Brooke van Velden announced:

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden announced today that a test to strengthen the citizenship by grant process will be introduced from late 2027.

“Citizenship is a commitment to our shared responsibilities and privileges. By ensuring applicants understand these responsibilities and privileges, we strengthen what it means to be a citizen of New Zealand,” says Ms van Velden. …

“People seeking citizenship should understand New Zealanders believe in certain rights, like freedom of speech, or that no one person or group is above the law. This test ensures people have sufficient knowledge of their responsibilities and privileges before receiving citizenship by grant.”

Questions will include topics such as the Bill of Rights Act, human rights, certain criminal offences, voting rights, democratic principles, the structure of government, and travel to and from New Zealand. Applicants will be required to get 75% of questions correct to pass.

This is an excellent idea, and something I have mooted for well over a decade. Many countries, such as Australia, already do this. Their sample test is here. I got 19/20 correct.

Countries are not just land masses. They have values. Making sure aspiring citizens understand the basic values of the country they wish to join is good.

The Taxpayers’ Union has released its 2026 Ratepayers Report. There’s a huge amount of data there.

The ten highest average residential rates are:

1. Porirua $5,591
2. Wellington $5,094
3. Queenstown Lakes $4,848
4. Carterton $4,771
5. Nelson $4,650
6. Tauranga $4,534
7. Whakatane $4,508
8. South Wairarapa $4,494
9. Waikato $4,410
10. Horowhenua $4,402

These stand in contrast to Upper Hutt at $3,393.

For non-residential ratepayers, the top five are:

1. Wellington $53,258
2. Kawerau $46,352
3. Hamilton $23,216
4. Tauranga $22,176
5. Greater Wellington $21,830

So the average commercial ratepayer in Wellington pays $53k to WCC and $22k to GWRC, for a Toal of $75k. And we wonder why so many businesses are closing in Wellington!

Jenna Lynch reports:

Despite previously denying any links to a troll account that ruthlessly takes the mickey out of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Labour leader Chris Hipkins has now admitted it’s a former staffer.

The admission came after Stuff asked questions about how the account could access raw footage shot in the Opposition area of parliament.

So how were Labour found out?

Last year, The Post reported Labour saying the account was not linked to the party or any of its social media staff.

But a video posted recently appears to link the two, featuring – of all things – a toaster.

n September 2024, the official Labour account showed footage of Nicola Willis popping out of a toaster saying “no I don’t think so” after a voiceover asks if National will ease up on some of the cuts – finishing on the tagline: We’re toast under National.

Fast forward to April 30 this year, the Luxury Marmite Sandwich account posted a similar video of Christopher Luxon popping out of a toaster saying “you can make a marmite sandwich”.

The curious thing about the similarity of the clips is that they are clearly footage of the same toaster which appears to be located in the Opposition wing of Parliament, where Labour is based.

Great detective work. I look forward to the Nicky hager book on this!

A 29 year old journalist took on the 54 year old Police Commissioner over the Police Physical Competency Test. It consists of:

• Push a trailer weighing approximately 450kg along for 10 metres.
• Lift a spare tyre weighing approximately 22kg out of the trailer and carry it for another 10m.
• Run 200m.
• Walk along a 5m beam elevated 0.5m off the ground.
• Clear a long jump distance of 1.8m.
• Jump over a 1m hurdle.
• Run through 3m of cones set up in a zigzag patterns.
• Crawl under two low hurdles.
• Climb through a 1.6m high “window”.
• Climb over a solid 1.8m wall.
• Drag a 74kg body dummy for 7.5m.
• Climb over a 2.2m fence.
• Run to the finish line.

The pass times were three minutes for the reporter and three minutes 16 seconds for the Police Commissioner.

The reporter finished in five minutes and two seconds.

The Commissioner blamed through it in two minutes and 16 seconds – an entire 60 seconds faster than the pass time.

Safe to say the Commissioner is no desk jockey.

Almost half of the stories on Stuff’s politics page, are quoting Helen Clark. Doesn’t this tell you everything you need to know.

Radio NZ reports:

A leaked report completed for the TAB NZ by racing insiders says the horse racing industry is “unsustainable” without further tax breaks.

It also recommends allowing TAB NZ to run online casinos, shifting the cost of the industry’s integrity board to the government and making structural changes including consolidating property ownership and management.

No, no, no, no. If they can’t stand own their own feet, then tough. Bad enough they already persuaded Parliament to steal money from bets on greyhound racing in Australia, and give profits to the horse racing industry.

An AI summary of the status quo is:

• Accelerated Depreciation & Deductions: Tax rules allow for faster depreciation of brood mares and yearlings. Breeders can deduct costs associated with breeding businesses, including insurance, veterinary services, and agistment.
• 100% Deductibility: Specific deductions have been introduced for the purchase of New Zealand-bred yearlings.
• “High-Quality” Horse Concessions: Tax reductions were introduced in 2018 targeting the purchase of high-quality horses.
• No Income Tax: The racing industry itself does not pay income tax, and it is exempt from certain levies that apply to other gambling sectors.
• Self-Returning Profits: Under the Racing Industry Act 2020, the sector can return gambling proceeds to itself (e.g., funding stakes), rather than to the general community.

So they already get very favourable treatment. And they have had bailouts in the past. No more.

The Herald reports:

Mariameno Kapa-King has split from Te Pāti Māori and announced the launch of a new political party, Te Tai Tokerau Party. 

Kapa-Kingi’s new party will campaign in the 2026 General Election in November. 

Excellent news.

A good analysis of how NZers vote by gender by Sam Crawley.

So NZ First and ACT consistently do better with men than women. Labour consistently better with women. National varies. In four elections they did better with women than men, and in six the other way.

Judith Collins was first elected to Parliament in 2002, almost 24 years ago. This is when I first met her, as I was an opposition staffer.

National only got five new MPs in 2002 – Judith Collins, Sandra Goudie, Don Brash John Key and Brian Connell. Three of those five MPs would go on to become National Party Leaders. It was overall a good intake. One, we don’t mention!

Despite being a brand new MP, Judith ran a campaign that exposed Lianne Dalziel as having lied over a leak she denied. It ended with Dalziel’s resignation. What hasn’t generally been reported is that the senior National MPs at the time were quite dismissive of Judith’s campaign against Dalziel, and basically said it was not going to achieve anything. Judith proved them wrong. She had to fight hard and battle to be taken seriously, and proved the doubters wrong.

Judith also achieved in her first term an inquiry into the effect of Agent Orange on NZ Vietnam veterans. This led to an apology and better support for veterans. Not bad for a first term opposition MP.

Judith went on to spend almost 12 years as a Cabinet Minister, where she managed a huge variety of portfolios. They included:

• ACC
• Attorney-General
• Corrections
• Defence
• Digitising Government
• Economic Development
• Energy & Resources
• Ethnic Affairs
• Foreign Direct Investment
• GCSB and SIS
• Justice
• Science, Innovation and Technology
• Space
• Police
• Public Service
• Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into the Terrorist Attack on the Christchurch Mosques
• Revenue
• Serious Fraud Office
• Tertiary Education
• Veteran’s Affairs

I can’t think of many other Ministers who would have had 20+ portfolios, and in basically every portfolio Judith had she managed them exceptionally well. She made changes where they were needed such as with science funding, law & order policy etc. Judith got through the original Three Strikes law.

In her Innovation portfolio she organised events which had NZ entrepreneurs raving to me about them. These are a bunch of people generally sceptical about government, and Judith brought stakeholders together in a way that added huge value.

Her ministerial offices were always one of the happiest and most loyal in the Beehive. Some Ministers would have tense relationships with their staff, but Judith’s office was always known as very high functioning and happy.

And of course Judith also became National Party Leader in a hospital pass in 2020. No one else could have taken over in that moment of crisis.

The Law Commission’s gain is National’s and Parliament’s loss.

(Given that David F. brings us his travel stories I am hoping he will allow this one).

A life passion of mine is a love of music – and especially going to concerts.

For a NZ perspective; upon Dave Dobbyn becoming a “Sir” I had the privilege of writing this piece and a couple of years back even had the superb Jason Kerrison and most of The Feelers play at our wedding.

Last night we (my wife Luciana and I) went to Split Enz at Spark Arena in Auckland on their Forever Tour. I first saw them in Palmerston North in 1982 as a 15 year old who pretty much ran away from home to go. I have all of their albums – and all of them auto-graphed by Eddie Rayner.

They were back after 20 years, and it was 44 years since I first saw them play. I was as excited going last night as I was at in 1982, but there was a problem. The previous week Luciana and I had been to Mumford and Sons. While I and, clearly, the rest of the crowd, loved it – Luciana not so much. Added to that, Luciana is from Brazil and, although being here for 17 years, I had a lot of trouble even beginning to explain much at of what there is to explain about the band. It did not even seem to matter when I told her that Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (who we saw last year) regarded them as his greatest influence, alongside Neil Young, and refers to the Finns as his uncles. So, I had a marker; even though I knew I would love it, if they could convince her …

Over the years some band members have come and gone so the stalwarts on the stage were Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Eddie Rayner and Noel Crombie. They were supported by Matt Eccles and James Milne. They are not young but this week, before heading to Australia, their schedule was:

• Saturday, May 2: Claudelands Arena, Hamilton
• Monday, May 4: Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch
• Wednesday, May 6: TSB Arena, Wellington
• Thursday, May 7: TSB Arena, Wellington
• Saturday, May 9: Spark Arena, Auckland
• Sunday, May 10: Spark Arena, Auckland

(Cred: https://13thfloor.co.nz/split-enz-spark-arena-may-9-2026-13th-floor-photo-gallery/#)

The concert was sold out and the stage set-up outstanding. They came out – in a typically bizarre way – played Shark Attack and any doubts from the crowd (possibly except one) evaporated and the people erupted.

The show was brilliant throughout as the busted through songs such as – Poor Boy, History Never Repeats, Nobody Takes Me Seriously, Give It A Whirl, Dirty Creature, One Step Ahead, Stuff And Nonsense, Message To My Girl, Double Happy, My Mistake, Hard Act To Follow, I Hope I Never, Six Months In A Leaky Boat, I Got You, I See Red and more.

They finished with Straight Old Line with the brilliant Noel Crombie on the drums and then the spoons – as only he could.

Tim Finn’s voice was outstanding. Even at 73 (“I was born in Te Awamutu, 25^th of June 1952”) he did not hide away for a moment from the notes written in a younger man’s bizarre clothing. His energy and musicianship also incredible.

Neil Finn was his outstanding self throughout – as well as using that wit and band repartee that makes the audience feel like they are a part of a family occasion. His guitar playing – especially long solos – reminded everyone why he got to tour with Fleetwood Mac from 2018 – 22. His voice, at 67, simply brilliant.

Eddie Rayner is one of my long-term favourite musicians. Sometimes in the shadow of the Finn’s – but the architect of the iconic Enzo project. The longer the concert went on the more you understand how incredible and integral he is to their wonderful sound. His intro to Six Months in a Leaky Boat was stunning but a long way from being his only highlight.

Noel Crombie was as only he can be. He defines the long-term quirk of the band that sometimes masks the musical brilliance. I forgot to count how many instruments he played on the night – and have no reason why he smashed up a guitar as if he was Eddie van Halen (Neil Finn looked bemused too). More than anything though – he looked as if he was enjoying the night of his life … and it was infectious.

Matt Eccles on the drums and James Mile, bass, were both of the highest quality and, impressively, had great presence while deferring throughout to the core four.

Some songs they probably could have just played the instruments and the crowd would have provided the words. It was a deeply impressive performance … but had they won over the Brazilian? I asked … and got; “I really liked them. Everything!”

It is very hard to overstate the influence of Split Enz (and Crowded House) on NZ culture. When the great Australia rugby coach, Rod Macqueen, coached his last game, vanquishing the British Lions, in 2001 – his words to the crowd were: “To everyone out there, it’s bloody good to be Australian.” Last night I felt the same being a Kiwi.

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The Post reports:

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown sent a letter to Heart of the City expressing concerns about its governance prior to Viv Beck being stood down as the organisation’s chief executive.

As far as I can tell Viv Beck was mainly stood down because politicians such as Wayne Brown and Chloe Swarbrick hated the fact she would say that the CBD isn’t particularly safe. They seemed to think that the answer is to stop talking about it, and then everyone will feel safer!

The problem for Beck is her organisation is funded by the Council. That means that they can’t be a strong independent voice for CBD businesses, as you can’t upset your paymaster.

My view is that no business groups should be funded by Councils. They should be funded by businesses who choose to join or fund them, because they see value in them.

One of the motivations behind the US Voting Rights Act is the implicit assumption that you need majority black electorates for blacks to get elected. Basically that whites will vote for a white candidate and blacks for a black candidate.

Well in Virginia, there was a white candidate and a black candidate for Governor. The polls shows that 89% of black voters were voting for the white candidate and 54% of white voters were voting for the black candidate. They voted for the candidate based on their party, not their race.

Of the 60 black members of the House of Representatives, only around a third come from majority black districts. Almost a quarter come from districts where blacks make up under 30%. So there are many examples of white voters voting for black representatives.

I’m a big fan of history and knowing who or what places are named after – whether good or bad. So for those interested, these are who or what NZ cities are named after.

• Auckland – George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland (1784 – 1849, First Lord of the Admiralty, Governor-General of India
• Christchurch – probably named after Christ Church, Oxford
• Dunedin – Dùn Èideann, the Gaelic name for Edinburgh
• Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton (1820 – 1864), British naval officer, killed in NZ Wars
• Hastings – Warren Hastings (1732 – 1818), 1st Governor-General of Bengal
• Hutt – Sir William Hutt (1801 – 1882), Chairman of the NZ Company
• Invercargill – Cargill’s mouth of the river, named after William Walter Cargill (1784 – 1860), founder of Otago settlement
• Gisborne – William Gisborne 1825 – 1898), 1st NZ Cabinet Secretary
• Kapiti -boundary of Tara and Rangitāne
• Napier – Sir Charles James Napier (1782 – 1853), British major-general, stoped the customary burning alive of widows in India
• Nelson – Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758 – 1805, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte, won Battle of Trafalgar
• New Plymouth – named after Plymouth City in Devon
• Palmerston North – Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784 – 1865), UK Prime Minister
• Rotorua – te reo for second lake
• Tauranga – te reo for “resting place,” or “safe anchorage
• Wellington – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769 – 1852), UK Prime Minister, defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
• Whanganui – te reo for big bay or big harbour
• Whangarei – unclear. possibly te reo for to wait for Reitū and Reipae

1. Early categorization of students and direction into narrow pathways creates carnage.

When at teachers’ college in the 1990s I came across a text with a photo of a Maori man doing road work and the caption: “Where would we be for roads in New Zealand without the Maori worker?”

You could change the photo/caption today to: “Where would be in Rugby/League without the Maori/Pasifika players?”

In the mid-1980s, when I started high-school, the entry cohort did a couple of flimsy tests and, without any understanding of the children’s previous contexts, or home life, etc – we were placed in one of 3Academic1, 3A2, 3Commerce1, 3C2, 3Practical1, 3P2 and a group in 3Thanksforcomingandpleasedon’tstay long – unless you are good at rugby.

I happened to be in 3A1, then 4A1 and had the dubious benefit of learning French and German – which to be fair did help me know how to pronounce words in war comics. It is of note that;

– only two out of 30 in my class were Maori. And – at least 30% of the school population was Maori.

– there was a tiny bit of movement between the A1 and A2 classes – but none between the categories.

– plus – I got caned too often – especially by the French teacher who didn’t appreciate someone saying F%$k followed by “pardon my French”.

For anyone who thinks that this kind of categorisation does not happen today – I can assure you it is rife – just not as blatant. Many schools – even prominent ones – see their Year 9 intake in three ways;

– someone with high academic ability/potential – and therefore of benefit to the school’s reputation.

– someone with high sporting ability/potential – and therefore of benefit to the school’s reputation.

– someone else.

A positive article in the Herald this week talked about a number of schools trying to turn around their achievement data. There was one statement though, that indicates the deflection that schools use when challenged on their LEAVERS data: “School-leaver data counts those who leave mid-year for a job or an apprenticeship, for example, which is more likely among those at schools with high EQI scores.” There are three problems with that statement;

– very few schools do exit interviews or keep any record as to how many of the students move into jobs or apprenticeships and the stats do not back up the assertion. For instance, for Northland College (featured in the article) 50% of their students leave before 17yo. In 2023 they had 58 school leavers and 38 were not enrolled in further study (20 were in some form).

– In fact low to mid-range EQI schools (ie wealthier ones) have a greater proportion go into work/apprenticeships or further study

– we have a significant decline in the number of apprenticeships across the country and only a 50% completion rate. I often hear people say that the “know of tradies making a great income – running a business, etc”. No doubt it is true that there are some but we seldom refer to the carnage of non-completion and that many who begin end up as long-term low-income labourers – if working at all.  It also does not tell you about the struggles of those tradies when, for example, the construction sector is weak, or how often they have to go through the task of laying off staff.

As every genuine sports coach knows – early specialisation is fraught with long-term problems. It is the same in academic/vocational learning.

2. What “vocations” will be needed, lucrative or even exist at all in the child’s future is completely unpredictable.

This is more true now than ever before.

Two quite distinct examples make this clear.

– For much of the past 20 years “coding” was a vocational course/pathway the was pushed widely. Now, a google search using AI tells me:

“Decline in Entry-Level Hiring: Since the rise of AI coding tools, early-career software engineers (ages 22–30) have experienced a decline in employment, as companies use AI to replace tasks traditionally done by junior developers.”

– Even building is likely to face huge changes. Here is a stunning example from Japan. It is well worth a read/watch. The headline is:

“This startup built Japan’s first 3D-printed two-story home. It wants to solve the country’s construction crisis”

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/07/business/japans-3d-printing-construction-sector-crisis-hnk-spc

At a deeper – and much more important – level, education has to be driven by the need to allow the whole person to develop. Functionality is of far less importance than humanity. People taking a positive place in society exceeds that of just serving the econo

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Stuff reports:

Just six months out from the election, Stuff understands rank-and-file Te Pāti Māori MPs are considering whether to break away from the party.

Labour this week confirmed its candidates for the seven Māori electorates. But Te Pāti Māori is still working out who will run for the party.

That search for candidates will become even trickier if it loses sitting MPs.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a young star of Te Pāti Māori who holds the Hauraki-Waikato seat, is said to be considering her future with the party.

She has been speaking to her electorate, her supporters and iwi, about what her next steps as their representative should be.

Back on 28 November I blogged:

I understand that Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke is consulting her electorate over the next two weeks on whether she should remain with Te Pati Maori under its current leadership.

Only took six months for others tp catch up 🙂

With Kapa-Kingi sitting in a limbo-land not quite in, but not quite out of Te Pāti Māori, and Maipi-Clarke actively considering her future, there is just one other rank-and-file MP left in the party.

That is Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara.

Last year, Kaipara supported Kapa-Kingi during the feud between the Tai Tokerau MP and the party’s leadership.

Again in November I noted:

Also new MP Oriini Kaipara is battling with TPM leadership over control of her own electorate, and there is speculation the Greens may be a backup option for her if the TPM schism is not resolved.

It will be interesting to see what they decide.

The scale of losses for UK Labour in their local elections is beyond massive. So far it is:

• Lost 59% of their Councillors
• Lost 56% of their Labour controlled Councils
• Lost 100% (3/3) of their Labour Mayors
• Lost 15% of their Scottish Parliament MSPs
• Lost 80% of their Welsh Assembly MPs

I predicted at the end of 2025 that Starmer would not survive the year. I think that is still looking a good prediction.

The Herald reports:

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the fees-free university scheme, which covers the final year of tertiary education study for students, will be scrapped in the upcoming Budget. 

Peters was asked by Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan whether the scheme, introduced under Dame Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government, was “wasteful spending” and whether the coalition would cut it. 

“I’ll give you a Budget leak right here, right now, the answer is yes,” he said. 

“We are going to reshape and repurpose it for the trades and all sorts of industries where we do need it and where we can get a far better payback for our money and pay far less money doing it.”

Exceptionally pleased to see the fees free policy go. It was a hugely expensive wasteful policy from Chris Hipkins that subsidised students from wealthy families and did nothing to increase participation from lower income families.

Less pleased to see Winston (presumably) unilaterally reveal Budget decisions. He would not tolerate that if he was Treasurer.

I’m saddened by this. I don’t think you should be pushed out of your job due to one bad thing you said. We need less cancel culture, not more. People should be able to make mistakes and not lose their jobs because of them.

I do think the incident was reportable, just as if it had been a press secretary who had said what she said.

If Maiki had done a public statement similar to the above the day after it happened, then the final paragraph would not have occurred (in my opinion).

NZ First voted against the Singapore free trade agreement in 2000. It is that FTA that has led to this latest extension:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he discussed the potential for other countries to join a landmark deal that ensures essential supplies like fuel and pharmaceuticals make their way to New Zealand during a crisis. 

The deal, signed between New Zealand and Singapore today ensures essential supplies like food and fuel will continue to move between the countries during times of crisis. 

Singapore, which imports 90% of its food, will continue to get food from New Zealand, while New Zealand, which imports 100% of its refined fuels (petrol, diesel, and jet fuel), will continue to get fuel from Singapore. 

The deal guarantees neither country imposes export restrictions on the other for an agreed list of goods. 

So far, some of the essentials identified by New Zealand and Singapore include food, fuels, medical equipment and construction materials.

This agreement with Singapore is our biggest protection against losing all our imported fuel as the Iran crisis continues. It means Singapore has our back, no matter what. And if NZ First had their way, we never would have had this agreement. They voted against the FTA back in November 2000.

The Spinoff reports:

Both Labour and National governments have considered the idea of breaking up the big two but ultimately decided against it. A 2023 analysis by MBIE suggested forcibly breaking up the supermarkets could cost as much as $3.8 billion over 20 years, mostly due to the loss of economies of scale. It could make wholesale and distribution costs higher, which could in turn mean higher prices for consumers.

Some solutions end up costing consumers more!

The problem is a shortage of grocery stores. And the reason for that is a shortage of land to build them on. There aren’t many sites that are big enough for a supermarket and near enough customers to be viable. That makes them very expensive. Whenever a suitably large site does come up, the big two snap it up. 

That is the real problem.

Housing advocate Marko Garlick, writing on his personal Substack, proposed an idea called the National Policy Statement on Supermarket Development.

He argues that with a simple regulatory statement, the housing minister could order councils to make zoning changes that would instantly enable hundreds more supermarket-sized sites in appropriate areas.

The minister could require councils to zone for a certain number of large-scale retail sites based on growth projections, remove all anti-competitive zoning rules, or allow smaller “metro” supermarkets as-of-right across medium-density residential areas. He could also state that supermarkets are a “matter of national significance” which should be considered in all consenting decisions.

Garlick’s concept essentially copies the architecture of the 2020 National Policy Statement on Urban Development by Labour’s Phil Twyford which required councils to zone for more housing and allow taller buildings in central areas. 

This seems like a worthwhile policy – take what has worked in housing, and apply it to supermarkets.