Simon Williams

@JosephMooneyMP As you say anonymity enables poor behavior. By using my name I own my opinions and the consequences of them. It would be nice if some anonymous users were willing to do the same. My biggest frustration is a lack of actual dialog. Ppl just block and move on. 🤦

Whether to debate anonymously is a personal choice, and one worth respecting. The whistleblower, the abuse survivor, the dissident under a repressive regime - their need for protection is real. These are not trivial concerns. But something broader has happened. Across our digital public squares, concealing your identity has become the norm rather than the exception. Millions of people now feel they cannot express an honest view under their own name without facing consequences that outweigh the value of speaking. We have quietly accepted that open participation in public debate is too risky. That is a profound cultural shift - and not one we consciously chose. The debates that shaped Western civilisation were not conducted anonymously. The barons who stood openly behind the Magna Carta at Runnymede knew the personal cost could be everything. Luther stood before the Holy Roman Emperor at Worms and refused to recant. The 56 men who signed the American Declaration of Independence did so knowing they were committing an act of treason against the British Crown - and that the price of failure was death. Their courage wasn’t incidental to the argument. It was the argument. The willingness to be known was a moral statement: I believe this enough to own it. So why do so many of our great debates now happen with the digital equivalent of a paper bag over our head? We inherited anonymity as a product design choice and rationalised it as a virtue. The architects of our major social media platforms built anonymity in from the beginning - not as a principled commitment to free expression, but because disinhibited users generate more engagement. More outrage. More clicks. What was engineered to maximise attention has normalised a culture of fear. And here is the irony: the anonymity is one sided. Your identity may be hidden from me and from most of the world, but it is not hidden from the platforms themselves. The device in your pocket, your location, your browsing history, your network - the tech companies know exactly who you are. The paper bag exists for everyone except the people who built it. Anonymous debate doesn’t just corrode courage - it corrupts the information itself. The paper bag doesn’t just hide the face. It hides the stake. We have come to treat the expectation of consequence as a reason not to speak, rather than as the normal friction of honest discourse. A true contest of ideas, conducted openly, is how the best ideas win. We built systems that removed that friction. Then wondered why public discourse feels weightless and vicious at the same time. This doesn’t need a law or a platform policy. It needs an individual decision to be courageous by many of us - that the freedom to speak and be known for what we believe in is worth more than the comfort of speaking without consequence. That’s a culture worth fighting for.

@Infideliter2022 Dementia is an ugly long goodbye. Grief stretched out. I have learnt to enjoy the "moments" even if Mum isn't really Mum anymore. Kia kaha arohanui

1st photo Mothers Day 2024. 2nd photo Mothers Day 2026. 😢 I hate that dementia is slowly stealing Mum from us. Love your parents while you have them. While they understand. While they know who you are.❤️

@aniobrien Mature and NZ media in one sentence. 😱 I haven't heard that in a while. 🤣

It is next level petty for media to use a photo of me that is about 8 or 9 years old when I have lost more than 60kg. Really mature, guys.

@bobble05132522 There used to be a café francais in Arrowtown and you could order in French. Loved it...a chance to practice the language.... and eat good food. Didn't make the news though. 🤦

Te reo only Cafe and owner....🙄

@nickofnz That's ironic. I'm in the Netherlands and they are facing rising fuel prices and are not happy about it. Also did you know they have an amazing motorway system....up to 6+ lanes at times. So easy to navigate too....even with so many cars!

The NZ Green Party making lots of sense on the great need and opportunity to replace fossil fuels with homegrown solar generation. Electrification will reduce pollution and our exposure to the rising cost of living driven by energy shocks and oil wars. rnz.co.nz/news/political…

@kiwialliance @Bridgetpee You have pay equality its in NZ Law since 1960 in the public sector and 1972 in the private sector. Pay equity is not the same. Don't conflate them. Pay equity is an ideological insanity that is so subjective it can never be agreed on.

@Bridgetpee We’ve (every female worker) been trying to get equity and equality of pay ALL our working lives and thought we were close.

My mother said the same thing a few weeks ago. She’s 87

@Fensedge1 @winstonpeters Progressive (Australia) was never Woolworths until recently. Woolworths NZ was owned by Lion Nathan then sold to a Hong Kong outfit who introduced BIG Fresh in the 90's. It was Woolworths v Progressive v Foodstuffs back then.

@winstonpeters Great policy... except start with Australians exploiting our gullibility by breaking up woolworths first... once was Woolworths, Countdown, Foodtown, 3 Guys, and a few others I forget the name of

NZFirst Campaign Policy Announcement: NZFirst Will Break Up the Supermarket Duopoly, Bring Food Prices Down for Kiwis New Zealand First is today announcing an election policy to end the supermarket duopoly - breaking their stranglehold, backing kiwi suppliers, and delivering fairer prices at the checkout for kiwi families. For too long, New Zealanders have faced rising grocery bills while Woolworths and Foodstuffs control more than 80 percent of the grocery market. The Commerce Commission has previously found those supermarket giants earning around $1 million a day in excess profits. Meanwhile kiwi families are choosing between heating and eating. The massive imbalance is being felt across the supply chain - recently a grower received just 60c per kg of peas, while those same peas retail for as much as $5.79. The current system sees job losses and uncertainty hit food producers such as McCain Foods and Heinz Wattie's - it means less for producers, less for workers, and more pressure on families. New Zealand First will introduce legislation to reform the system and break up Foodstuffs into two nationwide cooperatives based on brand: one for New World and Four Square, and another for Pak’nSave - putting both in direct competition with Woolworths New Zealand. Real competition means real pressure to lower prices, improve value, and treat suppliers fairly. Our policy will include tougher penalties, faster investigations, and real enforcement powers for the Commerce Commission - penalties for serious breaches will be lifted to match Australia, including fines of up to $10 million, three times the gain, or 10 percent of turnover. The role of the current toothless Groceries Commissioner, belatedly established by Labour in 2023, will also be reformed giving the position the proper powers to investigate, make binding decisions, and impose penalties directly - not just sit on the sidelines and give warnings. We will also address the supermarket giants’ stranglehold over who gets access to the shelf and who doesn’t. When they control the pathway from farm to shelf, they control the price. A new framework for industry rules will be introduced under the Commerce Act 1986, allowing targeted action to fix competition problems more quickly without waiting for lengthy legislative change – it will ensure kiwi producers are no longer pushed out or squeezed off the shelf by a system that favours the biggest players. The days of easy profits and zero accountability for the supermarket giants need to end. Hardworking kiwis need real action to tackle the price of food at the supermarket.

@Simon_Ingari Who gets an hour for lunch? 🤔🤷‍♂️

No Slack message. No “network issue.” No dramatic excuse. At 4:18 PM, HR finally texted. Gen Z replied and said, “I realized this isn’t aligned with what I’m looking for.” Boss just stared at the phone. - No shouting. - No argument. - Just a decision. That’s when the team realized something. When people say “Gen Z lacks commitment,” what they really mean is: Gen Z doesn’t stay to be convinced, pressured, or guilted into a bad deal. They listen carefully. They test the reality. And when it doesn’t match the promise, they leave. Not after months. Not after burnout. After lunch. It’s not disrespect. It’s efficiency. And honestly, after everything the old generation normalized… Can you really blame them?

A Gen Z joined the team. Week one. During onboarding, the manager said, “Lunch break is 1 to 2.” Gen Z nodded. At 1:00 PM, He stood up and said, “Going for lunch.” Everyone nodded. 2:00 PM passed. Then 3:00 PM. ↓↓

@bighairynetwork But she didn't and hasn't. There was no data to support the mandates regarding transmission following 'vaccination' but she went and did it anyway. She is welcome to explain that to me personally at anytime.

#BHN "Tell people what you know, even when it's hard, tell people what you know" Jacinda Ardern #nzpol #nzpolitics

@beliEli59 @aniobrien Kids are not learning at school for many reasons... Bloated "curriculum" that includes skills that were once taught by families. Curriculum changes by successive govts. Phonics are they good or bad? Lack of parental involvement in learning - reading with or to children.

@subversivesi @aniobrien Some kids are not learning at school. They may learn to read while learning the road code.

"Māori and Pacific young people hold drivers licence's at much lower rates than their Pākehā counterparts" - What are the reasons for this that cannot be explained by class/economic analysis? If it is literally about race, what is it that causes the lower rates? Culture? Attitude? What one half of their ancestry did to the other half? I am not saying the disparity doesn't exist, I am just questioning if it is a race thing or a economic thing. rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-k…

@heroesatwork Do you not understand how democracies work, We, in NZ have an election in November so feel free to vote and we will see how the result shakes out.

Can we follow suit here in NZ? This Coalition is a disaster - we know it, they know it and they know we know.

@beliEli59 @aniobrien We cannot keep pushing responsibility towards schools and teachers. We already waste so much time on non-core functions. Education needs to return to its basics and be given the time and space to do so.

@aniobrien Kids need a heap of parental support from parents to get their license. If you are a poor reader too, and I’m talking all kids, it is a scary or seemingly impossible. Do they run lessons in secondary schools? If not, they should.

@AucklandIsland It is short sighted to blame the current govt. Years of of socio/economic mismanagement by Labour and National at our nations expense has created our current problems. We need to prioritize ourselves BEDORE feeding the rest of the world.

'Do you like cooking? Yes, I do. But before I went to the foodbank, I'd gone two days with just a Cup A Soup and one day with absolutely nothing.' This in New Zealand, a country that can feed 40 million. Thanks coalition government... 1news.co.nz/2026/04/11/som…

@nickofnz You sound envious. Ppl are free to make there own choices. If you were less dogmatic people might listen. Ps. Currently on holiday in Europe...its a big beautiful world out there. 🌍

I think big Utes in cities, SUVs, pleasure boats, overseas holidays and private jets are all about to become socially unacceptable. #iran

@kapiti_coaster So in 2017 there was 342 FTE staffing In 2023...444 FTE staffing In 2025 there was 425 FTE staffing.... So did productivity/efficiency increase. Nope... stop whinging ... we need to shrink govt spending and reducing staffing is one of the ways.

Yet more public service cuts. Union hits out at proposal to cut more jobs at Te Puni Kōkiri rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-k…

@HuiaSue The OIA was regularly ignored during Covid19 by the former govt and the current one has continued to obfuscate as well. If anything it needs strengthening.

Geoffrey Palmer: Open govt requires transparency The public’s trust in government will continue diminishing if the Official Information Act is not maintained with vigour, writes former PM. #OIA #nzpol newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/08/geo…

@heroesatwork So amazing that she blocks everyone who tries to debate her.

Another amazing past PM! She calls out this coalition of Cabbages regularly - thanks Helen

@nicholasphilp @jacindaardern Jacinda did not care when she created to levels of society with no data to back up the mandates. Two family members lost jobs...but at least they didn't take the jab. I would love to talk one on one with her about this one day.

💯 It doesn't matter if you agree with her politics or her history, this proposal below, is true. Your average citizen craves understanding & overt care. @jacindaardern for all her faults, projects this above and beyond any other politician in NZ.

@nickofnz More like.....a daily reminder that we need to have a robust fuel and energy plan as a nation that is not captured by a flawed climate change ideology.

Desperately needed NZ-bound oil tankers have been delayed by Cyclone Vaianu. Daily reminders that we have to ditch fossil fuels ASAP.

@nickofnz What makes you think you can decide who drives what.....where does that stop? How far does your blind adherence to climate change ideology go!

Big Utes and SUVs should be banned in our towns and cities. They’re dangerous, antisocial gas guzzlers. The data shows most are not needed 👇