About
Contact
Advertise

Facebook
Twitter

July 22, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 22 July 2026

Like this:

Like Loading…

Email
Facebook
Twitter
Comment120

Uncategorized
General Debate

Comments (120)

Login to comment or vote

artemisia

Wellington bike shop owner recovers $10,000 worth of goods using GPS trackers

Good to see technology supporting successful action by owner and police. Well done, both! Hopefully the word will get around to discourage other lowlifes.

The alleged offender is due to appear in Wellington District Court on 10 August, charged with burglary by night over $5000, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, reckless driving, failing to stop, and other charges relating to the incident. Probably not their first rodeo, and assume search warrants will be in progress.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/760529/wellington-bike-shop-owner-recovers-10-000-worth-of-goods-using-gps-trackers
34 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 8:04am
- lastmanstanding
  
  Will Labour gift TOP Mt Albert and give Helen White a winnable list seat. On current polling TOP would get 6 seats and with Labour and the Greens would be able to form a Government. It seems to me TOP not NZF are the critical factor in which side wins. And there is nothing the Coalition can do about it.
  
  10 7
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 8:49am
  - fightingtemeraire
    
    Would Labour gift a seat tat they have held for decades and has provided 3 Labour Leaders??? Doubt it,
    
    Look at who runs TOP, Lees Galloway, Q who applied for the job. Wait until they get asked real questions in the run up to November and they will not hold out.
    
    22 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:00am
    - Boy Geoff
      
      Given current demographics, isn’t Mt Albert a seat that National could actually target – if it could be arsed?
      
      10 3
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:20am
    - RoboRob
      
      I am 100% sure that if 6 weeks out from election and the polls are similar to now, that Labour would do a deal with TOP.
      
      Why on earth wouldn’t they. Labour may be hopeless in many areas but in political strategy they are not. If the choice is letting a nothing candidate lose Mt Albert to TOP in exchange for being in power without needing to rely on Winston, the choice is obvious.
      
      10 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:22am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Most MPs would join their opposition if it meant keeping their job.
        
        6 1
        Report
        July 22, 2026 11:43am
  - pdm
    
    lastman.
    
    Never ever discount WinstonFirst (even Chris Finlayson called the party that on the latest Cross Party Lines) going with Labour “to keep them honest”.
    
    We all know the disaster that was in 2017 and BAUBLES do matter to Winston.
    
    22 4
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:00am
    - Nūhaka Native
      
      Why would Labour do anything with NZ First if they can form a government with the Greens, TOP and even The Māori Party (if they need them)? Today, TOP are just a manufactured party made up of the Greens and Labour anyway. They are simply there to get the Left block over the line. It was obvious from the start. This new incarnation of TOP is just Labour/Greens dressed in Teal clothes. Their general manager is Iain Lees-Galloway, a former Labour cabinet minister. Their leader, an upper middle class progressive full of luxury beliefs, typical of our left wing parties these days.
      
      20 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 9:26am
      - Anthony Melchett
        
        Disgraced former labour cabinet mister please.
        
        12 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 10:28am
      - RoboRob
        
        Totally agree.
        
        I will add that Labour aren’t the only party that can play the MMP game though. On current polling, which has been stable most of the year, the best bet to stop a Labour led government is the following…
        
        National should fight a strong local candidate game and encourage voters to party vote Act. National would win many more seats than their party vote entitles them to. Act would pick up more seats and the ‘top up’ to make parliament proportional would push NZF and Act even higher. Since Act can only work with National, the risk of them taking their vote to Labour (ala NZF) doesn’t exist and the strategy is safe for National voters.
        
        I am not sure how many National voters could stomach party voting Act as the media, the left and National have done a great job of portraying Act as extremists.
        
        12 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 11:30am
  - Tomtoddy
    
    Noted that TOP’s biggest donor also gave to the Greens. Confirms where TOP sits on the left/right spectrum.
    
    16 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:48am
  - Bloody Dago
    
    The only poll that counts is on November 7 2026.
    
    7 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:50am
  - peterwn
    
    Will Labour gift Wellington North to the Greens?
    
    10 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 10:18am
    - RoboRob
      
      I assume your suggestion would be to stop National winning it as there is nothing to be gained for Labour by giving the Greens a seat?
      
      I think Labour would rather see Jonathan Pitts (NAT) in as an electorate MP and Nichola Willis out as a list MP.
      
      5 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:35am
      - peterwn
        
        That is an interesting way of looking at it. Anyway even if Nicola is frozen out in the forthcoming election then:
        1. Depth of National’s talent means another Finance Minister/ spokesperson would soon be found.
        2. Like other ex National MP’s (except Jami-Lee Ross) she will soon find another job eg company directorships.
        
        7 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 12:15pm
  - BananaLlama
    
    I don’t think it will matter overly much if TOP win any seats or not as they are just taking votes from Labour and not from the government.
    Labour peaked back in Feburary and have been in decline as TOP started to climb.
    
    6 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:06am
  - wsk12345
    
    I’m surprised the police showed up.
    
    A friend had a $10 k bike stolen for which he had serial numbers etc. two hours later it’s up on marketplace for $2k or thereabouts. Got the address, called the police and spoke to them. They said they would be around in 3-4 days. Friend went and bought back his own bike, presumably claimed the theft on insurance.
    
    13 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:11am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “Friend went and bought back his own bike,..”
      
      What about telling the insurance company that the bike was on marketplace?
      They employ people to investigate such cases.
      
      6 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 12:20pm
      - wsk12345
        
        The bike would have been sold within the hour it took to talk to a real person….
        
        7 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 2:12pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        True.
        
        But I think there is a legal obligation on the policy holder to inform an insurance company of these types of occurrences.
        
        The seller being dealt to by an insurance company would have been a greater deterrent than a Police visit.
        
        Not sure your friend was wise to claim on, and then buy back, what was then stolen goods.
        
        5 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 2:24pm
- wsk12345
  
  Wonder how happy thr shop pwner will be when the thief walks away with 2 weeks mandatory video games as his “punishment”.
  
  22 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:08am
- Graeme Hall
  
  Alleged offender/burglar/car converter/reckless driver has all the Jack Brazil-type criminal credentials to become another outstanding Green Party candidate.
  
  13 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 11:15am
Cassandra

Much has been made of Starmer’s spectacular fall from grace. From a “ landslide” in the 2024 general election to out in two years.

Labour actually got 34% of the vote. Had it been a straight forward competition between Labour and Conservative then Labour might well have won by a landslide but it wasn’t. And the new PM, Burnham, has even less of a mandate. But in a straw clutching move the UK will blunder on, gradually descending into penury when the government runs out of OPM.
40 3
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 8:10am
- Cassandra
  
  And right on cue, Burnham has just announced his first earth shattering move to reduce the cost of living: from October he’ll remove VAT from household energy, saving people, wait for it, £45 a year.
  
  31 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 8:27am
  - Ian
    
    I think VAT is 20%, so if the VAT is 45 pounds, then the total amount VAT inclusive is 225 pounds. That’s an extremely cheap cost of energy for a house for a year. One month’s of my winter energy power bill is nearly that 225 pounds….
    
    4 7
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 8:45am
    - Cassandra
      
      VAT on electricity is 5%. The reduction applies for 6 months only, hence the £45.
      
      15 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 9:57am
      - RoboRob
        
        Yet another example of why our GST system is so much simpler and better.
        
        12 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 11:36am
  - kevn
    
    Cass… and the administration will cost the same (or more).
    
    8 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:13am
  - mogg
    
    Burnham said the VAT cut would be funded by ‘scraping Starmer’s ID card introduction’. It was very quickly pointed out that the ID card policy was never funded in the first place. That means it will be funded by more debt, UK debt is now £3 trillion.
    
    17 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:38am
    - slijmbal
      
      UK debt as a % of GDP is already rather high beaten only by Japan, Italy, US and France at the moment when looking at developed countries.
      
      Burnham reminds me of Ardern in that he is very media savvy talks platitudes and fluff but happy to tax, tax, tax and spend, spend, spend. Need to find a prediction market where I can bet on lots of taxes and debt increases.
      
      0 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 6:02pm
- MCōs
  
  The UK has a FFP system and the overall popular vote doesn’t mean much.
  It’s the number of seats won that determines the shape of the parliament and of the 650 Labour won 403 followed by the Conservatives with 117
  
  8 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 8:32am
  - Cassandra
    
    The %age of the vote is actually a pretty good indication of the level of support of each party. Labour got a lot of seats from a small vote. Half of their MPs could be out of a job next election.
    
    14 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 8:45am
    - mike
      
      Could be. Supporters of FPP typically only complain about such results when they don’t like the ruling part.
      
      9 26
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 8:50am
      - Cassandra
        
        I think you’re right, mike, but FPP only works if there’s just two sides. I like the French runoff system.
        
        4 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 9:19am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      “The %age of the vote is actually a pretty good indication of the level of support”
      
      Indeed that is correct. But being the most popular does not necessarily put bums on seats.
      
      You have to play the game on the field. In UK that game is FPP.
      
      4 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:13am
  - Gussy
    
    403 MPs. Not one of them a suitable PM candidate.
    Astonishing.
    
    15 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 8:57am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      Not astonishing for Labour Parties these days. Look at our last Labour-led Govt, and Albo’s Aussie version. Work-shy and only there for the salary & perks.
      
      9 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:18am
  - rjay
    
    FFP works because the splinter parties are effectively subsumed into the two main parties. All the greens would be in Lavour except the losers who would be in Values. All ACT would be in one of the National or Labour as with NZFirst which would have died in 2000. Therefore “coalition” negotiations are done prior to an election, within a caucus/party so voters know what they are going to get.
    It also means smaller electorates so MPs are closer to the voter.
    
    1 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:06am
    - Ian Boag
      
      And the government is not hassled with the tiresome need to represent a majority of the popular vote. ref UK’s last election. A party can even get elected with fewer votes than whoever comes second. Has happened here, but the winner was Muldoon so that’s OK with KBers.
      
      But as we’ve only had the two referenda, it must be time for another one to appeal to the diminishing number of oldies who remember what FPP elections were like ….
      
      Democracy …. 🙂
      
      0 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 6:31pm
- mogg
  
  Burnhams only mandate is from 400 self interestedLabour backbenchers who think that he will save their jobs at the next election.
  Anne Widdecombe, Reform spokesperson was murdered by being hit on the head 21 times with a hammer. It was a politically motivated attack and no doubt caused by the insulting rhetoric from both Labour and Tories. As PM, Kier Starmer was calling Reform and their supporters’far right racists’. Farage has also been referred to as a ‘Nazi, Hitler, but never Stalin.
  
  25 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:01am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Good point about Starmer’s incitement. There are people in jail there for facebook posts of the same vein.
    
    The cops said that Anne had security cameras and the attack was recorded.
    If that is the case then why are they waiting a year (next June) to try him?
    
    7 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 12:26pm
- R
  
  Like NZ is profected to do, hasn’t the UK already run out of OPM?
  
  9 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:14am
- Simon
  
  Yep it doesn’t matter who the PM is the UK will blunder on.
  
  Just like NZ. Get rid of Luxon and the Wellington clown show will continue harming NZ.
  
  Doesn’t matter who is PM in NZ.
  
  2 11
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:27am
rouppe

Further to the Thai watch lifter story, the guy is now on bail, after securing three months accommodation.

There’s the obligatory Givealittle page to help with costs. I note they have accommodation on Ko Samui, probably the most expensive place to stay in the area.
12 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 8:40am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  It is weird that the media picked this up. On the facts presented, he stole a watch at an airport security checkpoint. His defence seems to be that there was a watch lying unattended that appeared to belong to nobody so he thought it was free watches day.
  
  Surely the sensible thing would have been to say to one of the security officials “Excuse me sir, a passenger has left her watch behind”, hand it over and be on your way.
  
  What am I missing?
  
  33 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 8:49am
  - pdm
    
    That is what you, I and probably everyone who regularly frequents this forum, would do ND.
    
    An 18 year old on the loose in a foreign country maybe not so much as this guy seems to have proved.
    
    Perhaps his parents had not drilled this into him – “if it looks to be too good to be true, it probably is”.
    
    12 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:05am
  - Paulus
    
    Common sense, but he is a Kiwi and not by the sound of it a Maori, but who can tell !
    
    3 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:41am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Maori?
      What has being, or not being, Maori got to do with it?
      
      2 1
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 2:32pm
  - nova
    
    The kid made a mistake, it a country where mistakes are punished harshly. Sadly a very expensive lesson, but if it was me, I would have kept quiet about it. I suspect in the future he would gladly swap the few thousand dollars from the givealittle page for anonymity, and not having this show up when someone googles his name…
    
    10 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:46am
    - rouppe
      
      This is going to have consequences far beyond the money cost.
      
      Is likely he’s going to be deported, unlikely to be jailed. That’s fine. But that means he’s going have to declare that on every visa application he makes. If he’s deported with a conviction he’ll have to declare that on every job application.
      
      And when they read it’s for dishonesty…
      
      11 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:13am
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      On the face of it, that “mistake” was a crime.
      
      While being a light-fingered teen has few consequences in NZ, they do where crime is taken a bit more seriously.
      
      I see the mother has paid the victim $1000 “reparations” for a sub-$100 watch. In some countries that would be called witness tampering & bribery.
      
      11 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:23am
      - peterwn
        
        Not if the police and potential prosecutor are aware of the payment.
        
        3 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 12:26pm
    - MCōs
      
      “A country where mistakes are punished harshly”
      Not necessarily
      There is a guy in parliament over there who spent years in prison in Australia for drug dealing.
      He returned to Thailand, changed his name and there he is as if nothing had happened.
      
      3 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:08am
- peterwn
  
  Anyone who gives to Givealittle in this instance must be nuts.
  
  10 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 12:24pm
NothingLeft

In UK; Stats show more men than women are abused by their partners. Worth remembering next time the usual suspects complain about Male domestic violence, that actually women are more frequent perpetrators.

https://x.com/TheTinMenBlog/status/2079609578866487739/photo/1
10 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 8:49am
- judith8409121
  
  this figure is one from many many in this report – if you look at the summary of any domestic abuse – women / men the ratio is 9.1 / 6.5 – the single figure you quote is misleading
  
  6 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:57am
- Phronesis
  
  The way they have presented the data it only shows the sex of the victim and not their abuser. This conceals that the most violent relationships are lesbian, and in some datasets the least violent relationships are gay males. So females are responsible for more of the female victims than males are for the male victims.
  
  9 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:59am
  - ISeeRed
    
    Yes. And it’s interesting even in hetero relationships women are more likely to initiate intimate partner violence than men. Females are more likely to be seriously injured from interpersonal two-way violence with males for obvious reasons and, of course, subsequently report any retaliatory violence or self-defence as “abuse”. (I’m in no way defending men who are just violent thugs and like to beat women into submission.)
    
    5 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 12:04pm
David George

At the meeting with the Lebanese delegation in Washington Secretary Rubio just brokered a historic framework peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

The deal is simple: Iran is out. Hezbollah is out. The Lebanese military moves in.

Israel begins withdrawing from southern Lebanon. Lebanon takes back control of its own soil. And for the first time in decades, a real path to peace is on the table.

Thank you Marco.
30 2
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 9:05am
- mike
  
  Hezbollah hasn’t made any deal. That might just pose a problem.
  
  11 20
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:11am
  - Im Right
    
    Why would Hezbollah (or Iran) be asked to the negotiation table Mike?
    Who cares what a terrorist outfit backed by Iran has to say about any deal, they are not a political party and have no say in the government of Lebanon, they are NEVER going to agree to any deal as their sole mission is death and destruction of Israel.
    Hezbollah have no say in anything.
    (With Iran in its knees there is little money and armaments to supply Hezbollah, Israel will kill the top Hezbollah leaders one by one, with Lebanon support, in the coming months)
    
    24 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:23am
    - Ghost
      
      The likelihood of a peace deal lasting that doesn’t involve Hezbollah will be low. This peace deal won’t last
      
      5 11
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:13am
      - NothingLeft
        
        It is not possible for sheep to make a peace deal with wolves. You can’t make peace deals with organizations who’s raison d’etre is your eradication.
        
        9 0
        Report
        July 22, 2026 12:06pm
    - SoloView
      
      @ Im Right
      The current Lebanese government includes two ministers from Hezbollah: Rakan Nasreddine, Minister of Public Health, and Mohammad Haidar, Minister of Labour.
      
      Further info @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah_political_activities
      
      6 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 10:49am
    - virtualmark
      
      Because Hezbollah is militarily much stronger than the Lebanese Army is.
      
      Look I hope the deal is true and that it sticks. But if Hezbollah ignore it and press on the Lebanese Army doesn’t have the might to do much about that.
      
      0 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 3:26pm
  - David George
    
    I wonder what sort of a deal would satisfy Hezbollah?
    Surely, if the past is any guide, you don’t do deals with terrorists. You destroy them.
    
    17 2
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 9:37am
    - mandk
      
      Yes, you have to destroy them.
      
      Hezbollah might go through the motions of making a deal, but it wouldn’t change their end game: i) erasure of Israel from the map, ii) death to all Jews, iii) subjugation or death to Christians and all other non-Muslims, iv) establishment of a worldwide caliphate based on strict application of Sharia.
      
      6 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:18am
  - Drone
    
    Israel have said they are not leaving until Hezbollah have left Lebanon. This will never happen. The “peace” deal is as empty as any of DJTs peace accord claims.
    
    1 6
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:20am
- Dudley Quaffquaff
  
  Has either Iran or Hezbollah agreed to this?
  
  4 10
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:16am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Hezbollah is a Shia terrorist organisation that operate within Lebanon. They are not the Lebanese people.
    
    It is perfectly possible for Lebanon to strike a deal with Israel that does not involve Hezbollah.
    
    Whether that is going to be achieved or not is another matter, but it is possible.
    
    21 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 10:36am
- Simon
  
  Thank you Fox News for the update. No one has ever tried this before. It’s A Mazing.
  
  2 11
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:30am
  - Jethrod
    
    Could even be A Labarinth
    
    1 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 12:52pm
- Scott
  
  Stuff has the story here :
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/361009291/lebanons-president-will-meet-trump-washington-pus
  
  First of all, good on Marco Rubio for trying to get a peace deal.
  Second, I hope and pray that the Lebanese govt can rise up and defeat Hezbollah.
  I’m cheering for the Lebanese and especially the Christians of Lebanon.
  They made a fatal mistake, they welcomed the Muslims and gave them full rights. In return the Muslims rose up and transformed Lebanon from a beautiful country compared often to the Rivera, to a Muslim hell hole.
  
  There’s a lesson for us there. 🤔
  
  25 3
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:36am
  - Taieri
    
    They made a fatal mistake, they welcomed the Muslims and gave them full rights
    ————
    
    Muslims have been there since the 7th century.
    
    6 3
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 10:29am
    - Graeme Hall
      
      What was their religion before that, I wonder?
      
      4 2
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 11:22am
    - David George
      
      Yes, though Muslims were a minority for centuries.
      Up until the 60s/70’s the country was majority Christian. Inward Islamic immigration and a higher birth rate coupled with outward Christian immigration (they suffered greatly in the civil war) led to it becoming majority Muslim.
      Current estimates (no official census since 1932, due to political sensitivities) generally show Muslims at 60–70% of the population (roughly balanced between Sunni and Shia, plus smaller groups and Druze), with Christians at ~25–35%.
      
      8 0
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 12:43pm
      - Taieri
        
        Yes, though Muslims were a minority for centuries.
        ———–
        
        The last census ever held there in 1932 shows Muslims as 42% of the total population. Current estimates range from 60 to 70%.
        
        2 2
        Report
        July 22, 2026 2:08pm
  - Drone
    
    The IDF made that transformation nobody else.
    
    0 7
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:22am
- Paulus
  
  I wish !
  
  5 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 9:42am
- Northshoredoc
  
  It would be an excellent outcome if it is achievable.
  
  9 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 10:01am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  If this is a US sponsored deal it could involve Lebanon being assisted to suppress Hezbollah.
  
  I would guess that the majority of Lebanese do not support Hezbollah and that any support is only second hand through religious association ie. only comes from some of the Shia (Iranian flavour) Muslims.
  
  Quite likely the Sunni, Christians and Druze populations do not want them.
  
  Thus, it is quite likely that Lebanon would be open to some help to rout out Hezbollah.
  
  12 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 10:33am
  - All_on_Red
    
    They have asked for help.
    ‘The Government of Lebanon reaffirms its resolute and irreversible commitment to restoring and exercising full sovereignty over all its territory. The Government of Lebanon will rebuild the State’s monopoly on the use of force, achieve the complete and verified disarmament of all non-state armed groups, and ensure that such groups will have no military or security role and no armed capabilities anywhere in Lebanon.
    The Government of Lebanon herewith requests the support of international and, particularly Arab partners, under the leadership of the United States, to achieve this outcome.’
    
    They want Hezbollah gone
    https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-israel-lebanon-framework-deal-that-includes-slight-idf-pullback/
    
    9 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 11:37am
    - Simon
      
      August 2006 — UN Security Council Resolution 1701
      Ended the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah war. Israel was to withdraw while approximately 15,000 Lebanese Army troops, supported by UNIFIL, deployed across southern Lebanon. The area south of the Litani River was supposed to contain no armed forces or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state and UNIFIL.
      
      November 2024 — Israel–Lebanon cessation of hostilities
      This effectively recommitted both countries to Resolution 1701. The Lebanese Army was to become the only armed Lebanese force south of the Litani, dismantle unauthorised military facilities, confiscate unauthorised weapons and prevent Hezbollah attacks. Israel was to withdraw as the Lebanese Army deployed.
      
      Ho hum
      
      3 6
      Log in to Reply
      Report
      July 22, 2026 12:06pm
  - Nūhaka Native
    
    Two good sources for the sad story of Lebanon are Gad Saad and Robert Fisk. Worth looking up and reading if people are interested. The Great War for Civilisation by Fisk is well worth the ‘effort’.
    
    Gad Saad
    Lebanese‑Canadian professor at Concordia (evolutionary psychology), author of The Consuming Instinct and The Parasitic Mind, host of The Saad Truth. Saad’s family fled Beirut in 1975 because, as Jews amid rising sectarian violence, their lives were in real danger.
    
    Saad says Lebanon’s breakdown came from sectarian politics, armed groups outside state control, foreign meddling, and deep corruption. After 1943, sectarian power-sharing hardened; the PLO’s presence in the 1960s–70s worsened splits; the 1975–1990 civil war entrenched militias and outside patrons; On 23 October 1983. Two truck bombs struck the U.S. Marine barracks and a French paratrooper barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. service members and 58 French peacekeepers. Taif ended the war but kept quota politics while Hezbollah’s arms preserved “dual power.” Hariri’s 2005 killing and the 2006 war reinforced proxy dynamics. In the 2010s, corruption and the brain drain worsened, leading to the 2019–20 financial crash and the 2020 port explosion. In his view, it is now a state hollowed out by religious sect loyalty and militia power.
    
    The Taif Agreement (1989) was the Saudi‑brokered deal that ended Lebanon’s civil war and revised its sect-based political system.
    
    Rafic Hariri (a Sunni, former prime minister) was assassinated on 14 February 2005 in Beirut by a truck bomb that killed him and 21 others. The attack triggered mass protests (the Cedar Revolution) and Syria’s military withdrawal. A UN-backed tribunal later convicted a Hezbollah member in absentia; Hezbollah and Syria denied involvement.
    
    Robert Fisk
    British Middle East correspondent based long-term in Beirut; covered the civil war, 1982 invasion, Syrian rule, and 2006 war; wrote Pity the Nation and The Great War for Civilisation; one of Britain’s most awarded reporters.
    
    Fisk describes Lebanon as trapped by its confessional system and by foreign powers, Syria, Israel (notably 1982), Iran via Hezbollah, and the PLO turning it into a proxy battlefield with atrocities like Sabra and Shatila and huge civilian suffering. After the civil war, sectarian patronage and Hezbollah’s armed status kept the country a mess, leading to recurring crises and eventual state failure.
    
    Lebanon’s confessional system is a sect-based power sharing arrangement. Top posts are reserved by religion: president (Maronite Christian), prime minister (Sunni), speaker of parliament (Shi‘a) and seats and jobs are divided by religious sect quotas. It was meant to balance communities.
    
    4 1
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 2:25pm
Damocles11

Lefty media outlet Stuff looks to be continuing on its downward spiral –

‘Some Stuff Digital journalists have been called to a nationwide meeting on Wednesday in which proposed changes are to be outlined, according to an invitation marked confidential.
Some staff are fearing the worst: potential cutbacks amid continuing challenging times for the media industry.’

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/media-insider-confidential-hr-invitation-stuff-journalists-called-to-meeting-to-hear-proposed-changes/premium/KFUHJUEMB5H6ZCJC652SU6JD6I/
18 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 9:22am
- mandk
  
  Stuff doesn’t employ journalists any longer.
  
  The employees are all click-bait operatives.
  
  12 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 11:20am
waikatosinger

I thought Hezbollah was an Iranian client. Is there any difference?
6 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 9:48am
The Veteran

Something different. As an avid golf fan I wonder if there is a lesson to be gained in the failure of LIV golfers to cut the mustard in the big name golf events. To recap. On the PGA and DP tour events competitors play four rounds with half being cut after two rounds and receive nothing. You perform … you get paid. You don’t perform then you miss out. Compare that with the LIV tour where competitors play three rounds with no cut and are paid even when they loose. The result … LIV golfers, including their marquee players, bomb out spectacularly. In ‘The Open’ (won by our own Ryan Fox) the best a LIV player could make was tied 6th (Herbert) with DeChambeau and Rahm much further down the list. One might argue there is a lesson there in the way we administer benefit support. For some, repeat some, going on the benefit is a lifestyle choice … much like LIV golfers.
9 2
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 10:12am
Ghost

This will cause more pain

An oil tanker carrying Saudi crude to India changed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday following a warning from Yemen’s Houthi militia. The tanker, Rodos, was carrying around 700,000 barrels of Saudi crude destined for India.

Article
6 4
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 10:30am
- Taieri
  
  If she has to go through the Suez Canal the trip to India will be very long. And very expensive for just 40000 tonnes of cargo.
  
  4 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 11:22am
judith8409121

Excellent discussion on the destruction of the energy grid given to the NSW Energy Forum by Kathryn Porter – coming to all western economies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c73G3mbuhdE
2 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 10:51am
imalwaysright

Saw a data centre promoter say that data centres could be worth $70 billion to the NZ economy.

He didn’t say how he arrived at that number.

The data centres buy their computers overseas, we don’t make electronics.

They spend their money overseas and bring it here to plug in to our grid.

How does that make us $70B?
9 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 11:52am
- NothingLeft
  
  GST is charged on imports, building and servicing happens, infrastructure is built, wages and salaries are paid, tax is charges on data processing fees, and electricity is sold (at higher prices than Tiwai Pt pays). About 40% of capital cost is not the computers.
  
  1 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 12:11pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    GST and building are a one off.
    Not sure what ‘infrastructure’ they will provide.
    Very few staff required to run a centre.
    Data processing charges–how will they be assessed?
    Electricity will be paid for, but on what terms? Do they get priority supply at the expense of New Zealanders and industry?
    
    Same question:
    Where’s the $70B?
    
    4 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 2:42pm
- judith8409121
  
  this article: https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/infrastructure/70b-datacentre-opportunity-could-be-seized-with-policy-changes-bcg-says
  
  they are also owned by companies that reside offshore so pay no taxes here. Not sure how they get to that figure – maybe they think a centre of IT can be created from this?
  
  3 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 12:38pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Easy. $70 pa for a billion years.
  
  Wait, what?
  
  3 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 12:55pm
- OlderChas
  
  He probably got it arse about face. He meant would cost nz 70 MIL.
  
  1 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 6:40pm
Ghost

Just waiting for the terminator to turn up now….

ChatGPT maker OpenAI says that its artificial intelligence system hacked into another AI company on its own in what the company called an “unprecedented cyber incident.”

Article
6 2
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 12:53pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Let’s face it. With a rocket company, satellites, AI and robots, Elon Musk IS SkyNet.
  
  2 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 12:57pm
- Jethrod
  
  AI, I believe, is a draconian device that EVERYONE should be highly aware of, particularly when it goes rogue.
  I will not download any App which is touted as AI.
  Will use Google search which says it is AI or gives the option of AI mode, that mode which I don’t use.
  
  3 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 1:04pm
- virtualmark
  
  This remind you of anything?
  
  https://www.anduril.com/thunder
  
  2 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 3:29pm
Jack5

Modi stamps on Cockroaches …

Thousands of India’s students have clashed with police in a row that began over exam paper leaks.

Police removed leaders of India’s Opposition from subsequent protests outside the home of India’s PM, Modi.

Jeez, what happens if Modi thinks you welched on a $US20 billion investment deal?

Protesting Indian students have named their group: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

My AI reports the name refers to India’s Chief Justice, Surya Kant, calling some activists and unemployed youth as “cockroaches” and “parasites of society.”

DW reports protesters are calling for Modi and his home minister, Amit Shah, to step down over the police crackdown against the CJP student protesters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-youth-group-says-protest-continue-after-delhi-clashes-injure-180-2026-07-21/

DW summary of Modi’s student problem:

https://www.dw.com/en/india-police-forcibly-remove-rahul-gandhi-from-protest-outside-modi-residence/live-78043926
2 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 1:04pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  No mention there of the farmer organizations from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh marching on Delhi protesting the relaxation of dairy imports in the trade deal being negotiated with the U.S.A.
  Many people, seriously afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome, would be wise to compare The Donald’s negotiating strategy with that of our “Nude Nut”.
  
  2 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 5:51pm
- OlderChas
  
  Jack are any of these (those?)similar to the ones that will be coming to New Zealand under the India Free Trade Agreement?
  
  0 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 6:44pm
Hugh Jarse

Hard to get the public onside when you spend 20 minutes paid work a day singing karakias and in any case, would anyone notice ?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/thousands-of-mbie-workers-set-to-strike/2ID3ZVSRYJBJLFUAFKAGC66DNM/
8 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 2:29pm
- imalwaysright
  
  MABIE:
  
  Ministry Against Business Innovation and Employment
  
  6 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 2:45pm
  - OlderChas
    
    “MBIE workers help run New Zealand’s economy, from employment and immigration services to consumer protection and business support. They deserve to be treated with respect and not presented with a deal that takes them backwards and told to accept it,” Fitzsimons said.
    Okay – but what about the rest (majority?) of them?
    
    0 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 6:48pm
Ghost

She took 10 weeks off. Ardern took 6 weeks off, but I cannot find any comment from Nash calling her the laziest PM ever.

On his Cross Party Lines podcast, former Attorney General Chris Finlayson revealed Nash had sent him a late night text regarding Katie Nimon after Finlayson had expressed that he thought she was an exceptional MP and rated her chances of beating Nash in the Napier electorate.

“Then he sent me a text and I quote: ‘Comments like yours motivative me and drive me harder. Katie took 9 months off on full pay, went back for a week, then took another month off. Laziest MP I’ve ever come across’,” he told the podcast.

Article
3 1
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 4:25pm
- rouppe
  
  Who is surprised Stuart Nash has run his mouth off again?
  
  He’s clearly not learned anything in the time he’s been away from Parliament, nor from his removal from the trade delegation after his remarks in response to being asked “what is a woman”…
  
  5 2
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 4:53pm
- MCōs
  
  The Nats must be in despair at the thought of having to form a coalition with NZ First to remain in power after the next election.
  More to the point the country should be in despair at the prospect of having that having that bunch of loose cannons as part of the next government
  
  4 1
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 5:12pm
- SWIM
  
  I really dont understand Nash’s thinking here. Katie might not be everyone’s cup of tea but she works like a demon and is smart IMHO anyway. Did Nash really think he was going to gain votes by attacking a woman who stayed home to look after her baby?
  
  There is another post on here about Green candidates…but this takes a bit of beating in my opinion. Nash is filth.*
  
  * a lot of Hawkes Bay fisher people hate Nash as he supported the Desositio brothers when they had 10,000+ charges from MPI for the sustained rape of the sea , illegal over catch, and selling catch for cash, over many years for Hawkes Bay Sea Foods. All charges negotiated down to fines and forfeiture. They are still driving $200K cars and now have a new outlet selling fish!
  
  0 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 10:07pm
rouppe

Another dud judge

Paul Hutton cooks meth in a rental property. Police move in to raid it. He sets fire to the house. Runs from the scene, eye gouging and choking a police dog before being arrested.

Judge Nevin Dawson sentences him to nine months home detention.
6 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 5:13pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Make the house specified for Home D to be the property he burned down. He can live among the ashes.
  
  1 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 6:23pm
- OlderChas
  
  There’s nothing else to be said. That is just Far Ken disgusting.
  
  0 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 6:51pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361008962/wheres-compassion-terminally-ill-woman-among-long-term-residents-given-two-weeks-vacate-tasman

I know it must be hard to be required to vacate a site which you have occupied for years, but what the pissed-off “residents” seem to have forgotten is that they are simply campers who have been there a long time and who have never been given any special legal dispensations or agreements.

They have no written long-term contracts or agreements, their relationship with the owners appears to be casual, they have been there so long that they think that that fact entitles them to some sort of special legal treatment.

There is always a point when legality trumps everything else.

I think that the owners are in the right here, but still feel some sort of concern for those with problems.
3 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 6:52pm
Ghost

Whether reports of Stuart Nash’s resignation as a NZ First candidate are true or not, I am making clear he will not serve as a minister in my government.

After several instances of poor behaviour, some politicians will claim he has changed. His lack of contrition after comments about one of my MPs’ maternity leave this evening shows he hasn’t.

https://www.facebook.com/christopherluxon/
3 0
Log in to Reply
Report
July 22, 2026 9:35pm
- Ghost
  
  The Platform had reported that it understood Stuart Nash has tendered his resignation to New Zealand First following condemnation of what the Prime Minister labelled “sexist” remarks about Napier MP Katie Nimon. Nash, Winston Peters and other party sources have not responded to Stuff’s queries.
  
  Article
  
  3 0
  Log in to Reply
  Report
  July 22, 2026 10:07pm
  - SWIM
    
    Didnt he do that already tho?? then NZF hired him anyway?? after the “what is a woman” question where he said on radio a woman is a person with ti*s and a pu**y.
    
    1 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 10:20pm
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Good riddance, I hope Winston accepts his resignation. Ex Labour MP, what else can you expect.
    
    1 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 22, 2026 10:52pm
  - greybeard
    
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361009815/hipkins-pm-nash-had-go-still-you-tolerate-nz-firsts-sex-jibes-and-racism
    Of course the MSM just has to give Hipkins a chance to put his knife into Luxon.
    Hey Chippie, Nash was one of yours, remember !
    
    0 0
    Log in to Reply
    Report
    July 23, 2026 7:57am

Add a Comment Cancel reply

Login to comment or vote

« Inflation hits 4.1% due to fuel crisis

Meet a Green candidate »

Donations

You can now donate to Kiwiblog

Exclusive content from DPF on Patreon

Become a Patron!

Never miss a post

Email Address

Join 13K other subscribers

Highlights

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

Links

Shaking it up?
No Right Turn
Economic regulation: coercive rule by political appointees vs. freely negotiated prices
Not PC
Anti-vax protester and council candidate – media highlight different aspects of the life of a benefit fraudster
Point of Order
Word of the day
Hompaddock
Australian Census, Call To Prayer, Privilege
Bob McCoskrie's McBlog
SST lashes crazy TOP policy
Utopia
The Bradbury Group 8PM LIVE TONIGHT: Unemployment soars, House values plunge, Economy stalls – WHY IS IT ALL SO BROKEN? Economist Cameron Bagrie + Professor Matt Roskruge on why Economy is failing + Political Panel: Tania Waikato, Simon Wilson and Dr Harp
The Daily Blog
New Zealand Lacks A Truly Professional Achievement?
No Minister
NRL Predictions for Round 24
Stats Chat
Yet more “pretty (il)legal” stuff from the Reserve Bank
Croaking Cassandra
Reactionary bookends.
Kiwipolitico
Reform Update
NZCPR
Geloso on how to think like a good economist
Offsetting Behaviour
THE WORKING FROM HOME RACKET BY PUBLIC SERVANTS
No Punches Pulled (Bob Jones)
The Accidental Engagement
Imperator Fish
Legal Beagle: Election '23: The Special Votes
Public Address
Get Vaccinated Tomorrow Or Shut Your Pie Hole
Cactus Kate
Making this movie might have been a mistake
Liam Hehir
Why I am retiring from political blogging
Kiwi FireWalker

[email protected]

PO Box 12270, Thorndon, Wellington 6144

Facebook
Twitter
FourSquare
Instagram
LinkedIn
Google+

Archives
Disclosure Statement
Editorial Policy
Privacy Policy
Complaints Policy
Comments Policy

Design by cre8d

%d

Share this:

Like this: