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September 2, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 02 September 2026

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General Debate

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Yvette

A possibly unconstitutional move – election engineering – to introduce constitutional change?

The Māori electorate allocation remains locked at 7 until the 2032 review cycle, and contesting electorates without a party list causes those won seats to be deducted from the standard 120-seat total rather than creating overhang seats.

• Electorate boundary reviews mean that the current boundaries—and the 7 Māori electorates—are locked for the 2026 and 2029 general elections. The next formal boundary redistribution conducted by the Representation Commission will not take effect until 2032.

• If a party submits a party list and wins more electorate seats than its overall party vote percentage entitles it to, it keeps all won electorate seats. The extra seats become overhang seats.

• If a party chooses not to submit a Party List (or when independent candidates win seats), the candidates still keep every electorate seat won. However, under Section 191 of the Electoral Act 1993, those electorate seats are subtracted directly from the standard 120-seat pool before proportional allocation takes place for the remaining parties.
Because a party without a list cannot be allocated list seats, its party vote entitlement is effectively zero for list calculation purposes. Deducting their electorate seats from 120 shrinks the remaining pool of seats allocated to list-contesting parties rather than inflating Parliament with overhang seats.

How might New Zealand voters consider the Maori Party as it presents itself? –
Does the Maori Party offer any great attributes to balance the election engineering it is indulging in with the sole declared aim of removing the present National-led coalition?

No, they offer this –

Te Pāti Māori has launched a major “Te Tiriti Entrenchment Policy” designed to legally bind the Crown to its Treaty obligations and drive structural, long-term constitutional change. The policy acts as a direct counter-strategy to the Coalition Government’s efforts to review and strip out specific Treaty clauses from various pieces of New Zealand legislation.

Core Policy Points Relating to Te Tiriti
• Constitutional Entrenchment: Legally embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi into New Zealand’s lawmaking framework so that Crown obligations become permanent and legally enforceable.

• Binding Tribunal Recommendations: Amending the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Constitution Act to make findings and recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal fully binding on the Crown. This would include explicit implementation timeframes and judicial enforcement mechanisms.

• Shifting the Legal Burden: Reversing the current dynamic where Māori must proactively challenge the Crown in court over breaches. Under this policy, Crown actions would be preemptively halted if found to violate Te Tiriti, requiring the government to prove compliance in the High Court before proceeding.

• 2040 Transformation Target: Setting a strict target year of 2040—the bicentenary of the signing of Te Tiriti—to finalize a Māori-led, Treaty-centered constitutional model for the country

… drive structural, long-term constitutional change.
Isn’t that what they accused David Seymour and ACT of?

And the Maori Party are gerrymandering MMP to do it?
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September 2, 2026 8:05am
- imalwaysright
  
  It appears that National and Labour now have more in common with each other than they do with their current coalition partners, it may be that they decide to take the path of least resistance that guarantees both parties the Government benches.
  
  These people act according to what’s best for themselves.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:57am
  - leoj
    
    Exactly!
    Nats (Blue Labour) are positioning themselves to form a coalition with Labour.
    Luxon is uncomfortable being shown up by ACT and NZF and has not undone much of Labour’s disasters between 2017 and 2023.
    Labour are uncomfortable having to deal with the whacky Greens, the Communist TOP and racist TPM.
    Blue Labour and Labour are made for each other and can ruin the country twice as fast.
    
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    September 2, 2026 10:53am
    - Ghost
      
      No, won’t ever happen, but the silly fantasies about it wont ever stop
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:18pm
      - leoj
        
        Yet Blue Labour went to Labour re the India FTA and they are shutting out ACT and NZF re the socal media ban for 16 and under.
        
        Facts are facts. They are colluding now.
        
        Simeon Brown called ACT and NZF kids that re misbehaving.
        
        Keep your eyes open. Luxon is just daft enough to do it because he is being outsmarted by his coalition partners on just about everything.
        
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        September 2, 2026 1:17pm
      - Ghost
        
        So, they agree on the occasional policy, the vast majority they don’t. You actually need to open your eyes for once. Your fantasy won’t ever happen, and those pushing the idea are really living outside of reality. Hell, you just have to look at what they have done in the last 3 years that labour have fought them over. oh no, they have got labours support occasionally, quick someone invent a conspiracy. Oh shit, Labour and Green mp’s supported Seymour with his euthanasia bill, My god, quick, ACT is going to form a government with the greens. Yeah, that is how stupid your fantasy is.
        
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        September 2, 2026 1:25pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        It’s possible, but not likely I’d say. Labour are far too economically ridiculous these days. Saying it won’t ever happen is a bit over the top though. Stranger things have happened.
        
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        September 2, 2026 6:47pm
    - imalwaysright
      
      Correct Leoj,
      
      Luxon seems to be ‘operating on instructions’ rather than reading the bleedingly obvious room.
      
      There is no option but to believe that Maorification is National policy, as is soft on crime, low quality immigration, rogue Public servants and Ministries, refusal to correct the weak Sentencing regulations….etc, etc.
      
      If you read that list to someone they would think you were referring to Labour or even the Greens.
      
      Blue Labour is right.
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:42pm
    - AitchW
      
      Never happen. National would never put up with the overgrown high school politicians which infest Labour.
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:48pm
      - Ghost
        
        Not only that, but as DPF has pointed out it would be the end of both parties. Plus you’d have to be stupid to think their policies are compatible just because they agree on a few things. Tax being a major area of difference. Labour want a strong state presence, central agencies and public lead services. Industrial and workers rights being another major area. So many reasons why they aren’t compatible.
        
        It’s simply a fantasy some people who haven’t thought it through are pushing.
        
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        September 2, 2026 1:03pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Agree it would probably be the end of both parties. It would piss everyone off, left and right!
        
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        September 2, 2026 6:48pm
- Spam
  
  Binding Tribunal Recommendations: Amending the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Constitution Act to make findings and recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal fully binding on the Crown. This would include explicit implementation timeframes and judicial enforcement mechanisms.
  
  This is the most dangerous point: Make an unelected, unaccountable committee the most powerful body in the country. Answerable to neither the courts nor the government.
  
  The rest of it just follows from this.
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:09am
  - David Garrett
    
    Spam: I believe this would lead to civil war. People will put up with a lot of things, but having their land confiscated and handed over to the descendants of the original Maori owners would never be accepted by those whose land was confiscated.
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:14am
    - Jethrod
      
      Hear, hear!!
      
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      September 2, 2026 9:16am
    - ISeeRed
      
      Descendants of the original Maori owners who often freely chose to sell it.
      
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      September 2, 2026 9:33am
      - kowtow
        
        If you haven’t already , look up the Jones Wentworth Deed.
        
        Eight Ngai Tahu chiefs sold the south island to Sydney based speculators . 1840 .
        These characters were meant to have signed the Treaty with the Crown but when the officer turned up he couldn’t find them …….they were in Oz selling the south island.
        
        This is one of the reasons the Crown declared sovereignty over the South by “discovery” cos the chiefs hadn’t signed up …….yet.
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:02pm
      - David Garrett
        
        Isee:…and also frequently sold it to more than one hapless Pamela buyer
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:17pm
    - Philview
      
      These things have happened in South Africa and Zimbabwe with no civil war. The affected people either left the land or were killed.
      
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      September 2, 2026 11:12am
      - Quail
        
        PV,
        Heard many stories of African misery, particularly of white farmers who lost everything , guerrilla warfare and unsafe cities.
        Don’t know how accurate they are .
        But were all things we don’t want to happen in NZ — ever.
        So it is hugely important that NZ adopt one law for all its citizens ,now, before it is too late
        
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        September 2, 2026 1:29pm
  - mortis
    
    And the left, who constantly accuse others of being fascists, want an unelected committee, based on race to dictate policy to the country. Ironic.
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:27am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      All about twisting the meanings of words to deceive, confuse and conquer.
      
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      September 2, 2026 6:50pm
  - Paulus
    
    Are there not some 3,500 agreements made by Waitangi Tribunal which are expected to be passed by a future Maori led Government.
    
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    September 2, 2026 1:03pm
- Crafty
  
  It’s frightening how the media are not focusing at all on this. They say it’s a bottom line, where are the questions asking if Hipkins would reject it???
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:16am
  - ISeeRed
    
    Yes, the media’s dereliction of duty and the average voter’s ignorance is truly frightening.
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:38am
- I remember when
  
  When any Maori party, with low national polling percentages, wins the majority of the Maori electorate seats it likely to do two things.
  * Cause an overhang.
  * Give them the balance of power.
  
  This was the reason the Commission suggested the Maori electorate seats be removed.
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:58am
- GJM
  
  The TMP are just doing what grifters do and the actions follow rewards.
  I blame National and Spud Bolger in particular for not dumping the Maori seats with the introduction of MMP, as per the Royal Commission.
  Alas to late now, and NZ has no checks and balances to end up as an apartheid state sooner rather than later. The irony of those who marched in the Springbok Tour protects fully supporting this is not lost on me.
  
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  September 2, 2026 12:42pm
artemisia

Should Tamatha Paul apologise for a specific, targeted and false attack in the House?

Green MP Tamatha Paul not apologising for misleading speech on property

“Let’s talk about the National and New Zealand First MPs” Paul continued, “Including Grant McCallum, who bought a house in Wellington, so they can pay themselves the accommodation allowance while taxpayers pay their mortgage off.”

Except he didn’t. Not sure ‘misleading’ is the correct description. She lied.

So should Tamatha Paul apologise? Even though the House record was corrected. Not corrected by Tamatha Paul but corrected by Grant McCallum. Something is wrong with this picture.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/green-mp-tamatha-paul-not-apologising-for-misleading-speech-on-property/
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September 2, 2026 8:05am
- Flossie
  
  According to Green leaders things can be said in the heat of exchanges, but it’s okay. We should just forget what’s been said and move on.
  Put the boot on the other foot and see how much forgiving and forgetting they do!
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:16am
  - Gravelroad
    
    The Green Party is a dishonest joke.
    Why people keep supporting it beats me.
    It achieves nothing.
    
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    September 2, 2026 8:24am
    - pdm
      
      The Greens on 15.5% in the latest Roy Morgan cannot be credible.
      
      At best they are an 8% to 10% party in my opinion.
      
      NZTU Curia Poll will be out soon – I was polled last night – so will be interesting to see where they sit in that Poll.
      
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      September 2, 2026 8:30am
      - Michael Johnston
        
        Roy Morgan has a tendency to overestimate minor party support, so no, I don’t think 15.5% for the Greens is credible. Likewise, neither 10.5% for ACT nor 9.5% for TOP seems likely. As you suggest, the Curia poll should provide a more accurate picture.
        
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        September 2, 2026 9:01am
      - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
        
        Mr pdm – I am sincerely hoping you supported Maori party so that Kiwis like us can pay more taxes.
        
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        September 2, 2026 9:03am
      - wsk12345
        
        What did they ask? I have never been polled so would like to know what is behind the results we see.
        
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        September 2, 2026 9:18am
      - RoboRob
        
        As much as I like some of the results in the latest Roy Morgan poll (labour on 24%!!!), I suspect it is a bit of an outlier.
        
        That said I can easily see the Greens around 12%, that is often where they are in pre election polling. Especially as labour are weak. Its the same logic that has NZF and ACT up because National is weak. Luckily for the country many Green ‘voters’ dont actually bother to vote. Although this may change if they are disaffected Labour voters.
        
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        September 2, 2026 9:18am
      - Raphael
        
        Roy Morgan has a tendency to overestimate minor party support, so no, I don’t think 15.5% for the Greens is credible. Likewise, neither 10.5% for ACT nor 9.5% for TOP seems likely. As you suggest, the Curia poll should provide a more accurate picture.
        
        except Greens tend to get more votes at the election once the overseas votes are counted.
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:12pm
      - Colville
        
        When Labour sinks Greens rise.
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:38pm
- Blog-aholic
  
  Why have we as a country, government and society become so permissive of outrageous behaviour? Where exactly does the buck stop.
  Between this and MBIE et al we seem to have become weaklings.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:18am
  - RoboRob
    
    Its the politicians, especially National, they could have the MBIE guy removed immediately just by losing confidence in him. It is crazy that Labour want him fired yet National are fine with it. The ditherer Goldsmith was on with HDPA saying ‘the privileges committee said nothing more needed to be done, so I am fine with him staying on’. If Labour wanted him sacked then why did the other parties on the committee want him kept?
    
    I note Goldsmith said ‘there are other reviews in action people might still go’. Thats pure BS, if lying to parliament cant get you sacked then ‘systematic issues’ at MBIE certainly wont. HDPA described Goldsmith as the man National send policy to die with!
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:24am
    - imalwaysright
      
      People like Goldsmith, Watts, Doocey, and Luxon, make a Coalition with Labour look feasible.
      NZ would never recover.
      
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      September 2, 2026 10:50am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      It might not get the MBIE staffers sacked but might well get some Nat MPs the boot.
      Here’s to shortening their list this election.
      Consequences.
      
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      September 2, 2026 1:51pm
- mandk
  
  If Paul was shown to be wrong in her claim, and she refused to withdraw her claim, she is clearly an unapologetic liar.
  
  Mr Speaker should bar her from the House until she withdraws and apologises.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:20am
  - RoboRob
    
    Gerry Brownlie
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:25am
- lastmanstanding
  
  Its been suggested that if the Maori Party use their gerrymandering to create an overhang that results in the Coalition of Chaos there would be pressure for a binding referendum on the future of the Maori seats. Maori are already over represented even without the Maori seats so the supporters have little in a way of a case for retaining them. It would be ironic if the Maori Party were the architects of the demise of the Maori seats.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:46am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    LMS you think Labour would allow such a referendum to be held? I doubt it. Probably they would request “submissions” so their kommittee of kommissars could look down their noses at the submissions and toss out the ones that are “low value” (not supporting their approved narratives).
    
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    September 2, 2026 6:56pm
- peterwn
  
  Tamatha and Alysia Verrell are standing face to face in Wellington North which seems to be left leaning. Interesting to see if they split the left wing vote letting the National candidate Jonathan Pitts through the middle. Or will the left wing dog whistle supporters to back one or the other.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:47am
  - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
    
    Peterwn – Pitt(s) will be at the bottom of the pit. Just sayin….
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:04am
  - RoboRob
    
    It would be great if Pitts wins that seat!
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:26am
- Handyman
  
  I’m not sure whether it just Paul or her whole generation that holds “It is true if you believe it”. Therefore it follows in her mind it was not a lie and there is nothing to apologise for.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:48am
  - Raphael
    
    It went viral on TikTok; therefore, it’s true.
    
    The Gen-Z equivalent of a bloke at the pub has a mate whose cousin once met a man who knew someone who swore it was true.
    
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    September 2, 2026 12:15pm
- kevn
  
  art.. She acts quite strangely in all manner of things. She doesn’t actually contribute anything worthwhile.
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:26am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    As far as I can tell, she has never had a real job.
    She seems quite divorced from folks who produce goods or provide the services that keep our economy ticking over.
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamatha_Paul
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:28am
- artemisia
  
  And – Three more MPs have emerged saying Green Party MP Tamatha Paul has falsely accused them of buying up properties after the Government’s changes to property taxes this term.
  
  Herald this afternoon- Tom Rutherford, Parmjeet Parmar, Shane Reti.
  
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  September 2, 2026 2:31pm
artemisia

Union Workers First Rudd Hughes says of Woolworths proposal to shift some jobs to Australia “There should be a reasonable expectation that a large company like Woolworths should reinvest into the society where its customer base is generating those profits – but Woolworths seem to care only about their bottom lines.”

Umm, Woolworths has a couple of hundred NZ supermarkets and about 20,000 staff. Sounds like an investment in New Zealand.

Business make business decisions. The union says many of the impacted team work from home – other enterprises here and global, have made business decisions about that. Usually, back to the office please. Maybe that’s a factor. Also this union has been critical of Woolworths. Would it be all that surprising if Woolies decided to fold a small tent and take it elsewhere? Some not unexpected consequences.

https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/business/woolworths-proposes-cutting-about-130-customer-support-roles-in-new-zealand/
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September 2, 2026 8:15am
- slijmbal
  
  @artemisia
  
  Considering they pay NZ workers less than Ozzie ones I would hazard a guess they are consolidating jobs rather than shifting jobs ie they can get efficiencies by not duplicating roles.
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:01am
- Nikola Donatello
  
  I don’t know what kind of offices Woolworths have. In the public sector they are generally vile. Yesterday I decided to work in the office for the day as I had an early doctors appointment. I lasted 2 hours before I went home to work. Purely because it was crowded, noisy, with people playing the fool. Doing any serious work was impossible. A bit like trying to work in a crowded bar surrounded by clowns.
  
  At home I have a large home office with large screen monitors, a camera, microphone and complete quiet.
  
  It is not a contest.
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:36am
  - artemisia
    
    I worked for a very large global corporate at a time when they cancelled working from home with immediate effect. There were reasons and I was aware that some of those reasons applied in New Zealand. Some arrangements were reinstated over time.
    
    Customer service roles lend themselves to AI innovation so it would not be too surprising if moving these roles is an opportunity to employ fewer people.
    
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    September 2, 2026 10:54am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Yesterday I decided to work in the office for the day as I had an early doctors appointment. I lasted 2 hours before I went home to work. Purely because it was crowded, noisy, with people playing the fool.
    
    Goodness, how things have changed..
    
    My first job in the PS was in an office with 5 others….including my immediate boss. No-one played the fool.
    
    For my 2nd job in the PS, I had my own office…as did the other editors… Days/weeks could go by without seeing another work-mate….
    
    My final job in the PS was in an open-plan office of 16…. I found it extraordinary that my workmates would email me with a query instead of wandering over to have a gossip….. The silence of the place used to drive me nuts.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:38am
    - Nikola Donatello
      
      I agree. Things have changed. It is appalling in these open plan offices. I need to do serious analysis. They are simply not fit for purpose. Which is why I spent my own money on a top set up at home. I have great connectivity. I am always at my desk and available to my boss or anyone else who needs me.
      
      Sure I will work in the office. As soon as it becomes a serious place so work instead of clown show in a barn.
      
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      September 2, 2026 11:55am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Well said.
        Michael Laws made a point this morning that the Public Service earn about 20 percent more, on average, than their private sector counterparts, yet about 10,000 of them plan to strike next week because they “feel undervalued”..!
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:11pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        At one stage in my working life (back in the 1980s), I ran my own consultancy from home. However, it must have been a pretty unusual thing for some folks to comprehend. I was regularly plagued by friends and acquaintances who assumed that because I was at home during working hours, I was free to entertain them or had time to chat on the phone, etc…
        
        I much preferred to undertake work away from home.
        
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        September 2, 2026 3:31pm
Im Right

Yes Artemisia…Seems a new dynamic and philosophy has invaded young MPs (and yes, mainly on the left), make outrageous statements or just lies about something and when pulled up on it, double down, be defient and bratty about it!
Now is it coincidence that these young MPs are maori?….nope!
It’s all about the social media, all about the likes and views, the news cycle may get some passing interest, but the eyeballs on social media is huge.
Just watch the young MPs take that clip of them in parliament, or to an audience anywhere…make comments on it/voice over and you have a viral video of the young MP sticking it to the man, or being bullied by the man, or can’t be shut up by the man…well, you get what I mean.
It’s election year, headlines/publicity are like gold nuggets, it’s why they get more outrageous depending on their polling I guess.
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September 2, 2026 8:24am
- kowtow
  
  It’s not just the young Maoris , older white ones too.
  
  Luxon drawing bottom lines or lines in the sand , looking all Mr Tough Guy , but not with the opposition , but with his erstwhile and current partners .
  
  Paris and TOP come to mind . The guy has no political instincts at all , is it any wonder his own team hasn’t been behind him.
  
  The unknown National wheeler dealers who parachuted him in don’t look that smart either, annointing some Big Business big cheese who has criticised Air NZ for results that are a consequence of decisions made when he was in charge .
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:16am
  - RoboRob
    
    I’m no fan of Luxon but I dont think AirNZs woes can be attributed to his engine selection. Lets face it, selecting a top tier engine from a reputable manufacturer was a sound decision. Nobody was to know there would be problems with the engine.
    
    Also I think it was right to call out AirNZ, who the government own. Perhaps it should have been the responsible minister but Luxon does have some authority on the issue. The issues with Air NZ are bigger then just their engine problems, the situation hasn’t been handled well. Air NZ now has all bar one plane active so it will be very interesting to see if they can return to profitability this year, as they should if the issues were just their engines.
    
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    September 2, 2026 10:55am
    - imalwaysright
      
      They piss off their customers too often, maybe that’s a reason they are losing money.
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:14pm
Flossie

A 1news web page has information about the upcoming el Nino event. Apparently the odds of a warmer than usual season are 50%.
It’s not just me is it?!
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September 2, 2026 8:47am
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  There is a lot of manipulation by tweaking the words that are often treated as synonyms but aren’t: normal and average.
  
  Average applies to a single measurement, but normal applies to a set of measurements.
  
  It is normal for measurements to be in a band around average. Measurements might be considered abnormal when they are far outside the normal range, not when they are a bit above average.
  
  I would take the word usual as a synonym for normal. In other words it is perfectly usual for the temperature to fluctuate and be above average.
  
  These silly word games are one of the mechanisms used to deceive. Deception is lying.
  
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  September 2, 2026 8:56am
  - Spam
    
    They literally say that there is a “50% chance of being above average”. They are scientifically illiterate.
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:11am
    - Jethrod
      
      So what, I wonder is the other 50%. Blizzards, rain , hail.
      Very reasonable to ask I think.
      
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      September 2, 2026 9:21am
    - kowtow
      
      Whenever they describe a “trans woman” (which is newspeak for a man) doing something or other they use the pronoun “she” ( and vice versa for the other sex) .
      
      That’s straight up wrong.As well as so much other loaded agenda driven stuff.
      
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      September 2, 2026 9:33am
      - David Garrett
        
        Kow: I’m sure they exist but I have never seen reference to a Trans man …a woman who thinks she’s in the “wrong body”
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:28pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Heck, you haven’t been keeping up with the times….
        
        Transgender men can have healthy pregnancies just like anyone else.
        
        https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/everything-pregnancy/transgender-man-gives-birth-to-healthy-baby-talks-navigating/
        
        https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/parenting/family/transgender-parent-scout-barbour-evans-child-baby-family-44554/
        
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        September 2, 2026 3:38pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        I was born pretty average. I’m in the wrong body. I identify as a very attractive dude. I need attractiveness affirming care.
        
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        September 2, 2026 7:05pm
  - Ian Boag
    
    Average is a derived quantity from a set of values. It is not not “one particular value” – the median is a single value and is usually pretty close to the average.
    
    Measurements might be considered abnormal when they are far outside the normal range, not when they are a bit above average.
    
    ie when their average is different to the average of the original numbers ….. statisticians don’t use the term “abnormal” ….
    
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    September 2, 2026 9:16am
    - Jack5
      
      A common arithmetical mistake comes in comparisons of “per cent numbers”. Example: saying 30 per cent is 10 per cent more than 20 per cent instead of 30 per cent is 10 percentage points more than than 20 per cent.
      
      On “average,” most of us plebs don’t know of the range of statistical averages: mean and mode, then arithmetic, geometric, harmonic and quadratic other types. On average, most of us don’t need to know.
      
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      September 2, 2026 11:30am
  - Handyman
    
    Media reporters in general dropped maths early in their education. This is most clearly seen in weather reporting.
    
    They breathlessly report “5 degrees above average for this time of year” when they could add: “There is always at least one day each August the temperature is 5 degrees above average”.
    
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    September 2, 2026 10:43am
  - Philview
    
    I heard a radio news report around the 20th August that NZ was having the warmest August on record. Temperatures then plummeted so I wonder if the claim is still valid.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:06am
- rouppe
  
  I was skiing at Turoa for August. They used to have a web camera pointing up from the base of the movenpick chair.
  
  Anyway I skied happily for a few weeks then went home to get ready for this trip in on now. Gotta love in air wifi…
  
  Anyway the webcam disappeared suddenly and was moved to essentially the top of the Park Lane chair.
  
  Someone posted on Facebook a picture from the bottom. Since I left there must have been a shit ton of rain, because all the snow at the bottom had gone.
  
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  September 2, 2026 11:17am
- Nobby2
  
  Flossie, Therefore the odds of a colder than usual season are 50%.
  
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  September 2, 2026 4:40pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

The family of a 43-year old female “501” deportee from Australia are having a sook that her granddaughter is going to grow up without her input.

Since the 43 yo has racked up multiple convictions for violence and theft one would have thought they would want her the hell away from the grandchild.

Why the hell would you want that in your daughter’s life? I would think that interactions via Zoom are way better.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/1213319/nz-woman-deported-from-australia-as-a-501-following-violence-against-her-ex-partner
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September 2, 2026 8:48am
- RoboRob
  
  I back the family, lets keep her in Australia.
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:30am
tknorriss

Labour has ruled out adopting any of the nutty taxes proposed by potential coalition parties.

The obvious question the media should be asking then is, if Labour won’t negotiate around taxes, what other nutty policies would they consider negotiating and potentially adopt? Because, they are going to have to give ground on something.
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September 2, 2026 9:16am
- crash
  
  You bet, and that is why National look like such a good coalition partner if they have less seats than Labour.
  
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  September 2, 2026 3:56pm
I remember when

Greenpeace Aotearoa:
ALERT:
The Conservation Amendment Bill will:
* Make it easier for mining companies to blast apart and dig up conservation land.
* Open the door to private resorts, gondolas and other commercial exploitation in the heart of our National Parks.

Or, we could just wait until they are gifted into Maori hands.
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September 2, 2026 9:17am
wsk12345

Heather Heying (co-presenter of Dark Horse podcast and wife of Bret Weinstein) has a substack where she has recently been publishing Covid-era stories. This week’s is the first one I’ve seen from NZ. Written by a young man who has actually thought about the events he saw while working in a government department, and changed as a result. This gives me more hope in the younger generation. The behaviour of some of his colleagues he describes is disgraceful.
https://naturalselections.substack.com/p/the-banality-of-the-beast-a-peep?r=z5cij&utm_medium=ios
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September 2, 2026 9:24am
- Master Mariner
  
  Thanks Wsk, Great substack.
  The correspondance i had with MBIE at the time makes me think this was the norm. Fill them up with Uni grads and get them to reply.
  In my case and others “life and Death” decisions were no consequences to the invisable writers.
  The great Book called “The Banality of Evil” springs to mind.
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:00am
  - Paulus
    
    Some towards three years ago all members of my Daughter’s Department were told they all had to re-apply for their jobs, and 12 months later the reconstruction took place – no fights as a small Government specialist Department but some internal wailing.
    Daughter did well out if it.
    
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    September 2, 2026 1:16pm
Yvette

Te Pāti Māori has launched a major “Te Tiriti Entrenchment Policy”
Could Entrenchment take an ardernity like a decision on Ihumātao?

Entrenchment is designed to protect existing rights from political volatility. By requiring a supermajority (such as 75% of Parliament) to alter or remove Treaty obligations, entrenchment prevents shifting political coalitions from resetting Treaty settlements, altering principles, or removing Treaty clauses from domestic law during standard three-year electoral cycles.

The Requirement for Initial Precision : Because an entrenched framework is designed to resist easy alteration, the initial drafting must be finalized and legally airtight prior to passage. Any oversight, ambiguity, or unintended consequence in the original text becomes permanently embedded until a 75% consensus can be achieved to correct it.

The Double-Edged Sword for Proponents : Supermajority hurdles do not distinguish between hostile repeals and friendly amendments. Entrenching a highly specific policy package restricts future Māori-led or pro-Treaty governments just as effectively as it restricts opponents. If circumstances change or a policy mechanism proves impractical, reformers would face the difficult task of securing 75% support across Parliament just to update the rules.

By requiring a supermajority (such as 75% of Parliament) to alter or remove Treaty obligations, would surely mean all of the Maori Party’s proposals would need to be ducks in a row as the Treaty and contextual law is entrenched, because change any part of that entrenchment would require a supermajority – such as 75% of Parliament – to alter or remove Treaty obligations.

Legally entrenching specific operational policies – such as binding tribunal powers, shifting legal burdens, or a fixed 2040 target date – creates a rigid legal standard where any subsequent modification, refinement, or repeal demands the exact same supermajority threshold.

Could the Maori Party checkmate itself?
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September 2, 2026 9:42am
- Im Right
  
  I have to wonder Yvette, what the end goal is for the Tamahere party, can we safely assume there will be a Tamahere/or relative of a Tamahere on these new maori boards the party is proposing?
  I would say it’s pretty well assured!
  Tamahere has never walked away from anything that can add to his already substantial wealth. (And yes, Willie Jackson also)
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:57am
  - rouppe
    
    The end goal is clear.
    1. Waitangi tribunal appointed by Maori
    2. Waitangi tribunal decisions binding on the Crown
    
    Result: Tamihere is appointed head of the tribunal, which effectively makes him an unelected President of an ethno nationalist dictatorship.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:23am
- RoboRob
  
  If we were to entrench the treaty, the first step would be defining what it does and doesn’t mean. Almost sounds like we might need a referendum on the principles of the treaty or would we just let TPM define it?
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:59am
  - Yvette
    
    RoboRob, obviously it should be sorted out because if a 75 percent majority is needed to entrench it, a similar 75 percent majority will be required to amend or change it.
    
    And it must really irk the real estate agent who is to be barred from practice for five years until she submits to sitting through lectures she doesn’t agree with, but the question remains: is the Treaty of Waitangi a sacred founding document of the nation, or just a fucking badly written contradictory real estate agreement?
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:14am
- Quail
  
  From yesterday, the Bill of Rights discussion shows just how effective NZ law makers are.
  Parliament has too much power , particularly since the sacking of the British Privy Council.
  The BOR is not supreme law , it can simply be changed by act of Parliament .
  NZ democratic and civil rights originally descended from Magna Carta are now up for grabs in this MMP driven system.
  For example a bill to enable ownership of land as a right was promoted by Gordon Copeland in 2005 . Did not progress far but the concept was clear.
  Offshore investment is at risk without secure identified property rights, indeed any investment at all is at risk as racist policies become embedded in NZ law.
  Examples include investment in energy
  There must be certainty in property rights .
  This failed system of MMP , where there are no real boundary’s ,is destroying New Zealand and its economy.
  “Any government that can do anything for you ,can also take everything off you !”
  
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  September 2, 2026 11:21am
I remember when

Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial: Jury struggling to reach a verdict.

What happens when social media is involved?
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September 2, 2026 9:51am
- Ghost
  
  Haven’t heard of her, who is she?
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:27am
  - Philview
    
    A lady in the US accused of murdering her children. The case in New Zealand of the South African lady Lauren Dickason was similar and I thought the NZ public was sympathetic to idea of a mental health crisis as being the cause of Lauren Dickason committing the murders.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:03am
  - I remember when
    
    Mother in US who killed her two children.
    Admits killing them but mental state suggested as cause.
    Is it murder or mental illness/ disorder?
    Apparently the country is spit down the middle.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:14am
    - David Garrett
      
      I would hate to be on that jury. One could argue that a mother who kills her children must by definition be mentally ill. Unfortunately for the jury it’s not that simple.
      
      Not guilty by reason of insanity is a very rarely successful in NZ…I understand it is even less often successful in the US.
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:36pm
      - Ghost
        
        I was just looking at the case. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be on it. She cut her wrists and throat then jumped out the second story window, now paralysed from the waist down. Had spent months seeking help beforehand.
        
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        September 2, 2026 12:52pm
  - Interested Party
    
    She killed (strangled I think) her three children in the US. She’s claiming some sort of mental illness, and a whole lot of women supporting her as they apparently understand that motherhood can be stressful etc and it’s understandable you can sometimes lose it. I say BS no excuse, but the worlds a crazy place, who knows what 9 women and 3 male jurors will decide. It’s a huge story in the states
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:50am
    - David Garrett
      
      Interested: It’s not necessarily BS…We have had the separate offence of infanticide for years. This recognizes that women can become clinically severely depressed after a birth
      
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      September 2, 2026 12:41pm
      - julesnzuk
        
        Not depression, DG, psychosis. Post natal depression is common and will not get you an insanity defence. Post natal psychosis is much rarer, much more dangerous – and if it can be proven will get you an insanity defence. That’ll be what her lawyers will be arguing for and (I’m totally guessing here) they’re probably in the right. No need for the spectacle of women supporters making a song and dance about it though. All very tragic and very difficult for the jury, as you say.
        
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        September 3, 2026 3:51am
    - wsk12345
      
      I don’t understand she didn’t just leave. Open the door and walk out. Husband would have got help sorted pretty fast – either him not working while he looks after kids or somehow gets assistance.
      
      Killing them seems extreme. Esp given she didn’t them one at a time while the others waited their turn. 6 mins each.
      
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      September 2, 2026 1:14pm
      - julesnzuk
        
        If she had post natal psychosis she wouldn’t have been capable of thinking rationally.
        
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        September 3, 2026 3:51am
artemisia

Plenty of doom, gloom and requests for OPM these days. There is an election looming after all. But how about the quiet Trade Depot success story. Not that long ago it started out selling on Trademe. It has just signed up an $88mill property deal in Onehunga to expand. Again.

Good prices, efficiency and perhaps a return of some of that old #8 wire attitude.

OTOH, 3,000 hospo closures in the last year.
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September 2, 2026 10:29am
- mandk
  
  I don’t know what proportion of those 3,000 hospo closures you mentioned were licensed premises, but I wonder if the downturn in alcohol consumption in NZ was a factor.
  
  There was a news item on ZB this morning about a marked drop in alcohol consumption in NZ during the 12 months (I think the amount was -6%). The item also mentioned that alcohol consumption in NZ was low by international standards.
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:56am
  - Nikola Donatello
    
    Alcohol consumption amongst young people has declined sharply.
    
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    September 2, 2026 12:29pm
    - rouppe
      
      And that was preceded by “preloading”, diverting more revenue away from the licensed premesis.
      
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      September 2, 2026 2:03pm
      - crash
        
        Pre-loading requires beverages consumed at home – but bought from off-licence premises (like supermarkets).
        
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        September 2, 2026 4:03pm
      - rouppe
        
        Yes, I know that.
        
        The point being that the bar in town isn’t getting the revenue from the first 4, 6, 8 drinks times the several people doing it.
        
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        September 2, 2026 9:46pm
  - artemisia
    
    Recent report from the US that daily (or close) consumption of weed now officially exceeds same for alcohol. I would be amazed if same is not the case here.
    
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    September 2, 2026 12:52pm
    - artemisia
      
      And munchies make it much more likely to dial up takeaways than head out to a cafe or bar.
      
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      September 2, 2026 1:10pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    In conversation with someone today, he commented that he distills his own spirits and brews his own beer. I’ve heard that before from others also.
    
    No idea how widespread such practices might be (though alcohol taxes certainly provide an incentive), but presumably they are not counted in alcohol consumption stats.
    
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    September 2, 2026 8:09pm
imalwaysright

Banksy, on the Platform, said that the Luxon leadership challenge failed because the two people leading it couldn’t agree on which of them would be leader.
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September 2, 2026 10:54am
- KKNZ2025
  
  If true, additional evidence (if any more was required) that the current National party couldn’t run a bath
  
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  September 2, 2026 4:32pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Is systemic the favourite word of NZ bureaucrats?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361028156/deep-and-systemic-issues-led-moa-point-wastewater-disaster
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September 2, 2026 11:49am
- imalwaysright
  
  Of course its ‘systemic’.
  
  It would be extremely inappropriate to blame the people paid about a half million dollars each to manage the system– that could be quite distressing for them…. .
  
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  September 2, 2026 12:21pm
- BananaLlama
  
  They think it is like casting a spell. If they utter the word systemic then no harm can come to them.
  
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  September 2, 2026 1:23pm
- Blog-aholic
  
  Digestively systemic?
  
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  September 2, 2026 1:37pm
- rouppe
  
  “Systemic” really means “of the system”.
  
  Systems don’t create themselves. They are created by people. Generally by people in leadership.
  
  It’s definitely a word used to deflect attention away from those responsible.
  
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  September 2, 2026 1:59pm
Nikola Donatello

A good example of the economic sabotage of Jacinda Ardern.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361028172/methanex-halt-new-zealand-production-after-more-40-years
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September 2, 2026 12:15pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Article : “Methanex plans to indefinitely idle its New Zealand production facilities…”
  
  Where do these journalists learn English?
  
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  September 2, 2026 12:25pm
  - kowtow
    
    For all the anti American sentiment among our journalists they are very quick to adopt the very worst of American journalism.
    
    ‘Shutter’ for close and ‘Ink’ instead of sign are other examples and also very irritating.
    
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    September 2, 2026 1:41pm
  - R
    
    Judging from their reporting, many of them have never actually learned ENGLISH, other than the ability to remember a few words and phrases.
    
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    September 2, 2026 5:07pm
- kowtow
  
  Yep , de industrialisation continues apace.
  
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  September 2, 2026 12:35pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    Its hard to believe how many companies are gone.
    We are virtually a post war economy.
    
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    September 2, 2026 1:41pm
- David Garrett
  
  Niko: That brings back memories…I worked on the construction of the Methanex plant back in 1983. Such a different workplace from today’s.
  
  For a start, perhaps 30% of the workforce was stoned all day – much less ‘elf and safety back then. The other major difference was (virtually) compulsory unionism. I remember being told off by someone for moving a strop: I was an engineer, and that was “rigger’s work”. It sounds absurd now, but that was what “demarcation” involved back then, more than 40 years ago.
  
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  September 2, 2026 12:59pm
- Bullion
  
  Any day now someone is going to find a new profitable gas field, trust me and don’t look at the almost flat lining of exploration (because nothing of worth was being found) prior to stopping issuing new permits in 2018 – that’s fake news.
  
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  September 2, 2026 2:31pm
Yvette

Under the Electoral Act 1993, all eligible New Zealanders residing in the country are legally required to register on the electoral roll, but casting a vote remains entirely voluntary.

Mandatory Registration: Section 82 of the Electoral Act 1993 requires any qualified person to apply for registration. Failing to enrol without a valid reason is a summary offence subject to a fine of up to $100 for a first conviction, and up to $200 for subsequent convictions.

Voluntary Voting: Unlike countries with compulsory voting (such as Australia), New Zealand law does not require enrolled electors to cast a ballot. Voters can abstain from general or local elections without facing any legal penalty.

Eligibility Criteria: Compulsory enrolment applies to anyone who is 18 years or older, is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and has lived continuously in New Zealand for at least 12 months at any point. For eligible New Zealanders living overseas, enrolment is optional.

Based on Electoral Commission estimates, approximately 415,000 eligible voters in New Zealand are currently not enrolled, representing roughly 10% of the total eligible population (out of ~4.05 million).

Quite apart from any other consideration 415,000 eligible voters at $100 for a first conviction is a loss of $41,500,000 which could run quite a descent ENROL OR BE FINED campaign
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September 2, 2026 12:57pm
- kowtow
  
  The census is also legally compulsory , how many haven’t been prosecuted .So many that unlike many other of the countries we like to compare ourselves to , we can no longer conduct valid censuses.
  
  Once again we have laws that are ineffective through lack of action.
  Kind of third worldy.
  
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  September 2, 2026 1:33pm
- Ghost
  
  Let’s say they fine them. Imagine the cost associated with that and the backlog it would cause with litigating the fines.
  
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  September 2, 2026 2:11pm
  - kowtow
    
    That’s exactly the excuse that transport authorities used to stop enforcing fare dodgers in NY , resulting in anarchy , until broken windows sorted it out , till the Dems got back in.
    Same here with shoptheft.
    
    No one cares … let’s break the law. Slowly slowly is how anarchy and social collapse takes hold.
    
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    September 2, 2026 3:34pm
    - Ghost
      
      No, it’s pointing out that there will be large costs associated with these fines, and court backlogs. This isn’t going to make the government $41,500,000. You are welcome to show where I said everything else you have then made up.
      
      Here is a little addition for you from ai
      
      Attempting to aggressively fine 415,000 unregistered voters would likely result in a net financial loss for the Crown if more than 3% to 5% of the population chose to challenge the fine in court, as the cost of a single defended District Court proceeding vastly outstrips a $100 statutory penalty. Furthermore, processing tens of thousands of simultaneous summary prosecutions would entirely paralyze the New Zealand court system.
      
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      September 2, 2026 4:02pm
      - KKNZ2025
        
        So, make the fine $1000…or $10,000
        
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        September 2, 2026 4:24pm
graham

Three more MPs have said that Tamatha Paul’s accusations against them – of “buying up properties” after the Government’s changes to property taxes this term – are false.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/green-party-mp-tamatha-pauls-housing-claim-three-more-mps-say-she-made-false-claims-about-them/QSN67KWYY5ALZIJLWXBLA5VKGE/

But according to Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, there is no need to apologise, because it’s “about the principle”.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said the record had been corrected and was happy for the issue to be left at that.

“In the heat of the moment in the chamber, things are often said off the cuff by MPs across the House.”

This is almost the exact same excuse that Chloe Swarbrick used to explain Julie Anne Genter’s bullying of Matt Doocey in 2024, when she crossed the floor of the debating chamber and stood over him, waving a book in his face and yelling at him. Ms Swarbrick described Genter as an “obviously very passionate” MP and then went to say “but everybody else does it”. (Link is paywalled)

This morning, Davidson was challenged over whether the Greens believed mis- and dis-information was bad for political discourse.

“We do, and that has been corrected in the house,” she told Ryan Bridge Today.

“What about online? What about in the court of public opinion? What about the internet?” Bridge pressed.

Davidson responded that the party had “put up the correct information into the dialogue”, though she did not elaborate.

“The principle remains the same – it’s to show how disconnected privileged MPs are from the experiences of ordinary people,” she said.

Apparently principles such as owning your mistakes, apologising when you’ve got it wrong, and generally just doing what’s right, are foreign concepts to the Green Party.
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September 2, 2026 1:52pm
Graeme Hall

Someone on KB claimed Willie Jackson’s DNA showed he was a Maori Man.

Well, here are his actual DNA test results from the “DNA Detective” programme Series 1, Episode 4 featuring Willie and actress Shavaughn Ruakere. He seems to be anything but an MM.

On his father’s side, Willie’s DNA results showed his ancestry to be:

33.7% East Asian
25% Ashkenazi (German) Jewish
18% Other European (substantially Welsh)
2.04% Oceanian / Maori

Come in Ghost. Come in Scott.
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September 2, 2026 2:12pm
- Ghost
  
  No, you are pushing a fake number, again , i linked you to the actual show that showed it was 20.4%.
  
  Again, go watch the show, it is around 14 minute mark
  
  https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6uodxm
  
  Actually, I will put a up a screenshot for you, since you failed to go watch it last time and are still pushing this fake number
  
  https://i.postimg.cc/tJM55H3H/IMG-0002.jpg
  
  Now that screenshot puts this lie to rest, because unlike you I am providing the actual evidence from the show, not a lie from a dead blog. Btw, it was Steve that said he was a Māori, please don’t lie about what I said, i gave you the link to the show and the correct number from the show, that disproved your fake number. This is the problem when people lie, and others believe and spread that lie
  
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  September 2, 2026 2:22pm
  - Bullion
    
    Also, how much of the east asian ancestry is just linking to austronesian origin of polynesians
    
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    September 2, 2026 2:57pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    Thank you for continuing the good fight, Ghost.
    
    Graeme started off by saying Willie Jackson “is really a 98% Pakistani-Welsh-Jewish man”. When I posted the AI Overview percentages (confirmed by you), he replied saying, “I did not make it up.”
    
    At that point, after 9:30 on Monday night, I decided he wasn’t worth the bother.
    
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    September 2, 2026 3:07pm
    - Ghost
      
      It’s pathetic, i provided him the other night with the link to watch the show, obviously didn’t bother to watch it. But this lie has come from a blog that pushes such lies as James Shaw was having an affair with an opportunity party member. A lie that Tama Potaka was a member of the Māori party. People complain about the left but accept the lying and dirty politics from some on the right.
      
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      September 2, 2026 3:24pm
  - Ghost
    
    Btw for anyone that is interested in the facts and not the bullshit above
    
    European is 18%
    Oceania is 20.4%
    East Asian is 33.7%
    African is 0.4%
    
    And the comment in the show is the East Asian and Oceania represent your Māori side
    
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    September 2, 2026 3:55pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      And for the record, it should be noted that ‘Pakistani’ — where on Earth did Graeme get that from? — is West Asian, not East Asian.
      
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      September 2, 2026 4:32pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Ghost maybe if you are stridently calling people bullshitters, provide a source?
      
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      September 2, 2026 7:13pm
      - Ghost
        
        Seriously, are you unable to read the posts. Not only have i provided a link to the tv show and said where to watch in it, but also provided a screenshot of that information.
        
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        September 2, 2026 7:20pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Referring to your post at September 2, 2026 3:55pm.
        
        Yes you posted some links further up in the commentary which I didn’t notice.
        
        So is Willie more Maori than not? Does it matter?
        
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        September 2, 2026 7:31pm
      - Ghost
        
        Actually, I think the lying and the dirty politics by some needs to stop. Day after day people point out the behaviour of the left, pretending it’s not happening on the right. It needs to stop, the right should be trying to be better than this, attack them for the policy, not because you want to proclaim someone isn’t Māori. Hell, the lies that get pushed around here make stuff look honest.
        
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        September 2, 2026 7:46pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Those DNA tests are just entertainment – not science.
  
  The way the tests work is to find genetic matches and determine the location of people that genetically match your profile.
  
  That is very different to determining your ethnicity.
  
  For example if I look at my family tree, the way things work out most of my relatives going back 4 generations (over 70% of them) are Mexican. I am not Mexican and I have no Mexican ancestors, but my great great grandfather’s sister – an English rose – married a Spanish guy. They moved to Mexico and had over a dozen kids who all bred vigourously. Something like 80 grandkids who also bred healthily. My other relatives were poor breeders (eg. all of my 4 grandparents were, effectively, single children as was my mother). Therefore this Mexican branch form the vast majority of my close-ish relatives.
  
  If your great uncle was a merchant seaman and felt the urge in an African port, then the genetic testing would tell you that you share genes with an African tribe – even though you are in no way African yourself.
  
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  September 2, 2026 4:21pm
  - mandk
    
    You might well be correct, but Willie Jackson doesn’t look particularly Maori.
    
    He looks like a mix of European and Middle Eastern, just as his reported DNA results indicate.
    
    Mind you, he made a good career choice, deciding to be Māori.
    
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    September 2, 2026 4:31pm
rouppe

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361027565/one-worst-large-forest-company-left-land-mess

Story in Stuff about the exceptionally poor forest management of a pine plantation in Hawkes Bay.

Awatere Forest is a 390ha pinus radiata forest on Awatere Station, which is Māori freehold land and is managed by the Awatere B Trust.

A copy of the enforcement order application, obtained by Stuff, revealed that the trust and the council had been raising concerns with Summit and its harvester, Ngati Porou Forests Ltd (NGPL)

Now, the forest is owned by Summit, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation. But, the land is Maori Land, managed by a Maori Trust, and the harvester is Ngati Porou Forests Ltd.

The sole shareholder holding 100% of the shares in Ngati Porou Forests Limited is Ngati Porou Whanui Forests Limited, which operates as part of the Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou group structures.

There are tax advantaged Maori organizations all over this operation, apart from the owner of the trees.

We are constantly told that maori are guardians of the environment. The harvester is ultimately responsible for the condition of the harvest operations.

Evidence suggests otherwise.
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September 2, 2026 2:31pm
- kowtow
  
  Radiata pine is a colonial settler construct , so it’s not the fault of the local Maoris.
  
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  September 2, 2026 3:30pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

Another pathetic slap on the wrist….

Wife tries to destroy some vital evidence in her husband’s murder trial. Open and shut case with zero doubt or wiggle room.

Accessory after the fact for murder is liable to up to 7 years. She ends up with a 5 month home detention sentence.

C’mon dudges – you’re taking the piss.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361028090/shoes-stashed-bin-wife-murderer-sentenced-over-hiding-key-evidence
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September 2, 2026 4:07pm
cmm (semi-retired edition)

ACT is standing with Labour to oppose police being able to give move-on orders to children (14-17).

I think it depends…

Move on orders allow the cops to order ” beggars, rough sleepers, and anyone deemed to be intimidating or disorderly” to leave the location.

I think it is fair enough to move on anyone that is intimidating or disorderly regardless of age.

Maybe under age beggars and rough sleepers should be picked up and booked in to youth shelters or whatever. I am not opposed to finding them a safe place.

Leaving 17 year old delinquents out on the streets causing mayhem is not the right approach. The police need some tools in their belt to handle these situations.

ACT, I think you’ve fumbled the ball here. Please recover the situation and don’t end up dropping the ball completely.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361028306/act-agrees-opposition-concerns-over-age-limit-move-orders
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September 2, 2026 4:34pm
- rouppe
  
  Wouldn’t “intimidating or disorderly” come under “disturbing the peace”?
  
  Which is already available to Police.
  
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  September 2, 2026 9:53pm
Jack5

Woke State authority wins …

The Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal has upheld a decision by the Government agency that regulates the real estate industry.

Real estate agent Janet Dickson has failed to be exempted from a course on Maori tikanga (custom, protocol. She argued , arguing it was largely irrelevant to her work, politically biased and conflicted with her Christian beliefs.

Decision:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/real-estate-agent-janet-dickson-loses-bid-for-te-kakano-exemption-faces-licence-cancellation/5HO4R5JDNVDABGD7FTPMFNELII/

Real Estate Agency Authority:

https://www.rea.govt.nz/about-rea/

Justice Minister Goldsmith’s appointment to the authority last December:

https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2025-go7336
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September 2, 2026 10:09pm
- Ghost
  
  to address t his from happening again, the government passed The Regulatory Systems (Occupational Regulation) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Tribunals) Amendment Bill. The REA was also told that all courses must be relevant to the job
  
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  September 2, 2026 10:13pm
  - Jack5
    
    Thank you, Ghost, I missed that.
    
    So Minister Goldsmith has likely fixed the problem and the Real Estate Agency Authority has likely been A-Woken.
    
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    September 2, 2026 11:03pm

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