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January 2, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 02 January 2026

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Yvette

Treaty Principles Bill II
Include that the Government and all its services are secular.

ACT leader David Seymour has vowed to reignite the debate in 2026, saying the bill “planted the seeds of a movement of equal rights for this country that won’t go away anytime soon”

While some would advocate Government enforce the fact that the entity is secular and has to treat all religion represented in New Zealand as neutral, to favour none or raise no religious view above any other, to fulfill the UN Human Rights Declaration, it may be difficult when Taranaki Maunga (Mount Taranaki) has legal personhood, giving it a “voice” through representatives (Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi) to advocate for environmental protection against Taranaki seabed mining’s potential ecological damage and impacts on marine life and fisheries, with hearings under the Fast-Track Approvals Act highlighting deep community concerns, for seabed 30 km off the Taranaki coast.

To clarify the issue will it become a matter for the courts, considering New Zealand law, or New Zealand law plus tikanga, and will the aspects of tikanga be as prior 1840 or after, and then does Taranaki Maunga have a similar 1840 limit or does it have open slather from the time it moved from the Central Plateau cluster of peaks when human characteristics were first bestowed on it in a ‘piqued moving’ action which no one was here (well, not Maori anyway) to witness the occurrence.

Like, the act of offering the steam from a hāngī to the Matariki stars is a significant ceremony in the Māori New Year known as Te Umu Kohukohu Whetū. This ritual gives thanks for the previous year’s harvest and helps ensure the bounty of the year to come by ‘feeding’ the stars associated with different food sources – as well as being fed to children in primary school.

Time to be fed coffee and medication
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January 2, 2026 8:05am
- KH
  
  “Personhood trafficking”
  When a ‘person’ is held captive by others who claim to speak for them it’s clearly trafficking. And those capturers make money out of it.
  I think you can go to jail for that.
  (………..Taranaki Maunga (Mount Taranaki) has legal personhood, giving it a “voice” through representatives (Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi) to advocate for environmental protection ……..)
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:46am
- Mike
  
  Those are all excellent questions for Mr Seymour to make some noise about. Perhaps, as associate minister for education, he could make a start on secularizing that field by withdrawing all taxpayer funding for religious schools.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:46am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    No problem, Mike. Cue the withdrawal of the Catholic Church in particular from education in NZ; and the State sector then have to find places for the 16% of pupils that will be immediately landed on them.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:24pm
    - waikatosinger
      
      A voucher system like they have in Sweden would solve the problem. But you’d be buying a huge fight with the union. It might be worth it.
      
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      January 2, 2026 8:45pm
    - Paulus
      
      And Private schools too !
      
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      February 2, 2026 2:59pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    Yes, but that would require those who pay tax get refunded so that they are able to pay that portion of tax attributed to education for their own children’s education in a religious school.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:26pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yes, make it tax deductible. Same with health insurance.
      
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      January 2, 2026 1:51pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        It would need to be more than just tax deductable – all you get that way is around 30% – or whatever tax rate you are on – of what you spend on education.
        You would need a refund of the total cost per child that is allocated to the Dept. of Ed.
        
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        January 2, 2026 2:55pm
      - Cassandra
        
        Vouchers for education. Yes please!!
        
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        January 2, 2026 3:54pm
    - Mike
      
      It wouldn’t require that at all, any more than those paying for private medical care should get a tax refund.
      You want your child in a Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindi, Sikh, etc school, you pay for it.
      
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      January 2, 2026 4:12pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        And a Maori school teaching “te ao Maori”? Who should pay for that?
        
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        January 2, 2026 5:51pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Better still, withdraw all taxpayer funding from schools promoting the crackpot cult of woke.
    
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    January 2, 2026 5:02pm
    - Mike
      
      As there is no such cult, it would seem a straightforward measure.
      
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      January 2, 2026 5:15pm
- Cassandra
  
  Similar to the Harvest Festival at my church. We are blessed! Particularly here in Tauranga.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:57am
  - R
    
    My thoughts entirely. The original concept of sharing and being grateful for what has been provided. Mind you that concept is 1950’s era, pre Marxist indoctrination
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:02am
  - Paulus
    
    Harvest Festival where I came from, Britain, was celebrated once a year as a thanks for the Harvest that had just been completed. As I understood went back many hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
    It was a lovely service for families and animals that went too, as I remember.
    The church was beautifully decorated with all the wonders which the land, and those who worked it, gave to us.
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:37am
    - Don Beckett
      
      Wasn’t that the old pagan May 1st. solstice celebration, but has been taken up by Christianity and ‘Chritianised’. It’s called Inculturation, giving thanks to God for His creation, rather than some Mother Earth deity – like Papatuanuku in the Maori pagan religion.
      
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      January 2, 2026 12:29pm
      - cmm
        
        Yup, all religions have taken over pagan holidays, but that isn’t really the point.
        
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        January 2, 2026 1:30pm
      - Mike
        
        All religions are ‘pagan’, to those of other religions.
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:17pm
      - Jethrod
        
        So does that overflow into political parties…??
        One is the RIGHT (meaning correct) one and all others are……mmmmm, can’t be pagan, but perhaps a new word needs developing .
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:36pm
Anthony Melchett

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/controversial-pension-deduction-law-saves-government-half-a-billion-dollars-each-year/YBXP5F5LAFFLLC4NGXLQN4XX6Y/

More excellent journalism. Not.

So this guy is complaining he doesn’t receive the nz pension because he receives a payout from his usa pension weekly (which is higher than what the NZ super would be so it is deducted by 100%) and that is unfair and he can’t afford to do anything.

“Wolfson receives a little over $900 in the hand each week, but due to high debts that cost him about $500 a week, he has “virtually nothing” left over once he has paid all his bills.”

He gets double the NZ pension each week but spends half of it on servicing debts! A lot of people working in nz would love to get $900 a week in the hand.

The problem here is poor financial management, not the law meaning there are deductions.

He is 83 and been here for 20 years. He shouldn’t even qualify for nz super, let alone be given a platform to complain about not getting it because he gets an overseas version which is double.

If he doesn’t like it here he should go back to his home country instead of trying to bludge our tax dollars and complain about it. The law is in place for this exact situation.

The herald should have told him to cry harder instead of running a sob story for him. I’m suprised they didn’t blame the 1964 law on the coalition government.
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January 2, 2026 8:07am
- pdm
  
  Both mrspdm and I receive UK pensions of nominal amounts from when we lived there 2009 to 2011 – about 20 months in total.
  
  I earned about 3,000 pounds and mrspdm did not earn a penny.
  
  Amounts are very small and we have them paid direct to the NZ Government rather than shag around with form filling every year.
  
  A very simple solution for us but, maybe not so for people with substantial pensions from other countries. Maybe the USA would pay him a lump sum to `buy out’ his pension entitlement there which would possibly be taxable in NZ but, long term would solve his problem.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:44am
  - Don Beckett
    
    I lived & worked in Oz for around 10 years back in the 1980’s, and the Australian Govt pays around 20% of my pension. I could have got it direct, but would have meant a lot more mucking around, and reporting each year a 90 odd questionaire which would add cost for getting an accountant to verify everything.
    So even though I don’t get as much, it all goes through the NZ system – easier, no problems.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:45am
    - Don Beckett
      
      Looks like someone thinks I’m telling porkies. 😆
      
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      January 2, 2026 12:32pm
      - Jethrod
        
        Guess who!
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:39pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      DB do you regret returning to NZ?
      
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      January 2, 2026 5:15pm
  - Paulus
    
    Appears that wef 1/2/25 UK is now deducting tax before payment rather than let the recipient, me, pay monthly accumulated tax in New Zealand annually for the last 21 years.
    
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    February 2, 2026 3:03pm
- Flossie
  
  Receiving over $900 a week in his hand is more than a couple on the NZ pension get.. currently $828 per week for us both!
  Am I supposed to feel sorry for this dude?!
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:56am
  - slijmbal
    
    Similar situation here but spread across UK and NL. My wife has had to do a huge amount of shagging around with forms, proving identities, proving alive, providing spouse details etc.
    
    As I hit retirement age for NL shortly I expect to have to do the same.
    
    The amounts involved are trivial so highly likely it costs more to collect than brings in in our case. Probably true for many. IRD is in unenviable position where if it did something sensible like set a threshhold to be efficient it would be seen as unfair.
    
    In terms of pensions. If it’s the official government one in the other country then NZ takes the entirely sensible position that someone doesn’t get to receive two such pensions especially as ours is universal and not means tested.
    
    Private pensions are not included in the process.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:54am
  - mogg
    
    These pensions are not really comparable, as with th UK pension scheme an individual has to work and pay in for forty years to get the full pension. It is called Nat Insurance payment, so a lot of the pension has been funded by the individuals own money.
    Here it is payed after 10 yr residence and no contribution required.
    
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    January 2, 2026 3:20pm
- peterwn
  
  This is a typical ‘hardy annual’ that comes up every so often. Some guy says he is going to go screaming off to the United Nations about it.
  Rob Muldoon was arguably too generous when he set up the present scheme. He should have set up a scheme for employees not in the major ‘defined benefit’ schemes (these were generally limited to public sector, banks and insurance companies ‘permanent’ employees. He could have also removed some of the quirks from the public sector scheme eg if an employee drops dead in the office, his wife merely got her husband’s contributions back, but if the husband knew his death was imminent eg cancer, he could retire as medically unfit and his wife would have got half super.
  
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  January 2, 2026 10:08am
  - MCōs
    
    Muldoon set up the present scheme, but at the time it was far more generous than now and kicked in at aged 60.
    It was an unsustainable taxpayer funded election bribe on a vast scale. Even now in a much reduced form it soaks up roughly as much as health or education
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:37am
    - peterwn
      
      At that time the government and other public sector employers were reducing the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 60 (all employees starting after a certain date had to retire at 60). It was later that it was deemed age discrimination to force employees to retire at a set age. So that would have been the rationale for starting the Super at 60.
      The other consideration was that Rob Muldoon was looking for a ‘killer’ election promise to knock Labour out in the 1975 election. I cannot remember if Rob made the promise before or after Norm Kirk died in office – he would have mounted a formidable campaign if he had not died prematurely.
      The reason that the Super scheme has survived fairly well (the main change being to increase the eligibility age to 65) is very much because of the presence of Winston Peters over the years. No significant change will be made until he starts his new career – daisy pushing.
      
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      January 2, 2026 12:41pm
- kowtow
  
  Yep the “story” goes he can’t get by on the $900 cos of debts . Then they don’t tell us what or why he’s in debt.
  Utterly crap “journalism”.But that’s their front page , screaming headlines offering.
  
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  January 2, 2026 10:52am
  - PurplePen
    
    And he can’t go back to the USA to see his family as he can’t afford the ticket. Why hasn’t his family bought him a ticket.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:58pm
- Prince
  
  Income of $900 a week, no mortgage or car repayments…! A simple question from a decent reporter might be ‘What are the ‘high debts’ that cost him $500/week ?
  In any case, that leaves him $400 a week – roughly what the NZ pension is for most pensioners. So why is he so special ?
  There’s something that doesn’t stack up here. Can we have the full story please, NZ Herald.
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:02am
- R
  
  It WAS a Herald journalist, you’re expecting a little much so soon in the New Year!
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:05am
- Skottowe
  
  “Wolfson receives a little over $900 in the hand each week…”
  
  We’re pensioners. We should get so lucky, having an income so high, while on NZ Super.
  
  We aren’t in the least sympathetic to him. He should stop with the whingeing and – if it doesn’t wish to be laughed out of the room – the Herald should desist from printing stories like this, or at least put in a bit more research. It seriously annoys those of us just getting by on the pension.
  
  Try living in Wellington, where rates and insurance chew up the entire pension for one of us.
  
  He’s an American. He has the option of returning to the US, and that’s what he should do, instead of expecting NZ taxpayers to prop him up financially.
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:07am
- Paulus
  
  Anything to blame and denigrate the Government of course, but that is what the so called media do all the time.
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:40am
- leoj
  
  Wolfson is breaking the law if he is receiving US Social Security because it is restricted to those living in the 50 states. If you live outside of the US, you are not allowed Social Security.
  
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  January 2, 2026 12:12pm
  - Hard Cheese
    
    “ If you earned Social Security benefits, you can visit or live in most foreign countries and still receive payments. Look up the country on the SSA Payments Abroad Screening Tool to find out if you can collect your Social Security payments or Social Security survivor benefit”
    
    https://www.usa.gov/social-security-abroad#:~:text=If%20you%20earned%20Social%20Security,or%20Social%20Security%20survivor%20benefits.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:24pm
- [email protected]
  
  The US pension is virtually identical to the New Zealand Kiwisaver program where both the employee and employer pay a percentage of your salary into an investment fund. The only difference is that Kiwisaver is not run by the government whereas the US version is run by the Federal government. Kiwis do not have their Kiwisaver income deducted from their New Zealand pension.
  
  New Zealand uses that fact to justify taking money off US citizens who have worked and paid taxes in New Zealand for years.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:13pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Re reading the article.
  
  He doesn’t actually get a NZ pension!!!!!! as the US pension (greater than NZ pension) is deducted from any entitlement under NZ law.
  
  Remember its the silly season and an opportunity for a journo, to have a go at the Government.
  
  At least the headline was honest.
  
  Yawn, scrolls on.
  
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  January 2, 2026 4:34pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  I can let everyone know my partners sister and husband have returned from the States, they both have US pension, they have worked there for 25 years and have earned a lot of money, if you work till 70 before asking for the pension you get heaps more, her sister worked till 70 and now can live on that higher US pension, they didn’t even apply to the NZ pension knowing the rules.
  
  Anyway, my partner , myself and them are looking at traveling to England, Scotland and France with a wee visit to the Shetland islands in April and May
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:15pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

China has real problems. Its birth rate has halved in the last ten years. If the trend continues then it will struggle to invade Taiwan, which offers an insight into last week’s military exercises around the island.

I wonder if, facing demographic collapse, China will reach out to its diaspora to invite them back to the motherland.

We live in interesting times.

http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxpk7r8w9yo
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January 2, 2026 8:09am
- Mike
  
  It seems likely that the world already has enough humans, so declining birth rates are a good thing.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:50am
  - Hard Cheese
    
    Except when a lot of the world relies on a Chinese workforce to produce consumer goods. China’s problem is it won’t (and realistically can’t) replace its working age population with immigrants from other countries.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:30pm
  - Jethrod
    
    Unfortunately the decline seems to be in the main, those who have a higher standard of living, not bound to the tenets of a religion, pagan or otherwise. Those beholden to a absolute supreme being are less fortunate.
    
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    January 2, 2026 4:53pm
- Jack5
  
  China is changing its tax strategy modelled on its one-child family strategy that existed for decades. Changes include, from yesterday, a tax on contraceptives.
  
  The BBC has a new article on the condom tax and some Chinese reactions to it. This is the first link below.
  
  It reports China is one of the most expensive countries in which to raise a child, according to a 2024 report by the YuWa Population Research Institute in Beijing. Costs are pushed up by school fees in a highly competitive academic environment, and the challenge women have juggling work and parenting.
  
  China’s birth rate has begun rising again, according to the second article linked to below — from Macau. It’s from last January.
  
  Macao, a former Portuguese colony close to Hong Kong, is a special administrative region of China, under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, similar to Hong Kong. Macao was taken over by China in 1999, two years after Hong Kong became an SAR of China.
  
  Not that we should forget NZ’s low birth rate, which is down to about the level of 1943, during World War 2. This is the third link below.
  
  Condom tax:
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxpk7r8w9yo
  
  China birthrate rising again?
  
  https://macaonews.org/news/greater-china/china-population-birth-rate-2024/
  
  NZ birth rate down to 1943 level:
  
  https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/lowest-natural-increase-in-80-years/
  
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  January 2, 2026 10:20am
- MCōs
  
  How many times over the last two thousand years have Kiwiblog comments started with the hopeful sentence
  ‘China has real problems’
  
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  January 2, 2026 10:48am
  - kowtow
    
    Don’t know , but go on you’re busting to tell us, aren’t ya.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:53am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Starting from 26AD
      
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      January 2, 2026 12:28pm
  - slijmbal
    
    @MCos
    
    ‘China has real problems’
    
    In this case it does but they’ve shown themselves to be canny and I suspect they will eat the dead rat and do something they don’t want to as the lesser evil. Maybe set up foreigner manufacturing cities or some such. Places like the UAE seem to be able to (ab)use Pakistanis to cope with worker deficits. It’s feasible.
    
    I very much doubt they will just wither on the vine.
    
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    January 2, 2026 6:24pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Japan (and I suggest Taiwan) has a worse population equivalent.
  
  Thats why immigration from low income countries is rampant to hi value countries with low population growth..
  
  Note. China is pushing ahead with autonomous (Dark factories) and agriculture (autonomous harvesting and seeding.).
  
  Widen your world view and you get a totally different picture of Chinas capacity. Remember, they are still over a billion strong.
  
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  January 2, 2026 4:41pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    A dictatorship essentially with engineers largely running the operational side of the country. Therefore some aspects extremely bad and some things very good.
    
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    January 2, 2026 5:20pm
- Paulus
  
  India is going to swallow China too – like Aotearoa !
  
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  February 2, 2026 3:11pm
pdm

David Seymour on a private visit to Argentina has met with President Javier Milei.

FromNZCPR Facebook:
David Seymour
“Inspiring to end the year meeting Argentinean President @javiermilei and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. Their Government has halved its number of departments, cut spending by 30 per cent, is posting the first fiscal surpluses in decades, seeing poverty down and economic growth up. I was struck by Milei’s deep economic knowledge and his humility considering his enormous achievements. Legend.”

There is also a photo which I could not copy over.

No mention on Stuff or The Herald as is customary when David Seymour achieves something good for New Zealand.

Finally a question:
When will PM Luxon visit Argentina and meet President Milei to get some ideas on how to turn a floundering country around?
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January 2, 2026 8:24am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Be fair, PDM. The NZ government is reducing the number of its departments.
  
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  January 2, 2026 8:32am
  - pdm
    
    `Speedy Gonzales’ would not be their middle name though would it Bollocks?
    
    Plus National and NZFirst are the handbrakes in that area so a visit to see Milei by Luxon could speed things up with a bit of luck.
    
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    January 2, 2026 9:47am
    - MCōs
      
      NZ has nothing to do learn from Argentina, except on the rugby field
      Sure we have problems here, but on a vastly different scale to those confronting Milei and if Seymour wants to apply his policies here he’s using a sledgehammer to pop a pimple.
      
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      January 2, 2026 10:14am
      - Don Beckett
        
        It’s really just a matter of scale – we have similar problems to Argentina, just hugely smaller – but the same principles apply.
        
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        January 2, 2026 10:50am
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Don’t worry! Lab/Green/TPM brains trust getting another go at it will f*ck everything up Argentina-style for you.
        
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        January 2, 2026 5:23pm
    - Jack5
      
      Could you get a Government as decisive as Milei’s under our MMP electoral system?
      
      If NZ had such a presidential system and held an election right now, I reckon, with Trump’s win in mind, that Winston Peters would be a strong candidate.
      
      Milei was elected President after taking 30 per cent of the presidential vote in the first round, and 55.7 per cent in the second round.
      
      Here’s how the CIA World Factbook describes Argentina’s presidential elections:
      
      “President and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority vote (to win, a candidate must receive at least 45% of votes, or 40% of votes and a 10-point lead over the second-place candidate; if neither occurs, a second round is held); the president serves a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term).”
      
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      January 2, 2026 10:41am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      So we are now to take dictate from third world nations now
      
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      January 2, 2026 9:20pm
  - Cassandra
    
    Yes but. Long, long way to go.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:06am
  - KKNZ2025
    
    Reducing the number of departments by amalgamation does not necessarily reducing public servant numbers (inflated by 18000 / 40% by Labour 2017-2023 with no significant improvement in public service & not significantly reduced by National since)
    
    Exhibit A: MBIE
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:44am
  - Paulus
    
    But not the number of employees !
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:43am
- Simon
  
  Thats boomertasic. Meanwhile massive bail out of Argentina since Milei became president.
  
  In October 2025, the U.S. Treasury announced a major support package for Argentina, widely described internationally as a bailout or financial lifeline.
  
  This includes a $20 billion currency swap line in which the U.S. buys Argentine pesos in exchange for dollars to help stabilize the peso and shore up reserves.
  
  International Monetary Fund Rescue Package (2025)
  
  In April 2025, Argentina reached an agreement with IMF for a new rescue program of about $20 billion.
  Beyond the IMF and U.S. packages, other institutions have offered backing:
  
  The World Bank has accelerated the delivery of about $4 billion in support to Argentina in 2025.
  
  Then there is the selling off of key govt assets.
  
  Milei and the regime are key GAE Neoliberal losers.
  
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  January 2, 2026 8:41am
  - Mike
    
    They are winners, Simon, because sucking up to Trump gets them a cheap bail-out to ensure their ‘reforms’ are paid for by US taxpayers.
    
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    January 2, 2026 9:52am
  - Jack5
    
    Argentina is rich in minerals, including copper, lithium, and oil.
    
    It is making mining easier, while NZ has made harnessing its coal and iron resources harder, and NZ’s Labour-Green lunatics continue to scare off exploring promising indications of oil and gas.
    
    Like NZ, Argentina was once a rich country from agriculture exports. Its mineral resources can bring back its prosperity.
    
    NZ should be emulating it on mining and resource exploration.
    
    https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/newsandanalysis/article/2707674-Argentina-speeds-mining-permits–incentives
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:57am
    - Wandering Star
      
      And who will be obtaining Argentinian mining permits more easily? American companies (i.e. not Chinese ones) who are after Argentinian minerals, for instance people like Elon Musk who will use the copper and lithium in Tesla and SpaceX products and projects. Fair enough, you may say, but that’s the agenda, not “diminishing socialism.”
      
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      January 2, 2026 1:18pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      I note our trade deal (that everyone hates because Luxon bad) has tariff free NZ coal in the deal, something that I would have thought Peter’s would have been for, but Peter’s hates trade deals, but wants mining including coal, he and his party do not make sense
      
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      January 2, 2026 9:26pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    Downtick away, but this point does actually need answering if we’re going to make the case that a similar approach to Milei’s should be applied here
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:00am
  - Wandering Star
    
    Yip. There’s approximately as much delusion surrounding how good Milei has done as there is re: Trump this term. Just keep saying “he’s sticking it to the socialists/the woke!” and no amount of reality matters.
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:38am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Or, Milei is seen as a responsible manager of the economy and is pointing things in the right direction, so he gets a thrown lifelines. Also presumably because he not a silly communist he’s seen as an ally worth strengthening relationships with.
    
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    January 2, 2026 5:44pm
- CJames
  
  Private visit – That would mean no journalist could get a free trip to cover it. If that means David paid for it himself. that is really notable. If it was one of the other parties’ leaders, or even just one of their members, they would have flown there on a government paid for flight – Business class of course. They would have also stayed it top hotels – taxpayer funded of course. Then they would have spent almost all their time doing tourist things before flying home. Then if in an Opposition party, they would rail against fossil fuel use. Look at recent holiday trips done by MPs as prime examples.
  And they wonder why the hoi polloi treat them with contempt.
  
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  January 2, 2026 8:45am
  - pdm
    
    Private trip is my understanding CJ.
    
    In a You Tube video I saw around the time Parliament closed shop before Christmas Seymour said he and his Fiancee would be on a private holiday in Argentina. While there he would see if it was possible for him to meet with Milei.
    
    Mission accomplished.
    
    As you say imagine the fanfare and media hullaballoo if say McAnulty had gone on a Private trip to Cuba and met with Leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, while there. It would be front page news for days.
    
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    January 2, 2026 9:06am
- R
  
  pdm! You appear to have been around long enough to understand that at present PM Luxon is part of a coalition; in which the other two parties are led by two egotists. PM Luxon understands what needs to be done to rescue NZ. Unfortunately, MSM doesn’t want a credible future for NZ residents. You no doubt recall that historicaly, Argentina has never been a credible fiscal role model for any ambitious country to follow.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:43am
  - Gussy Fink-Nottle
    
    100 years ago, Argentina was a wealthy country.
    
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    January 2, 2026 1:46pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      The name Argentina is based on the Latin, Argentum – which means Silver. Plenty of silver deposits around Argentina.
      
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      January 2, 2026 2:58pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        For the few doubters:-
        
        “AI Overview
        Yes, Argentina has significant amounts of silver and is consistently ranked among the top 10 global producers, with an output of 800 metric tons in 2021. The country holds large, often untapped, reserves, particularly in the Andes region, including one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper, gold, and silver deposits discovered recently in San Juan. ”
        Cheers to the unbelievers. 🙂
        
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        January 2, 2026 5:20pm
  - pdm
    
    R I understand your point but, still no harm in Luxon getting in front of Milei.
    
    It could be good for New Zealand or Luxon may decide to continue down the Labour Lite track he seems to favour.
    
    Either way no harm done just opportunities missed and as the old nooky saying used to be:
    
    `you never catch up on the ones you miss out on’.
    
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    January 2, 2026 3:48pm
- Wandering Star
  
  Didn’t the US have to bail out Argentina only a few months ago?
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:35am
  - CJames
    
    I thought they just guaranteed a loan that was because the Argentinian currency had fallen pre-election. The currency recovered so the loan was not called on and the US made a profit.
    https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-11-20/us-banks-shelve-20-billion-bailout-plan-for-argentina-wsj-reports
    And NZ is not in a situation to ctiticise others for excessive debt.
    
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    January 2, 2026 2:44pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      “A planned $20 billion bailout for Argentina from JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup has been shelved as bankers pivot instead to a smaller, short-term loan package, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources.”
      
      Why would a $20 billion bailout need to be planned in the first place? If someone’s making plans to bail you out, that’s usually not indicative of a strong position.
      
      “While Milei’s administration has steadily brought inflation down from triple-digit year-over-year rises, reserves are tight and the government was quickly burning through dollars before the U.S. backing.”
      
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      January 2, 2026 2:54pm
      - pdm
        
        WS would it not be more pertinent to say something like this:
        
        `the measures taken by Milei have meant the Argentina economy has quickly recovered to the extent where the arranged emergency loan facilility has not been required and will not now be drawn on’.
        
        The man and the Government he leads must be doing something right.
        
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        January 2, 2026 3:52pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        No.
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:55pm
- pb
  
  Milei about 95% theatre. Why send 7oT of Argentina’s gold to London, if you aren’t corrupt. Lube-atarians love to bend to the power of oligarchs. Suicide Seymour serves mammon.
  
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  January 2, 2026 5:36pm
AitchW

Hopefully his posts will be seen by some of our rabidly left wing public servants and will give them sleepless nights…
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January 2, 2026 8:34am
- Paulus
  
  As they are all still on Holdays for a while yet that would not be applicable.
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:45am
rouppe

Foreign born people, eligible for foreign state pensions, complain that they can’t get a full nz pension and their full foreign pension.

Melissa Nightingale, who has allegedly worked as a journalist for 12 years, doesn’t say that in order for Jim Wolfson to receive none of his New Zealand pension due to the deductions, which he called “bizarre and macabre” means that he is receiving at least the nz pension value from his USA source.

She never brings up the fact that not deducting means that foreigners who’ve lived here for the minimum time required would be materially better off than a nz citizen that has lived here their whole life.

Some journalist…
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January 2, 2026 8:36am
- artemisia
  
  Melissa Nightingale did however record this:
  
  Wolfson receives a little over $900 in the hand each week, but due to high debts that cost him about $500 a week, he has “virtually nothing” left over once he has paid all his bills.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:45am
  - Cassandra
    
    “A little over” $400 is therefore “virtually nothing “? He must have been a primary school teacher maths-wise.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:10am
  - JackRabbit
    
    Unless he has renounced USA citizenship, that high debt are probably USA back tax, including tax on any NZ earnings.
    
    If you do not want any NZ earnings to be taxed, including back tax on NZ earnings, would could be assessed decades back, you have to renounce USA citizenship. As long as you are a USA citizen, you have to pay tax. I know of a similar case of a retired person originally from the USA, with dual citizenship hit with crippling USA tax bills for his NZ income for his entire time here.
    
    I don’t think we are getting the full story.
    
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    January 2, 2026 11:51am
  - rouppe
    
    That $400 a week left over is actually very close to the $540 pw amount of full NZ superannuation.
    
    He’s getting, at $900 pw, twice NZ super already.
    
    The problem is that he’s shit with money.
    
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    January 2, 2026 12:00pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  I am Jim’s enlarged sense of entitlement
  
  “I say that the NZ Government has already stolen over $300,000 from me, thus turning my golden years into abject poverty.”
  
  There are definitely areas where people are genuinely screwed by NZ Super, but this is not one of them.
  
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  January 2, 2026 12:57pm
artemisia

I expect to see Mr Bishop as the single MCERT Minister with Associate Ministers retaining their existing roles in the new entity. But a chance for a reshuffle.

He will do a good job and no doubt will make his expectations very clear.
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January 2, 2026 8:55am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Cabinet should be bulk funded, in the way that Councils are. That is, the PM gets to appoint as many Ministers as s/he wants, but the remuneration bucket remains the same. An extra Minister means less spondulikes for the other Ministers.
  
  But no, central government will not impose the same discipline on itself as it does on local government.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:08am
  - peterwn
    
    Remuneration of many ministers (especially centre right ones) is significantly below what they would be capable of earning in private sector jobs or situations (eg business owners, barristers etc).
    Interestingly the Herald recently ran an article about what private school principals were paid and commented that some were paid more than Ministers. There was only one salary that was slightly obscene in my opinion. Anyway control of private schools in most cases is in the hands of parents or old pupils. They are acutely conscious of the need to hire quality talent bearing in mind affordability of fees.
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:18am
    - Taieri
      
      Remuneration of many ministers (especially centre right ones) is significantly below what they would be capable of earning in private sector jobs or situations
      —————-
      
      Many?
      
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      January 2, 2026 10:53am
      - slijmbal
        
        @Taieri
        
        A lot of the perks such as free travel have been removed in the last 30 years but MPs still receive a VERY generous superannuation top up from us, the taxpayers.
        
        Even with that though it’s easy to beat backbencher salaries in the private sector if in the appropriate more senior position especially lawyers and the like. Ministers get ~$300K plus super top up. Still not that hard to beat in the private sector in corporates. I certainly wouldn’t do such a job for that amount.
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:17pm
    - kowtow
      
      How “private” is the private sector , given how so much of it depends on the taxpayer via govt contracts , subsidies , legal aid etc
      
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      January 2, 2026 11:01am
    - Paulus
      
      And the fees for private schools show that they try and get the best Teachers available and I know paying that gets the best results.
      
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      January 2, 2026 11:48am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Bulk Funding will never happen as handing out Ministerships is a reward grace & favour system for the PMS to keep his mob under control
    
    Hence NZ has a ridiculous number of Ministers for the size of government and population.
    
    Singapore, similar population. Has 15 Ministers plus a PM to control 87,000 cardi wearers.
    
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    January 2, 2026 4:53pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      I forgot to add NZ 28 Ministers, and 62,654 cardi wearers.
      
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      January 2, 2026 8:49pm
- Mike
  
  There will be multiple ministers and associate ministers.
  There might well be a reshuffle as well – who do you think are the ministers who should be sacked?
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:13am
Northshoredoc

More daft nonsense from the herald.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/controversial-pension-deduction-law-saves-government-half-a-billion-dollars-each-year/YBXP5F5LAFFLLC4NGXLQN4XX6Y/

FFS NZ can hardly afford superannuation for its own population, now we’re expected to fork out for emigrants who come here in their sixties.
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January 2, 2026 9:02am
- KH
  
  It’s good law. It’s not controversial. What is the herald on about ?
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:49am
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    The 16 year old cub reporter on trial from St Kentigerns Girls School looked up her NZ Herald booklet of buzzwords and found that “controversial” sounded important and would make her sound knowledgeable.
    
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    January 2, 2026 1:45pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Labeling things “controversial” is a common stunt they use.
      
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      January 2, 2026 5:29pm
- BananaLlama
  
  Pensions need to be reworked entirely they are going to consume 20% of government spending eventually it’s just not sustainable.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:06pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    I have been hearing that NZ Super is unsustainable since 1980!
    
    Here we are 46 years later and teh same BS.
    
    Maybe this BS is put out by those who believe Climate Change is a catastrophe and we will all be underwater in the next 24 years (ie 2050)
    
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    January 2, 2026 4:56pm
    - Mike
      
      It is indefinitely sustainable, if voters keep supporting parties that keep pretending it is so.
      
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      January 2, 2026 5:19pm
    - BananaLlama
      
      Okay sure, we could spend 20% of tax revenue on pensions and take it from education, healthcare, infrastructure and turn this country into a retirement home but too bad for you that people other than the elderly live here.
      
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      January 2, 2026 6:01pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Your assumptions/opinions are based on what fiction?
        
        Maybe you are thinking Gross Superannuation reported in Budgets and used by scaremongers.
        
        I think you might have forgotten that NZ Super is taxed. Often pushing Super annuitants in to higher tax brackets.
        
        Estimates suggest the withheld tax on NZ Super alone recoups several billion dollars annually.
        
        yes Super payments can be refined. But I suspect nothing will happen until Winnie is no longer the handbrake on this happening.
        
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        January 2, 2026 8:57pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        It’s a benefit. Some billions are paid out to people still working or with investment income north of $100k. Never mind asset testing like they do in Oz. Unlike all other benefits it is taxed but not abated.
        
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        January 2, 2026 9:15pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Estimates suggest the withheld tax on NZ Super alone recoups several billion dollars annually.
        
        Can you point us at these estimates …. ?
        
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        January 2, 2026 9:21pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      Youngsters are being fiscally raped by boomers.
      
      They are never going to get the super they are being forced to pay retirees.
      
      They are fucked by house prices that have gone from 2-3x average salary 40years back to 10x now due to home owning voting block regulating cheap house building out of existence.
      
      And this after the boomers benefited from the high inflation of the 70’s 80’s that robbed the savings of their then retiring parents generation and delivered them houses and other assets with mortgages that were inflated down in a few years, meaning most had freehold homes within a few years.
      
      So why exactly should Gen X Y Z etc continue to subsidize the lifestyles of current boomer retirees who have won the lottery of life taking all the wealth of the generations before and after them?
      
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      January 2, 2026 9:50pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Nonono. Boomers worked hard to get into houses. There were a lot of State houses that they totally deserved. Anyway their wealth will be left to their children of course.
        
        Present generation all want 4 br houses with a pool ….
        
        Written as a comfortably off 80 year old boomer happily collecting my (taxed) (not abated) pension.
        
        Inter-generational theft … wot?
        
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        January 2, 2026 10:16pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Buried deep on the (mobile) Stuff website is the news that Neighbourly has reportedly been hacked.

Given the Manage My Health hack (much higher up the page), you’d think that Stuff would naturally link the two, with adjacent placement, but no.

Disclosure: Neighbourly is owned by Stuff.

Make of that what you will.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360920154/neighbourly-informed-potential-data-breach
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January 2, 2026 9:13am
Ian

There’s an article on Newstalk ZB (been up for a couple of days) about a young blond woman influencer (I’ll let you decide as to how you’d describe her) who, with a group of friends booked their dream getaway through Bookabach for $10,000 and the listing turned out to be fake and a scam. Bookabach gave them a couple of hotel nights as a favour and they then found other accommodation through Air BnB. Something’s not quite reported here. Bookings through Bookabach and the like require a credit card payment. If they had PAID through Bookabach, then Bookabach would be entirely responsible for a full refund, not just a couple of complimentary hotel nights. Also, if paid by credit card, then they would be able to claim a charge back. It seems to me that they paid the listing direct to absolutely guarantee their “dream” holiday. That’s a “No, no.” Again, I’ll let you come to your own description of this woman..
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January 2, 2026 9:32am
kowtow

A quick glance through my Herald ( yeah I know) this morning.

Front page using a US /NZ dual citizen as a poster boy moaning he can’t survive here on $900 a week into the hand . Came here at 63 and now 83 .Wants more money from the NZ taxpayer . It’s so unfair!

Story ends with a quote from another activist , NZ is no paradise . But the last few days when there’s been no news the paper is full of stories of joyous holidays from our varied paradisical locales .

The editorial tells us to get over resistance to using the ‘A” word for the country and even falsely claims that the A word is older as the name of the country than the state itself .

And finally the cartoon . Includes the leaders of our 3 governing political parties , along with Trump , Xi , Netanyahu and a devilish Putin coming malevalently through the door of a New year , being locked out by a frightened woman .

Media bias ?
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January 2, 2026 9:32am
- pdm
  
  kowtow – You missed out Winston to be Prime Minister after the next election courtesy of the brains behind the Muller National Party leadership coup – Matthew Hooten.
  
  God will really need to defend New Zealand if that should ever happen.
  
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  January 2, 2026 9:52am
  - AitchW
    
    Imagine a Labour/Green/NZF government?
    I can’t..
    An ACT/Nat government is the ideal, with no Peters to handle Luxon might actually have time to be PM!
    If Peters isn’t part of government will he retire?
    If he does will NZF survive?
    
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    January 2, 2026 10:07am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      It’s unlikely, in my view, that National & ACT will get enough seats (say, 65+) that would enable them to govern without NZF (with a margin for by-elections, toys-out-of-cot moments etc).
      
      Even if they did, I doubt Christopher Luxon would discard NZF unless Winston drastically overreaches in the next 6 months. A good leader will be thinking not just of the next government but also the one after that.
      
      David Seymour would prefer that NZF is ditched, but I doubt he would make it a “it’s us or them” issue.
      
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      January 2, 2026 12:37pm
      - pdm
        
        `David Seymour would prefer that NZF is ditched, but I doubt he would make it a “it’s us or them” issue.’
        
        IIRC Seymour did suggest they may take the cross benches with confidence and supply support only with any legislation to be considered on a case by case basis a couple of times in the lead up to the last election. It may have cost ACT a few votes.
        
        If it turns out NZFirst has say 3/4 more MP’s than ACT after the next election I wouldn’t rule that out because ACT’s voice in Cabinet would be diminished.
        
        Plus ACT MP’s are clearly not there for the baubles.
        
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        January 2, 2026 4:02pm
      - AitchW
        
        Sadly I believe you’re right. Peters will once again bathe in the limelight of holding the country to ransom for 6 or so weeks before grabbing the brightest baubles.
        
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        January 2, 2026 8:17pm
    - R
      
      ‘If Peter’s…..survive? ! Either option would be a blessing for the country. One less ego to manage.
      
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      January 2, 2026 3:06pm
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Well, sadly Seymour has burnt much of his support to Peter’s, he forced his ideology on people, and most do not like it, (what ever happened to his 18%)
      
      There can now not be a Nat Act government, especially after Act openly went to destroy the Nat vote, all they did was to push support to Peter’s who is now 50/50 with Labour
      
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      January 2, 2026 9:42pm
Chuck Bird

I came here in 1966, spent some time in Oz and travelling, but have been here for over 55 years. I get a little less than $100/mo from Canada. This gets deducted from my NZ super. I think that is fair.
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January 2, 2026 9:58am
- Hard Cheese
  
  I would have thought this was the default for all pension schemes in most countries, your local pension is reduced by pensions received from overseas. I suspect the guy in the story does quite well out of his situation because of the USD-NZD exchange rate.
  
  That said, if you leave NZ to retire overseas, MSD really screws you over. They’ll pay you NZ Super proportionally, based on the number of months you’ve spent in NZ since age 20. Every family holiday to Fiji and the Gold Coast when you were out of the country? They count that.
  
  Furthermore, you have to be living in New Zealand and apply for it at age 65. If you were born in NZ and lived all your life here and you retire overseas before you reach 65 you get nothing. Zip. Zero.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:12pm
- PurplePen
  
  I don’t get how the reporter doesn’t get the fairness logic. But what about this scenario. Not that I’m trying to defend the guy in the article as he’s certainly not entitled to the NZ pension. But what if you’d worked whatever years in another country and as a result received a pension of some sort, then move to New Zealand and worked here for the requisite number of years such that you also got the New Zealand pension. why wouldn’t you be entitled to draw both pensions. you’d worked for the requisite number of years to pay tax sufficiently in both countries. Genuine question. I get it if you’d only move to New Zealand when you’re 60 and not worked sufficient years here.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:20pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    The short answer is, at least for NZ, it’s unlikely that you’ll have contributed anywhere near enough over (say) 20 years here for you to get Super across the average lifespan. But, for policy reasons (poor oldies still cost, no one’s going to see them starve, it’ll just come out of another public pocket anyway), it’s better that you get Super. You’ve contributed something, you might not live an average lifespan, swings & roundabouts. But you can see how 20 years in NZ and 20 years elsewhere would lead to double dipping.
    
    An alternative is the UK approach, whereby they count the number of years that you contribute. So, there you’d get 20/45ths of their pension or some such, for your 20 years. There, you need to contribute a dollar (pound) minimum, in order for the year to count. You could make top up contributions for back years, if you’d been out of the country. It was a bit complicated.
    
    Best of all is a named account, where your contributions are ring fenced. What you put in is what you get out. But, the Left won’t like that, for rich prick reasons.
    
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    January 2, 2026 4:19pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      … named account … contributions … ring fenced what you put in is what you get out …. Left won’t like that …
      
      Labour had just started one of those, but Muldoon trashed it with the election bribe of the century.
      
      Go figure 🙂
      
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      January 2, 2026 4:27pm
Paul

The ManageMyHealth hack will have legs.
(1) 1.8 million people registered with MMH (Stuff). My experience is that you get registered if your doctor decides to join MMH. You will need to create a login, but you will then find that your doctor has already provided your data to MMH.
(2) My doctor’s terms and conditions for MMH (no doubt typical) say what I can use MMH for, but place no obligations (for confidentiality or otherwise) on the doctor or on MMH.
(3) MMH does not have complete health records, but (at least in my case) it has records from the doctor of prescriptions, appointments, and lab test results. MMH encourages the patient to add more health data.
(4) MMH is a NZ company ultimately owned (according to Companies Office records) by an Auckland-based entrepreneur.
(5) The MMH website lists offices in Auckland, Melbourne and “Elnet Software City” in Chennai. It seems likely, therefore, that their software is written and maintained in India rather than in NZ.
So some initial questions: how and why did the NZ Government allow this small-scale startup to get possession of so much private health information of so many New Zealanders? What protections does NZ law place on that information?
Does anyone else feel a class-action lawsuit coming on?
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January 2, 2026 10:14am
- PurplePen
  
  I had no idea it was a private business. That quite possibly should have been made very obvious on its front page. But then the software might just be an off-the-shelf product that the govt has bought and had minor customisation which is fairly standard practice. But, it astounds me that we have these hacks still in this day when we’ve had so many significant ones in the past to learn from. What the hell security hardness testing hasn’t been done on this system which would be attendees practice with any such system.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:24pm
- Burtland
  
  still no message to clients from MMH that theyve been hacked
  
  4 1
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  January 2, 2026 4:02pm
KKNZ2025

If you qualify for a pension in multiple countries you should receive all of them.

That would be fair.
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January 2, 2026 10:49am
- PurplePen
  
  Not if you’ve only worked and paid tax mostly in just one of them. In that case you’ve paid all your tax in one country which can then pay your pension but then you expect the second country in which you’re now living and not contributed years of tax to then fund another pension. That’s why countries have reciprocal arrangements as that scenario is common.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:26pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Yes but. Consider the parents of Chinese immigrant. Worked all their lives in China, where AFAIK there’s no state pension. They move here under a family unification visa, don’t work here but after a period of time qualify for Super. Again, AFAIK, NZ has no ability to recoup costs from China in this situation. Doesn’t seem fair, does it.
    
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    January 2, 2026 4:24pm
    - PurplePen
      
      No. That’s definitely not fair. Insuch a case these people know what the rules are in China and know what the rules are in New Zealand, they make their decision knowingly and if it was the case that they hadn’t worked here long enough and are not entitled to the pension then that’s entirely their decision to stay here or return to China but don’t expect us, the ever working taxpayer to fork out for the lifestyle.
      
      4 1
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      January 2, 2026 5:05pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Yep. Keep paying it to millionaires earning over $100k. Tough being old even if you aren’t poor.
        
        1 1
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        January 2, 2026 8:50pm
    - rouppe
      
      Which is why the eligibility time is moving from 10 years to 20.
      
      3 0
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      January 2, 2026 5:49pm
- rouppe
  
  Maybe, if every jurisdiction did it pro rata based on your time in that country.
  
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  January 2, 2026 5:53pm
I remember when

Latest Report from London.
Children taken to the park find that the table tennis table is covered by ice.
7 1
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January 2, 2026 10:52am
rockape

I arrived 1999, uk pension is is now greater than my NZ super so NZ makes a small profit from me. Mainly due to changing exchange rates. I also have a military pension, a fair bit more than my NZ super but as it is private it is safe from the government clutches.
16 1
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January 2, 2026 11:07am
- kowtow
  
  ‘as it is private it is safe from the government clutches.’
  
  But not the tax collector.
  
  8 2
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  January 2, 2026 11:28am
- Paulus
  
  Is it ?
  When my wife and I applied correctly for our New Zealand Pansion we had to agree that the New Zealand Government took what our proportion of earned UK pension was taken into the New Zealand books – which I assume it does all the time.
  I too have a private pension small but we declared that and were “told” but the official, that this would not be affected, but always could (now 20 years on).
  I pay UK Tax (higher rate) on it before receipt, but that has changed recently, as I had always declared as overseas income, here and paid tax on it in New Zealand annually.
  So UK Taxman gets it first now.
  
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  January 2, 2026 11:59am
Rusty

Any immigrant who whinges about this country and the cost of living should go back to where they came from or find another country to live in.
24 1
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January 2, 2026 11:13am
- BananaLlama
  
  Sounds like they integrated pretty well.
  
  10 0
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  January 2, 2026 12:23pm
  - R
    
    Devoted socialists. Me me me!!
    
    8 1
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    January 2, 2026 3:11pm
- MCōs
  
  You certainly don’t get any immigrants coming on this forum and squawking about the way things are done in this county
  
  1 4
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  January 2, 2026 5:15pm
  - Mike
    
    Well, that’d be rude.
    
    1 2
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    January 2, 2026 5:24pm
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olzp-FHYK_g
IRGC Forces Flee Iranian Cities – Khamenei Leaves Tehran.
When internal legitimacy is gone, security forces thin out, defect, or simply wait. Uprisings often begin unplanned, then accelerate when fear breaks. What looks “easy” from the outside is usually years of pressure, fractures inside the system, and exhaustion below.

As for timing and geopolitics—multiple dynamics can overlap without being centrally scripted. Protesters aren’t shields; they’re citizens acting on long-suppressed demands. We should question narratives, yes—but also avoid assuming every popular movement is staged simply because the regime appears weaker than expected. [This could be the real thing. Lets hope there isn’t an ISIS 2.0 in the wings. If things go well, and sanctions go; there could be a drop in the price of oil.]

[Any chance you might give some opinion or actual General Debate here sungsamning? It must take a lot of effort for your copy/paste daily series./s mod.]
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January 2, 2026 11:56am
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knw
British Lord Admits Plan to Sabotage Trump.
In this episode, Susan Kokinda discusses the significant impact of Donald Trump’s newly released National Security Strategy. While media and political influencers argue over Trump’s meetings with Zelensky and Netanyahu, the strategy poses a direct challenge to the traditional British influence over American foreign policy. The British House of Lords convened to counter Trump’s strategy, highlighting their concern. Key points include Trump’s approach to Russia and Ukraine, his repositioning of U.S. relationships in the Middle East, and his economic policies aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing. Kokinda emphasizes that Trump’s strategy aims to end decades of perpetual wars and British geopolitical manipulation, urging viewers to support this transformative vision for the United States. [This outfit sounds more like the truth than ConspiraciesRUs. I’m sure they’re legit.]

[Any chance you might give some opinion or actual General Debate here sungsamning? It must take a lot of effort for your copy/paste daily series./s mod.]
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January 2, 2026 11:56am
- Inandout
  
  The video link has disappeared.
  
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  January 2, 2026 12:43pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Early contenders for the Darwin Awards 2026 (the near miss subcategory).

It has to be said, operating a Ferris wheel at 2am over New Year is a hostage to fortune.

For which the operator will pay a high price: the Wheel is closed until the dead hand of Worksafe releases it back into use.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/583055/men-warned-to-stop-swinging-seat-before-falling-from-ferris-wheel-operator
7 1
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January 2, 2026 12:43pm
- greybeard
  
  You mean Wokesafe.
  
  8 2
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  January 2, 2026 2:25pm
  - pb
    
    Do Wokesafe still put their pronouns on official correspondence? Due for a restructure.
    
    0 1
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    January 2, 2026 5:41pm
- MCōs
  
  I went to the Munich beer festival in 1972 and you’ve never seen so many drunk people from late morning onwards
  In the midst of all these gigantic temporary beer swilling palaces was a carnival with Ferris wheel and all the rest. 2pm 2am didn’t make much difference to the inebriated Australian backpackers
  The difference would probably have been the intimidating attitude of the operators
  
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  January 2, 2026 5:31pm
MCōs

A couple of jokes to ponder
https://x.com/fastbreakhoops5/status/2006502628184772972?s=61
8 3
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January 2, 2026 12:44pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Very good 😆 – and clean too, which is a plus.
  
  8 1
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  January 2, 2026 1:08pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

I’m in two minds on this one. On the one hand, legitimate businesses need protection from non tax paying flybynighters. On the other hand, someone who fells a tree on their property and doesn’t have a fireplace should be able to recoup their costs and make a small amount of coin.

One thing’s for certain: following last year’s storms, there will be a lot of firewood on the market this autumn.

http://www.1news.co.nz/2026/01/02/wood-seller-urges-ird-crackdown-over-firewood-cowboys-on-facebook/
6 1
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January 2, 2026 12:55pm
- Jethrod
  
  Unfortunately most of it is slash.
  
  1 1
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  January 2, 2026 5:11pm
PurplePen

NZ Herald editorial must be the junior writing it. It’s factually incorrect and accuses opponents of cultural insecurity while engaging in the very cultural imposition they oppose. It’s all to do with the fake country Aotearoa. Paywalled, but my response is below gives you an idea of what they said.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/what-the-aotearoa-backlash-says-about-national-identity-editorial/premium/SLKHYZ5K2NEZ5M5SEJ54CF72TY/

Ireland does NOT use “Éire Ireland” when speaking English. Their Constitution specifies Éire OR Ireland, different names for different languages. Irish government uses “Ireland” in English documents, “Éire” in Irish documents. Irish speakers say “Ireland” in English, “Éire” in Irish.

Finland uses “Finland” in English, “Suomi” in Finnish, never both together. Welsh use “Wales” in English, “Cymru” in Welsh.

Every bilingual democracy they cited follows this pattern: name matches language spoken. “Aotearoa New Zealand” in English is internationally unusual.

More troubling, the editorial’s assumption Aotearoa is the settled Māori name. Te Tiriti uses Niu Tirani. The 1835 Declaration uses Nu Tireni. Ngāi Tahu kaumātua Edward Ellison says Aotearoa originally referred only to North Island, warns against adopting “a name that’s grown on us through osmosis.” Taranaki iwi use Hawaiki Tautau.

The deepest irony, non-Māori institutions forcing “Aotearoa New Zealand” on Māori communities lacking consensus, AND on all NZers who never consented to changing their country’s name. They accuse opponents of cultural insecurity while engaging in the very cultural imposition they oppose.

Māori must decide the Māori name. They haven’t yet.
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January 2, 2026 1:10pm
- ISeeRed
  
  Ironically, you defer to Maori grammar while using English. It’s “Maoris” not “Māori”.
  
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  January 2, 2026 1:51pm
  - kowtow
    
    And “te tiriti”
    
    In English ‘the treaty’.
    
    8 3
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    January 2, 2026 2:52pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Maybe pidgin English should be an official language of New Zealand?
      
      3 1
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      January 2, 2026 6:18pm
  - pdm
    
    ISeeRed.
    
    My understanding all of my life – from say age 10 so for almost 70 years is that Maori is both singular and plural – therefore no s is needed.
    
    4 1
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    January 2, 2026 4:11pm
    - ISeeRed
      
      And the use of macrons, which didn’t exist until five minutes ago?
      
      2 2
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      January 2, 2026 5:57pm
    - Dave
      
      Correct, but incomplete, explanation of Maori grammar. (NOT that I’m an expert, or even a beginner.) No ess or equivalent suffix is needed when speaking Maori, but different plural markers are used.
      
      English usually marks plural nouns with an ess whereas, according to talkpal.ai In the Maori language, plurals are primarily indicated using particular determiners that possess singular and plural forms. To indicate plurality effectively, it is essential to utilize these determiners accurately.
      
      English doesn’t use determiners in quite the same way, eg, ‘the’ can be used for singular, plural and uncountable nouns, ‘some’ for plural and uncountable nouns.
      
      Of course, my response over-simplifies things.
      
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      January 2, 2026 7:08pm
  - PurplePen
    
    Good point. That’s the lefty propaganda working insidiously. Other examples make it plain such as Houthi, Houthis, Israelis, Afganis. As a matter of interest I asked Google AI about the Maori example and, good lord!, this is the answer “The standard and preferred plural form is Maori without the ‘s’. Using Maori’s is considered non-standard and maybe offensive”. Where the heck is it offensive!? Seems to me the woke get offended by any slightest thing.
    
    4 2
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    January 2, 2026 5:12pm
  - Sir Henry Morgan
    
    Yeah. I’m trying to use Maoris as standard. Got a nice bit of 19th Century swagger to it.
    
    0 0
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    January 2, 2026 9:39pm
- mandk
  
  Aotearoa and New Zealand are not coterminous.
  
  I take as my authority the Iwi Chair’s Forum.
  
  According to the Forum, the Māori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu.
  
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  January 2, 2026 4:25pm
  - Jethrod
    
    I have a problem pronouncing and spelling all but one word …… “me”. Therefore it’s just plain old New Zealand for me.
    
    1 1
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    January 2, 2026 5:17pm
  - kowtow
    
    Yep and that excludes Stewart and Chathams.
    
    NZ works best .
    
    2 2
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    January 2, 2026 6:25pm
- pb
  
  Does Maori mean common, average, ordinary?
  
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  January 2, 2026 5:43pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

This is the natural consequence of the ideology that anyone can do and achieve anything, and are entitled to do so if they want to. The fact is, not all people can do everything and a lot of people are not well suited to doing what they want. One look at newer police officers will tell you that some of them are poorly suited to breaking up a pub fight or staring down the Mongrels.

In this case, the guy is legally blind. It seems that being legally blind no longer means that he cannot see, but clearly his vision is nowhere near 20-20. I applaud his decision to want to work, but frankly he’d be better off applying for a job in the public sector.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360876393/out-desperation-man-hid-his-visual-impairment-get-job-interview-it-didnt-go-well
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January 2, 2026 1:23pm
Steve Todd

I’ve just finished watching coverage of Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s inauguration. So good!

For those Kiwibloggers who are interested — yes, I know you are few in number — see, firstly, the official swearing in, just after midnight, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZc8ONfUuMg [6:29].

Then, the full inauguration ceremony, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iazY_UDQdck [1:41:15]. The swearing-in by Bernie, followed by Zohran’s speech, starts at 1:10:13.

Then, an example of where he means to start, and go on — housing; protecting tenants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvd6n9nfsP0 [31:05].

Conclusion: New York City is in good hands.
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January 2, 2026 1:54pm
- Inandout
  
  ST, you jest..surely?
  
  11 1
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  January 2, 2026 2:25pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    C’mon, Inny. You know full well I most definitely do not jest.
    
    My challenge to you. After you have watched my links, please tell us what makes you disagree with my assertion that NYC is in good hands.
    
    4 10
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    January 2, 2026 2:36pm
  - marcw
    
    I believe Steve has started the new year contract writing for The Babylon Bee.
    
    14 4
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    January 2, 2026 2:36pm
- greybeard
  
  They couldn’t do it in 2001 with hijackings: they have succeeded in 2025 with airhead voters.
  
  10 4
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  January 2, 2026 2:37pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    Really? What a nonsensical comment.
    
    So, you’re saying that there were 1,114,184 “airhead” voters (50.78%)?
    
    I come clean, greybeard: I rate your comment as one of the most ignorant I have read on Kiwiblog. You should be ashamed of yourself — but, of course, I know you’re not; people like you have no shame.
    
    5 14
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    January 2, 2026 2:51pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Do you run a database of KB comments, assigning ratings on the ignorance scale, Steve?
      
      Or are you overhitting the superlatives button today?
      
      Happy New Year!
      
      9 0
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      January 2, 2026 4:31pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        Uh, oh, you’ve snapped me, Bolly. Yes, I do keep “records” (more or less) of the more egregious comments I receive.
        
        And, I happily confirm, difficult as it may be to accept, that yes, greybeard and rockape posted the two most ignorant comments (against me) ever — okay, I admit it, that I can recall.
        
        For the record, it annoys me when commenters respond to me without having first watched my links. It happens all the time. I go to great lengths to include links to my sources.
        
        I estimate that I put up links in at least four out of five of my comments. It seems to me, no one else even comes close to that.
        
        Oh, and Happy New Year to you, too, Bolly. I’m looking forward to the year ahead.
        
        6 3
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        January 2, 2026 5:33pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Todd has got a little list!
        Hahahahahahahahahaha
        #HallMonitor
        
        2 5
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        January 2, 2026 6:34pm
- rockape
  
  If you like communism why not live in a communist country. I hear Russia is desperate for military recruits!
  
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  January 2, 2026 2:49pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    Correction to my 2:51PM response to greybeard. This is the first-equal most ignorant comment I have read on Kiwiblog.
    
    5 13
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    January 2, 2026 2:59pm
  - MCōs
    
    What on earth has communism got to do with anything?
    Flinging round the label in such a manner is like a little kid ringing their kindergarten teacher and yelling “poohs & wees“!
    
    5 10
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    January 2, 2026 3:33pm
    - kowtow
      
      Well one should expect childish behaviour in a kindy , but certain posters come on here , regularly and post lefty crap , deliberately it seems to get some sort of attention and then have the gall to pretend they are the mature folk here.
      
      It’s actually tantamount to trolling.
      
      9 5
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      January 2, 2026 4:00pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        The irony being that commentator is more often than not ignorant themselves and because of that often wrong…
        Self awareness aint an attribute of the Left
        
        2 3
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        January 2, 2026 6:36pm
  - Mike
    
    If Russia is a communist country, does that mean Donald Trump is a communist for supporting his pal Vladimir Putin?
    
    2 13
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    January 2, 2026 4:26pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Or, the premise of your question is pure dribble.
      
      For the US to negotiate a peace deal where neither side wants to budge much, it has to communicate extensively with BOTH warring parties usually with carrots and sticks.
      
      9 3
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      January 2, 2026 5:05pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        I think the main point is that Russia is not a communist nation. Secondarily, how can the US be in a position to negotiate a deal when a) the US is one of the combatants by proxy and is therefore not a neutral mediator, and b) the side the US is on does not have the upper hand?
        
        3 2
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        January 2, 2026 5:31pm
Chuck Bird

This is a bigger threat than Bondi

Imminent Islamist ATTACK In Britain – MI6 Trained Spy WARNS Starmer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WWixUpuoDA
6 5
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January 2, 2026 2:45pm
- pb
  
  This is Tommy Robinson’s main job too! According to Shillman.
  
  3 1
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  January 2, 2026 5:46pm
Chuck Bird

This 18 minute video with Peta Credlin is very good.

Arab Journalist Warns A Mass Islamic Uprising is Going Down in Britain…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANjRmFA33J4
3 5
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January 2, 2026 4:12pm
rouppe

Where to buy a house for under $500,000.

https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/where-kiwis-have-the-best-chance-of-buying-a-house-for-less-than-500-000-48685?utm_source=nzh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nzh-home

Included is Fordlands, in Rotorua. There’s a reason it’s cheap. Social housing, heavy gang presence, drugs, and generally some of the worst humans live there.

It was a shit hole when I left Rotorua in 1980, and it’s a shit hole now. You’d have to buy half the block to start shifting them away.
3 1
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January 2, 2026 6:20pm

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