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May 25, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 25 May 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

There’s a lot of coverage on Radio New Zealand this morning about cyclists knocking over pedestrians.

Being the powered vehicle, cyclists need to give way to pedestrians at all times.

Cycleways are not race tracks.

With bikes not having number plates, alternative approaches need to be adopted to aid law enforcement. Use of video and facial recognition to identify erring riders; and GPS data extracted from their phones to prove speed.

A few high profile prosecutions would encourage cyclists to reexamine their behaviour.
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May 25, 2026 8:01am
- youcanthandlethetruth
  
  Yeah my daughter went out for a jog on the new shared path in Wellington early Sunday morning and some lycra-clad woman yelled at her, called her an idiot, basically because she got in the way. The thing is we have these lycra louts who are basically treating their Sunday rides like the Tour de France and on a shared path that’s just not appropriate
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:42am
  - R
    
    The lucrative vlad louts on the shared walkways, also behave in the same manner on the streets and roads. The sooner cyclists are required to have registered bicycles, the safer our paths and roads will become. They are the arrogance of entitlement, without the responsibility of consequence.
    
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    May 25, 2026 11:12am
    - Eastlander
      
      Registration, muzzling, neutering. All of these measures help in curbing animal aggression.
      
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      May 25, 2026 12:16pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “Cycleways are not race tracks. ”
  
  That is a key point. Cyclists often bunch up, slipstream and engage in other racing behaviour that would be unacceptable if motorists did it. That should not be tolerated. They should maintain safe following distances etc.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:43am
- Wairoa Native
  
  Cyclist in New Zealand ride their bikes much like we drive. Pretty badly as it turns out.
  
  I used to enjoy my morning walk on Wellington’s waterfront, but I have to say, since our council declared it a cycleway/shared space it’s not quite so relaxed.
  
  I also cycle. I like cycle ways. I find a lot of other cyclist pretty annoying. let alone those on E bikes and E scooters.
  
  Paris and Melbourne have banned rental E scooters because of footpath clutter, reckless riding, injuries, and intoxicated riders. E scooters in Wellington cause a relatively high number of accidents (mostly falls and fractures), which have led to significant ACC costs.
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:02am
  - KH
    
    I have a bike. I also walk.
    So called shared paths are a nightmare to walk. The lycra lout brigade are menacing, with an entitled attitude. Bloody dangerous.
    
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    May 25, 2026 12:10pm
- kowtow
  
  The death of manners and common sense.
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:11am
- Paulus
  
  But Cyclists are the Kings/Queens of the Road.
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:15am
  - Albie
    
    Driving down Tamaki Drive in Auckland yesterday we got stopped by the police who were “escorting” I estimate 150-200 Maori/Pasifica youth’s if you want to be charitable who were on bikes intimidating road users and pedestrians with their unlawful behaviour. These scrotes had bandannas, hoodies and dark sunnies and attitude to burn.
    Kimami Ngaluafe (also known as “G Money” or @passme_theball67679 on Instagram) is the primary figure behind Bike Life Collective NZ is the bloke behind it all. Meanwhile the police stand by. As an aside I lodged a complaint with the police when I got home.
    
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    May 25, 2026 2:25pm
- nathie
  
  “Being the powered vehicle, cyclists need to give way to pedestrians at all times.”
  
  This is an another example of the last Labour Govt (with the Green MP’s alongside) getting it wrong/lack of due diligence/ideology trumps the real world when they dished out the $$$ lolly scramble to Councils to fund cycleways.
  
  We now have bus stops on the road as cyclists go whizzing by to the left. Apparently in the UK there was a ruling recently which claimed that this is a breach of health and safety for pedestrians as they risk being run over by cyclists as they walk to or from the bus.
  
  Has anyone seen any articles on this and can post them?
  
  I would (unhappily) accept rate payer money being used to reverse these dangerous changes (eg remove the inline cycle lanes) that foolish Labour/Green ideology obliged the Councils to install these before pedestrians get seriously hurt!
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:51am
- Flossie
  
  I was once knocked flying as I walked out of a shop by a youth on a push bike going quite fast, and was brushed and very shaken. I was very lucky not to have any broken bones. Of course the kid should not have been riding on the footpath.
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:20am
- Ra Henare
  
  In the Kingdom of Wonder. All road users are considered equal.
  
  Means I can walk across a city street ANYWHERE and being reaosnable(ie not stepping directly in front of an approaching car) then the car will slow to allow me to cross.
  
  To remove any doubt as to my intention, I just raise my hand.
  
  You can see this in action every day…..and shock horror no road rage!!!
  
  Cambodian people are very friendly. The only anxt I have seen is Foreigners driving (especially Chinese). Any rare Road rage(horn blowing) is usually from Europeans(whities)
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:50pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Even better, register cycles, NZTA is famously making motorbikes ridiculously expensive to register because danger, but cyclists pay nothing and cost us millions.
  Why are we subsidizing them?
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:29pm
Scott

I went to the Hurricanes game at the Wellington stadium on Saturday night. First of all a great win to the Canes and some great tries by them.

The thing I didn’t enjoy was the loud music, played at every stoppage and every break in play. It drowned out the crowd. The game seemed incidental to the music show.
How can you develop an atmosphere when the crowd is drowned out by loud music on all occasions?

It ruined the game for me and ruined the atmosphere of live sport. I left early and watched the last 10 minutes at the hotel. At least on the telly they filtered out the loud music.

There’s lots of things wrong with professional rugby but turning the game, which had some very good moments, into an incidental event while the main thing was loud music was in my mind a travesty.
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May 25, 2026 8:02am
- alex Masterley
  
  Scott,
  I am a regular at Eden Park for the Blues games. I experience the same issue, music played at each stoppage and up to and including kick off.
  From time to time the ground announcer plays music during play.
  It is very annoying and affects my appreciation of the game.
  I have made the comment a couple of times when I receive post game questionaires from the Blues.
  Having said that there dont appear to be any home games on the horizon for the Blues so the issue is moot for another year.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:48am
  - pdm
    
    `………………………..so the issue is moot for another year.’
    
    Unless you attend NPC games alex.
    
    Or do the Auckland NPC team shun Eden Park for home games these days.
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:51am
    - alex Masterley
      
      PDM.
      I don’t go to NPC games. I gave up on them years ago.
      While most NPC games are presently played at Eden Park, last year one was played on the Auckland Grammar ground on Mountain Road, Epsom.
      I suspect in future NPC will shift to Western Springs.
      
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      May 25, 2026 10:36am
  - Jethrod
    
    No wonder Helen complains!
    
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    May 25, 2026 11:06am
  - KH
    
    Some cafes you can’t even go for a conspiratorial chat. The music is so loud you can’t hear the conversation.
    Pretty much as useful as the “Cone of Silence” from Get Smart.
    
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    May 25, 2026 12:13pm
- R
  
  I don’t go to watch rugby in a stadium, to listen to ghastly noise. I can get that on most radio stations.
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:18am
- OlderChas
  
  And I have no doubt that the (probably) high cost of the “DJ” paid to press the Play Music button is included in the ridiculously high cost of a ticket to one of these games?
  I have enough problems watching at home when the “Commentators” babble on loudly to each other and about nothing factual while the referees are talking to players and explaining penalties, “no try” decisions etc. Hey guys (and occasional girls) – the refs are mic’ed up so we can hear them, not your inane chatter.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:52pm
- Boy Geoff
  
  It will be fascinating to view the full scale Maori ceremonials that will doubtless be conducted before the Australian State of Origin league match at Eden Park.
  
  Listening to some Maori league expert on the wireless the other day, this would be fully justified, as by his reasoning the Australian State of Origin matches now owe everything to Maori & Pasifika players who lay their lives and mana down for this particular series.
  
  In fact, from memory by this expert’s opining, tickets for the match should probably only be provided to Maori & Pasifika people for this very reason…
  
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  May 25, 2026 4:37pm
Cassandra

Musket Wars Part 2: “Adults fighting on the sidelines and in car parks has led to children’s rugby league games across Waikato being cancelled on Sunday.”

It started in Hopuhopu. The rest of the motu is safe for now.
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May 25, 2026 8:04am
- David Garrett
  
  Cass: Yes…I had similar thoughts.
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:15am
- imalwaysright
  
  I thought tikanga was supposed to sort all this out…
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:54am
  - David Garrett
    
    Imalways: An acquaintance of mine – a Maori gentlemen – is in the army. Recently we had a discussion about things Maori in general, and then onto to the old saw about Maori being “beaten for speaking their own language.”
    
    I told said acquaintance that that arose from Sir Apirana Ngata’s policy when Minister of “Native Affairs” way back in 1928: “English only at school; Maori at home”.
    
    His first comment was “Ah yes…but Ngata was Ngati Porou”…He of course was from some other iwi…Nga Puhi I think. 250 years after the treaty was signed, and tribalism is alive and well.
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:46am
    - pdm
      
      saw or sore?
      
      Got youy DG. lol.
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:53am
      - David Garrett
        
        pdm: Nope… you should have kept on reading the definitions:
        
        4. An Old Saying or Proverb (Noun – Older Usage)Less commonly, a “saw” refers to a traditional proverb or a familiar saying. Example: “My grandmother used to say the old saw about ‘haste making waste’.
        
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        May 25, 2026 9:59am
    - kowtow
      
      There’s a push among the woke to “tribalise” all of us .
      
      Anyone notice how “Ngati tiriti” has become de riguer .
      
      Whities desperate to be included.
      
      Idiots .
      
      We’re all citizens of a liberal democracy . That’s what unites us.
      
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      May 25, 2026 10:24am
    - imalwaysright
      
      DG
      
      Sir Apirana is proof that intellect and achievement has very little to do with who your ancestors were eight generations ago.
      Willful ignorance is a scourge on many societies that prefer to relive and rewrite their history rather than embrace their future.
      
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      May 25, 2026 10:28am
      - David Garrett
        
        Imalways: Indeed. I won a wager with Tau Henare regarding Maori MP’s in general seats…Tau said no Maori had won a general seat until the 1930’s…in fact the first Maori MP to win a general seat – as opposed to one of the Maori seats – was Sir James Carroll, who was MP for Gisborne from 1908 until 1919. But of course we whiteys have always been racists.
        
        (We settled the wager by way of a tie of Tau’s that I particularly liked)
        
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        May 25, 2026 11:15am
    - R
      
      ‘Still alive ‘…and therin that retort, lies the problem some elements of Maoridom have; still trying to live in the dark ages!
      
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      May 25, 2026 11:21am
    - Ra Henare
      
      To add to the tribalism story David.
      
      Many years ago (last century) for my sins a brief stint with the Gummint running Business education programs. A 4 day course free to locals.
      
      A Maori Land Court judge started on Day one explaining the Treaty and Maori land trusts (Judge Savage, excellent bloke). Hence my great understanding of said subject as I sat in on many day ones/
      
      The business sessions run by an excellent bilingual teacher from Rotorua. (We had run sessions throughout the Bay Of Plenty up to the East Coast. Fabulous experiences with Rural Communities.
      
      Met some Tribal Elders in Opotikie about running a course there. They were enthusiastic until one of them asked who the tutor would be.
      
      They then terminated the meeting, NOT INTERESTED.
      
      When I enquired why the change of heart. Tutor was from the wrong Iwi!!!
      
      All going back to Maori Land wars!!!!
      
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      May 25, 2026 1:00pm
      - artemisia
        
        I worked with a tech guy who had previously done tech support for a local iwi. He saw the boss reviewing a pile of tech job applications, and most of them went straight in the bin. Literally. He asked why. Wrong ‘clan’.
        
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        May 25, 2026 1:22pm
artemisia

Barbara Edmonds, hopeful Finance Minister one day, calls the current Finance Minister a duck-faced horse. Says she feels “absolutely terrible about it” and apologised for any offence caused.

That sounds like that standard apology – sorry if I caused offence to any delicate petals out there. The ‘apology’ that really means I feel terrible about the viral headlines that make me look like a complete idiot all because a traitor released private audio.

Kieran McAnulty might be relieved not to be in those headlines in case people think he really does believe some big MSM players are secretly subversive right wing proxies. As amusingly published in the Herald yesterday.

McAnulty, a former TAB bookie who is standing in the Wairarapa, chose to answer it a different way and point to what he sees as proxies working against Labour, such as NZME, the owners of Newstalk ZB and publishers of the Herald.
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May 25, 2026 8:07am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Seriously!!!
  
  This is budget week.
  Barbara Edmonds will be interviewed by practically every media outfit in the country on Thursday.
  
  What Business owner is going to have any respect for someone who carries on like a spoilt school kid calling a rival nasty names?
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:12am
  - burt
    
    Hey hey, not so fast. Helen Clark hasn’t told us what we should think about this yet. The official position on how we must react hasn’t been issued.
    
    Standdown for now comrade, advice on collective opinion will be with us shortly.
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:15am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “What Business owner is going to have any respect for someone who carries on like a spoilt school kid calling a rival nasty names?”
    
    What business owner had any respect for her BEFORE?
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:42am
  - Gravelroad
    
    As was commented on the “duck face” thread last night, it is the barefaced hypocrisy of the Labour Party that gets me.
    We have high profile, left wing politicians , and their supporters, very quick to complain about on-line and in public insults, threats and harassment occurring because they are women.
    Now they are doing it.
    Always different standards for the left, of course.
    Sorry Ms Edmonds, but if you got cajoled into doing this stunt by your minders, you might want to rethink your suitability as a potential finance minister.
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:49am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      No surprise. In Australia, A Labor trio of women MP’s (“the mean girls”) drove one of their female caucus to suicide for not being sufficiently left-wing.
      
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      May 25, 2026 4:19pm
  - R
    
    Unfortunately for NZ, there are not a sufficient number of successful motivated business owners to vote and override the electoral impact of a audio recording from a gathering of children!
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:21am
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  Can’t remember anyone saying they were offended. But this is the very filthy training, military, gestapo camps that Sharma talked about, an exact replicate of how to lie to the media, exactly the same MO, and of its run by the same person then that is the person running luxury marmite sandwich. Remember media left a trap for Hipkins, they said so this person has not been working for labour in 2025. Something is up, the leak, the silence from Hipkins, and the vile nastiness as expected from the filthy militant Labour Party.
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:13am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Does anyone know what company / who was running the training session? Seems like a company/person to avoid helping your business.
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:22am
    - G the giant from Dunedin
      
      As Sharma said it was a Labour bully boy, join the dots with marmite sandwich
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:44am
- Souvlaki
  
  Hosking has certainly “ridden the duck incident” to very embarrassing effect this am….to largest audience in NZ🤣🤣.
  Who IS the leaker?
  I’d love to know how Helen Clark’s view of the debacle!
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:14am
  - David Garrett
    
    Souv: Why in God’s name would you want to know Helen Clark’s view on anything? I wish she would just shut up and FO.
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:18am
    - Souvlaki
      
      For the perverse ‘humour’ only!!
      Like you….I don’t really give a toss what the shrew thinks🤣
      
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      May 25, 2026 8:23am
      - G the giant from Dunedin
        
        But she was an expert when a leak from Nats was about
        
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        May 25, 2026 8:29am
    - Damocles11
      
      Well said. 👏
      
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      May 25, 2026 8:38am
    - Jethrod
      
      Um…. it’s a p.t. and some // thrown in as well… I thought you would have realized that!
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:22am
    - Ian Boag
      
      shut up and FO
      
      And here was me thinking you were a free speech fan.
      
      So you don’t like what she says or care about it. The Garrett approach to unpalatable political comment sounds like “the commenter should just shut up” ….. 🙂
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:32am
      - wsk12345
        
        Free speech is an about a right to speak and a right to listen. Not an obligation.
        
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        May 25, 2026 9:48am
      - David Garrett
        
        Ian B: I am a proponent of free speech…what I object to is Clark’s view being given undue prominence. Very occasionally, John Key makes a statement about something. If it is noted at all, it is very briefly – and he was PM after Clark.
        
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        May 25, 2026 10:08am
      - Taieri
        
        what I object to is Clark’s view being given undue prominence.
        —————
        
        But that’s not really her fault, is it?
        
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        May 25, 2026 1:36pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      DG: It is just a retreading of a joke made yesterday.
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:45am
  - redeye
    
    Who is the leaker? I’m picking the unions who would like nothing more than having their boy in the number 3 slot for Labour as soon as he arrives.
    Wiki gives us the clue on Renney’s page.
    
    After his selection media speculated if, given his economic experience, Renney might replace Barbara Edmonds as Labour’s finance spokesperson. However Labour leader Chris Hipkins ruled it out.
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:33am
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    So Barbara Edmonds made a stupid comment. And some Labour Party farquit leaked it to the N.Z. Herald.
    I recall a Labour politician some years ago who quipped;
    “My parliamentary colleagues are in National. My enemies are in Labour.”
    I think(!) it may have been the man who coined that delightful phrase “Silent T” for David Cunliffe.
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:03am
    - David Garrett
      
      Tauhei: that’s a variation of a quip of Muldoon’s: “My opponents are on the other side of the house; my enemies are sitting behind me”.
      
      Please make yourself known if we cross paths at the Puhoi.
      
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      May 25, 2026 11:19am
G the giant from Dunedin

GOOD MORNING from Edinburgh.

Just a wee thought to who may have leaked the Labour parties dirty filthy nasty as expected training of calling everyone in Bats a (f)duck face.

One name comes to mind who have been reverting away for Labour and hates Hipkins.

Micheal slick back Woods.

My job is done here
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May 25, 2026 8:08am
Damocles11

It is seriously frightening just how idiotic Labour MP’s are. Just staggering to think that this group of low IQ mouth-breathers could ever be entrusted with running a country.
‘Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds talks about her Chinese heritage and says “we love duck”. She then refers to National counterpart, finance minister Nicola Willis, as a “duck-faced horse”.
Campaign chair Kieran McAnulty said they were up against a hundred duck-sized horses.
“Because horses are full of sh*t,” he said.
Education spokesperson Ginny Andersen said she’d rather fight one horse-sized duck.
“Because Christopher Luxon is a sitting duck, and we are coming for you,” Andersen said.
Health Spokesperson Ayesha Verrall fashioned her answer into a song – to the tune of Old Town Road by Lil Nas X.
“I’m gonna take my duck to the old town pond, I’m gonna ride ‘til I can’t no more,” she sings.’
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May 25, 2026 8:09am
- Jimbo666
  
  I would not describe what Verrall did was singing. More like moaning.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:51am
  - R
    
    Verbally…..screeching, as always!
    
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    May 25, 2026 11:25am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  It is all about the feelz.
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:08am
- Philview
  
  Before the last election Labour MPs and associated celebs did that childish thing of doing interviews with toy dinosaurs. Intended as a dig at Chris Luxon’s Christian beliefs.
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:28am
- grumpy
  
  Verrall, the “independent academic” who gave Labour’s Covid tracking system the “independent” seal of approval!
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:11pm
david in Aus

It looks like the new negotiations with Iran is falling apart. A new post from Trump, makes it impossible for the Iranians to agree without losing face.

Just reading Foxnews comments section shows the overwhelming disapproval of the reported terms of reopening the Straits of Hormuz. The push-back is probably why there is a walk-back.

Trump is between a political rock and an economic hardplace. One of the reason he was motivated to do something was the US bond yields haven risen above 5%.
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May 25, 2026 8:12am
- G152
  
  Trump is a part of history.
  Dementia is not an asset even for the US
  And the way he treats the media. Not the full quid
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:52am
- Damocles11
  
  ‘Despite posturing by the US over the weekend, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said the US government is not budging on some clauses of the agreement, including with the issue of releasing frozen Iranian assets. Multiple different countries are holding Iran’s frozen assets, including Japan, Iraq, China, India and the US. Experts estimate the frozen Iranian assets are worth around $100 billion.
  An Al Jazeera English reporter said today the ceasefire in Lebanon has also become a sticking point, with Israel pushing the US to include language in the deal that would allow for further Israeli military operations in Lebanon.’
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:31am
- imalwaysright
  
  Trump is still bluffing his Ace and King as the best hand.
  
  But he knows, and we know, that Iran has a Strait.
  
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  May 25, 2026 10:35am
  - David Garrett
    
    Imalways: Very droll Sir…very droll.
    
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    May 25, 2026 11:48am
- Ra Henare
  
  David, I do sincerely hope you dont get all your news from Fox. Otherwise your understanding of any world event will be severely tainted.
  
  Same with those who only watch/read BBC.
  
  I used to look at news consolidator Ground News until I got sick and tired of their concentration on Trump.
  Hint I changed to UK with my VPN and rarely see a Trump story on ground news
  
  Personally I read a wide variety of news sources from Chanell news asia(Singapore) To Times of India, Telegraph, Al jazerrah, Reuters and other sources around the world. I dont take any of them at face value
  
  Its my retirement hobby, International news and news reporting from both sides of a story. Gardening is certainly not my thing.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:13pm
  - david in Aus
    
    One cannot be exclusive when reading news. There is a need to be aware of biases from different sources.
    
    It is a shame The Sun removed the page 3 special. There was always two points made : )
    
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    May 25, 2026 5:18pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Stuart Nash ditches Labour

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/exclusive-ex-labour-minister-stuart-nash-returns-to-politics-with-nz-first-accepts-some-women-wont-forgive-him-for-disrespectful-comment/OX7LYYGLZ5GNVMIFD5ITCFIY6M/
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May 25, 2026 8:15am
- sungsamning
  
  Well, well. It’d be cool if he takes his old seat for NZF. Annoying ‘wimmin’ would be the icing on the cake.
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:23am
  - Cassandra
    
    From Nat Katie Nimon? No thanks. NO. But I see he’s chasing the Party Vote, not the electorate.
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:37am
- Souvlaki
  
  Hard to see how him as anything other than a liability imo….but I can see he’s a better ‘fit’ in NZ First .
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:28am
  - pdm
    
    Nash has never been liked in Napier so at best all he will do is split the vote and let the Labour Candidate in.
    
    Is that part of Winston’s cunning plan?
    
    To cause an overhang by Labour.
    
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    May 25, 2026 8:37am
    - Dougal10
      
      Its always been the winston first way , stand candidates in conservative seats and split the vote , the only time he moved from this was when he took a few maori electorates of labour once . He is also doing this in southland.
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:04am
- wisteria
  
  A leopard cannot change its spots. Why would anyone think that Stuart Nash would. New Zealand First is becoming a party of hasbeings and usetobeings. Hopefully the electorate has moved on.
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:32am
  - David Garrett
    
    wisteria: What is a “hasbeing”? A relative of a has-been?
    
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    May 25, 2026 1:11pm
- Inandout
  
  Maggy, Nash until recently was a regular on Garner’s show and they jokingly suggested he would be joining NZF. I am always suspicious of Party jumpers because they invariably bring their luggage with them. Farage’s Reform had them flying in from Labour and the Tories until he put a stop to it. He was probably worried about the Trojan Horse effect.
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:47am
- imalwaysright
  
  Nash is a recycled retread….that leaks.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:15am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    NZF are fools if they accept him. Nashy would be a liability, just as he was to Labour.
    
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    May 25, 2026 10:19am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Correct.
      The term “experienced politician” is frightening.
      
      6 0
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      May 25, 2026 11:14am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      Corrupt history of insider dealings with primary industry at the public’s expense?
      Why, he’s a shoe in! Forestry for Nashy, Fisheries for Jonesey, Winnies got the horses wrapped up.
      This has absolutely zero to do with looking after working class kiwis: Winnie knifed firearms owners after Christchurch and Nash sneered at them.
      This is about milking the donors and giving them what they want.
      
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      May 25, 2026 7:19pm
pdm

Hosking has played a few clips of Verrall and Anderson singing.

They were equally juvenile and bloody awful – like kindergarten kids – but worse.
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May 25, 2026 8:16am
- Albie
  
  pdm, the awful singing by unattractive lefty women is not a new idea. They just copied it from the Singing Resistance protestors in the US.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:20am
  - Swifty
    
    Labour have done that for years – composing and singing silly derogatory songs.
    
    It seems to be a thing with them,
    
    9 0
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    May 25, 2026 9:47am
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      I think they referred to it as developing policy.
      
      5 0
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      May 25, 2026 1:06pm
sungsamning

Senate Republicans stormed out, attacked the AG, and went home early rather than finish Trump’s budget. John Thune is doing City of London’s dirty work and calling it principle. Meanwhile the polls are rigged, the Democrats are in worse shape than the media admits, and Trump isn’t even worried — because he’s replacing this Congress next year anyway. [a lot of senators are working for the City. It won’t last though. President Trumps endorsed candidates won 37 out of 37 primaries. The City’s denizens are crying into their G&Ts.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wrQdCj5iAM
Republicans BETRAY TRUMP as He Weeds Out RINOS…City of London Is Getting Desperate.
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May 25, 2026 8:18am
sungsamning

While the international community says it champions democracy, stability, and self-determination, Somaliland ticks every box. Yet it stays unrecognized, largely because diplomats cling to the fiction of Somalia’s territorial integrity — even though that unity exists only on paper. This is not principle at work. It is bureaucratic inertia. It has become a costly strategic error. [Its a democracy with internal cohesion. Amongst other things; its a useful base of operations if the Houthis misbehave again. And no bad thing for Africa. Ilhan Omar might disagree.]
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22462/recognize-somaliland
To the Trump Administration: Recognize Somaliland, Solid Ally for the West.
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May 25, 2026 8:19am
Yvette

Equine platypus
Supporters feel President Trump’s communication style demonstrates transparency because his raw, in-the-moment thoughts are openly expressed to the public. Trump echoes this himself, “They want to go after me because I have, they think, a big mouth. I don’t have a big mouth, you know what I have, I have a mouth that tells the truth”
Put more bluntly: he has a thought, opens his mouth, and that thought falls out there for all to see.

So now, do we know what Barbara Edmonds thinks of Nicola Willis or that Edmonds tells us what she thinks by apologising for her expressed thoughts?
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May 25, 2026 9:11am
- Taieri
  
  Put more bluntly: he has a thought, opens his mouth, and that thought falls out there for all to see.
  ————-
  
  I wouldn’t call them thoughts.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:40pm
artemisia

Aimee Bock, convicted Minnesota fraud mastermind, sentenced last week to 500 months prison. That’s nearly 42 years, slightly more than the 3 years suggested by her lawyer. Also ordered to pay a few hundred million restitution. Possibly other recipients, including political, will give her a hand to pay.// Many more indictments in place or coming, not just in Minnesota. A political earthquake.
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May 25, 2026 9:41am
- Swifty
  
  That’s one thing, among others, I think the Yanks can thank for a Trump presidency, rounding up these criminals was unlikely to have occurred under Harris at least to the same extent.
  
  I think some Dems are up to their necks in this.
  
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  May 25, 2026 9:45am
- sungsamning
  
  Yes, one of the best administrations since FDR, and JFK. Doing what the people voted for. And also what they need.
  
  8 4
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  May 25, 2026 12:49pm
  - Lance
    
    Quite right, the US burning itself down to the ground is long overdue.
    More popcorn needed
    
    2 8
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    May 25, 2026 2:28pm
- slightlyrighty
  
  Aimee Bock was rightfully convicted of up to 250 million of medicare fraud.
  
  However:
  
  Lawrence S. Duran: The co-owner of American Therapeutic Corporation orchestrated a $205 million false billing scheme, the largest therapy-related Medicare fraud in history at the time. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2011, but Trump commuted his sentence to time served, ultimately waiving his $87 million restitution requirement
  
  Philip Esformes: A Florida health care executive convicted of a $1.3 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme. Trump commuted his 20-year sentence in 2020 after he had served just 14 months
  
  Dr. Salomon Melgen: A Florida eye doctor who committed roughly $73 million in Medicare fraud by billing for unnecessary treatments. Trump commuted his 17-year federal prison sentence in late 2020
  
  Medicare fraud isn’t restricted to one side of the political divide.
  
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  May 25, 2026 3:33pm
- Albie
  
  What do you think she would get here for an equivalent crime, 9 months home d?
  
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  May 25, 2026 3:38pm
TripeWryter

I’m not a ‘dog person’. I don’t like them. I don’t like that I am supposed to like them or that I am supposed to have ‘issues’ because I don’t.
I particularly dislike owners who (a) tell me the worst their stinking mutt can do is lick me to death and (b) steadfastly refuse to pick up the defecated ordure off the footpaths.
Jackson Street, Petone, is at times almost impassable especially around the defunct ANZ Bank.
But The once-royal New Zealand Herald reports this morning that some greyhounds could soon be doing their racing after a stuffed bunny in Australia.
This of course is presented as a ‘Bad Thing’ and underhand because it could get around the ban of greyhound racing in New Zealand.
As I say, I don’t give a rats about dogs.
But I dislike the so-called animal rightsists even less.
They virtue-signal their their self-righteous sanctimony under the guise of ‘giving a voice to the voiceless’ and being concerned about the rights of animals.
They don’t own the animals they act as a ‘voice’ for but they lobby enough to have an industry shut down.
Animal ‘rights’ is political. They’ve been going after rodeos for years. They’re easy targets.
Then they went for the greyhounds; another easy target.
Next it will be the horse races, and after that the kids’ gymkhanas and pony days at school.
I hope the quoted 70 dogs get to be put on the chartered flight to take them to Australia.
For people whose lives have been disrupted or even destroyed because of the single-minded activism of other people who can’t find anything else to do with their time except interfere in others’ lives I hope they’re able to re-establish and carry on.
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May 25, 2026 10:19am
- I remember when
  
  Not content with removing their income they also think it is fine to prevent them limiting their losses.
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:28pm
Swifty

It appears ignorance of basic economic fundamentals is rife throughout Green politics worldwide, not just here in NZ:

https://x.com/staylorish/status/2058627023463911941?s=46

Scottish Green MSP supports supermarket price controls, and taxpayers paying supermarkets for their losses.

Madness.
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May 25, 2026 10:22am
greybeard

Liam Lawson 7th in Canadian GP.
Well done Liam, we are proud of you.
17 2
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May 25, 2026 10:29am
- Cantabrian
  
  How about McLaughlin (3rd) and Armstrong (5th) in Indy 500? They also deserve our applause.
  
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  May 25, 2026 3:44pm
  - greybeard
    
    I agree ! All over the world our drivers achieve great results, all the time.
    A bloody sight better so far than the Warriors !
    And how about the AFC winning the comp in their 2nd year : extraordinary.
    
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    May 25, 2026 5:25pm
Phronesis

https://x.com/JosephMooneyMP/status/2058507068819251277

Joseph Mooney posting on twitter about how the Labour govt signed us up to completely impossible to meet CO2 targets. This is what BY frequently points out here, the day of reckoning for this stupidity will soon be upon us.

Mooney also points out the announcement of another 100 million to combat wilding pines. Which is somewhat pointless when we are still converting farms into pine plantations for carbon credits.
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May 25, 2026 10:33am
- Yvette
  
  Jacinda’s One Billion Trees Programme
  Between the announcement of the One Billion Trees Programme in 2018 and November 2025, a total of 800,969,000 trees have been planted across New Zealand, while the ultimate goal is to reach 1 billion trees by 2028
  
  The official One Billion Trees Fund has directly contracted and funded 38,760,000 trees for planting between 2018 and 2028.
  
  Across the wider programme, approximately 12% of the overall trees planted are native species and 88% are exotic species (such as radiata pine).
  However, looking strictly at the specific projects funded directly by the One Billion Trees Fund, the government targeted a higher ecological mix, with 85% of those directly funded plantings consisting of native species.
  
  That Government (Labour), rather than the aspiration of 85 percent native to 15 exotic, has reversed that to 12 percent native against 88 exotic is very likely another breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, although too many Maori are involved in the industry to complain about it.
  
  All carbon sequestered in forests must eventually be released into the atmosphere and is just, on a cosmic scale, kicking the can down the road.
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:49am
  - Peter S
    
    Sorry Yvette, you are mixing things up.
    The reporting is on two separate things, the Billion Trees fund, and the Billion Trees programme.
    The fund (approx $400M) had the purpose of directly funding planting and supporting activity, but it was only a minor part of the Programme. It has largely met its targets (which included % native component).
    The programme had the Billion Trees target, and included existing commercial planting and the ETS, so was not aiming for 85% native.
    The wording on the report is quite specific on this.
    So not sure where the Treay comment comes from.
    I am quite happy to see the previous Govt criticized for the things they got wrong, but there is plenty of scope for that without making stuff up.
    
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    May 25, 2026 4:39pm
  - Peter S
    
    Interesting that Yvette’s post, which is (to put it kindly) factually incorrect gets 7 up ticks and no down ticks, while my gentle correction got a single down tick.
    
    I guess it shows how much more driven by emotion than information people are with regard to forestry and pinus Radiata in particular.
    
    A shame, as, this is at odds with the usual for the blog.
    
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    May 26, 2026 2:52pm
- I remember when
  
  Why are the government assisting with the removal of wilding pines?
  Surely, there is a potential profit for somebody by turning them into a source of income.
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:32pm
  - greybeard
    
    Yesterday I received an email from Luxon ( or his office ) saying what a great investment they had made to eradicate wilding pines.
    I replied:
    ” Why spend so much money ?
    Just get the unemployed to go and pull them out.
    No more wilding pines.
    Unemployed get fit and get some money.
    Unemployed gain some self-respect.
    NZ wins.
    Just DO IT. “
    
    9 2
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    May 25, 2026 12:44pm
    - MCōs
      
      I collected the dole a couple of times a couple of times over the course of my working life.
      There was no way I would have done that sort of work, or fruit picking or anything else that involved moving away from my home out into the the whopes because I needed to be around when to chase more appropriate opportunities.
      
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      May 25, 2026 9:05pm
  - MCōs
    
    They’re an invasive pest. What were once termed a noxious weed.
    How would they possibly become a source of income of themselves?
    
    1 1
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    May 25, 2026 9:12pm
  - Ghost
    
    no. go have a read, especially about the ground water that they would take away from the towns, rivers and streams
    
    https://www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/wilding-trees-in-mackenzie-waitaki/
    
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    May 25, 2026 9:19pm
- G the giant from Dunedin
  
  A foreigner can no longer buy a farm to convert to pines, that has been shut out, an existing farmer can only diversify their farming practises up to 25%
  
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  May 25, 2026 8:22pm
imalwaysright

The Platform was discussing the Government enacting law to digitise us, particularly the proof of identity to use certain parts of the internet.

A caller suggested we, the public, have the ability to track everyone in the Public Service rather than they have the right to track us.

She is dead right.
They work for us.
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May 25, 2026 11:03am
slightlyrighty

I wonder if Trump chose to forego his Son’s wedding because he had an assassination attempt scheduled?
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May 25, 2026 11:20am
- David Garrett
  
  slightly: I hope that comment is tongue in cheek…because if you really believe these attempts are “staged” you are nuttier than he is.
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:53am
  - slightlyrighty
    
    Tongue is firmly in cheek. Yet another illustration of the need for a sarcasm font.
    
    2 1
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    May 25, 2026 3:24pm
    - MCōs
      
      Furthermore
      It’s hardly what one would describe as an assassination attempt, except for political purposes
      
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      May 25, 2026 6:24pm
I remember when

The Real Reason This South Island Track is Now Restricted – And What DOC Isn’t Telling You: Breaking Views.
“The Ararhura Valley track, long prized by experienced trampers, now turns visitors back beyond a nondescript trail notice.”
“A Ngai Tahu elder summed it up starkly: “If it’s sacred, it isn’t a backdrop for selfies.”
“…regulars insist the terrain is no more treacherous than other South Island tracks that remain open.”

Does ‘remain open’ mean – at least at the present time.

Coming to a DOC estate site near you?
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May 25, 2026 11:40am
- Ghost
  
  These claims came from an AI generated scam site Morningside last year. It just a bs story
  
  No sign that the track is closed
  
  https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/west-coast/places/kelly-range-styx-river-area/things-to-do/tracks/arahura-and-styx-valleys-tracks/
  
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  May 25, 2026 11:54am
Jack5

With Elon Musk’s biggest company float in history imminent, you might want to read the prospectus directly yourself.

If it raises $US75 billion (about $NZ128 billion), it will value Space X at $US1.75 trillion (about $NZ2.89 trillion – i.e. thousands of billions). It will also make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

Some sceptics have described the offer document as a mixture of science fiction and financial projection.

You can read the official document by downloading it here:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm

Scores of commentaries are on the Net.

Here’s a brief one from Fortune magazine:
https://fortune.com/2026/05/16/spacex-ipo-spcx-stock-valuation-space-market-moat-elon-musk-starlink-xai/

For a more thorough explanation, here’s Internet financial commentator Patrick Boyle giving a 30-minute video view of the Space X float:

https://fortune.com/2026/05/16/spacex-ipo-spcx-stock-valuation-space-market-moat-elon-musk-starlink-xai/
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May 25, 2026 12:06pm
- sungsamning
  
  Best of luck to him. Especially Space X. I hope they’re all a rip roaring success.
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:44pm
  - Jack5
    
    Whoops! My apologies.
    
    I gave a wrong link to Patrick Boyle’s 30-minute Internet video on the Space X launch. Here’s the right link:
    
    https://youtu.be/IHD8BDFYyGI?si=4OxVI88IyO1r0NCm
    
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    May 25, 2026 12:57pm
- Raphael
  
  I look forward to being able to invest directly into SpaceX.
  
  I do already indirectly through XOVR on Sharesies.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:24pm
Philview

If you want to get your blood pressure up today go and read the comments under the Campbell v Luxon article on Stuff. Lots of comments that the Government is trying to stop the media doing their job.
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May 25, 2026 12:25pm
- sungsamning
  
  The government isn’t stopping the fake news doing their job. They doing their best to help elect a Labour/’Green’/TPM governmnet.
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:43pm
  - MCōs
    
    According to Google AI
    The purpose of SpaceX is to revolutionize space technology with the ultimate goal of enabling humanity to become a spacefaring civilization and establish permanent, self sustaining colonies on other planets, particularly Mars
    Or is its purpose to generate money for investors?
    Even if after a fabulous amount of money is spent and some sort of outpost is established on Mars, then what?
    The place has little attraction to Homo sapiens beyond a short period of time. Parts of the interior of NZ that are far more hospitable were abandoned because they were unmanageable
    
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    May 25, 2026 2:25pm
    - AitchW
      
      I’m really surprised that the Greens haven’t marched on the American Embassy demanding that they stop human contact with Mars to save the Martians!
      I’d put money on them at the very least making a commotion about it….
      
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      May 25, 2026 3:46pm
- Jack5
  
  Philview’s …read the comments under the Campbell v Luxon article on Stuff …
  
  Only available beyond the Stuff paywall.
  
  Worth reading a Stuff report on Campbell interviewing the Prime Minister? Ever? 🤣
  
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  May 25, 2026 2:05pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360983570/horticulture-boss-fined-40000-after-exploiting-vulnerable-migrant-workers
And so we start another week with yet another Asian import ripping-off his fellow Asian imports.
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May 25, 2026 12:38pm
- sungsamning
  
  That’s any day with a y in it.
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:41pm
- rouppe
  
  And the guy just lied and lied and lied about what was going on.
  Records fell out of his ute.
  Historical family loan.
  
  Come on. Just deport him already, to make an example of him to others
  
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  May 25, 2026 12:56pm
  - David Garrett
    
    rouppe: Actually this guy is not your usual ethnic exploiter; I would think he is from SE Asia, and not India or China, which is where pricks like this usually hail from.
    
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    May 25, 2026 1:29pm
    - Jack5
      
      The man’s name is not only Indian, but it may well be Brahmin, the highest of India’s castes.
      
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      May 25, 2026 1:52pm
    - MCōs
      
      I worked in an office in Bangkok whose clients were almost exclusively American except for on Thai business.
      The work was completed, deliverables delivered, and an invoice sent out.
      Nothing.
      Our big boss got on the blower to the client who came round to the office in a Benz with diamond rings on every finger pleading poverty
      Could they have a discount?
      For example 50%.
      The Yanks were different
      Paid up, no problem, but they were down on us like a ton of bricks if we were late or there was a mistake.
      Occasionally those guys would fly in from the States. They were invariably 50-60yo steel fabricator types who’d worked their way up through the ranks.
      They’d come into the office, talk over some projects, leaf through some drawings and then off for a beer, ogle at a live sex show and back to the hotel with a bargirl
      Same again next day.
      
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      May 25, 2026 2:51pm
MCōs

Jools Topp died of breast cancer at the relatively early age of 68yrs
I saw the Topp Twins at Caroline Bay, 2011. They were hilarious.
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May 25, 2026 1:01pm
- Philview
  
  That is sad news. I saw a headline the other day referencing the young Maori queen as a national treasure. I throw that into contrast that I think it takes decades to become a national treasure and the Topp Twins would rightly be held in such regard.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:53pm
David Garrett

This story on Stuff is notable for two things:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360983419/id-be-careful-saying-john-luxon-warns-rnz-host-during-interview

Firstly, what exactly is Luxon going to do about Campbell’s claim? It is virtually impossible to defame a current or former politician in NZ

Secondly, look at the photo selection: a beaming John Campbell – and Luxon with a daft facial expression…they always find the least flattering photos for polis on the right.
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May 25, 2026 1:18pm
- David Garrett
  
  Ah…I have a new one.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:27pm
- Flossie
  
  I also thought the choice of photos was rather pointed.
  
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  May 25, 2026 1:39pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Flossie: It’s always the same…I remember them publishing one of Rodney Hide yawning – and forgetting to cover his mouth. When they published any of me I was always frowning – which I try not to do.
    
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    May 25, 2026 1:47pm
    - Jack5
      
      And not to forget the infamous clip of Rodney Hide from the Dancing with Stars show:
      
      https://youtube.com/shorts/p3bENd_LOqQ?si=6XcY4pPOqbsXzz0F
      
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      May 25, 2026 2:10pm
Jack5

Is this a model for a private NZ geothermal start-up?

The geothermal industry already provides about a fifth of our power, and NZ is well endowed with geothermal prospects.

In America, geothermal start-up Fervo Energy has a market capitalisation of $US12.4 billion after its shares listed on Nasdaq this month. Its share price is up 42 per cent in weeks. It uses fracking (hydraulic fracturing) to tap underground heat.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

“In total, Fervo has 658 megawatts – or $US7.2 billion – of binding power-purchase agreements with companies including Southern California Edison, Alphabet’s Google, NV Energy and Shell.

Could such geothermal financing be available from NZ power users?

Fervo expects production costs to fall from an initial $US7,000 a kilowatt to $US3,000.

The newspaper says that the initial costs are similar to those of some small nuclear reactor plants.

Given the unpredictable life of individual geothermal wells, feasibility probably requires using a number of them.

More detail at the Fervo web site:

https://fervoenergy.com/
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May 25, 2026 5:30pm

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Highlights

Target achieved II
Good progress on attendance
Health Target 5 – elective treatments
Health Target 4 – Specialist appointments

Links

Thoughts on Prosperity from a Hipster Coffee Shop
Not PC
Bill Maher on Graham Platner
Utopia
Act with Conviction
Point of Order
Why I won’t be lectured to by the Right on Democracy when it comes to banning M?ori and Youth from local councils
The Daily Blog
Mental Illness and Lefties
No Minister
Woman of the day
Hompaddock
National panics
The Standard
People Power
NZCPR
Levies as end-runs around the Generic Tax Policy Process
Offsetting Behaviour
Out of touch
No Right Turn
A Read Of “The Far-Right Playbook”
Bob McCoskrie's McBlog
Systemic Change, Institutional Lag and Societal Resilience.
Kiwipolitico
United Rugby Championship Predictions for the Final
Stats Chat
A central banker’s fiction
Croaking Cassandra
THE WORKING FROM HOME RACKET BY PUBLIC SERVANTS
No Punches Pulled (Bob Jones)
The Accidental Engagement
Imperator Fish
Legal Beagle: Election '23: The Special Votes
Public Address
Get Vaccinated Tomorrow Or Shut Your Pie Hole
Cactus Kate
Making this movie might have been a mistake
Liam Hehir
Why I am retiring from political blogging
Kiwi FireWalker

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