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6:00 am, June 29th, 2026 - 66 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 …
Kieran McAnulty was excellent just now on RNZs Morning Report.
Great choice by Labour for campaign manager.
The constant interruptions by interviewers on RNZ is infuriating. Let your guests finish sentences.
Yes, agreed Bearded Git, He does not get side tracked and has answers for inane suggestions and comments. Mental agility and honesty to the fore.
I think the not getting into the nasty low level attacks will resonate with many who want straight answers.
A change from "I can tell you" "We are working hard" and the worst one"There is help at hand for homlessness/housing/hunger/jobs" All "targeted getting less each year and (not) meeting need."
No-one asks Luxon and mates where will the billions come from for their schemes, and even worse, who will benefit. (Usually the top 5%).
I think Kieran will be the Labour leader this December.
A very big shoutout to sitting Councillor Samuel Belk of Queenstown for buying another chunk of land in the Gibbston Valley for the sole purpose of blocking development in the Gibbston Valey which is just out of Queenstown.
So number one, a Councillor shaming his council who have turned their District Plan into a cutout lacework of holes for developers to drive through.
And number two, a landowner who rather than cut his own holding up and sell it out, does the opposite.
I have no idea if it is as purely philanthropic as the headline suggests, but I am very sure that we need more New Zealanders to put their money up and resist.
| Otago Daily Times Online News
also made some of the land public access. Sounds like an interesting man,
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/land-bought-open-space-advocate
paywalled but readable via Reader view in Safari
What a fine act.
Nice to know there are still some people around who don't see the landscape as something to be mined for a fast buck, irrespective of the long term effects.
Yeah, good on him for taking on the maintenance and custody of that strip along the Kawarau. Ngai Tahu are probably glad to have the problem in someone else's hands.
Unfortunately that bit of river has some diverse ownership, with a couple of parcels effectively able to preclude access. And these are owned by people very much to the "Me" end of the spectrum. It's unfortunate as the new cycle trail down the Gorge is having to go alongside SH6 because of this restricted access, and the older walking track can't go past Coalpit Creek.
Have had something similar on a section of the Roxburgh Gorge Trail from Alexandra to Roxburgh dam. Held up for approx 10 years (you can get an IMO, very expensive jetboat to shuttle past ) Now moving forward, it was apparently just
Ha….as to which is which, and who is who…..? IMO big mistake not getting it all sorted…first.
Wrong on two counts Ad.
Firstly, it is THIS GOVERNMENT (not the Council) that has made the Queenstown Lakes District Council's District Plan completely irrelevant through its fast-track legislation.
Secondly, the DP is NOT "a cutout lacework of holes for developers to drive through". The DP has been developed over 12 years with major public involvement at a cost of many millions of dollars and is an excellent planning document. The problem is the fast-track legislation means its provisions are able to be completely ignored*.
Fast-track must go on November 8.
*I have posted on TS about a number of fast-track decisions both in Queenstown and in NZ that have been disastrous.
QLDC have plenty to own on not protecting the environment, as you well know.
The QLDC District Plan may well have been developed over 12 years, but again as you know it was weakened by successive large scale developers before Fast Track legislation was in place.
No doubt Fast Track has made it worse.
It is true Ad that the Council has been pretty useless at controlling the effects of rural subdivision and development around Queenstown and Wanaka.
But what you perhaps don't appreciate is that the local Upper Clutha Environmental Society fought through the courts to get rules into the new district plan that would make it much more difficult to subdivide and develop in the rural landscape in the Queenstown Lakes District. The rules basically tie Council's hands.
These district plan rules became operative at the same time as fast-track came into force, thus rendering the rules useless. However, if fast-track is dumped, they will come into force as part of the district plan thus significantly protecting the amazing landscapes around Wanaka and Queenstown.
It's going to be interesting how the three proposed new towns in Whakatipu go through the Fast Track process. None of them seem to be going very fast, and all of them have significant issues around water in and out, as in no water on site and no capacity to absorb treated sewerage, along with transport and effects on roading.
This puts them into a head on fight with Ngai Tahu, ORC and Waka Kotahi. Also there's not much value is a residential section without water or sewerage connections. If they can't get Ngai Tahu's sign off they'll only get a 6 year consent with respect to water in and out, again not going anywhere as a viable subdivision. I'm picking that all three will get withdrawn as the applicants run out of answers and / or money. Fast Track will suck up resources if you've got to answer hard questions. The Santana process looks to be turning into a bonfire of shareholder capital.
There's a couple of positives with the Fast Track palaver. Council resources aren't tied up processing the application, Councils are an affected party so can freely submit and their submissions have some weight. No processing and adjudicating the application also frees up elected Councillors to speak freely about applications, which they can't do under the RMA process, probably a positive for democracy.
The sheer cost of Fast Track means that it's not going to get used for chopping off a couple of rural residential lots. It's going to be for very large projects and the Santana panel seems to be allowing input from a wide range of sources, and asking some hard questions. It's looking much more through, and inquisitorial process that what happens in a Council led RMA process, or even Environment Court.
The unknown is that it’s all new law and no-one really knows what it means and how it should be interpreted, just like the early days of the RMA. Hopefully the surprises will be pleasant ones. Have a read of the this minute from the Santana panel, mainly the last section, Legal Advice
https://www.fasttrack.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/29993/FTAA-2507-1089-Minute-39-of-the-Panel-26-June-2026.pdf
Nice repressed snark from the Chair in that Legal Advice section.
There's a spot of that in just about every minute.
I really do know of those heroic efforts. You'd be surprised. Nor is it to the credit of QLDC that they were relentlessly pushed into protecting the land by court case after court case.
What Graeme and I are dealing with is the masterplanned towns that within 5 years will join Arrowtown to Frankton to Queenstown into one decentralised conglomerate – which the Fast Track process has made worse but sure didn't start.
From my experience in the Auckland amalgamation of 5 district plans into 1, the upcoming amalgamation of the Central Otago, Clutha, Dunedin, southern Waitaki, and the ORC plans will weaken everything and have fewer and fewer democratic voices available ro resist at all.
You can retract the "masterplanned" bit, please.
Arowtown and Queenstown / Frankton are already joined by contiguous residential / commercial use, there's just a couple of bits that are rather low density.
I've always though that the best way to preserve any vestige of rural aspect in the Lakes is to have more rural residential, the ensuing heard of cats will value their space and object to any further intensification. Larger properties (farms) just provide opportunities for land bankers to build suburbs.
In Hawea, standby for Devondale Daries to be converted from dairy farm to housing. They'll then come marching across Hawea Flat as they have on our southern corridor.
Bollocks Graeme. Rural residential doesn't preserve rural character at all.
Once you have a mansion, additional small residence (obtainable as of right now), a multitude of sheds, car parking, garages, non-native planting, washing lines, boats, caravans an access road to both residences, and other curtilage effects on a 2 hectare lot (which is the size for rural residential zoning) rural character has completely gone.
The only way to preserve rural character is to retain widescale rural zoning and have tough rules against subdivision and development.
I took the 30 minutes to listen to the head of Opportunities Party being interviewed by Guyon Espiner.
She sounded both both and ration.
Just for political breadth, have a go:
'He's a Handbrake' Opportunity Leader calls out Winston Peters | 30 with Guyon Espiner S5 Ep3 | RNZ
Verity Johnson adds Winston's woes by equating his righteous/performative anger with that of Chlöe Zwarbrick's genuine position.
"They’re excellent at understanding why people are truly pissed off. And not any old people. But normal people. Everyday people. They’re fluent in what, in another time, we’d have called working man’s anger. Well, Winston would still call it that. Chloe would call it the everyday life of being a normal Kiwi right now."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360998482/chloe-swarbick-and-winston-peters-are-same-person-different-pants
It is going to be quite a 2026 result if NZF and Greens get to 12% and Opps get up to 5% and ACT are at 6%. It will be one of our longest interregnums forming a new coalition government
From observation, NZ functions the best when Parliament is shut down over Summer and there's no politicians around to do anymore damage. They can take as long as they like to do their coalition forming.
But hopefully not the Belgium experience.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/02/brussels-breaks-belgium-record-longest-period-without-government
Well that was 2 minutes of my life wasted reading that.
'Pissed off' meaning really in touch with the common people's angst? Don't be in too much of a hurry and get both both beside yourself over TOP? It's just the same old in new clothes I reckon. With heart removed by psychic surgeon!
Does she mean "A handbrake for CoC?'
Ad, we know Winnie plays both sides against the middle, practises giving small gifts to the aged and rather larger ones to his supporters via pieces of legislation he has signed.
Opportunity are looking to catch the disafected vote.
I agree the personnel involved is indicative to a degree
They need to declare their stance, as a “Bob” each way won’t do.Too Winnie!!.
That is still a concern, as promises do not mean anything until a meaningful number of members in the House is reached.
Guardian opining re Andy Burnham on whether public asset control means heavy regulation, or means state ownership.
The first test coming up will be Thames Water out of private shareholders, which would be a bigger deal than turning Watercare into a fully state company.
Will Andy Burnham ‘go big’ in expanding the role of the state? | Nationalisation | The Guardian
Would Ed Milliband as Exchequer be up for that?
Update from the bread and circuses department.
It was odd enough for one hugely influential player to retire mid series (Kane Williamson), even odder still to announce retirement mid game. Stokes retires during smoko, promotes himself to opener then blazes 30 runs from 20 deliveries.
Emblematic of England's current style of play.
Big kudos to the courage and fortitude shown by Daryl Mitchell to take 2 sickening blows to the helmet and graft out 100. Big ups to Sears to return to the wicket injured to enable Mitchell to get his ton.
All to play for tonight for a rare series win in England.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/639554/black-caps-close-in-on-series-victory-amid-emotional-farewell-for-stokes
Our sporting world could sure do with some cheering since our womens T20 Cricket go from being world champions to goneburger yesterday, and our World Cup football team got pantsed.
There's a lot of big retirements like the immortal Sophie Devine that will be very big shoes to fill.
Good to see TOP not learning from the Greens' mistakes.
Candidate who was declined by the Greens not standing for TOP in Southland.
Looks like she has some interesting ideas about policy development but doesn't understand politics.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/591140/greens-deny-former-sex-worker-s-background-was-a-factor-in-candidate-decision
That she dissed the Greens afterwards is a very good sign that the Greens made the right decision. Poor boundaries and utter political naivety around publicity (something the Greens' have learned about the hard way in recent years). The issue isn't private sharing of nude photos, it's about one's social media and whether that's going to be a problem for the party, and Beebe appears completely ignorant of the GP's history or doesn't understand it.
Will be interesting to see how she holds up with TOP.
https://www.opportunity.org.nz/candidate-bianca-beebe
As critical as I've been of the Greens' candidate selection in recent years, this one may actually end up being a net positive for TOP.
Not because there's no such thing as bad publicity. Rather, because TOP doesn't carry the same activist or moralistic reputation that many voters associate with the Greens.
That means attacks on Beebe's past may not be interpreted as evidence of poor vetting, hypocrisy, or activist excess in the same way. Instead, TOP has an opportunity to frame its decision as judging candidates on their ideas and capability rather than their history or the optics.
Different party, different expectations, different baggage.
And, to her credit, Beebe's willingness to openly own her past without embarrassment is a politically distinctive story in itself.
Whether voters respond positively is another question, but authenticity is often easier to defend than apology.
Agree. Southlanders generally will judge someone on who they are not their pasts.
The problem isn't the openness. It's the demonstration of political naivety, or perhaps arrogance. Not being aware of the GP's selection process history would be a problem. Thinking her views on appropriateness matter more than the party's. Doyle's ultimate problem wasn't that he was queer, or even that he had inappropriate content on his socials, it's that he believed his agenda was more important than the party's political wellbeing. I'm glad he's gone, and that Beebe didn't get selected.
Will be interesting to see what the right do with Beebe. Hopefully there isn't anything they can use against her. As you say, anything might not stick anyway because of the perception differences of TOP compared ot the Greens.
Oh good some honesty in politics, yes sex is important to all of us, though unlike food we can exist without it. But chefs can be honoured personalities, and sex workers may be regarded lower than cleaning ladies and toilet attendants. They should be nurtured and cosseted, for giving joy or relief to the unloved or desirous and needy. What a good idea!!
We were able to take on a concept of connecting pink and blue* with different sexes, then turn to the opposite; so let's use that facility about sex workers and regard them as an accepted part of the medical establishment!
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendered_associations_of_pink_and_blue
sex work overwhelmingly harms women, directly and indirectly. It's impossible to imaging a good sex work culture and environment without addressing that.
Beebe might well be one of the smaller number of women that do ok by sex work. It would be a mistake to base policy around that.
While this is the present situation for sex workers, it should be different and not just passed off as too hot or hard to think about. Otherwise it is just one of the many things that we have warped ideas about that add to our uneasy, unsuccessful way of trying to be grown-ups who are capable, happy adults living fully amongst our fraternities during our life span.
The exact same things that make her politically radioactive for the Greens make her a risky, but arguably justifiable, choice for TOP.
It's the same candidate, but a completely different strategic context.
Besides, it'd be a bit rich for them to reject someone because of a scandal involving entirely consensual sex when they have Iain Lees-Galloway running their campaign and strategy.
I have no idea what might be used against her, but the issue was about her sense of boundaries, self centredness, disregard for the party and apparent political naivety rather than that. Not so much whether there is material that won't harm TOP but would have harmed the Greens, but how she acts in all of that.
Yeah – the default attack mode on TOP hasn't been worked out yet, whereas the most fruitful attack mode on the Greens is a well-worn path. Any Green candidate who possesses very obvious non-'normy' characteristics is more grist to the mill of smearing them as fringe. As a result, the Green's economic policy can be laughed at as unrealistic without needing to offer any argument as to why. And if on top of that you select candidates with a messiah complex who sabotage party unity, that's just an additional self-inflicted wound.
The Greens might (rightly) resent this constraint on their candidate selection, but it's a real constraint nonetheless – at least for the moment. And if TOP do go above 5%, then the attack lines will start to congeal around some theme.
going by the frenzy on twitter in the past week, the right are gearing up to go hard against TOP. I'll guess that will depend on their polling over th coming months.
My original source of information about Beebe was Bob McCroskie feeding it to rightist and conservative NZ twitter (and presumably FB etc)
What names has "Beebe" used in the past do you know?
Why are "the right" gearing up to go hard against TOP?
I don't know anything about her apart from in the article and a quick look online.
Some on the right perceive TOP as communists, lol. But generally they see TOP as being left and likely to support a centre left government.
TOP's tax reform is freaking some of them out. But I suspect their general socially liberal position is also a problem eg for McCroskie.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/business/361032442/fired-stilettos-stripper-collective-celebrates-move-allow-collective-bargaining-contractors
Workers rights for strippers, makes sense NACT would support that in their otherwise abymsal workers rights record.
No, they realised it for other contractors too.
There is a law change
Yes I know. I was saying it makes sense that National would listen to them while not listening to other workers' rights advocacy.
So, we shouldn't have an issue with the Greens minimising their activist and 'moralistic' tendencies, which is what they appear to have done in this case.
Let's drag everyone to the centre, shall we? Lots gets done there he said sarcastically, and that’s the thing; by definition/nature centrist parties and their voters lack direction and conviction, becalmed in a state of opposing policies, and the boat goes nowhere.
I'm not making any judgment about whether a pivot towards the centre by the Greens is good or bad.
I'm simply saying it's a defensible strategic response when one of the most effective lines of attack against the party has been that it's an ill-disciplined collection of naïve activists with little real-world experience.
Whether that perception is fair is almost beside the point. If voters hold it, then it's a political constraint the party has to manage.
In any case, I see political strategy and policy as largely separate things. A party can pursue exactly the same policy programme while changing how it recruits candidates, presents itself, and responds to controversies.
Yeah, Benjamin Doyle probably said the same thing. It's easy to be brave before the cameras are in your face and you're trending on social media. Also, if you're applying to be list candidate for a political party, what's good for the party matters a lot more than what you as an individual care or don't care about. It does sound like the Greens dodged a bullet there.
I think so. Also bodes well for their selection process too. If one of the committee did in fact react like that about the nude photos, I was thinking awesome. I don't care if someone has shared nude photos of themselves, but I do care if they are too stupid to understand how that might impact on the party.
Over the past few days I've been pondering on a few frequently repeated phrases by the Nats – especially CL and NW phrases such as "Strong and Stable" "Laser focused" and "Growth, Growth" Growth". What do they actually mean? And were they a warning of what they are about – and what they are actually achieving?
What in fact does "a strong, stable Government" actually mean? What would be a strong government? I know what a strong cheese is – you can smell it across the room! Having spent my childhood cleaning up after my sisters horse – I know what a stable is – and if it's not cleaned regularly it can become rather strong! So I take it that they are saying is "vote National and you will get a load of Horse Manure". We can't say that they didn't warn us.
To be "lazer focused" is also something I have pondered upon. What is it that we use lasers focused upon? Very tiny objects. So what it appears that they focus upon is something very small – probably even smaller that a mole hill, and they are determined to make a mountain from it.
Now when I get to the constant recital by CL et al on being a government on "Growth, Growth, Growth" – and how they are seeing that in the economy on a daily basis – I have to wonder what factions of the economy are they actually talking about? What factions of the NZ economy are actually growing ? Now we have to remember that the economy is not just about dollars and cents, it is about providing to the population the greatest benefit to the greatest number over the longest time. That is what the economy is about, and there are many factors that make it up. So where is the growth that CL et. al. are taking about, and is it really happening?
Well it turns out there are factors in the economy that are growing!
Unemployment – is showing good signs of growth.
Homelessness – more people homeless than ever before.
Child poverty – growing at a phenomenal rate!
Emigration – Never seen before numbers leaving the country for good.
I could go on – but it is far too depressing.
Yes they are doing a overwhelming job – and we can't say we weren't warned.
The Labour Party conference didn't inspire me at all. And going off the lack of comments here thus far, it seems I'm far from the only one
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Maybe not – but still light years better than the Atlas Network owned National/NZ First/Act!
Which political party conferences have inspired you this year, Chair? https://vote.nz/
Has a Labour Party conference ever inspired The "more left than most" Chairman?
https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/06/28/labour-faithful-feeling-buoyant-about-partys-election-prospects/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360995545/election-will-be-tight-national-kicks-2026-campaign-party-conference
The Greens new tax policy is much needed
You seem to be a person that likes to link (and some of them are real good). So I thought I'd give you one in return.
I'd love to here your thoughts on the subject matter – when you can. It gets real good from about 50 mins in
And for being left, go look at my proposal on the Hipkins speech thread.
https://www.greens.org.nz/tax_system_for_all
https://vote.nz/ Party Vote GREEN
Alas, my Ad blockers clash with YouTube – it can be nice not to be “most people“.
Seems quite informative. Asks better questions than Philomena Cunk.
You watched the coverage?
Why, Chair?
The last 4 polls all carried out in JUNE give the following averages:
Lab 33.3 Gre 11.9 TPM 2.4=47.6
Nat 29.3 NZF 11.6 ACT 6.9=47.8
It really is too close to call.
[Opp at 3.7 fail to meet 5% threshold. The rogue(?) 6% Opp poll was in April/May]
Plus there is the bonus to the right from their voter suppression tactics – not allowing enrolment within 2 weeks of voting day. That might be worth 1% at least.
Than might be offset by an overhang for the Left. I still think TPM could win a lot of Maori electoral seats, while tactically party voting either Green or Labour.
Looking further at our wood-forest economy I saw something from Earth Day 22 April in a feature in old newspaper – Wellington Apr7-21 . So looked up link to the entity – The Bioenergy Association of New Zealand (BANZ). Haven't read it all yet but am sharing for others who haven't caught up with this.
Is there someone knowledgable can background on actual proceedings?
https://www.usewoodfuel.org.nz/documents/news/Article3_IntegratedBioenergyProgramme_ThePost-28March2026-web.pdf
This sounds interesting: The Bioenergy Association of New Zealand (BANZ) has put forward to Government a co-investment proposal called the New Zealand Integrated Bioenergy Programme, a coordinated plan to turn forestry residues, wood waste and organic material into renewable energy. Instead of being left to rot or wash downstream in the next storm, that woody material could be used to produce renewable electricity, heat and gas, or to free up electricity and natural gas for its highest value applications…
Fossil fuelish Morons and their obsessive, ideologically set on same, incl RONS/Car-Go Cultism et al….are never going to be Interested in the following Link…but its the way we in NZ should be going.
And onya to Climate Correspondent : Kate Newton, RNZ. Great Article !
I note the Greens are already on the Future page…
NACT1 OUT.
Ditch the pricks '26 !
How good are the Greens?
"One indicator of how the Greens deploy their time and energy is its media releases. This year, at time of writing, there have been 97.
Thirty address environment and conservation issues, including 16 on the biggest single topic on the list: climate change.
Another 30 have been in the broad economic sphere, including the cost of living, tax reform, poverty and homelessness.
Six have focused on democracy concerns and another six on Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi. Social issues account for 18 statements, with education getting the most attention (five) and transgender issues the least (one). There have been two statements about the war on Iran and none about Gaza."
https://simonwilsonhopetown.substack.com/p/the-case-for-voting-green
Sooo Good : ) Also cheers for that Hopetown Link. A great article/read.. And we, (well me,and others?) are there, even if virtually….until November !
Also I thought I knew that name Simon Wilson. A Good Guy/Writer and a Cyclist too : )