General Debate 21 August 2026

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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
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
- 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
- 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
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
David Garrett

Good morning from the Kingdom…a very cool 19C here this am.
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August 21, 2026 8:37am

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