Perhaps the biggest news from a jam packed news week is how, under National’s Health Ministers Shane Reti & Simeon Brown, Health NZ illegally hid staffing data for over a year to conceal their systemic understaffing of our public health.
In 2026 New Zealand First in all likelihood will be back in power because Labour and National will need them to form government.
Remember Act’s Regulatory Standards Bill which would establish principles of responsible regulation and increase transparency? It appears that not all policy will be subject to these requirements. Especially if they affect rich foreigners buying local mansions.
NZ First’s legacy is now firmly NZ Last
Part 2 of the Adrian Orr / Neil Quigley cover up scandal. Nicola Willis knew and did not divulge the truth until the Ombudsman forced their hand last week.
Shane Jones has publicly attacked Prime Minister Christopher Luxon by accusing him of hiding. The chances of a snap election have just shot up.
Kaipara District Council has circulated throughout the country a Franks Ogilvie opinion suggesting that local government obligations to Māori are limited. But even a cursory review of the opinion suggests that it is flawed and should not be used to minimise respect for Māori.
David Seymour has complained that New Zealand has “some of the most anemic governing arrangements in the world constitutionally” without acknowledging that his Goverment could change this.
PM Luxon has said he wants the repeal completed by the end of the year
Industry experts say Chris Bishop and his party are to blame, but Bishop denies it, saying construction industry leaders are just “wrong”
The Government is accusing Labour of all sorts of bad things for not attending the second week of the Covid-19 inquiry.
Erica Stanford’s removal of te reo words from reading books is the latest of a series of attacks on te reo Māori by this Government.
Ani O’Brien thinks that claims by Chloe Swarbrick that the Government is intentionally increasing homelessness are engaging in hyperbole and are not true. But who is the person engaging in hyperbole?
National say they will “unleash growth”. That may be by selling / exchanging 5 million hectares of conservation land, much of it with “high ecological value” – representing 2/3 of the entire estate.
NCEA wasn’t perfect, but it offered students a chance to grow and succeed in different ways. It recognised that learning isn’t linear or one-size-fits-all. It gave students a chance to find their place – not just in the job market, but in the world. Which brings me to the current Minister of Education, Erica Stanford… Are we confusing confidence with competence?
Half-baked attempts to fix New Zealand’s failing health system has resulted in Aotearoa drifting into a hybrid public-private model that threatens to combine the worst of both worlds. Isn’t it time to seriously review the working model
Another day, another stupid consequence of NACTFirst’s mongrel government policies. North Shore hospital has dedicated a ward for patients who would normally be […]
Zarah Sultana for one – she’s a star. Gaza for another – anti-zionism/semitism won’t work this time. 500,000 signed up in a week for a new party is impressive.
Judith Collins has issued a Bill of Rights report which concludes that National’s proposed changes to the enrollment electoral laws breach the Bill of Rights Act.
Winston Peters is proposing to engage in a Nigel Farage Reform style circus relying on racial division to get him over the line at the next election.
You know a government is in trouble when it has to resort to gerrymander to boost its prospects. The coalition government’s decision to restrict voter enrolment is disgraceful.
Guest post from Louisa Wall. The government’s decision to scrap Sport New Zealand’s transgender inclusion guidelines for community sport is not leadership. It is exclusion by neglect.
For some time now National has been crowing about how they have solved the emergency housing problem in Aotearoa. But a recent report suggests that their policies have cause a surge in the number of homeless kiwis.
Again, we were woken up by a bunch of hoodrats drifting on the intersection by our house. Great clouds of smoke and lots of noise. As you do at three o clock in the morning, my brain started tying this together with recent articles about private helicopters in urban areas, and other forms of antisocial “Fuck You’s” to the rest of us.
The incongruence of transgender fear
Reality Check Radio has on the eve of the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s hearings into the Government’s Covid response released a petition suggesting that Jacinda Ardern and others have been put on trial.
View the inaugural Keith Locke Memorial Debate!
July 3, 2025 | Auckland Irish Club or via livestream
The moot? China is a threat to regional peace
Moderator: Simon Wilson
On the Affirmative Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, Dr Cam Calder, Andrew Dickens
On the Negative Trevor Johnston, Dr Marco de Jong, Dr Arama Rata
National is rolling out comprehensive water corporatisation, across New Zealand. For those who don’t live in Auckland, Wellington, or other centres with commercialised […]
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.
A few things I will be heading to over the coming 5 days in Auckland. A documentary on climate change on pacific islands. Phil Goff on foreign affairs. And the Inaugural Keith Locke Memorial Debate. Moot is “China is a threat to regional peace”. I kind of got caught up in each of these for one reason or another…
Winston Peters’ Ministerial statement in Parliament yesterday was a disgrace. Echoing other FiveEyes leaders such as Keir Starmer, unable to distinguish evil from good, he accused those who can of “moral posturing.”
Snap action outside Ministry of Defence tomorrow 24th 1230. All welcome
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.
Clearly, the world needs to stop talking about Israel’s right to defend itself, and start talking about the world’s need to defend itself against Israel.
“…just days out from the close of submissions on this controversial Bill”
I have visited Iran twice. I loved my time in Iran and found wonderful, cultured and kind people.When I heard the news of Israel’s attack on Iran I was apoplectic with rage and disgust.
