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July 20, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 20 July 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

There’s an activist banging on about changing our sexual consent laws. Silence would no longer be considered consent, and must be given every time. Paul Goldsmith says the burden of proof won’t shift.

All very well, but if it’s not written down or recorded on a phone then it remains a case of he said/ she said. In which case, what’s the point? A law that’s unworkable in practice is not worth having on the books.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361008148/national-promises-change-consent-laws-if-re-elected-labour-says-lets-get-it-done-now
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July 20, 2026 8:08am
- KKNZ2025
  
  There’s sure to be an app opportunity for that?
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:14am
- rouppe
  
  And if you record it on a phone, usually while in the “throes of passion”, then you’re at risk of making an intimate recording
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:30am
  - R
    
    an ‘intimate recording of a potential intimate moment’. Should make for great listening in COURT.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:36am
    - Quail
      
      A complete waste of political legislation time.
      Every New Zealander knows “No means No”
      There is no need to amplify that
      
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      July 20, 2026 12:56pm
      - R
        
        Quail…..you are forgetting about the Litigation Lawyers in our society. NO can be construed as YES in the right circumstances. Depends upon the Judge!
        
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        July 20, 2026 1:39pm
  - KKNZ2025
    
    ROFL
    “yes…yes…Yes…Yes…YES…YES…!!!
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:53am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  Effing stupid. Do I need that “yes” in writing? And if Goldsmith says it won’t change the burden of proof he’s either dim or an unreliable witness. This “consent” thing is core progressive moral theology – men are a problem, doncha know?
  
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  July 20, 2026 12:27pm
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    I choose dim.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:38pm
- waikatosinger
  
  So if nothing is said by either party, have they raped each other?
  
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  July 20, 2026 5:55pm
  - Ghost
    
    No, because it includes a persons actions
    
    “Unlike other jurisdictions we normally compare ourselves with, New Zealand law does not define what consent is. Rather, the Crimes Act provides a non-exhaustive list of what consent is not,” Goldsmith said.
    
    “If re-elected, National will change the law to specify that consent must be actively given, meaning there must be a ‘yes’ rather than the absence of a ‘no.’ That ‘yes’ can be communicated by words or actions.”
    
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    July 20, 2026 6:25pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  Sure there is a problem when definite clear no signals are ignored by a small number of men.
  
  A lot of women expect men “to take the lead” in sexual relations and many other things relationship-wise, despite claiming to support (equity?) feminism. Being less passive, and being quite clear about what is wanted (or not) without being an overly strident passion-killing pain in the neck would help also in this area.
  
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  July 20, 2026 9:23pm
artemisia

Searching in the Dark

For anyone interested in Official Information requests, or frustrated by them, this substack from national treasure A Halfling is well worth reading.

There is a lot of detail, but basically it is this – what was unremarkable in 2005 is an admission of institutional failure in 2026. With examples of the ‘Official Obfuscation Act’ in action.

Specifically, from the three agencies asked –

DPMC – Strip away the branding and it is Ctrl-F with a due-date column.
Ministry of Justice – not a search methodology. It is a scavenger hunt with a statutory deadline.
DIA – most staff in the very teams that service official correspondence lack the premium licence needed to search the Department’s own content management system

And The private sector answered volume with intelligence because it had no choice. Government has answered it with spreadsheets, extensions and refusals — because, so far, nobody has made it choose otherwise.

I think this is within Minister Goldsmith’s portfolio …..

https://djhdcj.substack.com/p/searching-in-the-dark
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July 20, 2026 8:11am
David Garrett

Half time in the cup final…I won’t get to see the end of the game…Court at 10 am Tongan time..9 am down there…Oh and a very pleasant 21C this am
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July 20, 2026 8:13am
- lifesgood
  
  Spain deserve to win. They have dominated so far but, of course anything could happen.
  
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  July 20, 2026 8:29am
- rouppe
  
  I hope Spain win.
  
  Argentina have been playing pretty dirty and taking bigger dives.
  
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  July 20, 2026 8:46am
  - David Garrett
    
    Rouppe: Spain had more possession in the first half…I’m in court now…would you kindly let me know when someone scores
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:01am
    - rouppe
      
      Argentina red card (Fernandez) with 2 minutes to go.
      
      Full time. 0-0
      
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      July 20, 2026 9:12am
    - rouppe
      
      105ʼ Spain 1-0
      
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      July 20, 2026 9:43am
    - rouppe
      
      End of extra time Spain 1-0
      
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      July 20, 2026 10:02am
      - David Garrett
        
        Rouppe: thanks mate…I managed to catch the second d spell of extra time
        
        (And my client was acquitted…good start to the week)
        
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        July 20, 2026 10:32am
      - rouppe
        
        You’re welcome.
        
        I’m not much of a football fan, I only watched it because I was home and it was free to air.
        
        Argentina weren’t the only ones but the theatrics of diving really is a blight on the game. It should have been 2-0 really.
        
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        July 20, 2026 10:50am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Speaking of changing consent laws, it’s past time that consent to being in a relationship for shared property purposes was formalised. The current situation where one is deemed via ill-defined signs to be in a relationship should never have been accepted by the law. As commented yesterday, the notion that two years becomes the basis for a property grab is ridiculous. No mandatory legal advice required, in sharp contrast to other property matters such as buying a house or sharemarket investing? It’s a nonsense.

It’s pretty simple, really. Either two people consent that they’re in a relationship, or they’re not. If one says yes and the other says no then the answer is no – in which case, the disappointed party can take a hike, or not, as they choose.
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July 20, 2026 8:14am
- KKNZ2025
  
  2 years? Relationship property act states 3
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:18am
  - David Garrett
    
    KK: I have no idea why, but there has always been a widespread belief that the relevant period is two years when it has always been three.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:34am
- R
  
  If one says ‘yes’ and the other says ‘no’; then you have stalemate. This situation is preventable socially, it’s called MARRIAGE
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:27am
  - Taieri
    
    Consent is applicable to the marriage as well.
    
    (Clicked “report” by mistake – sorry.)
    
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    July 20, 2026 12:31pm
    - R
      
      Marriage is all about consent, and respect, responsibility support. Simply really.
      
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      July 20, 2026 4:00pm
Ipanema69

I listened to a radio clip of Winston talk about a campaign promise to restart oil and gas exploration in NZ in the next parliamentary term.

Strangely enough no mention of the fact that he enabled and was a member of the government that banned it.

Anyone that votes for Winston first is seriously deluded.
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July 20, 2026 8:36am
- pdm
  
  Winstons aim seems to be to bankrupt New Zealand faster than Labour/Greens/TOP could.
  
  $30 billion for the BNZ
  $1 Billion for Oil & Gas
  Who knows how much for NZRail.
  
  A billion here a billion there in more borrowing when the country is broke now.
  
  The man is deluded as are his blindly following supporters.
  
  Then there is his dictate to candidates – “don’t talk to reporters, leave it to me”.
  
  Winston First all of the way to oblivion.
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:45am
  - kowtow
    
    Not to mention all the hot air they’re pushing about ‘reforming’ the electricity , grocery and banking markets.
    
    I dread to think what his solution ( if any) actually is .
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:02am
- BananaLlama
  
  I mean .. what next? National backtracking on the UNDRIP? what kind of argument are you even making here?
  It’s like people saying NZF will go with Labour. Okay, cool, National will go with the Maori party then?
  Just take the win.
  
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  July 20, 2026 12:56pm
Jethrod

And hearty congratulations to Ryan Fox for a British Open win!
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July 20, 2026 8:41am
- Philview
  
  I note RNZ referred to it as the “The Open Championship”. It caused me to look it up and the word “British” appears to have disappeared from the name. Perhaps the many recent immigrants in Britain find the word “British” offensive.
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:30am
  - leoj
    
    It has always been known as The Open Championship. The word British is only used to distinguish it from the US Open.
    
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    July 20, 2026 1:50pm
- Razork
  
  Champion bloke, champion golfer!
  
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  July 20, 2026 1:20pm
Nikola Donatello

I have noticed that Stuff is running a series of articles on worthy organisations that are losing funding under the current government. As usual there is no big picture. No analysis of how these types of grants became huge in 2021 and 2022. Now there are predictable complaints as the current government tries to make a correction. And let’s be real. A very modest correction.

Neither is there any analysis of why these services are necessary. Obtaining a driver’s licence was not so long ago a personal choice and expense.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361007388/drivers-licence-changed-his-life-now-charity-made-it-possible-could-be-forced-close
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July 20, 2026 8:43am
- rouppe
  
  Doesn’t WINZ offer drivers license support?
  
  https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/help-to-get-a-driver-licence.html
  
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  July 20, 2026 8:51am
  - Paulus
    
    Some years ago my Daughter took time out from the Public Service as such, to take classes in Porirua to assist immigrants to learn abour driving and learn some English, of which my Daughter was proficient.
    She eventually went back into her old job in the Public Service where she still is.
    She said she enjoyed helping these people particularly with learning the Highway Code.
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:28am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Its probably money well spent, not that it is the publics responsibility.
    
    Mike Williams of the Howard League for Penal Reform cited ‘Approximately 500 people are incarcerated specifically for driving without a licence, …’
    
    He also made the point that dwal was the first contact with the police and led to an adversarial attitude.
    
    The other problem is that the Licence test is written so that a 10 year old can comprehend it. Unfortunately this is now beyond many of our 16 year olds.
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:32am
    - rouppe
      
      It is money well spent.
      
      But why do we have charities reliant on $600,000 of taxpayer funds when winz already provides the support to do the test, and pay for lessons.
      
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      July 20, 2026 1:38pm
      - Colville
        
        A charity that wants a client to get a license or an instructor that wants you to keep coming back for more lessons?
        
        Different aims maybe?
        
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        July 20, 2026 1:57pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        I can’t answer that rouppe, it is probably a good example of the many ways the public are milked for the same problem.
        NZ is corrupt.
        
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        July 20, 2026 1:59pm
    - slijmbal
      
      ‘Approximately 500 people are incarcerated specifically for driving without a licence, …’
      
      Really? Does not pass the sniff test. I call bollocks to that. The average number of offences for anyone in prison is knocking on 100. Now there will be some prolific offenders who push that number up but even allowing for that they will be in prison because they committed loads of offences and/or serious offences and possibly one of them was driving without a licence.
      
      It’s hard work getting locked up for serious offences in NZ never mind a comparatively lesser offence like driving without a licence.
      
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      July 20, 2026 3:53pm
    - OlderChas
      
      500 in jail for driving without a license???? And some on Home Detention for rape? Something is wrong with some of the numbers.
      I personally know a person who was jailed for 3 months for driving without a licence. It was his 16th conviction for the same thing after being permanently disqualified from driving because of other driving offences. ( Dangerous driving, failing to stop, multiple convictions for both of those.)
      OK – so technically I suppose he was jailed for “driving without a licence”. Are the Howard League’s 500 all of the same ilk? Or are most of them for first offenders driving without a licence? (Or are ANY of them first time offenders?)
      
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      July 20, 2026 5:39pm
- graham
  
  Lack of context, background information, analysis, etc., seems to be de rigueur in the media these days. Even when I do watch an article on TV One News (and we skip through a lot of the dross), I find myself ill-informed at the end of it because there’s simply no context given. No real analysis.
  
  It seems the journalists generally can’t be bothered going beyond a shallow sound-bite that fits with the current narrative that happens to be in favour at the moment around the topic they’re covering. It’s really quite depressing.
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:15am
  - Swifty
    
    You’re not alone graham.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:31am
  - OlderChas
    
    Agree graham. So many segments are so obviously the output of some “journalist” sitting watching news reports from anywhere, deciding “oh that’s interesting” (to that “journalist!) so records/downloads it – whatever they do, then overdubs the soundtrack with their own breathless commentary and we suffer through it because other idiots decide that it is “newsworthy” and must be shown to “aytee a rower”.
    
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    July 20, 2026 5:47pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      Well youse KB “journos” can do a similar thing. Set up a right-wing news website which will have no trouble raising money and be overwhelmed with viewers. Hard to do without hiring some journos, but you could screen them …
      
      Not holding my breath ,,,, whingeing about the MSM is so much more satisfying. Sort of like peeing in a wetsuit … warm 🙂
      
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      July 20, 2026 6:45pm
Simon

Neoliberalism hadn’t gutted Iran like it’s gutted NZ. Hence Iran being able to put a good defence.
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July 20, 2026 8:47am
- David George
  
  Iran doesn’t do liberalism of any sort; it has a totalitarian Islamo fascist regime.
  Girls get bludgeoned to death for showing a bit of hair, tens of thousands of unarmed civilians are machine gunned for protesting in the streets.
  Nice friends you have there, Simon.
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:11am
  - Charlotte Wells
    
    If Simon’s post is about the war I would suggest Simon is in the camp of ‘my enemies enemy is my friend’.
    
    Anything opposed to Trump gets a pass.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:57am
- kowtow
  
  Defence ?
  
  The IRGC doesn’t have any.
  
  Other than holding the strait and it’s own people literally hostage.
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:05am
  - imalwaysright
    
    “Defence ?
    
    The IRGC doesn’t have any.”
    
    Seen the news lately….
    
    Bravado doesn’t supercede facts.
    
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    July 20, 2026 2:04pm
    - slijmbal
      
      @Im
      
      filling in for DG – it’s supersede with an S.
      
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      July 20, 2026 3:54pm
      - OlderChas
        
        Concur, slijmbal – and not many people know that! (Hint – has do do with words ending in …eed, and those ending in …ede. English must be a bitch to learn for those who have it as a second language!)
        
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        July 20, 2026 5:52pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Well done lads.
        Any thoughts on the subject at hand?
        
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        July 20, 2026 6:35pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

ERO have introduced colour coded KPIs on school review reports. Unsurprisingly, Principals object, ostensibly on the grounds that parents won’t understand what the indicators mean. I would have thought that their real fear is that parents will understand all too well exactly what the indicators mean.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/747579/simplistic-colour-coded-school-reports-get-mixed-reviews-from-principals
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July 20, 2026 8:53am
- RoboRob
  
  Funny how teachers and principals will speak out on any minor issue like this, especially when it comes to parents being better informed, yet sat on their hands and said nothing about the failed reading curriculum and modern learning environments (barns).
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:11am
  - artemisia
    
    In the article – Principals Federation president Jason Miles said … “A school that may have had 40 percent attendance and worked really hard to increase it to 60 percent, but will still be marked in the ‘working towards’ area, rather than be rated on the hard work and support that they’ve put in to raising that attendance,” he said.
    
    What was the hard work that school was doing to stop attendance falling down that 40% cliff. I suppose it was an example, but various reports show a shocking level of attendance is also sometimes reality unless someone, somewhere does something about it.
    
    Did someone, somewhere? If not, why not?
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:29am
  - R
    
    The activist teaching element wouldn’t have noticed the failures, because it wasn’t spelt out for them. The new ERO reports are in colored crayon, this the activists understand; and parents leave their children in such care for 6 – 7 hours a day weekly
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:34am
- I remember when
  
  An English school junior report I have seen used a colour coded “Attainment” report which seemed to say everything needed.
  Exceeding expectations (Blue), Expected (Green), Working Towards (Yellow) and Below (Red).
  Seems simple.
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:44am
Yvette

Perspective –

Photo says it all: How Shane Jones reacted to Government’s oil news
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/103068858/photo-says-it-all-how-shane-jones-reacted-to-governments-oil-news

“Let’s be honest about it,” Luxon told Newstalk ZB, “They stood up on stage with [then prime minister] Jacinda Ardern and [then energy minister] Megan Woods, and they killed it. And so, it’s a lovely idea, but the point is, it’s just somewhat deeply ironic coming from NZ First, given they’re the guys that supported the oil and gas ban.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361008325/they-killed-it-luxon-slams-nz-firsts-deeply-ironic-fuel-policy?

Can Luxon see no further than Shane Jones standing apart from Ardern with his face behind his hands?
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July 20, 2026 8:57am
- rouppe
  
  Regardless of the theatrics on the stage, NZ First had to have agreed to it in the cabinet room.
  
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  July 20, 2026 9:04am
  - Tarquin North
    
    Totally agree, if they had any principles they would have walked and forced a new election. Having said that I’m toying with the idea of voting for them this time because there is nobody else. ACT who I would normally vote for seem determined to shoot themselves in the foot at every opportunity and National have well and truly failed to fire. When they start adhering to their principles of 1936 I might come back.
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:12am
    - R
      
      ‘toying with’…….suggest that you put your toys away, and take your voting responsibility seriously. Do some research of policies, or get a source to explain the hidden consequences of some activist parties. I’m getting to old to trip across to Australia to visit my grandchildren
      
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      July 20, 2026 10:45am
  - Gary Benner
    
    I’d suggest you try to understand the dynamics of coalition politics – brought to us by MMP.
    
    As a smaller party you do not control the policy, you have to make a bargain for what part of overall policy your own voting percentage is. And that’s the compromise – however much you like it or not. As to red lines, I would presume these would to have been negotiated in the coalition agreement, and certainly I would presume you don’t force an election without a corresponding blow back from the consituency.
    
    Sadly most people do not understand that dynamics of coalitions, and the power play that has to go on just to get a bit of the action. What will be interesting to see is if in the next election NZFirst get such a level of supprot that National have to work as a true and equal partner. That will make the narrative interesting.
    
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    July 20, 2026 12:50pm
    - R
      
      I would prefer to think that ACT would be the only party at the negotiating table with National. Not sure that the voluntary is mature enough for the real world beyond our shores.
      
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      July 20, 2026 1:49pm
    - wsk12345
      
      What, so the coalition partners now have to envisage every single possible bit of law that the main partner might want to bring in the next 3 years and decide upfront if they support it or not?
      
      If it’s not in the main partners initial work plan then it’s not part of the coalition agreement and NZF indeed should have said no, we will not vote for it. No need to walk. Just so t support that bill.
      
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      July 20, 2026 1:57pm
- David Garrett
  
  Yvette: that billion dollars for major seismic work will be money down the drain when Labour get in and ban exploration again…and they will…
  
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  July 20, 2026 9:05am
  - imalwaysright
    
    That attitude is precisely the cause of New Zealand’s stagnation.
    
    Our vital infrastructure is too important to us all for it to be used as a political weapon.
    
    We need to isolate the levers of infrastructure from the half witted self serving politicians.
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:30am
    - David Garrett
      
      Imalways : Do explain why spending a billion dollars of taxpayers money on identifying drilling targets which will never be drilled…Hipkins has already said they will reinstate the ban when they are back in power…and it’s a given that they will be at some point
      
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      July 20, 2026 10:39am
      - wsk12345
        
        Because at some point the climate insanity will fade just like the fear of nuclear war did (some of my classmates were terrified back in the 80s), and the fear of Covid and all the other causes of the day.
        
        Then gas will be acceptable again.
        
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        July 20, 2026 10:58am
      - imalwaysright
        
        D.G
        
        My post was unclear.
        The attitude I was referring to was that of Labour, not you.
        I agree with you.
        
        Some other countries Governments have cross party support for the essential infrastructure, but Labour and the rest of the Commies in NZ want to use it as a political weapon.
        
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        July 20, 2026 10:59am
      - David Garrett
        
        Wsk: I think you might just be right…eventually…but it’s going to take a helluva lot to attract explorers back – it would also need an unequivocal undertaking by Labour never to do what a silly girl did eight years ago. And even then there are places in the world that are much better prospects than NZ
        
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        July 20, 2026 1:00pm
    - R
      
      ‘half witted’…..in some cases that is a very generous compliment.
      
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      July 20, 2026 10:46am
    - Paulus
      
      Won’t Happen, as which half is half witted ?
      
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      July 20, 2026 11:33am
      - imalwaysright
        
        I mean all of them Paulus.
        All politicians should be isolated from anything important.
        
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        July 20, 2026 12:58pm
- Ghost
  
  so tell us, what did NZ first do to stop the oil and gas ban? Nothing. They are as responsible for this as her.
  
  Not only did they do nothing, but they voted to pass the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Act 2018. so no, the photo doesn’t show anything. NZ first are responsible for this policy just as much as Ardern
  
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  July 20, 2026 9:11am
  - Yvette
    
    Ghost, the question that would be helpful to have an answer to, is “What was the trade-off for New Zealand First’s support?”
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:26am
    - Ghost
      
      doesn’t matter what they got in return, this policy has done more damage than people realise, and it was supported by the very party that pretends they were against it. They didn’t have to support the legislation, they did. They had options, they chose to end offshore oil and gas. The same party that recently said they were against DEI in the public sector, despite voting for it when in government. NZ first cannot be trusted
      
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      July 20, 2026 9:47am
      - Jigsaw
        
        And they have proven that they can’t be trusted – how many times does he has to break his word and disappoint before realize what a failure he is?
        
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        July 20, 2026 11:15am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    Yes exactly. Did Shane Jones reign from the government? Covering his face does not count.
    
    I still remember where I was when I heard the news of this ban. I also know from a credible source that at least one of the officials in MBIE who was an expert in the issuing of exploration permits, resigned rather than remaining part of the team that wrote the legislation introducing the ban.
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:29am
    - pdm
      
      Jones has more Political sides than a Rubiks Cube.
      
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      July 20, 2026 9:35am
  - Quail
    
    MMP at work yet again.
    Makes the integrity of party manifestos and actioning their own policies problematic at best. This leads politicians to just go with the flow.Particularly the minor parties.
    To be fair ,ACT has done its best this term ,But it is not easy!
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:38am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    Ghost: “Not only did they do nothing, but they voted to pass the Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Amendment Act 2018.”
    
    It would be interesting to hear what Jones and Peters would have to say about that.
    
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    July 20, 2026 9:42pm
    - Ghost
      
      we can look at comments he made at the time.
      
      Official oil and gas analysis is ‘flimsy’ – Peters
      
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      July 20, 2026 10:07pm
- Yvette
  
  “Can Luxon see no further than Shane Jones standing apart from Ardern with his face behind his hands?”
  Maybe that was a cheap shot. Perhaps it may have been better to point out –
  
  Luxon wasn’t particularly impressed by the announcement when asked about it on Newstalk ZB on Monday morning. …
  The ban had produced “a chilling effect” on new investment, Luxon said, which had proven difficult to reverse.
  “So, we’ll keep trying, but it’s bloody hard because of what they did,” he said.
  
  I am surprised that this “U-turn” by New Zealand First is not seen as an indication of the direction of any the post-Election coalition choices New Zealand First may have.
  
  As well as serving the country to just know what resources it has, could Luxon not make it harder for New Zealand First to change their mind yet again?
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:44am
  - R
    
    The problem is in the minds of the voters. PM LUXON and National party do not have the resources to completely overcome the ideological mindset of the brainwashed citizens, of whom there are many
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:50am
  - Master Mariner
    
    Exactly what i have been saying on here since the announcement.
    To get any realistic traction the NZ Government would have to Waiver most Royalties and cover Insurance to even get a bite.
    NZ is too unstable for any O&G Majors to Gamble with.
    What Shane Jones is Gambling on is finding a “Potential” Lead that can then be used to Lure the Majors back. Sheare Gambling.
    Incidently one of the biggest Drawbacks is the potential to hand away any hard worked Discovery to some Maori claim in the future by the prevalent Government of the Day.
    This needs to be addresses first and foremost.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:17pm
    - Quail
      
      MM.
      Totally agree , particularly with your last sentence!
      
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      July 20, 2026 6:30pm
Swifty

I look forward to Mihi Forbes’ next RNZ series – telling the stories of land loss, invasion, butchery, enslavement and cannibalism between pre-contact Maori:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/747580/the-deadly-battle-new-zealand-forgot

And of course a deep investigation of the ‘intergenerational trauma’ which resulted and the effects of which are felt to this day.

I could suggest a title for the series – “We were even worse.” Or “The Warrior Spirit – We butchered each other without mercy.” Or even simply “Thanks Pakeha – we owe you one.”
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July 20, 2026 9:17am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  It is a fair point. You would think that the trauma from the death of maybe 20,000 Maori betwen 1810 and 1840 would have been transmitted intergenerationally. It is like that episode in our history has been airbrushed away.
  
  I genuinely would like to hear from prominent Maori folk today. What were the effects of that conflict? Is there any acknowledgement that pre European settlement Maori society was deeply flawed for its inability to resolve differences peacefully.
  
  Where these wars were acknowledged, the blame generally falls on white folk for providing the firearms. “Yes we did always kill each other but you made it worse by giving us firearms.”
  
  It would be a bit like us being blind to the stupidity of our forebears and their leaders from conducting the First World War. Instead we could just say “It was the fault of the folk that made the machine guns.”
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:35am
  - surfing
    
    Trauma only materialises where money is in the offing.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:51am
    - Swifty
      
      Very hard to conclude anything else.
      
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      July 20, 2026 12:16pm
  - R
    
    Nikola, ..that comment is a bit ‘deep’ for many readers of KB
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:52am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      No idea what that means. It was an unremarkable comment. Neither particularly deep or controversial.
      
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      July 20, 2026 12:28pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        R was giving you a compliment.
        
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        July 20, 2026 1:05pm
  - Swifty
    
    “You would think that the trauma from the death of maybe 20,000 Maori betwen 1810 and 1840 would have been transmitted intergenerationally. It is like that episode in our history has been airbrushed away.”
    
    From my research into intergenerational trauma I conclude that its presence and impact is entirely driven by the race of the trauma deliverer.
    
    If the trauma deliverer was white – the trauma is deep, widespread and lasts generation after generation, right up to today and well, well into the future – and necessitating large sums of taxpayer dough to go to perceived sufferers.
    
    If the trauma deliverer was Maori then there is no intergenerational trauma whatsoever, it just doesn’t exist and there is no point looking for it. You won’t find it.
    
    Quite why this racial element exists, and how the human body can be so selective in determining which trauma will become intergenerational and which will not, based on the race of the original perpetrator, I have not determined. I suspect there are other factors at play – like how this whole thing can be leveraged for dough – incentives matter, as we know.
    
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    July 20, 2026 10:57am
- Cantabrian
  
  I don’t intend looking at the programme, but I will guarantee that there is no attempt to obtain or present the perspective of the government – nor any analysis of the official records of the time. Once more total reliance will be placed on the fabulous, never-to-be questioned memories of events that took place 160 years ago.
  Its like the Waitangi Tribunal – believe the claimant’s statements without ever hearing the other side of the story.
  And, of course you are quite right about the absence of any programmes on the pre-1840 period; that is why the Labour NZ history curriculum starter at 1840!
  For some splendid work on the Musket Wars, see the videos produced by ‘Kiwi Codger’ (I don’t know his real name) on YT – http://www.youtube.com/@kiwicodger
  (Incidentally, I see Kiwiw Codger has gone quiet since he made a series on ‘The Elizabeth Affair’ – I suspect he has been shut down by Ngai Tahu. Does anyone have any knowledge?)
  
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  July 20, 2026 10:57am
  - Ghost
    
    He was/is and elderly man. So could be other reasons he stopped
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:24am
  - muzled
    
    His videos are very informative.
    
    We’ve watched all of them with our kids.
    
    It’s a pity he’s gone to ground, he seemed to be very much fighting fit.
    
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    July 20, 2026 1:16pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  When are they going to thank Pakeha for all the things they love and wouldn’t have without us like:
  Ford Falcons, Holden Commodores, Cell phones, internet, computers, Lion Red?
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:02am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    I think that those who decry colonisation would say that those things are meaningless. Before European settlement things were peaceful. Yes Europeans brought healthcare but they also brought smallpox and STIs. The trauma caused Maori to smoke and drink alcohol. And get diabetes.
    
    You can portray the effects of colonisation as good or bad depending on your mindset.
    
    My main objection to “colonisation was bad” is the refusal to acknowledge that life for most Maori was short and tenuous. Life was ruled by violence, customs and mysticism. In contrast, by the mid 19th century, science and mathematics had well and truly taken hold in Europe, a steady progression since The Enlightenment in the late 17th century.
    
    There was no evidence of such progression in Maori society. Indeed we see the effects of that stagnation today with the insistence that we all pay homage to te ao Maori. We literally pay respect and money to folk who play whale sounds to Kauri trees to heal them.
    
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    July 20, 2026 12:38pm
- Paulus
  
  Johanna Forbes you mean do you not know more money having a Maori name change despite only being a very small part Maori.
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:39am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  OK, I’ll bite.
  
  I am supposed to feel some guilt just because I am white (even though my 1800s ancestors were in Britain and South Africa), just for “trauma” caused to some darker hued people.
  
  During that time my ancestors also did some amazing things to help out darker skinned people:
  * One grandfather spent about 5 years in German East Africa (now Tanzania) routing the Germans and the Arabian slave traders – making that country an infinitely better place for the black African inhabitants to live .
  * The other grandfather spent over a decade in South West Africa (now Namibia) routing out the Germans there too – and making SWA a far better place for the Owambo people to live. He spent months in ox wagons visiting the Owambo villages helping them make the place peaceful. This was hugely challenging because after the Germans were sorted out, many Owambo people returned from Angola because they prefered British rule to the German rule they had fled from.
  
  So if I am supposed to be responsible for the “sins” of my ancestors, it is only fair that I also get credit for the good things they did?
  
  Perhaps all people of a darker hue should pay me some sort of restitution?
  
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  July 20, 2026 1:08pm
Swifty

Good grief – what a great bloody mess we’ve got ourselves in.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/749001/government-moves-to-keep-cement-production-in-nz-with-up-to-60m-in-financial-support

We can’t even make cement profitably – because of the extra costs and complexities we place on ourselves.
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July 20, 2026 10:26am
David Garrett

Niko: The Ngati Porou are still claiming to be deeply affected by six deaths at the hands of Cook’s men in 1769…those six could have been eaten next week by another subtribe…presumably that wouldn’t have caused Intergenerational trauma
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July 20, 2026 10:43am
- Swifty
  
  Intergenerational trauma cannot be inflicted by non-whites.
  
  Only whites can inflict it.
  
  It’s a scientific fact apparently. Who knew?
  
  //
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:00am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Which group is it easier to extort money from?
  
  There’s the answer.
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:01am
  - lifesgood
    
    When is the government going to grow a pair and tell these maori extortionists to naff off. It is getting so frustrating. Maori are a minority so most people would support the government on this.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:26pm
R

But it would have solved the immediate sustenance conundrum
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July 20, 2026 10:53am
rouppe

FFS.

Look out the window and there’s (presumably) council contracted Greenscape spraying the gutters, to kill weed growth.

Vehicle 1: brand new side by side atv. Flashing orange lights. Sign on the back saying “pass with care”
Vehicle 2: very new ute, following closely behind the atv. Flashing orange lights. Sign on the back saying “pass with care”.

I’m assuming the atv is transported on the ute otherwise there’s a vehicle 3.

What a waste of money. That is a one person job.
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July 20, 2026 10:57am
- Ghost
  
  I’m amazed at the amount of council workers or contractors who do not wear a mask when spraying
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:23am
  - rouppe
    
    On reflection, I don’t think the sprayer was this time either.
    
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    July 20, 2026 11:46am
  - RoboRob
    
    My understanding is that many councils (and related contractors) use environmentally ‘safe’ sprays. The downside is that whilst fast acting the weeds come back quick too. So on top of any additional one off costs, they also have to spray for frequently. I have heard up to 3 times more often.
    
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    July 20, 2026 2:03pm
    - Ghost
      
      a quick google, Ecan use glyphosate Auckland and Christchurch both use glyphosate for footpaths, median strips and roads. Triclopyr is used around canterbury waterways and parks. Organic Plant Oils for sensitive areas such as children park playgrounds. Even with Organic you need to wear a mask
      
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      July 20, 2026 2:15pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Spraying what?
    
    “I’m amazed at the amount of council workers or contractors who do not wear a mask when spraying.”
    
    Do you seriously think that the people doing the work are that ignorant?
    
    Bigotry has many cousins…
    
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    July 20, 2026 2:10pm
    - Ghost
      
      perhaps you should ask the people doing the spraying why they aren’t wearing masks. For example, the guy sitting on the back of a Ute being driven around the river spraying the weeds without a mask on. Or the guy driving an atv around the footpaths spraying the footpaths, wasn’t even wearing eye protection. so are people that ignorant, yes.
      
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      July 20, 2026 2:18pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        You don’t know what you are talking about.
        Every worker must carry and know the data and safety sheet for every product they carry.
        
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        July 20, 2026 2:46pm
      - Ghost
        
        no, you don’t, as usual. Our council uses a glyphosate based weed spray on the footpaths. Actually a few years ago one resident complained due to the spray drifting onto his fruit trees The council apologised to him for it, and replaced them. I’ve witnessed them spraying without masks and without eye protection, something I have complained to the council about. So you pretend you know better. Ecan use Glyphosate and Triclopyr on the rivers, again I’ve seen them doing that without masks. But you pretend you know better, you don’t.
        
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        July 20, 2026 3:09pm
surfing

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/government-gives-fletcher-building-60m-for-golden-bay-cement-bailout/7VEPIOZK5BAE3KP74LGTNT6A6I/

What an absolute farce. Government implement carbon costs on business, then bails out companies who will fold due to increased costs.

It totally defeats the purpose — either impose carbon costs and let prices increase, or don’t!
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July 20, 2026 11:00am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  Fletchers and Nats very very good buddies.
  
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  July 20, 2026 11:30am
  - OlderChas
    
    Yeah I think they are related familially? //
    
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    July 20, 2026 6:06pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  “and addresses the carbon cost disadvantage Golden Bay Cement faces relative to imported cement.”
  
  It is insane. To be logically consistent, the government should accept that the cement plant closing is a logical consequence of its climate change policies. It is a feature not a bug.
  
  Climate change policies sound great in the abstract. Then when they work as intended everyone loses their minds.
  
  Cement production is very energy intensive. But we need cement. If we don’t make it here we just need to import it from India or China.
  
  The stupidity makes my head hurt.
  
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  July 20, 2026 1:11pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Cement, Bitumen , and steel.
    All needs to be produced here in some capacity.
    Same thinking as when HC announced we dont need trades as computers will do the work.
    Seems like de Je Vous all over again.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:24pm
MCōs

Quite an exciting morning on the sporting front
Ryan Fox came out of nowhere halfway through the tournament to win the British Open; Blackcaps scrapped through to beat the Windies by one wicket after dominating most of the game and Spain were all over Argentina in the football, but couldn’t score more than one goal.
Apart from that the ABs won, both Warriors teams won.
And the Men of England Football take home some bronze medals for their kids to play with.
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July 20, 2026 11:05am
- imalwaysright
  
  Yes, especially Ryan Fox.
  
  The only downside was the usual performance of the modern rugby referees where they stand six inches from a maul and start yelling instructions to all of the players.
  
  I saw more than one perplexed player distracted from his task at hand by the ref screaming at someone else.
  
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  July 20, 2026 12:00pm
- greybeard
  
  AAnd a new event will be added to the next Olympics: “The Argentine Dive” – competitors will be judged on a mixture of histrionics, appeal to referees , ham acting and magical recovery times..
  
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  July 20, 2026 12:34pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “..competitors will be judged on a mixture of histrionics, appeal to referees , ham acting and magical recovery times.”
    
    Sounds like NZ elections.
    
    Saying that, Karl LeQuesne has, today, started hiring ‘staff’ to run this years election.
    Will Karl be hiring people without referencing their allegiance to the treaty?
    
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    July 20, 2026 1:43pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Watch the England v Argentina rugby.
  
  The poms spent most of the game with 13 players.
  
  The final 3 minutes were absorbing. To cap it off there was a serious (for rugby) incident involving a player denied a match-winning try and the ref, Angus the aussie.
  
  I am waiting to hear if more comes from it.
  
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  July 20, 2026 3:50pm
mogg

Jason Boyes; Infratil CEO is a man who eats his own cooking, in the latest declaration before Wgtn AGM he is shown to be holding $37 million worth of their shares in his own name. Morrison’s bank is paid $340 m annual fee.
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July 20, 2026 12:36pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Gangs are just cultural organisations given a bad name by a few rotten apples…..
…. or maybe not.

Over a 7 month period, every member for the Christchurch Comancheros has been convicted on a range of drug offences.

Every one of the 29 members has been convicted. Convicted. Not just investigated. Not just charged. Convicted.

Jarrod Gilbert will likely have some excuses to trot out.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/christchurch/every-member-of-christchurch-chapter-of-the-comancheros-mc-gang-busted-in-operation-avon-police-investigation/PNCP6HBJGFGRNEKA4BPGSAK3M4/
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July 20, 2026 12:56pm
Gary Benner

Media reports today “Politics Vaccination Flu jabs fall below target as Health NZ works to rebuild confidence in vaccines”.

Well bless my soul, so the darlings are wondering why the public are so fearful of their latest magic potion(s)?

I guess now the so called “experts” will plead for more funding to run large PR campaigns, to bolster their “expert” egos, relying on their over-inflated PhD’s and privileged positions.

Whereas the average person applying common sense has already worked out that they are no better than the snake oil saleman of a past era.
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July 20, 2026 1:11pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  The evidence does not support your last paragraph. Not getting an influence vaccine is a foolish choice. One that you should be entitled to make. We should not be wasting any money on publicity campaigns for influenza or COVID vaccines. Just low key information as to where you can be vaccinated.
  
  EDIT More than 1 million influenza vaccines have been administered so far in 2026.
  
  This is a good peered reviewed study of the effectiveness of influenza vaccination.
  
  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9143275/
  
  I am happy to change my mind if you post good peer reviewed contrary evidence to support your snake oil assertion.
  
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  July 20, 2026 1:14pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    “The evidence does not support your last paragraph.”
    
    Show it to us.
    
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    July 20, 2026 1:22pm
  - Gary Benner
    
    Nikola, “The evidence does not support your last paragraph.”
    
    Well the predominant messages was that the mRNA “vaccines” would stop you getting covid, and importantly “stop transmission from one person to another” – in essence, it would stop you killing your grandmother!
    
    It turns out it did neither, and there are ample videos online tracing the development of the message, blowing any denials out the window.
    
    There also much research now indicating that the spike protein did not stay “in the arm” as was stated, and is more than likely the reason we are seeing the high rates of myocarditis, and the “collapsing sportsmen” etc.
    
    Observation is a powerful ability we humans have, and trying to state that only “peer reviewed” research is the only thing to trust is the ultimate in narcism. It’s an elite power trip! Not only do they control what gets researched, they also control what gets published, or not as the case may be.
    
    Use your eyes, and ears, and most of all the brain between the two.
    
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    July 20, 2026 1:50pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Cindy, bless her socks, told us that the mRNA vaccines are just as good as the childhood vaccines (aka real vaccines).
  
  That was a lie.
  
  At the time many of us on KB (and elsewhere) – including myself – predicted that this would backfire and cause distrust in real vaccines that would have negative consequences later.
  
  That was hardly a Nostradamus-level prediction. Just the most rudimentary understanding of human behaviour would tell you that.
  
  Once you lie – so blatantly – your credibility is shot and it is no wonder that this makes room for distrust as well as some ne’er-do-well charlatans that tend to frequent the Polynesian Islands, Africa and similar.
  
  In Africa they’re having a hell of a time trying to rebuild confidence in TB and malaria programmes.
  
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  July 20, 2026 2:06pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    The thing I struggle with is how can you be incredialy stupid not expect those outcomes.
    Result, Vaccines, Scientists, Media , Government Trust is shattered.
    The Social Contract is gone.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:28pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      I don’t think they really care about long term credibility of things like science etc.
      
      Let’s face it, 90% of the population is unable to make their own appreciation of science. All they can do is listen to the opinions of others.
      
      Cindy got what she wanted out of it and continues to be rewarded with a Damehood, honourary Doctorates, a few million $ etc.
      
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      July 20, 2026 6:47pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Creative NZ is cutting staff. Excellent start, but more effort is needed!

They had a staff of 84. Now 55.

That is an astoundingly large number of people to oversee handing out cash.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/creative-nz-to-cut-a-third-of-staff-in-major-restructure/T25AOAMTLVCIFJQREVILSYXMVQ/
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July 20, 2026 1:16pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Here’s one for the language wonks…

I’ve been reading a book that was printed in 1870. It is a book about the early British settlement of the Natal Colony in South Africa.

Most of the British settlers were English, but also some Scots and Irish in the mix, so quite a few Mc and Macs.

But this book uses a different abbreviation: M’
M’Kenzie, M’Donald,…

Anyone seen that before?
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July 20, 2026 1:32pm
- imalwaysright
  
  It might be a function of the accent, or drawl.
  A slower pronunciation may have led to the Mac over the Mc.
  Just guessing, I’m a Mc so would also appreciate an explanation.
  
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  July 20, 2026 1:54pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    A slower pronunciation may have led to the Mac over the Mc.
    
    I don’t think so…
    Just habit by some folks…
    
    I’m a Macdonald….and I’d always state: Em, Ay, Cee, small d….
    But folks would variously spell my surname on documents/reports/ letters, etc as:
    Mcdonald/MacDonald/ McDonald.
    
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    July 20, 2026 4:51pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      Admittedly I got this from the bot – but it does fit with my 70-year old memories .
      
      “Near the beginning of the M section there was often a note along the lines of:
      Mac, Mc and M’ are filed together as Mac.”
      
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      July 20, 2026 7:09pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    My understanding of the first Mac vs Mc was that this was an arbitrary contraction designation chosen by people doing a census and it stuck.
    
    There is a myth that Mac=Scots and Mc=Irish, but that seems to just be a myth.
    
    What’s quite funny is that I have both McNeil and MacNeil in my grandmother’s family tree. They probably both started off at the same place, but the McNeil branch took a two or three generation detour through Ireland before joining up again in Newfoundland.
    
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    July 20, 2026 6:55pm
- Cantabrian
  
  An AI query turns up this:
  
  “In the 18th and 19th centuries, printers frequently abbreviated Mac to save space and typesetting effort. The apostrophe (often printed as an inverted comma or “turned comma”) served as a placeholder for the omitted letters:
  
  M’c: The apostrophe replaced the “a”.
  
  M’: The apostrophe replaced the “ac” entirely.
  
  Historical printing manuals from the era explicitly describe the inverted comma as a “superior c” or a mark indicating that the name was a contraction of Mac. It was a purely graphical convention and did not indicate a change in pronunciation; M’Donald was pronounced exactly the same as MacDonald.
  
  Today, the M’ form is considered archaic and is rarely used in modern standard spelling, having been largely replaced by the full Mac or the standardized abbreviation Mc. When seen now, it is typically in:
  
  – Historical texts or genealogical records from the 1700s and 1800s.
  
  – Stylized names where families or organizations retain the older spelling for tradition.
  
  My father-in-law’s family name was McKel*** but in Northern Ireland civil records it frequently comes up as M’Kel***.
  
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  July 20, 2026 2:46pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Yes, it was common in the 19th Century… but you’ve got the curve of the punctuation mark going the wrong way…..
  
  It should be M‘Donald /M‘donald or M‘kenzie.
  
  Just a Printer’s or Lawyer’s way of abbreviating Mac.
  
  3 1
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  July 20, 2026 3:39pm
- Ian Boag
  
  Back in the day in the phone book – in the M’s pages there was a box that said (Mac, Mc and M’ ) were all treated as “Mac” for alphabetical sorting …..
  
  4 0
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  July 20, 2026 4:36pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    My mum was an Mac-small-d ….
    
    1 0
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    July 20, 2026 7:22pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Cuzzy!!!
      
      3 0
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      July 20, 2026 7:37pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        I did the DNA thing and noone in Gizzy was ever mentioned. But there are a raft of fourth cousins and third cousins’ children on the other side of the world with 0.6% of commonality 🙂
        
        And for only another couple of hundred $$ I can find out heaps more ….
        
        1 0
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        July 20, 2026 8:44pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Na.. you’re definitely not a first level cuzzy.
        My father was the only one of his family to have children.
        
        But as 3 of my Grandparents were Macdonalds from relatively large families…
        (Macdonald married Macdonald – Father’s parents;
        Macdonald married McNicol – Mother’s parents), its more than possible that there’s some familial links.
        
        2 0
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        July 20, 2026 9:04pm
Ghost

so having a state owned power company will reduce power prices….. Hmmmm, ok….. ummm, yeah….

The Green Party is proposing sweeping energy reforms, aimed at slashing household power bills and stripping market dominance from major electricity corporations, by funding public solar schemes through a tax on “the super-rich”.

Article
6 1
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July 20, 2026 1:51pm
- RoboRob
  
  Ah yes, the super rich. They have so much money that can just pay of all of the greenies wish list. Lets get Shambels Yahkov out to audit the figures, I am sure it all adds up juts fine. I cant wait for him to audit Labours books and confirm that a very targeted CGT tax will easily pay for all of the Labour parties wish list too 🙂
  
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  July 20, 2026 2:09pm
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    How many “super rich” are there in New Zealand? Why would they pay for the madness of the Greens? They will just move.
    
    Let’s assume that the “super rich” are those with annual incomes above 500,000. Let’s say you tax them an additional 10 percent. 50,000 each. Will that pay for all of these crazy policies?
    
    To get a billion dollars per year you need to raise 50,000 dollars from 20,000 people with the highest incomes. Seems unlikely.
    
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    July 20, 2026 3:02pm
- rouppe
  
  Māori housing: Directing $80 million into a dedicated renewable energy fund to support hundreds of projects on kaumātua homes, papakāinga, and whenua Māori.
  
  More racism from the Greens. Rich Maori get free stuff but poor people of other ethnicities don’t.
  
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  July 20, 2026 3:46pm
Nikola Donatello

I was reading today about the latest flu vaccine that you can administer at home. You inhale it through your nose. No injections.

Available in the USA and Australia from pharmacies. Of course not here. 😕 Hopefully coming soon. Anything to get more folk vaccinated. It is especially beneficial to children who don’t want needles.

https://www.flumist.com/

EDIT The website is geo blocked. Here is the CDC page.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccine-types/nasalspray.html
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July 20, 2026 2:55pm
Ghost

The Government has announced it will amend its proposed resource planning laws to exclude iwi participation agreements entirely.

Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements are deals reached between local councils and iwi authorities which document the role that tangata whenua will play in resource management processes.

Article

protests begin in 5, 4 ,3
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July 20, 2026 3:47pm
- KKNZ2025
  
  Thanks only to Nationals current polling, nothing to do with the equality they promised to deliver 3 years ago
  
  We still have a racist health system including treatment priority assessment & medical school entry….still waiting…
  
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  July 20, 2026 4:12pm
DimChappie

Three cheers. The Rohe agreements will not survive but Bishop said: ““Instead, councils will have the option of entering into new narrowly scoped iwi participation agreements to record how iwi authorities will participate in statutory planning processes and processes required to give effect to Treaty settlement redress. Clear guardrails will be included in the legislation to prevent scope creep.” I hope MPs read the agreements before approving them.
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July 20, 2026 4:21pm
Pope Punctilious II

If the Nats had been serious about stopping co-governance this bill would have been a priority in their first year in office. Meanwhile, councils around the country will be racing to push through deals with iwi before the legislation is passed.
7 0
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July 20, 2026 5:19pm
- Ghost
  
  No
  
  “Cabinet has therefore agreed that existing and initiated Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements will not transfer into the new planning system.”
  
  6 2
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  July 20, 2026 5:27pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Oh, excellent! It’s good to be wrong sometimes.
    
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    July 20, 2026 5:53pm
  - KKNZ2025
    
    Yes.
    “Meanwhile, councils around the country will be racing to push through deals with iwi before the legislation is passed”
    
    That is exactly what councils have been doing. This has finally prompted National to take action after receiving outrage from eg Taxpayers Union.
    
    8 3
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    July 20, 2026 5:59pm
    - Ghost
      
      And as stated above from the article, those deals do not transfer, so they are now meaningless
      
      3 1
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      July 20, 2026 6:19pm
      - Quail
        
        These RMA Reforms will not happen this term.
        Parliament is now not far from going into election mode.It is now too late in the cycle!
        National are simply saying “vote for us —- or else.”
        They have had decades to make binding reform ,all without real action..
        In the event they regain government benches these matters will be likely left until the next election.
        And then Rinse and repeat!
        
        1 0
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        July 20, 2026 9:35pm
dad4justice

Recognize a few old names anybody know if redbaiter still around?
2 0
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July 20, 2026 6:18pm
- Ian Boag
  
  FWIW Tall Man does grumpy replies on Basset and Mitchell …..
  
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  July 20, 2026 6:49pm
Ghost

What a complete f up and failure. Damn, poor woman

A woman underwent chemotherapy and major surgery after a biopsy was wrongly diagnosed as cancer.

In October 2023, the woman was told that she had adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus after a biopsy was reviewed by pathologists at Awanui Labs.

Based on that diagnosis, she received chemoradiation treatment and later had part of her oesophagus and stomach removed.

Article
3 1
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July 20, 2026 6:39pm
- Ian Boag
  
  And your point is?
  
  1 4
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  July 20, 2026 6:50pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  Here’s that story courtesy of RNZ (not paywalled):
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/754038/woman-had-chemo-parts-of-her-throat-and-stomach-removed-after-awanui-labs-got-cancer-diagnosis-wrong
  
  Horrible. No mention of compensation. WTF?
  
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  July 20, 2026 9:35pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Marama Davidson displaying her limited vocabulary again….

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson has labelled the coalition government “a pack of bastards”.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361008483/pack-marama-davidson-slams-coalition-government-doubles-down-comments
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July 20, 2026 8:00pm
- Ghost
  
  No problem with this, I agree with her, The coalition are a bunch of Good bastards. I trust that is what she meant.
  
  It’s ok Marama, when I hear people talking about the greens, well, I think I’d upset a mod if I said what they say about you lot
  
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  July 20, 2026 8:50pm

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