Open Mike 26/01/2026
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The Mount Maunganui disaster and climate responsibility
Bryce Edwards’ piece and key mainstream media articles on how the Maunganui disaster happened are the start of a long, complex conversation about New Zealand’s precarity and the urgent need to change.
The rise of Winston follows the rise of Pauline Hansen and Nigel Farage
Ten months to go and there is no political party currently countering the sustained rise of New Zealand First.
Open Mike 25/01/2026
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Open Mike 24/01/2026
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Mapping Carney’s speech to our MMP Politics
Carney’s observations of the rupture in the world order and great power rivalry are mirrored in NZ politics.
Open Mike 23/01/2026
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What price is a “Kiwi” worth?
Some NZ hospitals are going into critical status at least twice a day, turning away patients who are then as twice likely to die. Plus: National isn’t meeting its targets and election day announced.
The Carney speech
“The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.
But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.
…
The powerful have their power. But we have something too – the capacity to stop pretending, to name reality, to build our strength at home, and to act together.”
Open Mike 22/01/2026
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Atlas NZ Inc: we are (the) good guys
When holding out an olive branch to the Left in your Right hand, you should also show the other hand.
Should Luxon join Trump’s Board of Peace?
Donald Trump invited Christopher Luxon to join a new organisation to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza and eventually the replacement of the United Nations. How should Luxon respond?
Open Mike 21/01/2026
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Management speech mumbo jumbo
Christopher Luxon’s latest State of the Nation speech suggests that over summer he has been spending more on his Spotify summer list than he should have.
Open Mike 20/01/2026
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Open Mike 19/01/2026
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Flooding the zone with Trump trumps Godwin’s law
When intensely watching the orange orangutan in the White House we miss the invisible gorilla in the oval room.
Open Mike 18/01/2026
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Luxon’s utu
Christopher Luxon is extracting utu on Chris Bishop for his pre Christmas attempted coup by making Bishop eat humble pie on his plans to allow intensification in Auckland’s inner suburbs.
Open Mike 17/01/2026
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Iran in the vortex – what’s really going on?
To understand what’s going on in Iran, abandon what the Persians invented centuries ago: Manichaeism, black-and-white, political framing.
Our Quiet Tyranny
The attack on the NZ Reserve Bank is lock step with Trump.
Open Mike 16/01/2026
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MCERT V MAF V MBIE V Treasury
The merger of many functions of the central public sector concerned with cities, the environment, housing and urban development, and transport, was announced in the week before Christmas and is now underway. There’s plenty of good on the face of it.
Peters attacks Reserve Bank Governor
Winston Peters has attacked the REserve Bank Governor Anna Bremen for publicly expressing concern about politically inspired Department of Justice attacks on US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Open Mike 15/01/2026
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Open Mike 14/01/2026
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Open Mike 13/01/2026
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The C Word
Mountain Tūī Opinion and Analysis on New Zealand’s “C” word
Open Mike 12/01/2026
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Open Mike 11/01/2026
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Simeon Brown & Van Velden VERSUS NZ Firefighters
Brooke Van Velden, responsible for refusing a firefighters’ levy increase in 2024, piled on to firefighters who have been struggling for over a year to be heard – leading to catastrophic losses & risk
The death of truth
The competing social media takes based on video that clearly shows that the shooting of Minnesota woman Renee Good was totally unjustified shows how dominant social discord is now considered to be more important than truth.
A Radical Gets Real Power and Runs Something Big
Tim Shadbolt’s passing shows what it’s like when a bona fide radical activist gets into power for long enough to make a permanent difference.
Open Mike 10/01/2026
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Affordability is not about prices – it is about extraction
The real affordability crisis lies in the systematic extraction of income from households.