National raided $6,000,000,000 infrastructure & flood fund
Tasman, Top of the South Island patiently waits after National raided $6 billion infrastructure fund
Politics
political parties
The left should unite on tax, fast
… before the election starts to get real.
GCSB & NZSIS warn ACT Bill risks NZ’s National Security
Judith Collins was briefed in March 2025 that David Seymour and Bryce Wilkinson’s proposal is incompatible with safeguarding the country from espionage, sabotage and terrorism.
Climate Change and Bumper Sticker Politics
Christopher Luxon has engaged in a classic example of bumper sticker politics by blaming Labour for excessive power prices, not the structure of the power sector. And he has completely ignored the imperitave action that climate change demands the country takes.
A different way of doing politics
Hopefully what we witnessed in Parliament this week will return a trend to the politics of kindness that Jacinda Ardern practised. And one holding respect for Te Ao Māori at its core.
National Wants to Increase Retirement Age to 67
If Luxon and Willis go ahead with it as a policy platform for the 2026 election, and win, a raise in the age of entitlement for national superation will most likely be implemented.
Conduct unbecoming
David Seymour has been criticised for breaching the Cabinet Manual when posting Parliamentary Service funded social media attack ads against academic opponents to the Regulatory Standards Bill.
The mother of the mother of all budgets is unrepentant
Ruth Richardson remains totally convinced that her “mother of all budgets” was appropriate and claims that it was responsible for slaying inflation and promoting a high-growth high-wage high-employment economy.
Cecilia Robinson’s Tend Health Win
For-profit healthcare continues its acceleration under National as second largest private healthcare provider in Australia shuts down
The Auckland Mayoralty
With National aligned Desley Simpson ruling herself out of the Mayoralty race and pledging support for Wayne Brown Auckland’s mayoral contest looks like it will be a two way battle between Brown and Kerrin Leoni.
Trump and Musk: One Big Beautiful Break-up
The world’s richest man has fallen out with the President he helped elect. Elliot Crossan asks: does this mark the beginning of the […]
Homelessness up by 58% in Auckland
$250mn in emergency housing “savings” a year under National, while government increases corrections budget to ~$2b a year, and will surpass NZ’s ”moral and fiscal prison failure prison rate” by 2026
The trouble with using AI bots
After David Seymour’s claim that 99.5% of submissions against his Regulatory Standards Bill were generated by AI bots it is relevant to review the time that he was implicated in the purchase of Russian sex bots to bolster his Instagram following.
Louisa Wall – Project 2025 Is Silencing Māori Dissent — and It Didn’t Even Start Here
The attempt to punish Te Pāti Māori MPs for a haka protest is not just an internal matter—it reflects a broader, global effort to suppress dissent, erase cultural expression, and centralise power under the guise of order.
Work will not be so safe
Brooke Van Velden has announced changes to Workplace safety laws that will see prosecutions of Employers decrease but prosecutions of workers start.
Shut up you dickhead
Chris Bishop has chosen to say loudly and publicly “what a load of crap” during a song celebrating Te Reo Maori performed during the Aotearoa Music Awards ceremony.
Seeing Is Believing
A video post, starring Christopher Luxon, Chris Hipkins, Nicola Willis and Winston Peters. Featuring Debbie Ngarewa-Packer as star prosecutor.
Which animal does Labour resemble?
In the United States Republicans have been compared to Apex Predators and Democrats to a deer in headlights. Which animal does Labour resemble and which animal should it aspire to resemble?
Nicola Willis’s Debt Higher Than All 6 Years of Ardern Government
Current & planned debt will surpass Labour’s full term debt in less years. Willis also admitted Budget 2024 had a higher deficit than all of Grant Robertson’s bar Covid.
The weird similarities between the Trump and the Willis budgets
A comparison of Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Budget and Nicola Willis’s recent budget disclose remarkable similarities.
Liam Hehir needs to relearn his civics
Generally I like reading Liam Hehir over at the The Blue Review. He is usually interesting despite his position. However he asserted that “Parliament Must Rule Itself”. Of course parliament must control itself. But rule itself – no! Voters do that. Parliamentary rules are mainly there to keep a low profile to voters looking at their poor performance. Right now that is inside the privileges committee.
The Government blinks
Faced with the threat of an impassioned filibuster against the Priviliges Committee extreme recommendations the Government yesterday abruptly stopped debate on the committee report by voting to adjourn the debate.
Privileges Committee recommendations are partisan, indefensible and racist
The Privileges Committee recommendation for suspension of three Maori Party MPs for performing a haka in Parliament has been described as appearing to be partisan, indefensible and open to attacks of racism. Parliament’s response tomorrow will show how political the issue has become.
Te Pati Maori and the Privileges Committee
The Government’s desire to heavily punish Maori Party MPs for their haka in Parliament in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill may have a dramatic effect on Budget Week.
The Empire strikes back
National has launched an all out attack on Labour for accusing it of cutting women’s pay, even though this is precisely what it has done.
The Green Budget
An economy for the people, by the people.
Louisa Wall – This Is Not Feminism – It’s Fiscal Evasion Dressed in Lipstick
Louisa Wall eviscerates Government claims about pay equity.
The worst Finance Minister ever?
Future historians may consider Nicola Willis to be the country’s worst Finance Minister, even worse than Rob Muldoon and Ruth Richardson.
Get ready for the Regulatory Standards Bill
Following on from the undermining under urgency of the current Pay Equity scheme the Government intends to introduce the Regulatory Standards Bill which if passed would have a significant adverse effect on collective rights and environmental action.
Rock and a hard place: the under 16 social media ban
Given the complexities and conflict over privacy, can MPs be trusted to design a good law?
The beginning of the end
When the history of the sixth National Government is written I am confident that the events of this week when the Pay Equity system was smashed up will be described as the the beginning of the end.
Vale David Parker MP
David Parker’s Deputy Leader ‘s speech in 2014 at the Wellington Labour Party Conference was the best I ever heard from a Labour Leader. Vision matched values in intensity and scope. Parliament now loses one of its very best.
National wants to make voting harder
National’s recent announcement that it will take away voting rights from all prisoners may be nothing more than a distraction from its real intent, screwing the electoral scrum by making it harder to vote for some of us.
Blind Spots When Playing for Big Stakes
How the Greens Are Setting Candidates Up to Fail
The Greens’ Industrial Strategy: Green Jobs Guarantee and Ministry of Green Works
New Zealanders should be in control of our economy, our jobs and our future. We don’t need to leave our fate to be decided by international shareholders
National yet again wants to take away prisoner voting rights
Despite the prospect of it being struck down by the Courts being very high the Government has announced a plan to reintroduce a prisoner voting ban.