Matua Kahurangi writes:

New Zealand should be disgusted. A 46-year-old member of a wealthy family has been convicted of possessing and importing over 11,000 files of child sexual abuse material, including videos of toddlers being tortured, children being urinated on, and sadistic sexual acts involving pre-pubescent girls. Despite the seriousness of these crimes, their identity has been permanently suppressed. Not only their own name, but also their family name and the name of their high-profile company.

To make matters worse, this offender managed to shave their sentence down to just two years and five months in prison – after Judge Maria Pecotic handed out a massive 56% discount. Why? Because of so-called “good character,” mental health claims, remorse, and most shockingly, a $50,000 “donation” to two charities. That seems to me more like a bribe in exchange for leniency.

Name suppression, after conviction, should be exceedingly rare and only for very minor offending.

The 56% discount will no longer be available in future, with a new 40% cap. But it is the suppression more than length of sentence which is the outrage.

It is also very unfair on other members of wealthy families in their 40s. On social media several high profile people have been incorrectly named.

I hope the Crown or media appeal the name suppression decision.

A fascinating post by Stephen McBride. He notes:

A single uranium pellet the size of a gummy bear contains as much energy as 140 barrels of oil. It’s the cleanest, safest energy source known to man.

And:

HALEU, the best fuel for next-gen reactors, is often packaged in ceramic armor called TRISO, which keeps the fuel dense and safe.

TRISO comes in indestructible snooker ball-sized pebbles. Each one stores enough power to run thousands of homes.

TRISO doesn’t melt. It doesn’t leak. It traps radioactivity inside, even in extreme accidents. That’s why the DoE calls it the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth. Even the NRC recognizes it as ‘functional containment.’

Here’s one entrepreneur on the magic of TRISO: “You know those giant concrete containment domes that surround old reactors in case something goes wrong? With TRISO, we’ve basically engineered the dome into every single fuel particle.”

TRISO gives microreactors clean, compact, constant power, with no meltdown risk, and no need for massive containment buildings.

Human innovation is incredible.

A guest post from Nick Hanne of the Free Speech Union:

I recently discovered that perhaps the most vocal and unabashed proxy in New Zealand for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lives in a street adjoining my own.

His name is Morgan Xiao and while I don’t believe in doxxing people and have no intention of disclosing his exact address, Mr Xiao from all appearances has no problem advertising that he is a Howick resident at every chance he gets. His very public campaign to intimidate and silence Chinese pro-democracy figures particularly here in East Auckland is why I found out about him in the first place.  

In my work for the Free Speech Union, I’ve had the honour of meeting with the brave individuals Mr Xiao has targeted and seen first-hand in our district court his bully tactics in action. Over the past year, we successfully supported local journalist Portia Mao in overturning a court order made under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, which silenced her investigative reporting into Xiao as an aspiring local government representative. Xiao has unsuccessfully run for the Howick Local Board, is still (as far as I’m aware) the secretary for the local Labour Party electorate committee, and pursues a relentless online campaign against anyone in NZ who questions the CCP’s growing influence. 

The more I’ve learned about this case, the more I’ve come to realise as I walk my neighbourhood of Howick each evening that the issue of foreign interference from China is far more serious than I first thought.                                                                          

There are close to 300,000 people of Chinese descent living today in NZ, almost all of whom are here due to the immigration boom of the past 35 years. Most Kiwis never bothered during this period to understand what the new arrivals from China were leaving behind or for that matter what many of them had lived through in the second half of the 20th century. Mao’s Little Red Book, the Long March, and the Cultural Revolution may have been vaguely familiar to those of us who did School Certificate History, but times had apparently changed. China had since entered, it was argued, a new phase of development. By 1991 communism around the globe had either collapsed or undertaken a centrally managed capitalist transformation of sorts. China, due to radical reforms by Deng Xiaoping and his successors seemed to lead the way in this respect. Even the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, while obviously brutal, could be twisted by some to explain why it was better not to rush the pace of liberalisation, but to let China evolve in its own way. Civil liberties would inevitably follow especially if trade could be further opened up. Greater exposure to the West, too, would do the trick. Money blinded many of us to the ultimately inflexible characteristics of authoritarianism. 

The notion that modern China was too complex a matter for regular Kiwis to wrap their heads around also served a convenient political and economic purpose. It was a benign economic cashcow. 

Yet that excuse just won’t cut it anymore. 

In 2020 two serving members of the NZ Parliament, both expatriate Chinese citizens with murky links to the CCP, Raymond Huo of Labour and Dr Jian Yang of National, were quietly shown the Beehive door and dropped from their party lists. To be frank, this particular news didn’t come as a shock to me as ten years earlier I’d frequently sparred with the heavily pro-Beijing views of Yang over the question of China’s intentions when he had been my Politics professor during my postgraduate studies at the University of Auckland. What did take me aback was the lack of public attention such a major disclosure seemed to elicit when our two biggest political parties (under some sort of mutual understanding) quietly made the issue go away.  

People’s Liberation Army warships only months ago ran firing drills in the Tasman Sea.  

Many exporters continue to argue that even if we really wanted to, pivoting away from China, our number one trading partner, would be economic suicide.   

And for close to ten years dissidents based in this country campaigning for democracy and human rights in China have faced increasing levels of intimidation, blackmail and even violence from the CCP’s United Front, an ostensibly civilian network of Beijing sympathisers willing to bribe, bully and blackmail in order to do the party’s bidding. 

However, Mr Xiao, while more vocal than others, is not a geopolitical mastermind. From what I’ve come to understand of his modus operandi, he is more likely a useful idiot. NZ, like many other liberal democracies, has made it ridiculously easy for such stooges of ruthless authoritarian regimes to manipulate our laws, our media and politicians for subversive ends. Xiao’s pursuit of journalists like Portia Mao and Justin Wong are cases in point. Yet too many politicians, business leaders and educational institutions appear by and large to have their heads in the sand. 

The United Front’s activities have already had a serious chilling effect on free speech in the Chinese community in this country. Many Kiwi-Chinese are concerned, but are now too intimidated to express their true thoughts in public for fear of the CCP’s tools of surveillance through digital means and local informants. Leverage can now be applied in myriad ways by a regime which understands that money talks, and failing that, interrogation and imprisonment of loved ones serves as a ready backup. We aren’t alone though. UK authorities recently remonstrated with Chinese officials for advertising in the UK a cash bounty to anyone who aided in the arrest of 19 pro-democracy activists, many from Hong Kong, who had sought refuge in Britain. The exasperated UK foreign secretary described China’s actions as “transnational repression”, but more serious diplomatic measures have failed to materialise. Closer to home, blatant extra-judicial operations by China’s Ministry of State Security in countries like Fiji should have sent a stark message to liberal democracies like ours when two years ago dozens of MSS officers flew in to Suva and arrested dozens of wanted individuals in a massive forced repatriation. What made the operation so unique was that China ignored Fiji’s legal system entirely. No warrants were sought. No permission was asked for. They just did it. 

The FBI just last week opened an office in our capital city. Somewhat predictably the reaction from some of our local commentators was scathing, accusing the government of caving to Trumpian pressure and a supposedly sinister Five Eyes surveillance strategy. What has been forgotten in much of this coverage is that China set up its own extra-judicial police station in Auckland not only without seeking permission, but without NZ authorities even having any knowledge of its existence. A report by Swedish human rights group Safeguard Defenders uncovered at least 110 such “police stations” in 53 countries.  

Unsurprisingly, Chinese dissidents continue to be a prime target of this CCP initiative. 

My evening walk around Howick is a reminder, however, that this destructive trend need not be thought of as inevitable. 

Most Chinese have come to NZ for a better life where their kids can experience freedom, educational opportunities, and an unspoilt environment.  

There are pro-democracy campaigners, journalists and community leaders in this neighbourhood who refuse to back down to the CCP. Portia Mao is one of them and when I met recently with Portia and a group of some fifty of her supporters in Howick, I learned of further stories of threats, intimidation and surveillance. 

Another is an East Auckland local named Freeman Yu, a pro-democracy leader in the Chinese community who is the sole survivor of a horrific car crash which occurred when he and two other activists were driving to Wellington to present a petition to Parliament calling for resistance to CCP interference.  Concerns raised with NZ Police about possible vehicle tampering were never properly investigated and the vehicle was destroyed soon after the Serious Crash Unit concluded its investigation. Freeman, who still carries the scars of his serious injuries, is one of the bravest individuals I’ve met. He points out that NZ can be a trading partner with China, but such a relationship cannot come at the expense of our democratic principles. The two countries do not, he emphasises, have shared values.  Party officials describe this system as “democracy with Chinese characteristics”. But dissidents like Freeman will tell you that there is nothing democratic or intrinsically Chinese about the one-party state.  

Beyond those brave Chinese voicing opposition, there are a few individuals in this country like Canterbury University academic Anne-Marie Brady and former National MP Simon O’Connor doing their bit to raise the alarm. Both have been subject to surveillance by the CCP, although neither has backed down. We cannot in good conscience let this situation continue. I for one refuse to let it happen in my own backyard. 

I think it’s about time more of us started speaking up.

The Herald reports:

A woman with an extensive history of stealing went on a five-month crime spree, spanning three regions and ripping off leading retailers. 

Debra Christine Jupp’s actions have been lambasted by Judge Noel Cocurullo, who labelled her behaviour “pathetic”, but she has narrowly avoided prison after pleading for a “final chance”.

“All that you’re doing here is ripping off retailers who have to add money to their bottom line for everybody else just because of your selfish, dishonest, thieving behaviour,” the judge said in the Hamilton District Court yesterday. …

“She is 47, she has 90 previous convictions, 55 of which are for dishonesty.”

I suspect she has already had a few final chances.

After taking a start point of 15 months’ jail, the judge agreed to convert that to six months’ home detention and ordered her to pay $3348 reparation.

He would also judicially monitor her sentence.

“You walk into one retail shop and get pinged with another dishonesty, I’m your judge. Police will note that.

“Don’t you dare come back asking for a merciful approach.”

This is the part that interests me. He has basically said he will be her Judge if she offends again. I wasn’t aware a Judge could do that.

I actually think that is a good idea. If an offender gets a different judge each time, they are more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt. But if it is the same Judge that heard the same story last time, they hopefully won’t be.

This data set is far more important/definitive than those that schools put out in February as that only covers the students per year group.

As NZ is finally catching up with what I, and others, have been saying for the last 10 years – this data set shows that there are some great examples – but a HUGE amount to improve. There are MASSIVE gaps (which of course start well before high school – in fact – well before Primary School in many cases),

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/the-great-divide-large-cohorts-of-maori-pacific-and-poorer-students-more-than-a-year-behind-in-maths-and-writing/W6XMWGMHLNEC7J72LR4PXY6CWM

Since the early 1990s – this is probably the most definitive time in our education history. Curricula and the national qualifications system out for consultation, huge disengagement with the system, etc.

Processing the annual data the Ministry of Education sends me is always interesting and there are some genuine highlights (I will write on those early next week).

For every high school the process looks at in ranked order (including their Equity Index Number – which replaced “deciles”)

– School size.

– NCEA Level 2 and 3 for Leavers

– University Entrance (UE) for Leavers

– The gap between L3 and UE

– The gaps – by  school and aggregate – between ethnicities.

– Retention until 17 years of age.

– Progression to Degree Level study.

– Data split between the EQI 10ths.

– Data that shows which schools are thriving above their demographics.

– Case study data on the Super 8 Boys’ Schools and the 13 Boys’ Schools in the South Island seeking improvement.

– System wide data gender, ethnicity, etc.

(NB: The UE statistics include equivalents for Cambridge and IB).

For those who would like the data set please email me: [email protected]

• if it is for personal use – a donation is appreciated.
• if it is for professional/business/school use – I will send the data set with an invoice.

Alwyn Poole

The Reserve Bank has dropped the OCR by a further 0.25% to 3.0%. They note:

The US has increased tariffs on their imports from most countries. US tariffs on New Zealand goods have increased from 10% to 15%. This tariff may hurt our exporters, particularly those who are reliant on the US. 

Higher tariffs will reduce global trade and economic activity. Inflation will be higher in the US as their imports will now cost more. However, if the US buys fewer international goods, it could lower prices for other countries including New Zealand. 

High uncertainty about tariffs is causing some businesses to delay investment and hiring plans, both in New Zealand and overseas.

Tariffs are bad enough by themselves, but tariff rates that literally can change every few weeks are far worse in terms of business confidence and planning.

Inflation is near the top of our 1 to 3% target range. We expect inflation to decrease next year. For example, prices for electricity and dairy are unlikely to continue increasing as much as they have recently. 

I hope they are right. I am not sure with electricity prices because the simple reality is we have a shortage of supply, and until you fix that pressure will be upwards on pricing.

Interestingly the Reserve Bank is forecasting the OCR will drop a further 0.5% and stay below 3% though to 2028. That would be good if it eventuates.

Here’s what different level of interest rates mean for a $500,000 25 year mortgage on a two year rate.

• Aug 23 – 7.4%, monthly repayments $3,663
• Aug 24 – 6.7%, monthly repayments of 3,439
• Aug 25 – 4.9%, monthly repayments of $2,894

So a family with that $500,000 mortgage will be paying around $550 a month less than a year ago and almost $800 a month less than two years ago.

Radio NZ cover the timeline of the Police handling of allegations against Beehive Press Secretary Michael Forbes. Basically the summary is:

• Around 40 senior police officers were notified of the allegations by e-mail and text
• Deputy Commissioner Kura said it had gone to too many people and was recalled. This means no one knows who of the 40 saw it before it was recalled. As then Commissioner Coster was on leave, it is certain he didn’t
• Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell told the police communications team that it had gone to too many people

What we don’t know, is why no-one in the hierarchy didn’t follow through and notify the Beehive, as the new Commissioner (and common sense) says should have happened.

Commissioner Coster was on leave, and has said he never knew about it.

The Acting Commissioner was Jevon McSkimming. Did he see the e-mail before it was recalled? Considering he has now been charged himself with having inappropriate (illegal) material on his devices, maybe he didn’t see the Forbes allegations as a big deal?

The one person we know who did read it was Deputy Commissioner Kura. As she only retires in November, she should front up and explain what actions she did or didn’t take.

Stuff reports:

How can you be Māori, but not have New Zealand citizenship?

By not being born in New Zealand of course. The same way you can be Chinese and not have Chinese citizenship if you were not born in China, and your parents were not Chinese nationals. If you are are a third generation Chinese New Zealander, you don’t have automatic Chinese citizenship. And likewise if you are a third generation Maori living in say the UK, you don’t have NZ citizenship.

Bryers Ruddock’s grandfather was 1959 All Black Ron Bryers, his mother was famed singer Rhonda Bryers, known as ‘The Voice of New Zealand’, and his great-great-grandfather Mohi Tāwhai signed the Waitangi Treaty. His father, Scots-born Jock Ruddock was a celebrated wrestler who once tag teamed with Andre the Giant.

All great stuff, but all of it has nothing to do with citizenship eligibility.

But Bryers Ruddock is struggling to secure citizenship for his US-born children.

He was born in Australia when his mother was performing there, and moved back here within a month of his birth, before spending most of his childhood in Hawaii where Rhonda Bryers had a performing residency.

Bryers has a right to citizenship. He should have applied for it before he had children. Now as he did live here for a while, I would advocate that in his case, discretion should apply. But there is a difference between using discretion, and what he is demanding.

He moved back to Wellington in April with his three Hawaiian-born children, Hōhepa, Peatarangi and Īhāia, wanting to re-connect with whanau, but was dismayed to find there was no easy pathway to securing citizenship for them – in part because he too was born offshore.

The children are now technically overstayers and are unable to attend school.

Again, he should have applied for citizenship before moving here.

Stuff first reported on their case last month – since then, Bryers Ruddock has become more confident he’ll be able to navigate the system and eventually regularise their status.

But he has asked for an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing to resolve it faster, saying he owes it to all offshore Māori who risk being left without Kiwi citizenship. …

“I’d like to push it to where we can actually change the policy and give back to Māori born all over the world. This is a bigger problem than just me and my children: it’s something that needs to be brought up.”

This is a terrible idea. He is advocating that there be two classes of citizens – those with a Maori ancestor and those without.

“It makes no sense for indigenous people to be disconnected from New Zealand, New Zealand citizenship and being unable to return to the land that is rightfully theirs,” said Green immigration spokesman Ricardo Menendez-March, adding that fellow MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who holds the party’s Overseas New Zealanders portfolio, was developing policy on it.

You know it is a terrible idea, because the Greens are in favour of it. The Greens believe that all of New Zealand belongs to Maori, and that people like Xu-Nan should be second class citizens.

Imagine if say Scotland adopted a law that said anyone with a Scottish ancestor had the right to citizenship in Scotland. So people in Scotlandwho are migrants would have inferior citizenship rights to anyone who has Scottish ancestry.

It is ludicrous that someone whose family may have lived in say the United States for the last 100 years should have a right to NZ citizenship because say their great great grand father was Maori.

Stuff reports:

Wellington City Council’s outgoing transport and infrastructure manager, Brad Singh, has given one final briefing on the city’s most controversial project – the Golden Mile.

“At this stage, we will be anticipating that the contract – all going well – will be signed in November of this year,” Singh said.

His comment left a gaping elephant in the room – the election. With Tory Whanau no longer in the running for re-election as mayor, there is no certainty that a new mayor would support signing the contract.

We can only hope.

In principle rejuvenating the Golden Mile is a good thing., But there are two major issues around this particular project.

The first is the aspect which would ban cars from the Golden Mile, especially Lambton Quay. Proponents say it will be great for businesses as it will make it easier for people to come and shop by bus or cycle or walk etc. Opponents say it will kill off many businesses as people won’t shop somewhere they can drive to (or near) and park near.

As far as I can tell around 95% of building and business owners on the Golden Mile are vehemently against banning cars from it. They are convinced it will damage or destroy their businesses. I prefer their views on the impact to those of town planners and councillors who don’t actually lose a cent of revenue if they are wrong.

Basically listen to your customers.

If you remove the car ban, then the rest of the project is fairly uncontroversial.

The other issue is the cost. If rates had been increasing at say 4% a year instead of 20%, then nice to have projects like the Golden Mile would make more sense. Also if the Council didn’t have a track record of costs blowout that see projects come in at 100% or more over initial budget, I’d be more keen on it.

MMP is meant to deliver a proportional Parliament. That is how it is designed, and how it was sold.

There is one aspect to it though that can make Parliaments unproportional. It is overhang seats – when a party wins more electorates than their share of the party vote would entitle them to.

We have had overhangs to date, but so far they have not change the outcome of an election. The bloc with the most votes has got to form government. But there is a very real chance that next election, you may get a government that had fewer votes cast for it than the opposition.

The history of overhang seats is:

• 2023: TPM had two overhang seats, winning six electorates but only 3.1% party vote
• 2014: United Future had one overhang seat, winning one electorate but only 0.2% party vote
• 2011: Maori Party has one overhang seat, winning three electorates but only 1.4% party vote
• 2008: Maori Party has two overhang seats, winning five electorates but only 2.4% party vote
• 2005: Maori Party has one overhang seats, winning four electorates but only 2.1% party vote

Parliament normally has 120 MPs, so you need 61 to govern. A one seat overhang doesn’t do much as with a 121 seats, 61 is still a majority.

But a two seat overhang means you need 62 seats to govern, so a bloc that won 61 seats on the party vote could find itself unable to govern.

And on a three seat overhang, a party vote result which saw Bloc A win 61 seats and Bloc B 59 seats could see Bloc B go to 62 seats and govern despite winning fewer party votes.

There are two credible ways this could happen in 2026.

1. TPM win all seven Maori seats but less than 3.5% party vote, which gives them a three seat or greater overhang. National, ACT and NZ First may have got 51% of the effective vote and 61 seats but Labour, Greens and TPM on 49% of the vote form Government as overhang takes them from 59 seats to 62.
2. National wins 44 electorates but has a party vote of less than 33% and they get a three seat or greater overhang. In this case Labour, Greens and TPM may have got 51% of the effective vote, but National, ACT and NZF would get to form Government due to the overhang.

I regard both these outcomes as bad. The Government should be made up of parties than won more votes than the opposition. MMP came in to stop what happened in 1978 and 1981.

I suspect the media would regard scenario 1 as perfectly fine and not newsworthy but regard scenario 2 as the end of democracy and a stolen election.

There are two ways to fix the problem of unproportional results due to overhang. They are:

1. A party that wins more electorates than its party vote entitles it to, simply doesn’t keep them. So if National won 43 electorates, but was only entitled to 40 on the party vote, then it would have the three seats where its candidates got the fewest number of votes go to the second place getter.
2. You increase the size of Parliament so the number of MPs is proportional. This would be only a minor increase if say National won 43 electorates on an entitlement of 40. But if TPM won 7 electorate on an entitlement of four, you would have to increase Parliament by around 75%.

My preference is (1).

The CTU (and FOL before it) used to be the main body representing working class union members. But we can see from its leadership that it has been a very very long time since it has had a working class president. Their leaders over time were:

1. Fintan Walsh (1952-63), Seaman
2. Tom Skinner (1959-79), Plumber
3. Jim Knox (1979-87), Truck driver and watersider
4. Ken Douglas (1987-99), Truck driver
5. Ross Wilson (1999 – 07, Lawyer
6. Helen Kelly (2007-15), Teacher
7. Richard Wagstaff (2015-25). public sector union official
8. Sandra Grey (2025-), Academic

So the first four presidents were all working class. But since Ken Douglas, every single one has been white collar. It is probably unthinkable that a truck driver today could become CTU President.

Radio NZ reports:

A West Auckland lawn mower says he’s received death threats after a Facebook post from Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere accused him of vandalising election hoardings.

Emerald Lawns operator Steve Howley told RNZ he didn’t go to work on Thursday because he was fearful of being attacked.

But, Tamihere said the issue is now with the police who will determine the “veracity” of the claims.

Pictures of Howley and his work vehicle were posted to Tamihere’s Facebook page, who urged his follow to help identify the owner the vehicle and thanked “vigilant bystanders” for capture the footage, following the vandalism of election hoarding for Tamaki Makaurau byelection candidate Oriini Kaipara.

Howley said he was there cleaning his own signs, which had also been vandalised, and had no idea he’d been photographed. …

Howley said he had since filed a report with the police.

“I’m not even into politics. I have no interest in any political party. All I’ve tried to do is get a small business off the ground and build it… this could damage my business. It’s just crazy, it’s nuts.” he said.

No apology, no retraction. Just a torrent of online abuse. It would be very simple to verify that he had his own signs there.

You may also have seen that Hobson’s Pledge used a stock image (purchased from a stock image library) of a woman for one of their campaigns. The woman complained (fair enough) but here’s what TPM did:

Te Pāti Māori were quick to post images of the billboard on their social media pages along with the personal phone numbers of people working at LUMO. This was the contact information of staff – from the finance team to marketing to sales. They have all received huge numbers of abusive phone calls, including threats. This was explicitly what Te Pāti Māori wanted. They said they “encouraged” their supporters to contact the staff from the company.

As of about an hour or two ago, the party has removed the post from their Facebook and Instagram. But it was too late. The comments on the post itself were atrocious, but the intimidation campaign they instigated was unacceptable.

My own address was posted publicly also. We were told we were going to get “smashed”, “death to all white people” was called for, and there were open plans discussed to destroy the digital billboards.

This isn’t a bug, its a feature.

Andrea Vance reports:

Wellington’s $400m sewage sludge treatment plant has seen its budget surge by “a ball park” 20%, adding around $80 million to the original estimate, The Post understands.

The blowout was revealed to Wellington City councillors in a public-excluded session last week. Further details are expected on August 14, but it’s not clear when and if those will be made public.

Another white elephant. It was actually costed at $200 million in 2021 In 2023 it was $300 million. In 2024 it was $400 million and now to looks to be close to $500 million. This is why rates increase by 20%, because they are unable to deliver a project on budget.

A Rotorua Council worker got $7,500 judgment for lost wages over what is basically process issues. But the substance of their behaviour makes me think they should have got nothing. Here’s what they did.

• Absent for nine days in his first 10 weeks on the job
• Stopped turning up for work on November 6 (three months in)
• Did not respond to e-mails or texts over two weeks
• On 21 November asked to attend a meeting over his absences
• He emailed his manager a medical certificate for an absence of 11 days from November 6 to December 18, but this covers 30 days. Did not respond to six queries over the certificate
• Another meeting proposed in November, which he did not respond to
• On 1 December told to attend a meeting on 5 December with termination possible
• He attends and provides an unsigned (ie worthless) medical certificate for 30 days absence
• Manager didn’t sack him, just set expectations for a return to work plan
• A further medical certificate saying he could not work until 9 January
• Did not turn up 9 January
• On 17 January asked to attend 23 January meeting. Did not turn up
• He is notified that day of his dismissal and sacked him for serious misconduct

Despite all this the ERA said it was not serious misconduct, just misconduct and he did not have enough warnings and sacking was disproportional. They found unjustified dismissal.

This is nuts.

If you don’t turn up to work and fail to respond to say three messages over say a week you should be goneburger, unless you are in a coma.

Stats NZ have published the latest life expectancy at birth data. Here’s the increase for each ethnic and gender group from 2006 to 2023.

1. Māori men +3.3
2. Māori women +2.9
3. Asian men +2.8
4. Men +2.1
5. European men +2.0
6. Pacific men +1.7
7. Pacific women +1.5
8. Women +1.3
9. European women +1.2
10. Asian women +1.2

This is what TPM presumably calls genocide!

A guest post by Owen Jennings:

Editors who invite reader’s contributions usually make it clear they reserve the right to not publish any particular letter and normally they refuse to give reasons or even acknowledge receipt of a letter.

The NZ Herald has that policy.  It’s a rather arrogant policy if letters sent in for publication are reasonable, not offensive or contrary to law.  A media outlet that claims to have influence and status might relish a healthy debate, a robust challenge or comments that reflect widely held opinions in the community.

I send in occasional letters and have a very low hit rate because many of the points made are about the lack of scientific and accurate evidence of catastrophic global warming.  I seek to be accurate, supported by evidence and reasoned.  The Herald clearly believes it can sell more advertising and copies by pushing the narrative that we are doomed if we keep increasing greenhouse gas emissions. 

 An example of such a letter that failed to get printed:   

“In a world where horrifying disasters seem more common and where they are beamed onto our devices in seconds it was comforting to learn that the first six months of 2025 were probably the safest in human history in terms of weather-related deaths.  As anxiety levels grow, especially among our young people, it is a relief to learn from two recognised authorities – the Aon Global Catastrophe Recap and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters’ Report that deaths due to natural disasters were well below the average of any first half of a year in this century.

At least 7,700 people were killed due to natural disasters during the first half of 2025, which is well below the 21st-century average of 37,250. The majority of the deaths (5,456) occurred as a result of the earthquake in Myanmar. That means that 2,200 people worldwide died in catastrophes related to extreme weather events during the first six months of the year.  Any such death is a tragedy but human ingenuity and less extreme weather have combined to produce a surprisingly assuring result”.

That letter was factual, was referenced, and one would think would be a mature way the Herald could help reduce the levels of anxiety that persist in the community especially among our young people.  Such anxiety levels are a huge, growing health problem.

Which raises the question as to what precisely is the Editor’s motive.  If the Editor was ever to be transparent and engage in a meaningful debate around the subject what on earth would be a rationale for refusing to help lower anxiety and fear when that fear is based on misinformation and is utterly groundless?

Does some level of community responsibility, when holding such a position of influence, not require a more balanced and mature position? 

We should be grateful for efforts of Kiwiblog, RCR, NZCPR, Bassett Hide Brash and others that allow a more balanced output.

An interesting chart from Federated Farmers showing their members’ confidence in their economic conditions.

So around 2010 confidence went positive. From 2012 to 2017 it fluctuated up and down. In 2018 it dropped to -34% and stayed low but then in 2021 it plummeted to -80% which is about as negative as you can imagine. This is what happens when you try and regulate a sector to death.

The change of government saw a massive boost in confidence. However it is now only +6% indicating that future conditions are still pretty uncertain. I suspect much of this is Trump’s 15% tariffs on NZ exports.

A dramatic graph. The rest of the world has kept coal consumption almost static for the last 30 years while China has tripled its consumption.

This comes from Doomberg who argues that the Chinese Communist Party financially supports climate activists to hinder American energy development, with an example being the Energy Foundation China which has disbursed over $500 million to more than 4,000 climate-related projects.

Jamie Beaton writes:

For too long, New Zealand’s education system has been content to drift in a sea of mediocrity. Everyone has known for a long time that NCEA is broken. Thirteen years ago, when I finished high school, it was widely recognised among my peers that the system was too easy, gameable, and a disservice to our students.

Not many people found an education company while a teenager, and within a decade have grown it to be worth around a billion dollars. I reckon he may know something about education globally.

The basic hallmarks of a good education system are: 1) standardisation, so grades are meaningful and comparable nationwide; 2) world-class benchmarking, to ensure if a Kiwi excels in our schools, they can compete globally; and 3) robust assessment.

The interesting thing with that list is NCEA appears to fail not just one pillar, but all three. It does not have standard grades, it is not benchmarked, and it does not have robust assessment.

Obviously, we need to foster curiosity, a love of learning, intellectual debate, and free inquiry. However, a system that breeds curiosity and one that has rigorous examinations aren’t contradictory. In fact, when students are deeply engaged in school, their ability to be curious in class is far higher.

Yes, it is not an either/or.

In my work with Crimson Education, I’ve witnessed countless brilliant New Zealand students struggle to gain admission to elite universities not because they lack talent, but because NCEA hasn’t equipped them with the academic rigour required. When you compare NCEA to the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge A Levels, the gap is stark and sobering. 

I have been surprised to see issues like testing and rigour become political footballs. They can’t be – and any team that wants to try to advocate for inward-facing mediocrity will always lose in the long run. The need for Kiwis to be able to win on the world stage with an education system that matches our ambition is critical. We cannot look inward and pat ourselves on the back as the world relentlessly marches forward without us.

I still get angry remembering the article where some school principals said it was unfair some students would not be able to get NCEA even though they couldn’t read, write or do simple maths. Mediocrity dressed up as equity is so wrong.

True equity means ensuring that if a student chooses the New Zealand curriculum, and they throw everything they’ve got at their education, there is no door in the world that isn’t open to them.

That’s the ambition we want.