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October 4, 2026 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 04 October 2026

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General Debate

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NeverMindTheBollocks

It seems that the Ministry of Education is full of people who strongly disagree with government policy. The more senior and politically savvy among them seem to want hide the disagreement, while the more naive seem to want to obstruct change and don’t care who knows it. At least, that’s my take on things, but it’s hard to be sure as all the stories I’ve seen on the subject are written obliquely.

Whatever, the place is full of people who lack integrity. They need to be reminded that the role of public servants is to be politically neutral, and if they can’t find it in themselves to be so then they should take the door marked ‘Exit’.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/education/1705313/whistleblowers-offer-to-aid-education-ministry-probe
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October 4, 2026 8:00am
- R
  
  The more I hear and read about the attitude of the Public Service towards government policies; the more I am convinced of the need for all senior management staff, to have their employment put on ‘hold ‘ on the eve of the election, and remain there until a govt is confirmed.
  The incoming government can then confirm, or dismiss the incumbent staffers. This period would also help Winston make his choice of proffered government composition quickly
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:29am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Surely this sums up the problem:
  
  A report published last week showed staff in the ministry’s curriculum division were unhappy about favouritism, workplace behaviour and application of public sector values.
  
  If a public servant is not happy working within the confines of being: trustworthy, respectful, impartial, accountable and responsive, then they are in the wrong job.
  
  https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/guidance/the-code-of-conduct-for-the-public-sector/our-values
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:31am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Thanks Maggy!
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:42am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  They are all awaiting the return of the left to government so Ops can return to normal. Wellington will be a flood of tears on Sunday 8 November.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:50am
  - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
    
    Hugh Jarse bro – Chippie has already srole the election with his lollies. Just a matter of time Chippie is your PM.
    
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    October 4, 2026 5:43pm
- Damocles11
  
  We know all this. We know the MoE is a bloated organisation, and we know it is infested with Leftists. National have been in government for 3 years, rowing the boat around in circles while hoping for a property boom. An ACT led government would have thinned the ranks of the MoE, saving the country money while reducing the plague of Leftists in this entity. Do-nothing National have done nothing. Look at Damien Grant’s article I’ve posted below: government spending up, government debt up. Who is National serving?
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:57am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Exactly. We all know that the MOE is useless, inefficient and more interested in political indoctrination than it is in education. Keeping this structure in place dooms Stanford’s reforms. They will be gone by lunchtime when Chippy or his successor win their next election. National are basically rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
    
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    October 4, 2026 12:08pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    I say in all seriousness that the Ministry of Education could be reduced in size by 60 percent. I am being conservative.
    
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    October 4, 2026 12:12pm
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      But the firings/redundancies need to be targeted. Anyone who’s obviously thwarting the current government’s policies or pushing their own ideological agendas – OUT.
      
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      October 4, 2026 12:16pm
    - JeffW
      
      Sorry, fat fingers. Should be uptick
      
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      October 4, 2026 12:35pm
    - Damocles11
      
      Too late now. Why are National so pathetically weak?
      
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      October 4, 2026 1:59pm
  - R
    
    An ACT lead government would do no such thing, they would be bound by their coalition agreement. At 9% you don’t get to form an ACT government, let alone ACT lead.
    All these uncooperative public servants(?) will have watertight union monitored employment agreements.
    
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    October 4, 2026 12:35pm
- Paulus
  
  My young ex bright Granddaughter after a few years in Education persuaded the powers be to transferred to another Department, where she has completed the same task she set out originally when in Education to do.
  To say that she is better for being put of Education may in itself be a misnomer as other Departments have their similar political left wing foibles.
  Education just means Toxic, as the result of so many poorly called called children appear to be, and cannot be upgraded for many years whatever, with few but some excellent exceptions for those with parents who guide their children to seek success, and there are actually many of them.
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:41am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Longstanding kiwiblog commenters may recall that I was once employed by the Ministry of Education. This was now 16 years ago. I can confirm that I was frequently told by managers and by Ministerial advisors to avoid recording sensitive information. Such information was almost always about interactions with the Minister’s office.
  
  So this episode is not isolated. This is just the one time that someone spoke up. I conservatively estimate that this would have happened to me three to four times per year for the three years I was there.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:09pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  It’s hardly just the Ministry of Education.
  
  Universities would be another example – e.g. the fiasco with Dawn Freshwater, who never suffered any consequences, served out her term, and moved straight into another well-paid job.
  
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  October 4, 2026 4:09pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Qiulae Wong is a polished but bossy ex private schoolgirl, who’s an out-and-out Leftie – how anyone thinks she could coalesce with Winston, I have no idea. She comes across like a smarter Jacinda, which is very much a backhanded compliment.

Let’s hope she doesn’t get near the levers of power.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/life/people/an-awesome-upbringing-and-parenting-in-politics-a-road-trip-with-qiulae-wong
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October 4, 2026 8:01am
- Benedict Yu
  
  Just for amusement, the world socialist website describes TOP as a party of the right.
  
  “The right-wing politics of New Zealand’s Opportunity Party”
  
  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/06/03/jhau-j03.html
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:24am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    It kind of previously was under the G Morgan? Maybe they are not up with the latest changes? Or perhaps they need to form a committee first before deciding???
    
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    October 4, 2026 6:36pm
- Jigsaw
  
  Winston has many distinct leftist tendencies or have you somehow never noticed?
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:26am
  - AitchW
    
    Peters is skewing his election bribes to the left of politics so that he can sign with Labour and claim that Nationals policies were incompatible with NZFs.
    
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    October 4, 2026 5:51pm
- Scooter
  
  Q is just the front person, a hired gun, a shiny new person to deliver sound bites and front the media. A bit like Jacinda only she was scarier as she had a political and socialist background and ultimately the power got to her. I don’t know how anyone can vote for a party that has a leader that got the role through a job advertisement.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:31pm
- Steve Todd
  
  @NeverMindTheBollocks @ 8:01AM
  
  Qiulae Wong is a polished but bossy ex private schoolgirl, […]
  
  This seems rather unfair, Bolly. There is nothing in the article you link to, to suggest Wong is “bossy”, or an “ex private schoolgirl.” Nor is there anything on her Wikipedia page to suggest such things.
  
  I am forced to regard your comment as further proof that the Right are very worried about Opportunity crossing the 5% threshold, even to the point of making unsubstantiated adverse claims about the party’s leader in the hope that such claims help to nobble them.
  
  I would have thought you were better than that.
  
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  October 4, 2026 2:34pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    She went to Diocesan School for Girls, Epsom.
    
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    October 4, 2026 3:44pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      Thanks, Maggy.
      
      Given the article didn’t say that, Bolly really should have, if only for completeness.
      
      But still, I have to say, there is nothing about her personality, during the many times I’ve now seen her on TV / YouTube, to suggest she’s “bossy”.
      
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      October 4, 2026 4:15pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Hi Steve, I linked to the RNZ story, but can confirm that I heard the interview this morning in its entirety, during which Wong stated that she attended Dio.
        
        As for bossy, it’s a matter of opinion. Though on reflection, she’s probably at the milder end of the bossy spectrum.
        
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        October 4, 2026 6:17pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @NeverMindTheBollocks @ 6:17PM
        
        Thank you for that, Bolly. I’m happy to leave it at that. All good.
        
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        October 4, 2026 8:43pm
Boy Geoff

Why are Spaniards having organized protests about housing?

Isn’t their leftist government doing enough for them?
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October 4, 2026 8:05am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  In recent years the Spanish have welcomed many illegal immigrants to their country.
  
  Unfortunately, these people have not repopulated the empty villages in rural districts, but instead head for the bright lights of the big cities.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:45am
- kowtow
  
  They’re a funny lot.
  
  The left there riot against and even assault legal holiday makers who’re pumping huge wealth into their country and are only briefly visiting while at the same time they welcome the illegals with open arms to stay permanently and which will impoverish the country .
  
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  October 4, 2026 1:39pm
David George

It’s now been confirmed that the hijacker used the cockpit’s emergency axe to attack the pilot.
The other thing that has come out is that he studied at a British university.
A couple of years ago the UAE banned their young people from studying in the UK for fear of Muslim indoctrination and radicalisation. Islamic terrorist outfits, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are banned in the UAE but flourish in Britain.
Are they mad?
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October 4, 2026 8:09am
- David George
  
  Note that the Muslim Brotherhood (or branches of it) is banned or designated as a terrorist organisation in several other countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:21am
- newview
  
  Yes they are mad David. The UK, now a woke socialist cot case. I’m NV here but Graeme Holt when commenting on Chris Trotters blog on sub stack.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:35am
- kowtow
  
  There’s an awful lot more to the whole UAE ‘investing’ in the UK , Manchester particularly , than meets the eye.
  
  Why does the UK media make so much noise about Farage and Reform financial shenanigans when the UK Establishment has for decades bent over backwards or just bent over to get huge “investments” from Arab entities……
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:46am
  - Philview
    
    Prime Minister Andy Burnham made a comment that he is confident his own dealings with the owners of Manchester City will stand up to scrutiny. It does sound like there is a sliver of doubt in such a comment.
    
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    October 4, 2026 11:12am
- Gulag1917
  
  Always a risk for pilots eg Germanwings Flight 9525
  While exact overall suicide mortality rates for pilots per year closely mirror or fall slightly below the general public, studies show that 4% to 14% of pilots experience suicidal thoughts and 2% to 13% meet the clinical threshold for depression.
  
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  October 4, 2026 10:32am
- DimChappie
  
  To me the most diabolical part is he asked the pilot for a prayer break from which he launched the axe attack. From AFP/NZ Herald:
  
  “Asked how the attack unfolded, (Indian pilot)_ Machchhar said the co-pilot had asked to take time to pray, as devout Muslims do five times a day.
  “A lot of locals, they do pray, which is not out of the ordinary. While he was praying, out of respect, I was just looking at the front and not at the back,” Machchhar said.
  “Suddenly after I think I would say about four to five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something is not right.
  “But then after that the blows kept coming one after the other. That’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.”
  While saying his memory was not entirely clear due to his injury, Machchhar said he managed to pull open the cockpit door “but I think he shut it back closed”.
  “I had that one last fight left in me,” Machchhar explained, saying he knew he faced certain death if not.
  “That’s when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door and thankfully people were waiting.”
  – AFP
  
  [Mod – when quoting from an article, include a link]
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:19am
  - leoj
    
    Islam is completely and utterly incompatible with western values.
    
    Sadly, weak, woke politicians are not prepeared to solve this problem.
    
    Islam is being exported and the world is in the toilet.
    
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    October 4, 2026 4:44pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  Having read the detailed accounts, it is a miracle that airplane was saved from crashing. The captain, an Indian national was heroic. However what saved the day was two off duty 737 pilots who were travelling as passengers. They took over and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia.
  
  Also heroes were the passengers, many of them Israeli nationals who subdued the first officer.
  
  The first officer is in custody in Saudi Arabia. He may be behind bars for a very long time.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:18pm
  - leoj
    
    Prison is too good for him.
    
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    October 4, 2026 4:45pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    I imagine that most of the Israelis on the aeroplane would have spent time in the military, which would have helped in their response.
    
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    October 4, 2026 6:21pm
artemisia

Election 2026: What is on older Kiwis’ minds this election? – Herald today

There are quite a few KB posters (and readers) in this age group. Some have mentioned they live in retirement villages and others may well be looking in that direction also.

National and Labour are both proposing changes to the Retirement Villages Act 2003 wrt payouts to exiting residents. Labour’s changes are retrospective, so would include existing contracts. Either proposal, if enacted, imposes additional costs on operators, especially Labour’s retrospective. Given the size of the sector and the scope of proposals the new costs on operators will not be trivial.

Guess who will be paying? And what would be the likely impact of ECON101 on residents (existing and prospective) and new builds? Including in particular Labour’s retrospective changes impacting existing contracts. Those residents would be the ones who willingly signed contracts ….
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October 4, 2026 8:10am
- robertmacculloch
  
  Last time that I did Econ 101 the amount of a cost increase that is passed onto the consumer depended on the elasticities of supply and demand = its quite a hard a hard problem to estimate. Should demand be very elastic then producers wont pass on much of the cost since they would fear a slump in customers. I presume you had all of this in mind?
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:04am
  - RoboRob
    
    I’m not in the market but I would imagine that demand is relatively fixed, and if costs rise accross the board, as they would, then demand is going to remain stable. People aren’t going to exit retirement villages.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:57am
    - Flossie
      
      I do wonder if the demand for “lifestyle” villages will drop as this bubble of boomers passes on. They are still being built and they don’t get cheaper, whereas the decrease in house prices we’re currently experiencing makes selling your home and moving in to one a very difficult decision.
      
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      October 4, 2026 10:41am
      - lifesgood
        
        I was shocked to hear that despite house prices plummeting in Auckland, retirement villages are steadily putting up their prices. Seems they don’t want people buying in or something.
        
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        October 4, 2026 11:20am
    - Flossie
      
      And people certainly do exit such villages Rob, and for a variety of reasons. No doubt top of the list is to go on to some degree of nursing care, but also I know personally some who have moved on as – the lifestyle doesn’t suit them; family needs further afield; and even disputes with neighbours.
      
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      October 4, 2026 10:51am
      - Paulus
        
        I live in a Village where we came some two plus years ago following my wifes’ stroke following a surgical hopital hip replacement, but she is now into a care home as result of the stroke which occurred within hours of the hip.
        I still live in the Village with the usual weekly costs but in addition have to pay just under $9,000 per month for my wife’s care.
        We worked hard and saved ourselves, thankfully, but we are now spending our children’s inheritence and acepted by them, but for how long ?
        
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        October 4, 2026 11:49am
      - septic skeptic
        
        Paulus, I’m sure you have done plenty for your kids over the course of their lifetimes. My advice is to try not to worry too much about leaving an inheritance. Your priorities should be you and your wife.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:41pm
      - MCōs
        
        My father used to say there’s no point in being the richest man in the cemetery
        
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        October 4, 2026 7:23pm
    - Sacha
      
      It seems that once you’re in, you’re in. Moving out could leave you financially challenged. I’m staying put in my house/lifestyle block – that way, at least my kids will get all of the proceeds of the sale after I die.
      Not that they need it, but they have looked after me in these later years, just as I did for them when they needed care.
      
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      October 4, 2026 5:57pm
- crash
  
  “Those residents would be the ones who willingly signed contracts”.
  
  Just because a contract was willingly signed, that does not necessarily mean that a purchaser of an ORA is happy with every clause. Many would have signed up unhappy with the fact that their estate might have to wait for long periods for a payout when the ORA is re-sold after they move on (usually in a coffin) – but with no-one else offering faster payouts they had to sign and swallow at least one dead-rat provision to move into a village.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:39pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

Who exactly do the Greens think will take the overnight train between Auckland and Wellington?

Business people, for a one day meeting? These people are often parents – how could they be away from home for two nights?

Tourists? Surely, they would want to take the day train, to see the scenery.

My guess is that top of the list would be Green politicians, for virtue-signally reasons (until they cite expedience because their time is too valuable); co-workers having a meeting but also having an affair ; and the homeless, because, you know, free accommodation. And train hobbyists – self explanatory.

No word in the policy release on how much the taxpayer subsidy would be.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1701879/green-party-announces-plan-for-passenger-rail-between-major-nz-cities
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October 4, 2026 8:12am
- R
  
  Surely N.M.T.B. you have forgotten, that for Socislists and the other economically illiterate, ‘Funding and Costing’ is irrelevant, after all it is only OPM that will be used for the ‘dream’
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:49am
- RoboRob
  
  If you think that one’s bad picture Christchurch to dunedin. The 10s of people that will take that ride. It’s an easy 4.5hr drive and you have a car to get around or a quick flight.
  
  There is a reason these train journeys don’t exist, there is insufficient demand to make them viable.
  
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  October 4, 2026 10:01am
  - Taieri
    
    The train trip from Christchurch to Dunedin used to take about 6 hours. If, and it’s a very big if, such a trip could be made in say, 3 hours there would be some demand for such a service. But there’s no way that it can be done with the existing infrastructure. There’s also no way that this infrastructure is ever going to be upgraded to enable speeds that are higher than possible at present, because there’s no one willing or able to pay for it. And the time such a journey takes is the reason why there’s no demand for it.
    
    As a matter of interest, the regional commuter trains in Europe that I was travelling on last year are running at approx. 100 km/h and long distance trains from 160 to 200 km/h. Part of the trip from Leipzig to Berlin was at 250 km/h. And the ticket prices were very reasonable, trains very clean and comfortable. Super high speed trains are even faster, but there’re not that many of them.
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:28am
    - DistantObserver
      
      A few points:
      1. From Christchurch south, the first 3hours of that train journey used to be competitive with the car even on the narrow gauge infrastructure.
      2. We are stuck with narrow gauge owing to a government imposed decision. Had the region developed under the original broad gauge one could argue that conversion to standard gauge in the future would have be far easier/cheaper and in that scenario we likely would already have trains running up to 200kph on the canterbury plains. That changes the travel time equation considerable, and ultimately would change how the south island infrastructure would have developed.
      3. Yes rail infrastructure is expensive, but does it therefore mean “doing nothing” is all that can be achieved for the remainder of eternity?
      4. Can we not commission the relevant university departments nationwide in: Economics, Finance, Surveying, Engineering, Geology etc, and have students work on projects over many years to figure out what rail alignments are possible given TBMs etc. Map out costs, ground conditions, plot out how to link the main population centres etc. etc.
      We may not ever build these “projects of national fantasy”, but it is better than students doing basket-weaving courses.
      
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      October 4, 2026 11:07pm
  - Pope Punctilious II
    
    There would be more demand for long-distance train travel in NZ if railways were run competently. I recently had the brilliant idea of taking the train from Hamilton to Ohakune, to check out a prospective research site that happened to be near Ohakune station. The train from Auckland arrived 45 mins late. How the hell is that possible? Well one reason is the laughable seat allocation system. I had bought my ticket online, yet AFTER the train pulled in we had to line up at the counter to be allocated our seat numbers written out by hand on scraps of paper. What an absolute joke! Two days later, the train from Wellington pulled into Ohakune nearly 90 mins late. I recalled how 40+ years earlier I hurried to put my research assistant on the train back to Auckland. The train was on time that day – I know because we very nearly missed it! Our train system used to work ok until ideologues started f***ing around with it, first selling it to a private company that no idea about railways, and buying it back but turning it into a wretched SOE.
    
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    October 4, 2026 1:21pm
    - Taieri
      
      What an absolute joke!
      ———-
      
      It is. In a very bad taste.
      Once you book the ticket and pay for it there’s no need for any further check ins and/or seat allocations. It can all be done on line with the ticket in electronic form.
      
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      October 4, 2026 6:26pm
- nathie
  
  And yet again, no pushback from the MSM where the Greens are going to find the $4bn the Green Party claims this will cost. Let alone ongoing subsidies to prop it up.
  
  Trust the MSM? Sure can’t!
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:09am
- Paulus
  
  My Granddaughter when a Auckland Uni regularly took the overnight bus home to Wellington and often got a last minute scholars ticket for less that $20.
  She did that often and still does rarely, so even that she has a car now and likes flying.
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:53am
- Handyman
  
  It will be another Huia, but a much bigger fiscal hoke. The Green party financial estimate is $5 billion dollars. According to them, it is so cheap! because the rails already exist.
  The Huia is 99% subsidised, and the main passengers are SuperGold card holders on a day’s outing from Hamilton to Auckland.
  I think it was best summed up by Ardern at the official opening. She got on the first train for a photo op at Hamilton then quietly got off at the next stop “because she had to get to Auckland”.
  Odd how “progressives” want to take us back to the Victorian era.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:01pm
- rouppe
  
  That article is just a series of lies.
  
  The existing train between Auckland and Wellington takes 11 hours, each way. Therefore it doesn’t run in both directions every day. It costs $250-$315 depending on season making it more expensive than flying air nz let alone jetstar.
  
  If business people used it to avoid a hotel night, there’d have to be showers in the cabins, and plenty of single occupancy options for safety.
  
  It would end up much more expensive than flying.
  
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  October 4, 2026 2:21pm
- Ra Henare
  
  The policy is just pathetic vote buying for true “Greenies”” who think trains are the answer.
  
  Did anyone talk to them about costs versus air travel?
  A competitive airfare will sink the proposal,
  
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  October 4, 2026 6:07pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

The Premier League simply have to chuck Man City out. They have hugely offended all of the other clubs, fans and players, including many of their own fans whose happy memories are ruined. This is too big just to move on from.

Fines won’t cut it, when there’s an oil-ocracy behind the club.

If the Premier League bottle it then HM Customs and Excise might get the club for false tax returns. Shades of Al Capone.

http://www.1news.co.nz/2026/10/03/man-city-appeals-after-guilty-verdict-in-financial-rule-breaking-scandal/
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October 4, 2026 8:23am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Man City’s case is dead in the water.
  
  Its CEO says that the money in question came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than its owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group.
  
  Unfortunately for him, in 2015 when responding to an inquiry into state owned airlines, Etihad told the US Dept of Commerce and Transport that the Abu Dhabi government did not fund Etihad’s sponsorship of Man City.
  
  Both those statements cannot be true.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:41am
  - Hard Cheese
    
    Sorry, accidentally downticked what was meant to be an uptick.
    
    I would have thought the source of the funding wasn’t particularly relevant anyway. Isn’t one of issues that they declared the sponsorship values at $X which have been topped up with undeclared funding?
    
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    October 4, 2026 3:14pm
- Hard Cheese
  
  It reads like such a weak sauce appeal I can’t imagine it has any chance of saving them
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:23am
- DistantObserver
  
  It is wild because UAE will certainly retaliate if they feel they have been shafted. Bombs away for UK gilts.
  
  When you look at the Premier League generally, and the amount of foreign money flowing in for clubs and player salaries, I would think there are all sorts of ‘sophisticated’ and ‘esoteric’ financial arrangements going on. Seems naive for the UK/Premier League to think they can have it both ways.
  All I can remember is when Man. City were hopeless.
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:22pm
Cassandra

The Green Party says it will connect the country with intercity passenger rail services. It’ll introduce an overnight rail service between Auckland and Wellington, passenger rail between Christchurch and Dunedin, and to extend the Te Huia train route to Tauranga.

No business case or budget/funding detail is included.

I can’t see any other report but it’s prominently featured on the RNZ Website, under a large photo of and article re TOP’s Wong. Almost like RNZ is showing favouritism.
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October 4, 2026 8:25am
- kowtow
  
  ‘favouritism’
  
  As per our host’s post on poll of polls “tweaking” , that gives TOP numbers that get them invited to debates etc , thus raising their profile further …….
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:38am
- Positan
  
  The “political” Greens spout ideas before they’ve thought them through. Patently this “rail” proposal would be uneconomic – but when you’re economically clueless, such facts don’t seem to matter.
  
  The inevitable conclusion is that Greens should never be let anywhere near the reins of power. When Labour’s 2017-2023 disastrous saga of ineptitude is recalled, it can be read that a Greens’ administration would have been even worse.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:40am
  - kowtow
    
    One has to love how wed the Greens are to rail.
    
    The very symbol and one of the greatest and most enduring symbols of the British industrial revolution and colonial ,imperial dominance of the world.
    Powered by coal , built by capitalists off the back of the cowering labouring classes ,paid a pitance .The railways helped subdue whole continents of indigenous natives and brought Christianity , civilisation and progress where once there was only savagery and darkness ……and helped exploit the natural resources of those places to create European and American empires .
    
    You just have to love rail!
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:04am
    - R
      
      Life was so much simpler back in the ‘Dark Ages’
      
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      October 4, 2026 9:52am
    - Phil
      
      Yes, the left just long for the sight of the politbureau grandees sweeping past the cheering workers. Caps are doffed and the more grateful of the multitude fall to their knees in supplication.
      
      Of could it be more about long trains, dark tunnels? What say you Mr Freud?
      
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      October 4, 2026 11:36am
    - gravedodger
      
      With over NZ$40 000 000n annually taken from Rate Payers and Taxpayers to keep Wellington Commuter rail running, there is a clue right there? So much of the suburban growth in that urban complex Rail based it could be a billion bucks or more annually for this Mellon’s “Mare”
      
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      October 4, 2026 11:48am
  - Paulus
    
    To them what the hell has Economics got to do with it ?
    
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    October 4, 2026 11:54am
- greybeard
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361042037/auckland-wellington-sleeper-train-part-greens-402b-passenger-rail-pitch
  It’s a logical step from bicycles to trains for this woman.
  How many people would take the sleeper train from Auckland to Wellington each night, to make it viable ?
  I bet they haven’t costed the required fares.
  And if Te Huia is already a failure from Hamilton to Auckland, why do they think that adding Tauranga to the trip will improve it ?
  Nuts.
  However , there is probably a case for Chch to Dunedin to be restored, especially for enhancing the tourism experience.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:41am
  - wsk12345
    
    I doubt it.
    
    Recently I went to book the Picton to chch train. It’s now $260 pp one way!!! Last time I used it I thought $170 was exorbitant but had limited options at the time. But seriously what a joke, it’s cheaper to fly and while it’s a nice tourist trip, for someone who just needs to get from A to B, the $70 intercity bus is a much better option. Fuel for driving up and back is still the best option at about $60 each way and total flexibility.
    
    How many takers do they expect? I doubt anyone in the Greens voter base has thought beyond “ how marvellous!”
    
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    October 4, 2026 8:49am
    - Hard Cheese
      
      I wouldn’t mind taking the train to Wellington – night or day – but $295 one way, no thanks. And it only runs every second day, one service a day. It will never be competitive with flying, the Greens as usual making policies for cloud cuckoo land
      
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      October 4, 2026 10:45am
  - Rawhide
    
    There is already a Christchurch to Dunedin train, The Mainlander. Currently, there is a special on, $199 one way fare. It would be a scenic journey but too expensive in my opinion.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:03am
    - greybeard
      
      Thanks. I think there is only one per week, down on Fri and back on Mon. And not every week by the look of it. Yes, too expensive to be a commuter trip.
      
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      October 4, 2026 9:33am
    - Taieri
      
      There is already a Christchurch to Dunedin train
      ———-
      
      It’s not a regular timetable train.
      
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      October 4, 2026 10:31am
  - Gussy
    
    Genter – instead of flying to the Chatham Islands – should sail, Thunberg style.
    It’d keep her out of Wellington and save the planet.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:09am
- Dougal10
  
  Chloe is a rnz darling , the idea that these lefty leaders , who are so rude you wouldnt let them into your house , are held up to be authorities that we should listen too shows how close our country is to the edge of reality.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:44am
  - kowtow
    
    Another “silver spoon socialist”
    
    The media pardy keep her “back story” very suppressed.
    
    While ancient blue team school boy antics get front page treatment.See Uffindel hit job.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:29am
  - R
    
    ‘edge of reality’ ??????… closer to the edge of anarchy surely.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:56am
- David Garrett
  
  Cass: This is actually a perfect illustration of how utterly in fantasy land the Greens are . Fifty odd years ago there was an overnight train service between auckland and Wellington. It was called the Silver Star (IIRC) and TV ads at the time called it “good for business”. It supposedly catered for business travellers who had business in Wellington – and could spend three days getting there, doing their business, and getting back.
  
  It utterly failed of course because it was much cheaper – and saved much more time – for such travelers to fly down in the morning of the business day, and then fly back that night.
  
  Even if it was so heavily subsidized it was virtually free, this service would attract very little interest. Its only merit is it is less mad that some other Green policies.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:46am
  - David George
    
    A few years ago we decided to take the day train trip from Auckland to Wellington. A little before “departure” the gathered passengers at the station are informed the train’s not going for “technical reasons”. We were offered a refund or a bus ride; we went on the bus which was not very nice. At a cafe stop I was talking to one of the stewards, I said I guess this is a bit of a change for you? She said no, happens a lot.
    They sent the train down empty later the same day ready for the return the following.
    
    So they bussed the whole crew to Wellington, put them up in hotels, paid heaps for the short notice bus and driver and paid for his accommodation. Next day they sent the bus back to Auckland – empty as well.
    
    The next week we received a full refund into our account. NZR is a circus.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:07am
    - David Garrett
      
      DG: What is this NZR of which you speak? That is so 1970’s! It’s KIWIRAIL mate…you know, the 19th century travel outfit which Clark and Cullen paid NZD600 million for to the then owner, an astonished American railway company who couldn’t believe their luck in off loading it.
      
      And I should confess at this point that I absolutely loved traveling by train in Europe 50 years ago…But for 100 reasons – beginning with our terrain and narrow gauge – that experience cannot be replicated here.
      
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      October 4, 2026 9:12am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Travelling by train in Europe is a great experience. But it cannot be replicated here.
        
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        October 4, 2026 9:28am
      - David George
        
        Yes David, it was a Kiwirail train.
        Kiwirail, Kiwibank; I can’t wait till we have Kiwimart.
        
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        October 4, 2026 9:33am
      - David Garrett
        
        Bene: Snap…most of my “great experiences” on European trains cannot be repeated here! Let’s just say I was a 20 year old in that golden 20 year window between the pill becoming readily available, and AIDS spoiling everyone’s fun.
        
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        October 4, 2026 9:35am
      - gravedodger
        
        Actually Toll Holdings Australia, Mr Garrett, a Melbourne based company who still celebrate annually, and they kept the Road Transport and Freight Forwarding as it was still profitable?
        You are conflating the Original sale to a Wisconsin Rail consortium, c1993.
        
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        October 4, 2026 11:55am
      - David Garrett
        
        grave: Yes, you are of course quite right…I am thinking of the Sale to Wisconsin rail. I actually worked for the law firm which handled the sale on behalf of the government at the time. Wisconsin got a bargain – especially given they drastically reduced the number of staff once they took control – and the number of staff had been decimated in 1984 when the Lange-Douglas government took power.
        
        Back in the day, each goods train had a guards van at the back. A mate of mine’s father was a “guard”. He said it was the cushiest job he had ever had – most of the time while “working” he was asleep.
        
        Guard’s vans were replaced by a flashing red light at the rear end of the train. To the best of my knowledge, no train crashes or derailments ever occurred as result of that change.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:04pm
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Too much information. 😳
        
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        October 4, 2026 1:16pm
      - rouppe
        
        Well, Benedict, I beg to differ.
        
        I’ve been to Europe several times in the last few years.
        
        When the trains run, yes they are fantastic. But several of my train trips were not completed. More than once we get part way through the trip and there was an announcement (in German that I didn’t understand, thankfully passengers helped me out) saying this was the last stop because of one reason or another and you had to find your own way to your final destination.
        
        It happened Frankfurt to Prague, and Ghent to Aachen I think it was. Just last month I wanted to go from Amsterdam to Arnhem for a memorial service, picked a departure and it didn’t turn up. Mad scramble to other platforms to get a different one.
        
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        October 4, 2026 2:30pm
  - Boy Geoff
    
    Wouldn’t JAG’s unannounced plan be to shut the flights down because of fossil fuel use?
    
    Heh, that’ll make her young voters happy.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:13am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      It happened in France. All short haul flights banned where there is an alternative train route.
      
      Why do they want to do this? A Wellington Auckland train would run on diesel. What is the point? Or do the Greens just like screwing with people?
      
      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65687665
      
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      October 4, 2026 1:20pm
      - Boy Geoff
        
        Have to achieve command and control somehow
        
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        October 4, 2026 2:02pm
      - rouppe
        
        I did some quick numbers.
        
        AI says the northern explorer train uses about 1.5l per km of diesel which is 150 l/100km. But the passenger load is (surprisingly) 180+ in peak season to a low of 50 in off season. So even in of season is getting 3 l/100km per passenger. Surprised me too.
        
        It’s just that the trip itself is so long and uncomfortable.
        
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        October 4, 2026 2:38pm
      - AitchW
        
        Rouppe, 1.5l per km sounds very light. Maybe 15l
        
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        October 4, 2026 5:59pm
      - Ra Henare
        
        Bene, you missed the important bit.
        The greens will finish the electrification of the main trunk (currently 45%??? electrified).
        
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        October 4, 2026 6:17pm
      - rouppe
        
        Aitch: I got it from
        
        https://share.google/aimode/vUC2TsCIDpqF5lMhW
        
        But if AI made a mistake, so did I.
        
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        October 4, 2026 7:27pm
      - rouppe
        
        Ra
        
        A problem with completing electrification is
        
        The NIMT central section operates on a 25,000V AC overhead catenary system. Conversely, the fully electrified Wellington metro network at the southern end of the trunk line operates on an entirely different 1,500V DC system.
        
        And add far as I know there are no locomotives capable of operating on the 25,000V section, they were withdrawn for reliability issues.
        
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        October 4, 2026 7:33pm
  - tavita
    
    When the Silver Star between Auckland and Wellington and the Rangatira between Wellington and Lyttleton were introduced, they had a big market because public servants were required to use them. As soon as public servants were permitted to travel by air, the market substantially reduced. Then NAC introduced off-peak discounts that took away most of the remaining passengers.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:21am
  - AitchW
    
    You can catch a train from Auckland to Wellington now. It takes just under 11 hours and costs a little under $300. Bargain! You can also catch a bus which takes about the same time for $100. With free wifi.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:23am
    - Hard Cheese
      
      To be fair, 11 hours on a train is much more comfortable than 11 hours on a bus. An overnight sleeper train would actually be okay, you could snooze through most of the boredom. But if a standard seat is $259 and their premium seat with a couple of meals and a glass of wine is $599, you can imagine how much they’ll try to extract from your wallet for a sleeping cabin
      
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      October 4, 2026 3:28pm
    - judith8409121
      
      or you can hire a car for a tiny amount – if you use one way car transfers you can pick one up for $1 but thats the problem with competition. Trains are not competitive unless they rort the taxpayer and even then – the train wastes time. It would be better to remove all the trains from nz and stop wasting the train corridor with this inefficient form of transport – and turn the train corridor into a trucking network – much better efficiency.
      
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      October 4, 2026 7:40pm
  - Grumpy Silver Top
    
    Before NAC, as it was in ancient historical times, introduced standby fares in the 70s the overnight train was the way we Massey Students travelled to and from Auckland. Probably the beginnings and ends of term were the only trips that were full.
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:33am
- Hugh Jarse
  
  That would be a great service for the Auckland based Green MPs and any other supporting MPs to commute to and from Wellington on.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:47am
  - Boy Geoff
    
    Indeed, especially when their fellow traveling support base pull out their guitars at 2am.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:32am
- AitchW
  
  You can fly from Auckland to Wellington for as little as $99. To run an overnight train would be expensive, I can’t see fares as cheap as that without massive subsidies.
  
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  October 4, 2026 8:57am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    Of course not. It will never happen.
    
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    October 4, 2026 9:29am
- Flossie
  
  I’m sure I speak for many here on the Coromadel when I say the Greens and their train plans won’t make a blind bit if difference to our lives.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:54am
  - MCōs
    
    Neither will a lot of other ultra expensive mega projects, but stuff doesn’t get done because there’s nothing in it for some other part of the country.
    For example the $43mil spent to repair State Highway 25A to the east coast of the Coromandel didn’t make a blind bit of difference to the lives of most Kiwis.
    Not that I’m in agreement with the intercity train system.
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:38am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      I note that the “Reconnect Gisborne Rail” facebook group has gone into shut-down mode.
      
      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128822832/gisborne-and-hawkes-bay-leaders-call-for-government-to-back-805m-reinstatement-of-rail-line
      
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      October 4, 2026 11:39am
      - Quail
        
        MW et al
        People forget that the railways was one of Politicians of the day unemployment department.
        The word efficiency had little to do with it.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:28pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Flossie – you live among them! Surely, your neighbours are all out, celebrating this policy announcement.
    
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    October 4, 2026 11:22am
    - Flossie
      
      We can also celebrate the Greens’ plan for cheap/free public transport fares!
      
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      October 4, 2026 5:10pm
- nathie
  
  When the MSM is showing favoritism, that reinforces the fact that TOP are indeed Lefties (despite their claims they are “centrist”)!
  
  (Psst … also, to use their logic, the MSM are actually closet “racists” because they are quietly putting TOP alongside Labour and Greens …. and pushing TPM out of the conversation, as even the middle class MSM find them to be too “uncomfortable” to deal with)!
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:20am
Boy Geoff

Does Tamatha Paul try to appeal to all young people or just specific niche segments?
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October 4, 2026 8:42am
- AitchW
  
  Just the ghetto and aficionados of twerking.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:24am
- David George
  
  I don’t know who she’s trying to appeal to; a very “specific niche segment” I suspect.
  She was going on about her sweaty crutch the other day.
  
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  October 4, 2026 9:36am
  - David Garrett
    
    DG: “her sweaty crutch/crotch”?? Please do elaborate!
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:26am
    - Pope Punctilious II
      
      No, please don’t!
      
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      October 4, 2026 9:01pm
  - Cassandra
    
    o?, not u.
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:28am
  - MCōs
    
    Was this what you’ve been told about?
    https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSbuSQu6C/
    
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    October 4, 2026 10:52am
    - David Garrett
      
      OMG (as the yoof say)…”a sweaty CRACK” that’s even worser!
      
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      October 4, 2026 11:03am
      - Boy Geoff
        
        An honest & frank politician!
        
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        October 4, 2026 11:22am
Damocles11

‘Last week Treasury released its pre-election economic forecast. It was, as expected, awful.
When Willis took over from Grant Robertson, spending as a percentage of GDP was 31.7%. It is expected to be 32.1% in the 2026 financial year. In raw numbers spending rose $20 billion. Contrast this with tax revenue; which fell from 28% to 27.6% of GDP. Spending is rising, revenue is falling.
Total debt as measured against GDP also rose; from 38.6% to 41%.’
🤦🏻‍♂️

https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361041517/damien-grant-new-zealands-books-are-burning-where-are-hard-decisions
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October 4, 2026 8:43am
- septic skeptic
  
  For once, voters can choose to fire the minister of finance without changing the government. Electorate vote National, party vote ACT and the overhang ensure a return of the coalition leave Willis out of parliament.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:52pm
- Sir Henry Morgan
  
  It’s just astonishing. Would have been so easy to improve things just a little, but no. . .
  
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  October 4, 2026 4:20pm
MCōs

Winston was in Mangere Bridge yesterday with an entourage of a dozen or so enthusiastic NZ First busy bees swarming around.
He stopped at the cafes all run by Asian immigrants canvassing for votes, which I thought was a bit ironic.
Mangere is one of Labour’s safest seats and a graveyard for minor parties so few politicians ever bother waving the flag hereabouts.
I’ve seen Willie Jackson, a local resident, a few times going back to before he was an mp
Bloke won’t stop talking!
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October 4, 2026 9:04am
NeverMindTheBollocks

The Greens inheritance tax (33% on assets over $1m) and wealth tax (2.5% on net assets > $10m) policies exclude Maori land and post settlement assets.

Why?

Except for very small iwi, it’s unlikely that these assets on their own would on their own trip the threshold, but there’s no valid reason why an owner’s share of those assets should not contribute to their net wealth position.

By definition, this policy excludes the assets of a group of people based on race, which is just not right.

http://www.1news.co.nz/2026/10/04/what-are-the-greens-tax-plans-and-who-would-have-to-pay/
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October 4, 2026 9:39am
- Paulus
  
  We have a Gift’s Tax still in existance with a Zero rate but before it was the transfer of $27,000 per annum which was the limit if I remember !
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:00pm
- Damocles11
  
  It’s now a 3 tier society thanks to Labour and National.
  Tier 1: Maori, who are Tangata Whenua: apparently only they have a special, magical, mystical connection to the land and its mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests. They are the citizens of 2 countries simultaneously: citizens of New Zealand, and citizens of their Iwi and Hapu groups which co-govern a place called Aotearoa New Zealand in conjunction with an elected government – a government elected by Maori and everyone else. Think of it as Maori entities co-governing a nation in conjunction with a Parliament elected at least in part by Maori. Maori have special rights & privileges that are not granted to other citizens.
  Tier 2: As per the official line that this is apparently a bi-cultural society & as confirmed by a quick look at the Coat of Arms, Tier 2 are the white descendants of the ‘colonists’, plus to-all-intents-and-purposes any other white citizen or resident living here. This group recognise that they no longer live in a truly democratic country and that their country is now firmly divided along racial lines. A person is now judged and categorised by their race first and foremost, not by the content of their character.
  Tier 3: All non-white immigrant groups. They are expected to keep their heads down, work hard, say little, and just be grateful they are here.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:19pm
Yvette

Te Pāti Māori reinforces strategic voting call with sparse party list [ of one person ]

Te Pāti Māori has released its party list for the November election, and says it reinforces their commitment to a one-vote only campaign.
The party is asking supporters to vote for their electorate candidate, but give their party vote to Labour or the Greens.
They’ve now doubled down on this approach, releasing a party list with just one candidate beyond the seven vying for electorate seats.
That’s Lance Norman, the party’s general secretary.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361042156/te-pati-maori-reinforces-strategic-voting-call-sparse-party-list

[A] poll of 607 voters enrolled on the Māori Roll found the Greens in the lead, with 28% support, and Labour close behind on 27%. Te Pāti Māori was third, at 16%, followed by the Opportunity Party on 6%. The other parties, National, ACT, NZ First and the Tai Tokerau Party were all polling below 5%.

General Roll: Te Pāti Māori registers at 2% among Māori voters on the general roll

The aim has often been stated that this move is to place more Maori in Parliament than simple democratic means would represent. Whether the fact any other party can also do it, but not so easily as the don’t have race based seats to work with, does not surely change the fact, if successful it will be a misrepresentation, and in this case a racial result as well.

And, also, is it contrary to the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi?
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October 4, 2026 10:43am
- MCōs
  
  You could say TPM are attempting to make the most of the situation in which they find themselves
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:04am
- Steve Todd
  
  @Yvette @ 10:43AM
  
  You should be pleased about Te Pāti Māori’s one-person list, Yvette. Clearly, the party took on board the notion — put up by commentators, including yourself — that by not putting up a list, overall proportionality would be determined across 120 seats minus its number of overhang seats, which would likely have caused a huge backlash.
  
  Te Pāti Māori have played fair, and ensured overall proportionality will be determined across the usual 120 seats. Once again, Māori have demonstrated that they fully understand MMP, how it works, and how to use it to their best advantage. They always have, right back to the indicative referendum on Saturday, 19 September 1992.
  
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  October 4, 2026 11:08am
  - Pineapple Lumps
    
    Hi Steve, I haven’t grasped the point you are making. Could you please elaborate? How would a longer Māori list alter the outcome?
    
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    October 4, 2026 11:30am
    - Steve Todd
      
      Hello, Pineapple Lumps.
      
      About five weeks ago, reporters (and Yvette) made the point that if Te Pāti Māori concentrate solely on the Electorate vote and don’t put up a Party list, overall proportionality would be determined across 120 seats minus the number of overhang seats the party wins.
      
      For example, if Te Pāti Māori wins four Electorate seats but is entitled to only two seats as a result of its final Party vote percentage, they would have two overhang seats. That would mean overall proportionality would be determined across 118 seats, not 120, because Te Pāti Māori would not be a list party on the right-hand side of the ballot paper. (See section 191(8) of the Electoral Act, here: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/87/en/latest/#DLM310034.)
      
      (Four seats out of a total of 120 seats (without a Party list) would be better than four seats out of 122 seats (with a Party list).
      
      By putting up a Party list containing just one name, the party has avoided a backlash/controversy, by ensuring overall proportionality will be determined across the usual 120 seats.
      
      I hope that explains the situation.
      
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      October 4, 2026 12:05pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        Thanks for explaining the difference the party list makes.
        
        What I don’t understand now, is why would there be more controversy if TPM had a bigger party list? It appears to me that a smaller list makes their overhang more disproportionate albeit it saves the taxpayer paying for more MPs. It seems to me that when an overhang occurs and the final mix of representation is skewed that is controversial when we are looking for proportionate representation. An overhang of 4 seats versus an overhang of 2 seats could be a real game changer when it comes to who gets to govern the country. This is an issue that will lead to backlash I believe.
        
        But I am keen to understand the view that makes the smaller overhang more controversial.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:20pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        But I am keen to understand the view that makes the smaller overhang more controversial.
        
        Well, that’s certainly not my view.
        
        Te Pāti Māori are campaigning for the Electorate vote. Right now, they think they will retain their current six seats. (To me, that’s a pipe dream.)
        
        They want their supporters to literally collapse their Party vote, preferably to those cast by just their hardcore supporters — say, 10,000 max — and give those votes to Labour and the Greens. Regardless of how many Party votes they receive, the number will have no impact (or almost certainly no impact) whatsoever on the total number of seats they finish up with. The number of Electorate seats the party wins will be their total number of seats in parliament.
        
        Therefore, with regard to their Party list, all they need do is what they have done, i.e., put up just one name, to ensure they are a list party on the right-hand side of the ballot paper that is eligible to receive Party votes (even if few in number). (Section 191(8).)
        
        Why put up a list with many names on it, like last time, when the party is overtly campaigning for overhang seats? In their best scenario, they would want seven Electorate seats and a Party vote that entitles them to no seats at all. Consequently, one name on their list is sufficient for their purposes.
        
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        October 4, 2026 1:34pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        Hi Steve, sorry I misinterpreted your statement below and I appreciate you explaining the intricacies of the MMP system.
        
        “By putting up a Party list containing just one name, the party has avoided a backlash/controversy, by ensuring overall proportionality will be determined across the usual 120 seats.”
        
        I don’t think TPM can avoid a controversy either way. The fact they are openly campaigning on maximising the value of the overhang is controversial. Now that you have explained the difference between them campaigning for party vote versus actively campaigning for electorates only it highlights that their motive is to game the system as much as possible. I think the more voters that understand this, the greater the controversy and the more it will encourage a backlash.
        
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        October 4, 2026 3:15pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        You’re welcome, Pineapple Lumps.
        
        I don’t think TPM can avoid a controversy either way.
        
        You may be right. But whatever controversy is coming their way would pale in comparison with not putting up a Party list, winning (say) five seats, and proportionality gets to be determined across 115 seats, instead of a 120.
        
        I attempted to show the effect of something like this, here: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/08/general_debate_30_august_2026.html/comment-page-1#comment-3875025.
        
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        October 4, 2026 3:57pm
      - Taieri
        
        And all this could be avoided if party vote was done away with altogether. There are 71 electorate and 49 party seats in 120 members parliament. Compute the total party vote according to the number of votes that particular party candidates won in electorates, and allocate 49 party seats proportionally, to the candidates from each party list.
        Simple system, one vote, no “tactical” voting and no overhangs.
        I’d like to know why it can’t be done?
        
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        October 4, 2026 6:39pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @Taieri @ 6:39PM
        
        That is a version of what is called a parallel system, much like SM. You would have 71 FPP seats and 49 separately allocated PR seats, i.e., proportionality would be determined across just the 49 seats. In other words, it would a semi-proportional system, not a fully proportional system.
        
        So, while it could be done, Taieri, I say: no way.
        
        If we abandon MMP at some point in the future, I would advocate for it to be replaced by STV in large, multimember electoral areas.
        
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        October 4, 2026 8:09pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Or could it be that Te Pati Maori have no further supporters willing to be party candidates?
    
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    October 4, 2026 11:48am
    - Steve Todd
      
      Unlikely, Maggy. They had 31 on their list in 2023, including Tureiti, Lady Moxon (20) and John Tamihere (26).
      
      Clearly, they have done the absolute minimum to avoid any potential electoral backlash by not submitting a Party list.
      
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      October 4, 2026 12:16pm
      - Yvette
        
        With a party list of even one name, Te Pāti Māori appears on the party-vote side of the ballot, so excess electorate seats (beyond what their party-vote share entitles them to) are standard overhang seats. Parliament expands beyond 120; there is no deduction of those seats from the base of 120 under section 191(8).
        
        AI may be wrong – so of course may I be
        
        Steve, you say: … that by not putting up a list, overall proportionality would be determined across 120 seats minus its number of overhang seats, which would likely have caused a huge backlash.
        
        But they have put up a list of one, albeit the Secretary who may have signed the paper in the wrong place, and we will have to wait to see if it now does cause a huge backlash.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:32pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @Yvette @ 12:32PM
        
        But they have put up a list of one, albeit the Secretary who may have signed the paper in the wrong place, […].
        
        There is no way the party secretary signed in the wrong place. They know exactly what they’re doing. I can only repeat what I said to Maggy Wassilieff, “they have done the absolute minimum to avoid any potential electoral backlash by not submitting a Party list.”
        
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        October 4, 2026 2:19pm
  - Yvette
    
    Maori Party Leadership
    Rawiri Waititi (Co-Leader): Stated that the party chose to put “collective Māori representation ahead of building a long party list,” emphasizing a focus on winning electorates rather than competing for party vote list allocations.
    
    Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (Co-Leader): Confirmed the move aligns with their strategy announced earlier in the campaign to back their electorate candidates directly while supporting a wider political strategy.
    
    This effectively allows the broader left-leaning block (Labour + Greens + Te Pāti Māori) to maximize its total combined seat count in the House.
    
    Steve, I would repeat: whether the fact any other party can also do it – but not so easily as the don’t have race based seats to work with – does not surely change the fact, if successful it will be a misrepresentation.
    
    And that Maori Party is actually calling for a vote for a Left Coalition rather than a party.
    
    Perhaps for them it is an answer to what Willie Jackson abhors: the “tyranny of the majority”
    
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    October 4, 2026 12:00pm
    - Steve Todd
      
      @Yvette @ 12.00PM
      
      Yes, Te Pāti Māori are definitely “calling for a vote for a Left Coalition rather than a party.” They want the Electorate vote and want their supporters’ Party votes to go to Labour or the Greens. The strategy appears to be working. See, for example, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/1671964/poll-says-maori-are-turning-to-the-greens-for-their-party-vote.
      
      Yes, it would be a misrepresentation, in the same way that the Mowbray nonsense, if successful, would be a misrepresentation. Fortunately, ACT supporters among the billionaire class and here on the Kiwiblog echo chamber are unlikely, in my view, to get much traction with the general public over the few remaining weeks of the campaign.
      
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      October 4, 2026 12:53pm
      - Ghost
        
        I think there will be a few surprised and depressed people come election night at how few people play the game on the right.
        
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        October 4, 2026 12:55pm
      - Pineapple Lumps
        
        Hi Steve
        
        It seems to me that Mowbray will be trying to sway more National voters to his strategy than ACT voters on Kiwiblog. It is National through strong electorate votes that would have the potential to create an overhang not ACT or NZF who will rely more on the Party vote and whose supporters will give them their Party Vote.
        
        Like you, I don’t think Mowbrays campaign will succeed by itself. But if National voters understand the gaming that TPM are doing that will do more to tip the scales back to Nat voters choosing to party vote NZF or ACT than the Mowbray campaign.
        
        My personal stance is if our system can be gamed to create disproportionate representation then that is bad for everyone. The system should be reviewed to ensure this can’t happen. I think unfortunately this will decide this election. But as this won’t happen this election, TPM have weaponised the overhang and this is bound to create a reaction from the wider electorate. The question remains how significant will this be to the end result?
        
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        October 4, 2026 1:45pm
      - Steve Todd
        
        @Pineapple Lumps @ 1:45PM
        
        What I was meaning is that ACT supporters on Kiwiblog, and now Mowbray, are urging the centre-right to Electorate vote National, and to Party vote ACT, or NZ First if they must. But many, many, National supporters are ordinary Kiwis. They are likely to ignore being told what they should do by very wealthy people who have only their own best interests at heart.
        
        I agree with DPF and Sir John Key as to the stupidity of such a campaign. And, if you haven’t seen it, see Liam Hehir’s article from Thursday, here, https://archive.ph/EpvyO.
        
        The Te Pāti Māori campaign is limited to seven specific seats. I still say they will get no more than two overhang seats — four Electorates, but entitled to only two seats overall.
        
        National, on the other hand, have the potential to win up to eight or ten overhang seats. Fortunately, the campaign needs to be all-encompassing on the Right, all over the country, and it won’t be. For example, there is no way six or seven hundred thousand true-blue National Party voters are going to “hold their nose” and give their Party votes to ACT and NZ First. It’s just not going to happen, as much as ACT supporters on Kiwiblog would like it to happen.
        
        If this matter turns out to be a problem this election, there is only one way to combat it. Treat overhang seats the same way seats won by non-list parties are treated. Deduct them from the number of 120, then allocate the remaining seats in accordance with the Sainte-Laguë divisor.
        
        (In Germany, they used to allocate compensating seats, but that led to 709 seats in 2017 and 735 seats in 2021, whereas normally there are only 598. We do not want to jump to 148 seats in this country in 2029. They changed the rules for the 2025 Federal election, to take overhang seats off the parties that won them. That meant that 23 Constituency winners were told they could not become [MPs].) We don’t want that here, either. Imagine the fallout if three Te Pāti Māori electorate MPs were told, “Sorry guys, but you can’t be MPs this time round. Maybe next time”, because the party was proportionally entitled to only one seat.
        
        Interesting times.
        
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        October 4, 2026 3:36pm
    - cmm (semi-retired edition)
      
      Is this really gaming MMP?
      
      Isn’t this MMP working exactly as designed?
      
      Many people have raised the possibility of gaming overhang here and elsewhere. I know I raised it at the last elections and I am far from politically astute.
      
      This tells me that the “loophole” is there by design. It would have been simpler to design MMP without the overhang rule, but somehow a bunch of people spent a few sleepless nights and a bottle of ink figuring it all out.
      
      It is a feature, not a bug.
      
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      October 4, 2026 6:20pm
- Damocles11
  
  And many people on the Right will be countering with a strategic voting plan of their own, feeling they have no other choice. If National wants to continue to whinge about that, they should look closer to home for where the responsibility lies. They had opportunities to get rid of these racist electorates but didn’t. It was recommended that it be done when we changed to the MMP system, and they didn’t do it. And they didn’t do it when they campaigned on it & subsequently won elections. Cowardice and appeasement is never rewarded positively.
  
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  October 4, 2026 12:27pm
Ghost

a good view from American immigrants at our schools. Have to laugh at one lady talking about holidays they get off, then adds in, plus you get all the teacher strikes

7 Things American Parents Didn’t Expect About New Zealand Schools
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October 4, 2026 11:22am
NeverMindTheBollocks

Balls!

This man was convicted of abusing a child over several years. Beyond that, the entire story echos the Immigration Tribunal’s assessment of how hard it would be for him and his wife (who married him after he had been charged) to be deported to Samoa.

Cry me a river. He needs to go. We don’t need him. They don’t have kids. If she truly loves him then she’ll migrate to Samoa. Just not our problem.

http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/1712029/tribunal-allows-deportation-appeal-by-samoan-man-convicted-of-child-sex-abuse
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October 4, 2026 11:36am
- Sacha
  
  I agree.
  Criminal offenders of whatever stripe should be returned to their country of origin, no exceptions.
  We have enough born-and-bred dud New Zealanders to put up with as it is.
  
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  October 4, 2026 6:14pm
Jack5

Passengers in electric vehicles are more likely to get car sick, reports an inquiry by the BBC.

Has anyone heard of this in NZ?

Looking for an answer I found that “anti-static straps” are still being marketed in this country.

Below is a link to a seller who says the $14.90 strap not only prevents a milk shock to someone touching the car body, but also reduces dust collected on the vehicle.

https://www.woottons.co.nz/product/anti-static-strap/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3y0zx822wlzo
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October 4, 2026 12:25pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  Certainly static electricity reduction would reduce shocks and dust build up. It would also reduce things like radio interference. All that is basic physics.
  
  But I can’t see the link to EVs and static electricity.
  
  Instead, it would seem that it is as the article suggest – the car engine vibrations and such give our bodies and brains different movement cues that likely reduce car sickness.
  
  ie. nothing to do with static.
  
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  October 4, 2026 6:26pm
Peter S

In the UK there is a stoush about being English.
Stella Braveman said that, while she was born in England she is ethnically Asian.
She was accused of being racist against hersel, and others have piled in to reinforce that it should not be a genetic test, but simply based on where you are born.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16180257/Im-English-Yorkshire-cup-tea-declares-Green-deputy-leader-Mothin-Ali-hits-ex-home-secretary-Suella-Bravermans-claim-British-Asians-English.html

Great, having cleared that up definitively, I would like to see these people make a statement that is consistent with this about white South Africans and those from Zimbabwae, also about how Jews in Israel and Palestine should be regarded, and non “first nation” residents of the Americas, oh and not forgetting that we should all be considered as “Aotearian” as a hangi.

I am sure it will get universal approval and no pushback or subtle arguments as to why white, and white people with dna tracing back 1000-10000 years in the UK in particular, should enjoy a lesser protection of their heritage and no acceptance in other regions Asia trade off.//
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October 4, 2026 12:34pm
kowtow

When did the RMA get a spiritual value requirement and who put it in there .

I’m surprised to be reading about it only now as Act are campaigning on making sure there’s no more of that.
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October 4, 2026 1:31pm
- Ghost
  
  He said that the new Planning Act and Natural Environment Act was a significant improvement, it did not carry over the RMA’s spiritual-value requirement.
  
  “Leaving a requirement out is not the same as ruling it out. Without a clear boundary, people can still bring spiritual matters back in under broader cultural-effects provisions, leaving councils and courts to draw the line case by case.”
  
  Article
  
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  October 4, 2026 1:44pm
- cmm (semi-retired edition)
  
  AFAIK, the RMA has always had a need for consultation on social considerations. And that ensures making sure the taniwha is happy etc.
  
  I was tangentially involved in some water issues in Canterbury in the early 2000s. One of the big issues was that it would potentially mix water from two different rivers – a cultural no-no which I assume could be rectified by giving the taniwha the right amount of gold.
  
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  October 4, 2026 6:16pm
kevn

A perfect world… ‘free stuff’.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361042081/greens-promise-free-public-transport-children-students-and-community-services-card-holders
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October 4, 2026 1:54pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Greenconomics.
  
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  October 4, 2026 3:28pm
Benedict Yu

This is such crap.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361042081/greens-promise-free-public-transport-children-students-and-community-services-card-holders

Compared to even 50 years ago and certainly 100 years ago people in New Zealand are mobile. Cheap cars, buses, and compared to 30 years ago cheap air travel.

A couple of generations ago cars were expensive and air fares were unaffordable. Yes I guess there were more trains than today but you were stuck with where the tracks went.

The Greens are trying to solve a problem that does not exist. We have the highest or second highest car ownership levels globally and cheap buses.

Anyway who makes up the shortfall if fares are capped at $2? Does the magic money fairy pay the wages of the bus and train drivers, the maintenance workers, the power and fuel costs?

These are children.
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October 4, 2026 2:14pm
- rouppe
  
  The other reason it’s crap.
  
  The Greens are promoting this as reducing congestion. Is clear they’ve never taken the Kapiti line at rush hour. People are often standing there are no seats left.
  
  And they want another few thousand to take the train? If it actually runs that is.
  
  They can’t just add more carriages because it is single line a lot of the way, and the stations can’t accommodate longer trains.
  
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  October 4, 2026 3:04pm
- Pineapple Lumps
  
  Anytime the Greens promise people free stuff it is a win-win for them.
  
  The first and immediate win is they convince the bribeable people to vote for them.
  
  The second and longer term win is it creates more dependency and a weaker economic outcome that furthers the creep of Marxism.
  
  The real question here is not why does the Green Party keep throwing out these crap ideas. It is why does the media give them a free ride when throwing out these ideas? And more importantly why haven’t National-ACT-NZF come up with any solutions to fixing the corrupted media? One of the greatest threats to our democracy is a seriously biased media and the fact that nothing has been done to fix this is a major failing of our current coalition government.
  
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  October 4, 2026 3:24pm
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Why does the media give them a free ride? Because the media are no better at maths than the Greens are. Both groups were at the bottom of the cabbage maths class while pouring all their energies into school protests for climate change.
    
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    October 4, 2026 3:31pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    As I keep saying I have no issues with a communist radio station. It has an audience. But why does the government pay for it? A classic example of how National is terrified of upsetting people who will never vote for them.
    
    The peril facing New Zealand today is every much as severe as it was in 1984. Different problems, but just as threatening to the nation.
    
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    October 4, 2026 5:06pm
- Ian
  
  If their plan were fully implemented (they want to bring back long distance trains), the whole exercise would cost $21 billion – far more than the pay equity scheme at $15 billion which we’re told is unaffordable. And who wants to go on a long distance train when airfares are cheaper? And they want to get more cycleways and walking – taken off the roading budget. Don’t they understand the country is ageing and the oldies can’t walk or cycle the distances the Greens want us to…
  
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  October 4, 2026 4:18pm
- DistantObserver
  
  I don’t think this argument gets us very far. The population has gone from ~3 to ~5 million in relatively short order and public transport infrastructure has not kept up.
  For example, say Auckland had a metro/subway system going from Airport to Albany via the City, do you really think this wouldn’t be a popular option and significantly reduce road congestion?
  Virtually every large city on earth builds such infrastructure as there simply isn’t the space for every individual to get around and park a 3 x 5m chunk of metal.
  
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  October 4, 2026 6:14pm
Ghost

“Every election commitment Labour has made is fully costed and fully funded. The numbers add up and we have left room to confidently respond to whatever comes next,” Labour Finance and Economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“We will keep operating allowances at the $2.4 billion set at Budget 2026. Our announced capital commitments fit comfortably within the $12 billion of future capital allowances. We also have almost $10.5 billion of future operating allowances unallocated. We can deliver what we have promised without increasing those allowances.

Labour will back Kiwis with a responsible Fiscal Plan

Let’s throw in pay equity, Green, Māori and opportunity party policy, then relook at this
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October 4, 2026 5:05pm
rouppe

Interesting how in Spain the rental crisis is being blamed on too much investment (or as they like to call it ‘vulture’) fund involvement, but here the rental crisis is – or was – blamed on too much private (or as the Greens like to call it ‘speculators’) investment involvement.

This of course leaves the applicable government to build and maintain expensive non productive (again as they like to say) assets and let them for peanuts.

With thinking like I shudder at the accommodation facilities we are likely to end up with.
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October 4, 2026 7:09pm

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