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March 29, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 29 March 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

Say what!

Stuff has announced that they will close their Petone print works in favour of centralising printing from Christchurch. What’s not stated in the story but clearly implied is that The Post’s print run will now be airfreighted to Wellington (along with the lower North Is mastheads currently printed in Petone).

I’m sorry? Isn’t the climate emergency central to Stuff’s ethos? Surely a little inefficiency in the print operation is a tolerable price to pay to reduce the business’s carbon footprint?

Sinead Boucher is a [Mod – deleted] HYPOCRITE.

Apologies for the language, Mods. But when a publisher uses her bully pulpit to harangue the rest of us, she needs to be called out for her greed and her double standards in the strongest possible terms.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360956583/stuff-group-consolidate-its-print-operations-christchurch
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March 29, 2026 8:01am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  I will tolerate this as long as Stuff perishes completely and shuts down.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:32am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I disagree. Domestic aviation fuel is in the ETS. All that matters is that businesses respond to those price signals. It is a capped system. If the emissions of Stuff increase, emissions elsewhere in the economy fall by an equivalent amount.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:46am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    You’re missing the point, Nicola, which is that Sinead Boucher states that climate change is undebatable in her newspapers because the science is settled, and then signs up for air freight.
    
    I also question the logic of the ETS, which is that emissions in one area counteracts those in another – “the market decides”.
    
    What we’re seeing right now is that emissions are being cut at Watties and McCains, just as they were at the sawmills and pulp plant last year. Rising energy costs are not the only and perhaps not the major cause of these shutdowns, but they are not immaterial. Ironically, the deindustrialisation of NZ help makes it affordable for Stuff to airfreight their newspapers.
    
    It’s not a good outcome for NZ, whichever way you cut it.
    
    And yes, I think we should walk from the ETS and whatever climate change agreements that our idiot governments have signed us up to.
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:27pm
- Prince
  
  Karl Du Fresne has a view on this…!
  https://karldufresne.blogspot.com/
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:47am
- imalwaysright
  
  I think most Wellingtonians now work from home in Christchurch….
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:11pm
- Jack5
  
  Don’t think Stuff owned the Petone print site. Perhaps the shutdown wasn’t Stuff’s choice.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:11pm
  - Ghost
    
    it’s owned by Troy Bowker
    
    Bowker told Media Insider last month that he would be serving Stuff the required one-year notice of termination next month, and that it would have to vacate the building by April 30 next year.
    
    Article
    
    “The termination notice under the lease is legally served on 1 April,” he said. “That’s 12 months from the date Stuff are required to exit. I have provided them notice in advance of it being served as a courtesy.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:22pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    No, but Stuff own the presses. They could have opted to relocate somewhere local, but chose not to do so.
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:16pm
    - Jack5
      
      Moving a big colour-printing newspaper press is probably like the engine of a cargo ship from to another vessel. It’s not trivial.
      
      If Stuff owns the press it would usually be up to the buyer to dismantle it and move it.
      
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      March 29, 2026 11:49pm
- In Vino Veritas
  
  NMTB, it won’t matter that printing is being done in Christchurch. Readership of printed newspapers has dropped off a cliff. It won’t be long before you will not be able to buy a printed newspaper. All will be digital. And given the state of media in New Zealand, digital will fail as well, as no one will want to read the drivel they produce. And it won’t come a moment too soon.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:32pm
- Paulus
  
  But who is paying her to keep the Stuff alive ?
  
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  March 29, 2026 2:07pm
- peterwn
  
  I thought they were using truck and ferry (unless that story is a spoof). It means they need to leave Christchurch at 3pm so they can be delivered 5am the following morning. Gives stale news a whole new meaning.
  
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  March 29, 2026 2:07pm
grumpy

Why I can’t vote for ACT and Seymour
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/scott-mcclallen/2026/03/28/canadas-healthcare-includes-patient-assisted-suicide-and-its-expanding-fast-n2673586
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March 29, 2026 8:03am
- Souvlaki
  
  Darwin , were he alive… may have offered a contrarian view….??
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:09am
  - grumpy
    
    I think Darwin would have approved of Canada. With the expansion to killing off the blind and those with mental issues things are moving to peak Darwinism. Now Seymour wants to expand in New Zealand.
    Think of the cost savings in the health budget.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:13am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Suicide for chickens. Make it someone else’s problem.
  
  “Starting in March 2027, Canada will allow anyone age 18 and older who claims a mental illness to allow the state to kill them. You don’t need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible”.
  
  Source: Grumpy’s link
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:26am
- Northshoredoc
  
  Hi Grumpy
  
  What is it about euthanasia that you are opposed to?
  
  Always interested on peoples views be they religious or otherwise.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:28am
  - peterwn
    
    They are worried about the ‘slippery slope’. That is requirements will be progressively loosened so that anyone can choose it or be coerced into choosing it.
    
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    March 29, 2026 2:11pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Give a bureaucrat a box and they’ll want to see it ticked.
      
      Its amazing how much people trust bureaucrats over their own family and friends in matters such as this.
      
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      March 29, 2026 2:53pm
- pdm
  
  I take it from that you are a `single issue’ voter grumpy.
  
  Shame because you then exclude all of the other good work that ACT and Seymour have got done in the last 2 and a bit years.
  
  I am not sure where your Party Vote could go and benefit all New Zealanders if not with ACT. Lets have a look:
  
  Party Vote National and get Co Governance.
  Party Vote NZFirst and get a Labour led rabble.
  Party Vote TOP and get the impressive Quilae Wong and better dressed Greens.
  
  I have excluded Labour, Greens and Maori Party on the basis you are a previous ACT Voter so will not go that low.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:36am
  - David Garrett
    
    pdm: Keith Holyoake once said that even he only agreed with about 80% of National Party policy back in the day.
    
    I myself with be voting ACT although I am deeply disappointed with the joke three strikes law which they supported. But then again Luxon is no John Key, and I know better than anyone the limits of power that a minor party has.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:50am
    - imalwaysright
      
      What if the Coalition campaigned as a single entity with a preagreed set of policies and preagreed leadership sharing.
      Between them they seem to cover each others shortcomings.
      I realise its not possible under MMP, just a ‘what if’ idea.
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:20am
  - grumpy
    
    As far as Seymour I am a single issue voter. A pity because I regard him and ACT as the best option for me EXCEPT for that one damn policy. In the rest of the world it is the hard left pushing killing off the inconvenient so it is strange to me that ACT is behind it in NZ.
    I could never vote for Lsbour, Greens etc and Luxon is a problem because of his perceived weakness, not delivering on his promises last time and being so easily kicked around by the media.
    Probably just leaves Winston……
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:51am
    - pdm
      
      `Probably just leaves Winston……’
      
      So you could accept and perhaps even be happy with a:
      Labour, NZFirst, Green Coalition.
      
      All because of your aversion to Euthanasia and whatever form it takes?
      
      Given Euthanasia (or assisted dying) was a Conscience Vote there will be people in probably all other parties that supported it and even voted for it.
      
      You might be stuffed for a party to vote for on that basis grumpy.
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:12am
    - rouppe
      
      You do realise that the government doesn’t initiate any euthanasia, nor does it sign off any application for same.
      
      In fact in your link was the phrase “John was killed because he was blind.” If you want to apply the term “Propaganda” to anything, that is it. Because the truth about John is available
      
      He was born with congenital cataracts and learned at a young age that he has glaucoma in both eyes.
      
      The disease eventually led to complete blindness and Charles Bonnet Syndrome, a condition where those who lose some or all of their vision have hallucinations.
      
      “Like, right now, I see really weird hallucinations, and they’re constant,” he explained. “Sometimes they get as vivid as animals and scenery. Right now it’s a lot of pink flakes in front of my eyes.”
      
      The syndrome makes it difficult to fall asleep, meaning Maloney takes sleeping pills most nights to get any rest. He also has Type II diabetes and thyroid problems. His conditions — especially the hallucinations — have made it impossible for him to work, rest or even watch TV for longer than an hour, he says.
      
      Then there’s your reference to killing the mentality I’ll. When the law requires you to be mentally competent.
      
      Spend a bit more time thinking, would be my advice.
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:25am
    - igm
      
      Winston lining up with Willie, Chloe, Waititi, Carmel . . . shows his attachment to baubles!
      
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      March 29, 2026 10:03am
      - AitchW
        
        Would Peters sign up with Labour if the Green and Maori parties were needed to make up the numbers?
        Can you imagine the cabinet meetings?
        Peters would make all the Green ministers cry and the Maori Party ones would be breaking out hakas every 5 minutes in protest.
        I’d pay to watch that!
        
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        March 29, 2026 3:21pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  You don’t even explain what your issue is. You know that this is voluntary?
  
  In my opinion, the assisted dying Act is a great achievement.
  
  Here are the obvious arguments. Others may add to them.
  
  Respect for autonomy: Competent adults should be able to choose the timing and manner of their death in the face of terminal illness.
  
  Relief of suffering: Assisted dying can end severe, unrelievable physical or psychological suffering when other treatments fail. They do fail. I have seen it.
  
  Preservation of dignity: It can prevent a prolonged dying process involving extreme dependency or loss of functions a person finds undignified.
  
  Psychological reassurance: Knowing the option exists can reduce fear and anxiety.
  
  Pluralism: I am Catholic. I will not use it. Why should the state impose my views about death and dying on others?
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:50am
  - David Garrett
    
    Niko: That Sir is an excellent comment.
    
    I too believe the assisting dying legislation is, overall, a good thing…but I am wary of its possible expansion into areas that I would not be comfortable with. I think those fears are very much justified.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:53am
    - R
      
      Possible expansion………think and reflect about the expansion of ACC from its original concept.
      The danger of creeping politicism of existing legislation
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:31am
  - grumpy
    
    As it was originally intended I found it acceptable. It is the mission creep that makes me an opponent. Euthanasia for loneliness, blindness and mental issues was never part of the deal.
    In countries where euthanasia is legal, palliative care is virtually non existent. Pressure from the health system to push assisted suicide as a cost savings measure is becoming more common. As in the link I posted, Canada is even advertising on TV.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:56am
    - wsk12345
      
      I must be missing something. Is the creep inevitable (so you blame Seymour for starting it) or is he wanting to expand into mental health etc? I had not heard that. I know it happens in Canada for PTSD, homelessness, mental health but I didn’t think anyone was proposing that expansion here? If so it would be a problem but I would expect a referendum on it.
      
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      March 29, 2026 10:01am
    - David Garrett
      
      Grumpy: In countries where euthanasia is legal, palliative care is virtually non existent
      
      Euthanasia – in the form of assisted suicide – is legal in New Zealand. There is also a well established network of hospices, most of which do not embrace assisted dying, but provide palliative care.
      
      So the terminally ill are blessed with a choice: end it on their terms if certain criteria are satisfied, or end their days in a hospice, hoping that palliative care assists them to a peaceful end. Pretty much the best situation for the terminally ill I would have thought.
      
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      March 29, 2026 10:09am
      - Sacha
        
        I was nursing in the days before hospices were introduced. Most hospital wards had ‘special’ side rooms which were used for those dying of cancers or respiratory diseases. Patients were cared for as well as possible while they still functioned without distress, but when it became apparent that life was becoming burdensome (such as still being short of breath while having 100% O2, or pain medication in increasing doses/frequency, or ‘life’ fatigue) they would be moved to a side room so that their families could be with them and support them in their end days. We had fewer drugs back then, but Morphine was thought to be the kindest drug – it relieved anxiety & gave peace of mind, but didn’t necessarily hasten the final outcome.
        As the practice of palliative care refined, hospices became the source of end-of-life care.
        
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        March 29, 2026 11:16am
      - David Garrett
        
        Sacha: As a nurse “back in the day” I would be interested in your view on what my first wife – an RN – told me was quite common for terminal patients nearing the end.
        
        A doctor would chart a dose of morphine which was clearly likely to be fatal. The nurses would “cover their arses” by checking with the doctor that he had charted 50 mg and not 5mg…i.e that no inadvertent mistake had been made before injecting the charted dose.
        
        In effect, it was euthanasia without all the checks and balances which the assiting dying legislation now imposes. Was your experience the same as my ex’s or was her hospital – I won’t say where – something of an outlier?
        
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        March 29, 2026 12:54pm
      - Ghost
        
        I had a cousin who was helped to die with an increase of morphine.
        
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        March 29, 2026 1:10pm
      - Sacha
        
        In reply to your question
        my quoted experience was during my nursing training and as an RN at a provincial public hospital during 1955-59.
        I do not recall the prescribing of morphine such as your first wife reported. What happened (in the hospital I trained at) was that the frequency of the dose was able to be increased, and when it became apparent that the patient was no longer getting any relief, it was considered respectful to the patient and their family, to then increase the dose. But by that stage the patient would likely be so sedated that even one extra dose would see them quietly ‘slip away’, and the family would be grateful for the release.
        No-one wants to see a person in dire distress whether through pain or the confusion brought about by it. At a certain point we must be honourable and respectful enough to be responsible for that person’s release from pain or distress. Indeed, I met patients who asked to be ‘released’ if they should become unable to function ‘normally’, but all I could say was that we would look after them when the time came.
        And we did.
        In later years – I retired finally in 2004 – we would approach the family explaining how we would, with their approval, approach the end of life treatment. In my experience families were grateful to be included in the final days of care, knowing that there would be no undue suffering. We were also aware of the toll that long illness with no positive outcome, takes upon family members. Some people feel unjustified guilt even thinking about wishing that their family member could die gracefully, but isn’t that what we would wish for ourselves too?
        We have the means . . . .
        Death is at the end of life, it’s not a secret. It comes to us all, and it is good that we can expect a kindly release, when the time comes.
        I worked for some decades in ICUs and there were many patients who were admitted with limited life expectancy. It always seemed respectful that until their last heartbeat, they had their own nurse at the bedside, along with any family members who chose to stay with them.
        
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        March 29, 2026 9:06pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  A couple of random thoughts and observations re Iran.
  1. Unless the military leaders agree to any deal they may keep on fighting.
  2. If Israel and US put boots on the ground it could turn into another Vietnam. Iran is a big country with its remaining troops likely well scattered.
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:23am
  - David Garrett
    
    lastman: I agree…I think the toddler in White House has dragged the world into what could potentially be as disastrous for the US as Vietnam – the difference this time is that the effects will be felt everywhere.
    
    I just watched an interesting YouTube on the subject of predicted “short wars”, beginning with WW I, which all sides predicted would be “over by Christmas”. Vietnam of course started off with a small number of American “advisors”, then escalated to a meat grinder that consumed more than 50,000 Americans over the next ten years from 1965, when they first stuck their oar into what was essentially a civil war.
    
    Putin thought – and many military analysts agreed with him – that that war would be over in a couple of weeks. Four years later it is still going, with no sign of an end.
    
    George W Bush famously proclaimed “mission accomplished” when Saddam was toppled. It took them almost nine years to escape from that tar baby.
    
    The toddler proclaimed that the war against Iran would be over in a week or two – pushing two months later it is also showing no sign of end – but rather escalating, if not actually spiralling out of control.
    
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    March 29, 2026 10:24am
    - All_on_Red
      
      ‘proclaimed that the war against Iran would be over in a week or two ‘
      No he didn’t
      ‘He said “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.”
      Trump added that the military had originally projected four weeks to “terminate the military leadership” of Iran.
      To date, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other top officials, including the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been confirmed killed in US-Israeli strikes.’
      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/2/trump-says-iran-war-projected-to-last-4-to-5-weeks-could-go-far-longer
      
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      March 29, 2026 11:40am
      - David Garrett
        
        All on: It depends on what day you are quoting Trump…he changes his mind as often as his mummy once changed his nappies.
        
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        March 29, 2026 12:56pm
      - Dudley Quaffquaff
        
        And a similar quantity of shit is involved
        
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        March 29, 2026 2:06pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        [ Mod – you already said all that ]
        
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        March 29, 2026 5:55pm
    - Ghost
      
      Looks like when Trump leaves, the next in line believes ufo’s are demons
      
      “I’m obsessed with this,” Vance said. “I’ve already had a couple of times where I’m like, all right, we’re going to Area 51, we’re going out to New Mexico. We’re going to sort of get to the bottom of this. And then the timing of the trip just didn’t work out. But trust me, anybody who’s curious about this, I’m more curious than anybody. And I’ve got three years of the very tippy top of the classification. I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
      
      He continued to explain his beliefs about UFOs and why he thinks they’re “demons.”
      
      Article
      
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      March 29, 2026 11:49am
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        Nice twist on his words.
        
        Next you will be telling me Joe Rogan believes in dragons.
        
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        March 29, 2026 12:47pm
      - Ghost
        
        no twist of the nutjobs words, but i get it, you’re a fan boy
        
        Here is what the nutjob thinks
        
        “I don’t think they’re aliens. There are weird things out there that are very difficult to explain.”
        
        “I think that celestial beings who fly around to do weird things to people. I think that the desire to describe everything celestial, as otherworldly, to describe it as aliens…”
        
        “When I hear about extra natural phenomenon, that’s where I go to: The Christian understanding that there’s a lot of good out there, but there’s also evil out there. I think that one of the devil’s great tricks is to convince people he never existed.”
        
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        March 29, 2026 2:58pm
      - Ghost
        
        for anyone that wants the video
        
        https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/2037611400223179189
        
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        March 29, 2026 1:00pm
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      “George W Bush famously proclaimed “mission accomplished” when Saddam was toppled. It took them almost nine years to escape from that tar baby.”
      
      No he didn’t.
      
      I thought you claimed some sort of qualifications in history?
      
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      March 29, 2026 12:44pm
    - David George
      
      He didn’t say over in a week or two.
      
      And “pushing two months later”?
      That’s a lot of pushing – the war started on February 28.
      With the help of the formidable Saudi military and their UAE allies and the destruction of what’s left of the regime’s leadership, navy, air force, air defense, missile and drone capability the SOH should be up and running before too much longer.
      I know it’s a hard thing to confront but, seriously, what was, or is, a realistic alternative for this war.
      
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      March 29, 2026 1:25pm
- imalwaysright
  
  The article states : “Canada will allow anyone age 18 and older who claims a mental illness to allow the state to kill them. ”
  
  Aren’t they precisely the people who should not have that right?
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:54am
- Notsofast
  
  The slippery slope:
  
  This Spanish case goes
  Parents poor
  Child removed
  Cared with immigrants
  Gang raped
  Failed suicide
  Encouraged to euthenasia.
  Friends denied access
  Killed
  Organs harvested.
  More in this summary and comments
  
  https://x.com/i/status/2037281313217274263
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:36am
- Notsofast
  
  Addendum from comments:
  
  Noelia’s lawyer drops a bombshell…
  
  “The hospital pressured for euthanasia because her organs were already committed.”
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:43am
  - grumpy
    
    Just when you think it can’t get any worse
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/canada-control-woman-back-pain-goes-hospital-is/
    
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    March 29, 2026 5:07pm
- Nobby2
  
  Grumpy,
  If you had experienced a member of your family suffering with an incurable, painful condition which led to an agonising death, perhaps you would approve of the Euthanasia Act that David Seymour finally got passed into NZ law. As far as I am aware there are adequate safeguards to prevent the euthanasia law being abused and I wished it was around when myself and my wider family needed it. If you have not experienced a situation that the euthanasia law address’s PULL YOUR HEAD IN and don’t show your ignorance, or is that arrogance, about something you have no experience of.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:55am
  - grumpy
    
    Well I have. My father under the old system. And the way the doctors handled it was faultless with the careful use of morphine I suspect.
    Did not need a legal killing regime for people who are lonely, blind, mentally impaired, rape victims or have a sore back. I don’t think they wanted his organs either.
    
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    March 29, 2026 5:10pm
- JackRabbit
  
  It’s why I didn’t vote for ACT and Seymour in 2023. Assisted dying has been hijacked. Some people are given choices:
  [1] Die a horrible death, or
  [2] take assisted dying.
  
  This was trialled en mass during Covid during 2020:
  “Granny (in a retirement home) has Covid (actually the flu), for which there is no cure, so there is no point treating her. So the choices are:
  [1] Let her die a horrid death, or
  [2] Overdose her on Midazolam. (or whatever)”
  
  Worse, much of it was done with family input.
  
  There have been plenty of whistle blower undertakers that have reported these events.
  
  Plus there is a growing and lucrative market for donor organs in Canada and world wide. Donor organs are best if taken out of a “live body”. So assisted dying “victims” make it possible to get “fresh organs”
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:27pm
  - JackRabbit
    
    Worse, much of it was done without family input.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:54pm
Pavel

Sometimes when reading this blog I read comments from people complaining about Luxon and his government; they’re underperfoming, not delivering, slow progress, bowing to moari etc etc. Here’s my question; what’s the alternative? Does anyone remember the Jacinda Ardern govt? I can’t imagine if she was still in power and all the chaos that would be going on. So no matter how bad things get I never forget how bad it could be. Give me Luxon and National over Labor anyday.
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March 29, 2026 8:13am
- R
  
  And NATIONAL without the need for a COALITION
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:17am
- David Garrett
  
  Pavel: Valid point
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:36am
  - Cassandra
    
    But much of the criticism of Luxon is that he’s not doing enough to avoid a return to Labour eg his word salad style. Repeating “We’re working incredibly hard” doesn’t cut it. And criticising co-governance yet still encouraging it is pretty dopey.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:01pm
    - David Garrett
      
      Cass: for me, the worse thing Luxon did – much worse in the bigger picture than the anaemic three strikes law they replaced the real one with – was his refusal to support Seymour’s treaty principles Bill, saying there was “nothing in it that I liked”, thus signalling to the woke that they could and should continue to add vague “principles” to that modest and fairly clear three paragraph document.
      
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      March 29, 2026 1:01pm
      - Jethrod
        
        So are you a one issue voter?
        Your post of 1136 ….. “valid point” is probably the most positive comment you have conceded for Chris Luxon! that I’ve seen from you.
        
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        March 29, 2026 1:15pm
      - Ghost
        
        National and NZ first both said prior to the election they wouldn’t support this. Luxon did exactly what he campaigned on. Act also agreed to sign a coalition agreement that it would only be supported to the first reading. Perhaps the problem is actually ACT. ACT knew a government couldn’t be formed without them, yet they agreed to take it only to the first reading.
        
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        March 29, 2026 1:18pm
      - MCōs
        
        Act also knew National was, and remains, their only path to power (unlike gun for hire Winston)
        
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        March 29, 2026 2:45pm
      - Quail
        
        DG,
        Agree ,NZ ‘s laws and benefits should be exactly the same for all taxpayers and residents.
        They should also be implemented similarly.
        Otherwise pseudo / genuine racism will, and is inevitably creating unresolvable resentment and division in this country.
        
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        March 29, 2026 9:47pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I am one of those people. I agree. Of course the current government is better than the alternative.
  
  My argument is simple. The current government will not stop New Zealand sliding out of developed country status. The country is headed towards being a declining middle income country divided by tribalism and mysticism.
  
  All the current government has done is to slow that decline.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:58am
  - imalwaysright
    
    I don’t think they have slowed the decline, if anything it seems to have accelerated it.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:29pm
- imalwaysright
  
  You know you’re in dire straits when its a comfort that at least its not the Ardern Regime.
  
  We should be comparing ourselves to well run, resource rich, educated, peaceful, democracies.
  That should be our metric, not the darkest, most vicious attack our country has experienced outside of war. (Even the war comparison doesn’t seem enough considering the damage done by Ardern and her cohort.)
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:26pm
- rouppe
  
  Expecting more (better?) doesn’t necessarily mean a vote flip.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:33pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  Sure Pavel, which is why I’ll be voting in such a way as to keep this government – preferably only National-ACT, unlikely as it seems – in power.
  
  But here’s the problem, which I expressed on this blog back in 2008 as Key appeared poised to win
  
  … what is National going to do should it win next November beyond babysitting the institutions of Labour and the Left. Nursing those things along, tiring all the time and steadily losing votes simply by being in Government and getting blamed for the insanities of those self-same institutions. Until the day comes, one or two election cycles down the road, when a revitalised Labour gets back into power and gets to push forward some more. Ratchet Socialism at its best.
  
  In 2026 this has resulted in a National-led government that can barely break free of the stranglehold, and then only in limited areas, and certainly not in terms of debt and spending.
  
  It’ll be worse next time.
  
  And while I’m at it, here’s my recommendations to the Key government in 2010, including this bit on a politica/fiscal device I don’t approve but would use to break the stranglehold:
  
  Fourth, Don’t ignore the privileges granted by government – just tie them to the changes – via tax credits for example. I’m not that keen on tax credits but any fiscal issues they create short-term are outweighed by their political strengths. They turn the Left’s primary electoral argument against them, in that voting for the Left will mean losing your tax credits for (health insurance, retirement investments, etc, etc).
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:40pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  Oh, and my comment from 2012 in a post that DPF did laughing at Matt McCarten lamenting the uselessness of Labour in the wake of Key’s management triumph as a 21st century Holyoake:
  
  So here NZ sits, stuck in this middling status quo: hoping against hope that something will turn up, that if we carefully count our pennies and are tight-arsed enough about spending for long enough, that the private economy will continue to creep along and narrow the gap between what we spend and what we can afford. I suppose if one could imagine a scenario where National remain in power for seven or eight consecutive terms, that that would be a pragmatically acceptable scenario. But who can believe such a scenario?
  
  More likely a Labour-Green coalition will take power in 2017, pick up the departments, ministries and all the rest of the machinery of state that National has so kindly retained for them and blow into that whatever money can be sucked out of the private sector…
  
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  March 29, 2026 2:02pm
Simon

Welfare feral class getting out of hand. Must be close to 2% of the population, 100,000 people are welfare ferals.

Welfare feral class created by the National party.
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March 29, 2026 8:18am
- R
  
  Created by past SOCIALIST LABOUR welfarism Simon!
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:19am
- Sacha
  
  Oh, rubbish!
  I hope you were being ironic –
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:37am
- MCōs
  
  The closure of those Watties plants will lead directly to 300 job losses and who knows how many indirectly.
  Those that then claim the unemployment benefit you automatically label ‘feral’ even if they’ve been working diligently for the man for thirty years.
  Hard working tax paying Kiwi to bottom feeding feral in the blink of an eye
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:50am
  - Jethrod
    
    Mmmm, yes at least they have been working for a living , productively, rather than spinning loose untruths in a national newspaper!
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:19pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I don’t know whether that is satire or not.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:00pm
- Wandering Star
  
  Nobody should ever mistake or downplay the crucial role played by so-called “conservative” parties in giving practical effect to what are left wing programs.
  
  I recently read a book entitled “New Fabian Essays” published in about 1952. It gives an insight into the symbiosis inherent in what the public believe are oppositional partisan factions with differing goals and interests.
  
  In one of the essays, C. A. R. Crosland explains how, in terms of the Fabian program, the “Conservative” party is in fact an indispensable element, in that it never winds back the “advances” of the Fabian agenda by Labour governments, but rather embeds them. But to the extent it does outwardly oppose the agenda, it provides fodder for doing even more to advance Fabianism under the next Labour administration:
  
  “For these reasons, each Tory government will certainly beat a retreat (in particular toward greater inequality) from the position reached under the previous Labour administration. But the retreat will be half-hearted. The pressures making for statism are far too strong to be held back, and the Tories too intuitive a party indefinitely to play Canute. The right-wing sabotage of Labour’s programme, which every Left Book Club member expected before the war, never in fact materialised. For precisely the same reason, the Conservatives now cannot and will not restore completely the pre-war status quo. However, these partial retreats will provide plenty of material for Labour speeches and election programmes.”
  
  In another essay, Roy Jenkins (later made Lord Jenkins of Hillhead) writes that:
  
  “….. the move towards and even the attainment of a classless society might well leave largely undisturbed the present party basis. Certainly the immensely resilient Conservative Party, which has survived so skilfully the social changes of the past 150 years, would not collapse under the disappearance of the bourgeoisie. There is always room in British politics for a party of consolidation, and provided there are leaders prepared to play the role of a Sir Robert Peel or a Mr. R. A. Butler, and ensure that it is merely no advance and not positive reaction which is attempted, the future of conservatism is assured.”
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:36pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Why is someone receiving welfare a ‘feral’?
  That type of comment lowers the tone of this site, but at least we have an insight into your character.
  
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  March 29, 2026 3:08pm
Dudley Quaffquaff

Over on Threads, I am seeing a lot of posts reporting that President Trump is considering abandoning NATO. Every single time, every single one of the comments underneath says “off you go then, and good riddance”. I have been looking carefully and I have never once seen a responding comment that says “oh no, what a disaster, what can we do to persuade the US to stay”. The only person I’ve seen saying that NATO needs to keep the US on board, is the NATO Secretary-General. I haven’t seen any government of other NATO members saying that for themselves.

Is this because the algorithms in my phone are not showing me where they say it, or is it really the case that the rest of NATO no longer cares what the US does?
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March 29, 2026 8:24am
- Sacha
  
  Nato got a bit of a wake-up call when Trump threatened to take over (their) Greenland.
  I enjoyed that.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:39am
- MCōs
  
  Should that be no longer cares what the US does or no longer takes too much notice of Trump’s idle threats, casual lies, boastful glorification of America’s wartime accomplishments and general self-aggrandizement?
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:01pm
- NothingLeft
  
  I think US has become functionally useless in most pressing security concerns in Europe (Russian aggression), with Trump cozying up to truly evil Putin seemingly without qualm in hopes of commercial benefit to us and his family (eg recent weird purchase of Truth Social by a Russian owned fusion startup TAE).
  
  Ukraine war has rendered much/most old military tech obsolete, and Ukraine is now leading military drone-tech, while Europe is rapidly developing competing missile defense systems given unreliability of US supplies.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:17pm
- Wandering Star
  
  The US has been occupying Europe under the guise of NATO for 70 or more years. Imagine the benefits the Europeans would experience being on friendly economic and other terms with Russia, something the US has never allowed to be the case, since the US has been in a more or less antagonistic posture vis a vis Russia since the 1950s. The only interest NATO serves is America’s.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:30pm
  - Gussy
    
    Imagine the benefits the western Europeans would have experienced being part of the Warsaw Pact.
    
    Meanwhile, on Planet Earth…
    
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    March 29, 2026 4:58pm
    - Wandering Star
      
      Back on planet earth, the Cold War (and the Warsaw Pact with it) ended almost four decades ago in the 1990s. Yet not only was NATO never dissolved, it expanded. Why? I told you why.
      
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      March 29, 2026 7:26pm
- rouppe
  
  The rest of NATO (ie Western Europe) should be thanking Trump for waking them up to their responsibilities on their own continent.
  
  Europe becoming mostly capable of defending themselves without the USA getting involved should be seen as valuable progress in sovereignty, not a repudiation of the USA, or even just Trump.
  
  NATO will still be buying kit off Boeing, Raytheon, Northrup etc, good for the S&P 500, but now Russia and China will think longer and harder about expeditions…
  
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  March 29, 2026 2:06pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    I wouldn’t be confident that NATO members will continue to buy kit from the US. Trump has boasted about being able to sabotage it and is now talking about diverting money that European countries have paid for weaponry to be supplied to Ukraine. Theft and fraud don’t make for reliable trade counterparts
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:51pm
Nukuleka

I am tired of the ignorance of so many posters who denigrate the efforts to restore Christ Church Cathedral. The plans for the city drawn up in 1850, with its clearly defined grid patterned streets and plentiful green spaces, centred on the creation of a Cathedral Square. Those with any regard for the city’s past and respect for the vision of its founders would rejoice at efforts to restore a building which epitomises the character of New Zealand’s most beautiful city. It’s a shame that so many kbloggers subscribe to a narrow- minded and lazy bigotry when it comes to such a significant historical building. The Cathedral has always represented the heart of the city and as such it deserves to be restored.
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March 29, 2026 8:25am
- Northshoredoc
  
  I think the push back is largely from a financial point of view.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:31am
- septic skeptic
  
  Nothing is too expensive when you can spend other people’s money
  🤑
  
  CCC was a very ordinary church and not fit for purpose. While it may have had some grandeur in its heyday it looked unimpressive when they surrounded it with taller modern buildings.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:32am
  - Taieri
    
    CCC was a very ordinary church and not fit for purpose.
    ————
    
    The cathedral was a part of Christchurch heritage. Should we consider heritage worthy of preserving on the basis of how impressive it is when surrounded by the “taller modern buildings”?
    Having said which, my view is that it is up to the Christchurch inhabitants to decide whether it’s worth retaining/rebuilding and to fund it accordingly.
    
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    March 29, 2026 11:16am
- wisteria
  
  Agree but by the people not by the Government. See my post yesterday.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:36am
- Yvette
  
  Regarding any religious functions of the Cathedral perhaps compare the expenditure to what you think may have been spent on the religious aspects of Mana o te War, which is still running (unintended pun), Ratana pilgrimage annually, Auckland respect for volcanoes, and Matariki ,which is so sacred that any commercialisation is discouraged, and blessings of motorway opening and blessings when such motorways are not negotiated as intended.
  Then there are the consideration of tourism and comparisons that can be made there.
  
  Downtickers enjoy whatever cathartic release it gives you
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:38am
- Scott
  
  Nukuleka, while I understand your viewpoint the difficulty is that the church voted over 80% to demolish the old building and build a new one. A new one that would meet the needs of the 21st century congregation and be able to be paid for by the insurance.
  
  Sadly Anderton and Burton took them to court and the court decided they had to rebuild, a monumental and very expensive task.
  
  While it’s a Sunday perhaps I can be indulged by relating my own experience. I stood outside the ruined cathedral and the spiritual sense I had was that God was done with this building. It had served its time and its season. It was time for something new.
  
  I’m a conservative so I honour the past and our ancestors that built the cathedral and the many that worshipped there. However while it’s important to honour the past we don’t have to live there.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:40am
  - Paulus
    
    As I said yesterday Roman Cath0lic Anderton and Burton, versus Anglicans, and the Judge voted Catholic, to maximise the Anglicans embarrasment along with the local politicians.
    
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    March 29, 2026 2:17pm
  - grumpy
    
    “The Church” was headed by a Canadian lesbian hard left Bishop who wanted to sell everything and put that and the insurance money into the pockets of “the poor”, you know, the ones who already get our hard earned tax money.
    
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    March 29, 2026 2:37pm
    - Scott
      
      grumpy – nothing you said makes sense. The church voted to build a new cathedral. The bishop was keen to use resources to help those traumatised by the earthquake but that’s a separate issue.
      The church if left to its own devices would have built a new cathedral by now using the insurance money.
      
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      March 29, 2026 2:52pm
      - grumpy
        
        They did, made of cardboard
        
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        March 29, 2026 5:16pm
      - Scott
        
        [ Mod – leave the personal stuff out of it ] The cardboard cathedral was built as a temporary place for the church to gather. The plan was to build a new cathedral on the site of the old one and once completed they would all worship there.
        
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        March 29, 2026 5:26pm
  - Northshoredoc
    
    Have you thought of monetising your god sensing abilities
    
    A god smeller pursuivant perhaps?
    
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    March 29, 2026 5:20pm
- Cassandra
  
  Quite right, Nui. It’ll be a wonderful asset for the city. And a morale booster.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:44am
- David Garrett
  
  Nuku: good morning…I am currently in New Zealand so no church bells today! Christchurch is my favourite city – I have lived there twice in my life, and I did my degrees there.
  
  The sad reality is no-one can agree on what to do with the Cathedral, so it sits there – as you say in the heart of the city – an eyesore, while all around the city has revived – finally – after the quakes.
  
  As always, it comes down to money – and I don’t think taxpayers should pay to restore it. The cost is far too great to put it on the ratepayers. I don’t know the answer: sadly I think “put a bulldozer through it” and put some piece of sculpture in the middle of a green space might be the best one.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:44am
  - Yvette
    
    David, how much do you think we should pay for the Maori piece of sculpture?
    
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    March 29, 2026 9:00am
    - R
      
      The local IWI would donate the sculpture surely
      
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      March 29, 2026 11:23am
      - Jethrod
        
        Falling on ground in fits of laughter!!!
        
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        March 29, 2026 4:52pm
    - David Garrett
      
      Yvette: I’m sure some “artist” would be glad to donate something
      
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      March 29, 2026 11:49am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    The bulldozer option was favoured by the Anglican Church.
    
    The problem now is that $90 million has been spent on restoration. With the job not even close to finished. It was so predictable.
    
    There is another alarming development. In an effort to save money, the Anglican Church has agreed to abandon the requirement that the new church meet 100 percent of the National Building Standard (NBS) for heritage buildings. The new target is 67 percent. In turn, that means that the cathedral will not be on base isolators.
    
    So the best case scenario is that the cathedral is restored at huge cost, at least $150 million but without base isolators. This will make it vulnerable to damage in future large earthquakes.
    
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    March 29, 2026 9:26am
    - rouppe
      
      Base isolators are a red herring.
      
      The Huddart Parker building was strengthened for about $8-9 million. Not an exact comparison in terms of the building design, but built at about the same time of similar materials, and a similar size.
      
      The WCC decision that the Town Hall HAD to have base isolators is part of why costs and time have ballooned to $330 million, a 3700% difference to the cost for the Huddart Parker building.
      
      In the meantime, Huddart Parker building has been tenanted for a decade, indicating people don’t care that it doesn’t have base isolators.
      
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      March 29, 2026 2:20pm
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        That building is not comparable at all to the cathedral.
        
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        March 29, 2026 10:49pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  No problem with a new cathedral; but there’s no ecclesiastical reason why it needs to be a copy of the old one. As others have commented, it’s a pastiche of European churches. It’s also not so well known that 2011 is not the first time it’s fallen down.
  
  Insofar as I have an interest, my preference would have been an international architectural competition. There are some stunning modern buildings that add to the attraction of a city, and there’s no reason why such a one could not provide the contemplative and community space needed by a cathedral.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:45am
- AitchW
  
  And the church should pay for it.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:53am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    If they are building a new one where they want and how they want then yes, the church should pay for it.
    
    However, in this case the church have been forced to rebuild it, against their wishes.
    
    Imagine how it would feel if the rubbishy old barn out in your back paddock blew down one nor’wester and all the neighbours took you to court and forced you to rebuild it, but even better than before.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:55pm
- amospicton
  
  As someone who grew up in Chch I understand your position. The question remains though…..who should pay for it? Chch ratepayers? The Anglican church? Citizens of NZ?
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:58am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    Anderton and the other bloke and all thier supporters. They should be made to pony up for it.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:56pm
    - Jethrod
      
      Except Anderton would have to send the Archangel Gabriel to fulfill his end of the deal. Not sure about the mushroom farmer.
      
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      March 29, 2026 4:55pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        Anderton [ mod – not really debate ]
        
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        March 29, 2026 8:08pm
- In Vino Veritas
  
  All that does not matter Nukuleka. Nor does your view that the Cathedral “deserves to be restored”. No building deserves anything. What matters is, who is going to pay. The original $104m price tag now, quelle surprise, isn’t enough with massive cost blowouts to $250m with an $85m funding shortfall. And now I note that Peters has decided to waste taxpayer money on it, even if it is only $15m. Perhaps you’d get a 100% support for a fixed levy per Christchurch resident from residents. That would sort out who thinks what.
  The only entity who should have had anything to do with this decision was the Anglican Church. If anyone else wanted a say, they should buy the Cathedral and restore it themselves.
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:35am
- Interested Party
  
  I spent a few days in Christchurch last November, the rebuild is coming along nicely- looking good. It’s a real stretch though to call it NZs most beautiful city, having just spent a day fishing on the Hauraki Gulf, and living in a coastal suburb – chalk and cheese.
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:43am
- imalwaysright
  
  “I am tired of the ignorance of so many posters who denigrate the efforts to restore Christ Church Cathedral.”
  
  You seem to be using ‘ignorance’ in its perjorative sense.
  
  Maybe others just feel differently from you about the Cathedral?
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:59am
- wsk12345
  
  Good o. As long as you don’t expect me to contribute (any more than I’ve already been forced to) to the cost of something I see as irrelevant.
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:15am
- Nobby2
  
  Nukeleke, Let the church and its congregation provide all the finance needed to rebuild it. Problem solved.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:04pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Drug importer Baltej Singh was granted name suppression in NZ because of his family ties to uncle Satwant Singh, one of the murderers of Indira Ghandi.

Leaving aside the fact that there are a gazillion Singhs in the world, why would NZ justice care about something that happened decades ago and half a world away? A judge here denied New Zealanders the right to know who wanted to poison thousands of us, for that reason?

What a shocking decision by Justice Kiri Tahana. Kudos for Crown Law, who appealed, and the court of Appeal, who agreed with the appeal.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360955308/family-history-behind-nzs-biggest-meth-importer-and-why-he-can-now-be-named
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March 29, 2026 8:34am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Thanks to our great immigration who let him in.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:35am
- MCōs
  
  There may be a gazillion Singhs in the world and any number in NZ, but one could be quite sure this chap has enemies because of his uncle and regardless of his common name there’s plenty of Indians around who know the connection.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:12pm
  - Jack5
    
    Bugger, ran out of time when I was editing that post at 12.59 – here’s the lot …
    
    We don’t want to buy into Sikh-Hindu differences. I can see why it might have been argued it would be prudent to keep an NZ link quiet for the sake of all Singhs in NZ.
    
    Santwant Singh was one of the two bodyguards who assassinated Indira Ghandi.
    
    This was part of the violence between Sikhs and the Hindu central government that culminated in the storming of the Sikhs’ Golden Temple, with thousands of casualties.
    
    This was over the Sikhs’ quest for an independent state.
    
    Sikhs are among my favourite people, but you don’t want to piss them off.
    
    Canadian Sikhs have been blamed for bombing Air India in 1985 in return for the Golden Temple massacre.
    
    In New Zealand, we had the stabbing of Harnek Singh, the ethnic radio broadcaster.
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/indonz/503499/most-serious-case-of-attempted-murder-trio-sentenced-for-plot-to-kill-radio-host-over-religious-views
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:14pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Blood feuds in other countries should not be a reason for New Zealanders not to know the identity of perhaps the largest meth dealer in the country. Frankly, if someone bumped Singh off, it wouldn’t be the worst outcome I could think of.
    
    More broadly, every immigrant arriving here needs to be told that their admittance is conditional on them checking their historical enmities at the door. This applies to Croats & Serbs, Orange & Green Irish etc, as well as flavours of Muslims and yes, Sikhs also.
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:33pm
- Jack5
  
  Sikh bodyguards who assassinated Indira Ghandi.
  
  This was part of the violence between Sikhs and the Hindu central government that culminated in the storming of the Sikhs’ Golden Temple, with thousands of casualties.
  
  This was over the Sikhs’ quest for an independent state.
  
  Sikhs are among my favourite people, but you don’t want to piss them off.
  
  Canadian Sikhs have been blamed for bombing Air India in 1985 in return for the Golden Temple massacre.
  
  In New Zealand, we had the stabbing of Harnek Singh, the ethnic radio broadcaster.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/indonz/503499/most-serious-case-of-attempted-murder-trio-sentenced-for-plot-to-kill-radio-host-over-religious-views
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:59pm
CJames

I see the solar advocates (they have no expertise) are back pushing their barrow again about loans for rooftop solar will solve our energy crisis. Amazing what you can do with other people’s money isn’t it.
They are on the fairytale belief that solar means not burning gas or coal and they can turn hydro down to accommodate. They don’t want to understand system security or lack of inertia from this. What caused blackouts overseas and the South Island has already been below minimum levels before the limit to constrain them off were introduced.
What happens at dusk or a cloudy day in July is beyond their comprehension. There is not enough hydro capacity to cover so still need to fire up the thermals – a very inefficient and expensive operation. You also need to stage water to fill lower dams, reducing its peaking capacity.
Now in middle of sunny days, wholesale price is very low – the grid doesn’t want the power, though we haven’t gone negative (yet) like Australia does. But distribution charges will go up. All the added infrastructure needed to cope with varying currents and voltages at the street level. Plus the payoff for investment not used a lot of the time. And those without solar will be paying for the virtue signallers. Everywhere with large scale domestic solar, the retail price has gone up. Do you think the correlation might give a clue to causation?
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March 29, 2026 8:37am
- Cassandra
  
  Advocates for solar and wind do not understand physics or engineering. Or, much of the time, economics. Pity we didn’t put the effort into developing clean coal, by far the best solution for isolated NZ.
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:48am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    Coal cannot realistically developed because increased coal use would drive up the cost of units in the emissions trading scheme. In turn that would ripple through other energy prices.
    
    So unless New Zealand repeals the Zero Carbon Act and abolishes the ETS, I don’t see how large coal use would be possible.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:57am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Let’s get rid of the Zero Carbon Act, then. It’s clearly not serving New Zealand’s interest.
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:07am
    - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
      
      The ETS is an entirely man made impediment to us enjoying abundant cheap energy. Shall we ask why CHH, watties, McCain and other manufacturers have given up on NZ?
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:09am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        It is the only climate change policy of substance. If it were abolished New Zealand may as well withdraw from the UNFCCC.
        
        I can’t see it.
        
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        March 29, 2026 11:38am
      - rouppe
        
        And why not withdraw.
        
        We could eliminate every human, bird, animal and insect from this country and the change in global emissions would not be able to be measured.
        
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        March 29, 2026 2:25pm
    - Cassandra
      
      A clever politician will get around that. It should have started years ago but we were to busy being hysterical.
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:33am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        How? How can New Zealand have a Zero Carbon Act and expand the use of coal? It is a closed system. If coal emissions increase the system will dramatically increase the price of other emissions to compensate. Petrol is the obvious one.
        
        Never going to happen.
        
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        March 29, 2026 9:39am
      - Don Beckett
        
        If the th Act included the CO 2 capture of our pasture lands we would be hugely carbon neutral anyway.
        It’s all a great con job.
        
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        March 29, 2026 11:38am
      - Nikola Donatello
        
        The Act does not cover the methodology for calculating emissions and land use and land use change credits. That is all down to the UN.
        
        This methodology was developed more than 20 years ago. The working group that developed the methodology was led by New Zealand officials.
        
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        March 29, 2026 11:40am
  - David Garrett
    
    Cass: Yes…as they say, a little knowledge can be dangerous.
    
    Tonga’s prevailing wind is from the east. Except during storms and cyclones, that is where the wind always comes from. That to me – as a person with a little knowledge – suggested that Tonga could do with wind farms along it’s east coast, which is only sparsely inhabited.
    
    Then I had a chat with the former head of the Electricity Commission. He patiently explained the reasons why wind power was not the answer. He had to take it slowly because I have little understanding of physics. But in the end it all made sense.
    
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    March 29, 2026 8:58am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      Anybody saying that wind, or solar, or hydrogen, or geothermal, or nuclear, or any single technology, is “the” answer – is an even greater idiot that anybody who says that any one technology is “the best” answer. All electricity generating technologies have merits and downsides. Ignoring either is dishonest
      
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      March 29, 2026 9:35am
  - NothingLeft
    
    Leaving aside install costs 30kW of panels to cover a roof will generate enough power for most houses to go off grid even on cloudy days in winter for the top half of the north island where most of the population live. With easily enough surplus most of the time to keep an EV running and costs about $20k for all hardware including overnight batteries. Do most of the install yourself and the payback is well under 10 years.
    
    That is indeed a long term economic fix for NZ power supply and can replace most fuel imports with EVs.
    
    Install will get a lot cheaper in next few years as specialized Ai-controlled solar install robots are developed to take most of cost out of it.
    
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    March 29, 2026 12:27pm
- MCōs
  
  Solar panels don’t need sunshine, they work off day light
  Near my house is a road sign with a solar panel, a battery and a controller that changes the speed limit outside a school during certain times.
  These sorts of uses of solar panels will be more and more common in future
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:06am
  - mister nui
    
    Oh dear.
    
    Yes, the panels work off light, but it is light intensity which increases the efficacy of the panels. Your wee little road-sign with a tiny battery is not a house running a hot water cylinder, fridges, freezers, washing machine, dryer, heaters, air conditioning etc. etc.
    
    Then you [Mod – pretty sure we can debate without name calling] want to charge your woke EV…
    
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    March 29, 2026 9:16am
    - MCōs
      
      It’s all a matter of scale innit
      We have neither solar panels nor or electrical vehicles, if you want to know and for two retired people that’s the way it’ll probably stay
      https://www.future-energy.co.nz/solar-energy/residential-solar/?utm_term=solar%20panels%20for%20home&utm_campaign=23605413980&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23605413980&gbraid=0AAAAACkHCG0NVPZzY3yQOSzWsL225rFNl&gclid=CjwKCAjw-J3OBhBuEiwAwqZ_hxdfBqS-3NdoRWnrty1-BTzJKEmpewMlLhcBjX9qEAxoOzJkeKZiBhoCwoYQAvD_BwE
      
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      March 29, 2026 12:27pm
    - mister nui
      
      moderators [ Mod – take it to DPF ]
      
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      March 30, 2026 8:10am
  - CJames
    
    No MCos. You look at the output of solar panels on minute by minute basis and compare output on full sunshine and high overcast days. The latter has generation but well below the former. Then do it for a raining day.
    But then as you are a physics failure, that would be beyond you.
    
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    March 29, 2026 9:18am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  We seem to have had very little publicity about failed SolarZero and the role of the NZ Green Investment Fund.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedetail/536163/behind-solarzero-s-collapse
  
  Why did BlackRock cut & Run?
  
  https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/commercial-portfolio-and-advice/commercial-portfolio/nz-green-investment-finance
  
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  March 29, 2026 9:23am
  - Cassandra
    
    There’s a very good article on Manhattan Contrarian about the difficulties with w d and solar, an explanation for non engineers about AC and DC. Solar is fine on your roof but as a replacement for carbon or nuclear it’s hopeless. A supplement yes, but replacement no.
    
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    March 29, 2026 9:38am
    - imalwaysright
      
      There was a man on Q&A saying rooftop solar is the way to go, but he couldn’t work out why it has minimal Government support.
      
      The reason may be that the Government/gentailers can’t meter personal generation nor charge line charges.
      
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      March 29, 2026 10:04am
      - CJames
        
        Wrong on both counts – defeating your non-de-plume.
        Behind the meter generation is a common situation and line charges are paid for by everyone connected to the grid.
        There is minimal support because it is a subsidy. Taxing poor people to help rich virtue signallers is a stupid policy. Like EV subsidies, the economics aren’t there.
        
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        March 29, 2026 4:37pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Cjames
        The first count was the view of the man on Q&A, and the second count was my speculation about the possible reasons.
        
        Don’t let the moniker bother you, regardless of accuracy it is a piss take…
        
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        March 29, 2026 4:48pm
  - pdm
    
    Maggy I actually found a child that attends the Green School near New Plymouth.
    
    You know the school that James Shaw boosted with $12million of Taxpayer money.
    
    The grandchild of friends of friends so a close contact. lol.
    
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    March 29, 2026 10:06am
- pb
  
  EV drivers with solid solar installs are giggling right now. Most people’s perception of “thinking” is to take their notions and match reality to them.
  
  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44816085
  
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  March 29, 2026 8:07pm
- Gary Benner
  
  I have always understood that solar on the roof of everyone’s houses, only appears to work when you consider it in the context of the whole power supply system. Here in the North Island we have a big “battery”, it is called Lake Taupo.
  
  If on sunny days, the excess power generated by our rooftops, means that there is less draw on the lake. So it is not lost, and the actual time (of day) of its generation is not relevant in this context. So the grid can use the solar (if there is enough of it installed) and geothermal for the base load when it is available, and when it is not, use the dams, and if that is not enough, fire up the coal stations.
  
  BTW I don’t mention wind as I consider that a huge rort and a blight on our landscapes.
  
  And as soon as modular nuclear becomes an established technology, I want that also. Cheap, reliable, and redundant (many smaller producers). Then we can get rid of the huge pylons that also are a blight on our landscape.
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:07pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    And as soon as modular nuclear becomes an established technology
    
    Assuming that ever happens – most of us will be pushing up daisies before the first one is built in NZ …..
    
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    March 29, 2026 10:21pm
sungsamning

In this episode, Duncan looks at the fallout after MBIE admitted their data was completely wrong. Within just one day, the story changed from a looming economic paralysis to a comfortable 46-day buffer. [MBIE read some 80s ‘How To Succeed In Business’ books, and make a new gummint department based on same. Have they ushered in a new Watties; or even a couple of corner dairies. The Taxpayers Union got it right. What a complete waste of space MBIE are.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2zD5Hrg1d0
MBIE”S Botched Diesel Supply Numbers: How Did They Get This So Wrong?
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March 29, 2026 8:47am
- Dougal10
  
  Because staff at mbie wanted the current government to look bad.
  
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  March 29, 2026 11:47am
  - sungsamning
    
    Just like the rest of the ‘public service’ and MSM then.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:47pm
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    Maybe, but I think it’s more likely that they were just operating at their normal level of incompetence with no quality checking.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:50pm
- Master Mariner
  
  Yep, Totally useless Organisation.
  https://www.fuelclock.nz/
  I follow this too,
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:07pm
  - sungsamning
    
    Yes, so do I. I’d bet the farm there are no purple haired nose ringed people in that office.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:48pm
- R
  
  How did……Probably a deIiberate attempt, from within MBIE staffing, to undermine the Coalitions credibilty; either that, or I competence. In which case there should be two or three staff not required to attend MBIE ON Monday 30th March
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:51pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “….there should be two or three staff not required to attend MBIE ON Monday…”
    
    Yes, the CEO and the next two in line.
    
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    March 29, 2026 4:55pm
- GJM
  
  Would I be accused of being cynical if I suggested it was deliberate to promote a fuel panic and make the evil right wing fascist government look bad in an election year.
  White anting or ordinary MBIE incompetence? It is hard to tell.
  
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  March 29, 2026 3:17pm
sungsamning

Driven by a crushing cost of living crisis, soaring interest rates, and an arrogant left-wing elite completely disconnected from everyday struggles, young working-class families are abandoning the Labor party and Anthony Albanese in historic numbers. [The ‘Liberals’ are Labot Lite. Climate policies and open borders are destroying the Australian dream. And energy policy is in disarray.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Dx5XJO-C8
The End of the UNIPARTY: Pauline Hanson Snatches Votes from EVERYONE!
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March 29, 2026 8:47am
NeverMindTheBollocks

An example of multiculturalism not working in practice. Increasing numbers of Europeans, previously capped at youth level by the country of their birth, are now being recruited at full international level by Morocco (and not just Morocco).

Did I say Europeans? Well, not really, it would seem. It’s a straw in the wind, but indicative that these players do not see themselves as citizens of their own country.

http://www.espn.co.uk/soccer/story/_/id/48321967/fifa-clears-fulham-issa-diop-ajax-rayane-bounida-7-others-play-morocco
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March 29, 2026 9:04am
imalwaysright

What happens when the current war in the Middle East stops?
The people living in the surrounding countries must be very nervous.
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March 29, 2026 9:26am
- Master Mariner
  
  I’ll bite,
  It may end in the US Petro Dollar. This enables the US to rack up so much debt by allowing GCC countries to purchase US Treasuries.
  The corner stone of the Petro Dollar was the Guarantee of GCC states of US Protection.
  Not working out to well.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:12pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    MM
    Wasn’t baiting anyone. Just wondering what the end game is, as in what will be the conditions for everyone to stop launching missiles at each other.
    
    Usually a regime change would come from a civil war.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:26pm
Swifty

Evil on parade:

https://x.com/sirwg202110/status/2037910104977137835?s=46

Terrible, destructive people.
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March 29, 2026 9:45am
Swifty

Chickens for KFC!

https://x.com/olilondontv/status/2037953759679308059?s=46
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March 29, 2026 9:57am
Cassandra

British economist Lord Macauley asks: “How could we, as a nation still endowed with huge oil and gas reserves, have been so stupid to bow down to the new religion of net zero and run down our own domestic ability to supply ourselves at times of national need?

How could we be so stupid as to run down our vigilance of the Strait of Hormuz with the withdrawal of our last minesweeper from Bahrain and the relocation of all naval assets away from a zone that had clear signs of escalating risk?

The negligence is shocking.”

His criticism applies to much of the world. European has been negligent but then so have a lot of other countries, including Canada, NZ and Australia.
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March 29, 2026 10:01am
- Cassandra
  
  Mackinlay. A former Conservative MP and famous for losing the lower part of all four limbs to sepsis.
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:09am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  New Zealand ten times worse.
  Helen Clark’s “benign strategic environment “ call was an excuse to disarm us for her Chinese overlords.
  Then Ardern and the oil and gas and Marsden travesties.
  They should be in jail.
  
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  March 29, 2026 10:18am
- PurplePen
  
  It’s a great pity that such inactivity is actually negligence. As usual, it’s a few that costs for the rest of us.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:45pm
- MCōs
  
  The North Sea oil reserves are dwindling and most of the UK’s oil comes from Norway and the USA, with minimal from the Middle East.
  For reasons I don’t understand they also export oil.
  In those regards our situation is completely different
  From my understanding our problem is a lack of capacity to accumulate diesel, the lifeblood of the nation. If that runs out we’re in the shit and we’re relying on South Korea to keep up a steady supply
  PM Luxon rang up President Lee Jae-Myung who said no worries
  Note that five former presidents have been jailed for dishonesty
  
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  March 29, 2026 3:25pm
  - MCōs
    
    https://www.ukeiti.org/oil-gas
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:25pm
Yvette

Millions of Americans are expected to turn out on Saturday for mass demonstrations against President Trump, the latest organized display of anger led by the coalition of progressive groups known as No Kings.

Organizers are aiming to make it the largest such protest yet, which would mean exceeding the seven million people they said showed up at the “No Kings” rallies in October and the millions of people they said turned out in June. (The Times has not verified those numbers, which encompass thousands of rallies.) – NYT [subscription]

Observing how, rather than love, irony makes the world go around:
How ironic would President Trump’s efforts to precipitate the downfall of the current rule in Iran be, if that achieved the same at home?
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March 29, 2026 10:05am
- Cassandra
  
  Sadly the NYT is not a disinterested party.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:10pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Cass: The Garrett Award for Correct Usage to you Sir/madam; so nice to see disinterested properly used, rather than as a synonym for uninterested.
    
    I had dinner with my hugely intelligent daughter last night. I was delighted to explain to her – when she asked – what the difference was, and when one should use fewer rather than less. We also covered off discreet and discrete. Very few have any interest in the differences, much less getting it right.
    
    Despite going to an excellent country school under a very traditional headmaster, she was still a little unclear on those diferences.
    
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    March 29, 2026 1:12pm
    - AitchW
      
      DG you would have liked my old headmaster, Mr Thornton. A true gentleman, and a stickler for correct grammar.
      He taught senior French, we learnt more about grammar in his class than we did in English.
      As a result of his tutelage one of my biggest bugbears is “the team are”.
      I hear incorrect plurals every day and it grates!
      
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      March 29, 2026 3:40pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      @Yvette. 10.05.
      
      The NYT must be choking on their predictions – there were several hundred who turned up according to a video clip I saw. The average American knows that ‘No Kings’ movement is Left wing idiocy.
      
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      March 29, 2026 4:51pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  The rallies will be populated by paid communist protestors who are doing it for the bucks and the remnants of the self-indulgent hippies who are on day-release from their nursing homes and want to relive their anti-war youth days.
  
  Incidentally, Hawaii is calling their protests ‘No Dictators’; they explicitly support Kings and want to restore the Hawaiian Monarchy.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:31pm
- Philview
  
  After Trump the Democrats’ presidential candidates will have to run on policy rather than just hating Trump.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:33pm
- Wandering Star
  
  If millions in the street protesting a leader is the criterion for regime change (let’s call it the “Mad Mullah Criterion”), then it must follow that it’s time to do regime change on the Trump admin. If we want to be consistent, that is.
  
  Of course, it’s no more relevant a criterion in the US than it is in Iran.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:37pm
  - AitchW
    
    The difference is, of course, that, unlike the Iranian regime, Trump was elected in a free and fair election.
    The “No Kings” mobs are clearly no fans of democracy.
    
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    March 29, 2026 3:43pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  To make it even funnier, the person who would acccede to the throne is a Republican.
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:42pm
- rouppe
  
  Would that be the 500 Communist and socialist groups with $3 Billion of impetus trying to destroy democracy?
  
  https://www.foxnews.com/us/500-groups-3b-revenues-behind-nokings-protests-communist-call-revolution
  
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  March 29, 2026 2:34pm
All_on_Red

I dont think the Straits are going to be closed much longer. Are some Ships going through now?
‘Iran’s fleet of several hundred — perhaps more than a thousand — speedboat-size paramilitary attack boats are being hunted…, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said at a briefing on Thursday. Presenting an update on the status of Operation Epic Fury, General Caine revealed: “the A-10 Warthog is now in the fight across the southern flank, and is hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft in the Straits of Hormuz”.
‘Caine said: “we continue to hunt and kill mine storage facilities and naval ammunition depots. We continue to hunt and kill afloat assets including more than 120 vessels and 44 minelayers and the pressure will continue”.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/03/20/warthog-versus-the-mosquito-a-10s-hunting-iranian-suicide-boats/

Missiles/Drones from inland are being spotted by Satellites in real time with data on the target then passed to Attack Jets so all the launchers and depots are being progressively destroyed
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March 29, 2026 12:09pm
- NothingLeft
  
  Iran seems to have a lot of drones and missiles stocked up in tunnels, but yes they are being steadily depleted. Risk to ships is dropping all the time, and probably nearing acceptable levels is a mechanism to insure against added danger can be developed.
  
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  March 29, 2026 12:36pm
gorse

When are people calling for “free” public transport going to realise nothing is free. Rate payers or tax payers pay for it. More burden on the already burdened.
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March 29, 2026 12:41pm
David Garrett

I dont think the Straits are going to be closed much longer.

To borrow from Darryl Kerrigan, you’re dreaming. I saw a BBC interview the other day with a retired US Admiral. He was asked how many mines it would take to block the strait – his answer? Just one.

If ship owners and insurers don’t know where that one mine is, the strait is effectively closed. The tankers Iran is allowing through are no doubt following a closely defined prescribed channel – easy with GPS. An American military invention, ironically.
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March 29, 2026 1:17pm
- David George
  
  Surely it would be relatively easy to follow the recorded tracks of the vessels that are allowed through?
  
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  March 29, 2026 1:30pm
  - David Garrett
    
    David G: Yes…well, it would be if the Iranians couldn’t take out “unauthorized” ships with the hundreds of armed speedboats they have. One RPG into the side of a tanker would be fatal.
    
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    March 29, 2026 2:18pm
    - AitchW
      
      Would it though? Tankers are normally double skinned, would an RPG penetrate both skins?
      Perhaps our resident master mariner might be able to shed some light on this?
      
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      March 29, 2026 5:25pm
Master Mariner

And the Houthis enter the fray.
This May end shipping ( Oil / Gas) from exiting / entering Red Sea.
That’s approx 10% of Worlds Oil supply, Add SOH and 20%.
It will make the Saudi Pipeline ( approx 4mil bbls/Day) non existent.
More Escalation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xl8z5VCIj0
Double fears over Red Sea, Hormuz • FRANCE 24 English
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March 29, 2026 1:27pm
- Don Beckett
  
  They were taken out before – they’ll get taken out again, only more so.
  
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  March 29, 2026 4:54pm
- AitchW
  
  Those Houthis must be pretty dopey. They were spanked last time they tried this, they will be spanked harder this time.
  
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  March 29, 2026 5:18pm
Swifty

It’s eerie.

Read this and then think of Ardern and Robertson and their antics especially post-Covid, and the long slog we’ve had since.

And all identified in 1929.

https://x.com/handre/status/2037984955025019294?s=46
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March 29, 2026 3:22pm
Jack5

Media story of the week …

Northland wedding descends into a drunken brawl.

If this had been in Ireland, there would be a new folk song and it would be sung for centuries.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/whangarei-wedding-guest-guilty-of-punching-man-in-the-head-acquitted-on-other-charges/CEYNXAEUB5EAPKVRYD6ZB7QHQ4/
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March 29, 2026 3:26pm
Swifty

It’s very important to understand that God says that it’s perfectly acceptable to take the women of the infidels as concubines, as war booty, and if they’re already married then that marriage contract is automatically annulled as she is now property of the believers:

https://x.com/gazawood1/status/2037203438379950334?s=46

I do hope everyone is now clear on this point.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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March 29, 2026 3:36pm
Swifty

Grooming:

https://x.com/jonnywsbell/status/2038074073637376426?s=46

And he has been taught that women’s wishes and rights don’t count.
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March 29, 2026 5:18pm
Ra Henare

Trump is the master of SPIN.
remember
The Iranians gave us a gift of 8? 10? tankers etc etc

Turns out that indeed 10 Pakistani vessels exited thru the straits.

BUT.
Pakistan has friendly status to transit the Straits
along with China, Russia, India, Iraq, Bangladesh.

So another load of bullshit from the Supreme Leader(Of the USA)
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March 29, 2026 5:56pm
Swifty

Gender pay gap confusion in Oz:

https://x.com/ryandally08/status/2038095274258890943?s=46

What’s the bet we’re equally confused over here?
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March 29, 2026 6:08pm
Ra Henare

One of my hobbies?!?
Is fact checking statements made on social media (includes Kiwiblog)

This misinformation from the Werewolf blog.
(unfortunately he does not allow comments-Insecurity on his ramblings perhaps)

https://werewolf.co.nz/2026/03/gordon-campbell-on-the-feeble-fuel-support-package-and-israels-violent-land-grabs/

The misinformation was him(Gordon Campbell) saying that ….
There’s one big detail missing from this rewrite of history. Thanks to the Labour government’s handling of the pandemic, research published in NZ Medical Journal has shown that an estimated 20,000 lives were saved…..

Being I am who I am. I read the Medical journal report. Sorry Werewolf. Labour Governmnet did not save 20,000 lives by its authoritarian vaccination program.

That was a Guardian lefty (newspaper) inspired myth to support NZ Labour Government!!!

Actually:::
It estimated that COVID-19 vaccination prevented approximately 6,650 deaths (95% credible interval: 4,424–10,180)
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March 29, 2026 6:55pm

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