I don’t know anything about this singer. Looking online, he doesn’t appear to say where he was born originally, although he’s based in Oz. And tours frequently in NZ as well.

Seems like a big boy as well. Too many feeds down at the local RSL maybe.

@Zealandia lol. I took him to be a Zealander. Doesn't have an Australian drawl but he does seem to live in North NSW - just north of him their are close to ½ million New Zealanders improving the average IQ of both their homeland & Australia.
He has an extensive YouTube channel of about 18 CDs. I think the one DVD that I watched was an early job. He looks like he has slimmed down considerably .
youtube UCefOAyMRTGA4-PSqRG56DZQ

@FrayedBear Well, I suppose you’re glad that I’m not going to join the throng of kiwis increasing the IQ of both sides of the ditch.

Can’t recall if I told you, I have to stay here anyway, need to be in the country for five years before I’m eligible to punch the ticket for National Super. Because I was overseas for so long in Pommy Land, that additional hurdle was implemented. Fair enough. The UK give me 25 years worth of pension when I retire, then the kiwis top it up. Six more years before I start claiming the pension, actually not that long.

Aussie is still exporting its 501 dregs back here. I actually don’t have a problem with that, however it’s a bit unreasonable when a person who was two years old when they left is shipped back. So they picked up their criminal personality at that age. Not sure about that.

@Zealandia I read of a Polish born brought here at about 2 weeks of age. Some 20-30 years later they sent him back to Warsaw where he couldn't speak a word of Polish.
I think after about 3 months begging on the streets outside the Australian embassy they brought him back. Quite remarkable.

@Zealandia now what were you saying about increasing the average IQ?

@FrayedBear The change in overall IQ when I visited Oz was only temporary and unable to discern which way it went.

Am back now.

I was unable to understand the logic of a shop selling smokes and Ugg boots though.

@Zealandia is that simple logic problem or the fact you were drunk & upside down when you took the photo?

@FrayedBear We’re all permanently upside down here according to people in the Northern Hemisphere! It’s an annoying bug.

Is is common for shops to sell smokes and Ugg boots at the same time? Thought I’d ask you since you are a Victorian State resident.

@Zealandia lol, as I haven't smoked for 23 years & 7 days now & never buy Ugg brand I don't notice what they advertise or sell.
Given the huge decrease in the number of smokers & obvious accessibility to the artificially addiction enhanced tobacco product at supermarkets & petrol stations, I'm surprised that tobacconists still exist.

One thing that the illegal sale of tobacco without customs excise enable me to do was to taste & enjoy unadulterated pure tobacco. It is wonderful & rich in flavour just dried leaf that is then remoistened & chopped with no chemical additives. That is what people should have been campaigning for not the wholesale approbation of tobacco use. If people wish to risk their lives let them if it doesnt interfere with others. And on the health codt burden the sum of expense from obese, unfit people as well as canceris far greater than that from tobacco.

@FrayedBear Pleased that you kicked the smoking habit. Thankfully I never took it up.

You must have known the right people to buy your own boot leg tobacco!

NZ doesn’t have standalone tobacco shops, people mainly buy the smokes at corner shops (dairys, now that’s a specifically kiwi term) or the supermarket, plus petrol stations.

There’s lots of standalone vaping shops, they are everywhere.

I recall my Dad being grumpy when I was about 8, when he gave up smoking pipes.

Presumably OZ grows tobacco. I had to do a bit of a search to find out that commercial tobacco growing stopped here in the mid nineties.

Interestingly, it’s legal to sell tobacco seeds. You can buy using online trading sites like Facebook Marketplace.

And you can grow your own for personal consumption.

“Individuals may manufacture up to 15kg of home-grown tobacco per adult per year for personal use. This equates to between 50 and 100 cigarettes per person per day, depending on tobacco content.”

NZ’s new government has scrapped the Labour law that would have banned smoking on the basis of age.

Very few people smoke here, as the cost for a packet is so high.

@FrayedBear By the way, I caught up today with a good mate living in Oz, you won’t be surprised to find out that he’s living in Queensland!

David did live in Melbourne before, plus Tasmania. He’s not coming back either. Wife is English and the visa is rolled over every five years. I think she might be able to apply for Ozzie citizenship now.

@Zealandia "You must have known the right people to buy your own boot leg tobacco!" - lots of laughter - the headman of the local FNP was my contact. Sadly the farmer growing that beautiful baccy was arrested & charged. They probably threw the key away. IMO it was one of the few good things to come out of Queensland.

@Zealandia "Presumably OZ grows tobacco. I had to do a bit of a search to find out that commercial tobacco growing stopped here in the mid nineties" I remember seeing fields of tobacco back in the 1980's. I believe that like NZ, Australian growers were hung out to dry by the big companies in favour of cheaper labour elsewhere.

@Zealandia I'm still addicted & so growing my own & restarting is always a distinct posibility.

@FrayedBear Can you tell me what FNP stands for please?

Presumably the farmer was growing far too much to justify home consumption!

Remember years ago, met someone in the UK who was smoking “Death” cigarettes. Her mate was aware that the ciggies had been discarded at the local dump, they had pilfered as many boxes as they could.

[en.wikipedia.org]

@FrayedBear Yes, you’re probably right, the big tobacco companies probably stopped buying the crop in NZ. Who else could the growers sell to?

@Zealandia FYI
[ato.gov.au]

@Zealandia first nations people - here aka aborigines

@Zealandia NZ aka Maori.

@Zealandia sell to locals cut out the foreigners & middlemen to say nothing of all the harmful additives.

@FrayedBear Thanks, interesting article.

Gotcha re FNP now.

I had a chuckle at the name: Operation Junglevine2. How did they come up with that one?

The big issue here seems to be smuggling through the border, rather than growing. As a result, it’s now illegal to airfreight tobacco, has to come in via surface, I.e. ship.

From a report…..

The consumption gap analysis estimates illicit trade in tobacco in New Zealand was estimated to be 143 million cigarettes in 2022 – 8.4% of the market. This figure provides an important baseline which will be used to measure changes to the market in future years.

Of the regions studied, most activity was found in Auckland, with the main source of illegal cigarettes coming from China and Korea.

Not sure if I’d buy dodgy smokes from those countries! Goodness knows what additives would be included.