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March 13, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 13 March 2026

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General Debate

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Swifty

UK Labour intends doing away with jury trials, quite out of the blue with no mandate, they didn’t campaign on it, no consultation and with little benefit analysis in support.

MP Nick Timothy lashes them for it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JnNQv-QDwf0
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March 13, 2026 8:03am
- kowtow
  
  Doing away with the death penalty and subsequent crim hugging sent a very clear message that crime was ok .
  
  It is now completely out of control , apraoching anarchic .
  
  And once again a problem created by the state is trying to be “solved” with another problem created by the state .
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:53am
  - alwyn.a
    
    “Doing away with the death penalty”.
    At one stage they had public hangings for offences like bein a pick-pocket.
    They weren’t terribly successful as a deterrent. The attracted large crowds, and other pick-pockets, who followed their trade on the people in the crowd.
    C’est la vie.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:05pm
    - Inandout
      
      alwyn, if you search the internet you will see videos of Muslim women buried in the ground up to their necks and then stoned to death. The crowds would watch unemotionally and claim this was Allah’s will.
      
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      March 13, 2026 3:39pm
- mogg
  
  That is DEI deputy PM David Lammy. He thinks that “Henry 7th followed Henry 8th”and “the Vatican is racist because it uses white smoke to indicate the new Pope has been chosen”.
  
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  March 13, 2026 2:26pm
Simon

New Zealand has the right to exist. Don’t let National Aotearoa that away.
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March 13, 2026 8:04am
- Cassandra
  
  Sadly Simon National is not the main problem. Labour has sold its soul to the taniwha. Actually to W Jackson.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:11am
  - Damocles11
    
    Tama Potaka and Kirihopa Pīata beg to differ. They say National is as enthusiastic about maorification as Labour is.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:12pm
  - Simon
    
    National are the main problem because they the govt most of time. Add it up since 1990.
    
    National wrecked NZ’s post ww2 highest living standards until 1984. This objectively what happened post WW2 until 1984. National drove NZ into the ground.
    
    National picked up things during the 1990s. History repeats. Parliament is sovereign, its down to National.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:20pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Simon in reality didn’t NZ fail to see the signs that “living off the sheep’s back’ had long ended and debt and decrepitude was piling up? Things got so bad that LABOUR had to resort to dire measures to stop the country going bankrupt.
      
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      March 13, 2026 7:58pm
Cassandra

Brian Cartnell is an immigrant from the USA who lives in Queenstown. He has donated more than $1 million to a range of organisations including Starship Children’s Hospital, Cure Kids, St John and NZSAS Regiment Trust.

He has also donated $200,000 to each Coalition party and $100,00 to Opportunity. He said the current coalition parties represent “the best available chance of navigating” a period of significant economic, technological, and geopolitical change in a way that preserves New Zealand’s sovereignty, prosperity and independence.”

He is 100% correct.

He said he chose to donate equal amounts to National, Act and NZ First last year as none of the three represents his thinking, but he believed the three parties complemented each other.

The donation to Opportunity was made because he feels healthy democracies need parties willing to put forward ideas major parties won’t.

“New ideas enter the political process from the edges, and parties like Opportunity play an important role in making sure that process doesn’t stagnate.”
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March 13, 2026 8:11am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Our grocery bill for a family of 5 with only one rural supermarket option even without buying meat is $600 a week.
  The donor is obviously a man of principle but he lives in a different universe to most of New Zealand.
  I sincerely hope the Nats and co realise their donors are not representative of the voting public, even when I agree with them.
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:19am
  - pdm
    
    So you do not like philanthropy kcc?
    
    New Zealand is a country that has always needed more wealth so now is no different that what it was 50 years ago.
    
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    March 13, 2026 9:52am
    - Paulus
      
      I believe from what I know and hear, that New Zealand in terms of Philanthropy, is very well in the per capita giving lists.
      But it is kept away from the media, and therefore the Labour Party.
      
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      March 13, 2026 10:25am
  - Cassandra
    
    Keep: what is your point? My knowledge of National, over 70 + years of political campaigning, (not only with National, I am a Rogernome) is that it is well aware of the struggles of ordinary Kiwis. I must say you must have a big household. Do you have a vegetable garden?
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:17am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      Yep but don’t get much time to garden.
      Twin incomes , busy generating tax income for the Auckland rail link, cycle lanes and Queenstown roundabouts so still none spare for political donations.
      My point is rich people donating to political parties (not philanthropy ) is a fairytale to kiwis.
      I’d be in favor of removing all political donations, the wealthy get more democracy than the majority – look at Nats and the trucking industry or NZ first and the fushing industry. Joe blogs doesn’t have spare to give the pollies money (low wage economy, Chur) and get the laws made for them. It’s corrupt.
      
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      March 13, 2026 10:40am
  - Gary Benner
    
    And so a missing $30 BILLION does not worry you?
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:22am
    - kowtow
      
      And if we hadn’t locked down , which we shouldn’t have, ‘we’ wouldn’t have blown the better part of the other 30 bil!
      
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      March 13, 2026 11:31am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Imagine if we now had $60 billion worth of coal mines, refineries, geothermal, roads, bridges, sewage plants….
        
        Now we have none of those, but we do have the obligation to pay back the money that was squandered instead.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:18pm
- Tom Barker
  
  Brian Cartmell the pornographer, you mean? That Brian Cartmell?
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:54am
  - Don Beckett
    
    Got a reference for your smear ?
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:17am
    - MCōs
      
      Where there’s smoke there’s fire
      https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/master-of-his-domain/
      
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      March 13, 2026 2:00pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  Some random thoughts.
  I wonder if the Government are printing carless days stickers.
  When will the Iranians activate their sleeper cells including in NZ to carry out terrorist attacks.
  Will the US get the SoH open before NZ runs out of fuel stocks.
  Will the conflict damage the economy and seal the fate of the Coalition at the elections.
  Will The Donald keep going to wipe out the regime or will he declare victory and let the current regime regroup and rebuild.
  Will we see the regime get a nuke and wipe Israel off the map.
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:31am
  - Paulus
    
    In the last Carless days the number of cars in New Zealand was but a fraction of what it is now, and as many houses have m0re than one car, if not more, the exercise would be much more difficult.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:28am
    - Tempist
      
      We also don’t have price controls on petrol, so the market will drive rationing, not the dead hand of regulation
      
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      March 13, 2026 11:40am
    - Stu2
      
      Yep, vehicles per capita are way up since we moved to used imports
      
      And as a side effect, the fleet lasts longer too. Better rust proofing
      
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      March 13, 2026 2:36pm
  - lastmanstanding
    
    Down tickers will look pretty stupid if my comments prove to be correct.
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:42am
    - alwyn.a
      
      When we had carless days in the 70’s my wife and I had only one car. On our first carless day we had to walk to the bus stop in the rain. It was about 1 km from home and by the time we got their we were soaked and remained in that state all day.
      At work there was a notice about the company selling some surplus cars. These would be sold, at a discount, to staff members who wanted them. By the time I went home I had bid for one, which I got a couple of days later and we have had two cars ever since. So much for saving fuel.
      This was also a time when our genius PM, the Right Honorable Rob Muldoon insisted that, to show their sacrifice, all Government owned pool vehicles had to have a carless day between Monday and Friday. The effect of that? The departments had to have 25% more vehicles than they needed in order that 20% could remain idle on any given weekday.
      
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      March 13, 2026 12:19pm
      - greybeard
        
        So you had enough money to buy a second car but not enough to buy raincoats and umbrellas ? Nice story.
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:15pm
- Simon
  
  lol in Queenstown. He should live in the real NZ Wairoa.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:08am
artemisia

Household income and assets are too high for welfare payments if there are no children. Paul and Emma-Jean are certainly unhappy that taxpayers are not handing them money in their time of ‘need’. Paul’s household has savings from the time they were a two income household, Usually called a buffer, well done them, there to be used when a buffer is needed. Sounds like now.

Emma-Jean’s household has only small savings so not much of a buffer though TBF she does explain why not and shows estimable concern for the impacts of her reduced spending on on others

When Kelly was working, she ate and drank at Wellington’s cafes and restaurants, went to plays and gigs, supported local journalism through subscriptions, bought New Zealand books at Unity Books and shopped for gifts, supplies, clothes and accessories in town. “I can do none of those things anymore, impacting on other people’s income too.”

Well fancy that. Grown up qualified people with years of employment income behind them make decisions without taking into account the unexpected. Though these days ‘expected’ is rather more likely if people take the time to read the room.

Finding it hard to summon up sympathy.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/589444/the-invisible-unemployed-too-much-for-a-benefit-not-enough-to-make-ends-meet
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March 13, 2026 8:13am
- wsk12345
  
  Well they both earn (via their partners) significantly more than I do. I not seeking work due to helping to looking after an end of life family member. Yet it never occurred to me that the state should pay me a benefit. That’s what an emergency fund and longer term savings are for. And living frugally if you need to.
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:49am
- Simon
  
  Employment at RNZ is also a form of welfare
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:10am
  - imalwaysright
    
    The whole of the Public Service, in all its guises, is the equivalent of the posh dole.
    
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    March 13, 2026 2:24pm
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      You are not wrong there, a walk through most government head offices in Wellington will make you wonder how the people there can move from desk to desk without support.
      
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      March 13, 2026 9:45pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

“On Tuesday, the New Zealand Army Chief, Major General Rose King, paid tribute to Katipa-Maikuku in a Facebook post, saying he was a “talented soldier””

It is a good thing to put in a kind word for a young man who died so young, but calling this guy a “talented soldier” is somewhat stretching it.

After 5 years he’s still just an acting Lance Corporal. Lance Corporal is the lowest rank in the Army. Acting L/Cpl means he wasn’t even that yet.

An average soldier would expect to get to full corporal in about that time, so he’s not even average.

I cannot believe that it is constructive for the Chief of the Army to make statements like that.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360950416/talented-solider-dies-motorbike-crash-near-foxton
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March 13, 2026 8:19am
- Cassandra
  
  He’s dead, cmm. It isn’t his annual report, it’s his final one. Be kind!
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:25am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    You can be kind without telling porkies.
    
    Imagine you’re an up and coming soldier who really is talented and you see the Chief of the Army telling everyone that a guy who can’t make L/Cpl after 5 years is “talented”. What’s the message that sends out? It tells people that the Army is not looking for really talented people and does not know how to identify them.
    
    Giving out unwarranted praise is poor for morale.
    
    There are many nice words the General could have written without the porkies. Call him “friendly” or “a good mate to his platoon” or something positive but non-committal.
    
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    March 13, 2026 8:36am
    - David Garrett
      
      cmm: I agree…but we live in an age where almost anyone who dies unexpectedly-especially if they are young – is the most amazing person, loved and respected by all, and particularly kind to animals and old people
      
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      March 13, 2026 8:52am
      - Damocles11
        
        Maybe we should just respect the dead David, particularly someone who served his country and has zero control over what others say about him. It’s not like he intended via his death to be central to this grubby little debate.
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:00am
      - pdm
        
        I agree DG.
        
        Read any report about a sportsman who retires, gets injured, gets engaged or married etc etc.
        
        Aways a star.
        Never promising, average, below average or whatever.
        
        Some of these Stars are players i have never heard of and I follow or read about a lot of sports.
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:08am
      - David Garrett
        
        Damocles: How was my comment “disrespectful” of the dead? But in your comment you evince exactly the same thing I am referring to: for me, being dead doesn’t make you any more or less deserving of respect than you were when alive. A living arsehole remains an arsehole when s/he is dead.
        
        Sigh. Perhaps I need to add that I don’t mean for a moment that the late Lance Corporal was an arsehole…
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:41am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        If anything it is disrespectful of the dead to tell lies about them.
        
        Sure, the unvarnished truth can be kept for another day. We can put a bit of a gloss on things, but no benefit is had from telling porkies.
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:49am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Agree.
      Its patronising to the soldier.
      Subsequent praise from Rose will be seen in this light.
      Also noticed the young man is Maori, hopefully she isn’t patronising him because of her current push to Maorify the army.
      
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      March 13, 2026 8:56am
      - David Garrett
        
        Imalways: I think the army has been “Maorified” forever hasn’t it?
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:41am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        DG: I have never been in the NZ army, but it would seem to me that the Maorification has been kicked up a few gears in recent years (along with the promotion of women beyond what is earned through competence).
        
        There is absolutely nothing wrong with the level of Maorification during WW2 etc (well my limited understanding of what it was). Having hakas and singing songs and flags and totems is excellent for bonding units (and the men), building esprit de corps etc etc. All good – so long as it is an identity for the whole unit and all the soldiers in the unit – not just Maori.
        
        Where it somewhat starts to erode things is if mythology enters into teaching of battlefield methods or Maori are selected for their Maoriness to represent the unit etc.
        
        For example, if a unit is tasked with sending some representatives to an overseas inter-forces event, the selection is normally on the basis of performance (eg. sending those that achieved the highest marks in courses, those with the highest fitness levels, etc). This is seen as fair. It is seen as a well deserved reward.
        
        If the selection is based on “oh we better send some Maoris” then there are going to be problems. It erodes morale and you end up with competent soldiers leaving.
        
        If you want to destroy the morale in a military then treat people unfairly based on gender, race etc.
        
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        March 13, 2026 10:02am
    - Damocles11
      
      So talent is all about climbing the ladder? I think you are applying the logic of the corporate world when you make your damning assessment. NCO’s can be talented at the actual business of soldiering, beloved by their brothers in arms – while the officers mirror the the dog eat dog corporate middle manager weasels who have no particular talents other than brown-nosing, bare-faced lying to their staff, and screwing people out of payrises on behalf of those at the top. And none of those are ‘talents’ I particularly respect – quite the opposite in fact. Integrity and doing a decent days work seem to be lost virtues in this increasingly abysmal modern world.
      
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      March 13, 2026 8:57am
      - Paulus
        
        Being a Teacher in New Zealand do you not get a promotion every year through a fixed autopay rise.
        The longer you are there promotion is autoimatic I understand.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:52pm
  - kowtow
    
    His beef isn’t with the individual concerned but with the officer and her hyperbole.
    
    I’d add to that the very poor and indeed agenda driven journalism ie
    
    ‘Enlisting with Ngāti Tūmatauenga in February 2021’
    
    What is that ?
    
    And as so often with motor accident descriptions , it seems the fault was entirely with the machine for some inexplicable reason known only to the journo
    
    ‘ when his motorbike crashed’.
    
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    March 13, 2026 8:44am
- Scott
  
  “Talented soldier” is surely an ok thing to say? Maybe he was a very good shot? Maybe he was very fit and completed the combat courses in good time? I don’t think it is a wrong thing for the boss to say especially when someone has just died.
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:33am
- Paulus
  
  But he was Maori, and that is the most important thing in the Army and as we know Maj Gen Rose King’s husband as a Lt Col is a leader in the Army Maori Movement.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:31am
  - Damocles11
    
    Ok, but the beef seemed to with him being labelled as talented. But anyway.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:14pm
CJames

Are there any impartial, unbiased sources for reporting the Iran conflict? The rightwing media say all going swimmingly, while the leftwing ones seem to swap between it’s not working and the bombing is causing civilian disaster. It is almost as there are parallel universes and they are reporting different conflicts. And they wonder why no-one trusts media. People choose their media to confirm their biases.
I prefer the updates put out by Institute for Study of War with latest update here https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-update-evening-special-report-march-11-2026/
They seem to be dispassionate and actually back up their assessments with references
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March 13, 2026 8:21am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  It is often a challenge trying to assess how a war is going because different people have different goals/objectives and thus “winning” means different things for different people.
  
  Of course if your only goal is to say “Trump Good” or “Trump Bad” then you don’t even have to look at objectives.
  
  It is entirely possible for both sides to achieve their objectives and claim they “won” the war.
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:28am
- Scott
  
  CJames – it does appear to be difficult in our current media environment. I will put up my hand and say that Fox News is reliable on matters of fact whereas mainstream news outlets generally have a bad case of TDS and just cannot support anything the bad Orange Man is doing.
  
  Given however that the USA and Israel now have unchallenged air superiority over Iran then how long can Iran last? When the air forces can bomb targets at will I suspect the Ayatollahs days are numbered?
  
  Scott predicts a win for Israel and a win for Trump.
  
  [Mod – unnecessary]
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:41am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    Unchallenged air superiority is air supremecy.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:04am
  - Taieri
    
    TDS
    ————–
    
    Does it stand for Trump Deification Syndrome…?
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:28am
    - Scott
      
      Taieri – no it stands for hating Trump as an organising principle through which everything is viewed. It’s sad and it seems incurable.
      But let’s remember, Trump is awesome. Best president in my lifetime. By a lot. 😎
      
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      March 13, 2026 1:08pm
      - Taieri
        
        Best president in my lifetime.
        ————–
        
        Wish I was as young as you are. Well, may be not 15 years old…
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:05pm
  - Crafty
    
    I don’t mind Fox News but let’s face it, it’s about as impartial as CNN
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:44am
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    That would be the Fox News that recently used images from a different occasion rather than show that Trump wore a blue suit, a red tie and a baseball cap, which he kept on throughout, to attend the return to the US of the first dead soldiers from the Middle East? That’s the source that you consider more reliable in matters of fact than the media that showed actual images of what actually happened there?
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:16am
    - Scott
      
      Dudley, no idea what you are talking about. Yes fox news does care about the truth because the right cares about the truth. The left only cares about the revolution. Here’s the thing. Support your own side. This country. The west. The west is winning. Venezuela has gone. Iran has nearly gone. Cuba is next. That’s a good thing. The people of all those countries can taste freedom again. Only western civilisation brings that.
      Stand up for your own side.
      
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      March 13, 2026 1:06pm
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        OK, I will explain it carefully. Trump recently attended the return home of six dead soldiers. He wore a blue suit, a red tie and a white baseball cap, which he did not once remove while the soldiers’ coffins were transferred – into Amazon delivery vans. He was also pictured apparently looking down his own trousers. This was reported on all news channels with pictures – except for Fox, which used pictures from a different occasion when Trump was more appropriately attired and the returning soldiers more appropriately treated. This is not an organisation which cares about truth.
        
        No, Trump is not on my side. He is not on anybody’s side except his own and Putin’s. He has done nothing but harm to the US, to the world economy, to the environment and to international order. He has been identified by numerous victims and witnesses as a child rapist, and by his own words as an abuser of women. You carry on licking his arse and maybe he will buy you a pair of clown shoes, but I will not stand up for any side or cause that he is associated with.
        
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        March 13, 2026 1:45pm
      - Taieri
        
        The west is winning.
        ————-
        
        Sure. That’s why the prices at gas stations are rising just about exponentially. And soon, not only at gas stations.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:07pm
      - Scott
        
        Dudley, whoo, that is a bad case of TDS. It’s a wonder it got through the mods.
        “Trump has done untold damage to the environment?” He’s got the country moving again. Let’s try and be a bit more positive shall we? 😎
        
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        March 13, 2026 3:40pm
      - CJames
        
        Dudley Did Trump spend his time looking at his watch? I gather you complained about Biden being disrespectful too.
        I heard interviews with the families of those soldiers. They had no complaints about Trump. When it comes down to it, the families are a lot more important than onlookers or the media.
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:06pm
  - virtualmark
    
    Scott … what qualifies as a “win”?
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:37pm
    - Scott
      
      The defeat of Iran. Venezuela has gone. Cuba is next. It’s a wonderful thing. 😎
      
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      March 13, 2026 3:37pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Helen Clark apparantly.
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:22am
- JFAP
  
  Laura Tingle/Matt Doran on https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-13/iran-israel-war-daily-news-briefing-laura-tingle/106446802 are pretty good, and brief.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:26am
- Master Mariner
  
  From a shipping perspective , Try this channel.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zenHFm60xKM
  
  Shipping is Afire | Attacks off Kuwait | No Escorts, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve & the Jones Act
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:57am
- Mr Nobody NZ
  
  You might find this tool useful:
  https://www.worldmonitor.app/
  
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  March 13, 2026 11:30am
NeverMindTheBollocks

I see Fleur Fitzsimmons is calling for the Government to let public service employees work from home, due to the fuel crisis.

Never let the chance to push your barrow pass by, eh Fleur?

All the public servants I know have bikes or electric cars. Presumably, they’d still have to attend the office?
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March 13, 2026 8:31am
- wsk12345
  
  Surely they all use public transport???!!!
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:20am
  - Paulus
    
    I have three Public Servants family people in Wellington who travel daily by bus for many years, and have moved closer to thanother bus stop as well as a different house in a local close suburb.
    Only one is a 10 year junior, who also walks to work.
    
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    March 13, 2026 2:58pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Most Wellington public servants use public transport.
  
  Fortunately I work from home 4 days per week. The one day in the office is for connecting with people and meetings. Doing any work that requires concentration in the office is difficult to impossible.
  
  Back to the substantive story. I think that people are becoming hysterical. It petrol hits 4 dollars, yes that will be time for serious measures. That is a way off. The current oil price has been exceeded several times in the last 20 years.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:43am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Oil is mid 90’s today, it has been $50 more than once in the last 25 years
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:14am
peterwn

So people are rabbiting on about how the Marsden Point oil refinery should have been retained. All very well but in current circumstances it would be like a pub with no beer – it cannot operate without crude oil – much of which comes through the embattled Strait of Hormuz.
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March 13, 2026 8:39am
- CJames
  
  You are correct.
  The critical factor is storage. Whether those tanks hold crude, petrol, diesel or jet fuel isn’t important. It is how many there are and how full are they.
  
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  March 13, 2026 8:50am
  - Master Mariner
    
    Yes and No.
    Marsden Pt as you know was set up to handle Medium Sour crude from the Middle East.
    It could of been upgraded / Rebuilt to handle Light Sweet crude from Malaysia / Indonesia without any Asphalt production.
    
    Here’s NZ Herald and Channel CEO talking waffle.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjVRiXsCalE
    Fuel shortage: Should Marsden Point oil refinery have been closed down? |
    It raises far more questions, How is the Marsden Pt Solar program going along with Bio Diesel ( 2-3%) of NZ daily consumption. Pfft//
    
    NO oil reaching SE Asian refineries is NO Oil / Refined products reaching NZ.
    So the Elephant in the room is whether the Strait of Hormuz will be opening anytime soon. My answer to that is Not any time soon.
    https://gcaptain.com/iea-warns-hormuz-crisis-triggering-largest-oil-supply-disruption-in-history/
    So with this in mind, What is the strategy for NZ ( Hope and wait, Make a working group study putting windmills on Tractors // ) if this continues for over 2 months?
    SE Asian countries are starting to restrict Petroleum products for export already.
    Iranians will allow Chinese, Indian TBC?, And Iranian Ships to Transit. You can tell this by the fact they have not mined the SOH already.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:04am
    - Jack5
      
      Australia, in contrast to NZ, is spending a billion or three subsdising its two remaining refineries, which can supply a fifth of Australia’s demand.
      
      One of those refineries is owned by Ampol, which owns Z Energy in NZ.
      
      The emerging oil shortage will show whether Australia was right.
      
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      March 13, 2026 12:24pm
      - Master Mariner
        
        I think we both know the answer Jack5.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:28pm
      - GJM
        
        Z was one of the shareholders in the refinery. Ampol wanted it closed as they wanted to concentrate on their more profitable Ozzie refinery and as I understand, it was part of the deal for the Z takeover.
        
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        March 13, 2026 6:18pm
  - virtualmark
    
    The storage tanks are still there at Marsden Point. You’d need to slightly mess with the manifolds and piping runs to more efficiently pump from the ship to a finished product tank, but there’s nothing hard about that.
    
    But since that hasn’t been done I suspect the economics of using it as just a storage facility don’t stack up.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:40pm
    - Taieri
      
      You’d need to slightly mess with the manifolds and piping runs
      ————–
      
      “Slightly mess with” is not an expression I’d use.
      
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      March 13, 2026 2:12pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Previous life as a mechanical engineer working on big processing sites like the refinery, steel mills, smelter, paper mills etc.
        
        If it’s not already possible to send flows directly from the dockside receiving manifold to the end product tanks (and I suspect that was provided for) then you might need to cut some pipes and insert new pipework, valves etc. Millions of dollars, probably a few tens of millions, but not hundreds of millions. I’d guess it’s a 3-5 month job at worst including mobilisation and testing/commissioning.
        
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        March 13, 2026 3:15pm
- Paulus
  
  But 80% of the World’s Oil supplies do not come through Hormuz !
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:15am
  - peterwn
    
    But the other 20% is what is pinching. Also the percentage of NZ’s oil that comes via Hormuz would be far higher than 20%.
    
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    March 13, 2026 9:31am
    - David Garrett
      
      Peter: Do you actually know where New Zealand’s oil comes from before it is refined in Singapore? For geographical reasons I suspect all or most of it comes from the Middle East – and thus through the SOH – but there are also sources much closer to Singapore such as the South China sea.
      
      It would be good if someone who knows could inform us.
      
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      March 13, 2026 9:46am
      - MCōs
        
        48% of our fuel comes from South Korean who in turn obtain 70+% of their oil from the Middle East
        They are putting up a brave face
        https://www.twk.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1717
        Most of the rest comes from Singapore
        https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/SGP
        
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        March 13, 2026 9:56am
      - Master Mariner
        
        NZ Refined Fuel comes from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.
        80% of there Oil is sourced from the Middle East and hence through the Strait of Hormuz.
        SE Asian is at the full Brunt of this War by this shear fact alone.
        
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        March 13, 2026 10:16am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        It does not really matter exactly where the actual physical oil we use comes from.
        
        All the internationally traded oil is essentially one big bucket (ignoring factors like oil quality and travel distance). The supply and the demand is pretty well balanced.
        
        Economies such as the USA consume a lot of oil and produce a lot. In fact they are net exporters – but just – so their economy is slightly isolated from the international trade.
        
        While the oil through the SoH might be 20% of the word’s demand, it is a far higher % of the oil available on the international market because domestic supply (eg. the oil pumped in USA and consumed in USA) does not enter the market.
        
        Since the international market is really just one bucket, if there is less flowing in (from wherever) then there are shortages for everyone drinking from that shared bucket. Prices go up for everyone. Even if our oil was actually coming from Alaska or Norway or Venezuela it would not make any difference to us because we effectively just buy off the international market.
        
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        March 13, 2026 10:17am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        They states early this week that 50% of our oil comes from South Korea, and they are looking at cutting us off. Mind you we’re have a trade deal with them
        
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        March 13, 2026 11:16am
      - peterwn
        
        Sorry, I do not know, but I think your suspicion is close to the mark. The refiners would regard their crude sources as commercially sensitive like everything else in this game (eg the minerals geologist who instinctively covers his watch when someone asks him the time).
        Anyway having a working refinery at Marsden is not going to help NZ currently.
        
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        March 13, 2026 12:50pm
      - Jack5
        
        Australia has released from its emergency stockpile six days worth of petrol and five days of diesel. This is the first time it’s used the fuel reserve since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
        
        New Zealand, under its minimum stockholding scheme, says importers and bulk storage operators must hold a minimum of :
        
        – 28 days’ cover of petrol;
        – 24 days’ cover of jet fuel;
        – 21 days’ cover of diesel.
        
        Someone in Government or MBIE might tell us how this is going.
        
        https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-generation-and-markets/liquid-fuel-market/fuel-security-in-new-zealand/minimum-stockholding-obligation
        
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        March 13, 2026 4:08pm
    - Paulus
      
      From where do you get this information please !
      
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      March 13, 2026 10:33am
  - MCōs
    
    Because 20% is unavailable and other factors, no doubt, Brent Crude is now $100.87.
    Furthermore
    We get half our fuel from Korea and they are looking at freezing exports.
    Time to dust off the bicycle, mobility scooter, Electric car or hiking boots.
    
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    March 13, 2026 9:33am
- In Vino Veritas
  
  Correct Peter. Marsden was closed because NZ wasn’t producing enough oil to keep it going. And the previous Labour/Green Government made sure it never would. Secondly, the Labour Minister of Energy told Marsden it wasn’t a critical asset.
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:39am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Marsden Pt was not designed and did not process crude that was extracted in NZ. I imagine that security of supply was part of the decision.
    
    If we did produce enough oil to cover our requirements then having Marsden Pt processing it would be a strategically good decision (although the reality of fractional distillation is that we would struggle to balance the right amount of diesel vs petrol vs Jet A1). Likely there would be a cost to running it that would be a charge on drivers (over and above what importing from larger refineries would cost); and of course you can be sure that the Greens would protest anyway.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:04am
  - Master Mariner
    
    They actually came up with it being a ” Single Point of Failure”, As there reasoning.
    Could not be further from the Truth.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:24am
  - MCōs
    
    The Marsden Point Refinery only refined 2% of NZ oil. Its main purpose was to refine imported crude oil — uneconomically, which is why it closed
    Anyway it’s too late now
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/589466/nz-has-lined-up-with-maga-us-states-on-oil-former-marsden-point-boss-says
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:26am
    - In Vino Veritas
      
      That’s true MCos, since most of NZ produced oil was exported, but NZ wasn’t producing enough oil to keep it going. Next, Hipkins in that article is either being disingenuous or outright lying. My understanding is that Woods told the Board that Marsden was not a critical asset. Laughably, she changed her mind later. After the decommissioning was well under way and staff had been axed. If Woods had designated the refinery a nationally strategic asset, then it would still be refining.
      
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      March 13, 2026 11:06am
      - Paulus
        
        Hipkins lying – how dare you !
        
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        March 13, 2026 3:01pm
    - Gary Benner
      
      I can understand the economic reasons for closing Marsden Point, but there were reports of them putting concrete in the pipes to prevent it being effectively fired up again, Was this true, and if so who ordered that?
      
      Given our remoteness, I’d suggest a better use of money would be to build more storage tanks around the country to provide a bigger buffer. Shipping crude or refined petrol I presume is much the same, so using a bigger more efficient refinery makes $ense.
      
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      March 13, 2026 11:30am
      - Taieri
        
        I’d suggest a better use of money would be to build more storage tanks around the country to provide a bigger buffer
        ————–
        
        Unfortunately, the “shelf life” of petroleum products is fairly limited. Anything over 6 months old I wouldn’t put into my car.
        
        Over the course of my working life, I had to deal many times with fuel bacteria and other contaminants. Not only a big headache but also very expensive, in terms of damaged gear and the cost of fuel treatment.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:17pm
      - CJames
        
        No – they would have concreted up the pipes because they were buried and too hard to remove economically. Filling them up with concrete means they won’t have any liquid in them to create a fire or explosion risk. We do a similar thing with buried electrical cable. Cut off at ground level and spike them.
        
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        March 13, 2026 4:00pm
      - In Vino Veritas
        
        Reports? Once the refinery decommission started, there was no going back. Some pipes would have had to have been blocked because they were disconnected, and weren’t being taken down immediately. The Government of the time knew exactly what was happening. They were bog amateurs in jobs that were outside their ability to do.
        
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        March 13, 2026 5:35pm
  - virtualmark
    
    Marsden Point never refined NZ-sourced oil. (Side point: The oil from Taranaki used to go to Australia, where they had older refineries that needed the sort of light crude that Taranaki produced – I have a small bottle of Taranaki crude here, it looks a bit like sunflower oil).
    
    A key issue for Marsden Point was that it had reached a time of needing a big refurb/upgrade. There just wasn’t the business case for putting the $ into an older refinery that produces a product that’s expected to decline in use over the next 20 years.
    
    Those that think the Government should have stepped in should perhaps ask what $ they would cut from the national budget in order to free up money to subsidise Marsden Point. The Government has been running deficits since 2019.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:47pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  The media are just stoking hysteria.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:44am
  - kowtow
    
    I agree , listening to nzme radio news broadcasts there is an air of panic about the hedlines . They rae also taking a strong editorial bias against Israel/USA , again , in the manner they “present” what they purport to be the “news”.
    
    They did the same thing with covid.
    
    They do the same thing with anti coaltion coverage , as well as climate catastrophising.
    
    Is it any wonder there’s a huge
    ‘Teal’ voting contingent and children are growing up anxious .
    
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    March 13, 2026 11:38am
  - Paulus
    
    Media Stoking Hysteria – again
    never !
    
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    March 13, 2026 3:02pm
Damocles11

There’s a new (old now I guess, it has been long enough) paradigm in the last decade whereby if you dwell on many inherent contradictions and mind-boggling backflips and behaviour, and air your thoughts, you get attacked with a term that has become the modern day “blasphemer!”, or “heretic!”, or worse. It is some sort of mental reign of terror whereby people clearly fear their political bonafides will be rubbished if they do not toe the line. Otherwise I am sure we would see more serious questions and divergent opinions being raised. Discourse on this site and no doubt many, many others is poorer for this phenomenon. It seems people are losing the ability to think objectively under the weight of this mental wheel-clamp, if indeed they ever had the ability to thunk objectively at all.
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March 13, 2026 8:51am
sungsamning

This is—or rather, was—the HMNZS Manawanui, the NZ$147 million dive and hydrographic vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was captained by Commander Yvonne Gray, a British-born, trained school teacher who served in the British Navy before moving to New Zealand with her wife in 2012. By 2022, she was in command of the ill-fated Manawanui. [well, if there was a fire, I guess its out by now. DEI didn’t work well for the RNZN. It is difficult to beleive that they didn’t realize that the autopilot was still on. Didn’t anyone on board play World of Warships?]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSqjMXCNXv4
NZ Navy Commander: From “Heroic Actions” to Criminal Charges.
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March 13, 2026 8:56am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  It’s all very well court martialling a captain who wasn’t up to the job, but serious questions should be asked about the DEI loonies who appointed her. If not, then the hopeless Yvonne Gray starts to look like a convenient scapegoat.
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:37am
  - Master Mariner
    
    Indeed it is.
    It is a structural Failure at the highest levels.
    NZ armed forces and in particular the Navy is enamoured in complete ESG, DEI capture.
    What ever happened to the “Admiral ?” who stated “We own this”, Meanwhile the wreck is still on the Reef.
    You have “Owned nothing” , Meanwhile bringing NZ in the spotlight Internationaly in an unsavorary
    light.
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:30am
  - sungsamning
    
    Yes, I agree. But if they were fired, would the replacements be any less incompetent.
    
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    March 13, 2026 4:05pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  HMNZS Manawanui is described as “lost”. It’s not lost, I know exactly where it is. I have pictures and everything.
  
  What’s more interesting (from the ship’s PoV) is to contrast the high-and-mighty tone NZ took with the insurers of the Rina to retrieve their wreck vs simply handing $10m to the Samoans & sorry for the inconvenience.
  
  No doubt a future NZ PM will have to apologise under the tapa mat of shame.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:08am
  - Jack5
    
    NMTB’s … It’s not lost, I know exactly where it is …
    
    You’re pushing it there, Bollocksy.
    
    “Loss” or “lost” in relation to ships being wrecked or sunk, or other things being destroyed, has been used for centuries. It goes back to Old English, and to the language’s Germanic ancestors.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:42pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      A little gentle humour, Jack, nothing more.
      
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      March 13, 2026 7:49pm
      - Jack5
        
        Ditto …
        
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        March 13, 2026 11:37pm
sungsamning

Seventeen Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over new race-based reporting requirements for universities targeting admissions, financial aid and student performance data. [The Feds want to make sure they’re not up to their usual tricks involving ‘affirmative action’. It’d be nice to see the government here dump all the institutional racism.]

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5779021-blue-states-trump-administration-race-reporting-colleges/
Blue states sue Trump administration over new race-based reporting requirements for colleges.
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March 13, 2026 8:57am
peterwn

“Chinese shipyard rejected assurances over ferry contract, needed Crown guarantee” so proclaims a BusinessDesk headline (heavily paywalled).
Seems like their journalist is trying to make a big deal out of something which is just ordinary business.
The shipyard is being naturally cautious and wants to ensure they get paid. The two shareholding ministers gave that assurance and that would generally be regarded as sufficient. But then the shipyard does not know the lie of the land and wanted something better eg a Cabinet resolution which would effectively affirm the delegations that were exercised. No problem – if the shareholding ministers and the Finance Minister agree then Cabinet would agree to give that Crown guarantee.
Seemed to be a hidden implication that this cast aspersions on the way the new ferry contract is being handled.
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March 13, 2026 8:58am
- Quail
  
  Be interesting to know what currency the contract is in as well. NZD or USD?
  Chinese trust in the NZD. would also unlikely
  
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  March 14, 2026 9:46am
Yvette

Friday funnies?

Charges against activist Te Wehi Heketoro Ratana relating to a protest at Te Papa’s Treaty of Waitangi exhibition have been dismissed after the Crown withdrew the prosecution ahead of a scheduled jury trial.

It is understood that the defence recently disclosed a proposed statement of tikanga from Te Ururoa Flavell to the Crown.
The Crown reviewed the prosecution and held discussions with defence counsel Julia Spelman about issues likely to arise at trial.
While prosecutors said there remained sufficient evidence to proceed with both charges, the Crown Solicitor ultimately determined it was not in the public interest for the case to go before a jury.
_________

The damaged panel was later exhibited as an artwork at the Adam Art Gallery, and the protest inspired a theatre production written by Ratana.
_________

Yesterday the Crown quietly dropped the charges against the protester who spray-painted and took a grinder to a Treaty of Waitangi exhibition display inside Te Papa.

This was a political protest.

No charges.
No conviction.
No reparations.
No consequences.

But when Destiny Church people carried out their own political protest…painting over illegal rainbow crossings on public roads…the full weight of the system came down on them.

The Gisborne crossing.
The K-Road crossing.

They were charged.
Convicted.
Dragged through court.
Ordered to pay reparations.

– Brian Tamaki
_________

A prosecutor confronted with a tikanga-based case must carefully weigh broader factors. The Te Papa case exemplifies this: the Crown admitted evidence was solid, but found the special Treaty context made a jury trial inadvisable. Under the Guidelines, factors like the risk of inflaming Treaty disputes, difficulty in jury instructions, or disproportionate cost/time could tilt against prosecution. (The Guidelines do not mention election dates, but the political climate – e.g. an election year – could plausibly heighten such concerns.) In short, prosecutors have discretion to decline prosecution if a case risks becoming primarily political or traumatic, even if the offence is proven. – AI

When the defence of a protest action moves from being in the legal / criminal domain to that of political / public safety should the court trial move from jury to judge(s) only?

To just dismiss the charges is not justice and also surely becomes a political decision because the case may become political, which amounts to irony only currently bettered or trumped by some of Donald’s actions
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March 13, 2026 9:04am
- imalwaysright
  
  Now we cancel justice because it might upset the racists…
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:49am
  - Yvette
    
    No, imalwaysright, it could be more complex than that, in that where or what is the evidence or precedent that a tikanga consideration of law or a defence might upset the racists?
    Is this dismissal decision actually based on evidence or the figment of some judicial imagination.
    Fact or fiction?
    
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    March 13, 2026 9:57am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Correct.
      
      Are the judiciary saying that there is no legally permitted counterargument/defence to the as yet undefined concept of ‘tikanga’.
      
      If so, they have, unilaterally and without the direction of Parliament, decided that some of our society are no longer to be governed.
      
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      March 13, 2026 2:38pm
- peterwn
  
  Surely Crown Law could have used a lesser charge where a jury trial is not available.
  
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  March 13, 2026 12:53pm
R

Who is the unidentified business journalist, who wrote the article. There seems to be no end of nameless journalists in our media; reporting a ‘Real truth’, or an ideological truth?
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March 13, 2026 9:16am
- MCōs
  
  Which article are you referring to?
  This one
  “Chinese shipyard rejected assurances over ferry contract, needed Crown guarantee”
  was written by Thomas Manch
  His name is right under the headline, R
  
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  March 13, 2026 9:44am
Pope Punctilious II

Willy Jackson’s been strangely quiet lately. I imagine a conversation something like this has taken place:

HIPKINS: Willy, I want you to keep your mouth shut until after we’ve won the election.
JACKSON: Sure boss, I’ll toe the line if you promise He Puapua will be resurrected after we’ve won the election.
HIPKINS: OK, I promise.
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March 13, 2026 9:48am
- Yvette
  
  Perhaps, Pope Punctilious II, a conversation might more likely be –
  WILLIE: You will be aware that the moment I can, we’re resurrecting He Puapua and UNDRIP into a torrent, and as we told Jacinda any deviation from what we demand could see te Pati Maori Motuhenga (Real) made up of seven ex-Labour MPs.
  HIPKINS: OK, I promise … anything
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:19am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Yes Yvette, my comment now looks frankly naive. Unfortunately, I suspect you’re right.
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:32pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  He pua pua is still being enacted – see lately Gore council Maori consultancy for resource consent, two tier justice for the treaty vandals. Kaikoura council going in to business partnership with local Maori (their “cultural parents”) with rate payer and taxpayer money.
  I’m sorry but the anti democratic Maori activists have won. If you are non Maori you are a second class citizen.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:47am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    Sp sorry should be “cultural partners”
    
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    March 13, 2026 1:23pm
David Garrett

Yesterday, regular poster “Ghost” accused me of “making things up” when I wrote about Carmel Sepuloni using parliamentary resources to make enquiries about benefit fraud when her mother was facing benefit fraud charges involving a substantial sum – 19 separate charges as it turned out.

After Maggy W kindly located the Stuff story which I had obtained the information from – I had forgotten from whence it came – I posted this:

I said:

Ms Sepuloni used parliamentary resources – taxpayers’ money – to research what penalty her mother might face for benefit fraud

Stuff said:

Two days earlier, the Kelston MP lodged a series of written parliamentary questions with Social Development Minister Anne Tolley. They centred on benefit fraud.

Perhaps you don’t realise that written parliamentary questions are drafted by staff paid for by the taxpayer, not by Ms Sepuloni herself?

I “made up” nothing…I even got it right when I said the MSM – in this case Stuff – blew the whistle.

Have the courage to admit you were dead wrong in accusing me of “making stuff up”.

I am still waiting for an apology. Regular readers will know that when I get something wrong – as I do from time to time – I am always quick to own up to my error. “Ghost” clearly feels no such obligation.
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March 13, 2026 9:57am
- Ghost
  
  And what we know of this story was she did not know her mother was under investigation. It was common for her to ask questions on benefit fraud she was not stood down for what you claimed. You should be the last person making this up.
  
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  March 13, 2026 10:23am
  - David Garrett
    
    Ghost: Oh dear…I used to respect you as a commenter. Now I realise you are just a gutless wanker unable to admit when he is WRONG
    
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    March 13, 2026 10:47am
    - Dougal10
      
      Sometimes it takes a while for balanced commentators like yourself to reach the place many of us have been at for a long time.
      
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      March 13, 2026 11:58am
    - SoloView
      
      @ David
      You posted
      “Ms Sepuloni used parliamentary resources – taxpayers’ money – to research what penalty her mother might face for benefit fraud”
      
      You imply that the reason she asked these questions was because of charges her mother was facing.
      If Sepuloni knew of the charges do you think she is is foolish enough to ask questions like this 2 days before her mother’s arraignment?
      
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      March 13, 2026 12:54pm
      - Libertarians are right
        
        Yes. See my post below.
        
        4 0
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        March 13, 2026 2:04pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Solo : Sadly Yes…as i said here the other day I served on a Select Committee with Sepuloni…not very bright is to be too kind…
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:41pm
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Are you Chris Hipkins?
    He cannot apologise either when he gets something wrong.
    
    13 2
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    March 13, 2026 11:39am
    - pdm
      
      BF are you asking Ghost if he is Chris Hipkins?
      
      My understanding is Ghost is from Timaru or near Timaru.
      
      I am not sure Hipkins could find Timaru on a map of New Zealand.
      
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      March 13, 2026 12:32pm
  - Ghost
    
    and evidence that there was nothing to see in this story is DPF’s coverage on it
    
    https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2015/02/no_need_for_sepuloni_to_be_stood_down.html
    
    you have taken what is normal for an opposition mp to do, and spun it. you are the last person who should be doing that
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:40pm
    - Libertarians are right
      
      These are the dates of her written questions about benefit fraud (Hansard Written Questions Sepuloni Keyword = fraud):
      
      15 questions on 23/02/15 – that’s it.
      
      As you said, it’s a pretty good history of her asking questions about benefit fraud.
      
      You would have to be incredibly naive to think it’s just a coincidence.
      
      Given the type of questions (how many people committed fraud, how much money was recovered, how many people got convicted, how do you prove the fraud), she was definitely trying to find a way to help her mother.
      
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      March 13, 2026 1:41pm
      - Libertarians are right
        
        So, I had a decent look into this and Ricardo has asked about benefit fraud, but mainly in a “you’re racist/sexist for going after these people” way.
        Jacinda asked a few questions in 2011 but only really about a specific area (I assume this was due to something in the news) and Annette King asked a few times (including after replacing Sepuloni). That’s pretty much it.
        
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        March 13, 2026 2:25pm
    - David Garrett
      
      Ghost: Oh FFS stop digging…
      
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      March 13, 2026 2:43pm
k1w1

Did anyone else see the interview on TV3 news last night between Sam Hayes and [I don’t know his name] about the pay offer to the non-unionised teachers? Bloody brilliant.
10 0
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March 13, 2026 10:01am
- Dougal10
  
  My wifes principal is stalling it at board level .
  
  5 0
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  March 13, 2026 11:59am
- pjams
  
  The Primary union forgets that we don’t have a shortage of primary teachers at the moment (unlike secondary where there is a shortage of kiwi teachers for STEM and Commerce subjects in particular).
  
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  March 13, 2026 3:38pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

One of my pet grumbles about the media…. What is the point of adding stock pictures to an article that provide no value?

Woman gets bitten by another woman. Picture shown is some random woman with a bandaged arm off a stock photo website.

Also interesting to note that the judiciary are thumbing their noses at the new guidance to give no more than 40% discount.

“Judge Swaran Singh took a starting point of 20 months’ imprisonment.

The judge said that after giving Marra a discount for her guilty pleas, the new 40% credit cap only allowed for a further three months of credit, which would result in a sentence of 11 months.

However, he considered she had exceptional circumstances, which included her mental health issues, previous good character, remorse and her rehabilitation efforts, allowing him to exceed that cap.

The judge instead gave a further five months’ credit, resulting in an end sentence of nine months’ imprisonment.”

Max 40% became 55%, but who’s counting?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/woman-sentenced-for-new-plymouth-street-attack-that-involved-her-biting-the-victim-while-growling-like-a-dog/FFZGFCS7DJBGXE4WZEOPXYSAOI/
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March 13, 2026 10:25am
- David Garrett
  
  However, he considered she had exceptional circumstances…
  
  this is exactly what you get when you give Judges wiggle room on supposedly mandatory sentencing.
  
  In every single case for first or second strike murder under the old Real Three Strikes law, the judges found it would be “manifestly unjust” for the prisoner to face the penalty prescribed by the law.
  
  Now watch as the judges find “exceptional circumstances” in all or most cases to keep on giving discounts outside the supposed “cap”.
  
  Do the polis ever learn? Or do they just not really care if the laws they pass are applied as intended? Sadly I believe it is the second.
  
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  March 13, 2026 11:03am
- imalwaysright
  
  “What is the point of adding stock pictures to an article.”
  
  TV3, reporting on concert goers making there way home from a Rhythm and Vines concert a couple of months ago, played their entire coverage from the year before.
  It went on for about 8 minutes.
  
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  March 13, 2026 2:57pm
Paulus

Simple fact – Women do not like other Women and that is getting worse, as it is not what it used to be called dislike, but now serious hate.
Watch the Parliamentary gallery people daily and nightly.
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March 13, 2026 10:39am
Maggy Wassilieff

Simple fact – Women do not like other Women

Oh rubbish…..

My besties are women…
(I do like men, too)
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March 13, 2026 11:20am
- David Garrett
  
  Mags: Off topic, but thanks again for locating that Stuff story on Carmel Sepuloni and her – entirely coincidental of course – asking written parliamentary questions about benefit fraud two days before her mother was due to plead to 19 charges of benefit fraud.
  
  I am very disappointed in Ghost; until today he was on my list of “sensible commenters” – even if his comments often disagreed with mine. I have recorded my change of view of him above…
  
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  March 13, 2026 11:34am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Like you, I had some distant memory that there was a back-story to Sepuloni being stood down.
    
    I am finding it more difficult to locate NZ msm news items from a few years back…
    
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    March 13, 2026 12:37pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      The internet is shrinking, or being shrunk, or censored.
      
      After a few pages of search results you get the same results with slightly different addresses.
      
      I think you may still be able to access specific pages, but your search query has to be very specific.
      
      1 1
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      March 13, 2026 3:02pm
oldpark

At the Wellington City Council three year plan yesterday passed by Andrew Little , An amendment by Greens to restore the carbon emission reduction money,with savings coming from elsewhere.An amount of $650,000 from Council’s social and recreation budget.Which was wide-ranging including pools, playground,recreation centres and more .
Seems the 4 Greens on the council got their amendment, yet they were joined by the 8 Labour Councillors including the Mayor Andrew Little .
Not a good look for such an amendment which could affect many Rate Paying families in many ways .
Seems Mr Little has in this instance also ignored what he threatened to resolve was the $150 bus lane fines for motorists being in bus lanes greater than 50 metres .
Maybe what some people said at the time Angry Andrew Little running for Wellington’s Mayor could be a “poisoned chalice” for ratepayers if elected .
Hopefully the jury is still deliberating .So far not a good look .
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March 13, 2026 11:32am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  But but but …
  
  The Ngā Kaihoe Pūtea (what!) Revenue and Financial Value Review Working Group has identified 35 ideas to save $20m off the rates bill.
  
  Surely Stuff could not be trumpeting the savings but pass silently over additional expenses, could they?
  
  http://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360950794/planned-rates-rise-could-nearly-be-halved-wellington-council-finds-20m-savings
  
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  March 13, 2026 2:51pm
Swifty

An important communication from the Iranian Government regarding the new Supreme Leader and concerning the recent reports about his health:

https://x.com/papitrumpo/status/2032196474587484528?s=46
5 1
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March 13, 2026 12:36pm
Raphael

Don’t you just love the xenophobia of the left.

https://x.com/nettieg3/status/2032262774991306853
2 1
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March 13, 2026 3:59pm
- Swifty
  
  That woman is well known for her nastiness.
  
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  March 13, 2026 5:09pm
Quail

Cameron Luxton (ACT ) on HDPA tonight has made some really valid comments on the proposed legislation to ban Grayhound racing.
The most important one being “ what help can individual industry participants expect / get from a Government that is shutting down what was a legal industry .
Add in the radio ads and this matter is not going to go away quickly.
Neither it should!
2 0
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March 13, 2026 6:16pm

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