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June 12, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 12 June 2026

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General Debate

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CJames

Now that the inappropriately designated “business as usual” extreme model has finally been accepted as impossible by the IPCC, the alarmists have desperately been searching for another doom scenario to scare the punters. It is an emergency, their funding is at risk. The old favourite, sea level rise, is back as the go-to disaster.
RNZ have gone to their favourite academic alarmist, Jim Renwick, always ready with an apposite soundbite. He obliged with “At many locations studied, the one-in-100-year extreme sea level event is now occurring at least once per decade. Sea levels are continuing to rise so coastal inundation events will be happening even more frequently over time from here. …This week’s extreme wave event on the Wellington south coast reinforces the idea that we need to act now and develop response plans urgently”.
He got an associate to chip in with “even a small amount of sea-level rise (and/or land subsidence) can make rapid changes in the frequency of these events”. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/environment_climate/597849/one-in-100-year-coastal-floods-now-happening-twice-a-year-in-wellington-study
So sea level rise in Wellington is causing flooding events a lot more frequently now? Has he looked at the actual data? https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=690-011
Though it has data that only goes up to about 2023, the linear trend is just 2.74mm a year. So that is about 14cm in 50 years. The graph on PSMSL goes to late 2025 and actually has it flattening off. There was also land deformation from the earthquakes over that time, but I have not found any information on what those non-climate changes were so will assume they were zero.
Has that rise from the oceans getting warmer really caused a lot more flooding here? Is 6” really significant in a 10m swell? Or are you saying that despite IPCC finding to the contrary, climate change is causing more bad weather? Has he just jumped on yet another bandwagon (think Saint Greta) with his framing of the recent bad weather as proof of Global Boiling (TM)? Or is he just addicted to celebrity status and can’t cope with irrelevance – he misses people wanting selfies or asking for his autograph? Asking in a caring way for a friend.
We can put this set of statements from him alongside his other failed predictions and comments. No doubt he doesn’t want to be reminded of his quote from near 20 years ago, “Climate prediction is hard, half of the variability in the climate system is not predictable, so we don’t expect to do terrifically well.” https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0706/S00026.htm
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June 12, 2026 8:00am
- greybeard
  
  Don’t you just love this Internet, with the ability to retrieve embarrassing bits from years ago ? !
  Good post, CJames.
  
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  June 12, 2026 8:08am
- mandk
  
  “This week’s extreme wave event on the Wellington south coast …”
  
  I suspect that even most climate change nutters would regard this quote from Renwick as hyperbole.
  
  It was nothing out of the ordinary for Wellington’s south coast. It happens several times every winter.
  
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  June 12, 2026 8:12am
  - Hugh Jarse
    
    Was the event extreme or was the reaction extreme ?. I may missed it but I don’t think any houses were flooded, washed out to sea or roads subsided.
    
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    June 12, 2026 12:16pm
    - mandk
      
      It certainly wasn’t the event. Stuff did it’s best to record the prophesised destruction, but all they could find was some littoral deposits washed up on the road.
      
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      June 12, 2026 3:32pm
  - rouppe
    
    The fact it happens several times a year is PROOF! PROOF I tell you, of global boiling risk!
    
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    June 12, 2026 12:20pm
    - Hugh Jarse
      
      Ready cooked crayfish ?
      
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      June 12, 2026 3:41pm
  - OlderChas
    
    And it has been happening for many years. As kids we would ride our bikes down in weekends or school holidays to see the waves crashing over the road – even laughing like crazies when we timed it right and rode our bikes through as a wave came over the road and we got very wet.
    And I haven’t ridden a bike since about 1960!
    
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    June 12, 2026 5:37pm
- kowtow
  
  They’re all at it.
  Another recent exampe was “rising seas” in UK risk 200 year old RN grave yard on the east coast .
  
  Looked it up ; been going on for 5000 years there.
  
  Don’t panic .
  
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  June 12, 2026 11:40am
- Wairoa Native
  
  Excellent post CJames. It’s always good to look at the real world data.
  
  From the NZ Department of Statistics.
  
  “The annual average of the daily maximum wind gust (windiness) likely or very likely decreased at 14 of 17 sites across Aotearoa New Zealand Between 1980 and 2022”
  
  So a trend for less extreme wind.
  
  “The annual maximum rainfall in a single day likely or very likely increased at 12 of 30 sites and decreased at 10 across Aotearoa New Zealand Between 1960 and 2022”
  
  So an increase of 4mm per decade in a third of sites, a decrease of 4mm per decade in a third of sites and no trend in a third of sites in extreme rainfall.
  
  “Annual mean coastal sea levels rose faster (relative to land) at all four longer-term monitoring sites around Aotearoa New Zealand
  Between 1961 and 2020 compared with between 1901 and 1960”
  
  The actual increase for Wellington from 2.04mm per year 1901-2020. to 2.84mm per year 1961-2020. So a trend increase 0.84mm per year over the last 60 years.
  
  Hardly a climate emergency.
  
  https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/extreme-wind/
  
  https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/extreme-rainfall/
  
  https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/coastal-sea-level-rise/
  
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  June 12, 2026 4:28pm
  - CJames
    
    That apparent increase in sealevel rise rates is just cherry picking. Wonder why they compared a 20 year trend to a sixy year one and they didn’t mention 1920-1960. That would ring alarm bells to any competent data analyst.
    Go to the full data (shown on that noaa link) and you can see the linear line doesn’t indicate a change in rate. Note the data their starts about 1945. I don’t know if that earlier data is available – if it was, I think noaa would have used it – they did for Bluff
    
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    June 12, 2026 6:07pm
    - Nūhaka Native
      
      There may be some increase in the last 60 years. It may be due to the average temperature warming ( NZ has warmed by about 1.2 degrees in the last 100 years). But Wellington has experienced ongoing tectonic subsidence between major earthquakes, meaning the land has been slowly sinking. As a result, part of the sea-level rise recorded at Wellington is due to land subsidence rather than ocean rise alone. A recent peer-reviewed study found that sea-level rise measured in Wellington has been higher than global climate-driven averages, consistent with ongoing subsidence of the region. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025322723002116
      
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      June 12, 2026 9:54pm
Cassandra

UK PM Starmer promised that the UK would go to 3.5% at a NATO meeting last year. Yesterday he said that the UK would aim for 2.68% by 2030 with no plan for 3.5%. His Defence Minister and the Deputy Minister have both resigned.

Starmer has an overwhelming majority in the House but it’s an FPP one from 34% of the vote. Rivals are circling, inside and out. But would a new Labour PM change anything?
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June 12, 2026 8:00am
- CJames
  
  When one looks at what the UK classifies as defence spending, their real spending is a lot lower than claimed. Statements made by their ministers indicate that this trend would continue if not put on steroids. IIRC, the money they we going to pay Mauritius to take Diego Garcia was seen port of defence budget. There was also equity and rainbow funding.
  
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  June 12, 2026 8:09am
  - kowtow
    
    Not just UK , I saw a report where infrasructure spending in Italy , I think, on a bridge was chucked in under ‘defence”.
    
    No wonder the Yanks don’t trust ’em.
    
    And Putin is contemptuous.
    
    The ’30’s all over again.
    
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    June 12, 2026 8:30am
  - RoboRob
    
    Apparently they also build boats for the Navy (defence spending) but then sell some of them.
    
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    June 12, 2026 9:18am
    - G152
      
      We could do with a few
      
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      June 12, 2026 9:28am
  - rockape
    
    They also include the likes of me. Currently a 40k a year military pension they have been paying me for the last 40 years and will probable continue to do so for the next 10 or so.
    
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    June 12, 2026 2:25pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      and I am guessing you get NZ Super as well?
      
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      June 12, 2026 2:31pm
      - Nobby2
        
        Ra. So what is your problem / point if rockape is getting his military pension and NZ Super. Sounds like a lot of jealously in your post. You should just mind your own business.
        
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        June 12, 2026 3:08pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        UK pension. Generally offshore pensions get subtracted from Nat Sup but there might be different rules for military ones – still he is struggling along with a wife on $200k-odd 🙂
        
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        June 12, 2026 6:20pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Nobby2
        
        Dear Karen, I am not jealous in any way, shape, or form.
        It’s called curiosity, as some overseas pensions get taxed/allowed some don’t.
        
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        June 12, 2026 11:22pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        🤣
        
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        June 13, 2026 3:48pm
      - rockape
        
        Yes I do, but that is paid for by the uk transferring my UK super to NZ, hell Nz even makes a profit out of that .transaction. Yes my military pension is taxed in the UK but not enough for NZ so furthertax is taken ,around $1500 here. All in NZ makes a nice profit out of my pensions.
        
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        June 13, 2026 5:10pm
- Isobar
  
  Recommend the podcast ‘Wargame’ put out by Sky News last year to simulate an actual attack on the UK by Russia. It shows how terribly run down the british defence capability is.
  
  Shameful by both main parties over the last 20-30 years.
  
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  June 12, 2026 1:04pm
- NothingLeft
  
  UK Labor got in with just 20% of registered voters voting for them. There’s never been a UK govt with a weaker electoral mandate – in spite of their number of seats.
  
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  June 12, 2026 1:39pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Let’s hear it for FPP. If this was the Tories it would have been lauded as a “landslide” with the vote % dismissed as irrelevant.
    
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    June 12, 2026 2:08pm
Souvlaki

Increasingly, Luxon’s foolish words “There is NOTHING I like about the Treaty Principles Bill” look like coming back to bite National on the arse….like famous last words in effect !
This short clip of Michael Laws examining what is happening at the coal face of employment in Health Services is truly outrageous:
https://share.google/626PXQu4BqZpL3PA3
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June 12, 2026 8:10am
- kowtow
  
  Or so publicly telling Maureen Pugh to do some reading. ( climate scam)
  
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  June 12, 2026 8:32am
- RoboRob
  
  National are very good at ignoring these issues. Simon Watts ignored the issues around councils for two years, right up until Act introduced a bill to solve it, having given up chasing Watts. Then low and behold an election arrives and National are struggling in the polls and suddenly they are ‘hard’ on these issues. With Watts adopting Acts law because Watts literally has spend zero time on this issue.
  
  The problem for National is, few people believe the care. Watts new law changes wont be introduced this term, the BSA wont be gone this term, the removal of a select few treaty principles references wont happen this term, the rates cap wont happen this term, English first government departments wont happen, reduced energy costs hasn’t happened, the reduction of public service staff hasn’t happened this term and is once again an election promise*.
  
  * I note new figures are out and public service numbers increased ~2% last year. Goldsmith (lol) is saying reductions will happen in the future and will be gradual happening with retirements and mergers of ministries. They are not going to achieve the budgeted cuts if they only do what Goldsmith is talking about.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:25am
  - Nobby2
    
    Robo. I have been a National supporter and voter for 60 years but I won’t be going anywhere near them this election. Their lack of action and conviction on their promise to stop the complete maorification of NZ has finally broken the camels back.
    
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    June 12, 2026 3:17pm
- leoj
  
  I do so hope you are correct. The Nats are more than happy to let the maori wave take over the country. They, as a party are gutless and Luxon is a maori takeover sympathiser. He and the party need a swift kick up the arse for ignoring what the voters wanted in 2023.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:03am
Benedict Yu

Not much surprises me any longer, but this really is something else.

Hat Tip to The Platform for covering the story yesterday.

https://youtu.be/Mx5pM4pa_CY?si=6dbP-VDPpbk4PC2B

This is a job advertisement for a “Sterilisation Technician” at Whanganui Hospital. As you would expect, this is a person who ensures a supply of sterile supplies including surgical instruments. Very important job.

Now I am confident in making this claim. A technician who supplies sterilised surgical instruments is unaware of the ethnicity of the patient who will benefit from his work. I am also confident that such technicians pay no heed to the ethnicity of patients when they go about their work.

Now wait for the position requirements. It is 11 pages. You can read it in detail at the link below. I will provide some excerpts.

“[You] are committed to working in
partnership and supporting
initiatives that meet the health
needs and aspirations of Māori
individuals and whānau.

… will have insights into your own
cultural awareness and an
understanding of how your social-
cultural influences inform biases
that impact on your interactions
with Māori, individuals, whānau,
and colleagues.

… will ensure that where there is an
inherent power imbalance it is not
exacerbated by overlaying your
own cultural values and practices
on Māori, individuals, whānau, and
colleagues.😫

… have the ability to incorporate
Māori models of health, values-
based patient and whānau-
centred models of care, and
mātauranga Māori (Māori
Knowledge) to support
empowerment and health.”

Full job description here:

https://tinyurl.com/y4t84y2z

How do you incorporate mātauranga Māori into sterilising surgical supplies? There can be no superior “Maori knowledge” that pertains to the sterilisation of these Items. Maori probably practised forms of hygiene based on tapu and trial and error experience. But there were no steam autoclaves.

I say this with sincerity. New Zealand is doomed if these recruitment practices continue in the State sector. The government could have, and should have, stopped these practices in the first 100 days of office. Instead things have become worse.

Now some would say, “it does not matter”.

It does matter. New Zealand is either a developed nation, promoting competency, excellence, and science, or it is a tribal nation, pretending to be governed by competency and science, but increasingly influenced by tribalism and mysticism. It cannot be both at the same time.

Just for interest I asked AI to provide a synthesis of the characteristics of a competent Sterilisation Technician in the USA.

“Someone excellent at sterile processing is meticulous, calm under pressure, highly reliable, and deeply committed to patient safety and infection prevention.”

Hard to argue with that.

The Government should intervene in this case. It cannot be allowed to stand.
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June 12, 2026 8:13am
- kowtow
  
  It’s across the board though.
  
  Judges giving back criminal insignia another sign of decline and indeed outright unconstitutionality.
  
  Very little in the media about the High Court decision.
  
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  June 12, 2026 8:41am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  It’s the same s**t everywhere. My university’s draft Academic Excellence and Student Success Plan 2026–2030 confirms the university’s commitment to “Integrate Mātauranga Māori as a defining feature of curriculum design”. When I asked why this was a good idea, came the answer “because we’re a bicultural country”. A couple of years ago a colleague resigned after being denied advancement on the grounds that he hadn’t incorporated maatauranga into his teaching. All too many of our institutions have gone rogue.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:06am
  - Phronesis
    
    The problem (as PPII is no doubt aware) is that these aren’t minor issues of style. Anyone who is actually willing to go along with this nonsense has effectively outed themselves as someone who simply cannot be allowed anywhere near a University. We use to joke about voodoo being the opposite of reason. Now universities say they are equally valuable. (If you don’t believe that voodoo and matauranga are equivalent then look it up, they very much are.)
    
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    June 12, 2026 12:17pm
  - alphabeatrium
    
    Given no one can articulate what it actually means to do something like “integrate Mātauranga Māori as a defining feature of curriculum design”, it’s clearly used as a shibboleth. By it you will ultimately self-select (or be pushed) out of their institution. Woke institutional capture, in other words.
    
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    June 12, 2026 12:53pm
- Yvette
  
  When will we have directives for construction conveyor operatives in McDonalds, Burger King and other fast food outlets requiring burger ‘cooks’ to say a karakia, while working, that if the product being assembling is to be purchased at the till by a Maori, it will be the first he or she has had for the day and that other food intake is nutritionally balanced.
  
  Same for wine making or beer brewing.
  
  Incredibly racist, or more pertinent and needed than the job vacancy Benedict describes?
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:12am
- Notsofast
  
  It is obvious that this will ensure many suitable candidates run a mile from this opportunity, thus degrading the health system generally. This accelerating nonsense is a crisis, Act, NZ First and National.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:19am
- RichardF
  
  Here’s the selection criteria for a Sterilisation Technician in NSW.
  
  Are You the Right Fit?
  You will thrive in this role if you can demonstrate the following skills and qualities:
  
  Strong attention to detail to ensure accurate cleaning, inspection, and sterilisation of medical devices.
  
  Effective communication and active listening skills when working with team members and clinical staff.
  
  Initiative and a willingness to learn, adapt, and continuously improve practice. Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to support patient care outcomes.
  
  Manage time effectively and prioritise tasks to meet high workload demands and strict turnaround timeframes. Ability to follow documented procedures and maintain accurate records.
  
  Physical capability to undertake manual handling tasks as required.
  
  Selection Criteria
  To help us assess your suitability for the role, please tell us as much as you can about yourself in response to the questions below.
  
  Certificate II or III in Health Service Assistance (Sterilisation Services) or equivalent.
  
  Describe the steps you take to maintain compliance with AZ5369:2023 during daily reprocessing tasks.
  
  Provide an example of how you have worked effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
  
  Describe your experience with endoscope reprocessing and how you ensure compliance with relevant standards and guidelines.
  
  Explain how identify and report faults or issues with instruments or equipment.
  
  https://jobs.health.nsw.gov.au/jobs/sterilising-technician-gde-2-bankstown-hospital-perm-ft-338051
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:25am
- RoboRob
  
  Yes they should act but they wont. The excuse is ‘its an operational matter’.
  
  However the real issue is that this is spread all through all government agencies and is rapidly spreading into private companies. A friend works for a major contracting company, they do karakia before every meeting. I get more emails with the obnoxious ‘na mihi’ then I get with any other sign off.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:56am
  - David Garrett
    
    Robo: I got one the other day from a government department…at the end was “Nāku noa, nā “. Just for fun, I called the phone number at the bottom of the email and asked the young girl who answered what it meant. There was about 20 seconds of silence and then “Well, it’s sort of a greeting”. I said No, greetings come at the start of a message -and on your email its Tena koe, so Nāku noa, nā is a sign off, and I wonder what it means? Another 20 seconds of silence and then “Well, it’s sort of yours sincerely”.
    
    “Well “David Garrett” is not a Maori name, so why not use “Yours sincerely in a message to me?” The call disconnected. Yes, pointless I know…but we have to push back on this shit.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:31am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      The thing is David that the person you spoke to likely rote learns these Maori terms. Because she cannot refuse on pain of being ostracised.
      
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      June 12, 2026 10:50am
      - David Garrett
        
        Niko: Yes, I know…people like her have no say at all in policy – but it is them who have to deal with crusty old curmudgeons like me. I shouldn’t do it really…it just pisses me off so much.
        
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        June 12, 2026 11:10am
      - pjones
        
        Benedict Yu, Why Do You Use Two Accounts?
        
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        June 12, 2026 12:52pm
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      “Willy Jackson” is hardly a “Maori” name either, so your rule of thumb isn’t much to go on.
      
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      June 12, 2026 11:45am
    - alphabeatrium
      
      A Chinese guy in my team objected to a “karakia roster” (I’m sure that was how they did it pre-Cook…). His objection was simply “I left China to stop being told what to believe”. He got an exemption, but everyone else kowtowed.
      
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      June 12, 2026 12:58pm
    - R
      
      It is also rude, and shows a complete lack of respect toward the letter recipient, by the author of the letter. In fact it also shows a complete lack of respect of accepted conventional business protocol .
      
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      June 12, 2026 1:23pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        It’s just the simple beginning of brainwashing!!!
        
        Think about any cult you know that does dumbshit.
        
        They all started as regular people.
        
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        June 12, 2026 3:07pm
  - Paulus
    
    Westpac do it on everything using the so called Maori send off.
    If I could be bothered I would change Banks as I get up to a dozen letters a month.
    But I am sure all the others do it.
    
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    June 12, 2026 3:00pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  BY: That this still exists over 2 years into the new government shows that all the government changes were performative. They are not actually making changes on the ground.
  
  This bullshit must scare off a lot of potential employees.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:59am
  - Burtland
    
    have friends in the Stats dept – they have karakia on lanyards around their neck
    
    they all think its a joke – the key job requirement is keeping your mouth shut
    
    NZ has become a clown world from Nationals intransigence
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:30am
  - Notsofast
    
    It is scaring quality young New Zealanders from returning home.
    Pray for 3 more years opportunity to get this terrible cult back in a box.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:43am
- leoj
  
  The National Party is at the heart of this problem because Luxon and his maori fearing wokesters are too chicken to take on the maori takeover.
  
  Send them a message in November. Vote ACT.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:06am
- Paulus
  
  What a series of sad statements for a not too difficult a job. !
  Go Aotearoa and keep going.
  Wake up New Zealand again.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:59am
- NZer In Exile
  
  The govt needs flying audit teams to dig down to find out who is behind putting crap like this together. Then they need to fire those involved.
  
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  June 13, 2026 3:52pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Looking at the SA vs Mexico game, it seems that there’s a colour missing from the Rainbow Nation.
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June 12, 2026 8:14am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Do you mean the red on the cards?
  
  If you mean the dearth of white players then remember:
  * Whites, Indians and Coloured in South Africa historically do not play much soccer/football.
  * Whites are less than 10% of the population.
  * On a per-capita basis, the biggest soccer players are the Zulus. They are also the biggest tribe too.
  
  Combine those facts and you would not expect to see more than one white face in the South African soccer team. White managers and coaches are more common though.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:33am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Yeah but. When there was a dearth of non white skinned players in the SA rugby and cricket teams, thunder and lightning was promised to be wrecked upon the sports governing bodies by those in power should the numbers not swiftly move in the appropriate direction.
    
    Seems like there’s no interest when it comes to soccer football. Which is odd, since you would have thought that the SA government would be interested in ensuring that the football team of the self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation walked the talk when it comes to the biggest stage on earth.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:55am
  - kowtow
    
    ‘White managers and coaches are more common though.’
    
    Typical plantation stuff ……..
    
    Where’s Minto to sort ’em out.
    
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    June 12, 2026 11:49am
- MCōs
  
  The England and France teams are about 50% white
  
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  June 12, 2026 12:05pm
- NothingLeft
  
  Black Africans are the most athletically gifted races on the planet. They are also the most genetically distant from Europeans – about 100,000 years for Sub Saharan, 200,000 for middle Africa and 300,000 for southern (Khoisan aka bushmen). Everyone else in the world has common ancestry about 60k years back.
  
  It’s not really surprising that there are significant differences in innate ability given that genetic time gap, and it is why they dominate most sports that don’t have high financial entry barriers.
  
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  June 12, 2026 1:48pm
  - Paulus
    
    Where does the Hottentot fit in in Southern Africa ?
    
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    June 12, 2026 3:03pm
Scott

This was discussed yesterday but I think it bears further reflection. From Don Brash’s newsletter:

“Human rights advocate Alex Penk recently uncovered that the Army issued General Orders forcing a specific “cosmological framework” onto our troops. The orders dictate that our soldiers must understand and align themselves with traditional Māori deities like Tūmatauenga (the god of war) and Rongo (the god of peace).
To climb the ranks, operational leaders are expected to recite karakia (prayers) from memory, and strategic leaders must actively “champion” this worldview.
Worse still, these orders aren’t optional. They are backed by Section 39(b) of the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971. In theory, a soldier who refuses to comply with these ‘spiritual’ orders on the grounds of a conflict with their own personal faith or conscience faces a charge of disobedience—an offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.”

From a Christian point of view or an agnostic point of view this is totally unacceptable. A Christian doesn’t believe in Maori cosmology nor does an agnostic. Indeed there would be a very small sample of NZers that would follow ancient pagan Maori beliefs.
This is virtue signalling by the army elites. It should be thrown out.

Why is it happening? As I’ve often said, the people will have a religion. If it’s not Christianity it will be something else. In this case Maori paganism that most Maori moved on from 150 years ago.
I notice that Air NZ has gone done the same route with Maori cosmology featured prominently in their promotional material. The police have gone down this route. Our local police station was “gifted” a statue of the Maori god of war that is at the entrance to the station.

I’ll argue for Christianity over paganism. The chaplains to pray like they used to do at army events. Those who may be horrified at my suggestion can now see the alternative. Not Jesus but the Maori god of war. That’s not an upgrade.
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June 12, 2026 8:17am
- artemisia
  
  How about the NZ military give a nod to the bicultural by equal weight to – for example – The Battle Hymn of the Republic. “Mine eyes have seen the glory …”
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:45am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  “From a Christian point of view or an agnostic point of view this is totally unacceptable. ”
  
  As they say, there are no atheists in the foxholes. There is most certainly a spiritual aspect to morale in combat – not just when you’re being shot at, but also handling the moral/ethical complexities of killing/destroying others.
  
  If that spiritual device that people need is the Christian God or some other being like a Roman god or whatever, fine. I don’t really care what they use to get what they need. Those soldiers need it.
  
  But it needs to be a strong God. One that is going to have enough authority/power to support troops during times of extreme stress, guilt etc.
  
  Clearly an omnipotent Christian God is up to the job and has served countless armies for centuries.
  
  The Roman god of war, Mars, had an extremely complex mythology wrapped around him. You can understand that stirring the hearts of soldiers.
  
  I am certainly no scholar of Maori lore, but it is not apparent to me that the mythology around Tūmatauenga, or any Maori mythology for that matter, is rich enough or robust enough to give anyone spiritual support.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:51am
  - Ra Henare
    
    It’s interesting that the KB “believers” keep referring to the Christian God (Good)as being omnipotent and Maori Gods(Bad).
    
    Keep in mind that 52% ish and rising of the NZ population does not believe in any sort of god.
    And only 30% follow Christianity.
    
    In my experience that 30% is inflated by those (like my dear old Mum) who said she lived by Christian principles but was in fact not a practicing Christian.
    
    So to all those who are here and have a belief in a Christian God, are you as guilty of pushing religion upon us… as civil servants insisting on a Karakia??
    
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    June 12, 2026 3:19pm
    - Scott
      
      Ra, you make some good points. But I would say you can’t make someone a Christian, you can’t force it on someone. So we don’t insist that people say a prayer before a meeting for example.
      
      Having said that I would also argue that Christianity is the spiritual foundation of western civilisation. It is the religion of NZ and the West and should hold a special place.
      
      And lastly I will repeat. The people will have a religion. It may be Maori pagan beliefs. It may be Islam. It may be other woke ideologies like global warming that in itself is something of a religion. It may be Maori wonderfulness.
      
      I will always argue for the Christian faith. Without it western civilisation is not possible IMHO.
      
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      June 12, 2026 6:56pm
    - Jack5
      
      I know of other good people like Ra’s Mum who fit the description of “cultural Christians”.
      
      They believe — or just fit — New Testament Christianity as a code for living, but don’t believe in the whole supernatural bundle.
      
      Perhaps there are similar “cultural Buddhists.” Perhaps similar cultural Muslims, too, like those who follow Sufism.
      
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      June 12, 2026 8:31pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      In Melbourne I see daily completely selfish and inconsiderate [blank]wit drivers driving around with crucifixes dangling from the rear vision mirror or with a sticker on the back indicating “I’m a Christian”. Does make one wonder. I suspect they are the type that are garden variety jerks during the week and on best behavior for a an hour or two at the service on Sunday.
      
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      June 13, 2026 3:59pm
- Quail
  
  Scott,
  Will join you in those comments.
  Human life needs real principles to live by. Religion has supplied those for thousands of years. Christianity has supplied these principles for most of that time. As have other religions.
  Christianity has been the basis of strong empires for much of that time. And many of the newer religions have used and changed those principles. As evidenced by Muslins and Mormons among others.
  The religion of cannibals though is of no interest or use to anyone!
  We ask our politicians to be principled, but too many are so concerned with their re -election they adopt the Groucho Marx approach .” If you don’t like my principles I have others”
  Like it or not ,the principles we live by , without which anarchy would reign , have been created by religions , not politicians!
  
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  June 12, 2026 11:51am
  - Paulus
    
    What Cannibals -it did not happen pre and around 1840 either – a Maori myth.
    
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    June 12, 2026 3:06pm
    - Scott
      
      Paulus, not sure of your point? Are you really saying that Maori cannibalism was a myth? Surely not?
      
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      June 12, 2026 3:44pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Lots of people want limits on bottom trawling, according to a poll.

I’m willing to stake a plate of shark & tatties that the question was not framed “Would you support a ban on bottom trawling if it resulted in a doubling in the price of fish?”

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/597963/new-poll-suggests-90-percent-want-limits-on-bottom-trawling
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June 12, 2026 8:23am
- Cassandra
  
  Bottom trawling is very destructive. There’s got to be a better way to.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:20am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    It comes down to what species you’re trying to catch.
    
    Tuna etc can be taken off the surface. Deep water species can only be taken from the bottom. Line fishing for bottom-trawled species is generally ineffective.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:54am
    - Cassandra
      
      Then the fishing industry needs to devise a way of trawling down there which does not damage the sea bed.
      
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      June 12, 2026 12:06pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  It is a stupid poll. I could not answer without knowing more about the costs and benefits of the practice.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:51am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  It’s an emotional poll.
  
  You only need feelz – not facts.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:54am
artemisia

Domestic retailers win bigger share as online spending jumps 10% in 2025 – Herald 11 Jun

Most notable as a sign of what’s coming – the online category for grocery shopping is up from 10% in 2024 to 22% in 2025. That’s a sea change, with fuel price impacts still to come. More huge supermarket distribution centres surely coming, along with additional automation becoming increasingly more cost effective than low wage jobs.

My Food Bag, previously reported as the third largest in the sector, is using the Pick-to-Light order fulfilment system. Increased productivity, including all but eliminating time consuming order mistakes.
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June 12, 2026 8:25am
- Burtland
  
  surprised robot warehouses with unbranded products delivered with or without a recipe to your door arent already here – cost should be much lower – only one super packer is needed very few people no car parks no shops no branded packaging – lower cost and no free dose of the flu
  
  advertising would be web only and not on packaging
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:51am
pdm

BY – have you emailed Simeon Brown?

He is one of the more competent Ministers from the National Party component of the Coalition and is therefore quite likely to do something about this stupidity.
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June 12, 2026 8:26am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  We should all email Simeon Brown. He needs to know people are aware of this, and are not happy about it.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:07am
- RoboRob
  
  Certainly more competent BUT he is still beholden to cabinet and the boss. Both of which could care less about this stuff. It is far to politically toxic for them to touch even if they wanted to.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:01am
  - Sane Voice
    
    Couldn’t care less!
    
    The phrase is ‘couldn’t care less’.
    
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    June 12, 2026 12:43pm
- leoj
  
  Brown may be the best of a pathetic bunch but when he does something positive Luxon moves him to a different portfolio.
  
  Luxon is the problem. Vote him and the weak, woke Nats out and vote ACT.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:09am
  - RoboRob
    
    I actually rate Erica Stanford very highly too, so maybe not the best.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:35am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      Yes, she is the only cabinet minister pushing back hard against the ideological capture of our institutions. And standing firm against an avalanche of criticism from the usual suspects.
      
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      June 12, 2026 11:02am
Swifty

A lesson for some Maori from an American Indian:

https://x.com/lawton_braves/status/2065030729688555743?s=46

And one I agree with.
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June 12, 2026 8:30am
artemisia

Several media headlines of the NZ 50 sliding this week refer to US strikes on Iran. Haven’t seen similar headlines about the impact of NZ stocks going ex dividend, as is usual this time of year.
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June 12, 2026 8:36am
- MCōs
  
  The NZ50 has gone up about 1.5% over the week
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:06am
  - artemisia
    
    That’s because you cherry picked the lowest point. In any case my point was to do with media framing headlines.
    
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    June 12, 2026 9:22am
    - MCōs
      
      That was from the first thing Monday until last thing Thursday
      I don’t know what’s been in the papers. Maybe you could link to an example
      
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      June 12, 2026 10:49am
      - artemisia
        
        You had the choice to start with the Open rather than a very obvious and very brief outlier. It would have provided a more accurate picture of the first 4 days of this week.
        
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        June 12, 2026 11:28am
- R
  
  Artemisia……accurate facts only spoil an activists reporting. Hence no reference to ‘ex dividend market activity’; assuming that the reporters understands the term!
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:34am
  - RoboRob
    
    Nobody factors in dividends when describing market performance.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:37am
imalwaysright

Here’s a report about a frail old woman being assaulted and robbed by a person of North African extraction in her Church foyer in France.

The Church are upset that the video has been released….says it all really.

https://youtu.be/BXIWh38GfAw?si=vJQtkojbKAlIpCle
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June 12, 2026 8:54am
Cassandra

Herald headline: “Former commissioners defend Labour police candidate Rakesh Naidoo’s integrity, question political motives and fear for ‘damaged’ police reputation.”

I assumed the Herald had interviewed some POLICE Commissioners. Turns out it was two lefty Race Relations fellows. Talk about misleading! Or even dishonest?
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June 12, 2026 9:16am
- Swifty
  
  Highly misleading to the casual reader.
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:36am
- G152
  
  Didn’t they just get rid of one bent commissioner???????????
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:36am
- Yvette
  
  Labour police candidate Rakesh Naidoo may have been one of the finest possible Election acquisitions but by his own actions and timing of them, accompanied by Chris Hipkins’ blundering handling of a totally avoidable shambles, they have trashed opportunities and are now trying to clean-up a mess they have themselves created.
  
  After the PR damage of Jevon McSkimming, politicising the Police hierarchy [“Former commissioners defend Labour police candidate Rakesh Naidoo’s integrity, question political motives and fear for ‘damaged’ police reputation”] is one of the least desirable things to happen.
  
  Well undone, Chris Hipkins!
  
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  June 12, 2026 9:52am
  - RoboRob
    
    Hipkins is working very hard to make sure Luxon gets re-elected 🙂
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:02am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Hipkins knew what Little knew back in the day. They both figured it out.
    
    Leader of the opposition is the best possible role in parliament. It is the absolute sweet spot.
    
    The LOP gets paid the same as a cabinet minister and has zero responsibility.$316k + all the perks.
    
    Sure, you could shoot for the PM position and get $520k, but look at all the effort! And chances are you’ll get overshadowed (like Little) and only be a Cabinet minister.
    
    Cabinet minister sucks. Same pay as Leader of Opposition, but all that bloody effort!
    
    Now why fuck that up by getting elected?
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:11am
- Paulus
  
  I am assuning that Naidoo will go a long way in the Labour Party towards the top as he is actually a likeable and intelligent person, unlike so many others there, suddenly badly led, but with the support of Indian Community now and in the future will do very well.
  
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  June 12, 2026 11:05am
  - kowtow
    
    Not that smart if he’s secretly negotiating with Labour all the while breaking police integrity rules and then being sprung.( imho).
    
    This is what he’ll always be remembered for .
    
    Even though the media will do their best to memory hole it.
    
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    June 12, 2026 11:53am
cmm (semi-retired edition)

I see that former Race Relations Commissioners have thrown their weight in to support Rakesh Naidoo.

Naidoo is/was filling the role of dealing with the police relationships with “ethnic communities” and was, no doubt selected because, being an Indian, he is “ethnic”.

I might be completely swimming against the tide here, but I think that if we do insist on having a a person in this role then it should be a straight white man. It should not be a female and it should not be an ethnic person.

Here’s why:

Ethnic communities are, mostly, low trust communities. They trust their own very close enclave, trust white people and have extremely low trust of others.

For example, speak to a Sikh taxi driver and his order of trust will be something like:
* Other Sikhs
* White people
* Hindus
* Chinese/Koreans etc
* Indian Muslims
* Other Muslims
* Maori/Polynesians

Speak with a Shia Muslim and you will get something like:
* Other Shia
* Whites
* Chinese/Koreans/etc
* Sunni Muslims
* Hindus/Sikhs…
* Maori/PI

So while Whites are no ethnicity’s first choice, they are almost all ethnicity’s second choice – so by far the most trusted overall.

And straight and male because otherwise you get zero credibility in many ethnic enclaves.

In a position that is all about building trust it is a no-brainer. Any enthic outreach (if we’re going to have one at all) should be a straight white bloke.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/former-commissioners-defend-labour-police-candidate-rakesh-naidoos-integrity-question-political-motives-and-fear-for-damaged-police-reputation/HQOXOV6LH5BPVFUS6R75GXDUEY/
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June 12, 2026 9:36am
wisteria

It was Rakesh Naidoo’s own fault that he has put in question his integrity over selection for a place on Labour’s list. He has been in the Police for a long time to hold the position he used to hold. What a foolish thing for him to do and he did it to himself. Chris Hipkins has been described as a “nasty piece of work” many times but in this instance he has encouraged some very unwise behaviour in a potential MP. It doesn’t sound like a wise move.
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June 12, 2026 9:48am
- Blog-aholic
  
  It proves two things, Naidoo is prepared to hide the truth and Hipkins is not fit to be in any form of governance role.
  A person prepared to hide truth will do it as a default and a person who encourages others to behave this way is compromised as a ‘managerial’ leader.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:40am
cmm (semi-retired edition)

A gang member is demanding his gang patch back because it is taonga.

As I understand it, “taonga” is cultural treasure. Specifically Maori cultural treasure.

It is very hard to see how anyone can claim that Mongrel Mob insignia is part of Maori culture or a treasure.

I am pretty sure that there were no Harleys on Kupe’s waka.

If I was a Maori I would be extremely annoyed that these criminals are hiding behind Maori culture. Maori leaders should be calling these arseholes out and should stop giving them cover.

Maori would do a lot better my considering Mongrel Mob as a pollution that erodes Mauri (life force). I am sure Maori must have some protocols for shunning and banishment. Why not apply those?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360991350/taonga-or-not-law-clear-high-court-bans-return-seized-gang-patches
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June 12, 2026 9:53am
- leoj
  
  Build more prisons.
  Put the bad bastards away.
  Make the country safer for the rest of us.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:11am
  - Handyman
    
    With prisons full, there will be an increase in Home Detention numbers. Here is an option to get them off the couch.
    Assign a large empty paddock as a community garden for a food bank.
    Pick up HD crims each day, give them a shovel and start digging. (This is a combination of HD and PD.)
    Some HD crims could be on night time security, overseen by prison staff.
    
    Benefits:
    There are no labour saving machines available as there is no need to be efficient. It is not a job, so pay rates do not apply. It is for a community food bank so they are volunteers, just like the people at the food bank.
    It is vital the funding and management is via the prison service and not via foodbank or iwi trusts.
    There are no rehabilitation or cultural aims. It is just part of the penalty for their crimes.
    
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    June 12, 2026 10:57am
  - MCōs
    
    The trouble with putting people in prison is they’re going to come out again after making some wonderful new friends while they’re in there.
    
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    June 12, 2026 11:15am
    - mandk
      
      So, what is the solution?
      
      People who are sentenced to imprisonment have either committed numerous crimes or, or a serious crime, or both.
      
      Do we just allow them to remain at liberty?
      
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      June 12, 2026 11:23am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      Separate prisons for gangs vs regular crims, as Bukele did.
      
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      June 12, 2026 11:36am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      No MCos, you need to make it so unpleasant that they don’t want to come back.
      
      Do you really think that the only way gang members can find eachother is in prison? DO you really think they don’t have phones, email and such?
      
      Look at El Salvadore. I bet there are gang members there re-thinking their life choices.
      Murder rate is down from 106 per 100k to 1.9/100k.
      
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      June 12, 2026 11:37am
      - MCōs
        
        A guy I’m acquainted with by way of family connections in Thailand has been in and out of prison over there several times for possession of meth.
        Unpleasant prison conditions have been no deterrent to him.
        
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        June 12, 2026 12:31pm
      - Simon
        
        The El Savador situation sounds awesome. But you ask AI what’s happening, and it’s actually dam scary. Way too high of a chance the govt/police chuck you in jail to rot when you weren’t the ‘target audience’ gangs/bad-guys. If the left got hold of the powers being used there, all us commenting here would be in the slammer and never seen again.
        
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        June 12, 2026 12:50pm
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        MCos, there are always going to be individual anecdotes here and there. No doubt even El Salvadore has some recidivism.
        No doubt an occasional Mongrel Mob member cleans up his act.
        
        Let’s look at statistics – not cherry pick anecdotes.
        
        Bottom line is that you need to look at prison through the eyes of the person being imprisoned. Make it bad enough and you will significantly reduce recidivism. Not to zero, but considerably reduced.
        
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        June 12, 2026 2:02pm
    - kowtow
      
      Death penalty for serious crime.
      
      They can have all the friends they like in the great cosmological afterlife.
      
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      June 12, 2026 12:19pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      MCōs: “The trouble with putting people in prison is they’re going to come out again after making some wonderful new friends while they’re in there”
      
      That’s why you model your prisons on something like the Singapore system. As opposed to the medieval bedlam style model NZ still holds onto.
      
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      June 13, 2026 4:04pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Ironically if we put people away longer we’d probably need less prisons in the long run.
    
    NZ has stupid recidivism rates: around 60% are reconvicted within 2 years and 40% are imprisoned again.
    
    If prisons were a real deterrent we’d get less repeat customers and need less prisons to house them.
    
    So the solution is conceptually simple. Let’s stop building taxpayer funded gang pads. Make prisons harsh places to be. Build them out of containers using prison labour. Run them cheaply and put as much of the resources as possible into rehabilitation (where possible) rather than catering.
    
    The only real problem is getting it past the luvvies.
    
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    June 12, 2026 11:25am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Once the gang patch is confiscated (because they have broken the law and worn in public), the patch should be destroyed so there is no possibility to having it returned. ie. destroying the patch becomes part of the punishment.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:31am
- imalwaysright
  
  Cmm
  You are certainly on form this morning.
  
  Yes, the Maori community should be policing these scumbags who are using their community’s culture as an excuse to take the piss.
  
  That they aren’t indicates that they are okay with their culture to be abused and devalued.
  
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  June 12, 2026 10:39am
- Raphael
  
  I vaguely recall 10-15 years back, when bans on gang patches were first being raised, some of the usual suspects(I think at least 1 was a Green MP, the memory is hazy) banging on about how gangs effectively were giving “unconnected” Maori a connection and a gang should be treated like an iwi.
  
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  June 12, 2026 12:16pm
  - David Garrett
    
    Raphael: that was certainly the late Tariana Turia’s view…according to “Auntie Tari”, gangs were/are just another form of whanau.
    
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    June 12, 2026 1:30pm
    - Raphael
      
      It could well be her comments I am recalling, as I said, it was a fair time back, and the memory is more than a bit hazy.
      I do recall thinking at the time that if we have MP’s pushing that mindset, how are we going to combat gangs effectively? And the fact that an MP was expressing it when there is such violence within a gang made me worried about what is acceptable within the whanau.
      
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      June 12, 2026 2:09pm
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      There’s a timely implicit rebuke to those who try to convince us the Maori Party were a much more responsible bunch back when John Key got into bed with them.
      
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      June 12, 2026 3:09pm
MCōs

Here’s an interesting story about a Japanese tourist appearing in court in Queenstown after assaulting his wife in a camping ground.
The leave the country tomorrow and continue their holiday in Oz.
Good luck with immigration over there.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/japanese-tourist-sentenced-after-assaulting-wife-at-queenstown-campground/KEDR3F4VLVFMLFLV247TEEDT4I/
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June 12, 2026 11:08am
RichardF

I’ve watched the Makerfield Moment several times and started following Frank Wright’s substack. His comment about the crisis in competency strikes a nerve today after reading Benedict’s post about the Sterilisation Technician job at whanganui hospital.

Compare it to the same job at a hospital in NSW and it looks like we’re going to lose a lot of health workers to Australia where they don’t have this cultural nonsense rammed down their throats.

What future do we have when you need be an expert in maoridom to get a job in health, or the public service in general. Who wants to work in that environment? We’re doomed to rapidly slide into mediocrity by basing our entire public service around the cultural ‘needs’ of 15% of the population. How many Maori actually care about this? Or is it the dogooder woke PMC’s and their white guilt driving it?
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June 12, 2026 11:09am
crash

As a newbie poster to ‘General Debate’, my apologies if this has been worked to deat in the past. I was recently doing some detaild research on how the Treaty of Waitangi came abount and was astonished to find the treaty was never ratified by any Euopean authority – not the NSW Government (Hobsons boss) not the British Government on behalf of the Crown and not any subsequent Parliament. Hobson had no binding authority on behalf of the Crown to make any agreement with Maori. The Treaty was entirely his personal invention in order to deliver on a directive to get Maori to cede sovereignty in order to be granted British citizenship. Initially NZ was an extension of the New South Wales colony.

No doubt some poster will find this interesting, but the Treaty was entirely of his own making and never approved in any way before being put forward for signing by Maori on Feb 6th 1840.
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June 12, 2026 1:01pm
Damocles11

‘Iranian media affiliated with the country’s military has poked fun at US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal.
The Tasnim news agency, which is closely associated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), pointed out that Trump has declared an imminent deal 38 times in the previous two months, AFP reported.
“Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded the same as his previous messaging,” Tasnim said.’
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June 12, 2026 1:02pm
Swifty

A visitor to Ireland receives a free lesson in Irish social etiquette, specifically the correct way to perform ablutions:

https://x.com/NewsTigo/status/2065063921460092999/video/1?s=46

NSFW.
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June 12, 2026 1:25pm
MCōs

A daughter of the Thai king has just died after being in a coma for three years.
She was far and away the most accomplished of the king’s children and most likely to succeed him.
He has a number of sons, all but one of whom are persona non grata and the other is whispered to be autistic. To suggest it openly risks a long stretch in prison, which would be why this article by long time BBC journalist Jonathon Head doesn’t go there.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzzndx780o
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June 12, 2026 1:39pm
Yvette

The latest political poll says – Te Pāti Māori drops 1 point to 3.1 percent …

But in the pie chart of seats [1], Maori Party has three seats – but with less than 5 percent vote they should not be in Parliament, as aren’t TOP, on 3.2 percent, a percentage greater than Pati Maori.
How was that determined and where are the other three seats? – as I understand there must be seven Maori Seats

[1] https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/pollnztu_june2026
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June 12, 2026 3:04pm
- Steve Todd
  
  @Yvette @ 3:04PM
  
  The poll shows Te Pāti Māori with 3.1% of the Party Vote, which equates to a proportional entitlement of four seats (as shown in the pie chart), of which between one and four would be Electorate seats. “The calculation assumes there are no overhang seats for National and Te Pāti Māori.”[1]
  
  If Te Pāti Māori win five, six, or seven Electorate seats, then, based on this poll, the overhang would be one, two, or three seats, respectively (assuming National did not win more than 40 electorates – currently 44).
  
  [1] See https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2025/11/a_change_to_curias_assumptions_on_electorate_seats.html for an explanation.
  
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  June 12, 2026 4:30pm
  - Yvette
    
    I am disappointed my understanding is still stuck by –
    For the minor parties, TOP is on 3.2% (+0.4 points)
    … while Te Pāti Māori is down 1.0 point to 3.1%.
    – but Te Pati Maori is shown elsewhere as having 4 seats and TOP of course: none.
    
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    June 12, 2026 5:49pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Yes, polls assume Te Pāti Māori will win at least one Electorate seat (because they currently have six), whereas Opportunity (no longer called TOP) is, as yet, unproven.
      
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      June 12, 2026 5:56pm
Jack5

The Swiss on Sunday vote in a referendum whether to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million. At present it is over nine million.

The Wall Street Journal reports the initiative would force the federal government to restrict family reunifications for resident immigrants and new asylum claims the moment the population hits 9.5 million. If it touches the 10 million ceiling, the country would be constitutionally required to tear up its free-movement agreement with the European Union.

In Switzerland, the large number of EU immigrants has likely held down Swiss salaries and weighed on productivity growth, the newspaper reports Bertschi Group Executive Chairman Hans-Jörg Bertschi as saying. His logistics company has around 3,000 employees. “The pressure to improve productivity in industries and the service sectors has disappeared.”

The newspaper says anti-immigration sentiment that has simmered for years across Europe is boiling over, aggravated by the soaring costs, overburdened social-welfare systems and lacklustrer economic prospects.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is steaming ahead with its McClay Free Trade Deal with India. This will open NZ borders to young people from India, and encourage NZ to invest billions in India.
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June 12, 2026 3:32pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360991806/flashy-car-jewellery-and-3m-property-father-and-son-behind-lucrative-stolen-car-ring
They just can’t help it, can they ?
More corruption imported from the east.
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June 12, 2026 3:52pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Send them back
  
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  June 12, 2026 6:25pm
Swifty

Thieving scumbags, after stripping them of their assets I hope deportation is an option.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360991806/flashy-car-jewellery-and-3m-property-father-and-son-behind-lucrative-stolen-car-ring

And I wish the rellies who threatened the journalist could be booted out too – what sort of mindset does that reveal? Just clannish, thuggish failures to integrate.

I note that The Press previously reported their lawyer, in pleading his client’s case, that the family are refugees from Afghanistan – nice of them to pay us back in this way.

Once again New Zealanders are harmed by criminal immigrants just so that our politicians can burnish their haloes.
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June 12, 2026 3:54pm
Gravelroad

Went to a town hall type meeting today to listen to Prime Minister Luxon.
Lots of (mainly older) people there – many of whom couldn’t use the microphone efficiently and who had to editorialise before getting round to an actual question.
Mr Luxon seems like a nice man.
Had to wonder why he bothered coming really.
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June 12, 2026 3:59pm
MCōs

Back in the good old days of 1966 FIFA had a bit more of a spine
The UK was considered not giving the North Korea players entry visas. Do that said FIFA and we’ll relocate the World Cup
https://www.history.co.uk/article/north-korea-the-secret-heroes-of-the-1966-world-cup#
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June 12, 2026 4:10pm

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