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September 23, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 23 September 2026

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General Debate

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Cassandra

Kevin Rudd, the former PM of Australia, a student of China and the President of the Asia Society in New York, has written a highly regarded book “On Xi Jinping”. It is alarming.

Rudd’s article “The World According to Xi Jinping” in the Journal of Foreign Affairs is a précis of the book. It’s paywalled but there are lots of reviews online.

The article concludes: “Whatever may unfold, Xi will not abandon his ideology. He is a true believer (in Marx and Lenin). And this presents one further test for the United States and its allies. To prevail in the unfolding ideological war that now stretches before them will require a radical reembrace of the principles that distinguish liberal-democratic political systems. Western leaders must defend those ideals in word and deed. They, too, must become true believers.”
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September 23, 2026 8:00am
- Simon
  
  NZ should be non aligned. That is not part of GAE or CCP. Both are as bad as each other.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:07am
  - David George
    
    To be independent and “non aligned” requires a hell of a lot more than just saying it.
    Fifty years of current account deficits, a beleaguered military, high dependence on imported capital and technology and a weak industrial sector have put us in no position to be declaring anything other than platitudes.
    
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    September 23, 2026 8:27am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    So we could join the United Nations NAM (Non Aligned Movement)
    A strange contradiction, surely the are aligned…with each other.
    
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    September 23, 2026 7:10pm
- kowtow
  
  Rudd and principles in the same sentence ?
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:10am
- Scott
  
  Cassandra, I appreciate your comments on Kevin Rudd’s book. One question I have, is Xi a communist true believer? If communism is supposed to be about anything, it is the govt ownership of the means of production. But what we see in China is people owning little businesses, food stalls and shops. And others getting very rich with big businesses.
  
  China seems to have capitalism but with communist party control of the media and the internet and politics. Others may have some insights on the true nature of the Chinese economy?
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:28am
  - david in Aus
    
    China is communist in name only. Their system is state-driven capitalism with one-party control and big-brother surveillance.
    
    There are 100 different car manufacturers in China. It’s not the command-control economy like the Soviet Union. Many of these companies are allowed to go bankrupt.
    
    China has a minimal social safety net, so much so, it makes the US look like a socialist paradise.
    
    Its economic system is not communist. You don’t become the largest economy in the world measured by PPP by being communist.
    
    However, its political system is very much draconian. I went there for a holiday, expecting to bypass the internet firewall by using VPN- no chance. Boy, their surveillance is overwhelming: airport-style security at each train station, ID checks near sensitive sites.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:40am
    - Interested Party
      
      In January I used Astral VPN, it worked well. It’s the one by bro in law who lives there recommended
      
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      September 23, 2026 11:04am
      - david in Aus
        
        I went too cheap for my VPN obviously. I should have gone for the more obscure ones. Anyway, roaming still worked.
        
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        September 23, 2026 11:31am
    - imalwaysright
      
      “China is communist in name only.”
      
      Spot on. They, in many ways, have shown up the Capitalist world by being better at it than them.
      
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      September 23, 2026 12:07pm
    - Scott
      
      david in Aus, thanks for your analysis of the economic system in China. That’s very helpful 👍
      
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      September 23, 2026 5:24pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      David
      
      However, its political system is very much draconian. I went there for a holiday, expecting to bypass the internet firewall by using VPN- no chance. Boy, their surveillance is overwhelming: airport-style security at each train station, ID checks near sensitive sites.
      
      [If you are quoting someone, (as you have in the previous paragraph), it’s a convention to indicate by use of quote marks. holy mod.]
      
      Could be true of Trumps America.!!!
      
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      September 23, 2026 5:26pm
  - spryte
    
    I see Xi as a totalitarian first and communist with Chinese characteristics a distant second.
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:08am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Apparently Xi and Putin both have a poster of Andy Burnham on their wall…
      
      Reminds them of the good ‘ol days.
      
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      September 23, 2026 12:09pm
    - Ra Henare
      
      Sort of like Trump. Totalitarian First, Capitalist 2nd,
      Politician for the people. a distant 3rd or 4th.
      
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      September 23, 2026 5:28pm
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Socialism always morphs into communism which in turn MUST, to remain in power, be totalitarian.
      “Vladimir Lenin wrote that the goal of socialism is communism, meaning socialism acts as a necessary stepping stone to reach a fully classless and stateless society.”
      and to keep Communism in power you need either
      1. Total buy in of the entire population.
      or
      2. MUST be forced upon the portion of the population that doesn’t “buy in”, which of course impacts the rest of the population negatively. Due to the measures implemented to sustain communism.
      
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      September 23, 2026 7:17pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        Socialism always morphs into communism which in turn MUST, to remain in power, be totalitarian
        
        I guess. Crept into NZ in 1935 – just a mere 90 years ago. We are almost there …
        
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        September 23, 2026 9:01pm
  - kowtow
    
    Panama Papers
    Recall how our te media pardy got their noses out of joint when they weren’t included in the big exposay , and that John Key wasn’t featured as a Big Money Man on the global scene .
    
    But Xi’s cronies were !
    
    So much for Rudd’s brilliant analysis of his Marxist Leninist true believer credentials .
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:16am
- David George
  
  Thanks Cass,
  here’s a link to the Rudd essay.
  https://kevinrudd.com/media/the-world-according-to-xi-jinping-foreign-affairs
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:32am
- mike
  
  I find it hard to believe Xi believes in anything other than an authoritarian capitalist empire controlled by an exclusive clique.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:40am
  - Cassandra
    
    Read Rudd then; you’ll find it helpful.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:03am
- lastmanstanding
  
  I started paying tax in 1966 6o years ago. IMHO if the tax I and other hard working taxpayers have paid had been spent wisely New Zealand would have the highest standard of living in the world. We have abundant natural resources more than any other country on a per population basis. Instead most of it has been pissed up against the wall. Just the latest example is MBIE and the $35M. The CEO and the Public Service Commissioner have given taxpayers the two fingered salute whilst the Government looks on.
  Face it. Politicans and public servants are the enemy of hard working taxpayers. They see us as an ATM nothing more. And this proves it.
  
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  September 23, 2026 9:12am
  - mike
    
    Counterpoint: 40 years of ‘reform’ has made the public service much more efficient and accountable.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:34am
    - Taieri
      
      has made the public service much more efficient and accountable
      ———-
      
      Efficient?
      Perhaps.
      
      Accountable?
      No way.
      
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      September 23, 2026 10:01am
      - mike
        
        Forgot the sarc marks. Believe it or not, some people actually think we have a better public service now.
        
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        September 23, 2026 10:28am
      - Pope Punctilious II
        
        Efficient no way. In an administrative role a few years back I had to read the woke corporate verbiage churned out by MoE. You’d think they were paid per word. The Tertiary Education Commission (part of MoE) came up with the dreadful “Performance Based Research Funding” program, which appeared to be a bureaucratic make-work scheme. Plus the TEU twice threatened to fine universities if they didn’t somehow magic away ethnic disparities in pass rates (no suggestions as to how we were supposed to accomplish that). A lot of MoE employees are a waste of space.
        
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        September 23, 2026 6:39pm
  - KKNZ2025
    
    Now $50M…
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/1527356/mbie-confirms-botched-biometric-projects-costs-blown-out-to-50-point-7-million
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:18am
  - R
    
    SOME! MAINLY LEFT politicians, and most public servants follow the public ATM ideology.
    
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    September 23, 2026 11:27am
- kevn
  
  I wonder what…
  https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16141563/How-Chinas-President-Xi-Jinping-dogged-health-rumours-heart-attack-cancer-stroke-speculation-mystery-disappearance.html
  
  https://dailysceptic.org/2026/09/17/xi-jinping-suffers-severe-stroke-in-india/
  
  https://notthebee.com/article/presidents-of-china-and-south-africa-rumored-to-be-sick-after-visit-to-india
  
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  September 23, 2026 12:46pm
- pb
  
  Current pm albo copied Jacinda and bribed media.
  
  Flaw in media: bent over and willing to be bribed
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:59pm
David George

A key aspect was largely overlooked in the discussion yesterday on Trump and the war in Iran: China.
Decades of Iran sanctions have had the unintended, but entirely predictable, consequence of pushing Iran into the arms of China thanks to their willingness to ignore sanctions on Iranian exports (thanks for the cheap oil Iran) and happy to export military technology and materials.
China has long sought a West Asian vassal/client state, they couldn’t care less about the human rights atrocities; in fact they are delighted that their new besty has shown a willingness to brutally put down any dissent from the people. They can do whatever the hell they like with no need for concern about public opinion or the well-being of the people. “If you don’t like it we’ll just shoot you”.

If we look at recent US actions as a response to the Chinese challenge a pattern is emerging.

*The capture of Venezuela criminal dictator Maduro has broken Chinese influence and control there and much reduced it in the Western Hemisphere more broadly. Cuba next.

* The overtures to Russia can be seen as an attempt to keep them within the Western orbit rather than strongly allied with China – or at least have a bob each way.

* The new stronger defence agreement with Denmark over Greenland gives long term certainty over this area that China and Russia have been sniffing around in.

*The insistence on European commitment to self defence frees up US forces elsewhere – the Pacific in particular. The Mid East mutual defence agreements and accords do likewise there.

Trump’s recent address to the UN covers a lot of this https://youtu.be/42l5-4WG_Q0?t=317
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September 23, 2026 8:01am
- Simon
  
  Trump threatens “annihilate the Islamic Republic.”
  
  Trump is a clown, while Iran and its proxies gain ground and momentum.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:17am
- Master Mariner
  
  And to counter Trumps speech on Best Armed Forces , Strongest economy etc in opening statement.
  Here’s China’s Xi at BRICS in India.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbff2nklf98
  Total opposites,
  Xi Goes on about International Law, Soverenity and not interfere in other countries.
  Notice the difference ?
  Rather Ironic they want to adhere to International Law, And Rules based Order.
  Why ?
  The Chinese are capitalists at heart, The last thing they want is the breakdown of International Order. Freedom of the seas in order to sell there products. Hence there supply lines, Road and Belt initiative. etc. Why would they want to tear it down.
  It is the “West” that is destroying Rules based Order, Namely Freedom of the Seas, Tarriffs and Banking sanctions etc etc.
  Incidently the Chinese backed Railroad was one of the first targets in Iran by US Bombers.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:51am
  - David George
    
    MM: “Xi Goes on about International Law”
    China’s “nine-dash line” historic rights claims have no legal basis under UNCLOS – China violated Philippine sovereign rights through interference with fishing and petroleum exploration, occupation of features, and environmental damage from island-building.
    China continues activities such as militarization of artificial islands, interference with Philippine vessels (including water cannon and boarding incidents), and assertions of expansive jurisdiction that contradict the award. The U.S. and others describe this as ongoing non-compliance that undermines UNCLOS.
    
    Xinjiang (Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims): The 2022 OHCHR assessment found patterns of arbitrary detention (including mass internment estimated at around one million at its peak), torture, forced labor, family separations, cultural/religious restrictions, and surveillance that “may constitute… crimes against humanity.” Human Rights Watch and others describe ongoing repression, including forced labor and transnational pressure on diaspora communities.
    
    Hong Kong: eroding promised autonomy, freedoms of expression, assembly, and an independent judiciary through arrests of pro-democracy figures, media closures, and electoral changes.
    
    Tibet and other groups: Policies involving resettlement, surveillance, restrictions on religion/culture, and reports of forced labor elements.
    Transnational repression: Documented campaigns (e.g., Operations Fox Hunt/Sky Net) involving harassment, coercion of family members, misuse of Interpol notices, and pressure on foreign governments to return critics, dissidents, Uyghurs, and others.
    
    Trade, Intellectual Property, and Economic Commitments (WTO and Related)China has faced repeated complaints at the WTO and under national investigations (e.g., U.S. Section 301) over:Forced technology transfer practices (historically via joint-venture requirements, administrative pressure, and licensing terms favoring Chinese entities).
    Inadequate IP protection, cyber-enabled theft of trade secrets, and industrial policies that discriminate against foreign firms.
    Other measures affecting market access and subsidies.
    
    China has voted for UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs but faces extensive accusations of inadequate enforcement or facilitation of evasion:Ship-to-ship transfers, coal/iron ore imports, petroleum exceeding caps, and networks supporting procurement for WMD/missile programs.
    
    Similar concerns exist regarding Iran (oil purchases and dual-use goods that help bypass sanctions) and, more recently, dual-use support linked to Russia.
    
    Other AreasIllegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by distant-water fleets.
    Alleged misuse of international institutions (Interpol, UN mechanisms) for political ends.
    Balloon surveillance and certain air/space activities described by critics as sovereignty violations.
    
    By their fruits you will know them
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:46am
  - spryte
    
    Xi is not a capitalist, he’s an authoritarian nationalist who sees economics as another means of making China the only super power.
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:13am
Frank the tank

Dirty Work – the biggest political disappointment since the moment of truth.

Some unverified rumors and verification of the already known associations with center right political parties and lobby groups. In other words some “reckons” from a couple of disgruntled staff.

Even the mandarins at RNZ have dropped this quicker than a boiling poo.

Williams/Farrar should bankrupt Hager for shits and giggles.
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September 23, 2026 8:06am
- Damocles11
  
  The political right are not allowed to have lobby groups and think tanks apparently. In the twisted minds of the Leftists, any group right of centre is ‘evil’ purely because it exists, while their own tangled web of unions and lobby groups enmeshed with Labour and the Greens is inherently the epitome of purity and human decency. It’s an infantile mentality.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:23am
  - R
    
    Infantile mentality?……it is a sign of early dementia development, CONFUSION.
    
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    September 23, 2026 11:33am
- Nūhaka Native
  
  It’s all a bit of a ‘damp squib ‘, isn’t it?
  
  Considering what happened to Byron Clark’s 2023 book Fear: New Zealand’s hostile underworld of extremists, published by HarperCollins, you would think Hager would have been a lot more careful. He’s already walking some of it back.
  
  Here is part of the apology:
  “HarperCollins and Byron Clark never intended to defame Ms Houghton and apologise to her for hurt and distress caused.”
  
  A similar legal dispute could happen with Dirty Work if people named in the book challenge specific claims as defamatory. The Taxpayers’ Union is already disputing some allegations, and has criticised Hager for not giving the people or organisations featured in the book an opportunity to respond or a right of reply before publication.
  
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  September 23, 2026 12:01pm
- kevn
  
  Frank… I imagine the family trust is untouchable. But… do it anyway.
  
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  September 23, 2026 12:48pm
  - rouppe
    
    “Generally, if the trust is structured as a discretionary trust with standard spendthrift provisions, a plaintiff winning a defamation lawsuit cannot directly attach or seize the assets held inside the trust to satisfy damages or legal costs. However, any money actually distributed out of the trust to the beneficiary is no longer protected”
    
    Plus
    
    “If the beneficiary is also the sole trustee and has the unchecked power to appoint all trust funds to themselves at will, courts may look past the trust structure.”
    
    So as long as the judgement stands as a debt in perpetuity, any beneficiary income to Hagar would be available.
    
    That was from ai, I would have linked the law firm but they don’t like access from Thailand.
    
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    September 23, 2026 3:58pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

The ancillary details of the MinEd OIA whistleblower report are illuminating as to what actually goes on at the Ministry.

For example, English and Maori words would be replaced, and replaced again. What a waste of time. Who employs these people?

“Like changing ākonga into student or kaiako into teacher,” the whistleblower said.
“Māori terminology like manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga – the number of times they’ve been in and out of the curriculum document is just ridiculous. It’s wasting millions of dollars of work with all of this roundabout, in-and-out, not making your mind up.”

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/1525926/education-ministry-whistleblower-claims-oia-subversion-not-an-isolated-incident
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September 23, 2026 8:10am
- artemisia
  
  Information need not be written down or otherwise recorded to meet the OIA. Certainly harder to prove but not impossible unless those present and questioned lie.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:40am
  - Ian Boag
    
    Murray McCully had form for this – favoured a chat across the desk rather than an exchange of memos. That would be OK of course because he was a Nat minister 🙂
    
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    September 23, 2026 8:52am
    - Tricati
      
      Maybe ask Gaurav Sharma about Labour’s training new MP’s on not writing issues down to circumvent the OIA process
      
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      September 23, 2026 9:24am
      - mike
        
        MPs are not covered by the OIA.
        
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        September 23, 2026 9:36am
      - rouppe
        
        No, but the ministry staffers communicating with him are covered by the oia
        
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        September 23, 2026 4:15pm
    - KKNZ2025
      
      Its ok when the Left do it?
      
      https://share.google/aimode/B1vIBCNLfiTBD5Zxh
      
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      September 23, 2026 10:20am
    - RoboRob
      
      Nope, not ok. Its bad when anyone does it.
      
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      September 23, 2026 10:34am
- wsk12345
  
  If the Minister or management asked to have the manglish removed. It begs the question of why it was taken out and put in multiple times. Suggests to me that staff are so enamoured of words like akonga that they kept putting them back in. Who is ideologically driven here???’
  
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  September 23, 2026 9:06am
  - RoboRob
    
    I’m not all over this story but I have some experience in this area through my wife. I would suspect that a lot of the use of ‘manglish’ is nothing to do with purposely trying to block IOA searches . The people in education love to shotgun Maori through documents, they dont call it virtue signalling but I do. They use this language naturally all the time. New Maori phrases come in and out of fashion frequently and so the manglish is constantly evolving.
    
    The level and use of manglish will vary between authors and as far as I am aware there has been NO request from management to have it removed during my wifes time in the industry. A simple look at the ECE curriculum ‘Te Whariki’ will confirm that this.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:31am
    - graham
      
      Not just people in education. I currently contract to a large financial organisation and there is a LOT of virtue-signalling going on.
      
      Maori phrases and words scattered liberally through emails – to the point where I literally have no idea what some sentences mean – karakia and powhiri abound, there are specific Maori strategies … you get the idea.
      
      And this is being driven from the top.
      
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      September 23, 2026 11:06am
      - RoboRob
        
        Kiwibank? Certainly they seem pretty ‘woke’.
        
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        September 23, 2026 1:26pm
- Paulus
  
  Assume from what I have heard from ithin this form of corrupti0n has been going on for years and not confined to Education.
  DEI is the form of it from which all is currently directed.
  
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  September 23, 2026 9:42am
- artemisia
  
  The Chief Ombudsman has now stepped in and has noted “there are also claims that this incident is not a one-off”.
  
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  September 23, 2026 4:38pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

My wife commented the other day about the number of working age people, particularly but not only women, who were out shopping during working hours at PaknSave Petone.

One immediately wonders how many of them are “working from home”. An investigative journalist would find material for a report simply by asking shoppers how it is that they have time to shop during working hours.
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September 23, 2026 8:14am
- Damocles11
  
  There are no ‘investigative reporters’. We only have leftist activists masquerading as journalists unfortunately.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:18am
- kowtow
  
  Why the left oppose facial recognition at the supermarkets ……..
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:35am
  - Taieri
    
    Why should anyone support it?
    Your face is no longer yours. It becomes someone else’s property stored in some database and used if…
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:04am
- MCōs
  
  I take it your wife is not working age?
  Apart from that many people don’t work nine to five.
  Sometimes the cashiers at the local Pak n Save have told me they themselves finish at two.
  The local cafes and bakeries open about five and close at three.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:44am
  - Ghost
    
    yes, plenty of working adults are shopping in their downtime, but you can always find someone to twist things to try and make it look like something it isn’t.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:38am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    She’s a kept woman. Unfashionable these days, I know.
    
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    September 23, 2026 12:39pm
    - MCōs
      
      Kept by whom, the taxpayers?
      
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      September 23, 2026 8:09pm
- pdm
  
  29 year old Granddaughter worked 9.00am to 2.30pm on Monday at Woolworths Waipukurau.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:58am
Damocles11

When can we expect a book on the doings of The Fabian Society in New Zealand?
‘Critics from conservative or right-leaning viewpoints argue that the group’s avowed “gradualism”—slowly introducing state control and regulatory bodies—is a stealthy way to transition a free country into a collectivist one without public consent.’
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September 23, 2026 8:16am
- peterwn
  
  Don’t give him ideas for his 2029 book.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:25am
- Cassandra
  
  Notwithstanding that it’d be badly researched, it’d be something for Hager to do this summer. Huge market //.
  
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  September 23, 2026 8:28am
  - kowtow
    
    Research ? By all accounts the ‘research records’ have been destroyed . Makes one wonder what research was done .Other than “pull it out my arse”.
    
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    September 23, 2026 8:39am
  - encee77
    
    Badly researched hardly even begins to describe it! Did you see him being interviewed by Ryan Bridge this morning? He all but admitted the info was pulled out of his never-you-mind. Total waste of oxygen
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:34am
    - R
      
      Also saw the interview with Ryan Bridge. It was quite obvious that the content of this book, like Hagers earlier books the researched source is his ideologically deluded mind.
      
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      September 23, 2026 11:42am
    - imalwaysright
      
      Its beginning to look like a rich kid’s tantrum in book form.
      
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      September 23, 2026 12:18pm
Southern Raider

A Prime Minister of NZ is paid around $495K today, so would have been less 6 years ago

Jacinda worked in political offices in support roles, then a back bench MP and then PM for about 1 and half electoral terms.

Can someone explain [ Mod – noone’s business really ]
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September 23, 2026 8:18am
- RoboRob
  
  Clark has had a successful role in the media for decades and Jacinda ‘wrote’ a book that came with a large up front payment ($1m ?) and may have been successful enough to earn additional royalties.
  
  Then there are her stints on the talking circuit and around the UN. These alone probably netted her enough to buy the house freehold, excluding the excellent capital gains she made on her NZ house.
  
  Nothing sinister here.
  
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  September 23, 2026 9:35am
- leoj
  
  In her trail of destruction she didn’t suffer (apparently), yet we did.
  
  Watch out for toothy smiles. Instead, read the first line of her bio where she stated that being the president of International Socialist Youth was her greatest accomplishment.
  
  Replace that with destroying New Zealand.
  
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  September 23, 2026 10:27am
  - R
    
    President of I.S.Y. movement; hardly a credible lifetimes accomplishment!
    ‘mumy, what was your job after leaving school?…darling I set about trying to destroy NZ’
    
    3 0
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    September 23, 2026 11:45am
Southern Raider

The TV coverage of Nicky Hagers latest fiction novel was unbelievably left wing biased. Who else does a book launch in NZ and gets a live cross over?

The rabble at the book store also looked like a Green Party and Public Service workers meeting with everyone along for the free food. Looks like Chloe was there.

About time someone wrote a right wing book and released it just before the election around the dodgy dealings of the Left and Unions
26 2
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September 23, 2026 8:21am
Southern Raider

The left and pro Pals quite often attack on social media why do Jews have community security groups and get Police protection for major events.

Maybe because just over Yom Kippur
– 3 synagogues in Canada attacked. One sprayed with bullets while a service was being held and a cop shot
– 2 terror suspects in London arrested for a planned attack on a Manchester synagogue, following last years similar attack when two Jews were killed
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September 23, 2026 8:24am
Yvette

Gaming MMP
Under MMP, a party’s total seats are meant to be set by its party-vote share. If a party wins more electorate seats outright than its party vote would otherwise entitle it to, it keeps all those electorate seats, and they are equal in Parliamentary voting to all other MPs.

Overhang seats undermine the system’s core principle that each party’s seats should match its vote share. Every other party’s share of the total seats shrinks slightly relative to its vote share, because the pie has grown to accommodate one party’s extra seats, but everyone else’s slice hasn’t grown with it.

Exploitation of the overhang loophole has always been possible, but no party has tried it because the expectation is that voters won’t put up with it — deliberately engineering a overhang would be a more serious departure than the accidental overhangs seen historically.

Te Pati Maori membership and voting is open to everyone. However MPs, as far as the record shows, all have been Māori. Te Pati Maori argues that traditional mainstream political parties have failed to fully meet the needs of indigenous communities. Rawiri Waititi and co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer see their movement as an unapologetic assertion of Māori rights, culture, and constitutional authority under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. John Tamihere and the national executive have consistently maintained that Te Pāti Māori operates as a tikanga-based movement guided by ancestral wisdom.

So who or what does their intention to game MMP in overhang seats reflect on?
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September 23, 2026 8:28am
- Yvette
  
  Could National be overhung as well?
  In what Newsroom’s Marc Daalder says,“is not an outlandish scenario,” he points out National has 44 electorate MPs. It has polled under 30 percent in four of the last six public polls. Based on its average result over the last 30 days of polling, the party is in line to win 36 seats at the election.
  If its share of the party vote entitles it to 36 seats, there will be no candidates coming in off the list. In this case 37 electorate seats would see one as an over-hang?
  
  So Nicola Willis, the deputy leader, finance minister and list-only candidate, would be gone. Chris Bishop would be sidelined for at least the next three years as well.
  So too Paul Goldsmith and Gerry Brownlee.
  
  This is not an outlandish scenario.
  https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/22/how-a-national-election-win-could-wipe-out-luxons-top-ministers/?
  
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  September 23, 2026 9:00am
  - RoboRob
    
    Not only is it ‘not an outlandish scenario’, I would say it is the likely scenario.
    
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    September 23, 2026 9:37am
    - Tauhei Notts
      
      Likely scenario?
      I think it is a probable scenario.
      My numerous chats with people, usually over a beer or two when their relaxed nature reveals their thoughts, is that National’s vote percentage might drop to 24%. BUT, friends are confident that National elected members will stay high. With the trend towards Act and NZ First I think a 10 member overhang is highly likely.
      People will exclaim on 8th November; “130 far kin politicians!!! How the hell did that happen?” When MMP came in in 1996 I could not comprehend such an occurrence, nor could I imagine such a useless Labour Party etc and a spineless National leader.
      Caution; I thought National and Act would get 60+% in 2023, so I am not perfect.
      
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      September 23, 2026 11:47am
      - RoboRob
        
        Thats the point though, if National gets 24% party vote but keeps its electorate seats high (as people expect), we will have a big overhang on the right.
        
        1 0
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        September 23, 2026 1:08pm
  - greybeard
    
    To put MMP into perspective I would like to propose this extreme example:
    
    There are only two parties, e.g. National and Labour.
    There are 120 places to be contested, of which 70 are electorate seats.
    
    Labour wins all the electorate seats but have no party votes from anyone.
    National wins no electorates but secures 100% of all party votes from all voters.
    
    Labour therefore has 50 seats: how many does National have ? 120?
    With an overhang of 50 ?
    
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    September 23, 2026 10:29am
    - Steve Todd
      
      @greybeard @ 10:29AM
      
      I don’t see how your extreme example puts “MMP in perspective”, but, just for fun, I’ll bite.
      
      Firstly, a couple of assumptions. Both National and Labour are registered parties, and both parties submit a Party list.
      
      Labour would have 70 electorates – see your fourth sentence – but, proportionally, having received no Party votes, it would be entitled to no seats. Therefore, all 70 Electorate seats would be overhang seats.
      
      National, with 100% of the Party votes, would be entitled to, and would be allocated, 120 seats, all of which would be List seats. That is because National would have all of the 120 highest quotients. (See the allocation of seats to qualifying parties under the Sainte-Laguë formula in 2023, here: https://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/statistics/party-quotients.html.)
      
      Consequently, Parliament would comprise 190 MPs (assuming National’s list had at least 120 candidates on it).
      
      So, what’s your point, greybeard?
      
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      September 23, 2026 1:24pm
      - greybeard
        
        Sorry, I meant 70 seats / overhang, not 50. ( never checked it ).
        My point ? Yvette has reservations about the use of split votes to achieve an overhang: our MMP rules suggest that it is a perfectly legal and logical tool for voters.
        
        1 0
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        September 23, 2026 3:42pm
      - Yvette
        
        Greybeard, you say Yvette has reservations about the use of split votes to achieve an overhang – I do if it the Maori Party promotes an anomaly of MMP to retain more electorate seats than their party vote may entitle them too, but above I am just mentioning that Newsroom’s Marc Daalder indicates it could well happen to National, depriving them of some top staff who are actually on their Party List but may not return to Parliament.
        
        Above I did emphasise “Exploitation of the overhang loophole has always been possible, but no party has tried it because the expectation is that voters won’t put up with it “
        
        Results may shortly indicate if your remark “our MMP rules suggest that it is a perfectly legal and logical tool for voters” is correct, or as illogical as pissing into the wind, to perhaps word it in a way that get through to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
        
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        September 23, 2026 4:05pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @greybeard @ 3:42PM
        
        Okay. I still don’t see how your extreme example puts MMP in perspective, but no matter.
        
        Have you read this article from yesterday by Dr Oliver Hartwich yet https://www.nzcpr.com/unravelling-mmp/? You probably should read it now. (It’s right there in the RHS sidebar on your screen, under ‘Links’.)
        
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        September 23, 2026 4:37pm
- pdm
  
  I have so far completed 13 hours door knocking for ACT.
  
  People are very receptive to vote splitting this election and very few two ticks National or two ticks Labour people encountered so far.
  
  I think both National and Labour might drop further from what they are currently polling on Election day.
  
  17 2
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  September 23, 2026 9:00am
  - MCōs
    
    I’ve been at this address for four elections and for the first time someone from a political party has knocked on my door – the Opportunities candidate as it happened.
    (Plenty of bible bashers and chuggers)
    
    5 1
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    September 23, 2026 9:09am
    - RoboRob
      
      I’ve only had Labour at my current address although when I was in CHCH central I did have the lovely and excellent National MP at the time, Nicky Wagner. She is the only National MP to have ever won that electorate.
      
      6 0
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      September 23, 2026 9:41am
      - imalwaysright
        
        If a Party went door knocking in the middle of the Parliamentary term, to check if I was happy with their performance, they would get some respect.
        
        Pre-election they are nothing more than panhandlers.
        
        2 0
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        September 23, 2026 12:27pm
    - Ghost
      
      No one has ever knocked here, even the brainwashed sky fairy believers, Dog makes sure of that.
      
      3 3
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      September 23, 2026 9:42am
      - Taieri
        
        I’ve been in this place for 37 years. Apart from Mormons, Jehovah’s and Brian Tamaki never had any doorknockers. And may it stay this way…
        
        4 0
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        September 23, 2026 10:07am
    - MCōs
      
      Up country in Thailand vote buying is rampant, although it’s entirely illegal. I think it’s laughingly described as petrol money to get to the polling booth. Hundreds of dollars per vote from a plethora of candidates.
      It was reported in the Bangkok Post one year that so much money was being distributed police had to escort the candidates in one area.
      In another area a candidate was beaten up because the bribes were so paltry
      Once these characters get into parliament there’s a scramble for cabinet seats so parties can skim money off the top of mega projects partially to pay for election expenses.
      
      3 3
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      September 23, 2026 10:17am
      - Frank the tank
        
        “in Thailand vote buying is rampant, although it’s entirely illegal.”
        
        I can think of a few other things in Thailand with exactly the same characteristics..
        
        2 0
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        September 23, 2026 11:44am
      - ISeeRed
        
        The vote buying in New Zealand and other “advanced” countries is less blatant but no less corrupting or existent.
        
        2 0
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        September 23, 2026 2:06pm
- rouppe
  
  I wouldn’t mind so much of the maori party competed in the same electorate as everyone else.
  
  When electorate seats can be gamed because there are distinct ones that cover the same land area as general seats, and there is a separate roll to vote in those electorates that excludes most of the population, that’s the real distortion.
  
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  September 23, 2026 4:25pm
imalwaysright

Did the Ombudsman go to see Gerry last week about his marae speech?

Has the Maori Party MP been punished for calling Speaker Pugh a “c**t”?
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September 23, 2026 8:29am
- Frank the tank
  
  Surely you jest?
  
  2 0
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  September 23, 2026 11:44am
  - imalwaysright
    
    Update.
    Gerry was asked about both on the Platform this morning.
    
    He didn’t seem overly bothered by either incident.
    
    The Ombudsman is an Independent Officer of Parliament, so Gerry seemed to infer that there isn’t much he can do, even though he called him in to discuss.
    
    On Mrs Ngarewa Packer calling Maureen Pugh a “c**t”, Gerry basically recounted his shock when Brooke VanVelden used the word.
    
    Maureen would make a better Speaker.
    
    5 2
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    September 23, 2026 12:58pm
    - Ghost
      
      Right because she would do what? As speaker she kicked the member out of the house, which was the right procedure, she was punished for her statement. The ombudsman as explained to you before is an independent officer of parliament, the speaker cannot do anything about him. The only way is for an mp to move a motion, parliament to vote on it, then it is given to the governor general. But that’s already been told to you before, yet you still push your bullshit.
      
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      September 23, 2026 1:07pm
Damocles11

Remember last election the full page ads in The New Zealand Herald portraying Luxon as a sinister figure who was ‘out of touch’ and ‘too much risk’? Well I can now reveal that the CTU was behind this smear campaign. What I have also uncovered is very deep links between the CTU and the Labour Party, extending all the way to the very top – that’s how far it goes! I will forward what I know on to Nicky Hager, expect his next book to blow the lid off the whole conspiracy.
29 2
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September 23, 2026 8:39am
- Taieri
  
  What I have also uncovered is very deep links between the CTU and the Labour Party
  ————-
  
  That’s never been a secret. A great number of CTU affiliated unions are also formally affiliated to the Labour Party.
  Full list here:
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Council_of_Trade_Unions
  
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  September 23, 2026 10:12am
  - RoboRob
    
    Lol, that was the point!
    
    12 1
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    September 23, 2026 10:27am
  - Yabster
    
    I suppose there was no // but was it really needed?
    
    6 0
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    September 23, 2026 1:06pm
RoboRob

Been out of the country for a while, I see this is the last day of parliament, did National pass the ‘removal of some treaty clauses bill’? I didn’t think this was going to pass this term but heard some discussion on progressing this before I left.
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September 23, 2026 9:43am
- Ghost
  
  Passed it’s first reading, now open for submissions
  
  https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCJUST_SCF_C3DC4C20-890F-4723-5FF9-08DF12A93E9F/references-to-tiriti-o-waitangitreaty-of-waitangi-amendment
  
  7 1
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  September 23, 2026 10:01am
  - RoboRob
    
    So, not going to be passed this term. Still think I am being impatient about this when I was critical of Goldsmith for slow walking this? Still pointing to it as an coalition promise so of course it will be passed?
    
    11 1
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    September 23, 2026 10:28am
- Damocles11
  
  Hopeless. They had 3 years to get it done. I blame CEO Luxon. The buck stops with him.
  
  15 3
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  September 23, 2026 11:13am
  - RoboRob
    
    True. I personally believe Luxon didn’t really want to do this and gave it to Goldsmith to make sure it didn’t. So it didn’t happen under Luxon this term and almost certainly wont happen under Luxon next term.
    
    5 1
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    September 23, 2026 1:13pm
  - Sir Henry Morgan
    
    Exactly. It’s comedy.
    
    Basically we get to vote for politicians who will pretend to try to deliver on their pre-election promises.
    
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    September 23, 2026 7:54pm
RoboRob

I hear the RMA reforms have been passed, congratulations National and Act. Shame it had to wait until the last minute but at least it is done.
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September 23, 2026 9:44am
- kowtow
  
  Interesting how the book launch was timed to coincide with the end of parliament .
  
  Ensuring management of the news cycle is all about that silly book and not what the coaltion has actually achieved.
  
  6 2
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  September 23, 2026 11:05am
  - RoboRob
    
    Yup, although National could have passed this bill earlier too rather then trying to time it for the election as they did.
    
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    September 23, 2026 1:14pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Expect the price of your fish and chips to rise very soon.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2609/S00220/tarakihi-catch-limits-cut-to-support-sustainability.htm
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September 23, 2026 9:48am
- Taieri
  
  The price of fish is also highly dependent on the price of fuel, which is one of the main costs of fishing.
  
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  September 23, 2026 10:14am
- RoboRob
  
  Basic fish and chips is normally ‘shark’ so not really.
  
  4 2
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  September 23, 2026 10:29am
  - Cassandra
    
    Hoki?
    
    4 0
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    September 23, 2026 12:20pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Lemon fish? I think it depends on your F&C and whats available. Certainly not tarakihi, that would be a paid upgrade.
      
      6 0
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      September 23, 2026 1:16pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Not here in Gizzy…
    
    Best F&C eva!!!!!!
    
    Tarakihi is commonly used.
    
    3 0
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    September 23, 2026 2:24pm
Yvette

Apparently Hager
challenges the TPU’s assertion of a wide-ranging supporter base and says it’s “angry old men in the 70s and 80s and sometimes in their late 60s … who believed their untruths about the threat of evolving Maori rights.”

I guess Hager is talking about me. I’m in my 70s although I’m not especially angry. I am concerned though “about the threat of evolving Maori rights.” Why shouldn’t I be?

I live in the South Island next to the Clutha River. Ngai Tahu has a claim on that river, and all other freshwater in the South Island, in front of the High Court. It’s a disgrace there is still no decision from Justice Harland after the hearing in February and March last year. That river is important to my well being and the well being of my property. I don’t pay much to access a bountiful resource. If Ngai Tahu win the court case that is likely to change.

You see Mr Hager, that is “the threat of evolving Maori rights” and frankly every New Zealander should be concerned about that. – Peter Williams
https://substack.com/home/post/p-216868575

Does Justice Harland have on his shoulders a judgement which could supersede that made by Sir Robin Cooke who used the phrase “akin to a partnership” in the landmark 1987 case New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General (the “Lands” case)?
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September 23, 2026 9:56am
Ghost

Please save your computers, phones, tablets and put your drinks down before reading this post

Chris Hipkins says Labour has had to hold its campaign advertising as it doesn’t have National’s budget – which he claims is fuelled by “millionaires wanting to further their own interests”.

Article
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September 23, 2026 1:49pm
Ian

What! Helen C donated $11k to Labour, but Cindy not even mentioned….
6 1
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September 23, 2026 3:11pm
Tauhei Notts

My old mate, “The Donald” has the odd spot of bother. Diesel prices have hit USD6.50 per gallon. I imagine there are county and state sales taxes on top of that. So I worked it out 6.50/3.7854= USD1.72 per litre. 1.72/0.5702 =$NZD3.01 per litre. Add GST and you have NZD3.463 per litre.
American fuel prices have always been less than N.Z. This has changed.
3 1
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September 23, 2026 4:14pm
- rouppe
  
  Fuel in Europe was in the €2.15 – €2.40 range the other week.
  
  Divide that by 0.48…
  
  Other side of the coin, I bought some chicken breast in the supermarket here in Thailand the other day. I think it was 85 baht a kilo. Which is $4.50 or thereabouts, even with the awful fx rate at the moment
  
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  September 23, 2026 4:33pm
Wayne1749

I see Ardern is continuing her socialist way of life.

Dame Jacinda Ardern and husband Clarke Gayford have reportedly bought a multimillion-dollar home in a sought-after Sydney seaside suburb.

“The couple, who moved across the Tasman in late February, purchased an A$5.3 million ($6.5m) property in the Northern Beaches suburb of Dee Why, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The publication, citing people familiar with the sale, said the deal was the biggest residential sale recorded in the suburb so far this year.”

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/dame-jacinda-ardern-and-clarke-gayford-reportedly-buy-65m-sydney-home/KETZSNPFIFDGJJGCH2LWXM64TE/

[ Mod – it was all just vaguely interesting tittle-tattle until you got nasty]
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September 23, 2026 5:01pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  A “socialist” New Zealand PM and her “fisherman” hubby buying a multi-million dollar house in Australia seems more than “tittle-tattle”. It’s a pity we couldn’t see the “nasty” stuff. Chances are it was interesting.
  
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  September 24, 2026 1:02am
Southern Raider

For the last few weeks Labour has been going on about the stretched Health workforce not being able to cope

There strategy to fix Health and their number one priority is a released policy today to have a separate and focused “Rainbow Ora Health Strategy”

Does the LBQ etc community have different body parts to the rest of society?
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September 23, 2026 5:48pm
Southern Raider

Number one article on News tonight looks to be Nicky Hagars book

Any political bias being shown by our media here?
3 0
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September 23, 2026 5:49pm
RW Capitalist

Whenever I pass a Labour/ Greens or TPM political bill board, I find my self slapping my pockets………
to check to see if my wallet is still there.
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September 23, 2026 7:31pm

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