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May 24, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 24 May 2026

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General Debate

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Benedict Yu

I do feel sorry for this couple.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/home-property/360978815/we-bought-market-peak-now-we-live-motorhome-suburbs-where-home-values-have-crashed-most

However on reading the story, the fact that they bought at market peak was not the big problem. In fact when they sold out the selling price was only 9 percent below their purchase price.

Their big problem was that they had a mortgage they could barely afford at the record low interest rates in 2021. Once interest rates increased it was all over.

Another casualty of the Adrian Orr – Jacinda Ardern calamity. Perhaps the media will run a story about that topic.
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May 24, 2026 8:18am
- Philview
  
  I do have sympathy for young people trying to get on the housing ladder at that time but it was evident that the risks of an interest rate hike were going to be a disaster given the sums being borrowed.
  
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  May 24, 2026 8:31am
  - Notsofast
    
    If I recall, mortgages were supposedly stress tested at 7%.
    
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    May 24, 2026 10:05am
    - artemisia
      
      Bank lending stress tests are usually about a couple of % above the interest rate at the time. A household with 2 incomes might easily meet the test at the time but easily snookered by a change in income if there’s no fund for the unexpected.
      
      Can forgive the young for no buffer, middle aged and older not so much.
      
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      May 24, 2026 12:53pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      I think the stress test was on the ability for banks survice increased interest rates THEY had to pay.
      
      Nothing to do with Homeowners.
      
      IeBanks have issued long term mortgages financed by relatively short term borrowings, much from overseas so there is an exchange rate risk as well.
      
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      May 24, 2026 4:42pm
  - Handyman
    
    The Ardern regime policy was clearly stated to drop house prices by 25 per cent?
    Yet everyone still kept talking about the property ladder, “because house prices always go up”.
    
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    May 24, 2026 10:21am
- CJames
  
  ” Jacinda Ardern calamity. Perhaps the media will run a story ”
  BY I know you have self admitted that you don’t have the same sense of humour than many of others have, but for you, that is a very good joke.
  
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  May 24, 2026 8:43am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    🙂 I have been taking lessons.
    
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    May 24, 2026 8:48am
- greybeard
  
  I think the biggest problem was buying a crap place in Waiuku without seeing it first, and without thinking of its location, condition and lack of potential and appeal.
  I wonder if he asked anyone for advice first ?
  I wish them luck.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:08am
  - David Garrett
    
    grey: Yes indeed…and even in a decent location that is a most unappealing property….my question is why he is buying his first house in his sixties
    
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    May 24, 2026 9:29am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  I note from the story that the male purchaser was 56-ish at the time. Not unreasonably, the bank would not offer a 25 year mortgage; the couple’s 14 year mortgage will have led to higher monthly payments than otherwise.
  
  You’d have to ask what assets he had to show for 40-odd years in the workforce. It seems like not much, which indicates a history of poor decisions.
  
  Now, at 62 he has quit his job, they have bought a camper van and are travelling the country. It’s not reported how they manage to afford the $500/ week of diesel, let alone purchase the van given that they had “lost their life’s savings”. Perhaps she can work remotely. Who knows.
  
  However, living & travelling in a camper van is not a strategy for old age. It certainly does not sound like he’s frantically trying to rebuild his savings pot. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that he/ they will end up in social housing and on the extended public dime before he’s done.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:36am
  - Ra Henare
    
    You blew your credidability when you said $500 a week for diesel. Living & travelling in a Campervan does not consume a lot of diesel.
    
    Bias . I have lived and travelled in a Campervan.
    There are literally thousands of older people doing this. Its a rather nice lifestyle.
    
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    May 24, 2026 4:46pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “However, living & travelling in a camper van is not a strategy for old age.”
    
    Well it is not ideal compared to having a mortgage free house. But for this guy, it is not a terrible option compared to his alternatives.
    
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    May 24, 2026 6:44pm
- Ian Boag
  
  They were geared to the max with a low deposit. So a 12% house value loss means their equity has gone up in smoke. The other side of the “help people get into housing with lower and lower deposits plus rat your Kiwisaver”. Plus their payments went up heaps …..
  
  We should have seen it coming. After all, NAt/ACT/NZF were all beating the drum at the time about how bad this all was …. I think? 🙂
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:46am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Of course, the 100,000 KiwiBuild houses were always going to flood the market and reduce prices – any fool could have seen that.
    
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    May 24, 2026 9:59am
    - Ian Boag
      
      So what? Didn’t happen. Market wasn’t flooded – gummint injected a whole lot of (borrowed) liquidity to keep the economy going. The opposition didn’t oppose any of it …. obviously all totally on Ardern/Robertson/Orr. That’s why Bridges/Peters/Seymour made such a fuss about it.
      
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      May 24, 2026 11:06am
      - Quail
        
        IB,
        Including money printing!
        The resulting inflation is still with us.
        
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        May 24, 2026 1:21pm
      - Dougal10
        
        Chch is flooded with houses.
        
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        May 24, 2026 6:53pm
      - Ghost
        
        Only 11 kiwi build homes were built in Canterbury, so you can’t blame labour
        
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        May 24, 2026 7:05pm
  - Taieri
    
    They were geared to the max with a low deposit.
    ———-
    
    So, whose fault is it then?
    
    I’m not sure what is the purpose of this article? Am I supposed to feel sorry for a couple of people who can’t count?
    I bought a few houses in my life. Every time before purchase, I worked out how to structure my finances for the worst case scenario (and the interest rate on the first house was 23%). It served me well – never had to draw on my minuscule KiwiSaver.
    
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    May 24, 2026 10:49am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Low deposit/first home buyer subsidies/rat Kiwisaver all help jack up prices for FHBs – that underpin the rest of the market to some extent and are supposed to make it easier to get on the “property ladder”.
      
      All make it worse when the rungs break ….. Imagine the serious carnage if Bishop’s oft-stated desire to see house prices fall were to happen on a wider scale.
      
      Naturally the Real Estate lot – who live off transaction volume – are spruiking up this as an opportunity for buyers. 🙂
      
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      May 24, 2026 11:01am
      - slijmbal
        
        @Ian
        
        house prices have fallen approx 25% from the peak late 21/early 22 and 30+% if we allow for inflation. Most likely reasons are a mixture of more expensive loans, getting immigration down to a sensible number and making it somewhat easier to increase density of building.
        
        Not seeing serious carnage.
        
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        May 24, 2026 12:08pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Which bit of this did I get wrong to deserve the downticks?
        
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        May 24, 2026 7:33pm
- Inandout
  
  BY, at least the bus man has admitted he is happy now at the turnout and the real estate agent has probably made a tidy fortune out of the previous market. In some respeccts I see it as a ‘feel good’ story.
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:26am
  - Ian Boag
    
    bus man has admitted he is happy now at the turnout
    
    Yep. Lost his life’s savings. At least now it has all stopped bleeding he might – in a relative sense – be sort of “happy” …
    
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    May 24, 2026 7:36pm
artemisia

This from Roger Partridge is well worth a read.

Commission still confusing competition with counting

The last sentence sums up his view well.

A good diagnosis points to a treatment. The Commission has measured something other than the disease and prescribed more visits.

‘Please explains’ from Ministers should already be winging their way to these regulators. Possibly also enquiring why a 100 page methodology could ever be required.

https://www.brashandmitchell.com/post/roger-partridge-commission-still-confusing-competition-with-counting
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May 24, 2026 8:21am
- Swifty
  
  Roger Partridge is a bloody national asset.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:59am
- nz_aj
  
  Give AI the data, the report will be ready overnight.
  If AI is not being used already, why not?
  Start by randomly getting rid of every second wellington back office employee. Let the rest sort out a restructure. Probably need to do this a couple of times over with some departments.
  Seeing they’re so talented, it’ll be a real boost to the productive sector.
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:00am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Please just remember. Garbage in garbage out.
    
    It will take a skilfull team to provide the relevant prompts to the AI platform to get the 30 second meaningful response and of course a number of iterations of prompts to get a reasonable product at the end.
    
    So asking AI to
    “”Produce a competition report”” will, I suspect, produce jsut as meaningless drivel as this report.
    
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    May 24, 2026 4:52pm
Cassandra

Announcing a $1.5 billion increase Defence Minister Penk said New Zealand’s geographic distance could no longer be seen as a shield from global instability.

“Recent events have served as a reminder of how quickly disruptions to international shipping routes can affect economies and supply chains across the globe,” he said. “The oceans are not a barrier to danger, but a vital national interest that must be actively secured.”

Note the bit about supply chains which confirms that Mr Penk reads Kiwiblog. Also note that any announcement about replacing the frigates will be after the election, although I’d happily bet that the decision has already been made.
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May 24, 2026 8:23am
- RichardX
  
  Note the bit about supply chains which confirms that Mr Penk reads Kiwiblog.
  
  I’m quite taken by the sheer arrogance of that statement.
  
  You appear to be claiming that the only way Mr Penk could have reached his conclusion was by reading Kiwiblog.
  
  Do you have any evidence to support your claim or is it just ego?
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:21am
  - Cassandra
    
    C’mon. It was a joke! I’ve been banging on for years about this, but I very much doubt that Mr Penk has time to read Kiwiblog. Or possibly even the inclination.
    
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    May 24, 2026 11:52am
- Jethrod
  
  I see Penk was also addressing the need for drones, which comes on the back of Ukrainian drone attacks on Putin’s heart …. Moscow. Where people have been killed and large apartments have been smashed. This has caused a lot of unrest in the capital, so much so, Putin has started backpeddling on some of his own attacks.
  Drones are a thing NZ should be investing in, cheap and very adaptable.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:52am
  - Eastlander
    
    What backpedalling? They hit Kyiv again mere minutes ago. What else would you expect?
    
    God help us if we convince ourselves that the ability to damage a few Chinese apartment buildings is a viable strategic deterrent.
    
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    May 24, 2026 10:34am
    - Jethrod
      
      Finally the Ukraine is taking the fight to his doorstep…. perhaps not a major thrust , but definitely enough to unsettle and destabilize Putin’s populace.
      
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      May 24, 2026 11:06am
      - Eastlander
        
        ‘Destabilise’ – you mean make them even more hated than already are. Attacking apartment buildings doesn’t provoke clamouring for peace, it provokes clamouring for retaliation. The Ukrainians themselves don’t respond to getting bombed by demanding capitulation to the perpetrators, why do you think the Russians will?
        
        It’s not a hypothetical question either, they’ve Russian territory many times before and it doesn’t make the war any less popular.
        
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        May 24, 2026 12:23pm
    - BananaLlama
      
      You’re not wrong that the reporting is one sided but how else will you get through to the Kremlins head that peace is a much better alternative than war. Ukraine has to hit back at them and hard.
      
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      May 24, 2026 11:47am
      - Eastlander
        
        The Ukrainians have been getting hit much, much harder from the very beginning and they still think that’s preferable to whatever terms they’d need to accept to get it to stop. So what makes you think anything the Ukrainians do will cause the Russians to chicken out?
        
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        May 24, 2026 12:17pm
      - BananaLlama
        
        Actually there have been many peace talks and negations since. The problem is that the Kremlin wants too much and thinks they can get more by fighting it out on the battlefield.
        If Ukraine can strike deep into the Russian interior it may be enough to change their minds and bring them back to the table.
        
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        May 24, 2026 12:48pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    Drones have been used by both sides in teh Russia/Ukraine conflict since the beginning.
    
    As with all wars, technolgy/warfighting is in an accelerated learning production curve.
    
    You seem to have concentrated on one attack on Moscow. There have been mass atatcks by both sides (ie UKrainian prime sites destroyed) Tanks and soldiers on both sides eliminate by DRONES.
    
    Personally I dont see NZ having Frigates will make squat diffence to our “defence””. The world has moved on. Just as the US has realised that Aircraft carrier battle groups are not the weapon they use dto be in armed conflict (against missiles & drones)
    
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    May 24, 2026 4:57pm
Souvlaki

An excellent letter to Chris Bishop…lets hope he replies, and that too is published!

https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2026/05/hugh-perrett-tikanga-is-not-law-is-not.html?m=1
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May 24, 2026 8:30am
- Cassandra
  
  It’s a very good letter. Quite how we’ve got into this position mystifies me. Let’s hope the new head of the Law Commission can put a stop to it.
  
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  May 24, 2026 8:54am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    The Professional Examinations in Law Regulations now require tikanga to be taught as a stand-alone compulsory subject within New Zealand Law Schools.⁵ This means that tikanga is a compulsory component of all law degrees, reflecting the fact that some knowledge of tikanga is seen as a core competency for lawyers.
    
    https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/assets/Professional-practice-docs/Practice-briefings/Practice-Briefing-tikanga-Maori-2025.pdf
    
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    May 24, 2026 9:42am
    - David Garrett
      
      Maggy: Whose version of “tikanga” I wonder?
      
      My daughter had to do this bullshit last year…My advice? Just tell them what they want to hear…she did. Some of her friends who made the grave mistake of thinking for themselves failed the bloody thing.
      
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      May 24, 2026 9:46am
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Badge of honour, right there.
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:00am
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Whose version of “tikanga” I wonder
        
        I imagine the “academic” one that has been developed over the last 30 years or so by folks who have spent too much time copying ideas from others.
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:11am
      - alex Masterley
        
        David,
        My youngest is studying law. I gave him much the same advice.
        It seems to be working.
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:39am
      - David Garrett
        
        Alex: But on a serious note…isn’t it sad that we have to give our kids such advice? There was a time – not so long ago – when you could submit an essay you know the lecturer wouldn’t like…and still get a B for it.
        
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        May 24, 2026 11:46am
    - pdm
      
      Obviously the indoctrination is there at all levels.
      
      From pre school to the highest levels of University Degrees.
      
      It sure as hell is going to take some turning around and what is going before Parliament over the next few months is only:-
      
      `tinkering at the edges’.
      
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      May 24, 2026 9:50am
      - Jethrod
        
        Well we have the major tinkerer himself, Goldsmith, leading the nudge.
        
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        May 24, 2026 9:56am
      - R
        
        Unfortunately, changing the embedded mindsets of the population, is going to be like the erosion of the coastline by waves. It will take a very long time to see results, particularly as there are some stubborn ideologica rocks to be removed: read school teaching, law studies,university indoctrination, and most of all MEDIA.
        Probably a good decades worth of time, motivation and effort required.
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:05am
      - sungsamning
        
        Yes, the Pre-School, and elementary school in two different country towns that I visit often are into this garbage. Tikanga in the pre-school. And an arch in the school. walking under it strengthens ones ‘life force’ or some such mumbo jumbo. Schools are meant to be secular. This stuff belongs in RE lessons.
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:13am
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        How to indoctrinate a generation.
        
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGZPkt0kfHU&t=16s
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:41am
      - Taieri
        
        changing the embedded mindsets of the population
        ————-
        
        If it is embedded, it means that it is acceptable to and accepted by the population. Why change it then?
        
        (This question is rhetorical of course).
        
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        May 24, 2026 10:54am
      - pdm
        
        jethrod I have Goldsmith more as a ditherer than a tinkerer.
        
        Tinkerer’s occasionally achieve a small gain – Goldsmith not so much.
        
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        May 24, 2026 11:56am
  - Gussy
    
    NZ has a superabundance of lawyers with the ratio per capita in Wellington probably higher than anywhere on the planet.
    
    They’re ok with tikanga. In fact, they positively need it.
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:02pm
- imalwaysright
  
  The Supreme Court (the name itself is probably half of the problem), unilaterally decided to become a Constitutional Court as well as an Appellant Court.
  
  That they seem to be politically biased in their work output therefore makes them extremely dangerous to our democracy.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:12am
- rouppe
  
  Unfortunately he gets it wrong right at the start.
  
  Maori weren’t granted “the rights and privileges of British subjects”, they were granted “the rights and duties of British subjects”.
  
  It is important to state obligations in the same sentence as rights.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:25am
  - Steve Todd
    
    No, it is “Rights and Privileges of British Subjects”, as I have pointed several times before, most recently here: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/03/general_debate_11_march_2026.html/comment-page-1#comment-3821425.
    
    Please show us where the Treaty refers to “Rights and Duties of British Subjects”.
    
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    May 24, 2026 10:53am
    - Taieri
      
      No, it is “Rights and Privileges of British Subjects”
      ———
      
      Correct. But granting and accepting the “Rights and Privileges” implies accepting the responsibilities and duties as the first can’t exercised without the second.
      
      If one is granted a New Zealand citizenship, one is also undertaking to accept all the responsibilities associated with this privilege, such as for example obeying the NZ laws.
      
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      May 24, 2026 11:00am
      - Steve Todd
        
        Exactly: implies.
        
        Duties are not granted. They may be imposed, or assumed, but they are not granted.
        
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        May 24, 2026 11:14am
      - rjay
        
        If we start accepting what a document “implies” then very quickly we get to the Treaty Principles.
        
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        May 24, 2026 1:05pm
- Swifty
  
  A top letter with points that must be responded to by our political parties.
  
  They must not be allowed to sweep this under the carpet.
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:58am
NeverMindTheBollocks

According to John Campbell, the average redundancy payment to public servants across the last five years is $58k. Assuming something similar applies for the Willis layoffs, that’s a lot of corn to be borne by the taxpayer.

My question is why redundancy payments are made at all. I appreciate that they will be part of a PSA-negotiated contract. However, redundancy payments in the private sector are rarer, I believe. Certainly, in my career I’ve never had a redundancy clause offered to me.

Generally speaking, an employee has a notice period in his/ her contract. One month, two months, whatever. Give notice, work notice, final salary, leave. That’s it.

Why should the reverse not be true also?
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May 24, 2026 9:20am
- Aquarius
  
  The good ones who have progressed along the Dunning Kruger curve will likely leave and find employment, so no redundancy payments needed
  I fear the useless ones at the early stage of the curve and thus unemployable outside the ‘civil service’ will remain to do further damage
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:43am
- Taieri
  
  Certainly, in my career I’ve never had a redundancy clause offered to me.
  ————
  
  Had it in every employment contract I’d ever signed. The terms and conditions varied, but the clause was always there.
  I’ve never worked in the public sector and had been made redundant four times, two of which were voluntary.
  
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  May 24, 2026 11:04am
- MCōs
  
  When the Ministry of Works and Development was disestablished in 1988 some guys I knew received enough redundancy to buy a house
  Then they picked up jobs with the consultants who replaced filled the vacuum
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:51pm
- kowtow
  
  They should just stop hiring in the depts they want to right size.
  
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  May 24, 2026 3:40pm
  - Ghost
    
    The minister said that Natural Attrition will be the main mechanism for the downsizing.
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:55pm
  - GJM
    
    Then the good people with skills will leave, and the trash remains behind. I assume there are some people with private sector skills..
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:24pm
Handyman

President Trump has capitulated on all points.
The Hormuz will open allowing Iran to empty Kharg Island and top up their coffers.
Iran keeps the uranium and rebuilds its drone factories.
US will stop all military action, but the Iran proxies will continue.
The Iran regime now has the blessing of the US.
Israel is gagged from independent operations.
Talks will continue for 60 days and be extended until the mid terms when Iran’s allies take the US house. No more money for war.
Iran can close the straight at any time, and will.
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May 24, 2026 9:39am
- Scott
  
  Well actually we don’t know. Trump said earlier in the day he may sign the deal or he may blow them all to kingdom come.
  
  What we do know is that he is negotiating with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and just about every Middle East power on his side trying to resolve the situation with Iran. He’s building a powerful coalition.
  
  If this was Obama the world’s media would be clamoring for him to get a Nobel peace prize. But because it’s Trump then it’s Orange man bad, no matter what he does.
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:20am
  - david in Aus
    
    I am really curious how you came to the conclusion that he deserves the Nobel peace prize for his conduct in this war.
    It is good to have a conversation to see how people think. I don’t agree with your premise but really want your perspective. I might learn something.
    
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    May 24, 2026 11:02am
  - Hard Cheese
    
    The Nobel Peace prize for a guy who threatens the existence of an entire civilization? A guy that starts an illegal war that lead to the bombing and killing of 120 school girls? The guy who illegally deposed the head of state of another country? The guy who threatened to invade Greenland, Canada and blockaded fuel supplies from reaching Cuba? The guy who bilked countries out of $1 billion to join his “Board of Peace” – which hasn’t had a meeting for 3 months? That guy?
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:47pm
- Yvette
  
  Trump Says Peace Deal Is Near
  President Trump said Iran and the United States had “largely negotiated” an agreement “pertaining to PEACE” after last-ditch diplomatic efforts to stave off a return to full-scale war. There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran.
  
  … Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on President Trump’s announcement that the United States is nearing an agreement with Iran. Netanyahu … vowed “to put an end to the threat” posed by Tehran and suggested that the war could even lead to the end of the Islamic Republic. Almost three months later, it is far from clear that those goals were achieved. And the New York Times has reported that the Trump administration effectively cut Israel out of the recent negotiations with Iran, leaving Israeli officials struggling to get a clear picture of the talks. – NYT 30 minutes ago
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:28am
- david in Aus
  
  I got to give Trump credit. Out of two bad options he choose the least worse option.
  Thank God he is not a Lyndon Johnson. I doubted that psychological he could accept this. He proved me wrong.
  
  I hope that now that some of his deluded supporters can see this war was a major strategic mistake.
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:38am
  - david in Aus
    
    It would be interesting to see how Trump spins this.
    
    Iran is weeks away from a nuclear weapon, said he. That was the rationale for the war. How has this war changed this?
    
    Trump went on about Obama unfreezing Iranian funds. Now there is a proposal to release 25 billions dollars to Iran from Trump. Wow.
    
    Trump is a political genius in a way. If he can get his supporters to say that this was his plan all along, I’ll tip my hat to him. Bravo.
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:01pm
Swifty

If you’re interested in the state of the UK, this is today’s must see:

https://x.com/thehauskarl/status/2058224892189761970?s=42

Just an average Englishman giving his thoughts.

The next UK general election will be one of the most important ever in my view – with truly massive consequences whichever way it goes.
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May 24, 2026 9:57am
NeverMindTheBollocks

RNZ broadcast yesterday that the Kororipo Pā site (where Hongi Hika used to keep an eye on the pakeha village at Kerikeri) has been returned to Nga Puhi. Interestingly, the story does not appear on their website; nor does it appear on Stuff or TVNZ. The only link I could find was to a precursor report from last year.

It’s actually a big deal, being a small step towards a wider Treaty settlement with Nga Puhi.

You’d have to wonder why this delivery by the Coalition Government is not being celebrated by our media and commentariat.

Could it be that they don’t want to award credit where credit is due? Or might it also be that they do not want to draw attention to the fact that the Pā is also the site from which the 1820s Musket Wars kicked off?

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581926/parliament-bill-set-to-return-historic-maori-site-in-northland-to-ngapuhi
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May 24, 2026 9:57am
- Benedict Yu
  
  The inter tribal warfare between 1820 and 1840 seems to be airbrushed out of much of New Zealand history discussion. Imagine if the British had killed or enslaved 20,000 Maori in the 20 years preceding 1840? Yet because Maori killed each other, it is talked about in muted tones.
  
  Happy to be corrected if anyone thinks that I am misrepresenting these events.
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:51am
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    As Basil Fawlty said, “don’t mention the war”.
    
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    May 24, 2026 11:29am
  - Nūhaka Native
    
    That’s a pretty good summary. ‘Hongi Hika travelled to England in 1820 with missionary Thomas Kendall, where he met King George IV and received gifts including weapons and armour. On the return journey in 1821, he stopped in Sydney and traded those gifts for muskets, gunpowder, and ammunition, adding to his growing arsenal. He then brought these back to New Zealand, where they played a major role in the Musket Wars’. It is said by some that he spent time studying the campaigns of Napoleon while there.
    
    Regarding the Musket Wars, He raided Wairoa with his ‘right hand man’ Paratene Te Manu, during the Musket Wars around 1823–1824. It was one of many Ngāpuhi campaigns led by Hongi Hika after he returned from overseas with muskets. ‘Many people were killed, and many captives were taken’.
    
    In a twist of fate, my wife is a descendant of both of them. I like to joke that they were telling ‘my people’ what to do then, and in a way, they are still at it today.
    
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    May 24, 2026 12:47pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      The road between Rotorua & Whakatane has an area known as Hongi’s Track – where the invading Nga Puhi cut a track through the bush & dragged their war canoes from Rotoehu to Rotoiti & then along the Ohau Channel into lake Rotorua.
      The Arawa people in Ohinemutu & the other settlements around Rotorua had all gone onto Mokoia Island in the middle of the lake to avoid the invading Nga Puhi, believing that they would be on foot. Imagine their dismay when they saw the waka of Hongi emerging from the Ohau channel. Their defensive positions on the island were no match for the invading musket-armed Nga Puhi & the slaughter was terrible. Men who were prepared to crawl between the open legs of a woman were spared but put to slavery; other men were killed & thrown into the umu – (hangi pit) where over the next few days they were eaten. Learnt this when we were kids a primary school – , the Maori kids as well – I bet they’re not taught that now.
      
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      May 24, 2026 2:52pm
  - Yvette
    
    The British Colonization of India:
    – Estimated deaths: 15 to 29 million people died of starvation due to colonial policies, with some estimates suggesting up to 100 million excess deaths between 1881 and 1920.
    – Primary cause of death: Famines, especially the 1943 Bengal Famine, caused by aggressive taxation, food supply exportation, and suppression of local agricultural economies for profit.
    
    The Colonization of New Zealand:
    – Estimated deaths: Around 2,900 Māori and nearly 800 British soldiers died in combat during the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872).
    – Primary cause of death: While direct conflict caused casualties, “virgin soil” epidemics, introduced European diseases like influenza, measles, and tuberculosis, led to the most severe population decline. The Māori population dropped from an estimated pre-contact population of 100,000–200,000 to a low of about 42,000 by 1896.
    
    Comparing one colony policy to another, it would seem New Zealand got a better deal.
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:27pm
    - kowtow
      
      ‘Primary cause of death: Famines, especially the 1943 Bengal Famine, caused by aggressive taxation, food supply exportation, and suppression of local agricultural economies for profit.’
      
      Rubbish. That was due to the japs invading Burma etc as well as merchants etc hoarding for high prices.
      
      Churchill wanted American / allied ships redirected to bring grain from Aus . Guess what , Roosevelt /Americans said no . All shipping dedicated to the invasion of France , which was THE priority.
      
      British colonization; pffft.
      
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      May 24, 2026 3:47pm
- SoloView
  
  @ NeverMind.
  
  Earlier report from the NZ Herald 12/02/25 (paywalled but the available info covers it)
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/far-north-hapu-ngati-rehia-to-get-historic-pa-site-back/XWVSAZBUE5GPXMRYAHQD2OPK7A/
  
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  May 24, 2026 2:50pm
Yvette

Babel – originates from the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis when humanity attempted to build a tower to heaven but God confused their common language, causing them to speak different tongues and forcing them to scatter across the earth.

• Green Card Seekers Must Leave U.S. to Apply, Trump Administration Says
The change is likely to affect hundreds of thousands of people. It could also lead to more family separations as spouses or relatives wait for application decisions, immigration lawyers said – NYT (subscription)
___________

• Under apartheid in South Africa, the government tried to sort people into rigid racial categories by law. It was not a scientific system in any reliable sense; it was a political and social system designed to preserve white minority power.

The main legal categories became: White; Black (called “Bantu” in official language at the time); Coloured (people of mixed ancestry, in the government’s definition); and Indian/Asian

The classification was enforced especially through laws like the Population Registration Act.

What made it especially disturbing was that classification was often based on appearance, social acceptance, and bureaucratic judgment rather than any clear biological rule. Officials considered things such as: skin colour, hair texture, facial features, language spoken, community associations, where someone lived, and who accepted them socially

There were infamous stories of arbitrary “tests.” One commonly cited example was the “pencil test”: a pencil was placed in a person’s hair. If it slid out easily, that could support classification as white; if it stayed lodged in tightly curled hair, it could count against them. This sounds absurd because it was absurd — yet people’s lives, homes, marriages, jobs, and freedoms could hinge on such judgments.
___________

• the “DNA Detective” programme Series 1, Episode 4 featuring Willie and actress Shavaughn Ruakere.

On his father’s side, Willie’s DNA results showed his ancestry to be:
33.7% East Asian
25% Ashkenazi (German) Jewish
18% Other European (substantially Welsh)
2.04% Oceanian / Maori

Interesting statements made by Willie Jackson in the course of the programme:
“A lot of it (ancestry) is anecdotal. You don’t know what is true and what’s not.”
“The reality is you are a product of your upbringing. I am a product of my upbringing which has been 99.9% Maori”.
“I don’t see that because I have a certain amount of Jewish ancestry that should affect me in any way whatsoever.”
I leave readers to draw their own conclusions as to what the above facts signify in terms of the current debate on ethnicity and entitlement.
https://nominister.wordpress.com/2025/05/08/willie-jackson-has-2-04-maori-blood/

Any situation like that of –
“We have always said, that we’re not interested in owning the water assets. What we’re interested in is the proprietor rights over water, and that is a discussion to be had with the Crown, not with councils.” – Tukuroirangi Morgan
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/09/claims-maori-will-own-nzs-water-infrastructure-dismissed/
– implies a separation of Maori and non-Maori for rights, water, culture, beach access, anything, then a system to distinguish one set of beings from another, must overcome the resistance alluded to above.
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May 24, 2026 10:05am
- Taieri
  
  On his father’s side, Willie’s DNA results showed his ancestry to be
  ———-
  
  What about his mother’s side? Are such results also available?
  
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  May 24, 2026 11:06am
  - Yvette
    
    Taieri, “no public details exist explaining a specific maternal DNA breakdown for Willie Jackson on The DNA Detectives, as the programme focused on his unexpected paternal lineages. Jackson’s maternal ancestry is well-documented, with his mother, Dame June Batley-Jackson, identifying with Ngāti Maniapoto.” – Google AI
    
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    May 24, 2026 11:49am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      June Jackson was born Temuranga Batley…a Great granddaughter of R. T. Batley
      
      https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b10/batley-robert-thompson
      
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      May 24, 2026 12:31pm
sungsamning

The situation in Cuba is quite dynamic at the moment, and while I’m a little short for time on this Friday night as I write this, I wanted to make sure I’ve covered the latest, including Donald Trump and Marco Rubio’s continued high-pressure moves against the regime, the fallout from the Raúl Castro indictment that the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed this week, and a bit of an update on the humanitarian crisis. [The leaders don’t have any money problems. And they have generators. There have been riots. And Adys Morera, Executive President of GAESA has been arrested in Miami. Their job is to steal aid money for the regime.]
https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/05/22/cuba-falling-a-major-arrest-hospital-horrors-and-family-defiance-n4953166
Cuba Falling: A Major Arrest, Hospital Horrors, and Family Defiance.
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May 24, 2026 10:07am
sungsamning

Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation as DNI was driven by a family medical crisis—her husband Abraham Williams’ diagnosis with a rare bone cancer—and not by Iran-policy disputes, while claiming Reuters and online narratives framed it as an Intelligence Community “victory.” [She was working on Russiagate, and 2020 election issues. Then there is the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chairman. RINIs are being evicted from the Senate. The score is 37 out of 37 so far.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mcoXIZhB6g
Tulsi Resigned. Trump Took the Fed. Here’s Why the Deep State Is Losing.
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May 24, 2026 10:07am
- CJames
  
  It has been widely reported the Trump wanted Tulsi out by the end of the year. She wasn’t seen as part of the team, especially over the Joe Kent issue
  Tulsi did resign because of her husband’s cancer, and she deserves a lot of credit for it as the situation must be very stressful, but she jumped before she was poshed
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:43pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    Widely reported by whom?
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:30pm
    - sungsamning
      
      The fake news, and the Never Trumpers. I’m sure Candace, and Tucker Carlson were salivating.
      
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      May 24, 2026 2:59pm
    - CJames
      
      Disregarding the written media and the so called “never Trumpers”, you can try Erick Erickson, Steve Hayward and Jim Geraghty – all rightwing podcasters
      
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      May 24, 2026 3:57pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

As an addendum, the Musket Wars led to an estimated 20,000 deaths plus widespread enslavement of the losers. By definition, all involved were Maoris. To repeat 20,000 Maoris were murdered by other Maoris.

This is the biggest avoidable catastrophe to hit the Maori population, and they did it to themselves. There was no reason for Nga Puhi to grab guns and head south to slaughter Maoris from other tribes: they chose to do it.

As a comparator, circa 17,000 NZ soldiers died in WW1, with a further 2,000 returned servicemen dying within five years.

No wonder our wonderful Ministry of Education opted to exclude the Musket Wars from the history curriculum. It would really challenge the narrative of Maoris as victims of colonisation.
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May 24, 2026 10:11am
- Mod88
  
  Being the first tribe with muskets Nga Puhi’s eighteen month tour of the North Island was something to behold. Slaves carrying basket loads of body parts were themselves the food source when their burdens were putrefied beyond eating stage. The original Fast Food service in New Zealand or is that Aotearoa. ?????
  
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  May 24, 2026 10:45am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  20,000 deaths is perhaps on the light side, and probably represents modern revisionism.
  
  See last para on p.186 – Tangata Whenua
  
  Contemporary European estimates of the total killed ranged from 40,000-80,000……
  most recently there has been a downward revision to 20,000 killed (and 20,000 enslaved).
  
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  May 24, 2026 1:12pm
Charlotte Wells

An update on the divers that drowned in the Maldives.

The suggestion is that they were sucked into the cave and ran out of air before they could escape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvgih_UO7oY
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May 24, 2026 10:28am
Ghost

Gunshots have reportedly been heard outside the White House on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to order members of the press gathered on the North Lawn to take shelter inside the briefing room, according to a reporter at the scene.

Article

live footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAPLWuos3A0
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May 24, 2026 10:47am
- Ghost
  
  reporting shots were fired at the white house by one person who secret service took out.
  
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  May 24, 2026 11:09am
- Ghost
  
  footage of a reporter when the gunshots were fired
  
  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-24/gunshots-heard-at-white-house/106715528
  
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  May 24, 2026 11:15am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  And a bystander has been hit by a stray bullet.
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:02pm
- Ghost
  
  Secret Service officers shot and killed a person who the agency said approached a security checkpoint Saturday near the White House and fired at them, according to an agency spokesperson.
  
  Shortly before 6pm ET (10am NZST), an individual approached a checkpoint just outside the White House complex and began firing at officers, the spokesperson said, citing a preliminary investigation.
  
  Secret Service officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who later died at an area hospital, the spokesperson said.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/596166/secret-service-says-officers-fatally-shot-a-person-who-fired-at-them-near-white-house
  
  condition of the bystander unknown
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:38pm
- Ghost
  
  Sad, it does appear that mental health was the issue here. he has been identified, 21 years old, had a pretrial stay away order on him due to an arrest last year where he tried to enter a white house checkpoint, at the time claiming he was jesus christ and wanted to be arrested
  
  https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/05/24/suspect-dead-after-approaching-white-house-checkpoint-with-weapon/
  
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  May 24, 2026 9:17pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Apropos of nothing, my wife went to Pak n Slave Petone on Friday mid morning , and found it absolutely heaving. She wondered whether it was a result of ‘working from home’. Certainly, from my perspective, Friday is not a day where it’s easy to schedule Zoom meetings, and as for in-person, forget it.

She also commented that compared to days earlier in the week when she usually shops, both coffee and butter were at full price (no discounts to be had). It looks like Foodstuffs knows its customer demographics and when they shop.
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May 24, 2026 11:07am
- Swifty
  
  At my local P&S in Mt Albert they offer great specials on Mondays and Tuesdays, I presume to encourage shoppers after they’ve blown all their dough over the weekend.
  
  I’ve noticed for meat especially that’s the time to buy. I do, in bulk, and freeze.
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:38pm
  - rjay
    
    Its when the pensioners come out to play
    
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    May 24, 2026 1:12pm
- sungsamning
  
  Unlike Countdown/Woolworths; they have all the counters open. And they’re cheaper too. Much appreciated.
  
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  May 24, 2026 2:57pm
OlderChas

So these half size “practice” boats in the America’s Cup practice races have Auto-pilot. (Well – the NZ one does.)
And they crash.
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May 24, 2026 11:36am
- greybeard
  
  Same as NZ’s Cook Strait Ferries and Naval vessels.
  Perfectly normal .
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:23pm
Benedict Yu

Was reading this article about some cafe closing. That this is a lead story says a lot about the abysmal media.

This caught my eye.

“Tourism is down in the region compared to other top spots in the motu.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360982518/sign-times-cafe-tourism-hotspot-closes-after-50-years-fuel-crisis-bites

I have never had anyone tell me that they were doing anything in “the motu”. Where did this phrase come from?
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May 24, 2026 11:55am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  Only the cool kids like public servants, academics and media Luvvies use it and its cuzzie, mahi. They feel all righteous because they can talk Te Reo, even if it’s only two words. The other 85% of the population mainly just use across the country and work, you are probably one of the 85% like me. Hope that helps.
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:37pm
- Cassandra
  
  It’s become quite common in some circles. I think it means country in Manglish.
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:53pm
  - rjay
    
    In Manglish yes. In te reo it means island.
    
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    May 24, 2026 1:13pm
- hookerphil
  
  I certainly stand to be corrected but I think that cafe is in within the Treaty House area……..that you now have to pay to get inside. We certainly did not bother to go in last time we were up there.
  So, if what I think is correct….a big ha ha from me.
  
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  May 24, 2026 12:57pm
  - Eastlander
    
    Given the overt racial hostility you can expect in that place why should anyone wish to visit?
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:30pm
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    No it’s outside the chargeable grounds and no racist attitudes of any type when we visited there two months ago. Very hospitable staff through the cafe, museum and treaty grounds. Pretty expensive to go to the museum and grounds though. Sorry you had a different experience re attitudes.
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:39pm
- rouppe
  
  I thought you were working in a government department.
  
  “Motu” must have been the word right after “koha”, “mahi” and “Kai”
  
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  May 24, 2026 1:18pm
  - Hard Cheese
    
    The mistaken assumption is that mahi follows koha, but I’d suggest nothing comes of it
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:56pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    I thought you were working in a government department.
    
    No, that was the “red-head” (Kāinga Ora, from memory).
    
    Assuming Benedict Yu 1.0, 2.0, and now 3.0 (which, according to Widogast Corwin, is a pseudonym), are one and the same person, he is (again, from memory) a contractor, often doing work for government departments.
    
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    May 24, 2026 4:10pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Seems to be standard now for nation-wide forecasts..
  
  More heavy rain across the motu
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360966561/thunderstorms-and-torrential-rain-expected-be-ready-severe-weather-west-and-north-nz-too
  
  In Te reo motu means island.
  
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  May 24, 2026 1:38pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    If they said “Nga motu”, that would be “the isalnads” – plural. Te Motu is singular.
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:59pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      But there’s the problem with Manglish:
      
      there’s no s in the Maori alphabet.
      
      So we can’t add an English plural indicator to a word in te reo….
      Hence:
      one kiwi, two kiwi
      one motu, all motu (but one island, all islands)
      
      so when the weather is crap across the country,
      Journos should indicate whether its across nga motu….or just he motu.
      
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      May 24, 2026 3:36pm
rouppe

Another mad Democrat bringing guns to the White House has FA and found out.

Now it’s just secret service agents doing their jobs being targeted by the mad Left.
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May 24, 2026 1:16pm
Flossie

I am so sick and tired of hearing that old whinge that Maori were “strapped in school for speaking te reo” which I just had it in my ear again today. For heavens sake Sir Apirana Ngata was the instigator of making sure Maori kids could speak English and it wasn’t an edict of “colonialists”. And when I went to school we got strapped for any number of sins – socks literally needed pulling up, back chat, lateness etc. I even got strapped myself (even though I was a proper little goodie goodie) for the alleged heinous crime of passing notes.
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May 24, 2026 1:29pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  It was never official policy for schools to punish children for speaking Maori.
  In fact the first Government schools for Maori – native schools- delivered lessons in te reo for the junior classes.
  
  . In 1897 the Inspector of Native Schools attributed poor
  progress to Māori difficulty with the English language. He instructed
  teachers to encourage children to only speak English in the playground. Teachers translated this into a general prohibition of the Māori
  language in school precincts. Subsequent generations of Māori, right
  up to the mid-20th century, claimed the prohibition was enforced by
  corporal punishment.
  
  https://www.nzcer.org.nz/sites/default/files/downloads/Chapter%201%20Ranginui%20Walker.pdf
  
  I think what has happened is that modern Maori have got hold of the stories of what their Gaelic-speaking ancestors endured.
  
  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-19076304
  
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  May 24, 2026 1:51pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Probably the most beneficial change to Ireland and Scotlands’ futures was learning to speak English.
    
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    May 24, 2026 2:43pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    I went to primary school in Te Puke from 1947 – 1954, & around 20% of the kids in my class were Maori. They were discouraged/forbidden from speaking Maori in the classroom, except when we had a cultural exchange 2 or 3 times a week, when the Maori kids would get up & present a Maori action song, then explain what it meant.
    But they were never stopped from speaking Maori in the playground – that’s where I learnt many common Maori words from my Maori mates.
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:05pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      Seems like one downticker must have been in my class at primary school to dispute my claim. Now I wonder who you are? 🙂
      
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      May 24, 2026 3:31pm
      - Hard Cheese
        
        Not me, but you might well have gone to primary school with my father. He was born in Te Puke at the end of 1942 and lived there until he left High School.
        
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        May 24, 2026 4:21pm
  - Swifty
    
    Maggy, if of interest, please see my post on this at bottom – just before 4pm.
    
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    May 24, 2026 3:58pm
mandk

I believe that anyone who makes a false accusation of sexual assault should receive the same sentence that the alleged offender would have received, if the assault had actually happened:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/courtney-grace-sentenced-for-false-uber-sexual-assault-report-after-queenstown-holiday/Z3YJ4BN6SJBYJMKTSABGMCIQSU/

Being accused of sexual assault could easily ruin someone’s life.

It could lead to loss of job, marriage, home, standing in the community, and mental health.
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May 24, 2026 1:50pm
- Flossie
  
  It could also lead to many victims being even more afraid to come forward.
  
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  May 24, 2026 2:18pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Same with cops, lawyers and judges involved in fit ups.
  
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  May 24, 2026 2:49pm
Jack5

Can’t see trees for the plantations …

Is there something missing from the “wilding pine” spread in Central Otago. Camterbury, and the North Island central plateau?

Prime Minister Luxon today announced spending on controlling the wilding pines would be increased from $15 million a year to $36 milliona year.

He said there there could be an estimated $3.6 billion in economic loss as a result of wilding pines over the next 50 years, if steps were not taken.

Could be? Wellington bureaucrats’ AI software must be spouting economic losses and benefits of scenery now that it’s settled future economic returns of stadiums and conference centres.

The pines’ spread shows that the trees thrive in those regions.

Am I right that the wilding pines in Central Otago are Douglas fir, whose timber is often known as Oregon, renown for its strength to weight ratio, popular with builders?

Wilding versions would be poorer quality and economically unharvestable, but if Douglas fir thrives in Central Otago couldn’t some of the tens of millions of Government cash be partly replaced by private capital fostering commercial Douglas fir plantations?

Biggest supporters of wilding pine control will be the tourist industry folk who typically look down on subsidies; householders moving south and sentimental about the rugged scenery; and then those who don’t want pines because these aren’t indigenous. Two groups that resent subsidies and one group that loves them.

If it’s effects on farming Wellington’s worried about, why didn’t it oppose Helen Clark shutting down so much high country merino grazing?

If expensive eradication of many wilding pines is inevitable, could, in parallel, Douglas fir commercial plantations thrive, providing fine timber?
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May 24, 2026 2:17pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Well, no, because wilding Douglas fir is a massive pest?
  And plantations are how they got there?
  
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  May 24, 2026 3:06pm
  - Jack5
    
    What plantations?
    
    On further reading, it looks as though NZ looks at Douglas fir as something like the plants in Day of the Triffids.
    
    In a century of research, NZ genetically tailored California’s Monterey Pine into a commercial plantation species – radiata.
    
    Wouldn’t it be nice if our scientists could do something similar for Douglas fir, with its more useful timber?
    
    Here’s a finished-product description of Oregon/Douglas fir taken from an NZ timber site:
    
    … major advantage over Radiata is that the wood density and strength does not decrease near the pith, and therefore framing timber can be sawn from much smaller logs including thinnings. It also does not need to be treated with preservatives although it can now be treated H1.2 primarily for framing. It has a low moisture content and dries with little distortion. Its long fibre length means better structural strength qualities.
    
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    May 24, 2026 4:01pm
    - Don Beckett
      
      Yes, from experience in both truss-making ( I owned a small truss plant for 3 years) and in residential construction Douglas Fir was a very good timber to use. It generally had less knots, Kept its straightness better and was a low moisture retention timber, as opposed to Radiata which is a high mister retention timber: so Douglas fir did not require kiln drying – another factor which made it more dimensionally stable. When I had the truss plant I used to buy it by the truck/trailer load from Red Stag sawmills in Rotorua. I think they have worked out most of the Douglas Fir plantations by now.
      
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      May 24, 2026 5:16pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Lots of Douglas Fir planted in Otago and Southland during 1990s-2000s.
      
      https://www.nzffa.org.nz/farm-forestry-model/tree-grower-articles/august-2010/ernslaw-one-douglas-fir-plantation/
      
      At least 60,000 ha
      
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      May 24, 2026 5:58pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360983171/award-winning-bakery-closes-after-receiving-lowest-food-safety-grade
Award-winning bakery has to close ?
Oh, rats !
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May 24, 2026 3:15pm
- Swifty
  
  My local.
  
  I’m extremely surprised, and disappointed.
  
  Hell, they’ve got staff for Africa each time I go in there.
  
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  May 24, 2026 3:57pm
Swifty

An 1876 petition from Maori to require Maori children to be taught English in schools:

https://x.com/lily20087360/status/2058310320507199640?s=46

I suspect it will be quite irksome to some that this has been unearthed.
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May 24, 2026 3:55pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  That’s the problem with written language…
  
  someone can unearth inconvenient evidence.
  
  So much easier just to rely on old wives’ tales and chinese whispers.
  
  And don’t forget, you learnt to speak your first
  language at home… before you learnt to read and write it.
  
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  May 24, 2026 4:41pm
  - Swifty
    
    Very good points.
    
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    May 24, 2026 5:17pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360983270/nz-first-selects-anti-fluoride-mayor-whangarei-candidate

https://www.cocurullo.co.nz/vinceonline/aboutvince

“In 2005 when I became very ill, I experienced a very personal reality check. My body weight plummeted and I suffered uncontrollable shaking and severe fatigue. People who saw me thought I had an incurable disease such as Parkinson’s, or that I was even having a nervous breakdown. I went to medical professionals and alternative medicine practitioners trying to find out the cause of my symptoms. It took two years of my life to find it – mercury poisoning from the amalgam fillings in my teeth. Once I finally rid my body of this toxin the experience became the catalyst for my decision to enter local government and help make Whāngārei District a better place to live and work.”

This possibly explains the anti-fluoride stance. Totally unrelated to his old problem but it’s a good story.

Like most over-70-year-olds in New Zealand I have crap teeth and it is solely due to bad dental hygiene in the 1950s and no fluoride in the toothpaste. And fear of the school dental clinics !
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May 24, 2026 5:03pm
Ghost

Labour showing they still haven’t grown up

Article

The audio of an exercise by Labour candidates and supporters in the Wellington region on how to avoid answering difficult questions from the public has been widely leaked.

For the purpose of the exercise, the moderator used a nonsensical question that might be thrown to a candidate at a public meeting: “Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?”
Each participant, about a dozen of them, had a go at answering it including finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds who referred to her counterpart, Finance Minister Nicola Willis, as “a duck-faced horse”.
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May 24, 2026 5:08pm

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