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August 26, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 26 August 2026

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General Debate

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Ghost

Rape should never be a home detention. This shit has to stop. The sentencing act needs to be fixed

A young sex offender granted Corrections Department permission to leave his home detention address for six hours, used the time to rape a 16-year-old girl, the Timaru District Court heard on Friday.

The now 27-year-old Timaru man, who was added to the Sex Offenders’ Registry in July 2022 for offending that included two charges of sexual connection with a young person aged 12-16 years, was sentenced to 11 months home detention by Judge Dominic Dravitzki.

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August 26, 2026 8:02am
- David Garrett
  
  Ghost: Home D for rape…an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years. This judge is a fucking disgrace.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:45am
  - Ra Henare
    
    I guess it would be interesting to read the summary of facts and the sentencing report.
    
    So easy to react to an emotional summary by a journalist, do you think?
    
    Not defending the judge’s decision. Mainly because I don’t know the facts behind the sentence.
    
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    August 26, 2026 8:56am
    - David Garrett
      
      Ra: “the facts behind the sentence” should never ever result in a non custodial sentence. Next to murder, rape quite rightly carries the second highest maximum penalty on the statute book.
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:19am
      - Ra Henare
        
        Maybe it was something to do with the legal definition of rape? I.e., did she consent in any way, shape or form?
        I don’t know. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
        I am not a criminal lawyer when it comes to sexual violation; it seems there are all sorts of interpretations.
        
        I personally try and refrain from jumping to conclusions, especially from newspaper click bait.
        
        I looked around but couldn’t find anything court-related to this case.
        
        But did come across another 10-month home detention sentence
        2024
        Blake Ivan Miller was a 19-year-old resident of Timaru
        Miller pleaded guilty to multiple charges of serious sexual offending against an 11-year-old victim, including three counts of sexual violation and one count of indecent acts on a child.
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:53pm
      - Ghost
        
        this time his sentence started at 8 years and 3 months, with all the discounts he got 4 years and 11 months……. Better than a good Briscoe sale……
        
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        August 26, 2026 1:04pm
  - igm
    
    No doubt, he is another Labour-supported appointee, as majority of these apologies for judges these days are.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:09am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Here’s another.
    
    31 year old gets name suppression and 5 months Home D for raping a 14 year old child (the Herald describe her as a “young woman”) in a public toilet.
    
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/man-convicted-of-sexual-offending-against-teen-in-blenheim-public-toilet/UNJOUDSF55DQTBG3P6QPDCM4TQ/
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:32am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      A 14 year old is not a young woman. Even for the crazy Greens, being an adult starts at 16z
      
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      August 26, 2026 6:13pm
  - Ghost
    
    It’s been the norm for a while, especially with teenagers. I think there was also a young guy that raped a lady with her child nearby that got home detention
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:51am
- Simon
  
  [Mod – this is a serious topic, give your childish rubbish a break]
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:04am
  - Simon
    
    Crime isnt taken seriously by National who use it as wedge issue. A performative issue at that.
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:09pm
  - Cassandra
    
    Got the message yet, Simon?
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:11pm
- lastmanstanding
  
  It never ceases to amuse me how rich pricks like the guy backing Opportunity want to pull up the ladder and stop anyone else doing what they have done. Like make millions out of property and then tax the hell out of anyone wanting to do the same.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:04am
  - Gravelroad
    
    The question is- why are these very rich people investing a lot of money in a new left wing, amateur political “party”?
    What’s the pay back?
    There are other already established parties that millionaires can donate to if it is their personal “feel good”ambition to help eradicate poverty etc, etc.
    I just don’t get what TOP, and their enablers, are trying to achieve.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:20am
    - Taieri
      
      The question is- why are these very rich people investing a lot of money in a new left wing, amateur political “party”?
      ————
      
      What was the pay-back for Lenin, Mao or Castro? (They all came from well off families)
      
      POWER!!!
      
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      August 26, 2026 5:01pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Ask a farmer how he improves the quality of his sheep. Culling.
  Every year the worst performing few % are eliminated from the herd and, with time, the flock improves.
  Society used to do that with the rope and with life sentences (the real ones where life meant life). Now the worst performing members of society are instead given hand outs and are encouraged to breed.
  
  That’s like selecting your worst performing sheep and using them as your stud rams. Not going to end well.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:15am
  - kowtow
    
    Two recent crashes in Ireland and UK where 10 young thieves have died in stolen cars , driving along busy roads , against the traffic is how the west has defaulted to self selection to improve the gene pool.
    
    The problem is the collateral damage these useless lunatics bring to the innocent and to law enforcement.
    
    But then the “progressives” insist these “young people” have rights that must be protected , at great cost to decent society.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:36am
  - David Garrett
    
    cmm: One point: except in very rare cases, “life” sentences were never true LWOP sentences in New Zealand. At one time – I forget exactly when off the top of my head – one could be eligible for parole after serving as few as eight years of a “life” sentence.
    
    It is also fair to note that “lifers” on parole may be recalled to prison at any time for further criminal offending. And the majority of murderers have no prior criminal history.
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:07am
  - RichardX
    
    Not often you see someone so openly advocate for eugenics.
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:27am
    - Cassandra
      
      Eugenics by imprisonment isn’t the real Monty.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:13pm
    - Phronesis
      
      If you believe that a brother and sister should not have children together, then you are an advocate for eugenics.
      
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      August 26, 2026 5:00pm
Yvette

The Maori Party and ancestral wisdom?

If a party receives more party votes than seats, they get list members to bring their total closer to their party vote. Voting in Parliament is usually by the number of MPs, including electorate and list MPs.

Overhang seats are for when electorate voters must be represented even if the party doesn’t win enough seats.

The Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 aims to enhance public confidence in the electoral system and maintain party vote proportionality in Parliament.

While no other statute explicitly states this purpose, it’s embedded in several areas of New Zealand law and parliamentary procedure:

Electoral Act 1993 (Sections 191–193): These sections calculate and distribute list seats using the Sainte-Laguë allocation formula.

Standing Orders of the House of Representatives: Internal parliamentary Standing Orders enforce party-vote proportionality during daily operations, including proportional seat allocation on select committees, question time, and speaking order calls.

Laws surrounding MMP referendums, like the Electoral Referendum Bill 2010, legally define the mixed-member system by ensuring total party representation matches the popular party vote through party list seats.

Overhang seats are an anomaly to accomodate certain circumstances.
A question may be: Is it moral to purposely set out in an Election campaign to create the circumstance which givens a party more representation that their party votes warrants?

John Tamihere, President of Te Pāti Māori, has frequently stated that the party is a “tikanga-based movement“. He emphasises that the party’s internal processes and general philosophy are grounded in ancestral intelligence and traditional Māori values rather than Western political norms

Tamihere emphasised that Te Pāti Māori is a tikanga-based movement guided by ancestral wisdom. “There is a tikanga-based solution to every problem in the Māori world,” he said. “Our ancestral intelligence gives us the opportunity to work through issues in a way that doesn’t look for heads on platters – that’s Pākehātanga.”
https://www.facebook.com/waateanews/posts/te-pāti-māori-focuses-on-tikanga-response-after-kapa-kingi-allegationste-pāti-mā/1402732648520115/

Without it being set out in a form that is explicit and unified and able to be studied, it is desired by some (Supreme Court being one) that tikanga becomes part of New Zealand law.
The greatest argument against that at the moment is John Tamihere’s demonstration of what the Maori Party exhibits as tikanga.
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August 26, 2026 8:02am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Yes, it is moral. The rules of an electoral system are a completely artificial construct, like the rules of chess. You may as well complain about the morality of a knight jumping over another piece. Anything permitted by the rules is also moral.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:32am
  - SGA
    
    Yeah, I have trouble with all the gnashing of teeth about this issue. I don’t like it in principle, but it is a logical application of the rules. Just as the “cup of tea” arrangements in Epsom allowed ACT to bring in MPs before ACT was developed enough to cross consistently the 5% threshold in their own right.
    
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    August 26, 2026 8:39am
  - Yvette
    
    Nigel, last time I played chess, about sixty years ago, it would have been immoral to purposely call Checkmate when none of my opponents pieces were in check.
    
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    August 26, 2026 8:45am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I play chess and you lost me. 🙂
      
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      August 26, 2026 8:50am
      - Yvette
        
        Checkmate :o)
        
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        August 26, 2026 9:31am
      - David Garrett
        
        Bene: Me too…a mate of mine used to say “check mate” when in fact it was easy to get out of check. He just made himself look foolish.
        
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        August 26, 2026 11:18am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Declaring an illegitimate checkmate is not a matter of morality, its a demonstration of a lack of ethics, or a poor understanding of the rules of the game.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:47am
      - SGA
        
        Especially when “none of my opponents pieces were in check” 😉
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:33pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  “There is a tikanga-based solution to every problem in the Māori world,”
  
  I find this irritating. Firstly, if that is the case why were rival tribes fighting and killing each other?
  
  Secondly, the “Maori world” was largely based on mysticism. Sadly it still is. Mysticism does not solve problems. It just gives false comfort to its adherents.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:49am
  - tavita
    
    Just like Islam has the answer to everything and the rival tribes are forever fighting each other.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:05am
  - Simon
    
    “There is a tikanga-based solution to every problem in the Māori world,”
    
    Paid for by the non- t kanga world
    
    When are the Maori going to able to stand up on their own two feet??
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:07am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “When are the Maori going to able to stand up on their own two feet?”
      
      That will happen when they realise that the knee on their neck belongs to their own so–called leaders.
      
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      August 26, 2026 9:58am
    - Paulus
      
      When they actually Honour the Treaty first !
      
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      August 26, 2026 1:27pm
  - lastmanstanding
    
    A brief history of the Auckland Harbour crossing. In the early 1930s the US company building the Sydney Harbour Bridge offered the NZ Government to build a replica. They would not charge the Government instead they would take an agreed toll for 30 years maintain the bridge and hand it over to the Government at that time. The Government said not necessary.
    In the late 1940s the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority (AHBA) proposed an 8 lane bridge with rail crossing. The Government cut it back to 4 lanes no rail. The bridge opened in 1959. In 1966 the 4 lane Nippon Clippon were added. At the time the (AHBA) proposed a bridge across guess where Meola Reef to hook with the motorway proposed to circle the city taking traffic going south. This would have left the existing bridge to take taffic into and out of the CBD. The Government said no.
    I suggest this is yet another example of local and central Government lack of foresight and incompotence that we have witnessed and continue to witness. They are all MORONS.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:20am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      IIRC there were politicians in the late 1920s who tried to have the Sydney harbour Bridge scaled back. It was 8 lanes plus two rail lines plus pedestrian ways. Plus two tram lines that were later converted to road lanes. Totally over engineered for the time. Of course by the 1970s it was at capacity and the tunnel was built.
      
      The tunnel was built by a private consortium. From the start of construction to opening.. 4 years.
      
      We deserve better here.
      
      MOD you might want to move this thread.
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:42am
    - Don Beckett
      
      Yes, we are always 10 – 20 years behind with our infrastructure. When I lived in Oz, they would plan & publicise, then put in the infrastructure – that would be suitable for 40 years, not 10 – then the builders & developers would complete the suburb/town.
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:43am
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    The “Maori world” comes from taking tribal folklore too seriously.
    
    It only works because dumb whitey is patronising and feels inclined to elevate anything Maori (or African or whatever) way above what it should be.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:21am
  - pdm
    
    BY – I think you could have said bullshit instead of irritating.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:22am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I find that if I am irritated it is caused by bullshit. 🙂
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:43am
  - surfing
    
    You think too narrowly, the solution was war.
    
    Don’t make any mistakes though, Maori fairytales are all about extracting money from people who earned it.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:53am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Tikanga-based solutions to pre-1840 problems included violent utu, slavery and cannibalism.
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:14pm
  - igm
    
    Maybe this explains the close affinity being formed by gangs and Islamists in NZ. There would be fringe benefits all round!
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:44pm
  - KH
    
    I thought the problems were solved by a sideways swipe to the head with a stone mere.
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:53pm
- David Lenny
  
  Our ancestral intelligence gives us the opportunity to work through issues in a way that doesn’t look for heads on platters – that’s Pākehātanga.
  
  That’s an unfortunate image, given mokomokai.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:56am
  - Paulus
    
    Unknown language words fail me !
    
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    August 26, 2026 4:35pm
- imalwaysright
  
  ““There is a tikanga-based solution to every problem in the Māori world,” ” –Tamihere
  
  Then why are Maori on the wrong end of nearly every bad statistic?
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:37am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Tamihere didn’t say that the tikanga based solution was necessarily a good solution, to be fair.
    
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    August 26, 2026 6:19pm
- SeanOConnor
  
  I just learned that there was an acute shortage of platters in precolonial New Zealand.
  
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  August 26, 2026 10:19am
- Steve Todd
  
  @Yvette @ 8:02AM
  
  There has been some concern expressed on Kiwiblog about Te Pāti Māori seeking the Electorate Vote (and not the Party Vote) in order to construct an overhang of seats on the Left. Kiwibloggers do not appear to be quite so exercised about the possibility of a National Party overhang — which, to be fair, is not being advocated for by the party’s hierarchy.
  
  I have pointed out previously that the most overhang seats we have ever had is two. I have also stated my view, here, https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/08/general_debate_21_august_2026.html/comment-page-1#comment-3872606, that “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.” We’ll see.
  
  At General Debate on Monday afternoon, Taieri asked, “Surely, there can be devised a way to fairly and proportionally distribute the party vote and still keep within the total of 120 MPs?”
  
  I replied, “There’s no way we can get around a party winning more seats than it is proportionally entitled to. A partial solution would be to reduce the number of Electorate seats.”
  
  “[…].”
  
  Kiwibloggers may know that Germany has had a big problem with overhang seats for many, many, years. Normally, Germany has 299 Constituencies and 299 List seats — a total of 598. The 2021 federal election produced a 736-seat Bundestag!
  
  A law was passed to fix the number of seats at 630, but with still 299 constituency seats. At the 2025 federal election, “Due to a lack of second [Party] vote coverage, 23 candidates with the most votes, at a rather low vote share between 24% and 34%, were not elected to the parliament.”
  
  In other words, the Bundestag finished up with 354 List seats and only 276 constituency seats.
  
  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_German_federal_election.
  
  Kiwiblog commenters might be happy for a couple of successful Te Pāti Māori candidates to have their Electorate seats ripped away from them, but would they be happy for the same thing to happen to two or three successful National Party candidates?
  
  I suspect not.
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:49am
  - Taieri
    
    “There’s no way we can get around a party winning more seats than it is proportionally entitled to. A partial solution would be to reduce the number of Electorate seats.”
    ———-
    
    Thanks. I missed this one.
    
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    August 26, 2026 5:03pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Here is my reply to you that evening, Taieri: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/08/general_debate_24_august_2026.html#comment-3873541.
      
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      August 26, 2026 5:55pm
mandk

Rest in Peace, Dolly.

She will always be loved.
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August 26, 2026 8:06am
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Many years ago I heard a raconteur on radio pose the question;
  “Did you hear about the Irish mosquito?
  It bit Dolly Parton on the elbow.”
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:50am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Lost me.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:11am
    - Interested Party
      
      I’m guessing a smart non Irish mosquito would go for another part(s) of her anatomy
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:03am
    - Don Beckett
      
      The joke suggests that Dolly’s most prominent body part was her elbow instead of………
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:45am
      - Rusty
        
        @Don, Dollys bust was the butt of a lot of comedian’s jokes like from Bob Hope until it became un -PC.
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:10pm
    - Biscuit
      
      Bene, PLEASE tell me that that comment was made in jest!
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:47am
- Ra Henare
  
  scanning western media and India and Japan.
  Dolly Parton has had more immediate coverage (and deservedly so IMHO) than any other celebrity in my recollection.
  
  3000 songs, a heart as big as Texas, etc etc
  
  Will there ever be another entertainer to match her world impact?
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:16am
  - Manu-Rau
    
    Agreed.
    
    There are so many tributes flowing in from everywhere that it’s hard to keep abreast of them all.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:27am
    - Biscuit
      
      Superb, Manu!
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:48am
- Raphael
  
  Trump has ordered all US flags to be flown at half mast for a week to honour her.
  
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  August 26, 2026 2:15pm
  - Manu-Rau
    
    Won’t that piss off the libtard femos, black supremacists, arrogant ‘intellectuals’ and the rest of the Democratic Pardeee!
    
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    August 26, 2026 2:53pm
  - Ra Henare
    
    All FEDERAL US flags.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:29pm
artemisia

China’s future workforce. And New Zealand’s. We may have an edge in some repetitive function hort robotics, for now, but China and much of the rest of the world will surely be fast followers. Our economy and our people are not ready.

The BBC has visited industrial sites where we have been shown robots that do not look human, or dance or leap on stage but weld, paint, lift, assemble and work around the clock without a break or benefits.

China is not doing softly softly.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62m4zn1q6mo
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August 26, 2026 8:06am
- rouppe
  
  I read that yesterday as well. Yes, China is galloping ahead in robotic automation.
  
  I’m more concerned about the robot games, as events such as this were originally spectacles of strength and combat skills.
  
  We’re currently amazed at the drone technology used in the Ukraine/Russia war. Imagine 10,000 robots walking onto the shores of Taiwan with another 10,000 every month until “unification” is achieved.
  
  Incidentally I saw a piece on the TV recently about a NZ based plastic extrusion company using similar technology, with (young) operators using “gaming skills” to operate them.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:21am
  - Notsofast
    
    Hong Kong was taken without a shot fired, Taiwan will be swallowed whole.
    
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    August 26, 2026 8:48am
    - Colville
      
      Care to explain how China can land a force of men across 200km of water unless USA allows it?
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:19am
      - Ian Boag
        
        Care to explain how America can bring carriers into range of some of China’s latest anti-ship missiles?
        
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        August 26, 2026 11:36am
    - kowtow
      
      Tibet was an early casualty.
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:40am
    - Charlotte Wells
      
      Honkers was a rental property.
      
      The landlord cancelled the lease.
      
      No shot was ever required to be contemplated.
      
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      August 26, 2026 3:24pm
      - OlderChas
        
        And Honkers used to be a very good “run ashore” for sailors from all over the world.
        
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        August 26, 2026 5:50pm
  - cmm (semi-retired edition)
    
    The robotic games stuff is moronic nonsense for the technically illiterate.
    It helps pump the public perception and it helps pump share prices, but that is all.
    
    Real robots don’t do kung fu moves or run around race tracks. They don’t look like people. They look like washing machines, cars and wending machinery.
    
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    August 26, 2026 8:56am
    - rouppe
      
      No one drives an F1 car either, but the technology developed in F1 is in the car you drive today.
      
      If washing machines are the extent of your vision, you’re really not paying attention.
      
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/rise-of-the-machines-un-warns-world-must-rein-in-use-of-killer-robots/BHCTXID74VGJXARUQFCJ4KCJEA/
      
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      August 26, 2026 9:41am
      - kowtow
        
        Air racing ( a game) was also what gave us the spitfire and so many other innovations.
        
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        August 26, 2026 10:41am
  - Jack5
    
    Artemisia’s …We may have an edge in some repetitive function hort robotics …
    
    Have a look at what the Dunedin engineering firm, Scott Technology, is doing in robotics in meat-processing, in production lines for international whiteware manufacturers, in machinery for the cooking- appliance industry, and in automation for the mining industry.
    
    This Otago firm began a century ago engineering for the gold-dredging industry.
    
    Perhaps because it’s old and in Otago, the media, mainly Auckland based, mostly ignore it when they drool about robotics. Commentators seem to think robotics is all about machines that look like human stick-figures. If they had been doing their job intelligently and had educated investors, Scott Technology might still be completely NZ owned. The major shareholder is now the Australian subsidiary of the world’s biggest meat-processing firm, which is based in Brazil. It owns 54 per cent of Scott Technology.
    
    https://scottautomation.com/en
    
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    August 26, 2026 5:39pm
Colville

Two and a half hours of restarting the TV to try to get Sky Sport working… Sky saying its fixed an hour ago… utter useless pricks!

Public flogging is too good for some crimes!
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August 26, 2026 8:06am
- rouppe
  
  It’s OK. I’m going to watch the replay on tv3 at 9am
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:35am
- MCōs
  
  I leapt out of bed at 5am and watched a makeshift AB team stagger home to beat the Lions and just as that finished a news flash came up on the NYT ticker that Dolly Parton had died
  https://x.com/FranMallon1/status/2092318887358402839/video/1?s=61
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:02am
- imalwaysright
  
  “Two and a half hours of restarting the TV…”
  
  The games are turning into two and a half hours of the ref standing in the middle of the pitch watching forensic replays…
  
  Try Youtube (14 minutes) https://youtu.be/elfXchFdzWE?si=Wn-4Fk-V5hgzwbTh
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:43am
  - Biscuit
    
    I wholeheartedly approve of referees all of a sudden saying to themselves ‘I’M the referee!’ and overruling the true villains in modern day Rugby, the TMOs…
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:52am
    - imalwaysright
      
      And they should also stop coaching players during the game. If they don’t know the rules by now then that’s their problem.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:24pm
Tomtoddy

Farming is our ‘thing’. It is the solid backbone of our economy, has seen us through multiple crisis and is increasing its contribution year on year.

The reality is that farming is under attack. The attacks are growing in number and intensity. It is happening internationally and here at home. It may not be all that evident yet and complacency is a problem both at farmer and government level.

Environmental regulations, fines, changing rules, new costs are increasing rapidly. Some are needed, most are overkill, and merely jobs for the boys or engineered by ignorant bureaucrats full of their importance. There is a gathering momentum around slaughtering cows because of methane emissions. NZ is spending over a billion dollars on mitigation and has achieved almost no useful result. What is likely will cost farmers in money, time and safety for no measurable difference.

Restrictions around water use have gone from necessary to absurd. Councils are now applying rules that are hugely expensive but deliver little or no good. Health officials with not enough to do are hammering our products with little science to their claims.

Welfare issues are mounting and will be the bane of farming in the next decade. Some extremists are plainly stark crazy but it is the more normal centre punter who is letting the crazies determine outcomes.

Farmers need to fight back or lose the battle.
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August 26, 2026 8:14am
- kowtow
  
  ”NZ is spending over a billion dollars on mitigation and has achieved almost no useful result.”
  
  Nut zero , and that’s seriously not a joke.
  
  Add to your list the retiring of productive farm land into farming for carbon credits , this while meat prices have never been higher and ordinary folk struggle to buy minced meat.
  
  It is literally nuts!
  
  One problem farmers have is that the vast majoridy of voters live in cities , live on govt subsidies and don’t really care or think about about where their food comes from ( the govt will provide) so attacking farmers( productive , property owner class) is easy lazy politics for “progressive” politicians pretending to care about the planet.
  
  On a wider front , everyone should fear what’s going on . First they came for the farmers , but now with carbon zero , they’re coming for just about every industrial job . But that’s OK , we can all have a UBI and China or India will provide.
  
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  August 26, 2026 8:37am
  - Ian Boag
    
    the retiring of productive farm land into farming for carbon credits
    
    So I’m a farmer and this foreign bloke has just walked up the drive wanting to buy my farm for 50% over any number I’ve heard recently. Rumour is it will be planted in pines. Should I care? $ are $ and all that. Should the government start telling me who I can sell my farm to?
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:41am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Correct IB,
      
      Since when have farmers been obligated to put their own, and their familys, interests second to fix the effect on the country of political bastardry.
      
      How about we ask the inebriaty of the Public service to work on a voluntary basis for a year or two to help the country?
      
      Yeah right.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:58am
    - kowtow
      
      The government is who created the false “carbon market” with all this nut zero bollocks .
      
      And oddly enough plenty of govt regs the world over , including here about who can buy what and where and to and from ……..
      
      I’m stating something very simple .It’s nuts that “we” now farm carbon credits ( in a false market, based on a false premise) and not food.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:19pm
    - Cassandra
      
      Yes. Pine trees should be planted on land unsuitable for animal or crop farming. Give the farmer an incentive. F…… the market.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:23pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Hard to beat the incentive of a foreign buyer rocking up with 1.5-2x the NZ apparent value so he can plant pines and get offshore carbon credits. And you want the government to tell me who I can and can’t sell MY farm to … ?
        
        An odd thought for a right wing blog
        
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        August 26, 2026 1:14pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        By that logic Ian, why not just sell the South Island?
        
        I’m sure China will buy it. They can certainly afford it.
        
        If not, why not?
        
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        August 26, 2026 6:25pm
- Quail
  
  TT,
  Thank you TT,
  You are absolutely right.
  For generations Farmers have had to run fast to stand still. Not any more.
  Many individual farmers have simply run out of puff, ,and their families have gone to town.
  The farms have ended up in the corporate world.
  Eg .One little valley used to have nine sheep farms several decades back, running in excess of 100 thousand stock units..Now there is only one woolshed operative in that valley, or less than 10 k su.
  Forestry and Carbon farming has displaced livestock productivity.
  Carbon farming supports indigenous vegetation ( weed)regrowth as well.
  There are many more little valleys that have faced similar change in NZ.
  The family farm is becoming extinct replaced by corporates ,many/ most of which in turn are funded and owned offshore.
  The remainder often abandoned to lifestyle blocks surrounded by pine forests.
  Farmers simply do not have the resources to fight back.Their property rights have been stolen by legislation and regulations such as afforded by the RMA.
  
  It is all over.
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:23am
  - Ian Boag
    
    becoming extinct replaced by corporates
    
    Previous owners sold them to current owners. Should we legislate against that?
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:43am
    - Cassandra
      
      Incentives, not legislation. More than one way etc.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:25pm
    - Quail
      
      IB,
      No , there has been far too much legislation and regulation already!
      NZ farmers have a proud productive record, often getting production off land , and managing more animals per person that nowhere else in the world would have even thought possible.
      It is legislation and regulation plus NZ politicians blatant contempt for property rights that has choked their productivity. (This includes local Government.)
      Bear in mind that the huge cost of this regulation impacts mostly on the producers.Producers pay the regulator.
      Primary producers have had to deal with many other major issues as well , eg currencies , tarriffs , export prices etc ,which all impact on profitability, but by far the most difficult is NZ regulations and the cost of it.
      Something any decent government should have done something about!
      
      (Footnote ,The Coalition government this term doubled fines for any environmental mistakes made by land owners.)
      
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      August 26, 2026 1:38pm
Swifty

See the comments – Seymour is a damned dirty racist for opposing racial policies and racial discrimination in policy delivery.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18vbQfKRUL

Sometimes I despair over the attitudes of my fellow countryfolk.
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August 26, 2026 8:35am
Yvette

Tania Waikato
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, Green candidate Tania Waikato and Labour’s Toni Boynton can all trace their whakapapa back to some of the same tūpuna.
With the Māori electorates poised to make an outsized difference in the election, one of the three will be the voice of their people in Parliament – an undertaking none of them see as a particularly pleasant experience, given the building’s tendency for spiritual corruption.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/25/three-waiariki-relatives-prepare-to-wade-into-parliaments-spiritual-swamp/?

Check Waikato’s support of He Puapua

Waikato points to one high-profile example: New Zealand First’s head provocateur, Shane Jones. “He was an activist in the 1970s alongside some of our most ardent supporters of te ao Māori, and look where he is now,” she says. Jones’ coalition Government introduced the Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to redefine how New Zealand regarded the foundational document. Though Jones didn’t support it, some saw his involvement as a betrayal of te ao Māori.

An explanation how Shane Jones is a traitor to Maori in that his “coalition-Government introduced the Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to redefine how New Zealand regarded the foundational document”, and how Tania Waikato et al in supporting He Puapua don’t “seek to redefine how New Zealand regarded the foundational document”, would be welcome.
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August 26, 2026 8:40am
Raphael

I don’t know why National is insisting on pushing ahead with the U16 Social Media ban when it is right before the election, and it is extremely apparent that a significant majority of their base is against it.

As a parent, I see the evils of that Social Media can inflict on our children, but at the same time, those decisions belong with parents, not the government.

Add to that that most of us see it as a Trojan horse for Digital ID, which I have yet to find anyone who wants; it seems like a way to alienate people you want to vote for you.
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August 26, 2026 8:42am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  I didn’t need alienating from National but they are trying to make me actively vote against them it seems.
  Especially when we see them holding hands with their uniparty friends in Labour over this.
  It’s pretty obvious an agenda is being pushed.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:16am
  - leoj
    
    After the election, don’t be surprised if they “hold hands” during negotiation times.
    Labour could rid themselves of the woeful Greens, TPM and TOP while the Nats could avoid being embarrassed by ACT and NZF.
    You read it here first……….
    
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    August 26, 2026 11:29am
    - Ghost
      
      won’t ever happen, you can bet on that.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:46am
      - David Garrett
        
        Ghost: Quite so. I find it very strange how many people fantasize about a grand coalition…as you say, never going to happen.
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:42pm
- pdm
  
  Raphael – my understanding is it is Christopher Luxons – big legislation thing. His legacy to New Zealand from 3 years as Prime Minister.
  
  Did you know this.
  1. He got Catherine Wedd to put the Bill into the `Biscuit Tin’ because he as Prime Minister could not. That is why Catherine Wedd is in the background n photo ops and announcements.
  2. He has got Erica Stanford to take it through the house – I do not know if he could do that but guess he does not want to be associated if it falls in a heap and fails.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:30am
- RoboRob
  
  Well the law isn’t going to pass this election, of even get to select committee.
  
  So we actually have a chance to stop it, if we desire. There are at least three parties against it that I know of. ACT, NZF and Greens (heard Chloe this morning).
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:41am
- lifesgood
  
  You say that, Raphael, but so is feeding your kids so why are we spending millions on feeding kids at school? There are a lot of utterly useless parents out there.
  
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  August 26, 2026 10:17am
  - Raphael
    
    I have the same opinion on feeding kids. There is enough social support in NZ that no kid should be going hungry, if the parents aren’t providing that, there needs to be questions asked.
    
    And my kids have been making their own lunches since they were each about 10, we just make sure they made it. Now they’re in their teens, if they don’t take their lunch that is on them. There is more than enough food in the house for them to make it.
    
    I also think school canteens should be allowed to sell food kids will actually eat (maybe not energy drinks, but why not pies and chips)
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:23pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Our local marae is prominently displaying about half a dozen large billboards supporting the local Te Pati Maori candidate.

TPM must be so grateful that the general public keeps propping up venues for their political posturing.
(This particular marae received $3.4 Million in 2018 for upgrades)
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August 26, 2026 8:59am
- RoboRob
  
  Talk to NZF and National on this. They are the ones throwing money at Marae.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:38am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Not National in 2018.
    
    Labour must be disappointed.
    
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    August 26, 2026 6:30pm
RoboRob

Yesterday in respect to the 16 social media ban I said….

‘Also Labour, will support the concept but not allow the bill to pass. They will have enough ‘questions’ to drag the process out. Even thought they are likely 100% behind the bill (it is a very left wing policy), the last thing they want is it to pass before the election. That would politically benefit National and as we know its all about politics, not what it best for New Zealanders.’

Well that didn’t age well and Labour certainly proved me wrong with their pledge to support it to select committee. It was a political master class move. Labour, a party who had not bothered to even come up with a policy, now looks like a party that supports the ban, National look stupid as they admit they wont bring it to select committee because there is not enough time. This makes Nationals policy look like virtue signalling.
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August 26, 2026 9:10am
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  It’s more dangerous than that, it’ll get pushed by Labour or the Nats after the election now and has a good chance of passing with the support of each other regardless.
  This is a good argument for abandoning the 2 big parties.
  Big dumb government wants digital ID – they’ll still trans your kids it’s not about protecting them.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:21am
  - RoboRob
    
    It would be democratic, if National and Labour have ~60% between them, it could be argued that it is the will of the people. Especially as there will have been an election between the announcement of the policy and the potential implementation.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:12am
    - Don Beckett
      
      I agree with Seymour – under 16’s should not be given smart phones; dumb phones are all they need until they are 16.
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:56am
      - RoboRob
        
        Even Seymours suggestion has serious flaws. Social media can be accessed from devices other then phones. Also phones are so affordable kids could buy their own low end phones for social media access.
        
        No easy fix, education and monitoring seem the best option to me.
        
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        August 26, 2026 11:26am
      - Simon
        
        Yes the smart phone ban is a better method, if ‘something must be done’, and sure it won’t work anywhere near 100%, but it’ll give parents a reason to keep kids off the devices for a few extra years.
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:46pm
    - leoj
      
      …plus other possibilities, such as forming a grand coalition to keep all other minor parties out.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:33am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Correct, this is a permit to access the internet.
    
    Add this to Hate Speech complaints and the Stalking and Harassment Act, where ‘victims’ can self declare that a crime has been committed, and it is obvious that the ‘offender’s’ internet permit will need little justification to be recinded.
    
    Any Government will want this tool in their box.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:17am
Ra Henare

Interesting world.
Had a message from a lawyer friend of mine.

“As for me and this year’s elections, I’ll vote TOP and we’ll see how that works out. The rest have already proven to be a bunch of idiots so time to let another bunch prove themselves to be idiots.”

he followed up with
“”Seriously disillusioned with all the other parties. I am not in favour of a universal basic income, not in NZ anyway. “”

I wonder how many will vote TOP as a protest vote?
The universal income appeals to lower-paid voters.
IMHO it wont happen but thats politics.
Remember free University did wonders for labourers’ reelection…

I always saw Trump’s first term as a protest vote against Clinton/Bush dynasties.
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August 26, 2026 9:24am
- RoboRob
  
  Scary that smart people would vote for parties with policies they think are bad just for the hell of it. If he is disillusioned perhaps he shouldn’t vote, rather then potentially putting policy he doesn’t like into play.
  
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  August 26, 2026 10:15am
  - lifesgood
    
    Sounds like an idiot.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:18am
    - Ian Boag
      
      The electorate is full of them – some even post on blogs 🙂
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:46am
      - Cassandra
        
        You’re too modest, Ian.
        
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        August 26, 2026 12:29pm
    - kowtow
      
      Yep , degrees these days are a dime a dozen and having one , even a PhD ,certainly doesn’t confer “smarts”.
      
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      August 26, 2026 12:34pm
- mandk
  
  Does your lawyer friend know that the value of his house(s) will collapse and that he will face a huge tax bill, if TOP get their way?
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:01am
- Simon
  
  What doesn’t he like about ACT I wonder. Same rights for all?
  
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  August 26, 2026 12:47pm
RoboRob

Simon Watts and his rates cap and other council changes bills.

Yesterday the 4% rates increase limit was re announced. The real issue is that if you favour this policy, it wont actually become law until some time AFTER the election. That would be IF National get back in and IF whoever their new coalition partners are don’t block it. There is a lot of talk about this, like it is actually law, but it is not. 3 years and Watts has struggled to actually pass it.

Where is what laws Watts has passed
Taxation (Budget Measures) Act 2026 (budget tax changes)
Taxation (Annual Rates 2025–26…) Bill (Iran fuel relief)
Offshore Renewable Energy Act 2026 (Creates NZ’s offshore wind regulatory regime)

So of those, one major bill.

Not to pass this term
Climate Change Response Amendment Bill (Force councils to do 30 yr plan)
Council Rates Cap (4% limit)

This is also the guy who lost his energy portfolio. He said an LNG terminal was urgent and the plan was to potentially have construction start this year with completion in 2027 or early 2028. The contract for construction, forecast to be signed in June, remains unsigned and the timeline is now supposedly 2028.
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August 26, 2026 9:26am
- pdm
  
  Simon Watts – the Invisible Minister.
  
  The Minister who has allowed Co Governance to be installed in Councils throughout New Zealand.
  
  No finger lifted to stop it.
  No formal statement for Councils to desist.
  
  My hope is that if the Coalition should prevail on 7 November that he is despatched to the Back Benches pronto. Not going to happen though because he is a Luxon loyalist as far as I can see so competence will not be required.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:38am
RoboRob

Remember how Goldsmith was shutting down the BSA? Nope still not shut down.

What about his other promised bills..
Treaty of Waitangi clause reform (19 Acts) (Unlikely, was a coalition promise).
Further Treaty‑related amendments (beyond the initial 19 Acts) (Status: Promised, but not yet drafted or introduced)
Additional justice‑sector reforms not included in the Crimes Amendment Act (none of these have been introduced as bills yet)

According to co pilot, Goldsmith had promised 4 pieces of work, the three above and the ‘Crimes Act overhaul’, the Crimes Act overhaul is the only one he has passed.
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August 26, 2026 9:36am
- pdm
  
  RR what did you expect?
  
  Goldsmith is a ditherer and procrastinator who may be a goneburger on 7 November.
  
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  August 26, 2026 9:40am
  - imalwaysright
    
    It appears that Goldsmith, Watts, Doocey, etc have been appointed to do just that–procrastinate and dither.
    
    They are there to pay lip service to the voters while passively preventing legislation.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:53am
  - Souvlaki
    
    Very likely gone…..none of my acquaintances in the Epsom electorate rate him…..pleasant ,but limpid.
    I rather doubt that even if tactical voting were employed he will usurp Seymour ….we’ll see !
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:00am
    - RoboRob
      
      I didn’t even think Goldsmith was standing in an electorate!
      
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      August 26, 2026 10:17am
    - Tom Barker
      
      “Limpid” means “clear.” Surely that’s an excellent quality in a politician – and a regrettably rare one.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:30am
    - greybeard
      
      Limpid ? I think you mean insipid.
      
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      August 26, 2026 1:07pm
  - RoboRob
    
    Goldsmith holds the most portfolios of any MP. Goldsmith and Watts hold /held a large number of important portfolios. I expect when policy is promised AND the coalition partners don’t block it, that the MPs in charge and their leader ensure the work is done.
    
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    August 26, 2026 10:19am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “Goldsmith and Watts hold /held a large number of important portfolios.”
      
      It makes you wonder if this is a caretaker Government whose job was to calm the electorate, don’t fiddle too much with the important stuff, and make Labour look viable again.
      
      There is a lot of overlap occuring, maybe we are being nudged into accepting a Nat Lab coalition.
      
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      August 26, 2026 11:17am
hookerphil

Watching the All Black starting team I noticed that Beauden Barrett, Ethan Blackadder and Sam Darry were the only players who would have been eligible to play within the 1960 All Blacks team tour of South Africa.
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August 26, 2026 10:15am
- Don Beckett
  
  ?? Explain ?
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:47am
  - Colville
    
    Pigmentation.
    
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    August 26, 2026 9:08pm
- Biscuit
  
  In fairness, hookerphil, precious few of the Springboks of recent years would ‘qualify’ to be a 1960’s-era South African player…
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:57am
mike

Toddler tantrum alert: Trump wants to rename Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’.
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August 26, 2026 10:35am
- plc
  
  Is that like renaming a mountain?
  
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  August 26, 2026 10:43am
  - Paulus
    
    Only if you are Maori can you rename whatever they want and do so.
    So as usual, sod off.
    
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    August 26, 2026 4:42pm
- mandk
  
  He can do that if he wants, but everyone else in the world will continue to call it Lake Ontario.
  
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  August 26, 2026 10:57am
  - Steve Todd
    
    Yep. Just as the Gulf of America is still known by everyone as the Gulf of Mexico.
    
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    August 26, 2026 12:28pm
    - sungsamning
      
      It was renamed to easily get around Biden era legislation that banned oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. That was then quick and easy to solve the problem.
      
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      August 26, 2026 4:27pm
      - Ghost
        
        No it wasn’t changed to get around that
        
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        August 26, 2026 4:41pm
- Ruahine
  
  Yea.
  You are right Mike. Why settle for Lake Ontario when there is Lake Superior up for grabs.
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:11am
  - Tom Barker
    
    Lake Trump has a much nicer ring to it. And the Straits of Trump is a far better name than the dreary Straits of Hormuz.
    
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    August 26, 2026 6:23pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Poor choice by Trump. IIRC, Lake Ontario is the only one of the Great Lakes that is entirely in Canada.
    
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    August 26, 2026 6:38pm
    - Ian Boag
      
      Look at a map ….
      
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      August 26, 2026 7:09pm
- Swifty
  
  Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts are most helpful here, as communicated by The Hitch:
  
  https://x.com/tamtrib/status/2092257216371810373?s=46
  
  He would be appalled and embarrassed that the US hadn’t conquered Canada by now.
  
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  August 26, 2026 12:18pm
- keepcalmcarryon
  
  “Lake America” is a meme of a giant water filled crater that used to be Iran.
  I bet the luvvies ARE chucking tantrums over renaming Lake Ontario though. Funny.
  
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  August 26, 2026 12:45pm
- Handyman
  
  [Mod – deleted] Some people want to rename New Zealand to Aotearoa.
  
  7 1
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  August 26, 2026 2:16pm
  - Jethrod
    
    And they will succeed, by apathy and continuous (ab)use from the general populous.
    
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    August 26, 2026 2:59pm
  - Paulus
    
    Media and Maori led want to change the New Zealand name.
    But it will not happen !
    Anythiong to embarras the National led Government.
    
    3 1
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    August 26, 2026 4:44pm
Ghost

Well, this will get votes from people wanting to buy a house…..

The Opportunity Party’s land tax proposal could cut house values by at least 10%, economists say.

The party is proposing a 1.75% annual land tax, which drops to 0.5% on rural land.

This will pay for a weekly “citizen’s income” payment to most adults of $370, with top-up support for pensioners and some parents.

Article
5 1
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August 26, 2026 11:34am
- RoboRob
  
  I suspect the outcome would be that almost nobody would want to own a house. People would want to rent (even though rents would also be higher) and live in high rise apartments on very small pieces of land. Landlords would build up to minimise the land tax per tenant.
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:59am
  - Ghost
    
    Not after reading that very glowing and positive article they won’t…. Good publicity for them to vote in top even if they don’t realise they will end up being a bottom
    
    5 0
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    August 26, 2026 12:07pm
- Handyman
  
  The further part of the TOP policy is to increase Kiwisaver to 6% contribution for the purpose of “infrastructure”.
  The beauty of Kiwisaver is that the government does not have access to your life savings. It sounds like TOP want to decide where your savings are invested.
  
  4 0
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  August 26, 2026 5:20pm
rouppe

MBIE deliberately mislead MP’s and committed a contempt over the Biometric Capability Upgrade project.

But

However, the committee did not recommend any sanction, given the ministry had apologised.

“We intend that our findings will be of sufficient consequence on their own.”

And that’s why the public service routinely undermines the objectives of the coalition.
21 0
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August 26, 2026 11:41am
- RoboRob
  
  And another great example of a ‘system failure’ where nobody is held to account.
  
  Don’t worry, the public service has ‘learnt’ from this finding and will now be very careful to not mislead parliament. /not
  
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  August 26, 2026 11:59am
  - Paulus
    
    Sounds like Tauranga Council and the now owners of Mauao who will not let anybody near their precious mountain which why such as Councillors leave it alone.
    Only rate payers will pay dearly over the next many years.
    Like the Port extension and the secret contract millions deal involved.
    
    2 1
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    August 26, 2026 4:49pm
- imalwaysright
  
  These people think each other are royalty and a brief glare of disapproval is somehow a punishment worse than the gallows.
  
  That would be barely paletable if they also had some ethical backbone that compelled them to resign when found out or, and here’s a novel idea, don’t fuck it up in the first place.
  
  6 1
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  August 26, 2026 12:08pm
- Raphael
  
  MBIE needs a cleanout of epic proportions.
  
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  August 26, 2026 12:30pm
I remember when

I see there is an article in the NY Times stating that one in four NFL players suffer from brain disease.
The results from the study will be a worry for all of the football sports.
NFL, Rugby and league from head contact in tackles while heading raises questions in football/soccer.
3 0
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August 26, 2026 12:04pm
I remember when

Good Lord I must have been in a parallel universe.
I missed the fact that Dolly Parton had died.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
Often larger than life!
6 0
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August 26, 2026 12:16pm
Ghost

Sad if true, should be reported to the police.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said a member of the public threatened to kill him and throw him into Wellington Harbour this morning.

The threat was made as Hipkins walked to Wellington’s Newstalk ZB studio for an interview on the station’s Wellington Mornings show with Nick Mills.

Article
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August 26, 2026 12:21pm
- kowtow
  
  He should report it . This behaviour is unKiwi , anti democratic and on the face of it criminal.
  Lunatics like that should actually be locked up.
  
  4 0
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  August 26, 2026 12:44pm
  - BarryB
    
    Do you mean the lunatic is the ‘member of the public” or Chris Hipkins…………………..
    
    4 0
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    August 26, 2026 2:46pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Nope. Id be more subtle. Different outcome.
    
    1 1
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    August 26, 2026 4:17pm
  - Paulus
    
    Which Lunatic are you talking about ?
    
    1 3
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    August 26, 2026 4:50pm
- Master Mariner
  
  Ill grab the arms and you take the legs.
  Seriously buy that man a beer.
  Play stupid games win stupid prizes.
  
  4 1
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  August 26, 2026 4:14pm
Ghost

There have been stories of her health problems for a while now. At least it was brief

“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,“

Article
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August 26, 2026 12:50pm
KH

the CEO of MBIE should be gone by lunchtime.
(just looked at the clock. It’s overdue)
10 2
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August 26, 2026 1:01pm
- greybeard
  
  His interview with HDPA was appalling: I could actually see him slithering over the floor trying to get away from the microphone.
  
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  August 26, 2026 7:32pm
Ghost

Haha, he was even talking to TOP. Don’t give up……

A New Zealand First candidate has resigned after screenshots surfaced online purportedly showing him shopping around a number of political parties for a shot at candidacy.

George Ngatai was announced as a candidate for New Zealand First in July. He fronted the party’s own broadcast of its convention alongside current MP Jenny Marcroft.

Article
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August 26, 2026 2:40pm
- sungsamning
  
  I’m glad they caught him in time, and got rid of him.
  
  4 0
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  August 26, 2026 4:29pm
  - MCōs
    
    The way I read it Mister George was rejected by all manner of minor parties who smelt a rat, but anyone will do for NZ First
    
    1 1
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    August 26, 2026 7:06pm
Notsofast

Another single issue among multiple single issues saying DO NOT VOTE LEFT.

Jillaine Heather from FSU points out, on Hate speech laws:

“I am not telling you what to think about any religion. I am telling you that you have to be free to think it, and to say it out loud.

This could be on the table on November 8th
The Greens are committed, in writing.
Te Pāti Māori is broadly supportive.
Labour appears supportive but says detailed policy is coming “in due course”, which is what it has been saying since 2021.
National says there is no need.
ACT wants existing law enforced.
NZ First blocked hate speech law once in government and has said nothing this term.”
0 3
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August 26, 2026 3:34pm
Cantabrian

There have been many reports recently about conditions on board USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf.
KB readers might be interested in this commentary about the situation – it’s all propaganda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5J9ASSRuog
1 2
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August 26, 2026 4:47pm
- Taieri
  
  it’s all propaganda
  ———-
  
  Just as much propaganda in what this guy is saying.
  
  It’s impossible to verify what the conditions onboard are without actually being there.
  Still, it will not be a paradise with something like 5000 crew after 260+ days at sea. Most of them won’t even see a daylight most of the time.
  
  My longest time between ports was 135 days and it was not something I’d like to repeat. While we never starved, we were running out of virtually everything and there’s only 16 of us. And, being a merchant ship, the place was quite easygoing, without all the drama that military systems involve. That was of course in the days before internet, all we had then were occasional simplex link calls via Awarua or Wellington Radio if we were lucky enough to get connection.
  
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  August 26, 2026 5:38pm
Albie

Another reason not to vote National- Simon Watts defends the 100m spent on the CCC and doesn’t agree with David Seymour that it is a waste of money and should be wound up.
4 2
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August 26, 2026 5:12pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/361025211/mitsubishis-new-ev-spotted-nz-roads-ahead-launch

Yeah, right.
Mitsubishi Motors NZ set this up , there was no fortuitous driver who spotted the new model, the photos are too professional, what a scam.
1 1
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August 26, 2026 7:30pm
- Ghost
  
  Those photos are obviously not professional.
  
  0 1
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  August 26, 2026 7:34pm
greybeard

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361024456/winter-illness-keeps-children-out-class-absences-can-still-trigger-attendance-warnings
“Trinity”.
Mother of seven.
You fill in the spaces.
2 2
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August 26, 2026 7:58pm
- Ghost
  
  ah yes, let’s judge a woman based on nothing just because she has 7 kids. What’s her crime, oh no she is looking after her sick kids.
  
  what a stupid post.
  
  1 1
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  August 26, 2026 8:21pm
  - Colville
    
    Stupid Name Syndrome is a thing.
    
    1 2
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    August 26, 2026 9:15pm
    - Ghost
      
      got it, dickheads that judge a person by their name. Some of you really are sad and pathetic.
      
      1 0
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      August 26, 2026 9:26pm

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