General Debate 01 August 2026

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General Debate

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CJames

With regards Trumps tariffs against NZ because our products are made with goods components made by companies using forced labour/ slavery. Where do the hundreds if not soon to be thousands of MW of solar panels being used to generate our electricity come from? Aren’t they from far-west China where there are the factories using the Uyghurs?
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August 1, 2026 8:02am
- CJames
  
  I should note that personally I think Trump’s America first tariff idea is stupid, but NZ doesn’t have clean hands with regards imports from China made by forced labour.
  
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  August 1, 2026 8:05am
Cassandra

The extraordinary misrepresentation of Winston Peters’ response to an interjection in Parliament continues, with Radio NZ leading the charge. Peters did not say “Go back to where you came from” and leave it at that. He said go there, learn and then come back and tell us what you learned and change your behaviour (before exiting Parliament).

If he said anything critical it was about lying. If I was a Chinese person I wouldn’t like to be called a liar but he wasn’t referring to Joe Wu in the street.
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August 1, 2026 8:12am
- pdm
  
  `If I was a Chinese person I wouldn’t like to be called a liar but he wasn’t referring to Joe Wu in the street.’
  
  Not sure you are right there Cass.
  
  From Yvette’s Hansard quote in GD yesterday:
  “Go back to your own country—that’s where they lie like a flatfish, but they don’t lie like that here, all right?’
  
  Hard to interpret that as anything other than Peters saying all Chinese are liars.
  
  If Peters was a National Party Minister he would have lost his Portfolios by now but, Luxon does not have the balls to go head to head with Peters.
  
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  August 1, 2026 8:27am
  - CJames
    
    I would query that interpretation of saying all Chinese are liars. The Chinese government and their stooges lie about many issues but that is not saying ALL Chinese lie. He didn’t use the word ALL.
    I mean politicians lie, but not all politicians lie, nor do the ones that lie do it all the time. More than subtle differences.
    
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    August 1, 2026 8:38am
    - MCōs
      
      One could say the PM is acting like a stooge of Messrs Winston & Jones as long as he tolerates their behaviour
      
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      August 1, 2026 9:05am
  - Cassandra
    
    Read and watch the whole thing. He goes on to talk about democracy. I’m no WP fan but I think he’s being misrepresented.
    
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    August 1, 2026 8:40am
Biscuit

Happy ‘Birthday’ to every horse in the Southern Hemisphere…
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August 1, 2026 8:25am
- Gravelroad
  
  Their birthday gift will likely be a ban on their track racing pursuits – same as the greyhounds.
  Logically (and to be consistent), this will need to be followed by a ban on show jumping, cross country eventing and farmers riding horses up hills to muster sheep and cattle.
  All of these pursuits could be spun as being “cruel”-same as racing.
  Kids hit their horses with whips at Pony Club events and A&P shows.
  Should they be banned?
  
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  August 1, 2026 8:38am
  - pdm
    
    They (the Powers that be) aided and abetted by the Racing Minister are sure as hell working on destroying racing south of Waikato Gravel.
    
    Wanting to close down Trentham is a disgrace and an embarrassment that it is even suggested.
    
    Not to mention the very successful country meetings throughout NZ – Waipukurau being but one example of a club that runs successful race days a couple of times a year.
    
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    August 1, 2026 9:03am
Yvette

Wai not
I have several times advocated that the fact New Zealand Government and all its services and functions are supposedly secular – that no religion is raised Aryan-like above any other, so religious neutrality – should be enforced or actually practised. This of course at present is noticeably thwarted by considerations of te Ao o Maori, the Maori religious world view. As difficult as it may be to separate culture from religion, neither should be emphasised by the State unless it is relevant to a Treaty Settlement or direct relevance to a matter in hand.

Maori religious world view should have the same status as Sharia Law has at present in New Zealand society – unless there is something I am unaware of regarding Sharia Law.

The deep connection between Māori and water (wai) stems from a worldview (te ao Māori) centered on kinship, spirituality, and stewardship rather than resource exploitation or property ownership. Over recent decades, New Zealand’s legal framework and judiciary have increasingly recognized these principles, embedding customary law (tikanga) directly into state law and court rulings.

Life Force (Mauri): Water is considered the spiritual essence of life, possessing mauri (vital life force). Tikanga categorizes water based on its quality and spiritual state—such as waiora (pure water for life and healing) or waikino (polluted/dangerous water). Protecting the mauri of a water body is a cultural imperative.

In that last sentence should “cultural” not be “religious”, or just “Protecting the purity of a water body is imperative” – because without clean healthy water we all die?

Do Maori have a greater affinity for oxygen?

Of course the motivation for claiming the secularity of New Zealand Government should be better observed is to reduce the unnecessary and unhelpful authority Maori religious views appear to have where no other belief systems of non-Maori are allowed.
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August 1, 2026 8:40am
- Cassandra
  
  A well-reasoned critique, Yvette. I can’t help but think that some of the Maori world view is influenced by financial benefits. It’s staggering that deeply held beliefs can be assuaged by money.
  
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  August 1, 2026 9:03am

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