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Open Mike 24/09/2026
57 comments on “Open Mike 24/09/2026”
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Thanks to their neo-authoritarian arrogance, the Coalition has eroded trust levels to unhealthy levels.
The ministry of education’s OIA-gate: Whistleblower says it’s not an isolated incident and the ombudsman wants answers
There’s something rotten in the Ministry of Education, and likely in other Ministries and Agencies too, e.g., Ministry of Social Development [Louise Upston], MBIE [Erica Stanford], Health NZ [Simeon Brown], etc.
While the "Minister" strenuously denies any knowledge of this, it is something she should have had; and as an afterthought it has the "Associate Minister of Education" finger prints all over it.
Ditty political work and David Seymour is synonymous with one another.
Seymour may be involved but Stanford will be up to her kneck in it.
Yup, Erica Stanford has a real knack for dodging the truth, just ask Chris Penk.
Yep that's true.
On reflection probably a joint effort.
Stanford has some standing; is coming to Nelson for a joint meeting with Nut candidate here, Blair Cameron. I think Nits (Freudian slip – strange as Luxon has no hair), may be using her as a sort of mermaid.*
This from Google for election watchers. (I am targeted towards mind and policy direction, better informed and responsible citizens of democracy, and current versions of cult-following.)
New Zealand National Party https://www.national.org.nz › team › blaircameron
Blair Cameron | Candidate for Nelson | National Party | Blair Cameron, 35, proudly calls Nelson home and is contesting the Nelson electorate for a second time as National's candidate after coming within 26 votes of becoming Nelson's MP in 2023…
* AI Overview on Mermaids:
Another interest that Stanford might have in education PPP?
I wonder if students are beginning to see school as sort of boot camp punishment for being alive? Forced to learn stuff with no apparent possible application in the future? And conform, not liking the environment, the authority figures, perhaps not finding compatible friends. A lot of theory, nothing much practical, with heads full of trivia picked up from tech. (I was in school library some decades back when students were supposed to be exploring its resources on a personal direction basis. One boy found motor magazines and flipped the pages making happy motor noises. Others gathered at tables and talked about their social after-school plans.)
There's quite a good discussion on reddit/newzealand from both national and local body apparachiks. They make the point that off-the-book periods in talks are common at all levels of governance, simply because the OIA requirement is too restrictive for open discussion.
Good governence is knowing what absolutely must be noted for a true record. Like minutes of a meeting capturing action points, but not the flavour of the argument.
Another point made is that OIA absolutely does not cover private firms: once they run a govt process, all goes opaque. And another reason this govt is so keen on out-sourcing.
https://applink.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/1wog6n9/more_claims_of_education_ministry_staff_trying_to/?utm_source=app_first_navigation&mweb_loid=t2_2nfxspe42o
Wait a second. New Zealand's largest business Fonterra has income of $27 billion, but once you exclude the sale of Mainland brands can only make $2.4 billion in profit off that?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361037595/fonterra-profit-jumps-26b-farmers-share-nearly-20b-cash-return
Fonterra's 2026-27 milk solids prices, both ordinary and organic, are forecast to be just the same as this year.
Once Fonterra and its supplier shareholders go beyond 2026's sugar rush, it's same old low-value high volume fast food ingredients generating the same old miserable returns for all the assets and income it generates.
Fonterra, it's about time you show some ambition for New Zealand.
Talking of rates of return on capital, apparently the four Australian owned banks make more profit in NZ than the entire 200 largest companies in NZ excluding the four banks.
"In 2024, ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac earned a combined profit of roughly $6.5 billion in New Zealand. That same year, the entire Deloitte Top 200 — the 200 largest companies operating in this country, with the banks excluded — generated combined after-tax profits of $6.04 billion."
https://newswire.co.nz/2026/05/the-four-australian-owned-banks-make-more-profit-than-the-rest-of-new-zealands-200-largest-companies-combined/
The Greens' tax policy for this election looks excellent in this context.
“Return the corporate tax rate to 33 percent for the 0.7 percent biggest corporations, like the supermarket duopoly, energy companies, and banks.
Keep the corporate tax rate at 28 percent for small and medium enterprises, levelling the playing field for local businesses.
Introduce a Bank Levy of 0.06 percent on the liabilities of the four big banks”
This is why I will Party Vote Green.
Keeping billions of dollars in banking profits from flowing offshore is a primary reason New Zealand First proposed buying back the Bank of New Zealand and merging it with Kiwibank
…at a cost of $20 billion plus Chairman. A snowflake's chance in hell.
The Green’s have it right as usual.
Sounding rather left-wing for NZF.
Taking away the fact it's an NZF policy, do you not like this left-wing approach?
With their high rate of return one would expect the purchase price to be up there. However, with their high rate of return repayment shouldn't be a problem.
Whereas, tax increases can raise consumer prices and suppress wage growth through business cost-shifting
Which is the last thing you want in a cost of living crisis
The BNZ makes about $400 million PER HOUR.
So if NZFirst wanted to make it a manifesto necessity, Parliament would just propose legislation to nationalise, which would tank the share price, then buy it for half its worth, and use its voluminous profits to pay for it.
If Greens and National are prepared to smash open supermarket companies, then there's nothing to stop the same thing happening to other companies like banks.
Yes, we touched on this issue yesterday re the same thing happening to other companies.
The Government can't afford to act underhandedly though.
The Atlas-led nACT1 CoC govt? Since when? https://www.payequity.org.nz/
I didn't say governments have never acted underhandedly.
Indeed. Kiwis are saddled with a very underhanded govt – dirty even.
And not for the first time
Rod Emmerson, in the New Zealand Herald, 3 Sept 2014
Irony!
We’re talking about the big banks and other big companies price gouging and profiteering off the backs of New Zealanders and you raise alarm about Government acting ‘underhandedly’!?
FYI, Labour has a policy to tackle price gouging by big companies: https://www.labour.org.nz/banning-price-gouging
When a government forces the sale of a bank to break up a monopoly, it must act in good faith to preserve the nations reputation as a safe and stable environment for investment.
Further, if the process appears arbitrary, punitive or underhanded, it can lead to wider distrust of the system. Potentially triggering capital flight. Harming the broader economy.
Labour's policy is more about addressing the symptom rather than the cause. But it's better than nothing and can potentially be of some help.
How much help is yet to be determined. Though, I did notice the term excessive price gouging being used.
So one hopes non excessive price gouging (as it's price gouging nonetheless) doesn't remain allowable.
F%#& that is a lot of money.
We really do need an excess profits tax on the banks.
I reject your premise that it’s a left-wing policy and Winston Peters too would be fuming at your allegation. In any case, NZF has gone hard Right and authoritarian and whatever Left was left in/of this formerly centrist party has gone up in smoke since.
On what grounds do you reject the premise that buying the BNZ is a left-wing approach?
I’ve already given you one reason.
Secondly, read the actual policy.
Lastly, I take with a huge grain of salt anything or anybody you label as Left or Left-wing without any evidence to support your lazy labels.
FWIW, NZF’s policy is stupid shite, IMHO.
So am I correct in thinking you are basing your rejection of the premise on your allegation that Winston would be fuming?
Secondly, you think I haven't read the policy?
Lastly, you take with a huge grain of salt anything or anybody I label as Left or Left-wing?
You say NZF has gone hard Right, authoritarian and their policy is stupid shite.
So can we take it you don't like this policy of buying back the BNZ?
Further, where do you see this policy sitting in the political spectrum?
The Alliance party (whom I think most would consider left-wing) pushed for the creation of Kiwibank. Primarily to keep banking profits inside New Zealand and foster competition. Challenging the dominant Australian banks.
Where do you see Kiwibank sitting in the political spectrum?
NZF is using the same reasoning for their buy-back and merger
https://www.nzfirst.nz/backing_a_new_zealand_owned_bank
While I respect your right to disagree with me, I still think state ownership of a bank sounds rather left-wing. Albeit, it could also be seen as being a bit nationalist
"Sounding rather left-wing for NZF."
Maybe, but it sounds very economic nationalism, right up their alley.
Many people I talk with support putting the country and its people first.
Even a good number from the left. Do you?
However, that doesn't mean they automatically vote NZF
Do you think buying supermarkets is also economic nationalism?
Firstly NZ1ST seem to have wandered away from their origins and seem to be an affordable, entry level party to
buydonate to, to get legislation your way. Philip Morris knows this.In a nutshell I want to undo most of the regressive aspects of neo liberalism.
While having an socialist anarchist's heart (no such thing as the state) that is tempered by living in the remote island paradise that we do.
Therefore, I want the state to have the capacity to undertake major infrastructure builds through its own means ie MOW 2.0. Training apprentices and upskilling the white collar professions too
An end to the likes of the Aussie banks siphoning off profits (money from our economy) to land in offshore shareholde 's pockets.
Having a government that adopts the modern monetary theory. Where they issue the $ into existence to build said infrastructure then tax it back out of the economy.
Some things should not be profited from where commerce is not involved eg police, housing, energy, internet.
Nationalise the power companies and roll out rooftop solar to every school, marae council/government building.
Not sure buying the supermarkets is economic nationalism, it seems more like a desperate reaction to polling and needing to look like you are doing something you promised to do last election. Setting up the Greens (Kiwimart?) initiative might be closer to the mark.
I trust this answers your questions.
"Nationalise the power companies and roll out rooftop solar to every school, marae council/government building."
I like this gsays. France has just legislated that 40% of the roof of all new builds must be solar panels. Brilliant.
To his credit Hipkins has grasped the solar revolution-passing legislation like France might keep Labour in power for 6 or 9 years.
How is that 20 billion made up? I would think that a lot of its assets and liabilities could be absorbed by its parent bank, NAB, prior to purchase. All we would be purchasing would be irs NZ domiciled assets and liabilities. Local bank ptoperties would be rented rather than owned, I think.
But in any case whatever we paid would be matched by the asset purchased.
Wouldn't ot be far better to just give kiwibank a large capital infusion and grab a head kicker from the the big 4 to run it?
Yes, and they could move the government operating accounts from Westpac to Kiwibank also.
The ability to outcompete the big 4 by operating for reasons other than profit is the same thinking behind the Greens Kiwimart proposal. Force the market to behave by undercutting them.
@arkie
x2
Indeed. Saves running the risk of tax increases being passed on to consumers
Yep, that could be another option. One would have to run the numbers to establish which was more feasible
Depends on the result you wanted.
If you wanted to just support 10-2% of NZ's banking market you would just support Kiwibank.
But if you wanted to control 30% of the NZ banking market you would join Kiwibank and BNZ together, and then go actively crush ASB's market share.
Purchasing the customer base (goodwill) would be quicker but expensive. Whereas, winning them over through competitive pricing would take longer but most likely be less expensive One would have to take a deeper look at the pros and cons
Staffing kiwibank with mortgage specialist that actually make an effort (personal experience) would help, and allowing mortgage brokers like m pero to access kiwisaver would also help.
Whats wrong with instituting a wealth tax.
Not much.
Fron Gemini.
[lprent: perhaps you should look at the differences between wealth taxes and windfall taxes – which is what you appear to have actually researched. One is the government doing a broad and hopefully long-term tax. The other is opportunistic and rather akin to legalised theft.
Please don’t use AI without applying some intelligence in doing so. It just encourages trolls. I’ve applied a diminution factor to your dick-waving. ]
2. Banking and Financial Services
3. Historical Precedents
Love to see one here on the banks, and gentailers.
It’s quite popular, apparently.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/24-09-2026/how-new-zealanders-really-feel-about-tax-exclusive-poll-results
TOP’s LVT fared much less well in the survey.
Shout-out to all the Kiwi workers earning minimum wage today.
My bad.
Should have been a windfall tax.
And all that "data" is worse than useless because it's a list and not a summary.
Your data just clogs the reading brain. Who cares if it was Slovakia or Oz, or if the tax was later repealed?
Your whole comment boils down to: many oecd countries have levied windfall taxes, some one-off, some multi-year. They were primarily on oil and gas production, but also on finance sector industries like banks and insurance companies.
That’s all I “learned” from your comment. I don’t know why govts chose that option, or how much they contributed to gdp, or what the response was by citizens and by companies.
I find it interesting to have info passed on to me that has turned up to someone else. I don't think tWig that there should be sweeping condemnation because it doesn't meet some long-held rules. Learning, thinking, encouraging each other, and practical change to new rules will help us adapt to our changing world. And this will be important in all avenues.
Too many people are clinging onto the 20th century thinking in total, and not taking decisive steps to make necessary changes that will elevate society as a whole, not just skimming profit off for some manipulative further scheme. In the end if decisions aren't made to act responsibly and responsively, we will be run over like the hedgehog in the headlights scenario.
We have as a society been under-educated for some generations. There are a lot of unknowns that we don't know. I wonder if it has been deliberate. Reading Catherine Cookson's stories about Industrial Revolution times, coal miners and the servant class were discouraged from learning to read or write; in some of her stories characters admit that if the workers below could better themselves with education then they would not go down the mine with the darkness and the dangers ever present. Is that attitude becoming prevalent again?
An example of failing to spot the need for change and adaptation: Ship building in the UK had been successful but kept to old and too rigid practices then failed spectacularly. …From roughly the end of the US Civil War [c.1865] until the late 1950s, the United Kingdom was one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world. …The UK ultimately proved unable to respond to competitors who entered the market with new, large shipyards which employed novel methods of shipbuilding developed by the US during WWII. The UK fell from producing 57% of world tonnage in 1947 to just 17% a decade later… https://www.construction-physics.com/p/how-the-uk-lost-its-shipbuilding
We need to think and change to keep up especially with LLM or whatever around. Commenters passing on information and stats should be welcomed but also summarise why the extracts are of value. Often providing the links obvious to oneself are needed to help others get on track.
FWIW, I take a dim view of commenters here dumping AI outputs without a single reference [link], without the prompt, and without any fact-checking (obviously). I see it as another insidious form of SPAM that should be treated as such.
Possibly it is a lack of final reading for sureness of message and facts. Fingers go one way while the mind is moving on to the next thing sometimes. So that might save us some confusion, helps me in my preparation.
To do the amount of research that would be needed would take more time and energy I have. Whilst I take your point about the insidious using LLMs, they can be very handy.
Less is more, especially when short of time and/or energy. Do you think others have more time/energy to dig into that large AI dump? I don’t quite understand why you’d bothered in the first place?
Specifically, this was a Gemini dump, presumably from a Google search. Yes, Google search is still handy and yes, the search results can still be useful too. I use Google search frequently but I don’t dump my large AI outputs on unsuspecting TS readers without context & clarification, e.g., include your prompt and follow-up prompts, if necessary.
I do share some of my online research here but I package it into comments that are contextual, comprehensible, and fact-checked out of courtesy to the readers, at least I hope so. I expect other commenters to follow similar good respectful behaviour, so that others don’t have to clean up the mess of confusion, hallucination, or irrelevance, for example.
HTH
PS Lprent was not amused either by your comment, as you can tell.
From Incognito comment @ 1:
This is nothing new.
In the early 1990s, I was the subject of an imbroglio which prompted personal surveillance activity along with other negative experiences. It occurred on Defence Force territory, although I was not one of their employees.
It was based on false evidence supplied them by a third person. The fallout was intense so I had to resign my position. Later, I sought, via an OIA, the information I knew existed due to the activity which had occurred and was witnessed. Nothing… zero… zilch. All reference to it had vanished.
Local governments in New Zealand employ about 41,000 people. Even if over 10,000 are in Auckland, that's still a lot of families and voters to piss off. And now this foolish and weak DIA Minister has decided to defer the entire amalgamation process to next year.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361036026/nz-election-2026-live-updates-politics-campaign-news
That's a lot of votes to try and calm down, and a whole bunch of pissed off local and mostly rural politicians.
NZ being over-run by mercantile obsessed rats? Continually driven by lust for money, affluence; prioritising power, style and wealth status. Trap them, deal to them, attempt to remoralise them, but never trust them completely again.
It's a sickness I think, spread by those isolated from everyday good family relationships, or superior, narrow academics, military school graduates, boarding school children alienated from parents, helicopter parenting or performance-dependent affirmation by parents.
Give us back our growing, imperfect country working for better not the reverse. It is a work of art and skill for people and even a country, to self-manage, striving and collaborating for good results, finding one's own skills, while seeking to work jointly with one's fellows.
It's a great life task, to participate in this private and public venture. We must not let western talibans and obsessives deface it, even destroy our past achievements and culture!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/1510997/chorus-of-complaint-over-threatened-music-resource
Imho, there are better behavioural role models than these big shits.
Sharon Murdoch, in The Post, 5 August 2026
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/361037799/serious-people-say-ai-could-soon-kill-us-all-why-hell-cant-we-just-turn-it
Al little sitting about Buba yaga
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