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June 18, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 18 June 2026

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General Debate

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Cassandra

Minister Shane Jones went to a mining conference. So he should. I’ve attended lots of carefully selected conferences. Some are good, some not so and lots of people attending just treat them as recreation. If Jones got value then this was a good idea.

Cabinet approved a budget of $32,000 which included premium economy flights but omitted any provision for transport while in Canada. He flew business and hired a limo for three days. Total bill $30.000 over budget.

Totally unnecessary ammo for the Opposition.
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June 18, 2026 8:01am
- Im Right
  
  Yup Cassandra, 5 mths out from an election, NZ in a cost of living crisis (as per the left) and Jones totally oblivious to the optics of ‘Having a limo on standby 24/7’ – as per this mornings headlines.
  Foot/bullet/gun with this one, Winnie will be on the defensive.
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:19am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Can you provide a link?
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:20am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    I found it. A couple of questions.. It says two people went. Who was the second person?
    
    The hotel bill of more than $13,000 seems astronomical. This is not London or Paris.
    
    Shane Jones may have been affronted by having only premium economy airfares approved. So he just went ahead and booked business fares.
    
    Then the limo.
    
    Yes a terrible look. Sure the conference may have been worthwhile but it is not as demanding as a busy trip with back to back meetings with international governments. The fact that it was a somewhat cushy trip likely explains the approval of premium economy airfares rather than business.
    
    The limo was insane. He could have taken an Uber to the conference venue
    
    I agree that there is a good case for him to be required to repay the excess costs.
    
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    June 18, 2026 8:37am
    - RoboRob
      
      Shane has history around hotel bills. Perhaps it is hard to find a hotel with porn now.
      
      What an idiot. Limos, business class and 13k accommodation…. as G the Giant would say FFS. Once Labour, always Labour.
      
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      June 18, 2026 8:46am
      - Jack5
        
        Shane Jones $30,000 over budget for an international mining conference! Goodness me.
        
        But trivial compared with Indiana McClay ministerial excursion trips to India for parties of journo’s and business organisers. This was as McClay whipped up support for the appalling FTA in which India totally outmanoeuvred NZ.
        
        Shane Jones is doing a great job advocating for NZ mining.
        
        As a voter I don’t like big personal spending of taxpayer money, but the Shane Jones case isn’t unique.
        
        Perhaps he should follow former ACT leader Rodney Hide in apologising over trips to Hawaii and America with a friend, and just move on:
        
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3042812/
        
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        June 18, 2026 11:51am
    - pdm
      
      ND – Todd McClay could do between 3 and 5 trips to Canada for that cost.
      
      What is more Todd McClay would have got better results too.
      
      Oceana Gold and Rua Gold people could both have been met in New Zealand.
      
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      June 18, 2026 9:02am
- pdm
  
  Seems to me he should be personally refunding most, if not all, of the extra $30 odd thousand dollars he over spent.
  
  The labour blood still flows through his body.
  
  To sum the extra spending in a word – GRANDSTANDING.
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:26am
  - Northshoredoc
    
    They will never change.
    
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3796622/Shane-Jones-Minister-of-Pornography
    
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    June 18, 2026 8:30am
- kowtow
  
  Did that include the in room video “entertainments”.
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:46am
  - Dougal10
    
    For that much money the in room entertainment should be live.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:08am
    - kowtow
      
      Oh come on, he’s a politician and they’ve shown how they can spend up bigly and get so very little “bang for buck”………
      
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      June 18, 2026 1:06pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  We can’t put it all on Jones.
  We should also place some of this squarely on the shoulders of those who let him loose.
  
  How is it that someone is given a budget and is allowed to blow double? The rules should be in place before the trip – not after: go over budget and it comes out of your own personal pocket.
  
  It seems that budgeting is a skill that few have. If you have a budget of $32k then that is not an instruction to blow $32k or more. You should only be planning to spend $25k, because incidentals will always arise.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:30am
- MCōs
  
  Jones is his own and NZ 1st worst enemy
  Everyone who’s ever traveled anywhere knows this is gross overspending by a gross individual
  Kiwis detest extravagance of this kind paid for by the taxpayer
  Jones’s position already attracts a salary of $327k.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:30am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    “Jones is his own … worst enemy”
    
    The evidence says otherwise.
    
    He has been face first in the trough for years and keeps going. He is unlikely to see any real negative repercussions from this.
    
    As for NZF’s worst enemy, I doubt that too. The sort of people NZF appeal to are not going to be upset by this. They are bent out of shape by the “5% issue” that NZF finds and focuses up (eg. Covid).
    
    Yes, the bulk of NZers will balk at this, but those are not the people NZF are targeting. They are just targeting a small % of voters, then playing the kingmaker position as they do so expertly.
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:01am
    - wsk12345
      
      I think you’re wrong. I know a heap of NZF voters (I am not one), all of whom will be really pissed off about this. The issue for them is lack of alternatives to NZF. There is no other party close to being like it unlike all the others which are similar to at least one other party.
      
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      June 18, 2026 10:10am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        ” all of whom will be really pissed off about this”
        
        Sure, but as you say you’re unlikely to change your vote so clearly not pissed off enough.
        
        So my point stands. No negative consequences.
        
        Peters is saying Jones did nothing wrong and that $65k of expenditure is perfectly in line with attending such a conference.
        
        Quite likely he is right. They spend like anything:
        https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/mps-travel-expenses-show-james-shaw-spent-most-on-international-travel/
        
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        June 18, 2026 11:23am
      - Flossie
        
        I didn’t read that as wsk unlikely to change their vote. What is written is I know NZ First voters (I’m not one of them) who….. Meaning wsk is not a NZ First voter.
        
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        June 18, 2026 1:28pm
- Damocles11
  
  Free-wheeling big spending and enjoyment of baubles is baked into the DNA of NZ First. There’s the Provincial Slush Fund for starters – a vehicle for dispensing patronage – and Winnie always covets the Minister of Foreign Affairs role where he can travel the world in style enjoying the finer things in life. Jones is 2IC to the party supremo and expects his share of the spoils.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:46am
- rouppe
  
  Surely the answer to that is for the person paying the bill – us, supposedly represented by the public servant – to decline any amount over the budgeted $30,000.
  
  Certainly when I traveled for work I needed to supply receipts for everything, and each one had the opportunity to be declined.
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:41am
  - Paulus
    
    Do se know he made the bookings or did his PA which is normal in business.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:24am
    - rouppe
      
      Who cares?
      
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      June 18, 2026 1:13pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  The corrupt face of commercial fisheries.
  The guy isn’t there to serve the public he’s there to take from us. Just look at his fisheries bill, that’s the real theft of public resource.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:01am
  - Graeme Hall
    
    Whenever I hear him talk I hear “an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea.” (ref: William McAdoo)
    
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    June 18, 2026 5:42pm
- Ra Henare
  
  Some facts are always handy. Certainly, before unleashing emotional tirades.
  
  1. Airfares Original Plan ($15,600): Budgeted for two international Premium Economy return airfares.
  Actual Cost ($41,116.90): The actual claimed amount blew out after the flights were upgraded to Business Class.
  NOTE: Ministers usually travel business class. Its a bloody long flight, and Jones would have been expected to hit the ground running.
  I lived in Toronto for 3 years. NZ/Toronto flights are no joke…
  So I sympathise with the upgrade.
  
  2. Ground Transportation & Private
  LimoOriginal Plan ($500): Budgeted for basic ground transportation and taxis.
  Actual Cost ($4,655.18): This spiked due to a private luxury limousine being kept on 24-hour standby for three days in Toronto.
  From my time in Toronto. It’s bloody miserable there in March (27 inches of snow) and getting a taxi is no mean feat! You need to wait inside until the taxi arrives. Which could be some time… Think back-to-back appointments over the 3 days.
  
  3. Accommodation Original Plan ($10,000): Budgeted for 4 nights of accommodation for two people. Actual Cost (~$13,500):
  Keep in mind these are not just 2 bedrooms for Shane & his staff member. Approx. $600 NZD a night (March is high season for conferences in downtown Toronto.)
  It would include meeting rooms and associated services. (approx. $2500 NZD a session).
  
  It appears to me that the staff member who drew up the budget is the problem….
  Flying premium economy for 20? hours. Then start work the same day!!!! Meeting a number of high profile people where you would have to have your wits about you.
  
  I am not defending Shane Jones; I’ve never met him.
  But having lived in Toronto and done many long-distance business trips in the past.
  Would have fired the dumbass who drew up this budget.
  
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  June 18, 2026 4:18pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

I see the Wellington Town Hall is about to reopen, following its estimated $330m rebuild.

One hopes that the ceremony consists of no more than a red ribbon, a pair of scissors and a short speech.

No Maori name appears to have been grifted, which is a small mercy.
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June 18, 2026 8:01am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  No such luck. Wellington Town Hall is now Te Whare Whakarauika.
  
  “Drax Project and friends to ignite grand opening of Te Whare Whakarauika”
  
  https://wellington.govt.nz/news-and-events/news-and-information/our-wellington/2026/06/opening-act-announced-for-town-hall
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:05am
  - pdm
    
    `ignite grand opening’
    
    Are they going to burn it down?
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:35am
    - Biscuit
      
      I must get NeverMindTheBollocks to reserve me a possy on his The Terrace bike rack.
      Quick getaway for me after the arsoning!
      
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      June 18, 2026 10:49am
  - NothingLeft
    
    Te wharepakunui
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:38am
  - mandk
    
    Another stupid Māori name that doesn’t reflect the function.
    
    I entered “Te Whare Whakarauika” into four different Te Reo to English translation websites, and I got four different results:
    Shelter
    Greenhouse
    Recreation Centre
    Magic House.
    
    I think it should be called “Te Utu Nui” (the big price, or cost overrun).
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:46am
  - Paulus
    
    Surely it should be Wharepaku being good Maori for what it appears to be.
    
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    June 18, 2026 2:08pm
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      Do you mean “wharepuku”?
      
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      June 18, 2026 3:27pm
- RoboRob
  
  Will this one have a $600,000 web site too?
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:10am
  - rouppe
    
    Maybe, but it WILL have a further “administrative annex” coding many more millions not included in the $330+ million stated
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:46am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Just think what 330 million in capital funding could have bought for Wellington. I have no idea whether a new venue was needed but I am sure that say 100 million could have produced something nice on a greenfield site. That would have left 200 plus million for things like water.
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:18am
  - rouppe
    
    The Huddart Parker building, built of similar materials at a similar time was earthquake strengthened for about $10 million over a decade ago, which is when this debacle started
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:48am
  - mandk
    
    I don’t believe it was needed.
    
    The Venues Wellington website lists the St James Theatre, the Michael Fowler Centre, the Opera House, the TSB Arena, and Shed 6 as venues for concerts.
    
    There is also Te Papa and Takina.
    
    All those venues could also be used for other types of events.
    
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    June 18, 2026 3:08pm
    - rouppe
      
      The MFC I believe is at risk from ever changing NBS rules.
      
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      June 18, 2026 3:39pm
- imalwaysright
  
  “No Maori name appears to have been grifted, which is a small mercy.”
  
  Well put. Grifted.
  
  I wonder if this one is on an annual lease plan, as is becoming the standard practice?
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:38am
- Paulus
  
  Don’t you believe it – wait and see the painted wailers wouldn’t miss such as this showing their superiority.
  After all they invented writing and books.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:29am
- Im Right
  
  I’ve always been curious NMTB…when some building or new road opens there is always a slew of maori groups doing a prayer or dancing (haka?)…are they paid at all, are they there just for the morning tea and saussie rolls, or is it a financial transaction…a paid performance?
  If paid, does that mean every international function or opening of new building…hell, even the opening of an envelope, the local maori groups all apply to see who will be picked and get the cash?
  I feel it’s like the mafia in some respects….’wait, what, you don’t want a maori opening prayer and dancing…really?, such a nice building too, would be a shame if anything happened to it’
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:46pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Koha
    
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    June 18, 2026 7:16pm
Southern Raider

Cornwall Park posted earlier this week saying they regularly receive questions about why it’s called One Tree Hill when there is no one tree on the hill.

They explained who originally planted some Monterey Pines and that over decades only one tree flourished and the rest died.

They then went on to say that tree was removed for H&S reasons as it was damaged and dying. And that the Iwi had planted several natives and the strongest will be left in place once they grow a bit more.

What major fact did the Trust leave out and that they were getting savaged over in the post comments?

Of course they ended up turning the comments off so the question couldn’t be raised.
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June 18, 2026 8:11am
- RoboRob
  
  Typical revisionist history that is taught in NZ. Keep all the good points of history and skip anything that might tarnish the story.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:12am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    As the saying goes, ‘the winner writes the history’.
    
    That tells us a lot about the state of this country.
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:39am
- septic skeptic
  
  Once they thin out to the strongest it might be time for long overdue pakeha protest 😆
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:16am
  - Paulus
    
    Pakeha Protest – Can’t that’s Racist !
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:32am
- Jethrod
  
  If you want to get anal about it….
  Te Puke e tū ana te rākau kotahi is a direct translation. (According to that august American body Google AI)
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:30am
  - Paulus
    
    No collectively it is named the Wharepaku of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
    
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    June 18, 2026 2:12pm
- MCōs
  
  Why is Auckland called Auckland or Mt Eden called Mt Eden?
  Named after the same bloke who had nothing to do with either or NZ. In fact he might not have even heard of the place having died in 1849 of a fit
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:44am
  - Southern Raider
    
    What does any of that have to do with a radical racist protester who vandalised a very popular landmark for the city with a chainsaw?
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:09am
  - kowtow
    
    Rubbish.
    
    Auckland was Hobson’s patron , so would have had a huge interest and no doubt pride in having things named after him.
    
    Imperialists loved that sort of improvement , progress , advancement and all ’round wonderfulness that colonialism brought to the world in general and colonies in particular.
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:54am
- imalwaysright
  
  Rename it Once was One Tree Hill….
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:40am
  - pdm
    
    Still is to a hell of a lot of New Zealanders I would think.
    
    Maori and Pakeha.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:24am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Thanks pdm, I was taking the piss out of the once were warriors ‘culture’.
      
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      June 18, 2026 1:25pm
- Ra Henare
  
  I guess the chainsawing by a Maori was not culturally acceptable to the Trustee.
  
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  June 18, 2026 4:21pm
Gussy

Re the Admiral Grigorovich incident in the English Channel. ..
Yesterday’s post drew well-considered, though mostly antithetical responses. I consider myself better informed.
However, the crew of the yacht have made a statement at odds with the MOD’s.

Russians have a proverb ‘He lies like an eyewitness’. The crew may be lying, or simply mistaken. Or maybe the Russians took the opportunity to swing their dicks.

‘British couple describe moment Russian warship fired warning shots near them | BBC News’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63tCF3ZncvE

@4 minutes
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June 18, 2026 8:19am
- Paul
  
  The Telegraph interview with them is absolutely wonderful:
  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/17/pensioners-shot-at-russian-warship-mod-shutting-story-down/
  
  Best quote:
  Once they were out of danger, his wife phoned the Coastguard “because it’s a hazard of navigation, people shooting at you in the Channel. It’s unusual”.
  
  And the couple will have a shower and continue with their holiday….
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:59am
- imalwaysright
  
  Maybe the UK should contract the Russians to stop the illegal immigrants coming from France…
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:17am
- G152
  
  Propaganda following.
  Russian announcing its presence when there was a RN vessel present
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:42am
- Cassandra
  
  I believe the couple. Credible, unlike everyone else involved.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:46am
- NothingLeft
  
  UK govt has whole departments tasked with lying their arses off to protect the stories that govt politicians want the public to believe.
  
  Been damning stuff in recent days about a UK govt propaganda unit ‘RICU’ that bullies families of victims of violent terrorist attacks into mouthing anodyne platitudes about multiculturalism and how most immigrants are lovely people who hardly ever stab, explode, rape or chop any bodies heads off, and uses paid actors to manufacture ‘spontaneous’ calming and forgiveness public love-ins ‘don’t look back in anger’ sing alongs etc.
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:48am
- Master Mariner
  
  There is too many holes in there version to make any sense. Sensationalised Nonsense.
  
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  June 18, 2026 12:44pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Shell Lane (The Terrace) bike rack report:

At 8.29am, just the two bikes today.

A cool, calm, dry morning in the Capital, ideal for cycling.

In answer to questions, offhand the bikes that appear are a mixed bunch, from dungas to family cargo bikes. Without paying attention to detail, it looks like there’s one hardy regular, which is gone by evening.

In terms of e-bikes, there are one or two. However, in addition to the locking mechanism, there is the monitoring camera that added to the cost of the bike rack and which presumably deters thieves and miscreants.
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June 18, 2026 8:30am
- wsk12345
  
  What do u mean the locking mechanism? Do you not even have to carry a lock anymore?
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:18am
Gravelroad

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360994312/turkish-state-broadcaster-drops-veteran-world-cup-commentator
Feel a bit sorry for this Football commentator- from Turkey.
I am not a great follower of football, so when the NZvIran World Cup game started I thought the players in the white strip were the All Whites too.
It was a confusing look. All Whites playing in black.
And the Iranians in white.
Yes, I understand it was their alternate gear, but maybe not black next time?
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June 18, 2026 8:37am
- mandk
  
  I was confused, too.
  
  At one stage early in the game, I was shouting for a bloke in white to shoot when it looked like he had a good opportunity.
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:52am
Ghost

so we now have the full draft document of the Iran USA peace deal.

Article
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June 18, 2026 9:19am
- Ghost
  
  IRan is moving
  
  Iran’s first observed crude oil exports in two months have moved past the US blockade outside the Strait of Hormuz in a sign that Iran is wasting no time to take advantage of the tentative deal with the United States.
  
  Article
  
  Perhaps a reason for the deal
  
  President Trump’s comment at the tail end of the G7 press conference about rapidly depleting crude reserves may have been the clearest admission yet of what is really driving the urgent push for an MoU with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
  
  “We run out of reserves in about four weeks,” Trump told reporters
  
  Article
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:24am
  - Inandout
    
    Ghost, we all know the US has huge areas of untapped oil but from a negotiating point of view it shows urgency. This is why he stated today that if the deal fails he will start bombing Iran big time. Sign here Mullahs….or else.
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:33am
    - Ghost
      
      I would expect that what is happening at Cushing’s is a major worry for the president
      
      Customers desperate for oil are draining so much of it from giant storage tanks in Oklahoma that producers are having trouble keeping up.
      
      Inventories at Cushing, the largest commercial crude oil storage hub in the U.S., have fallen for eight weeks in a row and now stand at about 20 million barrels, according to government data published June 17. That’s the equivalent of less than two days of American crude production, and a level that most traders consider an operational minimum.
      
      Article
      
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      June 18, 2026 9:39am
      - All_on_Red
        
        US Crude Oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Stocks is at a current level of 340.25M Barrels, down from 349.19M last week and down from 402.06M one year ago. This is a change of -2.56% from last week and -15.37% from one year ago.
        https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_ending_stocks_of_crude_oil_in_the_strategic_petroleum_reserve
        
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        June 18, 2026 12:28pm
    - Paulus
      
      Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the World I understand.
      
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      June 18, 2026 2:13pm
      - rangitoto
        
        Reserves in this context is referring to oil and oil products that are stored in tanks. Not reserves in the ground.
        
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        June 18, 2026 3:08pm
      - Colville
        
        Rangitoto.
        In the case of USA they are in the ground, in huge salt caverns. But yes its not in oil wells.
        
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        June 18, 2026 9:39pm
  - RoboRob
    
    ‘We run out of reserves in about four weeks’ doesn’t sound likely, but a stupid thing to say.
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:33am
  - kowtow
    
    Democracies , in wars of choice always face various dangers/disadvantages that the authoritarian dictator doesn’t.
    
    In this case the US faced domestic discontent coming up to elections. Trump bails and leaves Israel and the Iranian people hanging out to dry as it were.
    
    Another example was how Britain was forced out of the Egypt adventure ( by the US)in the Suez Crisis due to the run on sterling .
    
    The more things change the more they stay the same.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:12am
    - Ghost
      
      It is a really shit deal. The only winner in this deal is iran.
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:21am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Yes, I get the impression Trump was on his knees when he signed it.
        
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        June 18, 2026 11:26am
      - All_on_Red
        
        Sure, whats happened to Iran sure looks like winning
        Hahahahahahahahahaha
        You guys are hilarious
        
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        June 18, 2026 12:32pm
    - Ghost
      
      And you are deluded red. Come on, tell us who the winner is in this deal? Is it israel? Is it the Iranian people who desperately wanted the usa to help overthrow the regime? Is it the neighboring countries who now know supporting the usa was a mistake?
      
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      June 18, 2026 12:39pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Yep
        
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        June 18, 2026 1:30pm
- RoboRob
  
  There can be a lot of interpretation around this. Some stuff is dependant on progress on nuke removal, other stuff is immediate. I am surprised about #11, that the US would release frozen or restricted funds immediately. This seems premature BUT I guess the devil is in the detail, how large are these funds? The $300b support fund is described as coming from gulf partners, that remains to be seen.
  
  Most of the deal was as expected, Trump publicly stated the goal was removing nukes and that once done he would like to see sanctions listed and Iran become a trading partner. The deal looks weak because all the lollies are listed but the nuke part remains ‘nebulous’. A poor outcome from that perspective.
  
  Remember most of this stuff, except 11, immediately reverts to the status qup if an agreement on nukes is not made.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:30am
  - Ghost
    
    The $300 billion apparently already has commitment from the USA private sector to invest
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:18am
    - RoboRob
      
      Ah, Investment is quite a different beast 🙂
      
      The US (and other powers) are very good at making their private industry wealthy with these settlements.
      
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      June 18, 2026 1:09pm
- septic skeptic
  
  Looks a lot like total surrender by the US. Although at least the Iranians agreed to keep the fatwah against developing a nuclear bomb. So I guess in that regard one could view this as the best negotiated peace deal ever in the whole history of the universe, much better than the Obama deal. Certainly only one president in the universe could have achieved such a majestic f….
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:30am
- Damocles11
  
  The Mullahs will be licking their lips over the $300 billion in reparations, which will augment their revenues from oil sales and tolls on transit of the Strait of Hormuz.
  
  ‘The agreement also says Iran and Oman will “define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz” in discussion with other Gulf countries, potentially ceding power over the crucial waterway to two states which have countenanced imposing tolls.’
  
  Total capitulation and an ignominious defeat for the USA.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:52am
  - virtualmark
    
    The $300 billion in “reparations”, or “rebuilding fund”, or whatever you want to call it, is the Gulf states buying security from Iran. It’s basically protection money.
    
    They thought they had America in their pocket, and so America would guarantee their security.
    
    Then they watched Netanyahu drive America into a war with Iran that they had no say in, where Bibi set the agenda, got what he wanted, and the Gulf states paid the price in terms of Hormuz, direct missile and drone attacks, plummeting tourism, loss of reputation etc etc.
    
    America’s promises of providing security turned out to be unreliable, so now the Gulf states are switching to buying off the direct threat.
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:39am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Bibi is all for bombing Iran some more, but will be constrained by the fact that US aerial refuelling capacity was a vital part of what they did before ….
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:21am
      - virtualmark
        
        I think the attacks on Iran will go down as a massive strategic blunder by Israel.
        
        The Gaza situation had already cost Israel its international support – apart from Trump.
        
        Now Bibi’s torched the relationship with Trump too. He’d made big claims that only he, Bibi, could get Trump to act on Israel’s behalf. And now that’s gone too.
        
        Israel is more diplomatically alone and isolated now than at any time since 1948.
        
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        June 18, 2026 11:35am
- Paulus
  
  Remember Iran is correctly IR Iran
  IR being Islamic Republic of Iran.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:35am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Sort of makes you contemplate the accuracy of
    The UNITED States of America.
    
    Not sure the USA is as united as it was before Mr. Trump’s latest adventures.
    
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    June 18, 2026 4:31pm
    - Colville
      
      Like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is democratic?
      
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      June 18, 2026 9:48pm
- Handyman
  
  The war has shown Iran, perversely, that it doesn’t actually need nuclear weapons to achieve its aims.
  1. It can shut the strait any time it likes.
  2. It can intimidate all gulf states to leave the Abraham accords.
  3. Due to precision bombing, only military assets need replacing. $300 billion in reparations will quickly replace drone factories and build so many drones to flood any defences by Israel or the US navy. (the US congress has denied the pentagon the money to build the same even after exhausting its missile stocks in Iran).
  3. It can happily develop missiles to reach the US.
  
  and 4. It can restart building nuclear bombs once the next Democrat president is elected.
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:24pm
  - NothingLeft
    
    Gulf States will all tool up heavily with drones to prevent a repeat. Iran will be annihilated if they try anything in a couple of years.
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:39pm
septic skeptic

I guess it comes down to professionalism and being 100% sure before you start the broadcast. Rookie mistake.
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June 18, 2026 9:19am
Scooter

I’m just wondering why Immigration NZ would mislead the govt over the biometrics project. In what way would they benefit from that, unless…contracts were paid to friends/family/whanau. The serious fraud office needs to look where 30mill went.
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June 18, 2026 9:31am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  NZ is not the first country to implement a biometrics project, so it should be relatively straightforward.
  
  Unless, of course, Aotearoa has special requirements to meet “Treaty obligations” etc.
  
  I’ll place my standard bet of 50 cents and a servo pie that some of the $30M+ went to buying kibble for the taniwha.
  
  That said, hey, if a plain website can be drawn out to cost $600k, I can easily see that something a bit more complex can blow out to $30M+.
  
  Who cares, it is only taxpayers’ money.
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:52am
- MCōs
  
  A conference here a conference there . . . .
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:57am
- imalwaysright
  
  Maybe it was used as a goto source of funds for the awkward and hard to justify bills such as entertainment, Maori mana money, trips etc.
  
  Sort of like a Ministry petty cash drawer?
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:25am
  - Paulus
    
    Is it the only Department found out so far ?
    Bet there are some Shredders working overtime already.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:38am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yes Paulus, the panic in Wellington will be viral.
      
      I wonder how many WONT be working from home this week….?
      
      Right click Delete
      Right click Delete
      …..
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:50am
cmm (semi-retired edition)

I read Alwyn’s long article on the “solution” to education inn NZ.

I really think these types of nanny knows best solutions are doomed to failure. Not because of intent, but because of the adage: you can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

It is all very easy to create a Ministry for Parenting which gives out parenting advice. However people already have all the information. Getting them to act is quite another.

The only way to stop mothers from drinking before and during pregnancy would be something like forced contraception but that is clearly a step too far.

It is also broken to view schools (and universities) as the only way to achieve education. These days you can get any education you want through the internet. Want to learn Japanese? Want to learn maths? Want to learn anything…

All it takes, is showing up. Exactly the same problem as we have with schools.

Maori/PI education performance will not improve through more resources and more negotiation. They will only improve when people get off their arses and make use of the amazing resources in front of them.

It is common to hear people (of all races and all levels in society) say something like “I wish I could have X”. What they really mean is they wish they could have X with zero effort. They don’t want to put in the effort required to achieve X.

I even get that with people who are reasonably successful engineers. Someone recently said something like “I wish I had your knowledge about X”. To which I said sure, you can have that knowledge. It took me 20 years of working an average of 55 hours a week and reading an average of an hour a day.” No, what he really meant was he wanted the knowledge for free – without cutting into his time gaming and mountain biking.

At that point it is just pink-pony wishing. Nothing useful will come of it.

The same is true of government programme thinking – unless people are prepared to put in the effort, outcomes won’t change.
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June 18, 2026 9:47am
- Jethrod
  
  When you say X, is that X(formerly twitter) or X a metaphor meaning something in general?
  
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  June 18, 2026 9:55am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    X is a stand in for “something in general”. I have no association with Twitter/X, am not a member and have no desire to learn anything about how it functions.
    
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    June 18, 2026 10:10am
- imalwaysright
  
  “All it takes, is showing up. Exactly the same problem as we have with schools.”
  
  Here’s an example. Parent due in court on truancy charges is …..truant.
  
  Parent prosecuted for truancy fails to show at court hearing | RNZ https://share.google/N4OE1Cg2WTk8fNP1S
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:15am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    I am gobsmacked. Finally some repercussions for truancy. That is hopefully just the start of a trend.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:04am
- Ian Boag
  
  working an average of 55 hours a week and reading an average of an hour a day.
  
  Can’t have had much time left for home schooling the kinder ?
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:15am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    I know you’re trying to troll, but I will pretend you are genuinely curious.
    
    There’s still lots of time left and my wife was taking care of most of the homeschooling.
    
    Once you get to a certain stage (around 12 or so), homeschooling does not need huge amounts of time. Responsible kids (as ours are) can pretty much work diligently on their own with short amounts of monitoring and oversight.
    
    Remember that if you are at school in a class with 30 other kids you’re lucky to get 3 minutes of attention from the teacher each day. Homeschoolers get way more than that before breakfast!
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:02am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Well put. That was unnecessary.
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:04am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Genuinely curious …. can’t have left a lot of time for riotous living 🙂
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:10am
      - cmm (semi-retired edition)
        
        You would be correct. We did not choose riotous living.
        
        Life is a bunch of choices (well mostly any way). You can’t have it all.
        
        If you choose riotous living and playing XBox 8 hours a day over career advancement then don’t whine when your XBox skills improve but your employability/income does not.
        
        We also chose to be a single income family. We chose to do home schooling. Every choice means giving something up to get what you want.
        
        I am not advocating that others should choose what we chose. Make your own choices depending on what you value.
        
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        June 18, 2026 11:39am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  As an example of what I mean by looking for alternative education solutions, I wanted to learn more about computer microarchitecture (ie. the design of the internal of computer chips).
  
  UC’s computer engineering faculty doesn’t cover that, so I’m stuffed!
  
  Well not really, there are online courses at universities throughout USA and Europe. So far I’ve done one Masters level course presented jointly by a Spanish and US university and another by an Austrian university.
  
  The same applies to just about everything.
  
  Sure, it is challenging to do some hand-on stuff (eg. chemistry or biology) in this way, but most subjects can be approached like this. Heck, there are still some options there. For example my kids studied NCEA Chemsitry through NZ Correspondence school and all the lab equipment and chemicals were supplied.
  
  All it requires is getting off your arse and engaging.
  That is the biggest factor that is lacking.
  Maybe we need a Miinistry of Get off Your Arse?
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:55am
artemisia

NZ joins with the US to vote against gig economy worker rights at global ILO meeting
(paywalled)

Oh no, how terrible, voting against worker rights.// New Zealand does have the ‘gateway test’ for contractor v permie. Assume that is the reason for the NZ vote against.

After the Uber driver court case here, seems many want to join the permie club. If they succeed will they actually be offered one of those jobs with ‘enhanced protection’?

Will a Labour led government remove the ‘gateway test’?

https://www.thepress.co.nz/business/361026835/nz-joins-us-vote-against-gig-economy-worker-rights-global-ilo-meeting
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June 18, 2026 9:47am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  I contacted the Minister about this and the response was terrible – basically saying that the employee would be able to decide to waive the requirements of the legislation.
  
  Complete bollocks. You can’t have a contract that one party is bound but the other party is free to ignore.
  
  That legislation, as written, prevents me from acting as a contractor as I have since 2008. No real skin off my nose as I head into semi-retirement and most of my customers are overseas.
  
  But the law, as written has two massive downsides:
  1) It removes employment flexibility for skilled people. This makes it harder for tech companies to find the skills they need – not a good thing in a market where those skills are increasingly hard to find and engage.
  2) It removes employment flexibility at the other end too – making it harder for unemployed young people to find gig work and get their foot in the door.
  
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  June 18, 2026 10:09am
  - Drone
    
    I’m not sure cmm that gig work is getting your foot in the door of the organization you are gigging for.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:09am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      No, I do gig work because I don’t want to be employed by one organisation. I like my freedom to be able to work for different companies and use my time for other things if need be.
      
      However the way the law is written makes gig work all but impossible.
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:31am
  - Ian Boag
    
    making it harder for unemployed young people to find gig work and get their foot in the door
    
    Sounds good – although hard (for me) to see typical job development path for a young uber driver …. ?
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:14am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      Possibly, but the law does not just apply to Uber drivers.
      It applies to everyone from computer programmers to labourers.
      
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      June 18, 2026 11:29am
    - artemisia
      
      It’s not just Uber drivers. Our family tradie firm does not hire permies. But we do take on people as self employed contractors if there is work available. Some on benefit, some their first job.
      
      They don’t need skills, just willingness to work hard and learn. One went on to an apprenticeship and is now an LBP. One now has his own painting business and works for us time to time. Current one is on benefit, has issues and works a half day most weeks within his allowed income for WINZ.
      
      Plenty of small enterprises really don’t need the hassles of systems for one or two employees. Simpler to pay on invoice. Happens a lot.
      
      Also so much easier to stop engaging them if they don’t work out. Happens.
      
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      June 18, 2026 12:39pm
Raphael

When the government announced their move along orders for rough sleepers there was a LOT of anguish about it being cruel.

I had made the comment that we absolutely need the move along orders for the safety of the public and for businesses (do you really want to go into a business where the entrance smells like pee). But, that we also need to come up with a solution to help people.

It looks like the Government is doing exactly that. I bet it will get little to no coverage from the media and the opposition will ignore it.
https://www.facebook.com/SamUffindellTauranga/posts/pfbid02rPVZTn3eBDNLioqsQ4jHvbmGoUffPNE9hcUccthifxY6Vn4jL16TWGUGXogMJ2hpl

Great news for our city today with the Government announcing Tauranga as one of six new locations to receive specialised support for rough sleepers, part of a newly announced 14.54 million dollar funding package from Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. A dedicated 2.7 million dollars of this investment is being directed to regional areas to ensure support is tailored to specific local needs, helping expand immediate outreach and connect vulnerable individuals and family with essential services, healthcare, and stable accommodation.
This announcement builds directly on the local insights shared back in March, when I hosted Associate Minister Tama Potaka in Tauranga to meet face-to-face with our dedicated local homeless network providers. During that visit, our community leaders highlighted the unique challenges and unmet needs our city faces, and it is fantastic to see the Government listening and delivering targeted funding to strengthen the critical work being done on our front lines by organisations who work tirelessly for the Tauranga community. 💙
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June 18, 2026 10:20am
- kowtow
  
  ‘there was a LOT of anguish about it being cruel.’
  
  Only from the wokesters .
  
  As to helping ; they should have never shut the asylums.That’s where most of these “rough sleepers” ( another woke euphemism) belong.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:17am
  - imalwaysright
    
    I think they belong at home with their family, but the family unit that we used to know is being transformed into nothing more than a common abode for people who are physically related.
    
    The only commonality of interest in some families is their collective grief when the WiFi drops out.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:35am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Many times the family patience has been tried beyond endurance by the rough sleeper.
      
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      June 18, 2026 7:30pm
  - Raphael
    
    Yes, but the wokesters are a loud and unfortunately not insignificant voting bloc.
    
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    June 18, 2026 11:59am
BeaB

Simeon Brown is on the button. with theMedical Council. Waikato Hospital makes several promises to patients. ‘Reasonable’ care and skill come well down the list and is the only one that suggests any degree of service. It comes after respect and dignity, consent, freedom from discrimination, harassment and exploitation and the right to support. These are all important of course although I question their need to explore my ‘values’.
Surely medical treatment should come first. Dignity, consent etc are general human rights that any institution should provide. A hospital has one function only – to try to make us better.
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June 18, 2026 10:48am
- Paulus
  
  Only Maori Medicine comes first remember – particularly in the Waikato.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:42am
- imalwaysright
  
  This sort of regime drives genuinely ill people to searching the internet for answers to their ailments.
  
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  June 18, 2026 11:57am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I’ve had a couple of minor surgeries over the last 2 years….and on each occasion I’ve been asked
  “do you want your body tissues returned to you?”
  
  I swear I’m going to throw up next time someone thinks I’d have any desire to have toxic/useless cells/tissues/organs returned.
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:55pm
mogg

Heavily indebted Oxfordshire County Council are taking action in the High Court in an attempt to ban England fans from flying the Union Jack or St George’s Cross on roadsides during the World Cup, because they are ‘divisive and some minorities might be offended’. Meanwhile the Pro Pal flags fly on.
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June 18, 2026 10:55am
- lifesgood
  
  Lets face it, the radical muslims have won. They’ve got so many running scared everywhere. Such pathetic, lily livered people on that council, they should be ashamed of themselves. I hope people fly hundreds and hundreds of Union Jacks and St George Cross flags in defiance.
  
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  June 18, 2026 12:43pm
  - mogg
    
    You will find that most of the council will be Left White Wing activists who want to cause division in any way possible, to them it’s a long march revolution. In the article there were pictures of placards saying ban the Far Right, they want to imply that the Union Jack is a symbol of the Far Right and Fascism.
    
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    June 18, 2026 2:50pm
- Tom Hunter
  
  They need to move to Dallas.
  
  Dallas, USA, has been covered in St. Georges flags for the World Cup. Unlike in Britain, they won’t be removed!
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:57pm
imalwaysright

Tv1, this morning, had a story on their news about a dog being killed by another dog at a dog walking park.

They spent longer on this than they did on the last time an infant was tortured and murdered.
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June 18, 2026 12:00pm
- Ian Boag
  
  When was that last “undercovered” episode you are referring to …. ?
  
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  June 18, 2026 8:57pm
Yvette

Winston Peters wants prison terms for Immigration officials

What punishment then for those who deliberately with-held He Puapua from Winston’s attention, or will he forgive them all and go with Labour after the Election when he decides what to do with all those votes people have given him to do with what he will?
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June 18, 2026 12:18pm
Jack5

Surely this is too terrible to be true …

Italy is investigating a complaint that rich people were flown to Sarajevo, Bosnia, in the 1990s for “sniper safaris”.

There they would pay to shoot at civilians in the besieged city.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/13/italy-probes-sarajevo-sniper-safaris-what-were-they-who-was-involved
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June 18, 2026 12:19pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Yes, heard about that. Its a mirror of what happened during the fall of the Roman Empire.
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:11pm
- Philview
  
  It is very disturbing. They paid more to shoot children. Hopefully these people will face justice.
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:14pm
- rouppe
  
  It’s entirely plausable.
  
  Watch the move “Hostel” if you can find it. Fiction, but if the movie industry can think up levels of depravity, it can probably happen.
  
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  June 18, 2026 1:25pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

We really are fortunate to live in the times we do.

While scratching through the family tree, I came across Augustus and Jane Goodridge (my great, great grandparents). During the 1870s and 1880s they had either 11 or 12 children (it is a bit unclear which) of which 6 or 7 died in infancy and another in WW1.

Only a third of their children outlived them. One, my grandfather, then committed suicide a couple of years later – but they didn’t live to see that.

And they were perhaps the richest family in town. Imagine what it must have been like for poor people with less access to doctors and good warm housing, food eetc.

We truly live in an age when everyone has it easy.
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June 18, 2026 12:37pm
- Raphael
  
  As has often been pointed out, in Western countries, especially more than 90% of us live at what would have been an unattainable level to even the wealthiest of people in centuries past.
  
  Want a food that is from the other side of the world, just go to the shop. A means of travelling hundred of kilometres in a few hours, just hop in the car. Want to be entertained, press play on that video.
  
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  June 18, 2026 2:16pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Even the non-Western countries have seen massive improvements.
    
    Child mortality rates in Africa – which account for over 80% of the world’s under-5 deaths – are only around 6%. Sure, that’s far worse than the 0.5% of the West, but it is far better than the 20% it was in 1980 or 35% it was in 1950.
    
    But there’s been no significant adjustment in breeding….
    
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    June 18, 2026 3:48pm
- Paulus
  
  Rememberthe following which realistically applies to New Zealand today _
  “Never had it so good” is a famous political phrase in the UK, originally coined by Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1957. It described the post-war economic boom in Britain, where rising wages and mass consumerism led to unprecedented living standards.
  Think back New Zealand to say the 1960s as to what life was at that time and how it has changed since.
  
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  June 18, 2026 2:32pm
  - zulumonster
    
    Or in the words of one of NZ’s great philosophers .. “We don’t know how lucky we are, Trev, we don’t know how propitious the circumstances …”
    RIP John Clarke
    
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    June 18, 2026 3:27pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  By some accounts the richest man in history (pre Musk), Nathan Rothschild died a lingering death in 1836 of an abscess that would today be cured by an antibiotic costing cents.
  
  http://www.ft.com/content/2d1bb8ca-6412-11e4-bac8-00144feabdc0
  
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  June 18, 2026 7:36pm
Raphael

Have any of our esteemed Media organisations commented on the Rape Gangs report that has been released?

If you haven’t read it, fair warning, it is horrific: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6810978a41bbc42489eafa81/t/6a314bb1151e511944bd4421/1781615537601/The+Rape+Gang+Inquiry+Report.pdf
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June 18, 2026 1:44pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  OK, the 250,000 victims is terrible.
  
  But, IMHO, what is far worse is the complacency of “the system” that has allowed this to carry on unimpeded.
  
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  June 18, 2026 3:37pm
  - Beach Haven expat
    
    I covered very closely the Oxford grooming scandal case in 2014 and 15 – all enabled by the county council (the same one referred to above worried about flags) and some atrocious policing – and we were told then: lessons learned, never again….
    
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    June 19, 2026 12:16am
rouppe

Labour reintroducing their free prescription policy. Saying it will save people “up to” $100 a year.

The party says the $100-a-year saving is based on someone getting 20 new $5 prescriptions filled in a year.

That’s a new prescription every 18 days. Who does that?

More likely it’s someone getting 3 or 4 or 5 medications filled every few months. But…
1. National has already extended prescription life from 3 months to 12 months, so a lot of that “repeat” expense has gone.
2. Anyone with 3 or more prescriptions can use Zoom pharmacy, which doesn’t charge a fee for more than 3 medications.

So, just like last time, their numbers are really suspect.
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June 18, 2026 1:51pm
- greybeard
  
  But they have to use the word “FREE” in all of their “policies” in order to appeal to their base followers: suspect numbers don’t matter.
  
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  June 18, 2026 3:00pm
  - MCōs
    
    Do you think the pharmacies should have a sign on the medicine boxes pointing out that your taxes are paying for the drugs.
    
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    June 18, 2026 5:32pm
- MCōs
  
  I am prescribed six essential items every three months plus some panadol and anti inflammatory medication. That would be $160pa if I was under sixty five.
  I don’t know, but I’d have thought that’s way above average.
  I’d be more interested if someone helped out with crippling dental expenses. When I walk around I see a lot of people with missing teeth
  
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  June 18, 2026 5:08pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Prescriptions are already free for children, pensioners and community card holders. And, there’s a $100 annual cap on prescription charges for everyone else.
  
  What is the point of this policy?
  
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  June 18, 2026 7:44pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Or to put it another way – it’s pretty harmless and doesn’t amount to diddly-poo. A few million I suppose – lots of pharmacies (led by CW) don’t collect it anyway.
    
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    June 18, 2026 8:04pm
  - R
    
    FREE Political publicity from an activist MSM
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:23pm
  - Ghost
    
    subsidised medicines are free
    
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    June 18, 2026 9:26pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Willis is claiming Shane Jones, and his office, “made errors” in his travel blow out.

Errors? What errors?

Surely it can’t be errors if this was deliberate spending.

How is it possible for someone to have a limousine on 24 hour standby for 3 days and not have it cross their mind that, hey, maybe this is costing a chunk and isn’t needed.

No this was no “error”. It was flagrant, deliberate, spending.
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June 18, 2026 3:55pm
- Ra Henare
  
  The errors were made by the dumbass who created the budget.
  See my comment on the breakdown.
  
  For a start. It is GOVERNMENT policy.
  Ignored by the twerp who drew up the budget,
  “Ministerss are expected to flybusiness classs on international flights to ensure they are rested and ready to work immediately upon arrival.” ”
  
  But of course the MSM are too busy doing a hit job to do some research, then blame the Minister, for adhering to government policy.
  
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  June 19, 2026 4:42am
- Ra Henare
  
  As I previously pointed out. You are too busy emoting to apply rational thinking.
  I lived in Toronto for 3 winters.
  March is still the back end of winter; 28 inches of snow is normal.
  Getting a taxi on demand is not easy!!!
  
  With a busy schedule (read his report to Cabinet)
  with tight timeframes. It would not be IMHO a bad decision to have an on-call limo to ensure he got to meetings on time.
  
  The question nobody is asking is. Will his Trip give NZ a better than $70,000 return in more exports.
  
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  June 19, 2026 4:52am
greybeard

Hypocrisy at its worst: claim to represent “NZ First” but ensure that everything you do is for “Me First”.
Same as Winston.
Let’s face it, it is in the blood. Why be surprised ?
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June 18, 2026 6:59pm

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