Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern and other former Labour ministers have declined a request to appear publicly to give evidence at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19.The Speaker has 'named' Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick for refusing to leave the House. Fellow politicians including Te Pāti Māori's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and New Zealand First's Winston Peters have spoken in her defence, the former re-using the 'C-word' in Parliament, and the latter defending Swarbrick despite voting to have her ejected.Education Minister Erica Stanford has imposed a near-total ban on Māori words in new additions to a series of books used to teach five-year-olds to read. She says the inclusion of Māori words can confuse young readers. But Primary school principals say the evidence doesn't support that=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social