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September 5, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 05 September 2026

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General Debate

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Yvette

Te Pāti Māori has declared protecting Te Tiriti and creating a pathway towards constitutional transformation a “bottom line” for any post-election negotiations.

… With a political party seeking to put Crown money [a $220 million fund over four years] behind the next phase of Mātike Mai, how does it advance an independent Māori-led constitutional kaupapa without a government or political party determining where it ultimately goes?

By 2040, it wants Māori to have led the next phase of constitutional transformation, a national framework implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, binding Tribunal recommendations and enforceable mechanisms preventing serious Crown breaches of Te Tiriti.
https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2026/09/02/te-pati-maoris-te-tiriti-entrenchment-plan-how-would-it-work-and-could-it-happen/

What do the Maori Party mean by “entrenchment” –
Te Pāti Māori was asked whether entrenching the Crown’s obligations would require the support of 75 percent of Parliament, and therefore requires votes beyond any likely centre-left governing bloc.
The party did not spell out the legislative mechanism it would use, saying further detail would come later and pointing again to the importance of post-election negotiations.

And of course if the Treaty itself is entrenched it will obviously be a Maori Version.
But this is where the recognition of English as an Official New Zealand language will take effect, that for the vast majority of New Zealanders an English Version – the lingua franca – will be required, and who will, or who has, written that?

TREATY REICH, OR EQUAL RIGHTS?
________________
[1] Mātike Mai – “To develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa based on tikanga and kawa, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni of 1835, Te Tiriti o Waitangi of 1840, and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international recognition”.
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September 5, 2026 8:03am
- pdm
  
  National under Christopher Luxon with `his little helpers’ Tama Potaka and Paul Goldsmith at his side could well support entrenchment of The Treaty Of Waitangi – lets call it by its proper name.
  
  After all PM Luxon has said more than once that said Treaty Of Waitangi is a Partnership.
  
  There is your 75% plus some.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:11am
  - Yvette
    
    Pdm – “After all PM Luxon has said more than once that said Treaty Of Waitangi is a Partnership”
    The concept of the Crown–Māori relationship being “akin to a partnership” originated in the landmark 1987 Court of Appeal decision New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney-General, commonly known as the Lands Case or SOE Case.
    
    The exact wording appears in two key judgements from that case:
    Justice Casey “I have spoken of what I perceive to be a relationship akin to partnership between the Crown and Māori people, and of its obligation on each side to act in good faith.”
    
    President Sir Robin Cooke “The Treaty created an enduring relationship of a fiduciary nature akin to a partnership, each party accepting a positive duty to act in good faith, fairly, reasonably and honourably towards the other.”
    
    Cooke also noted elsewhere in his judgment that “the Treaty signified a partnership between races, and it is in the concept of partnership that the answer to the present case has to be found.”
    
    The 1840 text of the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi does not contain the word “partnership.” The phrasing was introduced by the judiciary to interpret “the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” required under Section 9 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986.
    
    The judges framed the relationship as an analogy (“akin to”) to illustrate reciprocal duties—specifically that both parties must act towards each other with the utmost good faith, reasonableness, and active protection, similar to legal partners in a enterprise.
    
    “Akin”, “in the concept of partnership” , “similar to” and “signified a partnership” all qualify the word partnership without stating outright it is a partnership.
    And it apparently was to point out the obligation on each side to act in good faith – akin to a partnership, if it was one.
    
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    September 5, 2026 8:39am
    - Cassandra
      
      Lots of people, some deliberately, mis that qualification. Cooke subsequently explained the qualification.
      
      The Treaty is not a partnership between two equal parties. The next government should make that plain and clearly state where sovereignty stands. Once and for all.
      
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      September 5, 2026 8:50am
      - David Garrett
        
        Cass: I am not aware of Cooke ever “qualifying” his utterly legally unsound utterance in the Maori Council case in 1987. I would be grateful if you could provide a link the the case you refer to.
        
        (I should make it clear that I am not being sarcastic; I genuinely know of no such case)
        
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        September 5, 2026 10:08am
    - mandk
      
      “Akin to” is not “the same as”.
      
      An apple is akin to an orange. Both grow on trees. Both are fruits. Both are spherical. Both have skins. Both have pips. Both have juice and edible flesh.
      
      They are similar in many respects. But they are distinct from each other.
      
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      September 5, 2026 9:14am
      - Tauhei Notts
        
        Brilliant analysis. An uptick is inadequate acknowledgment of your clear thinking.
        
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        September 5, 2026 12:52pm
    - Mobile Michael
      
      While Te Tiriti Nationalists argue “Tino Rangitiratanga” guarantees independence from the Crown, it’s actually highly qualified as being over tangible and intangible property only. And it’s the type of Tino Ranitiratanga that can be sold. They never mention the rest of Article Rua due to the inconvenience of what it says.
      
      It’s like reading the Ten Commandments and deciding because the words “commit adultery” is in there, God is okay with you rooting your neighbour’s wife.
      
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      September 5, 2026 10:03am
    - surfing
      
      Luxon said he was going to reverse the rubbish… this is obnoxious forcing maori religion onto real estate agents.. .
      
      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/real-estate-agent-janet-dickson-is-unrepentant-saying-she-would-refuse-course-if-given-another-chance/4ASZIET2KZHAZL552V7XG5VGA4/
      
      Luxon has to go.
      
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      September 5, 2026 10:09am
      - redeye
        
        This has been fixed.
        https://www.chrislynchmedia.com/news-items/seymour-says-new-zealand-has-too-many-ministers-and-departments/
        Seymour: “Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee had since changed the law so the Real Estate Authority could no longer impose five year stand downs, and the course itself had been removed.
        
        “You can change what the law will be in the future, but you can’t change what the law was in the past. That’s a very important principle.”
        
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        September 5, 2026 4:27pm
      - Ghost
        
        Or maybe you should educate yourself on what the government has done about this, or is that too complicated for you to do
        
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        September 5, 2026 4:50pm
  - leoj
    
    Luxon’s stance re maori is the reason the Nats are polling so poorly.
    
    Luxon will be the downfall of the party.
    
    The maori issue was started under Key.
    
    Both Bolger and Key had the opportunity to to dump the maori seats but failed.
    
    All this pro maori nonsense and yet maori will still not vote for the Nats.
    
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    September 5, 2026 9:59am
    - keepcalmcarryon
      
      Started under Bolger majorly.
      
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      September 5, 2026 3:58pm
  - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
    
    Pdm bro – I hope you have booked the phone booth in the corner of the road well in advance? Just checkin….
    
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    September 5, 2026 10:15am
- AitchW
  
  Could it be that they prefer to be in opposition? That way they can perform like toddlers in and out of the house, make preposterous pronouncements at will without consequence and still convince themselves that they are acting in the best interests of all tangata whenua.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:16am
  - RoboRob
    
    Who is the they? It seems to me that both Labour and National would rather by in opposition, as you say it is much easier. Certainly TPM & Greens dont really want to be in government.
    
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    September 5, 2026 5:26pm
- Philview
  
  I watched TVNZ News last night and the template is always Maori Governance is right and the Crown is wrong. Anyone who tries to stand in the way of this takeover will be called racist and far right and that will scare off most opposition.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:26am
- lastmanstanding
  
  With all this Maorification if God forbid the Four Headed Hydra wins the election I expect I will have to pass a test in all things Maori to continue receiving my National Super. And it will probably be annually like a WoF just to ensure I am fully indocrinated and brain washed.
  
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  September 5, 2026 9:05am
  - AitchW
    
    Just remember that in the 90s the Simpsons joked about Trump being elected president.
    Sometimes life does reflect art.
    
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    September 5, 2026 9:23am
- Notsofast
  
  A timely reminder of a timely law to recognise English as the foundational language, with Maori spoken language having been rendered to a more or less phonetic transcription based on written and spoken English, no matter how much the young white women despise their servitude to the tongue, even while using it to poor scorn on “colonisers”.
  
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  September 5, 2026 10:57am
- Crafty
  
  Of course the media give zero shits about this and barely even ask Hipkins even though it’s supposedly a bottom line. They too busy relentlessly hounding Luxon over every single thing he does.
  
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  September 5, 2026 7:31pm
artemisia

The Committee to Unleash Prosperity is a US conservative nonprofit that advocates for a stable currency, a flat rate tax, decreased regulation, free trade and limited government spending. And has a cool name. One of the founders is Arthur B. Laffer (Laffer Curve).

The Committee has quite a bit to say about data centres – construction, jobs, supply of power and crucially that they are vital economic engines for modern infrastructure not just server buildings.

And also has quite a bit to say about data centre condemnation and moral panic, also evident in New Zealand. Unleashing prosperity clearly not on that agenda. More like – you will own nothing and be happy – and good luck with that.

Seems to me a lot of the media coverage of data centre proposals here emphasises the Negative Nellies with much less of accentuate the positive. There’s a surprise.
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September 5, 2026 8:08am
pdm

Hawkes Bay People will you be along to hear David Seymour today?

1pm to about 3pm in the Cheval Room at the Hastings Racecourse.

No back packs or large bags will be allowed in so allow time for door checks on your way in.
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September 5, 2026 8:14am
- Gravelroad
  
  @pdm-I attended a meeting here a few months ago at which Mr Seymour was the star turn.
  Large modern room, lots of people.
  Whilst Mr Seymour had the use of a microphone for his speech, come question time from the floor, there was no microphone.
  So people in the audience got up and mumbled their question (after the usual boring preamble of personal opinion) and unless you were sitting close to the questioner, the rest of us had no idea what was said. Just had to try to get the gist of it from Seymour’s response.
  The ACT organisers of the meeting should have had two or three people with handheld microphones ready and ensured that the questioners used them.
  We are in 2026 not 1926.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:51am
  - pdm
    
    Gravel my experience of ACT Public meetings, not only Seymour, is this.
    
    The mumbler/bumbler and sometimes stutterer asks the question.
    
    Seymour or whomever repeats the question so everyone knows what it is and then answers.
    
    I am a Volunteer there today so will check what the procedure for questions is going to be before things get underway.
    
    Thanks for the tip.
    
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    September 5, 2026 9:47am
    - Gravelroad
      
      I think the procedure you described: the politician repeats the question and then answers it, is more to do with the politician controlling the narrative.
      I didn’t hear the questions as asked from the floor, so I don’t know if the interpretation and responses are accurate, or not.
      PM Luxon spoke at the same venue more recently.
      Questioners from the floor used a microphone so we all could hear the content and assess the answers given.
      (I am not saying Mr Seymour was doing anything dishonest, but let the public ask their questions in a way that everyone else can hear it for themselves.)
      
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      September 5, 2026 10:43am
      - pdm
        
        I wonder if it was unique to the venue.
        
        Perhaps there was only one microphone.
        
        Because it is not consistent with my experience at ACT Meetings.
        
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        September 5, 2026 10:53am
      - Jigsaw
        
        I would suggest that in some ways it is the experience or otherwise of the speaker. Here in Taupo Paul Henry gave an amazing and inspiring address and handled the questions from the floor wonderfully well. Capacity crowd and standing oom only. He used the microphone to very good effect and everything was clear and well presented. A master communicator.
        
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        September 5, 2026 11:12am
    - R
      
      ‘Repeats the question’. I too have a significant amount of experience attending political presentations. You are correct about the mumblers etc; but my observation has been that the ‘politico’ speaker usually repeats the question as ‘he/she heard or understood it’.’ Sometimes the context is lost in the repeating, voice tone, nuances, etc. Unless it is ,a very small gathering, microphones and a quality loud speaker system are essential. Three to four ‘Roving microphones’ are also essential.
      Political parties who really could be a credible, government usually have such assets available. Activist style BULL horns are a disaster.
      
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      September 5, 2026 10:50am
      - wsk12345
        
        I went to an ACT meeting in chch – they had 3 or 4 mics for questions.
        
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        September 5, 2026 4:51pm
Damocles11

‘A Rotorua marae trustee who led a secret life as the “senior manager” for a major methamphetamine syndicate has been handed a prison term of over 17 years.
Justin Te Kowhai, 55, was the man on the ground tasked with implementing orders from the overseas-based “supreme commander” of the Comancheros.
Authorities said the syndicate’s most audacious plan had been to collect a 1.5-tonne shipment of cocaine about 300km off the coast of Tauranga. Te Kowhai helped purchase a $180,000 boat and fitted it with $100,000 in upgrades, including night-vision capabilities for the planned clandestine meeting.
The judge allowed 40% in total reductions for Te Kowhai’s guilty plea, prior good character and rehabilitation prospects, mental and physical health factors and for the five years he spent on bail. It resulted in an end sentence of 17 years and four months’ imprisonment.
The judge noted Te Kowhai’s supporters described him as a dedicated family man, a frequent volunteer and a “deeply respected member of the community” who supported his local marae and his Māori trust. He also used his legitimate career as a commercial diver to do environmental work in the area.’

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/op-van-justin-te-kowhai-sentencing-comancheros-commanders-rotorua-based-meth-syndicate-manager-jailed-in-auckland/F2AAZ7XACBGKVEA7TQ6LRVOCDI/
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September 5, 2026 8:20am
- surfing
  
  It is odious the way the judge tries to put this evil drug lord on a pedestal. And, tribal affiliation please!
  
  Doing some environmental work does not give one permission to spread misery and death in the community.
  
  In fact, where are the judges words to balance out the supporter’s words? This man is evil, a wrecker of lives.
  
  17 years is a good outcome though.I’ll give the judge that.
  
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  September 5, 2026 2:56pm
- kevn
  
  Damo… Another one of those ‘great guys’ poisoning people.
  
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  September 5, 2026 3:47pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Another one of those ‘great guys’ poisoning people.
    
    And all too often, those being poisoned by meth are poor Maori.
    
    Why leaders in our communities make excuses for these parasites is beyond me.
    
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    September 5, 2026 4:49pm
Tomtoddy

Mini nuclear reactors are being created. Russia and China are working on them and one has been produced in the USA. The unit, small enough to be carried on the back of a ute, can power 1,000 homes. It lasts five years before needing refuelling.

The fuel is well below weapons grade and is readily available. The way of the future??
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September 5, 2026 8:37am
- David Garrett
  
  Tom: Not if the looney Greens have anything to do with it.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:42am
  - JackRabbit
    
    Or TPM. Maori will no doubt claim they developed nuclear power in order to get to Antarctica and travel back and forth to Matariki (Pleiades).
    
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    September 5, 2026 8:50am
    - marcw
      
      Roald Amundsen on his way to the South Pole in 1911 met a maori excursion team returning back to their sea going vessel after their trip to check on the Southern most tribal territory (oral submission to the TOW tribunal, which must not be questioned you understand).
      
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      September 5, 2026 11:50am
      - keepcalmcarryon
        
        They clearly had nuclear power or they wouldn’t have discovered America first either.
        
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        September 5, 2026 4:03pm
    - surfing
      
      TPM will allow if they can collect a maori R&D tax from nuclear generation.
      
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      September 5, 2026 2:59pm
  - pdm
    
    Perhaps Paul Henry was on the money when he said this about The Greens at the Black Dog Pub in Makotuku.
    
    “Look at the Greens’ list people. Seriously, look, they’re barely people.”
    
    Do you think he noticed Mr Benjamin Doyle?
    
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    September 5, 2026 8:53am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      Dehumanizing people is not a good idea. Do you really think that will lift ACT’s vote?
      
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      September 5, 2026 6:29pm
  - crikey
    
    DG: I’d go further than that and include any politician who shuts down the opportunity for an open discussion of nuclear electricity generation.
    
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    September 5, 2026 11:01am
- Taieri
  
  The unit, small enough to be carried on the back of a ute, can power 1,000 homes.
  ———-
  
  That’s a bit (?) of exaggeration. In reality, a small, say 350 kW 440VAC generator alone, would be just about all that you could put on the back of the ute and that’s definitely not enough to power 1000 homes.
  
  Still, the SMRs are definitely a great idea, but I don’t think NZ is ready for them.
  
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  September 5, 2026 8:55am
- kevn
  
  Tom.. Put one in my backyard, no problem.
  
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  September 5, 2026 3:48pm
- RoboRob
  
  Yes mini reactors are a great idea, especially for things like datacenters. Just a minor clarification, the fuel for ALL nuclear reactors is not weapons grade. Which is why Iran trying to enrich > 10% ‘for energy production’ was preposterous.
  
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  September 5, 2026 5:32pm
- judith8409121
  
  Hugely expensive. At the moment the best forms of generation in NZ are still geothermal, coal, gas, and hydro.
  
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  September 5, 2026 9:17pm
Master Mariner

This has been bugging me for some time.
Yair Netanyahu has publicly stated the Falklands should belong to Argentina.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQi_PBqvhAU
Why?
Well for one thing , Israel-based Navitas Petroleum operates the Sea Lion oil project north of the Falkland Islands and holds a 65% working interest.
This comes from the Son who until recently resided overseas. Throw in the Trump / Meliei and anti British sentiment and UK trying to give away Diego Garcia.
This may have long going consequences yet to come and not too dissimilar to the Greenland proposal.
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September 5, 2026 8:39am
- Paulus
  
  Whoever controls the Falkland Islands controls the movement, via the Drake Passage, eing the only deep sea passage for submarines – read large Nuclear, between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
  
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  September 5, 2026 2:04pm
Boy Geoff

I wonder if a number of the luvvies currently bemoaning funding cuts to RNZ would be happy if they knew that everything they could listen to in the future was only in te Reo?
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September 5, 2026 8:39am
Jack5

Saturday trivia…

Language enthusiasts might find this video clip interesting.

Frisian, a language of the northern coast of the Netherlands, then Denmark and Germany, is described as the English language’s closest relative

For an idea of how close to Old English (Anglo Saxon), here’s a short Frisian piece, the Skipper’s Song, with English and Frisian wording.

https://youtu.be/vViaAfzq_MM?si=YVfH35jpXr-kWdUU
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September 5, 2026 8:43am
- slijmbal
  
  @Jack5
  
  Frisian and English (and Dutch) share common ancestor languages. Frisian and English have a more West Germanic ‘source’. Frisian has, however, been hugely influenced by Dutch more recently and is much more recognisable to Dutch speakers, if b###y difficult to understand. Dutch itself has an awful lot of words that would be recognisable to English speakers, huis (house) etc though the different vowel sounds can make it initially hard to realise that.
  
  Grammatically, Frisian and English are pretty close but the vocabularies have diverged significantly courtesy of the Dutch influence on Frisian and French (Norman invasion) and Latin (academics) influences on English.
  
  Of the more modern mainstream languages Dutch and English are seen as two of the closest. Became a bit of a language nerd when I moved to Holland.
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:14pm
  - Jack5
    
    Slijmbl, you have have already seen this hour-long video where a modern Frisian speaker and a historical linguist fluent in Old English look at comparison of Old English and modern Frisian.
    
    Looks as though more than a thousand years ago Frisian and Old English were mutually intelligible.
    
    An AI suggestion is that Modern English and Modern Frisian have about 80 per cent similarity in key everyday vocabulary.
    
    So, here’s an hour of an academic speaker of Old English and a modern Frisian speaker testing similarity:
    
    https://youtu.be/8M7I04HaWUg?si=4dukrCtKUIjkd8Vo
    
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    September 5, 2026 2:08pm
    - slijmbal
      
      I’m not enough of a nerd to watch an hour long video 🙂 though I do think it matters that Old English is unintelligible to the modern English speaker. Try and read Beowulf. If you go back to 400-1000 AD old English and Old Dutch were much closer as an example. Ditto Old Frisian and Old English.
      
      My point was that it is not as true in modern times though because because those languages moved apart.
      
      Was not interested in languages at school despite being force fed French, Latin and Ancient Greek. What did strike me when circumstances forced me to learn Dutch how much languages have continuum effects and huge commonalities. Was also surprised how interesting I later found languages and their evolution.
      
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      September 5, 2026 2:44pm
- RoboRob
  
  No expert on this stuff but English is certainly a mix of the major european languages due in part to the number of times England was invaded.
  
  Listening to German it is always surprising how many words are understandable, automobile being an example.
  
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  September 5, 2026 5:36pm
Swifty

So many hungry people in Wanganui, someone should do something:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1F12JoMXD

//

[Post is unavailable on facebook. holy mod.]
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September 5, 2026 8:50am
- Swifty
  
  Sorry, not sure what happened there.
  
  Trying again:
  
  https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HUu2muUdp/
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:19pm
KKNZ2025

Paul Keating calls out the USA & AUKUS in his usual eloquent way

“Keating describes Trump’s view of the world (the US, China and Russia) as basically being akin to that of the American mafia. The New York mafia doesn’t interfere with the Chicago mafia and neither interfere with the Florida mafia.”

“Keating sees the US push for bases in Australia as one that comes primarily from the US defence establishment, rather than its political establishment, and argues the history of this goes back to the time when in a Eurocentric US, “policy in the Pacific was run by the Navy out of Honolulu”.

But the former PM highlighted another, and very different China assessment. This is that the US intelligence community doesn’t see China as a risk.”

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-05/united-states-richard-marles-donald-trump-aukus-paul-keating/107097650
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September 5, 2026 8:53am
pdm

It occurred to me this morning that I have not seen former prolific commenter Chuck Bird on here for a long time.

Does anyone know about him?
Has he handed in his knife and fork?
Or has he just walked away from KiwiBlog?
Or I guess has he been banned?

The lead up to an election was his forte if I remember correctly. Staunch National/ACT supporter and attender of many Political Meetings in the Waikato /Counties areas.
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September 5, 2026 8:58am
- mike
  
  NZ First voter, IIRC.
  
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  September 5, 2026 9:38am
- David Garrett
  
  pdm: I spoke to Chuck a few months ago. He did tell me why he no longer comments here, but I don’t now recall what it was.
  
  Old Chuck is what political scientists call “a serial joiner”. He has, at various times, been a member of the Nats, NZF, and ACT. Because he is well off and able to travel to conferences, he usually quickly becomes a delegate for the area he lives in. When I last asked, he had rejoined ACT.
  
  Then he perceives some slight by a senior politician in whatever party he happens to be in at the time, and walks away. He is something of an oddball, but I count him as a friend. His heart is most definitely in the right place.
  
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  September 5, 2026 10:24am
AitchW

There’s a whole lot of catastrophism about data centres and their water use. Once they have used the water where does it go? Is the water destroyed?
Or is it simply released into the atmosphere from whence it came?
I find the attitude of the modern day Luddites deeply depressing. Our farmers, among the most efficient on Earth are vilified by the watermelon left for feeding us and earning billions in overseas funds.
Anyone prepared to risk money to set up a new business, offer employment, pay tax and, in many cases, earn overseas funds is ridiculed and scorned for “just wanting to make money”.
What do we have to do to be a country which celebrates success and respects those who take the huge risks involved in establishing successful businesses?
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September 5, 2026 9:01am
- Taieri
  
  There’s a whole lot of catastrophism about data centres and their water use. Once they have used the water where does it go? Is the water destroyed?
  —————
  
  Apart from the quantities of water needed for cooling, there’s another issue; the water treatment requirements, which include significant amounts of chemicals to prevent corrosion and biological contamination. To control the quality of cooling water the system has to be periodically blown down, which is necessary even in the closed cooling systems. You can’t just dump the blown down water as it may contaminate local water sources if not done correctly, the waste water has to be collected and processed. Processing can be done with reverse osmosis, but it can be very expensive and there’s still a residue, which has to be disposed of.
  
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  September 5, 2026 12:35pm
Paulus

In reading an article in the rag paper this morning called the Herald and the biased opinion polls stated there I paused to consider that the so called opinion polls are totally influenced and a reflection by the scum media so that whatever we want or see is only what the so called media still want us to do.
New Zealanders are not in the main stupid, but the polls and the media are forcing this as an issue alone.
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September 5, 2026 9:23am
- mike
  
  Could you say which polls and how they are biased?
  
  6 6
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  September 5, 2026 9:42am
- Simon
  
  ” by the scum media”
  
  100%. MSM pumping out massive lies about the election. Early this yr Hipkins said Labour had no chance. He was right. MSM now trying to counter this.
  
  As bad as National are it will be a National led govt.
  
  However one slight issue is the managerial state are trying very hard to get the one in eight bone idle working age on permanent welfare out to vote. However these people are so detached from the real world because of their permanent welfare state it will not matter.
  
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  September 5, 2026 9:51am
- pdm
  
  Paulus – go to Roy Morgan or NZTU websites or even here on Kiwiblog for non media contaminated polls.
  
  That will give you two out of about 5 or 6 polls a month straight from the pollsters mouths as it were.
  
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  September 5, 2026 9:52am
- Inandout
  
  Paulus, in the days when most people had papers delivered I dreaded a wet Saturday when the paper was often soaking wet. My elderly neighbour is now probably the sole subscriber in a street of 50 homes.
  
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  September 5, 2026 10:06am
imalwaysright

Ex Lotto presenter Russel Harrison gets 10 months at home for laundering drug money for a gang.

Is NZ effectively lawless?

‘Significant fall from grace’: Ex-Lotto presenter avoids jail for role in global FBI sting | Stuff https://share.google/u4u5mEbIZcJIBWTSC
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September 5, 2026 9:34am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  A long list of convicts with First Nation names, yet not an iwi affiliation cited.
  
  There’s no reason why a journalist could not find out and add the pertinent information.
  
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  September 5, 2026 12:24pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  How much nicer to be described as an “ex-Lotto presenter” than Drug-gang affiliate.
  
  Am I really expected to believe that Russel Harrison had no knowledge that the Gold bars he was carrying were the proceeds of drug deals?
  
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  September 5, 2026 4:54pm
  - rouppe
    
    How much nicer to be described as an “ex-Lotto presenter” than Drug-gang affiliate.
    
    Or five year MBIE bludger.
    
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    September 5, 2026 7:38pm
sungsamning

https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/03/doj-set-to-send-army-of-monitors-to-keep-an-eye-on-elections/
DOJ Set To Send Army Of Monitors To Keep An Eye On Elections.
In its latest election mess, Milwaukee election workers, according to the Milwaukee Election Commission, mistakenly downloaded audit log files instead of results on five of nine data sticks. The glitch stalled the release of Wisconsin’s August 11 primary election results, including the final tally in a nationally-watched race for the Democrats’ candidate for governor. Interestingly, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had quit the campaign amid basement level polling numbers only to be dragged back in by the Democratic Party “establishment,” narrowly defeated state Rep. Francesca Hong, a Madison radical socialist with a grudge against Thanksgiving and very little chance of winning the general election. [Harmeet Dhillon announced that 1000 election monitors will be deployed throughout the country. Democrats hate the ides. The USPostal Service has responsibility for mail in ballots. They have QR codes to ensure legitimacy. It looks like a repeat of 2020 is very unlikely. Now sic the RICO laws on the Democratic party.]
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September 5, 2026 9:39am
sungsamning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTJyJ5ikd-0
Oh Canada?
Carney cancelled trade talks, and things have gone down hill since then. The Royal Crown whiskey bottling company is leaving Canada. Canada lost 40,000 jobs in August. [Canadas trade war isn’t going too well. Lake Ontario is now Lake America, and Canada Geese are Donald Ducks. The City of Londons policies as implemented by Mark Carney aren’t working. And he said the dumbest thing ever: “Please don’e meme me”. Wrong! How will a trade war with their biggest customer work out? China and India can’t replace the US as major customers. Smart Canadians should move to Alberta.]
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September 5, 2026 9:39am
Yvette

ACT’s new constitutional policy, titled “One Law for All with One Future Together” –
aims to curb judicial activism,
enshrine property rights, and
restrict vague Treaty of Waitangi clauses.

Key Proposals
Constitution Act Principles: Add three new principles to the Constitution Act affirming that
Parliament is sovereign,
the rule of law is fundamental, and
all New Zealanders are equal before the law.

Property Rights: Insert explicit property rights protection into the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
Restricting Tikanga in Courts: Place clear restrictions on when courts can draw upon tikanga (Māori customary values and practices) in legal decisions.
Treaty Interests Transparency: Require the Cabinet to explicitly specify what Treaty interests a bill engages before it is drafted, stopping Parliament from creating vague or divisive Treaty clauses
https://www.act.org.nz/news/one-law-for-all-with-one-future-together

This time round the Key Proposals – that Parliament is sovereign, the rule of law is fundamental, and all New Zealanders are equal before the law – need not mention the Treaty of Waitangi.

If anyone wants to point out aspects of the Treaty which do not agree with ACT’s Constitution facts, that is against the Treaty and its inappropriate influence on present New Zealanders.

For some reason ACT does not include its other policy – that ACT New Zealand party advocates for a secular public sector where the state remains neutral and does not endorse or finance specific spiritual or cultural practices – unless it is an extension of “all New Zealanders are equal before the law.”

Some believe it should be ACT’s 4th point confirmed in a Constitution Act.
After all –
“Nobody should be expected to take part in a prayer, karakia, or other spiritual practice because they work for the Government. Taxpayers should not be required to fund staff time or other resources for employer-initiated spiritual activity either.
“ACT will prohibit public service employers from initiating or resourcing cultural or spiritual practices as part of the workplace.
https://www.act.org.nz/news/act-will-restore-one-public-service-for-all-new-zealanders
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September 5, 2026 9:43am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  But will Luxon and the Nats support it?
  
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  September 5, 2026 6:32pm
artemisia

Some Federated Farmers land tax numbers scenarios posted below by Ele Ludemann. Suspect not many farmers will be voting for the Opportunity Party. Maybe that dairy farmer couple under 65 could be persuaded provided they don’t scarf up cheap farms suddenly on the market.

https://homepaddock.wordpress.com/2026/09/05/land-tax-will-fuel-higher-food-prices-inflation/
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September 5, 2026 10:02am
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Looks like it was read by just one person before I read it….Do not under estimate Kiwis’ desire to pay more tax. Only one country in the whole wide world willing to pay more taxes foolishly believing it will give them better services 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️
  
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  September 5, 2026 10:46am
Scooter

Just wondering if there is a cut off time where mods don’t approve posts or is it just random? It’s a bit annoying when you spend time to voice your opinion, maybe at 7 or 8pm and it just stays in limbo. I would have thought it benefits the site as to its popularity to have more comments than just under 100 yesterday. Just saying.
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September 5, 2026 10:02am
Jethrod

Came across an interesting article onTwitter (X) concerning early inhabitants of New Zealand :-
@taboonewzealand
by an English gentleman , telling it like it was and perhaps what it still is.
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September 5, 2026 10:16am
An Old Kiwi

Who here takes an Uber or orders Uber Eats?
In the main, the drivers are Indian (or similar). Sometimes with weak English.
Instead of letting in more, how about we expand the BORA requirements that all -citizens- can vote, to that only NZ citizens can get Uber (or Heavy transport) licences?
That way, we open up jobs for our own unemployed. (And reduce the risk of sexual harassment towards women. – Personal experience!)
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September 5, 2026 11:10am
- sungsamning
  
  I have the app, and use an Uber maybe four or five times a month. I’ve had no problems. Restricting the licenses to Kiwis works for me.
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:45pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  Too many long term unemployed are unemployable. They can’t be Uber drivers. Or fruit pickers.
  
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  September 5, 2026 3:48pm
  - artemisia
    
    Yes, not just the long term unemployed, doesn’t take long on the sofa … Seldom mentioned in references to unemployed numbers – there are two parties to an employment contract and the party making the decision is the employer.
    
    I was a stay at home parent for 4 years. It did not take long for my world and confidence to shrink alarmingly.
    
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    September 5, 2026 3:57pm
Jethrod

Guys name is Douglas Murray.
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September 5, 2026 11:17am
slightlyrighty

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361029472/second-patient-found-dead-waikato-hospital-toilet-two-months

Since 2017, health spending in this country has more than doubled from a base of 14 billion to 34 Billion.

At the end of the last labour Government, Total health spending was 27 Billion, so the Nats have increased total health spending by 25% in 3 years.

So the question shouldn’t be about Government spending, but what the hell NZ health is doing with the money?

There needs to be a top to bottom overhaul with a front line focus.

Two patients dying in toilets at the same hospital in 2 months is unforgivable.
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September 5, 2026 11:39am
- Jack5
  
  Slightlyrighty’s … that the hell NZ health is doing with the money?
  
  Where the money’s going?
  
  To an ageing and growing population; to inflation; to buying continual new drugs, usually very expensive initially; to double managerial costs from dual Maori v non-Maori healh systems; to widening the health system with new counselling services.
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:22pm
  - artemisia
    
    Increasing (diagnosis of) mental health issues.
    
    2 1
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    September 5, 2026 3:47pm
Don Beckett

So the US economy under Trump is in bad shape ??
Not according to this report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCnOZuToeKI
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September 5, 2026 11:42am
Jethrod

Another amazing thing , watch video too
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/stewart-island-kiwi-spotted-in-daylight-alongside-children-on-school-run/MZ3YAPS56ZDLJIBV65SZ3C7BKI/
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September 5, 2026 11:42am
- slijmbal
  
  @Jethrod
  
  seeing kiwi during the daylight is not uncommon on Stewart Island I suspect. Seen it myself on my one trip there and a good friend of mine visited almost annually and reckoned he saw them practically on every visit. In the bush though. He did describe watching two of them fighting as surprisingly vicious.
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:21pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Most folks in NZ have been taught that kiwi are nocturnal birds…. and have little awareness that that is NOT the case on Stewart Island, where kiwi are also diurnal – active during the day.
  
  except on Stewart Island where birds often forage during the day.
  
  https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/southern-brown-kiwi
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:39pm
  - Taieri
    
    Stewart Island, where kiwi are also diurnal
    ———-
    
    I’ve been there many times and never saw a single kiwi. May be I was just out of luck?
    
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    September 5, 2026 1:50pm
Yvette

Damn Treaty, again
The late Māori King, Kiingi Tuheitia, made the statement during his address at the national hui at Tūrangawaewae Marae in January 2024, that “There’s no principles, the Treaty is written. That’s it” to reject government proposals to redefine or alter the established principles [which apparently don’t exist] of The Treaty of Waitangi.

For the 2026 General Election, Te Pāti Māori has declared complete constitutional transformation based on entrenching Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) as their definitive, non-negotiable “bottom line” for any post-election coalition negotiations. Should have caused a bigger stink than ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill, but seems not.

Achieving this bottom line presents a steep political challenge. Entrenching provisions into law typically requires a 75% supermajority in Parliament or a public referendum. While potential left-wing ally the Green Party supports systemic Treaty changes, Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins has already publicly rejected the policy, stating that Parliament must remain the supreme decision-making body and that Labour will not support a commissioner who can suspend Cabinet decisions.

But considering Labour’s commissioned document He Puapua would it suit Labour to negotiate an Coalition Agreement with the Maori Party, facilitate their aspirations, but always have the fallback position of blaming TMP if the whole thing turns to kahitete: custard.

TREATY REICH, OR EQUAL RIGHTS?
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September 5, 2026 11:57am
NeverMindTheBollocks

You know that today’s the day from which election advertising expenses can be claimed. You know this because today’s the day that campaign billboards have started sprouting.

There’s a patch of road reserve across the way from us that hosts political placards. As I write, various signs are being tap-tap-tapped into the ground. Tonight, I expect to hear the bang-crash-wallop as selected signs are bashed to the ground.

Ah, the disrupted sleep price of democracy.
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September 5, 2026 12:31pm
- Jethrod
  
  My Grandson was assisting in the erection of a sign only to be confronted by an angry NATIONAL party candidate, hissing and spitting, the Labour candidate was there too and sort of supported my GSon. Was only resolved when the fence owner came out and said, “all signs welcome”. Was in a South Auckland electorate.
  Yes it will be interesting to see if those signs are there tomorrow.
  
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  September 5, 2026 12:41pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  The Maori Party candidate for Ikaroa- Rawhiti (East Coast) has had her billboards on display for weeks here in Gizzy.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/gisborne-herald/news/election-2026-te-pati-maori-seek-legal-advice-on-election-billboards-in-gisborne/OXJOHVOBGNBSXNTBHKQPRYI7UA/
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:44pm
  - Prince
    
    Labour has had a billboard in Wgton, on Raroa Road, for over a week.
    
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    September 5, 2026 5:27pm
  - Jethrod
    
    Special permission, probably in Article 2
    
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    September 5, 2026 5:54pm
- peterwn
  
  “You know that today’s the day from which election advertising expenses can be claimed.”
  No. Expenditure three months before the election is subject to a cap and must be reported on to the Electoral Commission after the election, something a few of the minor parties are rather slack at. So things like some leaflet distributions are planned before this period which started 7 August. This includes hoardings although the cost of replacing damaged hoardings is not included in the capped expenditure. Both major parties suffer hoarding damage.
  
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  September 5, 2026 1:51pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Africa grows……

The U.N. backs a new world map showing Africa in its true relative size

https://www.npr.org/2026/09/04/nx-s1-5958611/africa-world-map-un-vote
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September 5, 2026 1:53pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Mercator favours correctness of shape over accuracy of size. Land masses between the tropics are fairly accurate on both counts; it’s the higher latitudes where land size is distorted. Greenland, Russia and Canada are the principal countries affected.
  
  Down our way, Antarctica is inconveniently large, so most Mercator maps simply lop most of it off.
  
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  September 5, 2026 2:59pm
AitchW

Reading an exchange on X this afternoon I realised that lefties would rather see their own life poorer than permit a mining company to exploit our mineral reserves and enrich the whole country. Envy is so deeply destructive!
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September 5, 2026 6:00pm
DimChappie

Chief Ombudman John Allen has pledged allegiance to the Kiingitanga movement in a rousing display. Seems unbothered about being political: https://youtube.com/shorts/eSMQ0G9-Zao?feature=share
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September 5, 2026 7:28pm

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