Breaking Views Update: Week of 2.8.26

Tuesday August 4, 2026 

News:
Hauraki Gulf shellfish harvesting ban extended until 2028
A ban on harvesting certain shellfish in parts of the Hauraki Gulf has been extended for another two years.

The fisheries closures ban mussels, pāua, and packhorse rock lobster from being taken within one nautical mile of Waiheke Island.

JC: Fauci Forced To Plead the Fifth Amendment

Not once, not twice, not three times but 111 times. You read that correctly. It is not a typo: one hundred and eleven times. Through last week’s Senate hearing and his own self-incriminating diaries Dr Anthony Fauci has now been exposed as among the worst human beings ever to walk on God’s earth. The type of behaviour he engaged in is unbelievable on so many fronts. He makes Megan Markle look a saint by comparison. She might be a narcissist, but she cannot be held responsible for actions that led to the deaths of millions of people worldwide. Fauci can.

Ani O'Brien: The Activists Behind Winston Peters' Mock Execution

Left wing political violence gets a free pass, again

On Saturday afternoon in downtown Auckland, a crowd gathered for what its organisers called “political theatre”. It began as a mock trial and ended with the symbolic execution of New Zealand’s Foreign Minister. The event, organised by the Migrant Workers Association of Aotearoa (MWA), saw an effigy of Winston Peters wheeled towards a mock guillotine before a crowd baying for the spilling of his metaphoric blood. Association president Anupam Kaloti acted as prosecutor, judge, and master of ceremonies although she assured critics that it was “satire”.

Pee Kay: Killing Prosperity with Good Intentions

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

We have all read and heard about the ETS but do we all know just exactly what the mechanics of the scheme are, why politicians are so obsessed with it and do we know just how much the ETS affects us as a country and personally?

I didn’t, my knowledge was superficial, so I went searching.

Duggan Flanakin: Mining the oceans for fresh water – and Uranium

About 450,000 residents in the Corpus Christi (Texas) metropolitan area are primarily served by fresh water from two severely threatened reservoirs, but the city has become increasingly reliant on water sent via the Mary Rhodes Pipeline from Lake Texana and the Colorado River. The city remains under stage 3 water restrictions despite recent heavy rains. Lake Corpus Christi is only a third full, while the rains raised Choke Canyon Reservoir’s water level to 20% full.

Nathan Smith: Change Comes From Within, Paul Henry

I like Paul Henry. He was always a bit of an unserious joker, but I think all his joking around has caused him to be confused about the reality of New Zealand politics.

Part of his stated reasons for getting into politics is to restore the country back to what he considers the “good old days” when he was growing up. He wants his grandchildren to enjoy the same benefits he enjoyed, and so his goal requires rolling back some of the more insane policies accrued over the decades.

Lindsay Mitchell: Outgoing Children's Commissioner calls for bigger benefits as swansong

Today on Q&A outgoing Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad told Jack Tame the idea that work alone will lift children out of poverty is a "fallacy".

Yet the US evidence says the opposite.

NZ has a very high rate of sole parent benefit dependency. So did the US. The two countries share the family breakdown of African Americans and Maori. The Maori ex-nuptial birthrate is currently 81 percent and Maori make-up 51 percent of sole parent beneficiaries (with a recorded ethnicity).

Ryan Bridge: David Brent strikes again

Did you see the news Prime Minister's pep talk to business leaders on Friday?

The business chamber boss said Rotorua's had its sharpest fall in business confidence in a decade, and business are wondering how long they can actually stay in business.

Luxon's reply is what got people talking.

Rodney Hide: Demography Is Destiny — And New Zealand Is Choosing Decline

Elon Musk is blunt: “Demography is destiny.” New Zealand’s numbers prove his point.

Our total fertility rate sits between 1.55 and 1.60 births per woman. A decade ago it was still around 2. The fall is across every major ethnic group:

Guest Post: InternetNZ Goes Full Retard

A guest post by Gary Benner on Kiwiblog

I received a report on the Strategy 2022-2026 Review for the InternetNZ Board, and noted one paragraph that has me somewhat bemused, befuddled, and a little concerned.

Monday August 3, 2026 

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Damien Grant: NZ’s inflation is moving faster than you think....

Like an accelerating e-scooter, NZ’s inflation is moving faster than you think

Picture the Waitemata. It’s expansive. The bridge to your left, Rangitoto on the right, CBD behind you and an e-scooter weaving wildly just out of your vision. Ice cream in hand, pistachio and mango, clear sky allowing the winter sun to warm your soul. We really are lucky to live in such a beautiful country.

When the idiot on the e-scooter ploughs into your side, tipping you forward so your face breaks the fall and the ice cream scatters across the creosote, which matters more; the speed that the e-scooter was travelling at the moment of impact or, alternatively, how far it had been ridden in the previous hour?

Let’s talk inflation.

NZCPR Newsletter: Reform Update

The Coalition’s proposed shakeup of local government is well underway. Time is now running out for councils to decide on the shape of their mergers.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: New Zealand ignores the Kiwi who saw the future coming

In 1987, on a school trip to the German countryside, my maths teacher made a prediction. Dr Müller had worked at IBM before turning to teaching in our industrial city, Essen. One day, he mused, fast data connections would let him live in a place like this without giving anything up.

I was twelve and had just unpacked my first computer, an Amiga 500 with 512 kilobytes of memory. I found Dr Müller’s idea so fascinating, I still remember that conversation.

Dr Michael Johnston: Is university still worthwhile?

New Zealanders have long seen university as the best educational route to the good life. Trades and industry training is seen as a second-best option.

That attitude has always been based more on prejudice than reality. Skilled tradies are paid well and many go on to start lucrative businesses of their own.

It is time for a serious re-think of the way young people are prepared for the choices they face when they leave school.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: As they (RMA replacement Bills) stand, no

Last week, Eric Crampton made the case for passing the RMA replacement Bills, while noting some risks in their current form.

Nick Clark argued that Parliament should pause them.

I promised a verdict. Here it is: the Bills still need work. Deadlines loom if the government wants to pass them this term. And it may not have time to get them into shape.

Richard Eldred: BP Puts North Sea Business Up for Sale, Ending 60 Years of Production

BP is putting its entire North Sea business up for sale, drawing a line under 60 years of production in the region. The BBC has the story:

The decision follows a review of BP’s operations as it seeks to slim down the group. Its North Sea business has five production hubs – two in the central North Sea and three west of Shetland – and employs about 1,100 people. …

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Using Orbán tactics to purge opponents is wrong way to clean up Hungary

Ask a well-informed European to name the Council of Europe's constitutional advisory body, and you will usually get a pause. I had to look it up myself last week, which is awkward for a Europe columnist, and worse for one with a doctorate in law.

It is called the Venice Commission, created in May 1990, six months after the Berlin Wall came down. Its founding resolution gave it the job of providing emergency constitutional aid to states in transition.

Dave Patterson: Where Does the US Stand With Iran?

President Trump has let it be known that he is not putting up with Tehran’s negotiating games. In response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) surprise attack, launching numerous ballistic missiles at American military facilities in Jordan on Tuesday night (July 28), America’s commander-in-chief said the strikes would be answered with ferocity. All incoming missiles were intercepted, and no damage was done, nor were US service members killed or injured. What the attack did accomplish, however, was to motivate the US president to act decisively. As Fox News reported: “The United States resumed airstrikes inside Iran Wednesday night in retaliation for Tehran’s attempted surprise ballistic-missile attack on American forces, as an Iran expert warned that the regime has become increasingly willing to test Washington despite its weakened military capabilities.”

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: The Big Debate

UK 

The Big Debate

A major debate is underway amongst the centre-right on energy and climate policies. This week, the Telegraph featured a series of opinion pieces by leading thinkers on the subject:

With half of country suffering from drought, Tim Stanley argued conservatives need to take climate change seriously – and our writers responded.