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August 27, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 27 August 2026

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General Debate

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Yvette

The Electoral Commission is now insisting that anyone wishing to be involved in this election must, in its own words, “agree to learn about our values and grow your knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the workplace”

The body that is supposed to be scrupulously neutral is taking a very clear position on the Treaty of Waitangi. Make no mistake: this is a political position, right down to the use of the term Te Tiriti o Waitangi rather than the Treaty of Waitangi.

Anyone offering their services must go through an interview process, and at this stage applicants are required to agree to these conditions. In reality, they are not being asked. They are being compelled – Don Brash
https://www.brashandmitchell.com/post/don-brash-is-the-electoral-commission-no-longer-neutral

Requiring election workers to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be viewed as a valid workplace standard or an inappropriate political hurdle, depending on one’s perspective:
To supporters, it represents basic civic literacy and professional development appropriate for a public agency operating in a bi-cultural constitutional framework.
To critics, it represents an unnecessary ideological test that risks compromising the strict operational neutrality required of an electoral regulator.

Since that does nothing to resolve the matter of Treaty knowledge expectations, consider an example: that of the current Prime Minister and the one who preceded him, if instead of being the object of the Election, both were applying for Election assistant positions –

Hipkins has very publicly stated Maori did not cede their sovereignty to Queen Victoria, while Luxon says Maori did cede sovereignty to the Crown.
So, which of these two could-be applicants would get an Election assistant position?
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August 27, 2026 8:01am
- Cassandra
  
  It’s as if the last election is irrelevant. Is the head of the Public Service on holiday? This sort of nonsense was supposed to be rooted out.
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:07am
- David Garrett
  
  Yvette: I find this very disturbing. How on earth can a three paragraph document which doesn’t mention anything about elections possibly be relevant to these positions? Answer: It can’t and it’s not.
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:08am
  - Yvette
    
    David, a difficulty with the Treaty is that for many people it is a “sacred founding document of the nation” but also a hopelessly flawed document – an exceptionally badly written real-estate agreement – which doesn’t even establish who has the authority to run an Election – either the Government through the Electoral Commission or an Iwi collective entity, and ‘collective’ is even an anathema.
    
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    August 27, 2026 8:28am
    - Michael Johnston
      
      Elections weren’t a thing in NZ when they treaty was signed. The first general election was in 1853.
      
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      August 27, 2026 8:36am
      - Paulus
        
        The winners of the elections in around 1840 could claim they had the most heads !
        
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        August 27, 2026 10:00am
    - David Garrett
      
      Yvette: I don’t want to bore everyone with a law lecture, but prior to Cooke’s decision in 1987, it was what lawyers call “settled law” that the “treaty” was no such thing.
      
      Since 1877 – in the case of Wi Parata v. Bishop of Wellington the then Chief Justice held that because Māori society at the time was viewed through a colonial lens as “primitive barbarians,” there was no sovereign body capable of ceding sovereignty, and the treaty was a nullity because it had not been incorporated into domestic law.
      
      Wi Parata remained settled law for 110 years until 1987, when Cooke declared it “our founding document”. And because Geoffrey Palmer had not outlined what the “principles” of the treaty were in section 9 of the SOE’s Act, the Court of Appeal helpfully invented some. And the treaty gravy train was off and running…and it still is.
      
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      August 27, 2026 8:40am
      - Yvette
        
        David, the phrase describing the Treaty of Waitangi relationship as “akin to a partnership” originates from the landmark 1987 New Zealand Court of Appeal case New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (commonly known as the Lands case or SOE case).
        
        Apparently the exact quotes are:
        Justice Casey: Stated, “I have spoken of what I perceive to be a relationship akin to partnership between the Crown and Māori people…”
        Sir Robin Cooke: Wrote that the Treaty created an enduring relationship “of a fiduciary nature akin to a partnership” and “signified a partnership between races.”
        
        The Distinction – “akin to” vs “is”
        Legal scholars and constitutional commentators frequently highlight this phrasing to point out that the Court did not declare the original 1840 Treaty was literally a legal partnership. Instead, the judges used “partnership” as an analogy or metaphor to describe the legal duties that arose under the principles of the Treaty—specifically, a mutual obligation to act toward each other reasonably and in the utmost good faith.
        
        Critics of modern co-governance models (such as legal scholar Prof. Elizabeth Rata and former judge Anthony Willy) argue that the 1987 ruling was meant to describe a duty of honourable conduct and trust between sovereign and subject, rather than creating a political structure of equal co-governing partners. Conversely, proponents of Treaty principles view the decision as foundational legal recognition that Māori and the Crown must work as collaborative partners in governing New Zealand.
        
        So not only is the Treaty fraught with bad vocabulary, the Lands case is also a bit screwed
        
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        August 27, 2026 8:57am
- Blog-aholic
  
  Just corrupted by the critical race mind virus that has to virtue signal to some perceived pseudo exceptionalism (that the unearned belief that you are special, unique, or superior to others simply because you are you).
  Sadly most of NZ orgs, govt, corporates, academia, clubs from top to toe are infected….
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:19am
  - RichardX
    
    Was your virtue signalling use of “critical race mind virus that has to virtue signal” intentionally ironic?
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:28am
- imalwaysright
  
  Karl LeQuesne, Electoral Commissioner, told Plunket on the Platform yesterday, that the Ti Treaty requirements aren’t Commission policy, and that he doesn’t know who put them in there, and that “we are working on an email to correct it”….
  
  Plunket asked why the policy has been there for years and Karl said that they “review these things just before we have to deal with them”. Whatever that means.
  https://youtu.be/-T6ksw0dxqo?si=l2ABto4Ft9uIs6yQ
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:38am
  - RoboRob
    
    That has to be BS. The treaty requirement was in the hiring stuff LAST election too. Plunket and LeQuesne had an interview three years ago where LeQyuesne defended the criteria.
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:56am
  - Yvette
    
    imalwaysright – Karl LeQuesne, Electoral Commissioner, told Plunket on the Platform yesterday, that the Ti Treaty requirements aren’t Commission policy, and that he doesn’t know who put them in there, and that “we are working on an email to correct it”….
    
    Why is it not treated as should be the anonymous contributor who placed the UNDRIP New Zealand clause in the India / New Zealand FTA. I gather that has not been through Parliament again yet, and when it is whether the clause will not be agreed to.
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:59am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Yes, its amazing how these political strategies find their way into the operations of our departments and the people in charge are as dumbfounded as us.
      
      Its actually insulting that they can’t even be bothered to come up with the semblance of an excuse, however LeQuesne did suggest that the Ti Treaty policy was to make sure employees knew there is a General Role AND a Maori Role..!
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:29am
      - Cassandra
        
        The Maori role is to maximise financial benefits. The roll, OTOH, ……………..
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:28am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Thankyou, yes Roll.
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:54am
      - david
        
        “ROLL” please
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:57am
    - plc
      
      Under Karl’s watch at DIA, the two hour weekly maori singalong was introduced for his directorate .
      
      He was donkey deep in Te Tiriti practices when the prevailing wind blew that way.
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:35am
  - R
    
    Ideological management!
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:00am
    - plc
      
      Having worked for Le Quesne in the last decade he is a total jobsworth, a hollow man who will bend to the prevailing political wind.
      
      He is to put it succintly, an invertebrate who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the bus timetable.
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:31am
      - imalwaysright
        
        I thought you were describing Sir Ashley Bloomfield…
        
        “…an encyclopedic knowledge of the bus timetable.”
        
        Brilliant.
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:56am
      - R
        
        A DEI hire, before the term was developed.
        
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        August 27, 2026 1:45pm
      - Sacha
        
        OUCH!
        
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        August 27, 2026 6:35pm
- Notsofast
  
  This has been removed after being exposed by Muriel Newman and others.
  De Quesne declared this yesterday on the Platform.
  I am surprised this is not well known by now, because it was the most egregious insult to democratic process.
  It should have been huge news it was in, and then huge news it was out.
  They just discussed it again, I guess it will be up on YouTube later today.
  Here is the clip from yesterday.
  
  https://youtu.be/zhKEYvQBkcA?si=mZUuDf1TEo0luYx2
  
  Gone, amazing, and surprising.
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:56am
- Gussy
  
  Does anyone, anywhere adequately explain how the nation operates in the context of Maori not having ceded sovereignty, to untangle the myriad of logical, historical, and constitutional anomalies and inconsistencies?
  
  The floor’s open, Mike.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:10am
  - mike
    
    Sure. Recognition that Māori retained sovereignty does not require a revolution in our constitutional arrangements. It just requires attention to seeing and maintaining a balance between tino rangatiratanga and current political structures. This has evolved, and will continue to evolve, via a democratic consensus.
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:09am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      What does tino rangatiratanga mean in 2026?
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:17am
      - Cassandra
        
        And therefore how is sovereignty defined? mike, you’re trying (and failing) to defend the indefensible.
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:32am
    - Swifty
      
      Nonsense.
      
      Many Maori see Maori sovereignty as the means by which they will ultimately take (back) control of the country and rule it alone.
      
      I see it all the time. They claim this openly.
      
      This ‘decolonisation’ business and proliferation of ‘recognising the Treaty’ and ‘giving effect’ etc is a stalking horse.
      
      A prelude.
      
      Just like all other ‘movements’ and claims from the left – it will never stop. They will never be satisfied. It will always be more and more and more.
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:28am
      - Notsofast
        
        And the exact parallel is Islamification of Europe Britain New York and America generally.
        These maori and Islamist barbarians are winning, because the western enlightenment provided them with the legal framework.
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:55am
    - Simon
      
      “It just requires attention to seeing and maintaining a balance between tino rangatiratanga and current political”
      
      Lol – at least you tried. Its mumbo jumbo dreamed up by leftie academics.
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:39am
      - Cassandra
        
        Bleed in’ heck! Simon attacks mike! I thought Simon was mike.
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:33am
      - Jethrod
        
        Haven’t worked out who is Jeykll and which is Hyde yet.
        
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        August 27, 2026 12:42pm
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      I see no democratic consensus. I see the majority of people not wanting this divisive Maori sovereignty activism.
      Government and the bureaucracy is well out of touch with the population.
      
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      August 27, 2026 11:07am
    - Gussy
      
      Thanks, Mike, your response flatters me.
      I see it more of a veiled ‘why’ rather than a practical ‘how’ though. And therein lies the rub – more questions arise than answers offered.
      
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      August 27, 2026 2:32pm
  - Philview
    
    There was an article the other day at the Breaking views blog questioning the anomaly that people who don’t recognise the Crown’s sovereignty still vote in it. As this matter progresses people aligned with non Crown “Treaty Partners” must surely be prevented from sitting on both sides of the fence.
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:36am
- lastmanstanding
  
  No surprise all we are hearing from Labour Greens Opportunity Maori is how they would tax hard working citizens even more. No policies that would increase productivity and increase living standards and prosperity. All they want to do is cut the pie in a different way not make the pie bigger.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:30am
  - Ruahine
    
    lastmanstanding.
    
    They are after the Baby Boomer pies.
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:50am
- Sacha
  
  Reminds me of the time when, after several elections where I had been involved in checking off the voters as they entered the polling station. I was sent a form to fill in and a new qualification was the ability to find names in the roll: there was a list of surnames to list alphabetically – all starting with variations of Mac/Mc.
  My own surname was Macdonald – do you know how many variations of spelling there are? Macdonald, MacDonald, McDonald – and then there are the first names/initials!
  I failed the test.
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:26pm
  - Notsofast
    
    Then there is Heather Mac Donald, who is a brilliant crusading meritocracist, along with her eccentric naming method.
    
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    August 27, 2026 5:05pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

The Child Poverty activists tell us that the number of children living in poverty has risen by 47,500 between 2022 and 2025, with the usual suspects over represented.

Apparently, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed through more tax.

I’d like to push some of this back. In the article there’s no discussion of the impact of personal choice on poverty – how often do you see stories of poor families with numbers of children above the average? And, we all know that education helps you get ahead. In an era of plummeting school attendance, particularly among the usual suspects, are the Child Poverty activists to be seen in getting kids to school?

And, I thought that poverty in NZ is a relative measure, ie that being x% below the median income automatically made you poor – which means, by definition, the poor will be with us always. Or do I have that wrong?

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/1146919/government-can-reverse-growing-number-of-children-in-poverty-retired-paediatrician-says
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August 27, 2026 8:01am
- Taieri
  
  47,500
  ————-
  
  And I was under the impression that it was 46973.1
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:18am
- Southern Raider
  
  “Child poverty” in NZ to me is analogous to the UNRWA in the West Bank and Gaza.
  
  The UNRWA has been celebrating 75 years this month and despite 75 years and billions of funding they somehow have fixed anything and seem to just be a well paid socialist club. Why would they reduce dependency and address the real root causes if it means they may not exist in a decade.
  
  In NZ there is no central UN organisation involved but lots of dogooders, public money and a big political football. Despite African nations having been pulled out of dire famine and poverty NZ apparently gets worse every year.
  
  We need to address the elephant in the room. We have two dependent groups in NZ. One actually tries hard, does care for their kids and should be supported. The second are just feral breeders.
  
  In the media today was a women jailed who removed her 9 day old premature son off an incubator at Middlemore. She was also convicted of assaulting an older son multiple times. It appears she is a constant breeder, feral and doesn’t make a single positive contribution to our country
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:57am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Today’s instalment of the diversity dividend.

A tsunami of bogus tax returns claiming refunds has hit IRD. 542 fraudulent amended returns were received in just one night.

Sarah Bourke of IRD said “what initially appeared to be concentrated in the transport industry broadened significantly to other areas across the country”.

Anyone who has glanced up at the drivers of intercity trucks can form an educated view as to the identity of the community concerned.

http://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/27/quick-buck-tax-fraud-scheme-halted-after-rapid-spread-on-social-media/
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August 27, 2026 8:01am
- Southern Raider
  
  So not just constrained to local Govt electoral fraud?
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:59am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Here’s a turn up for the books!

The media have investigated the Labour Party and decided that they no longer represent the working class, in part because none of their MPs actually are working class, and therefore do not understand the reality of working class lives.

Someone should sue the Party President for fraud.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1145441/collecting-the-votes-of-the-discontented
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August 27, 2026 8:01am
- kowtow
  
  Across the west Labour or labour type and left wing parties have literally abandoned the classical Marxist dialectic notion of the “working class”,
  
  Exhibit 1; Their absolute blind obsession with net zero / decarbonisation/ climate change ( call it what you will.
  
  This has led to mass unemployment through deindustrialisation.
  Huge power bills on pensioners and other poor people.
  Destruction of the environment with solar and wind farms.
  Transfer of wealth and power to China.
  
  Case study 1. Volkswagon and the German economy.
  Case study 2. BP abandoning Britain as uninvestable and investing in …..Venezuela !
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:30am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Saatchi said it best: Labour isn’t Working
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:53am
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    Critical Social Justice (CSJ) is now the core ideology of the modern left. CSJ sorts people into “oppressed” and “oppressor” demographics, based on their ethnicity, gender and sexuality. Examples of CSJ at work during the Ardern-Hipkins kakistocracy:
    – The “Safer Online Services and Media Platforms proposal, which appeared to contemplate differential rights to freedom of expression and protection from online “harm”, based on ethnicity
    https://share.google/oo58iUikLFacfOacd
    – Appointing a trans activist body (PATHA) to develop guidelines for treatment of gender dysphoric teenagers
    – The proliferation of treaty ideology in the school curriculum and school governance.
    – He Puapua, a blueprint for a Maori ethnostate.
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:24am
    - kowtow
      
      The funny thing about an awful lot of these neo social justice types is they come from the very class they purport to want to overthrow.
      
      In the end , if their revolution ever came about they’d end up in the gulag or the killing fields as ‘class enemies’.
      
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      August 27, 2026 11:20am
    - Tom Hunter
      
      ColinXY provides a superb analysis here of Critical Social Justice..
      
      Another spawn of Critical Theory.
      
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      August 27, 2026 3:52pm
      - Pope Punctilious II
        
        Colinxy is consistently very good. His critique of the NZ right is clear-eyed and merciless (“a board of accountants trying to run a civilization”), and his lapidary prose is such a refreshing antidote to the woke corporate verbiage we’re habitually bombarded with.
        
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        August 27, 2026 6:17pm
  - Bullion
    
    What have the west National or national type and right wing parties done for the working class?
    
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    August 27, 2026 3:07pm
- fightingtemeraire
  
  They are “The Lanyard Class”. University indoctrinated people who left school, went to Uni, got a non job in an MP’s Office or in an NGO and a few years letr an MP.
  
  Been nowhere, done nothing and no experience.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:48am
  - keepcalmcarryon
    
    Fabian socialists, Chardonnay socialists, their name is legion.
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:26pm
Cassandra

People who live overseas but occasionally visit NZ are allowed to vote. They don’t pay tax here, apart from GST while visiting (so do tourists). How come they get a vote?
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August 27, 2026 8:05am
- Southern Raider
  
  I’m more concerned about the huge number who have dumped their wives and kids here (sometimes the kids have been left with just grandparents) so they can access free health care and free education while the income earner returns to their home country and contributes nothing to the costs of the rest of their family living here.
  
  It’s very prominent amongst Chinese in Auckland.
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:16am
  - Jethrod
    
    Also some Middle Eastern countries.
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:43am
- MCōs
  
  Paying income tax is not a criteria for voting in NZ otherwise an awful lot of people here on work and other visas would want a vote
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:56am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Depends. At one point I lived overseas, but rented my house out. I was also always very clear in my own mind that I was and am a New Zealander, and that I would be returning to live. And so it came to pass.
  
  So yes, I voted in NZ elections while living overseas.
  
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  August 27, 2026 6:44pm
Hugh Jarse

What’s with Tova’s Heath Ledger aka Joker facial work, looks terrible.
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August 27, 2026 8:06am
Southern Raider

Why is National going off on an electoral crusade that has failed in every other country while the USA (and I assume soon the Europeans) have put pressure on the social media platforms to actually implement change and introduce child controls

National had really lost all common sense over this

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/361025357/meta-reaches-17-billion-settlement-states-landmark-t
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August 27, 2026 8:10am
- septic skeptic
  
  Luxon’s razor sharp political instincts coming to the fore again 🫪
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:39am
  - Albie
    
    In “lock step” with other “Being seen to do something” western countries.
    
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    August 27, 2026 1:16pm
- I remember when
  
  The Meta decision mistakes money for the answer – a common US error.
  Yes, it might force Meta to exercise better control of use of their products, but it isn’t like tobacco or alcohol – you can’t police a shop to reduce abuse.
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:27am
Cassandra

I commend Oliver Hartwich’s column recommending a reduction in departments and ministers, with the ministers relocating their offices from the Beehive to the actual department.
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August 27, 2026 8:11am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Here:
  
  New Zealand has 43 government departments, 28 ministers and more than 80 ministerial portfolios. Norway, hardly a failed state, governs with 20 ministers and 17 ministries.
  
  https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/if-i-were-pm-fix-the-machine-before-the-policies
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:17am
  - MCōs
    
    Our cabinet has 19 ministers, most of whom are Paul Goldsmith
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:08am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Very good.
      
      Maybe Goldsmith should mount a leadership coup…
      
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      August 27, 2026 12:00pm
      - keepcalmcarryon
        
        He should really roll himself, he’s really not doing doing much, time for a cabinet reshuffle, Paul Goldsmith could take most of his portfolios.
        He’s a safely inactive pair of hands.
        
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        August 27, 2026 12:29pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        “He should really roll himself..”
        
        He wouldn’t have the energy…
        
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        August 27, 2026 2:48pm
  - Paulus
    
    Due to North Sea Oil and the closest to a Communist State, the people of Noway, besides having no sense of humour, are bereft of anything to spend the Government’s money on !
    They have started drilling North Sea Oil again to get more money.
    Funny lot !
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:10am
  - Bullion
    
    This is the problem when comparing between countries, the way government is organised is quite different in Norway to NZ – the local councils have a much larger role (spending ~4 times more than nz local councils as a % of gdp) and undertake many roles and services that are run/delivered by central govt in NZ.
    
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    August 27, 2026 3:18pm
- Debsta
  
  I could not agree with him more!
  
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  August 27, 2026 8:29am
Southern Raider

Why is it the left want to pick and choose what parts of electoral process they want at anyone time

Sir Ian Taylor is vocal about MMP but now doesn’t like the fact ACT and David Seymour have some sway over National in Govt. Isn’t that how MMP is supposed to work or you only want proportional representation when the smaller parties are also ones you like
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August 27, 2026 8:13am
- David Garrett
  
  Southern: I don’t understand how and why this Taylor fellow and his views are given such prominence.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:41am
  - Southern Raider
    
    To be fair he’s a lot better than the normal media go too of Helen Clark and Phil Goff
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:02am
    - igm
      
      They have also quoted Cunliffe recently . . . how low can they go?
      
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      August 27, 2026 1:30pm
  - RoboRob
    
    This! The guy might be a great artist but he seems a political moron.
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:09am
  - Ian
    
    It’s on Stuff – says it all. Funny how most opinion pieces in online Stuff come from him or Verity whoever. And of course let’s not forget – they’re always reaching out for comment from Helen whoever…
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:24am
  - lifesgood
    
    Same would go for the late Sam Neil and any other number of entertainers. Why anyone thinks their views are more valuable than anyone elses beats me.
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:24am
  - Philview
    
    Sir Ian has been a very successful businessman but as he appears to lean Left his wisdom carries more weight in the media. I find him likeable enough but his specific grumble is that he was impressed by National on the campaign trail in 2023 but he hasn’t seen much of that in Government.
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:26am
    - RoboRob
      
      Lol, thats my grumble too 🙂
      
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      August 27, 2026 11:43am
    - Sacha
      
      From what I can gather, the government has been head down, tails up, trying to steer HM NZ out of crushing debt while keeping the populace busy at work.
      Those that can, do, and those that can’t, criticise.
      Can you guess which is the easiest path to take?
      
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      August 27, 2026 12:40pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Your gathering seems confused.
        
        Net Core Crown Debt
        
        November 2023: $169.7 billion (~41.6% of GDP)
        
        Latest (2025/2026 Fiscal Year): ~$187.8 billion (~42.2% of GDP)
        
        Change: An increase of approximately $18.1 billion in nominal debt.
        
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        August 27, 2026 2:54pm
  - crikey
    
    DG: Nothing more needed than to be perceived as a leftie.
    
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    August 27, 2026 2:15pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  His whole article is a a combination of straw men and poorly thought out nonsense
  
  Think about that. The leader of a party that received 8.64% of the vote doesn’t like the direction in which decades of New Zealand jurisprudence has developed, or some of the decisions our highest court has reached. So he wants to change the rules governing how those judges interpret our laws.
  Surely this is not a line a functioning democracy should cross.
  
  This is exactly what should happen under a functioning democracy – a contest of ideas and a way for elected voices to bring about change in society. Taylor seems to like democracy, as long as it’s his kind of democracy and no-one else’s.
  
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  August 27, 2026 2:55pm
  - OlderChas
    
    So – Taylor similar to Willie then?
    
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    August 27, 2026 6:11pm
Southern Raider

I wonder if their is any causation between Jacinda forcing Covid vaccinations on the population and the fall off of people getting flu vaccinations for last couple of years

Also seems another might fail by MoE where they only make flu vaccines free for a part of the population due to cost but then have hundreds times more costs in extra staff and overtime due to influx of fly patients
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August 27, 2026 8:28am
- RoboRob
  
  There 100% is. All around the world vaticination rates dropped like a stone following covid. The lies around the effectiveness of the covid jabs have reduced trust on all the others. Also trust in health officials is now very low.
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:11am
- Sacha
  
  Word of mouth – the anxiety caused by the mounting evidence of galloping/untreatable carcinomas in vaxxed people is making people very cautious about ‘new’ treatments of all sorts.
  And once trust is lost, it is hard to find again.
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:49pm
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    Can you refer us to an example of this mounting evidence?
    
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    August 27, 2026 3:35pm
    - Sacha
      
      Sorry, Dudley, I can’t give you an ‘example’. I’m an old woman about celebrate her 90th circuit of the sun and only have life experience to call upon, I don’t do statistics the same way as you youngsters. But I had 50 years working in the health ‘industry’. I retired at 75, but still have a few friends who tell me what they think about how they were treated health-wise by the Labour/COVID government. A couple of years ago only a few close friends dared to think that something was wrong, but now I am continually surprised at the negative comments about the management of the pandemic. These folks will not be fooled again. I do my best to help them understand (if asked) how viruses come and go, each revisit being a slight revision of the one before – but we can prevent their advance, person by person, if we are aware.
      Rant over.
      
      [Mod – Congrats on the nearly 90 years]
      
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      August 27, 2026 7:23pm
      - artemisia
        
        Sacha, heading for the big 9 and still sharp as a tack. Well done, you are an inspiration.
        
        PS Might like to check Alex Berenson’s substance for health related information not seen much elsewhere.
        
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        August 28, 2026 7:12am
Ghost

he was just a Sweet Transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania

Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the smug concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” has died. He was 80.

Article

On the day I went away… goodbye…
Was all I had to say… now I…
I want to come again and stay… Oh my my…
Smile, and that will mean that I may

Cause I’ve seen blue skies, through the tears
In my eyes
And I realise.. I’m going home.
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August 27, 2026 8:30am
rouppe

Remember that guy who claimed he’d applied for 5000 jobs and couldn’t get anything? The big sob story in the Herald?

They had to correct their story when it was discovered he’d spent 20 years in a US prison for kidnapping a woman and sexual assaulting her.

Guess what? He’s done it again. Here.
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August 27, 2026 8:32am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  It was “Stuff” that first ran with the bleeding heart story about this criminal pathological liar.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360845745/almost-8000-applications-no-job-man-still-haunted-what-he-did-28-years-ago
  
  Shows that some of these journalists have spent too much time indulging in “critical theory” and no time practising critical thinking.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:18am
  - kowtow
    
    …..and given their ‘commitment’ to all things # , where was the empathy for all of his female victims.
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:53am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    What an awful person.
    
    And now we’re stuck with paying for his board & vittles for the foreseeable future.
    
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    August 27, 2026 7:26pm
- zulumonster
  
  I see that “prosecutors have indicated they will be seeking a rare sentence of preventive detention”
  So probably a 6 month XBOX holiday on the couch then? /s
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:46am
imalwaysright

Erica Stanford said that National had been discussing the Social Media proposal with Labour for the last 5 months.

You would think, therefore, they would have made a joint announcement.

Five months is a long time to be talking about just this issue…
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August 27, 2026 8:46am
- Southern Raider
  
  For once I actually admire Labour and Hipkins
  
  Luxon and Stanford did a massive media standup on how this is their “nuclear” moment eg “think of the children” and how urgent the issue was to address. Every two bit National MP you have never heard of was then posting their own videos on how great this was on social media.
  
  Hipkins then calls them out saying Labour agrees so let’s get the first reading done before the election.
  
  Now Luxon and Stanford seem to be in witness protection and running the urgency back at 100 miles an hour
  
  Absolute clowns
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:06am
  - Philview
    
    Now that it appears all sorts of sites are exempt it has become a mess.
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:29am
- Ra Henare
  
  National had been discussing the Social Media proposal with Labour for the last 5 months.
  
  Think that probably translates to….. we have had a couple of meetings with labour starting 5 months ago.
  
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  August 27, 2026 2:57pm
I remember when

The NZ Herald headlines yesterday would suggest it was a bad day for NZ drivers.

* Friends remember woman run over in supermarket carpark.
* Man, 69, dies after car goes into harbour.
* Driver’s fitness to drive ‘borderline’: Elderly couple killed after accelerator-brake mix-up.
* South Auckland crash: Person assaulted ans gun reportedly fired in Manukura.
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August 27, 2026 8:52am
- Yabster
  
  stuffed are pathetic -where was the background check- and of course no apology- they just did a quiet edit.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:11am
- Charlotte Wells
  
  “Man, 69, dies after car goes into harbour.”
  
  That is unlikely to have been an accident, if you know what I mean.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:18am
rouppe

Holy smokes. The video of the flash flood in Nepal is terrifying.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/361025340/kiwis-among-hundreds-missing-deadly-torrent-sweeps-through-nepal
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August 27, 2026 8:59am
- Ghost
  
  flash flood, god, I thought tsunami when I first saw it. my god, when it came over the building.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:03am
  - Flossie
    
    It’s horrific! Although it is real it looks like special effects from a disaster movie.
    
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    August 27, 2026 9:09am
- kowtow
  
  Yep and the BBC couldn’t help themselves but to throw in “climate change”.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:07am
- Southern Raider
  
  As it seems to have been at the Chinese border crossing point it does raise the question was it just a very terrible natural disaster or had there been significant work going on in the hills that triggered this
  
  It looked like a dam of some sort had burst.
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:09am
  - Ghost
    
    A powerful landslide blocked the Bhote Koshi river, sending a torrent of water downstream from China to Nepal. A group of scientists believe a glacier may have broken off and fallen into the valley below, which triggered or at least compounded the effect of the landslide.
    
    Article
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:18am
    - kowtow
      
      ‘from China to Nepal’
      
      A minor , local official is going to be “re educated” in a terminal manner over this.
      
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      August 27, 2026 10:50am
      - Ghost
        
        It started up river in Tibet China, flowed downstream to Nepal
        
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        August 27, 2026 11:00am
    - Southern Raider
      
      There is a video now circulating of a dam under construction in that river valley which gets completely taken out by the water flow.
      
      It does raise why you would be building a dam and have no monitoring upstream if there was a well know large water storage location.
      
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      August 27, 2026 11:08am
      - Ghost
        
        The dams are downstream, of course this would wipe them out. You are trying so desperately to make this tragic event into something it wasn’t.
        
        3 1
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        August 27, 2026 11:29am
      - kowtow
        
        SR raises a very important point .
        
        Monitoring. Upstream.As I said someone will be having an appointment with a firing squad .
        
        4 2
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        August 27, 2026 11:46am
      - Colville
        
        Southern.
        Why put monitoring upstream when all that would happen is the warning light would go red and you would have time to say “oh fu*k” and then be dead?
        
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        August 27, 2026 12:13pm
Scooter

Incredible and almost looked AI generated. Just shows you what nature is capable of and of course when the force of water is in contact with bridges, buildings etc nothing will stand in its way. But we still think what NZ does will have an impact on climate around the world.
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August 27, 2026 9:16am
- Cassandra
  
  My brother bought an electric car earlier this year. I believe that was the cause of the cold winter we’ve just experienced.
  
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  August 27, 2026 9:59am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    We have not experienced a cold winter.
    
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    August 27, 2026 8:48pm
artemisia

‘Wrong’ for Woolworths to bank big profit, Consumer NZ says

;Wrong’ to report sales of $8.49 billion and $163 million profit before interest and tax. Noticed Jon Duffy did not mention ROI or whether planned store upgrades were ‘wrong’.

The Consumer boss has lost his way. Or should that be their way. Maybe that ‘way’ has been a quiet chat to Mayor Mamdani.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/1134393/wrong-for-woolworths-to-bank-big-profit-consumer-nz-says
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August 27, 2026 9:43am
- Southern Raider
  
  I think the issue isn’t their profit. It’s the stranglehold they and Food Stuffs have on the structural makeup of the paddock to plate market in NZ. They have abused their dominant market position against growers, suppliers and customers for years
  
  Same goes for electricity market where their association claims big price increases are needed going forward to fund upgrades, but their massive profits when they weren’t investing were also somehow justified?
  
  I think involving Mamdani in a clear case of abuse of market failure in NZ is a massive stretch
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:15am
  - artemisia
    
    Did you read the article?
    
    5 0
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    August 27, 2026 10:44am
    - Yabster
      
      I think everyone is spelling his name wrong- its Madmani isn’t it…
      
      4 1
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      August 27, 2026 11:18am
      - Blog-aholic
        
        I refer to him as ManDumi
        
        3 2
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        August 27, 2026 11:51am
- mandk
  
  A profit of $163 million on sales of $8.49 billion equates to a profit of less than 2 cents on the dollar.
  
  Hardly a bloated margin.
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:33am
  - Jethrod
    
    Now Chloe would violently and hysterically disagree!!!
    
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    August 27, 2026 10:57am
  - kowtow
    
    Yep and if Woollies weren’t here the privately owned “kiwi” other half of the duopoly would have a rather free rein ……
    
    And if folk think they make such huge profits well then they should invest in them , I believe listed on the Oz market.
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:13am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Their profits work out to about 20 cents per person.
      That’s not bad for a guaranteed food supply with no access fees like the energy companies charge us daily just to be connected.
      
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      August 27, 2026 12:10pm
  - Taieri
    
    Hardly a bloated margin.
    ————
    
    Would be if it was a single corner store. But scale (and effective duopoly) makes all the difference.
    Not that I can propose a better alternative though…
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:31pm
  - Tauhei Notts
    
    The $163m wasn’t profit. It was earnings before interest and tax.
    Being an Aussie behemeth the figure for management fees paid to Head Office would be interesting. That and other nefarious transfer pricing tricks.
    
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    August 27, 2026 3:25pm
- Raphael
  
  Consumer NZ has been posting more and more Left leaning stuff. They forget that the primary function I want from them is information about if the Samsung or Westinghouse fridge is going to do a better job. Not posts about which one makes the best profit.
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:34pm
  - OlderChas
    
    Indeed Raphael. I have been reading the Consumer magazine since the 1960s, and been a subscriber since around 1970. The “greening” and political stance and commenting lately has me considering dumping what used to be a completely unbiased publication that gave very good advice on which were good and which were bad products.
    
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    August 27, 2026 6:20pm
tknorriss

Just a polling question for DPF:

Will Curia be polling on voting intentions on the basis of coalition groupings?

For, example, some voters may state a voting preference say, for Labour. But, they may have a completely different preference if they are asked if they like the idea of a coalition between Labour, Greens, TOP and the MP.

I think this is a dynamic that current polling is overlooking. The news reports etc tend to add poll results together, and come up with projected outcomes that may be miles off because they miss this dynamic.
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August 27, 2026 10:30am
- mandk
  
  Exactly.
  
  A three-party coalition might seem chaotic, but what would a four-party coalition with 6 leaders/co-leaders be like?
  
  I was at a presentation by DPF where he said that polling on the basis of likely coalitions did make a difference to the findings of a few percentage points.
  
  I also recall that Curia recently published the results of a poll that showed precisely that.
  
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  August 27, 2026 10:38am
  - Jethrod
    
    That might mean each leader getting 9 months as PM, transferring then to deputy, followed by 5 months maternity leave.
    Positions for Ministers may be easier//
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:00am
    - mandk
      
      It would be 6 months per leader/co-leader.
      
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      August 27, 2026 11:56am
  - Colville
    
    mandk
    
    What happens tho if Lab/NZF have more seats that Nat/ACT ? (and that is very likely)
    Greens, TPM, TOP are not going to vote with National and against Labour so Lab/NZF just form a government with 2 parties and the others sit on the sidelines?
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:32pm
- Steve Todd
  
  @tknorris @ 10:30AM
  
  Don’t overlook a coalition between National, NZ First, ACT NZ and Opportunity.
  
  Duncan Garner spoke with Qiulae Wong yesterday. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvIUoukqehA [29:01], between 3:00 and 4:45, in particular.
  
  If a coalition that includes Opportunity is what it takes for National to retain power, then I have no doubt it will happen.
  
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  August 27, 2026 11:31am
  - Frank the tank
    
    In fairness most of the National ‘wets’ including Luxon have much in common with TOP.
    
    Act/NZ First not so much
    
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    August 27, 2026 11:36am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      Yes and no. A lot of the Nats are pretty woke, so might support some of TOP’s social/cultural agenda. But not their economic policies.
      
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      August 27, 2026 1:02pm
  - Southern Raider
    
    Would be some awesome discussions around the Coalition table and I wonder if TOP actually has any bottom lines as well
    
    They posted yesterday
    – they oppose Winston’s gender definition bill
    – they oppose Seymour wanting to dump the Climate Commission
    
    Agree they would be the Teal to Nationals left. Just not sure how when polar opposite to NZ First and ACT that is going to work
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:31pm
  - Southern Raider
    
    I think Winston is snookered as well. Because Labour is so performing he can’t go into Coalition with them as would mean also being in Coalition with Greens, TPM and TOP to get even close to 60 plus seats. No way even Winston could sell that 5 headed beast to supporters, unless he was PM for the whole 3 year term
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:35pm
  - Taieri
    
    If a coalition that includes Opportunity is what it takes for National to retain power, then I have no doubt it will happen
    ———-
    
    And you are probably right. For the National it would be a small price to pay to retain power.
    And while the more extravagant “policies” of TOP would have no chance to pass, they would have their own Opportunity to establish themselves as a parliamentary party.
    
    As for the hoi-polloi, i.e. us…more of the same…
    
    What strikes me most about this election, is the race of all opposition parties to outdo each other in new taxation proposals. Yet, not a single one of them shows a coherent vision of this country’s economic (and financial) future. Just a random bit here and a random bit there. And that also includes the current ruling coalition.
    
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    August 27, 2026 12:43pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Yet, not a single one of them shows a coherent vision of this country’s economic (and financial) future.
      
      Well, perhaps not in your opinion, Taieri. It is very clear that Opportunity see their vision unfolding over many years.
      
      If you watch the whole interview with Garner, you will see that Opportunity do have a vision for the future. Read all their policies at their website — I know you’ve read their Tax Reset — and you will see that they have put a lot of thought into what our future should look like, in their view.
      
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      August 27, 2026 3:20pm
      - wsk12345
        
        Yeah but it doesn’t count because they fail to account for second order effects, like the Greens. Exonomically illiterate. Therefore cannot be considered a feasible vision for the future. It’s a day dream – like the utopia of communism.
        
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        August 27, 2026 4:53pm
      - Taieri
        
        I’m talking about a COHERENT vision, not utopian fantasies Steve…
        
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        August 27, 2026 6:06pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @Taieri @ 6:06PM
        
        No, I’m sorry Taieri. You can’t put up throw-away lines like that.
        
        What is your version of coherent policies? In what way are Opportunity’s policies ‘utopian fantasies’?
        
        Are you saying there is no other way of organising society for the greater benefit of all, other than by Nicola Willis’ economic prescription?
        
        Ye, gods! I hope not.
        
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        August 27, 2026 7:59pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Tactical voting could be irrelevant if the Party hierarchies of National and Labour decide to coalesce.
  
  They aren’t exactly chalk and cheese anymore….more like mild and colby.
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:14pm
Simon

“The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) said poverty persisted because of failures in the labour market, housing, health and disability, education, welfare and tax settings.”

Nearly all the result of low wage immigration.
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August 27, 2026 10:44am
- kowtow
  
  Free and once excellent education has been available for how long and yet despite what was a fantastic social policy , at great cost to the tax/ratepayer ,across the Anglosphere a significant minority refused to “embrace” that and thereby condemned themselves to penury.
  Nothing to do with low wage immigration.
  
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  August 27, 2026 11:09am
- Taieri
  
  Nearly all the result of low wage immigration
  ———-
  
  Not necessarily, although it does play its part. What’s more important is that we are no longer have a cohesive society. We are ashamed of our past and no longer have any common values or a sense of belonging. We are no longer a nation. What we are now, is a collection of mutually incompatible tribes, which have nothing in common with one another.
  Hell, we don’t even know the names of our closest NEIGHBOURS anymore…
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:49pm
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  It might have more to do with the DPB.
  
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  August 27, 2026 12:53pm
  - MCōs
    
    The Dpb ceased in 2013 and was replaced by Sole Parent Support, which has about 81k recipients.
    When the Dpb ceased it had over 100k recipients.
    
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    August 27, 2026 4:52pm
Swifty

It’s nice to see Sir David Attenborough still working on his documentaries at 100!

https://x.com/DeepSt8Cringe/status/2092424824630972431/video/1?s=46

😁
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August 27, 2026 12:36pm
rouppe

ACT promises tax-free crypto gains after a year

What? Joe Bloggs buys crypto and after a year gains are tax free.
I buy gold, or silver, or S&P500 or some other asset and I’m liable for tax.

WTF?
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August 27, 2026 1:21pm
- RoboRob
  
  You are only liable for tax on those other items if you bought them as a trader. If you buy them as a long term investment any capital gains are tax free (at least that is the case with shares). If you are buying and selling frequently you are treated as a business and taxed on your business activities.
  
  For shares I dont think there is a specific time period you have to hold but 1 or 2 years seems ‘safe’. I bought and sold a share within a year but all my other shares have been held for at least 4 years. I think if the tax man came chasing it would be fairly easy to prove I am not a trader (which I am not).
  
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  August 27, 2026 2:02pm
  - rouppe
    
    No share on the NZX attracts tax other than dividend tax.
    
    No share on the ASX200 attracts tax other than dividend tax.
    
    Other shares on the ASX board and all other boards fall under FIF rules which have a de minimus exemption of $50,000 cost price. (The increase to $100,000 hasn’t actually been passed into law yet.)
    
    Bullion gains are taxable no matter how long you hold them.
    
    Under Section CB 4 of the Income Tax Act 2007, any profit made from selling personal property is taxable if you bought that property with the “dominant purpose of disposal” (meaning you intended to sell it eventually). According to the IRD’s official ruling on precious metals, gold bullion produces no yield—it pays no dividends, no interest, and no rent while you hold it. Because the only way to make a return on gold is to eventually sell it, the IRD legally presumes you bought it with the intention of selling it.
    https://www.williamsbullion.co.nz/blogs/learn/tax-on-gold-silver-nz
    
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    August 27, 2026 3:10pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Not quite true re capital gain on shares. As I said, if you trade shares (buy and sell frequently for profit) then you are treated as a trader and should pay tax. It is the same as someone who builds a house and sells it, do it once and there is no tax, do it frequently and you are a building company.
      
      IRD call it, buying shares with the intention of selling.
      
      https://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax/income-tax-for-individuals/types-of-individual-income/share-investments
      
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      August 27, 2026 4:36pm
      - rouppe
        
        Yes I should have said the first two statements were not for trading, just Joe Bloggs investing.
        
        The remainder is true for the Joe Bloggs situation as well.
        
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        August 27, 2026 8:58pm
Southern Raider

Greenpeace has risen from the dead again and now trying to raise public discourse against the proposed lignite to fertiliser plant in Southland

Greenpeace is getting slaughtered in the comments and actually got the opposite result they would have been hoping for

My faith in NZ has been restored
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August 27, 2026 2:11pm
- kowtow
  
  My faith would be even stronger if they added coal to petrol into the mix and so many other wonderful products that coal can be made into.
  
  ps What business has a “charity” getting involved in such matters.
  
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  August 27, 2026 2:57pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Developing coal would cause the price of units in the ETS to skyrocket.
    
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    August 27, 2026 8:45pm
- MCōs
  
  What comments are they?
  
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  August 27, 2026 4:23pm
  - Southern Raider
    
    Combination of fark Greenpeace, we need to dig more, NZ needs more food security measures like this etc
    
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    August 27, 2026 5:39pm
    - MCōs
      
      Where are these comments?
      
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      August 27, 2026 7:39pm
      - Jack5
        
        Cossie, a couple of clicks and I found this on Greenpeace v lignite to fertiliser:
        
        https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/press-release/greenpeace-pledges-to-prevent-construction-of-aussie-owned-coal-powered-fertiliser-factory/
        
        And this (comments surely follow):
        
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/8331893/Mining-lignite-a-poor-option
        
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        August 27, 2026 8:24pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        And if somone builds the lignite plant and urea from natural gas gets cheaper we have have a rather pale and dirty elephant ….
        
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        August 27, 2026 9:57pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        I let the bot loose on the economics of this one. Not out of the question – the sums come out at a not stupid number although it does involve building a $3bn plant that pays itself off over 25-odd years and the amount produced would be 2x NZ needs so 50% would be exported. And the process generates a shitload of CO2 ….
        
        There’s a coal-to-urea plant in Zambia that provides some cost guidelines and another one in China.
        
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        August 27, 2026 10:25pm
Bobba Fret

This woman will no longer be in the running for ‘mother of the year’ award.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-mother-who-took-prem-baby-from-hospital-despite-warnings-he-could-die-jailed/VXS6ERVLEBGLJOD5ZEHBEC3GTY/
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August 27, 2026 3:31pm
Ghost

Geez, another incident in auckland

Two dead as emergency services respond to South Auckland incident
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August 27, 2026 4:58pm
- Ghost
  
  bloody hell
  
  “I was sitting outside having a cigarette and I saw this car coming down the street,” he told Stuff.
  
  “Thing got on its breaks, stopped just over here, and two people got up, ran up there [the driveway] and all we heard after that was just gunshots.”
  
  Katipa said he heard about eight or nine shots, and that by the time he had retrieved his phone and came to the street to record the incident, the offenders had fled.
  
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  August 27, 2026 7:06pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Breaks – heh!
    
    Katipa must be embarrassed that the Herald reporter cannot distinguish between “breaks” and “brakes”.
    
    1 0
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    August 27, 2026 7:38pm
    - Ghost
      
      if you think that is bad, try this court transcript.
      
      Now in his counsel’s submissions the respondent points to his clean record since the last conviction, which occurred on the 9th of May 2014, relating to offending on the 5th of June 2030.
      
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      August 27, 2026 7:49pm
    - greybeard
      
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361025708/major-incident-south-auckland-sends-schools-lockdown
      Katipa wanted his phone to record the incident, not ring 111.
      And check out Katipa’s sweatshirt ! Nice !
      
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      August 27, 2026 9:10pm
Southern Raider

Labour making more dumb announcements

Putting the freeze on petrol tax means they now have to cut $2B from national roading projects

I suggest any electorates that vote in a Labour candidate should loose their transport funding
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August 27, 2026 6:28pm
Handyman

Cutting road funding was going to be a green party demand in the LG+ coalition anyway. This way they get to show National will raise a tax where Labour won’t to blunt the “no tax” message.
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August 27, 2026 10:14pm

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