Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, November 4th, 2025 - 43 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Bryce Edwards gives a well researched account of what is behind the Maori Party meltdown.
https://theintegrityinstitute.substack.com/p/integrity-briefing-the-emptiness
Tova O’Brien explores what’s behind the looming closure of a mental health service.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577713/water-safety-nz-set-to-lose-1-point-1m-in-annual-government-funding-from-acc
More cuts that could cost lives
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019011180/parts-of-transmission-gully-in-need-of-resurfacing
So according to NZTA the builder of Transmission Gully did not apply the final coat of chipseal. Consequently 6km of the road base needs repair and 18km of road needs that final waterproofing cover of chipseal. $32m.
Was the builder paid for something that didn't happen. Why didn't it happen if it was a part of the total build. What a clusterf**k.
It was a fairly open secret that the contractor was given an instruction to proceed with sealing even though issues were flagged with the suitability of the base which was under specd.
That was at least in part a political descision to meet road opening dates and to make the budget look better.
NZTA guy put the base breaking up to the lack of the final chip seal. If you are correct then this sounds like buck passing
just trying to catch up on what's happening with TPM. Anyone got any good write ups from Māori? Journalists or bloggers/substackers etc/
https://www.facebook.com/JohnTamihereOfficial/posts/the-anatomy-of-madnessin-2017-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-was-vanquished-from-parliament-and-l/1366335358417358/
https://waateanews.com/2025/11/03/tamihere-responds-to-resignation-calls-with-explosive-party-timeline/
John Tamihere is very much a my way or the highway sort of leader.
There's some pretty robust commentary on the To Ao Maori News Facebook page.
haha, I bet.
Thought this was interesting – with a lot of history behind it. Pretty critical of Tamihere – and the way he operates.
https://www.kuraconsulting.co.nz/media-and-publicity/the-mori-party-belongs-to-the-people-not-one-man-substack-article-written-by-amokura-panoho
Te Tai Tonga electorate are petitioning for JT to resign
https://www.petitions.com/te-tai-tonga-tpm-vnc?utm_source=substack&brid=ryEgai5MHopzLsQlCebszw&utm_medium=email
Farewell to a master film-maker who fearlessly told it like it was, and sometimes paid the penalty of speaking too much truth to power:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/03/peter-watkins-film-making-revolutionary-war-game-culloden-punishment-park
I’ve seen all the films mentioned in the URL. Everyone should.
I got to see Culloden at school, such a clever documentary! It's on YouTube well worth seeing. Punishment Park is brutal. Peter Watkins was a true & unflinching artist.
If you want evidence that the MSM is now a busted flush in political influence, if you don't have TikTok install it and spend an hour or two scrolling through the content of Zohran Mamdani. It is worth remembering that until he started trending on social media in his run for the Democratic nomination he was polling at 1%. He is now the nominated front runner with a commanding lead to win the mayoralty of New York City. He has achieved this entirely off the back of a social media campaign (particularly on TikTok, no wonder Larry Ellison can't wait to get hold of it and turn it into an engine of far right propaganda) and in the teeth of a near universal Greek Chorus of centrist and right wing shroud waving in all the major "mainstream" and traditional broadcast and print platforms. The Democratic establishment hates him and can barely bring themselves to endorse him let alone campaign for him.
Of course, it helps that Mamdani is hugely charismatic. But style is always downstream of substance, and unless you have an agenda and message that is directly relevant to peoples lives a viral social media campaign isn't going to work.
I think that rather than timidly drawing on the exhausted and vacuous centrism of Starmer's Blue Labour parties like NZ Labour really ought to be embracing the populism of Mamdani, or they will, eventually, be left behind by the millennials and consigned to political oblivion.
RNZ published an ABC article on Mamdani this morning. It includes some criticism of the, it all sounds inspiring and hopeful but it won't work, kind. But it does seem to me that there may be a truly left wing change developing.
It ends,
One can hope that the gerontocracy is on the ropes.
Among the centrist pundit class, it’s become standard to claim that Mamdani’s campaign is not a national story, that the rise of this self-described democratic socialist is unique to the bright blue environs of New York City. But the staggering rate of volunteerism on behalf of Mamdani’s campaign is evidence that the story of his candidacy — and what it could portend for Democrats — reaches far beyond the five boroughs. And the monied set’s tantrum certainly suggests this isn’t just a local story of no great importance.
There’s real fear that Mamdani will help inspire young people across the country to believe they have the power to dislodge the aging, out-of-touch leadership of the current Democratic Party.
[…]
Mamdani is famous for his ear-to-ear grin and puppy dog levels of enthusiasm. But he and his campaign also understand the importance of being seen as scaring the right people. In a lot of ways, the rich centrists who are so offended by Mamdani’s existence are of great benefit to him — they caused a lot of voters to take another look at the guy who must be doing something right if he’s making a corrupted old guard so angry. That’s why ideas like free public buses and government-owned grocery stores turned out to be strokes of genius. It’s less about the policy particulars and more about how these simple ideas drew absolutely unhinged reactions from the upper echelons of financial power.
https://www.salon.com/2025/11/03/zohran-mamdani-knows-how-to-win/
The Ministry of Education wants to take over the majority of the role of the Teachers Council.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/577703/education-minister-s-plans-for-teaching-council-a-power-grab-union-says
"Teachers unions have slammed the government's move to shrink the Teaching Council, replace the majority of its members with ministerial appointees, and remove its role in teacher training as a "blatant power grab"."
This government really has it in for teachers, and Māori. Over time it is a coordinated attack on two of the most vocal, and supported sectors of our soociety. The PPTA and NZEI are the two strongest unions, and Māori the most disadvantaged, but with deep pools of goodwill.
The thinking must be, totally break these two, and we can do what we like with the rest.
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."
—Martin Niemöller
This is where we are, right now.
For those of us who enjoy logic, the Maori Party is currently serving up a slow and succulent example of the No True Scotsman fallacy in action, it is well worth savouring if you find the Maori party to be largely a bunch insufferably self righteous chumps.
John Tamihere, the President of Te Pāti Māori, has said, "There is a tikanga-based solution to every problem in the Māori world".
This quote was part of a statement made to Radio Waatea on Monday, October 13, 2025, where Tamihere was discussing internal party issues and the party's approach to handling them based on Māori protocols and customs (tikanga), rather than through mainstream media. He emphasised that Te Pāti Māori is a tikanga-based movement guided by ancestral wisdom and that they would address matters "in our time and in our way".
Unless 'tikanga' involves sharing your disputes with the world via the media – he's not exactly putting his money where his mouth is.
"His money"? He is very good with other people's money. His Mayoral campaigns for example.
Well, yes 🙂 – but I was using the cliche in the more generic sense….
Tikanga (Māori customary practices) varies significantly from iwi (tribe) to iwi and even between different hapū (sub-tribes) and marae (community meeting places) across New Zealand.
Tikanga is obviously very adaptable.
But if we call any aspect of tikanga mumbo jumbo… we get taken to the BSA 🙂
Nope, unless you’re a shock-jock broadcaster who lives for manufacturing outrage and flooding the zone with BS.
Here on TS, you get a few warnings for acting as a moron, followed by a ban.
The point is often made that Te Pati Maori don't represent all Maori.
Now – confusingly- TPM don't represent all TPM anymore
Post other than om aren't visible in mobile setting
what device?
I'm finding the same thing using cellphone. Samsung S25
is the desktop version on your phone working?
Think that it is the browser version I'm using on my phone. Or at least, I haven't downloaded a mobile app for TS.
I don't often check TS on my cellphone – but happened to do so this morning – and found most of the posts 'unopenable'
there's no TS app unfortunately. In a browser you get two options: desktop (which looks like what you would see on your computer), and mobile (which appears to be broken atm, it looks odd and the post content isn't visible). You can normally switch between the two, but atm I can't see a way to switch from the broken mobile version to the desktop. I will ask Lynn.
if anyone is stick on the mobile version and wants to switch to desktop, google how to set a website to desktop on your model of phone. Worked on my iphone.
Yep. That worked – though it's a bit difficult to read on a cellphone screen 🙂
Samsung ph, desktop works although can't comment on desktop usually
Measles is in the news again – let's be careful out there.
Most effective action you can take: ensure you are vaccinated. Inquire about the vaccination status of your family. Encourage uptake for all children (and now, unvaccinated adults are also eligible)
<blockquote>
As of 1 October 2025, Health NZ has agreed to fund MMR vaccine doses during measles outbreaks for non-immune adults who are not typically eligible for funded healthcare. This is implemented as directed by local Public Health teams and communicated by Health NZ to relevant immunisation providers in affected districts/region.
</blockquote>
https://info.health.nz/immunisations/vaccines-aotearoa/measles-mumps-and-rubella-mmr-vaccine
Was this in the Wellington Local Body election material?
Removing separate toilet and changing facilities in Council buildings. No women's loos or changing rooms.
"To be crystal clear, this is not about the introduction of third mixed-sex spaces to go alongside male and female spaces—that’s a perfectly sensible idea. This is about removing all male and female facilities and having only mixed-sex loos and changing rooms. Some consider single-occupancy fully enclosed cubicles make all the problems with mixed-sex toilets go away. They don’t, but in any case, the Rainbow Plan doesn’t specify any particular conditions for this new regime.
This is a top down directive foisting the will of an overly empowered group of bureaucrats who are besotted with gender theory on to the masses. Mixed-sex toilets are not popular. A 2023 poll showed that only 30% of New Zealand women thought that males who identified as women should be allowed in female toilets.1 WCC is going much further and saying female toilets shouldn’t exist at all".
https://theministryhasfallen.substack.com/p/wccs-rainbow-action-plan
https://theministryhasfallen.substack.com/p/wccs-rainbow-action-plan?r=1eev2p
absolute fucking dunces. Hope someone takes them to a judicial review.
we know, that on any given day, we could give multiple examples of the fuckery going on with women's rights.
Here's a black, lesbian, child sexual abuse survivor talking from her distress at being naked in the women's space at her gym and turning round and seeing a man wearing boy clothes and lipgloss staring at her. Then he tells her he's a woman and has the right to be there. When she complains she gets kicked out of the gym.
https://x.com/babybeginner/status/1985437596433145920