Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: There's already a good punishment for councillors who misbehave

All right - given the level of hostility we have at the moment towards local body councillors and councils, I suspect there'll be plenty of support for the idea I'm about to tell you about. But I would caution against getting too excited because it's a terrible idea.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.7.26

Thursday July 16, 2026 

News:
Mussel harvest closure sought to refill food basket at Ōhiwa Harbour in Bay of Plenty
A sharp decline in Ōhiwa Harbour mussel stocks has led Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa to embark on a regeneration programme that is beginning to show signs of success.

The iwi is seeking a further two-year extension to a temporary green-lipped mussel harvesting closure established in November 2024 on an area of the harbour that is the focus of its work.

Mike's Minute: Why I like Paul Henry in politics

Paul Henry and I go back a long way. Decades in fact.

He used to read news on a show of mine. I can't say I saw politics in his future, but then I can't say I could have ruled it out either.

Yvonne Van Dongen: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Ranginui: Call of the Ice - a review

Anyone not rolling around clutching their sides laughing or miming sick noises into a bag will not like this review since I did both while watching this blatant piece of propaganda. Even my friend, a dedicated LWWW*, thought it was tosh.

To be honest, if that wasn’t your reaction, you either have no sense of humour or you have been utterly captured by the Māori wonderfulness brigade.

Ani O'Brien: Was this Corrections case settled to avoid a precedent Crown Law & Human Rights Commission did not want?

A quick response to the latest assault on human rights by trans activists in our public sector

Note: it is my editorial policy to use pronouns that relate to the biological sex of the person.

I am fuming. It is 2026 and the rest of the world is unwinding the destructive and nonsensical policies of the trans madness era, and here in New Zealand they are continuing to be embedded.

DTNZ: ‘Freedom’ launches - New political movement calls for historic shift to direct democracy

After 14 years of advocating for New Zealanders’ rights and “people power”, the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party is entering a new era and has streamlined its name to a single, sharp, and unmistakable name: ‘freedom’.

The rebrand marks a strategic pivot toward a fundamental “paradigm upgrade” for New Zealand’s political system: the transition from a traditional parliamentary model to a system of Direct Democracy.

Aaron Gilbert: NZ’s retirement debate - Will tinkering today spell more trouble tomorrow?

For generations of New Zealanders, a lifetime of work has come with the promise of a secure and happy retirement.

Today, however, that notion of golden years spent in relative comfort is slipping out of reach for a growing number of struggling retirees. Without a serious policy rethink, younger New Zealanders may face an even tougher reality when their time to leave the workforce comes.

Despite these challenges, policies tabled this election year amount to little more than tinkering around the edges.

David Harvey: What Should We Do About Bad Arguments

A Reply to Simon Wilson

I thought when Simon Wilson stopped writing his weekly column for the Herald on Tuesdays that he might fade from my consciousness. Not so. He now writes a fortnightly column for the Listener and ironically his articles feature on the page opposite mine. Even more ironically, his page is often positioned to the right of the fold, mine to the left. Go figure.

Major General John G. Howard: Adrift - A Trading Nation, an Ageing Navy and the 2027 Frigate Decision

New Zealand's two main warships will reach the end of their working lives within about a decade, and Cabinet must decide by 2027 what should replace them. The choice will shape the country's ability to help keep its trade routes open for a generation.

A new research note, Adrift: A Trading Nation, an Ageing Navy and the 2027 Frigate Decision, by Major General (Retired) John Howard, a Senior Fellow at the Initiative, argues the decision deserves more scrutiny than it has had.

Rodney Hide: Taxpayer-Funded Theatre with Dire Consequence

Here’s a story that captures why so many New Zealanders feel the institutions meant to serve them have lost the plot.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/transgender-prison-officer-receives-apology-and-compensation-after-being-barred-from-searching-male-prisoners/3Y5YNRVPCVH6FEOPFXIUNDMXGI/

 Wednesday July 15, 2026 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Paul Henry announcement is brilliant for ACT's campaign

How good is that Paul Henry announcement, eh? How good is that?

ACT sent out a little media advisory last night about 7:30pm, saying there would be a major announcement. It would not be a policy announcement, no exclusive would be offered and there would be no embargoed material.

Judy Gill: Show Us The Manuscript

Matariki, an unpublished manuscript, and the abandonment of “peer review”

New Zealand has built a national holiday, government policy, public ceremony and classroom teaching around claims drawn from a family manuscript that the public has never been allowed to read. The claims are treated as authoritative. The source itself remains unpublished and unexamined by independent scholars.

Penn Raine: Is the UN provoking Jew fatigue?

Fellow Breaking Views bloggers have thoughtfully responded to my recent opinion on the continued rise of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence current in Western democracies.

They suggested that credit points for the Holocaust- Shoah - have largely been spent and that the UN’s alleged factual reporting on humanitarian issues in Gaza, and Israel’s alleged crimes would anyway use up any remaining global sympathy.

Kerre Woodham: The conversation around replacing our ageing warships

I would like to get your feedback on whether or not we should be upgrading our warships. New Zealand's two main warships will reach the end of their working lives within about a decade, and Cabinet must decide by 2027 what should replace them.

Mike's Minute: Free trade is our calling card

Maybe India said it better than we did.

But to be clear, here is what India says: the 5000 Kiwi visas as part of our FTA are about "mobility, not migration".

Immigration and mobility of skilled manpower are two different issues altogether.

Dr Kelvin Kemm: Alice in Hydrogen Land

At a shopping mall or amusement park one can see vendors selling balloons filled with Helium. Kids love them and dance around trailing their balloons, which float above them. From time to time some kid accidentally lets go and you see the balloon soaring high into the sky, to the delight of many watching, but to the heartbreak of the kid. The balloon soars up into the sky because it is filled with Helium, and Helium is a gas much lighter than the Oxygen and Nitrogen which make up most of the atmosphere.

Pee Kay: An Ode for .. Lord Winston

Guest Post on No Minister by Victor Billot

Inside the basement levels of the Dark Tower, Lord Winston summons forth the evil dead known as Michael Laws

Peter Williams: The Modi Lovefest

It was all a bit weird wasn't it?

Like any (sort of) sophisticated nation we’ve always played host to visits from foreign leaders. The APEC meeting of 1999 even had the presidents of the USA, Russia and China all here at the same time.

But never, ever, ever have I seen a New Zealand Prime Minister holding hands with a visiting Prime Minister.

Kerre Woodham: This one's for small business owners

The editorial this morning goes out to all the small and medium business people. Those of you who are starting the work week looking to earn your own keep, employ some New Zealanders, pay your taxes, and provide a product or service that people want or need. You don't want luxury yachts and private jets. You just want to work hard, be rewarded fairly, have people get out of your way, not be strangled by red tape. Seems a fairly reasonable state of being.