Breaking Views Update: Week of 13.9.26

Thursday September 17, 2026 

News:
New group ‘Queen Victoria’s pledge’ launches in response to tiriti breaches
Group led by educator Bill Te Huia Hamilton seeks better treaty education and nationwide support

A new campaign group advocating for the protection of Te Tiriti rights has launched ahead of the 2026 election, with politicians and community leaders in the mix.

John Robertson: What We Are Witnessing Is A First-World Democracy Sliding Into Tribal Barbarism

When Paul Henry stepped into the studio on Q&A with Jack Tame to dissect the state of the nation, he touched a raw nerve that the political establishment spends millions trying to numb: the absolute absurdity of a country running its legal system on racial tribalism. What we are witnessing is a first-world democracy sliding into tribal barbarism, narcotized by an intellectual cowardice that refuses to name the rot eating our civic foundations.

Ani O'Brien: What will Hipkins have to give away to become Prime Minister?

Kiwipower, KiwiMart, Wealth Taxes, and Te Tiriti: What survives negotiations?

Every election campaign we, the voters, are treated to a pantomime in which parties make promise after promise about what they would do if given the power to rule these small isles. Most of us have been around long enough to recognise that a great deal of these plans are poorly thought out fiction but we will attempt to discern the realistic from the outlandish. The others will vote Green until they become a parent, own property, or simply fully develop their frontal lobe.

Peter Williams: Remembering Entebbe

How an extraordinary rescue raid humiliated a dictator

Fifty years ago, 1976, was quite the year of significant happenings.

New Zealand upset the Montreal Olympics by having the All Blacks tour apartheid South Africa. Nearly thirty black African nations boycotted the games in protest.

The USA celebrated its bicentennial in 1976.

Guest Post: Immigration

A complex challenge for New Zealand’s future

Guest Post by ML Kearney on No Minister

• Introduction

Pre- the 2026 election , discussion has already begun on Superannuation reform and its links to Welfare overhaul ( both thorny subjects where action is overdue ) .

Both areas link to immigration which is affected by broader – including global – trends and factors.

Kerre Woodham: Do the political polls matter to you?

Political polls with the headlines and column inches they command. A cynic would say it probably depends on whether you're going up or you're going down. There's a story in Newsroom today from Professor Ben Gray that looks at how the different companies poll the population to get their results. And it doesn't give you a great deal of confidence, does it?

Bob Edlin: REA’s treatment of Janet Dickson and the role of Maori culture

Post article overlooks REINZ chief’s thought about the REA’s treatment of Janet Dickson and the role of Maori culture

After a year in the job as chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Lizzy Fyley discussed a range of industry issues with The Post.

One matter that was not addressed was the governance role of the Real Estate Authority in the light of its cancellation of Auckland real estate agent Janet Dickson’s licence.

Paul Moon: ‘We’ll slaughter the bastards’.....

....how Bob Jones and the New Zealand Party changed politics in 1984

With New Zealand’s 11th election under the MMP proportional system due in November, it’s easy to take the influence of minor parties for granted. But just over 40 years ago, things were very different.

In 1984, with the conservative National government of Robert Muldoon seeking a fourth term, the major obstacle for any opposition party was the first-past-the-post electoral system itself.

Mike's Minute: We are moving forward into real-world education

I read that nearly a third of students who would have passed NCEA Level 2 under the current system will struggle under the new one.

BERL have done research that suggests 15,000 students have followed pathways that may be harder to replicate.

I'm not sure what the point of this research is.

Wednesday September 16, 2026 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The failures in the Tom Phillips investigation go on and on

So the Government has apologised to Tom Phillips' children for failing to keep them safe. And, man, that apology is not overdoing it when you read the report and realise just how many times officials completely stuffed up trying to find those kids and keep them safe.

Probably the most shocking mistake was made by the police. A woman called them and said she had Phillips in her car, and she even took a photo of him to show them, but they never showed up.

JC: Tax – A Burden We Don’t Need

Three articles from the Weekend Herald caught my eye. All were on the subject of tax. One was an opinion piece from John Key, the second was the fortnightly contribution from Bruce Cotterill and the third was Fran O’Sullivan writing on the subject of Labour’s Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. Key started his article thus, “Tax. A short little word. Seems innocuous.” In the context in which he’s saying that he’s correct. Here’s my spin on it. I know of no other word in the English language that has more negative connotations than what those three letters convey. They inflict pain and anger...and then the creative thinking required to avoid the obnoxious payment.

Geoff Parker: One Law For All Is Not An Attack On Maori

Noel O’Malley’s argument that ACT’s “One Law for All with One Future Together” policy is a disguised programme of assimilation rests on a remarkable inversion of the meaning of equality.

There is nothing inherently threatening about saying that every New Zealander should have the same rights, the same obligations and the same protection under the law. Indeed, that principle lies at the heart of a democratic society.

Andrew Dickens: Politicians are missing the real immigration problem

So, the past week has seen immigration policies come to the force.

New Zealand First is signalling a tougher immigration stance, longer waits for residency and citizenship, a referendum to cap new residency approvals at 20,000 a year, and a 30-year population plan tying migrant intake to infrastructure capacity.

Guest Post: Socialism Within NZ Politics

A guest post on No Minister by Kerry Butler

We are facing a very frightening scenario, whereby the four likely Partners in a Labour led coalition are all of a Socialist persuasion.

Firstly, take a look at Labour’s present leader, Chris Hipkins, who knows no other way than to follow in the footsteps of Comrade Jacinda.

Yvonne Van Dongen: The AEWV - New Zealand’s Gateway to Indentured Labour

How a visa scheme designed to fill labour shortages led to exploitation—and a pathway to permanent migration.

Ever wondered why so many vape shops, dairies and bottle stores you see these days are staffed by Indians?

You’re not imagining things and it’s not racist to notice. It’s called pattern recognition, a survival strategy humans evolved over millennia for a good reason.

Kerre Woodham: Will the new CRL really boost productivity?

I hope you'll be phoning in to tell me all about the CRL - because it's trains, planes and automobiles today with the official launch of the long awaited CRL yesterday.

This morning it was the hard launch as commuters test the reliability, convenience and time saving potential of the railway line.

Bob Edlin: A disheartening experience......

....dying man’s helpers found medical centre’s defibrillator is available only for its patients

PoO noted with interest a Newsroom article on Labour Party efforts to pick up the campaign pace as the election nears.

It was headed

Raw Politics: Labour grabs the defibrillator, Greens think outside the (red) square

Grabbing the defibrillator most certainly would be necessary in the Mt Albert electorate, if it was needed in an emergency to help someone outside the local medical centre.

Lindsay Mitchell: Why RNZ can't be trusted

This reporting is amongst the worst I have seen. And it's funded by the tax-payer.

How much beneficiaries are left with after paying the rent

"Beneficiaries are living on an average of $251 a week once they've covered their housing costs, a government report shows.

Richard Prebble: Is The Public Service Neutral?

We rarely lose a constitutional principle abruptly.

It is chipped away until one day, when it is too late, we realise it is gone.

A politically neutral public service that we can trust is one such principle.

On 9 September almost 10,000 public servants went on strike.