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6:00 am, April 10th, 2026 - 39 comments
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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 …
Crikey one of my Wanaka friends just became the Waitaki candidate for Opportunities Party.
Could be a year for a teal or two. Just unfortunately not in an electorate with a 9,000 majority.
Teals push the election result rightwards unfortunately.
It will be interesting to see how TOP evolves as a political force once they get 5% and actually get influence. Will they become a cross bench party with some principles, and try and influence the direction of society in and independent way (they sometimes project that aspiration) or are they a National project to hover up wealthy, environmentally conscious and financially liberal voters.
There's good clusters of these voters around the country, Wanaka and Mt Albert are two examples and it wouldn't be hard to pull 5% out of that demographic. What TOP do with that 5+% we probably won't know until they start publicly interacting with other parties. And have they got the structure to bring disciplined messaging in their policies and candidates.
TOP could be an influence towards a more progressive and environmentally responsible society, but are they member led or is there something else going on here.
Since the Maori Party are venal, corrupt, bullying, and racist, I would prefer Opportunities Party in a coalition.
Kia kaha, Ad, and stay [on the] Left!
Do you still prefer NZ First in coalition to Greens, despite that?
New Zealand First are also venal, corrupt, bullying, and racist, so no I don't prefer them in a coalition with Labour.
votes going to TOP lessen the chances of a L/G coalition.
I'll let the Green Part worry about that.
I'm a Labour voter.
It's extremely unlikely that Labour would win a majority this year. That means a coalition with either GP or NZF. If TOP gets votes from any of those parties, it lessens Labour's ability to govern.
although it's a pity TOP won't cannibalise NZF.
But will TOP be any better? Will they be a coherent caucus promoting a consistent policy narrative, or a heard of cats? Or are they a National / Centrist astroturf? There's a lot of money and a well groomed presentation there.
The Teal vehicle certainly didn’t work out well for the Australian right, whether that was by design or a fuck-up. Hopefully the same might happen here, or not.
In 2026 just siphoning 3-5-4% of vote off National means they've done their job.
It's not just going to come from the right. TOP gets left votes too.
I used to talk with members on twitter, who were well informed. Don't see that now.
My main beef is that they design policy from economics not people. Their UBI policy is a shit show, they don't understand welfare, and if they gained power there's a chance their UBI would get co-opted by the right to dismantle welfare. TOP are anti-welfare and thus anti-working class and poor people imo.
Their land tax is another example of being oblivious to people without wealth (oblivious is a kind interpretation).
They've never shaken off the punitive aspects of Morgan's original policies, and my guess is that progressives who don't care about those things join TOP and people that do care, join Labour or the Greens.
"they design policy from economics not people”
When I skipped through the stuff on the TOP website, I got an impression that they were the sort of peopled who believed in the perfectability of markets. They seem to think that by eliminating distortions, bad incentives, rent-seeking and (perceived) privilege of various sorts, markets will work just like they are ideally supposed to do. Eliminating these things is a good idea, but unless markets are disciplined by social purpose and not just by their own internal logic, the same or similar problems will resurface. Which I guess is just a longwinded way of saying what you did.
yeah but the detail helps make the argument cheers.
Not when winning seats off Liberals – preferential voting in Oz.
There it was a green rebellion by Liberal Party women.
The fascists are beginning to crumble? (well considering their rotten ideology/nature not surprising…)
I note Wily Winston's "friend" Marco Cuban Rubio
And too…Ol' country boy VP JD Vance. No better alternative to the mad king Trump. IMO a possibly more dangerous critter : Supremacy…
I see that TOP is spending a shedload of $$$$ on TV adverts filmed in the Mt Albert Electorate
America's Got Talons.
(Apropos nothing).
Got a sinking feeling today's historically significant somehow.
Some heavy hitters combine for Rational Alternative to NACT1's dino fuel LNG.
Will they penetrate NACT1's purblind ideological active indifference? IMO nil chance…but Labour/Green…c'mon and…
Ditch the pricks '26 !
+1000 Psych…the dumb COC government doesn't understand solar or refuses to understand solar…..from your link:
"A Cabinet paper said distributed solar would not supply enough additional energy during winter, when the country was most likely to experience an energy shortage.
Smart Energy Alliance spokesperson Gareth Williams said the organisation did not accept the argument that solar was incapable of supporting the dry-year risk.
"It's correct that solar isn't the greatest resource in winter, but the modelling that we've done… shows that solar is really useful in terms of dry-year because it enables the [hydro] lakes to go into autumn and winter much fuller than they do currently," he said."
Solar will allow NZ to import less fossil fuel and so become more self-sufficient. Why import climate destroying fossil fuel when the cheapest energy on the planet comes from the sun?
The whole sorry/scurvy crew of the NACT1 plague ship seem bereft of …spark, I have yet to see much, if any, innovative Energy thinking….(or in general)
So absolutely frustrating when I know NZ has (had?) such a pool of talented Thinkers …Scientists, Engineers, et al.
We will have our work cut out for us Nov '26, but Challenge…accepted : )
The NZ Green Building Council is calling for the ditching of LNG imports and instead incentivising a roll-out of rooftop solar and more efficient hot water heating.
https://b2bnews.co.nz/news/advocacy-group-hits-govts-lng-imports-calls-for-solar-and-heat-pump-water-systems/
https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/02/15/green-building-council-calls-for-solar-over-governments-lng-plan/
"A green advocacy group slams the government’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import plan, arguing that solar panels and heat-pump hot water systems would deliver far better value for money."
On the back of this Labour should now immediately roll out its energy policy supporting renewable power and ditching the LNG import proposal. This will force Luxon to back the unpopular, more expensive and climate destroying LNG plan, or do a massive u-turn.
If rooftop and grid-scale solar are rolled out in sufficient quantity this will allow much more water to be retained in the hydro lakes during the sunny non-winter months* such that dry years will no longer be an issue.
*solar does also produce a significant amount of power in winter months
Wow, interesting to see the Orange Turd's latest diatribe as posted on the Stuff website today. It appears that he's losing his sycophantic supporters at a rather rapid rate
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360962545/low-iq-nut-jobs-troublemakers-trump-unleashes-maga-defectors
It would also appear that Candace Owens has had a bit of an 'reality check' – her quote from the article
'Owens took the criticism further. “This is a satanic administration,” she said on social media this week. “We all realise that satanic Zionists occupy the White House and Congress needs to move to have the Mad King Trump removed. All of our lives may depend upon other countries realising that Trump is deeply unwell and surrounded by religious fanatics who have convinced him that he is a messiah.”
Good to see our PM delivering the weather forecast and advice on preparing for the cyclone. Shows he really cares. His PR machine must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I read this morning that the Nats are employing Rachel Smalley to brush up the hierachy (Auckland – the PM) on communications. Isn't she the woman who recently referred to her fellow females of slightly larger build as lumps of lard or similar – I know the word lard was there. Yuck.
Even if that were true, how’s it relevant?
Perhaps not directly relevant, but if true would be illustrative of her attitude(s) on some matters.
Best help Smalley could give him is a spade, so we can see him digging his own political grave.
Or black tape; that might even be funny.
Recent Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia production and pipelines are bad news.
They occurred just after the cease-fire (to avoid American retaliation).
Really cynical.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/operational-activities-halted-several-energy-facilities-saudi-arabia-state-news-2026-04-09/
Horse racing is an essential service that must be directly subsidised, with the subsidy to your horse-owning pocket being applied retrospectively:
Fuel package to provide welcome relief for horse racing industry – NZ Herald
Oh Winston.
Horses for courses; keep them votes & donations coming.
As it has always been.
When we had a period in 1974 when a permit was required to buy petrol between midday Saturday and Monday morning one of the Ministers, Matt Rata IIRC, claimed that he had urgent public business on Saturday and issued himself a permit to get fuel to go to a race meeting in the Wairarapa. Couldn't have Ministers of the Crown missing out on their simple pleasures could we?
It doesn't appear to be tax payers funded Ad, be nice if my overlords realized living rural, means there is no dodging the cost increases with public transport
And bearded git did the solar cabinet paper say whether if things like onslow and large battery storage was added would solar be enough, ?
Albo doing deals in Singapore for fuel.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360962991/australia-pm-anthony-albanese-strikes-singapore-deal-bid-boost-fuel-supply
Our PM, getting media training.
https://archive.li/EwoKY
FFS.