About
Contact
Advertise

Facebook
Twitter

January 5, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 05 January 2026

Like this:

Like Loading…

Email
Facebook
Twitter
Comment189

Uncategorized
General Debate

Comments (189)

Login to comment or vote

Damocles11

It’s difficult to know how the Trump administration can expect to ‘run’ Venezuela without any boots on the ground in that country. Perhaps they thought the removal of Maduro would inevitably lead to the collapse of the political power structure that surrounded him, and they could then impose their will on whoever stepped into the power vacuum, but that does not seem to be the case. It’s one thing to celebrate the capture of a prominent national leader that the administration claim is a narco-terrorist, but it’s another thing entirely to claim that the US is now ‘running’ another country simply because they’ve captured one man and his wife.
11 17
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 8:09am
- leoj
  
  Damocles secretly hoping that Trump fails.
  
  Be patient. Of course there will be a vacuum but the people are overwhelmingly pleased, putting the socialists, communists and Democrats (I repeat myself) on the wrong side of history.
  
  18 8
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:43am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Damocles. What facts do you have to support your assertion?
    Of course, there will be many in the population who are instantly happy.
    Check back in 6 months as to to the reality has hit them.
    
    Cartels fighting in the street for control.
    
    A supposed election in 30 days(constitutional requirement) with all its associated political BS as the CIA tries to get its favoured person elected.
    
    Then the struggle of that person to regain control(if they are not a cartel member).
    
    In the mean time in the USA, legal challenges to what has happened to maduro and hsi wife.
    
    My memory harks back to Libya and other regime change attempts by the CIA. A shit hole as there is no real plan for followup.
    
    I also think of Ukraine and the CIA regime change efforts there. A Russian supporting president ousted in support of a US Sycophant. (Before the current idiot) . A massively corrupt country.
    
    As I say, check back in 6 months. How many US Boots on the ground and how many US troops killed….
    
    Perspective.
    
    Think NZ and the last election win. And what do those revellers think now????
    or back to when the Labour party won its last election.
    
    1 7
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 5:26pm
- Kevin
  
  You have a point. But imagine the ululating joy among Never Trumpers, Leftists, liars and fools ( but I repeat myself) if President Trump was suddenly Raptured. Or whatever.
  Follow the logic, if you dare.
  It makes more sense than Follow the Science.
  
  Quite a few Venezuelans are more than pleased for very close and personal reasons. Anyone from a distance can also be, on the general principle that How The Mighty Are Fallen is a rare treat we don’t often get.
  
  Extra, extra good when it’s a tyrannical Commie.
  
  12 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:10am
- Colville
  
  Damo.
  It looks clear that a deal was done with Maduros VP ahead of time and it was set up internally.
  Effectively a coup by Rodriguez and the USA was invited in to take away Maduro.
  Rodriguez very USA friendly and oil savvy.
  
  8 5
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:39pm
  - waikatosinger
    
    Is that so? I heard she was an ex communist revolutionary extremely close to Cuba and Russia. I guess we’ll find out.
    
    8 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 1:00pm
    - Colville
      
      Waikato.
      She is likely a politician who is willing to bend with the wind in exchange for power.
      So she will be wearing red white and blue undies from now on.
      
      6 3
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:32pm
    - artemisia
      
      Is Venezuela still subsidising oil to Cuba? Reports that Cuba has shortages and long blackouts.
      
      7 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:37pm
      - Phronesis
        
        It was but I doubt it still is.
        
        2 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 4:38pm
      - Christopher Thomson
        
        Until a couple of days ago Cuba relied extensively on that oil.
        
        Also of note is that the Cuban special forces who protected Maduro are all dead.
        
        “mess with the best, die like the rest”
        
        0 0
        Report
        January 6, 2026 1:45am
  - kiwi_chileno
    
    Yes, it was a palace coup by the VP Delci Rodriguez https://www.latercera.com/mundo/noticia/exvicepresidente-colombiano-ante-la-captura-de-maduro-estoy-absolutamente-seguro-que-delcy-rodriguez-lo-entrego/
    
    Why the US prefers to leave Rodriguez in place: Rodriguez is seen as a technocrat who has worked to maintain oil production and is able to build bridges with business and foreign investors
    
    https://www.ex-ante.cl/por-que-trump-apuesta-a-un-pacto-con-el-chavismo-tras-detencion-de-maduro/
    
    https://www.ex-ante.cl/la-advertencia-de-trump-a-delcy-rodriguez-si-no-hace-lo-correcto-tendra-un-destino-peor-que-el-de-maduro/
    
    5 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 3:45pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    It looks clear how????
    She is also reputably aligned with the cartels.
    But then again, I forgot this event is all about oil, not about drugs.
    
    In late 2025, retired General Clíver Alcalá Cordones (already serving a U.S. prison sentence) alleged that Delcy and her brother Jorge are the intellectual architects of the Cartel of the Suns, managing the network’s finances and political cover.
    
    0 5
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 5:33pm
- slijmbal
  
  Taking Maduro has also taken the Epstein files off the front page.
  
  Classical poor polling or bad news tactic – start a war or am I being too cynical?
  
  4 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:27pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    I’m going to go with Option (C) Unrelated
    
    3 5
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:50pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Yep, I’m with you, Bolly.
      
      In my view, 2026 will be the year of Epstein, Epstein, Epstein.
      
      3 6
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 4:19pm
      - sungsamning
        
        Yes, and not in a way the Dems will like.
        
        5 3
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:00pm
  - leoj
    
    The Epstein files only hurt the Demoocrats which is why they were not released under Biden.
    A: cynical.
    
    9 6
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 3:14pm
- Philview
  
  Marco Rubio has said that the US has stopped Venezuela’s oil trade. Venezuela has nowhere to go except to do as it is told by the US.
  
  8 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:36pm
- NothingLeft
  
  USA could just tell leaders of al the various ickystans in the world that if they don’t steadily improve things and move towards decent democratic non-corrupt govt that is focused on improving the standard of living of their average citizens then they personally will be removed from office or, should they resist, the living.
  
  Maybe that is the way to fix the world. Keep killing off or otherwise removing despots and their supporters and viziers at minimum possible cost to USA until aspirant replacements finally get the message about doing what is in their countrymen’s best interest as the best way to ensure their own personal chances of thriving.
  
  2 5
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 2:27pm
  - Mike
    
    The leaders of which close US allies should be assassinated first?
    Saudi Arabia
    Egypt
    Turkey
    Bahrein
    Guatemala
    UAE
    etc
    
    3 6
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 3:50pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      yes
      
      The status quo of waiting for the despots to fix things up themselves is working just great after all.
      
      “”Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome,” Charlie Munger
      
      5 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 4:16pm
- MCōs
  
  “It’s difficult to know how the Trump administration can expect to ‘run’ Venezuela“
  If past instances of foreign countries doing just that are anything to go by — the chances are badly.
  
  6 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 3:55pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Stop the presses!

The BBC has identified an activist group as being “far left”.

I think we can all agree to give Donald Trump the credit for this momentous change in editorial policy.

http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78v984ywgeo
22 3
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 8:19am
- cmm
  
  No, they just use the “far left” label when people are obviously left but they don’t want to be associated with them.
  
  16 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:58am
artemisia

Fur babies. It’s a thing. Pets are now ‘part of the family’ and factored into big decisions

With new pet rules now in place for rentals, landlords have to have ‘reasonable grounds’ for declining pets. Whatever those grounds are or might be. Already a lot of discussion online from both parties – tenants and landlords – pretty much one party not happy, sometimes both. Not surprising there are questions with those household / family pet numbers. There are going to be a lot of applications to the Tenancy Tribunal to determine issues and liability, though decisions are not precedent so case by expensive case.

The new law does allow pet bonds and makes tenants liable for pet damage beyond wear and tear. Good luck recovering that damage cost.

I hope Ministers keep track of issues, costs and outcomes from their decision. Probably won’t.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/pets-are-now-part-of-the-family-and-factored-into-big-decisions/
25 2
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 8:42am
- slightlyrighty
  
  The dynamics of households with pets is quite interesting. They quite often serve as bridges between parents and kids (especially teenagers).
  
  Yes, there will be some horror stories, but the social benefits of more cohesive families may well offset that in the long run.
  
  15 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 8:51am
- Cassandra
  
  As Radar so aptly reminds us “Dogs is people too, you know”.
  
  14 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:16am
  - Jack5
    
    Who is Radar, Cassandra, or you an over-stressed traffic controller whose console is now chatting?
    
    2 5
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 10:20am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      MASH
      
      2 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 7:04pm
- Pavel
  
  This is a complete non issue. You advertise your house for rent, 5 people apply with 2 being pet owners. If you don’t want pets in your rental you simply choose the tenant that doesn’t have pets. You don’t have to give a reason other than you simply choose someone else.
  
  8 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:47am
  - marcw
    
    And six months later, your choice of “the tenant that doesn’t have pets” decides to get a pet. Checkmate.
    
    12 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:18pm
    - artemisia
      
      Exactly marcw.
      
      7 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:40pm
    - Colville
      
      No, that would be a variation to the existing contract and would need to be agreed. At the end of a year term they could try it but you can refuse to extend.
      Sorry… House needs renovation.
      
      4 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:41pm
      - marcw
        
        Well, it may need to be tested in the TT – the rule is that a landlord cannot refuse without a reasonable cause.
        
        3 1
        Report
        January 5, 2026 12:49pm
      - AitchW
        
        marcw, I’d argue that not wanting animals in the house is a reasonable cause!! I don’t believe that animals are covered in any human rights legislation ie it’s not illegal to discriminate against them on the grounds of breed….
        
        3 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 1:35pm
      - artemisia
        
        Yes request for a pet needs to be agreed, in practice that means approved by the landlord. But if turned down citing “reasonable grounds” the tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to reverse the landlord’s decision. Then, regardless of the TT decision, if notice of termination is given, tenant can apply to the TT to have it set aside as retaliatory. And may well succeed.
        
        Rentals these days are stupidly complex.
        
        5 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 1:56pm
    - Biscuit
      
      Sheesh, it’s only Jan 5 and ALREADY marcw is kilometres/miles/whatfriggin’ever ahead of the field in Biscuit’s Fave Post Of 2026!
      
      4 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:52pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    If pets are people then they should be included in the headcount. A flat for five people could be for three people and two dogs, but not for five people and two dogs.
    
    7 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:46pm
    - Mike
      
      Cats, being more important, should be rated at a headcount of 1.5 x dog or human.
      
      3 4
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:53pm
      - sungsamning
        
        At least that ratio. Its only just.
        
        1 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:03pm
- Inandout
  
  art, I am amused this survey involved an insurer. I was put off even considering insuring my dog when I heard the ad lady say you are ‘irresponsible’ if you don’t insure your pet.
  
  9 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:55am
  - AitchW
    
    I’ve heard those ads, they variously suggest that if you don’t insure your pet you are either lazy or irresponsible. Pretty scummy message I reckon….
    Disclaimer, our dog has insurance. And yes, pet insurance companies are just as good as human insurance companies at moving the goal posts every time you renew!
    
    9 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 1:39pm
- Taieri
  
  Good luck recovering that damage cost
  ———-
  
  In Germany, the departing tenant is fully responsible for refurbishing the property on termination of tenancy. This is strictly enforced by the authorities.
  
  Not sure whether the corresponding NZ authorities are capable of enforcing anything these days though…
  
  9 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:08am
  - artemisia
    
    Tenancy Tribunal awards are enforceable. In theory. Some awards are in the thousands, even tens of thousands – and not all payable by tenants to landlords though most are.
    
    Once the award is made it is up to the owed party to use civil debt collection processes. I leave that to your imagination …
    
    7 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:39pm
    - slijmbal
      
      One of the reasons I got out of residential property investment and moved to commercial was that one horror tenant could costs tens of thousands of dollars with a VERY high likelihood that no $ could be recovered.
      
      Had a bad tenant cost me a chunk (female partner moved out) – went through the process – got practically nothing despite having rulings in my favour. I did get to keep the bond, which came nowhere near covering the costs.
      
      Later even happier I got out once Labour decided landlords are evil and added unreasonable expectations on rental house standards.
      
      My opinion was a cat or small dog (depending on the breed) caused less wear and tear than 5-11 year old kids so wasn’t anti pets. However, was anti larger dogs as 1) I felt it was inappropriate for such an animal in a smaller garden and 2) likelihood they could cause greater damage.
      
      12 2
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:57pm
- Lenice
  
  This “fur babies” nonsense has gone too far. Too much money around.
  
  10 4
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:37am
- Colville
  
  People (esp men alone) live longer happier lives with a dog.
  
  I lost my hunting mate a few months ago 😢
  
  16 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:44pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Is Liam Dann on some hallucinating substance?
  
  Headline from the Herald.
  This isn’t a housing market meltdown, it’s a full-blown crash – Liam Dann
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/this-isnt-a-housing-market-meltdown-its-a-full-blown-crash-liam-dann/premium/SSKZVM2GEJCTPBPL3PDSCEDNPM/#Echobox=1767492516.
  
  The facts dont agree with a market crash scenario
  
  Median house prices down or steady
  More houses for sale
  
  Median rentals down or steady
  More rentals available.
  
  Another click bate heading????
  
  4 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 5:51pm
  - marcw
    
    Well, as with the usual Hearald “trained and skilled” journalists, what they have failed to inform you is that this opinion piece was first published in August 2025. Clickbait indeed, and you have taken it hook, line, and swivel.
    
    6 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 6:22pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      Wasnt true in August either.
      
      1 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 6, 2026 3:07am
Blog-aholic

Americans spend a lot of money on their pets….
In excess of $154 billion in 2024………………………
8 0
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 8:51am
- cmm
  
  Less than $450 per American. A bit over $1 a day. Is that a lot?
  
  According to this article we spent $NZ1.8bn in 2018 (about $NZ360 each) , so likely much more now. Quite likely a lot more as a lot of people bought fancy pets during Covid etc.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/whats-a-pet-worth-18b-say-kiwi-animal-lovers/CSKEB5CW6XEWOWTTMUOJ7PSCB4/
  
  6 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:52am
  - wsk12345
    
    That’s not much. It costs me about $200 per month to feed my dog – though she is big and energetic.
    
    Having said that she’s only had one vet visit in 6 years (plus a spay before we got her); just like us, there is a benefit to feeding them a species appropriate diet, by which i mean NOT thr garbage highly processed and expensive kibble the vets push.
    
    6 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:42am
    - Albie
      
      We feed our West Highland terrier Raw Essentials. Never had any major health issues in coming up 9 years. Good skin, clean teeth. When we do go to the vet on occasion they ask what we feed him. When I say a raw meat diet they often give me a look. They obviously want us to buy the processed kibble “science diet”rubbish the pet food reps push.
      I would have thought nutrition would be part of a vet’s training.
      
      12 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:54pm
      - AitchW
        
        Albie, they make shit loads of money selling those “scientifically designed” biscuits. Like you, we raw feed, and yes, it’s expensive But our dog and cats are healthy and happy, never even get fleas.
        Slightly off topic, you should see some of the raw feeding groups on Facebook. They’re rabid! If you even hint at feeding anything other than raw meat they pile on like you wouldn’t believe!
        
        7 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 1:43pm
    - cmm
      
      One vet visit in 6 years?
      
      Surely there are yearly or such vaccinations etc (not a dog owner so I don’t know).
      
      Our cat got skin cancer and had a $2000+ operation to trim its ears.
      
      3 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:28pm
      - wsk12345
        
        The vets want you to vaccinate two yearly (used to be yearly). It’s totally unnecessary and is implicated in canine cancers and other health issies. My girl had an antibody test a couple years ago (a titer) a lnd will have another in a couple years from now. We only test for parvo as kenne cough is a respiratory disease and some of us know that it’s pointless vaccinating against those plus it’s a mild illness.
        
        3 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:13pm
MCōs

My wife went off to the Three Kings supermarket yesterday and among other things picked up a couple of big packs of bottled water.
Some random teenager seeing this elderly lady struggling thus not only put the water in the cart for her, but pushed it to the checkout
41 2
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:12am
- R
  
  Despite the efforts of the anti establishment and anti good standards activists, there are still many good socially caring citizens out there; many quite young too.
  
  20 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:27am
- kowtow
  
  Use the tap . Much easier , cheaper and possibly just as clean.
  
  12 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:28am
  - MCōs
    
    No taps in our car
    
    11 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:59am
    - marcw
      
      A plastic bottle doesn’t wear out if you refill it at home, then it’s available for reuse.
      
      9 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:35pm
      - MCōs
        
        What if we’re stuck for weeks
        Upon the Desert Road
        Day after day, day after day,
        As idle as a painted ship
        Upon a painted ocean.
        
        4 3
        Report
        January 5, 2026 4:12pm
      - Notsofast
        
        Reread it recently.
        Those old timers had a way with words.
        
        3 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:33pm
- Inandout
  
  MC, it always amuses me when I see people buy those huge bottles of tap water. I always think their home water supplies don’t exist.
  
  11 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:59am
  - Quail
    
    Late post .
    The town I stay in has recently chlorinated water supplies.
    Even toilets smell of chlorine, a bit like I imagined WW One trenches!
    It is horrible!
    For drinking water I now purchase water at $4 bottle from the local Garage and fill the used plastic bottles from outside the chlorinated area.
    Anything that unpleasant must be good for us!
    
    3 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 5:51pm
- Swifty
  
  I walked down the street yesterday, looked around, and then walked back.
  
  The interesting thing was it didn’t take long.
  
  I like bananas.
  
  9 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:22am
  - Biscuit
    
    You had me until the bananas bit, Swifty!
    
    But I resisted the temptation to downtick ya!
    
    6 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:54pm
- cmm
  
  Good on him, but very sad that that is newsworthy.
  
  20 or 30 years that was just common citizenry not worthy of a mention.
  
  11 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:33am
  - Mike
    
    I encounter such goodwill and assistance almost every time I am out and about.
    
    9 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:41am
    - septic skeptic
      
      I always imagined you as a person who would have difficulty crossing the street without help 😉
      
      7 5
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:23pm
      - Mike
        
        And that’s before going to the pub.
        
        5 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 3:54pm
- Hollyfield
  
  MCos that is just lovely. Yes there are very many community-minded people, including teenagers. I volunteer in a youth group, so I see first hand the difference a responsible upbringing can make.
  
  At the other end of the scale, I was also in Three Kings supermarket yesterday and I observed a couple with a young child steal an entire trolley full of groceries. The staff yelled after the couple but did nothing about it, could do nothing about it. I followed the couple to their home and have given their address to the police so I hope that some consequences result. The couple strolled along pushing their trolley with apparently not a care in the world. They were completely oblivious to the car that followed them all the way home. I’m assuming they have had lots of practise and are blase about any risk of being caught.
  
  14 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:55pm
Yvette

Hackers say ManageMyHealth ransomware attack about ‘business’
Company has until Tuesday morning to pay up or 400,000 patient documents released
Cyber security experts fear some patients at risk of blackmail or identity theft

What crime or liability does anyone face, if any, for disclosing information which may appear to be involved in this security incident, presumably involving doctor / patient confidential status?

This of course wonders not only about the consequences for the hackers, but any ‘downstream’ use of the data which seeks any advantage through the material if it is disclosed – a little like President Trump blowing drug runners out of the water, but seemingly doing little about the consumers who would use the product.
8 1
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:20am
- artemisia
  
  About drug runners. Lake and stream. Blocking the streams makes draining the lake possible. Otherwise not so much.
  
  4 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:53am
  - septic skeptic
    
    If Trump is going to drain Lake Ontario, he better block the Niagara not some little stream.
    
    1 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:29pm
- coge
  
  Given the latest developments, it’s looking more and more like an inside job. None of it adds up.
  
  0 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:14pm
kowtow

When ‘experts’ come out with drivel like this , then everything they say , their motivations , indeed their sanity must be questioned .

“Mr Trump was clearly defeated in 2020, then led an insurrection for which he never faced the consequences and then of course succeeded in running for office again in 2024.”

Led an insurrection?

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/stronger-nz-stance-urged-over-venezuela
26 7
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:26am
- Don Beckett
  
  Robert Patman; no surprises there. He is a leftist, and apparently a supporter of Maduro. The TDS is strong in that one.
  While we can disagree on the legitimacy – or even the appropriateness – of the US action, no-one can deny that Maduro was a Grade A arsehole who imprisoned the elected president and is killing Venezuelans. He did have to go.
  
  27 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:52am
  - igm
    
    The whole of NZME seems to be affected with TDS, especially Hosking and Dickens. Thank you Steven and your new CEO for sorting out left-wing bias.
    
    9 9
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:22am
  - Mike
    
    If your standard is Grade A arsehole who imprisoned other politicians and is killing fellow citizens, then I suggest you would support US military action against a very large number of countries.
    
    7 10
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:45am
    - igm
      
      Would support wiping out anyone involved in drug dealing or sympathetic to Islam.
      
      10 7
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:17pm
      - Groggy
        
        neither of which apply to Venezuela
        
        4 7
        Report
        January 5, 2026 12:53pm
      - Mike
        
        There are an estimated 2 billion Muslims, so some prioritization of your genocidal impulses might be required.
        
        8 6
        Report
        January 5, 2026 12:58pm
    - Christopher Thomson
      
      V was, until a couple of days ago, a training ground for Hezbollah.
      
      How many commentators here have looked at the geo-political aspect?
      
      To set the scene we have to understand that China has designs on Taiwan. It has been stated quite openly that it will be done within the next 2 years. There are two windows of opportunity to invade.
      
      China used to own the ports at both ends of the Panama canal. Too easy to block US warships from transiting.
      
      Chinese missiles stationed in V can hit all US shipping in the Gulf of America, and hit the major oil facilities on the US southern coast.
      
      To protect Taiwan the US had to remove the strategic threat in their own backyard.
      
      Job done.
      
      The change in V may have forestalled the invasion and a devastating war.
      
      5 2
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 4:05pm
  - MCōs
    
    I’m not sure how you determine Prof Patman is apparently a supporter of Maduro. In the ODT article above he is quoted as saying
    “Mr Maduro stood for election in 2024, and he was clearly defeated.“
    
    6 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:38pm
- Philview
  
  The ODT to my mind is a mouthpiece for the Labour Party and just about every article is loaded in that direction. If Labour was in power the article would be saying the NZ Government is right to be cautious.
  
  18 4
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:57am
  - MCōs
    
    Maybe if the Labour Party was in power the very same Foreign Minister or his successors wouldn’t be left to speak on NZs behalf instead of the PM
    I can’t imagine our previous PMs, Kirk, Bolger, Clark, Key, Ardern would have pussyfooted round the issue as this administration has done
    It’s not going to save us if America wants to throw us under the bus
    
    4 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 12:59pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  You clearly didn’t read the transcript of Jack Smith’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, here’s a description of some of it:
  
  Trump was indicted on charges of conspiring to undo the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and of willfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both cases were abandoned after Trump’s 2024 election win, with Smith citing Justice Department policy against the indictment of a sitting president.
  
  The Dec. 17 deposition was conducted privately despite Smith’s request to testify publicly. Smith repeatedly made clear his belief that the evidence gathered against Trump was strong enough to sustain a conviction. Part of the strength of the Jan. 6 case, Smith said, was the extent to which it relied on the testimony of Trump allies and supporters who cooperated with the investigation.
  …
  When it came to the Capitol riot itself, Smith said, the evidence showed that Trump “caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him.”
  
  Asked whether there was evidence that Trump had instructed supporters to riot at the Capitol, Smith said that Trump in the weeks leading to the insurrection got “people to believe fraud claims that weren’t true.”
  
  “He made false statements to state legislatures, to his supporters in all sorts of contexts and was aware in the days leading up to Jan. 6th that his supporters were angry when he invited them and then he directed them to the Capitol,” Smith said.
  
  “Now, once they were at the Capitol and once the attack on the Capitol happened, he refused to stop it. He instead issued a tweet that without question in my mind endangered the life of his own vice president,” he added. “And when the violence was going on, he had to be pushed repeatedly by his staff members to do anything to quell it.”
  
  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/jan-6-attack-does-not-happen-without-trump-jack-smith-told-congress
  
  5 14
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:36pm
  - CJames
    
    That was Jack Smith’s testimony. The veracity of it was not determined. Look at Jack Smith’s prosecution of Robert McDonell. This is what the Supreme court said about that one “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute,” the court wrote.
    The court in that decision warned that the “uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors is a threat to our separation of power.”
    Then there were the cases he lost against John Edwards and Bob Menedez. So he has repeat form for being a bad prosecutor who wanted to make a name for himself. Now why should we believe anything he says?
    
    6 4
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:46pm
    - Mike
      
      “uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors is a threat to our separation of power.”*
      
      *does not apply to presidents favored by this court.
      
      3 4
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:57pm
  - Christopher Thomson
    
    LOL, using Jack Smith to support your claim.
    
    5 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 4:10pm
    - Hard Cheese
      
      LOL Smear the reputation of a US Special Counsel. He’s resigned from the Justice Department now, you should give them a call and let them know of your availability.
      
      1 4
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 4:53pm
Sparrow

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Did Seymour receive official approval from Luxon for his private visit to Argentina? This is a requirement for government ministers even for private visits so as to advoid any misunderstandings.
0 33
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:27am
- greybeard
  
  Why don’t you ask Seymour, not us.
  
  17 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:02am
- AitchW
  
  Why would you think he didn’t? Seymour isn’t an idiot, he knows the rules and abides by them.
  
  16 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:16am
Colville

Trolling the world media? 🙂

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360920766/soon-wife-prominent-trump-aide-shares-ominous-message-over-greenland
0 9
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:31am
- sungsamning
  
  The fake news rise to the bait every time.
  
  3 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 6:13pm
artemisia

Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, cautiously optimistically hedges his bets. “there were some small signs that the labour market was already improving and that should continue to build. “There does seem to be a bit more of an air of optimism and maybe a bit more genuine growth starting to come through as opposed to the high business confidence we had a year ago which didn’t really translate into anything much this year.”

Meanwhile, not so cautiously – The “godfather of AI” says AI could trigger a new wave of job losses in 2026. “We’re going to see AI get even better. It’s already extremely good,” Geoffrey Hinton said. Hinton’s comments come as economists predict a “jobless boom” in 2026.

My money is on Hinton.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/583165/it-can-t-be-worse-right-what-s-ahead-for-the-economy-in-2026

https://www.businessinsider.com/godfather-of-ai-geoffrey-hinton-2026-job-losses-2025-12
5 2
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:38am
- PurplePen
  
  In an interview when asked what would you do, Hinton replied “become a plumber”.
  
  10 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 9:52am
  - slijmbal
    
    @artemisia
    
    40+ years in IT – the industry has a very consistent history of massive over egging. For instance, predictions about how quickly and how much the Internet would destroy jobs were huge. It did cause systemic and structural changes but much less and much slower than originally fortold by the various prophets of the Internet. Many of the changes have taken 10-30 years. They are huge just not as catastrophic as originally breathlessly reported in the media. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the quality of user interfaces has gone significantly backwards courtesy of HTML and its bastard offspring.
    
    There are definite advantages – e.g. AI will generate IT ‘code’ much faster than the old googling for examples I used to do. The standard of the code is often mediocre and inavariably needs work but gives a rather powerful kick start. Ditto finding more obscure commands or functions is much faster now. But… an improvement not a replacement.
    
    I expect exactly the same with AI, which is isn’t actually Artificial Intelligence – it’s highly complex algorithmic ‘learning’ – the irony is huge that even the description is exaggerated.
    
    7 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 1:25pm
    - artemisia
      
      Consider other uses for AI. For example, already up and running in horticulture robotics. NZ sells apple packing smarts globally. Kiwifruit picking has been happening for a while and apple picking too, just waiting for more of the right trees to be fruiting.
      
      5 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:56pm
      - slijmbal
        
        @artmesia
        
        I’m not saying AI won’t do stuff and make a significant difference though many of the various anouncements of ‘how AI has helped us do X’ are exagerrated assuming they follow previous behaviour. I’m just saying it’s well overhyped.
        
        History tells us that this is the repeated pattern.
        
        5 1
        Report
        January 5, 2026 3:15pm
    - Graeme Hall
      
      In the 1980s there was a software program advertised in the Computer magazines that claimed to eliminate programming. It had a name something like “The Last One”.
      
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_One_%28software%29
      
      Seems like people still need to code.
      
      7 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:01pm
BarryB

Re Ukraine.
I have always believed that the biggest losers in this war are the ordinary people of the country – but I think they are about to become REALLY big losers.

The UK and France are getting more bullish and I think it was Macron who is starting to say things like their troops should become involved in Ukraine.
The economys of the UK, France and Germany are in deep shit. The British society is crumbling and they are trying to tax farmers out of existance, In Germany VW are closing plants and reducing hours at others, France has a horrible welfare problem (I think the retirement age is 55). Germany is being very quiet as they dont want to be blamed for starting another world war, but A WAR IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS and its also a good target for embattled leaders to blame something other than themselves for problems at home. Industrialist will be agitating for increaded government spending (whats better than vehicle factories running flat out making tanks and military runabouts, and metal foundries making costly steel and copper etc, and medical companies making all sorts of stuff for injured people – and so on).
I predict that the Ukraine war will go beyond the borders of Ukraine in 2026. It will be a mistake by someone or a jacked up border crossing and it will be all on…………. but it wont go nuclear.
6 8
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:44am
- Wandering Star
  
  Even if it were a realistic eventuality, Russia doesn’t need to move further west into Europe – Europe’s well on the way to collapsing of its own accord.
  
  8 8
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:04pm
Gulag1917

Conflict of interest.
Trump Organization said close to joining $63 billion Saudi-owned real estate project
https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-organization-said-close-to-joining-major-saudi-owned-real-estate-project/
1 6
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:49am
- Wandering Star
  
  Wait until Trump finds out that the Saudis are even more authoritarian and undemocratic than Maduro – if we are to take Washington at its word, regime change couldn’t be far off?
  
  3 11
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:06pm
BarryB

The world MSM seems to think what the US did in Venezuela is illegal.
Well exporting drugs to the US was illegal. And what Modura was doing inside the country was illegal on many levels – well in any democratic country which had human rights that were enforced what he was doing was illegal.
And its all very well for people here in NZ to carry on about methamphetamine coming into NZ in increasing volumes and how and why it must be stopped while on the other hand saying that it is illegal to stop the stuff being exported from the likes of Venezuela.
I think its a bloody good move for someone who has the power and the will to stop the sort of crap that is or was Venezuela leadership. Its also a BIG warning to Iran and maybe even China to think twice.
All we need now is for the leaders of:
Sudan
Yemen
North Korea
Myanmar
Laos.
Eritrea
Nigeria
Iran,
Equatorial Guinea,
Chad,
Cameroon.
Iran
and about 20 others to be removed so
that they stop ripping off their own countries people and in most cases shooting anyone they disagree with.
Oh – but before they are put up against the concrete wall they need to disclose their swiss bank accounts – which may need some time and effort to get them to talk………
9 8
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 9:58am
- Wandering Star
  
  “He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
  
  9 4
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:26pm
- Mike
  
  You have left a lot of countries off that list.
  
  4 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:54pm
Ian Boag

FWIW there is an article in th Economist about how (in the US) becoming an electrician/plumber might be better than going to uni to be an electrical engineer – what with tuition and the way that AI is hollowing out the beginner tech jobs. Has a caption about how AI can’t bend a bit of copper pipe …. 🙂
19 3
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 10:03am
- artemisia
  
  Am seeing a bit from the US, mainly, about AI set up for tradies and starting to happen here. Like producing (draft) project plans and materials schedules. More time to bend copper pipes. Tradies in the fam and we have a small construction business.
  
  Pointed out to our young gasfitter a report that a first year gasfitter apprentice in Melbourne could be on $NZ120k. That’s more than he is on as a certifying gasfitter in Wellington. So next month scoping out Perth…. (Also a qualified plumber, certifying planned for 2026. Certifying means can sign off others work.)
  
  14 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:17am
  - Taieri
    
    a first year gasfitter apprentice in Melbourne could be on $NZ120k.
    ———-
    
    The average annual salary for Gasfitter jobs in Australia ranges from $100,000 to $110,000.
    
    https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/gasfitter/salary
    
    That’s for a fully qualified tradie, not for an apprentice.
    
    8 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 1:44pm
    - marcw
      
      Since it is an Australian website, presumably those salaries are Aus$. So, @ NZ$0.85 /AU$, 100,000 ~ NZ$117,000.
      
      4 2
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:16pm
    - artemisia
      
      I didn’t make up the $NZ120k. May well be an outlier or a wrong report, but was part of our research into gasfitter pay over the ditch.
      
      There is a shortage of gasfitters here and in Oz, and plenty here heading for retirement age.
      
      7 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:46pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Being a gas fitter apprentice in NZ is akin to specialising in buggy whips circa 1900.
        
        4 1
        Report
        January 5, 2026 2:57pm
      - Colville
        
        NMTB.
        You really have no idea.
        There will be gas in New Zealand for at least the next 50 years.
        Even if free electricity was invented tomorrow it would take 50 years to upgrade the grid to deliver it.
        
        2 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:31pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Sure – and people in NZ were still using horses (if not buggies) for transport well into the 1920s. But they were a diminishing number. Similarly, there will be work for gas fitters in NZ for the foreseeable future – but if you’re 18 & intending to stay in NZ then I’d suggest plumbing or drain laying is probably a more prudent choice of apprenticeship than gas fitting.
        
        1 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 7:14pm
  - Christopher Thomson
    
    Plenty of work in Perth. It’s a great place to be.
    
    3 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 4:21pm
- cmm
  
  AI can’t bend a pipe (because it is software) but various pipe bending machines have been doing so for ages.
  
  Pipe bending is less of a thing because people are using more flexible piping too.
  
  But, yes, tradies can get way more earnings with far less cost and time in training. That is not new. It has been like that for quite a while.
  
  Of course that market can saturate easily. Double the number of electricians and the work does not magically double to take them all on.
  
  Still, it is hard to beat top-end software development (ie. not just web development etc) which is still immune to AI. Top end software people are earning $US250k+ a year.
  
  11 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:40am
  - BananaLlama
    
    Comp Sci degree is still one of the best investments someone can make at a young age.
    
    5 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:24am
    - Colville
      
      But maybe not for the 16yr old who hates school, can’t sit still and just wants to get working.
      
      I wish I didn’t wait till I was 19 to start apprenticeship. I f*king loved it.
      
      7 2
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 12:47pm
      - BananaLlama
        
        No one is saying that you shouldn’t, lol.
        
        3 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 1:08pm
    - cmm
      
      If you view a degree as an investment then you’re probably doing it wrong.
      
      A university degree is primarily a filter to weed out the incompetent. It does not take an incompetent person and make them competent.
      
      I have a Comp Sc degree (actually two), but those just got me a foot in the door. What gets me the big bucks is the stuff I teach myself.
      
      What you learn in Comp Sc is not useful skills (FORTRAN, COBOL and punch cards in my case). All it really does is shows that you might have the right mindset for the ongoing skills required (learning and understanding how computers work, how software should be constructed etc).
      
      6 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:34pm
      - BananaLlama
        
        Really, not even an investment of your time? i just don’t believe you, sorry.
        But you are very old school so still, respect.
        
        0 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 10:47pm
  - CJames
    
    cmm
    So writes someone who has never done pipefitting. You can’t premake a lot of components as they have to be individually fitted. Yes the flexible fittings are great, but a lot still has to be done the old fashioned way with copper like hot water cylinders upsteam of the tempering valves.
    
    6 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:52pm
    - cmm
      
      So writes a person who cannot read.
      
      I did not say that pipepitting and pipe bending have disappeared. I said they are “less of a thing” – ie they are reduced.
      
      The work of installing a run of a hot water pipe in a wall in the past would have needed maybe a dozen joints or bends with all it entails (cutting, bending, threading, soldering,…). Now most fits are just running flexible pipes. What took hours now takes a few minutes.
      
      This has significantly reduced the labour (and skill) involved and thus the reduced the value of the skillset.
      
      You are reasonably correct in that I have done only small amounts of pipe fitting myself (done a bit though – probably illegally), but I have watched a few plumbers at work and chatted to them. They all tell me the new plastic stuff is far quicker and easier to work with.
      
      3 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:43pm
- leoj
  
  Universities are so overrated mainly because at their heart is leftist professors who have never run a business or met payroll.
  
  Bravo tradies! Practical beats theory every time.
  
  24 8
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:47am
- RoboRob
  
  Yup, the trades are likely the last jobs to be negatively effected.
  
  Watch out for the lawyers. Much of the income and work for lawyers comes from things like property conveyancing, estates, letters etc. All of this stuff could easily be taken over by AI.
  
  10 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:31am
- mogg
  
  Programmed pipe and steel bending is already old hat, drop into any Steel & Tube outlet you can watch it happen. I would be fairly sure that AI will be involved with much engineering production at the moment, cars especially.
  
  6 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 3:27pm
BeaB

It is so reassuring to hear Helen Clark (formerly UN Leader according to the RNZ announcer) pronouncing with great certainty and finality that the US has no legal right to capture and detain Maduro. Can’t you just hear her and her Leftwing cohort bleating, “How dare they capture dear old Adolf”.
How does the left always manage to position itself on the wrong side, aligning themselves with illegitimate dictators, drug cartels, rogue states, terrorists and criminals?
16 4
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 10:12am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  It’s hard to believe that it’s more than 17 years since Helun spat the dummy after being rejected by the NZ public. For young people today, she has always belonged to the dustbin of history.
  
  Perhaps the media should find someone a little more recent to go to for an opinion. I mean, there is any number of former Labour leaders out there.
  
  13 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:55pm
  - MCōs
    
    Your comment inspired me to review just which former major party leaders are still out there putting forward opinions
    Labour – Ardern, Little, Goff, Clark & Palmer. Cunliffe and Shearer are out of sight
    National – Collins, Bridges, English, Key, Brash and Shipley.
    Act – Douglas, Prebble, Hide, Brash Mk II & Banks
    
    So there’s any number of ex leaders out there across the political spectrum, ranging from predictable geriatric right wing types in the Act party to either side of centre elsewhere
    
    3 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:37pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      You’ve left the Greens and TPM off your list of major parties, Cossie. How dare you!
      
      6 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:00pm
- Biscuit
  
  Heh heh, BeaB.
  
  Wikipedia, not always a bastion of fair reporting, says she was the ‘administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017’…
  
  No adjectives as to how competent she was/wasn’t…
  
  But I didn’t/haven’t see/noticed TOO much stellar ‘Development’ during or since that timespan…
  
  9 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:03pm
Chuck Bird

Trump thinks humans will be land on Mars in the next 3 years. This show how stupid Trump is. It may happen but not for decades at a minimum.

Donald Trump wants to put humans on Mars

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/us-news/2026/01/05/donald-trump-people-mars-7am
6 16
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 10:31am
- AitchW
  
  If it’s left to NASA it will take decades and cost trillions.
  Let private companies do it and it may happen in 3 years!
  
  7 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 10:36am
- All_on_Red
  
  March 15 2025
  ‘Musk said in a post on X early Saturday morning his SpaceX company plans to launch its Starship spacecraft carrying Optimus, a Tesla-created humanoid robot, to Mars at the end of 2026.
  
  If next year’s landing is a success, Musk says he wants to start sending humans to Mars as soon as 2029, though he said 2031 may be more likely.
  
  Musk said Saturday morning his goal is to “make it so that anyone can travel to Mars if they would like,” with an eventual goal “to make Mars a self-sustaining civilization.”
  
  Of course Musk is stupid too. You’re the smart one who ‘knows’ it will take ‘decades’.
  //
  
  15 8
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 11:07am
  - Mike
    
    Elon Musk does not have a great record on delivering against his extravagant predictions.
    It’s highly unlikely that the US will get humans back to the moon by 2027 (the current target) let alone to Mars anytime in the 2030s.
    
    9 6
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:22am
    - AitchW
      
      NASA is launching a moon mission early this year. 4 astronauts I believe, not landing on the moon, nevertheless humans will be back to the moon.
      https://ts2.tech/en/nasas-artemis-ii-moon-mission-is-getting-closer-latest-on-the-2026-launch-window/
      
      9 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 1:54pm
      - Mike
        
        NASA recently claimed it would land astronauts on the moon before 2029, although the official target is still a 2027 landing.
        The space launch system has been under development by NASA and Boeing for 15 years. Even longer has been spent with Lockheed Martin on the Orion capsule to orbit the moon.
        There projects have yet to take humans into space. The upcoming mission will not land on the moon.
        There is no lander design yet, just a concept based on a stage of SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Starship hasn’t flown into space at all with a crew, let alone getting to the moon.
        There’s more chance of a Trump-class battleship sailing by 2031 than there is of the US sending people to land on the moon. Forget about Mars.
        
        4 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 3:38pm
    - Chuck Bird
      
      Humans will likely land on the moon by 2027. However, Mars is around 10 times as far from Earth as the moon. That is why getting humans on Mars in the next 3 years is ridiculous.
      
      6 4
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:01pm
      - Chuck Bird
        
        Meant, Mars is around 150 times as far from Earth as the moon.
        
        5 4
        Report
        January 5, 2026 2:22pm
      - alwyn.a
        
        Around 10 times is a massive understatement.
        
        The nearest Mars ever gets to earth is about 150 times the average distance from Earth to the Moon.
        The greatest distance from Earth to Mars is more that a thousand times as far as Earth to the Moon.
        
        6 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 2:38pm
    - BananaLlama
      
      I don’t think they will make it by 2027 that’s under a year left and they don’t even know if his Starship can orbit the Moon yet.
      
      4 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:57pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      “Elon Musk does not have a great record on delivering against his extravagant predictions.” says ‘Mike’
      ‘The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 are still the best-selling electric vehicles in the world in September’
      https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-y-and-model-3-top-worlds-best-selling-ev-rankings-in-september/
      ‘SpaceX shattered its single-year launch record again in 2025 with 165 Launches.
      https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/spacex-shatters-its-rocket-launch-record-yet-again-167-orbital-flights-in-2025
      ‘SpaceX says its Starlink internet has hit 9 million customers, just over a month after reaching 8 million.
      The numbers close a year of massive growth for Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company.’
      https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starlink-customer-numbers-surge-9-million-elon-musk-ipo-2025-12
      
      Of course many of us know ‘Mike’ – and his various iterations (caused by numerous suspensions)- from over the years and are well aware of his dissembling ways.
      His ‘pissing in the well’ trolling strategy on this blog is obvious. He has no credibility and as above proves, should not be believed on anything.
      
      3 6
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 4:06pm
      - Hard Cheese
        
        The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 are still the best-selling electric vehicles in the world in September’
        
        That’s because Tesla only really have those two models. On the graph you linked, Tesla have the number 1 and 2 spots…but BYD occupies 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 and 15
        
        Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Saturday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring US tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.
        
        Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.
        
        Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.
        
        5 0
        Report
        January 5, 2026 5:13pm
      - Mike
        
        When do you believe the US will land humans on the moon again?
        
        2 4
        Report
        January 5, 2026 5:28pm
  - RoboRob
    
    Musk is well known for his overly ambitious targets, which is also likely why he achieves things much faster then otherwise.
    
    14 8
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:40am
    - Wandering Star
      
      Yes, Musk is was in and out with DOGE in a matter of months. While he didn’t achieve shit (except scraping an awful lot of data for Palantir”s AI programs), you’ve got to admire the shear speed involved in (ostensibly) failing so quickly.
      
      5 3
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 3:09pm
  - MCōs
    
    People have fantasized about landing people on mars forever. I’ve often wondered what the point is
    Chaps were sent to the moon and nothing happened
    
    11 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 11:56am
    - NothingLeft
      
      I’m glad that people who think like you are not always in charge. Or we’d still be in Africa trying to bring down antelopes with rocks. Ad Astra.
      
      4 3
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:32pm
  - Chuck Bird
    
    Mars is 150 times further away than the moon. What is your answer to radiation on the trip here and back, as well as their time on Mars?
    
    7 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:04pm
    - RoboRob
      
      There are a shit ton of videos detailing how raditiation can be dealt with, go watch some.
      
      One of the reasons you ‘go to Mars’ is that to do so you need to address all these issues. Once thats done you can go elsewhere.
      
      7 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:38pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    ‘For decades, space agencies have been seeking efficient ways to shorten the long and perilous journey to Mars. With support from NASA, the CNTR, a new nuclear propulsion concept developed by researchers at Ohio State University, could be the breakthrough needed to make Mars missions viable within the next decade. This propulsion system differs significantly from older designs by utilizing liquid uranium fuel to heat the rocket propellant directly, making the system potentially twice as efficient as traditional nuclear propulsion methods. As a result, the CNTR could slash the time required for a round-trip journey to Mars to under 420 days, making human missions to Mars not only feasible but significantly safer.’
    https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/09/nasa-nuclear-propulsion-mars-6-months/
    
    There and back in 420 days.
    
    6 4
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:37pm
    - Hard Cheese
      
      “ could be the breakthrough needed to make Mars missions viable within the next decade.”
      
      So not in the next 3 years then?
      
      3 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 5:18pm
      - Mike
        
        There have been proposals for amazing nuclear propulsion breakthroughs for decades. Like fusion power, or a return to the moon, it’s always on the verge of success.
        
        4 1
        Report
        January 5, 2026 6:21pm
- I remember when
  
  In three (3) years time who will remember what Trump said in 2026?
  Plenty of sayings will have passed under the bridge by then.
  
  5 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:02pm
- Steve Todd
  
  It may happen but not for decades at a minimum.
  
  Even that is doubtful, Chuck. As for establishing a human colony on Mars that is independent of Earth — well, that will probably never happen.
  
  This is just one of many videos on YouTube that explain what humans are up against: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28IanIAYee4 [1:23:13].
  
  5 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:49pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    If you like videos Steve here is one you might like
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JtFUma3G7U
    
    2 5
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 3:58pm
- waikatosinger
  
  The launch windows for Mars occur every 26 months. You have to launch in a window or you can’t get to Mars. There is a window towards the end of 2026. The next one is at the start of 2029. The trip to Mars takes 13 months and there is bugger all you can do to get there quicker. The mathematics of the orbital mechanics is brutal. The energy penalty of trying to leave at other times and/or get there faster is insane.
  
  Musk will likely try to send an unmanned thing to Mars in the window at the end of this year which would arrive at the start of 2028. There is no way in my opinion that a manned starship will be sorted in time. He’ll probably aim to send an unmanned starship on a one way trip, landing it on Mars with no fuel to return. But even that would be pushing it.
  
  The earliest reasonable time he could try to launch a manned mission to Mars would be in the launch window at the start of 2029, arriving early in 2030.
  
  7 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:31pm
  - Chuck Bird
    
    I believe the time is less than 13 months but definitely not less than 7 months.
    
    3 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 2:27pm
    - waikatosinger
      
      You are correct. It is around 260 days or nearly 9 months. I messed up.
      
      5 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      January 5, 2026 2:48pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  10 downticking cult members believe it will happen in 3 years LOL
  
  6 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:42pm
- Ian Boag
  
  Mary Roach is an American author who writes about scientific stuff from an interesting point of view – I would recommend “Bonk” (history of study of the sex act) and “Stiff” (the things that are done with cadavers) not to mention “Gulp” (studies of the digestive tract from mouth to anus).
  
  Anyway there is one called “Packing For Mars” that goes through some aspects of space travel that we don’t usually think about …. also lays out the problems like carrying enough food for the trip … hoping that the astronauts don’t kill each other. And others.
  
  She’s a really good read 🙂
  
  8 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 2:22pm
- Prince
  
  Read the article more carefully.
  ‘Trump wants to put humans on Mars’.
  I’d go along with that..
  Let’s start with the current Green party.
  
  9 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 5:07pm
Jack5

The controversial India-NZ Free Trade Agreement

Another controversial aspect of the India-NZ free trade agreement: it commits NZ to promoting investment into India with the aim of increasing private sector investment by US$20 billion over 15 years. NZ is not far above being on the bones of its arse when it comes to capital, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) mob are talking like they’re from a rich country!

MFAT has said that, to facilitate New Zealand investments, India will establish a “bespoke” New Zealand Investment Desk to assist NZ investors with any issues that arise across the investment life-cycle. It’s not going to be overrun.

The flakiness of this FTA is highlighted by the fact that it was announced a couple of days before the Christmas shutdown, a well known down time for releasing poor news. A time to hide embarrassing information.

Controversial aspects of the agreement already noted include its pretty much shut-out of our key export, dairy products, except supplying them duty-free to India for further Indian manufacturing and export.

Then there are the openings in NZ for young people of India, which has millions of young graduates fighting for jobs. What the FTA offers India is less than a drop of rain in a storm, but it will impact NZ, which has its own youth unemployment issue. NZ will provide the equivalent of 1,667 three-year employment entry visas a year (capped at 5,000 at time). These will comprise 1,466 visas for 13 skilled occupations, and 200 for ‘iconic” Indian occupations (yoga, music, chefs and ayurvedic practitioners). NZ will also provide up to 1,000 working holiday visas a year, and will allow Indian students to work for up to 20 hours a week while studying and to work, after graduation, from two years for those with a bachelor’s degree, to four years for PhD’s.

https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/new-zealand-india-free-trade-agreement/key-outcomes

India’s huge graduate unemployment problem:

https://www.dw.com/en/higher-education-correlates-with-lower-employment-in-india/a-70843565
9 2
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 11:07am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  The key thing for the visas is that they have to be time limited, then outski. None of this back door entry “but oh I have just met the partner of my dreams” malarkey.
  
  11 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:00pm
- Paulus
  
  Difference may well be that the younger graduates from India can actually speak English, Read, and Write all coherently.
  
  7 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 2:10pm
  - Jack5
    
    Very few jobs left for proof readers.
    
    1 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 7:11pm
I remember when

The BBC’s Christmas collapse is nothing short of catastrophic: The Conservative Woman.
“In the run-up to Christmas, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy launched a public consultation on the future of the BBC.”
“Arguably, it is a waste of time.
Because on Christmas Day, the public delivered a far clearer response than any consultation ever could.
They switched off.”
“Across the BBC’s top ten Christmas Day programmes in 2025, the combined audience was just 34.6 million viewers.
Last year the equivalent figure was almost 50 million.”
“In a single year, the BBC lost more than 15 million viewers across its flagship festive output – more than 30 per cent.”
“Last Christmas, the BBC’s most watched programme, the Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special, notched up more than 12 million viewers.
This year, its biggest hit, the King’s Christmas speech, managed just 4.6 million.”

Naturally no-one at the BBC will understand why it has happened.
17 1
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 11:59am
- Greenheart
  
  Maybe the fall in numbers was anticipated by the BBC and it programmed accordingly. They know that viewer numbers are low on Christmas Day now and moved their best programmes such as Night Manager to a later day.
  
  2 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 3:28pm
- GJM
  
  Viewer numbers for the Beeb, like TVNZ and RadioNZ are irrelevant, as they don’t rely on viewers soe funding, unlike the private sector. They still get paid if nobody at all watches them.
  I have never understood why National and the UK Tories fund these institutions who hate them. That is one thing about lefties.they identify who their supporters are and openly and unashamedly support and bribe them, and get their enemies to pay for it.
  
  4 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 4:56pm
- MCōs
  
  I don’t know why we should still be in awe of the BBC on the opposite side of the world and far removed from the days of the empire.
  
  3 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 5:17pm
Notsofast

I like this for the highly principled Hamas lovers.

“The Free Palestine crowd can’t use Google anymore:
Google officially partnered with Tel Aviv University for a massive 3-year AI research program worth millions of dollars. The program will pioneer the next generation of Language Models and Data Science in Tel Aviv University. The world’s biggest tech giant is doubling down on Israeli innovation.”

https://x.com/i/status/2007821929319657819
10 4
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 12:12pm
I remember when

Forests fuel feral pig challenges in Taupo: Farmers Weekly.
Taupo farmer Ruby Mullinder says her region’s battle with surging pest numbers should be a clear warning about the risks of large-scale afforestation.
Most of the forestry around Lake Taupo was planted 15 years ago to protect the lake’s water quality.
Its predominantly production forestry.
One of the biggest pest problems in the Taupo catchment is feral pigs.
The largest mob we’ve seen is 54, but we’ve had reports of mobs of 100.
Weed spread, damage to fences, pasture and crops, soil loss after heavy rain , disease such as leptospirosis and ticks – the problems quickly stack up.
Mulinder says Taupo proves blanket tree planting without long-term pest accountability is a policy failure.

Forest fires, larger areas of difficult pest control (possum, goats, deer, pigs – wallaby (?), forests past their carbon credit life.
No doubt it is a list that will be added to over time.
10 1
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 12:24pm
- Colville
  
  There is no such thing as a pig problem. The only problem is letting the hunters in to get at them. There are literally thousands of hunters in the north island who want to hunt pigs and have no where to go.
  
  I did wonder if numbers were getting up, I have seen pigs on the side of the road on the Napier Taupo and a dead one hit by a car.
  
  11 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 12:51pm
- Ian
  
  You should see the wild goat problem in the Nelson province – on the roadside south of Murchison and through the Buller Gorge. A danger to motorcyclists…
  
  10 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 1:06pm
  - Quail
    
    Owning and using appropriate firearms, traps poisons or whatever has now become too hard for most hunters.
    Particularly the young hunters!
    
    3 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 6:36pm
- JackRabbit
  
  Yep, the wild animal pests are a real problem. Some have even put on human clothes and got into parliament on left wing party lists. Spend most of their time screeching, snorting, stamping their feet, and putting their noses in various troughs.
  
  11 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 2:53pm
TripeWryter

I’ve just taken the Your Political Profile survey, which is advertised on this site.
Because I was faffing about over something else I thought I might take it. Harmless fun.
At the end of 10 minutes: go to your results.
And that’s where they tell you that you have to pay $2.95 (US or NZ or Aust or Can – they don’t say) for the privilege.
The sum required (pay by credit card) is inconsequential.
My objection to being charged is that participants in the survey are not told until the end you will have to pay to see your result.
This should be up-front.
19 0
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 1:33pm
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  First day on the internet?
  
  6 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 3:11pm
  - TripeWryter
    
    Not at all, Mr Quaff.
    As I made clear: the charge should have been made clear at the very start.
    Like: ‘There is a $.2.95 charge to see your results.’
    Not at the very end. That reeks of deceit.
    
    7 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 5:29pm
Swifty

Trump talks about Venezuelan:

https://x.com/papitrumpo/status/2007927104713933060?s=46
5 4
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 1:54pm
- Mike
  
  Did he say anything intelligible?
  
  5 13
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  January 5, 2026 3:42pm
  - Christopher Thomson
    
    Only to those who listen with an open mind.
    
    9 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    January 5, 2026 4:30pm
Albie

Probably nothing less than the unintelligible word salads that used to dribble out from our previous PM.
I’d rather listen to Trump any day. He at least makes me laugh as opposed to earnest hand wringing good for nothing socialists.
8 2
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 4:48pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Women faces life imprisonment for (allegedly) importing 22kg of meth.

Bwahahahahaha!

Do Stuff reporters not pay attention to sentencing by NZ judges?

I’m betting that Home D is more likely.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360920918/woman-faces-life-imprisonment-after-22kg-meth-found-luggage
6 1
Log in to Reply
Report
January 5, 2026 5:11pm

Add a Comment Cancel reply

Login to comment or vote

« Yes the UK should do a proper puberty blockers trial

We should fund results, not ideology »

Donations

You can now donate to Kiwiblog

Exclusive content from DPF on Patreon

Become a Patron!

Never miss a post

Email Address

Join 13K other subscribers

Highlights

Target achieved II
Good progress on attendance
Health Target 5 – elective treatments
Health Target 4 – Specialist appointments

Links

Parliament fails to defend transparency
No Right Turn
"The principal view of human laws is, or ought always to be, to explain, protect, and enforce such rights as are absolute, which in themselves are few and simple."
Not PC
To be fair – nothing manages to celebrate the sham 250 year democracy of a neofascist regime quite like Vanilla Ice
The Daily Blog
Daily review 04/06/2026
The Standard
Word of the day
Hompaddock
The response to Budget 2026 has been unusually muted
Point of Order
We Are a Country That Decided Housing Was The Economy
No Minister
My Opening Statement for the UATX Caplan-Jones Immigration Rematch
Utopia
Playing with numbers.
Kiwipolitico
Another non-tariff barrier
Offsetting Behaviour
Rugby Premiership Predictions for Round 18
Stats Chat
Budget 2026
NZCPR
UK Conversion Therapy Ban, Digital ID, Rallies, Elections
Bob McCoskrie's McBlog
A central banker’s fiction
Croaking Cassandra
THE WORKING FROM HOME RACKET BY PUBLIC SERVANTS
No Punches Pulled (Bob Jones)
Tory Whanau may have to sell Wellington mayoralty to make ends meet
The Civilian
The Accidental Engagement
Imperator Fish
Legal Beagle: Election '23: The Special Votes
Public Address
Get Vaccinated Tomorrow Or Shut Your Pie Hole
Cactus Kate
Making this movie might have been a mistake
Liam Hehir
Why I am retiring from political blogging
Kiwi FireWalker

[email protected]

PO Box 12270, Thorndon, Wellington 6144

Facebook
Twitter
FourSquare
Instagram
LinkedIn
Google+

Archives
Disclosure Statement
Editorial Policy
Privacy Policy
Complaints Policy
Comments Policy

Design by cre8d

%d

Share this:

Like this: