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February 16, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 16 February 2026

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General Debate

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Chuck Bird

I heard Danica De Giorgio on Sky News Oz say that there have been a number of cases of forced child marriage where a 14 year old is forced to marry someone about 20 years older.

I wonder if that happens here.
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February 16, 2026 8:07am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I did not see the news. It is clearly impossible for a 14 year old to be married in Australia. It is plausible that they could be married outside Australia. Of course that would have no effect in Australia.
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:23am
  - Chuck Bird
    
    They were “married” by an Imam. The girl would be forced to have sex with her “husband”, which would be illegal in Oz like here.
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:29am
    - Paulus
      
      Define husband in this concept please !
      Capable of making the girl pregnent is all that matters.
      
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      February 16, 2026 8:39am
  - Paulus
    
    Marruage in terms of age is irrelevent in Muslim concepts as when a girl is capable of being made pregnant that is all that matters
    – Age dies not come into it
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:37am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      That is right, and the police should prosecute.
      
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      February 16, 2026 8:39am
      - cmm
        
        The police will only pursue this if there is a complaint.
        
        Who is going to complain?
        
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        February 16, 2026 8:56am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        Yes well of course the police will prosecute but they need evidence. If the 14 year old walked into a police station and told her story, I would hope that she would be cared for and the rapist arrested. But that is a big if.
        
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        February 16, 2026 9:24am
      - cmm
        
        ND: Why would the 14 year old make a complaint? Remember:
        * She’s within a community where all this is normal. What is not normal to them is having a state which interferes and does not allow the Prophet’s will.
        * All the people around her think it is fine.
        * She is likely willing (that does not make it legal), so she is unlikely to make any complaint.
        * If she does feel it is wrong, she will be under extreme cultural and family pressure to keep her mouth shut.
        
        Cops etc really don’t want to get caught up in this mess. They are shit scared of being called racist. They will turn a blind eye if they can.
        
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        February 16, 2026 9:50am
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        Danica of Sky News Oz should provide her evidence to the police, and the police should investigate
        
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        February 16, 2026 10:02am
  - Flossie
    
    Obviously a legal marriage is not possible for a 14 year old in Australia or here. However being married in the eyes of Allah is, sadly, different.
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:41am
    - Chuck Bird
      
      The age of marriage in Iran is 13 for girls. There is a push to lower it to!
      
      Come on, Donald, force regime change.
      
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      February 16, 2026 8:53am
      - rangitoto
        
        Don’t hold your breath
        
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        February 16, 2026 8:58am
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        Donald would be well advised to think carefully before declaring the rape of 13-year-olds to be an offence worthy of violent overthrow
        
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        February 16, 2026 9:17am
      - Christopher Thomson
        
        [Mod – for some reason you don’t seem to be able to debate issues around Trump without resorting to abuse, take a two day holiday]
        
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        February 16, 2026 10:05am
  - cmm
    
    ND: There is a massive difference between what is possible with a legal marriage and a cultural marriage.
    Do you really think these people respect the law more highly than their culture?
    
    About 6 weeks ago I spoke with a Muslim taxi driver who was pondering how he could get himself a second wife.
    
    Of course if he does it she won’t be a legal wife, just a live in girlfriend according to the law, but there is really nothing preventing the community recognising this at as a cultural marriage.
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:55am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      The second marriage should not be recognized in law, and no public benefits related to marriage or defacto partnership should result from it.
      
      If that’s ensured, and if the second “wife” is of legal age and consents, then why exactly does it matter to the rest of us if “the community recognizes it as a cultural marriage”?
      
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      February 16, 2026 9:15am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      Yes I understand. I did not intend to deny what you describe. Apologies if that is how it came across.
      
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      February 16, 2026 9:26am
    - Inandout
      
      cmm, well he would be running a dual fuel taxi so why not a dual coupling?
      
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      February 16, 2026 9:34am
    - Ra Henare
      
      Years agi. I met a lady who with her husband, chose a second wife.
      
      They lived together for many years before he died.
      
      So not only Muslims with second wives.
      Also check out Salt lake city for men with multiple wives.
      
      And wives with multiple husbands(plug polyandry in to your favourite serach engine).
      
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      February 16, 2026 3:24pm
- Handyman
  
  Muslims also have the concept of “temporary wives”. This is so soldiers can rape women without the stigma of (themselves) having ‘unmarried” sex.
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:24am
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    They do, but that can’t be used as a legal defence here
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:03am
  - Paulus
    
    But if a Muslim girl takes to a man person as we know it then she can be stoned by her family or killed in any other way.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:22am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      Not here, she can’t
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:45am
redeye

It’s February 16, and it’s been the most miserable February since we moved into the Tasman area 20 years ago. We have had difficulty getting our fruit to ripen due to a real lack of sunshine hours.
But according one of our leading newspapers our planet is burning. Go figure. They should at least hold these articles until we’ve had a few hot days. Or is todays youth really that gullible?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360937839/ready-feel-4-richer-month-planet-burns-why-importing-lng-isnt-answer
Actually I think it’s more of a political hitjob but I have only read the headline.
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February 16, 2026 8:15am
- rouppe
  
  I’m at my sisters place near Motueka at the moment. Over the weekend we’ve processed apples, plums, figs, blackberries and blueberries.
  
  Not commercial quantities for sure, but there’s plenty of fruit on the trees she has.
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:53am
- Ghost
  
  It’s been crap here. People have had fires going throughout summer…. Apricot trees had nothing on them this year, late frost got them. Tomatoes haven’t been that great, pumpkins are only starting to grow. Grapes look to be alright. Peaches and nectarines, we lost most of. Apples and feijoas are alright. Strawberries barely had many off them before they started sending out shoots.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:03am
  - Jack5
    
    Where here? North Otago?
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:11am
  - RoboRob
    
    Flew back into Christchurch after being away for a few weeks. Was stunned a how green the Canterbury plains were. Normally at this time of year grass is dead all through the city and the plains are brown. Hot dry winds will do that!
    
    We have had a lot of water here and the temperatures have been lower then normal (IMO) since a really hot period during spring.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:19am
- Philview
  
  I view her articles as trolling so don’t click on them anymore.
  
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  February 16, 2026 11:13am
Nikola Donatello

A group of protestors lost their minds because a couple of National politicians attended “Big Gay Out” event..

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360938723/protestors-storm-stage-big-gay-out-auckland

The photo of the screaming protestor is worth a look. 🙂

My question.. Why do government ministers or even National MPs go to this? These people are never, ever, going to vote for you.
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February 16, 2026 8:16am
- Ian
  
  I think I read that the government part funds BGO, so they are invited and expected to attend
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:20am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    That makes it even worse. Why is the government funding it?
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:26am
    - PeterTrentham
      
      As part of the $1.9bln mental health money from 2019.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:02am
      - artemisia
        
        Very good!
        
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        February 16, 2026 11:29am
- artemisia
  
  That ‘screaming’ pic is definitely worth a look. And not just the pointing screamer. Does Rainbow Action Tamaki know (or care) that they look and act like looney tunes?
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:36am
  - [email protected]
    
    They seem quite oblivious. I mean they call themselves Rainbow Action Tamaki – so you literally have a bunch of RATs protesting?
    
    Not the most savvy operators in this world, I suspect.
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:37am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Before I saw the footage, I thought that the Rainbow Action Tamaki protesters were supporting Brian Tamaki.
      
      So confusing!
      
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      February 16, 2026 10:05am
  - Boy Geoff
    
    I wonder how those protesters would have reacted if those famous rainbow phobics, Captain Ibrahim Trarore and Che Guevara, had turned up…?
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:59am
- Im Right
  
  I agree Nikola, 100%
  If I was PM I would never attend the moanfest that is Waitangi day….or if I did, I would bring the receipts of every cent of tax payers money that is given to maori centric government departments/NGOs/charity organisations and anything ‘maori’ that receives govt cash.
  I may never be invited back, but would certainly start a conversation as to….where the hell did all that cash go to! (hint, never grass root maori)
  Ratana….skip
  ANY LGBTQ event
  Why wast the time attending….yes they will all decry that you ignore them or are insulting them by not attending, but as you say 99% do not and will not vote for you anyhow.
  (Plus whether you do or do not attend these events, the MSM will rip into you regardless)
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:55am
  - Flossie
    
    I never really understood why the government was so involved with Ratana.
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:34am
  - David Garrett
    
    I’m right: I despised Helen Clark, but one of the few things she did I thoroughly approved of was to refuse to go to Waitangi to be insulted, but instead went to various different marae around the country. Seymour should take a page out of her book and do the same.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:50am
    - Ehlana
      
      Yes. If the Treaty was signed between the Crown and many tribes around the country, it seems odd that we don’t have a tradition of each of them hosting in turn. That way they could all get their turn to say what they want to say directly to the Crown.
      
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      February 16, 2026 12:44pm
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      Luxon is following the Clarke model and distributing himself around the country and good on him. I think Seymour just loves shoving it to the protesters, that’s why he continues to attend. Waitangi should just be left to the permanently angry, confine them to Waitangi and let the rest of New Zealand get on and enjoy what this country has to offer.
      
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      February 16, 2026 10:16pm
- cmm
  
  The picture should have been titled “Big jubs out”.
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:58am
  - alex Masterley
    
    That was my immediate reaction too.
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:27am
    - David Garrett
      
      Alex: I think they’d be pretty frightening without a bra to contain them!
      
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      February 16, 2026 12:29pm
- Observer of Life
  
  “ Rainbow Action Tāmak” RAT – how appropriate. And why do they still insist on wearing those masks? 😆
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:37am
- rouppe
  
  They came prepared for confrontation, signs already printed.
  
  Also look at the flags. Maori sovereignty flags and Palestine flags.
  
  So was this event really about rainbow celebration?
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:57am
  - Paulus
    
    New one in Wellington
    “From the River to the Faeces !”
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:26am
- AitchW
  
  For a group which is always imploring the rest of us to be tolerant and to accept their life choices, they sure as hell have a funny way of trying to persuade us.
  The naked hate on the faces is quite disturbing. I wonder if it’s transferal, ie they hate themselves but can’t admit it to anyone, least of all themselves.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:27am
- Prince
  
  the soundtrack of the protest on ZB this morning was hilarious.
  Leader: “Act and NZ First aren’t here’
  Chorus: ‘Booooo’
  Leader: ‘National are here’
  Chorus: ‘Booooo’
  
  So damned if you do, damed if you don’t. I agree, a plague on them all.
  
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  February 16, 2026 11:21am
peterwn

Free Trade Agreement with India
“Your decision not to involve Labour at any point in the negotiation process – without consultation, despite your public assurances to the contrary – and the expectation that Labour would unconditionally support the agreement once presented with it as a fait accompli, falls short of best practice,” Chris Hipkins to Chris Luxon.
Sounds like the way Labour usually operates when it is in power, especially during Covid. Or is there one set of rules for when Labour is in opposition and another set of rules when National is opposition?
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February 16, 2026 8:29am
- pdm
  
  If Labour don’t support this agreement then Luxon should call an early election.
  
  With luck that would get rid on WinstonFirst and send Labour into the mid teens.
  
  Win, win!!!
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:53am
  - Jack5
    
    An early election fighting to get thousands of young Indians entry to New Zealand?
    
    And if not NZ First, who would be National’s Coalition partners? ACT plus who?
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:13am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Ok, let’s add “Progressive” to the FTA title. Or “Comprehensive”.
  
  That should cover off the consultation, eh Chris? After all, it did last time.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:08am
Paulus

Am I correct in that I believe I heard this morning that Maori in the Public Service have Unlimited Cultural Leave ?
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February 16, 2026 8:41am
- Cassandra
  
  Apparently negotiated by the union for Kaianga Ora which used to be CYFS, I think. Probably other departments too. Minister Chour has asked for an explanation.
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:46am
  - pdm
    
    Oranga Tamariki Cass but, apparently there are others too.
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:55am
    - Cassandra
      
      Yes, my Maori not too good. Kaianga is house? Tamariki is children.
      
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      February 16, 2026 9:39am
  - cmm
    
    I would assume this got negotiated through the PSA and would apply to all public servants that they represent. Probably all council workers too.
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:01am
    - Ehlana
      
      The PSA still has to negotiate contract by contract with each department or agency. But I think these clauses were being pushed as standard.
      Unfortunately, they can’t be removed until the next negotiations.
      
      Though I do wonder what would happen if a non-Maori employee laid a complaint of discrimination on the basis of race.
      
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      February 16, 2026 12:47pm
- KKNZ2025
  
  Average pay in the public service is >$100k pa
  
  Labour increased the public service staffing by 18000/40% between 2017-2023, with no significant improvement in public services. An additional ~$2Billion pa.
  
  National have made neglible token attempts to mitigate this jobseeker makework scheme, despite their election promises. They’re simply not willing to deal with it.
  
  This craven cowardice also explains why the PSA recently forced ACC to accept staff working from home 3 days / wk
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581345/acc-backs-down-on-less-flexible-remote-working-policy
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:32am
  - cmm
    
    The main idea behind unions is surely to protect the down-trodden blue collar worker and mine labourers from the excessive exploitation of a millionaire boss from a Monopoly set.
    
    And yet, somehow, that has been perverted so that in NZ most unions seem to be for white collar government “workers” pulling north of $100k a year.
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:56am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    I don’t understand your point. I work at home four days per week. The one day in the office is reserved for meeting colleagues. Doing any work in the office that requires focus is somewhere betwen stressful and impossible. Because the office is full of people talking, yelling, playing the fool.
    
    If I asked you to do statical analysis and stood next to your desk and started shouting how would that work for you?
    
    Those people in government agencies who are serious, not woke, and not brain dead, work at home. It is that simple. It is the only place where it gets serious.
    
    The woke and time wasters are in the office.
    
    You may not like that message but that is the reality of government offices in 2026.
    
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    February 16, 2026 3:32pm
    - KKNZ2025
      
      Right problem, wrong solution.
      
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      February 16, 2026 5:40pm
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        What is wrong with the solution? I just don’t get it. You are advocating for people to move from a productive place of work to a dysfunctional one. I would never go to a government office more than two days per week. I would face the commuting hassle and never get anything done. Never going to happen.
        
        Yes if I could go to work in a nice office with the standard of IT gear I have at home, and it was quiet and productive, then maybe. But government offices have not been like that in more than a decade. This government won’t fix it. Therefore I’ll keep working at home, get things done, and stay sane.
        
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        February 17, 2026 1:10am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  It is quite common for public servants to attend funerals across New Zealand in far away places. They may be gone for a week.
  
  18 years ago I was working at a large Government Ministry in Wellington. The mother of a senior official died in East Cape. The senior official was gone for a week. Which was probably fine. But several colleagues went with her to provide support. IMO that was not fine.
  
  There are three factors at okdy6..
  
  Maori funerals can take several days from start to finish.
  
  They may be in remote locations.
  
  Maori tend to attend funerals of people with any connection.
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:33am
  - cmm
    
    So does that justify it?
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:57am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      Does what justify what?
      
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      February 16, 2026 3:32pm
  - rouppe
    
    It’s quite common for anyone to attend funerals across New Zealand in far away places.
    
    My sister and her partner are having to travel from the Motueka area to the Rotorua area to attend a funeral this week.
    
    They don’t get any special paid leave to do so.
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:02am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      I’m not defending anything. I’m just stating facts. For at least the last 20 years my experience is that all public servants get unlimited bereavement leave. It is nothing new.
      
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      February 16, 2026 3:34pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    Many Maori who are involved in their tribes doings are effectively unemployable in private sector, with sometimes 5-10 3 day Tangis to attend per year.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:11am
    - Paulus
      
      How long does the so called Waitangi Day take and how many Maori automatically take all the time off they want, with pay of course.
      
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      February 16, 2026 2:56pm
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    Wait until you see the lengths they go to for a dead turtle.
    
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    February 16, 2026 8:46pm
- Cantabrian
  
  Yes. This leave format was approved in 2023 – during the previous government. Can’t be changed until the current employment contracts are renegotiated.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:23am
  - Ghost
    
    Yeah, an the pm addresses it at 5.30 in the interview, that it was locked in by labour and won’t feature in new contracts
    
    https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/chris-luxon-prime-minister-responds-to-calls-for-clarity-from-the-opposition-around-india-trade-agreement/
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:26am
peterwn

There was an unusually large number of prizewinners for the major prizes in last Saturday’s draw. There were 3 Powerball winners (generally 0 to 1 winners) and 12 winners (including the three Powerball winners) sharing the $1M prize for six numbers (usually 0 to 3 winners). The probability of such a draw would be far, far less than for Powerball top prize.
The drawn numbers included no. 7. I wonder if a highly disproportionate number of punters piled in on no. 7.
I see some group wants Lotto abolished and replaced by a bond scheme which sounds like the former Bonus Bond scheme. While that was popular in its heyday, interest in the scheme diminished to the point where it was not worth keeping it going. Any new such scheme would be competing with managed funds, Sharesies, etc. so probably would not attract many punters. Also not sure how a ‘bonus bond’ draw can be turned into the TV spectacle that the Lotto draw is (with the old Bonus Bonds a random number generator wrongly turned a ‘computer’ printed out the ‘winning’ number in a room with several officials present.
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February 16, 2026 8:49am
- Flossie
  
  TV spectacle? Maybe in years gone by but I can’t imagine who even watches now.
  
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  February 16, 2026 8:57am
  - Biscuit
    
    Agreed, Flossie.
    
    It is a genuine surprise in this household when someone, usually She Who Must Be Obeyed, flips channel and chances upon the latest Lotto draw.
    
    Mind, we often chuckle when similar channels-flipping lands us on the weird mid-evening Weather update.
    
    ‘Oooh, we can’t go to bed just yet, dear. That nice forecaster might have new updates for us!’
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:48am
  - peterwn
    
    Which is probably why it was moved from TV2 to TV1. Presumably Lotto pays for the slot as if it was a commercial.
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:16am
Yvette

Comprehension test for Educators –
The Government amended the Education and Training Act 2020 so that boards of trustees of state schools are no longer required by law to “give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”

The Education Minister, Erica Stanford, said the reasoning was that this core constitutional responsibility sits with the Crown (the government) — and that school boards should instead focus on raising student achievement and ensuring equitable outcomes for Māori students and cultural responsiveness. She said boards are still expected to offer te reo Māori, be culturally competent and ensure equity, but won’t be legally tasked with “giving effect to Te Tiriti.”

The controversy wasn’t just about a technical legal wording — it was about whether schools should be legally bound to support and reflect the Te Tiriti partnership in how they govern, educate and engage with their communities. Some saw the change as stripping out a clear legal duty; others saw it as refocusing responsibilities away from volunteer boards and back onto government while still aiming for good outcomes.

What faults (ironically) in reading, comprehension and communication did educators and trustees make in not understanding: “she said boards are still expected to offer te reo Māori, be culturally competent and ensure equity – the work of implimenting the Treaty in Education, conflicted with the overall Government (Crown) application of being legally tasked with “giving effect to Te Tiriti”?
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February 16, 2026 8:54am
- cmm
  
  I don’t think Stanford went far enough.
  
  The only principles that schools should apply are those that result in improved education.
  
  Applying other principles just muddies the water and should not be part of their decision making.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:01am
- Paulus
  
  Do you think that any School, read Kura as well, will take any notice of this ?
  
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  February 16, 2026 11:30am
  - Yvette
    
    Sadly, Paulus, no
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:47am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Stanford seems to be saying the treaty propaganda and indoctrination isn’t compulsory, but neither is it banned.
    
    Therefore the schools are interpreting it as business as usual, or even as tacit approval to increase the propaganda and indoctrination.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:51am
    - Yvette
      
      imalwaysright, I think the crux of the matter is Stanford says: “boards are still expected to offer te reo Māori, be culturally competent and ensure equity, but won’t be legally tasked with “giving effect to Te Tiriti.”
      In other words, just teach all children with equality, support those who have extra needs to realise their fullest potential and that will be meeting what is needed under the Treaty, while overall administration decisions or work to “give effect to the Treaty in Education” is “above their pay grade”.
      
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      February 16, 2026 1:00pm
sungsamning

“The world is changing very fast right in front of us. The old world is gone… We live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to reexamine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.” [Managed decline is out. National interest is in. Mass migration is out. Marco Rubio is one of the best Secretaries of State the US has ever had.]
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/02/14/rubio-have-no-interest-in-being-polite-and-orderly-caretakers-of-the-wests-managed-decline-n4949499
Rubio on Fire! We Won’t Be ‘Polite and Orderly Caretakers of the West’s Managed Decline’.
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February 16, 2026 9:10am
- Christopher Thomson
  
  Unless the european west grasps the nettle that is the muslim invasion nothing will change.
  
  I see no other option but a cultural war and mass eviction.
  
  Does the west have the leaders to do it?
  
  Will the Holy Roman Empire ride from the east and save Europe again?
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:01am
  - Handyman
    
    Sign of changing loyalties…
    There were more British muslims fighting for the Taliban than fighting in the British Army in Afghanistan.
    
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    February 16, 2026 12:36pm
  - sungsamning
    
    I’m not sure how things will work out. A civil war in Europe would spread quickly.
    
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    February 16, 2026 2:11pm
- virtualmark
  
  “We live in a new era of geopolitics”
  
  Which presumably is why Rubio declined to meet with the EU or Western European countries but instead has gone to meet with the Russian’s two puppet governments (Orban and Fico).
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:59am
  - RoboRob
    
    He is trying to end a war, so that makes sense. Meeting the Europeans at this time makes no sense, until they have something firm from Russia (probably never at this rate).
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:24am
    - virtualmark
      
      The US has little chance of ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
      
      Firstly, it has a legitimacy problem because it’s perceived as being too close to the Russians.
      
      Secondly, and more importantly, it has a pragmatic problem that because it’s pulled back from providing military support to Ukraine it no longer has much leverage with the Ukrainians. Basically if the US says to Zelensky “Take this deal or else” then Zelensky is going to say “Or else what?”. To use a Trumpism …. Trump doesn’t have the cards.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:29am
      - RoboRob
        
        Yup, Ukraine has almost no leverage. At the time when they had a better bargaining position, Europe and Joe Biden were running the ‘not a single inch of land lost, total victory for Ukraine line’. The Europeans are largely still running that postion by and large. However they are unwilling to give the aid that would allow a victory, if that is even possible now given the Ukrainian loss of lives.
        
        Yes, I agree, Trumps position on Ukraine aid does not help their bargaining position. At least under Trump there are attempts to end the conflict which was not the case prior to that.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:11pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        But Ukraine is still dependent on US military hardware – if not for the US providing arms etc. Ukraine would have been defeated over a year ago.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:32pm
      - virtualmark
        
        ?
        
        Trump stopped military aid to Ukraine, but Europe has stepped up to cover the shortfall. Ukraine is now killing Russian soldiers faster than Russia is recruiting new ones. Russia is gaining ground at a rate literally slower than a snail’s pace.
        
        I don’t see how Ukraine can “win” in the sense of militarily pushing Russia back to the pre-2014 borders. But I also can’t see how Russia can “win” in the sense of militarily conquering the Donbas let alone the rest of Ukraine. So you have a protracted war of attrition and it seems that every month the balance of that attrition swings more and more in Ukraine’s favour. For example look at the damage the Ukrainians have done/are doing to the Russian oil refineries.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:36pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Don,
        
        What arms has the US provided to Ukraine in the last 12 months? Other than US equipment purchased by European countries, at full price, and then donated to Ukraine?
        
        Biden directed quite a bit of military aid to Ukraine but Trump put a stop to that. The only shipments since Trump became President was stuff that Biden had approved and that was already in Poland waiting to be delivered.
        
        And because of that the US has less and less leverage over Ukraine.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:39pm
      - sungsamning
        
        Putin really has to win. He’s invested too much of his credibility in this war. Being seen as unable to help Cuba doesn’t help. Having his Iranian drone supply cut off is another complication.
        
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        February 16, 2026 2:13pm
    - mike
      
      Misses the point – he is only meeting with pro-Russian governments – those that align with the Trumpist nonsense about saving Western civilization.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:33am
      - RoboRob
        
        There is no point in meeting with the Europeans who still generally have a victory at all costs metality. IF (and thats a huge if) a deal can be made the Europeans will suck it up.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:13pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    ‘Which presumably is why Rubio declined to meet with the EU or Western European’
    More rubbish from you
    He met them on the 14 February
    Got a standing ovation for parts of it too
    https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/02/secretary-of-state-calls-on-european-leaders-to-defend-western-civilization-in-munich-security-conference-speech-2
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:33am
    - mike
      
      You misunderstand, probably deliberately – delivering a lecture to the MSC is not the same as meeting with the EU or key European governments.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:36am
    - virtualmark
      
      Delivering a speech to a bunch of think-tanks and journos is not the same as bilateral meetings between governments.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:46am
    - kowtow
      
      Yep, Rubio met Zelensky and the NATO sec Gen recently announced US will supply $15 billion in weapons to Ukr this year .
      
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      February 16, 2026 1:30pm
      - Hard Cheese
        
        You mean they’ll sell $15 billion in weapons to Europe who will give them to Ukraine.
        
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        February 16, 2026 2:46pm
    - virtualmark
      
      kowtow, that’s US weapons that have been bought and paid for by Europe and Canada.
      
      That’s not US weapons that are being provided directly by the US and paid for by the US.
      
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      February 16, 2026 2:21pm
sungsamning

In a major development that could reshape the future of federal election law in the United States, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has officially announced her support for the SAVE Act. [The Save Act is designed to stop cheating in elections difficult. Mail in ballots are out. ID is in. You need ID to rent a car, or attend the Democratic Convention. Dems fear they’ll never win the Whitehouse again.]
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/02/breaking-sen-susan-collins-backs-save-america-act/
BREAKING: Sen. Susan Collins Backs SAVE Act With ONE CONDITION — GOP Now Secures 51 Senate Votes with JD Vance On Board to Enforce Voter ID Nationwide.
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February 16, 2026 9:11am
- virtualmark
  
  I am in favour of voters having to provide government-issued photo ID in order to vote. I think we should have that requirement here in NZ.
  
  But there are a number of complications, and the SAVE Act doesn’t address them. It is a poorly written piece of legislation that, I predict, will bite the GOP on the arse.
  
  Simple example question: If you look at the demographics of the Dem voter base vs the GOP voter base which group is more likely to hold a passport?
  
  (Remember, the SAVE Act doesn’t allow you to use a drivers license as voter ID).
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:14am
  - RoboRob
    
    ‘Several Republicans have said that Real IDs, which are federally compliant driver’s licenses, would suffice as proof of citizenship. But PolitiFact found only six states issue IDs that comply with the bill’s requirements.
    
    So its simply an issue of states updating their drivers licenses to meet the requirements. Not really that bigger deal.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:26am
    - virtualmark
      
      Except that the Trump admin want to rush the Save Act through so it can hopefully save Trump’s arse in November, and there is no practical way that states are going to update and re-issue “compliant” drivers licenses in 8 months.
      
      And I’d also note that ICE is refusing to accept Real ID drivers license as proof of citizenship.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:32am
  - sungsamning
    
    From memory; during the run up to the election, RFK Jr wanted to make Federal IDs, or state ones free. So, that’d solve the problem of people with no drivers license, or passport.
    
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    February 16, 2026 2:16pm
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  Renting a car is not a constitutional right, and the ID that you have to produce to do it does not have to prove your nationality
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:49am
  - virtualmark
    
    There are two dimensions to voter ID.
    
    Dimension #1 = What ID do you need to provide to be on the electoral roll (ie to prove you are entitled to vote).
    
    Dimension #2 = What ID do you need to provide at the voting booth to prove you are the person listed on the electoral roll.
    
    Drivers licenses aren’t useful for #1 but should be fine for #2.
    
    Meanwhile, for example, a birth certificate is maybe slightly useful for #1 but useless for #2.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:00am
    - RoboRob
      
      100% agree, once you are enrolled you should have already verified citizenship. At the polling booth you should just need proof of identity.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:28am
      - mike
        
        It all needs to be placed in the context of the underlying motive – making it harder for one’s political opponents, real or perceived, to vote.
        
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        February 16, 2026 11:38am
      - imalwaysright
        
        “…making it harder for one’s political opponents, real or perceived, to vote.”
        
        No, its intended to verify that people who are voting are entitled to vote.
        
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        February 16, 2026 12:47pm
      - RoboRob
        
        @Mike
        
        Its about stopping millions of non citizens from selecting the government. After tighter voter laws in Georga the number of votes cast increased, it doesn’t stop people from voting.
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:16pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Robo,
        
        The research says that there is next to no election fraud in the US. Like 1 fraudulent vote per 10,000 votes type rare.
        
        That’s research from the Heritage Foundation. Yes, the Project 2025 GOP-backing Heritage Foundation. You can read it at https://electionfraud.heritage.org but there’s a clearer summary of their data at https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-widespread-is-election-fraud-in-the-united-states-not-very/
        
        The trope that millions of illegal immigrants are voting is itself a fraud. Seriously: If that many illegal immigrants were voting don’t you think the many investigations and court cases would have thrown up proof of it? Surely you couldn’t hide fraudulent voting it it were happening on the alleged scale?
        
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        February 16, 2026 1:49pm
      - RoboRob
        
        @virtualmark
        
        I dont know if there is or isn’t a lot of voter fraud in the US. It doesn’t really matter. The question is, what sorts of efforts should a country make to avoid potential election fraud. It is acknowledged that there are millions of illegal immigrants in the US so it is not a stretch to believe that some of them might want to vote.
        
        The data from heritage is ‘proven’ voter fraud cases. Depending on the efforts put in to find fraud and the available information, that might be much higher. Who knows, as I said, its about preventing potential fraud. Becuase no body has robbed your house doesn’t mean you should leave the doors unlocked and a sign on the front yard saying ‘gone fishing’.
        
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        February 16, 2026 3:48pm
      - mike
        
        That’s like saying we should look harder for extraterrestrial beings visiting Earth.
        
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        February 16, 2026 5:02pm
lastmanstanding

I predict Winston will go with Labour. The reason? ACT wont agree to Winston being PM for 18months of the term. Seymour and Winston hate each other with a vengance. This is a pity as ACT and NZF align on many policies. The only good news is that Labour wont need whatevers left of the Maori Party and Winston will act as a brake on the worst of the Greens policies. None the less the economy will suffer so by 2029 with Winston existing NZF they and Labour will see a big drop in support. The Greens wont as their supporters are fruit cakes. The result will be the Nats and ACT can govern and yet again pick up the pieces of a broken economy. Remember you read it here first.
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February 16, 2026 9:15am
- pdm
  
  My thoughts too ima.
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:32am
  - Cassandra
    
    Hate each other? You’re sure about this?
    
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    February 16, 2026 9:42am
- Yvette
  
  Lastmanstanding, and of course anyone else with an opinion on it, How you you see Winston and Chris Hipkins agreeing on anything to do with Maori.
  
  From Hipkins believing that at Waitangi, Maori did not cede sovereignty, and far as I know Winston believing the opposite, to Willie Jackson taking up implementing the Indigenous Rights Declaration (and elements of He Puapua), while the 2023 National-NZ First coalition agreement includes specific commitments to limit the influence of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in New Zealand, aligning with a broader policy of ending “race-based” policies.
  
  Perhaps “Seymour and Winston hate each other with a vengance” but what of the relationship between Winston and Willie Jackson?
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:41am
  - Philview
    
    Labour’s cabinet said Winston Peters was in the meetings when He Puapua was discussed. He was in the meeting when the Oil and Gas ban was discussed. I am not sure what he does in meetings but it seems he agrees to things in the knowledge he can turn against it later on.
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:24am
    - Yvette
      
      Philview – Labour’s cabinet said Winston Peters was in the meetings when He Puapua was discussed.
      
      Both Winston and Shane Jones were recorded as attending a Cabinet initial stage assigning someone to consider accommodating some acknowledgement of UNDRIP. It was as vague as that, not a smoking gun, and is available if you want to go through Papers ‘proactively’ released through the Ministry of Maori Development – Te Puni Kōkiri
      
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      February 16, 2026 12:05pm
  - Paulus
    
    What has he got to offer Winston ?
    
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    February 16, 2026 11:33am
  - mandk
    
    I’ll accept that Māori did not cede sovereignty at Waitangi, if it is accepted that the Crown did not enter into a partnership with them.
    
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    February 16, 2026 1:54pm
- artemisia
  
  I’d be astonished if NZF and ACT are not quietly talking about joint bottom lines and more. Their leaders and MPs are not stupid. And Mr Peters has already made his view of Mr Hipkins clear.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:09am
  - virtualmark
    
    Yes, I suspect Seymour and Peters have low-key conversations about how best to cut up the Nats. This National government doesn’t strike me as having the sharp instincts of the Key/English/Joyce Nats. I suspect Seymour & Peters can easily force concessions from this lot.
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:16am
    - artemisia
      
      National wants to remain centrist, so not alienating that voter cohort. Agreeing because ‘coalition compromise’ might be quite OK with them.
      
      Politicians politic.
      
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      February 16, 2026 12:19pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Yes, but you also get the sense that this National government is pretty soft and lacks the John Key-type ruthlessness.
        
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        February 16, 2026 12:41pm
- Chuck Bird
  
  Close to the election, Winston will be asked if he will go with Labour under any circumstances. If he says “No way”, it would be the end of NZF if he went with Labour. I do not think Shane Jones would be happy with that.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:09am
  - R
    
    ‘if he went with Labour’. ….if Winston annoints Labour this year, it won’t matter what happens to NZF. LABOUR will impliment te puapua, and there won’t ever be another DEMOCRATIC ELECTION in NZ.
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:41am
    - Yvette
      
      R – LABOUR will impliment te puapua
      
      As far as I know the document linked below is the result of Willie Jackson’s targeted engagement with Maori – the echelon referred to by many as Maori Élite
      
      UNDRIP Key themes from Māori targeted engagement
      Te Puni Kōkiri
      This document records the essence of the deep whakaaro shared on Māori aspirations for a plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People
      
      https://www.tpk.govt.nz/docs/tpk-undrip-keythemesmāoritargetedengagement-april2022v2.pdf
      
      Key Themes Identified (April 2022):
      • Tino Rangatiratanga (Self-determination): The overarching, most consistent theme, focusing on autonomy and authority.
      • Participation in Kāwanatanga: Ensuring a meaningful voice in government.
      • Land, Resources, and Environment: Rights to natural resources and kaitiakitanga.
      • Te Oranga o te Whānau: Holistic wellbeing for families.
      • Equity, Fairness, and Justice: Addressing systemic inequalities in legal and social systems.
      • Cultural Expression and Identity: Protection of language and customs.
      • Education, Housing, and Economic Development: Ensuring equitable access to social and economic • opportunities.
      • Provision of Information: Ensuring Māori understand their rights under UNDRIP.
      
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      February 16, 2026 11:09am
  - AitchW
    
    Has Peters confirmed that he will run at the election this year?? He ain’t getting any younger, I do wonder if he might not step down in favour of Jones.
    Especially if he gets a promise of a K and a cushy diplomatic job in London from Luxon.
    
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    February 16, 2026 10:52am
    - artemisia
      
      I think Mr Peters will stand as he has a considerable personal following. If in opposition likely not to complete the term. And if in government I think he will hand over well before the next election.
      
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      February 16, 2026 1:13pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Chuck: I disagree…for hard core Winston First supporters their boy can do no wrong…in that sense he is the Trump of NZ politics
    
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    February 16, 2026 1:19pm
    - sungsamning
      
      I joined in February. From 1996 to 2021 I pretty much hated his guts, and said so at every opportunity. David Seymour said the Wellington protestors were a few hundred votes ACT didn’t need. Winston Peters went to the Wellington protest, and my attitude softened a little. Shortly after he joined with ACT and National, my attitude softened a lot. I’m also pleasantly surprised at the competence of this intake of MPs. The difference between them, and the 1996 intake is like night and day. And yes, Shane Jones is a bit of a windbag.
      
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      February 16, 2026 2:28pm
      - Swifty
        
        That’s Matua Windbag, I’ll thank you.
        
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        February 16, 2026 5:01pm
- sungsamning
  
  They agreed to Seymour having terms at deputy PM in this cycle. I haven’t seen much friction between toe two parties. NZF would lose a lot of voters if it went with Labour again.
  
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  February 16, 2026 2:20pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Roger Partridge casts a satirical eye over NZ’s educational reforms..

https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/roger-partridge-in-defence-of-educational-caution

Besides, if teaching children to read and do mathematics turns out to be a mistake, we can always reverse course.

New Zealand has long experience retreating from standards. It is one of our few remaining areas of genuine expertise.
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February 16, 2026 9:26am
- imalwaysright
  
  ‘New Zealand has long experience retreating from standards.’
  
  You can’t beat mediocrity…anything more is just showing off!
  
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  February 16, 2026 9:35am
- David George
  
  Lowering standards, either by government edict or by a more general acceptance (expectation?) of incompetence is a sure sign of, and cause of, decline.
  
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  February 16, 2026 10:40am
Jack5

NZ Prison staff warned about using artificial intelligence to create reports!

Next, some Leftist will be feeding AI on posts in the Leftist Standard, and perhaps a selection from Kiwiblog.

Then this blog’s moderators will be tested to the limit. Or just maybe the pollution’s already begun.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586932/corrections-takes-action-against-staff-s-unacceptable-use-of-artificial-intelligence

END OF THIS POST SYSTEM REVERTS END OF THIS …ALERT OPERATOR!
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February 16, 2026 10:32am
- Swifty
  
  I’ve seen clearly AI posts on here passed off as the poster’s own scribbling. .
  
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  February 16, 2026 12:18pm
imalwaysright

Sometimes local high school pupils turn up under the influence of narcotics.

The Deans separate them from the class but they don’t call the cops.

Surely teachers are obliged to call the Police and an ambulance?
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February 16, 2026 12:02pm
- Philview
  
  If the Green/Labour had got their way over legalising and commecialising pot we would now have a crisis of stoned school children.
  
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  February 16, 2026 1:17pm
  - Ghost
    
    it is nothing new. I had a friend in High School whose little brother would buy their marijuana from other students at intermediate. High school swimming sports the seniors would sit up the back of the hill with their alcohol in coke bottles.
    
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    February 16, 2026 2:34pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      The most recent one smelled of cannabis but had symptoms of a psychedelic. I’ve heard that dealers are lacing dope with P etc to get them to transition.
      
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      February 16, 2026 3:17pm
- cmm
  
  This is a damned if you do, damned if you don’t position.
  
  If the schools start dobbing these kids in then they will just wag school. Drugged up kids walking the streets are more of a problem than drugged up kids under some sort of control.
  
  And no, I don’t have a solution either – other than the very unpalatable one of telling kids that choices they make have consequences and that wagging school and doing drugs is not going to help them in life. Of course they need to then have welfare withheld otherwise they won’t take it seriously.
  
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  February 16, 2026 1:31pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Agreed,
    But if the kid turns up blitzed there is no way for a teacher to know what and how much they have taken.
    They could be metabolising an overdose or go into a phase of paranoia and lash out and hurt others.
    At the least they should call an ambulance, but involving the cops gets the parents to answer the awkward questions and show others that this won’t be tolerated.
    
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    February 16, 2026 2:26pm
cmm

Just turn on the water works and you get what you want – the taxpayer burdened by a spastic quadriplegic from Fiji.

“She [the mother] has lived and worked in New Zealand for almost 12 years since moving here for opportunities that have enabled her to support her son and elderly parents. Her father has since died and her mother is Nathan’s main caregiver in Fiji.”

Hmmm, sounds like mum will be moving in soon too.

Sure, it isn’t his fault that he is a spastic quadriplegic, but that does not make it the NZ taxpayer’s responsibility to care for him.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/talanoa/mother-loriza-ali-triumphs-in-11-year-struggle-to-get-a-resident-visa-for-her-son-who-has-cerebral-palsy/6YBXTCKNPVBGBDQ6QEIBFQQ6IM/
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February 16, 2026 1:25pm
- Swifty
  
  Clearly her plan all along.
  
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  February 16, 2026 4:58pm
Ghost

Short clip where Ryan Talks about 764. An online sextortion group that focuses on children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnC64Tevxd8

The full video is disturbing with some of things that Ryan shows Shawn, but you only get to see Shawn watching them. Murder, suicide, cutting, sextortion of a minor

Ryan Montgomery – Hacker Exposes Roblox, Minecraft, Discord & the Darkest Online Cult
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February 16, 2026 1:40pm
- Ghost
  
  $1200 to buy an 11 year old.
  
  https://youtu.be/X51d06g4tuk?si=cYAZt07-kZ1tITSm&t=17848
  
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  February 16, 2026 2:05pm
Jack5

A civil defence saver for NZ?

Dare we ask whether this would be a good way for New Zealand to go? The US has airlifted a new nuclear mini-reactor.

Three planes carried a Valar Atomics Ward 250 reactor from California to Utah, in what seems to be part of the Trump promotion of nuclear power.

Valar Atomics will test the Ward 250 at a facility near Hill Air Force Base. The Wall Street Journal reports that Isaiah Taylor, chief executive of Valar Atomics, says testing will begin at 250 kilowatts, and the system is ultimately capable of 5 megawatts — enough to power 5,000 homes. The reactor uses TRISO fuel, uranium kernels in ceramic layers, rather than uranium. It also uses helium coolant, instead of water.

New Zealand sits on the edge of a tectonic plate and is threatened by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in addition to a remote archipelago’s weather.
A transportable mini-reactor would be a great emergency resource for this country.

Greens have been the most rigid opponents of nuclear power. The Green movement arose partly out of the international nuclear disarmament campaigns. However, Finland’s Green movement supports the use of nuclear-generated electricity.

Details of the reactor:

https://www.valaratomics.com/ward-250
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February 16, 2026 2:09pm
- virtualmark
  
  I’m not anti-nuclear, but even if we changed the laws to allow nuclear power here I just don’t see it happening.
  
  It’s just not cost effective, absent subsidies.
  
  We are in a generational (ie 25 year type timeframe) move to our electricity generation being solar + hydro + geothermal. There’ll be a lot of batteries, and a little bit of wind. I suspect that in 20 years time there will be effectively no thermal generation here at all – I doubt we will see another new thermal plant in New Zealand.
  
  Electricity generation investment decisions are really driven by 6 things:
  1. Size of the up-front capital cost to build it,
  2. The length of time from commitment to first generation (ie financing costs),
  3. Fuel costs (including fuel availability/certainty),
  4. Operating costs,
  5. Transmission costs (ie what is the distance from your supply to your demand),
  6. Generation prices (ie the industry generation hierarchy)
  
  Thermal plants mainly die on #3. Are you going to commit to a 25+ year life asset when you only have fuel certainty for 5 years at best? Nope.
  
  Nuclear dies on #1, #2 and #4. Three strikes and you’re definitely out.
  
  Hydro dies on #1, #2 and #5. But we’ve already swallowed the #1 and #2 costs for what was a huge over-build of hydro through the 1950s-1980s so we can live off historical investment for another 100 years. But any new hydro will struggle with #1, #2 and #5.
  
  New wind dies on #1, #2 and kind-of #3 (in that the best sites have already been developed so you have lower quality “fuel” in new developments).
  
  The common features of solar/battery + hydro + geothermal is #3. Fuel is free, should always be free, and should always be there (at the macro level).
  
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  February 16, 2026 2:34pm
  - Jack5
    
    After disaster a nuclear mini-station could be transported fairly quickly, but not so a wind farm or solar farm.
    
    In the longer term, wind generation requires maintenance costs, perhaps a quarter of the total cost of power produced over the turbine’s lifetime. That would include depreciation for the turbine operation life, say 25 years, and to be prudent, cost of inflation over the life.
    
    Solar power panels usually are expected to last 25 years, so also need to be depreciated. Admittedly, maintenance costs should be light.
    
    Hydro stations’ depreciation and maintenance should be even lower.
    
    Don’t overlook geothermal generation, which seems already to be providing about a fifth of NZ’s electricity. With NZ on the tectonic “Ring of Fire,” we must have untapped geothermal sources.
    
    Poster CMM has suggested on Kiwiblog that a rational electricity source would be Southland’s vast lignite deposits, which would provide all the country’s power for centuries. The fact that Germany has been re-opening old lignite mines to fuel generators tends to support this view.
    
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    February 16, 2026 5:05pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      a rational electricity source would be Southland’s vast lignite deposits
      
      Did I read someplace that Huntly is sort of looking at end-of-life in the not all that distant future? And the cost of a new coal-fired plant of appropriate size is 5-billion ish ….. cmm is all keen on Fischer-Tropsch process to make liquid fuels and stuff from coal. The saffers do it – although noone else does. Go figure.
      
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      February 16, 2026 6:31pm
      - virtualmark
        
        The Rankines at Huntly are end-of-life. They’re about 45 years old so Genesis have done well to keep them going this long.
        
        The turbines at Huntly might have another 10 years in them, mechanically. But they’re gas fired so arguable whether we have 10 years more gas for them. We probably do given Methanex and Ballance and Fonterra aren’t using a lot of gas any more. But given the lack of gas I’d have to suggest that they will not be replaced once they end-of-life.
        
        Remember that Huntly was basically built in conjunction with the Maui gas field. When Maui was discovered the problem was that you now had a large gas field but no demand for that gas. So the Crown basically underwrote the gas demand in order to see Maui brought into production. So you have the Maui pipeline from Taranaki to Huntly, which ends at the Huntly power station. The station is in Huntly because you need the river for cooling.
        
        The optimal trade-off between gas transmission efficiency vs electricity transmission efficiency vs cooling water access vs some level of regional development = build your power station in Huntly, send the gas from Taranaki to there, then send the electricity from there to Auckland.
        
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        February 16, 2026 8:48pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Well yes and no. Huntly was not big enough to burn all Maui gas produced, so we did the (unique in the world) gas-gasoline plant which became the methanol plant when g-g economics fell apart. Not sure how the long-term economics of that all worked out – someone had to take the gas and Methanex stepped up using the Motunui hardware.
        
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        February 16, 2026 10:21pm
    - virtualmark
      
      The basic industry assumption is that all generating plant is depreciated over a 20-25 year life. In practice dams last longer than that. But for any moving plant (thermal, wind etc) that’s a pretty good lifecycle estimate. Gentailer-grade solar panels are easily good for 25 years. The great quote re opex costs for solar is “You don’t see a big carpark at a solar farm”.
      
      I recently provided a lot of commercial advice to a large gentailer re a wind farm opportunity and the assumption in that work was that opex would be about 1% of capital cost pa. The big issue with wind at the moment is the long lead-times on turbines (4-5 years).
      
      Geothermal is great and we will continue to see more of it. Geothermal + run-of-river hydro anchors our baseload generation. Don’t underestimate geothermal’s opex costs though – there’s a lot of silica build-up in the pipework and so the plant’s efficiency falls away over time.
      
      I don’t see the economics of keeping a small reactor, such as Valars, in storage somewhere in case we need it in an emergency. The high purchase + storage costs vs the very rare and occasional usage will kill any economics.
      
      The challenges with Southland lignite is #3 and #5. Yes, there’s certainty of fuel availability. But the cost of the fuel is actually quite high (land has high value alternative uses, thermal efficiency is low so you need a lot of coal per MWhr, and don’t forget carbon pricing). And it’s in Southland, while the big demand is in the top half of the North Island. My take … will never happen.
      
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      February 16, 2026 8:35pm
  - Handyman
    
    Geothermal is not necessarily forever. There was a geothermal generation as part of the Kawerau pulp mill in th 70’s but an underground rumble one day stopped the steam cold.
    (And it did calcify a lot)
    
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    February 16, 2026 5:30pm
  - KKNZ2025
    
    Raise Manapouri
    
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    February 16, 2026 5:40pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    I think you are right, geothermal is on cusp of becoming cheapest baseload energy as hot rock drilling tech improves. But even without it NZ has a lot of relatively cheap geothermal development options.
    
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    February 16, 2026 6:04pm
AndyW

I’ve just seen a picture of the Greenpeace activist who has just vandalised Rakaia’s salmon; I’m not surprised, and, I wonder if he’s in any actual employment? I know I’d never employ an ‘adult’ that has ear spacers/plugs.
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February 16, 2026 2:48pm
Swifty

Hitler Youth 2.0

https://x.com/eyakoby/status/2023189999907467386?s=46
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February 16, 2026 4:56pm
Ghost

what a bizzare article, must be a slow news day

Fact-checking Nancy Lu’s #ChristopherLuxon #leadership post
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February 16, 2026 6:38pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360939315/coalition-has-enough-support-form-new-government-according-latest-poll

“The Greens: 11%, up four points”
“Chlöe Swarbrick: 5%, no change”

I say: rubbish ! There is no chance in hell of 1 in 20 NZers voting for Swarbrick for PM.

And no chance in hell of more than 10% of NZers voting for the Greens.
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February 16, 2026 6:59pm
- Boy Geoff
  
  Why do all those interviews with “random voters” in the street always seem so staged?
  
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  February 16, 2026 7:36pm
Jack5

Seven “Australian” families linked to ISIS terrorist fighters now plan to return to Australia after detention camps holding ISIS families were closed in Syria.

Are there freed New Zealand ISIS families in Syria, too? Could any be already be on their way back to NZ?

Australla’s ABC says Syrian media is reporting 11 families, with 24 people in total, left the Al Roj camp this morning. However, the ABC says there are actually 34 people in the group, and that the families are heading to the Syrian capital Damascus where they will plan their onward travel to Australia.

Australian passports have already been issued to the families, the ABC said, but this has not been confirmed by the Australian government.

In a statement, the Australian Government said it would not help the families return to Australia.

“The Australian government is not and will not repatriate people from Syria,” it said.

“Our security agencies have been monitoring — and continue to monitor — the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians seeking to return to Australia. People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law.”

Dozens of Australian women and children were detained in Syrian camps and prisons after the so-called Islamic State “caliphate” was defeated by US-led forces in 2019. The women were the partners — or were believed to be by authorities — of jailed or killed members of the terrorist group.

A woman who married two ISIS fighters in war-torn Syria after fleeing Australia in 2014 was allowed to return to New Zealand with her children in mid-2021 during the Ardern mis-government.

Suhayra Aden, 26, was a dual Australian-NZ citizen before the Morrison Government stripped the ‘terrorist bride’ of her Australian citizenship rights in 2020, calling her an ‘enemy of our country’.
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February 16, 2026 11:01pm
Maggy Wassilieff

It seems ever so easy to milk the system if you’re in the NZ Public Service hierarchy

“Our investigation found that on multiple occasions between late 2018 and early 2025, the Teaching Council conducted procurement activities which did not comply with its internal policies and fell short of relevant system guidance. Some of these procurement activities also involved a conflict of interest which, in our view, was not appropriately identified or managed,” it said.

“This was not an issue of technical non-compliance. Key steps in the requisite processes did not occur, creating significant organisational and reputational risks. The Teaching Council’s management of these activities fell short (and sometimes well short) of the standards expected in the public sector. This has the potential to undermine public trust in the organisation.”

https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360951292/teaching-council-fell-short-managing-conflicts-interest-investigation-finds
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February 17, 2026 12:44pm

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