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April 28, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 28 April 2026

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General Debate

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Cassandra

At last some Labour policy: schools will be obliged to incorporate the Treaty of Waitangi (which presumably means board members nominated by the maraes nearby so at least some Maoris will be going to school, even if it’s a bit late in life). Also spokesperson Ginny Andersen promises to double the cost of free school lunches. Labour has already got the vote of racists and of people who like spending other people’s money so nothing has changed. Labour is still demonstrably useless.
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April 28, 2026 8:01am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  What does incorporate the Treaty actually mean, let’s say for a maths teacher?
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:45am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    It means leas teaching of math and a bunch of mumbo jumbo added into the lesson.
    
    So instead of asking say, if I have 2 apples and buy 2 more, how many apples do I have, the question will say: Whetu has endured years of discrimination due to colonization and systemic racism. His whanau has been given a grant to help maori access fresh fruit. He picks out 2 apples and his half sister hohepa also picks out 2. How many apples do they have?
    
    You think I’m joking? That’s the dross they were teaching until the recent changes. Designed by Chris Hipkins mother of course.
    
    Source? I am close to someone in the dept of education and they are very happy to be able to focus on teaching again instead of forced maorification and politics.
    
    The difference in achievement in the last 2 years is very noticeable.
    
    Let’s not return to this nonsense please.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:06am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      You think I’m joking?””
      
      No I believe you.
      
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      April 28, 2026 10:19am
    - Notsofast
      
      The most important election in New Zealand history.
      Michael Laws this morning claims Ginny Anderson is not sure if they would continue the Stanford numeracy and literacy regime, but very sure of treaty and Te Ao embedment.
      I believe him therefore I believe her.
      
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      April 28, 2026 11:11am
    - Paulus
      
      I also have been close to a person in the Education Department and there is no way that the Department will take many notice of what any other than Left Wing/Maori Goverment will give them.
      All staff, some 4,500, are mesmerised in accepting Maori at a pain of their promotion and future.
      Are they the only Department – No !
      
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      April 28, 2026 2:27pm
  - R
    
    Nikola, for the Labour Party; it means schools should concentrate on teaching the ‘maorification of NZ’, at the expense of teaching the useful basics of the STEM subjects.
    There is a place in history lessons to teach the impact of Mari culture, just as there is a place to teach Anglo-European history; BUT teaching of basic practical employable knowledge and skills is much more important. Erica, actually has the emphasis right.hopefully one day the teachers union executives, and activists ,will face some home truths and support real world education.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:10am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Incorporate pūrākau into your teaching:
    
    e.g.
    https://ncea.education.govt.nz/mathematics-and-statistics/mathematics-and-statistics/1/2/activity-a
    
    (work out :
    * the total length of taura, flax ropes, that Māui and his brothers wove
    *discuss the progress of each brother in relation to the other brothers
    *find the maximum angle of elevation Tama-nui-te-rā could rise out of the pit without the brothers running out of taura
    *find the maximum height Tama-nui-te-rā would rise to at the maximum point of elevation)
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:32am
    - PeterTrentham
      
      The answer to *1 is: 4 units is required of flax. 3 units to make the weaving. The other unit will be stolen.
      
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      April 28, 2026 9:37am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      It is pathetic.
      
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      April 28, 2026 10:21am
    - Yvette
      
      Each brother’s work introduces a different mathematical form:
      Constant rate → linear
      Starting with existing rope → linear with intercept
      Delayed start → piecewise thinking
      Increasing output → arithmetic sequence / quadratic growth pattern
      Given formula → explicit quadratic function
      
      Can anyone say what age of student this is aimed at, rather than the length of a piece of string?
      
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      April 28, 2026 11:13am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        It was NCEA – Level 1
        … ie Year 11, age 14-15-16 years
        
        The old School Cert level.
        
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        April 28, 2026 1:12pm
    - Nobby2
      
      Maggy, what does purakau mean and why did you drop only one maori word into your sentence.
      
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      April 28, 2026 1:03pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        I used that word – pūrākau – because that is precisely the word used in the teacher’s instructions to the Min of Education’s NCEA maths assessment activity.
        
        Ko Māui me te Rā
        Ākonga will use mathematics to explore the pūrākau of how Māui and his brothers slowed down Tama-nui-te-rā.
        
        https://ncea.education.govt.nz/mathematics-and-statistics/mathematics-and-statistics/1/2/activity-a
        
        I had to look up the meaning of the word pūrākau –
        
        (Williams dictionary gives 4 meanings when the word is used as a noun….
        the relevant ones are : ancient legend, myth, and any incredible story.)
        
        My point… A maths teacher in NZ not only has to know how to teach maths, they have to understand a fair volume of te Reo vocabulary… and use nonsense examples that defy common sense.
        
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        April 28, 2026 8:01pm
- Simon
  
  Treaty schools were a concept introduced early in the Key govt, look it up. Labour policies are merely an extension of National’s.
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:49am
  - Jethrod
    
    Simon , have you any comments on the other page “This is someone who passed Green vetting!!!”
    I would be very interested.
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:02pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Ginny wants to double the cost of school lunches.
  
  What about sending the Police to the homes of the kids who don’t bring a lunch to conduct a welfare check and to initiate remedy if necessary?
  
  The deadbeat parents might then get the message and the problem would disappear.
  
  (If she pays say $10/lunch that is $400 per 40 pupils. That would pay for an extra teacher.)
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:50am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Brilliant. Inmal.
    Not enough police in NZ and now you want them to also waste huge amounts of time
    a) Survveying who didnt bring a lunch
    b) Findingcaregivers and do a welfare check(whatever that is/)
    c) Initiate a remedy? Charge/jail?
    
    Its beyond me how you come up with these ideas?
    
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    April 28, 2026 2:30pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Certainly seems like it is beyond you.
      
      No lunch is an indicator of poor care at home, a visit from the cops would enable social services to get involved.
      Its better to get child abuse early.
      
      Not sure about your portrayal of who hasn’t brought lunch as such an onerous task, maybe two points seemed a bit weak?
      
      The reason the cops are busy is because we have had too many kids not getting a decent home and a decent life and they then look at crime for a solution.
      
      Hopefully that helps.
      
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      April 28, 2026 4:13pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Sorry, I have no idea what dream you are having.
        You seem to think that cops are plentiful and have plenty of spare time to do the investigating of supposed thousands(ie kids without lunches) . Who is going to report them to the police??
        Teachers. Yep get dreaming again.
        
        Police patrols at lunch time in all schools?
        Then finding responsible parents.gaurdians/caregivers. Then ascertain if they are individually or both on a benefit.
        
        Once they have proved beyound reasonable doubt, the cops have to convince the Public Prosecutors to file a charge.
        Then follow that thru the court system.
        
        As I say I dont know what dreamland you are in.
        As to your attempts at deflection (ie not my point).
        
        But proves my point.
        
        Cops are too busy with too many kids not getting a decent home and a decent life and they then look at crime for a solution.
        
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        April 29, 2026 4:34am
  - Loddenthinks
    
    Parent. You said parents as in plural i.e. more than one.
    
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    April 28, 2026 3:54pm
- Nobby2
  
  Cass, “Ginny Anderson promises to double the cost of free school lunches”. They are not free, someone else (YOU & ME) pays for them. Another thing I am puzzled about is who pays to feed schoolchildren during school holidays, public holidays and the weekends ?
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:10pm
  - R
    
    ‘feed schoolchildren holidays etc’……..you and me, the motivated TAXPAYER…….it’s called a Welfare Supplement!
    
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    April 28, 2026 4:18pm
Anthony Melchett

https://aniobrien.substack.com/p/unreported-for-nearly-a-year-media-misconduct?fbclid=Iwb21leARcnx1jbGNrBFyclGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHv7R_Fdb-vjJgFDd6u7SHNd-FCoclG1Ru3eqMigzhMQ7woNK1B8nKFVYKq_5_aem_qbe9YuWF90QYDB-6ywTidQ&utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e223_tv4_tp1

“On the evening of 13 May 2025, Finance Minister Nicola Willis hosted a pre-Budget drinks event in her parliamentary office.

The event appears, in official records, as “EVENT: Press Gallery… Parliament… Invited Guests” at 6pm in her ministerial diary. It was intended to be a fairly standard engagement. These gatherings are a familiar ritual; relatively informal, off-camera, and populated by the country’s most senior political journalists alongside ministers and staff. They exist in the grey space between professional obligation and social familiarity and are a mechanism through which relationships are built and managed.”

A year ago and this has still never been reported!

[Mod – just post a paragraph and a link to the source]
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April 28, 2026 8:02am
- greybeard
  
  That was a superb article by Ani O’Brien: thanks for bringing it to my (our) attention.
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:23am
  - Tricati
    
    Let’s not forget, after one of the Leaders Debates at the last election, Maiki Sherman was a panellist reviewing the debate, and when aske who she thought won the debate, stated ‘as Chris Hipkins is a friend, I would call it a tie’. This after Luxon had Hipkins in knots.
    That statement alone should have excluded her as ‘senior political reporter’ for any organisation, but given TVNZ is just Labour’s PR arm, not a surprize.
    
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    April 28, 2026 2:54pm
- Grumpy Silver Top
  
  I find this entirely credible. I have seen the power that a senior member of a group in the media holds over those more junior, or beholden to that person. It is a vile use of position/power.
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:23am
- pdm
  
  What a nasty piece of work Maiki Sherman is.
  
  Not only anti Coalition but homophobic too.
  
  How does she keep her job?
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:41am
  - RoboRob
    
    Didn’t she get promoted last year?
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:50am
    - pdm
      
      Yes when Jessica jumped to the ANZ.
      
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      April 28, 2026 12:10pm
  - OlderChas
    
    Her apparent liking of a tipple or three may explain some of her “excitable” story telling on the 6pm TV Storytime Show.
    
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    April 28, 2026 12:00pm
  - R
    
    The policy of DEI in employment contracts
    
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    April 28, 2026 12:05pm
  - Paulus
    
    She knows things !
    
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    April 28, 2026 2:30pm
- TripeWryter
  
  What a delicious little story, Anthony Melchett!
  Where’s that brave warrior journalist Shayne Currie when you need him?
  Or what about that even braver wahine toa journalist Paula Penfold?
  It has more facts in it than her efforts against Sir Rod Duke.
  Well done to Ani O’Brien.
  
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  April 28, 2026 11:01am
- AitchW
  
  Surely with this coming to light Sherman must be finished at TVNZ?
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:22pm
  - R
    
    A promotion pending I suspect. She IS one of the special people.
    
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    April 28, 2026 4:22pm
- rouppe
  
  And there’s no audio or video content of this? In this day and age?
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:23pm
- nathie
  
  Good grief, imagine being the nation’s Finance Minister and then inviting the Press Gallery over for an informal meet and greet with the economy as the backdrop.
  
  Then to have some journalists treat the event as a “party” and start downing the booze. Then start insulting others. Denigrating the event and its importance.
  
  TVNZ, YOU have a problem!
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:49pm
- Anthony Melchett
  
  Mods – you cut out the best bit…
  
  “Multiple attendees, parliamentary staff and journalists from different organisations, have corroborated that during the event, TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman repeatedly shouted the homophobic slur “faggot” at fellow journalist Lloyd Burr. Sherman has claimed this occurred in response to an alleged racial slur used by Burr, a claim he disputes. The precise factual dispute over what prompted the exchange remains unresolved. The core facts are that attendees were drinking and the former chair of the press gallery Maiki Sherman repeatedly and in a professional setting called a gay colleague a “faggot”.
  
  The incident was so disruptive and inappropriate that the event was abruptly ended.
  
  And now finally it gets reported on, behind a payroll on the herald though as the don’t want too many people reading it…
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:53pm
- plc
  
  So Stuff’s concern with this is not around any alleged behaviour but whether Nicola Willis or Simeon Brown leaked to Ani O’Brien.
  
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  April 28, 2026 3:16pm
- Boy Geoff
  
  Will TVNZ’s refusal to comment on the matter reflect poorly on them in the morning?
  
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  April 28, 2026 4:29pm
  - Beach Haven expat
    
    I believe, according to TVNZ’s code of conduct, they would think it is entirely legitimate if we go chase their CEO down a hall and then bang on their door for 10 minutes threatening that not speaking will only make it worse for them in the morning.
    Probably.
    
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    April 28, 2026 11:47pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  [Not here – keep families out of it. holy mod.]
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:50pm
artemisia

India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. CTU president Sandra Grey said “In this case, we have seen absolutely nothing. It’s being signed without unions even seeing the text, let alone contributing to the conversation.”

Many would think the CTU “contributing to the conversation” is more likely to obstruct and delay. Nice headline to let their members know they are upset though.

Today the CTU will have the opportunity to instruct two governments what they did wrong. Headlines Rile OK. Yes, spelling intentional.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/593522/council-of-trade-unions-calls-for-transparency-on-india-new-zealand-free-trade-agreement
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April 28, 2026 8:04am
- peterwn
  
  Would CTU unions consult their memberships, or would a CTU view be the views of those at the top who are political animals anyway. Anyway union leaderships do not like ordinary members getting too stroppy.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:32am
- Swifty
  
  If far-left unionists want a say in our free trade agreements then they should stand as candidates in our general election – once elected, that can have their input.
  
  Otherwise, I don’t want them anywhere near them.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:36am
  - Cassandra
    
    They have one, possibly two, political parties already.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:30am
    - Swifty
      
      Exactly!
      
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      April 28, 2026 9:42am
    - pdm
      
      Bought and paid for with Union members compulsory contributions.
      
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      April 28, 2026 9:43am
      - Taieri
        
        Union members compulsory contributions
        ————
        
        Union membership is not compulsory.
        
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        April 28, 2026 9:54am
      - Jethrod
        
        Only if your arm is half-way up your back!
        
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        April 28, 2026 5:01pm
  - septic skeptic
    
    That’s not generally the way it’s done in a modern democracy. The usual route to influence is via donations or lobbyists.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:33am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      Secret Political Party Foundations are popular ways of raising funds these days utilising pay-for-play agreements (favourable Fishing Industry and Horse Racing Industry regulation and legislation are a distinguishing feature).
      
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      April 28, 2026 3:04pm
- rouppe
  
  If the CTU believes that they ought to be consulted on the FTA (which describes access, not employment conditions), should the Business Roundtable have been consulted as well?
  
  Or would that be a case of carpetbaggers having undue influence.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:36am
  - pdm
    
    Does the Business Roundtable still exist?
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:45am
    - Taieri
      
      It is called New Zealand Initiative now.
      
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      April 28, 2026 9:54am
    - Swifty
      
      Subsumed into the New Zealand Initiative.
      
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      April 28, 2026 10:20am
    - peterwn
      
      BRT died when its founder/leader/mouthpiece died.
      
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      April 28, 2026 11:20am
    - virtualmark
      
      It morphed into the New Zealand Initiative.
      
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Initiative
      
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      April 28, 2026 11:52am
- rjay
  
  Surely the Parliamentary representatives of the unions will have done the due diligence on behalf of the workers. Isn’t that why unions pay a levy to the Labour Party?
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:43am
  - Swifty
    
    Indeed.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:07am
- kowtow
  
  The fact remains that there’s secrecy involved .
  
  Hardly democratic .
  
  And I’d warrant the majority of MPs who vote yes won’t be fully in the picture either.
  
  Again ,hardly democratic .In fact something of a farce.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:53am
  - Swifty
    
    We elect our representatives to decide these things on our behalf kowtow.
    
    I don’t go along with all of this widespread community consultation lark which has bloomed in the last 20, 30 years.
    
    It comes with the real costs of dilution, delay and denied benefits.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:10am
    - kowtow
      
      You miss my point.
      
      MPs will vote by party dictat , not what’s in the detail.
      
      Their job is to know what’s going on.I didn’t mention “community consultation” , i said they won’t know all the details and it’s their job to be on top of that.
      
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      April 28, 2026 11:29am
      - Swifty
        
        Yes, fair point.
        
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        April 28, 2026 1:45pm
    - Bevan
      
      Agree, what is the point of electing representatives if everything needs to be minutely dissected by the public.
      
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      April 28, 2026 12:05pm
      - kowtow
        
        What is the point of elected representatives who don’t/won’t minutely dissect legislation ( or even be adequately briefed thereon).
        
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        April 28, 2026 3:04pm
- MCōs
  
  The public has been invited to share their views.
  Unfortunately the window closed before the full text of the agreement was available to peruse, which happens today
  https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-concluded-but-not-in-force/new-zealand-india-free-trade-agreement/share-your-views
  The agreement has been signed, but it does not come into effect until it is ratified by parliament.
  Prior to that it goes to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee
  
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  April 28, 2026 11:53am
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360970012/winston-peters-running-show-christopher-luxon-loses-grip
And so the campaign continues, this time from a maori activist’s point of view and happily promoted by the left MSM.
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April 28, 2026 8:06am
- Gravelroad
  
  I read as far as this:
  “The Luxon debacle is making column-writing a real pain in the neck.”
  Don’t do it then.
  Your columns will not be missed.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:23am
  - rjay
    
    Yes. As satire goes it has some amusing bits but satire should also be original or highlight a truth.
    
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    April 28, 2026 8:49am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Yes it is just pathetic. I am old enough to remember relying on newspapers for most my news. I also remember such newspapers as an informative read. I am referring to the 20th century part of my life.
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:48am
  - peterwn
    
    At that time, newspaper proprietors (Messers Wilson and Horton, the Blundell Brothers, Mr Lucas, etc) actually ran newspapers. Then heavily unionised typesetters got stroppy about the stories they were typesetting and from there editorial control moved to the employees. The last would-be proprietor who would have wanted to exercise editorial control was female mining magnate Gina Rinehart who purchased a 20+% share of Fairfax (SMH, Age, etc) but was effectively denied a Board seat.
    
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    April 28, 2026 11:30am
- wisteria
  
  If anyone thinks Winston is “running the show” they are seriously deluded. He has never run anything and probably never will. He is well past his Use by date and should retire gracefully while he can. I would like to see a list of things he had brought to the New Zealand people.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:12pm
  - marcw
    
    1. Keeping the media guessing
    2. Good foreign affairs representation
    3. Gold card
    4. … I got nothing …
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:39pm
Scott

“Jimmy Kimmel has a late night show on ABC. On his program the day before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Kimmel did a bit about the dinner that included this:

Jimmy Kimmel mocking Melania Trump at his alternate universe parody WH correspondence dinner saying ..

“OUR FIRST LADY, MELANIA IS HERE. LOOK AT MELANIA, SO BEAUTIFUL MRS. TRUMP, YOU HAVE A GLOW LIKE AN EXPECTANT WIDOW.”

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/04/the-king-of-comedy.php

In what universe is it a joke to muse about Melania becoming a widow? Given that her husband had already survived two assassination attempts?

And in a case of life imitating art her husband has to survive another assassination attempt the next day at the White House Correspondents dinner!

Shouldn’t Kimmel’s employer make a stand and fire this guy? He’s not funny. His audience is shrinking. And he’s just a Trump hater.

The left generally needs to make a meaningful stand against political violence. They’ve tried to kill the president of the United States three times now.
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April 28, 2026 8:08am
- septic skeptic
  
  I think it would be good if Melania could persuade Donald to resign the presidency for his own safety and the good of their family.
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:37am
  - Notsofast
    
    Not so good for Cubans Venezuelans and Iranians who in very clear majorities love Trump.
    
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    April 28, 2026 9:50am
  - imalwaysright
    
    What if someone tries to kill the next President?
    Do they just keep resigning?
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:07am
  - Scott
    
    Septic, he was elected twice. Why give in to the haters?
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:12am
  - David Garrett
    
    Septic: I doubt Mrs Trump could persuade her husband to do anything…if she tried he’d probably trade her in…as he has done before.
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:23am
  - virtualmark
    
    It’s an open secret in Washington that Melania hates Donald. I doubt she cares about his safety.
    
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    April 28, 2026 11:50am
    - David George
      
      Have you got a credible source for this “open secret”?
      From what I can see she genuinely loves her husband but that’s just my opinion based on how she looks at him and from what she has said.
      
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      April 28, 2026 2:29pm
    - virtualmark
      
      It’s well attested, by people close to Trump’s circle. For example https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/melania-trump-fing-hates-husband-34739809
      but there’s also a lot of first-hand reports from people like Stephanie Wolkoff and Noel Casler.
      
      She lives separately from Trump.
      
      She has had a “partner”, Hank Siemers, who was the head of security for Tiffany Jewellers, who are on the ground floor of Trump Tower. For example https://www.women.com/1959334/melania-trump-rumors-love-life-relationship-donald/
      
      It’s widely believed she was going to divorce Trump as far back as 2015 but was made to stay on until the election, for appearances sake. Then there’ve been multiple references to her re-negotiating her prenup in 2016 and in 2023/2024. For example https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/melania-trump-donald-trump-prenup and https://www.newsweek.com/melania-trump-prenup-donald-lawyer-1832264
      
      And you can see for yourself the body language when they’re together is very strained, and she tries as hard as she can to keep a bit of distance from Trump.
      
      Their marriage was always more of a transaction than a love match.
      
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      April 28, 2026 3:17pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        Lots of innuendo and rumour in those reports, but nothing of substance.
        
        All of those sources have a known bias. To use Vanity Fair as any sort of support is seriously deluded. It would be fair to say they hate Melania Trump with a vengence.
        
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        April 28, 2026 3:52pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        “first-hand reports from people like Stephanie Wolkoff”
        
        You sure about that?
        
        “In an interview with the BBC, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff dismissed rumors that Melania Trump was a victim who wanted a divorce,” Newsweek, 2020
        
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        April 28, 2026 6:08pm
      - KH
        
        Melania is great. She does the job expected of her and does it well. Looks good, moves well at events in terms of being supportive and the fine balance of not stepping out of her place. A tricky task.
        It’s not a common setup the deal Melania and Donald have. But not every marriage has to be ma and pa in suburbia.
        
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        April 28, 2026 6:23pm
      - Beach Haven expat
        
        Ah yes, The Mirror. A well-known source of Trump love.
        
        I know not whether the marriage is rock-solid or a sham. What I do know is many of the same types who have written in the second term about this ‘loveless’ marriage are not dissimilar to those who predicted Melania wasn’t sticking around for long after Trump got botted out the White House first time around. Those ‘in-the-know’ takes proved to be untrue.
        
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        April 28, 2026 11:55pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Those links were just the immediate ones I found with a Google search for a quick reply to David George. There are plenty of other similar reports.
        
        More importantly, outlets like Vanity Fair and authors like Michael Wolff don’t publish without airtight legal backing – especially with people as litigious as the Trumps.
        
        So yes, I’m inclined to believe those stories. I also believe my own eyes … you need to watch Melania when she’s around Donald. Her body language is pretty clear. She keeps her distance, she tries not to have any physical contact with him (such as holding his hand) etc.
        
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        April 29, 2026 7:50am
- sungsamning
  
  Its time for the FCC to withdraw their broadcast license.
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:32am
- MCōs
  
  Down through the years multiple American politicians have been killed or wounded by hardline rightwing assassins, but
  “Never in American history has there been a president who is more inciteful of violence than Trump.”
  https://x.com/maddenifico/status/2048758612034466002?s=61
  
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  April 28, 2026 11:17am
  - Don Beckett
    
    Yes, and Trump is correct.
    
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    April 28, 2026 11:39am
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      Yet to see him describe the left as Nazis and Hitler.
      
      Yet to see him go on and call for their murder.
      
      Things the left does as a default position.
      
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      April 28, 2026 12:14pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Interestingly, the only US politician to be on the record as saying Trump is Hitler is … JD Vance.
        
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        April 28, 2026 3:39pm
    - Notsofast
      
      Yes indeed he is correct.
      Look at Zhoran Mamdani, Hasan Piker, Kahlil Mahmood, all being given hero welcomes on campuses.
      And the left celebrate the demise of Charlie Kirk and the Insurance CEO.
      They tear down pictures of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and will not condemn October 7 because they claim rape allegations are false.
      It is a demonic body of work, and accelerating.
      
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      April 28, 2026 2:02pm
- virtualmark
  
  Scott,
  
  Kimmel’s segment was a comedic roast of Trump and his cabinet, in the tradition of the comedic roasts usually done at the White House Correspondents Dinner. He did it because this year there was no roast scheduled in the WHCD. You can watch it for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRjKhsJc95o
  
  He wasn’t seriously advocating that Trump should be assassinated.
  
  I understand why some might be upset. Comedy is to each person’s individual taste. But let’s also be consistent. Look at Trump’s comments on, for example, the attack on Paul Pelosi, the deaths of Rob Reiner and Bob Mueller, or inciting a crowd to hang his Vice-President. Methinks it would be hypocritical to clutch your pearls too hard about what Kimmel said.
  
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  April 28, 2026 11:49am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    “Kimmel’s segment was a comedic roast of Trump” good cover, except he does it every week.
    
    It’s got to the point it’s like reading posts by Wandering Star. So boring, so predictable, so single track, and so wrong that it becomes a blessed relief when those posts aren’t here.
    
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    April 28, 2026 3:55pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Well, I’m a centrist, and I look for the reasonable person interpretation. If that doesn’t line up with what you think then perhaps you’re the extremist?
      
      Which part of my post was unreasonable or unfair?
      
      I provided a link so you can see Kimmel’s clip for yourself – rather than a beat-up interpretation from someone else. I pointed out that what he said was in the same style as typical comedic roasts. I acknowledged that some might not think it funny. And I pointed out that the Trumps complaining about rhetoric is people in glasshouses throwing stones.
      
      Which part of that is unreasonable? Show me on the doll where I hurt you.
      
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      April 29, 2026 7:57am
- Tom Hunter
  
  We should run a test where Greg Gutfield opens with a similar scene:
  
  “Our First Lady, Michele is here. Look at Michele, so beautiful. Mrs Obama, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
  
  Then check the reactions on the Left. Judging by the standards expressed now they’ll be cool with it, ammirite?
  
  BTW, I don’t think Kimmel should be fired but instead made to perform his show in Blackface for a week, since he once thought that was good for laughs.
  
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  April 28, 2026 12:45pm
- AitchW
  
  Left wing “comedians” are just vile.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:25pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  In what universe is it a joke to muse about Melania becoming a widow?
  
  Possibly in the same universe where someone can say “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” and “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”
  
  Is it an entry requirement of your cult to be a hypocrite?
  
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  April 28, 2026 8:16pm
redeye

One rule for thee;-

Multiple attendees, parliamentary staff and journalists from different organisations, have corroborated that during the event, TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman repeatedly shouted the homophobic slur “faggot” at fellow journalist Lloyd Burr. Sherman has claimed this occurred in response to an alleged racial slur used by Burr, a claim he disputes.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-195304251
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April 28, 2026 8:29am
- imalwaysright
  
  Sounds like Maiki may have anger or alcohol problems, probably both.
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:16am
  - Blog-aholic
    
    Sounds similar to Ms. K Allen……
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:25am
- Boy Geoff
  
  Some people in this nation just can’t cope with bold, assertive wahine!
  
  Heh
  
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  April 28, 2026 9:19am
  - pdm
    
    BG – by `bold’ do you mean `scone doing’ or worse than that?
    
    Perhaps hysterical is a better fit?
    
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    April 28, 2026 12:15pm
    - Boy Geoff
      
      Maybe just bolshy, demanding and entitled…
      
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      April 28, 2026 12:57pm
- Gravelroad
  
  Kids in the playground stuff.
  A supposed senior journalist at a work do feels justified to allegedly shout out slurs – because someone else did it first?
  That would be considered unprofessional and entitled in the real world.
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:13am
  - zulumonster
    
    And if it were a politician that did this it would be front page headlines until the culprit resigned.
    Sure, there are different standards for politicians, but the hypocrisy of the media in keeping silent to protect one of their own is laughable.
    
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    April 28, 2026 10:26am
    - plc
      
      And now Stuff are spinning it as “Did National leak to Ani O’Brien”
      
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      April 28, 2026 3:18pm
- MCōs
  
  If this happened there must be some collaboration from the multiple attendees.
  Maiki Sherman couldn’t have paid them all off?
  
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  April 28, 2026 11:36am
  - Boy Geoff
    
    In a normal world, there’d probably be a few questions that Maiki would need to answer…
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:01pm
- Paulus
  
  It cannot be substantiated that Maiki had been on the Turps perhaps, and frustrated at not getting her own way which she always wants, as we see continually.
  She is so clever that it leaves vus all in her shadow.
  She can shout louder than any others, we have seen.
  
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  April 28, 2026 2:39pm
imalwaysright

Three women from Europe solve a burglary and recover their gear.

The cops reluctantly turned up at the initial address but wouldn’t turn up at the address the women tracked their gear to, so the women went in and confronted the scumbags themselves.

‘Girl power’: Women hunt burglars, find suspect wearing their stolen clothes | Stuff https://share.google/MxtW73FmR72jIGrlj
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April 28, 2026 8:45am
Yvette

Māori shut out of curriculum decisions against ministry’s advice, tribunal hears
The evidence presented at the urgent inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal last week pointed to the distinct and fundamental difference between Māori being consulted, and having genuine decision-making power [1]

Since AI is changing the face of education from knowing facts and information to becoming a skill to write a prompt which will give information a student may seek, how much is the inclusion or not of the Maori “Te Kai a te Karoro” (The Feast of the Seagulls) to be in New Zealand History in a couple of years utterly unimportant, compared with the skill required to master AI? In this sense AI may be the great leveller to the equality of education.

It will in a sense become what some thought should have been the position in Covid : of HERE IS THE VACCINE (regardless of your view of its efficacy) which will reduce the seriousness of the disease when you contract it, and reduce the chance of your elders dying, COME AND GET IT!
Rather than medical staff seeking out every last Maori in locations where even covid was least likely to find them.

The equivalent will soon be offered by AI : information and education that will be a matter of COME AND GET IT rather than the Waitangi Tribunal suggesting what education should reach the wop wops.
___________
[1] https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/24/maori-shut-out-of-curriculum-decisions-against-ministrys-advice-tribunal-hears/
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April 28, 2026 9:06am
- RoboRob
  
  WTF is the Waitangi tribunal doing taking claims on the school corriculum?
  
  We have seen the BSA try and expand from its core role but that pales in comparision to what the Waitangi tribunal has done. The have moved from a treaty settlement arbitrator to all areas of society. They have even tried to overrule new parliamenty laws, in essence seeing themeselves as the NZ version of the US supreme court.
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:56am
  - pdm
    
    RR – Waitangi Tribunal jumped `way out of their box’ years ago.
    
    BSA is way behind and is/are in catch up mode before they are extinguished completely.
    
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    April 28, 2026 12:19pm
    - RoboRob
      
      My money on the BSA would be as follows…
      
      5% chance of abolition
      30% chance they are renamed with a new mandate
      65% chance nothing happens whatsoever prior to Novemeber.
      
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      April 28, 2026 1:26pm
  - Paulus
    
    Does not the Waitangi Tribunal (Tri being =three people) have instore some 3,500 recomendations awaitng promulgation by Parliament, as thet are only a taxpayer Maori shouting point.
    Get rid of it now and save millions – whatever they want will not make any difference.
    
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    April 28, 2026 2:44pm
- KH
  
  “……..Māori shut out of curriculum decisions against ministry’s advice,……”
  What great news.
  
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  April 28, 2026 6:26pm
slightlyrighty

From Stuff: Great headline.

FTA: Luxon says ‘incredibly good deal’, Hipkins says not something they would have negotiated.

Just shows how dumb Labour actually is.
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April 28, 2026 9:33am
- Bevan
  
  Not something they would have negotiated, but they will support it – makes perfect sense…..
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:01am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  Interestingly, Damien O’Connor was on with Michael Laws the other day saying how Labour are proud of their efforts in getting it underway initially and was very supportive.
  
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  April 28, 2026 10:39am
- R
  
  Hipkins is actually reminding voters that this FTA with India would have been beyond his governments capability.
  An honest comment for once.
  
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  April 28, 2026 12:15pm
- mandk
  
  Hipkins is just covering up for his party’s stupidity and laziness in government.
  
  Labour had a Foreign Minister who didn’t travel, and they gave up trying to get an FTA with India.
  
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  April 28, 2026 12:58pm
- Paulus
  
  Did not a Labour Government commence negotiaions for the Indian FTA some 11 years ago ?
  
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  April 28, 2026 2:46pm
  - R
    
    NZ didn’t have a Labour government 11 years ago……. 2014?????
    
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    April 28, 2026 7:46pm
Diogenes

I have long been a great fan of G.K. Chesterton, who had an amazing ability to encapsulate a world of wisdom into a few words. So much of what he wrote a century ago is becoming more pertinent every day. I happened across this excerpt today, which is so apropos:

“The journalists would appear to be in an almost literal sense the priests of the modern world. They may not rise precisely to the tremendous responsibility which was laid upon Peter, but at least it can be said that whatever they bind on earth is bound on earth, and whatever they loose on earth is loosed on earth. They have essentially and absolutely the same functions that were employed by the old priests, but their power for deceit is even greater, and their responsibility to the world even less.

A comparison between the priests and the journalists would be striking in many points […] The priests influence and power consisted almost entirely in the fact that he was the only man who brought news. […] the corruption of the priesthood occurred at the precise moment in which it changed from a minority organised to impart knowledge into a minority organised to withhold it.

The great danger of decadence in journalism is almost exactly the same. Jousnalism possesses in itself the potentiality of becoming one of the most frightful monstrosities and delusions that have ever cursed mankind. This horrible transformation will occur at the exact instant at which journalists realise they can become an aristocracy.”
(“The New Priests”, in The Speaker, vol 4, 1901.)

Chesterton was, himself, a journalist, so he knew of what he spoke. As a former journalist myself, I wince at how closely he describes what is happening today. And I weep.
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April 28, 2026 9:46am
Swifty

Some rather strange sights in the Oxford University faculty:

https://x.com/kingbobiiv/status/2048811733846827386?s=46

Not quite how I picture Oxford professors and lecturers actually.
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April 28, 2026 10:18am
sungsamning

Susan Kokinda links a third assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the Washington Hilton—where a 31-year-old Californian, Cole Tomas Allen, charged a Secret Service checkpoint with firearms and knives—to a broader political struggle she frames as the British imperial system versus Trump’s “American System.” [Impactful leaders are targeted. So Biden was completely safe. Lincoln and Kennedy, not so much. The city doesn’t like it when the ‘rules based order’ is threatened. It wasn’t keen on McKinley. And the king is visiting. Will the ‘no kings’ crowd be protesting? ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u6LMzfdiak
The Hidden Hand Behind Trump’s Third Assassination Attempt.
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April 28, 2026 10:25am
sungsamning

The growing numbers of Muslims in the United Kingdom, along with their organized and issue-driven politics, has made them an increasingly consequential – if not outsizes – part of the country’s electorate – representing new challenges for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left government and efforts to maintain a unified stance on key issues. [Watch the uni-party do the same here as the number of Muslim voters rises. Will pandering to a rising number of Hindu voters in the wake of the FTA with India mean they have to flip a coin?]
https://justthenews.com/world/europe/muslim-voters-are-reshaping-uk-politics-creating-new-challenges-starmer-government
Muslim voters are reshaping U.K. politics, creating new challenges for Starmer government.
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April 28, 2026 10:25am
Libertarians are right

So, Trump isn’t a good person. I don’t think that’s unfair to say.
However, the Media don’t do themselves any favours.
When interviewing Trump about the latest assassination attempt, Laura O’Donnell from CBS quoted the alleged wannabe assassin calling Trump all sorts of names. Trump calls her out on it saying he’s none of those things.
Her response was “Oh, do you think he was talking about you?”
It’s a standard Leftwing trick where the heavily imply something and then when it’s refuted they claim it must be true because you refuted it when it wasn’t explicitly about you. It’s childish and idiotic and dishonest.
This is why no one trusts the Left and the media.
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April 28, 2026 10:30am
- MCōs
  
  Here’s a transcript of the entire interview
  Most of it is taken up with the usual Trump talking points. If the interviewer has a political bias it doesn’t show and there are numerous points she could have picked him up on.
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/read-the-full-transcript-of-norah-odonnells-interview-with-president-trump-60-minutes/#
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:55pm
  - Libertarians are right
    
    So, what I wrote was in there and relates to the worst accusations against him. My point about bias stands. Maybe you don’t understand how much the US Left uses “I didn’t use his name, you just assumed I was talking about him because you know it’s true”?
    
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    April 28, 2026 5:02pm
- virtualmark
  
  I thought that was a very effective riposte to him. Good interviewing.
  
  The phrase that comes to mind is “hoisted on his own petard”.
  
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  April 28, 2026 3:50pm
Dudley Quaffquaff

Credit where it’s due – this is a helpful, clear and informative article on Stuff, about how they do means testing for pensions overseas and how it might work in NZ. And it’s not even pay walled

https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/360969858/it-might-be-coming-us-so-how-do-they-do-means-testing-overseas
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April 28, 2026 11:23am
- pdm
  
  DQ – Stuff are a bit thick.
  
  Plus they prefer to censor comments they don’t like and ban contributors with a different point of view – no matter how mild.
  
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  April 28, 2026 12:22pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    Generally, I would agree. But this particular article is actually a good one and that should be acknowledged and encouraged
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:19pm
- Taieri
  
  informative article on Stuff
  ———–
  
  “We have NZ Superannuation – a universal pension based on residency which is neither income- nor asset-tested.”
  
  NZ Super is income tested to a point. Its net value significantly reduces when the total income reaches usual tax tresholds..
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:00pm
  - rouppe
    
    Hmmm…
    
    NZ Super is income. Your total income is taxed at the appropriate marginal rates.
    
    If you have more than one source of income then one of those sources has to be taxed at the secondary rate until the total tax wash up on March 31.
    
    It doesn’t matter whether those two sources of income are two jobs or one job and nz super.
    
    Is that what you meant?
    
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    April 28, 2026 4:32pm
- RoboRob
  
  It’s not paywalled becuase it is pat of their agenda.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:29pm
- peterwn
  
  It does not mention the big elephant in the room – Winston Peters. There will not be any substantive changes to NZ Super until Winston is pushing daisies. Until then the article is merely hypothetical.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:30pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Maiki Sherman making headlines on NZ Herald and RNZ news

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/tvnz-political-editor-maiki-sherman-allegedly-used-a-homophobic-slur-in-an-incident-involving-lloyd-burr-in-finance-minister-nicola-willis-office/premium/K3ADI6IN7ZDN7P3W54KYBZBPKE/
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April 28, 2026 1:05pm
- Hugh Jarse
  
  So TNVZ knew about this for almost 12 months and it appears it’s only with sunlight coming in are they investigating. And the wider media knew about it through attendance at the booze-up but kept stum on it. Hypocrites. I wonder if TVNZ has the Rainbow tick and whether Maiki has been through the training ?. Maiki and Tova seem to be delivering on their appointments.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:18pm
  - Blog-aholic
    
    They do.
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:37pm
- rouppe
  
  You’re kidding. On the same day Ani O’Brien posts about it (hat tip Anthony Melchett)
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:26pm
- marcw
  
  Damage control – about a year too late.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:32pm
- RoboRob
  
  Funny how the media have known all about this for a year and it only gets coverage (behind a paywall) when someone independant outs the issue. I see TVNZ isn’t commenting and neither is Stuff.
  
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  April 28, 2026 1:32pm
  - Blog-aholic
    
    TVNZ, Stuff and the remaining MSM (and others) are collaborative in their complicity.
    
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    April 28, 2026 1:40pm
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Will be interesting if Lloyd Burr has anything to say about it.
    
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    April 28, 2026 3:27pm
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    According to HDPA at 5.25 pm, there has been another incident where Maiki has behaved badly in a bar where she berated another journalist.
    
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    April 28, 2026 5:29pm
  - MCōs
    
    Outed by someone who almost certainly wasn’t there and almost certainly has an agenda that nobody else wants any part of because I’m guessing there’s a lot more to this story of which this was one part.
    I wonder who ratted to O’Brien
    
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    April 28, 2026 5:34pm
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      “Ratted” haha. NGiven HDPA put this out on her show I would say it was based on pretty defendable information. It certainly does appear there is more to come but probably not in Maiki’s favour.
      
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      April 28, 2026 8:30pm
  - Beach Haven expat
    
    In the Stuff story: A spokesperson for Stuff said the company “stands by, and has complete faith in, Lloyd Burr’s account of the events and his conduct in Minister Willis’ office last May”.
    But admittedly less than the Willis quote in which she says she reached out to Burr the day after to see how he was.
    
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    April 29, 2026 12:01am
- rouppe
  
  Oh, the link is pay walled.
  
  LOL! Still trying to hide it. Be interesting to see if it’s mentioned on tvnz news tonight
  
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  April 28, 2026 4:20pm
- Boy Geoff
  
  Maybe Sherman needs to do a stint on Dancing with the Stars…
  
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  April 28, 2026 5:01pm
Ra Henare

Is anyone else getting sick to death of Media(Local and International) breathless reporting/Headline….Trump says…

Have they not learnt he talks crap a lot. Personally I think he just says/posts crap to get headlines.

Of course he is doing standard Polly talk.
Create fear and confusion amongst the voters to take their focus off US domestic politics…

IMHO. He is heading for impeachment when the Democrates take power in Congress at the midterms. Ie real impeachment. Removal from office.

But like all things Political.
Its not over until the fat lady sings.
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April 28, 2026 2:37pm
- RoboRob
  
  Yup, I am tired of the media (and TDS people) reporting everything he says. He says a lot, much of it is random crap that people with TDS latch onto as if it was fact. The same people that say he constantly lies somehow always manage to believe anything he says that is ‘bad’.
  
  Re impreachment, from the time he was re elected, everyone knew that the minute the Dems got back into power impeachment was on the table. No matter what had transpired. That the Dems will likely win back control of at least the house is no surprise and impeachment certainly is not either.
  
  Trump (like many presidents) has always known he had only two of his four years to implement policy.
  
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  April 28, 2026 3:34pm
- virtualmark
  
  Interesting to see that now more than 50% of Americans support impeaching Trump – including over 20% of *people who voted for Trump in 2024*. https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-04-22-strength-in-numbers-verasight-impeachment-polling
  
  If Trump is still President in 2027 the Dems will move to impeach him. But I also figure it’s no more than 50:50 that his health lasts till then, and if it does then no better than a 5% chance, at most, that impeachment gets the required votes in the Senate.
  
  No matter what in 2027 and 2028 he will be a lame duck President. The best he can hope for is to at least retain the Senate so he can push through things like judicial appointments.
  
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  April 28, 2026 3:46pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Do tell, what grounds will there be for impeachment?
  
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  April 28, 2026 4:08pm
- Steve Otto N Shore
  
  “Trump says.”
  The [deleted] leftist media say much more!!!
  
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  April 28, 2026 4:20pm
Ra Henare

I have always wondered about Iran and the 60% enriched uranium. Why 60%.

A level it has apparently had for some time. Certainly long enough to move to 90% and a bomb.

This clip goes a long way to explaining the ins and outs.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vGhZX32njX0
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April 28, 2026 2:45pm
greybeard

This idea of slackening the rules governing heavy trucks’ movements & timings & loadings requires a bit more thought.
What consideration has been given to the effect of extra weight on tyres, and even more importantly on brakes ? It is all very well to increase a truck & trailer load by another 10 tonnes but will the brakes be up to it , especially over any great distance or on the very steep NZ roads ?

Will not more fuel be required to get the rigs moving and keep them moving ?

Will their speed limits be reduced to (say) 80kph to offset the extra physical forces in play?

Will the roads suffer more ? More weight = more compression, more friction from tyres when braking, etc

Will drivers need extra training etc to cope with heavier loads ?

Who will monitor the trucks’ loadings after this new regime is in place ? Will the new routes allowed have access to weigh-stations ?

Any insurance issues ? More rigorous enforcement of C.of F ?
What will happen if all truck operators decide to increase their allowable loads, even if their vehicles do not meet the new conditions ?
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April 28, 2026 5:50pm
- AitchW
  
  The maximum weight limits are to a large extent arbitrary. I wonder how much difference 4 tonnes will make to a truck currently maxed out at 40?
  Remember, it’s the Road Transport Association asking for the extensions, it wouldn’t make these suggestions if they’d be likely to damage trucks.
  Modern trucks have vastly improved suspension and tyres so the load is well spread.
  I reckon it’s a good idea. What would have been carried on 11 trucks will now be carried on 10.
  The CVST (god squad) may need some extra resources, but it’s still a good idea.
  
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  April 29, 2026 5:42pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Road damage goes up as the 4th power of the axle weight. So if weights increase 10% – damage goes up about 45% (1.1 to the power 4 is 1.46). So savings on diesel will be offset by increased road maintenance costs. It does balance out a bit as RUC costs are based on axle weights …. but an increase in axle weights will cause a more than % increase in road damage.
    
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    April 29, 2026 6:44pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360971298/national-said-cancelling-interviews-was-chicken-so-why-did-christopher-luxon-cancel-breakfast
This is the latest in the anti-Luxon campaign from the loony left MSM. From yet another maori activist on Stuff’s payroll.
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April 28, 2026 6:50pm

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