Daily review 21/09/2026

10 comments on “Daily review 21/09/2026”

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1. 1

   So how many times does Simeon Brown miss his health targets? The answer is to be found withing the spectrum between lots of times to all the time.

   https://otaihangasecondopinion.wpcomstaging.com/2026/09/20/health-minister-misses-health-targets-yet-again/ [HT to Scoop]

   Simeon Brown will continue his destruction of Health NZ’s workforce, in body and in spirit, until he and his target-obsessed ideologues are voted out of office.

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/1483178/exasperated-nurses-strike-at-specialist-waitakere-hospital-ward

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/1481407/patient-numbers-soar-for-whanganui-hospital-s-15-bed-emergency-department

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2. 2

   The Prime Minister was right to be surprised by claims public servants are getting 10% pay rises – because they aren't. Official figures show public service pay rose just 1.3 percent in the year to June, while prices rose 4.1 percent.

   https://www.psa.org.nz/news-media/pm-is-right-to-be-surprised-real-pay-data-not-job-ads-shows-public-service-pay-up-1-3-inflation-4-1 [HT to Scoop]

   Instead of acting surprised, Luxon could have shown healthy scepticism that one would expect from a PM and former high-flying airline manager. Especially, because the BS claim came from Mike Hosking, which is akin asking the most sycophantic and worst hallucinating AI for an answer and then blindly & stupidly relying on it.

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3. 3

   Oh Brian ….where art thou……

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4. 4

   TOP’s UBI policy is academic.

   It’ll keep much of the existing NZ welfare system intact or will have to reproduce it.

   It’ll do little for the poorest New Zealanders and could even make them worse off under certain circumstances that are quite normal.

   The Land Value Tax (LVT) would be regressive and hit the cash-poorest, many superannuitants, and beneficiaries the hardest, if they own a home.

   Irrespective of the outcome on 7 Nov, the policy is most likely nothing more than a talking point of purported difference with other parties and should be treated as such, IMO.

   https://theconversation.com/opportunitys-tax-reset-could-benefit-many-households-but-does-little-for-the-poorest-291537

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   1. 4.1

      Introducing the tax would almost certainly be associated with a large fall in land values. A significant number of homeowners could suddenly face the risk of negative equity.

      Paying a tax bill that would likely be more than $10,000 annually on an average home would be near impossible for many superannuitants, beneficiaries and others.

      https://theconversation.com/opportunitys-tax-reset-could-benefit-many-households-but-does-little-for-the-poorest-291537

      IMO OP are a distraction and diversion from the only valid choice : Labour AND Green November '26

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      1. 4.1.1

         Yup, house prices are likely to come down with TOP’s LVT policy and the higher the LVT, the greater the fall in house prices.

         https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1120357/what-the-opportunity-party-s-land-tax-would-mean-for-house-prices

         I agree that TOP and its ‘fresh ideas’ are sucking up a lot of oxygen but they’re still a valid choice when you put their policies into perspective (see also Res Publica’s comment https://thestandard.nz/is-the-opportunity-party-left-wing/#comment-2073247). I do also think that there are better choices than voting for TOP and I have quite a few issues with aspects of TOP other than their policy proposals per se.

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5. 5

   Jen Welch on IHIP News covers the legal and administrative shennanigans Trump has been up to trying to disrupt the independence of States in running their House and Senate elections. She asks "Is Trump setting up for another election result denial?"

   https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaP2_CoLOoE&list=PLa2mr0CgSHfgNL0ORZF2EA4tIFIYQOhYg&index=1&pp=iAQB

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6. 6

   This story has a nasty smell about it:

   https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/1496847/chris-hipkins-wants-police-to-front-up-and-explain-ongoing-matter-with-rakesh-naidoo

   There appears to be a 'dirty political' style attempt to kneecap Rakesh Naidoo, the former senior cop who is standing as a Labour candidate. It is probably related to a "sensitive briefing" which Naidoo attended not long before he announced he was standing for Labour. The aim is to surround Naidoo with suspicion which won't be fully resolved until after the election – when he will be found to have acted appropriately.

   I can assure from personal experience… when a person has no idea what an investigation into them is about, it means the suspicions/claims about them are bullshit.

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   1. 6.1

      ‘Don’t know who he is’: Luxon unfazed by new Nicky Hager book
      [Stuff, 21 Sept 2026]
      Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he has never read a book by Nicky Hager, and suggested he had no idea who he was, ahead of the famed investigative journalist’s launch of a new book this week.

      CEO Luxon is either intent on widening his credibility gap, or he’s simply pig ignorant.

      Dirty Politics: How Attack Politics is Poisoning New Zealand's Political Environment
      Chapter 9: Simon Lusk’s plan
      By popular request and in light of his announcement to run as the leader of the National Party, the chapter about Mark Mitchell can be read for free here [PDF]

      A "big tin of Dirty Politics slime" sounds about Right – just comes naturally to some.

      
      A Guy Body cartoon, in the New Zealand Herald

      No hard feelings: Rakesh Naidoo refuses to hit back after police row
      [Be careful, be very careful now RNZ, 9 Sept 2026]

      Mitchell pounced on the announcement, questioning what sensitive information Naidoo had access to while quietly talking to Labour.

      Chambers quickly followed, declaring Naidoo’s position with the police to be “untenable” and launching an investigation.

      Chambers said Naidoo should have declared his intentions earlier, saying he had been notified only days before the announcement.

      But a police statement, issued on 13 August, later confirmed Naidoo had notified his supervisor in the week beginning 25 May.

      It also said police were satisfied that all emails from Naidoo’s police account to Labour were legitimate work correspondence.

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      1. 6.1.1

         

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