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August 21, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 21 August 2026

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General Debate

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Yvette

Te Pati Maori
rort : a dishonest scheme, scam, or fraudulent way of taking unfair advantage of a public or organizational system.
or rot : decay, waste, or nonsense

Creating a hung-over Parliament
What is perhaps surprising is that Te Pāti Māori has gone ahead with the idea, despite the risks it carries. While parties have in the past done electorate deals to keep their coalition options open, Te Pāti Māori is embarking on a one-tick campaign without any such arrangement in place, with the intention of distorting the proportionality of Parliament.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/20/te-pati-maoris-hidden-path-to-major-leverage/?

The article offers it own list of risks –

1
… where a parliamentary overhang is the deciding factor in whether Labour or National gets to govern could threaten the perceived legitimacy of the election result

2
By using [the Maori Electorates] as a tool to intentionally produce an overhang, the party risks inciting backlash against them. New Zealand First and Act are already campaigning on the abolition of the seats, while Christopher Luxon’s National has pointedly declined to take a position on the issue.

3
If Te Pāti Māori were to produce an overhang that meant Chris Hipkins became Prime Minister instead of Luxon, expect even greater pressure to scrap the seats the next time a conservative government takes power. That’s the argument Labour’s Willie Jackson has made since Sunday.

and 4
What is te Pati Maori even doing here, when they claim Maori did not cede sovereignty so to them the Government is an illegitimate entity.
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August 21, 2026 8:03am
- Ehlana
  
  I’m not a physicist, but apparently, superposition in quantum mechanics means a thing can be in multiple states until it is measured. So TPM can both not cede sovereignty and therefore find the government illegitimate and be in Parliament at the same time.
  If when you measure (look), they are actually in Parliament, that’s probably because it’s a day on which taxpayers are paying for them to be there.
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:49am
  - Yvette
    
    With any luck, Ehlana, it may be more akin to Schrödinger’s cat where quantum mechanics suggests the cat in a cardboard carton is both alive and dead at the same time until someone looks, and, in the case of TPM, may it be the latter condition, becoming a boson particle, nicknamed the “God particle” because Nobel-winning physicist Leon Lederman wanted to call his 1993 book “The Goddamn Particle due to how hard it was to find”. (Yvette refrains from mentioning the implications of a black hole)
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:13am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Manurewa Marae have a Schrodinger Voting Booth…
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:32am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Using the overhang to get extra seats is not dishonest or fraudulent. It is a feature of MMP that anyone is entitled to take advantage of.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:41am
  - AitchW
    
    Yup. I’m just surprised that it’s taken 40 years for people to work it out.
    
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    August 21, 2026 9:44am
  - Yabster
    
    feature or failure of MMP..?
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:05am
    - R
      
      Failure! The system is wide open to defeating DEMOCRACY.
      
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      August 21, 2026 11:33am
  - Steve Todd
    
    @Nigel Kearney @ 9:41AM
    
    I totally agree, Nigel.
    
    One has to ask, why hasn’t this ‘flaw’ of MMP been flagrantly exploited before now? The answer is simple. As I have opined several times recently, people are simply not interested in being manipulated in this, or any other, way by presumably cynical politicians and their lackeys. And, if politicians (who, let’s face it, are fundamentally decent people) were to attempt such exploitations of The People, their parties would be punished.
    
    I have no idea what is going to happen on 7 November, but I very much doubt that we will end up with more than two overhang seats, whether intentionally (Te Pāti Māori), or accidentally (National). Three at the most.
    
    Just to refresh Kiwibloggers’ memories, here is a layout of the number of MPs after each of the 10 MMP elections—
    
    Seats in the House following each general election under MMP—
    
    1996 — 120
    1999 — 120
    2002 — 120
    2005 — 121 [1]
    2008 — 122 [2]
    2011 — 121 [3]
    2014 — 121 [4]
    2017 — 120
    2020 — 120
    2023 — 122* [5]
    
    * Plus Port Waikato, being an additional seat.
    
    [1] The Māori Party won 4 Electorate seats, but, proportionally, were only entitled to 3 seats out of 120, the Sainte-Laguë seat allocation being Nos. 23, 71 and 116.
    [2] The Māori Party won 5 Electorate seats, but, proportionally, were only entitled to 3 seats out of 120, the Sainte-Laguë seat allocation being Nos. 19, 59 and 99.
    [3] The Māori Party won 3 Electorate seats, but, proportionally, were only entitled to 2 seats out of 120, the Sainte-Laguë seat allocation being Nos. 34 and 99.
    [4] United Future won 1 Electorate seat, but, proportionally, were entitled to 0 seats out of 120.
    [5] Te Pāti Māori won 6 Electorate seats, but, proportionally, were only entitled to 4 seats out of 120, the Sainte-Laguë seat allocation being Nos. 15, 47, 77 and 108.
    
    In my view, Te Pāti Māori’s “rort” will fail. They will get four Electorate seats, at most (Labour the other three), and be proportionally entitled to two. In my further view, National will secure its proportional entitlement of seats, and no more.
    
    Relax, Kiwibloggers. It’s going to be fine.
    
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    August 21, 2026 2:21pm
- rouppe
  
  There is a precedent for a National Socialist party to use democracy to effectively throw out democracy.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:53am
- Grumpy Silver Top
  
  Point 4: Oh the irony, similar to Ms Paul’s denouncement of the English language, in English.
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:14am
  - Yvette
    
    While holding firm to the historical truth that sovereignty was never surrendered, Willie Jackson acknowledges the practical political reality that the New Zealand Parliament operates as the legitimate government of the country. As reported by Law News, accepting state legitimacy is what enables Māori leaders to engage directly within Parliament, utilize the courts, and hold the Crown accountable to its commitments.
    
    Willie Jackson’s stance highlights a key distinction in New Zealand constitutional law between historical sovereignty (mana) and the operational reality of Crown governance (kāwanatanga). By holding both views at once, he reflects a pragmatic approach that aligns with decades of legal and historical consensus.
    
    Grumpy Silver Top – Point 4: Oh the irony, similar to Ms Paul’s denouncement of the English language, in English. Akin to Schrödinger’s cat where quantum mechanics suggests the cat in a cardboard carton is both alive and dead at the same time until someone looks, Willie is both dead and alive after we look.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:57am
    - Grumpy Silver Top
      
      You lost me with mana and tikanga. They have multiple interpretations depending on the needs of the moment.
      
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      August 21, 2026 11:57am
Tomtoddy

According to a Stuff headline a “plethora” of people disrupted the Prime Minister’s last night meeting in Christchurch. The word ‘plethora’ means “a large or excessive number of something”. It turned out six people, in what had a look of something organised in advance, tried to disrupt his speech. The room was chocker full – 300 – 400 people and out of that six people is a “plethora”. Come on, Stuff, get over yourself. Grow up. How about some journalistic integrity?

Journalists were all lapping it up. Luxon didn’t seem to be fazed by it at all.
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August 21, 2026 8:06am
- Positan
  
  So many “journalists” appear to have a very poor grasp of the English language. Probably a result of the overbearing over-focus on te red.
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:12am
  - David Garrett
    
    Positan: Quote so. And they don’t even need to turn Spellcheck on : Word now identifies spelling mistakes with a squiggly red line, and grammatical errors by a squiggly blue line.
    
    It’s very obvious that most of them can’t even be bothered to proof read their work before pressing Send
    
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    August 21, 2026 8:23am
    - Positan
      
      David, other than the eternally provoking aspects of bad spelling (and even worse pronunciation) in so many circles today, it’s the use of completely incorrect, improper and usually irrelevant words as exemplified in the “plethora” instance above.
      
      Surely those in the trade of journalism – especially editors – should be able to render accurate descriptions through the use of apt terminology.
      
      Any fool can attempt to impress with “big” words – but if they’re not familiar with application and context, their sought objective can only result in derision from the enlightened.
      
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      August 21, 2026 9:44am
      - Cassandra
        
        Indubitably.
        
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        August 21, 2026 10:44am
      - David Garrett
        
        Positan: Quite so. I vividly remember one time at uni when I tried to use a “big word” to impress the lecturer. I used the word “approbation – meaning approval – when what I really meant was the opposite – i.e the use of “opprobrium” – vehement disapproval.
        
        The lecturer concerned – Vincent Orange – saw that I had got the meaning wrong, and circled the word with several red circles – and then noted “means approval” beside it. Never again did I make the mistake of using a “big word” whose meaning I was not totally certain of.
        
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        August 21, 2026 11:19am
      - greybeard
        
        DG: please don’t end your sentences with a preposition.
        
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        August 21, 2026 12:03pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Grey: You are of course quite right! I plead inability to draft a serious letter AND comment sensibly here
        Mea culpa.
        
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        August 21, 2026 12:08pm
      - CJames
        
        DG Isn’t the riposte supposed to be the WSC line “that is something up with which I will not put.”
        
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        August 21, 2026 12:51pm
      - David Garrett
        
        CJ: Yes…the great man had a way with words which I can only envy.
        
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        August 21, 2026 1:00pm
      - Charlotte Wells
        
        “don’t end your sentences with a preposition.”
        
        This is a totally debunked grammatical concept.
        
        It first came to be when an english tutor tried to apply Latin grammar to english.
        
        “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put”—is a satirical joke mocking the old myth that you must never end a sentence with a preposition.
        
        Historians note there is no proof Churchill ever said it.
        
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        August 21, 2026 1:10pm
      - David Lenny
        
        Here’s just one of many online opinions in support of the terminal preposition, this one from Merriam-Webster.
        
        Ending a sentence with a preposition (such as with, of, and to) is permissible in the English language. It seems that the idea that this should be avoided originated with writers Joshua Poole and John Dryden, who were trying to align the language with Latin, but there is no reason to suggest ending a sentence with a preposition is wrong. Nonetheless, the idea that it is a rule is still held by many.
        
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        August 21, 2026 1:30pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Of course the English language is constantly evolving and developing.
        
        Seems that over the last 20 years, the Oxford English Dictionary (real English) , has added an average of roughly 1,000 to 2,000 brand-new main word entries per year
        This doesn’t include the thousands of redefinitions.
        
        My favorite example during my lifetime is the word “gay.”
        Carefree & Joyful
        Homosexual
        Lame /Foolish
        
        So all this nit-picking could label the nitpicker as a bit of a cumudgeon?
        
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        August 21, 2026 3:24pm
      - CJames
        
        Charlotte
        It looks like WSC did use it but only by copying others’ earlier use of it, like a lot of Winston’s witticisms.
        https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/07/04/churchill-preposition/
        
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        August 21, 2026 6:50pm
    - Philview
      
      I heard a journalist on TV the other night describe something as “delish” rather the “delicious”. I thought that will grate the ears of a few people.
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:20am
      - Cassandra
        
        Eruption reported from the vicinity of Tonga.
        
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        August 21, 2026 10:46am
      - graham
        
        Philview, I wince every time I hear “cops” instead of “police”, and “kids” instead of “children”.
        
        This is One News at 6. The supposed “flagship” programme. Grownup, with proper journalists and everything.
        
        But woe betide if they pronounce a Maori word incorrectly …
        
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        August 21, 2026 11:04am
      - Dr John
        
        And the tv3 weather presenter referring to ‘Gizzy’ and “Invy’ and ALWAYS announcing Australia as ‘over the ditch’. Auckland is always prefaced as ‘Tāmaki Makaurau ‘ and frequently the ‘Auckland’ word is left out.
        
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        August 21, 2026 11:51am
      - Positan
        
        It’s “contriBUTE” and “distriBUTE” rather than “conTRIbute” and “disTRIbute” that get me – along with “owswhere” for “elsewhere” as is constantly favoured by OneNEWS weather-women who appear to lack basic understanding of vowel sounds.
        
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        August 21, 2026 12:16pm
      - kowtow
        
        Student instead of pupil .
        
        The worst offenders being “educators” themselves.
        
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        August 21, 2026 2:06pm
    - mike
      
      Nice proof of Muphry’s Law there.
      
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      August 21, 2026 12:16pm
    - OlderChas
      
      DG – quote so! Proofreading is everything.
      
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      August 21, 2026 5:31pm
  - R
    
    ‘Overbearing focus’……..more like the fact that most of these journalists are products of Tomorrow’s Schools education policies, or the older ones have been influenced by the same.
    Factual accuracy in anything is not required.
    
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    August 21, 2026 9:11am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Article was written by Lloyd Burr, BA(hons) in Communication Studies (Otago).
    
    I’d award him an “Achieved” for alliteration and repetition (Creative Writing NCEA-Level one) for the repeated use of the phrase plethora of protesters .
    
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361022600/get-your-hands-me-says-luxon-protester-she-was-one-six
    
    A paucity of protestors just doesn’t seem to carry the same oooomph, does it?
    
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    August 21, 2026 9:47am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Lloyd would be correctly assuming that most of his readership also don’t know the meaning of the word….
      
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      August 21, 2026 9:53am
      - Hugh Jarse
        
        Lloyd probably assumes correctly that very few people bother reading his droppings or most other Stuff reporters for that matter in any case, therefore language doesn’t matter.
        
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        August 22, 2026 12:54am
    - Positan
      
      Vis-vis “plethora” … A superfluity of culinary assistance is apt to exercise a detrimental effect on the consommé.
      
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      August 21, 2026 9:54am
    - rouppe
      
      Perhaps he could have said array of angry anarchists.
      
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      August 21, 2026 9:57am
      - Hugh Jarse
        
        A mob of munters ?
        
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        August 22, 2026 12:55am
    - Grumpy Silver Top
      
      Misuse of AI, methinks.
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:17am
    - Gravelroad
      
      Yes, it was a piece of creative writing.
      It wasn’t a news report.
      It wasn’t “Journalism” even by today’s standards.
      I used to be a newspaper reporter. The tutors at the tertiary course I attended, and the editor, subs and chief reporter at the paper where I was subsequently employed, all said the same thing:
      “You are a reporter here.
      Report the facts.
      The paying subscribers to this paper do not want to know your opinion of the facts.
      Do not insert hyperbole in order to slant the situation.
      Only the editor or the most senior reporter, are competent to write an opinion piece.”
      
      Now every kid straight out of “Journalism” school is an opinion writer and very confident that their opinion is sacrosanct.
      News reporters are almost non-existent.
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:23am
      - OlderChas
        
        I agree entirely GravelRoad. They do not even refer to their recorded ramblings as reports – they openly call them their stories.
        
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        August 21, 2026 5:40pm
    - R
      
      Lloyd Burr, from what I have seen of him on TV, he would fit into the product of tomorrow’s schools grouping.
      
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      August 21, 2026 11:40am
  - leoj
    
    No, modern day journalists are a product of a failed education system, especially at university level.
    
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    August 21, 2026 1:05pm
- Yvette
  
  Tomtoddy where is a journalist that will do their job?
  
  Where is a journalist who will ask Bishop Brian Tamiki what is his response to ACT proposing legal confirmation of the secularity of Government and all its services, separating out creed before need and being neutral on spirituality or religion?
  
  Where is a journalist who will even ask Christopher Luxon the same question?
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:19am
  - Groggy
    
    who cares what Brian the EFTpostle thinks?
    
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    August 21, 2026 12:18pm
- peterwn
  
  Historically, National Party election meetings were open to all, including the large ‘Town Hall’ meetings in the main centres. Equivalent Labour Party meetings were ‘ticketed’ events and the leader or other senior candidate got upset at any heckling etc.
  The funniest incident I recall was the heckler who called out ‘will you import more apples like last time’ and Keith Holyoake responded ‘now that would give us all the pip’.
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:20am
- kowtow
  
  If the disorderly , fascistic thugs had been from the “blue” side of politics those journalists would be in full cry against such .
  
  As they are from the red team and all about issues close to the journalists’ and editorial teams’ own agenda , well not so much.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:02am
- Simon
  
  MSM still calls National centre right. National couldn’t pay for this propaganda.
  
  MSM say “the centre right Luxon led govt” This is just gold for National. The centre right.
  
  Gated boomers which form the basis of National support should never complain about MSM again.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:03am
- Ehlana
  
  Plethora means six out of 300 – 400 in the same sense that you can’t be racist toward white people and a man can be a woman. I recently learned that time-keeping is white supremacy so I’d imagine dictionaries are too.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:17am
  - hmmokrightitis
    
    Don’t forget, the countryside is racist.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:55am
    - Paulus
      
      What country side. it is called the Motu on TVNZ now !
      Get it right heathen !
      
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      August 21, 2026 4:31pm
- Flossie
  
  Their grasp of English is not the issue. What is more concerning is their spin on how badly anything to do with Luxon – and National – turned out.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:51am
- Ghost
  
  They were pushing an edited meme from the real housewives in the article yesterday, Screenshot. I see they still have it up in the article.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:59am
MCōs

Here’s an interesting piece of NZ history
https://www.facebook.com/reel/2130064797913896/?fs=e&fs=e
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August 21, 2026 8:13am
Tomtoddy

Crikey, academics can get up themselves sometimes, very seriously. Some senior guy at a Belgian university is likely to be fired for suggesting that Ardy, the Cambridge University’s poster DEI professor was plagiarising material and was a possible fraud. This was well before Ardy’s suicide.

Seems like free speech is only free if it is not offending the sensibilities of the woke elite.
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August 21, 2026 8:15am
- CJames
  
  All across Europe they are clamping down on anything that goes against the woke elite’s views of the world. Look at how the populist parties are treated (many aren’t even right wing in the classical sense). Then the is trying to stop opposition to all the third world economic migrants. The thought police crimes are increasing with new clampdowns all the time.
  Are these actions the death thoes of a cabal desperate to cling to power against the democratic “mob” or the start of a new pan-europe authoritarian regime? I hope the former but suspect it is the latter.
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:24am
  - AitchW
    
    Labour governments across the western world are destroying the countries they were elected to govern.
    Electorate vote National, party vote ACT. Keep the marxists, racists, and keffiyeh wearers out.
    
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    August 21, 2026 8:29am
    - Don Beckett
      
      They are using “1984” by George Orwell as an instruction manual. Seriously.
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:44am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  It’s not academics that have suspended Nathan Cofnas, it’s administrators at the University of Ghent.
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:45am
  - kowtow
    
    Wow ’tis true , you Pope types really do like arguing about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:26am
  - CJames
    
    The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party. In a previous life, Petra was called Paul.
    As another person who had a run-in with Paul wrote, “He hates real scientists and truth. Paul even denies the existence of binary biological sex. When I had a debate with him on national television about transgenderism, he lost badly and tried to get me kicked out of university out of spite.
    Paul, leading member of the far-left Green Party, is also extremely incompetent. During his four year tenure as minister responsible for state companies, our two biggest state companies Bpost (postal services) and Proximus (telecom services) lost respectively 80% and 65% of their market value.
    Paul did not only commit plagiarism himself, he is also is guilty of everything he accuses others of. In 2024, days before the election, he accused me of having stalked and threatened a minor ‘trans boy’ (= girl). This was a complete and utter lie, but in collaboration with the media, the lie ran for days, influencing the election outcome. After I filed a complaint with police for defamation, Paul quietly retracted his statements, but never corrected them. That’s how much of a coward he is. In any case, he should go to jail for deliberately, wrongfully accusing a political opponent of a heinous crime.”
    
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    August 21, 2026 4:07pm
Swifty

Referring to our conversation here the other day on the Chathams waka needing preservation.

I came across this last night:

https://www.facebook.com/share/19ALHezydX

Looks like more than just a log to me. There’s more than a bit of thought and work that’s gone into that.
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August 21, 2026 8:23am
David Garrett

Good morning from the Kingdom…a very cool 19C here this am.
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August 21, 2026 8:37am
- Ra Henare
  
  Nice and warm, sunny with fluffy white clouds, in the Big Kingdom.
  Yes, sometimes it could be considered boring, not having to wear a jacket.
  
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  August 21, 2026 3:36pm
graham

Having spent ten years driving Auckland city businesses to the brink of despair, the City Rail Link now turns its attention to residents who actually live in the city.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland/city-rail-link-neighbours-lose-sleep-over-karanga-a-hape-station-vent-noise/RM6UXNX265GBVL4TRLMCS6WOPA/

Residents living above a City Rail Link ventilation shaft say the relentless hum of giant fans running day and night has invaded their homes, robbed them of sleep and left them with no escape from the noise.

They said the ventilation fans at the new Karanga-a-Hape Station have become an almost constant presence, with the worst din hitting at night.
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August 21, 2026 8:45am
- Inandout
  
  graham, just a simpler named ‘K Rd’ may need fewer ventilation fans, or merely a fan forced system. Give it a Maori name and watch the dollars disappear.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:41am
  - graham
    
    Apparently, ‘Karanga-a-Hape’ is meant to be a grammatical correction of the current Karangahape. The City Rail Link website has a page about it, including an audio link on how to pronounce it.
    
    https://www.cityraillink.co.nz/karangaahape-location
    
    Listening to the audio link, it sounds incredibly awkward to pronounce it. I personally doubt it will catch on, apart from the usual suspects, including the media who will be careful to ensure they pronounce it correctly. I imagine ‘K-Road Station’ will become the most commonly used name.
    
    Oh, and of course the CRL website also has the obligatory description of the ‘design elements’ with a healthy dose of Maori mythology and spirituality:
    
    Threshold Elements – these are unique to each station and represents an aspect and narrative relating to each station’s Māori deity (atua), or god.
    
    While all four CRL stations are designed around the creation story with Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother), Karanga-a-Hape Station’s design also references their son, Tāne Mahuta, God of the forest, who pushed his parents apart to create light (day). Allusions to the kauri tree are shown through the large pupurangi shells on the entrance ceiling (these snails live on the tree’s leaves).
    
    Strangely, I keep hearing that New Zealand has no state religion and is a secular country. Obviously this is misinformation …
    
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    August 21, 2026 12:06pm
  - Paulus
    
    Same ventilation noise all night from he main station downtown Auckland when you stayed in the next door Hotel with road noise in a front room and air con in a rear room.
    
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    August 21, 2026 2:07pm
- kowtow
  
  The station shold be renamed something that Auckers can identify with.
  
  Krappy , Not Happy.
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:31am
  - leoj
    
    Crap and be happy…..
    
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    August 21, 2026 1:09pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

DoC are looking at cutting their marketing and comms team from 83 to 55. Cue tears from the usual suspects.

I don’t know how many marketing and comms people DoC need, but even 55 seems like rather a lot.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/1068380/more-job-cuts-on-the-cards-at-conservation-department-union-says
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August 21, 2026 8:54am
- pdm
  
  Bollocks – even 5 could be too many.
  
  What do they do all day?
  
  Does anyone know?
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:32am
  - rouppe
    
    Well, when I rang them about the water supply problems at the doc camp site at ohakune, they did refer me to the district council… 😶
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:04am
  - Groggy
    
    Probably answer OIA’s and PQ’s mostly. They take immense amounts of time to answer accurately. Unless you are the PM’s office and don’t bother to log or disclose documents.
    
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    August 21, 2026 12:23pm
- RichardF
  
  DOC has around 2,500 staff. Their marketing department is a similar size to organisations 3x their size. Looks excessive.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:37am
- imalwaysright
  
  Why would you need 55 people to tell the truth…?
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:40am
  - R
    
    55 to tell the truth!…….possibly one of them could be factually correct.
    
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    August 21, 2026 11:46am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yes R, but which one….?
      
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      August 21, 2026 1:10pm
- Ra Henare
  
  To add, do the education of the emotionally charged here.
  
  The communications team (Not The PR /marketing department).
  
  Is responsible for (amongst other things)
  
  Media Relations & Issues Management(Think 1080 type things)
  
  Media Relations & Issues Management (Think preventing fresh water pests)
  
  Ministerial & Government Servicing (Think preparing ministers’ briefings/speeches/questions in the house,
  
  Digital Channels (think webpages and social media)
  
  and a whole bunch more.
  
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  August 21, 2026 3:50pm
Simon

As National mass imports the third world then needs to a change in how people conduct business. You can’t trust at face value what someone says. If it negotiations assume they are lying.

The third world introduced into NZ by National has changed thing. Its now low trust out there.
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August 21, 2026 8:59am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  Do you have any data on the skill levels of immigrants compared to New Zealand born folk? Otherwise you are not very convincing.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:42am
  - Media hater
    
    What does ‘skill level’ have to do with trustworthiness in business, Nikola?
    
    5 3
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    August 21, 2026 10:05am
  - Cassandra
    
    Data? From Simon?
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:51am
- RichardF
  
  There are several well-documented cases involving Indian migrants, Indian-owned businesses, recruitment/visa fraud, and employment exploitation. Common scams include..
  
  – Selling jobs / employment premiums
  – Selling fake or non-existent AEWV jobs
  – Immigration advisor fraud
  – Fake qualifications and experience documents
  – Driver-licence conversion irregularities
  – Wage theft involving migrant workers
  – Employers using visa dependence to intimidate workers
  – “Training” arrangements used to avoid paying wages
  – Workers being charged for accommodation or other costs
  – Recruitment networks involving family/community connections
  – Businesses using migrant labour while circumventing minimum employment standards.
  
  I’m not aware of any other ethnic groups with that sort of track record.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:48am
  - kowtow
    
    Mortgage fraud was hardly ever a thing here . Now it’s growing and I see is a concern in Oz as well.
    
    I did a little research and the results were interesting.
    
    Oh deary me.
    
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    August 21, 2026 1:09pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Credit where credit is due. Stuff have had a look at the TOP tax examples, and it looks like TOP are telling porkies.

And there was me thinking that they were going to be different.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361021355/fact-checking-farmer-kev-and-landlord-larry-do-opportunitys-tax-tales-stack
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August 21, 2026 9:02am
- RoboRob
  
  The Labour loving lovies at Stuff must be getting worried about the Labour voters fleeing to TOP.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:33am
  - Philview
    
    I wonder if Sir Ian Taylor is having second thoughts now that the Left media have turned on Opportunity. Sir Ian did appear on the Platform and explain his rationale and I think he was attracted to the concept of “fresh ideas”. It would be better if Gareth Morgan stepped up to explain, as they are his policy ideas which he has said are evidence based.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:28am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      Gareth Morgan originally disowned the current iteration of TOP on the Platform but then on a visit to that same organization more recently he’s quite liked the fact they’ve kept some of his policies,- he didn’t then seem to know much of the actual detail involved.
      Conclusion: Morgan is a slightly mad contrarian. We wouldn’t know or care about his opinion if he hadn’t had the money to launch the party in the first place.
      
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      August 21, 2026 11:22am
      - RoboRob
        
        And Sir Ian Taylor is very similar. If he wasn’t a skilled artist, nobody what know or care about is political beliefs.
        
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        August 21, 2026 1:31pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Ah the excitement of youth
        eg forgetting (? Not yet grown up?)
        
        Gareth Morgan’s history as a respected and oft-quoted ECONOMIST in NZ before his son hit the Trademen jackpot.
        
        I well remember his presentations to business groups; they were always interesting and thought-provoking.
        
        But like many lottery winners he went off the deep end on many pet ideas (e.g., TOP)
        
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        August 21, 2026 3:56pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  The real problems are the assumptions that the land tax will not cause property values to fall and reduce the resulting tax revenue, and that people who are given free money will not choose to work less.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:45am
  - Taieri
    
    people who are given free money will not choose to work less
    ————-
    
    And not forgetting the fact that quite a lot of this “free” money will have to be borrowed.
    (At least three of my immediate neighbours will not be able to pay land tax from their current income. They are all in their late 60s and live solely off their super).
    
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    August 21, 2026 9:52am
    - rouppe
      
      That is the cohort the media are studiously ignoring.
      
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      August 21, 2026 10:29am
  - I remember when
    
    Also what effect will the UBI have on future wages.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:03am
  - rouppe
    
    Can I set up a valuation company that sets the land value at $1 and the improvements at $800,000?
    
    7 1
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    August 21, 2026 10:28am
    - Ra Henare
      
      The Fraud squad would be quickly knocking on your door, but nice try.
      
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      August 21, 2026 3:58pm
- I remember when
  
  As the party signs all say “Expect Better.”
  And we did!
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:00am
- R
  
  Well, TOP are in reality an off shoot of Labour.
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:49am
lastmanstanding

The unintended consequences of Governments meddling in the housing market. The Australian Labor Government recently made changes to their income tax and CGT. The result. The housing market has crashed with many recent home buyers “under water”. The Government said the changes were to help first home buyers. These buyers are now locked out of the market as banks demand much higher deposits more than the prospective buyers have saved.
Smart Governments would ensure they set policies so that over the long term supply and demand were equal. This would ensure property prices remained constant as regards the rate of inflation and the income to property value also remained constant. As an example with my wife and I purchased our first home in Auckland in 1973 the cost was 2 times our combined gross salaries. It was the same when we purchased our second home in 1979. The ratio should be the same now.
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August 21, 2026 9:05am
- Handyman
  
  The housing market is different now compared to 1960.
  1. House product mix. In the peak of the baby boom, most houses were small starter homes, so the average house price was low. Now basic starter homes are a smaller percentage of the reported average price.
  2. House quality. 1960 houses were smaller and did not have dishwashers, air con or even insulation.
  3. Land prices. 1960 houses were built in what are now inner city suburbs. People now pay a premium price to live in these same suburbs, making starter hone uneconomic to build in the suburbs where today’s buyers grew up.
  4. Salary/age mix. In the 1960’s a 25 year old could have ten years’ experience and have a secure well-paid job in the civil service. Perversely, today a 25 year old could have a degree and be applying for those same entry level jobs.
  
  In addition, there are real wages and interest rates effects.
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:01am
  - R
    
    Handyman, to know such facts, you must be from the same age generation as me. Most of the people making major decisions today, only left school/ Uni in the last decade or two. No real experience.
    
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    August 21, 2026 11:54am
  - Ra Henare
    
    Handyman. Don’t forget many of the 1960s-ish houses didnt have a garage, let alone a double garage.
    
    But more land for veggie gardens & lawns.
    
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    August 21, 2026 4:00pm
    - R
      
      ……..and married residents who weren’t afraid of a bit of hard work and had the motivation to provide for, and care for their offspring ( children, now referred to as kids); guess the goats for some of the fringe political parties have to come from somewhere
      
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      August 21, 2026 5:22pm
    - OlderChas
      
      And no lawns, hedges, fences or even pathways. Let alone a driveway to a non-existent garage.
      
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      August 21, 2026 5:53pm
- Ehlana
  
  Median pay in NZ is apparently just under $70,000 p.a. at present.
  Median house price is $760,000.
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:22am
  - anonymouse
    
    The ratio uses “Household” income, not individual.
    
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    August 21, 2026 10:31am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Just as well you can send the wife out to work, eh.
      
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      August 21, 2026 8:55pm
- Ian
  
  When I first started working in the early 1970’s, a house was a multiple of 3 years income, a year’s wages bought a brand new small car and a man’s suit cost a weeks wages. The last two have actually come down as a multiple but for a house – what went wrong there?
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:26am
  - Flossie
    
    Houses have changed. As has been mentioned, a 1960’s house was small – two or three bedrooms, one bathroom and one living area nevermind a media room! Kitchens were basic too and not the granite palaces they are now.
    My first house was like that and had no insulation whatsoever in ceiling or walls, and of course not under the floor either. Heating – what?! Carpets and window coverings?! Again nothing. There was no garage and no driveway (nor any other concrete paths), Neighbours pitched in and helped one another mix and pour a bit of pathway to the clothesline.
    Sure compared to today’s wage to house ratio it was “more affordable” and therefore us baby boomers were So Lucky.
    
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    August 21, 2026 12:36pm
- pb
  
  An average house in the 60’s cost 250 ounces. Today a house only costs about 100 ounces!
  
  What the gormless Bank and State collusion has wrought is massive inflation, the destruction of value. The siphoning of wealth into the elitist fat cat asset class. House prices were a necessary sacrifice.
  
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  August 21, 2026 10:51am
Southern Raider

Even Stuff is finding massive gaps in TOPs tax policy now

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361021355/fact-checking-farmer-kev-and-landlord-larry-do-opportunitys-tax-tales-stack
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August 21, 2026 9:08am
- RichardF
  
  I bet they’re writing it through gritted teeth.
  
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  August 21, 2026 9:49am
  - Grumpy Silver Top
    
    Maybe AI has done a balanced assessment. Just saying…
    
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    August 21, 2026 11:59am
- Ra Henare
  
  Southern.
  Sadly that was all predictable.
  MSM need a woopee story as this years election cycle was/is FKING boring.
  So promote TOP(Like they did with Jacinda) sell more clicks.
  
  Then when the steam ran out of that, switch to chop top to get to sell more clicks.
  
  Its a marketing strategy used by media around the world for decades, if not centuries.
  
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  August 21, 2026 4:06pm
imalwaysright

Maorification has nothing to do with respecting Maori culture.

Maorification is a Socialist political program designed to indoctrinate compliance.

If people are willing to comply with Maorification, then they will comply with anything.
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August 21, 2026 9:38am
Maggy Wassilieff

Conservative Maori voice lost to National now with NZ First

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2608/S00179/why-the-conservative-maori-should-come-out-from-the-shadows-by-whanganui-candidate-harete-hipango-brownlie.htm
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August 21, 2026 10:28am
Ian

10.30. a.m. and the Daily Blog. Four main articles. First Boomer Bradbury laments his fall and hospitalisation and asks for cash. One response wishing him well, but doesn’t say they donated. Three other articles, only two with posted comments, both from the same person. Meanwhile at Kiwiblog, the site is humming….
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August 21, 2026 10:39am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Open Mike on ‘The Standard” has been open for 5 hours… 1 comment on the Ranfurly Shield and 1 deleted comment.
  
  Looks like folks from the Left are all too busy at WORK to be commenting…
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:08am
  - R
    
    ‘at WORK’!…..twas a cold morning today, probably still in bed.
    
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    August 21, 2026 11:57am
    - rouppe
      
      They’re up at Turoa. I got diverted into the second carpark this morning.
      
      Bugger that. Turned around and left.
      
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      August 21, 2026 12:23pm
      - alwyn.a
        
        Well I’m not surprised you got diverted.
        I’ll bet you were driving a an old car, by which I mean one that dates way back to 2023.
        Anything like that brings down the tone of the neighborhood at Turoa, so of course you get put in the second class parking,
        
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        August 21, 2026 5:22pm
Southern Raider

Interesting that hyperscalers in the US are planning to build multi GW gas generators for their new datacentres. This includes Amazon and Microsoft.

The Greens are having a meltdown as they blocked datacentres connecting to the grid and so the datacentre operators are now doing their own off grid generation

Shows there is a lot of life left yet in natural gas although NZ seems to have given up on it
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August 21, 2026 10:46am
surfing

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-hospitals-near-constant-overcrowding-putting-patients-at-risk-doctor-says/YCCR3M2V5NB7PL4TFOEMQOHWVM/

Now normal is overcrowded. This is repeated across the nation , surely this is a healthcare crisis?
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August 21, 2026 10:51am
- Ghost
  
  Can anyone recall a winter in the last two decades when the hospitals weren’t overcrowded, apart from covid.
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:01am
- Raphael
  
  Part of that is because Labour closed a number of the satellite 24-hour A&E sites (not closed totally, but no longer 24-hour).
  My Wife’s godmother worked at one, and they would get a fair number of less urgent cases that could be handled by them, and act as a triage for any that needed to go to the hospital. When those were no longer available 24 hours, then all those people went instead to the hospital, and now it is overcrowded.
  
  Here in Tauranga, our only 24-hour service is the hospital.
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:26am
- newview
  
  Maybe part of the problem is education and compliance. How many of these people could have had flu vaccine and haven’t, and how many have or been able to access cheaper doctors visits and high user prescription discounts. I don’t know the numbers but I do know many turn up to ED who shouldn’t be there and many leave a sickness too long and it turns into something more serious.
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:32am
- rouppe
  
  There are 8 options available now for online tele health consultations 24/7.
  
  https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/online-phone-healthcare/online-gp-care
  
  Community services card holders pay $25-$33. If the consult is for under 13 years, is no charge.
  
  So if it’s about availability, there’s your option. But I’d not be surprised if it was because people want to pay nothing.
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:41am
  - imalwaysright
    
    They may not have $25.
    
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    August 21, 2026 11:51am
    - newview
      
      Apparently at risk families and those with chronic health conditions can have free flu vaccination.
      
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      August 21, 2026 1:02pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Seems that the flu injection would have no bearing on chronic health conditions.
        
        It is probably that people are under dosed with vitamin D etc and immune systems are not working efficiently.
        
        2 1
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        August 21, 2026 1:16pm
- R
  
  No, this is election year; about 70 days to voting day
  
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  August 21, 2026 11:59am
rouppe

A perspective on the frigate conversation.

Should the Kiwis choose the British made T31 frigate or the Japanese Mogami?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/20/type-31-frigate-royal-navy-japan-mogami-nz-warships/
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August 21, 2026 12:09pm
- Don Beckett
  
  That’s a no-brainer. I’d go Japanese every time.
  The British ship-building industry was stuffed when UK entered the EU – or it’s predecessor.
  
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  August 21, 2026 1:38pm
  - kowtow
    
    DB
    
    The irony !
    
    The wholly Spanish govt owned ship building company Navantia now owns the famous ship yard in Belfast Harland and Wolff and is gaining UK contracts to build UK naval assets .
    
    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedj7je0zlzo
    
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    August 21, 2026 2:56pm
- virtualmark
  
  Our closest and tightest defence alignment and inter-operation is with Australia, so the starting point for any defence procurement should be “Buy what Australia has bought, unless there’s a manifest reason to buy something else”.
  
  Type 31 looks to be a good ship. But the Aussies have ordered the Upgraded Mogamis so that should point to us buying them too.
  
  The big question is not so much what ship should we buy, but rather how many should we buy. I’d like to see us order at least 4.
  
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  August 21, 2026 2:31pm
  - Paulus
    
    Upgradings required as the waters of the Southern Oceans are much more vicious than further North,.
    One of our Frigates a few year ago was stoved in down down South in bad conditions but was built to Commercial specification and not Military.
    
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    August 21, 2026 4:40pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

The reason machine guns were invented…

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/361022922/tourists-flee-smugglers-drop-dozens-migrants-spanish-beach
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August 21, 2026 12:23pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  An invasion by tens of thousands of military age males is the ideal time to deploy a machine gun.
  
  The suicidal empathy of Europe is going to regret not doing so.
  
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  August 21, 2026 4:25pm
Ghost

Just leave it off. This is a memorial to Kennedy, leave it as that.

The Kennedy Center’s board told federal court that it will not try to put President Donald Trump’s name back on the building’s facade before at least Sept. 8, giving both sides time to discuss a new resolution opponents say flouts a prior court order.

Article
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August 21, 2026 12:54pm
- Nikola Donatello
  
  It is disgusting what Trump has done to the Kennedy Center. That was the last straw for me. The guy is evil.
  
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  August 21, 2026 1:01pm
  - newview
    
    Classic Megalomania.
    
    6 5
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    August 21, 2026 1:05pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Evil?
    Really?
    Infantilism is rife in NZ, could there be nuance involved that one may not be capable of comprehending?
    
    5 3
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    August 21, 2026 1:05pm
    - Hard Cheese
      
      I wouldn’t call him evil…I’d say obsessive narcissism combined with low intelligence
      
      4 4
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      August 21, 2026 3:22pm
      - alwyn.a
        
        I imagine his next trick will be to issue a Presidential decree that renames the city from Washington to Trumpania or suchlike.
        
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        August 21, 2026 5:32pm
Swifty

Yep, that’s what we pay our public servants their high salaries for – buggering off to prance about at Maori Language Week parades – instead of providing the ‘essential public services’ that they keep lecturing us about.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14oATkXp1op

Thanks for looking after our interests PSA!
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August 21, 2026 1:12pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Fairly white Maori there – oh, that’s right – indoctrinated white folk are more Maori than Maori.
  
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  August 21, 2026 3:11pm
Steve Todd

Monday, 17 August, our time, may well be seen to be when Trump truly lost the American people, and ensured that a blue tsunami will overwhelm him and MAGA come Wednesday afternoon, 4 November.

That was when Jon Ossoff, at his Senate re-election campaign rally in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, gave a devastating critique of Trump, particularly with regard to his reaction to the plight of the sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently believed to be in or around the Strait of Hormuz.

The aircraft carrier left San Diego on 21 November, which means that, apart from two brief stopovers — in Guam in December and then on 7 July, when it briefly pulled into Oman — the ship and its crew, as at right now, have been at sea for a record 272 days. (See https://www.ms.now/news/navy-meeting-san-diego-uss-lincoln.)

See Ossoff’s speech, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL-EzL0mYGE [33:28]. In my view, he is very Clinton-/Obama-like in his rhetoric. Powerful stuff. The ‘Natalie/flying palace’ reference is at 8:50–9:20.

If Ossoff is sworn in as the 48th president on 20 January 2029, I have no doubt the start of his rise to the White House will be traced back to this speech.

Then we have President Bill Clinton’s reaction to Ossoff’s speech, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqRQNvkj7bY&t=23s [20:57]. Sound only.

In my view, this speech is crucial listening. As well as praising Ossoff’s speech, except for the ‘Natalie innuendo’, Clinton lays out why Trump simply should not be the Commander-in-Chief.

Enjoy.
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August 21, 2026 1:25pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  272 days, must have been a living hell. Particularly when compared to my uncle Jim who was taken prisoner on Crete in 1941 and didn’t get home until 1945.
  
  Plight, my arse. One boy told his mum he was doing it tough as he couldn’t buy as much as he wanted from the ships commissary.
  
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  August 21, 2026 2:19pm
  - Don Beckett
    
    My understanding is that there were about 5 or 6 guys who were a bit stressed – certainly not the whole crew. You’re in the Navy, boys, & you’re on active duty. Harden up !
    Probably just missing Mama’s blueberry pie & a cuddle & tuck in at night.
    
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    August 21, 2026 3:13pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Groan!
      
      Don, you’ve got to stop watching Tousi TV!
      
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      August 21, 2026 3:42pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Agreed Charlotte. And these were all volunteers so you would expect them to be made of stiffer stuff than the conscripts.
    
    Some are just whining because they disagree with Trump at a political level. Sorry mate, that’s not how the US military works. You sign up to obey the president’s orders whether you like their politics or not.
    
    If you’re going to have a problem serving under Trump (or Obama for that matter) then don’t sign up.
    
    That said, the US Navy has always been a bit soft. They had special refrigerated “Icecream barges” even during WW2. These had onboard ice cream machines that could crank out over 300 litres of ice cream an hour.
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream_barge
    
    As for whining to mum… WTF is with the younger people of today? When do they become adults and sort out their own problems?
    
    6 4
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    August 21, 2026 4:19pm
    - Jack5
      
      But the American sailors, unlike the British, didn’t get a rum ration.
      
      0 1
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      August 21, 2026 6:52pm
- virtualmark
  
  The Democratic primary for the 2028 Presidential election will be hard fought.
  
  Buttigieg and Ossoff look to be the most talented politicians in the field (although whether the US is ready for a gay President is an open question). Newsom and Beshear will want to run. Shapiro might give it a try (is the US ready for a Jewish President?). AOC is rumoured to be considering a run (although it might be better if she could knock off Schumer).
  
  Likely to be a crowded field.
  
  6 3
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  August 21, 2026 2:35pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    AOC will be 38 on 13 October. I agree, she should take out Chuck Schumer in 2028, spend at least one term (preferably two or more) in the Senate, then try her luck.
    
    Personally, I don’t think she is presidential material — but, who knows, she’s still very young. Nice lady, but Congress is where she should continue striving to make her mark, in my view.
    
    3 6
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    August 21, 2026 2:54pm
    - Ghost
      
      the next American president will be a female republican. Here is a story on her Steve. Article
      
      What do you think of her?
      
      3 1
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      August 21, 2026 3:16pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        You’re a terrible man, Ghost.
        
        How on earth could you stumble across such a thing?
        
        To answer your question: she’s not quite my cup of tea.
        
        1 3
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        August 21, 2026 3:32pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Agree on AOC. I doubt she will ever be President because she’s too left wing to win a national election. But I suspect she could be a good VP candidate one day, to bring in a lot of votes.
      
      2 0
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      August 21, 2026 8:03pm
- Steve Todd
  
  It looks like Jon Ossoff knows exactly what he’s doing.
  
  See https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/18/jon-ossoff-georgia-viral-controlled-campaign-01039859.
  
  In my view, well, at least for the time being, this is the man to watch over the next 18 months.
  
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  August 21, 2026 7:21pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Consider Captain Cook’s three year voyages, going places in a wind blown wooden ship with no engine on uncharted lee shores with zero hope of rescue should things not go well.
  
  0 0
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  August 21, 2026 9:04pm
imalwaysright

$86 for a leg of lamb.

What happened…?
5 1
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August 21, 2026 1:38pm
- kowtow
  
  I suspect the farmer doesn’t see a whole lot of that.
  
  6 0
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  August 21, 2026 2:48pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Nor the lamb…
    
    0 0
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    August 21, 2026 5:39pm
- Charlotte Wells
  
  Sale price for a lamb going off the property is around $200.
  
  1 1
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  August 21, 2026 8:07pm
Ghost

wow

When a pupil went to collect his bag from his classroom at the end of the school day, his teacher saw red.

The 6-year-old had been misbehaving moments earlier and had been told by his teacher to sit on a grass area.

When she saw him collecting his bag, she took him back to the grass area and, despite his father standing nearby to collect him, grabbed him by the neck area and pinned him forcefully to the ground.

The boy’s father and the deputy principal told her to let the boy go, but she refused and the student showed signs of distress.

Article

good to see this person isn’t teaching any more
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August 21, 2026 2:57pm
CJames

Scott Dixon is going to be in trouble with the media here. He stood alongside Trump at the White House for the ceremony of the Indycar race that is to be held in Washington.
That is guilt by association, isn’t it? Though I don’t think he will care.
7 2
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August 21, 2026 3:56pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Enough of this nonsense.

If you’re in prison then you are in prison. No more birthdays. No more funerals. etc etc.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361023016/prisoner-granted-bail-tangi-misses-flight-flees-airport
6 0
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August 21, 2026 4:04pm
- mandk
  
  He was on remand, i.e. not convicted.
  
  But he is a complete idiot for breaking his bail conditions.
  
  Hopefully, it will make it difficult to make the “turning his life around” mitigation, if he is convicted for whatever it was he is alleged to have done.
  
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  August 21, 2026 4:48pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    Yeah, sorry, but nobody ends up on remand for overdue library books.
    
    Now he will be facing other charges… or should be.
    
    1 1
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    August 21, 2026 5:38pm
Ghost

Huh, why should tax payers fund this…. not funding this is the correct decision

Lucy Miller and her husband Mark Baylis have been working on a registered charity committee to raise funds to help build an Abbeyfield House in the city.

The project was expected to cost about $3.2 million to $3.5 million, with the committee seeking capital funding from the Government to cover much of the cost.

Article
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August 21, 2026 6:09pm
- artemisia
  
  Assume reasons were given for this Abbeyfield capital funding decline. Doesn’t fit the current rules? Maybe not high enough on the priority list.
  
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  August 21, 2026 6:32pm
- Colville
  
  There is a massive train wreck coming WRT aged care. Abbeyfield is not a bad way of doing it IMHO
  
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  August 21, 2026 8:00pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361022518/two-leaders-debates-interactive-multichannel-election-night-special-stuff-group-launches-aotearoa
Hipkins is Labour’s leader ?
Well bugger me , I thought that was Helen Clark !
4 0
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August 21, 2026 7:50pm

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