Breaking Views Update: Week of 16.11.25

Monday November 17, 2025 

News:
Waitangi Tribunal hears North-Eastern Bay of Plenty claims
The North-Eastern Bay of Plenty District Inquiry (Wai 1750) covers around 30 claims from the region, including claims from Whakatōhea and Ngāi Tai. Hearings are being held at Kutarere Marae from 17 to 21 November.

Barrie Davis: Maori Myths - Colonial Realities

Ani Mikaere published He Rukuruku Whakaaro in 2011 which considers the effect of Maori customs, obligations and practice (tikanga) on European law, legal processes and teaching in New Zealand.

Mikaere’s book has had indirect influence on legal and policy developments through academic, judicial, and iwi-led channels. Her critique of Crown Law and advocacy for tikanga as a legal framework has contributed to acceptance of tikanga Maori in New Zealand’s legal system. Her writings have influenced iwi negotiators and Waitangi Tribunal members and are used in law schools, public sector education, and public service cultural competency programs.

David Round: Thoughts for our Time - Article 13

Although it may be a slight digression from the main direction of these columns ~ and I risk being accused of being part of a ‘white feeding frenzy’, in the words of the head honcho of one of the growing number of Maori Parties ~ it may be of interest to consider several recent ‘reports’ about what a dreadful country we are.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Asset recycling needs governance, not ideology

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this week opened the door to asset recycling. He suggested that the government could sell state-owned enterprises and commercial assets it no longer has any reason to own, to fund new infrastructure. He mentioned Kiwibank as one possibility, arguing that government ownership of a bank might not be the best use of public capital.

Dr Benno Blaschke: Grocery reform or procedural tweak

The Government deserves credit for wanting to make it easier for new supermarkets and other large projects to get off the ground. The Government’s broad approach is sound. There are currently too many unreasonable barriers, and more competition benefits consumers.

Last week’s amendment to the Fast-track Approvals Act, now before Parliament, intends to enable greater competition. It will also allow ministers to issue policy statements to guide decision-makers. One of these will focus on grocery competition.

Dr Michael Johnston: How to solve New Zealand’s population problem

The population of South Korea is about 51 million. In a hundred years, it will likely be about 11 million – a reduction of about 80%. Maintaining a steady population without immigration requires a fertility rate of about 2.1 – an average of slightly more than two children per woman. South Korea’s current fertility rate is about 0.75.

By the end of this century, China is likely to have a population of roughly half its present 1.4 billion. In part, this is a legacy of its one-child policy, implemented in 1979. Despite the cessation of the policy in 2015, though, China’s fertility rate continues to languish at about 1.1.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: EU mistaking paperwork for power, acronyms for armies

Last month, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her plans for 2026 to the European Parliament. She promised the continent would become the “master of its own destiny”, build its own armies, control key technologies and lead the green transformation without depending on America or China.

Kerre Woodham: Charging Ms Z would be a gross miscarriage of justice

How is it that the woman, who's at the centre of a cover-up by top brass within the Police, still has to go to court to defend two charges of causing harm by posting a digital communication? She's charged with harassing a police officer who was apparently investigating her accusations against that pervert McSkimming and with harassing the investigating police officer's wife.

Bob Edlin: How Trump put a rocket up US air traffic controllers to badger them back to work

PoO spotted this headline earlier in the week, before the US Senate did whatever was needed legislatively to have the government re-opened.

Sunday November 16, 2025 

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Geoff Parker: Kiwis need to be more forthright - Silence is Surrender

For too long, New Zealanders have watched in silence as governments of all stripes have chipped away at the principle that every citizen should stand equal before the law. The steady advance of race-based governance, special rights, parallel systems, and political power granted on the basis of ancestry has gone virtually unchallenged by the everyday New Zealander. That era has to end. This country won’t fix itself, and it certainly won’t return to democratic equality if the public continues to whisper their frustrations privately while remaining silent publicly.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Are blackouts inevitable?

UK

Are blackouts inevitable?

Energy expert Kathryn Porter warned that the UK faces a very real risk of blackouts. There appears to be little interest in the subject in Westminster.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 15 November 2025

A week is a long time in politics. Welcome to my weekly wrap up of the week that was in New Zealand politics with a sprinkling of international news.

The McSkimming Scandal: a system rotting from the top

The bombshell IPCA report into former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming has unearthed a culture problem in the NZ Police that goes far beyond just one creepy bad apple. One of the country’s most senior officers was shielded for years while a young woman was prosecuted under the Harmful Digital Communications Act for daring to report allegations against him.

Kerre Woodham: The problem with our retirement system

As you'll have heard in the news this morning, the Retirement Commissioner has called for a 10-year roadmap and cross-party agreement, following the release of its review of New Zealand's retirement system.

More Kiwis are living longer, working differently, and facing pressures around housing and care. We're facing a huge rise in the number of older people. At the same time, we're facing fewer working Kiwis who can pay for the associated costs of aged care. Current data shows that right now, for every 100 people of working age, we have 28 retirees. Those numbers are changing quickly. By 2050, just 25 years away, we're looking at 38 retirees per 100 workers. By 2060, we'll have twice as many retirees compared to workers.

Bob Edlin: The flight of 72,000 Kiwis.....

The flight of 72,000 Kiwis – they must be blind, because they can’t see that NZ is “the best place to be”

The Government’s gurgling about fiscal discipline and growth is countered by an increasing public debt, the rising cost of living and significant job losses.

An aging population is putting increasing pressure on New Zealand Superannuation and healthcare costs, which threatens to result in higher taxes or increased debt in the future.

Mike's Minute: Labour talks tough, but it rings hollow

It’s a slightly odd message from Labour over the Māori Party as they try and work out how to deal with them.

The truth is they will need them to form a government if they get their own numbers to a point of victory.

Ani O'Brien: Rot Part 2 - Corrupt top cops destroy trust in NZ Police

This is Part Two. I don’t know how many parts it will take, but it continues here. We left off Part One with Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura deciding that an investigation into the allegations about Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was appropriate after all…

Still no one had talked to Ms Z about the allegations or attempted to get a full report from her. Strangely, the initial terms of reference for Kura’s investigation do refer to the consideration as to “whether there is a need to speak with Ms Z’s parents.” By 2024, Ms Z was in her late 20s. Perhaps this is an admission that she was a particularly vulnerable person, but that would make arresting and charging her more outrageous.

Matua Kahurangi: Free speech under fire

Former judge David Harvey forecasts fresh online regulation push

Broadcaster Alastair Harding was joined by former Judge David Harvey (
A Halfling’s View ), broadcasting legend Peter Allan Williams and RCR’s co-founder Claire Deeks to unpack the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s (BSA) latest push to extend its powers into the world of online radio. What unfolded was a stark warning about where free speech and online regulation in New Zealand could be heading.

JC: Richard Chambers Is a ‘Top Cop’

I can justify my headline by revealing that I have known Richard Chambers and his family for nigh on 50 years. When Richard joined the New Zealand Police I was in no doubt he had a promising career ahead of him. The fact that he is now the ‘Top Cop’ is of no surprise to me. This man is as ‘honest as the day is long’. He has had a long and distinguished career in the police and he obviously caught the eye of the current Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

Scott Kennedy: Refocusing Education On Education

In early November, the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) released a media statement criticising the Government’s plan to remove Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities from school boards. The Federation described the move as “extreme” and “far right,” urging boards to continue giving effect to the Treaty in their governance.

It’s hard to overstate how disconnected this concern is from the real challenges facing education in New Zealand. It raises serious questions about whether the Federation is primarily interested in education itself or in promoting a programme of left-wing social engineering.