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February 28, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 28 February 2026

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General Debate

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peterwn

See:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360944091/truck-driver-wins-payout-after-drink-driving-offence-leads-lost-licence-and-early-dismissal (not paywalled)

Truck driver lost his licence and sacked for drink-drive soon after being employed. Because of procedural issues, Employment Relations Authority awards driver $5000 for not conducting fair disciplinary process. When he lost his licence his employer (Sollys, a major trucking firm in the South Island) put him on yard work to give him a chance to apply for a limited licence. When they found he has allegedly not truthful in his employment application they sacked him.

I consider that Sollys should have sacked him immediately, a truck driver who loses his licence because of a drink drive is of no use to the employer. His dismissal was a foregone conclusion despite any procedural defects. His employer did try to accommodate him until his background became clearer. In some unjustified dismissal cases there are serious defects and in these cases in my opinion awards for humiliation, etc are justified. In the current case, if there was to be any award, it should have been $5, not $5000.

I thought that Sollys should take to the Employment Court, but that would probably cost at least $5000 so Sollys would be better to cut its losses and get on with life. Anyway Sollys probably dodged a bullet. The guy could probably been responsible for a serious accident at some point in the future.
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February 28, 2026 8:03am
- pdm
  
  pw there was another one, Otorohanga I think, where a driver was sacked because of dangerous driving a week or two ago.
  
  Cost the company $6,000 if my memory is right.
  
  In this case an experienced driver was a passenger showing her the various delivery routes etc. When they got back to the yard the experienced driver refused to get in the truck to finish the run because of the way the new person drove.
  
  In the Otorohanga case the new driver was a woman – not sure how relevant that might be.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:32am
  - pdm
    
    Thinking further about it this should have been covered by the 90 day trial.
    
    Unsuitable worker.
    
    Employer – sorry this job is not for you here is your pay for the hours you worked.
    
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    February 28, 2026 9:51am
    - David Garrett
      
      Pdm: an employment contract must clearly state that the 90 day trial period applied
      In that case it didnt.
      
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      February 28, 2026 9:58am
      - pdm
        
        Careless and costly by the employer if you mean the Otorohanga case.
        
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        February 28, 2026 12:07pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Pdm: Yes…that’s the one I mean
        
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        February 28, 2026 12:12pm
  - Gulag1917
    
    The truck driving quality will keep decreasing because employers are slow to take necessary steps to ensure safety because of stupid pc legislation.
    
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    February 28, 2026 11:41am
- Simon
  
  This is why National are for mass immigration from the third world. Strict employment conditions for a motivated employee linked to a work visa.
  
  The third worlder will generally not be a clown & be utterly compliant. This is why National are hot for the third world. Docile work force who will work hard for little more than minimum wage.
  
  Third world work force means National doesnt have improve wider condtions in NZ. If you dont like NZ you can move and be replaced. Its core National.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:54am
  - Wandering Star
    
    Yup. Here and across the “multicultural” West, the “right” (such as it is these days) wants the foreign workers tied to work visas (when they aren’t outright illegal) so they can be paid cheaply and be reliant on (and thus subservient to) their employer, while the “left” are out their calling you racist if you disagree with this set up. In other words, the “right” and the “left” work together to keep the system going. That’s also why they are less antagonistic towards each other than they both are towards the “far right” who see things for what they are.
    
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    February 28, 2026 10:36am
    - Warren Murray
      
      Or, perhaps, National sees that as our demographic ages and we’ll all need to import labour that we’re not making due to declining birth rates.
      
      Meanwhile Labour sees immigrants as a group of Voters who can be seduced by their identity politics. The Indians seem to be willing to exploit their own whenever they can and engage in voting fraud for Labour.
      
      Let us never forget Twyford’s campaign against anyone with Chinese sounding surnames.
      
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      February 28, 2026 4:45pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Courts have lost sight of the big picture in this area.
  
  Ultimately only outcomes matter not processes. Processes are a tool to ensure we arrive at fair outcomes. If the court determines that the outcome was justified, then the employee has not suffered any loss and therefore there should be no damages. Failure to follow process can be an aggravating factor that increases damages but it cannot magically convert a justified dismissal into an unjustified one.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:21am
  - David Garrett
    
    Nigel : Clearly you have no idea of employment law. In short it is usually all about the process
    You might not like it but that’s the law.
    
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    February 28, 2026 10:05am
    - Warren Murray
      
      Hasn’t National & Co removed employment rights from people above a certain salary?
      
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      February 28, 2026 4:50pm
Yvette

The Treaty and a little reality …
1
The belief that “Te Tiriti is not just history but a living agreement shaping New Zealand today” is interesting in that a document in which Maori had no recorded conception, writing or even translation – any input, but signatures, with no amendments – is regarded as fore-sighted and wise enough, to be totally applicable to present day national needs.
This is indeed remarkable, but such exceptionalism surely fades in that of three consecutive Prime Ministers (second highest office in the land, essentially pivotable to the nation’s well-being and understanding of history) one says Maori did cede sovereignty, another says they did not, and the third didn’t know what the First Article included, until prompted.

2
Nor does such a fore-sighted document look back five years to the Declaration of Maori Independence, 1835, which it was replacing, to define terms that its existence made the crux of what was to be understood, thus contributing to the vast ambiguity of terms which the Treaty contains.
The Treaty does twice name Maori as “The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the separate and independent Chiefs who have not become members of the Confederation” but says nothing further of the Declaration, which makes the lack of clarity between the two even more glaring and morally wrong.

3
The faults of some colonials resulted in establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal.
While the Tribunal’s ledger shows about 3,370 claims. 130 inquiries have been completed. Roughly 2,160 cases remain active, meaning they are before the Tribunal in some part of the process — awaiting hearings, under investigation, or otherwise unsettled – leaving 1,080 cases not started.
Europeans or colonialists have got that much wrong in general but the Treaty itself is a living document to be held by many as having the sanctity and wisdom of other God-delivered holy scripture.

4
The other incredulous aspect is that the Treaty between the Crown and Maori, without indicating so, now applies to all New Zealanders, not just the two entities originally involved.
But the non-Maori population (supposedly included by an oblique reference to “British subjects” in Article 3) were referenced elsewhere as of “unruly pioneer behaviour” making this majority group an adverse object of the Treaty itself (as were the French could-be colonists) and no Treaty equivalent, with the status of Maori, was ever been offered this portion of New Zealand’s population.

“An act of translation is always an act of betrayal” – so, “Who is betrayed?”
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February 28, 2026 8:16am
- pdm
  
  Recently it is more and more often being framed as a Constitutional matter.
  
  Those doing so not appearing to understand or want to understand that New Zealand does not have a Constitution.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:54am
  - Yvette
    
    Pdm, the reality here is not very helpful either.
    New Zealand does have a Constitution, so they say, but it is spread all over the place whereas the United States Constitution is one document. New Zealand hasn’t got their shit together in one place, so probably the vast majority of New Zealanders can’t name the first item to look for wherever the hell it is.
    
    So not only do Prime Ministers hold absolutely opposing views of what the Treaty’s most basic concept means, they probably don’t have the slightest clue whether the constitutional diaspora supports the “founding document”.
    
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    February 28, 2026 10:14am
  - Paulus
    
    It looks as if the Waitangi Tribunal was dissoluted then there would still be thousands of Maori approved concessions to be enacted and collected.
    But remember the Tribunal is only a recomendation despite what Maori might think.
    Shut it down completely as the recomendations would be then nullified as only still only a recomendation.
    
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    February 28, 2026 11:22am
    - Yvette
      
      If in 5o years of existence 130 claims were settled it will take perhaps another 1246 years to hear those claims now before it.
      Another 41 generations of whakapapa.
      
      Can the Waitangi Tribunal be abolished while claims are before it?
      
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      February 28, 2026 11:39am
Maggy Wassilieff

Too few engineers, too many lawyers…

This is the paucity of qualified engineers in key decision making roles. Cabinet and Councils are constantly making big decisions having to rely on consultants etc rather than by using their practical real world experience. Excessive reliance on consultants is foolish and expensive.

https://www.brashandmitchell.com/post/barrie-saunders-engineers-your-country-needs-you
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February 28, 2026 8:21am
- cmm
  
  But the other problem is getting any of the councilors to listen to the engineers.
  
  Engineers tend to bring those unpleasant things called facts to the table. They deal with this perverted mental state called reality.
  
  This tends to go against the desired/hopes/delusions of the rainbows and unicorns brigade.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:34am
  - igm
    
    Councillors, in general these days, would not have the intelligence to understand engineers’ reports.
    
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    February 28, 2026 8:54am
  - pdm
    
    Is it Councillors or CEO’s that need to listen to the Engineers.
    
    These days CEO’s and Senior Council staff seem to run the cutter in most Councils. Councillors are just `add ons’ or `rubber stampers’ and when a Councillor stands up to CEO’s all hell breaks loose.
    
    Hastings District Council at present is a good example.
    
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    February 28, 2026 9:58am
    - Quail
      
      PDM.
      Agree with your comment concerning elected councillors (and have been one).
      Bureaucracy in NZ has grown to a stage it is choking out political changes, rendering the politicians ,allegedly in charge ,impotent.
      And it is still growing!
      Regulation growth is at the stage that virtually nothing productive can be done. Changes / removal of regulation rarely happens.
      MMP has also driven this. apparently giving said politicians a secure job either in a formal seat , or a cosy job in bureaucracy.
      
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      February 28, 2026 4:19pm
- CJames
  
  If one looks at the boards of the gentailers and Transpower, there is no-one on the board who has operational experience, either as engineer or operator. Many of those boards have at most two engineers, one of whom is often academic.
  And that is why more than a few decisions about new plant seem hard to understand.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:45am
  - Spam
    
    Mike Fuge at Contact does (as one example).
    
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    February 28, 2026 9:15am
    - Poppax8
      
      and Dei0n Campbell also at Contact Energy
      
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      February 28, 2026 10:16am
      - CJames
        
        Yes Delion has worked in the management of power stations but is that power station engineering?
        Deion Mark Campbell
        Non-Independent Director, Contact Energy Ltd.
        Deion Mark Campbell currently works at Manawa Energy Ltd., as Chairman from 2023, Longroad Energy Holdings LLC, as Non-Executive Chairman from 2025, Contact Energy Ltd., as Non-Independent Director from 2025, Origin Energy Ltd., as Independent Non-Executive Director from 2024, Pastoral Partners Australia Pty Ltd., as Managing Director from 2022, H.R.L. Morrison & Co. Ltd., as Operating Partner from 2022, Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand, as Member, and Institute of Directors in New Zealand, Inc., as Member. Mr. Campbell also formerly worked at Tilt Renewables Ltd., as Chief Executive Officer from 2018 to 2021, Mint Renewables Ltd., as Non-Executive Chairman from 2022 to 2024, NSW Electricity Transmission, as Director from 2022 to 2024, UBCO Ltd., as Director, TrustPower Ltd., as General Manager-Generation, and Tilt Renewables Ltd., as General Manager-Generation & Trading from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Campbell received his graduate degree from the University of Canterbury.
        
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        February 28, 2026 1:00pm
  - CJames
    
    Mike ‘s background isn’t in power stations.
    
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    February 28, 2026 12:57pm
    - Spam
      
      No, but you mentioned:
      
      And that is why more than a few decisions about new plant seem hard to understand.
      
      He has experience in project management at fairly senior levels.
      
      Your initial point was that there aren’t any engineers with operational experience. He has that.
      
      When you then try to constrain it to power plants, I think that is missing the point. Contact Energy has a lot of geothermal, which sits with background in oil & gas. I understand that they have had significant issues with geothermal drilling in particular, and I don’t think power plant engineers can help much with that.
      
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      February 28, 2026 2:32pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Not really sold on this idea. Having worked in IT for 40 years, typically it is not the most technically skilled people who choose to go into management. No doubt you can elect an engineer onto a board or council, but if they were a good engineer I doubt they would want that job. I would rather have managers who are good at managing, and that includes identifying the right people to go to for technical advice rather than the manager imagining they know everything.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:26am
  - artemisia
    
    100% agree NK. Last thing tech staff need are managers who (think they) know the weeds but not how to manage. So not a surprise they get stuck in those weeds. And apart from not actually managing they mightily piss off their experts who are not listened to. So they leave. And tell their mates.
    
    I once worked for an organisation that brought in a senior slightly rumpled guy from Deloittes for a couple of months. I watched him carefully, and soon saw he asked everyone he talked to the exact same questions. And after a while, that he decided who was worth working with (a few) and who wasn’t (a lot). An excellent lesson for managers right there. But plenty would rather trust those they agree with ….
    
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    February 28, 2026 10:43am
    - imalwaysright
      
      People are the hardest to manage.
      
      Any manager will clear out uneconomic machinery or outdated stock, but they can’t bring themselves to do the same with people.
      
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      February 28, 2026 12:19pm
      - Nobby2
        
        imalwaysright. A managers job is really easy as long as they don’t have staff or customers to manage.
        
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        February 28, 2026 2:48pm
- peterwn
  
  A Council member once said that an Electric Power Board needs engineers as much as a Rabbit Board needs rabbits.
  In the old days there were Rabbit Boards who could levy rates and hired people to try and shoot or poison rabbits. One secondary school pupil years ago said Rabbit Boards were structures erected to control rabbits.
  
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  February 28, 2026 10:32am
  - pdm
    
    pw when I was a kid there were Rabbiters with teams of perhaps 20 dogs who went from farm to farms through the districts killing rabbits.
    
    They would have been employed by the Rabbit Board.
    
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    February 28, 2026 12:21pm
    - Swifty
      
      Boards.
      
      They were very local.
      
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      February 28, 2026 3:11pm
      - Quail
        
        Swifty
        And the Rabbit Boards were much more efficient than the Regional Councils who took over when the boards were politically disestablished..
        And the war on rabbits was won by the “private “ introduction of an Australian virus.
        Bureaucracy had nothing to do with that , they just kept hoovering up the rates!
        
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        February 28, 2026 6:53pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        There were Rabbit Boards, Pest Destruction Boards, Catchment Boards, Noxious Weeds Boards, Drainage Boards, Road Boards, Fire Boards, Harbour Boards, Hospital Boards and Milk Treatment Stations. Alphabet soup – all good folk – dunno how we get on without them. I think that covers most of it 🙂
        
        The calicivirus (RHD) thing. Random farmer-driven introduction looked real good for a year or two until the resistant bunnies got back to breeding … as bunnies do … and now …
        
        Hard to call it “victory” – that’s why today’s Regional Council pest plans still combine:
        RHD, shooting, ripping warrens, fumigation, toxins (incl pindone / 1080 in some contexts)
        
        Go figure.
        
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        February 28, 2026 7:28pm
cmm

Is anyone believing Bill Clinton’s claims?

Maybe he used up all his lifetime allotment of porkies on Monica so can now only tell the truth? Yup, I’m sure.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360944703/bill-clinton-says-he-did-nothing-wrong-epstein-he-faces-grilling-over-their-relationship
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February 28, 2026 8:40am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  Have you seen actual evidence that belies his claims?
  
  Are you saying that if a person has been proven to have lied before, everything they say after that is automatically suspect? Be careful now
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:50am
  - cmm
    
    No I have no evidence either way. I have never met Bill Clinton and I don’t know anyone that has. So as far as I know he doesn’t even really exist.
    
    But from what I remember from the past, assuming he does exist:
    a) he struggle to keep Mr Johnson in his pants.
    b) he has a problem being honest about it afterwards (refer Ms Monica).
    
    So why would anyone believe him this time?
    
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    February 28, 2026 12:52pm
    - Dougal10
      
      I sort of met him on a flight from Auckland to LA where he came down flight and said hi to everyone row by row , lots of women on the flight seemed smitten with him , he could really have taken his pick if he was that way inclined lol.
      
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      February 28, 2026 7:40pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    “Are you saying that if a person has been proven to have lied before, everything they say after that is automatically suspect?”
    
    I beleive there is a legal principle that says just that.
    
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    February 28, 2026 1:31pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    A man whose own wife described him as “a hard dog to keep on the porch”?
    
    Yeah, when it’s a ‘keeping his pecker in his pants’ question, I know where my views lie
    
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    February 28, 2026 7:43pm
- igm
  
  He once claimed innocence with Monica Lewinsky . . . look where that ended!
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:55am
- G152
  
  What part of ‘politicians lie’ evaded you 🙂
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:13am
- Gravelroad
  
  Yesterday in the media there was a past photograph portraying Mr Clinton in a small group with Epstein.
  Standing beside Clinton was a woman with blonde hair who looked rather like Mrs Clinton.
  Of course, it may not have been her – just another blonde, eh.
  And she has claimed not to have anything to do with Epstein, which of course, we must believe.
  Safe to say, the photograph did not last long on the $tuff front page.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:20am
- kowtow
  
  From the guy who didn’t inhale ……yeah right.
  
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  February 28, 2026 10:45am
- Paulus
  
  Is has been suggested that when Clinton visited New Zealand in September 1999 that he shared a cigar with a well know lady media personality at the time.
  Do you think this could be true ?
  
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  February 28, 2026 11:26am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Remember the Auckland power cut when he was here.
    Cables were being run along Queen St, and I think a navy ship was hooked up to boost the local supply.
    
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    February 28, 2026 12:23pm
    - AitchW
      
      One of the Union Shipping gas turbine ships, Union Rotorua I think….
      
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      February 28, 2026 5:25pm
- Observant Octagenarian
  
  Do you know what Bill Clinton says to Hillary after sex?
  I’ll be home in 20 minutes.
  
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  February 28, 2026 3:09pm
Souvlaki

Seymour is correct, we need to discuss divesting ourselves of Air NZ. Sadly, I fear he will be ignored and populus too dim to realise how far we are sliding cf. countries we would have once considered 3rd world .

https://youtu.be/yk8GLHNS_8I?si=UncZFPnxy6h8fKAD
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February 28, 2026 8:41am
- Fender
  
  I’m not sure we would really like some overseas corporate takeover that ran it ruthlessly in the pursuit of profits either though. The world appears to be full of horror stories of people being shagged around with no real service in other countries especially domestic airlines. Ours is far from perfect but it does actually work most of the time. As an example If we can subsidize a train from Hamilton, Air NZ is a far better sinkhole to swallow in my opinion. I am served by local Hawkes Bay and would be massively inconvenienced if their service was dropped and to be fair its seldom the plane isn’t full or very near full. I do think it was unfair that they did successfully drive Jetstar out of Hawkes Bay by deliberately undercutting prices.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:00am
  - AitchW
    
    They did the same to Kiwi out of Hamilton in the mid 90s.
    
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    February 28, 2026 5:28pm
- Tomtoddy
  
  The only argument of any merit being made is what about services to regional NZ? If that is indeed a problem it could be dealt with by the government offering to purchase services on a tender basis and seeing what competition can provide.
  
  There are several state owned businesses that need to be sold.
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:09am
- mike
  
  Because it worked out so well last time we sold it?
  
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  February 28, 2026 9:38am
  - Jigsaw
    
    So we should have kept and indeed still have a government printing office? A government tourist agency? A tourist hotel corporation? I wonder what they would look like now and how much money they would be costing us – perhaps even as much again as the repeating tribal claims…..what is Ngai Tahu up to……….. number 6 ?
    
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    February 28, 2026 2:00pm
- cmm
  
  Divest ourselves of Air NZ and let the scoundrels off scot free?
  
  No, hold some feet the the fire.
  
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  February 28, 2026 12:54pm
- MCōs
  
  Do you think the government should sell the Interislander?
  Do you think the government was right to sell the rail network? Which they quickly reacquired after some foreign owner ran it into the ground.
  Do you think the government was right to divest itself of the Marsden Point refinery, which the new owners closed down?
  
  I wonder if MPs flight costs would rocket if AirNZ was privatized. Does the government department which pays for them get a sweet deal because the airline is partially state owned?
  
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  February 28, 2026 4:14pm
  - Warren Murray
    
    The Govt didn’t own Marsden Pt when it was closed.
    
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    February 28, 2026 4:56pm
    - MCōs
      
      Read my comment again
      
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      February 28, 2026 5:34pm
  - Dougal10
    
    Yes yes yes no no
    
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    February 28, 2026 7:43pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Selling Air NZ would solve the problem of taxpayers subsidising the airline, but not the problem of regional airfares. The most likely outcome of a foreign airline buying Air NZ in my view is that regional airfares go through the roof.
  
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  February 28, 2026 7:48pm
graham

Don’t show this to the Maori Party, they’ll start salivating at the thought of doing something similar here.

Only Welsh speakers should live on new housing estate, local council says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy87gk8we8o

A community council has said it will only back plans for a new housing estate if it is reserved for Welsh speakers.

Plans for 15 homes have been proposed on land in Trefor, Gwynedd, for which Trefor and Llanaelhaearn Community Council wants a Welsh language condition imposed to ensure it creates a “balanced community”, saying it would be a “long-awaited lead for the rest of Wales”.

Of course, one difference is that they have far more people in that area who are actually fluent in Welsh.

Trefor and Llanaelhaearn is within the top 3% for the highest proportions of Welsh-speakers, out of more than 1,900 similar-sized communities across Wales.

More than three quarters of local people have at least some Welsh language skills and 58% of residents can fully speak, read and write Welsh, the Census figures show.
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February 28, 2026 8:44am
- fightingtemeraire
  
  In the 60’s I was at school in Anglesey and the number of FLUENT Welsh speakers on the Island and in N Wales was v high.
  
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  February 28, 2026 10:01am
  - Don Beckett
    
    One of my cousins trained as nurse here, then went to Canada, met this Welsh guy, and married him – he was a cop in Vancouver. He grew up in the northern Welsh valleys, and he told me that he never learnt English till he was 10 years old.
    
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    February 28, 2026 11:07am
  - pdm
    
    I have visited family on the Isle of Lewis in the outer Hebrides a few times since 1977.
    
    Gaelic is the language of choice for the locals there – even during our last visit in March 2011.
    
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    February 28, 2026 12:30pm
- Paulus
  
  But are there not aready areas where only Maori, speakers or otherwise, can have/buy cheap housing ?
  Tauranga area perhaps.
  
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  February 28, 2026 11:28am
  - Don Beckett
    
    ..On Maori land, yes.
    
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    February 28, 2026 3:26pm
- Warren Murray
  
  On the back of the NZ First initiative to make English an official language, I’m wondering how long it’ll be before all Govt jobs require ppl to be fluent in English and te reo, which is the case in Canada.
  
  We’ve already seen the NZ Defence force try to make a certain level of competency in Te Reo mandatory.
  
  Labour will say “ Let’s do this”.
  
  Ironically Maori who have been immersed in their special apartheid education institutions have a poor grasp of English. Rawiri Waititi showed us that last week.
  
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  February 28, 2026 5:05pm
Fender

It’s ok folks the answer to all the problems is here, just you wait, its going to be epic

From April 2026, the Airpoints™ programme becomes Koru.

For over 30 years, we’ve been rewarding travellers across Aotearoa and the world. Now, we’re proud to introduce you to a new chapter.

Koru symbolises care, connection, and constant renewal. It’s a name long synonymous with Air New Zealand, evoking pride, belonging, and a powerful sense of place, especially when far from home.

Crafted with our customers, Koru introduces refreshed tiers with clearer recognition and enhanced benefits.
Inspired by our roots. Designed for the future. Welcome to Koru.
Learn more about the Koru Story by watching the video above.
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February 28, 2026 8:47am
- JackRabbit
  
  “Inspired by our roots. ”
  
  A Kiwi eats, roots, shoots, and leaves.
  
  Think of international travelers. No matter what we say Koru means, according to Google translates Koru is “blind” and “koru” is “you”.
  
  Reminding us that Maori never had a structured language.
  
  7 1
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  February 28, 2026 12:31pm
- Jethrod
  
  Is Koru where the existing conditions of airpoints are racially changed or just they felt like a name change?
  
  4 0
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  February 28, 2026 12:49pm
Cassandra

Safe UK Labour seat Gortn & Denton has gone to the Greens (41%) in a by-election. Reform 29%, Labour 25%, Conservatives 2%, LibDems 2%. Crikey.
19 1
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February 28, 2026 8:50am
- kowtow
  
  The Greens were putting out election fliers , in Urdu , urging the good burghers of Gorton and Denton , to vote Green to punish Labour , over Gaza!
  
  Crikey.
  
  There are also reports of almost unprecedented levels of “family voting” , something very , cough cough , unEnglish.
  
  Crikey!
  
  25 1
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  February 28, 2026 8:58am
- Simon
  
  The Reform candidate aka Tory Boy, insulted all the Reform potential voters. Restore is the future.
  
  Tory Boys have taken over Reform.
  
  The other point even MSM noted was the voting was along ethnic lines.
  
  3 12
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  February 28, 2026 9:01am
  - Warren Murray
    
    Reform is clearly having some growing pains. The seat is rabid left territory and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Greens saw an opportunity to exploit dissatisfaction with Starmer.
    Reform’vote boost was almost exactly the total decrease in votes for Cons and Lib Dems c/w the general election.
    
    This is just another nail in Starmer’s coffin / back / eyes (choose your metaphor).
    
    There will be a heap more in May.
    
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    February 28, 2026 5:12pm
- R
  
  The residents of the UK have been hell-bent on the destruction of their nation since the 1950’s.
  They have nearly succeeded, that is why some of the promoters of these policies, are now in NZ, selling the same ideology to naive NZ VOTERS.
  
  23 0
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  February 28, 2026 9:04am
- Jigsaw
  
  Complaints from Farage that group voting was happening- that is a family of voters attempts to enter the voting booth together to vote – illegal here and I sure illegal in the UK.
  We are not immune – I see there are reports of vote harvesting in the north during the postal council voting last year.
  
  22 3
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  February 28, 2026 9:32am
  - MCōs
    
    So what is it
    Family voting, group voting or vote harvesting
    I’m sure in NZ and anywhere else some dominant family member instructs/bullies/cajoles others to vote the way they insist.
    
    4 4
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    February 28, 2026 2:35pm
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      That is why no more than one person may be at a voting station, within a polling booth, at any one time. The bully has no way of doing the dastardly deed.
      I understand they had postal voting in the Gordon & Denton by-election. If that is so then it is salient signal, to countries such as New Zealand, that postal voting is a no go.
      Kowtow’s comment about the language used to persuade voters is poignant.
      
      7 2
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      February 28, 2026 3:49pm
      - kowtow
        
        TN
        And amazingly today’s Daily Telegraph reports , after interviews with Muslim voters in the area ,there’s already widespread ‘buyers’ regrets” in that ‘community’ even among the good burgher who had a “Vote Green” notice in his shop window.The guy and oddly his “whole family” had always voted Labour ,but whole family oddly switched to Green and they now have a Green MP who they didn’t realise stood for ( other than pro Hamas/Gaza) drugs , prostitution and porno!
        
        Goodness gracious me , we nevah knew !
        
        3 1
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        February 28, 2026 4:12pm
- mandk
  
  The Greens are useful idiots in the campaign to impose sharia law in the UK.
  
  Their progressive values are anathema to Muslims, and they would be the first to be persecuted if sharia triumphed.
  
  27 2
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  February 28, 2026 9:43am
  - Cassandra
    
    The Green winner is an English plumber who owns two houses. Yet wears a keffiyeh!
    
    19 2
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    February 28, 2026 9:58am
    - MCōs
      
      So?
      
      3 10
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      February 28, 2026 2:05pm
- Tom Barker
  
  Reform, of course, alleges election fraud to account for their defeat in the Manchester by election. Not easy to make that one stick given the massive gap between their repugnant candidate and the winner. Just possible that Reform’s continual smearing of black and brown people may have had more to do with it, in an electorate where 40 percent of voters are black or brown.
  
  8 18
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  February 28, 2026 9:44am
  - Nukuleka
    
    Could you please provide evidence of the Reform’s ‘repugnant’ candidate’s ‘continual smearing of black and brown people’.
    
    17 1
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    February 28, 2026 10:07am
  - Sir Henry Morgan
    
    Wow. . . 40% of voters are black or brown. So it seems like indigenous British people are being replaced across large swathes of Britain.
    
    4 0
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    February 28, 2026 3:42pm
- Philview
  
  The Green Party candidate called Hannah Spencer is of the political style of Jacinda Ardern. Spencer from what I have seen is a pleasant youngish lady who talks about kindness.
  
  9 0
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  February 28, 2026 1:09pm
- mogg
  
  Green leader Zack Polanski is typical of green politics. His mother’s family had to flee Poland to escape the Pogroms, she is a strong supporter of Israel. Yet her son refuses to answer when asked “does Israel have the right to exist”. He is also on record saying “ Zionism is racism”
  and “Zionists are like Nazis”. So by extension he is calling his own mother a Nazi. When questioned he likes to say “what do you mean by Zionism”?
  
  6 2
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  February 28, 2026 1:38pm
Simon

Mathew Hooton on the economic decline of NZ in the hearld. NZ fast heading to LatAM status.

Hooton, long time National party insider. The writing is on the wall comrades!
5 23
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February 28, 2026 8:58am
- Prince
  
  Hooton became persona non grata in National when his man Todd Mueller fell over.
  
  26 0
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  February 28, 2026 10:04am
  - imalwaysright
    
    There was a rumour that Todd Mueller was a last minute replacement when Mark Mitchell pulled out.
    Maybe time to revisit that idea now that Mitchell has more experience.
    
    5 3
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    February 28, 2026 10:53am
- Paulus
  
  Why does he continue to totally denigrate Luxon and the National Party
  A Labour has been called Hooten
  
  10 1
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  February 28, 2026 11:31am
sungsamning

Thanks to a lawsuit against TSA, disturbing new details are emerging about how illegals without traditional ID were allowed to board commercial flights during the Biden era. And buried inside the paperwork is the detail that has many Americans downright furious.
[Sex offenders were not excluded. IDs were not needed. There was a special cell phone app to assist their transit. The program ran from January to December 2023. Illegals will do jobs Americans won’t do. Like voting Democrat.]

https://revolver.news/2026/02/you-better-sit-down-for-this-one-heres-how-biden-regime-got-illegals-on-commercial-flights/
15 2
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February 28, 2026 8:59am
- JackRabbit
  
  Thanks for posting.
  
  Ever wondered how TSA was allowing illegal aliens to board commercial flights without IDs under the Biden regime?
  
  Well I sued TSA to find out and learned that Biden’s DHS allowed CONVICTED sex offenders on to flights by showing their sex offender paperwork.
  
  7 2
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  February 28, 2026 12:45pm
  - sungsamning
    
    You’re welcome. I was surprised too.
    
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    February 28, 2026 11:06pm
sungsamning

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth just dropped massive updates on the future of U.S. space defense during his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour stop at Sierra Space in Colorado. [Its a mixture of FAFO, sourcing stuff from new contractors. Gettting stuff done yesterday. Doing things differently. And the need to flip the status quo on its head. ]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BT9mISBME8
BREAKING: SecWar Hegseth Unveils $25B “Golden Dome” Space Shield!
6 4
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February 28, 2026 8:59am
Swifty

As far as I can determine Thomas Sowell has visited NZ, for professional purposes, on three occasions.

One of these was in November 1996 where he delivered the Ron Trotter Lecture, organised by the Business Roundtable at the Wellington Town Hall.

His lecture was titled “The Quest for Cosmic Justice.”

For those interested the full text of his address is here:

https://nzinitiative.org.nz/assets/Uploads/The-Quest-for-Cosmic-Justice.pdf

A pity it’s not taught in schools in my humble view.
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February 28, 2026 9:08am
KH

Greater Israel. “……….From the Nile to the Euphrates….”
Really ?
4 7
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February 28, 2026 9:32am
- Wandering Star
  
  Accuse your enemies of what which you are guilty.
  
  Greater Israel has always been the goal, whether that means an expanded sovereign territory or just a collection of neighbouring nations that have either been bought off by the United States or destroyed and fragmented by the latter’s military (the “mosiac” strategy), doesn’t really matter. Regional hegemony is the aim.
  
  Then they claim that any resistance to this project is “irrational hatred” requiring more violence on their part, as we see with the upcoming escalation of US’s proxy war on Iran.
  
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  February 28, 2026 11:21am
  - David George
    
    A non Islamic alliance would be a profound blessing to that benighted region. Israel, Iran, Lebanon and the Arab secular monarchies united in defiance against the death Cult. Bring it on.
    
    7 2
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    February 28, 2026 2:17pm
- Paulus
  
  Rivers … Sea ..Faeces [ Mod – give it a rest – this witticism has already been posted umpty times ]
  
  1 6
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  February 28, 2026 11:32am
  - Paulus
    
    Sorry, yes OK.
    
    3 3
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    February 28, 2026 1:54pm
anonymouse

OMG!
So we’re (NZ On Air) now paying Stuff to churn out luvvies reminiscing about COVID lockdowns,

Its quite clear this is an orchestrated push back against the 2 COVID enquiry- which is due any day, but really, its sickening…..

– Helen Clark reminisced about her seven weeks in Auckland as a time when “the city was quiet, there was less air pollution, you could hear the birds and the cicadas”

Professor Michael Plank – fondly recalled “the thing where everyone went and sat in deckchairs at the end of their driveways with a beer or a glass of wine in their hand”.

Nyze Manuel, one of the key organisers of the so-called “iwi checkpoints” – I wish we had a lockdown every year for a month.”

Its quite clear these guys would have loved Stalinist Russia, (until they found them selves on the other side)

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360933296/covid-six-years-i-wish-we-had-lockdown-every-year
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February 28, 2026 9:50am
- kowtow
  
  Or how high profile propagandist scientists could go to the beach , paddle tootsies and swim , with narry a pleb ( or Plod as it transpired) to bother them.
  
  25 2
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  February 28, 2026 10:41am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  What wasn’t to like about lockdown if you were a paid public servant?
  
  Imagine being a school teacher with no classes to teach…
  
  Imagine being a Wellington bureaucrat with no office meetings to attend….
  
  Who believes that Teachers and Public servants were working 7-8 hours/day at home each lockdown working day?
  
  30 2
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  February 28, 2026 11:31am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “Who believes that Teachers and Public servants were working 7-8 hours/day at home each lockdown working day?”
    
    Who believes that Teachers and Public servants are working 7-8 hours/day , each working day ?
    
    18 1
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    February 28, 2026 11:54am
- imalwaysright
  
  Article :
  “You might feel guilty admitting it, what with early 2020 being a time of planet-wide death, existential terror, economic chaos and disrupted lives, but for some of us, there were some strangely pleasant side-effects to shutting down a country.”
  
  Animal Farm parody? Or
  Animal Farm ?
  
  12 1
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  February 28, 2026 12:07pm
AitchW

Did they interview any of the people who lost their businesses as a result of the lockdown?
Or anyone unable to visit dying family?
MSM really are just the propaganda wing of the Labour Party.
35 1
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February 28, 2026 10:25am
- pdm
  
  Or our niece who came home to visit her dying father.
  
  She then spent over six months chasing up Internal Affairs (or whoever) for an invoice so she could pay her quarantine charges.
  
  She told us it was the most frustrating part of the whole process and visit.
  
  16 1
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  February 28, 2026 12:39pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  Remember that butcher who committed suicide as a result of the lockdown, lifting, then fresh lockdown?
  
  Meanwhile, buying meat from a supermarket was safe because coronaviruses do not spread inside a supermarket.
  
  8 0
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  February 28, 2026 4:10pm
Charlotte Wells

This could be the weekend when the US unleashes hell on the mullahs.

The assets are in place. The weather is at it’s most beneficial based on previous US military action. The next window isn’t until mid-March.

– wow, just as I typed the above my Starlink went off-line. Is that a sign?
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February 28, 2026 10:39am
- Wandering Star
  
  How many wars for Israel is enough, Charlotte? Iran is no threat at all to the US. There was a time when the US, Britain and the like were in large part friendly with much of the Arab and Persian world. Then 1948 came around, and they took the wrong side, with disastrous consequences.
  
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  February 28, 2026 11:46am
  - Swifty
    
    You don’t believe in looking after your mates? You watch one get attacked in the street and you just look or walk the other way?
    
    Some mate.
    
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    February 28, 2026 1:46pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      I don’t think Israel is a “mate” of the United States in any way. In fact, Israel does nothing for the United States, while the United States does everything for Israel. Can you name anything Israel has ever done for its so-called “mates” in America? If anything, Israel is a liability to America, yet the amount of welfare the Israelis extract from the US taxpayer is obscene.
      
      Think about the order of priorities: consider that the US, apparently, has no ability to deport a few million illegals, yet it is now gearing up for a war on Iran with a population of 90 million and a million-man military, situated on the other side of the world, and having already fought several eye-wateringly costly wars and other military actions for its “mates” across the middle east for the last 30 years.
      
      Why?
      
      1 13
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      February 28, 2026 2:55pm
      - Swifty
        
        “Israel supplies the United States with various advanced military technologies and systems, primarily in the defense sector. This occurs through direct sales, co-production agreements, joint ventures, and U.S. procurement for its own forces or allies. While the U.S. is the dominant supplier of military aid and hardware to Israel (via billions in annual Foreign Military Financing), Israel has become a key exporter of niche, high-tech systems—often battle-tested—to the U.S. market…….”
        
        https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtMw_10059dcc-27e1-4482-a32f-dd6ae0ad950d
        
        Not to mention the strong cultural and familial ties between the two nations.
        
        7 1
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        February 28, 2026 3:56pm
      - Swifty
        
        Clearly you don’t see Israel and the US as mates, when they clearly are, and this is where your entire analysis falls down.
        
        You wish they weren’t, you believe they aren’t, you argue that they’re not – but they are.
        
        They are.
        
        Only a blind man can’t see it.
        
        10 2
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        February 28, 2026 4:00pm
      - Wandering Star
        
        “Not to mention the strong cultural and familial ties between the two nations.”
        
        Strong? Jews are a tiny minority of only about 2% of the US population, which is why the US obsession for advancing the interests of Israel, even to the detriment of the US, is so very hard to explain on its face.
        
        Your own citation also shows the clear disparities as to any mutual benefit, too.
        
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        February 28, 2026 4:53pm
  - David George
    
    “Iran is no threat at all to the US”.
    
    The Islamic revolution in Iran was in 1979, they’re brutal totalitarian regime has waged terror and violence throughout the ME and targeted Western interests elsewhere.
    Israel was invaded by Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon in 1948 with the aim of destroying the Jewish state. The Iran Islamist regime still pledges to destroy not only Israel but the USA (“The Great Satan”) as well.
    
    10 2
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    February 28, 2026 3:12pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      That seems like an Israel problem, not a US problem. Being on the opposite side of the globe from America, and America being a global nuclear power, its very difficult to make a case for exactly how Iran could threaten the US.
      
      Consider why the US is even considered “The Great Satan” in the first place – their unconditional and indispensable support for Israel, which is exactly why I said that Israel is a liability for the US, because it prevents better relations with countries like Iran.
      
      0 6
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      February 28, 2026 4:56pm
- JackRabbit
  
  No, Big Brother was watching you!
  
  5 1
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  February 28, 2026 12:38pm
Swifty

I saw this from Neil Sedaka just three days ago:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AjgGRLKwA

RIP.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e72tG80LmsU
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February 28, 2026 1:41pm
Swifty

Remember, this is not Islam.

https://x.com/yossibenyakar/status/2027492829900247483?s=46

Quite what it is, nobody knows, but it’s not Islam.
7 3
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February 28, 2026 2:16pm
- An Old Kiwi
  
  Swifty, you forgot to add “/s” at the end of yr post, didn’t you?
  
  (Yes, that is exactly what Islam is. The West just continues to pretend that what they do & what they say, arent really what they mean. – Oh yes it is.)
  
  8 1
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  February 28, 2026 3:06pm
- mandk
  
  “They are us” (Ardern)
  
  4 3
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  February 28, 2026 4:27pm
Swifty

New Zealand is clearly not a safe place for these people so I strongly suggest they recognise that fact and all go back to their country of origin – from what they say, they’ll be far better off.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/588239/the-migrant-communities-reporting-some-of-the-worst-mental-health

I note too the thousands and thousands of people who emigrated to New Zealand post-war, having witnessed the destruction of Europe, they just got on with life.

No demands for special treatment.
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February 28, 2026 3:04pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  Guess it’s sad, but never mind. Time to flick the switch from support to deport?
  
  7 0
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  February 28, 2026 4:18pm
  - Swifty
    
    Imagine voluntarily going to a country then demanding their citizens fund special treatment and services for you because you believe you’re having difficulty fitting in and finding yourself.
    
    FFS.
    
    2 0
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    February 28, 2026 6:19pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  “Originally from Sudan and Ethiopia, Sanussi was a year-and-a-half old when she resettled to South Auckland with her family”
  
  “Her own mental health had suffered because of the war in Sudan, especially with the exposure on social media.
  
  “I watched my homeland be destroyed, a tremendous amount of death…”
  
  I’m sorry? You’ve lived here since you were 18 months old, and New Zealand is not your homeland? Frankly, if that’s what you think then NZ is not the right place for you. I suggest you take your expensively provided education and return to your real homeland where you can become the change you want to see.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:02pm
Jack5

A big “community battery” that would store grid solar power for use at night has been held up in an Australian community because of locals’ fears of fire risk.

The Australian Government is funding 400 community batteries.

In Narrabri (population about 5,500 to 6,000), local opponents, on claimed safety grounds, have blocked the plan for one of them.

The batteries are called Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). There have been two fires in them — one near Geelong in Victoria, and the other at Bouldercombe in Queensland.

The ABC reports both fires were controlled without injuries or major impacts. 

Interestingly for New Zealand, which ignores its own potential resource of coal-seam gas, energy company Santos plans to develop an 850-well coal-seam gas field near Narrabri.

How locals blocked the Narrabri battery:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-28/misinformation-kills-narrabri-community-battery-project/106120264
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February 28, 2026 3:36pm
- Dougal10
  
  Having lived in Narrabri the locals are reasonably smart educated people who will have made a pragmatic decision based on facts.
  
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  February 28, 2026 8:13pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Yesterday I semi-retired. I changed from working 1.5 jobs to 0.5 jobs. It is pretty surreal. I suppose I will only really feel it on Monday when I don’t set an alarm.

Don’t worry folks, I am not a drain on the taxpayer yet. I am not pulling Super yet (only 64) and will still be a net tax payer for at least another year.

During this transitional period I have spoken to quite a few people far older than I who are still wage slaves. It is amazing how many people there are in their late 60s or 70s who are working high paying jobs ($150k+) as well as pulling Super who say they can’t retire yet because they still have mortgages etc. Choices, choices…
7 2
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February 28, 2026 4:43pm
- Fender
  
  I have just the job for your last year, to ease you into retirement. You may have to identify as a Maori Women and move to the Hawkes Bay but I’m sure that’s doable. It appears to pay more than the colonial version does.
  
  https://www.seek.co.nz/job/90603898
  Kaiwhakahaere – Manager
  
  Hastings Central, Hawkes Bay
  Management (Community Services & Development)
  Full time
  $105,000 – $110,000 per year
  
  [Mod – all that is needed is a link, not pasting the entire content here]
  
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  February 28, 2026 5:05pm
- rouppe
  
  Congratulations.
  
  I couldn’t bear semi retirement. I was asked if I wanted to go back contracting part time but I declined.
  
  To my mind you still have a hook in you, requiring you to be in a place half the week. You still can’t go off with your retired mates for a weeks golfing (and associated beers and dinners). You can’t jump on a cheap deal to go somewhere which is usually in the middle of a week.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, you’ll not regret stepping back. I still have to wait until next year to claim the pension, but I’m not hanging around home while waiting.
  
  2 0
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  February 28, 2026 6:10pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Congratulations CMM. Those sunny uplands are almost within reach!
  
  1 0
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  February 28, 2026 8:03pm
Swifty

Sowell on the downsides, pitfalls and weaknesses of affirmative action in India:

https://x.com/thomassowell/status/2027505270599962847?s=46

And as we’ve seen perfectly mirrored in NZ.

Is this line of thinking, scepticism and critical analysis taught in our schools and universities?

If not, why not?
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February 28, 2026 4:48pm
Ghost

Israel has launched a “pre-emptive attack” against Iran.

Israel’s strike happened near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the Associated Press

article
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February 28, 2026 7:58pm
- Ghost
  
  The US military has joined Israel in carrying out strikes inside Iran, officials have told the AP and the New York Times.
  
  3 2
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  February 28, 2026 8:13pm
DimChappie

I’m a Genesis customer just come off a 12-month plan. They have hiked my monthly bill by about 30 per cent (unit price up about 20pc and daily charge about 61 per cent.) A scandal in itself but when I try to shop around, ALL the others are charging about the same. I’m a low user, about 240kWh per month, and was getting used to bills of about $90 per month. Now they will be $130 and no doubt more hikes to come.
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February 28, 2026 8:34pm

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Highlights

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

Links

"For 40 years, NZers have been told that fewer councils mean better government. For 40 years, the evidence has refused to oblige."
Not PC
Let’s not celebrate copyright law extension
Utopia
They all do it…
The Standard
My Final Word: Jools Topp & the New Zealand We’ve Lost
The Daily Blog
The beat up about so called NZ freeloading
Point of Order
Word of the day
Hompaddock
Saturday’s Quick Hits
No Minister
Parliament fails to defend transparency
No Right Turn
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

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