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May 27, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 27 May 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

The new-look Wellington Water Co wants homeowners to pay $4,000 each to have water meters installed. They say it will improve things; if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it, yadda, yadda.

This is bullshit! Wellington’s problem is not excessive user consumption of water, nor a lack of water. The problem is that far too much of it leaks away from crumbling mains, for which user metering offers no solution.

As far as I can see, metering seems to be a management do-something/ anything activity that will make them look busy without accomplishing anything that solves the underlying problem. Managerial wheel spin, nothing more.

I’d rather the $4k goes to repairing the mains, because that’s where the problem is.

Wellington Water, Tiaki Wai – meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I say again, this is bullshit.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/596411/half-a-billion-dollar-price-tag-for-wellington-water-meter-roll-out-not-credible-mayor
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May 27, 2026 8:00am
- AitchW
  
  Perhaps they’re relying on the profit from the sale of water meters to subsidise the repairs to the pipes…
  
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  May 27, 2026 9:50am
  - OlderChas
    
    WEll after they know how much water you have piped into your house, they will be able to calculate what percentage of your usage to charge you (at a much higher cost per litre than it is to supply it) as a wastewater charge – like Auckland council does. There is no interest whatever in working out how much of the water supplied is not discharged through the wastewater pipe (e.g. watering the garden, washing the house or windows) even if you install your own meters in the waste pipes as someone offered to do.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:39pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Demand will continue to increase. User pays has to be introduced at some point.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:01am
  - KKNZ2025
    
    The users have been paying for decades. The money has been wasted elsewhere.
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:04am
  - zulumonster
    
    Yes it does – but it comes down to what is the better approach – fix the network first, then introduce meters, or the other way around.
    Charging for usage when ~ 40% of the water is lost is charging people for an inefficient system.
    People understand that water charges will increase to cover the overdue repairs, but will prefer to see those repairs before meters are introduced.
    There are arguments either way but my preference is for repairing the system first, then implement the meters .
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:32am
    - marcw
      
      Christchurch installed (and maintains) house water meters more than 10 years ago. Done within the 3 waters budget, and allocate 900 litres per day as the quota without extra charges. Sure, there were not the existing problems as there are in Wellington, but it was done as part of sensible forward planning. Now, whenever excess water use is detected, and a potential extra charge is coming, homeowners can report apparent water leaks, the Council will investigate, and, if required, fix the leak. There is a website (Water Reporter) where home owners can view each of their 3 month readings, so it is easy to be proactive. But sure, you Wellington ratepayers, just keep bitching about actually doing something useful to solve your excessive water costs. And keep voting in useless virtue signalling wankers to your Council.
      
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      May 27, 2026 11:14am
      - graham71
        
        after the earthquake it was losing up to 40% of water pumped before it got to the households
        after all this time chch loses a estimated 25%of water pumped before it gets to the consumer.
        still better than wellington
        
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        May 27, 2026 11:56am
      - Paul
        
        As another example, Kapiti introduced water meters and has charged for water use since 2014. Before the meters went live, there were all the same complaints we hear now from Wellington, and then the complaints essentially stopped.
        Residents have always paid for water. The difference with meters is that if you use more then you pay more, and if you use less you pay less, so conservation is made worthwhile.
        The effect of meters has been that someone (either the Council or a property owner) now cares about leaks because they have to pay for them. Kapiti discovered massive leaks on both the public and private parts of the network. Those leaks were fixed in the first year or so, and such leaks as occur now are fixed quickly: no fuss, and no water running down the streets for months on end. Wellington residents: try it, you’ll like it.
        But $4,000 per meter is an insane price estimate. Kapiti spent around $3 million in 2013-14 for some 23,000 meters, or $130 per meter. (Source: their audited annual report.) Adjust for inflation and Wellington’s terrain, take a bit off for economies of scale, then sack the management if if costs more than $250 per meter.
        
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        May 27, 2026 4:13pm
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Agreed. TW needs to get its own house somewhat in order first. Once the water wastage from public pipes gets down to industry standard levels, then we can talk about metering.
      
      But in fact, until water usage starts to challenge water availability, there actually is no point to metering. It’s just an added expense offering no added value.
      
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      May 27, 2026 2:04pm
- artemisia
  
  People in Wellington might be interested in the costs for my existing residential water meter. $6.73 per cu m, plus a monthly admin charge $26. That’s supposed to be actual charge and includes a quarterly manual meter reading. There was an installation cost, was a while ago and can’t remember what that was but maybe somewhere between $100 – $200.
  
  Not sure what will happen with the new system. But it’s a comparison at least.
  
  It has made serious financial sense for years – small household, high RV. Metered water will be a shock to large households even without a swimming pool.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:44am
  - peterwn
    
    If it is Auckland, the charge also covers the costs of the other two waters. Presumably Wellington would go the same way.
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:49am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  The meters cost about $150 and with installation maybe $500, there was a good analysis on the platform.
  Someone is making a lot of $ and not fixing the problem.
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:22am
- rouppe
  
  What isn’t said is that water meters elsewhere cost about $450.
  
  That whole organization, old or new, are a bunch of… You know what
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:13pm
  - OlderChas
    
    Oh but – installation costs done by a favoured contractor doncha know.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:41pm
- Quail
  
  NMB,
  FYI
  A Council I was involved with installed meters with the following results.
  Water use dropped by almost a third.
  Made it much easier to identify leaks .
  Made it possible to find where water losses were happening and remedy same.
  The result was a surprising win for both Council and the ratepayers.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:10pm
sungsamning

Trump isn’t just negotiating with Iran — he’s pushing every Gulf nation toward the Abraham Accords simultaneously. If this lands, no president in modern history touches it. [The war has to end first though. If Iran does sign; Hamas, and Hezbolla are over. The latter will have to depend on organized crime. The City won’t be best pleased.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2A80qMLEKA
Trump is About the Pull Off the Impossible… the Greatest Presidential Move in Modern History.
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May 27, 2026 8:04am
- Taieri
  
  Trump is About the Pull Off the Impossible
  ————–
  
  Already has.
  Diesel is still over $3/litre down here. And milk $3.99 for 2 litres.
  Used to be $1.50/litre for diesel and $3 for 2 litres of milk. Only three months ago.
  The way things are going I’ll start running my car on milk instead of diesel.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:09am
  - Flossie
    
    Milk in our local shop is over $5 for a 2 litre, and that’s not the fancy brands.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:43pm
    - pdm
      
      $3.99 at the Warehouse Hastings on Monday.
      
      $4 to $4.50 at New World and Woolworths although we seldom buy milk from them these days.
      
      No idea re Pak ‘n Save as we rarely darken their doors. Don’t think either mrspdm or I have been there this year.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:11pm
  - leoj
    
    Crazy Mullahs with a nuclear weapon or short term pain at the pump?
    
    Your choice.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:51pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      Yep, and they are crazy. Iran has fired missiles and drones at 16 neighbouring countries!
      They have alienated themselves from all their neighbours.
      Yet some here think that it would be ok for them to have Nukes.
      They would just use to them to blackmail the world over the SoH anyway, and that would be worse than what we have today.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:31pm
      - Drone
        
        And the Americans and Israelis are still attacking Iran and the Lebanon while pretending to negotiate a peace treaty. And you think the Iranians are mad..
        
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        May 27, 2026 3:14pm
  - sungsamning
    
    I’m pretty sure he doesn’t control the price of milk here. Imagine the cost of oil if Iran got a nuke, or used some dirty ones.
    
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    May 27, 2026 5:21pm
- Damocles11
  
  ‘Iran will sign a peace agreement with the United States only if US$24 billion worth of frozen assets are released.
  Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator, and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, delivered the ultimatum during meetings with Qatari officials in Doha.
  They insisted that the Islamic Republic would not proceed with any agreement until half the frozen assets – worth US$12b – are transferred when the memorandum of understanding is announced, with the remainder released over the following 60 days.
  “Our demand is the release of the frozen assets – not in the future, but right now,” one Iranian official close to the negotiations said.
  “No negotiations are possible without depositing Iran’s blocked funds.”’
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:04am
  - David Garrett
    
    Damocles: The toddler in the White House keeps promising an agreement “very soon”. In the real world, the two sides are nowhere near an agreement…this war has months to run…at best.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:31pm
    - Drone
      
      He does that DG to manipulate the financial markets. That make him and his chums muchos $$$$$$…
      
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      May 27, 2026 3:17pm
  - All_on_Red
    
    The US has responded that unless Milestones are met there will be no money- ‘No dust, no deal”.
    Apparently China has volunteered to assist in removing the Urnaium.
    
    ‘A senior administration official confirms the deal is around 90-95% ironed out. They made it explicitly clear that no American money would be transferred to Iran from the US in any way, shape, or form (no pallets of cash).
    
    What does Iran get? Possible sanctions relief. But the framework of the deal, per this official, mandates there will be no relief without Iranians making good on their end of the bargain first.
    
    “No dust, no dollars” meaning if Iranians meet their obligations as outlined in the deal to give up their enriched uranium, then sanctions would be partially relieved. If the Strait is opened without tolls or harassments of shipping vessels, the US will end the blockade and there would be additional relief, etc.: “If they don’t deliver on their commitments, then they don’t get anything. We’ve set up enforcement mechanisms.”
    
    Meanwhile the US Navy is keeping the SoH free from Iran.
    ‘CENTCOM spokesperson Capt Tim Hawkins to Fox News: “U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
    
    Apparently the Iranians are finding the AH 64 Gunships are pretty good at blowing up their little speedboats.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:17pm
    - Drone
      
      War criminals breaching the ceasefire..
      
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      May 27, 2026 3:19pm
    - KH
      
      Hilarious that you think the USA bombing Iran thousands of km from home is “self defence”.
      And you quote it.
      Try thinking.
      
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      May 27, 2026 8:07pm
- Ra Henare
  
  So, another peace “meeting”” reported by Trump as near a deal.
  
  Then shock horror
  US Militay attack Iran with a Trumped up reason being that Iran was a threat.
  
  So it seems when ever a peace deal is getting close.
  Israel/USA bomb Iran. Then Trump changes the rules.
  
  Ferkin hilarious as a board game. Stupidy at its worse in real life, playing with peoples lives and standard of living.
  
  I repeat I was an avid Trump supporter on election day.
  But
  bombing boats in international waters accused(without proof) of being Narco Terrorists(a name invented to justify the Theatre of videoing boats being blown appart and boatmen being killed). At worse they were smugglers.
  
  Note: Fentanyl deaths was plummeting before this Trump Theatre, created to create a reason for the sheeple to support his takeover of Venezualan Oil.
  
  Then the current stupidity in Iran.
  
  Sorry. I think Trump has gone down the same rabbit hole as his Predcessor. ie lost his marbles.
  
  Tumps God complex is getting worse day by day
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:35pm
sungsamning

The Los Angeles mayoral race provides illuminates Democrat party thinking. There is non-politician, normal American Spencer Pratt running against Communist, Castro-admiring, current Mayor and black woman, Karen Bass, and Indian—the country—woman, and LA Council member, Nithya Raman. [Some people are flying to LA so they can vote for him. There is no voter ID. His videos have gone viral. And money is pouring in. He can win if locals are sufficiently fed up.]
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/05/can_spencer_pratt_win.html
Can Spencer Pratt win?
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May 27, 2026 8:04am
- artemisia
  
  Spencer Pratt’s AI vids are hilarious. Politicians will be taking notes.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:58am
  - sungsamning
    
    Yes, he deserves; but will never get an Oscar for those videos. He doesn’t tick any woke boxes.
    
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    May 27, 2026 5:24pm
Cassandra

Stuff readers poll: Who do you trust to fix the country? National 44% Another party 21% Labour 35%.

NB A STUFF readers poll!!!
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May 27, 2026 8:05am
- David Garrett
  
  Cass; A couple more like that and Labour might be looking to replace Hipkins…that would be bad news for our side.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:23am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    DG: Who would give Labour a boost?
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:10am
    - NothingLeft
      
      Anyone with a vagina, and preferably 1 or 2 more victim cards to play. Competence not a job requirement for left.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:57pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  The left has locked up the votes of the vast majority of those who cannot or do not read at all, so I would not get too excited by this.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:30am
- artemisia
  
  Stuff is a really stupid media name. But maybe accurate.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:33am
  - pdm
    
    arty – maybe they could upgrade the name to one of these:
    
    Completely Stuffed
    Absolutely Stuffed
    Stuff No One Believes
    
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    May 27, 2026 8:52am
    - David Garrett
      
      pdm: I prefer the last one!!
      
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      May 27, 2026 9:52am
    - Taieri
      
      Completely Stuffed
      Absolutely Stuffed
      Stuff No One Believes
      ———–
      
      As I don’t read Stuff, I’ll take your word for it.
      
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      May 27, 2026 10:11am
    - mogg
      
      Hard Left Stuff.
      
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      May 27, 2026 10:31am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Smelly stuff you wouldn’t want to step in.
      
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      May 28, 2026 5:07pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Rumour has it that its modelled on Lewis Carroll’s ‘Stuff and Nonsense’.
    
    Stuff polled better…
    
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    May 27, 2026 11:46am
- G152
  
  They left the “ED” off stuff
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:38am
- mandk
  
  I have often observed that Stuff readers’ comments are less skewed towards the left than the editorial content.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:42am
  - pdm
    
    Those commenters eventually cop a ban.
    
    Stuffs rule on comments is simply – `agree with us or we will ban you’.
    
    I appear to be on a Ban For Life for telling them Aotearoa is a mythical place that does not exist 6 months or so ago.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:15pm
David Garrett

Good morning from the Kingdom…a rather cool 23C this morning…needing a light duvet at night now
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May 27, 2026 8:06am
- Ra Henare
  
  Its a bit warmer in the BIG Kingdom. 27c
  
  A nice walk to the Supermarket and buying my months worth of English Baked beans.
  
  Not Heinz(3.28 NZD) but Branson,(2.35 NZD) equally good IMHO.
  
  But the good news Eggs (2.75 NZD duz) and smoked bacon(16.80 NZD/kg) are still inexpensive.
  
  Other than a breakfast fryup its Asian food. Delicious and very inexpensive.
  
  Getting emotionaly prepared for high prices, and shit weather, when I come back home to NZ in August.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:47pm
artemisia

Public sector workers still looking for jobs after two years

More ‘poor me’ stories about unemployed after working for years in the public sector. Must be election year. Not sure RNZ has chosen very good examples to illustrate something or other.

Benj took voluntary redundancy 2 years ago after 20 years in public agencies marketing. 20 years would be good redundancy coin. 130 applications later, no offers. A hint? Household has a full time worker, 4 children at home but no mention of ages.

Mary seems to have been employed in the public sector for years, recently and maybe earlier as a contractor but we are not told. No job offer in the past 2 years despite more than 50 applications. A hint? Her financial advisor has calculated her retirement fund might run out by the time she is 90. She says super is not enough to live on.

No mention in the article about the recent massive unsustainable ballooning in the public sector. What did people think would happen?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/596399/public-sector-workers-still-looking-for-jobs-after-two-years
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May 27, 2026 8:06am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  On yer bike, son! Go to where the jobs are, because it should be clear after two years that they ain’t there for you in Wellington.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:25am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Plenty of bus driver vacancies in Wellington. Training included.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:36am
  - igm
    
    They would fail the aptitude test. Having once employed a voluntary redundant career public servant, I would advise anyone considering one to be very careful!
    
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    May 27, 2026 9:08am
    - imalwaysright
      
      You don’t employ a public servant, you adopt them…
      
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      May 27, 2026 10:04am
    - NothingLeft
      
      In ancient Rome wealthy men would employ slaves to sit on and keep toilet seats warm for them in winter.
      
      Seems that might be within the range of competency of ex civil servants.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:59pm
  - Taieri
    
    Plenty of bus driver vacancies in Wellington
    ————
    
    The way things are going there, there will soon be no need for bus services in Wellington.
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:12am
    - Phronesis
      
      When has a lack of patronage ever stopped a public bus service from existing?
      
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      May 27, 2026 10:29am
- R
  
  Would tend to illustrate that 20 years in public service employment does not provide adequate skills and experience for employment in the private sector. The REAL WORLD!
  
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  May 27, 2026 9:20am
- Warren Murray
  
  Actually, I’d view it differently. There must be plenty of ppl who aren’t public servants and outside of Wellington who have lost their jobs that RNZ could have approached too.
  
  Unfortunately the ‘framing’ is that the Government is choosing to do this, as if it’s driven by sadism.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:03am
  - zulumonster
    
    I am informed (with the usual caveats) that over the last 5 years for every 1 public servant losing a job, roughly 6–9 private-sector jobs are lost in recent downturn conditions.
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:44am
    - artemisia
      
      Lots of empty storefronts in Wellington CBD Railway Station to Courtenay Place. But wait, there’s more …..
      
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      May 27, 2026 11:08am
    - Warren Murray
      
      That may be so, but also misses my point.
      
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      May 27, 2026 12:50pm
- Handyman
  
  I would love to be the minister when the PSA comes with their usual demand to have pay parity with the private sector. Apparently civil servants forgo higher pay in the private sector because they have a moral calling and are committed to public service.
  “Ok, then. Ten per cent pay cut it is!”
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:08am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Won’t somebody think of the bureaucrats?
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:44am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  They could get out there breaking rocks for the cycle ways.
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:26am
Simon

YOU’RE WEEKLY REMINDER OF WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT UNDER THE LAST GOV. ( a few of thousands of examples)

There are 18, these are the highlights. Many more as well

1. Wallaby eradication — $2.7 million to kill 18 wallabies. $153,000 per wallaby and 26,000 labour hours. Cheaper to fly them home business class.

4. Let’s Get Wellington Moving — $35m on consultants. Just $250k on actual construction. You read that right.

5. Auckland Light Rail — $229 million. Six years. Not one metre of track. Burning $1.2m/week on consultants at peak.

6. Three Waters — ~$1.2 billion torched on a policy nobody wanted, scrapped before delivering a single pipe. Included $14,500 to write a job description for a CEO who never existed.

7. iReX ferries — $500m+ sunk. Ballooned from $551m to a projected $3 billion+ before cancellation. (NZ First also had fingerprints on the original deal — worth being upfront about.)

8. RAT tests — $531 million sitting in warehouses. Storage at $100,000/day. Approved over a year late.

9. Mongrel Mob meth rehab — $2.75 million. $239k catering. $157k marae hire. $100k hiring a van.

11. Auckland Harbour cycle/walking bridge — $51 million on planning before scrapped. No bridge.

12. Lake Onslow pumped hydro — ~$100 million on feasibility studies. Not a shovel in the ground.

13. Workforce Development Councils — $65 million/year for bodies critics said delivered little tangible value. Disestablished.

14. RNZ/TVNZ merger — $20 million. Abandoned by Labour themselves.

https://x.com/NMowbray23/status/2059104947321610564
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May 27, 2026 8:11am
- imalwaysright
  
  Wallaby eradication $2.7M.
  
  Eddie Jones would have done it for half of that…
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:10am
- Flossie
  
  And you’re always telling us National are rubbish Simon.
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:45pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Amazingly, Simon admitted the other day that Labour were worse.
    
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    May 28, 2026 5:12pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  $22 million to establish the Maori Health Authority
  (disestablished 2 years later)
  
  $200 Million to merge all the polytechnics into Te Pūkenga
  
  $190 Million to reestablish 16 polytechs
  
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  May 27, 2026 1:12pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    All of that money has gone to people.
    Surely the Government keeps records. Why can’t we know who got the money and for what?
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:54pm
    - Jethrod
      
      JT
      
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      May 27, 2026 3:33pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  Good list Simon. I bet there is much more. Pretty much the same in all countries where the once “centre-left” are now mostly radical juvenile activists.
  
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  May 28, 2026 5:49pm
imalwaysright

More quality reporting from Jenna Lynch about MPs she doesn’t like eating pies…

“Let them eat pies: Ministers make a complete mess devouring local pies ahead of Budget Day | Stuff” https://share.google/i3vAHDubOOcjIfaZD
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May 27, 2026 8:15am
- lifesgood
  
  Just read that and now I have the urge to go out and buy a nice, big, fat steak and cheese pie.
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:37am
  - pdm
    
    Yuk – good pies do not have cheese in them.
    
    Buy a Steak or a Steak and Kidney one.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:23pm
    - Nobby2
      
      pdm, I totally agree with you. A real NZ pie is meat only. eaten straight out of the bag (not with a knife & fork), but you need to blow on it first if it has been microwaved when you buy it from a service station. The best pies are from a local bakery shop that makes them on site. The massed produced factory made ones are rubbish and should be banned.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:48pm
- MCōs
  
  I like pies. They’re a Kiwi fast food staple when there’s nothing else. What Thais call a disappointment meal .
  However I don’t know what possessed those MPs to sit in a line and gobble down pies in front of the media. Just gross.
  
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  May 27, 2026 1:00pm
  - Ghost
    
    Not only that, you should be aware how the media would spin a $15 pie.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:02pm
    - MCōs
      
      We bought some Fairlie Bakehouse pies, which win awards for this and that and they were $10
      The population of Fairlie doubles with the queue down the street, but there’s a little hole in the wall round the side locals know about with no queue.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:28pm
      - Ghost
        
        I didn’t like their pies, I prefer Sims bakery in ashburton, or a nice cheap night and day pie.
        
        2 1
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        May 27, 2026 1:32pm
Tomtoddy

There is an article by a Jenna Lynch in Stuff about MP’s salaries and allowances and their eating habits. It is juvenile, envy-driven trash. OK, I do not have to read Stuff, but I believe it is important to try and understand why half the country’s voters are against the Coalition and want to return a bunch of losers who wrecked the economy just a few years ago. Apparently Stuff is a source of information for left of centre voters.

I also read the comments. A hotchpotch of nasty, inane childishness. Lynch is feeding this low level acrimony. There is nothing helpful or newsworthy in pandering to the lowest common denominator pointing out that Ministers might eat expensive pies or crayfish. The corollary is that we will somehow get smarter, more erudite leaders by paying a lot less. Really?? Ministers sit down every day with advisers getting twice as much salary. We expect that successful well-motivated people will leave senior jobs with seven figure incomes to help steer the country.

If the country expects capable persons of integrity and strong community spirit to lead us when they know that they will be followed around by childish, jealous-provoking media and attacked, not for what they do but for what they eat and where they live we should think again.
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May 27, 2026 8:21am
- Boy Geoff
  
  If Lynch is going to write this kind of stuff up, she should also thoroughly investigate the highly specialized and unique tastes and preferences of some Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and Te Pati Maori MPs. I have a feeling some of them wouldn’t come cheap…
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:31am
  - Warren Murray
    
    I wonder why she doesn’t ask for Rawiri Waititi to explain why he’s usually topping the quarterly expense claims while spending so little time in the House?
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:11am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  The Remuneration Authority decides this without consulting the government, and journalists know that.
  
  But what the government should do is direct the Remuneration Authority to put MP salary and allowance changes on a three year cycle so they only change right after an election. That would put a stop to this nonsense.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:35am
  - Warren Murray
    
    The RA does consult the PM and the Speaker in the course of making a determination that provides for MPs’ accommodation services and travel for MPs’ families (Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act, s 18).
    
    AFAIK both the Salaries and Allowances Determination and the Accommodation Services (etc) Determination are made triennially. (Refer cl 2 & 3 of Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2024). The RA moved away from making annual salaries and allowances determinations some time ago. Sch 1 shows that MPs and Ministers receive annual changes to their remuneration up until the next election, at which point a new determination is made for the next term of Parliament.
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:23am
- AitchW
  
  There is a deep, deep vein of envy in the left. It’s driven by the belief that anyone who successful must have achieved that success by exploiting the workers.
  Such sentiments are, of course, fed by the equally envious “journalists” currently infesting our MSM.
  Maybe when we elect a Labour/Green/Maori government we can return to the land of milk and honey where the rich are taxed to oblivion to improve the life of the workers…..
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:38am
  - NothingLeft
    
    useless monkeys think the way to get ahead is by ganging up to steal other’s bananas, with the aid of an 800lb Gorilla with a big stick called ‘gubmint’
    
    Useful monkeys, plant banana trees or do work for other monkeys that will earn them bananas, and just want gubmint and the useless monkeys to leave them alone.
    
    The left is the political home of useless monkeys.
    
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    May 27, 2026 2:05pm
- Cassandra
  
  Dame Therese Walsh says she’s happy to pay higher taxes. I suggest that she does. IRD even has an account for voluntary contributions. Or she could find a charity. Try the RSA for example.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:39am
  - Taieri
    
    Dame Therese Walsh says she’s happy to pay higher taxes.
    ————–
    
    WTF is Dame Therese Walsh?
    
    [Guide for beginners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9n3VPTQYqo ]
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:15am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Tom, your final paragraph is brilliant. I have met several knowledgeable and competent people who all say that politics is not for them as the envious news people would make their life a hell.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:45am
- greybeard
  
  I read this article, and came to the conclusion that it was a deliberate Labour-inspired hit-job.
  Jenna Lynch has shown her true ( red ) colours for all time. She knew full well what the comments would be, and Stuff has kindly kept the comments open so that over 300 could oblige.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:50am
  - greybeard
    
    Actually 494 comments: that must be a Stuff record.
    
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    May 27, 2026 9:35am
- rouppe
  
  Stuff banned me a couple of times in the last couple of months because apparently I was “trolling” or “abusive”.
  
  In reality I pushed back on some other comments, or criticised someone’s position.
  
  Seems like that’s only a problem if you criticise the wrong people.
  
  Unfortunately I missed the notifications since I use throw away email addresses there. Oh well
  
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  May 27, 2026 9:04am
  - Ghost
    
    I got banned because their political journalist emailed me asking for my sources for a comment I made, told them to go learn how to do their job.
    
    16 2
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    May 27, 2026 10:29am
    - rouppe
      
      Curious… All I get is “violated community guidelines”. Every time I’ve asked for specifics of what comment violated which guideline, crickets
      
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      May 27, 2026 12:16pm
      - pdm
        
        rouppe that is the same as I got too.
        
        I covered the reason a few minutes ago on the earlier Stuff thread here.
        
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        May 27, 2026 1:27pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Same crap that Te Guardian pulls as well. They are pathetic.
        
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        May 28, 2026 5:28pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “Stuff banned me…”
    Stop showing off…
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:20pm
    - NothingLeft
      
      Honestly you’d have to be a few bob shy of a quid to not get banned there.
      
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      May 27, 2026 2:08pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  I don’t recall seeing any articles highlighting how much more the heads of government departments are paid than the Ministers they serve.
  
  Perhaps that wouldn’t suit Jenna’s agenda.
  
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  May 27, 2026 9:37am
Yvette

Un-drip UNDRIP
On kiwiblog in the last few days there has been comment that in the India FTA, India dismisses reference to UNDRIP and says “… that after Independence [15 August 1947] all Indians are indigenous”

Article 13.2 of the agreement. 1 – […] India notes that “India voted in favour of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the condition that after independence all Indians are indigenous” 2 The Parties agree that for India, “Indigenous Peoples” is without prejudice to India’s domestic legal classification, and any recognition of indigenous status shall be in accordance with India’s law or policy.

While …
The Coalition Government will reverse measures taken in recent years which have eroded the principle of equal citizenship, specifically we will:
• […] Confirm that the Coalition Government does not recognise the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as having any binding legal effect on New Zealand

Apparently no-one seems sure who inserted the UNDRIP clause in the India FTA, but if it remains do remember this when you vote in a few months time.
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May 27, 2026 8:30am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  My local national MP is not receiving my vote and Nats are definitely not getting my party vote, I’ll tell anyone listening not to vote for them.
  Blatant liars.
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:30am
- Ghost
  
  You’ll find a side letter will be included fixing it
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:35am
  - Yvette
    
    Ghost, when UNDRIP was first supported, after Pita Sharples was secretly flown to New York, a coveat was announced that UNDRIP would not be accepted outside of the legal obligations at the time: the Treaty, but with He Puapua, Labour ignored that.
    
    If it is not written into law it means nothing.
    
    A side letter, included fixing it is no substitute for simply leaving reference to UNDRIP out of the FTA all together.
    And that, as I mentioned above, will be a test of Luxon and Winston.
    
    Come the Election if UNDRIP has not gone, I will do my best to see Luxon and Winston gone.
    
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    May 27, 2026 11:46am
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360983985/former-all-black-great-faces-bankruptcy-application

“Mehrtens, 53, has since moved on to public speaking, financial advising and asset management, according to his LinkedIn.”

Financial advising and asset management ?
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May 27, 2026 8:44am
- pdm
  
  Looks like he has not paid his legal bills.
  
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  May 27, 2026 8:55am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  It is amazing how well the celebrity halo effect works.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:18am
- Philview
  
  I admired him as an All Black but do recall him being criticised by one of the coaches after a Test for ditching the prepared game plan for Andrew Mehrtens own kicking for territory game plan. Mehrtens said they were being hammered in their own 22 and the original game plan was never going to work. Therefore he was a young man with huge confidence in his ability. Perhaps that confidence hasn’t served him well in later life.
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:21am
  - Sane Voice
    
    That was Mr Hart.
    
    A dorklander that ruined the All Blacks for many years.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:55pm
    - MCōs
      
      How did he ruin the ABs other than by being an Aucklander?
      He had a similar record to a lot of others coaches and won a series in South Africa, which nobody else has done for NZ.
      Got a lot of shit when they didn’t win the RWC
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:48pm
      - Quail
        
        MC,
        Allegedly divided the ABs at the RWC.
        Grizz Wyllie and Hart were co coaches,
        Another SI — NI division.
        So the story goes!
        
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        May 28, 2026 11:46am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Saw a programme about the All blacks in the old days. (1970s and before).
    The Captain was in charge after kick off, and the Coach (singular) was there to decide how many laps of the field they ran at practice.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:24pm
artemisia

Fears of ‘zombie’ town as Queenstown reaches breaking point

Being reported that rich folk are scarfing up all the houses and leaving them empty most of the time. Meanwhile there is not nearly enough ‘affordable’ housing for workers. And reference to nurses, teachers and police officers living in garages. (Really?)

Mayor John Glover acknowledges that “housing affordability is the headline” for his region and wants to raise the rates on ‘expensive homes’. That sounds like almost all homes there. Plus The region now wants stronger intervention, including more affordable housing developments, potential restrictions on empty homes, and tighter rules around short-term rentals. Good luck with all that.

Boarding houses have traditionally housed workers, esp the transient, with a room and shared facilities. The rules are already stringent and new proposed laws will make them more so. A recent Auckland audit of boarding houses found that 29 of the 38 audited opted to stop being a boarding house by amending tenancy agreements to be single household or reducing the number of occupants. A 3 storey building near me was a boarding house for many years, for more than 20 mostly single working men, now 3 high end apartments. There will be more ….
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/regions_otago/596428/fears-of-zombie-town-as-queenstown-reaches-breaking-point
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May 27, 2026 9:07am
- greybeard
  
  “potential restrictions on empty homes” is the bit that gets me.
  This mayor would be better off moving to Russia where his ideas and talents would be better appreciated.
  
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  May 27, 2026 9:29am
  - BananaLlama
    
    Why should the locals tolerate you at all.
    
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    May 27, 2026 9:44am
  - Ra Henare
    
    potential restrictions on empty homes”
    
    Please explain the Russia connection in your Mind.
    
    A small Fact
    Russia does not levy an “empty homes tax” like those found in cities like Vancouver, London, or Melbourne.
    
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    May 27, 2026 3:06pm
- MCōs
  
  According to google AI there are about 4k rentals in Queenstown with less than a hundred available at any one time. Rent is $720-$750/wk
  There are also up to about 3k AirBrb style short term rentals for tourists.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:03am
- Taieri
  
  Last time I was there (in 2022) the place was an absolute nightmare. Had to stay in Cromwell as there’s nothing available in Queenstown and then drive to Queenstown at 6 am to have somewhere to park my car. All that to attend a meeting. Never again.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:19am
  - MCōs
    
    I was there before Covid and I felt like a stranger in my own land
    
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    May 27, 2026 10:54am
- Handyman
  
  Queenstown is highly desirable for wealthy law-abiding citizens and has a solid rates base, which, with its winter weather, detracts the homeless, jobless and indolent.
  The mayor sees that success as the problem. His mindset is not “how do we embrace success?” but rather “how to we restrict success and make it a less desirable place to live?” (Are we sure he is not a Green Party plant?)
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:13pm
  - artemisia
    
    Where a mayor’s only tool is a hammer, every problem ….
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:15pm
  - Taieri
    
    Queenstown is highly desirable for wealthy law-abiding citizens and has a solid rates base
    ————–
    
    Wealthy law-abiding citizens still need the not-so-wealthy cleaners, road workers, shop assistants, bus drivers and other “indolents” like that. And the said not-so-wealthy have to live somewhere…
    
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    May 27, 2026 4:16pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Market forces. If they want those services they’ll have to attract them with pay rates allowing the serfs to live reasonably close. And no, more immigrants should not be pulled in to further stuff the country and take away (even more) entry level jobs from New Zealanders.
      
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      May 28, 2026 5:34pm
KKNZ2025

The Wellington council blameshifting spin in full flight. No mention of the decades of council wasting millions of ratepayers money on their many vanity projects or the fact that half the water supply is lost before it gets to the homeowner.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/596411/half-a-billion-dollar-price-tag-for-wellington-water-meter-roll-out-not-credible-mayor
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May 27, 2026 9:15am
- Handyman
  
  The Wellington strategy has been obvious for years.
  Spend and borrow to the hilt for cycle paths and arty venues knowing that the government will bail them out for essential infrastructure because Wellingon is special.
  For the plan to work they need to have completely run out of money and the infrastructure must be at “crisis point”.
  Then all they have to do is wait for a Labour/Green government.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:46am
- Prince
  
  Kapiti council managed to roll our water meters at no cost to the ratepayer.
  And their water rates were transparently offset by reduction to rates.
  Perhaps Wellington CC could seek their advice ?
  
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  May 27, 2026 1:03pm
  - Handyman
    
    Good advice.
    Even when Wellington try to do the right thing they do it wrong.
    Installing water meters reduces water usage by 25 % nearly everywhere it has been done. That is because it causes water users to pay attention and it allows the company to identify and track leaks.
    Wellington somehow manages to incur the cost while avoiding the benefits.
    They intend to bill water usage directly to the landlord, with a weighting depending on property value. This is as stupid as getting the landlord to pay for electricity usage. There is no feedback for water use efficiency and makes the rental income, net of water charges, highly variable and unknowable.
    Auckland does it right and follows the law. The landlord pays for fixed connection charges and tenants with a meter pay for usage. Wastewater is a variable charge based on a percentage of potable water usage.
    
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    May 27, 2026 4:25pm
- MCōs
  
  About 22% of Wellington’s water is lost before it reaches its destination and another 15% due to leaks on the property. I’m not sure if that includes extravagant overuse
  Auckland introduced meters in the 1990s and currently they’re being replaced with smart meters that don’t need to be manually read bimonthly as before.
  Auckland is far bigger than Wellington. I don’t know why it’s so expensive down there.
  Maybe it’s one of these non competitive contracts handed out to an acquaintance
  
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  May 27, 2026 5:08pm
Ian

Oh, dear – I hardly look at Facebook – only to check my Marketplace listings – but Chris Bishop’s FB post came up on the Labour training leak. 648 comments, and most of which I’ve read so far are along the line of don’t throw stones in a glasshouse….
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May 27, 2026 9:20am
Scott

Donald Trump still out there fighting the good fight :

“President Trump told leaders of several Arab and other Muslim countries during a Saturday conference call that if a deal to end the Iran war is achieved, then he wants their nations to sign peace agreements with Israel, per two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the call”

https://www.axios.com/2026/05/24/trump-iran-war-israel-muslim-countries-abraham-accords

“The leaders, especially those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan, who don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, were surprised by Trump’s request.”

I bet they were! Normalising relations with Israel! Oh the horror! 😎
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May 27, 2026 9:25am
- kowtow
  
  ‘Normalising relations with Israel! Oh the horror!’
  
  It is .
  
  The Arab street or your average Abdool , abhors the Jews . Despotic rulers know that having the Jew to blame for all one’s ills is a safety valve for the general lack of rights in those countries.
  
  Look what happened to Sadat for having the temerity to make peace with the Zios ( as the western progressive left call them these days).
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:07am
- MCōs
  
  What’s Israel’s side of the bargain in all this?
  
  5 10
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  May 27, 2026 10:15am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Mcos, unfettered expansion to meet the Greater Israel Project?
    
    3 7
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    May 27, 2026 3:10pm
- Viva Christo Rey
  
  Israel is an evil terrorist state. The whole world can see this except for the heretics known as christian zionists and delusional boomers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQbPCvV8W8
  
  5 25
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  May 27, 2026 11:30am
  - leoj
    
    Ever wondered why you are in the minority?
    
    Likely not.
    
    10 4
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    May 27, 2026 12:56pm
    - MCōs
      
      Minority of whom?
      
      3 5
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      May 27, 2026 1:51pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Extremists are a minority
        What did you think?
        [Mod – end it there]
        
        4 3
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        May 27, 2026 2:05pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    I’m on the side of the only liberal democracy in the region where religious pluralism functions, women have full autonomy, and anyone can walk the streets without fear.
    
    But feel free to side with the ante-diluvian theo-fascistic rapacious genocidal barbarians and their misogynistic death-cult if that floats your boat. Queers for Palestine, yay!
    
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    May 27, 2026 2:15pm
  - NZer In Exile
    
    In order to get some rational perspective, I recommend start with reading or listening to Douglas Murray’s “On Democracies and Death Cults”. If you genuinely have an inquiring mind, your view on this stuff will be changed.
    
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    May 28, 2026 5:39pm
- virtualmark
  
  Fair to ask, but wrong to insist.
  
  The word on that call is that when Trump made that request (that Arab nations sign up to the Abraham Accords) there was complete silence on the call for about 30 seconds and Trump had to ask “Are you still there?”.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:30pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Auckland Council have gone to market for “a landmark activation initiative that will transform the Auckland Harbour Bridge into a dynamic storytelling canvas through light”.

I think that means a light show.

The successful partner will get to fund the initiative, in return for naming rights.

Brace yourself for travelling over the Meridian Energy Harbour Bridge.

http://www.gets.govt.nz/AC/ExternalTenderDetails.htm?id=34160302
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May 27, 2026 9:33am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  No doubt it is going to be special Maori light that costs us an arm and a leg.
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:14am
  - MCōs
    
    Won’t cost you anything down in Christchurch if it’s called the Sky City Bridge
    Why don’t the Anglicans show a bit of initiative and sell the naming rights to that crumbling pile in Cathedral Square in exchange for fixing it up?
    Fonterra Cathedral
    
    6 3
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    May 27, 2026 10:48am
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      My “doolan” cow cocky mates would not want the Company sponsoring a “prot” church.
      
      6 0
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      May 27, 2026 11:39am
      - MCōs
        
        Maybe the Hibernians could put in a hostile bid!
        
        2 0
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        May 27, 2026 12:22pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      My preference is to leave it as it is.
      
      God has rearranged His house the way He wants it. Who are we mere mortals to say otherwise?
      
      9 4
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      May 27, 2026 11:44am
  - AitchW
    
    Wait for the announcement that iwi have “gifted ” a name……
    Then the inevitable naming ceremony followed by kai moana and koha.
    
    8 0
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    May 27, 2026 11:59am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Cmm
    So when does slagging off Māori become racist verses fair comment?
    
    2 3
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    May 27, 2026 3:12pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      I am not slagging of Maori.
      I am slagging off a system that treats Maori as incompetent people that always need special hand outs and a leg up.
      Of course if Maori become to dependent on such hand outs then they will eventually become victims of the system – not racism.
      
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      May 27, 2026 4:17pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Dress it up however you like.
        
        No doubt it is going to be special Maori light that costs us an arm and a leg
        
        Its still racist.
        
        If you had said something along the lines that Aucklnad Council would insist on a maori light etc etc. Then you could not be racist???
        But your comment did not say or infer that
        
        But dont worry the sun will still come up in the morning and people will still continue their views of such things without thinking it thru
        
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        May 27, 2026 8:12pm
imalwaysright

Its surprising that the Stalking and Harassment legislation hasn’t caused much concern.
The term stalking seems to be there as somewhat of a red herring in that stalking, in the usual interpretation, is a minor player to the real intention of the legislation of very loosely defining harassment.

This seems to be hate speech legislation cloaked in the guise of protecting women from the dodgy guy in the hoodie behind the bush.

It says that if you cause someone distress more than twice within two years then you can be arrested and charged.

‘Distress’ is defined by the complainant, just as in hate speech guidelines on the police website.

Anyone on KB would trigger this law on any given day, its just a matter of a complainant deciding they are ‘distressed’ as to whether you get prosecuted.

Here’s Nigel Kearney’s link from GD yesterday:

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2025/72/en/latest/#LMS1015344
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May 27, 2026 9:42am
- 70andstilllearning
  
  Well it looks like the authorities aren’t dragging the chain in utilising their new found authority – probably intended use of the new law in this case but will be interesting to see how long before the net is extended to some of the other harassment types covered.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/596489/first-charge-laid-under-new-stalking-and-harassment-laws
  
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  May 27, 2026 4:39pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    70,
    The harassment is defined as distress, as defined by the complainant.
    
    There’s no reason someone couldn’t lay a complaint about anyone else for any reason other than they felt ‘distressed’.
    
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    May 27, 2026 5:06pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Has anyone here tried to interact with the NZ Space Agency?

I’ve tried their email address [email protected] a few times. Crickets.

Any suggestions?
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May 27, 2026 10:13am
- imalwaysright
  
  They might be out of range…
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:20am
- Taieri
  
  Any suggestions?
  ———–
  
  Did you want to travel to Mars?
  
  4 1
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  May 27, 2026 10:21am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    No, I sell software services into the space sector (amongst others) and was interested to find out what advice/resources they might have.
    
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    May 27, 2026 11:48am
    - Ghost
      
      Maybe try the minister, his staff might pass it to the relevant person
      
      [email protected]
      
      2 0
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      May 27, 2026 12:15pm
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        Thanks, I’ll try that.
        
        3 0
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        May 27, 2026 1:59pm
- artemisia
  
  Ask via MBIE contact page- phone, email, form options. Or you could put in an OIA request (also on that page), that will get attention!
  
  https://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/contact-us
  
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  May 27, 2026 10:49am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    That is where the above email address comes from.
    Maybe I’ll try phoning if they don’t respond.
    
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    May 27, 2026 11:46am
    - imalwaysright
      
      It worked for ET.
      
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      May 27, 2026 11:53am
    - artemisia
      
      I know, I was suggesting asking via the main MBIE contacts.
      
      3 0
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      May 27, 2026 1:10pm
- virtualmark
  
  Not sure about the Kiwiblog rules around this but the head of the NZ Space Agency is Robyn Henderson. MBIE email addresses are [firstname].[surname]@mbie.govt.nz
  
  But the NZ Space Agency is mainly concerned with (a) space policy and (b) approving launches. International law says that the country the rocket/satellite is launched from is legally responsible for that rocket/satellite, including compliance with international agreements such as the Outer Space Treaty. Given those roles they (AFAI recall) don’t have much pointy-headed engineering type activity.
  
  FYI, you might also consider approaching the RNZAF re 62 Squadron. They’re based in Whenuapai and do actual tracking of objects in orbit. Mainly drawing on info from LeoLabs and Space Operations NZ.
  
  Mods feel free to edit/delete this comment if it crosses any boundaries – although that Robyn Henderson is the head of NZSA is public knowledge.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:39pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Thanks
    
    They also claim to be interested in sector development (ie. industry associated with space).
    
    “We enable space-related business, science and innovation
    …
    We’re building a space sector that’s trusted around the world, full of new ideas, and able to compete globally. Our goal is to help New Zealand benefit from space—economically, socially, and environmentally.
    
    We’re interested in advancing areas where New Zealand has existing and emerging strengths, including developing and applying space-based data, developing components, space related research, ground infrastructure and satellite technology.
    
    Over time there may be opportunities for New Zealand businesses and other organisations to develop capabilities in a range of space-related areas — such as satellite design and manufacturing and space science, technology and engineering research activity.”
    
    So as a current supplier into the international space sector I am interested to see what services/resources they can provide.
    
    https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/about-nzsa
    
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    May 27, 2026 4:13pm
    - virtualmark
      
      From what I know of it their main tasks are:
      (a) Approving launch requests, which is basically about approving payloads. Fair bit of coordination with defence and spooks.
      (b) Trying to attract more space-related business to NZ – so a business development type role. Includes attending big conferences, liaising with universities etc
      (c) Being the arms and legs for NZ’s space-related international commitments, such as the Square Kilometre Array, relationships with the likes of NASA and ESA.
      (d) Advising the Government on space-related policy, although I don’t know how much active policy development gets done nowadays. I suspect most of the heavy lifting there has been done.
      
      62 Squadron does more “let’s watch what’s happening up there and look for anything odd” type stuff.
      
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      May 27, 2026 4:38pm
Phronesis

In todays edition of “Who said it, and what is their connection to NZ politics”

“Our aim, for the long term, should be a Reimagined State in which taxes and spending can be lower, productivity higher and government seen as enabling not directing, with political consensus behind such a radical restructuring of the state.”
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May 27, 2026 10:51am
- imalwaysright
  
  Chloe perjuring herself in Parliament?
  
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  May 27, 2026 11:02am
  - Phronesis
    
    Close, it was Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, that great mentor of one Jacinda Ardern.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:19pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yep, there weren’t enough long words that no one knows the meaning of (including Chloe) for it to be Chloe.
      
      Rookie mistake.
      
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      May 27, 2026 1:02pm
- mandk
  
  Whenever I read about someone wanting to “reimagine” anything, I know immediately that what they are proposing will be a really bad idea.
  
  It’s a buzz word lefties use when they want to wreck something.
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:41pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    ‘Reimagine’ means that they state their desired outcome, and everyone else works out how to achieve it and also get the pleasure of paying for it.
    
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    May 27, 2026 12:54pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    The left, on the whole (ironically) haven’t heard of the concept of Chesterton’s fence, to wit; Don’t try to change systems until you understand them in detail. – because even if you do understand them and the myriad subtle compromises and second order effects they they encompass, you will almost certainly make things worse when you try to ‘fix’ them.
    
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    May 27, 2026 2:24pm
Swifty

High youth unemployment levels:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/596441/alarming-youth-unemployment-hits-poorest-communities-hardest

Which the left, should they win the upcoming election, will only make worse with higher benefit levels, higher minimum wages, ‘fair pay’ and pay equity legislation.
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May 27, 2026 11:45am
- Phronesis
  
  And the dumbing down of all educational qualifications to the point that even a university degree doesn’t guarantee that a person can read, write, and count.
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:21pm
  - Swifty
    
    At the end of the last Labour government just on 40% of school leavers had a reading and maths level of a 12 year old or under.
    
    Those 40% could only read a newspaper ‘with difficulty’.
    
    That’s one of the most damning NZ statistics I’ve read in my life. And reflects the dire performance of our state education monopoly.
    
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    May 27, 2026 3:49pm
- Ian Boag
  
  So I guess the answer to all the misery is lower benefit levels (possibly including the pension?), lower minimum wage, and leave all the pay stuff to the market.
  
  Can you identify a prosperous country where all this applies? One you would be happy living in – just curious …..
  
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  May 27, 2026 12:37pm
  - pdm
    
    Work for the dole would be a better start.
    
    Begin with school leavers and then leverage it up to include everyone under 65 able to work in say 5 year age blocks over 5 years.
    
    Get rid of job seekers – it is largely rorted anyway.
    
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    May 27, 2026 1:34pm
    - Taieri
      
      Work for the dole would be a better start.
      ———–
      
      Didn’t work very well the last time it was tried out. There’s this ex Department of Labour bloke (don’t remember his name now) who came up with the idea of working for dole in the 1990s but it fizzled out after a while. May be the costs were greater than benefits?
      My solution would be to stop all low skills immigration and offer this kind of work to Kiwis. If they don’t take it, good bye to the dole.
      
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      May 27, 2026 4:39pm
      - greybeard
        
        I bet that most of those “low skills” Asian immigrants have a higher IQ and more Tech and mechanical skills than 99% of the unemployed NZ idiots sitting on couches and sucking-up the benefit, year after year.
        
        4 1
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        May 27, 2026 6:26pm
  - Swifty
    
    I am simply making the point, Ian, that Labour are stinking hypocrites over this issue.
    
    They decry National for youth unemployment levels, but it’s their own policies which greatly exacerbate, if not actually cause, youth unemployment to begin with.
    
    And why you managed to slip ‘the pension’ in there baffles me.
    
    Go figure.
    
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    May 27, 2026 3:39pm
  - Swifty
    
    We SHOULD leave ‘all the pay stuff’ to the market – it’s the absolute best mechanism humanity has ever discovered for maximising social outcomes.
    
    Political intervention always, always, always distorts and damages social outcomes, favouring some over others. Youth unemployment being a classic example.
    
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    May 27, 2026 3:44pm
  - Taieri
    
    Can you identify a prosperous country where all this applies?
    ————
    
    Quite a few prosperous, highly developed countries put time limits on receipt of unemployment benefits. In most of the EU countries it is 24 months.
    Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan maintain unemployment insurance systems. Benefits are available usually for a specified period. Singapore provides assistance for involuntarily unemployed meeting eligibility criteria for up to 6 months.
    Canada has the limit of 45 weeks for the unemployment insurance benefits.
    
    And the good old NZ…?
    
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    May 27, 2026 4:29pm
Ghost

Doesn’t remind me of terminator at all……

Engine AI T800

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ4kJfSbtlM
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May 27, 2026 12:34pm
Jack5

Evidence grows of the stupidity of the visas-for-Indians clauses of the NZ-India free trade agreement.

It’s a sell-out! Shame on the MFAT bureaucrats and the politicians conned by India.

Unemployment among New Zealanders aged 15 to 24 is at a nine-year high, and near 15 per cent.

With Labour Party agreement, the FTA opens the border to thousands of young Indian students who will be allowed to work for up to 20 hours a week.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/596441/alarming-youth-unemployment-hits-poorest-communities-hardest
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May 27, 2026 1:08pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Access to 1.4 billion customers!!!
  That’s the headline. You are not supposed to look further than that.
  
  Shame about all the submarine clauses…
  Even DPF fell for it.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:15pm
Yvette

Simple question on India FTA inclusion of UNDRIP.

Who put UNDRIP in the FTA –
• politicians breaking Election promises to remove superfluous Treaty mentions, or
• ‘civil servants’ with their own agendas?
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May 27, 2026 1:11pm
- pdm
  
  Peters is well known for not reading cabinet documents etc so my guess is it originated in MFAT under his watch.
  
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  May 27, 2026 1:36pm
  - Jack5
    
    That doesn’t reconcile with Peters being the leading critic of the India-NZ FTA.
    
    National, ACT, Labour all support it.
    
    Who’s the chief driver? From media reports it’s Todd McLay (National), Minister for Trade and Investment and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs.
    
    He seems to know about the FTA commitment for NZ to invest billions in India.
    
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    May 27, 2026 2:06pm
  - Ghost
    
    Here is what Gemini thought
    
    When a “Trade and Sustainable Development,” “Indigenous Cooperation,” or “Māori Interests” chapter is drafted, MFAT relies on policy inputs from Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development)
    
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    May 27, 2026 2:13pm
    - Jack5
      
      But who was the Minister who accepted the “policy input” of Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development)?
      
      Who else but Minister Todd McClay?
      
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/593523/watch-trade-minister-todd-mcclay-signs-india-fta-in-new-delhi
      
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      May 27, 2026 9:26pm
      - Ghost
        
        Ministers don’t read the full agreement, they actually wouldn’t understand it. They rely on the briefing document on it, which did not mention the inclusion
        
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        May 27, 2026 9:32pm
      - Jack5
        
        But McClay sure as hell knew dairy, our major export, was shut out except for token minor exceptions.
        
        He knew about the immigration deal — in what was classed as a trade agreement.
        
        Still, the balls-up deal hasn’t yet been ratified.
        
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        May 27, 2026 10:24pm
      - Ghost
        
        That because dairy and immigration were in the briefing. The deal is before the select committee, at some point before being before the house a side letter will fix the undrip part.
        
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        May 27, 2026 10:51pm
- Phronesis
  
  One of the things people seem to forget about the Public Service is that not all of them are useless DEI hires. Some of them are very clever, cleverer in fact than most of our politicians. They have a political agenda and should be politicians but why would they want to be. As senior public servants they enjoy much higher salaries, job security, almost no scrutiny from the media, and yet they have the real power when it comes to policy. They are not public figures. To a large extent the popularity contest winning politicians are just a convenient cover for what these people have already decided will happen.
  
  Senior Tory politicians have identified this as a serious problem in the UK that must be fixed if the country is to be saved. In the USA such positions have always been political appointments.
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:42pm
  - Taieri
    
    Some of them are very clever, cleverer in fact than most of our politicians.
    ————-
    
    Some of them are also essential, saying which causes me a lot of pain, as I detest any form of bureaucracy. There’re just too many of them.
    
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    May 27, 2026 4:43pm
    - MCōs
      
      I used to work for a major Engineering Consulting company which has about 4k personnel.
      From my observation it was just as bureaucratic as any organization of that size.
      I’ve also worked for a two man outfit, me and the owner, and many others in between. The bigger they were the more people there were who supported those who were productive.
      
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      May 27, 2026 5:35pm
AitchW

pfft. Malaysia is preparing a case to be put before the International Court of Justice citing abuse of Thunberg and sexual abuse of other flotilla members.
Given that Hamas pretty much the UN in that part of the world I can see no other outcome than the court finding Israel guilty.
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May 27, 2026 1:36pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Does anyone understand the big hoo-haa about homeschooling that has Winston Peters and Sandford in a disagreement?

We homeschooled our kids the whole way through. They didn’t spend a day in the regular school system (other than both doing NCEA level 2 chemistry through Correspondence School).

From the limited information in the Stuff article it seems there is some fuss about requiring a homeschooling exemption and being subject to the ERO. I am confused – we had to write various reports and applications for exemptions back in the 1990s and 2000s. We were subject to ERO reviews.

Were those requirements dropped at some stage and are being reinstated? Are they being made more onerous?

I think most of the “homeschooling community” wants to be required to have exemptions and want to be subject to ERO. Most homeschoolers want accountability and want homeschooling held to a high standard. They want homeschooling to be perceived as a high quality educational option.

There are of course a few people of the more feral variety who don’t want any oversight of homeschooling. However they will be the minority and are certainly not representative of the homeschooling community at large.

In my opinion the level of oversight in the 1990s/2000s was just right – enough to deter the ferals without being onerous.
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May 27, 2026 2:11pm
- Ghost
  
  It’s been stopped by the minister and she will involve the industry in any further legislation
  
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  May 27, 2026 2:15pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Industry? Since when is homeschooling an “industry”?
    
    4 1
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    May 27, 2026 2:19pm
- KKNZ2025
  
  It was some bureaucrats kneejerk reaction to the approvals they’d previously given to Gloriavale & Tom Phillips, while ignoring the other 11000 homeschoolers
  
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  May 27, 2026 3:30pm
Bullion

So the Fonterra and Z Energy brief that was conveniently printed out and passed to a member of the PMO and Luxon said the staff member “hasn’t worked there for a while,” turns out was Luxon’s chief policy advisor and was in that role until May 2026.
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May 27, 2026 3:06pm
- rouppe
  
  In all the outrage about the missing paper trail, which is fair enough by the way, has everyone forgotten Labour holding workshops in 2022 on how to avoid the OIA?
  
  Watching Chris Hipkins pop faux outrage on the news should have been a moment a balanced media jumped on
  
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  May 27, 2026 6:19pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Apparently Murray McCully was a master at the art of never writing anything down too. Things were sorted out verbally face to face across his desk 🙂
    
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    May 27, 2026 7:08pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Not good in a democracy IMHO.
      
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      May 28, 2026 5:52pm

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