The Standard

Open Mike 13/06/2026

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 13th, 2026 - 17 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 …

17 comments on “Open Mike 13/06/2026 ”

  1. PsyclingLeft.Always 1

    NACT1 : The new Victorians (and worse) ?…IMO yes. if they get back in November

    Will ‘move on’ orders for rough sleepers make cities safer – or revive Victorian‑era cruelty?

    Under the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill, police would also be able to detain a person, collect their personal details, formally issue the order and serve it on them.

    And…..I will link more on these punishers at end of my comment (Paul lock em up Goldsmith et al : (

    Breaching an order could result in a fine of up to $2,000 or three months' imprisonment, while providing false details could attract a $500 fine.

    More than a century ago, colonial New Zealand law allowed people to be prosecuted as vagrants if they could not explain how they supported themselves.

    There are uncomfortable echoes of that approach in the proposed legislation.

    Like its Victorian-era predecessor, the bill reflects a view that people on society's margins should be managed through the criminal justice system, rather than through social support.

    Anyone else with an open mind….Empathy, or a clue even, would see this….

    Judges, for their part, have long recognised that people experiencing housing insecurity often find themselves in the criminal justice system.

    Specialist courts such as Auckland's Court of New Beginnings and Wellington's Court of Special Circumstances attempt to address the underlying causes that bring people before the courts and help reduce the likelihood they will return.

    To those who understand the complexities of homelessness, this might well appear a more logical approach than police officers repeatedly detaining people and issuing forms.

    NACT1…the punishers and a prison state…or a change of Govt? To fix the root of it?

    What is clear, however, is that the bill rejects a focus on homelessness as primarily a social problem and returns to the Victorian notion that homeless people are to be managed as a public nuisance through criminal justice powers.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/597986/will-move-on-orders-for-rough-sleepers-make-cities-safer-or-revive-victorian-era-cruelty

    Where we are heading if NACT1 arent kicked out…

    Number of female prisoners expected to surge by 63 percent over next decade

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/598080/number-of-female-prisoners-expected-to-surge-by-63-percent-over-next-decade

    Law changes expected to boost prison population over next decade

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/598055/law-changes-expected-to-boost-prison-population-over-next-decade

    Ditch the pricks '26 !

    • Mercurio 1.1

      More women in prison for stealing?

      We could put them on a sailing ship bound for the penal colony in Australia.

    • greywarshark 1.2

      Private prisons as a growth industry?? First they came for the men, then they turned to the women, then they came for the children. And then…'Quiet Earth'?

      Deep thought! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Dogs_(1977_film)

      …A political thriller with action film elements, it follows the lead man alone character Smith (Neill) as New Zealand plunges into a police state as a fascist government institutes martial law after industrial disputes flare into violence. Smith gets caught between the special police and a growing resistance movement, and reluctantly becomes involved.

      Often named one of the best New Zealand films of all time, it is considered a classic and a landmark in the new wave of New Zealand cinema that flourished in the 1970s and 80s….

      Human futures have been said and told for centuries, but we listened, watched, and went on our various ways in the continuing ways of our kind – which seem to be eventually anyway, unkind!

      Let's stick together for comfort, grit and companionship now Les Miserables.

      • greywarshark 1.2.1

        This is relevant to the prison comment above.

        The equity approach overrides 'one-nation' all- equal equality fudge; equity looks at the individual or group in similar situation, and recognises what they need to be capable and manage their lives and chosen role. It comes from a human-based outlook not a distant tech-driven or class-divided, isolationist approach.

        https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/598097/equity-vs-equality-why-educators-and-health-experts-say-understanding-the-difference-matters

        …Amelia Paxton (Ngāti Pikiao), a Māori public health and policy advisor at Hāpai Te Hauora, said the distinction between the two kupu was important to understand.

        "If you boil it down quite simply, equality is about giving everyone the same thing, whereas equity is about recognising that people have different circumstances and barriers, so they may need different kinds of support to achieve the same opportunity," she said.

        "Equity focuses on the outcomes and opportunities, rather than assuming that the same approach works for everyone."…

    • Karolyn_IS 1.3

      All these new laws will impact low income people, people already struggling to survive, than white collar crime. Meanwhile we have a govt that is corrupt, acts to enrich themselves and their mates, and has legalised more theft of the earnings of the working class by various means.

      The new law at select committee as in RNZ link above:

      The Crimes Amendment Bill, which has been to select committee but not yet been passed into law, creates a new offence for theft that is done in an offensive, insulting or disorderly manner. It would only apply if the value of the property was $2000 or less, and carried a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment.

      Under the proposed new law, the seven year maximum penalty would apply for theft of property worth more than $2000. But anything less could carry a one-year sentence.

      This is a low bar and will impact those struggling on low incomes, and especially women, as women tend to be convicted more of theft than men.

      Theft done in "offensive, insulting or disorderly manner." sounds very subjective. What, as opposed to white collar crime done politely?

      Research shows, that a high percentage of prison inmates in NZ have previously suffered trauma, sexual assault and family violence:

      https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/research/journal/volume_5_issue_1_july_2017/new_zealand_prisoners_prior_exposure_to_trauma

      over half (57 percent) of prisoners have experienced sexual and/or family violence and the rate was higher for women at 75 percent compared to 56 percent for men.

      Instead of fixing the high incidence of poverty, and family, sexual and other violence in NZ, the govt's response is to just lock more people up.

    • SPC 1.4

      Once upon a time, when women could not receive welfare, an indigent woman was placed in prison (for weeks up to 6 months).

      In the 19th C the same ones as men, there was no women's prison till 1913.

      Until 1939, and then under the Social Security Act 1938, women could not access unemployment benefits. This forced women to rely entirely on charities, local relief committees, or domestic service.

      https://teara.govt.nz/en/marriage-and-partnering/page-2

      and page 3.

  2. Patricia Bremner 2

    ‘A nod to Kane Williamson, "cricketer extroadinaire" and a great example of humility.

    A true example of sports’ best. Thank you Kane for years of a marvellous journey.

    • gsays 2.1

      That was a slightly sad start to the weekend. A bit sudden, I was expecting him to be first drop next test.

      As you say one of sport's best, integrity in spades, so who am I to question his actions?

      I hope he isn't lost to NZ cricket.

  3. adam 3

    All those Epstein class scum have bunkers and homes here. We need to join with those who oppose them.

    https://youtube.com/shorts/Yh0XUCsgmOQ?si=DIirGAyrqbGRuZ8e

  4. Bearded Git 4

    Finally the ODT wakes up to the disaster that is fast-track:

    The Queenstown Lakes District Council estimates that, on top of developments under way, 11 fast-track proposals for about 11,000 new homes could mean about 32,000 more people, plus more in nearby Wanaka and Cromwell. Add to that ,.. an alpine village of 780 houses is planned close to the Coronet Peak Ski Area.

    Developers applying through the fast-track process are not required to consult with communities or stay within urban growth boundaries dictated in the council’s spatial plan….[or take any notice of the District Plan. Fast-track decisions cannot be appealed]

    .. Councillor Samuel Belk's.,,,land is down river from a fast-track proposal for 900 houses called Gibbston Village and he objects, strongly, to the project, and fast-track generally. I could apply for a ferris wheel under fast-track, or the most obscene thing you could think of,’’ he says.

    ‘QLDC’s spatial plan went through consultation to ensure development is close to infrastructure and jobs, ensures growth, does not have a huge impact on the wider community and supports sustainability. Fast-track is designed to override these plans and remove the public from the equation.’’

    Paywalled: https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/concerns-grow-over-fast-track-proposals

    Fast-track must go on November 8.

  5. Bearded Git 5

    Yesterday's Taxpayer Union poll shows that the Roy Morgan was a rogue.

    Lab 32.2 Gre 11.5 TPM 3.1=46.8

    Nat 30.1 NZF 11.4 ACT 7.8=49.3

    The Right has the edge but this was taken after the budget and before Labour released its popular public transport policy and before it was revealed that the CoC was hiding advice given to it that the LNG terminal wasn't needed.

    The Greens are polling well and ACT is in the doldrums. All to play for.

  6. greywarshark 7

    Climate patterns and changes . Ocean currents – we have gone too far in unreal money systems and perhaps ignored the real systems too much.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/environment_climate/598107/a-mysterious-cold-blob-in-the-ocean-has-puzzled-scientists-a-new-study-says-it-s-an-ominous-sign

    The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, works like a vast ocean conveyor belt, pulling warm water from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, where it cools, sinks and flows back south.

    A raft of research suggests this system is weakening as human-driven global warming melts ice and causes a surge of freshwater into the ocean, disrupting the AMOC's delicate balance of heat and salinity. Some scientists warn the AMOC is heading toward a tipping point, potentially as early at this century, which would mean a future collapse is locked in.

    An AMOC shutdown would be a global catastrophe, causing accelerated sea level rise on the US East Coast, plunging Europe into a winter deep freeze and shifting the monsoon in Africa, driving prolonged droughts.

    The cold blob has been interpreted by some as a fingerprint of AMOC change, because it's the region to which the AMOC brings much of its heat.

  7. Ad 8

    So good to hang with the big the Rachel Brooking fundraiser in Dunedin tonight.

    About 200 people, good vibe.