New Zealand And Palantir
Palantir, founded by Alex Karp and New Zealand citizen Peter Thiel, is at the centre of an array of A.I. driven kill programmes for the US, Israeli and other militaries, including the NZDF.
Social issues
uncategorized
Reformism or bust?: Making the best of a bleak future
Some initial ideas about the integrated policy package Labour must consider if it is to meet contemporary challenges posed by emerging populism and the narrowing of the Labour vision over the past five decades
Stop This Madness
Why is Chris Bishop wanting to review the cost of the City Rail Link while at the same time is happy to proceed with roads of national signficance that are very expensive but provide limited financial return?
The Last Old Party Election
Anyone who thinks that New Zealand won’t be touched by the same rapid democratic pessimism as we see in our most comparable democracies, is like those who thought COVID could be stopped from reaching us.
Uncertain Futures and Political Change
The world is turned upside down and challenges progressive politics to change gear.
Luxon is toast
Any time a political leader has to put their position to a vote, they become a dead pigeon. David Lange knew winning the vote didn’t end the matter.
Missing in action
As this Government’s inaction over the oil crisis becomes more pronounced more and more people are noticing that Christopher Luxon is missing in action.
The Government’s National Fuel Plan
Nicola Willis and Shane Jones present the details in the current plan for the Hormz oill crisis.
Neoliberalism is anathema to effective crisis management
Don’t hold on to an old umbrella in a wuthering storm.
What We Can Do
In absence of a concrete leadership plan from this government to address the impending oil supply crisis, this post is for us to simply note down what actions we are taking ourselves.
Failure to lead – is New Zealand is walking into an energy shock?
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be fired over the imperilment of the New Zealand economy by his government’s laissez-faire response to the coming energy shock.
The oil crisis – What would Jacinda do?
Jacinda Ardern led the country through some of the most taxing international crises imaginable. How would she deal with the potential oil shock caused by the Iranian war and how does this compare to Christopher Luxon’s response?
Lies, damned lies and Shane Jones’ Oil Refinery take
Shane Jones has been making a song and dance about how the previous Labour Government was responsible for the closure of the Marsden Point Refinery. But a perusal of the cabinet paper he cites in support shows that this clearly is not the case.
What Should Be In the Plan for New Zealand’s Upcoming Oil Crisis?
In the short and medium term, what should this government do as a plan?
What will Winston do if National sacks Luxon?
Winston Peters has been in this scenario before. The brutal replacement of Jim Bolger as PM in 1997 eventually saw Peters walk away from the coalition. What will happen this time around?
Iran: Compounding Chaos
Trump’s attack on Iran, in cahoots with, or in support of, his regional proxy, Israel, is illegal, but also unconscionable in moral and […]
New Zealand needs regime change
A prime minister who does not understand how vulnerable New Zealand’s economy is to a Middle Eastern war as we have now, is a Prime Minister who should be removed from office.
So much for being the President of Peace
Trump’s attack on Iran is one hell of a way to divert away from the Epstein files.
The United States and Israel attack Iran, again
Trump’s attack on Iran has a high risk of turning into another Afghanistan in which the United States was utterly humiliated.
In support of Chris Bishop
Chris Bishop was forced to eat humble pie this week on his plan to make Auckland a more compact city. And the Government’s backflip on the number of new dwellings makes a mockery of Auckland Council’s recent consultation on Plan Change 120. How councillors are supposed to weigh the new proposal with open minds under that kind of pressure is anyone’s guess.
Fining beggars
Fining beggers will only increase their problems and moving them on will not solve the problem only spread it around.
A US-Israeli attack on Iran could crash the UK, German, NZ and Australian economies.
All the signs are pointing to a new Shock and Awe campaign by the United States, with the goal of a fast knock-out of Iran.. War seldom goes entirely to plan.
The Opportunity Party still hates beneficiaries
If you dismantle welfare, you push many New Zealanders into desperate poverty.
Green Shoots, Anyone?
There is no evidence of immediate improvement in our economy, or of this government improving it.
What price is a “Kiwi” worth?
Some NZ hospitals are going into critical status at least twice a day, turning away patients who are then as twice likely to die. Plus: National isn’t meeting its targets and election day announced.
The Carney speech
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.
But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.
…
The powerful have their power. But we have something too – the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home, and to act together.”
Luxon’s utu
Christopher Luxon is extracting utu on Chris Bishop for his pre Christmas attempted coup by making Bishop eat humble pie on his plans to allow intensification in Auckland’s inner suburbs.
Iran in the vortex – what’s really going on?
To understand what’s going on in Iran, abandon what the Persians invented centuries ago: Manichaeism, black-and-white, political framing.
Happy New Year from The Standard
Happy New Year to all the readers, commenters, and fellow authors/mods at The Standard
Advantage’s 2026 predictions
Advantage gets out the crystal ball and postilated what may happen next year.
The Tunnels project and SH 1 to Wellington Airport
The plan ignores standard traffic planning practice, takes no account of predicted sea level rise and will be obsolete before the last stone is turned.
Much ado about nothing
The Taxpayer’s Union campaign against Nicola Willis’s Socialist handling of the economy, complete with novelty fudge has crashed unceremoniously. The sponsors have clearly spoken.
$270 a year more in energy costs for householders – Government pushes fossil fuel / agricultural corporate welfare
Under a series of science driven policy options, National / ACT and NZ First unanimously choose “catastrophic peril”. Anything for the fossil fuel and farmer industry, but at what cost, NZ?
Jason Walls’ Odd Choices & Chris Bishop’s Sly RMA
Jason Walls is a former Newstalk ZB Political Editor turned TVNZ business correspondent. Under his choices, can we still rely on 1News business reports? Plus: Chris Bishop’s nefarious RMA play
From In and Down to Outward-In: The Big Picture matters
The world is entering a generation of challenges not seen since the late 1930s. New Zealand is better placed than most states to weather this challenge if it prepares now.
Seymour and the mouldy meal
David Seymour’s campaign to reduce the so called excessive spend on Labour’s school lunches have struck a rather awkward problem. At least for one school recently provided lunches were inedible which basically destroys the whole reason for having them.