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March 11, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 11 March 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

Stuff reports that some of NZ’s doctors are appalled by the absence of newer and more effective drugs here, for financial reasons.

I’d like Stuff to make the connection with the low quality spending decisions made by Labour, that wasted our money. Kumara patch culture and playing songs to kauri trees spring to mind, although there are a veritable host of others. I’d also like Chris Hipkins to be grilled on how he can justify prioritising such expenditure over better pharmaceuticals.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360949028/why-some-new-zealands-best-doctors-wont-work-here-anymore-and-its-not-about-pay
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March 11, 2026 8:00am
- Graeme Hall
  
  But everyone hears from Maori leaders the Maori race is the most genetically superior race on earth, highly intelligent with the finest culture in the land, and yet according to Labour it is also the most needy and at risk and must be placated with constant transfusions of taxpayer money. No wonder our health system is backward.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:22am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    No wonder our ENTIRE COUNTRY is backward.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:34am
  - mandk
    
    Māori health science = not much more than chewing a kawa kawa leaf.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:52am
- plc
  
  New Zealand is no longer a serious country
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:44am
- Notsofast
  
  Just yesterday I learned that in the real world a pharmacist was required to do a 6 month Te Reo course, and achieve conversational fluency.
  I must assume this applies to all pharmacists.
  We need to find out how much money is burned in each of these fields on this almost completely fake communication system.
  On the other hand there is no such requirement for prison wardens, one assumes this is because we can’t afford to lose them to Australia.
  It is certainly true that the customers in these prisons do not use Te Reo.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:52am
grumpy

Today must be the day we see the MSM pour its resources into pushing Hipkins for full accounting of the $30B in Covid funding not spent on Covid. Waiting……..1,2,3
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March 11, 2026 8:01am
- Mod88
  
  Hipkins needs to Resign. That is all.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:16am
  - Dougal10
    
    He is a gift that keeps on giving leave him there.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:35am
    - muzled
      
      Only when he opens his mouth.
      
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      March 11, 2026 12:13pm
  - Colville
    
    So Winston can take over as Labour leader? 🙂
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:20am
    - pdm
      
      Well potential Prime Minister for at least 6 months anyway.
      
      However, I would not 100% rule out what Colville suggests in jest.
      
      Baubles are baubles are baubles to Winston and the bigger they are the more they count as far as he is concerned.
      
      Serious question – Is it possible to be a financial member of more than one political party?
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:26pm
  - Gravelroad
    
    Only trouble with that is that the playtime politician they replaced Mr Hipkins with most probably would be worse.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:54am
- Gravelroad
  
  Reality is that Mr Hipkins and his cronies probably don’t know what they spent the $30b on.
  And don’t care.
  And neither does the msm.
  “Accounting” is a foreign concept.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:17am
  - JackRabbit
    
    They spent it on feel good “projects”, daily standup pulpit electioneering disguised as Covid response (Covid theatre), highly inflated public works projects (shovel ready projects), funding gang drug programs, Wiggles concerts, establishing quarantine facilities in recycled air hotels (which many medical professionals said is the LAST place they should be, but were slienced), housing the homeless in motels, etc. The list is extensive.
    
    And the worst part is that they started spending the Covid money back in November 2019, (as reported by the Herald Nov 30th 2019) when Robertson borrowed $19Bn with no budget or plan, other than “shovel ready projects” in 2021-2023. Roberston called it ” a once in a generation” opportunity to run up debt. They had no election campaign strategy other than “Covid” (Arderns’s words). And in the 2020 budget the justification Robertson used for excess borrowing was “a once in a generation” event.
    
    It is clear that having been told about Agenda 201, and that the failed attempt by WHO to declare a world wide pandemic with SARS1, (but the declaration of which which was stopped by Germany), that it was going to be attempted again.
    
    All of which is out in the open overseas, unless of course you live in the Truman show, commonly called Aotearoa, and watch state TV and listen or the PIJF news.
    
    On this blog in early Jan 2020, I commented that Labour were going to run a very dirty election in 2020, and National had better prepare. I got mostly down ticks.
    
    In 2022 we had over 8,000 excess deaths. Not from Covid. In 2021-2023 we had over 15,500 excess deaths, but Ardern claimed “Covid” had killed 3,500 over that time period. What killed the extra 10,000 people?
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:11am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    It would not be hard to figure out where the money went. All the budget decisions are online. For example about 2 billion dollars topped up the land transport fund for the foregone revenue from the 25 cents excise reduction.
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:48am
- peterwn
  
  Now that MSM has failed miserably in trying to topple Chris Luxon, they now need another news theme. The $30B would be something ideal to write about??????
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:20am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Too late..
  
  The media have run with their little soundbites/slogans that folks can repeat:
  
  Response world-best;
  Effective, but lessons learned
  No smoking- gun…
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:32am
  - Nūhaka Native
    
    Yes, the ‘world best response’ is wearing thin. Our fatalities per million from Covid is now about at the world average, at about 500 per million confirmed Covid deaths. Slightly lower than Australia’s and more than Japan’s. Closing borders (as David Seymour pointed out) can be done. It worked for a while. But as Swedish epidemiologist and a previous WHO advisor, Johan Giesecke said, a virus will get into a country eventually. https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/covid?country=USA~BRA~JPN~DEU~NZL~AFG~AUS~DNK~IND&Metric=Confirmed+deaths&Interval=Cumulative&Relative+to+population=true
    
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    March 11, 2026 8:45am
    - grumpy
      
      How did we go against Sweden who didn’t do anything and let nature run its course?
      
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      March 11, 2026 8:55am
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        Sweden 2,793 deaths per million people. New Zealand 884 deaths per million. You’re welcome
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country
        
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        March 11, 2026 9:24am
      - Nūhaka Native
        
        Sweden is at 2,500/million. So we did a lot better than Sweden. Though France, where lockdowns were enforced, has about the same fatality rate at 2,500/million. Actually, the Swedes are at about the European average. Europe got hit harder and early compared to us. Japan’s rate is still lower than ours. https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/covid?country=USA~BRA~JPN~DEU~NZL~AFG~AUS~DNK~IND~SWE~FRA~OWID_EU27&Metric=Confirmed+deaths&Interval=Cumulative&Relative+to+population=true
        
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        March 11, 2026 9:34am
      - RoboRob
        
        My understanding is, about the same with respect to covid specific deaths. They did significantly better then us with regards to academic loss, additional deaths from other illness and crime. We, like most of the world, had significant drops in academic results, increase in crime and a number of people who died becuase they didnt get treatment for other conditions. My father died of skin cancer and delayed treatment.
        
        In hindsight the Sweedish plan seems the superior. I would hope for future pandemic plans we might look towards Swedon, but after hearing Michael Baker (yuk) this morning, I doubt it.
        
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        March 11, 2026 9:45am
      - Notsofast
        
        4000 elderly died quickly in Sweden remember.
        That is a reasonable price to pay I am sure everyone on Kiwiblog agrees whole heartedly.
        
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        March 11, 2026 9:50am
      - Bobba Fret
        
        Sweden did not have a border around them ie. the ocean which helped NZ
        
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        March 11, 2026 10:31am
      - kowtow
        
        No Sweden didn’t do nuffink.
        
        The difference was Swe stuck largely to its epidemic plan ( one of the few , if any countries to do so) .
        
        The lurg did get into old folks homes and did knock off relatively quite a few , but as their health minister said at the time, and I paraphrase ; in Sweden we like to keep oldies in the community , and if you are in one of those homes , you’re pretty well fucked already and not long for this world .
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:11am
      - grumpy
        
        India did well, less than half our rate – but they dished out Ivermectin and Zinc. Meanwhile, NZ doctors who prescribed Ivermectin are being censured by the insane Medical Council.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:26am
      - Phronesis
        
        These deaths per million people numbers are completely meaningless on their own. Firstly, they mostly reflect the age distribution of the population. If you have more old people, then more old people died per million. Secondly they don’t cover a long enough period. If the people who died were going to die in the next couple of years anyway then that’s much less interesting.
        
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        March 11, 2026 12:24pm
      - wsk12345
        
        Hang on though. We are at the end of the world and did t get the original or delta variants. That was achieved by the first lockdown. By the time of thr second one we were into the “nothing ” Omicron variant. So ofc we had less deaths.
        
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        March 11, 2026 12:35pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        @dudley
        
        Those figures are fake MSM statistics.
        
        2,793 deaths per million is 2.8 deaths per 1000
        
        2016 9.2 per 1000
        2017 9.1 per 1000
        2018 9.1 per 1000
        2019 8.6 per 1000
        2020 9.5 per 1000
        2021 8.8 per 1000
        
        Where is the jump of 2.8?
        
        And 30 of the last 40 years of stats are higher that the 9.5 in 2020.
        
        Where is the jump of 2.8?
        
        https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/swe/sweden/death-rate
        
        And 884 deaths per million: Over what time period?
        
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        March 11, 2026 12:51pm
      - Handyman
        
        Sweeden can now afford the lifesaving drugs referred to above.
        New Zealand has no money left after running up the VISA during covid. Choices were made. Consequences have arrived.
        
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        March 11, 2026 12:56pm
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        Jackrabbit, the answers to these questions are very clearly set out in Nuhaka Native’s link, where there is an informative and interactive graphic enabling comparisons of performance over time between anybody and anybody else. If you think there are more reliable, less fake data elsewhere, by all means provide a link. Otherwise, the unavoidable fact is that purely on the metric of number of deaths, New Zealand did very well through the pandemic.
        
        The problem for Jacinda’s would-be detractors here is that there simply is no similarly easily graspable, media-friendly metric that takes into account the cost per life saved, that could be used to show that other countries’ approaches were better in cost-benefit terms, particularly once you allow for confounding factors such as geographic isolation, population density etc and intangible costs such as impact on mental health and social cohesion. I very much regret to say it, I agree it’s not fair, but I think the reality is that this is just not going to work as a possible way to tarnish Jacinda’s little-deserved halo.
        
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        March 11, 2026 1:49pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        @dudley
        
        A good researcher also checks multiple sources and disclaimers.
        
        Our World in Data is only as accurate as the supplied data. Our World in Data “Covid data” is not provided by the relevant countries but by WHO. WHO are the origin of Covid Theatre, and are subservient to Big Pharma.
        
        “Due to varying protocols and challenges in the attribution of the cause of death, the number of confirmed deathsmay not accurately represent the true number of deaths caused by COVID-19.”
        
        “Johns Hopkins University has been at the forefront of collecting and reporting data on confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths since the outbreak began in 2020. However, it recently announced that it would stop updating its data on 10 March 2023.
        
        Our team at Our World in Data recognizes the importance of up-to-date data on the pandemic. We will switch our primary source to the World Health Organization (WHO), which updates its dataset weekly.
        
        To keep this data consistent over time, we will replace the entire time series with WHO data on 8 March 2023.“
        
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        March 11, 2026 3:37pm
      - JackRabbit
        
        @dudley
        
        Downloading the source data shows 2331
        accumulated Covid deaths at the end of 2022.
        
        New Zealand own data from the same site, shows
        excess accumulated deaths 2021-2022 at 9191. What was the cause of the extra 6868 deaths?
        
        In 2023 and 2024 WHO claims 2180 people died in NZ from Covid. None in 2025 or 2026.
        
        Covid was over by 2022.
        
        Excess deaths in 2023 were 4184.
        
        And WHO claim the data is current as of 8th February 2026.
        
        Which is ironic as a few days ago I downloaded the simple data set of NZ deaths and births, and excess deaths as above, also from the same site, and it goes no further than the end of 2023.
        
        WHO have been making up data for years to suit their masters and funders.
        
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        March 11, 2026 3:58pm
  - pb
    
    Did you see the coordinated international msm soundbite: “short term pain for long term gain” on the war. Suck it up, for the Epstein class
    
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    March 11, 2026 8:47am
  - greybeard
    
    Stuff has already consigned their article on the enquiry to a small summary, off the main page.
    And not a mention of the economic impact of the lockdowns, which is probably more important than anything to do with dodgy vaccines.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:09am
    - RoboRob
      
      To be fair, I suspect a lot of people aren’t interested in evening thinking about covid. Yes Stuff are biased. Check out RNZs coverage, nothing on the front page at all today and very little yesterday. The coverage skipped the really bad bits.
      
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      March 11, 2026 9:48am
      - Ghost
        
        People have moved on, cost of living, petrol, etc is what’s on their minds, not covid or what the govt did
        
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        March 11, 2026 10:22am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Amazing, isn’t it Ghost? The $60B on the country’s credit card has a direct impact on the cost of living (the interest bill and repayments). If people are concerned at the cost of living, this would be one factor that the media could examine.
        
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        March 11, 2026 10:41am
      - RoboRob
        
        @Ghost
        
        Agreed. Also a lot of people would prefer not to think back on Covid and the Ardern years.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:04am
      - kowtow
        
        Yeah well if people are concerned about the cost of living crisis they need look no further than the incredible spend ups over covid.
        
        Voters need to be aware of why their $ is so devalued ,and not vote for the very people who caused it.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:15am
      - Ghost
        
        Voters don’t care, nor does the govt care to tell them. The problems today most blame the current govt for. People see things stagnant or getting worse, they don’t care about the covid story any more
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:17am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        COVID is still killing people. I am having my 8th dose of the vaccine next week.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:58am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Have either of the reports mentioned the Pfizer Agreement?
    
    What does it say?
    
    Is our Government currently obliged to fulfill obligations that we are unaware of?
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:46am
  - plc
    
    Samantha Hayes grilled him on TV3 News last night //
    
    She also told him “Thanks for clearing that up” when he disputed the paucity of one of her questions.
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:48am
- NothingLeft
  
  The magic money tree provides – for those of the left who are stuck in the lifelong ‘dad will pay’ teenager mindset.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:52am
- Scooter
  
  Surely National must have some if not hopefully all knowledge where this mysterious 30bill went. If not then they are as complicit as Labour and incompetent if they didn’t try to find out. Not least to see how bad in the poo we were. Surely a new govt IE National when they came in, where given access to where all the funds etc were spent.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:09am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    See my comment above. It might take me ten hours but I could figure out where it went. ALL the budget decisions are public.
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:54am
- Master Mariner
  
  Yep, Still reading the whitewash now.
  Mean while in Victoria,
  “Victorian government settles $50 million COVID-19 quarantine lawsuit”.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXJ5ZQYm8JE
  They were concerned if it went ahead and the Vic Government lost it would set new precedents and the Can of Worms it entails.
  NZ just completed another Whitewash Royal commission where the main leaders Did not even show and give evidence.
  Total Sham.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:11am
- Albie
  
  Grumpy, Hosking asked him this morning what cameras on fishing boats had to do with the Covid spend up. Chippie responded by saying they still would have done that, but should have put it in a different budget. Another example of their ineptness and laziness.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:18am
  - Beach Haven expat
    
    That should be the real red flag to people ahead of this election. No one expected Hipkins to admit they got major parts of it wrong but for him to bareface admit that they hid other things within the Covid 19 financial umbrella that no one at the time would have thought was to do with the pandemic but it’s all fine as they would have just spent up large anyway without a mandate shows just how dishonest he is with your money. Sorry, he thinks it’s his money.
    
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    March 12, 2026 1:51am
- Ghost
  
  https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/nz-economy/covid-19-economic-response/overview-covid-19-response-and-recovery-fund-crrf
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:33am
artemisia

Yet another group asking for more taxpayer funding. Because reasons. Counsellors facing growing demand,shrinking workforce, funding pressures – industry body

What is causing the increased demand for counselling services? I looked in vain at the comments in the article from the Association of Counsellors / Te Rōpū Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa. But comments are high on fluff and even higher on give us more taxpayer money. Sounds like another black hole.

Apparently there was a Counselling Workforce Report 2025 that reported increased demand, but no mention in this article of numbers, causes, solutions, or whether current taxpayer funding is achieving successful outcomes. But a lot of ‘give us more taxpayer funding’.

The Association of Counsellors / Te Rōpū Kaiwhiriwhiri o Aotearoa would be a lot more convincing if their public wish focused less on OPM and fluff and more on achieved outcomes from existing taxpayer funding. We net taxpayers want to know.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/589204/counsellors-facing-growing-demand-shrinking-workforce-funding-pressures-industry-body
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March 11, 2026 8:13am
- Raphael
  
  I think that is the thing that ticks me off the most about what the last Labour government did and where there is still a mindset of “we track how well we do by how much money we throw at it”
  
  A sector doing poorly obviously needs more money; there is no need to show metrics of how effectively the money is being used.
  
  Does the counselling sector need more funding? Possibly, but how is that funding going to be used. how are we going to make sure it’s being used effectively. Andrew Little blew a BILLION dollars on mental health. No beds/services added (or I think it was one bed), no way to see if the money was spent on what was needed or if it was all blown on rainbow carpets etc.
  
  I am reminded when the WFP said to Elon Musk “If you give us US$6.6B, we can solve World Hunger”
  He said sure, but show me how it will be spent and that it will do what you say.
  They did show some financial, but basically it would not have done what they asked him to solve and he donated the money elsewhere.
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:28am
Hugh Jarse

Oh Look Grumpy, a squadron of pigs barrel rolling past my window !
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March 11, 2026 8:18am
- grumpy
  
  I think you are mistaken Hugh, Looks more like the Parliamentary Press Gallery en route to Chippie’s house to do a doorstep ambush asking the hard questions….just got the binoculars out and yes, it is indeed a squadron of pigs. Hard to tell the difference from a distance.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:54am
  - Paulus
    
    That’s a laugh the Parliamentary Press Gallery en route to do a doorstep ambush of little Chippy –
    Really it is for their Hot Cross buns so they can make up a story.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:18pm
david in Aus

The oil price down to US $80, that is market manipulation. “TREASURY EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE MEASURE AS SOON AS THURSDAY TO COMBAT RISING ENERGY PRICES THAT INCLUDES USING OIL FUTURES MARKET – SENIOR WHITE HOUSE OFFICAL”

In addition, the Trump administration is so focussed on the markets that they are releasing false information to influence the markets.

The oil crisis is over once the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal.

This is short-termism at its worst. Higher prices are needed to ration resources.
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March 11, 2026 8:21am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “Higher prices are needed to ration resources”
  
  Well it depends on how much of a problem arises.
  Yes, 27% of the world’s oil travels through SoH, but give it a week or so before panicking.
  
  You really have to look at US politics through US eyes. Your view is irrelevant (unless you are a US voter). Americans see anything on the other side of the world as largely irrelevant to them.
  
  The USA is largely self sufficient for oil but there are still secondary impacts (eg. imports from countries reliant on SoH oil). So while they won’t see queues at the petrol pumps, they will still potentially see some price rises.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:56am
  - david in Aus
    
    When you artificially suppress the price, eventually the prices will go even higher.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:03am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      That is true if you run out of capacity to ride it out.
      
      It is really no different to any other stimulation of resources – be those critical stored resources or money.
      
      If you use your credit card as cash supply to cover a few days of spending – fine, but if you run up massive debt then it just makes things worse.
      
      The oil reserves are there to protect against both short term shocks as well as providing longer term emergency supplies. It makes no sense to not use them if you have them.
      
      Of course if the situation drags on and the need to serve the emergency role looks stronger then it will make sense to cut back on usage to stretch the emergency supplies. But only then.
      
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      March 11, 2026 12:06pm
      - david in Aus
        
        What is the capacity to ride it out? Very limited. The US strategic petroleum reserve is only half full, what incompetence not to fill before a war in the Middle East. Which gives you the sense of the extent of hubris.
        
        The maximum flow rate from the reserves is 1.2 million barrells per day (from historical data). The loss per day from the Strait of Hormuz is 10-15 million barrels per day.
        
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        March 11, 2026 9:57pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  The IEA Treaty that NZ is a signatory to says we should hold a minimum of 90 days fuel stock. Instead we hold 28 days. Now the Government will argue that if a conflict like Iran last longer than 90 days it doesnt matter. But thats bullshit. Holding 90 days instead of 28 days is insurance against price spikes like we are experiencing now. Sadly most politicians and civil servants are too young to remember 1973/74 and 1979/80. Service stations only open Mon/Fri 8am to 5pm and carless days which the wealthy avoided by buying a cheap car for their carless day. I hope we dont get to that but there is no guarantee. Until the SOH are open and clear we are at risk.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:02am
  - Master Mariner
    
    On a side note, NZ gets 30% of its fertiliser through the SOH as do a lot of other countries.
    Currently there is a ship on fire in the SOH trying to run the gauntlet.
    Meanwhile Chinese ships are / will be running through soon’ish.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:41am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    I actually think it would be a Good Thing if we ran out of fuel for a short period. Not the whole 1970s thing, but maybe no week end fuel for a couple of week ends and some inconvenience – enough to get the message through.
    
    People have just got too used to “she’ll be right” and have become complacent. The only way we’ll ever build up proper reserves etc is through feeling some pain.
    
    The flip side is that any such event would likely get exploited to push the wrong agenda – eg EVs.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:49am
    - Master Mariner
      
      Exactly,
      “I actually think it would be a Good Thing if we ran out of fuel for a short period.”
      Such is the education through 3 generations where Food comes from the supermarket, Power from the Socket and fuel from the Servo mentality.
      Declare Greenpeace, a Terrorist organisation and it will be complete.
      Honestly who votes for the Greens actually has a Garden to grow vegetables ?
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:15pm
    - Hard Cheese
      
      Why are EV’s the wrong agenda? In a few weeks with carless weekends they’ll be driving past waving out the window and laughing at everyone else. Looking at petrol prices, they probably already are. Isn’t being insulated from petrol prices a good thing, regardless of your views on climate change?
      
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      March 11, 2026 2:15pm
  - David Garrett
    
    lastman: Re the previous oil shocks…you are quite right; gas cost 47 cents a gallon when I got my licence in 1973. From memory it was double that within a year.
    
    Carless days were indeed a rort – even my very law abiding father got around it by obtaining a sticker for another day. I’m not sure even “the wealthy” got cheap second cars back then…in fact there were no cheap cars – at least not ones that started first time every time – back in 1979 when the second shock hit.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:21am
    - Master Mariner
      
      That was the reason Marsden point refinery was started.
      Geez I just wish Politicians would do an actual History lesson before applying/Swindling there way into the public purse.
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:18pm
  - Burtland
    
    “The force majeure declarations cascading across Gulf and Asian suppliers did not just mean delays to oil supplies, they void contracts, and could see fuel currently headed to New Zealand diverted to nations willing to pay more,”
    
    someone in MBIE will have understood this – or should have – and excluded stocks “on the water”
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/589195/fuel-supplies-in-nz-unless-things-change-there-ll-be-big-challenges
    
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    March 11, 2026 12:01pm
    - Master Mariner
      
      Exactly Burt, MBIE have been “captured” by incompetency and ESG crap.
      I have been harping on about this very fact since I have been here.
      NZ has “strategic” reserves in the UK FFS. Under the guise called “Tickets”.
      The fuel will be mostly used up getting here (NZ) not too mention the time it would take.
      IEA is a woke agency that has lost sight of its original mandate.
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:22pm
- mike
  
  The only question is whether Trump’s announcement was just the usual bullshit or was timed deliberately to manipulate market sentiment. If the latter, which market traders benefited?
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:06am
  - RoboRob
    
    Actually it doesn’t matter if his announcement is bullshit. The pricing and markets are based on perception, so if he can jawbone the price down, thats great. Thursday gives them another day to try and get ships flowing.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:13am
    - mike
      
      Great for those who have the tipoff and can speculate on the likely market fluctuations.
      
      6 14
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      March 11, 2026 9:50am
    - Master Mariner
      
      Ships on fire already in SOH.
      There will only be Chinese Tankers and Possibly Iranian Flagged allowed to Transit.
      It has been shut down for the forseable future.
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:24pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        Don’t worry – the Royal Navy could be soon on the way, but with modified rules. (an old satirical piece from Archives):
        The Royal Navy is proud to announce its new fleet of Type 45 destroyers.
        Having initially named the first two ships HMS Daring and HMS Dauntless, the Naming Committee has, after intensive pressure from Brussels, renamed them HMS Cautious and HMS Prudence.
        The next five ships are to be HMS Empathy, HMS Circumspect, HMS Nervous, HMS Timorous and HMS Apologist. Costing £850 million each, they comply with the very latest employment, equality, health & safety and human rights laws.
        The Royal Navy fully expects any future enemy to be jolly decent and to comply with the same high standards of behaviour. The new user-friendly crow’s nest has excellent wheelchair access.
        Live ammunition has been replaced with paintballs to reduce the risk of anyone getting hurt and to cut down on the number of compensation claims. Stress counsellors and lawyers will be on board, as will a full sympathetic industrial tribunal.
        The crew will be 50/50 men and women, and will contain the correct balance of race, gender, sexuality and disability. Sailors will only work a maximum of 37hrs per week as per Brussels Rules on Working Hours, even in wartime. All the vessels are equipped with a maternity ward, a creche and a gay disco.
        Tobacco will be banned throughout the ship, but recreational cannabis will be allowed in wardrooms and messes. The Royal Navy is eager to shed its traditional reputation for; “Rum, sodomy and the lash”; so out has gone the rum ration, replaced by sparkling water. Sodomy remains, now extended to include all ratings under 18. The lash will still be available on request.
        Saluting of officers is now considered elitist and has been replaced by “Hello Sailor”. All information on notice boards will be in 37 different languages and Braille.
        Crew members will now no longer have to ask permission to grow beards and/or moustaches. This applies equally to female crew. The MoD is inviting suggestions for a “non-specific” flag because the White Ensign may offend minorities. The Union Jack must never be seen.
        The newly re-named HMS Cautious will be commissioned shortly by Captain Hook from the Finsbury Park Mosque who will break a petrol bomb over the hull. She will gently slide into the sea as the Royal Marines Band plays “In the Navy” by the Village People. Her first deployment will be to escort boatloads of illegal immigrants to ports on England ‘s south coast.
        The Prime Minister said, “Our ships reflect the very latest in modern thinking and they will always be able to comply with any new legislation from Brussels .”
        His final words were, “Britannia waives the rules.”
        
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        March 11, 2026 4:54pm
  - Paulus
    
    Traders always make money when there is conflict around – they love it when the markets get the jitters and drop so they can buy up.
    Nothing new !
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:39am
- MCōs
  
  Right now Brent crude is $91
  https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:11am
Prince

Remember the odd case of the two women (actually three) who travelled from Auckland to Northland, then tested positive.
The Govt (Ardern andHipkins, even Peters who was not part of Govt) claimed they were prostitutes, related to a gang, dangerous and irresponsible. A police hunt was launched. The full force of Ardern’s bureaucracy and compliant media was turned towards these women.

In fact their travel had been approved, but that was never revealed at the time. Their business was legitimate.
Only Peters had the grace to apologise later.

In all 75 police staff were involved in the ‘operation’.
This was NZ in 2021 under Ardern and Hipkins.
Not Russia, not Iran, but our country just 5 years ago.
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March 11, 2026 8:23am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Power corrupts etc etc.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:47am
- Raphael
  
  But the PODIUM of TRUTH, comrade, proclaimed they were bad, therefore they were bad.
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:51am
pdm

Then there is this from Peeni Henare on the Ngapuhi Settlement.

From Stuff.

So could this include stepping in to help settle the Ngāpuhi Treaty settlement?

“Our challenge is to unify our whānau behind a particular kaupapa,” Henare said.

“Not only do you need an announcement for a good negotiator.

“Throw the money on the table, let us settle economically, then we’ll sort all the other stuff out.”

I repeat:
“Throw the money on the table, let us settle economically, then we’ll sort all the other stuff out.”

Translation:
We the elite will sort it out and make sure not a cent trickles down to the Maori worker or the Maori in the street.
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March 11, 2026 8:28am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Nga Puhi as an iwi is huge. This is not surprising. They were the ones at the blunt end of the musket wars. Unlike all other iwis, they did not experience the mass slaughter that cascaded down the North Island. As a result, in my view, they remain a case study for pre Contact Maoridom, full of fractious people with petty grievances that a smarter people would have forgotten or forgiven decades ago. Until that changes, nothing changes. Nga Puhi are their own worst enemy.
  
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  March 11, 2026 8:38am
  - alex Masterley
    
    I can only give you one uptick.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:04am
  - AitchW
    
    My impression is that Nga Puhi believe themselves to be the “staunchest” of all the iwi. As a result they refuse to accept reasonable solutions to conflict if they didn’t propose the solution, because “mana”.
    That’s a polite way of saying they’re a pack of boofheads!
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:04am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Nga Puhi consist of at least 150 hapu (sub-tribes).
    
    https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngapuhi/page-6
    
    Until they learn to work as one group, they’ll fail to benefit from a Waitangi Settlement.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:04am
    - David Garrett
      
      Maggs: Do you think they will ever get their shit together? A good friend of mine who used to comment here – Northland Wahine – despaired of her iwi (she wasn’t entirely happy with her hapu either) saying – paraphrasing her – they were a disorganized rabble constantly fighting each other. Nothing changes.
      
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      March 11, 2026 10:41am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Nope….
        
        It suits some folks in Nga Puhi to grab the goodies on offer at the moment…
        Why the heck would they want to share with another 200,000?
        
        As time goes by and more babies are born with iwi ancestry, expect to see more divisions among the Iwi that have settled.
        
        If both your immediate ancestors affiliate to one iwi, why would you want to share your goodies with a distant cuzzie who only has a gt,gt, gt gdparent from your iwi?
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:59am
    - AitchW
      
      Not a chance Maggy. They think they’re the mutts nuts, and they all think that they should speak for the tribe.
      Look at Winston Peters’ home town, Whananaki.
      2 Maori families, the Peters and the Walters. Deep seated historic animosity there, and that’s just one little coastal village!
      
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      March 11, 2026 11:46am
    - Burtland
      
      did Nga Puhi sign the treaty? – any treaty settlement will surely require them to cede sovereignty – big problem
      
      I think the government has been trying to break the deadlock by getting individual hapu to sign
      
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      March 11, 2026 12:19pm
  - Jigsaw
    
    Never Mind- Exactly right! Nga Puhi having smashed everyone else in the upper North Island around were desperate to get the Treaty signed before other tribes got enough muskets to do serious damage back to them. Long past time to just end the TOW process and just ignore them.
    
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    March 11, 2026 5:04pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “Throw the money on the table, let us settle economically”
  
  Honkey pays out another “full and final” settlement, but that needs a top up after 5 years.
  
  If we could throw the money on the table once and for all that would be great.
  
  We’ve been doing that at least as long as I have lived in NZ – coming up 34 years. I remember telling people I thought this was a good thing to get these payments over with so that we could all just move forwards on an even footing. Full and final – just do it.
  
  Skeptical NZers laughed at me. They were right. I was naive, and I was wrong.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:01am
  - imalwaysright
    
    The young woman fronting the land protest at the Fletcher’s site in Auckland, who Ardern paid off with our money, said that settlements will be generational.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:22am
    - David Garrett
      
      imalways: Yes…apparently it is Maori custom – whatever that means these days – that no generation can bind a future generation. Combine that with the four or five “full and final settlements” and it’s obvious we’ll be paying out as a country forever.
      
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      March 11, 2026 10:43am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        “no generation can bind a future generation”
        
        But it seems that is not a two way street.
        
        A whitey born in the 2000s is still held responsible for “colonialism” and redressing some concocted wrongs from the 1800s…
        
        That even applies to my offspring and I who had no part in it or any historical connections other than a white skin.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:17am
      - imalwaysright
        
        “Maori custom …. that no generation can bind a future generation.”
        
        Alert the Waitangi Tribunal!
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:35am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        @cmm..
        
        I doubt that our recent citizens with a darker shade of pale skin give a stuffy poo about NZ’s past history.
        
        It’s the future they’re interested in.
        
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        March 11, 2026 12:05pm
  - Jigsaw
    
    cmm- It was forecast to take 10 years and cost $1 billion – so far its 50 years and counting and the cost isn’t far short of $5 billion.
    So much money and resources wasted and so many tribes having another go at the money pile.
    
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    March 11, 2026 5:07pm
- Paulus
  
  The longer they wait the more money they expect to get so do those aleady settled coming back for the fourth time.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:42am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Other gems from Peeni Henare:
  
  – “I lift my gun, I let the shots do the talking”.
  
  – Responding “Ae” when asked ““Will you repeal the gang patch law if youse come into Government?”, contradicting his party’s official position.
  
  Hipkins must be quietly relieved that the liability known as Peeni Henare is quitting national politics.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:46am
mogg

New deputy Green Party leader Rachael Millward in UK, is promoting the benefits of diversity and how ‘Britain must take more refugees who are fleeing persecution in their own countries’ these people deserve to be welcomed and given a home so they can live amongst us’.
That is now, but just four months ago when council elections were taking place in East Sussex she was fighting against 600 male asylum seekers being moved into her local area, and is on record saying “ thes people present an unacceptable level of risk to our community, our public services are already overstretched.
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March 11, 2026 8:33am
- Paulus
  
  Uusual Green Hypocrite !
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:43am
- Philview
  
  I read an article yesterday about the new Islamophobia Tsar in the UK. Somewhere in the mix I read a claim that slavery was about the subjugation of Islam and those slaves slipped off to the Americas were Muslims who were forced to deny their faith. I have never read that before and perhaps even to deny such an assertion could bring imprisonment in the UK.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:13pm
Swifty

This is interesting, Peeni Henare on Seymour. The printed transcript reads poorly, but if you watch the interview both Henare and Seymour come out quite well.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360948764/lets-hui-i-get-david-seymour-peeni-henare-relationships-regrets-ardern-and-next-steps

I admire Henare’s honesty. It would have been easy for him to bad mouth Seymour for some cheap points, but he didn’t.

I do wonder again whether Henare’s retirement leaves NZ politics worse off and it’s not clear to me why he’s leaving. Has he just had enough of the NZ Labour Party?
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March 11, 2026 8:42am
- Philview
  
  He seemed to say things during the recent by-election that were slapped down by leadership. I suspect he was telling the truth about things the public aren’t meant to know about.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:16pm
- pdm
  
  Swifty I interpret what you are asking as this.
  
  Would New Zealand be a better place if `Wee Willie’ Jackson had resigned and Peeni Henare stayed on in Parliament?
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:35pm
RoboRob

Reviewers of legislation Treaty clauses expected to report back in months
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/566635/reviewers-of-legislation-treaty-clauses-expected-to-report-back-in-months?utm_source=copilot.com

11/07/2025
‘The creation of the group has been led by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who is also the Treaty Negotiations Minister.

His office confirmed former Waitangi Tribunal member David Cochrane would chair the review group, which also includes Marama Royal, James Christmas and John Walters.

They would be “reporting back in the next few months”.’

https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/review-of-legislation-including-reference-to-the-principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi/

‘The Minister of Justice will recommend proposed amendments to Cabinet on behalf of the Ministerial Oversight Group and seek agreement to an approach for engagement with identified Māori groups and relevant stakeholders on the oversight group’s initial preferred options.’

I posted about this late last year, wondering what if any action had been taken. I was criticised by some here for being ‘impatient’ and told that I should just wait. Since it is now 11/03/2026 in an election year and we still have ZERO public announcements I wonder if this will be an election promise breach? Or will this be a political football, with an announcement made prior to the election with a ‘vote for us if you want this actually implemented’ promise?

If it is the latter I would say that is terribly cynical and not at all what voters wanted.

It may be, that with Nationals polling where it is, that they are too scared to announce this. I am terribly disappointed in Goldsmith, who took a year to choose a panel and then ran a ‘few month’ operation for at least another nine months.

I will add that Goldsmith also promised urgent changes to the media landscape to help our news media. There are many sites commenting that the urgent action has also never occurred. Then there are the BSA changes, where are those?

Goldsmith and Watts seem to have spent much of the last 2+years sitting on their hands.
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March 11, 2026 8:53am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I make no claim of being a scholar of the treaty, but surely the most important “principle” of the treaty is the one that is never talked about.
  
  The primary purpose of the treaty was to make Maori into British subjects – to have the rights and the responsibilities of Being British.
  
  Maori leaders could see the advantages of being British and wanted a slice of that. There was never any “partnership” or such.
  
  All this divisive bullshit works against that and is therefore anti-treaty. All these modern contrivances that have been used to decorate the treaty are working against the core purpose of the treaty. There is no partnership. There is no division.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:09am
  - RoboRob
    
    Totally agree. If only the activists would read the base treaty rather then other activists interpretations.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:15am
    - R
      
      If only the activists COULD read; and displayed basic comprehension skills.
      
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      March 11, 2026 11:10am
  - MCōs
    
    All residents were British Subjects from 1840, but now we ain’t
    That stopped in 1983
    Initially there were no NZ citizens until 1949, just residents
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:27am
    - MCōs
      
      At the time of the treaty, 1840, there were about about 2000 pakeha. Immigrants, transients (now known as ex-pats) and a very small number born here.
      That is nearly all New Zealanders were Maori, I suppose
      
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      March 11, 2026 9:41am
    - MCōs
      
      Prior to 1949 NZ residents used British Passports
      https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBBdbXxxj3Q/?igsh=c214dDkwcWtlbjFv
      Note the whole family of this chap travelled on the one passport, meaning his wife couldn’t go anywhere without hubby.
      
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      March 11, 2026 9:53am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        “Note the whole family of this chap travelled on the one passport, meaning his wife couldn’t go anywhere without hubby.”
        
        That’s not quite correct. Yes, a whole family could travel on just a single passport issued in the man’s name. This was mainly a paperwork saving exercise.
        
        A woman could still get her own passport if she wanted or needed to travel independently – whether she was married or not.
        
        The same applied for young children into the 1980s at least – they could travel on their parents’ passports when accompanied by their parents.
        
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        March 11, 2026 11:57am
      - Taieri
        
        The same applied for young children into the 1980s at least – they could travel on their parents’ passports when accompanied by their parents.
        ——————
        
        This was still possible in the 1990s. My then wife went to Europe in 1991 with our son included in her passport.
        
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        March 11, 2026 1:04pm
      - MCōs
        
        I’m guessing here, but I would say if a wife is already on her husband’s passport he would have needed to get a new single passport so the double one could be cancelled, if she wanted to obtain her own passport.
        If he said no, what could she do?
        Back in those days it was a very patriarchal society.
        
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        March 11, 2026 5:29pm
  - Paulus
    
    It’s all about Money remember !
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:45am
  - David Garrett
    
    cmm: Spot on. In his his 1922 paper on the meaning and effect of the treaty, Sir Apirana Ngata barely mentions Article II – the one about which we hear endless ill informed commentary today.
    
    He saw Article III as by far being the most important of the three: because it gave the Maori British citizenship, and the protection of the most powerful empire of the time. He – and the Maori who signed the treaty – well knew the value of that.
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:01am
    - MCōs
      
      Maori have never been British citizens. Some pakeha born here are by way of the parents (me, from what I understand)
      From 1840 to 1983 all NZ residents were British subjects
      
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      March 11, 2026 5:38pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    @cmm (semi-retired edition) @ 9:09AM
    
    – to have the rights and the responsibilities of Being British.
    
    That is not correct. The Treaty refers to “rights and privileges”, not responsibilities.
    
    Article Three states: “In consideration thereof Her Majesty the Queen of England [sic] extends to the Natives of New Zealand Her royal protection and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects.”
    
    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi and, for good measure, https://www.nzcpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TreatyOfWaitangiBySirApiranaNgata.pdf, page 27.
    
    (This comment is a repeat of my response to PurplePen last 1 April – see https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/04/general_debate_01_april_2025.html/comment-page-1#comment-3700824.)
    
    Why do the right-wing continue to refer to “rights and duties”, or “rights and responsibilities”, when Article III refers to “all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects” being imparted to the Natives of New Zealand?
    
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    March 11, 2026 12:22pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Really simple. In Article 1 Maori cede sovereignty to the crown. Threfore they have all the ‘duties’ set out by the crown. Thus, all the rights and duties.
      
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      March 11, 2026 5:00pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        That is essentially gibberish and utter nonsense, Rob, not to mention a gross misinterpretation of the Treaty and a contortion of the English language.
        
        Where does “Privileges” fit into your interpretation of the Treaty?
        
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        March 11, 2026 7:17pm
  - Blog-aholic
    
    You categorically do not have to be a scholar of the TOW. It is a very simple easily understood document.
    
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    March 11, 2026 1:09pm
- pdm
  
  Goldsmith and Watts – total ditherers.
  
  That is well canvassed here re Goldsmith but, just look at the way Councils throughout the country are walking all over Watts.
  
  Where is the rates capping Simon?
  Where is the rejection of Co Governance in Councils Simon?
  More and more Councils are putting unelected Maori in (so called) Honorary positions on Council Committees and then giving them voting rights and paying them – you were stopping that rort Simon.
  
  Well Simeon Brown was on track to do those things before being moved to Health with you taking over – now it is rampant.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:41pm
rouppe

The price of oil has spiked. The USA has spent $5.6B US dollars on munitions so far.

Everyone who has invested in ESG screened funds will be losing out.
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March 11, 2026 8:57am
- RoboRob
  
  Thats one of the many reasons I specifically avoid ESG funds. Had been considering various military funds before the strike but had assumed they were already peak. Ooops, hadn’t factored in Iran.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:07am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “The USA has spent $5.6B US dollars on munitions so far. ”
  
  More correctly, they have expended munitions that cost the US taxpayer that amount.
  
  They spent the money years ago. The munitions just sit there and expire if they are not used (or alternatively require expensive maintenance/refurbishment).
  
  Some munitions such as artillery shells can be stored for decades at little cost with little deterioration, but I would suspect that the stuff they are deploying at the moment has a shorter lifespan and therefore the cost of use is far lower than the cost of buying it.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:30am
  - rouppe
    
    The point being they have to replenish stocks now.
    
    Which is of interest to me because part of my investment strategy at this moment in time includes a raw unscreened ETF, so will benefit from the expenditure the USA has to make now.
    
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    March 11, 2026 3:02pm
- Fender
  
  So less than tim waltz on somalians ?
  
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  March 11, 2026 4:00pm
sungsamning

Canada is experiencing complete upheaval as Stellantis eliminates production, extracting 3000 jobs from the nation’s core. Mark Carney has erupted publicly over what he characterizes as an irresponsible, damaging strike to Canada’s economic foundation. [Trumps tariffs against Canada have had quite an impact. Stellantis want to consolidate. Ten years of Canada last governments haven’t helped either.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vSuPZ65CGo
Canada EXPLODES as Stellantis CUTS OFF Production – Carney IN SHOCK After NEW DETAILS!
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March 11, 2026 9:13am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Stellantis put cars together.
  
  They’re moving to the US.
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:52am
  - sungsamning
    
    Yes, that eliminates some of the tariff problem. And there’s one less government to deal with.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:44pm
sungsamning

Headlines about oil spikes and Hormuz chaos are a manufactured panic, driven by Lloyd’s of London pulling war-risk coverage to engineer a price rise and profit from disruption. [I say chaps. Lets set things up for a recession in the mid-terms. That’ll get rid of the Bad Orange Man what? Instead they trashed their 300 year old reputation. Didn’t see that coming.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHoJ0Nmo2I
IT’S OVER: Trump Severs The “Special Relationship” Forever.
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March 11, 2026 9:13am
- kowtow
  
  Haven’t read it but the “special relationship” has never really been that special .
  
  Asrecently as the Falkland war there was a big tussle within the US administration over who to support . Haig, Secretary of state was very pro Argentina ( being the America’s First policy ) and it was only Reagan’s personal closeness with Thatcher that prevailed .
  
  In the Suez Crisis the US totally fucked over the UK ( and Fr and Isr) Incidentally it was after that that France decided it could never rely on that “ally” again and went on its own way .( see how powerful they are now) and Britain , foolishly decided it could never undertake foreign adventurism without the US ( see how that’s worked out as the UK has turned itself into a military laughing stock.)
  
  Oh and during Britain’s Darkest Hours , standing alone with the Empire , again the US state dept still recognised Vichy as the lawful govt of France.
  
  And at the end of WWII , the Great FDR was prepared to pretty much cast aside old mate WSC in order to strike up a close relationship with “Uncle Joe” , a genocidaire , that’s why WSC was so glum about Yalta.
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:26pm
  - Philview
    
    Barack Obama said UK would be sent to the back of the queue if the UK voted to leave the EU. Joe Biden put pressure on countries like New Zealand to block the UK’s application to join the
    Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership unless the UK agreed to the US’s (Biden’s) terms over the Northern Ireland Protocol/Windsor Agreement.
    
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    March 11, 2026 1:43pm
  - sungsamning
    
    Yes, it has sure had its ups and downs. Ike was right to dump support for the pound in 1956. “Bad USSR, don’t monster Hungary”. Next minute, France, the UK, and Israel monster Egypt. Ike would have looked like a hypocrite if he’d done anything else.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:49pm
- Paulus
  
  Having woked there for almost 20 years including Marine Underwriting, before coming to New Zealand, please accept my comment in that you do not know what you are talking about re the War Risks Market.
  
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  March 11, 2026 2:30pm
Yvette

Covid
Jacinda Ardern: ‘Very little of what I have done has been deliberate. It’s intuitive’
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/06/jacinda-ardern-intuitive-courage-new-zealand

Whether by somewhere between ignorance and brilliance, Ardern kept the country closed until the virus happened to have changed from the strain which decimated the Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities in Los Angeles to the considerably less severe variant of Omicron.
We were lucky.
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March 11, 2026 9:15am
- imalwaysright
  
  So intuitive that she was rarely if ever in front of a camera without a pre written announcement.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:42am
- kowtow
  
  Are you being serious .
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:12pm
  - Yvette
    
    Are you being serious? Yes …
    
    Read what is written:
    “Whether by somewhere between ignorance and brilliance” – gives Ardern the benefit of the doubt.
    “Ardern kept the country closed until the virus happened to have changed from the strain which decimated the Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities in Los Angeles to the considerably less severe variant of Omicron.” – we did not face the worst strains that struck the elderly in France and Italy and would have slaughtered many Maori and Pacific elders.
    
    Labs took over 52 days to do the first 1000 covid tests.
    Ardern and Hipkins were so bloody slow that to say “hard and fast” was an utter lie.
    And while David Clarke was retained “because his departure would have been too much of a shock to the Health ministry”, Ardern unleashed Andrew Little to start the Health restructure to give Maori the Health Authority.
    Ardern at great expense sought out every last Maori to offer the Hobson’s Choice of vaccination to, in places Covid would never have found them.
    Ardern’s Midas touch turned everything to lead.
    
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    March 11, 2026 1:11pm
    - lifesgood
      
      I would never give that charlatan the benefit of the doubt.
      
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      March 11, 2026 2:31pm
- Yvette
  
  OK – I obviously have not expressed myself in adequate English.
  I meant “She was lucky!”
  
  Instead of inter-generational family elders dropping dead as they did in France, Italy and among Pacifica Los Angelians, we didn’t really face covid until the much milder Omicron (which still put me in hospital).
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:31pm
  - Philview
    
    Jacinda had a benign media and didn’t have to worry about being held to account with tough questions. Other leaders had to concern themselves with the economic consequences of their decisions on a post pandemic world. I do agree that in such a scenario there are few right decisions.
    
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    March 11, 2026 1:53pm
DimChappie

Muriel Newman has defended the writer who uses the pseudonym Peter Bassett, saying he is “a new author with a background that more than adequately equips him to comment on the media and public institutions.’’

https://www.nzcpr.com/analysing-a-crisis/

Bassett’s name was on a widely quoted Febrary 9 article which falsely implied the Wellington council had rejected heavy investment in its sewerage system (known as Option 3) in favour of cycleways at a meeting.
Sorry, the two issues were not decided at the same May 27, 2021 meeting (I checked the minutes) and Option 3 was rejected because it was considered too ambitious at the time. Of course, a dollar spent on cycleways is not available for other infrastructure but Bassett’s article was wrong.
It is a shame Muriel has doubled down rather than issue a correction.
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March 11, 2026 9:30am
- Burtland
  
  so sewerage control was considered too ambitious by the council
  
  wellingtons bad luck continues
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:47pm
Gary Benner

So the whitewash of the handling of the supposed pandemic has been published, and now hands are rubbed, and the politicians can all move on, confident that the process (and a wimpish media) will protect them as we move forward to the election.

But the fact remains, is that we do not know what will happen should another such “emergency” arise again. Certainly there is concern that Big Pharma, ably assisted by political “$supporters” and the Gates controlled World Health Organisation can now issue at any time a requirement that we all comply to get injected with their latest “invention”, protected by laws that prevent them ever being sued.

Sadly we do not live in a free society anymore. In the last few weeks doctors who dared to speak up and present an alternative view have been put before a “medical” body worthy of the Spanish Inquisition. All of course managed from behind the scenes by Big Pharma. Doctors sadly through their training at University, and the on going registration process, not to mention regular visits by the drug company representatives, are totally pharamceutically oriented. It’s heartening to see that RFK Jr has managed to get at least 40 hours dedicated to nutrition in Doctor training in the USA. Quite frankly I’d prefer 400 hrs, given the problems we see with the fast food mentality our society has adopted, and the detriment to our society health.

But back to the Royal Commission, there are few people who have the skillset to analyse what has happened here, and what really needs to happen. One of these is Guy Hatchard (appears regularly on Leighton Smith’s podcasts), and his latest post lays it our clearly.

https://hatchardreport.com/the-royal-commission-report-is-a-scientific-and-ethical-failure/

Summary courtesy of Grok:

The Royal Commission Report on New Zealand’s COVID-19 response is lambasted as a profound scientific and ethical failure for neglecting rigorous numerical analysis of evidence, dismissing vast submissions on vaccine harms, and prioritizing ideological conclusions over data-driven insights. Despite acknowledging some adverse effects, it brushes them aside without comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated health outcomes or quantifying the unprecedented scale of mRNA vaccine injuries, including deaths, cardiac issues, and neurological conditions. The report endorses coercive vaccine mandates through proposed legislation that would bypass the Bill of Rights, advocating for faster, broader vaccination in future pandemics while ignoring government errors like misleading efficacy claims, failure to halt transmission, and delayed warnings on risks such as myocarditis in youth. It excuses inaccuracies in epidemiological modeling, promotes government control over “contested” information without addressing valid early criticisms later validated by science, and offers no accountability, compensation, or retrospective scrutiny of novel genetic technologies’ long-term impacts like rising cancers, ultimately greenlighting deregulated biotechnology experimentation on the public.
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March 11, 2026 9:44am
- mike
  
  It was predictable that the crazies would be upset when the commission ignored said crazies’ reams of bullshit, sorry, ‘vast submissions’.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:55am
  - Gary Benner
    
    Mike, we all live in a paradigm we create in our lifetime, something that is the result of our various life experiences, the good and the bad, the useful and the useless, and that reflects in our compassion for other people, and the challenges they experience.
    
    I’ve watched with sadness and compassion as many thousands of people have been affected by what I believe was a rash and medically unsound campaign to inject a “novel” drug, using a deliberately false analogy to equate a gene therapy with common vaccine methodology.
    
    This has now affected two members of my family, one very young, so it is personal, and so I worry for the future where our medical profession has become so entrenched with pharmaceutical ideology, where it’s business interests have superceded any moral or ethical responsibility to society it used to have.
    
    I have worked in the medical industry at many levels, and observed how it operates. Now I’m not medically qualified, but I am in qualified in business matters, and it is obvious that we currently have the equivalent of the Iranian Mullahs in charge of the medical industry, and any “apostates”, anyone questioning the orthodoxy are punished severely. Doctors, as individuals, have lost control of their industry. For the most they now work as employees of a medical centre, with employment contracts that limit their ability to speak out. Medical Journals, Medical Societies are all financed by Pharmaceutical companies.
    
    Their paradigm has been cultured over many decades now to support just one way. The fact that RFK had to fight just to get just 40 hrs of training on nutrition – the fundamental of health – for new doctors, indicates just how bad it has become.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:15am
    - Gary Benner
      
      Seems there are many Doctors who do see the light, but are disempowered to say anything:
      
      https://x.com/wanganuiorg/status/2031251773588201700
      
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      March 11, 2026 10:53am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I doubt that folks will be so willing to follow the podium of truth in the next pandemic.
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:14am
  - Gary Benner
    
    I suspect that next time the methodoglogy will be different, as they played their hand sending the police in on Parliament grounds, on what we know was for the most a peaceful protest. So they will be aware that if they try it again, people will fight on the streets.
    
    What we need to be alert to is what devious technique they will use next time. This is why we need the likes of Guy Hatchard and the many others who understand the technologies to alert us when we are being hoodwinked.
    
    If we cannot foster alternative critical thinking, support whistelblowers, then our society is lost to the control of powers that do not have the best interests of us individuals.
    
    I hope we never ever have a “podium of truth” again, with such arrogance and lack of insight.
    
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    March 11, 2026 10:22am
    - Philview
      
      If it had been a National Government those same protestors would have been given hero status by the media.
      
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      March 11, 2026 1:07pm
  - AitchW
    
    Did neither Jacinda, nor her advisers look at the “podium of truth” label and think it might not age well?
    Did they not think that it would sound like some North Korean propaganda organ within weeks?
    The shortsightedness of the Labour government during covid is astounding.
    
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    March 11, 2026 11:52am
  - lifesgood
    
    Oh, I don’t know Maggy. There is none so blind as those who will not see. Die hard Labour voters and the women who think Jacinda had a clue, which she hasn’t, will still swallow any garbage they are told. Nevertheless I hope you are right.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:37pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘In the last few weeks doctors who dared to speak up and present an alternative view have been put before a “medical” body worthy of the Spanish Inquisition.’
  
  You are being very unfair to the Spanish Inquisition .
  
  Run largely by the Dominican order , at least an accused was allowed a representative in the body of the inquiry and to present a legal defence.Could identify enemies , had a right of appeal and could call witnesses.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:22am
Nūhaka Native

I hope the media and our politicians dig into this revelation from the Covid enquiry. Maybe because I have teenage children who were vaccinated, as I was myself.

“He said Labour’s health minister Ayesha Verrall should have done more to question the Health Ministry around the advice it had about vaccine risks for 12-17 year olds.

The ministry was advised against applying a two-dose vaccine mandate to them due to myocarditis risks but that mandate carried on.

He called on Hipkins and Verrall to explain. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/589155/covid-19-response-inquiry-finds-government-s-response-effective-but-late-poorly-communicated#:~:text=He%20said%20Labour%27s%20health
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March 11, 2026 10:15am
- grumpy
  
  My grandson developed Myocarditis together with the “ Covid rash”. The GP told him they were getting a lot of cases but were not allowed to report them by MoH.
  Has anyone else had this experience?
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:01am
  - lifesgood
    
    A close friend developed myocarditis and the specialist he saw told him that he was seeing an unusually large number of cases since covid vaccinations.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:39pm
- wsk12345
  
  I knew about it at the time they recommended vax to teenagers. You frankly should have informed yourself – the info was readily available.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:43pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Do you belong to one of NZ’s five voter tribes?

McLauchlan’s five tribes are: Educated Progressives, the Precarious Left, Middle New Zealand, the Establishment Right, and Alienated Conservatives.

https://www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-briefing-the-five-voter
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March 11, 2026 10:28am
- HalfFull
  
  Two tribes want your taxes so they will better off vs two tribes who ‘create taxes’ want it spent responsibly.
  
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  March 11, 2026 10:53am
- Libertarians are right
  
  Not even remotely.
  “Libertarian” Right who has zero trust in Government.
  
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  March 11, 2026 11:53am
- greybeard
  
  What a brilliant article: thanks Maggy.
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:00pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Ironic that we have voter tribes, yet if you offered any NZ politician a seat in Government, on the proviso that they adopt their opposition’s policies, I guarantee that 99% of them would take it.
  
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  March 11, 2026 12:20pm
David Garrett

imalways: Yes…apparently it is Maori custom – whatever that means these days – that no generation can bind a future generation. Combine that with the four or five “full and final settlements” and it’s obvious we’ll be paying out as a country forever.
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March 11, 2026 10:43am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  No generation being able to bind a future generation sounds like great news, given that everyone who signed the treaty is dead.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:44pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Exactly
    
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    March 12, 2026 8:07am
Charlotte Wells

The government said they were going to overturn the ban on live animal exports.

Exports were banned by Labour after the sinking of an animal export vessel in 2020 with the loss of 41 crew including 2 New Zealand vetinarians.

This is what the Greens had to say today; “The Greens animal welfare spokesperson Steve Abel said he was very happy the ban wasn’t being overturned “for the sake of the animals”.

No thoughts for the humans?
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March 11, 2026 10:56am
- Quail
  
  CW,
  With adverse polling the Government has yet again put the boot into those who have historically supported them.
  Promises , manifestos and principles apparently don’t matter!
  The few farmers who export livestock are a very small minority.
  So apparently they don’t need to be considered.
  This to help Government can get more ” urban green votes “.
  Good luck with that!
  This is absolutely disgusting politics.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:29pm
  - Gravelroad
    
    Yep, agree with you.
    “Urban Green voters” trump farmers and producers by a country mile with nearly all politicians, academics, unions, students and the media.
    
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    March 11, 2026 2:48pm
    - Swifty
      
      Gravel, if you read this, what’s your view on live animal exports? If it were up to you to approve or deny them, what would be your call?
      
      Cheers.
      
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      March 11, 2026 3:01pm
      - Gravelroad
        
        I am not involved with live animal exports – but not because I disapprove of it.
        I believe there are many agreed and substantial rules and regs about live exports with animal welfare as the biggest factor. Numerous investigations into the safety of this form of exporting have been done.
        Too many people with no skin in the game and who have little or no interest in animal welfare generally, voice their opinions without knowing the facts.
        That the National led government is willing to overturn an election promise to placate these voters illustrates just how feeble they are.
        Shame really. Say one thing and do another when it suits – or when there is uncomfortable push back.
        That does not inspire confidence in a government.
        
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        March 11, 2026 5:42pm
      - Quail
        
        Swifty,
        This is not GR’s or your business.,
        It is totally inappropriate for Governments to interfere in this market.
        In this case all the legal , logistics ,and animal health requirements have all been met by the exporters.
        Therefore this activity should be allowed to proceed.
        Export livestock are “owned “by vendors and purchasers.
        And all NZ enjoys the benefits and tax received!
        The activity is opposed by by people with no “ skin in the game” , who also have no regard for the fact that neither they or the Government own the livestock.
        So leave these decisions to those involved!
        
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        March 11, 2026 8:02pm
    - kowtow
      
      Act and Nats should have told Winston First , in that case no thoroughbred horses being flown in and out.
      
      Aren’t they animal “exports” too .
      
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      March 11, 2026 6:18pm
imalwaysright

Wellington ratepayers can breathe a sigh of relief.

Since it became public knowledge that his Wellington City Council planned to spend $405,000 to open a library, Andy has decided to slash the budget to only… $178,000…!

Hats off to him and his cohort for their sacrifice and for putting the ratepayers first…
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March 11, 2026 11:27am
- Quail
  
  Andrew Little will be getting a pretty nice spread from $178,000.
  
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  March 11, 2026 1:39pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  Makes me wonder if it is just an announcement to make Andrew Little look like he is saving money. It may have always been the lower amount.
  
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  March 11, 2026 3:07pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    So, since Andy saved us $227,000, the $178,000 opening more than paid for itself.
    
    The question now is what to spend the $49,000 on….
    
    Council Economics 101.
    
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    March 11, 2026 4:57pm
- Prince
  
  Would be good to see an itemise spend budget.
  
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  March 11, 2026 4:19pm
- mandk
  
  “Hats off to him …”
  
  Why?
  
  How can it be necessary to spend $178,000 to open a public building, especially one that didn’t need to be built ?
  
  Surely, it would just need the Mayor to cut a ribbon, say a few words, and invite those present to have a cup of tea and a sausage roll.
  
  Total cost: maybe $1,000.
  
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  March 11, 2026 4:30pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    It was sarcasm.
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:45pm
- AitchW
  
  Just open the doors. No fanfare, no karakia, no blessing, no kai moana and koha. Save 200k. Easy!
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:29pm
  - Ghost
    
    But this is the guy who went for a swim, in a shirt, in the ocean to show he knew how to swim, he needs publicity. Anyway, Wellington might get lucky, the naked painting of Little could be on display in the library. Another reason to never visit Wellington
    
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    March 11, 2026 9:53pm
Ian

From the ODT – “Dame Jacinda will share the stage with her former deputy prime minister Grant Robertson, who is promoting his own memoir Anything Could Happen, at this year’s Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival.
The event “Old Friends. One Stage. One Night. – Jacinda Ardern & Grant Robertson” will be hosted by radio and television broadcaster Stacey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu).” Maybe she needs to flog off a few more books she couldn’t sell at the Melbourne Writers event. It will be interesting to see how the both are received following the release of the Covid inquiry. Hoskin’s Mike’s Minute this morning noted under his Covid inquiry dissection had this to say – “14) The fact Ardern can’t live in the country tells you very clearly how badly the tide turned.”
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March 11, 2026 1:33pm
- AitchW
  
  I fear this event will not end well. Regardless of the fact that the best outcome would be for no one to turn up I suspect a significant number of people unhappy with the two friends will be in attendance and the result will be a deafening cacophony of jeering and abuse.
  
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  March 11, 2026 9:28pm
KKNZ2025

Mrs Turner:
“From the moment that he started building a plywood boat in our driveway, I think there was some scepticism initially that he would be able to sail around the world,”

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/589264/south-australian-dan-turner-completes-dream-of-sailing-around-the-world-in-homemade-boat
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March 11, 2026 1:42pm
Inandout

Tousi TV claims the new top relacement Mojtaba Khamenei in Iran is in a coma and doesn’t actually know he has been appointed. If this is correct then perhaps the regime is on the way out.
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March 11, 2026 1:46pm
- sungsamning
  
  By this time next week, it could be down to a choice between the janitor, and the cook.
  
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  March 11, 2026 3:03pm
- Notsofast
  
  Babylon Bee weighs in:
  
  “the Iranian regime issued a statement warning the U.S. that it had a huge stockpile of supreme leaders.”
  
  https://babylonbee.com/news/iran-warns-us-it-has-huge-stockpile-of-supreme-leaders
  
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  March 11, 2026 4:18pm
Gravelroad

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360949675/auckland-teacher-struck-filming-explicit-videos-school-grounds
Does anyone think we should feel sorry for this woman because she allegedly suffered from
“Extreme anxiety”.
Am over these perverts who expect special treatment for so called mental health issues.
She filmed herself pissing on school kids’ clothes and uploaded it on to porn sites – for which I assume she was paid money.
No. “mental health” does not entitle or excuse anyone doing that.
She was their teacher.
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March 11, 2026 2:15pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  FFS!!!!
  
  Imagine if she had been the teacher of one of your kids/gdkids.
  
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  March 11, 2026 3:08pm
- Swifty
  
  Good grief.
  
  One shouldn’t generalise, but the teaching ‘profession’ has slipped greatly over the last few decades in my judgement.
  
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  March 11, 2026 3:13pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  There seems to be an alarming number of female teachers who do these weird things.
  
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  March 11, 2026 5:44pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Be fair, Nicola. There are so few male teachers, in primary at any rate, that you probably couldn’t come up with a statistically meaningful analysis.
    
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    March 11, 2026 7:45pm
- imalwaysright
  
  No police charges?
  
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  March 11, 2026 6:30pm
- David Garrett
  
  …And she is now a “Womens’ health coach”…whatever that might mean…
  
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  March 11, 2026 7:33pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  You couldn’t make it up
  
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  March 11, 2026 7:49pm
Swifty

This is not just a shambles, this is Tamihere et al giving a massive middle finger to their own TPM constitution and rules – and then being caught out.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AcM5QQMRJ

God help us if Hipkins gives them any real power.
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March 11, 2026 2:59pm
- Prince
  
  Willie Jackson is now shadow minister for…
  “Māori development, Māori-Crown relations (new), associate health (Māori) (new)”
  Imagine how much he and Tamihere can soak out of Hipkins and Edmonds for his mates.
  
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  March 11, 2026 4:24pm
Jack5

Heinz Wattie is to close three manufacturing plants in Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

Sell your industry overseas, and it will likely eventually disappear from the country.

Wattie’s was a beacon in manufacturing in this agricultural country from the 1930s, and was sold to H.J.Heinz, of the US, for a little more than half a million dollars in 1992.

The Christchurch plant being closed focuses on frozen vegetables. I wonder if it has been the contract processor for some other brands, such as Pams.

The closure of old Wattie’s plants will hit hundreds of jobs, and what does it mean for growers?

Meanwhile ownership of the old NZ horticulture firm, Turners and Growers, has been uncertain. Its main owner, BayWa, of Germany is trying to reduce its own debt by about seven billion NZ dollars.

Turners and Growers has been involved in world-leading horticulture robotics.
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March 11, 2026 4:51pm
Nikola Donatello

Winston is using irrational fears about COVID vaccines for political gain.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360949764/nz-first-calls-select-committee-inquiry-covid-19-vaccine-injuries

Yes the vaccine can cause myocarditis in young males. Rarely and usually in a mild form. So what causes myocarditis at alarming rates? COVID.

A simple way to think of it: for young men, vaccine myocarditis risk may be on the order of a few to a few dozen cases per 100,000 second doses; COVID infection can produce myocarditis at rates tens to hundreds per 100,000 infections in similar age groups, with worse outcomes.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9467278/

Thanks Winston for feeding the conspiracy theorists. Again. Just when we thought that disinformation about the safety and effectiveness of COVID vaccines was over, good old Winston brings it back.
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March 11, 2026 5:42pm

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