NZCPR Newsletter: Voters Deliver Wake-Up Call

Community disillusionment over councils going off the rails was on full display last weekend as voters reshaped local government in the 2025 elections.

Across the country, high-spending councillors were booted out and replaced by those promising more responsible financial management, greater community engagement, and increased accountability.

Judy Gill: Tikanga Blasphemy and Real Free-Speech Exceptions in State Law in New Zealand

“TIKANGA IS MUMBO-JUMBO” – Sean Plunkett declared.

No, you must cease and desist, or we will take your company down.

THIS IS BLASPHEMY AGAINST TE AO MAORI FUNDAMENTALISM, the state religion of Aotearoa!

– Chants the NZ Broadcasting Standards Authority.

Wendy Geus: National MP advocating for Tikanga taught in law school, unable to define it

As National fractures its Coalition agreement in its zealotry to appease Maori.

The BSA has announced it is stepping outside its legally defined lane to widen its remit to online media networks and has chosen outspoken Sean Plunket of The Platform as their first victim around a complaint regarding his 'racist' tarnishing of the word 'tikanga' by calling it, 'mumbo jumbo'.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Will the BSA have to back down on this?

Listen, I don't know how much most people will care about the drama that's unfolding with the BSA. Obviously here in radio world, we do, because these people are our watchdog.

But if you enjoy watching people try something on and then be forced to retreat, you might enjoy this one.

Ryan Bridge: Do our trading partners care about our climate goals?

This idea that our trading partners will somehow punish us for lacking ambition in climate change doesn’t pass the sniff test.

Yes, there are some provisions in some agreements, but they’re vaguely worded enough to get around.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.10.25

Friday October 17, 2025 

News:
University of Auckland backtracks on compulsory Treaty of Waitangi course
The University of Auckland has voted to make the compulsory paper covering the Treaty of Waitangi optional - against the wishes of over 400 university staff.

Act Party leader David Seymour called for the university to scrap its compulsory course covering the Treaty of Waitangi in March, describing the course as a “perversion of academic freedom” and “indoctrination”.

DTNZ: 100,000 workers set to walk off the job next week

An estimated 100,000 teachers, nurses, and healthcare workers across New Zealand are set to strike next week in what is being called the nation’s largest industrial action in decades.

The coordinated walkout on October 23 will include about 36,000 nurses, 11,500 other health workers, and 40,000 teachers demanding safer staffing levels, better pay, and improved conditions.

Peter Dunne: Deluded Politicians

The great Scottish poet Robbie Burns’ famous quote “O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us!" could well have been written solely for politics because politicians often have the greatest capacity for self-delusion. History is littered with examples – big and small – of politicians whose understanding of their circumstances has been completely, almost sadly, out of touch with the reality of their situation.

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: Owning less to achieve more

Why does the government need to continue owning or managing more than 77,000 housing units, given its poor track record in this area, especially when state assistance can be provided without extensive government ownership?

And why does it not release more land for housing?

Matua Kahurangi: Chlöe Swarbrick - Fighting for Gaza while ignoring Auckland’s homeless crisis

According to official information posted on X by political commentator Suit and Tie, and released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA), Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick has had just one formal meeting with Mayor Wayne Brown to discuss homelessness in the past 19 months.

Matua Kahurangi: The BSA has gone rogue

Online commentators could be next

I’ll say it up front. I am no fan of Sean Plunket. You probably already know that. The Broadcasting Standards Authority’s sudden move to claim power over his online platform is dangerous, undemocratic, and reeks of bureaucratic overreach.

Bob Edlin: Govt fails to lick the cone problem

Govt fails to lick the cone problem – but van Velden says the hotline (despite uncollected data) have helped to inform her

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden had many motorists cheering, back in March, when she banged out a press statement to boast (according to the headline) Going for growth: cutting health & safety red tape

She proceeded to proclaim that the Government

David Farrar: Why the BSA Board must go

It is heartening to see Winston Peters, David Seymour and Todd Stephenson lash the Broadcasting Standards Authority for their secret decision to expand their regime to the Internet. Winston may have been using hyperbole in comparing them to the Stasi, but they deserve odium for what they are attempting to do. Their conduct is so bad faith and outrageous that I believe the Government should sack the entire board.

Mike's Minute: First time home buyers need a leg up

One of the great myths of the modern economy is the idea that young people can't afford a house.

Now, the facts are that for every house sold, about a quarter of them, sometimes a little bit more, about 27% are in fact first-timers. That figure has been remarkably solid over any number of years in any type of market.

Thursday October 16, 2025 

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Ryan Bridge: A warning for Chris Hipkins

There’s a warning for Hipkins as he plots higher taxes for Kiwi businesses, investors, and savers - it comes from across the ditch.

Albanese’s been having problems getting his super tax plan across the line, despite having a majority in Parliament.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Are we surprised by these allegations we've heard about the Māori Party?

Listen, go on and tell me that any of the allegations that we've heard about the Māori Party in the last 36 hours surprise you.

Does it shock you in any way to find out that one of their MPs allegedly paid her son $120,000 of taxpayer money, that she couldn't apparently balance her own budget? And that her son allegedly abused parliamentary staff so badly that he was trespassed from the grounds?

John McLean: Nasty Noisy Nokise

Stuff’s Saturday broadsheet, The Post, is useful as a fire starter, but not for much else.

The Post’s Saturday 11 October 2025 edition contained an incendiary opinion piece from James Nokise, self-described at the bottom of his piece as a “regular opinion contributor, a comedian, writer, and podcaster”. So I can’t be accused of quoting James’ piece selectively or out of context, here it is:

Kerre Woodham: The failure of Fees Free

Do you want another example of Labour's ideology over pragmatism? I really, really hope that the previous Labour ministers have learned from their previous terms in government that thought bubbles and bright ideas do not sound policy make.

Remember Fees Free? The policy was introduced in 2018 and was a key part of Labour's election campaign. The first year of tertiary study would be free for students. It would progressively roll out to cover three years, which never eventuated. We, the taxpayer, provided up to $12,000 in tuition fee payments for the first year of provider-based study or the first two years of work-based learning. The idea behind the objective was sound and worthy.

Centrist: How much is framing versus misinformation fuelling media distrust?

Is it really about trust, or is it about framing?

Each year, surveys show media trust falling. Commentators blame social media or disinformation. But perhaps the public isn’t rejecting facts. Maybe they’re rejecting how those facts are framed.

“Framing” is the editorial layer added to facts. Which details are spotlighted, which are buried, and what tone guides interpretation? Readers know who the prime minister is. What drives disengagement is the slant: whether stories are cast as triumphs, failures, or excuses.