The newly-announced Mana-Maori electoral deal is already causing acrimony, writes Bryce Edwards.

COMMENT: There's something about animal farming and meat-eating that defies rational gravity.

COMMENT: If we had more people in Parliament who would live long enough to experience the results of their actions, we'd all be better off.

COMMENT: Personal battles are waste of energy when tackling climate change requires us all.

COMMENT: The teddies and cupids Valentine's Day brings are vile but dedicating a day to romance is still a lovely idea, writes Lizzie Marvelly.

COMMENT: If risible views heard on plane above Godzone are pakeha norm then help us all.

Paul Tapsell A_140308jb09bop.JPGTE ARAWA TRIP: Hariata Kereopa and Ellen Tamati in front of one of the buses at Ko Te Hamatuti Marae

COMMENT: February 6 marks the one day out of 365 on which we are encouraged to contemplate our unique and imperfect history.

COMMENT: The US has the best raptors for falconry - eagles, falcons, hawks. I go often. The thought of not going breaks my heart. Yet, here we are.

COMMENT: If there's one thing we can probably all agree on, it's that the slogan "love trumps hate" turned out to be about as useful as tits on a bull.

COMMENT: To block someone is not censorship. It's just that I don't want to hear you, or more to the point, for you to hear me, writes Rachel Stewart.

COMMENT: Let me tell you a story of broken promises, generations of injustice, second-class treatment and now, of political expediency, writes Lizzie Marvelly.

COMMENT: Reliable as clockwork, and right on cue, DairyNZ stepped up to the microphone and shot themselves in the head.

COMMENT: Not everyone is long and lithe - it's time adverts celebrated a range of body shapes and sizes and recognised beauty is diverse.

COMMENT: New tectonic plates for Kaikoura would be a great way to start 2017 but if not world peace will do nicely.

COMMENT: Blame internet giants for allowing fake news to spread globally.

COMMENT: In some parts of the world, girls are forced to miss school when they have their periods. Places like Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and. . . New Zealand.

COMMENT: We urgently need to educate our society about media literacy and critical thinking.

COMMENT: Sadly, the game I once loved has mutated into a smorgasbord of unsavoury fare.

COMMENT: As a child of the Central North Island I can't think of a better place to be than the Bay of Plenty.

COMMENT: Funding for schools should be focused on what matters most: education.

COMMENT: The deeper I delve into the issue, however, the more I am struck by just how frightening the consequences of prohibition are.

COMMENT: It's time for senior Chiefs players to step forward, and tell us about the team's attitude to women.

COMMENT: Is it too much to ask that both parents take equal responsibility for their children? Or that their workplaces support them equally?

COMMENT: Tribal authorities have an important role to play in lifting the lives and aspirations of their people.

COMMENT: Without any explanation, a decision was made to withdraw a murder charge that shocked and appalled many.The public has not yet been told why.

COMMENT: This the right time to take some risks to lift performance of places with potential, writes Michael Barnett.

Kiwi singing star Lizzie Marvelly has for the first time spoken about her experience with sexual harassment in the music industry.

COMMENT: The most recent issue to get the "more to Kiwi than iwi" treatment - from a disaffected group of extreme, right-wing, former politicians - is water rights.

COMMENT: Trade Minister Todd McClay is not an openly combative politician, writes Fran O'Sullivan.