Just search for them. I suspect the local visitor info centre and hotels have a list for their guests.
  • I think these lists above are services in English. I don't see the services in other languages listed there. You will be able to find services in many pacific island languages and asian languages. It is a case of whether you'll find the particular combination you are looking for in a location you can get to on Christmas day.
  • Use google search if you are after a particular church denomination. Wikipedia list of Church organisations in NZ. Not sure how complete it is. Churches' Christmas message: Waiting for Christmas has a list of clergy,(with their affliation) signing the message at the bottom. While the list is old and clergy may have changed, the church organisations are most likely to be around.
• Go to the movies.
  • Queen St + Manukau Event cinemas open on Christmas Day. https://www.eventcinemas.co.nz/
  • Hoyts https://www.hoyts.co.nz/ Hoyts Sylvia Park, Te Awa (Hamilton), Riccarton (Christchurch) and Entertainment X were open on Christmas Day 2018. Unfortunately site won't load at the moment. There's a chance a few cinemas from this group will be open on Christmas day.
• https://snowplanet.co.nz/ is open every year on Christmas day.
• Skycity Auckland - This is a hotel with the skytower. You can go up the tower on Christmas Day. There will be restaurants open. The casino will be closed.
• Kelly Tarlton's - Opening Hours on their website doesn't say they are closed on Christmas day. They were open in 2018 and previous years.
• Auckland Airport is open.
• Definitely closed: Auckland Zoo, Auckland Museum, Auckland Art Gallery, all casinos in NZ.

Event searches

• Eventfinda search for Auckland on 25 December 2019 or list of Christmas events (which may not necessarily be on christmas day).
• Our Auckland search for 25 December 2019

Public Transport
Auckland Transport's Public Transport holiday timetables from 23 December 2019 - 12 January 2020. Waiheke ferry timetable (pdf).
Food and Drink
Go to the supermarket on Christmas Eve to stock up on food and essentials. No supermarket and most businesses will be closed on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is one of very few mandatory public holidays in NZ, even the casino is closed 24 hours. Only places allowed to remain open are petrol stations, some fast food places and restaurants.
Hospitality businesses (restaurants, cafes etc) are able to charge a public holiday surcharge if they open on public holidays. If they do so they have to state clearly (ie sign at the door, or counter or menu). This public holidays are 25 and 26 December 2018, and 1 and 2 January 2019. FYI 26 December is also known as Boxing day in NZ.
Alcohol cannot be served unless with a meal[2]. So if something that looks like a pub is open, it is highly likely they are open to serve meals and you can order an alcoholic drink with your meal.
Restaurants that are open tend to be fast food places like McDs, KFC, restaurants that are part of hotels, a few ethnic restaurants and maybe a handful of others.
[2] That particular law applies only to Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day as well as before 1pm on Anzac Day. Legislation: Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. Despite the date of the act, the law has been around for some time. 2010 news article about it. Sale and supply on Anzac Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day restricted: on-licences.
Without any particular order:

• Hotels with restaurants: Christmas Day at The CUT, Rydges Auckland, Christmas dining at Stamford Plaza, Christmas day at Grand Mercure Auckland, Festive dining at Skycity Auckland's Restaurants - Each restaurant has a different offer for Christmas day, Christmas Day buffet at Novotel Ellerslie, Christmas at Cordis Auckland. many hotels with restaurants - I won't be listing them all. Just giving you a few so you have an idea.
• Denny's restaurant (American). Locations on website. There's a popup when you go to their webpage that says they are open on Christmas day.
• Denizen’s guide to the restaurants that are open over the holidays. The Denizen. 18 Dec 2019.
• Post about a restaurant offering free lunch or dinner on Christmas day.
• Christmas and NY Hours in Mission Bay https://www.missionbay.co.nz/mission-bay-christmas-new-years-hours.
• Viaduct Auckland https://www.viaduct.co.nz/2019/12/16/whats-on-wheres-open-at-viaduct-harbour-this-christmas/
• Dairies are open. For tourist: Dairies in NZ are a local convenience stores often found dotted around NZ, usually local to a neighbourhood. Wikipedia). They are known elsewhere with other names bodega, superettes, 7-11 or the shop attached to petrol stations.

Other essential info
Alcohol and smoking in public areas
Please note that there's usually an alcohol ban in many public areas like bus stops, parks, reserves etc. This means you are banned from consuming alcohol publicly unless you are in a licenced establishment (ie restaurant). Alcohol bans are either for an event, for extended periods or permanent. For more information about alcohol ban in Auckland.
Auckland Smokefree policy has a list of places where smoking is not permitted. This isn't limited to indoor areas only. It also includes parks, playgrounds, bus stops.
With NY celebrations coming up I won't be surprised if there's both alcohol and fire bans in popular beach areas and parks too.
Fire Season

• As this is summer, there's usually a fire ban in many areas in NZ.
• Fire and Emergency NZ https://checkitsalright.nz/
• Change in fire seasons for Auckland.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is updating the fire seasons for Auckland. From Monday 2 December it will declare a restricted season across greater Auckland and a prohibited fire season across all the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. A prohibited season means a total fire ban, with any current fire permits for the area suspended from the date the prohibited season starts. A restricted fire season means any open-air fires will need a permit.

• Articles:
  • Auckland to have restricted fire rules from Monday. RNZ. 29 November 2019.
  • Fire restrictions imposed across Auckland ahead of summer. Stuff. Nov 30 2019.
  • Auckland Council page on Outdoor fires.

The seventh and last show of the Australia/NZ tour!
Location: Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
Time: 7:00pm NZDT
Support: Mini Mansions
Setlist
Setlist:
• ⁠Do I Wanna Know?
• ⁠Brianstorm
• ⁠Snap Out of It
• ⁠Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
• ⁠One Point Perspective
• ⁠I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor
• ⁠Library Pictures
• ⁠Arabella
• ⁠Science Fiction
• ⁠Teddy Picker
• ⁠Dancing Shoes
• ⁠Fireside
• ⁠Cornerstone
• ⁠505
• ⁠Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
• ⁠Crying Lighting
• ⁠Pretty Visitors
• ⁠Four Out of Five
ENCORE
• ⁠Star Treatment
• ⁠Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
• ⁠R U Mine?
Poster
Streams
Be sure to discuss anything and everything about the show in the comments such as meetups, pictures, merch store stuff, quips or antics! Hope everyone has a fun time x

Wide Moat, what is that ? Before starting this blog post please read this wide moat businesses explanation here
Okay, now that we are up to speed, before you invest in any wide moat company you need to ensure financials of the business are solid as well, I’ll cover the topic of How to understand the financials of the business in the upcoming blogs so subscribe (here) to know when the blog is out.
Let’s see if we can spot any wide moat business listed on NZX.

Auckland International Airport Limited (NZE: AIA)

Auckland International airport holds a virtual monopoly as the largest airport in NZ and processes the most number of passengers. This is located in the largest city in NZ as well, making it an ideal destination for travelers, With travelers expected to increase in the coming decades, you can clearly see the wide moat around this business.

WILL THE MOAT SHRINK IN THE NEAR FUTURE ?

The likely hood of the moat shrinking is very low since construction of another international airport in Auckland is highly unlikely. Thing to look out for is debt, since airport need vast amounts of money for up keep and improvements( ex: loss of unnecessary capital due to project over runs and delays).
Read a more in depth analysis on Auckland International Airport here

Chorus Limited (NS) - (NZE: CNU)

Chorus manages and builds telecommunications infrastructure in NZ, for ex: when ever you sign up for fiber broadband plan with your ISP, Chorus is contracted to install the connections to your house. As copper cables are replaced by fiber optic cables around NZ, the cost of maintaining these new infrastructure grids are less than before.( Fiber vs Copper wiring: cost of copper and fiber optic cables are stronger requiring less maintenance).

WILL THE MOAT SHRINK IN THE NEAR FUTURE ?

I don’t think the moat will shrink in the near future as setting up a telecom infrastructure company with years of know how is quite difficult, the only way I can see this moat shrinking is if international companies what a piece of NZ infrastructure, but I don’t think the government would allow key infrastructure projects to be outsourced.

NZME Limited (NZE: NZM)

NZME is a New Zealand media company which owns brands such as:

1. NZ herald
2. Newstalk ZB
3. ZM
4. The Hits
5. Grab one etc…..

The moat exists but it is a very small one, this moat would have been huge during the hay day of print newspaper readership.
So what has happened here ? Internet….
Print newspaper is virtually dead, newspapers all around the world are struggling to make money as subscribers dwindle.
Due to the drop in readership, less and less ads are placed in the newspaper hence lower revenue.
All the eye balls have moved to “ Social Media”, that’s where the ads are now a days.
The only saving light I can see is Grab One, the popular coupon site in NZ. I do believe this will provide a strong source of revenue to the company but I am not sure if this can offset the losses in the other divisions.

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZE: NZR)

Refining NZ is New Zealand’s only oil refinery and the leading supplier of refined petroleum products to the New Zealand market, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other products As a critical piece of national energy infrastructure, Refining NZ is responsible for supplying:

• around 85% country’s jet fuel
• around 67% of diesel
• around 58% of all petrol
• between 75 and 85% of bitumen for roading
• all fuel oil for ships
• sulphur for farm fertilizer
• CO2 for the carbonated drinks industry

Moat exists because this is the only oil refinery in New Zealand, It also suppliers around 85% of NZ’s aviation fuel.
I believe the number of travelers to New Zealand will only increase, Provide refining NZ a solid moat, however as electric cars are bound to make in roads in New Zealand, the demand for petrol and diesel will gradually decrease.
So we need to keep an eye out on the financial performance on an annual basis to make sure the business can still maintain the moat.

Port of Tauranga Limited (NS) (NZE: POT)

The Port of Tauranga Located Tauranga (about 200 km away from Auckland) is the largest port in New Zealand in terms of total cargo volume, and the second largest in terms of container throughput.
Total exports:
📷
Total Exports from POT
As you can see the number of tonnes being exported from port of Tauranga is increasing.
Total imports:
📷
Total Imports from POT
As you can see the number of tonnes being imported from port of Tauranga is increasing as well.
I see this trend continuing as the demand for NZ products especially in emerging markets increases and demand for imports increases as NZ population continues to grow.
So the Moat around POT should be in tact for many years to come.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited (NZE: RBD)

Restaurant Brands operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr. It also operate a KFC franchise in New South Wales, Australia and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchise in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
As of October 2018, Restaurant Brands has 261 stores: 94 KFC New Zealand, 61 KFC Australia 29 Pizza Hut New Zealand, 18 Carl's Jr., 36 Taco Bell Hawaii and 45 Pizza Hut Hawaii stores. It employs nearly 8,000 staff across New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii and serves 120,000 customers worldwide every day. Since RBD operates the NZ franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl’s Jr and if you wanted to be a franchisee in NZ then you would have to go through them , this gives RBD an economic moat.
Will the moat shrink in the near future ?
I think the moat will certainly shrink, this is due to the fact that many people are moving away from processed foods to more organic and more healthier options, this will cause sales in fast foods such as KFC, Pizza hut etc to shrink, which in turn means less new franchises opening up. There might even be closures around the corner. So I see the moat being broken pretty soon in the years to come.

SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited (NS) (NZE: SKC)

SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited is New Zealand’s largest tourism, leisure and entertainment company. It is one of three major publicly listed casino operators in Australasia.
It has entertainment complexes in:

1. Auckland
2. Hamilton
3. Queenstown
4. Adelaide
5. Darwin

SkyCity also owns one of Auckland’s best know attractions “Sky Tower”. Although the revenue generated from sky tower to the overall business is small, it is still a jewel in the sky city crown.
Will the moat shrink in the near future ?
Considering SKC is New Zealand’s largest tourism, leisure and entertainment company, it has all the basis covered for tourists that enter into NZ. It also has large convention centers where numerous conferences are held, I don’t see the moat shrinking any time soon. As they in casino lingo “ House always wins”.

South Port New Zealand Limited (NS) ( NZE: SPN)

SPN is the southern most commercial port in NZ located at Bluff. It is situated in the highly productive province of Southland which is responsible for producing a sizeable proportion of New Zealand’s total exports by value. The region’s major exporters are all situated within 80km of the port.
All the moat characteristics explained for Port of Tauranga (POT) exist here as well.

Trade Me Group Limited (NZE: TME)

Trade me is the largest internet auction website in NZ. It has Trade me property, motors, jobs etc.
Trade me had held a monopoly on internet auctions for quite some time in NZ, but it’s moat has been slowly eroding away, how ?
Trade me jobs is competing against Seek, LinkedIn
Trade me property is competing against realestate.co.nz, oneroof etc.
Trade me market place is competing against Facebook marketplace.
Looking at all the competitions trade me is facing it seems quite difficult to hold down the moat in the future.

Vector Limited (NZE: VCT)

Vector is New Zealand's largest distributor of electricity and gas, owning and operating networks which span the Auckland region.This distribution system gives Vector an economic moat.
Vector has been involved in electrification projects - charging stations for electric cars, which I think is great for future growth. As number of electric cars increase, there will definitely be a need for more and more charging stations which vector can deliver. The moat seems to be very much intact.

Below is a list I posted as reply to a tourist's query in /newzealand. I am posting this list here in case there are visitors or new Aucklanders. I realise most of us know about this.
Please be nice and kind to all.
Outdoor Activities
If the weather is good (unfortunately not according to forecast[1]), here's some outdoor activities:

• Go to the beach
• Go to the gardens (Botanic Gardens open for people to wander around but Visitor centre closed. The Domain, Parnell Rose Gardens, Cornwall Park).
• Go visit the various volcanoes in Auckland. Both Mt Victoria and Mt Eden will have beautiful views of the city. There's public transport. You will need to walk up.
  • Mt Eden (Bus is 27W or 27H)
  • Mt Victoria (Take the ferry to Devonport, walk from ferry to the top of Mt Victoria)
  • One Tree Hill (and Cornwall Park surrounding it)
  • Rangitoto Island may not be an option. Fullers timetable says they aren't sailing on Christmas Day.
  • See 6 volcanoes and never leave Auckland. CNN Travel. 27 June 2017.
  • Auckland Volcano Cones by Auckland Tourism, Wikipedia, GNS science, Science Learning Hub
• Muriwai Gannet Colony.
  • Only an option if you have your own transport and able to walk as it is about 30 mins walk from the carpark.
  • World famous in New Zealand: Gannet Colony, Muriwai. Stuff. Aug 05 2018.
  • Info by Auckland Council, NZ Birds, Wikipedia. Go to the beach too.
• Ride around in a bike (ONZO) or scooter (Lime)

[1] Weather forecasts by Metservice and Weather Watch.
Indoor Activities:

• Go to the movies.
  • Queen St + Manukau Event cinemas open on Christmas Day. https://www.eventcinemas.co.nz/
  • Hoyts Sylvia Park, Te Awa (Hamilton), Riccarton (Christchurch) and Entertainment X are open on Christmas Day
• https://snowplanet.co.nz/
• Skycity Auckland - This is a hotel with the skytower. You can go up the tower on Christmas Day. There will be restaurants open. The casino will be closed.
• Go to church - you can experience christmas day service in a number of languages in Auckland.
  • St Patrick's Cathedral (Catholic) https://www.stpatricks.org.nz/ You'll find other Auckland Catholic parishes here https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/
  • Anglican Diocese - Christmas Services 2018
  • There are other denominations like Methodists, Baptists, AOG, Salvation Army, etc. Just search for them. I suspect the local visitor info centre and hotels have a list for their guests.
  • I think these lists above are services in English. I don't see the services in other languages listed there. You will be able to find services in many pacific island languages and asian languages.
  • Use google search if you are after a particular church denomination. Wikipedia list of Church organisations in NZ. Not sure how complete it is. Churches' Christmas message: Waiting for Christmas has a list of clergy,(with their affliation) signing the message at the bottom.
• Auckland Airport is open.
• Kelly Tarlton's - Opening Hours on their website doesn't say they re closed on Christmas day. Their 22 Dec facebook post ends with " We are open as usual every day over the holiday season from 9:30 AM - 5 PM. Come down to SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium and see the penguin chicks in their creche!". Thanks to spagbol for the heads up in comment below. new

Public Transport
Public transport will be on a Sunday timetable in Auckland. https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/ Bus, train and ferry Christmas holiday timetables. From 24 December 2018 to 6 January 2019, most public transport services will be operating to a Christmas/New Year holiday timetable.
Food and Drink
Go to the supermarket today (Christmas Eve) to stock up on food and essentials. No supermarket and most businesses will be closed on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is one of very few mandatory public holidays in NZ, even the casino is closed 24 hours. Only places allowed to remain open are petrol stations and restaurants.
Hospitality businesses (restaurants, cafes etc) are able to charge a public holiday surcharge if they open on public holidays. If they do so they have to state clearly (ie sign at the door, or counter or menu). This public holidays are 25 and 26 December 2018, and 1 and 2 January 2019. FYI 26 December is also known as Boxing day in NZ.
Alcohol cannot be served unless with a meal. So if something that looks like a pub is open, it is highly likely they are open to serve meals and you can order an alcoholic drink with your meal.
Restaurants open tend to be fast food places like McDs, KFC, restaurants that are part of hotels, a few ethnic restaurants and maybe a handful of others.
Some of the top restaurants shut down from either today or Monday for a few weeks, unless they are part of a hotel or one of the few known to offer a christmas day meal.

• Hotels with restaurants: The Christmas Buffet at Rydges Auckland, Christmas dining at Stamford Plaza, Christmas day at Grand Mercure Auckland, Skycity Auckland's Restaurants - you need to go to each restaurant to see what's on offer for Christmas day, Christmas Day buffet at Novotel Ellerslie, Eight at Cordis Auckland. many hotels with restaurants - I won't be listing them all. Just giving you a few so you have an idea.
  
• Denny's restaurant (American). There's a facebook message says they are open on Christmas day. Locations on website.
  
• Fast food: McDonald's, KFC, Domino's Pizza - Note at bottom of Domino's front page says 20% surcharge on Christmas Day.
  
• Going out for Christmas? Where to eat out on December 25. NZ Herald. 15 Dec, 2018.
  
• Christmas Day Party & Feast. This is out west auckland. Not sure you can easily get there on Christmas day.
  
• The restaurants open for home delivery this Christmas day. Newshub. 19/12/2018.
  

OK, so it doesn't exactly look perfect. Their first investigative piece is about free range eggs which is hardly Watergate material. The writing style seems a little corny and unpolished, it's doesn't seem to have the depth of articles that the other sites have right now. And maybe I'm speaking too soon. Maybe they'll fuck it all up.
But my god does it look better than the alternatives right now. I'm looking at the front page and dammit, it's a start, there are actual stories there.

• The free-range egg story
• "Concerns over rising use of powerful antibiotics"
• "Aussie banks thwart Auckland housing plan"
• "World faces worst crisis since 1945 - UN"
• "For the Navy, too much water's a bad thing"

This is news. Like, real news. Not syndicated from the Daily Mail, not clickbait, not reality TV stories, not paparazzi shots of Max Key, not stories about how this person bought something and it broke, not "Brand Insight" stories written by fucking casinos. I mean, I think I'm actually more impressed because the bar has been set so fucking low, but still. Jesus. It's about time.
Even if Newsroom fails to take off, between them and The Spinoff, I'd love to see some pressure put on these other media companies. Link their stories, visit their site, consider subscribing.
Disclaimer: absolutely not affiliated with any news organization but hate NZ Herald with a burning passion.

Wide Moat, what is that ? Before starting this blog post please read this wide moat businesses explanation here
Okay, now that we are up to speed, before you invest in any wide moat company you need to ensure financials of the business are solid as well, I’ll cover the topic of How to understand the financials of the business in the upcoming blogs so subscribe (here) to know when the blog is out.
Let’s see if we can spot any wide moat business listed on NZX.

Auckland International Airport Limited (NZE: AIA)

Auckland International airport holds a virtual monopoly as the largest airport in NZ and processes the most number of passengers. This is located in the largest city in NZ as well, making it an ideal destination for travelers, With travelers expected to increase in the coming decades, you can clearly see the wide moat around this business.

WILL THE MOAT SHRINK IN THE NEAR FUTURE ?

The likely hood of the moat shrinking is very low since construction of another international airport in Auckland is highly unlikely. Thing to look out for is debt, since airport need vast amounts of money for up keep and improvements( ex: loss of unnecessary capital due to project over runs and delays).
Read a more in depth analysis on Auckland International Airport here

Chorus Limited (NS) - (NZE: CNU)

Chorus manages and builds telecommunications infrastructure in NZ, for ex: when ever you sign up for fiber broadband plan with your ISP, Chorus is contracted to install the connections to your house. As copper cables are replaced by fiber optic cables around NZ, the cost of maintaining these new infrastructure grids are less than before.( Fiber vs Copper wiring: cost of copper and fiber optic cables are stronger requiring less maintenance).

WILL THE MOAT SHRINK IN THE NEAR FUTURE ?

I don’t think the moat will shrink in the near future as setting up a telecom infrastructure company with years of know how is quite difficult, the only way I can see this moat shrinking is if international companies what a piece of NZ infrastructure, but I don’t think the government would allow key infrastructure projects to be outsourced.

NZME Limited (NZE: NZM)

NZME is a New Zealand media company which owns brands such as:

1. NZ herald
2. Newstalk ZB
3. ZM
4. The Hits
5. Grab one etc…..

The moat exists but it is a very small one, this moat would have been huge during the hay day of print newspaper readership.
So what has happened here ? Internet….
Print newspaper is virtually dead, newspapers all around the world are struggling to make money as subscribers dwindle.
Due to the drop in readership, less and less ads are placed in the newspaper hence lower revenue.
All the eye balls have moved to “ Social Media”, that’s where the ads are now a days.
The only saving light I can see is Grab One, the popular coupon site in NZ. I do believe this will provide a strong source of revenue to the company but I am not sure if this can offset the losses in the other divisions.

The New Zealand Refining Company Limited (NZE: NZR)

Refining NZ is New Zealand’s only oil refinery and the leading supplier of refined petroleum products to the New Zealand market, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other products As a critical piece of national energy infrastructure, Refining NZ is responsible for supplying:

• around 85% country’s jet fuel
• around 67% of diesel
• around 58% of all petrol
• between 75 and 85% of bitumen for roading
• all fuel oil for ships
• sulphur for farm fertilizer
• CO2 for the carbonated drinks industry

Moat exists because this is the only oil refinery in New Zealand, It also suppliers around 85% of NZ’s aviation fuel.
I believe the number of travelers to New Zealand will only increase, Provide refining NZ a solid moat, however as electric cars are bound to make in roads in New Zealand, the demand for petrol and diesel will gradually decrease.
So we need to keep an eye out on the financial performance on an annual basis to make sure the business can still maintain the moat.

Port of Tauranga Limited (NS) (NZE: POT)

The Port of Tauranga Located Tauranga (about 200 km away from Auckland) is the largest port in New Zealand in terms of total cargo volume, and the second largest in terms of container throughput.
Total exports:
📷
Total Exports from POT
As you can see the number of tonnes being exported from port of Tauranga is increasing.
Total imports:
📷
Total Imports from POT
As you can see the number of tonnes being imported from port of Tauranga is increasing as well.
I see this trend continuing as the demand for NZ products especially in emerging markets increases and demand for imports increases as NZ population continues to grow.
So the Moat around POT should be in tact for many years to come.

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited (NZE: RBD)

Restaurant Brands operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr. It also operate a KFC franchise in New South Wales, Australia and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchise in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
As of October 2018, Restaurant Brands has 261 stores: 94 KFC New Zealand, 61 KFC Australia 29 Pizza Hut New Zealand, 18 Carl's Jr., 36 Taco Bell Hawaii and 45 Pizza Hut Hawaii stores. It employs nearly 8,000 staff across New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii and serves 120,000 customers worldwide every day. Since RBD operates the NZ franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl’s Jr and if you wanted to be a franchisee in NZ then you would have to go through them , this gives RBD an economic moat.
Will the moat shrink in the near future ?
I think the moat will certainly shrink, this is due to the fact that many people are moving away from processed foods to more organic and more healthier options, this will cause sales in fast foods such as KFC, Pizza hut etc to shrink, which in turn means less new franchises opening up. There might even be closures around the corner. So I see the moat being broken pretty soon in the years to come.

SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited (NS) (NZE: SKC)

SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited is New Zealand’s largest tourism, leisure and entertainment company. It is one of three major publicly listed casino operators in Australasia.
It has entertainment complexes in:

1. Auckland
2. Hamilton
3. Queenstown
4. Adelaide
5. Darwin

SkyCity also owns one of Auckland’s best know attractions “Sky Tower”. Although the revenue generated from sky tower to the overall business is small, it is still a jewel in the sky city crown.
Will the moat shrink in the near future ?
Considering SKC is New Zealand’s largest tourism, leisure and entertainment company, it has all the basis covered for tourists that enter into NZ. It also has large convention centers where numerous conferences are held, I don’t see the moat shrinking any time soon. As they in casino lingo “ House always wins”.

South Port New Zealand Limited (NS) ( NZE: SPN)

SPN is the southern most commercial port in NZ located at Bluff. It is situated in the highly productive province of Southland which is responsible for producing a sizeable proportion of New Zealand’s total exports by value. The region’s major exporters are all situated within 80km of the port.
All the moat characteristics explained for Port of Tauranga (POT) exist here as well.

Trade Me Group Limited (NZE: TME)

Trade me is the largest internet auction website in NZ. It has Trade me property, motors, jobs etc.
Trade me had held a monopoly on internet auctions for quite some time in NZ, but it’s moat has been slowly eroding away, how ?
Trade me jobs is competing against Seek, LinkedIn
Trade me property is competing against realestate.co.nz, oneroof etc.
Trade me market place is competing against Facebook marketplace.
Looking at all the competitions trade me is facing it seems quite difficult to hold down the moat in the future.

Vector Limited (NZE: VCT)

Vector is New Zealand's largest distributor of electricity and gas, owning and operating networks which span the Auckland region.This distribution system gives Vector an economic moat.
Vector has been involved in electrification projects - charging stations for electric cars, which I think is great for future growth. As number of electric cars increase, there will definitely be a need for more and more charging stations which vector can deliver. The moat seems to be very much intact.

I've not had the best luck(and I can probably pin a fair amount of that on poor decisions on my part). For the past 4 years I've been unemployed, while not on welfare support for all of it(I did use my own savings whie I had them for about 6 months or so, and I also briefly had 6 months of work at minimum wage).
Not for a lack of trying, I had applied to many jobs and a variety. Most roles would not respond, for those that did I might make it into the top candidates but be preferred over someone with relevant qualifications(I'm 50k in student loan debt, and unable to get financial support to try studying something else), others have issues with my lack of employment for x months/years, that I'm self taught, that I have an unrelated career path history(trying other careers), that I'm too experienced(junior roles), not enough professional experience(roles greater than junior) and so forth. The 6 month min wage role I was exploited and left due to treatment and dishonesty, I had another 6 month role unpaid work with a startup which didn't pan out(I never got to see any money but the boss was clearly spending what I helped bring in).
Anyway, cost of living in Auckland isn't too fun, especially when you're only getting about 200 a week on welfare for the past 4 years while trying your best to get out of the rut you've fallen in to no avail.
I don't have much in my kiwisaver even when I did have work for about 5-6 years at a casino as a croupier. It amounts to about 3k from mine and employer contributions + 3k government & investment returns managed by my provider. I technically don't qualify for financial hardship I think under the different conditions listed, I still get enough to just get by each week, but I don't have any savings beyond <$100 due to not having luck with work these recent years.
I feel that if I could gain access to 2-3k which should be possible under the financial hardship application, I could perhaps have some better opportunities. I'm told in my career(IT/software engineering) that I'm quite good at it and shouldn't have difficulty finding work overseas, especially in the northen hemisphere. Interestingly the government has many others like me with my career background unable to find work in NZ, they weren't willing to give exact statistics/numbers but did indicate it's a common issue and that nothing is actually being done about this sectoindustry to improve the problem(I did offer to work on such myself to help myself and others but have not heard back yet).
My living environment for the past 4 years isn't exactly helpful towards bettering my situation either, sometimes causing stress because of things out of my control, but I don't have many options with the current income situation, which I obviously need to resolve.
TL;DR: Does anyone know if there is a way for me to qualify for receiving my contributions and my employers from my kiwisaver? It's not much but it'd make a difference, on paper I'm probably not going to qualify as expenses are met. Do I have any other options?

Let's say your company CEO is a billionaire, and as the only NZ based employee, you have been tasked with sorting out his stay for 24 hours starting tomorrow at 06:00. Nothing crazy, no casino or adventuring, he's an older gent. But he does have fine tastes for the creature comforts, food, women, that sort of thing.
He needs:

• a hotel
• three meals and dessert
• a "hostess" of the highest standards for the night
• a luxury car (he likes to drive himself)
• and some general light entertainment for the day. Billionaire style.

Your job depends on picking the right choices. Go!

Australia - Travel and Itinerary Wiki

Backstory - I'm a US expat and travel hacker living in Sydney with my wife. We've been here for 6 months and seen a lot of the same questions about the area get posted almost daily. I'll do my best to concisely run through a number of topics here, whether it be about getting here or what to do, in the hopes this makes future questions a little more tactical.

NOTE: PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK IF YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE!

Update 1 - Added booking windows and intra-region travel info.

Getting Here

Cash

Great deals to be had lately in economy. Prices have consistently dropped $800 or so from mainland USA on full service carriers. These sales are pretty frequent. If you have Chase Sapphire Reserve card a $800 cash ticket is just over 53,000 Ultimate Rewards points with FULL points earn on the ticket itself. That's a great deal if you don't care about sitting up front. Business class is significantly more expensive. This is one of the most sought after premium class routes on the planet and with that prices tend to stay high and award availability low.

From the East Coast of the US

I highly recommend AA to DFW and Qantas DFW-SYD. The route is served by a comfortable A380 (good economy, dated 2-2-2 J though) and loads are typically intentionally kept low heading East to maximize cargo capacity. That means you can realistically expect a empty middle seat if you plan well. On the eastbound side it's still possible but less likely. Also, if you fly on low days you may score an upgrade for $1,000 - $1,200 USD per person, per way, via Qantas' bid for upgrade program. Really the major benefit here is connections going further into the US - minimizing travel time on either side of that long leg is incredibly more valuable and comfortable.

From the West Coast of the US

Any carrier works here, chose based on your preference. Every domestic carrier serves the route (UA/AA/DL) and most are newer aircraft (sans Delta's aging 777s). You can also find good deals via Fiji as well as via Auckland on Air New Zealand. I personally don't like breaking up the trip any more than necessary so I don't like those options.

Points

Oh boy, this is a good one. Generally the rule of thumb is simply this, PLAN AHEAD IF YOU WANT TO FLY UP FRONT! The only exception to this is Virgin Australia who sometimes releases J space < 2 weeks of travel. That's absolutely rolling the dice though. Economy wise you can typically find space on at least one carrier so that's less of a topic, and as above, with cash prices being so low it can often be less worthwhile to book the award itself. Up front you really have a few options.  
US Carriers  

Carrier	Booking Window	Comments
United	338	Good J hard product, meh soft product. Awards open up here and there but typically it's very limited to last minute redemption. Price-wise, they're not the cheapest, but not the most expensive.
AA	331	probably the best hard produce from the group. Same meh soft product (they're US carriers after all). Pricing is also okay, but availability is next to none.
Delta	331	bad products, hard and soft. The seats are old, the service is older. Price is highest BUT you will often find saver-level seats on Virgin Australia (a partner) < 2 weeks out.

  Australian Carriers  

Carrier	Booking Window	Comments
Qantas	353	meh J product (2-2-2). Good/Great F. Service is also good, very polished. Availability in spurts, but okay price via AA.
Virgin Australia	330	best seat (the Business) and I'm a sucker for a bird with a bar. Conversely, terrible availability unless you're looking within 2 weeks or right at the window.

  Asian Carriers (generally better availability)  

Carrier	Booking Window	Comments
Korean	360?	my personal favorite. Great airline, great US service, and a transfer partner of Chase. And most importantly, they tend to be quite generous with their availability.
Cathay	360	old favorite in the points world. Not the cheapest option but if you have the points then you'll often find availability through HKG when you book at the window. Great seat, classic service, and AMAZING lounges in HKG.
JAL	330	like ANA, in light of recently US carrier devaluations these guys have become a viable option through Tokyo. Some recommend their 777 SkySuite as the best J product out there.
SQ	355	Suites are always a favorite but lately it's pretty impossible to not pull your hair out before actually confirming that route. J availability tends to show up here and there. Recently devauled though so use tool to find best option based on points available.
ANA	356	mentioned in JAL topic, just a solid all around option if you have the points.

  Award Tools Look, I know a lot of carriers were mentioned above and you're probably going well, that's all great, but how do I ultimately choose one given the fact that I have a trip 1+ year out and a few options? That's where the below sites come in handy. They will tell decipher award charts and help you distill down the airlines that you can realistically fly given the points that you have.

• AwardAce
• AwardHacker
• RewardStock

Once In The Region

Intra-Region Travel

• Staying in the South/South East (SYD/BNE/MEL/PEetc.) - Avios, Avios, Avios! SYD-MEL, for example, is 4,500 Avios one way on Qantas. This is an amazing sweet spot.
• Cross Country Travel - This is tough. Economy prices aren't terribly high, but the business class product on these flights is top notch. Virgin flies "The Business" A330 and Qantas flies an equivalent A330 through the continent and they really cater to those premium travelers. I still haven't come up with the best way of doing this with points though local frequent flyers swear by the points upgrade to get up front.
• Across the Ditch (To/From NZ) - My recommendation is Air New Zealand. I recently booked this and spent 25k Krisflyer (Singapore) for a RT flight on Air New Zealand. I definitely consider that tremendous value, though discount carriers operate these routes and you can find deals (I would consider $300 round trip in economy to be a good deal).

Sydney-Specific

Rule of thumb, if you have 5+ days in the region than I suggest going outside of Sydney. It's a cool city, but there is SO much more to see. Scroll down for details, but while in Sydney here are a few suggestions:

• Taronga Zoo – One of my favourites. A great place to see all the local animals that the US doesn’t have. This is a FANTASTIC first day activity and will help you fight jet lag!
• Bondi to Cogee Walk – A beautiful self-guided walk down the coast. It’s just a walking path but it's a must do.
• Harbour Bridge Climb – Climb atop Sydney’s most famous bridge to see the city like nowhere else. Younger people love it, older people tend to avoid it. I haven't done it and don't plan to.
• Sydney Opera House – The most famous landmark in Sydney. We could see a show or just do a tour. Up to you.
• Manly Ferry/Beach – Manly beach is amazing and the surrounding area is filled with bars and restaurants. This would take up the majority of a day. The ferry there and back is a mini sightseeing tour in and of itself.
• Sydney Bus Tours - Highly recommended as it takes you all over the city and even out to Bondi. Hop on/Hop off style so you can wander if you like a stop.
• Sydney Boat Tours – Just like the bus tours, the boat tours allow you to get off at stops and explore. A great way to maneuver around the water and hit the main points of interest. Could be a good way to see Manly, too. Do NOT do a dinner cruise, the food is bad and it's just a waste of time.
• The Rocks – Located right in the harbour, the Rocks is an area with numerous restaurants, a famous market and Australia’s oldest pubs.
• Darling Harbour – Like the Rocks, DH is another touristy area on the water that has a ton of restaurants and bars. Also has a Ferris wheel, an enormous fish market with tons of fresh seafood, and a casino.
• Sydney Seaplanes – Name says it all. I absolutely LOVED the "Sydney Secrets" tour.
• Featherdale Wildlife Park – Never been here but it comes highly recommended. Basically it is an animal park where all of the animals are loose and you can interact with them. All of the Australian animals will be there. It is a little bit of a drive but definitely doable.
• Blue Mountains – A national park that has a bunch of beautiful views and is much different from the water you get all around the city. They have a similar bus tour to all the attractions which lets you hop on/off at will. A train will take us directly up there if you’d like to go.
• Hunter Valley – Australia is known for its wine and HV is the closest region to the city.

Places to Stay

• Park Hyatt Syndey - go to place for best of the best stays. On Cirqular Quay with views of Opera House.
• Westin Sydney - downtown, good location (10 min walk from quay), nice hotel.
• Hilton Sydney - downtown, same as Westin.
• Intercontinental Double Bay - ritzy area of town, looks to be a nice hotel. I live nearby so I'm biased - it's a good spot but out of the hustle and bustle.
• Marriott - also downtown, 5 min from quay. Lobby recently redone, rooms are supposedly very nice, too.
• Four Points Sydney - closer to Chinatown but still downtown. 20 min qay to quay. I've heard it's nice.
• There are tons more, this is a whole topic in an of itself.

Regional

Are you outdoorsy?

• Queenstown, NZ (~3 hour flight) - The end all be all go-to place for being outdoors. If you like being outside/hiking/etc. this should absolutely be on your list See extreme activities section.
• Tasmania -
• Blue Mountains - see above.
• Royal National Park (~30 min from Sydney) - great national park with some beautiful hiking spots. Not huge, but easy to get to and is a good excursion.

Do you like food/drinks?

• Melbourne (pronounced Melbun) - Where to begin? Really the best way of thinking about Sydney vs. Melbourne, which is a HUGE rivalry by the way, is to put it simply as > Sydney has the sights whereas Melbourne has the culture.

Extreme activities?

• Cairnes (pronounced Cans) - the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Backpacker town (if you want a nicer area near the GBR see Port Douglas) and full of bars and nightlife. If you're younger, want to hang out with some peers, and go diving, go here.
• Queenstown - the extreme sports capital of the world or something like that. Has it all - skiing, skydiving, bungee jumping, rafting, etc.

Animals

• Featherdale Wildlife Park - Near Sydney, see above section.
• Taronga Zoo - see Sydney section.
• Austrlaia Zoo - Up near Sunshine Coast, not familiar with it.

Cultural

• Melbourne - see food.
• Uluru - Where Ayers Rock is. Great for the "Outback" experience. Can fly (3 hrs) from Sydney, not/nothing else there though.

Beaches/Relaxation

• Lord Howe Island - limited access island. Super exclusive. Best value is booking out and using Qantas points to get there. 16k or so round trip for $1,000 flight.
• Hamilton Island - right off barrier reef's southern end. Beautiful islands with Whitsundays islands nearby.
• Port Douglas - the nicer way to get to the Great Barrier Reef (as opposed to touristy/backpacker Cairns).
• Bondi/Bronte/Coogee/etc. - Eastern beaches. All near Syndey. Bondi to Coogee walk will show you most of them.
• Northern Beaches (30 - 45 min car ride from city). More laid back beaches outside of the city. Slower paces, friendlier locals.

Example Itinerary

Assumes 10 days down under.

• Day 1 - Land in SYD, drop bags at hotel, change, and head straight to Zoo. DO NOT NAP. Try to stay awake until 7p or so. Good luck.
• Day 2 Sydney - Hop on/Hop off bus tour. Do Bondi to Coogee walk when you get to Bondi. Figure out what you like and don't like along the way.
• Day 3 Travel to Melbourne - Dinner downtown.
• Day 4 Melbourne - Coffee, walk around CBD, Great Ocean Road maybe?
• Day 5 Travel to Queenstown, NZ
• Day 6 Queenstown - Outside
• Day 7 Queenstown - Outside
• Day 8 Travel to Sydney
• Day 9 Sydney - Opera House tour. Ferry to Manly for lunch/afternoon.
• Day 10 Depart Sydney

How the Day Unfolded

12 Questions to Ministers were answered

• Transcript can be found here

1 Question to a member was answered

• 1. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Member in charge of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2): Why did he draft the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2)?
  ANDREW LITTLE (Labour - list)(Member in charge of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2)): Because, in 2016, no child in New Zealand should be living in a hovel, and it is time that New Zealand accepted a standard that no child should be getting sick or die because they cannot live in a warm, safe, dry home. This bill sets standards to ensure that every rental property is livable and will keep kids out of hospital.
  Phil Twyford: How does this bill differ from the current law?
  ANDREW LITTLE: The current law, propagated by the present Government, applies a standard for insulation that is only at the 1978 standard and requires the installation of smoke alarms. My bill requires there to be a source of heating, requires weathertightness, requires the house to be able to be ventilated, and has a minimum standard on drainage. The Children's Commissioner described the Government's current law as shameful and said that it will do little for children living in cold, damp, mouldy homes. My bill will be a whole heap better.
  

The General Debate was Held
The general debate is held every week on Wednesday after Question Time. The formal procedure for the debate is that a member move a motion that the house take note of miscellaneous business. Members have 5 minutes to speak to whatever issue they wish. At the end of the hour the motion lapses and no question is put or vote taken.
The speakers were:

Call	Member	Party	Seat	Topic
1.	Andrew Little	Labour	List	Housing, The Budget, The State of the Govt
2.	Amy Adams	National	Selwyn	The Labour Greens MOU & Government announcements in the past 4 weeks
3.	Iain Lees-Galloway	Labour	Palmerston North	Immigration
4.	Anne Tolley	National	East Coast	Welfare Reforms & Regional Development
5.	Ron Mark	New Zealand First	List	Immigration & the rise of New Zealand First at the expense of Labour and National
6.	Craig Foss	National	Tukituki	Andrew Little v Stuart Nash and East Coast development
7.	Peter Dunne	United Future	Ohariu	Children in New Zealand
8.	Sarah Dowie	National	Invercargill	Economic Growth and Development in Southland
9.	Marama Davidson	Green	List	Housing
10.	Jono Naylor	National	List	Recent Government Announcements
11.	Louisa Wall	Labour	Manurewa	Social Development & homelessness
12.	Dr Shane Reti	National	Whangarei	Government achievements and announcements

A transcript of the debate can be found – here
Private and Local Orders of the Day

• The committee stage of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill was completed. The debate on this non controversial bill was very quick - only 3 members took a call before the bill was agreed to and reported without amendment. The bill is in the name of Nicky Wagner (National - Christchurch Central)

Member’s Orders of the Day

• The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill was read a second time. This bill is in the name of Labour list MP David Parker. This Bill amends the Minimum Wage Act 1983 to extend its provisions to apply to payments under a contract for services that are remunerated at below the minimum wage. Act and National voted against the bill but the vote was won after United Future voted in favour of the bill.
  
• The first reading of the Oaths and Declarations (Endorsing the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi) Amendment Bill was not agreed to. The purpose of this bill is to ensure that a person taking any oath set out in statute may, in addition to the words of the oath, elect to state that they will perform their duties in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
  This bill saw spirited debate including the contribution of Treaty Affairs Minister and Attorney General Chris Finlayson (National – list). Arguments in favour contended that one could swear an oath on a bible to uphold the law according to their religious belief but not to uphold the principles of the Treaty that founded our nation. The counter argument was one based on the lack of need and that government agencies already uphold the principles of the treaty during their day to day activities and are required to consider them during decision making.
  The votes were:
  

  Party	Aye	Nay
  National	0	59
  Labour	32	0
  Green	14	0
  New Zealand First	0	12
  Maori	2	0
  Act	1	0
  United Future	1	0
  Total	50	71

• The Social Security (Stopping Benefit Payments for Offenders who Repeatedly Fail to Comply with Community Sentences) Amendment Bill was read a first time. The bill was passed 61 – 60. This bill is in the name of National MP for Rodney Mark Mitchell. This bill would give the Department of Corrections the power to issue warnings to persons who have not complied with community-based sentences, with the consequence of withholding benefit payments. It has been referred to the Social Services Select Committee.
  

Debate Interrupted

• The debate on the Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill was interrupted when Mark Mitchell (National – Rodney) was speaking with 9 speeches remaining. The bill is in the name of Labour’s Tāmaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare and amends the Customs and Excise Act 1996 to make goods produced in whole or in part by slave labour a prohibited import. National have indicated they will be voting against the bill.

The Biscuit Tin of Democracy
It has been a while but the biscuit tin has been dusted off and there was space for 3 bills to be drawn today. 79 bills were entered into the ballot.
The winning bills were:

• Land Transfer (Foreign Ownership of Land Register) Amendment Bill - Mahesh Bindra from New Zealand First proposes a bill that would ensure that a comprehensive register of all foreign-owned New Zealand land is compiled and made available to the general public.
  
• Residential Tenancies (Safe and Secure Rentals) Amendment Bill in the name of Green Party Co Leader Metiria Turei. This bill amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to strengthen tenants’ rights and promote secure, long-term tenancies.
  
• Airport Authorities (Publicising Lost Property Sales) Amendment Bill in the name of Port Hills based National List MP Nuk Korako. This bill will amend the Airport Authorities Act 1966 to provide airport authorities with greater flexibility when publicising the disposal of lost property.
  

Psephology Spotlight
Elections Concluded

• In South Africa the ruling African National Congress suffered massive losses in their worst election performance since the end of Apartheid. The municipal council elections (which are conducted under MMP) saw the ANC lose majority control of many battleground cities including Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay and minor parties now are engaging in coalition talks between the ANC and opposition Democratic Alliance over who gets to control the council. In the last election the ANC garnered 62% of the popular vote whereas this year they mustered 54%. Corruption and economic woes are attributed to the swing away from the ANC. Famously President Zuma was found by the Constitutional Court to have benefited from $16 million worth of illegal expenditure to his personal home. In another example local corruption resulted in hundreds of toilets being built, row upon row, where houses should be instead.- see 1:20 in the video The ANC have promised to do a review in preparation for the next general election in 2019 and the position of President Zuma appears to be on shakey ground. However, many factions within the party are loyal to Zuma and it is thought that it is unlikely he could be brought down without a fight. Turnout was particularly key to the election results. Significant amounts of the population are still loyal to the ANC and so express their dissatisfaction by not turning up to vote, as they will not vote for any other party. Winning these groups back by 2019 is the new priority for the ANC and the opposition is hoping to win them over by bringing new leadership to local government.
  
• The small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has a new president after their August 7 vote. The first round was held on July 17 and provisional results suggested that challenger Evaristo Carvalho, a former Prime Minister, had won but the result was annulled due to irregularities. Incumbent president Pinto da Costa boycotted the second round after claiming Carvalho engaged in fraudulent activity in round 1 meaning Carvalho was elected unopposed. Costa served as the nation’s first president from 1975 – 1991 and was elected again in 2011. He will leave office in early September.
  

Upcoming Elections

• Presidential elections will be held in Gabon on 28 August 2016. The president serves a seven year term and is elected via first past the post. The issue for the opposition is that given the multitude of candidates standing (14 are approved to be on the ballot) vote splitting may result in incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba sneaking back into office much like how Ondimba was first elected in 2009. Former United Nations General Assembly President and Gabonese Foreign Minister Jean Ping is considered Ondimba’s toughest competition. Ping served under Ondimba’s father who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009 and was involved in demonstrations against Ondimba which were broken up by police.
  
• General elections and a constitutional referendum will be held in Zambia on 11 August. At stake are 150 members of the National Assembly, the five year term of president and an amendment to the Bill of Rights. The amendment would see Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental rights inserted alongside civil and political rights. Additionally the referendum if approved would see the rules for amendments to the constitution and bill of rights changed. In the race for president Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front is hoping to be elected to his first full term in office after winning the 2015 presidential by election. He is facing a rematch with Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development who missed out on victory by 27,757 votes last time in a race that still is disputed. The election method is two round first past the post. The Patriotic Front currently has a plurality of seats (60) in the multi party National Assembly who are elected via first past the post.
  

Fact of the Day – Housing the Prime Minister
All over the world Prime Ministers and leaders receive as a perk of their office a home that they can reside in throughout their tenure. In the United Kingdom it is 10 Downing Street, The French Prime Minister calls Hôtel Matignon home, The Prime Minister of Canada gets 24 Sussex Drive while the Prime Minister of India gets 7, Race Course Road (A.K.A Panchavati). In Australia the Prime Minister has The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney. In New Zealand it is Premier House but this hasn't always been the case.
In the early days of the New Zealand Parliament, premiers were required to find their own accommodation. This changed in 1865 when the capital moved to Wellington and the government acquired a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori Road. This was a damp, flood-prone gully, but it was close to Parliament. A Wellington newspaper, elated by the city’s new status, thought the £2900 price ‘cheap’. An Auckland paper called it a ‘monstrous waste of public money’.
New Zealands sixth Premier, Frederick Weld, didn’t get to spend long in the house. Weld made many enemies by overseeing the moving of the capital to Auckland from Wellington as well as seeing the confiscation of more than a million acres of land from Waikato Maori. The finances of his government were precarious at best and his relations with the Governor soured over the withdrawal of British Troops. In October 1865 his government resigned after less than a year in the position.
With the arrival of the Vogel family in 1872 the house adopted the name “the casino” and consisted of 8 bedrooms with conservatory and ballroom. The ballroom got a hammering. They made Premier House the social centre of Wellington. In July 1876 Lady Vogel sent out 250 invitations to a calico fancy dress ball, ‘the most brilliant of its kind yet seen in this city’. The Vogels also imported New Zealand’s first lawn tennis set, though Sir Julius was too unfit to chase the ball far.
In 1884 the Vogels returned for another three years. Sir Julius was obese and gouty, so Cabinet often met in an office built in the house. In 1886 he added a lift to take him from the dining room up to his bedroom.
After the Vogels moved out, the government tried to sell the property. But the press and public fought back. Wellington people valued its spacious grounds as a public amenity. Only the furniture was sold. Some suggested turning the site into an old men’s home or a university, but it stayed empty. MPs’ salaries had been cut, and the Liberal ministers of the 1890s had to live cheaply. Premier Richard John Seddon lived in a modest ministerial residence at 47 Molesworth Street. ‘This isn’t at all a nice house; it is surrounded, like a nunnery, with a high and close and ugly wooden fence, and presents a dismal appearance’, a voter complained. Seddon’s son remembered it fondly as ‘a political house. Politics was the sole subject day after day – at breakfast, dinner and tea.’
The Tinakori Street residence, vacant since 1893, was leased out from 1896 to 1900, when it became a ministerial residence again.
The house’s fortunes recovered when Seddon’s deputy, Joseph Ward, moved in. Ward, soon to be Sir Joseph, and prime minister from 1906, named it Awarua House. Like Vogel, he enjoyed the good life. The Wards threw ‘at homes’, garden parties, receptions, garden fetes, balls and wedding receptions. Sometimes over 1000 people gathered there. When Governor Ranfurly dropped in for a chat, they served him whisky in special large glasses. Sir Joseph liked to free office hours for talking or socialising. So he spent the early morning in his study in pyjamas and dressing gown, signing the documents delivered by his chief secretaries.
William Massey, the house’s next lengthy occupant, renamed it Ariki Toa, ‘home of the chief’. During the First World War the Masseys used it for patriotic activities.
In 1925, Gordon Coates called Ariki Toa ‘a happy home … a haven of rest’. That year he rebuilt the conservatory and added an enclosed veranda above it. Four years later Cabinet again tried to sell it. ‘Sunless and damp, and the gardening costly and unnecessary’, an official sniffed. But again, public protests prevented a sale.
Ariki Toa’s role as the prime minister’s official house ended in the 1930s when George Forbes moved out. In 1935 the new prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, a frugal bachelor, made the break permanent by choosing a smaller ministerial home in Molesworth Street. Three years later, dying of cancer, he moved into Hill Haven, 66 Harbour View Road, in the suburb of Northland. Prime Minister Peter Fraser decided to remain in Hill Haven throughout the 1940’s preferring its scenic outlook.
Sidney Holland preferred a place with a guest bathroom. He renovated 41 Pipitea Street in Thorndon. This brick house is close to Parliament, but its surroundings were still industrial, ‘with a brewery chimney quite close, a paint factory next door, commercial offices (B.P. Ltd) on the eastern boundary.’ The section had a small lawn in front and room for a clothes line behind, but the house was too small to entertain official guests.
Holland’s National successor Keith Holyoake also lived there. In 1966 the air was still ‘sodden with the smell of hops and malt from the brewery up the street, and jackhammers are busy tearing down Victorian ruins all around.’ But the economy-minded Holyoake dismissed all suggestions of building a new official residence. The Holyoakes put buckets under the leaks in the kitchen roof whenever it rained. Today Pipitea Street is still an important part of New Zealand politics and serves as the home of the National Party offices
Holyoake was not as eccentric as he might seem. Ministerial houses were seldom very flash. Every time the government changed, prime ministers-elect trotted around these places, often still occupied by defeated ministers and their families. In November 1972, for example, Norman Kirk and his wife, Ruth, went house hunting. Because they knew Holyoake had let 41 Pipitea Street deteriorate, they did not even bother to look at it. They chose a Seatoun house recommended by their ministerial driver.
The Ministry of Works looked after ministers’ houses. As many had been bought only to be demolished for motorways and other development, it skimped on their maintenance and furnishing. Television came to New Zealand in 1960, but the Ministry waited until 1965 before providing TV aerials for ministers’ houses. Ministers paid for their own sets until 1973, when Cabinet made them free – provided the screens did not exceed 23 inches (58 cm).
In 1976 New Zealand regained an official home for its prime minister for the first time in 40 years. Ten years earlier, Jocelyn Vogel had given Vogel House in Lower Hutt to the Crown to mark 100 years of Parliament in Wellington. Designed in 1933 by Helmore and Cotterill, it was one of the Hutt Valley’s last large houses designed for a family and domestic staff.
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon rushed to refurbish Vogel House in time for a dinner for the visiting Queen Elizabeth II in February 1977. He was our first modern leader able to offer VIPs proper hospitality. David Lange, who succeeded Muldoon in 1984, never liked Vogel House and kept his family in Auckland. He ‘camped’ in a tiny first floor apartment in the house, moaning about the staff folding the edge of the toilet paper in neat triangles, hotel-style. Finding it too far from the Beehive, he saw out his term as prime minister in a flat near Parliament.
After Michael Joseph Savage rejected Tinakori Street, it became ‘the murder house’, a children’s dental clinic. The Public Works Department raised seedlings at the front of the grounds. In 1977 the dental nurses moved out, leaving the property empty. In the early to mid-1980s the Ministry of Works repiled the building and fitted sprinklers, but it remained underutilised. Some wanted to redevelop the site, but the Thorndon Society and the Historic Places Trust defended its heritage qualities. It is a Category I historic place on the Trust register. In the late 1980s, Minister of Internal Affairs Michael Bassett decided to restore 260 Tinakori Road as an official prime ministerial residence. The conservation of Premier House, as they renamed it, was a 1990 Sesquicentennial project. That year Geoffrey Palmerand his wife, Margaret, became its first official residents.
Premier House has housed every subsequent prime minister. Some made it a family home, but Helen Clark and John Key kept their families in Auckland, using Premier House as a workday squat. ‘There’s a little corner which has the bedroom and the bathroom, and … I go into the bedroom somewhere around midnight or later,’ Clark said in 2002. ‘The alarm goes in the morning, I wander along to the kitchen, I turn on the jug and make a cup of tea. Then I’m out of there.’
Nevertheless, Premier House hosts VIPs, such as Prince William, who attended a barbecue there in 2010. It is also used by politicians and officials for meetings and is the venue for events such as awards ceremonies. Premier House was one of the few Crown-owned ministerial houses retained by the government recently after it reformed ministerial expenses, terminated many leases and put ministers on to flat allowances to cover their Wellington expenses.
Information provided by NZhistory.net.nz
Previous facts of the day: Speaker's flat, Urgency, Jernigham Wakefield, Sidney Holland and the Suicide Squad, 1951 the last majority election, The Business Committee, New Zealand's First Parliament in Auckland, 1947 Greymouth beer boycott, So goes Hamilton so goes the nation, Australia and Compulsory Voting
Standing Order of the Day - SO311 - Recommittal
A motion to recommit a bill to a committee of the whole House may be moved after the order of the day for the third reading of the bill has been called. There is no amendment or debate on the question.
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Turned up in Auckland to play the satellites for the WPT New Zealand today. What a joke!
Despite it being a rebuy tournament, they wouldn’t let a player rebuy at the beginning and the 1st supervisor had no idea so had to call another.
Dealers are being trained but literally just starting out and are awful, players telling them how to do it nearly every hand.
They won’t start at scheduled times. Tough, they say.
But the worst part is just how bad the level of service is. Just witnesssed the table supervisor dressing a player down because he said they would have to do better for WPT. They refuse to open a cash table this afternoon because “no dealers available” despite having only two tables for satellite. Have to wait 45 minutes for more staff.
This is the worst of the backwater casinos I’ve played in. It’s like no one working in the “poker room” (ten tables) actually knows how to play poker or how the game works.
The WPT NZ could be an absolute train wreck if this is any indication.

Hey Guys,
Was wondering if anyone here is actually from NZ ( im in Auckland ) and had any reg home games? long shot but worth a try :) Only having 1 casino here sucks!

So I'm about to be a senior in college and I just studied abroad in Australia. I'm already thinking of places I want to go in the summer of 2016 when I graduate college if I don't have a job offer or anything.
Places I went to when I was abroad:
Thailand: LOVED THAILAND. I wasn't a huge fan of Bangkok, but LOVED the Thai New Year Celebrations on Khao San Road. Also went to Ko Samui where I got stung by a stingray and Koh Tao which I fell in love with. I was only there for a week and on a tour, so would definitely go back. I love Thai food and the people were SO nice.
Everywhere else I backpacked and couchsurfered.
Hong Kong: HATED HONG KONG. The people were SO rude. I've been to Paris and honestly Hong Kongers were 10x worse than Parisians. I went to Starbucks at the mall once and people refused to let me even sit next to them when there were plenty of seats open. Don't get me wrong it was pretty, but the people made it un-enjoyable. Some friends at the Hostel went out one night and taxi drivers would pick up locals and drive right past the Americans.. Also thought it was too overcrowded. I ended up having to go the police station to ask for directions. I was told once, "I don't speak English" in a perfect accent. Honestly it was pretty sad given I was so excited to go. And I did go out one night and didn't find the night life very pleasant. Wasn't a fan of the specific expats I encountered either.
Macau- I LOVED MACAU. It took me a while to find my way out of the casino's and onto the Portuguese tourist attractions, but I loved the mix of Portuguese and Cantonese culture. The people were very friendly and went out of their way to help me unlike in HG. Honestly I loved every minute of Macau (besides the Casino's).
Singapore: I really liked Singapore MUCH better than HG. The people were so nice. It was way easier for me to get around with the subway. It was probably too much like America though and after a couple days I got very bored. I thought there was more to do in HG, but I liked the vibe way better here.
Buton, Indonesia: Was supposed to be a day trip from Singapore and I was there a 1-2 hours and hated it. I went back on the ferry to Singapore. The taxi drivers literally overcharged me for everything and I ran out of money. None of the locals spoke much English here so it was hard to get around given the language barrier. I was going to go to Johor Bahru in Malaysia instead, but I was told it wasn't the safest place for a Westerner to go by myself and there were bad traffic jams so didn't want to miss my flight.
Auckland, NZ: LOVED Auckland. Kiwi's were so much nicer than Aussies. They went out of their way to help me. NZ is a much more progressive country IMO. I really loved everything about Auckland especially K Road. I had more intellectual conversations with Kiwi's in one week than I did five months in Australia. Didn't venture outside of Auckland though (had some difficulties) so would love to go to the South Island one day.
In Australia, I lived an hour south of Sydney in Wollongong. So went to Sydney pretty frequently and traveled mostly in NSW. Visited Sunshine Coast but it rained my whole visit, but did end up going to Brisbane to visit Lone Pine which was cool. Brisbane looked nice. Melbourne was okay, but not really into coffee and didn't get that "city vibe" and thought people were too pretentious with the whole hating on Sydney thing.
I've only been to France in Europe when I was 17 (21 now). I hated every minute of it, but that was mostly due to a bad host family experience. Really loved going to Normandy due to the history, Versailles was amazing, and Brittany was gorgeous.
My grandpa was born in Sicily, so I've always wanted to go there and my grandmother's side is from Bari and Calabria, so if I ever went to Italy I'd be more interested in the South and Sicily (although Sardinia and French Corsica are other island I'd love to visit).
I don't really much much desire to go to South America. Brazil would be cool though. The only know a little French from college/high school (not enough to get by), I don't speak any other languages.
So I've thought mainly about going back to Southeast Asia. I love history so Vietnam would be really cool and would be interested in Siem Reap and exploring Thailand some more. Or I've also considered Eastern Europe- Prague, Budapest, & Warsaw for starters. But I have studied the Holocaust before, so would like to visit various sites in Poland. Thought about the Baltic's with that trip: Estonia looks cool and I hear it's not too far if I wanted to go to Finland. Not interested in Russia or any other homophobic/ultra-conservative country. I know Eastern Europe isn't as liberal as Western Europe minus Prague, but I hear some people wouldn't even classify it as "Eastern Europe" to begin with.
I would also obviously love to explore Western Europe: UK, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia, etc but it's pretty expensive. I will probably be on a backpackers budget. Amsterdam would be cool though given I am a women, gender, and sexuality studies major.
I'm also a theatre major, so I'm into arts. Like I've stated earlier, I like history specifically World War 2 or Vietnam stuff. Really loved going to a Canadian World War 1 park in Picardy, France though where I saw WW1 trenches. I'm not really that outdoorsy, so not into hiking mountains or camping. I do like beaches, but don't want to spend my whole vacation laying on the beach. I am not the relaxing type: I know it sounds bad haha.
I actually thought about teaching English in South Korea when I graduate, but that'd be too expensive for this trip. Iceland looks like it'd be pretty cool, but expensive.
Anyways any suggestions? Sorry for the lengthy post.