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Open Mike 19/03/2026

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 19th, 2026 - 55 comments
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55 comments on “Open Mike 19/03/2026 ”

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  1. SPC 1
    19 March 2026 at 11:30 am

    POTUS 47 giving Israel the OK to attack the Pars gas field and Rubio saying it was a pre-emptive strike is a new low in the history of the White House and State Department, this century (or since the Spanish War).

    This level of “monumental stupid” will become legendary.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/590021/all-bets-off-over-nz-petrol-prices-after-iran-gas-field-strike-aa-says

    It requires New Zealand to make plans now, rather than later, for this getting worse.

  2. Incognito 2
    19 March 2026 at 12:03 pm

    This is a Coalition of Cowards. I don’t know who deserves to don the mantle of Greatest Coward, Simeon Brown or Winston Peters but I’m leaning towards my fringe-right and say it’s Winston.

    NZ has outright rejected the amendments to international health regulations, implemented by the WHO without giving any reason, explanation, or justification.

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/18/nz-aligns-with-fringe-rfk-jr-in-rejecting-who-pandemic-rule-changes/

    Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said ministers needed to front up about why New Zealand had rejected the changes.

    “They need to explain their position. They need to explain the contents of the national interest test that they agreed to perform. That is their job,” she said.

    “This decision is against New Zealand’s national interest. We should be, along with the rest of the world, participating in cooperation to strengthen pandemic responses wherever we can. I can only think of political reason for why the Government would take this step.”

    [Helen] Clark said Peters was calling the shots in government and seeking to reward “fringe” voters who believed conspiracy theories about the WHO, the pandemic and vaccines.

    The cowards are all ducking for cover and trying to avoid accountability.

    Newsroom sought comment on the decision from Health Minister Simeon Brown, who deferred to Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who directed questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which referred Newsroom to the Ministry of Health. The ministry said questions were best directed to Brown and Peters, who together made the decision to reject the amendments. It added that New Zealand could withdraw its rejection at a later date.

    […]

    Since then, ministers have refused to comment on the process. However, they have also failed to put the rule changes before Parliament, as required for them to be adopted.

    I looked in the Hansard for answers but that only raised more questions:

    This is a Government where the Foreign Minister has been publicly mulling leaving the World Health Organization.

    On the world stage, New Zealand has had a reputation as a principled and independent voice in international issues. That is being sorely tested by this Government. Having a Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Prime Minister constantly contradicting themselves on the world stage is an embarrassment for New Zealand. Other leaders around the world will be looking at New Zealand and saying, “What is their position? Do they support the World Health Organization, as the Prime Minister says, or not, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs says?” This is a Government that cannot come up with a clear and coherent position.

    National entertains New Zealand First’s harebrained conspiracy theories, refusing to commit to a routine international agreement with the World Health Organization, with no clear rationale for why that is necessary.

    We reserved the rights against the proposed amendments to the World Health Organization health regulations to allow the incoming Government to consider these against a national interest test. [JAMIE ARBUCKLE (NZ First)]

    Christopher Luxon hasn’t seemed to quite pick that up, because he’s been saying, with reference to utterances from the Deputy Prime Minister, “Well, that’s not me; I wouldn’t say it that way necessarily.” When Winston Peters calls the Public Interest Journalism Fund bribery, accuses the media of accepting bribes, goes on weird rants about conspiracy theories about the World Health Organization and how they’re going to run New Zealand, apparently Mr Luxon says, “No, that is not me.”, unlike Chris Bishop.

    I also think that it’s a stain on New Zealand’s international reputation that we are one of only two or three countries in the world saying that we don’t want to be part of the system that the World Health Organization are setting up to stop future pandemics—a system set up to stop future pandemics—and this Government are saying they don’t want New Zealand to be part of it, making us an embarrassing international outlier.

    Perhaps the prime coward still is Christopher Luxon, because he presides over this shambolic excuse for a Government.

    • SPC 2.1
      19 March 2026 at 1:01 pm

      It added that New Zealand could withdraw its rejection at a later date.

      Diplomatic translation

      When the government changes this will all go away.

      • Incognito 2.1.1
        19 March 2026 at 1:14 pm

        Not if Winston Peters has anything to say about it and he’ll want to have plenty of say [WP First], e.g., a third Covid inquiry because, you know, third time lucky.

  3. Incognito 3
    19 March 2026 at 1:05 pm

    Nicola Willis sounds like a child in A&E exclaiming ‘did you see, Mummy, I was cycling without hands!’. The X-ray has been made and the MRI and CT-scans will be done to check for brain damage. Her face only had a few scrapes and she didn’t lose any teeth. She’ll be right.

    https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/gdp-data-shows-growing-economy

    • Ad 3.1
      19 March 2026 at 1:14 pm

      The average over their term will be consistently negative growth.

      Also note that non-residential construction is the biggest contraction: that's the infrastructure pipeline that National deliberately snapped.

      • Incognito 3.1.1
        19 March 2026 at 1:58 pm

        The lack of a plan to grow the economy (not: tackling the cost-of-living crisis for low-income NZ) will now be covered up by the flow-on effects of war in the Gulf. Similarly, lack of capability, leadership, and accountability will be masked by calm & steady do-nothing PR.

        Pain at the pump and doom & gloom pieces in the media will stoke fear & panic, which primes people for populist exploitation.

        2026 is going to be even more fucked-up than it was.

        • Rakuraku 3.1.1.1
          19 March 2026 at 4:41 pm

          What have the COC actually done since it was elected to Government apart from attacking Maori’s and the Lower Socio Economic Groups???

  4. SPC 4
    19 March 2026 at 1:44 pm

    This out before the election is not what the 3, not so wise, men wanted.

    The new Cook Strait ferries are officially priced at $596 million, but internal figures show the total could reach $716  million once delivery costs, contingency, and exchange rates are included.

    Treasury has also warned the overall programme has just $31 million of headroom before breaching the Government’s $2 billion funding cap, raising fears of cost overruns.

    Ferry Holdings, the Crown company buying the ships, says the public figure – announced by Rail Minister Winston Peters in November – covers only the ship contracts themselves, with expected cost overruns built into the wider programme budget.

    There was an OIA request response with redactions last week. Once this was posted on social media the redactions were exposed by someone, so it was taken down.

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360967717/unredacted-briefing-blunder-reveals-hidden-cook-strait-ferry-costs

  5. SPC 5
    19 March 2026 at 2:45 pm

    Given we are vulnerable to the Gulf oil supply (unrefined oil from there to Singapore Japan and S Korea refineries), there should be a future move to diversify.

    Mexico and Canada?

    They export refined oil and diesel to the USA, but might want to diversify.

    • SPC 5.1
      19 March 2026 at 2:49 pm

      Airlines have been warned that they will face jet fuel shortages as soon as next month, risking flight cancellations to long-haul destinations at the end of the busy Easter holiday period.

      Oil traders expect to see shortages of jet fuel from the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz within the coming weeks as reserve supplies are run down and are not replaced.

      Canada exports jet fuel.

      https://www.thepost.co.nz/world-news/360970864/global-jet-fuel-squeeze-threatens-long-haul-flights-after-easter

    • Bearded Git 5.2
      19 March 2026 at 4:48 pm

      Thermal, solar, wind, storage batteries?

      • SPC 5.2.1
        19 March 2026 at 5:09 pm

        There is the gap between now and then.

        We can reduce fuel on the roads, if people go from dual fuel to EV, others can buy them. If people go from fuel efficient to dual fuel, the second hand road fleet still improves.

        There are electric & hydrogen trucks (buses).

        There may be a long term dependency on jet fuel.

  6. greywarshark 6
    19 March 2026 at 2:51 pm

    In line with my certainty that government will become ever more warped and deficient, and that people will need to look after each other to fill the gap, and manage with the remainder of our reliable services – this about listeria.

    https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE2603/S00062/guidance-to-keep-people-safe-from-life-threatening-listeriosis.htm These are categories of people and places to be aware of: Food and pregnancy… Food safety advice for over-65s…Food safety advice for people with low immunity…Food safety in home.

    We all eat so it affects us all or someone we love or citizens we try to be in community with. (See below why that may be hard to achieve as I note from the meanings of patronage and paternalism. The individuality of Ayn Rand may prevent a community of goodwill, memories of which we now need to revive – if we can. This can apply also to the Covid19 and antivax situations and may provide some understanding of responses.)

    by P Burrows · 1993 · Cited by 53 — Few economists appear to be able to contemplate a rational basis for government paternalism. This paper considers the basis for the presumption, …

    • Looking up – 'Building Jerusalem' link brings some thoughtful Christian ideas of how to go about charity to each other.
    • Paternalism and Patronage jstor https://www.jstor.org › stable › pdf

    by N Abercrombie · 1976 · Cited by 136 — Patronage is characterized by an exchange of favours, some of which may have pecuniary value. Secondly, paternalism is a collective form of social..

    [You’ve done it again!

    The first paragraph is ok.

    The second paragraph is merely a link with a scrambled list of poor copypasta from “Find out more” of the linked article, which is quite useless because it doesn’t contain links.

    The third paragraph is a spew of brain farts that are impossible to piece & parse together and looks mostly irrelevant to the first two paragraphs.

    The rest is a bad mess of broken links, incomplete sentences, and incoherent & incohesive bullet pointed notes (to yourself?).

    I’m fed up with having to wade through your mess here, so lift your game and stop wasting my time. This is your last warning – Incognito]

    • Incognito 6.1
      19 March 2026 at 3:14 pm

      Mod note

    • weka 6.2
      19 March 2026 at 3:27 pm

      Incognito is right, that's a hot mess. I'll leave the moderating to them, but have some thoughts on what might help.

      You look like you are struggling with a number of things including,

      • formatting
      • linking

      people here can help you figure that out if you say what device you are on.

      I'm going to repost your comment below, with how the formatting and links should be displayed so they make sense.

      • weka 6.2.1
        19 March 2026 at 3:33 pm

        In line with my certainty that government will become ever more warped and deficient, and that people will need to look after each other to fill the gap, and manage with the remainder of our reliable services – this about listeria.

        https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE2603/S00062/guidance-to-keep-people-safe-from-life-threatening-listeriosis.htm

        These are categories of people and places to be aware of: Food and pregnancy… Food safety advice for over-65s…Food safety advice for people with low immunity…Food safety in home.

        We all eat so it affects us all or someone we love or citizens we try to be in community with.

        (See below why that may be hard to achieve as I note from the meanings of patronage and paternalism. The individuality of Ayn Rand may prevent a community of goodwill, memories of which we now need to revive – if we can. This can apply also to the Covid19 and antivax situations and may provide some understanding of responses.)

        Few economists appear to be able to contemplate a rational basis for government paternalism. This paper considers the basis for the presumption, which permeates contemporary Western economics, that free choice provides a benchmark by which other decision processes should be judged. In the light of the potential obstacles to idealized free choice, the case for paternalistic policy is considered in terms both of an instrumentalist pursuit of welfare gains and of the consequences of paternalism for individual freedom.

        Patronising Paternalism by P Burrows · 1993

        https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/oxecpp/v45y1993i4p542-72.html

        Looking up – 'Building Jerusalem' link brings some thoughtful Christian ideas of how to go about charity to each other.

        Patronage is characterized by an exchange of favours, some of which may have pecuniary value. Secondly, paternalism is a collective form of social…

        by N Abercrombie · 1976

        https://www.jstor.org/stable/590182

        • weka 6.2.1.1
          19 March 2026 at 3:35 pm

          two obvious things there. One is I fixed the links. This is mandatory on TS. If you don't know how to do that, let us know and someone will explain.

          Two is I made the distinction between quotes and your own words very obvious. There are a number of ways to do that, personally I find use the 'blockquote' button in the comment editor easiest (the one that is "). Sometimes you have to add extra blank lines to stop it quoting everything.

          • greywarshark 6.2.1.1.1
            19 March 2026 at 6:32 pm

            Thanks for your efforts weka I will study how to do this correctly and maybe I will be able to pass on some useful stuff I find.

  7. SPC 7
    19 March 2026 at 3:01 pm

    It seems there will a WFF tax credit boost to support low income families in either the budget, or as a separate package.

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360970904/iran-war-nicola-willis-developing-financial-support-families-facing-high-fuel-costs

    Michael Reddell

    And if there may be a role for some fiscal support for low income workers, that itself is a cost that will have to be paid for now or later. Government debt isn’t overly high by world standards, but it is higher than it was and we go into this nasty shock after two years in which, on the Treasury’s own reckoning, no progress at all has been made in reducing the fiscal deficit.

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/business/360970671/considerable-economic-pain-and-poorer-nz-unavoidable-if-war-continues

    • Incognito 7.1
      19 March 2026 at 4:28 pm

      The government stands to earn more in GST on fuel thanks to the rising oil prices. It makes sense to return some if not all of that back to people who struggle with making ends meet. It’s nonsensical to hide behind inflationary risks of any support and “coherence in [their] fiscal strategy” (meaning that they want to cut spending, not spend more).

  8. Mercurio 8
    19 March 2026 at 3:16 pm

    Test message

  9. Bearded Git 9
    19 March 2026 at 4:40 pm

    One of the co-founders of Google has spent $45 million on trying to stop a billionaire tax in California. Talk about sign of the times.

    Luxon would say it was his choice how he spent his money.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/google-sergey-brin-california-billionaire-tax

  10. Incognito 10
    19 March 2026 at 6:17 pm

    Dr Eric Crampton, chief economist at the New Zealand Initiative, gets so close but never gets it, which begs at least one question.

    Anyway, he talks about shortages, scarcity, storage and casts his simplistic demand-and-supply lens over it. He talks well, waxing lyrical, illustrated with abundant anecdata that are almost metaphorical and one can almost smell petrol.

    The commission’s {Commerce Commission] messaging risks confusing today’s sourcing cost with the value of fuel in storage. If replenishment is uncertain, the relevant cost of selling a litre today is not just what it cost to source, but the value of keeping it in reserve. That is like telling hydro generators to run the sluices in February despite the risk of a dry winter.

    And there it is. Prices go up when risk goes up, risk to supply or risk to demand or both. Price setting incorporates risk assessment and even before any supply is actually throttled or cut-off, prices may go up. Companies hedge their bets all the time and Dr Crampton will know about futures & options.

    So, this begs a question, at least one.

    https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/03/17/let-fuel-prices-rise-and-do-their-job/

    • lprent 10.1
      19 March 2026 at 11:15 pm

      The problem is the same one as the electricity supply in NZ. Hedging and ‘market prices’ will work, up to the point that there is no capacity or no supply.

      What happens when the overall capacity or supply is too small to handle the essential tasks in the economy. Like keeping hospitals going, being able to do a clean shutdown on smelted minerals, or moving food to appropiate places. Or the police or military or civil defence to contain rioting or disorder.

      Eric Crampton’s philosophy would be that whoever pays the highest price gets to get the petrol or electricity, regardless of whatever else is happening. The problem is that is exactly how societies and economies fall – because they invariably leads to rebellion and disorder between the haves and starving cold have-nots.

      We’re probably going to find that out in the second half of April. The Israeli economic war on the rest of the world shows no signs of abating.

      Nor should it.

      It was a completely unprovoked and particularly stupid attack that carried no apparent rewards – apart from possibly the two leaders gaining support in the upcoming elections in Israel and the US. It was carried out by two nuclear powers with the excuse that they were stopping another nation from achieving a nuclear weapon capability. Something that neither aggressor bothered to try to prove.

      The current downsides of this dumb arse attack were completely obvious to anyone with a half a brain and a sense of probabilities. Something the neither Netanyhu nor Trump seems to have been blessed with. Sure you can bomb the shit out of anywhere with air-power and do decapitation strikes. That doesn’t mean that you are in command of the area you are bombing – it just means that you’re going to hit civilians. Regime change? Nope – it usually means that regime gets more power and control.

      I don’t like the Iranian regime. But I’m really starting to distrust that stupidity that seems to be the bequest of being a nuclear power with missiles.

      Maybe it is time for NZ and Australia to start consider dumping the Non-Proliferation Treaty and developing a defensive nuclear weapons capability – not with missiles – but with submersible drones.

      Do it before a nuclear power decides to turn up in our part of the world with a fleet and an implicit demand to do as they say while waving a nuclear missiles around like they are Putin’s viagra.

      But whatever way you want to look at it, Obama and the EU nations treaty with Iran back in 2015 is increasingly looking like it was the deal of early 2015 century – before completely Trump fucked it up. Trump has to be regarded as one of the most useless deal-makers of the last 40 years.

      • Rakuraku 10.1.1
        20 March 2026 at 1:17 am

        Trump will go down in history as the most useless and stupid President of the USA ever he has followed Netanyahu down the Rabbit Hole and where this all ends is anyone's guess ?

      • Bearded Git 10.1.2
        20 March 2026 at 6:58 am

        The recent consent granted for an "AI Factory" in Southland is highly relevant here. This will use a huge 280MW of electricity-6% of NZ's supply. Two-thirds of the Clyde dams’ power generation FFS.

        There is a mass of greenwashing in the article below to justify this. The bottom line is that this will put considerable strain on NZ's already under pressure power capacity. The way this is shaping up, under this government, we will be importing hugely expensive and extremely climate unfriendly LNG (worse than coal) to run this data centre.

        There needs to be complete transparency about Mercury's deal to sell 140MW long term to the AI company, Datagrid NZ.

        All future AI factory applications should be required to finance their own power needs through renewable energy.

        https://www.odt.co.nz/business/ai-factory-means-more-turbines-mercury

        • lprent 10.1.2.1
          23 March 2026 at 3:41 pm

          The one that got me on that project was that the permanent employment after the construction phases was expected to be 45 permanent staff.

          During the construction peak for the data centre up to 550 workers will be on-site. Once operational, the data centre will have an average of 45 staff.

        • Graeme 10.1.2.2
          23 March 2026 at 7:21 pm

          I wouldn't get to excited, this thing might have a few hurdles to cross before it becomes a reality. https://archive.is/WCmLx

          But three big pieces of the puzzle are missing, relating to project funding, power and a companion 6000km cable – which was in the bag but fell out.

          Other hurdles include Transpower approval and connection, a multi-year process that’s still at an “investigative” stage, and power deals.

          One-time active partner Meridian has shifted to the politely interested column. There’s also no news on the billions needed to build the data centre.

          Chorus’ decision to withdraw from its partnership with Datagrid shines a light on the challenges faced by the proposed US$3 billion ($5.1b) project.

          Resource consent was the easy one, and they had some agreements but it seems to be going the way of the Clyde data centre bitcoin mine. I feel for Southland, they seem to have no end of these economic mirage that seem like something great but just fade away.

  11. Mercurio 11
    19 March 2026 at 6:22 pm

    In these challenging times, The Standard seems a haven for rational and progressive thinkers. I've been reading posts and comments here for a while now and think I might fit in. The moderation seems very good, the posts, pertinent.

    Have I oiled the wheels sufficiently to be accepted into the tribe?

    If I could have brought biscuits, I would have.

    • weka 11.1
      19 March 2026 at 9:35 pm

      I think that depends entirely on the biscuits. Something with chocolate would probably work.

      • Mercurio 11.1.1
        20 March 2026 at 2:18 pm

        I'm concerned both chocolate and coffee will rise significantly in price and become otherwise less available. Fortunately, I have a stock-pile of Yerba mate that nobody seems to be coveting.

    • Muttonbird 11.2
      19 March 2026 at 9:52 pm

      Why don't you make a comment about something happening in these challenging times. We'll soon see if you are rational and progressive.

      Never mind the biscuits, just try to not be patronising.

      I suspect you are a returning nut job and full of shit.

      • Mercurio 11.2.1
        20 March 2026 at 12:30 pm

        Thanks for the warm welcome, Muttonbird. I believe prevarications from Willis & Luxon on the Government's position regarding the attack by the USA & Israel are deplorable.

        Is my first substantive comment okay with you? Won't sleep till I know.

    • Ad 11.3
      19 March 2026 at 10:47 pm

      Bring your best.

    • Incognito 11.4
      19 March 2026 at 11:02 pm

      Welcome, new user.

      Rather than smarming the Mods you’d better read the site’s About and Policy and you should be fine here.

      • Mercurio 11.4.1
        20 March 2026 at 12:34 pm

        I've Japanese friends staying at the moment. Their polite ways influenced my introductory comment. Please accept my humble apology for smarming. I'll certainly read the sites A&P and try to be more blunt.

        • Incognito 11.4.1.1
          20 March 2026 at 12:47 pm

          Apology accepted and please be more blunt and don’t sugar-coat things, call a spade a spade, because the kaupapa of this site is robust debate that’s civil and respectful.

          I hope your friends are enjoying their stay here and can understand the NZ idiom & lingo and humour that’s very different from Trump’s (but whose isn’t?). Sadly, our PM is humourless and even when he’s the butt of jokes he’s not funny.

  12. greywarshark 12
    19 March 2026 at 7:24 pm

    Iran, USA and Russia then water, sewerage in UK – It's all there for us. (Rory and Alister – The Rest is Politics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNV4gIjHZ04)

    This is my take. Bad, bad privatisation diminishing water and environment quality yet ironically it can be praised as being run at a budget by private interests. Something called a Blue Flag gets talked about, supposed to indicate safety, though a child there died. Calls for authority action get fobbed off by informed, professional people managing contracted clever systems successfully. That problems are not fixed is not acknowledged, and professionals leave and rejoin the sector further along the chain; the revolving door.

    Rory had dealings with them and found them polite and helpful and very involved in their work. Yet Rory was hearing complaints from people, farmers, about conditions but the spiel was always that it was being dealt with. And Rory wonders if he might have been given the exit from his political job if he had created about the real morass of problems. (It would have been an Emperor's New Clothes parallel – my suggestion.)

    (Think Wellington! https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=178383…'How Much Will They Tell Us?').

  13. Incognito 13
    19 March 2026 at 7:31 pm

    I decided to put this in OM despite the link between ‘disaster inertia’ and ‘polycrisis’ that’s mentioned in weka’s Post.

    Put simply, New Zealand keeps patching up damage while failing to address its systemic issues – leaving lives, livelihoods and property increasingly at risk as climate impacts intensify.

    https://theconversation.com/disaster-inertia-why-must-nz-keep-relearning-the-same-lessons-from-extreme-events-278192

    If you’re a regular here on TS this may sound familiar.

  14. Incognito 14
    19 March 2026 at 11:05 pm

    Is March Madness still a thing now the fuel prices have gone mad?

    • SPC 14.1
      20 March 2026 at 7:51 pm

      Only stopped for COVID

      NCAA basketball March Madness

      • 2020 Tournament: Cancelled entirely, marking the first time in history.
      • 2021 Tournament: Held, but played entirely within the state of Indiana to create a controlled, safe environment.

      Virginia overtook the Tar Heels down the straight in the latest round.

  15. SPC 15
    20 March 2026 at 7:41 pm

    Targeted help options (for duration of petrol and food price stress)

    1.WFF tax credit increase

    2.assistance with power costs (because of budget stress)

    3.adjustment to benefits (including suspension of test on partner access)

    4.IETC increase (covers workers without children)

    5.various commercial & industry sectors

    https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360971741/iran-war-what-governments-support-payments-could-look-and-who-will-get-them