Geoff Upson says he has drawn about 100 penises around potholes in a bid to force his local council to fix them

A New Zealand man who began drawing very large penises around the potholes in his home city of Auckland in 2018 in the hopes of attracting the attention of his local council has been threatened with police action.

In a video, road safety campaigner Geoff Upson made after the most recent addition to his oeuvre, saying: “I’m about sick of calling Auckland transport.”

Our country has already set examples on issues like women’s suffrage and anti-nuclear policy. It can do the same again

Aotearoa New Zealand is a pretty good place to live – if you’re human, that is. If you happen to be a non-human animal, chances are you’re not doing very well.

Inhumane treatment of animals is widespread. It is routinely used in farming (the dairy industry is among the worst perpetrators, as forced pregnancies, separation of calves from their mothers, and slaughter are routine practices); conservation (poison and traps are commonly used to control “pests”); scientific research (430,000 animals were used or bred for experiments last year); and entertainment (such as horse racing and rodeo).

Her words might have sounded tough to a domestic audience but in fact they’ll go down fine in China

Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government is achieving something no other western country has done – staying on side with China. Her latest speech on relations with China once again shows the west how deft diplomacy is done – with a carefully choreographed message that reiterates New Zealand is not joining the western aggression against the country’s biggest trading partner, while at the same time voicing some necessary hard words about human rights abuses.

The prime minister gave a highly anticipated keynote speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland on Monday, which clarified her government’s orientation to China following a controversial speech two weeks ago by the foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta. Mahuta had said that New Zealand won’t simply follow the Five Eyes security alliance’s condemnation of China. Today, Ardern essentially endorsed Mahuta’s distancing from western allies, arguing her government would make its own decisions on how to communicate its concerns about human rights abuses. Then speaking in a Q and A session she used a sporting analogy, saying “I’m often asked which lane are we swimming in. We swim in New Zealand’s lane.” This is a very clear rebuff to the increasing pressure from western allies for her government to take a harder line.

Judith Collins may trail badly in the polls, but MPs should only think about replacing her if a natural alternative leader emerges

Followers of baseball in the US have a saying: winning fixes everything. A team can suffer player scandals and be beset by dysfunctional management. If they’re hitting enough home runs, however, things don’t tend to fall apart.

The corollary of this would be that losing breaks everything. And while it’s a bit trite to compare sports to politics, New Zealand’s opposition National party resembles nothing if not a losing baseball team. Thumped in last year’s general election, conceding a rare absolute parliamentary majority to Jacinda Ardern’s Labour , nothing seems to have gone right for the party that was once called the natural party of government in New Zealand.