Yvonne Van Dongen: Introducing The Clap-O-Meter

An unscientific gauge of public opinion at campaign meetings

After Quilae Wong was enthusiastically clapped at the Opportunity Party gathering for dismissing my concerns about women’s sex-based rights, I realised that spontaneous clapping was as good a gauge as any of audience sentiment - although in my case, it was the equivalent of being booed. Rude.

Since I plan to attend more random political party campaign meetings I decided to largely ignore what the aspirants say (it’s all hot air until they’re in power anyway) and listen for the claps. If nothing else, it would tell me something about the audience and their concerns.

Colinxy: Davina Smolders and the Price of Dissent

When “participation” means silence, and “consultation” means obedience

Every so often, a local‑government story breaks through the noise and reveals something deeper — not just a dispute over process, but a clash of political worldviews. The case of Davina Smolders, councillor for the Far North District Council, is one of those moments.

Pee Kay: The Sovereignty Machine

How Corporate Iwi Outmanoeuvre the Fragmented Right

New Zealand is witnessing the formidable operations of a highly sophisticated, unified political force, the Maori sovereignty machine.

Or is it more a case of what too many in New Zealand are not witnessing? We are sleepwalking into a constitutional crisis.

Lindsay Mitchell: Hipkins' play for the Maori seats

Yesterday Labour promised to reinstate the Maori Trades and Training Fund (MTTF) at a cost of $21 million annually. The fund was initially set up as part of the post COVID recovery spend. National later cut it to economise.

It's part of the by Maori, for Maori kaupapa so is run by maraes and iwi for mostly Maori participants. Reinstated, it will be exclusively for Maori. An evaluation of the scheme was generally positive.

Melanie Phillips: Britain’s moral depravity

The campaign against the Israeli “settlers” amounts to racist ethnic cleansing

Astoundingly, the British government is not only demanding that Israel ethnically cleanse its own people from their ancestral homeland but is proposing to punish it for refusing to do so.

The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is poised to announce “robust” sanctions targeting trade with Israeli “settlements” in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, as well as the sanctioning of Israelis linked to businesses there.

Vincent Cook: What Do “Capitalism” and “Socialism” Really Mean?

The old debate between socialism and capitalism is back. It wasn’t that long ago when socialist economics had been repudiated even by former Soviet insiders, businesses like Wendy’s and Miller ran clever television advertisements poking fun at the once-mighty but by then grossly dysfunctional Soviet Union, and the remaining leftist political parties in Western countries pivoted to focusing on promoting welfare statism while admitting that government controls over the means of production is a losing proposition. Back in the day, even people lacking the keen theoretical insights of a Ludwig von Mises could plainly see that actual attempts to realize socialism, however well-intentioned they were originally, only delivered totalitarian tyranny and mass impoverishment.

David Farrar: National does carrot and stick with student loans

Nicola Willis has announced some changes to the student loans scheme to reward those who stay in NZ and repay the loans, and targets those who go overseas and don’t. The changes are:

Mike's Minute: What a waste of time the social media bill was... this year

In the end, was this a “to do” about nothing?

The social media ban for under 16s is a global bandwagon that we were already late to.

And by the time it arrived on Monday, it turns out the party that wrote it didn't have the numbers.

Monday August 31, 2026 

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Roy Morgan: August National-led Government leads Labour-led Parliamentary Opposition (49% vs. 41%)

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for August 2026 shows the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) unchanged at 49%, maintaining a clear lead over the Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori Parliamentary Opposition, unchanged at 41% - and a record high 9.5%, up 1.5% support Opportunity.

Damien Grant: The tax lesson that starts with a surf trip....

....and ends with a warning for Labour

Who is Ceteris Paribus? Sounds like a Roman general who came to a sticky end fighting Asterix in the backwoods of Gaul. Sadly not. That is as fun as this column gets.

Let me paint you a picture; you painting a fence for $300 a day. It isn’t much but it is honest work. Enough to pay the rent, Netflix and a few beers come Friday.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 30.8.26

Monday August 31, 2026 

News:
A century without a marae, Te Kawerau-a-Maki granted $2.2m to kickstart
Auckland’s last remaining iwi without a marae is a step closer to a century old dream of rebuilding their home on their ancestral land in West Auckland.

Auckland Council has granted Te Kawerau ā Maki $2.2 million towards the first stage of building Te Henga Marae, set for the coast of Bethell’s Beach (Te Henga), alike the old pā site that once stood in the area.

Joanne Nova: China is building Ultra super critical coal fired power plants in just three years…

The speed of construction would blow a Western political mind

China pumped out 78GW of coal fired plants last year, which got me wondering why there was such a boom, especially since the current Chinese coal plants are only working at a bit over half their real capacity.

Andi Cocroft: Carbon Credits or Productive Landscapes?

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has reignited an important discussion about the future of New Zealand’s landscapes. His latest report argues that forestry should gradually be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), or at least its role significantly restricted, because the current system is encouraging carbon offsetting rather than reducing emissions at their source.

The recommendation will inevitably be viewed through the lens of climate policy, but there is a broader question that deserves equal attention.

Colinxy: Shooting the Messenger

An old fallacy in politics, dressed up as modern discourse

One of the most reliable indicators that someone has run out of arguments is when they stop attacking the point and start attacking the person making it. The logical fallacy is ancient — shooting the messenger — and it is often paired with its close cousin, poisoning the well. Together, they form the perfect shield for people who cannot, or will not, engage with ideas.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Summer is over. Now energy reality bites.

UK

British Gas boss warns of gas storage shortage

The boss of British Gas’s owner has warned the UK is facing the risk of gas shortages this winter as stockpiles fall. “We have almost no gas in storage in the UK for the coming winter, and this is a huge concern as energy security is national security.” The low storage levels leave Britain more open to paying higher prices for shipments of energy.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Balancing the books is only half the job

Over the past couple of weeks, the two major parties have told us about their fiscal policies. Both promise to return the budget to surplus before the end of the decade.

National aims to bring down government spending to 30% of GDP, while Labour wants to stabilise it around 33% of GDP. National has pledged not to introduce any new taxes, while Labour is campaigning on a new capital gains tax.

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: Rates caps are not ratepayer empowerment

No competent physician would prescribe a remedy for a symptom before determining its cause.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts wants to cap council rates increases at 2 to 4 percent. Why? Because, ratepayers have been hit with "steep and unexpected" rises that add to cost of living pressure.

That describes a symptom. It is not a diagnosis.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: A bad tax is not a down payment on a good one

On Monday evening, I sat on a panel at Foxglove on Queens Wharf in Wellington, where I was expected to play the neoliberal villain.

The Institute for Democratic and Economic Analysis is a think tank devoted to fighting poverty and political exclusion. It launched a new report on capital gains taxes, including the one Labour has proposed, and invited me to be one of the discussants.

A centre-left think tank, a Wellington audience and a Labour tax policy sounded like a home game for the tax. And I was presumably cast to declare that a capital gains tax would wreck the economy.

However, the evening did not follow that script.

Dr Eric Crampton: Protecting the children

This week, the government introduced legislation intended to protect youths from online harms.

If the Bill passes, covered social media platforms will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to stop under-16s from having accounts. Platforms that do not do enough will risk large fines. And Kiwis of every age could be blocked from accessing sites that fail to comply.