The Standard

Daily review 16/06/2026

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, June 16th, 2026 - 15 comments
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Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

15 comments on “Daily review 16/06/2026 ”

  1. Mercurio 1
    16 June 2026 at 5:40 pm

    "The Children's Minister won't confirm how many participants remain in the government's highly-scrutinised bootcamps."

    Why not?

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/598349/children-s-minister-karen-chhour-won-t-say-how-many-still-in-government-s-bootcamps

    Reply
  2. Mercurio 2
    16 June 2026 at 5:42 pm

    "Media attempted to question Chhour as she left the scrutiny hearing, but Chhour refused by walking away without stopping."

    That's the way!

    Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.1
      16 June 2026 at 7:39 pm

      Fast track Boot camps are blue meat to the nACTf lauranorda brigade, but CoC parties must be laser-focused on something (anything!) new for Election 2026 – a Pothole Patrol or Cone Hotline won't cut it. Cost of Living anyone – anyone?

      "We need to fix the NZ economy because Kiwis are hurting."
      – Nicola Willis, 30 May 2023

      Defending nACTf's record on fixing the economy must be tortuous and painful in deed.

      ‘Nicolanomics’ is truly reactionary, a victim of circumstance and events
      [Newsroom, 28 April 2026]
      It is hard to get a clear view of what “Nicolanomics” is comprised of or amounts to. One possible answer to both questions is “nothing”.

      [comment]
      I knew we were in trouble when she started comparing the national economy to a “household budget”… Now we’ll have a Toyota at a Ferrari price.
      Probably the worst aspect is that we now borrow about 20% more than we did in 2023 to keep the lights on, a combination of reduced government spending, increased interest, and tax refunds to landlords and taxpayers with no compensatory taxes in return has meant the recession has deepened. We can only be “grateful” that many who would have languished on an unemployment benefit costing us even more disappeared to Australia taking their much needed skills with them.

      Why is the economy so shit? [The Spinoff, 18 Sept 2025]
      Interesting. Maybe we are operating in some kind of economic system that disproportionately rewards a few at the top while leaving millions at the bottom to fight over a reducing number of scraps.


      Reply
  3. Incognito 3
    16 June 2026 at 5:59 pm

    It is still possible to argue farming is a sort of backbone, as it does play a structural role in the economy, but it’s much harder to pretend it is a serious growth engine.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-06-2026/farming-stopped-being-new-zealands-economic-backbone-decades-ago

    Very similar to the recent re-posted article by Dave Kennedy here (https://thestandard.nz/local-bodies-the-myth-of-new-zealands-economic-backbone/) with the same conclusion.

    Reply
    • Mercurio 3.1
      16 June 2026 at 6:55 pm

      An agricultural backbone?

      How about a tourism backbone?

      A cultural backbone?

      A Tangata Whenua backbone?

      A Clean-Green backbone"?

      So many opportunities, all subsumed by the dominant narrative, FARMING!!

      It's a con.

      Reply
      • Incognito 3.1.1
        16 June 2026 at 7:55 pm

        It’s a pity we can’t ask Kerry Hulme what bone those people supposedly represent and what identity they may have or want to assume.

        Reply
        • Mercurio 3.1.1.1
          16 June 2026 at 8:13 pm

          She'd be blunt.

          Just found, "Stonefish" at a book sale – perfect condition; looking forward to that.

          Reply
  4. PsyclingLeft.Always 4
    16 June 2026 at 6:17 pm

    Its just fucked. The affluent 1%ers (I know its world wide, but my examples are NZ) with previously unheard amounts of wealth….

    Tech drives Rich List growth with Aotearoa's wealthiest worth total of $129 billion

    In one year !

    The National Business Review's annual rich list has found Aotearoa's wealthiest people are collectively worth $129 billion, up from $102b last year.

    New Zealand now has 26 billionaires, eight more than on the 2025 list.

    IMO a particular scumbag….

    Co-founders of Zuru Toys, brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray retain the top spot with a $20b valuation.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/598201/tech-drives-rich-list-growth-with-aotearoa-s-wealthiest-worth-total-of-129-billion

    Contrast the stark reality for the bottom feeders..and those running, and helping, are majority Volunteers…..

    'We need help': Food rescues facing risk of closure

    A new survey of 35 food rescues found half of them are worried about closing in the next six months mainly due to rising costs such as fuel, and a lack of funding.

    And IMO NACT1 is primarily responsible….but not responsible

    This year's Budget introduced $8 million annually in baseline funding to pay for food distribution and allocated another $7m in next year's budget – but no more after that – causing concern that food banks could close.

    The Good People..

    The Food Basket CHB is a food rescue service, distributing groceries that've been donated by local supermarkets and residents. Unlike traditional food banks, there is no criteria to meet to access the food, and the charity feeds 800 people a week thanks to the help of 40 volunteers.

    Volunteer Jess Mackintosh began helping out when she fell sick several years ago.

    "I've got six kids and I couldn't get out of bed for a couple of years so these guys were really supportive of me and made sure my family was fed so I wanted to give back.

    "There are so many hungry families out there that are trying to put food in their kids mouths and the cost of living is just out of control," she said.

    Waipawa pensioner Stephen Bradley is also volunteering, he's been helping to collect and distribute food for over six years.

    "We have noticed over the last six months the need is getting more and more. People are just finding it really hard

    Minister Louise Entitled Upston…

    The Minister for Social Development, Louise Upston, declined RNZ's request for an interview and in reponse to the call for a national food security policy, she said the government…

    Yeah, Louise, we get the picture : blah, blah, blah. FFS.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/598289/we-need-help-food-rescues-facing-risk-of-closure

    Ditch the pricks '26. Labour and Green .

    Reply
  5. Incognito 5
    16 June 2026 at 6:31 pm

    More feel-good dots connecting and weaving a narrative.

    https://www.labour.org.nz/news/release-labour-to-make-maternity-scans-free/

    Note to Labour’s Comms Team: change the accompanying photo from Chris Hipkins to Ayesha Verrall (https://www.labour.org.nz/news/), thanks.

    Simeon and shills will multiply by 4 and arrive at a fictional ‘cost’ of > $1 billion and other RWNJs will argue that nothing is free except when the Coalition claims so.

    Reply
  6. Muttonbird 6
    16 June 2026 at 8:01 pm

    Despite the claims of Trump's Christo-fascists and their proxies here in NZ, Winston Peters and the trans-exclusionary/conservative women's lib movement, the greatest danger to young women in sport is, as Marama Davidson once famously said, cis-gender men.

    It's important to call this out because the transphobic populist nonsense in conservative culture aligns very closely with empowering men to be unashamed about being aggressive and dominant.

    Hockey in NZ and all over the world is a sport very well subscribed by young women and the really well funded North Harbour national stadium has let them down. Not because of a transgender player but because they didn't act quickly on abuses of power by men.

    https://archive.is/OE8Tu

    Reply
  8. Incognito 8
    16 June 2026 at 9:05 pm

    Some might call it experience but I see arrogance in Paul Goldsmith’s glib answers and ways of avoiding accountability – like Simeon Brown, he knows exactly what he’s doing, unlike Nicola Willis and Chris Luxon.

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/06/16/minister-still-chats-to-broadcasting-chairs-off-record-with-no-little-notebook/

    Reply
  9. Incognito 9
    16 June 2026 at 9:28 pm

    Polarisation and division are rife and influencing the farming community where populist rhetoric is becoming common sense language.

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/06/15/parties-of-the-right-battle-for-the-small-but-mighty-rural-vote/

    Kevin Stone, part of the New Zealand First members’ council, says it is important to support farmers because they are the “lifeblood of this country”. [my italics]

    Nope. Corporate industrial-scale farming is becoming a parasite that’s sucking all lifeblood out of NZ’s economy and polluting the environment. If it has its way, it’ll be a pest that crowds out everything else to dominate other sectors of NZ’s economy.

    Reply
  10. PsyclingLeft.Always 10
    16 June 2026 at 10:04 pm

    Incognito:
    A good, and IMO, well written Newsroom article. Sits well with Dave Kennedy's Post. And, as quite often, the comments section adds to it.

    Re Kevin “lifeblood of this country” Stone, he had previously been of the Plandemic set. Will he have changed? IMO…Unlikely.

    Kevin Stone, the party’s Hamilton West candidate, has stood for the party in previous elections. He shared a post in May 2020 alleging the pandemic was a “plandemic” orchestrated by multiple governments at the behest of a global financial cartel, which wanted a “great reduction in the population of the developed world and the virtual enslavement of the remainder”.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300945108/chemtrails-911-and-vaccine-nanobots-the-digital-trail-of-nz-firsts-couldbe-mps

    And yes, re your "Corporate industrial-scale farming" . I did liken it to Big Farma….as an actual clear and present danger for NZ.

    Have to say I do rate Chippy and Chloe fronting the Field days…together. Positive indeed. : )

    Reply

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