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May 5, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 05 May 2026

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peterwn

Crago Stobo Chair of Financial Markets Authority resigns – Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? – Who will watch the watchmen?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/594217/chair-of-financial-markets-authority-resigns-after-conduct-review
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May 5, 2026 8:00am
- Cassandra
  
  It’s a strange case. He criticised Labour over the Principles bill. Let’s hope he now stands for Parliament. Clever man.
  
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  May 5, 2026 8:24am
  - pdm
    
    ACT might find a place for him on their list but hopefully they will not downgrade any of their existing excellent MP’s to fit him in.
    
    I suspect Marc Cameron is a possibility to stand down given his health but he seems a real battler to me and may well stick it out for another 3 years.
    
    From what David Seymour implies ACT do have some new talent to add to their Parliamentary team in addition to Christmas so they will need to get their vote up to at least 15% to accommodate them all.
    
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    May 5, 2026 8:34am
    - R
      
      Looking at the current ACT lineup and potentials, there would appear to be many spots for a clever man
      
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      May 5, 2026 12:02pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “Let’s hope he now stands for Parliament. Clever man.”
    
    In NZ they seem to be mutually exclusive.
    
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    May 5, 2026 10:42am
    - Cassandra
      
      Only those left of centre.
      
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      May 5, 2026 12:15pm
- Inandout
  
  Used to be subjected to the FMA’s rapacious annual fees which eventually led to me closing my commercial insurance agency. As a close friend remarked ‘the FMA annual fees will increase in line with their handsome salariy increases’. I still receive their emails and yes the te reo is still there.
  
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  May 5, 2026 8:53am
- imalwaysright
  
  We would expect this under the Ardern Regime.
  
  Not only is the Ardern Regime still operating, but it seems to be doing so with the tacit approval of the current Government.
  
  Hopefully this will backfire as Stobo is now free to criticise his critics.
  
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  May 5, 2026 10:33am
  - Ghost
    
    political neutrality Is something that people on this blog demand, and rightfully so. No, I don’t think anyone expected or saw political neutrality under the Ardern government
    
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    May 5, 2026 11:58am
- M.Solvent
  
  I’m sure he would have received the same treatment if he had praised Labour’s co-governance policy (sarc)
  
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  May 5, 2026 11:05am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Laws covers it here on the platform in detail – treaty of Waitangi provisions te au Maori used to get rid of him:
  https://youtu.be/nUgl_bMNkuU?si=bU2_oj_0guo5Epsh
  
  I note Bryce Edwards take in this on his fb is far harder left than his usual.
  
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  May 5, 2026 7:28pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Chloe claims that Viv Beck is consistently and excessively negative in her messaging.

Black, pot, kettle.

Assemble in the right order.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/594228/swarbrick-confirms-frustration-over-heart-of-the-city-ceo-s-negative-takes
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May 5, 2026 8:02am
- Swifty
  
  Hahahahaha!
  
  Yes, I laughed at that when I saw it last night.
  
  Chloe, the biggest moaner and whinger, from the party of moaners and whingers and who are constantly complaining about everything under the sun, has a problem with someone complaining about affairs in her electorate.
  
  Funny that.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:31am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Leaving aside the uncomfortable subject matter, this line caught my eye:

“While being married to more than one person is illegal in Italy, the practice exists among some migrant communities”.

It makes me wonder whether similar practices happen here, and whether NZ law concerning bigamy is also being flouted.

If so, who made the decision to put migrant interests ahead of the will of parliament and the people of New Zealand?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/04/woman-castrated-bigamist-husband-other-wife-move/
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May 5, 2026 8:10am
- Jack5
  
  Concern about this has been around for a while.
  
  Here’s concern expressed nine years ago about polygamous marriages in NZ.
  
  https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1702/S00191/polygamous-marriage-is-govt-bending-the-rules.htm
  
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  May 5, 2026 11:11am
- Ra Henare
  
  How 19th century quaint. Ie getting wooried about a guy having more than one “”wife””.
  
  I personally know a first wife who with her husband chose a second “”wife”obviously not legally married to the second. But they lived 7 years happily together until he died.
  
  In the 21st Century there is NO REASON to get legally married. So a man with more than one “partner” is ho hum. A bit more rare is a lady with two “partners”.
  Again I know of a lady with 2 guys.
  
  (and that doesnt cover all those long time “cheeters” of both genders.)
  
  In both circumstances above they are/were normal socially accepted good citizens in their local societies.
  
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  May 5, 2026 4:35pm
cas

Interesting article in the Daily Mail today about the new leader of the greens in Britain, Zak Polanski. The comments below could relate to our Greens. I think Chloe has been over to the Uk to catch up with him.

” Since their dramatic triumph in the Gorton and Denton by-election, there has been a huge deconstruction of the Green surge. Their bold and radical policy programme. Their shift away from ‘fluffy environmentalism’. Their impressive and organic grass-roots mobilisation.

But this analysis has overlooked an important fact. There is no ‘Green’ surge.

The party that existed prior to Polanski’s election no longer exists. Its brand has literally been appropriated by the Corbynites. Their agenda. Their organisational infrastructure. Their personnel. All of it has transferred en masse to their new home.

Some may call this a classic hard-Left infiltration. But the Marxist playbook requires the takeover to be covert. The Corbynite annexation of the Greens has happened in plain sight.”
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May 5, 2026 8:17am
- Swifty
  
  Same thing has happened to the NZ Greens – a complete infiltration and takeover by the extreme-left.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:40am
- Bullion
  
  Not surprising another right wing rag doesn’t understand green politics.
  
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  May 5, 2026 11:37am
- Beach Haven expat
  
  It’s not just the Corbynistas but also the Muslim community who see it as a vehicle into the corridors of power.
  Just last week two candidates for the coming council elections were arrested on suspicion of posting anti-Semitic material. While one has been suspended by the party, the other hasn’t and still had the brass front to be out and about canvassing at the weekend.
  The hilarious thing will be when the likes of Polanski (gay, Jewish, rotten teeth, claimed he could hypnotise women so their breasts grew) and the ditz who got elected in Gorton (after a election broadcast entirely in Urdu) meet the rather non-nonsense extreme positions of the Muslim members when they feel they have the numbers.
  
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  May 6, 2026 12:19am
amospicton

He was cleared on all of the primary complaints against him but hauled up due to making public comments that were seen to be pro-government. We can debate whether he should have done given his role that but the question is whether this standard is applied consistently? It smells of a woke witch hunt because Stobo’s views were based on real world realities over public service virtue signaling.
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May 5, 2026 8:23am
- Notsofast
  
  The sacking of Craig Stobo by the national party is the most egregious action of their term.
  Do not ever vote for this crowd again, now they have done the only thing that mattered, re educating the teachers.
  I would rather the country was screwed by the left than by Luxon’s uncle Tom’s.
  
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  May 5, 2026 10:58am
- Quail
  
  amospicton.
  Debating this issue without accurate supporting data is too difficult .
  It could be argued that the opposition for ACT’s bill came from within Government and the Parliamentary opposition.
  So what was Mr Stobo supporting?
  
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  May 5, 2026 11:41am
- Scooter
  
  Worth listening to Michael Laws, he read all 45 pages of the report into Stobo and his opinion is that Stobo was “got” for his submission to the Treaty Principle Bill. They also added in allegations of an inappropriate relationship just for good measure and his political commentary.
  
  It seems if you don’t follow the ideology of these wokesters in Wellington with regard to Te Tiriti then you will be cancelled.
  
  https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/the-real-reason-why-craig-stobo-lost-his-job-as-fma-chair
  
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  May 5, 2026 7:53pm
Yvette

Treaty / Bendigo Santana
Article the second, Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and their respective families and individuals, the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands, estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties, as long as they wish to retain them. However, the Chiefs of the United Tribes and individual Chiefs yield the exclusive right of preemption over lands they may be disposed to alienate, at agreed-upon prices between the proprietors and Her Majesty’s appointed representatives.

1. Why is “the exclusive Maori right of Preemption over such lands as the Pakeha pioneer proprietors may be disposed to alienate [sell]” not a corollary of Article 2?

2. Why is Ngāi Tahu not entitled to a 16.1 percent top-up payment if the current Proprietors are offered more for the purchase of land than they paid Ngāi Tahu, or what they may profit from holding that land?

Is the Treaty of Waitangi just a rather poorly worded real estate agreement?
That’s why the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand makes studying it compulsory?

So, in the context case of the chattels under the same Treaty, how can Ngai Tahu claim under the Treaty what is not in the Treaty? …
“An iwi group’s alleged demand for $180 million in order to approve the Bendigo Santana gold mine exposes how New Zealand’s resource management system has been warped by standover tactics and backroom dealing,” says ACT Resources spokesman Simon Court.
https://www.act.org.nz/news/standover-tactics-exposed-by-180m-pound-of-flesh-for-a-gold-mine
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May 5, 2026 8:36am
- sungsamning
  
  Its down to some ‘raycism’ being permitted. And 50 years of uni-party wokeism and guilt tripping.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:49am
- RoboRob
  
  The treaty is never followed, as you point out Maori are required to offer their property to the crown before selling to any other party.
  
  The work around to get things not reference in the treaty is the ‘principles of the treaty’ claim. Whenever a Maori wants a particular action they claim that the opposite action is not in keeping with the principles of the treaty. The issue, as widely discussed here, is that the ‘principles of the treaty’ are not defined, if they even exist.
  
  Act tried to go down the route of defining these and was shot down by National and NZF. NZF wanted to go down a different route of simply removing references to the principles in law. National watered this down to only some laws. These changes are not likely to be passed this term due to time constraints and the late introduction of the changes.
  
  Either way, neither are a good solution as they don’t stop groups referencing the principles of the treaty to further their goals.
  
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  May 5, 2026 10:08am
  - Cassandra
    
    National’s wishy washy over this is why I no longer donate to them. Labour created the vacuum for Baron Cooke to act but National has reinforced it. (I appreciate that you can’t reinforce a vacuum but you know what I’m driving at).
    
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    May 5, 2026 10:18am
  - septic skeptic
    
    NZF have basically NEVER actually DONE anything to stop brownmail. They want two things. 1. The votes of the gullible. 2. Their cut of the brownmail.
    
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    May 5, 2026 12:14pm
Scooter

I liked his interviews with Michael Laws on The Platform, he always seemed balanced. Looks like he was “cancelled” because of his views. I can’t work out if the left or right cancelled him as both were against the TPB and Luxon said he didn’t like anything about it. This in the RNZ article “His public submission and remarks on the Treaty Principles Bill were found to be “laudatory” of the government, critical of the opposition and in breach of public service requirements to be impartial.”
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May 5, 2026 8:36am
- R
  
  Laudatory!…..in whose opinion we’re they laudatory. Does this person have a name, or just another keyboard critic?
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:39am
- Scooter
  
  Btw this was in reply to Peterwn’s comment about Craig Stobo. Maybe he is free to go back on the The Platform now, hopefully.
  
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  May 5, 2026 5:38pm
Southern Raider

Auckland Council is doing some media about how organic food waste collection has been a moderate success at 40%, but pleading with the city to do better for the climate and energy security (it’s used to generate electricity from biomass).

I’m not sure where they got 40% from (that’s 2 in 5 households) as I regularly walk and drive around neighbourhoods and from what I’ve seen would be at best 10%.

The other 90% of us have to pay for something we don’t use.
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May 5, 2026 8:41am
- Albie
  
  The waste programme collects about 1500 to 2000 tonnes of vegetable matter a month, 90% of the weight of which is water, and they use diesel trucks to transport this water to Reporoa outside Rotorua for processing. Duh!
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:33am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  A very large % of that Greta-approved compost will turn into CO2 and methane.
  
  That’s what happens when you feed the microbes food – be that in a cow or a compost heap.
  
  But somehow the CO2 coming out of compost heaps is The Good Sort and out of cows is The Bad Sort.
  
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  May 5, 2026 1:24pm
  - soothsayer99
    
    Will turn into CO2 anyway eventually. If you can coll3ct and burn the methane, then you reduce the warming potential by 1/30 per mol. And most food is made from in cycle carbon there is a bit of warming to extract. (Of course if you then burn the dinosaur juice to move the waste…..)
    
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    May 5, 2026 10:20pm
David George

There is “outrage” at this plan from Reform UK:
“If you vote Reform you will not have an illegal migrant deportation facility in your area.

We will hold migrants awaiting deportation in constituencies that vote Green instead.”

Priceless piss take from Nige & Co. The pro immigrant types are saying it’s a punishment. Sane people are saying it’s a win-win: more immigrants for those that want them, less for those that don’t.
What’s not to like?
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May 5, 2026 8:46am
- mandk
  
  It’s a great move.
  The pro-illegal migration can’t complain, if all the small boat people are so harmless and culturally enriching.
  
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  May 5, 2026 8:51am
- MCōs
  
  That thinking could be extended to other areas.
  Vote for tougher sentencing — get more prisons in your area.
  Vote for tougher immigration policies — remove all the immigrant medical staff from your hospitals and clinics. Locals only driving your buses, collecting your rubbish, fixing your streets.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:06am
  - David George
    
    Let’s not get carried away MC; it’s a political stunt, one that has beautifully exposed the leftist’s hypocrisy over illegal immigration.
    The problems due to excessive immigration (much of it from the last people you should welcome) are real. The European countries are finally waking up.
    Sweden just introduced new stricter rules for getting citizenship.
    
    ▪️Applicants must have lived at least 8 years in the country.
    ▪️Must prove one is able to provide for oneself [i.e. not a beneficiary] earning at least $2250 a month.
    ▪️Must prove sufficient Swedish language skills and knowledge about Swedish society.
    ▪️People must have lived an “orderly and honorable life” both before arriving in Sweden and while living there.
    
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    May 5, 2026 9:48am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    The left and the dumb woke Centre already made farmers and rural towns pay the price for emissions on the food they consume in the cities.
    So why not dump the illegals in places that want them.
    
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    May 5, 2026 12:44pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Vary clever.
  
  As an analogy I sometimes wondered about the senior executives of Kàinga Ora who live far removed from the damage caused by misbehaving State housing tenants.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:13am
  - kowtow
    
    Judges /parole board/lefty crim hugging MPs and released violent/druggy/ rapey convicts.
    
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    May 5, 2026 9:30am
- sungsamning
  
  Yeah, I saw it too. Poetic justice for the wokesters.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:51am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Reform could call the Green voting electorates “Sanctuary Constituencies”
  
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  May 5, 2026 12:26pm
imalwaysright

Seymour told Plunket on the Platform that we provide 50,000,000 school lunches annually.

That’s 50,000,000 times that parental responsibility has been assumed by the State.

Not all of them are deadbeat parents, far from it, but it shows the deadbeats that its okay to be a deadbeat because the Government will fix things so that it is easier for them to be deadbeats.
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May 5, 2026 8:58am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  The socialist state has subsumed the role of parents for decades.
  
  This is just another step.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:40am
- Swifty
  
  Government should only be for things we can’t do ourselves as individuals – like the Courts, Police, Military, setting regulatory frameworks etc.
  
  School lunches are not this.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:47am
  - septic skeptic
    
    I wonder how long it will be before we hear ‘calls for schools to stay open during the holidays to ensure adequate nutrition for tamariki”
    
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    May 5, 2026 1:07pm
    - Beach Haven expat
      
      Or that school meals are delivered to the homes of those truanting?
      
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      May 6, 2026 12:24am
Gravelroad

Help please-
I have been receiving unsolicited scam/spam emails from a source using the name of a friend with whom I legitimately correspond.
I have been deleting and blocking, but believe the time has come that these should be reported to some appropriate authority.
So far I have sent a report enquiry to two email contact addresses at Internal Affairs and one to Netsafe NZ.
I got the addresses from an online search.
All three have been returned as undelivered.
Can anyone provide a legitimate contact for reporting scam emails pls?
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May 5, 2026 9:01am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  My 2 cents worth. Your action depends somewhat on the nature of the email. Is the sender making threats? If it is just a garden variety scam email, why is it not sufficient to block the sender?
  
  Stopping short of employing vast resources, you are not going to uncover the identity of the sender.
  
  So what action are you actually seeking?
  
  If it is targeted at your finances you can report it to your bank.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:17am
  - Gravelroad
    
    I guess my main concern is that the emails arrive under the name of a legitimate friend contact.
    That encourages the receiver to open them without much thought.
    For example, I get a false message from my friend Joe Bloggs which states “ photos for you from from the other day” and “ here is the programme for the next event, sorry for delay.”
    The real senders are from different international addresses each time. It is unclear as to what is their purpose, if any,
    Yes, I can just keep deleting and blocking, but that doesn’t stop them coming.
    
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    May 5, 2026 9:33am
    - Ghost
      
      There is really nothing you can do about it, it’s just the way it works
      
      As a side note, check to see if your email address has been involved in a breach
      
      https://haveibeenpwned.com/
      
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      May 5, 2026 9:42am
      - rouppe
        
        It’s possibly more likely that the friend has been hacked, and their contact list sold off.
        
        One way to verify that is ask a third mutual friend if they are getting the same or similar emails.
        
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        May 5, 2026 12:20pm
    - Fender
      
      It’s your friend who has the problem, his email has been hacked pawned or just collected for their use. Until he does something you are not going to get anything positive to happen . Usually these things do peter out anyway, they get new targets or some AI scan starts to pick up the annoying sender etc
      You can just wait it out or if it gets worse he has some major issues with his accounts and security
      
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      May 5, 2026 12:20pm
- Ghost
  
  Block and move on. Really nothing else to do unless you want to change your email. As a precaution run an offline scan on your computer.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:26am
- pdm
  
  Interesting gravel.
  
  For the last 6 weeks or so I have been receiving unsolicited emails from Auckland FC (genuine I think) in which I have no interest whatsoever.
  
  First I tried to unsubscribe – no availability I could see.
  So then I sent them to Spam and they now turn up in my Spam folder.
  Then I black listed them which I thought would stop them even going to spam.
  
  Not so I am still getting them at the rate of 4 or 5 a week in spam and have given up.
  
  Auckland FC you are doing yourselves no favours with these unsolicited emails. I have no interest in your club whatsoever – so if you are reading this desist and only email your members and fans who agree to receive emails from you.
  
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  May 5, 2026 11:14am
  - Gravelroad
    
    PDM – Maybe they are not really from Auckland FC?
    Have you looked at the address line?
    My emails look to be coming from one of my friends whose name is at the top.
    It is only when I look at the address that it is clear that they are from Ireland, Poland , South America etc. – different each time.
    
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    May 5, 2026 11:50am
    - Fender
      
      Which is why blocking them is just a whack a mole
      You can with some effort make rules to block wording used if its consistent rather than a sender who is changing daily
      
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      May 5, 2026 12:29pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    If you are sufficiently motivated, hand it over to DIA to deal with:
    
    https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam-Report-Spam
    
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    May 5, 2026 1:21pm
  - MCōs
    
    I get a lot of unsolicited stuff like that, usually when I’ve foolishly given my email address to a shop or purchased something online.
    I clear the inbox every morning, look at stuff that might be interesting, but usually delete just about everything
    Once in awhile I get an email or text to say I have an outstanding toll to pay to NZTA – from the Philippines or somewhere. Into the bin it goes
    I’ve never been subjected to personal abuse and death threats like someone I know who used to work in the media . . . . .
    
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    May 5, 2026 2:11pm
- Ra Henare
  
  While the email appears to come from your friend. Check the emails senders email address(It will not be the same as your friends)
  Then mark it as spam and block that address.
  
  Your friends emails will still arrive.
  
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  May 5, 2026 4:44pm
RoboRob

Yesterday there was discussion here around whether or not the new RMA would stop IWI (and others) blackmailing projects so that they wont oppose them.

Last night HDPA had Bishop on to discuss. Heather was not well informed with regards to Meridian and Bishop gave the impression he had no idea around either the Santana or Meridiam issue. He was all over property rights but not the blackmail issue.

Now I struggle to believe that as he has been working with Simon Court who is all over these issues yet he has no knowledge of them. Hopefully the new RMA Act is going to stop this stuff but Bish didn’t want to publicly say anything critical of Iwi. The other, far worse option, would be that he has no intention to stop it.

Either way it was a pretty poor interview with Bish dodging and weaving and HDPA uninformed and unable to press the questions. If I had been the questioner I would have asked something like ‘If you are so serious about getting this right why have you not looked into the Santana of Meridian issues? Surely if they are as described you would want to be dealing with them?’
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May 5, 2026 9:07am
- kowtow
  
  Bishop , being National , who’re very comfortable, indeed facilitators of this maorification and the dreadful consequences thereof, and yet cannot afford to alienate farmers particularly ,had to walk carefully along that tight rope and more particularly as it’s election year.
  
  Typical Nat.
  
  If one really cared about private property rights and the constitutional principles of equality and the rule of law then there’s only one party and that’s Act.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:38am
- imalwaysright
  
  Just learned that RMA Consenting Panels are appointed by local Councils.
  
  That would explain why the Panels seem unable or unwilling to recognise that Iwi approvals contingent on financial reward are, in reality, extortion.
  
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  May 5, 2026 9:41am
  - Quail
    
    Iamalwaysright
    Yes correct,
    Consenting panels are formed mostly by Councils.
    There is training provided by Local Government NZ in which the “electeds “ panel members are required to pass before any decision making on the panel.
    They are supported by Council staff who can access lawyers if necessary.
    Guidance of staff has a substantial impact on decisions made.
    Applicants have the further options of the (expensive)Environment Court etc and often have their own representatives to support them at hearings.
    Hope this is of interest
    
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    May 5, 2026 12:47pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Thanks for that Quail.
      
      From that description it is a wonder that they bother with the charade of being an independent body.
      With Councils seemingly becoming loaded with unelected Iwi it is difficult to imagine the RMA panel ruling against their extortion demands.
      
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      May 5, 2026 4:41pm
- MCōs
  
  Gold is around $US4500/oz and on the way down from a peak of c$US5300. Near the end of 2023 it was $US2000 which was as high as it’s been for at least 10 years
  These mines could be unprofitable in short order.
  I would suggest the existence of the gold has always be known about, but too expensive to dig up.
  The area could be ravaged for not much return.
  Such is the way with gold.
  
  2 11
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  May 5, 2026 9:42am
  - RoboRob
    
    And?
    
    Its the companies decision to start a mine. They obviously think the return is worth the cost.
    
    What does that have to do with IWI attempting to black mail the company?
    
    16 1
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    May 5, 2026 10:13am
    - Cassandra
      
      Absolutely nothing but that doesn’t stop MCos!
      
      14 0
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      May 5, 2026 10:24am
  - imalwaysright
    
    The price for any good or service could fall, does that mean we stop making or providing them?
    
    5 0
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    May 5, 2026 10:56am
  - David George
    
    All in production costs (includes royalties, capital and environmental costs) for NZ and AUS gold mines are less than $US1500/ounce.
    Even at half the current gold price it should prove to be an actual “gold mine” for all concerned.
    
    6 0
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    May 5, 2026 11:06am
- Notsofast
  
  You are now addressing the lack of talent in the political and media classes here.
  The market is thin, forget New Zealand, and focus on international wisdom.
  Or expect David Seymour to have full understanding.
  
  4 1
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  May 5, 2026 9:46am
  - RoboRob
    
    A lot of Acts recently announced policies are stolen straight from the US. Thats fine, we should look at good ideas from overseas. Seymour is far from perfect, just a damn site better then many other options.
    
    10 1
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    May 5, 2026 10:15am
    - imalwaysright
      
      We should be treating the rest of the world as a source of systems that have already been designed, developed, and tested, and choose the best.
      
      The best education system.
      The best health system.
      The best infrastructure system.
      The best judicial system etc.
      
      Instead we spend decades watching and financing real time train wrecks and hoping someone comes along to turn us back into Godzone.
      
      8 0
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      May 5, 2026 11:54am
peterwn

“Meridian joins global ranks of sustainable companies”
mmmm…… On the face of it, Meridian Energy is sustainable since it has no thermal or other polluting generation.
However Meridian Energy is only ‘sustainable’ because it has access to Huntly coal-fired power via fuel and output agreements (which Genesis insisted on to avoid closing the three coal fired generators there).
So I am not sure that Meridian Energy is as sustainable as it claims.
13 0
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May 5, 2026 9:13am
Pope Punctilious II

HDPA puts a well-aimed boot into Judith Collins for bleating “people don’t like strong women”:
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/opinion/perspective-with-heather-du-plessis-allan-is-being-a-strong-woman-really-such-a-problem/
Here are some other possible reasons why people might not like you, Judith. Maybe some people don’t like the way you shanked Simon Bridges with a BS “me too” style complaint about a risque joke, killing off his comeback and saddling us with Luxon. Maybe people were unimpressed with your performative religiosity. And maybe people were disappointed by your “something of a triumph” handling of Manawanui sinking.

Strong women (and men) show strength, rather than telling people they’re strong. (Kāore te kūmara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka). And making lame excuses shows weakness, not strength.
18 4
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May 5, 2026 9:33am
- RoboRob
  
  I like Judith but her strong woman image generally stems from a (left wing) media hit job on her when she was branded ‘crusher collins’. In reality she represented a red/blue area and is very middle of the road on her policy.
  
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  May 5, 2026 10:19am
- lifesgood
  
  I’ll never forgive Judith for shanking Simon Bridges. The most pathetic reason possible. If nosy people are going to eavesdrop on private conversations and then get their knickers in a knot a year later, come on! So pathetic. I guess Judith was scared of Simon. I used to like her. Good riddance, I say.
  
  12 1
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  May 5, 2026 10:25am
- imalwaysright
  
  I’ve never met a woman who needed a feminist.
  
  6 2
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  May 5, 2026 10:58am
Notsofast

Sadiq Khan reacts with shock/horror to Nigel Farage saying Reform will build centers for illegal immigrants in neighbourhoods that vote Green. Thus supplying illegalimmigrants where they are completely welcome.

https://x.com/i/status/2051345191856923022
18 1
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May 5, 2026 9:33am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Nice. Reminiscent of de Santis sending illegal migrants up to leaf Democrat-voting suburbs in New England.
  
  5 0
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  May 5, 2026 3:18pm
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilY91QOkEds
Restore Are Going for It.
Local Elections have a turnout of around 30%. The political class are using them as a bellweather. The uniparty will lose a lot of councillors. The ‘Greens’, Reform and Restore will gain them. Some nationalists think Reform is controlled opposition.
4 1
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May 5, 2026 9:33am
sungsamning

Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest, voted unanimously this month to develop a comprehensive screen time policy for the 2026-27 school year. The resolution calls for maximum in-school screen time limits by grade level, eliminating student use of digital devices for early education through first grade, and prohibiting student-led use of YouTube or other video streaming platforms. [A lot of trends that start in the USA are eventually copied here. Missouri requires 70% of learning to be pencil and paper based.]
https://dallasexpress.com/education/screen-time-limits-sweep-u-s-schools-elementary-students-see-less-device-use/
Screen Time Limits Sweep U.S. Schools: Elementary Students See Less Device Use.
6 1
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May 5, 2026 9:34am
Swifty

The world would be better off without men!

https://x.com/warpath2pt0/status/2051365449963647125?s=46

Honestly, what do we need them for!
7 1
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May 5, 2026 10:51am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  C’mon, Swifty! Any female from public sector HQ could do any of that, twice as well. Hell, three times as well! Because.
  
  4 0
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  May 5, 2026 12:38pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  *Placing light-bulbs into high ceiling fittings
  
  * Leaping tall fences to retrieve naughty cats/dogs/balls etc…
  
  * Investigating spooky sounds at night
  
  12 0
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  May 5, 2026 1:10pm
  - Swifty
    
    Foot rubs?
    
    4 0
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    May 5, 2026 1:33pm
  - Ghost
    
    Investigating spooky sounds at night
    
    mother-in-law?
    
    5 0
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    May 5, 2026 1:39pm
  - wsk12345
    
    Rodent trapping
    Tasks related to motor vehicles
    Starting building projects that are never finished.
    
    2 1
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    May 5, 2026 1:45pm
    - MCōs
      
      Include me out of all those
      
      0 0
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      May 5, 2026 6:22pm
  - MCōs
    
    Someone to be the fall guy for something someone else did
    
    3 0
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    May 5, 2026 1:52pm
Swifty

Authentic Kemi:

https://x.com/adrian_hilton/status/2051373208973066613?s=46
2 1
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May 5, 2026 12:32pm
- sungsamning
  
  Well said, Kemi Badenoch. Only man in the Tory party.
  
  1 0
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  May 5, 2026 6:57pm
All_on_Red

Update from Centcom on the SoH antics
https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/Transcripts/Article/4477143/adm-brad-cooper-centcom-commander-conducts-a-media-conference-call/
6 3
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May 5, 2026 12:44pm
- Graeme Hall
  
  Thanks. Good find. Contradicts reports from the BBC and our media about Iranian strikes and how the Iranians are winning the ceasefire.
  
  3 2
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  May 5, 2026 3:26pm
Swifty

The UK has some deep, deep sicknesses:

https://x.com/truthfairy131/status/2051416571667698169?s=46
3 1
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May 5, 2026 12:53pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Charging an aggressive robber with common assault is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

Common assault carries the maximum of 6 months. That is well below the 2 year threshold and is automatically (or almost automatically) converted into home detention (aka X-Box leave). So pretty much worst case punishment is a bit of home D.

I do not believe this is common assault. It should be tried as aggravated assault as it was assault committed during the commission of another crime (a robbery).

That at least carries a 3 year sentence (not that 3 years would get dished out).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/wellington/mans-frightening-alleged-attack-on-two-people-at-upper-hutt-liquor-store-earns-assault-charges/P6ZPZGTZOJEGFC76EOMK64CRD4/
9 0
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May 5, 2026 1:18pm
Scooter

The police must have a lot of time on their hands now that they have solved all crime. Now they are free to chase up someone’s opinion on Facebook. What a great use of their time.

https://centrist.nz/police-visit-over-new-india-post-raises-free-speech-concerns/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5-5-2026&ulk=none&_kx=16NSCnxpS5By8Itv5HU85w_VnxpPVJJQjJPEbImHGAj3JoHS_GfaS99gstsQwRNU.VYfxNg
0 0
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May 5, 2026 5:44pm

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