Breaking Views Update: Week of 7.9.25

Tuesday September 9, 2025 

News:
Australian marae gains $1m from Australian government
Construction of Australia's first ever marae could start in a few months after support from the Australian federal government.

Australian Climate Change and Energy minister and Labor MP Chris Bowen announced that the re-elected Albanese Labor government will donate $1 million to the $18 million West-Sydney marae and cultural centre.

Insights From Social Media

Stop the Forced Resuscitation of a Dead Language - Dean Melkesideck

New Zealand has a government problem, and it’s not taxes or crime—it’s obsession. They’ve become fixated on reviving Maori, not through natural interest or genuine demand, but through brute force. And the tool of choice? Legislation. The Maori Language Act has turned into a bottomless pit of taxpayer cash, all to keep a dead language staggering around like a zombie.

Chris Lynch: Poll shows National gain but coalition numbers slip

A new Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll has delivered mixed news for National, which gained support, but with coalition numbers falling short of forming a government.

The poll, conducted between 31 August and 2 September, showed Labour holding on to its position as the largest party, edging up 0.2 points to 33.8 percent. National gained 1.3 points to 33.1 percent.

Kerre Woodham: What's ahead for Winston Peters and NZ First?

The New Zealand First convention took place at the Distinction Hotel in Palmerston North over the weekend. And all these silver fern, pin-wearing NZ First faithful gathered, along with a few wannabes, like Stuart Nash, he spoke. Just a few formalities to go through and it looks like Stuart Nash will be a signed-up member of NZ First and one of their high-profile names going forward at the next election.

David Farrar: PSA trying to get foreign governments to impede the NZ Government

An astonishing revelation in The Post:

But the PSA’s national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says meat inspectors “are very worried about this move towards private meat inspection, they know that the companies are conflicted when it comes to this work”.

Ani O'Brien: Institutional Insanity - The Law Commission jumps the shark in new report

'Ia Tangata' has been published and it is as bad as I predicted

When I first warned about the Law Commission’s Ia Tangata review, I said it would be used to smuggle an activist ideology into the Human Rights Act. I said it would not simply “clarify protections” but would tilt the entire playing field, shifting the balance of rights, placing new burdens on ordinary New Zealanders, and hard-coding gender ideology into law.

The report is now out, and unfortunately, I was right.

Peter Williams: The Substack that didn't age well

Te Pati Maori win easily - but how about that turnout?

It’s the worst piece of political punditry in the history of this Substack. Maybe in the history of blogging.

Your noble, but obviously ignorant, correspondent boldly predicted last Tuesday that Te Pati Maori had given up in the Tamaki Makaurau by-election because their candidate Oriini Kaipara was so hopeless she couldn’t possibly win against the experienced Labour List MP Peeni Henare.

Matua Kahurangi: Aotearoa New Zealand

A name that literally divides

The push to rename New Zealand as Aotearoa New Zealand by leftist-cucks is not just symbolic. It is a clear reflection of racial division that is built directly into the country’s identity.

Damien Grant: Why premiership of Luxon is floundering while Wayne Brown’s sailing back into office

Wayne Brown is funny. Perhaps entertaining is a better description and Aucklanders have embraced their straight-talking mayor, his quirky explainer videos and irreverent style.

It isn’t clear he’d remember how to tie a half-windsor if the need arose and maintains a grey half-beard in the Yassir Arafat style. He’s coarse in public and vulgar in private. He’s been mayor for three years and is running effectively unopposed for re-election.

Nick Hanne: 30 arrests a day ...

How many armed police officers does it take to arrest an Irish comedian?

No, that's not the beginning of a bad joke.

But it's precisely the scenario which Graham Linehan (BAFTA winning comedy writer/producer of such sitcoms as Father Ted and Black Books) faced this week as he stepped off a plane at Heathrow Airport in London.

Mike's Minute: All Blacks vs The Māori Party

What a contrast Saturday night was.

At Eden Park the rugby as good as you could possibly want.

For all the hype and worry of the week, the All Blacks reminded us that when it all comes together, when it really matters and records of significance are on the line, there is no side in the world that can touch them.

Monday September 8, 2025 

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Pee Kay: Puppets or Just Uncontrollable?

 A puppeteer uses influence or manipulation to control the behaviour and messaging of the puppet. This control is often hidden, giving the impression the puppet is acting of its own free will. The reality is the puppeteer is pulling the strings and guiding puppet in the direction of the puppeteers goal or agenda.

For nearly 40 years the Waitangi Tribunal, the judiciary, academia, and successive Labour and National governments, typically for political convenience and expediency, have gradually skewed the meaning of the Treaty accepting and promoting flawed and self-interested interpretations.

Judy Gill: Te Reo– A Parent's Journey

Forty years on from Te Reo being granted official language status in 1987, and its gradual introduction into mainstream schools through the 1980s and 1990s, there is still no curriculum, no syllabus, no grammar, no syntax. No textbooks. No real workbooks.

Steven Gaskell: Oriini Kaipara’s “Landslide” - Proof That Competence No Longer Matters

So, Tāmaki Makaurau has spoken. Former broadcaster turned political darling Oriini Kaipara has cruised into Parliament on a wave of adoration from Te Pāti Māori supporters. The result is being heralded as some kind of historic “landslide.” But let’s not kid ourselves this wasn’t a contest of ideas, policies, or even competence. This was identity politics at its most brazen.

Matua Kahurangi: Forget white privilege

Māori privilege is the real story

With arrests taking place in both Australia and the UK over people simply displaying the national flag, it is worth highlighting a disturbing case closer to home.

Last year, during the Te Pāti Māori organised Toitu Te Tiriti march, a man named Phil Engel was carrying the New Zealand flag on High Street, Masterton. He was not blocking marchers or causing disruption. He walked in front of the protest, keeping a safe distance, his flag held up quietly and peacefully.

What happened next was shocking. Engel was shoved by one of the movement’s leaders, sparking a scuffle. In the process, his flag was snapped in half.

Matua Kahurangi: Māori advantages in New Zealand

The question of race-based privilege in New Zealand has become increasingly polarising. For the left, government policies recognising Māori as tangata whenua are essential to honour the Treaty of Waitangi and correct “historical wrongs.” For others, these policies represent a dangerous departure from democratic equality, creating a two-tier system where rights and opportunities are determined not by citizenship, but by ethnicity.

DTNZ: Trump warns Venezuelan jets could be shot down amid rising tensions

US President Donald Trump has warned that Venezuelan jets flying over American naval vessels could be shot down, following two reported incidents of Venezuelan aircraft approaching US ships near South America.

The warning comes days after a US strike on a Venezuelan boat alleged to be carrying drugs killed 11 people, an operation Venezuela denies.

Corey Smith: School Choice Surges Despite Crusade by Teachers Unions

A recent survey suggests more than half of American adults with children attending public schools would choose a private one if vouchers were available to cover the tuition. Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,289 adults nationwide and found that only 32% would not take advantage of vouchers. As of July 2025, 23 such programs are offered throughout 15 states, according to EdChoice, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing educational freedom.

Roger Partridge: Who’s accountable? How to cut through the ministerial maze

When housing policy is split among more than six ministers, who is responsible when the affordability crisis drags on year after year? The Minister of Housing? Building and Construction? Local Government? Environment? Transport? Infrastructure? Each controls one piece of the puzzle, but no one has the whole picture.

When responsibility is divided, decision-making slows, and accountability evaporates.