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May 12, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 12 May 2026

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General Debate

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Cassandra

Chris Luxon has said that Wayne Brown’s idea of a coalition of National and Labour is daft or WTTE. Labour leader Chris Hipkins also said no.

Hipkins said “The values of the National Party and the Labour Party are utterly incompatible and, frankly, I’m more interested in solving problems than finding people to blame for them,” Hipkins said. “Particularly now that Grant Robertson has found such a cushy number and Jacinda is in Manly, lucky girl”.

“The National Party are primarily interested in supporting people who’ve got a lot of money, the Labour Party’s priorities are different,” he said. “We want other people’s money to give to our voters so they don’t have to work”. He went on to say, I am reliably informed, that “The Labour Party’s values will be announced at least 24 hours before the election and “If people don’t like them then we have others”.
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May 12, 2026 8:01am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  There’s a lot to be said for telepathy.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:13am
  - Don Beckett
    
    Cassandra – the Kiwi version of Babylon Bee.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:18am
- imalwaysright
  
  On living in Australia, Jacinda said that “One of the main attractions for us was the proximity to home,”
  
  Last time I looked New Zealand was in close proximity to New Zealand…
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:18am
  - kowtow
    
    In a recent interview , Herald , she’s now claiming she did have some left in the tank!
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:12am
    - G152
      
      Liebor always have some left in the tank
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:43am
  - Paulus
    
    Was it not that she was not allowed to live in the USA as she did not have a Green Card to work there !
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:02am
  - Stew
    
    Please don’t tell her that. PLEASE
    
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    May 13, 2026 2:07am
- Notsofast
  
  Winston and Chris Luxon have both now completely ruled out messing with labour, so the most unambiguous and by far the most critical mmp election ever.
  Run for the back of the tote.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:01am
  - septic skeptic
    
    OK I will give you a plausible scenario:
    Labour 36
    National 27
    NZF 15
    Watermelons 11
    ACT 7
    Maori parties 4
    
    Do you expect Winston to try to go with Labour or stand aside for Greens & Maori?
    And if somehow Luxon was able to do a deal with some Maori MPs and cobble together a 4 way with ACT NZF and Maori would you expect Winston to go along with that? Or just go with Labour?
    
    I reckon if you want a change to the right vote ACT. If you want business as usual vote Nat. If you want whatever is best for Winston vote NZF.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:48am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I think the Labour messaging would be clearer if they rebranded.
  
  Labour sounds awful. Working for your money. Hard Labour used to be a cruel prison term. Sounds like terrible messaging to me.
  
  They should update their image and re-lauch as The Benefit Party.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:16am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    We need to do the exact opposite of what the institutional money and MSM drones want =
    On no account give your vote to Labour or National.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:30am
  - NothingLeft
    
    yeah, or non-taxpayers party.
    
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    May 12, 2026 12:48pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  What a jerk Hipkins has saying “I want to solve problems, not looking for people to blame”
  
  Firstly he is the blame for his utterly woeful performance in Education 5 years.
  
  Police 1 year
  
  Health 1 year when they were changing the system
  
  Can we not remember these same clowns saying 9 years of neglect
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:41am
- Simon
  
  The message is that NZ is in a steady state of decline. National are utter garbage
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:51am
  - leoj
    
    National will manage the decline better than Labour.
    
    It will merely take longer.
    
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    May 12, 2026 12:52pm
- Damocles11
  
  Of course Labour Lite and Labour have to differentiate (one is blue, one is red – see, totally different colours!) and make out they are totally different. It’s not rocket science. Their bases need to believe that they are as different as chalk and cheese.
  So what are the similarities?
  1/ Both in favour of high immigration.
  2/ Both demonstrably in favour of high government spending, borrowing, and debt.
  3/ Both in favour of social and corporate welfare.
  4/ Both demonstrably in favour of Maorification and co-governance.
  5/ Both favour bailing out asset owners (moral hazard) at the expense of all citizens and taxpayers.
  Great, so nothing major then!
  Look to the similarities to understand why we are in so much trouble.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:21am
  - leoj
    
    Agreed.
    
    The weak, woke Nats have NOT undone much of the bad policies of 2017 to 2023.
    
    Three Strikes: Watered down
    Public Service employee number: Basically static
    Maorification: Zero
    
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    May 12, 2026 1:12pm
- Philview
  
  The Labour Party’s values are about concentrating power in the hands of a small group of ideologically aligned people.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:38am
- jacthecat
  
  Slight typo? Should be ‘…frankly, I’m more interested in creating problems than finding people to blame for them’.
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:27pm
Anthony Melchett

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rotoruas-newest-cafe-rumaki-to-operate-entirely-in-te-reo-maori-full-immersion-environment/T7XXYJOHTBFFBH52GJNPFUBGXU/

I don’t even know know where to start. This is a window into the future of this country. Brought to you by a very white virtue signalling maori who is looking for a way to get rich off government handouts. There is no way it’s really about the language.

This is the most racist cafe in nz. They say that all are welcome but there is no way that will be the reality.

“If you’re in there, and take a phone call and you need to speak English on that phone call, we’re going to want you to step outside.

“English isn’t being spoken here.”

Is that even legal? Yes of course you don’t have to go there and I recommend never stepping foot in the place but if you do, can you be silenced?

Will they shut down a group of Asian tourists talking among themselves?

The way things are going someone should set up an English only business to preserve the language that 99% of people actually speak.

One thing is for sure. This “business” wont be profitable on its own and will be awash with your tax money, under the fake premise of preserving a language (that serves no purpose). Their financial statements will make interesting reading no doubt, but they are getting good at hiding this stuff
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May 12, 2026 8:03am
- zulumonster
  
  She’s the Executive Director of a cafe – sounds like she has big aspirations. And surely she means kaiwhakahaere matua?
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:25am
  - Flossie
    
    Hard to comment zulu. Don’t know what on earth that word you reckon she means translates to.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:46am
    - Don Beckett
      
      Google is your friend. 🙂
      
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      May 12, 2026 1:10pm
      - Flossie
        
        My attempt at irony Don.
        
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        May 12, 2026 1:42pm
- pdm
  
  Their business therefore their choice.
  
  There are three obvious questions:
  1. How long will the rule last?
  2. How and to what extent will they enforce the rule?
  3. How long will the business last?
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:38am
  - Anthony Melchett
    
    It will last as long as your taxes prop it up.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:58am
- Paulus
  
  Easy as do not know where it is and would never go there anyway !
  Will soon go bust anyway ~
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:04am
- Sideoiler
  
  Receivership in less than a year.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:10am
- Quail
  
  AM ,
  Wonder how payments are to be made?
  Are there indigenous dollars and cents , and if so what are they called in Te Reo,?
  Are there Maori eftpos machines and banknotes?
  And what tax will be paid on these transactions?
  What food will be offered ,Moa steaks plus Huia dessert ? And what would it be cooked on?
  Won’t pursue the food issue but is it limited to pre colonisation foods only ?
  Ridiculous yes,,but so is a Maori only cafe!
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:17am
- imalwaysright
  
  Many very good cafes are going under because people aren’t coming through the door.
  
  The business plan of making communication with potential customers difficult, or impossible, while trying to sell them food and drink, seems a little out of touch with reality.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:56am
- PaulP
  
  Confirmed – it’s a registered charity:
  https://register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=6cb1b60f-e293-ee11-bb29-000d3acc4199&redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fregister.charities.govt.nz%2FCharitiesRegister%2FSearch%3FSubmitted%3DTrue%26CharityNameSearchType%3DContains%26CharityName%3Drumaki
  
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  May 12, 2026 11:18am
- All Bound For Mumu Land
  
  Maorification – e.g. this cafe, signage, TV pakehas pretending to speak Te Reo, etc – is a big distraction from the fact Maori are no longer being the largest minority in this country. NZ is no longer the biracial country of its founding; the NZ coat of arms is now obsolete. Maori may be the biggest losers long-term.
  
  The ruling class is already betting first and foremost on Chinese and Indians, not the native population. As this country transforms into globalist slop without an identity, the traitors who made it happen will try even harder to show people how much they care about Maori. SWPL. Yippee! But you can’t buy a house and you’re *ed.
  
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  May 12, 2026 1:43pm
- David George
  
  They’re looking for Maori speaking staff.
  The ad is in English!
  https://x.com/SusieQuantum/status/2053937675108004019/photo/1
  
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  May 12, 2026 1:51pm
Cassandra

I see that there’s a cafe in Rotorua where only Maori language is permitted. That’s the owner’s prerogative. What a pity there aren’t more language restricted places. I’d welcome an English only Parliament for example. And meetings. I was at a school reunion on Saturday. The Head welcomed us in Maori. Nobody present spoke it. Not even the Yead!
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May 12, 2026 8:05am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Excellent. The owner has made a choice and the market will decide.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:12am
  - Flossie
    
    I stand to be corrected but if as PaulP says above, it is in fact a registered charity, can it even have an “owner”?
    
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    May 12, 2026 12:37pm
- lifesgood
  
  You should see how privileged Maori are at Auckland Uni graduations.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:17am
  - kowtow
    
    And elsewhere , and it’s now extended to Pacific Islanders too.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:14am
  - sungsamning
    
    There is very little Maori at Uni of Canterbury graduations. I went to the 2025 one; and was pleasantly surprised.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:34am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    They need to ban the singing and dancing every time a Maori student is capped. It slows down the whole thing .
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:42am
    - Media hater
      
      Worse than the time-wasting, is the fact that it is such a jarring cacophony and completely out of keeping with an academic setting.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:31am
      - Flossie
        
        Do those of – say – Irish descent get to do a jig?
        
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        May 12, 2026 12:38pm
      - Don Beckett
        
        ……and the Scots play the bag pipes & sing Flower of Scotland ?
        
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        May 12, 2026 1:13pm
    - lifesgood
      
      It’s bloody annoying. Imagine if everyone was afforded the same honour, the thing would last all day. And the Pacific Islanders need to stop screaming and yelling everytime one of their own gets capped. They’ve go no idea about a bit of dignity in a formal occasion. They need to be told.
      
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      May 12, 2026 1:16pm
    - kowtow
      
      flossie
      
      Jigs ? No not that , they’re actually very easy to spot .
      
      The Mick families are the ones quietly slumped in their seats …….sleeping off the hangover.
      
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      May 12, 2026 2:13pm
- Yvette
  
  Cassandra, “only Maori language is permitted” may be the public-facing stance of the café, but I suspect if that applied to the ordering in the supply of food ingredients, they would have almost nothing to sell.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:38am
- Jane Teris
  
  I had a similar experience at a school reunion six weeks ago, only there, the invited speaker spoke in Māori as well. Not being able to follow a word of it, I had no option but to get up and go to the toilet…then spent the rest of the time gloriously reacquainting myself with the grounds in which I had played 65 years before. It didn’t take long for the engaged audience to diminish as many others shuffled off with the same feelings.
  It won’t be long before the schools move on from this sort of idiotic lip service to perceived correctness ….only to embrace another equally pointless exercise.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:46am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  The only way that a coalition between Labour and National could work would be in a major war or a Black Death level pandemic. Maybe the pettiness would be put aside.
  
  Back to reality.. Objectively both Labour and National could be described as centre left parties. Policies on the Treaty, welfare, public health, are not really different. The Treaty is a surprise to me. As far as I can see they are only different to Labour at the margins. The Treaty as Partnership mantra is across both Parties.
  
  But a coalition cannot work because to be frank, the Labour caucus has too many dumb people with poor reasoning skills who think that the government can fix every problem with more money.
  
  Between Labour and National we don’t have core ideological battles. It is more a battle of competents vs incompetents. The really dangerous people, who would wreck the nation are in the Greens and the Maori Party.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:48am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    I think there is actually provisions for a war time joined government, I am not sure if history, but I think it’s happened before.
    
    Not sure about the plague, but one war I think we had a combine coalition, and possibly during the depression, or it may have been in place during the depression and carried on into the Second World War. I am not sure about this, but I seem to remember being told of this by possible grand parents. Someone with a greater understanding of our history in these things could elaborate, but I am sure it’s happened before.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:48am
  - Damocles11
    
    So how is it competent to continue with high government spending, high levels of borrowing, and high levels of debt + maorification and co-governance?
    “ It’s great! The stuff they are implementing is bad, but they are doing it competently! Yay!”
    
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    May 12, 2026 3:21pm
- Scooter
  
  What a joke, have they invented a maori word for cappuccino or espresso, sandwich, cake, or decafe mocca Frappuccino yet? Somehow I don’t think they have thought this through, I’d give it 6 months. And yet the their website is in English. Maybe not so totally immersed in their bullshit.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:03am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    Yes of course “they” have invented words for all those things. The Maori language commission approves new words.
    
    For example cappuccino is kaputino.
    
    Yes I am serious.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:11am
    - R
      
      Made up language. At least the old 1950’s era attempt at a commonn world wide use language, ESPERANTO did have some credibility to its words; and look how many countries now speak Esperanto
      
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      May 12, 2026 9:48am
      - Taieri
        
        how many countries now speak Esperanto
        ————-
        
        I’ve actually heard it spoken on the street in one of the European countries. There’s a group of people walking and speaking Esperanto between themselves.
        
        I’ve also heard Maori spoken in public. Twice in my whole life, and I’m in my late 60s now.
        
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        May 12, 2026 11:28am
      - Paulus
        
        Real Common world language is found Worldwide is Music, where real countries all call a semi-quaver what it is and play it similarly.
        
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        May 12, 2026 2:58pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      AI said kaputino is capsicum.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:05am
    - G152
      
      Kaput means (in a European language) to die or dead of finished.
      They need translators
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:49am
    - lifesgood
      
      How do they know that’s not “cup a teao” 🙂
      
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      May 12, 2026 1:19pm
  - Northshoredoc
    
    Yes lots of invented ‘pidgin’ maori words for everything these days.
    
    Daft IMO but I can’t be bothered worrying about it.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:25am
  - G the giant from Dunedin
    
    Pavlova !
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:49am
    - David Garrett
      
      G: Pavlova was the name of a ballerina
      
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      May 12, 2026 3:00pm
  - Paulus
    
    But remember Maori invented all these cafe things from the wording of the Treaty of Waitangi where they were first served by wahine in flax skirts !
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:08am
- rouppe
  
  That’s the owner’s prerogative.
  
  Is it.
  
  Discrimination is illegal. Telling someone to get out of your store because of speaking English is discrimination?
  
  Isn’t it the same as telling someone to get out of your store because they’re Maori?
  
  Rotorua is a tourist town. Some tourist is bound to wander in there and ask for coffee in English. Getting ordered out because of it will reflect badly.
  
  I doubt it’ll last a year anyway.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:05am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    Yes I would welcome the views of lawyers. Is language a protected characteristic? You can’t exclude someone from a store who is white. A store can’t have a sign that says “” No white people “” but can they have a sign that says “No Spoken English allowed in the store”?
    
    I don’t know.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:15am
    - Scooter
      
      Yes this may seem like a gimmick (give me a cat cafe any day) but from what is going on in NZ it’s a slippery slope towards Maori first, English second.
      
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      May 12, 2026 9:56am
    - Sacha
      
      Don’t worry. The customers will decide for them – they will walk right past.
      When I was at boarding school, many years ago, we loved practising our French – mainly because we all fully expected to go to France as part of our Overseas experience.
      Somehow, learning to speak Maori doesn’t have the same cachet, but kudos for them for trying.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:00am
  - Scott
    
    Rouppe- I agree with you. It is discrimination and racial discrimination as well. Which by the laws of the land is illegal.
    
    Imagine if you had a cafe where only English is allowed to be spoken. And they kicked out a group of Maori people who insisted on speaking in Maori? The Human rights commissioner and the race relations commissioner would be up in arms, as would every newspaper and media outlet in the country.
    
    But as always because Maori are the “oppressed people” they get a free pass. No human rights, no race relations, no media outlet will say a peep.
    
    One rule for them. One rule for us. That’s no way to run a country.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:18am
  - pdm
    
    ` Telling someone to get out of your store because of speaking English is discrimination?’
    
    Is it if they have clear signage saying Maori language only to be spoken at the door?
    
    If they did why would anyone wanting to converse in English bother going in because there is probably another cafe just around the corner or down the street.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:43am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      Yes, and it will not be long before some takes it too the human rights.
      
      Popcorn time
      
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      May 12, 2026 9:50am
      - Ghost
        
        No it won’t. Reo only isn’t new.
        
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        May 12, 2026 10:40am
  - Ghost
    
    Tourist love the maori experience. We used to bring the local iwi up to put a hungi on every weekend when I was a kid there. I can easily see tourists going in and learning a few words. From reading about it, the staff help people with their orders
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:48am
    - rouppe
      
      How did they choose who was to be hung at these “hungi”?
      
      I never really took to hangi, the method – at least in Rotorua – was never authentic (metal baskets, sacks, old metal parts used instead of rocks) and the result pretty average usually.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:22am
      - Graeme Hall
        
        Used to be a fast hangi. Reportedly, it was tried in the school grounds of the old Aranui High in Christchurch. Chef sped up the cooking process by pouring on some petrol.
        
        Worked a treat. Blew out the neighbours windows.
        
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        May 12, 2026 2:45pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      The word is spelt ‘hangi’.
      And you put a hangi ‘down’.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:26am
      - Ghost
        
        Autocorrect doesn’t do well with maori words
        
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        May 12, 2026 10:41am
    - Wairoa Native
      
      Chat-gpt tells me:
      
      [ Mod – post a link rather than cut/paste .. don’t want the blog swamped with bot output ]
      
      Can a lawyer enlighten us?
      
      Yes, tourists love the Māori experience. Also liberal Kiwis suffering from ‘white guilt’ and ‘noble savage syndrome’. Seen in many academics, journalists, public servants, teachers and politicians.
      
      PS. everyone loves a hāngī.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:45am
      - Paulus
        
        Only been here over half a century but never been to or had a hangi !
        
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        May 12, 2026 3:01pm
      - Flossie
        
        Paulus…a good hangi is nice.
        Sadly few are good.
        
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        May 12, 2026 9:27pm
  - Nigel Kearney
    
    Businesses are subject to the Human Rights Act. Language is not one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination but it is so closely linked to race and nationality that I would expect courts to find that it was discriminatory. However s73 of the HRA would mean its ok because it benefits Maori.
    
    https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/82/en/latest/#DLM304672
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:15am
    - rouppe
      
      And yet S63 says (abridged):
      
      (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to use language that
      (a) brings into ridicule, any other person on the ground of the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins of that person and
      (b) is hurtful to that other person (whether or not that is conveyed to the first-mentioned person); and
      (c) is repeated, or of such a significant nature, that it has a detrimental effect on that other person in respect of any of the areas to which this subsection is applied by subsection (2).
      
      (2) includes
      (h) access to goods and services
      
      Having someone stand at a counter, being completely embarrassed by repeated refusal of service because of their use of English arguably qualifies.
      
      Ah well…
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:35am
  - artemisia
    
    Predict there will be people and groups who rock up to the counter and very politely order the steamed lobster. In English.
    
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    May 12, 2026 12:46pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I go to meetings every day where I don’t understand what is being said. Of course my not understanding is not a bug. It is a deliberate feature of the system.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:07am
  - rouppe
    
    Every now and then you should open Google translate and see what it comes up with.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:24am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “I go to meetings every day where I don’t understand what is being said.”
    
    That would apply to 95 percent of the Public Service…
    
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    May 12, 2026 11:08am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      Correct.
      
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      May 12, 2026 12:21pm
- Ghost
  
  It will probably do very well in Rotorua
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:10am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    I would go to the One fat Dog cafe instead to get my coffee
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:45am
    - pejhay
      
      That would be the Kotahi Kuri Momona for your kawhe.
      
      What pisses me off is the adoption of transliterated Maori for names, particularly things like Saint Johns Ambulance, who now want to be known as Hato Hone St Johns. An organisation set up 100’s of years ago, actually before Maori got to NZ, and Hato Hone are simply made-up words to match the phonetics… So woke!
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:29pm
  - Paulus
    
    But we are told it is a registered Charity, so pay up !
    
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    May 12, 2026 3:02pm
- PaulP
  
  Posted on the other thread for the same topic:
  
  Hey, it’s worse than that. If you look at their website it is run by the Rumaki Trust Board and has a link to donations stating they are tax deductible.
  
  So, assume it is a registered charity so will be awash with grant money from everywhere.
  
  Great model as doesn’t need to be commecially viable.
  
  Scroll down here to find the “Donations to Rumaki Trust Board are tax deductable, and we’ll send you a tax invoice (if you make a deposit directly into our account, please email us so we can send that to you)”
  
  https://www.rumaki.co.nz/english
  
  Confirmed – it’s a registered charity:
  https://register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=6cb1b60f-e293-ee11-bb29-000d3acc4199&redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fregister.charities.govt.nz%2FCharitiesRegister%2FSearch%3FSubmitted%3DTrue%26CharityNameSearchType%3DContains%26CharityName%3Drumaki
  
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  May 12, 2026 11:11am
- All Bound For Mumu Land
  
  They should speak Chinese. It’d make much more sense. Throw in a bit of Hindi too. Maori are rapidly becoming just another minority due to demographic change. The “Stuff White People Like” pseudo maoritanga only serves to distract everyone from the balkanisation of the country and eventual obsolescence of Maori in their own land.
  
  Way to go, NationalLabourNZFirstACTTotalBS. But at least we have low IQ TVNZ script readers butchering Te Reo as they virtue-signal us all into globalist slop without a national identity.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:51pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

I have to say that I have some sympathy for Year 1 & 2 students, for whom the termination of the 3rd year fees free policy has been announced. They’re right to say that this will have been factored into their budgets when they planned to study. It’s reasonable to point out that perhaps the policy could have been grandfathered.

Still, it’s a lesson, albeit brutal, of the capriciousness of our politicians, and it underlines that what the government can give you is also what the government can take away from you.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/594901/students-question-university-affordability-after-government-scraps-fees-free-scheme
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May 12, 2026 8:09am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I have no such sympathy.
  
  There was never any promise of multiple years of free fees and they never should have expected it.
  
  If you’re doing any degree that is vaguely useful it will pay for itself.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:18am
  - Notsofast
    
    Not sure how many Bob Joneses are around, who favoured classics degrees for his staff.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:27am
  - Paulus
    
    Ardern put it in to get votes and they did.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:10am
    - Sacha
      
      If I remember aright, it was Helen Clark who decided that every one should have the opportunity to have the university experience.
      She decided that the universities were being discriminatory against ‘poor’ students who couldn’t afford to attend, and that they were elitist.
      So she oversaw the demise of the Polytechs, and funnelled everyone into educational pathways that did not necessarily fit their ability or life ambitions (if they had any)..
      And so began the degradation of the education system in New Zealand.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:13am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Lets not forget how the 4th Labour Government raked up University fees to such an extent that those who gained A or B Bursaries suddenly found that the qualification was worth diddly-squat.
        
        The school qualification that had allowed me (a kid from a working-class, low socio-economic background) a financially enhanced route through Uni, was suddenly turned off.
        
        Now the Universities and Polytechs are wondering how to bring on pupils from low socio-economic areas and from underrepresented groups.
        
        It ain’t rocket science….
        Ensure competent teachers and good facilities are present in EVERY school in low socio-economic areas.
        
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        May 12, 2026 1:06pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Helen Clark oversaw the demise of the Polytechs
        
        Hmmm. I asked the bot …
        
        https://chatgpt.com/share/6a02aca3-06b8-83ec-aeac-29686001fef8
        
        I think it would add up to “not really” ….
        
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        May 12, 2026 4:30pm
    - MCōs
      
      Taken out to get vote too
      
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      May 12, 2026 12:00pm
- R
  
  I am reminded of a 1950’s phrase’ never look a gift horse (read benefit) in the mouth. Now, due to past fiscal government irresponsibility, the old gift horses mouth is wide open and there are obviously no teeth left.
  Something for the young voters to ponder between now and November
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:20am
- kowtow
  
  Media attacking the current govt , again.
  
  Poor students!
  
  Now they can do climate catastrophe/race/ covid / bureaucratic regulation policies that are crucifying rate payers , food consumers , power consumers etc
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:20am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Yes I agree, I think any student already in their first or second year of a degree who started when it was last year free, should still be given the last year free. Its like changing a contract half way through.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:48am
  - rouppe
    
    Would that be like changing the age for national super?
    
    Anyone born when it was still 65 should still get it when they turn 65?
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:38am
  - slightlyrighty
    
    Therein lies the trap. If Labour promises to reinstate fee free study, what will be the cost/payoff at the ballot box?
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:59am
  - Ian Boag
    
    The Lange government did that with the introduction of tuition fees and student loans. Bang. Now …. Just like this government are doing with the one year no fees thing.
    
    Super is different of course – needs to be grandfathered – or at the very least a very gentle rollout from 65 to 67 starting in about 15 years time or 20 would be better 🙂
    
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    May 12, 2026 11:36am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    It was a mistake to change it from first year free to last year free. Ditching first year free straight off the bat would have removed expectations from students already in the process.
    
    As things stand, students have invested a lot of money to get to the end of their second year; an investment they may not have made if they had known that the 3rd Year fees free policy was going to be terminated.
    
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    May 12, 2026 11:55am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      “an investment they may not have made if they had known that the 3rd Year fees free policy was going to be terminated.”
      
      That seems unlikely. This was such an unstable policy setting that you would be daft to make a decision banking it in.
      
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      May 12, 2026 12:28pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        They’re 18 year olds, Nikola …. Dumb decisions are par for the course.
        
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        May 12, 2026 8:11pm
- Taieri
  
  I have some sympathy for Year 1 & 2 students
  ————-
  
  I don’t. I paid for my 3 degrees myself. Full cost as I’ve done them in Australia and HECS didn’t cover postgraduate degrees.
  
  My son also has 3 degrees, including two honours in maths and physics. Paid for both of them himself with a loan from me, fully repaid since. His PhD was funded by the university.
  
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  May 12, 2026 11:36am
- MCōs
  
  It was a policy that National contends failed so why did they move it to the final year instead of just knocking it on the head straight away?
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:10pm
  - lifesgood
    
    They moved it to the last year because students had already stuck with 2 years study and could be expected to complete. Giving it to first years just meant that kids had a lovely time mucking around for a year after leaving school with no intention of carrying on. I’ll never forget that dreadful woman saying to students “Your first year is on me” Honestly! Who did she think was paying for it? The poor downtrodden tax payer, of course.
    
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    May 12, 2026 1:28pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      First year always had a relatively high dropout rate. Free fees was not a totally stupid way to encourage people who might not have thought of it to have a go. As it happened it apparently didn’t work out – they could of course have parent-income-tested it the way things are done for student allowances which would have cut out the wealthy family dilettantes ….
      
      Changing it to third year was bizarre – it would never have done much to alter enrolments or success rates. Pretty miserable to cut it with no grandparenting though. The amount saved ($200m) will not move the needle on the deficit ($20,000m) so it’s all for show.
      
      The “diversion into support of trade training” will be a “complex issue” that will require “careful consideration” and take “a year or two” to design. Will still go to students from well off families … 🙂
      
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      May 12, 2026 2:43pm
- virtualmark
  
  It’s also stupid given the election later this year.
  
  Cutting it off for the existing Year 1 & 2 students means those students will almost certainly vote against National in November.
  
  Grandfathering them through would have kept some of those votes for National. Sure this year’s high school graduates will miss out, but most of them won’t have turned 18 by November so it’s not a big vote drain.
  
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  May 12, 2026 7:06pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Talk of moving to Aus has reared its head, as it usually does when the economy takes a downturn. Money and weather apparently trump all else.

And yet, when you look at indicators like international travel stats, not to say spending on fripperies, we’re clearly wealthier than we were 20 or 40 years ago.

Why would you give away your heritage for a mess of pottage?
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May 12, 2026 8:17am
- Frank the tank
  
  OnePravda and Jack Tame tried valiantly last night to market Australia to Little Aoteraoans.
  
  Ironically the evidence suggests for standard jobs in the 3 eastern seaboard cities you are no better off when accounting for increased costs.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:40am
  - Paulus
    
    And a very different way of life quite frightening in many ways due to the multi ethnic divisions and attitudes.
    In Sydney once at a fruit barrow I picked up an apple to buy – bloody heck I was sworn at and told in no way to leave that one alone – it was better than the others.
    Fruit was chosen by the stall holder, not you the purchaser as in New Zealand.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:15am
    - Flossie
      
      One such incident is hardly indicative of how things work in Australia.
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:05am
      - Sacha
        
        Maybe not, but if it is YOUR experience, then . . . . .
        
        4 1
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        May 12, 2026 11:14am
- Flossie
  
  I watched the TV One programme last night which discussed the pros and cons of such a move. I felt it was well balanced and gave reasons to go or not. Having made that move and lived and worked in Australia for several years then returned home I believe I am okay to judge it.
  A common reason (amongst panel members on the show) for moving there was the pull of other family members already being there. For me that was a big part of the desire to prefer New Zealand.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:50am
  - rouppe
    
    On the news I saw a female cop who had returned from Australia name as the number one thing for her return was that she wasn’t allowed to wear her pounamu on the job.
    
    Make of that what you will
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:09am
    - Ghost
      
      Strange, maybexshe didn’t apply for permission to wear it
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:24am
      - pdm
        
        Probably thought she was ENTITLED to.
        
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        May 12, 2026 11:02am
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        She did but was told no. Another was told to cover maori tattoo.
        
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        May 12, 2026 12:09pm
      - Ghost
        
        Very strange, their police have allowed moko, with the pounamu they have to apply for cultural exemption.
        
        https://www.facebook.com/victoriapolice/posts/1229182172568176/
        
        https://www.inkl.com/news/maori-woman-brenda-lee-first-queensland-police-officer-to-have-moko-kauae
        
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        May 12, 2026 12:34pm
    - Gravelroad
      
      If this is true, perhaps a safety issue?
      If a police officer is wearing a visible necklace and is involved in an arrest which turns violent, the criminal could use the necklace to try strangling the officer.
      Then police hierarchy blamed for allowing situation to happen.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:35am
      - rouppe
        
        We used to have the same rule, I think. Also why long hair even for female police officers was discouraged.
        
        Now pretty much anything goes.
        
        But then again, Australian police are armed, so there’s less reason to get into a physical fight.
        
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        May 12, 2026 10:41am
    - MCōs
      
      That was one of the things she mentioned, but there was more to it than that. As you know the TV people can edit an interview any which way they like to get a point across.
      My impression was she didn’t feel comfortable in a foreign country, homesick you might say, and I can understand that.
      
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      May 12, 2026 12:31pm
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      I would say Queensland Police dodged a bullet with that one.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:04pm
  - Paulus
    
    Many Maori families have moved there – say Brisbane, so that their children are away from Gangs and Drugs.
    With a criminal record there is no entry even for a holiday.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:17am
    - Flossie
      
      They would be naive to imagine there are no gangs or drugs in Brisbane.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:50am
      - Sacha
        
        I have family in Brisbane who have young children, and they are relieved to be away from the possible pressure/influence of extended-family gang members.
        At least they can avoid contact with no-gooders, which can be difficult in small town New Zealand.
        
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        May 12, 2026 11:21am
    - MCōs
      
      I saw a couple of Kiwis interviewed on tv who said they’d just moved to Perth because NZ was becoming to violent
      They also interviewed some local who said
      Why did they move here?
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:30am
BarryB

Im going to make a prediction…………….
In the next few months fuel sipply will no longer be a problem….

One of the people with this hantovirus will spread the virus in their local community in such a way that it will be effectively out of control.
Probably a woman, and she will have been in isolation 5 or 6 weeks, will decide that she hasn’t got the virus and will head out into the community. Firstly her favourite café, then to a shoe shop or fashion shop (you’ve got to have some cash to be on that ship) and then the supermarket.
She will have had close enough contact with around 10 or so people who will have picked up the virus.
A week or so later she will show signs of pneumonia – but it will be the virus.
In the mean time those she infected will have been around infecting more, maybe one or two have travelled overseas. Since its incubation is up to 8 weeks everyone will have no or little idea of where or who they’ve been in contact with.
It will be lockdown like weve not seen before. There isn’t a vaccine. Even worse if they do conjure up one – very few will trust it.

I hope it doesn’t happen, but the idea of sending all those on the ship to their home countries is a big weakness.
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May 12, 2026 8:17am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  You are likely correct on fuel supplies.
  
  On the virus, I thought that transmission between humans is not impossible but rare. How is it possible for your scenario to play out?
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:18am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    You are correct Nikola.
    
    Hantovirus transmission between humans is very rare.
    
    https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index.html
    
    https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj.s877
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:31am
  - sungsamning
    
    That won’t stop WHO, and the usual suspects from trying it on. With Trump in the Whitehouse, it won’t work this time.
    
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    May 12, 2026 9:39am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      You are wrong about that. There is zero chance of the WHO declaring a pandemic in relation to the virus on the ship.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:47am
    - Ghost
      
      Rubbish. Even the cdc only see this as a level 3 emergency response, their lowest level
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:58am
  - BarryB
    
    As of late today there are 8 cases confirmed – all spread from one person in the last couple of weeks.
    This version is known to be spreadable between humans.
    
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    May 12, 2026 3:53pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Nope.
  Nowhere near as contagious as flu or covid albeit more potentially nasty if you manage to get it. Don’t buy in to the scaremongering, it’s not a worldwide pandemic maker.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:35am
  - MCōs
    
    Depending on the strain there’s a 50% death rate according to an article I read this morning by a survivor who contracted it via rodent facies.
    The good news is if you do survive there are no after effects
    Sorry, but I can’t find the article
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:40am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      No it’s up to 30 something percent for one strain, then misquoted as 40 percent and now 50 apparantly. 30 something is alarming enough without the scare mongering.
      Other strains mortality far less.
      
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      May 12, 2026 10:55am
    - PeterTrentham
      
      Did the rodent sit on their face? Bloody pervert.0
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:11am
      - Steve Otto N Shore
        
        Pet rat
        
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        May 12, 2026 3:19pm
    - Taieri
      
      a survivor who contracted it via rodent facies
      ————
      
      And how did he manage to do that?
      
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      May 12, 2026 11:39am
      - MCōs
        
        Breathed in the dust from an old mice nest, in the article I read.
        She lived in a rural location in Colorado and mice were an issue that couldn’t be ignored. After that she damped them down with water
        So be careful if you find evidence of mice in your hot water cupboard.
        
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        May 12, 2026 12:40pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Just a final comment. Folk forget about viruses that have been around for a long time.
  
  The H5N1 avian flu virus has been around for about 25 years. It has a horrifying 50 percent mortality rate in humans. However, the folk affected are those in direct contact with infected poultry. IIRC it has killed a few hundred people.
  
  Of course if the virus mutated and was easily transmitted betwen humans, with a 50 percent fatality rate, things would be catastrophic.
  
  This new virus on the cruise ship will be all but forgotten by the end of June. That is my prediction.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:02am
- All_on_Red
  
  Fuel supply is looking fine
  Quite a few Tankers lined up
  https://www.fuelwatch.nz/
  I think the world is adjusting
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:22am
  - Ian Boag
    
    Tankers carry it around. It comes out of the ground.
    There has been a 15% drop in the amount coming out of the ground and going in to tankers. Maybe only 12% with pipelines and stuff and that hasn’t hit us here yet.
    
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    May 12, 2026 11:42am
    - pejhay
      
      And yet, the Governments percentage based tariff has been making shit-tons during this period…
      
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      May 13, 2026 12:07am
- MCōs
  
  “As of the end of 2022, 864 cases of hantavirus disease had been reported in the United States since surveys of such cases began in 1993, according to the C.D.C.”
  https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/well/what-is-hantavirus-cruise-ship.html
  I don’t think it’s going to be a problem in NZ. It’s probably here already.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:34am
- Mummy
  
  This virus doesn’t behave like others. You aren’t infectious during the incubation period, just when you have actual symptoms. So as long as she doesn’t have symptoms, she would be perfectly ok to go shopping for shoes, supermarket or cafe.
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:19pm
- wsk12345
  
  Moderna has been working on a vaccine for this virus since 2024.
  
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  May 12, 2026 2:31pm
  - Ghost
    
    Moderna currently have 44 treatment and vaccine candidates in development, 37 have entered clinical trials.
    
    Let’s not make more of this than it is.
    
    Pfizer have 96 programs in development
    
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    May 12, 2026 2:49pm
imalwaysright

Tova OBrien said that there is now a physical public library in the US dedicated entirely to thousands of newly printed 800 page hardback books containing the Epstein files that “show the relationship between Trump, Epstein, and Maxwell, over the years.”

No mention of anyone else…
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May 12, 2026 8:22am
- Paulus
  
  Nobody else because we understand huge sums of money has been paid to these poor waifs and strays who made fortunes by being a classy hooker.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:19am
- Damocles11
  
  Bill Clinton????
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:23am
Maggy Wassilieff

It was the Russians!!!!

But the big surprise – one that even had the stranger next to me turning to me with a look of disbelief – was Mallard’s claim that the protest camp was funded by Russia. Yep, that’s right: Mallard reckoned someone paid for millions of dollars – yes, millions – worth of camping equipment that mysteriously turned up in Parliament’s grounds. Protesters suddenly had money to spend and he had no doubt that money came from offshore – Russia, he said.

https://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2026/05/mallard-in-fantasyland.html
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May 12, 2026 8:48am
- Flossie
  
  Seriously?!
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:52am
- Frank the tank
  
  If that was former National/Act or NZ First MP this would have been breathlessly reported by the MSM.
  
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  May 12, 2026 8:55am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Well I contributed, na zdorov’ye!
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:11am
- kowtow
  
  He’s clearly influenced by all that time he’s spent in Ireland .
  Over there the fashion is for the Elites to blame all ills on Russia ( with a good smattering of TDS and anti Zios , but I digress)
  Large quantities of Arthur Guinness’ best is also known to create , in the Emerald Isle , the effect of adling the brain , so that won’t help.
  
  Back here in the Antipodes we like to blame China for our perceived ills and to a degree in this instance that will be true as all that stuff came from the camping section of the Warehouse ……..
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:30am
- pdm
  
  Maggy have a listen to Duncan Garners latest podcast.
  
  He has an interesting take, one I had not heard before, on the Mallard v Tau Henare fight in Parliament.
  
  Link here:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkSObXvrwhg
  
  Note – language is expressive.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:51am
- kowtow
  
  From that post re Finlayson .
  
  ‘when he talked about the many “WTF moments” when National was chaotically in opposition, drolly referring to one former party leader as “Muller the Brief” and to another, Simon Bridges, as a shit.’
  
  Comes across as appallingly arrogant .
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:55am
  - zulumonster
    
    because that is exactly what he is …
    
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    May 12, 2026 1:19pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

MSF having a good tug at the Western heart strings…

Bottom line with any of these issues is that it is broken to look at the emotions of Sudan etc through the lens of Western values. In Africa life is relatively cheap and children in particular are expendable.

In that part of the world (West Africa), the median age for a woman having her first child is less than 19. Yes, that is the median. The median woman/girl has a bun in her oven on her 18th birthday and many will be on their second or third child by then. Then she goes on to have an average of 6 kids. By 37 she will be a grandmother with over 30 grandchildren and by 60 (assuming she makes it), she will be a great grandmother, or maybe even great, great grandmother with over 150 descendants.

Compare that to your pigeon pair and 3 grandkids at age 70!

Life is cheap and people do not get as emotionally invested in babies as we do. In 1970s an African family showed me their new baby. A few months later I asked about the baby. They told me it had died, but don’t worry the next one is already well on the way.

200 years ago infant mortality was over 50% the world over. Now it is single-digit %, but the breeding in Africa has not received the message.

I see they just had to drag Israel into the Sudan conflict somehow – even though it is largely a proxy war between Muslim nations.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360974642/kiwi-nurse-sudan-watched-mother-arrive-twins-hours-later-both-babies-were-dead
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May 12, 2026 9:09am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  There is a movement in the USA called “wild births”. Maybe there is a branch here. Women give birth with no prenatal check ups. No doctor visits. No blood pressure checks. No ultrasound. No midwives at the birth. No nothing.
  
  Some folk have no idea that yes birth is “natural” but it is also “natural” that there are high child and maternal deaths.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:42am
- imalwaysright
  
  “In Africa life is relatively cheap and children in particular are expendable.”
  
  Its getting that way here.
  
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  May 12, 2026 10:05am
sungsamning

Her popularity is extraordinary, especially among migrants, who reject outright the ‘racist’ narrative in the media and were dancing for joy (literally!) that they’d met Queen Pauline. [Not your usual ABC type interview. They’ve just won another seat. Hopefully, there will be many more. It’d be great to see them hold the balance of power in the Senate.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVw5AQlzQ1M
Pauline Hanson in casual conversation, and in public… how will this go? Topher Special.
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May 12, 2026 9:11am
sungsamning

Redistricting efforts across the United States are reshaping the political landscape, particularly for the Democrat Party, which is facing significant losses. Key changes in states like Tennessee and Florida are leading to the elimination of Democrat congressional seats, with projections indicating Republicans could gain up to 17 additional seats in the upcoming midterms. [Redistricting is only OK if Dems win. And when SCOTUS bans black electoral districts, its even worse. They’re a tad unhappy. Ha ha!]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AB9P3yRaDo
Democrats Slightly Miffed.
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May 12, 2026 9:12am
Spam

Bottom line with any of these issues is that it is broken to look at the emotions of Sudan etc through the lens of Western values.
…
In that part of the world (West Africa),

Sudan is not west Africa. Sorry – being somewhat pedantic. Agree with the point you are making.
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May 12, 2026 9:17am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Yes, you are entirely correct. Sudan is central Africa.
  
  10 1
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  May 12, 2026 9:20am
  - Don Beckett
    
    I thought it was Eastern Africa – next to Egypt.
    
    3 3
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    May 12, 2026 10:40am
    - Paulus
      
      I agree with Don B
      It is !
      
      2 1
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      May 12, 2026 3:10pm
Nikola Donatello

The police and health officials want to stop a new supermarket selling beer and wine.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360977038/police-and-health-nz-oppose-licence-nearly-finished-25m-supermarket

The rationale seems to be alcohol harms people wrapped in word salad.
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May 12, 2026 9:35am
- Notsofast
  
  This is a big deal, chatgpt explains that alcohol sales are up to 40% of supermarket profits.
  
  https://chatgpt.com/share/6a024f37-764c-83ec-8110-2cbd2a913b54
  
  Sounds like a real curved ball for the investors, and should be challengeable in court.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:53am
- MCōs
  
  “Overall, data from police, public health sources, community feedback and local deprivation indicators demonstrate that Flaxmere experiences high and persistent levels of alcohol-related harm”
  
  4 1
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  May 12, 2026 10:10am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    So does parliament, are they shutting nearby outlets?
    
    7 0
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    May 12, 2026 10:56am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    No doubt true. No reason to stop the new supermarket a selling beer and wine. The folk being harmed now are not going to drink more alcohol because there is a new supermarket.
    
    Cheap, high alcohol spirits and RTDs are popular amongst problem drinkers. Supermarkets don’t sell those.
    
    If this supermarket was stopped from selling beer and wine the community would be rightly outraged.
    
    I say this as a recovered alcoholic. Alcoholics will always obtain all the alcohol they need. Because their lives centre on that need.
    
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    May 12, 2026 10:59am
  - Ian
    
    I thought the revision of the liquor licencing laws stopped these sort of blanket oppositions. The authorities are using the deprivation issue – paternalistic. I own a building with a tavern it it – also in a claimed deprived area. Prior to Xmas a new licensee applied for a licence. all three authorities opposed it on the above general grounds. After much deliberation, the licence was granted and the district licencing secretary said it was nice to see the authorities get pushed back now and then…
    
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    May 12, 2026 11:28am
Swifty

PRESS RELEASE 12 May, 2026.

“In what many are saying is a world first, Labour, the Greens and The Maori Party have combined to release a joint campaign effort for this year’s general election.

Their new campaign has just launched and is led by a campaign song they hope will capture the hearts and minds of the nation.

The new song focusses on truthfulness and honesty and provides real insight as to what Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party will bring hard-working Kiwis.”

https://youtube.com/shorts/D6vLUlw3668?si=fwPmYH6VF2iJUJmD
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May 12, 2026 10:05am
- rouppe
  
  Truthfulness and honesty, eh?
  
  Guess they don’t have any sense of irony then.
  
  Mind you some might say they have no sense at all but that’s the debate I suppose.
  
  What it does do is clearly state that you get them all no matter which you vote for
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:58pm
mogg

The UK Green Party have just done surprisingly well in their recent local elections. They have appointed a ‘Reperations Officer’ , who is demanding that the UK and USA should pay billions in compensation to African countries who have and still are suffering from the consequences European Slave traders.
Antoinette Fernandez of the global majority as she likes to be called, is now found to be a descendant of a very wealthy Nigerian family, which at one point owned 1400 slaves themselves, and were slave traders. Her father is a billionaire who will have benefited directly from owning slaves. If anyone dares to point out this small discrepancy in her background they are immediately accused of being ‘racist’.
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May 12, 2026 10:26am
- rouppe
  
  European slave traders weren’t even the first slave traders.
  
  Plenty went on in Asia and Africa before Europeans.
  
  In fact, the European slave traders didn’t even enslave the people they traded. They were enslaved by their African neighbors and sold, already enslaved.
  
  10 0
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  May 12, 2026 12:54pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    With the Muslim conquest of much of North & Central Africa, they were the principal slave traders for nearly 1000 years. They sold the slaves to the Europeans. And its still going on.
    
    7 0
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    May 12, 2026 1:34pm
- Eastlander
  
  The compensation would be for loss of business following abolition.
  
  6 1
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  May 12, 2026 12:57pm
- sungsamning
  
  Ha ha! ‘Moral giants’ with feet of clay. If the globalists weren’t utterly risible; it’d be a grim world indeed.
  
  3 1
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  May 12, 2026 3:41pm
imalwaysright

Sean Plunket yesterday asked political reporter Richard Harman what he thought of the weekends UK election results.

He said he didn’t know they were having elections and that he was concentrating on Hormuz.

You would think a political reporter would be pretty well informed about a range of issues.
Most KB posters certainly are.
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May 12, 2026 10:30am
- Boy Geoff
  
  I think with most left wing media in general, it seems to be a case of ‘Don’t mention the war’.
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:27pm
- kowtow
  
  Yep , I heard that and couldn’t believe someone running what’s claimed to be a leading politics blog could say he didn’t follow what was happening in Britain!
  
  Meanwhile it looks like the coup against Starmer following those elections that Harman has no interest in , is on.
  
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  May 12, 2026 12:34pm
  - Philview
    
    I listened this morning to George Galloway talking about the court case involving the arsons on Starmer’s property. I think George is a strong Marxist but he is quite entertaining. The key point of discussion is that the motive for the arsons was directed as being irrelevant by the judge. Per George the British media are not shining a light on the motive either. If it involves the unsavoury personal life of the Prime Minister it could be considered irrelevant but if it was targeting by the Russians on a British Prime Minister that “Motive” should really be a major news story.
    
    5 1
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    May 12, 2026 1:15pm
    - kowtow
      
      Galloway is an Islamofascist , Putin shill.
      
      There’ll be nothing funny or entertaining about him and any position he takes will be more than dubious.
      
      3 1
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      May 12, 2026 2:04pm
- sungsamning
  
  As my country cousins would say; “These blokes wouldn’t know s*** from clay if they were standing in it”.
  
  2 1
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  May 12, 2026 3:43pm
MCōs

Happy International Nurses Day
4 2
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May 12, 2026 10:58am
- PeterTrentham
  
  Was for my wife this morning in bed before getting up to work in the local hospital.
  
  5 2
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  May 12, 2026 11:14am
Swifty

More charm and grace shown by Pro Pal protesters:

https://x.com/vividprowess/status/2053943531664761113?s=46
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May 12, 2026 11:12am
Swifty

Ol’ Mohammed would be pleased – 1400 years after he and a few others invented it,
Islam continues to operate as designed:

https://x.com/gazawood1/status/2053826914893045910?s=46
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May 12, 2026 11:20am
Boy Geoff

Apparently (according to National Geographic), cannabis may make you remember things that never happened…

Groovy man!
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May 12, 2026 11:27am
Paulus

Congratulations to the Herald today – they published a good article from Fran O’Sullivan’s trip with Prime Minister to Singapore and her thoughts.
Sone fifty years ago I first passed through Singapore and subsequently did business with people there.
I was once asked by some officials to talk to them over coffee in general terms about ACC.
Muldoon was very keen from the 1971 CHOGM meeting there, and encouraged some of our people to do various explorations.
Where are we different is what I see from Fran elucidations is once simple code – called discipline, which is where we could never contemplate getting closer to their philosophy.
Business is tough there and they take no prisioners when trading – basically from their Chinese ethics, when withdrawn from Malaysia, which is different.
But it is a simple way of life with tough rules which makes them succeed so well.
I love passing through there now, as many years retired, as have good friends there.
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May 12, 2026 11:49am
Libertarians are right

For those who don’t understand how someone can despise Trump but still regard him as the lesser of two evils:

In Virginia (where the Attorney General has literally stated he wants his political opponent’s kids to die), they’ve just done a vote to redistrict and won (51-49) but have had the vote overturned because they broke multiple State Constitution rules.
The State Supreme Court has come out and said the vote was unconstitutional. They hadn’t been able to rule on it before the vote even though it clearly broke the rules as no-one had standing (i.e. no-one got harmed until after the vote). It was obviously unconstitutional but the Democrats went through with it anyway.
The Democrats are throwing a tantrum that their unconstitutional vote got overturned and are now trying to decide what to do. One of their plans is to change the mandatory retirement age for the Supreme Court to 54 which would mean they would all have to retire and the Democrats could instill a new Supreme Court that would explicitly vote against the State Constitution.

Trump’s scum but the Democrats are an entire organisation bent on getting power no matter the cost.
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May 12, 2026 2:10pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Trouble is they cannot force retirement on a sitting judge.
  
  2 1
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  May 12, 2026 3:00pm
- virtualmark
  
  Umm, not so much.
  
  Yes, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled against the redistricting, in a 4-3 decision. But it looks pretty squirrely in law. I recommend reading the dissent from their Chief Justice on that Virginia Supreme Court who points out the errors of law. You can read it for yourself at https://www.vacourts.gov/static/opinions/opnscvwp/1260127.pdf
  
  Not to say that Virginia will succeed in getting SCOTUS to overturn that decision … SCOTUS has its own biases about election law.
  
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  May 12, 2026 7:13pm
Paulus

Judges cannot be forced to retire in New Zealand before the age of 70 I understand !
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May 12, 2026 3:16pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360977813/latest-poll-shows-neither-side-parliament-has-strong-support
I very much doubt the support for the maori party, there must be some mischievous respondents .
I question the veracity of the TOP number as well: most people would have no clue of their policies or ideology, assuming they have heard of them at all.
4 1
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May 12, 2026 3:40pm
- Prince
  
  Some interesting descriptions…
  Labour’s lead over National of 1.9% shows they ‘remain more popular’.
  Luxon’s lead over Hipkins of 2.5% is described as being ‘neck and neck’.
  
  12 0
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  May 12, 2026 3:53pm
  - RoboRob
    
    Wait, Luxon is more popular then Hipkins! Thats a massive swing and desperately good news for the Nats.
    
    4 0
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    May 12, 2026 5:01pm
Ghost

NZ is a bit slow with this report, last I read she had a heart attack as they tried to bring her out of the coma

There has been an outpouring of support for Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer known for major hits like Total Eclipse of the Heart, who has spent days in an induced coma.

The 74-year-old singer had suffered a perforated intestine, which caused a serious infection, according to Portuguese news outlet Correio da Manha.

Article
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May 12, 2026 6:54pm
- Swifty
  
  I read a few months back she’s had a farm out of Taupo since the 80s.
  
  1 0
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  May 12, 2026 9:46pm
  - Ghost
    
    Yeah. She isn’t the only celeb with property there, a few bought there back then
    
    1 0
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    May 12, 2026 10:12pm
Ghost

So the navy hasn’t been destroyed. Enough uranium for at least a dozen warheads. Hmmm, oh well food shortages coming this growing season in the north because of lack of fertiliser. severe risk of recession.

Rival submarine threats have emerged Monday amid the ongoing Strait of Hormuz showdown and as President Trump has said the ceasefire with Iran is on “massive life support”.

Article
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May 12, 2026 7:54pm
- Ian Boag
  
  Roughly 20 kgs of 95% enriched stuff for a warhead. Reputedly they have 400 kg of 65% enriched. Do the math – not 20 …..
  
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  May 12, 2026 7:58pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Arable farmers in the UK are debating if they will grow crops this season.
  
  For the environment, the government has slapped a 27% tax on fertilizer. The return on yield was already minimal. I suggest there is a lack of demand so the fertiliser won’t be missed.
  
  With the various green initiatives available it is profitable to take subsidies and not grow crops.
  
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  May 12, 2026 9:47pm

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