Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 18 July 2026

Note: apologies this isn’t my best wrap up. I got home from an event at 10.30pm last night and hadn’t even started writing it. I kept falling asleep writing so excuse typos etc.

Mike's Minute: Is this why the National vote is soft?

Federated Farmers have quite rightly raised what you would loosely call "the alarm" around a rush of new deals between councils and local Māori.

The rush is on because of the Government's new Natural Environment and Planning bills.

They were released late last year, saying you can't do local Māori deals under it. It's passed its first reading and is sitting at committee level and due back soon.

Bryan Leyland: A solution to our electricity problems

The proposal to subsidise plug-in solar — small solar panel units that households can hang off the balcony and plug straight into a wall socket – indicates how far the debate over our power system has drifted from its fundamental objective: to provide a reliable and economic supply of electricity

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Trump's stolen election claim reflects a nervous outlook for midterms

Question for you: was Donald Trump's speech to the American people a classic case of muddying the waters?

For Trump, it was a relatively short speech, about 40 minutes, in which he claimed there had been Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election, that there were extreme vulnerabilities in the election system that need to be closed and that China obtained more than 200 million American voter registration records. He then released a trove of documents that he claims back up these allegations.

John MacDonald: Bird-flipping ECan needs its wings clipped

I know the real reason why Federated Farmers is so brassed-off with Environment Canterbury. Nevertheless, I agree with them.

They’re saying that ECan is showing “flagrant disregard” for the community, with this push it’s making for Ngāi Tahu to have a permanent role in the region’s resource management after ECan disappears.

Because, with the Government’s local government reforms, ECan is toast.

Melanie Phillips: Scapegoating the Jews

The demonisation of Israel has become a key driver of Western politics

Astonishingly, in America and Britain, the vilification and scapegoating of Israel through an agenda of malice and mendacity — and with undertones of something even darker — has become a key driver of political life.

US Vice President JD Vance has ramped up his attacks on Israel by channelling anti-Jewish tropes of covert manipulation and warmongering.

Roger Partridge: The corruption of privilege (and why it matters)

The exercise has many names – privilege walk, power line, power walk – and a well-documented lineage. It originated in North American social-justice education in the 1990s, drawing on Peggy McIntosh‘s 1988 working paper on the “invisible knapsack” of white privilege, and is run at school retreats, university orientations and workplace training sessions across the English-speaking world. The format is standard. A facilitator reads a list of statements, and participants step forward or back according to their answers. Step forward if you were raised by both your parents. Step forward if there were more than fifty books in your house. Step forward if your parents took you to galleries or plays. Step forward if you came from a supportive family environment.

Clive Bibby: Common Sense, Trust and Vision

Leadership that actually benefits the people of any country is almost always the result of a visionary approach to the problems faced - either those that are self-inflicted by previous governments or ones that are the result of extreme climatic variations over which there is little control.

David Farrar: RIP Bill Birch

Was sad to see today that Bill Birch has died. I knew him quite well, and he was one of the most competent Ministers of any Government.

His worth ethic was legendary. For the 1998 Budget I was in charge of producing the information sheets (propaganda) for the Government about them. This meant having each iteration signed off by the Finance Minister. They were taking me longer than I expected so I popped in to see him at 10 pm to say I didn’t think I’d get them finished tonight, but could show them to him tomorrow. He asked when I thought I’d finish them, and I said around 1.00 am to 1.30 am. He said that he would still be there, so just come through then.

David Farrar: Who is behind Maori Roll Call?

My kids were watching You Tube and an advertisement came up urging Māori to enrol on the Māori roll. It linked to this website. Tama Iti tells people the more people who go on the Maori roll, the more seats in Parliament. They do not mention that in fact the number of seats is now fixed for the next six years, so changing rolls before the election will have zero impact on the number of seats. What will count is which roll people are on in 2031.

At the bottom of the page it says that the campaign was made possible by a collective of 120+ Whanau Ora providers. That means it is funded by NGOs that are funded by taxpayers to provide support to Māori.

Saturday July 18, 2026 

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Seymour vows to scrap iwi agreements after ECan backdown

Chris Lynch chats to David Seymour about Environment Canterbury, Resource Management Act, Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement and more.


Click to view

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.7.26

Saturday July 18, 2026 

News:
Environment Canterbury mulls protecting Ngāi Tahu interests ahead of local government reform
Environment Canterbury (ECan) wants to ensure Ngāi Tahu has a permanent, statutory role in governing the region’s resource management after the regional council is abolished.

The proposal is that ECan, Ngāi Tahu and eight of the 10 Canterbury rūnanga would sign a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement that would give those organisations mandatory and permanent participation in plan making, resource consent processes, monitoring and reporting.

Mike's Minute: Why is the NZ Super debate back?

Like so many debates in this country, another one has restarted, this time around Superannuation.

Some economists have taken to their calculators and looked at who earns what in retirement.

Graham Adams: India’s view of ‘indigenous’ rattles Māori advisers

A month before 2023’s election, Winston Peters ignited a brush fire in the media after he told a campaign meeting in Nelson that Māori were not indigenous to New Zealand.

His reasoning was simple: “We come from Hawai-iki. Where's our Hawai-iki? We think it is in the Cook Islands. We think it’s in Rarotonga... but we’re not from here.”

He noted that his tribe Ngāti Wai “came to Aotearoa about 900 years ago or longer”.

Matt Ridley: We’re using the wrong pronouns for AI

Editor’s Note: Matt Ridley spoke about AI’s “pronoun issue” at a London conference last week. Our friends at Quantum Zeitgeist attended the speech and kindly let us republish their thoughts for you.

Most people who talk about artificial intelligence reach, sooner or later, for the singular. There is the AI, the machine, the mind we are about to build, and the only argument left is whether it saves us or finishes us off. Matt Ridley thinks that whole habit of speech is a category error, and at ARC in London this week, the annual gathering of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, the science writer offered something cheerier and more curious instead: stop saying it, and start saying them.

Maurice Williamson: Move to Māori names “madness”

Imagine you’d decided to leave the car at home and make the shift to public transport.

After all, if you live around the Pakuranga part of town, you’ve been the subject of construction fatigue for years and years, and you finally thought “I might give the Eastern Busway a go”.

Mary Hobbs: Our beloved country – illusions laid bare

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall… think of it, always. — Mahatma Gandhi

In earlier decades New Zealanders seemed far more relaxed as they cruised through life. It was a time of no internet – yes, the ancient times! – and less government and local council interference. Overall, we revelled in celebrating what it was to be Kiwi.

John McLean: “OPERATIONAL”

Diametrically disparate attitudes towards political interference in New Zealand’s public sector

In late June 2026, it was revealed that the Independent Police Complaints Authority and the Police’s National Integrity Unit are investigating two historical complaints against current Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. Reports are that the complaints involve allegations of untoward sexual conduct on Chambers’ part, towards women. I’ve no idea about the merits of the complaints.

Ryan Bridge: Should we just ban kids' cell phones altogether?

Is banning smart phones for kids a dumb idea?

That would leave them with dumb phones, sans apps and the internet, just texts and phone calls.

Remember the old Nokia? Or Alcatels? They came in that weird light orangey-peachy colour and a purpley-blue.