Ryan Bridge: Religious leaders' messages work better without politics

Trump's at war with the Pope again, this time over Iran. Last time it was over Gaza.

Usually the pontiff is a bit more low-key, just praying and kissing babies and cruising round in the white robe in the Pope-mobile, like Batman but less cool.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.4.26

Wednesday April 15, 2026 

News:
No 'peace of mind' until managed retreat from vulnerable areas - iwi leader
The deputy prime minister says it is up to local communities, not necessarily the government, to decide whether they need to relocate as climate change worsens.

And a local iwi leader agrees, saying it will take a "whole of community approach" to make the hard calls required to create "peace of mind".

Bob Edlin: When safety notices are ignored, councils might turn to rahui.....

When safety notices are ignored, councils might turn to rahui – or maybe risk-takers should be told not to bother with an SOS

Tauranga city authorities might be musing on whether they should have tried a rahui to keep people off Mount Maunganui beach and Moturiki Island at the weekend

Brendan O'Neill: The glorious Irish revolt against globalist insanity

There’s nothing like a drivers’ revolt to tease out the classism of the new elites. Then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau invoked the wartime Emergencies Act against truckers who had the temerity to agitate against Covid-19 vaccine mandates. European farmers who rose up against an eco-hike in fuel taxes were furiously denounced as ‘far right’ by the gated ponces who rule over them. And now in Ireland, the cossetted moralists of Dublin 4 have been roused into a frenzy of anti-worker bigotry by that most awful of sights: farmers, truckers, cabbies and others protesting over soaring fuel prices.

David Farrar: Labour shoots itself again

Do you remember Chris Hipkins complaining National hadn’t consulted Labour over NCEA changes, and then it transpired their spokesperson had turned down multiple offers from the Minister to brief her.

Well they’ve done it again. Chris Bishop writes:

David Farrar: Exporters call for India FTA support

The Herald reports:

Some of New Zealand’s top exporters and business associations have signed an open letter calling on all political parties to back New Zealand’s free trade agreement with India. …

The open letter, organised by BusinessNZ, was signed by 28 exporters and industry associations, such as Federated Farmers, Zespri, Seafood New Zealand and Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

Mike's Minute: We need to take a good, hard look at ourselves

I'm an AvGeek. I like plane and travel videos and one of the regulars I watch is a guy called Nonstop Dan.

He's American and has just been here giving the world the predictable view of the place.

He can't believe how amazing it is, he can't believe how remote it is, and he is thinking of moving here.

Dave Patterson: Big Risks, Big Rewards for Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade

When the talks between the US and Iran failed, the Trump administration took direct action. The United States Navy will establish a traditional blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, preventing transit into or out of the waterway. Historically, blockades are seldom used, since they require a significant number of naval resources to be effective. When they are used successfully, however, they make a difference. “Throughout the history of warfare and into the present, blockading continues to prove itself one of the most effective ways of pressuring an enemy,” observed Army Major Joshua Howard in his monograph, From Napoleon to Netanyahu: Blockading Through Two Centuries.

American Blockade – A Rare But Effective Choice

Bruce Cotterill: Oil crisis - Why New Zealand needs a ‘kamikaze Cabinet’ to fix the economy

We’re getting ourselves quite worked up about oil prices. And it’s probably fair.

Despite three decades of climate mumbo jumbo warning us that we need to abandon fossil fuels for the sake of the planet, the events of the last few weeks have highlighted that we’ve made little such progress and we are still heavily reliant on the black stuff.

Bob Edlin: Tensions over co-governance spread from Far North to Hastings....

Tensions over co-governance spread from Far North to Hastings – but Simon says he sees no cause to intervene

A headline on the OneNews website suggests Simon Watts might be earning his keep – at last – on the wretched issue of elected councillors sharing their powers with unelected iwi appointees.

It says: Local Government Minister puts scrutiny on Far North District Council.

That’s his response – presumably – to a councillor in the Far North hoping to put him on the spot by calling for his intervention.

But he’s not ready to intervene. For now, he has delegated the exercise of his authority to departmental minions:

Tuesday April 14, 2026 

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NZCPR Newsletter: Warning for National

Political polls provide a snapshot of voters’ views at a particular moment in time. While polls conducted months before an election cannot reliably predict the outcome – given the potential for unforeseen events – they nonetheless offer political parties a valuable guide as to how they are tracking with the electorate.

Sean Plunket: James Christmas’ First Media Interview As New ACT Candidate

PLATFORM INTERVIEW:

Click to view

The Platform's Sean Plunket interviews barrister James Christmas - ACT's new candidate for the Tamaki electorate.

Former National Party candidate James Christmas, who was tipped as a potential minister and Attorney-General, will contest this year’s election as a candidate for the ACT Party. He is one of eight people vying to become ACT’s candidate in Auckland’s Tāmaki electorate.

Peter Hemmingson: ACT, Then and Now - Have We Seen This Movie Before?

As a long-time supporter of Richard Prebble’s original vision for ACT, I’m highly uneasy about what appears to be a familiar pattern re-emerging.

When Prebble brought Donna Awatere-Huata into the party, I questioned the decision at the time. Her background in radical Māori separatist group Ngā Tamatoa and openly expressed sympathy for Marxist economic ideas sat uneasily with ACT’s commitment to free markets, individual responsibility, and equal citizenship.

Steven Gaskell: Redefining “Veteran” in New Zealand - Fair Recognition or Fiscal Reality?

With ANZAC Day fast approaching, the debate over how New Zealand defines a “veteran” is once again gaining momentum. Advocacy groups such as the No Duff Charitable Trust are calling for a broader, more inclusive definition, arguing that the current system leaves many former service personnel without recognition or support. Under the Veterans' Support Act 2014, eligibility for most government assistance is largely restricted to those with “qualifying operational service” typically meaning deployment to recognised conflict or high-risk zones. For many, this creates a clear divide between those who served in such environments and those who did not, regardless of the wider impacts of military life.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Does our news just have the wrong priorities?

Right, here’s a question I’d like to answer: Do we all have strange priorities in this country, or is it just the evening TV news that does?

Last night, I sat through 13 minutes of TV One telling me nothing had happened with the cyclone before we finally got to the Iran situation, where something actually had happened.

Elizabeth Rata: Neotribal Capitalism and Co-Governance

In a Nutshell

Capitalism creates prosperity. But its relentless drive to accumulate must be controlled by democratic politics. Neotribal economic corporations (the 'neo' means they are different from the pre-modern tribal re-distributive economy) are like socialist ones. They merge the economy with politics. Dangerously, they institutionalise the merger in legislation, policy and practice. Because those combined interests are invisible, they are unchallengeable.

John McLean: Clark Foul Play

A play called Helen Clark in Six Outfits is currently being performed at Auckland’s Waterfront Theatre. The play is about ex-Prime Minister and current de facto Labour Party leader, Helen Clark. The real Helen Clark attended the official opening night on 9 April. Radio New Zealand host Jesse Mulligan interviewed Clark, at the venue, after the performance.

Lindsay Mitchell: Immigrants pull their weight

Just-released March 2026 ethnic data shows Maori form the largest group of dependent unemployed people.

At the end of March 2026, 48,261 Maori were receiving a Job Seeker-Work Ready benefit (Job Seeker-Health Condition/Disability is a separate category for those considered temporarily unemployed due to illness.) NZ Europeans followed at 43,626. Pacific people occupy third place at 19,005. Asians trail back at 6,840 with Middle Eastern/ Latin American/ African people numbering 2,178.

Mike's Minute: The Judge Aitken case is finally over

I'm pleased for Judge Emma Aitken. She lives to rule another day.

That dreadful night at the Northern Club that threatened to derail her career has not ended in the calamity it could have.

The adjudicators didn’t like what she did. But equally she isn't losing her job.