Has New Zealand really come a long way since its days under the British governance? Not that one would care as we are too busy self-inflating what we do. TVNZ self-promoting their news as being honest, reliable, Kiwi news when most of it is foreign broadcasting. They can barely get the weather right as they look pretty on national TV. The fishing industry are bleating on how they are looking after the fisheries so well that the self-proclaimed guardians of that industry feel as if it's necessary to advertise their intents. The dairy industry also has been busy advertising on TV telling us just how good they are looking after the land and waterways, as well as which cow is where and what it is eating. Wonder if they can tell us when it does ones and twos? Now we have the two major parties full of promises, like we hadn't heard that before. Yes ladies and gentlemen, all those migrants come to this country for a good reason – to escape what we are becoming. We are indeed following the rest of the world and that includes all its troubles. Time for some serious change I feel.

R Stewart, Te Puke.