Wow. Fascinating!

Sadly I thought this year's WC was the most disappointing WC I've seen - except for perhaps the 1994 one. Both involved the favourite team deservedly winning but also completely failing to light up the tournament. Most of the big teams and big players didn't really step up to the mark and it seemed that risk-free defence was more highly valued than creativity or attack.

NZ's contribution, was to exemplify the key lesson of this year's world cup = that a stodgy, boring team can crush the spirits of better, more creative and visionary teams.

Sorry, but how is becoming a stereotypical gay man going to address PA's reputation for being comfortably artistically middle class white and leftish? Without wanting to humourlessly miss the joke, wouldn't it be better to become a different stereotype - maybe a Samoan solo mother or a Southland Baptist preacher, or anybody from Urewera

And so from the Islamic state of Malaysia emerges this long simmering plot. Lucky the ever-watchful US citizenry uncovered it before the Hasheds got to unleash the second stage of their plan. (Throwing actual anthrax in large handfuls onto the streets?)

Muslims eh? Wouldn't be surprised if they were all homosexuals too.

I guess, but 'closing the gap' $300 over four of NZ's most prosperous years - I hope the govt still has its sights set a bit higher than that.

The percentages seem a little misleading to me: 41% on is $14,800 (Maori) is about $6,100, while 31% on $18,600 (Pakeha) is about $5,800. So, the gap has closed $300 rather than 10%. Not to be sniffed at but but also hardly overwhelming.

Thank you. After National Radio’s thirty-ish stories yesterday and today on the Asian ethnicity overtaking Maori at some unspecified time in the future I was desperate for someone to point out that, well, Asia is not an ethnicity as such but a rather large continent. As for the New Zealanders – what I’m most amused about the graph in you story is that the ‘New Zealanders’ have been placed right at the far end of the graph in amongst all the minorities. Was this actually their political goal? Anyway, they have now turned this particular set of statistics into a farce. Shame they won’t see it that way.