General Debate 18 August 2026

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Ghost

Hopefully Oman ignore trump and can reach a deal with Iran.

President Donald has Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender.

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.

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August 18, 2026 8:01am
- virtualmark
  
  The Mad King.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:08am
- surfing
  
  Frankly I’m sick of all the lies that come out of the White House around this war (and most things these days).
  
  How many times has Trump claimed victory, yet, the opposite is true.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:14am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Donald needs to get a grip. Oman are not the bad guys here.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:20am
- Cassandra
  
  Iran reaching a deal with Oman is a terrible idea – Iran wants to toll Hormuz. I think we can safely ignore the proposed bombing of Oman.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:20am
  - mike
    
    Along with most of the empty threats?
    
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    August 18, 2026 8:43am
- Cassandra
  
  Now a source close to Trump says he’s contemplating nuking the Pickaxe facility. That’d make quite an impact.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:53am
  - mike
    
    Wait a mo, didn’t he ‘obliterate’ Iran’s nuclear capabilities a year ago?
    
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    August 18, 2026 9:02am
mike

So, yesterday President Trump decided to cozy up with Kim Jong-un. Today, he threatens to bomb Oman, a long-time US ally.
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August 18, 2026 8:04am
- Northshoredoc
  
  11 dimensional chess etc etc
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:18am
- David Garrett
  
  The man is clearly deranged
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:52am
  - mike
    
    In bonus Trump news, he has blamed vandalism for damaging the turf where he held his failed 250th party. Also, the supreme court has again reaffirmed the judgment that Trump is a rapist.
    
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    August 18, 2026 8:59am
artemisia

Two thirds of New Zealanders with an intellectual disability can’t find work, report finds Clearly that is not ideal for those impacted.

IHC senior advocate Shara Turner … said people with intellectual disabilities were often first out the door when the economy was struggling. …. government intervention can really help people with intellectual disabilities.”

I guess this issue is similar to youth unemployment, also too high. Employers employ people with skills and experience that are worth their pay, even if only minimum wage.

“Government intervention” means give us more OPM. How about instead of asking for OPM Shara Turner could consider advocating a different approach.

For example, rellies in Australia who were unemployed off and on said there was a requirement to work 15 hours a week. Work for the dole – shock, horror. One rellie worked at a council plant nursery in the next suburb, said there were several folk not readily employable who had been there for years . It was their job, a chance to feel valued, build skills, socialise and have a lunchbox in the fridge with their name on it.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/1025162/two-thirds-of-new-zealanders-with-an-intellectual-disability-can-t-find-work-report-finds
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August 18, 2026 8:07am
- Gravelroad
  
  In the smallish town here there used to be a couple of small businesses for people with intellectual disabilities.
  One was horticulture based. The other was carpet mending and rug binding. Involving (shock horror) use of machinery!
  Have been to both and they provided good service. The people who worked there seemed to love it.
  Then a few years ago, it was decided by “professionals” that these enterprises were “not appropriate” and “demeaning” so were just abruptly shut-down.
  The workers were left very sad.
  Their jobs gone.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:22am
  - David Garrett
    
    Gravel: Yes…I remember there being a large “sheltered workshop” round the corner from me in Christchurch. As you say, shut down for ideological reasons thus depriving many of meaningful work. This was back when we were allowed to refer to people as “handicapped ” rather than “differently abled”. Did that ridiculous euphemism ever catch on?
    
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    August 18, 2026 8:58am
    - mike
      
      Disabled is the commonest term.
      
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      August 18, 2026 9:03am
  - peterwn
    
    A good solution would be for an intellectually disabled person to receive a below-minimum pay rate together with a partial benefit. However this would not fit left wing ideology. IHC used to run ‘sheltered workshops’ so intellectually disabled people could do useful work (but not at the same level as an ordinary basic job) but Helen Clark decided they should be paid minimum wage so the arrangements ended.
    
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    August 18, 2026 9:02am
    - mike
      
      Ended by the current government, it appears.
      https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2024/06/21/sheltered-workshops-and-wage-top-ups/
      
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      August 18, 2026 9:06am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Absolutely. Most people want to work. They want to feel valued and they like the social interaction that comes with having colleagues.
  
  For people who fall outside of the norm, society needs to assist them. The government’s role is to create structures that enable the private sector to do their bit on a value basis. A flat minimum wage is not helpful here.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:26am
- kowtow
  
  All part of the msm relentless negativity in the run up to the election.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:48am
Yvette

Te Pati Maori Tricky Tactic
There are 7 Māori electorate seats for the 2026 election. Te Pati Maori urge voters on the Māori Roll to vote for them in those Māori Electorates and vote for a left bloc party with their Party Vote.

If Te Pāti Māori (TPM) only gets 2% of the nationwide Party Vote, they’d normally only get 2 or 3 seats in a standard 120-seat Parliament.
However, MMP rules prevent parties from losing electorate seats they win, so if TPM wins all 7 Special Seats, as is their intent, the 4 or 5 seats won above their 2% party vote allocation become overhang seats, expanding Parliament to 124 or 125 MPs.

The strategic advantage is to encourage voters to give their Party Vote to Labour or the Greens instead of TPM.
⚬ Those Party Votes directly increase the seat count for Labour / Greens in the standard 120-seat allocation.
⚬ TPM’s electorate wins can get bonus seats on top of that 120-seat baseline.
⚬ The overall seat count for the left bloc expands, potentially allowing them to command a parliamentary majority even if the center-right win a higher total percentage of the nationwide popular Party Vote.

TPM can focus on winning electorate seats without much concern about their party vote. Getting Maori on the Maori Roll to vote for another Left Bloc party increases that party’s wins but doesn’t affect TPM’s Maori seats wins

Both TPM Co-leaders attempt to portray the giving of the Party Vote to other left bloc parties as a vast sacrifice by them and their party, akin to Maori who fought in World War II, a HUI interview being held in front of walls of photographs of relatives who are war heroes.

A question that is perhaps of interest is Do the seven Special Maori Seats make this tactic easier and so constitute an advantage for those on the Maori roll, accessible only through Maori descent? So another reason why Maori Seats should be removed, especially as the property-ownership rules that first necessitated them no longer exist.

And are TPM Co-leaders being upfront about over-hang seats boosting their to-date poor ratings in various polls?
And is this a sacrifice “for their mokopuna” or merely tikanga as John Tamihere defines it?
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August 18, 2026 8:08am
- Northshoredoc
  
  The current two leaders of the Maori Party come across as low rent grifters but I suspect there are enough dunces about to vote for them that we can expect both to be back in parliament.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:21am
- rouppe
  
  A question that is perhaps of interest is Do the seven Special Maori Seats make this tactic easier and so constitute an advantage for those on the Maori roll, accessible only through Maori descent?
  
  Of course it does. An electorate is supposed to represent the people in it. There are two overlapping electorate seats in any given place, with one seat restricted by race.
  
  I can’t think of a single other country where a similar electoral system exists. Out of interest I did a bit of a query on native American Indians and how voting works there and they still vote on the same roll, for the same House or Senate elections as everyone else.
  
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  August 18, 2026 8:24am
  - RoboRob
    
    Unfortunately the only way we will be able to ‘get rid’ of the Maori seats is likely to be convincing Maori to move to the normal roll.
    
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    August 18, 2026 8:49am
    - Grizz
      
      Or all of us move to the Maori Roll making the Maori seats irrelevant. Anyone can enroll in the Maori Roll. No proof is required.
      
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      August 18, 2026 8:56am
  - Yvette
    
    Rouppe
    New Zealand is not the only country with multiple electoral rolls.
    
    Taiwan, Croatia, Slovenia, Lebanon, Cyprus and Colombia use separate electoral registers primarily to guarantee representation for indigenous populations, ethnic minorities, or religious groups.
    
    Germany, Bolivia, Lesotho, and UK: Scotland and Wales can have overhang seats.
    
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    August 18, 2026 9:00am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Is this a joke article? One of Stuff’s opinion writers masquerading as a journalist reports a question and answer made to Christopher Luxon.

“The dominatrix, Felicity Maera-Wallace, told Stuff afterwards that she was serious about the public sector restructures having a flow on impact for sex workers.

“They definitely resulted in losing my customer base,” she said, claiming customers still wanted her services, but could no longer afford it.

“The fact is, demand is there, but the clients are staying home and wanking to free porn, not because they want to, but because that’s what they can afford,” she said”.

Her thesis seems to be that a sizeable proportion of laid off public sector employees in Wellington use dominatrix and other sex worker services.

I have my doubts, but her solution appears to be that more public servants should be hired, to keep her business in clover.

Words truly fail me.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361021447/christopher-luxons-advice-struggling-dominatrix
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August 18, 2026 8:15am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Canterbury hapū Ngāi Tūāhuriri has placed a rāhui over its customary whitebait season this year because of “continuing abuse” (my quotes).

What does this even mean? Are other members of the hapu shouting at the fishers? Other Maoris who want in? White baiters who disapprove of hapu members being given rights to go white baiting when no one else can?

I suspect the latter, but the storey is so poorly written, I have no idea.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/regional/1033491/ngai-tuahuriri-places-rahui-over-customary-whitebait-season-after-ongoing-abuse
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August 18, 2026 8:15am
slightlyrighty

And in politics in NZ today….

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361021447/christopher-luxons-advice-struggling-dominatrix

Given the Dominatrix is deaf, how does one communicate the safe word if your hands are tied??
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August 18, 2026 8:26am
Crafty

Looking through the msm stories this morning, it’s really shocking how many stories are attacking National. I’ve no problem with scrutiny but the quantity of stories attacking them is just completely excessive. Yet we have the possibility of a Labour/Greens/TPM/TOP government and the lack of any scrutiny on this extreme left collection of parties is really concerning. Kiwis deserve to know what they may be voting for.
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August 18, 2026 8:35am
Ian

Article on Stuff. A vandal in Torbay, Auckland shooting up vehicles with an air rifle using 6mm steel pellets. Put dents in a van and punched a clean hole through a windscreen. Obviously capable of serious injury and more. And people criticise police at the Sylvia Park shooting because “it was only an air rifle”…
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August 18, 2026 8:57am
Flossie

Driving in the Coromadel yesterday I noted on two occasions vehicles with a large yellow sign “Kura”. Presumably School bus. We have many tourists driving campervans around our roads so I wonder what do they understand them to be? These vehicles have special rules around them for the safety of the children.
Creeping Maorification.
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August 18, 2026 8:57am
- David Garrett
  
  Flossie: Yes..up here in the Kingdom that are called SCHOOLS funnily enough. But then the Tongans are very sensible – they tend not to invent words for things that didn’t exist pre European contact.
  
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  August 18, 2026 9:01am
- pdm
  
  More further indication of the epidemic that is Maorification Flossie.
  
  The following appointed but unelected positions paid and with voting rights were installed at Hastings District Council last week.
  
  Hastings District Council unelected iwi positions:
  
  * Māori Standing Committee: 8
  
  * Waste Water Committee: 5
  
  * Risk and Assurance Committee: 1
  
  * Performance and Monitoring Committee: 1
  
  * Strategy and Policy Committee: 1
  
  * Community and Civic Futures Subcommittee: 1
  
  * Infrastructure Delivery Subcommittee: 1
  
  Total: 18 appointed iwi positions.
  
  As I say – it is an epidemic/onslaught!!!
  
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  August 18, 2026 9:05am

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