Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, August 5th, 2026 - 61 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 …
Comedian Raybon Kan was told to "go back to my own country" by Winston Peters in 1996
He says every NZF candidate and every coalition partner should be asked:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ive-never-talked-about-it-but-winston-peters-also-told-me-to-go-back-to-my-own-country-raybon-kan/JQOTKCD7HBD3RKEOHOBFGX4Q4M/
BG that is a great comment passing on Raybon Kan's musing. Food for memory and thought indeed.
If Green voters can do it …
1.Peters claiming the Maori came from China.
2.Yes, Tana Umaga was a good enough to be chosen as an AB by merit, not just because of his Samoan-Chinese ancestry.
3.I do not know those Asians. I first fancied an Asian female seeing Malay Chinese here in 1977 – Commonwealth program – Victoria University, then met one in a lift at work c1978 born locally (7th floor Marketing – one can see the Beehive from the window place).
4.Not being able to tell Singapore Chinese females apart after first meeting them while drunk (Hataitai 1988 – one having a going home party, living with an Indian who rode a bicycle like he was from Beijing).
5.Yes, a grandfather born in the UK, so I had the right to play for England – but his Scottish ancestors forbade it.
Well, technically, the current archaeological, linguistic, and genetic evidence suggests that the ancestors of Māori ultimately trace back to Taiwan, and probably southern China before that.
Austronesian-speaking peoples began expanding out of Taiwan around 3000 BCE, gradually settling Island Southeast Asia and then the Pacific, with Aotearoa becoming the last major landmass settled in the 13th century CE.
But that's a rather different claim from saying, "Māori came from China."
The Taiwan female line continues in Polynesians.
The Maori emerged out of the Polynesian group – without the S of Samoa or the letters b and d (pulling land off the seabed, until it broke into two parts – both long and thin, founders right to explain the myth of it all).
They have two major male lines.
Peters acknowledges Taiwan is part of China – but the Maori are distinct from the Han Chinese who have dominated the history of China (which has included Taiwan for some centuries – where the indigenous are related to Polynesians).
When the ancestors of the Maori left Taiwan it was not part of China.
Chloe had a word with Gerry. Now they disagree about what he said.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361056553/chloe-swarbrick-says-speaker-has-privately-told-her-he-has-different-standard-winston-peters?
White man, him speak with forked tongue…
So she got booted out for lack of respect for his privilege. These `he said, she said' situations tend to get warped by subjective takes on what was said. Folks recall it a bit differently to the actual words. The message gets mixed.
Speaker Brownlee? Bah humbug! We need someone in that chair with the integrity of a Dick Harrison, who didn't hesitate to eject PM Muldoon from the chamber when he was ruled out of order (and notably less so than "Winsome").
It's not difficult to imagine Brownlee saying precisely that and more. I know who I’d believe.
Farrar has made several good points on Bomber's situation here: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/08/bomber_bradbury_and_hdca.html#comments
A commenter: "HDCA = Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015. Thanks, National." Ghost has this from behind the Herald paywall:
[You are in Pre-Moderation until you provide a link to the referenced NZ Herald article, pay-walled or not. You must also check that your quote, taken from another commenter on another blog, is accurate and not distorted. Since it’s cold today, I’ll be slow in moderating, so keep that in mind – Incognito]
Mod note
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/media-insider-complainant-wants-apology-from-blogger-martyn-bradbury-but-hes-defiant-and-prepared-to-go-to-jail-on-basis-of-free-speech/premium/OXUZABQ2ABEUTINOLJPMODJATU/
Since I don't subscribe to the NZH I can't confirm that his quote is accurate!
There are two issues here.
First, you quoted from another commenter on another blog without any checking for accuracy and you didn’t provide a link to the primary source (i.e., the NZH article) nor to the respective comment.
This is a simple common courtesy rule here on this site, as you know, and it helps people avoid wasting time & energy on inaccurate information, to say it as diplomatically as possible, of which there’s way too much already.
Accurate information and evidence matter, and it it’s critical when commenting/reporting on a legal case, with court suppression in place, on an alleged free speech case – sloppy comments are the choker of constructive discussion, in any case.
Second, if you cannot check the accuracy of provided information yourself, then you may ask yourself whether you should propagate it or not. If you do, it’ll become your responsibility here on TS. Not having a subscription is not an excuse! You can at least try finding an archived version, e.g., use:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive.today
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine
As far as I can tell, it appears that the commenter on KB had distorted the original text from the NZH without any indication. In fact, this is a bad habit of yours too, and ‘coincidentally’, you did it again here with your copypasta of David Farrar’s writing; you left things out and converged text without making clear that & where you did so – this is altering text on the sly.
You’ve been moderated about this before and warned again only 3 days ago by another Moderator (https://thestandard.nz/top-proposes-cuts-to-public-service-that-act-would-be-proud-of/#comment-2068574). Why do you keep ignoring warnings and instructions from the Mods here about this bad habit? You’re continuing bad practice and wasting our time!
Why do you keep ignoring warnings and instructions from the Mods here about this bad habit?
Unintentional. Old age?? I apologise for any inconvenience. As regards whatever alterations Ghost made, could you or anyone else clarify any points salient to Bomber's predicament? If time permits, I mean.
I'm concerned about our common interests re free speech & limits. Any further clarification would be helpful, pending the legal delay…
What’s that supposed to mean?
Have your (professional) standards slipped so much that you (now?) think this level of subterfuge is OK? It’s not a one-off, it’s a habit and pattern behaviour. If you cannot or will not stomp it out then the Mods here will.
Try those links for archived URLs.
Spare a thought for the poor arms manufacturers, struggling to get off life-support after decades of too much peace. T is doing his best to help: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-has-used-virtually-all-its-long-range-precision-missiles-during-iran-war-2026-08-04/
So the ancient logic that the best way to get economic recovery is to go to war re-emerges. The right in Aotearoa ought to jump onto it. Figuring out who we ought to make war on is just the kind of intellectual challenge they need!
Strange, my mind an echo this morning. I have woken up with a phrase to explore about war and peace: Doctrine of Eternal War or something. Here is what I am looking up.
emburlingame.substack.com https://emburlingame.substack.com › p › overview-of-the-eternal-war
Overview of "The Eternal War" by E.M. Burlingame |Apr 18, 2025The Eternal War: Represents disequilibrium, a destructive force seeking to dismantle structures and increase chaos. Resentfuls embody this, using coercion and deceit to dominate…
Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org › files › 50922 › 50922-h › 50922-h.htm
Perpetual Peace, by Immanuel Kant—A Project Gutenberg eBook | The Decree of Eternal Pacification of 1495 had abolished private war, one of the heavy curses of the Middle Ages. Why should it not be extended to banish warfare between states as well?
Springer – https://link.springer.com › content › pdf › 10.1057 › jird.2011.23.pdf
Eternal peace, perpetual war? A critical investigation into Kant's … | The purpose of this essay is to investigate critically Kant's different conceptualisations of war and to evaluate his writing as a critique against contemporary versions of Liberal war and peace, as well as recent attempts…
Springer – https://link.springer.com › article › 10.1057 › jird.2011.23
Eternal peace, perpetual war? A critical investigation into Kant's … |The purpose of this essay is to investigate critically Kant's different conceptualisations of war and to evaluate his writing as a critique against contemporary versions of Liberal war and peace, as well as recent attempts…
(I won't be able to open all the above, which are worthy institutions and sites, but I know 'nuzzin' and can therefore replace that with 100% more information; an example of how percentages are a confusing measure that I blame for the downfall of our economy and society! What do I know!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_war
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationism
So serious thinking has gone into this concept, and reality? Where have all the thinkers gone – long time passing! And by the way Wikipedia says that only 2% of users contribute money to their free service (which they try to be as reliable as anything human can be!). As we all know money is the root of all evil, but still it has utility and can do much good, and as Wikipedia has great intrinsic value please donate something in two figures if you can, as a minimum. They will settle for less, but we don't want to be squeezers do we, like the neolib invalids in power at the present.
As I think music enters special caverns in the brain and resonates there, here are Peter Paul and Mary with the queries that arise in my mind – 'Where have all the…..Gone'. They spent a considerable career singing our lives, and this is them as older people at their 25th Anniversary Concert to a devoted audience who are all the way with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgXNVA9ngx8
I really do think you're giving Trump far too much credit here.
War certainly provides economic stimulus, and defence manufacturers will obviously benefit from increased production. But that doesn't mean the war was fought for that reason.
To me, this reads much more like a particularly lazy and very Trump post hoc justification. The yanks have burned through a huge quantity of expensive precision munitions, and Trump is now pointing to expanding production lines as evidence that it was somehow worthwhile.
He is trying to sell one of the few politically positive stories available to him.
That is a long way from concluding that the war was manufactured to prop up Raytheon, General Dynamics or Bath Iron Works. If anything, Trump strikes me as far too impulsive, short-sighted and personally driven to serve as the front man for that kind of grand strategy.
There is a deeper lesson for New Zealand here, though. Rearmament is expensive. It is considerably more expensive when undertaken too late, under pressure, and in the face of an actual conflict.
In reply to DF on Bomber. This was not a threat of defamation, but the HDC Act. That's quite different. I looked at the Act last night when I found out. It's NetSafe who run the process, so they would have seen the material before putting in the interim take-down order.
NetSafe's role under the Act includes:
To receive and assess complaints about the harm caused to individuals [not organisations, though] by digital communications.
To investigate complaints.
To use advice, negotiation, mediation, and persuasion (as appropriate) to resolve complaints.
It sounds like the grounds were ‘harrassment’. NetSafe doesn’t do this for just nyah-nyah stuff.
So there must/should have been an intermediate step of discussion with Bomber over this before court action, or the action is because Bomber refused the interim order, and possibly even mediation.
Given the primary job of NetSafe is assessment and quick takedown of eg, revenge porn, it's a bad idea to defang the process of interim removal. As the judge told Bomber – lawyer up.
On the BFM interview two days ago, Bomber hinted at novel use of legislation to take down his commentary. Perhaps this is the first use of the HDC Act against the commentariat? Was Bomber’s target a politician, or a hard-done-by citizen like Polkingham?
With the demise of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, all this will no doubt be watched avidly by the main stream media and their lawyers.
No part of the political spectrum should be immune to such strategy, though. How would Benjamin Doyle have fared it they had followed this path?
Ooops, apologies, reading the first part of DFs post, Bomber is not the first case, just the first to make a public show of it. Worth his fuss, then.
Why has Bradbury gone to the free speech "union" for support? You'd think someone like him wouldn't want anything to do with this mob let alone ask them for help. Bad strategy, Bomber, very bad strategy.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361016121/stuff-group-rejects-demand-take-down-reporting-bradbury-blog-dispute
He has approached the FSU to test whether they truly are defenders of free speech, i.e. whether they'll defend the free speech of people they detest. No doubt Bradbury has calculated that if he can both win in court and demonstrate that the FSU are bad faith hypocrites, it's a double victory.
I think that the FSU has invited him to contact them. Or at least publicized that they'd be open to approach by Bradbury over this issue.
https://www.thelawyermag.com/nz/news/general/auckland-district-court-judge-tells-blogger-martyn-bomber-bradbury-to-seek-legal-advice/584732
I think that the FSU are unlikely to be presented as "bad faith hypocrites" – they truly will defend the "free speech of people they detest"
A tough call.
The FSU are opposed to the legislation being used by the complainant, but have no problem with SLAPP litigation (tool of the powerful) while the law exists.
Their utility is in the way the judge is trying to suppress knowledge of the case in the media. Joining media in raising a question about that.
PS The bombastic one and the FSU both support free speech
The FSU may not challenge corporate suppression of criticism so much, or have a problem with protest suppression laws, or see any harm to democracy from unlimited campaign funding.
Unemployment at 11-year high of 5.6%. Underutilised workers rise to 13.8%.
Annual wage growth stays at 2%; lowest for 5 years.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/892951/unemployment-rises-to-11-year-high-of-5-point-6-percent
If ever we needed illustration of the highly distinct two-island economy New Zealand now has:
we jump down deeper and deeper to being the cheap protein + cheap tour service and hospitality + real estate society.
And damn everyone else into penury.
If incomes go down relative to living costs (4%), this is not good.
With property flatlining, this should be the time when renters have
their chance to save for their deposit.
Instead they might have to move to get their rent cost down.
Or couples sharing two bedroom units/apartments/townhouses etc.
Little wonder the government is trying to give some Accommodation Supplement pennies to help out.
This is the government managing the deckchairs on a failing economic management ship.
Nicola Willis's record as finance minister stands revealed as a catastrophe by all objective measures. It is a testament to to the consequences of rigid, blind adherence to the neoliberal obsession with austerity.
She has delivered rising unemployment, stagflation and falling wages and living standards.
How are those employment/unemployment figures looking?
Dire?
Sanctuary talking dirty! Don't use that word 'objective' it is not in the authorised, sanctioned lexicon, that we political cons and court jesters have set.
(Comes under the heading ‘politicalease’.)
To the contrary, she is apparently the the best Finance Minister we are ever going to have. Just close your eyes and you will feel that salvation is nearly upon us – as the animal spirits of market entrepreneurialism, freed from 'crowding out' by the dastardly State, rise in shining glory.
It's the trump spike, I tells ya
9 August 2026!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (We need to surround our vestiges of democracy with a picket fence.)
This arbitrary government that dolts and donkeys voted in are making ad hoc decisions that equate with what kindergarten kids might do. Or closer to the fact, like cult followers can be encouraged to do once solidarity amongst the hoi polloi is obtained. Like Hitler and his maxions managed to do once they had disrupted the moral character principles and lines of decent and fair behaviour of society.
Now local body amalgamation. Jammy fingers getting at every part of our democracy.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2608/S00005/apply-your-own-reform-standard-to-yourselves-too-society-writes-to-all-mps-ahead-of-9-august-amalgamation-deadline.htm
“Apply Your Own Reform Standard To Yourselves Too”: Society Writes To All MPs Ahead Of 9 August Amalgamation Deadline
Monday, 3 August 2026, 12:32 pm
Press Release: Democracy Reform NZ
Note synonyms for morality – from Merriam-Webster. Are these observable in total in our society? Well are they?
Labour Helen White is up against TOP Leader Qiulae Wong in Mt Albert and I wonder whether this has anything to do with the following.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/05-08-2026/new-zealands-housing-affordability-contradiction-labour-mp-helen-white-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud
TOP is proposing the infamous land tax as one of the ways to tackle housing affordability (or rather unaffordability). It’ll be more challenging for Helen White if she doesn’t have the backing of her party [policy].
Bishop has said the same thing. It's not revolutionary thought.
Yes, Chris Bishop’s view was also mentioned in the linked article. So what?
I don’t care about any Bishop. He’s National and he won’t be MP for much longer on current polling. And his party is not proposing doing anything to improve housing affordability nor going into battle with a high-profile TOP candidate whose key policy is predicated on it.
Essentially, your comment is a meaningless and pointless distraction.
I think Ad has a point. No big deal what White said.
This looks like the Spinoff purposely making a mountain out of a molehill in an effort to attack Labour and help Opp get elected.
No, neither Ad nor you have a point here.
The Spinoff’s The Bulletin is “The Spinoff’s morning wrap of NZ news.”, i.e., an aggregator and a bit like our notices and features here on TS.
Nothing in the linked article referred to or hinted at Qiulae Wong or TOP or the election, and those were my own thoughts on it – I never said or implied that it was “a big deal” or “revolutionary”, but that ghost ship has now sailed and disappeared beneath the waves.
Really? According to the original article at the Post, McAnulty, Hipkins and Edmonds all disagree with White.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361056168/labours-helen-white-says-she-wants-house-prices-come-down-contradicting-party
Revealing, thank you – it’s a pity I cannot access & read most of the articles posted on The Post website. Still, I haven’t got enough time in a day to get through all the material coming in, as it is.
Hence my longer quote.
I got a sub for election year. Mostly so I could read things people were talking about.
I'm making dinner so will rely on AI which says:
"Yes, property in New Zealand is generally considered very expensive relative to local incomes, despite sitting in a multi-year market downturn. The national average house price is approximately NZ$906,000, down roughly 14% to 18% from its historic peak in early 2022, but still high historically. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]"
yes, we all know that. The issue is why few politicians will talk about the need to drop house prices meaningfully (to make them affordable)
Turei in 2016
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/82525588/green-party-calling-for-house-prices-to-be-cut-in-half-over-time
good on her.
The Greens had a position for a while to drop house prices quite seriously (Turei's time). Not sure what their position is now.
All this from a government that promised localism, during the last election they also made many other promises mostly not delivered. Now we have a lot of people whinging about their new water bill from Tiaki Wai. I hope these aren't the same people that fell for 'Māori are stealing the water' rhetoric. And how come it is good enough to give this new company a Māori name when it is not good enough for many of our governments departments. People need to pull their heads in as our country is going down the gurgler fast and if this lot get back in power, they will sell anything that is not tied down
https://theconversation.com/are-nz-journalists-and-pr-practitioners-really-enemies-new-research-suggests-otherwise-288486
The PR pool is small in NZ, bordering on incestuously small – there’s a revolving door that is not too dissimilar to politicians & lobbyists. This can be both good and bad.
I think the article is quite good, but I’d have liked more of a distinction or elaboration on the special case of holding governments and politicians to account and the special formal & informal rules and conventions around these – it may be buried in the PhD thesis.
Lovely to watch – Peters won't answer the charge that he cast Chinese people as lying like flatfish – won't do it, uses every avoidance technique to avoid owning his statement – weak as dishwater.
Watch Parliament tv for link and unfolding shame.
Could I have your opinion Mercurio on this run-through basic tutorial on how to be a politician being careful with opinions. [this programme is also known as The Politician’s Guide to Ducking Awkward Questions]
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/293123/
I'm not sure, would have to check the original exchange, but I think Winnie was able to duck the question because the Green member (can't fully remember his name so won't try to mis-write it) said Winnie said "lie like a flatfish," rather than "lie like flatfish."
Winnie said the quote used was demonstratively false.
But agree – lovely to see Winnie made to squirm!
Yes, Tony, that's what it comes down to.
In any case, it's a good to force Peters to resort to such details in order to avoid the obvious – anyone with a decent brain can see what's happening – Winston's followers, otoh, don't matter; they are lost.
https://theconversation.com/media-and-political-complacency-is-letting-pauline-hanson-re-write-the-rules-on-accountability-288945
The exact same thing is happening here in NZ with the shock-jocks of NZ First and ACT, but also National, as in Australia with Pauline Hanson and One Nation. Elections do bring out the worst in some people.
And our Speaker, Gerry Brownlee, barely takes notice and acquiesces.
One other notable similarity with Australia is that the only person who calls it for what it is is a Green MP.
The RBG will note the international and domestic inflation levels are divergent.
International – impact of AI developments on the cost of chips for devices and oil/gas products (for how long is an unknown).
Domestic – cost of insurance, power, rates-water charges up. This inflation is unrelated to economic activity (which is two paced – demand down in urban areas, up due to exporter returns in provinces).
Tightening would increase unemployment further, with marginal impact on inflation.
Sure an OCR rate increase raises the dollar to reduce import costs, but also lowers exporter returns (slowing investment).
https://www.thepost.co.nz/business/361055816/breman-holds-line-inflation-jobless-rate-nears-11-year-high
Let's have a tradeable national currency for domestic NZAO only Very simple with a value not affected by every fluctuation internationally. It can be used to buy food, noodles, milk, local fruit and vegetables, yoghurt, bread and warm socks only! The value will be based on supply and demand somehow – I'll let others work out the fine detail!
This is another stuff up by Luxon. Using a NZ Defence Force plane to get to a fundraiser for the National Party. Talk about a bad week.
My guess is that Hipkins is right where he says:
"Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Luxon could have easily skipped the National fundraiser and caught an earlier commercial flight from Whanganui in order to make the next meeting."
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/pm-defends-using-air-force-flight-to-attend-national-party-fundraiser-x7k3ixg8
What miss a fundraiser when you are a star performer and everyone is counting on you? No such luxury for Luxon they might have thought he'd gone MIA.
This morning I turned on RNZ a bit after 8 to hear Campbell blather on about some bakery contest, and ask a contestant “And how does that make you fee-eel?", exactly in the tone of an agog 14yo girlfriend who asks for the gory details of some emotional trainwreck you're involved in as a teen. Yuk.
Reader, I turned it off sharply and went to dig the food scraps into the garden instead.
Ten minutes later, back to the sink, RNZ back on. Still rabbiting about the pie competition. Then a scant five minutes with Willis and Labour's rep, to discuss unemployment figures in the most cursory way. Campbell asked one question about youth unemployment. Twice.
Change the government, if only to get rid of Campbell and to have fewer "feelings" and more fact-gathering on our public radio station, please.
You do get the impression that that programme is turning (has turned?) into an aural equivalent of TV1's Breakfast show, or even Seven Sharp.
I often here the greeting "welcome to the show"……bit sad really……. Campbell can be a very strong communicator getting to the point quickly and succinctly when he wants to……..
The phrases that come to my mind are: 'deliberately enshittified', 'emasculated' and 'politically neutralised'.
The point is not Campbell’s manner specifically, it’s the editorial choice of content and pace. Campbell forced to spin out a two min fluff segment to 10. It’s the peak news spot for RNZ. Where was the news?
His political questions will all be scripted, too.
Campbell can be irritating in the way you describe, and I have often responded by switching off. But he can also be sharp and incisive. He has challenged the PM better than most (admittedly there aren't many other professional interviewers around, it's mostly Monday morning cuddles, and Luxon avoids Jack Tame on Sundays).
That said, "change the government" is silly. RNZ might get funded better, but they aren't going to bring in the next Kim Hill or Mary Wilson. Hard news is an endangered species in modern media. Reckons rule.
As seen here, in 90 seconds of pitch-perfect truth-telling …
Armstrong and Miller Breakfast TV Viewers Emails