Wendy Geus: Manipulative teachers must get back in the classroom and back unflagging minister

As the left and media wage war against this government and parents and students lose faith.

Decades ago there was an expression called the 'play way' used to cynically describe an apparent lack of structure for new entrants in their first year at school.

Steven Gaskell: The New Land Game - How Councils Could Hand Māori First Dibs on Your Property Without You Noticing

So, you thought Māori wards were just about “representation”? Think again. While everyone’s been busy debating flags, karakia, and consultation quotas, a quieter revolution is taking shape in council back rooms — and it’s got “land” written all over it.

Ryan Bridge: Confidence is key in politics

It was always going to be a risky strategy but it's backfiring quite badly for Labour.

The two-year policy drought is over.

Then heavens have open.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is our climate overhype coming to an end?

There's yet another, frankly welcome, sign that the world's climate overhype may be over, or at least correcting.

The latest is that the Government has announced it's now easing the rules on how much compulsory climate reporting the big listed companies have to do.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 19.10.25

Thursday October 23, 2025 

News:
Māori Freshwater Rights Head to High Court in Landmark Case
A landmark Māori freshwater case is heading to the High Court in Wellington next month.

The Wai Manawa Whenua Coalition (WMWC), made up of 32 Māori Land Trusts representing more than 150,000 landowners, hapū, iwi, and national bodies like the Federation of Māori Authorities, will challenge the Crown on November 3rd and 4th over long-standing failures to uphold Māori rights to freshwater.

JC: We Voters Are Not For Turning

Memo to the Prime Minister:

Mr Luxon, your party sits at 29 per cent in the polls. Your actions, seemingly related to your personal feelings, on matters pertaining to specifically the ‘Māorification’ of legislation are becoming increasingly untenable. You are exhibiting political traits similar to Jacinda Ardern, now the most disliked politician in recent history. You appear to be following in her footsteps.

Mike's Minute: Has protest lost it's impact?

Our default to futility worries me.

It's the same sort of thing as the "No Kings" march over the weekend in America.

What actually is the point of waving placards, or in the "burn the bill" case, lighting fires on beaches?

Ronald Stein, Oliver Hemmers, Steve Curtis: Why does the world insanely ignore nuclear power?

There is a lot of talk about nuclear power around the world today. However, except for China and, maybe, Russia, there is little action.

Talk means nothing, but action means everything. Perhaps the reason for inaction is the massive waste of government funding for nuclear power promises. Private capital produces many times more production than government funding does. Maybe if the money were left in the hands of the people, some sense of urgency could be realized. Moreover, to secure monopolies for those who own them, massive government roadblocks are placed in the way of any competition that could disrupt the profits from these monopolies.

Dr Eric Crampton: Pharmacies overdue for a prescription of competition medicine

New Zealand has an awful lot of odd little cartels.

At least if we define ‘cartels’ using an economist’s definition rather than a lawyer’s definition.

Consider the current regulation of pharmacies. The forthcoming Medical Products Bill will go some way to solving the problem. But before getting to that, let’s consider the status quo.

David Farrar: The cost of turning off gas

Labour and Greens want us to run out of gas, having banned future exploration. They think the country can be powered by 100% renewables.

One problem is that many New Zealanders have gas powered heating and cooking. So what would be the cost of doing away with gas?

We now have an answer with this analysis by Castalia for the Gas Industry Company.

They find:

Matua Kahurangi: $49 Million for kapa haka

What exactly Is this money for?

New Zealanders should be asking some very hard questions about where their money is going. The government has committed over $49 million in funding for Te Matatini, the national kapa haka festival, through to the 2027/28 financial year. That includes a $48.7 million three-year allocation announced in Budget 2024. To put this into perspective, recent annual funding has been around $17 million. This is a huge jump for what is essentially a performance festival, and it really does raise some serious questions about priorities.

David Farrar: National risks losing support over the BSA empire grab

Regardless of your views on whether an Internet based media outlet is a broadcaster or not under The Broadcasting Act, there can be basically no defence of how the BSA has gone about this issue.

Mike's Minute: Labour's policy shows they haven't learnt a thing

It seems the labour party has not learned a thing about running a country.

Their first policy for next years vote is out, so congrats on that. The first cab off the rank is a wealth fund.

The idea is not necessarily a bad one. You take money from dividends and distribute it out about the place to create jobs.

The obvious questions though …were not answered.

Wednesday October 22, 2025 

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Peter Williams: Why the Big Strike is a bad idea

Where will public sympathy fall?

When doctors, teachers and nurses walk off the job together it can make international headlines — but that doesn’t mean it’s wise, principled or remotely strategic.

Thursday’s public service strike may thrill some union executives and excite X’s permanent catastrophists, but in cold political reality it is self-defeating, reckless and potentially damaging to the very causes these professions claim to represent.

Ryan Bridge: My thoughts on rates caps

A rates cap is one of those policies that immediately sounds appealing.

Look no further than yesterday’s CPI number. It’s one of your top three inflation feeders.

So, throw a cap on them. Tie their hands behind their backs. Reign 'em in!

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: I think Labour knows how bad their policy idea is

I think it's fair to say, don't you think, that Labour's first policy has been a flop? It's been panned by pretty much everybody worth listening to or worth reading.

I mean, I see Maiki Sherman over at TVNZ liked it last night. She called it a 'solid first hit' on telly, but I think everyone else seems to have seen through what Chippy's trying to do here.

Let me quote you some.

David Round: Thoughts for our Time - Article 2

New Zealand is not the social laboratory of the world. We have, and have always had, the same ideas, the same fashions, the same follies, as everyone else in the West. They may just take a little while to reach us here.

The Treaty of Waitangi madness infecting the mental capacities of so many of our countrypersons is not evidence of some special sensitivities which New Zealanders possess, or even evidence of some special peculiarities of our history. The Treaty madness is just our own localised variant of a much more widespread insanity, which we might call ‘white guilt’.

Barrie Saunders: The BSA power grab: Post 2

Media and Communications Minister, Paul Goldsmith’s handling of the BSA power grab follow 80 years of abysmal leadership by National Party governments re broadcasting, which have consistently betrayed their rhetoric about supporting competition and private enterprise.

The National Party Holland/Holyoake government of 1949-1957, did nothing of consequence to roll back the Savage/Fraser Labour governments nationalisation of radio. No private radio under National then nor any TV at all.

Ani O'Brien: "Temu Chris" Thinks Big government with Labour's Future Fund

New Zealand Future Fund: Proof Labour never met a problem it couldn’t bureaucratise

It takes a special kind of political imagination to brand something as “the future” while simultaneously reviving the economic playbook of the 1970s. Perhaps Chris Hipkins will cling to the nickname “Temu Chris” because at least then no one will be calling him “Red Muldoon.” Surely nothing could be worse for the Labour leader than being “Piggy” in Dirty Dog sunnies.