The calendar contains a picture of six South Auckland policewomen fully clothed, dressed in the police issue short sleeve shirts. A Wellington based police officer, Constable Lynley Carrig has said she and many of her colleagues were disgusted at the reinforcing of stereotypes. The officer in charge of the committee which produced the calendar says that by Constable Carrig's logic, photos of male officers in the same calendar also reinforce stereotypes about men. They show young, fit, fully clothed men and women smiling at the camera. If anyone is being discriminated against, it's balding overweight couch potatoes like myself.
Cynics observe that the country without a government runs at least as well as it did with one.
A number of speculations have been made to the effect that NZ First is now leaning more toward National. In any event, the Alliance is well out in the cold, and no one is talking to them. Helen Clark says she can't talk to Jim Anderton unless she has a guarantee of confidentiality. Other armchair experts observe that if there is a National - NZ First Alliance, Winston Peters may face a revolt. In Wellington, a furniture truck travelling near the airport was blown on its side.