Karl du Fresne: Luxon still hasn’t got the hang of politics

“I’m not going to play that game,” Christopher Luxon said – rather lamely – when Tova O’Brien asked him how many Maori National MPs were in his cabinet.  

“It’s not a game,” countered O’Brien, doubtless trying hard to conceal her glee at having so easily caught the prime minister out.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 5.4.26

Thursday April 9, 2026 

News:
Pioneering School of Business opens at Waitākere College to empower West Auckland rangatahi
In a landmark move for vocational education in the region, Waitākere College has officially established its first-ever School of Business, designed to bridge the gap between secondary education and the corporate world for local rangatahi.

David Harvey: Justice Should Be Seen By All - A Sequel

Why Courts Chose Bluesky to Notify Decisions of Public Interest

On 27 March I wrote an article querying why the Courts of New Zealand had decided to abandon X in favour of Bluesky as a means of disseminating information about the release of decision of the Courts that were of public interest.

One of my criticisms of the move was that no reasons had been given for the move. It appeared to be a shift from a platform where there was a wide following to one that was something of a niche, “progressive” bent.

Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - The OIA at the crossroads

The Government is reviewing the Official Information Act behind closed doors. Most readers will immediately grasp the irony.

This review of the OIA wasn’t announced. It wasn’t publicised. It came to light because transparency advocate Andrew Ecclestone happened to be told about it, then revealed it to attendees at a parliamentary forum on democracy last month.

JC: TPU/Curia Poll Says It All

The points I outlined in my last article regarding the National Party’s poor poll numbers appear to have been borne out in the latest Taxpayers Union/Curia poll released on Tuesday. National has once again failed to crack the 30 per cent mark. Admittedly the 29.8 per cent number (up 1.4 per cent from the previous TPU/Curia poll) is up from the 26.5 per cent in last week’s Roy Morgan poll. However the inescapable fact is these numbers reflect poorly on the senior party in a government coalition. While not wishing to regurgitate the points made in Tuesday’s article, they are nonetheless relevant to this poll. National definitely needs a rethink in terms of the direction of its future travel.

Pee Kay: When pressure builds, Politicians react

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a 17th century Swiss writer and philosopher wrote – “Those who desire to treat politics and morals separately will never understand anything of either.”

You would have to agree wouldn’t you. The practice of politics must be reconciled with the imperatives of honesty and integrity. But is that possible in todays political world?

Colinxy: Revolution in Uniform - How the NZ Army Became a Vehicle for Ideological Transformation

Introduction: When the Army Starts Talking Like a University Department

Michael Laws’ recent commentary on The Platform has struck a nerve — and rightly so. When senior NZ Army officers begin speaking in the language of “transformation,” “bicultural realignment,” and “intergenerational change,” we are no longer dealing with military doctrine. We are dealing with ideology.

And not just any ideology. This is the vocabulary of Critical Theory, Critical Indigenous Theory, and the Te Tiriti–centred transformation agenda that has swept through the public sector since 2019.

The Army is simply the latest institution to be captured.

Elliott Ikilei: It is worse than you think - Far North Council has been taken over

Things are going badly wrong in the Far North, and the Government is choosing to sit on its hands and let it happen. We have to take action now.

A sitting councillor, Davina Smolders has come forward in an interview with Duncan Garner on his podcast and described what is happening inside the Far North District Council. This is no petty disagreement over policy. It is a fundamental shift in who is exercising power and the complete overriding of democracy.

Mike's Minute: Let's take a proper look at the polls

For what it's worth, let me have a crack at the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll.

Firstly, officially, I pay no attention to them other than a broad theme i.e. a collection of polls and an overarching trend.

The trend continues in this latest poll with the Government being re-elected by a fairly heavy margin, 65 seats to 55.

David Farrar: More taxpayer funded lobbying

The Taxpayers’ Union released:

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that the Ministry for Ethnic Communities funded $30,000 for Asturlab Cultural Centre to run a nationwide advocacy campaign, using taxpayer funds to promote pro-Palestinian narratives on the conflict in Gaza.

The campaign was a political lobbying campaign encouraging people to lobby the PM and MPs on this issue. I’m all for NGOs lobbying using their own money, but here we have bureaucrats handing out money to NGOs to lobby the Government on a highly contested political issue.

David Farrar: Another charity scandal

Bryce Edwards writes:

In Dunedin, a charity called Te Kāika has been receiving tens of millions of dollars in government funding to provide health and social services to some of the city’s most vulnerable people. Over the past year, the Otago Daily Times has been methodically pulling back the curtain on what is going on inside this organisation. The picture is not pretty: nepotistic governance, unexplained payments to the leadership, staff fleeing in droves, government contracts unfulfilled, a youth facility shut down over abuse allegations, and a senior manager convicted of domestic violence. The Department of Internal Affairs is now investigating.

And yet, almost nobody else in New Zealand media or politics has said a word about it.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Trump's won the battle, but will he win the war?

You might not like Donald Trump’s boorish ultimatums or his threats to end a civilisation but it worked, didn’t it?

Iran backed down with 90 minutes to spare. The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and they will go to Pakistan for ceasefire talks in two days.

Ryan Bridge: This ceasefire, can we celebrate yet?

Should we welcome a ceasefire? Yes, of course.

Should we count on it holding? No, of course not.

The Iranians now control a strait they didn’t control before the war and the Israelis are still dropping bombs in Lebanon even though this ceasefire apparently says they shouldn’t be.

Wednesday April 8, 2026 

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Duncan Garner: 'No Accountability’ - Far North Councillor On Co-Governance Power Shift

In this episode, Duncan Garner investigates the rapid shift toward unelected governance in the Far North District Council. Councillor Davina Smolders joins the show to blow the whistle on a committee structure where six elected members are sitting alongside 15 unelected iwi and hapu representatives—all with full voting rights on multimillion-dollar decisions.

Click to view

Barrie Davis: From Consultancy to Co-governance

At the 2023 election many New Zealanders voted for the present Coalition in the expectation that would result in the removal of the maorification of our constitution. Is the Coalition meeting that expectation? Given the results, how should we now approach the next election?

Judy Gill: The New Zealand Anglican Church - Ethnic Division, Gender Politics, Social Justice Language, and the Politics of Identity

Last month, members of Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa (the Māori Anglican Church) attended the installation in London of Sarah Mullally, the first woman to become Archbishop of Canterbury in the office’s 1,400-year history.[1] In Te Ao Māori News, Archbishop Don Tamihere (no relation to John Tamihere or David Tamihere) described the occasion as one in which a “Three Tikanga Church” could rightly rejoice, and he framed that response in terms of justice, equity, colonial history, and culturally grounded expressions of faith.[1]

Ryan Bridge: This war in Iran has been a total balls-up from Trump.

Lets' talk about the elephant in the room, this war in Iran has been a total balls-up from Trump.

He's cried wolf three times on his ultimatums.

He's said one thing and then in the next breath said exactly the opposite.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Do we think Trump will go through with the Iran threats?

Midday tomorrow - our time. That is the deadline Donald Trump has given Iran.

Now, if your reaction is something along the lines of not really caring because Donald Trump has set plenty of deadlines before and then walked away from them, that’s fair enough. All of that is true.

Pee Kay: This is a social and financial fraud of massive proportions…

It was no surprise to see the “usual suspects” swiftly turn to their harmonised friends in the MSM to condemn the coalition governments, 2025 announced, review of the Waitangi Tribunal.

“This review is not about efficiency or clarity, it is about control.”

“For nearly 50 years, the Waitangi Tribunal has played a vital role in advancing justice for Māori.”