Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Did Stuff make the right call publishing the Tom Phillips audio?

I'm baffled by the Police Commissioner writing that open letter telling off Stuff today.

You probably missed this thing when it actually happened, which was back in September, but in the week that Tom Phillips was shot and the kids were saved from the bush, Stuff got its hands on some of the audio of the police chase, and they published it.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 2.11.25

Thursday November 6, 2025 

News:
Ending The Education Culture Wars
As reported this morning, the Education and Training Act will be amended so that School Boards will no longer be required to ‘give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including by working to ensure that its plans, policies, and local curriculum reflect local tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori…’

Kerre Woodham: I don't blame retailers for wanting to ban the homeless

A month ago to this very day, Heart of the City, the business association for Auckland City Centre, released a scathing report that found store owners and offices believed homelessness, too few police, neglect and disorder, and frightening anti-social behaviour were crippling their businesses.

Mike's Minute: You win in court but suffer financially - how does that work?

Here is a line up: Alex Salmond, former head of Scotland, Dame Noeline Taurua, and Siouxsie Wiles, as in the microbiologist.

The Salmond family is wanting their estate made bankrupt. It comes out of a judicial review over the handling of a couple of complaints against him by civil servants that turned out to be “tainted”.

Dr James Allan: The Trudeau Disaster

In 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. For all practical purposes this statute granted legislative independence to the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, which at the time basically meant Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland. The gist of this very famous statute was that the UK Parliament could no longer legislate for a Dominion without its consent. They were of equal status to the UK.

DTNZ: Government pours $1.2m into cow gadget to ‘fix climate’

The Government has announced a $1.2 million investment in a Canterbury start-up’s wearable device for cows, claiming it could slash nitrous oxide emissions by 95% and nitrate leaching by 93%.

Ministers Nicola Willis and Shane Reti praised the invention as proof of Kiwi ingenuity and a step toward “low-emissions farming.”

Dr Prabani Wood: Better health through better data

This research note reveals how adding GP clinic data to government databases could transform healthcare outcomes while cutting costs.

The research note, “Better health through better data” by Adjunct Fellow Dr Prabani Wood, shows that while government can track hospital visits, prescriptions and even school attendance, it cannot see clearly what happens in GP clinics – where most healthcare occurs.

Simon O'Connor: Are whakapapa and citizenship the same?

I explore why one's ancestry and heritage are not the same as citizenship. I also ask, do we need the Waitangi Tribunal anymore?

The Waitangi Tribunal recently has ruled that the government should change the law for New Zealand citizenship, notably that citizenship by decent rules should be broadened. Importantly and controversially, the Tribunal ruled that this broadening of rules should apply to Māori only.

Peter Williams: Who are you?

Why a question from 35 years ago is problematical today

For a variety of reasons I’ve recently been remembering a fellow called Len Potts, a man many consider the greatest creative mind in the history of New Zealand advertising.

I knew Len a bit because we played some golf together where I watched him smoke more cigarettes than I’ve ever seen anybody consume over 18 holes.

Bob Edlin: What happened to $66bn......

Come on PM – surely someone can tell you what happened to $66bn (and if officials are baffled, let’s give Google a go)

The PM huffed and puffed, when asked in Parliament this afternoon about the state of the economy.

He bridled, too.

Wednesday November 5, 2025 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Are the teachers' unions right to be upset with Erica Stanford?

Okay, I've got a question for you - and this is a genuine question, it's not a rhetorical question.

Do you agree with the teachers' unions that it's an outrage that Erica Stanford is taking the Treaty obligation out of the Education Act, or do you agree with Erica Stanford that it needs to come out?

David Round: Thoughts for our Time - Article 8

In 1927 a French philosopher and novelist, Julien Benda, wrote a book called La Trahison des Clercs ~ The Treason of the Intellectuals. (Clerc, which gives us our words clerk and clergy, meant originally a clergyman, then any literate man.) Nothing is free, and we support our ‘intellectual’ class not because we love them but because they too have contributions to make to the public good. They are not ‘irresponsible’. We expect them to uphold civilised and rational values against their, and our, enemies. Yet all too often, Benda lamented, the intellectuals, while still demanding their generous salaries and privileged positions, pursued their own crazy and pernicious ideas. They betray the public good.

Ani O'Brien: Win for victims - New law puts survivors at the centre of justice

Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Act 2025

I make no secret of my hatred of the excessive and inappropriate use of name suppression in New Zealand. In particular, I am infuriated by the number of sex offenders who are given name suppression because people knowing about their offending would cause some kind of unjust hardship. Um no. People knowing you have been convicted on a crime is a direct consequence of choosing to commit the crime. The system should not be mitigating against natural justice.

Samira Taghavi: Staying within the lines: over-reach from the Broadcasting Standards Authority and how it can be fixed

When a statutory regulator begins to stretch its mandate beyond what Parliament intended, it is not a minor procedural concern – it is a constitutional matter.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has recently asserted that its jurisdiction may extend to “internet radio” and other forms of internet-delivered audio content. At first glance, this might appear to be an administrative or technological question. It is not. It is about the limits of state power, the certainty of the law and the preservation of freedom of expression in a democratic society.

Dr Eric Crampton: The (apparently) thriving world of smuggled smokes

Illicit tobacco might now make up more than a quarter of New Zealand’s tobacco market.

There are no wholly reliable numbers on the size of illicit markets. People who operate in Illicit markets do not tell Customs, or Statistics New Zealand, the size of their businesses.

Every estimate is just that. An estimate.

Matua Kahurangi: Why is NZ’s mainstream media so quiet on the UK train stabbings?

In the UK, a horrific attack unfolded aboard a train travelling from Doncaster to London. The service made an emergency stop at Huntingdon station after a man went on a stabbing rampage that left eleven people injured, one of them fighting for their life. Police later confirmed the suspect was a 32-year-old Black British man and that the attack was not being treated as terrorism related.

Bob Edlin: A sorry state of affairs with child abuse stats.....

A sorry state of affairs with child abuse stats – Chhour spotlights a 14% improvement but shades the negative numbers

A 1 News report headed Minister admits comments on state care abuse stats may have misled public draws attention to a ministerial apology.

It was an apology about her use (or misuse) of figures for political effect.

JC: Luxon on Song – Labour off Key

The headline to this posting reflects the contents of two articles in the business section of the Weekend Herald. One was from Fran O’Sullivan who joined the NZUS Council on Luxon’s overseas trip. The other was written by Jenée Tibshraeny who is the Herald business editor in Wellington. Fran’s article was on a positive note, while Jenée’s, on the subject of Labour’s capital gains tax, had a slightly negative tone to it.

David Farrar: The TPM putsch is on

Back on September 12 I blogged:

Reliable sources tell me this is much bigger than I realised. There is a huge split in TPM, basically between the Tamihere aligned MPs and the rest. I have been told that some existing MPs are facing deselection, and that this is behind what we are seeing with the Whip sacked and Ferris defying the co-leaders.

This was some weeks before the infighting went public. My reliable sources were indeed reliable.

The latest is: