Peter Hemmingson: Matariki and Kwanzaa – Sister-Celebrations of Marxist-Leninist Identity Politics

Organised Matariki Festivals are a comparatively recent fabrication.

The Carter Observatory's learning and programming manager, John Field, said in a 2013 article published on www.stuff.co.nz:

"If you went back about 15 years, no-one had heard of Matariki. It was only celebrated in the far north or middle of the North Island," he said. "After Te Reo became more popular, Matariki became much more of a celebration."

Matt Ridley: The most important thing to happen in 1776

Happy Independence Day, rational optimist. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, Matt Ridley reflects on the 1776 innovation that made it possible for democracy and free enterprise to flourish... Enjoy.

The Declaration of Independence, written 250 years ago this week, was a bright torch of the Enlightenment. So was Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, also published 250 years ago this year. But for me the most momentous happening in 1776 was the inauguration of James Watt’s first practical steam engine.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 5.7.26

Saturday July 11, 2026 

News:
Matariki Pā: Ancient site returned to local hapū after more than a century in private ownership
A significant ancestral pā site near the mouth of the Clarence River in Kaikōura has been returned to Ngāti Kurī, marking the end of more than a century of the land being in private hands.

The purchase of Matariki Pā — 45 hectares of land north of the Waiau Toa Clarence River — was finalised in June through Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura and the Murray family, who had owned the property since the early 1900s.

Clive Bibby: Time passes but real friendships endure

A recent encounter with an old school mate from 1958 has provided the opportunity to share a story which reflects on a bygone era that helped to make us what we are today.

Sadly, due to the selfish and deliberately divisive activities of some modern politicians and community leaders, those days of racial harmony appear lost forever.

Caleb Anderson: Information and intelligence are not the same thing

It seems that we live in an age of abundant information. But is this making us more, or perhaps less, intelligent? Why, with vast amounts of information at our fingertips, are we more uncertain, divided, and confused, on so many fronts?

We are swimming in information and drowning in confusion.

Colinxy: Why the Minimum Wage Hurts the Poor.....

Why the Minimum Wage Hurts the Poor — And How Unions Used It to Enforce Racial Exclusion

Few policies enjoy such unearned moral prestige as the minimum wage. It is presented as a simple act of compassion: raise the legal wage floor, and the poor will rise with it. Politicians love it because it costs them nothing. Activists love it because it sounds righteous. Unions love it because it protects their members from competition.

John McLean: Jagose Stays Close

The frightful former Solicitor-General who refuses to go way

The New Zealand Law Association is doing an admirable job enabling subversive, activist lawyers to expose themselves. The Association is a divine reincarnation of the former Auckland District Law Society. Unlike the New Zealand Law Society, the NZ Law Assn has no statutory authority and doesn’t try to hound un-Woke lawyers out of the legal profession. I’ve previously covered the Law Society’s brutal, unlawful hounding of heterodox lawyers:

John MacDonald: Time to think bigger than solar panels on the roof

Whatever happened to this country’s ability to think big on the energy front?

And why is it that we’re not doing the same with solar energy and why are our politicians relying on households to do the heavy lifting?

I mention thinking big intentionally. Because that’s what we did back in the 1970s and 1980s, especially with the big hydro power schemes.

Brendan O'Neill: How Britain’s cops became the armed wing of wokeness

From arresting critics of Muhammad to mistreating white men, the police have become the enforcers of woke tyranny.

Insulting Muhammad. Criticising a local councillor. Being a white lad who gets punched in the head by a gang of black kids. In Britain in 2026, these are the ‘crimes’ that get the cops off their a***s. They might not be able to find the lowlifes who burgled your home or the gang members who groomed your daughter. But they’ll come running if you diss Islam or have a pop at a Green politician or commit the heinous sin of being white and male on a night out. Welcome to your two-tier tyranny.

Kerre Woodham: Bring on the solar

Everybody's into the solar energy now. National announced its solar energy policy last week and most people thought it was a sound idea, good common-sense idea. The party, if elected, would launch the Home Energy Fund by tweaking the Local Government Act and committing a one-off $7 million equity investment to secure a 20% shareholding in the new entity with the balance funded by participating councils.

Bob Edlin: Sex and leadership.....

Sex and leadership – Albanese says sorry for his indiscretion but Trump fights on in the courts

Australian supporters of the Socceroos went viral during the 2026 FIFA World Cup for an anti-Donald Trump chant.

The chant – widely circulated on social media – had simple lyrics:

Guest Post: RNZ National – Trapped?

A guest post on Kiwiblog by Fish Across Face:

This follows on from my recent post about the NZ media ecosystem and focusses more on the central challenge faced by the state radio broadcaster.

It’s now clear RNZ National has defied the laws of gravity, albeit in reverse. A massive increase in funding courtesy of the last Labour government has somehow transmogrified into serious erosion of fortunes – namely trust, and by extension, bums on seats.

Friday July 10, 2026 

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Robin Grieve: The Medical Council's Shocker of a Consultation Document

Simeon Brown was right not to renew the terms of the Medical Council's chair and deputy chair, but he should have gone further. The Council's consultation documents on its proposed cultural competency requirements suggest an organisation more interested in social engineering and promoting critical race theory than in setting professional standards relevant to the delivery of healthcare.

Barrie Davis: A Republican Commonwealth for Aotearoa?

I am fed up to the back teeth with the Treaty of Waitangi. We have been right royally rorted by academics and well-trained lawyers claiming to show that the Treaty means the opposite of what it says. So, you may well wonder why I recently purchased a copy of Te Tiriti, Equality and the Future of New Zealand Democracy (2026) by Dominic O’Sullivan (Te Rarawa, Ngati Kahu), political scientist and professor at Charles Sturt University in Australia (here).

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: National's roading announcement was a massive letdown

Let's not pretend that this roading announcement is not a massive letdown for anyone who voted for the National Party believing it would deliver the roads it promised. It is a huge letdown.

Of the 15 Roads of National Significance promised following the last election, only six have construction dates: Takitimu North Link Stage 1 in Tauranga, Ōtaki to north of Levin, the Hawke's Bay Expressway, Warkworth to Te Hana, Cambridge to Piarere and the Ōmanawa Bridge. I don't even know where that is.

Brendan O'Neill: Nigel Farage lays down the gauntlet

In triggering a by-election in Clacton, he has disarmed the media elites and empowered working-class people.

With righteous indignation, Nigel Farage has resigned today as MP for Clacton, triggering a by-election that he intends to fight. He’s giving up his seat in the hope he’ll win it back. Why?

Rodney Hide: RODNEY HIDE - Breaking news, 15 December - “He’s done it again!”

Mr Winston Peters remains New Zealand’s most enduring and adaptable political survivor. First elected to Parliament in 1978—just months after Sir Keith Holyoake resigned as Governor-General -- Mr Peters and Sir Keith bridge nearly a century of our parliamentary history. Sir Keith entered Parliament in 1932; together, these two men span the modern era. With his bearing and suits, Mr Peters would have slotted seamlessly into Sir Keith’s cabinet. Yet unlike the tuatara, frozen in its Jurassic adaptations, Mr Peters thrives in new terrain. He masters social media with a precision few politicians match, turning tweets into scalpel-sharp commentary.

Mike's Minute: I'm not convinced the Reserve Bank was right

You can't bag the Monetary Policy Committee.

Well, you can, but in this case, you would be fairly churlish.

Personally, I would have held, but given the vote was done by consensus I clearly would have been a lone voice.

Ryan Bridge: National needs Labour's support on its social media bill

Where is National's social media bill at?

We know Seymour doesn't like it. Winston is apparently has reservations with the wording, though that's only according to Stuff, rather than the man himself.

Labour might need to step in and save the day by supporting it from across the aisle.