Anne Struffmann: The West’s Free Speech Consensus Is Fracturing

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s recent attack on online anonymity exposed a widening disagreement between Europe and the United States over what freedom in the West should mean.

Earlier this month, a young German researcher asked Merz what a pending digital ID law would mean for whistleblowers and investigative journalists. The Chancellor responded: “Please, nobody come to me with free speech.”

Guest Post: Some Advice for King Charles

Some humble advice for King Charles in his discussions with Caribbean politicians who think Britain owes them squillions, says Tim Sargent: slavery was in the Caribbean and Africa long before the British came along.

Pee Kay: Integrity was very important back in the day!

Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) the foundational Classical Greek philosopher who spent his life in Athens questioning its citizens about their ethics and their virtue. He didn’t write anything down, but he did make a lot of powerful enemies by teaching the city’s youth to question authority.

Eventually, the government/Athens had enough. At age 71, he was dragged to court on two serious charges: disrespecting the local gods and corrupting the youth.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Berlin used to be ‘poor and sexy’ – now it’s afraid

Last Wednesday, at 9.46am, an email reached the Berlin office of Der Spiegel, Germany’s leading news magazine. Elif Eralp, the left-wing politician most likely to become Berlin’s next mayor, will wish it had never been sent.

Attached was the transcript of an interview two Spiegel journalists had conducted with her two days earlier. German papers like to run interviews as a straight exchange of questions and answers. The journalists tidy the conversation and cut it to fit the page.

DTNZ: Greenland ratifies Trump deal

Washington is now set to expand its military footprint on the Danish-owned Arctic island.

Greenland’s parliament ratified on Tuesday a security agreement reached earlier this year with US President Donald Trump, Reuters has reported. The deal, which is backed by Denmark, provides for an expansion of the US military presence on the Arctic island.

Bob Edlin: Nurse is suspended for stealing from a patient.....

.....but is that more forgivable than a Treaty breach?

PoO is intrigued by the case of the nurse who says he is extremely sorry for stealing a disabled patient’s debit card to fund his gambling proclivities.

NewstalkZB reports

Ryan Bridge: The world's on Trump Temper Tantrum Watch

The world is now officially on Trump Temper Tantrum Watch.

So far, he's been relatively gracious about the absolute thumping the Dems handed him.

What happened last night has only happened three times since WWII – both the House and Senate flipping parties.

Tom McClurg: The AI race between the United States and China is at our door

China and the US share a belief that an economy running on AI will outbuild, outproduce and outpace one that doesn’t. AI is the new oil, the driver of economic growth and, if that is so, the countries that are part of that emerging industry will have an obvious set of economic advantages over those that don’t.

For decades New Zealand has walked a pathway that has allowed us to expand trade with a burgeoning Chinese economy while relying on the protection of our traditional allies. Successive governments have described this best-of-all-worlds approach as an independent foreign policy.

Mike's Minute: Move-on orders were a storm in a teacup

If you believed the heat in the debate, letting the police move people on was some sort of dystopian incursion by an overlord destined for revolt and rampage on our streets.

The Labour Party still argues the Government made homelessness illegal, which of course they did not.

At the very start of the scrap was the basic idea that too many people were having their day ruined by too many other people who seemed to think they could behave any way they wanted with no consequences.

Friday November 6, 2026 

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Karl du Fresne: A pilgrimage to the deep South

My wife Jolanta and I are fond of road trips – so much so that we’ve pretty much run out of new places to visit. There isn’t a town in New Zealand that we haven’t been to, most of them several times.

In 2023 we drove to Cape Reinga. On our latest peregrination we drove as far as we could in the opposite direction, ending up in Invercargill. (Jolanta soon tired of me lamely joking “We’re taking this car to Invercargill”, a line readers might recognise from a certain popular film.)

David Farrar: Final Bribeometer Update

The bean counters at the Taxpayers’ Union have done a final update on the extra spending that each party is promising.

 

Dr Muriel Newman: Who Really Runs New Zealand?

Talking with Maree Buscke, Dr Muriel Newman argues that New Zealand’s democratic system has developed serious structural problems, leaving elected governments struggling to deliver their mandates. She examines the influence of the public service, the Reserve Bank, the courts and the Waitangi Tribunal and calls for major institutional reform.

Click below to listen to the interview on RCR.

 

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Will NZ First have to fire Michael Laws over these comments?

I am no defender of what Michael Laws has said, and I made it pretty clear that I think what he said was quite weird and gross.

But I would also find it really weird and over the top if it turns out that New Zealand First fires him as an MP for this.

I mean, that does seem to be a possibility here, right?

Ryan Bridge: More Kiwis will be watching sport over the election this weekend

Here's an election prediction for you.

Look out. Incoming. Hot take. Reckons. Newsflash.

More people New Zealanders will watch sport this weekend than follow the election.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 1.11.26

Friday November 6, 2026 

News:
Council ignores staff, mana whenua advice on voting rights
Invercargill City councillors have rejected recommendations from staff and mana whenua to seek an exemption under a new Government voting rights rule.

This week, the council discussed a recent legislative change that removed voting rights for non-elected members on council committees.

Pee Kay: The Ultimate Political Irony

The Quiet Return of He Puapua inside The Opportunity Party

We all know the dangers and long-term implications for democracy should the radical proposals within He Puapua gain an even stronger foothold in our country’s governance structures. Yet, many New Zealanders remain completely unaware of how close this ideology is to entering Parliament through parties claiming to be centrist or pragmatic.

Let’s look at exactly what is being proposed.

Gary Judd KC: “Two-ticks National”

Wisdom or dogmatic stupidity?

Václav Havel was the last president of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993-2003). He died in 2011. Before entering politics, he was a playwright, dissident, and leading figure in the Velvet Revolution that ended communist rule. Regarded as a symbol of democracy and human rights, he was arguably the country’s most recognized political figure worldwide. [en.wikipedia.org], [britannica.com]

Peter Williams: Seat by Seat

A decent overhang looks like the right’s only path to victory

Although we’re bombarded with polls on a regular basis as we close in on November 7th, the unique circumstances of this year’s election mean two things - this will the largest parliament in our history and the side with the biggest overhang will be able to form a government.

Today’s Taxpayers Union - Curia poll has forecast a hung parliament at 60 seats each, including Opportunity coming in with 7 seats. But Te Pati Maori is only credited with one seat, based on their party vote of 1.1.

Bob Edlin: A reminder of the Dickson case....

......tribunal is ruling on real estate agents’ work for reasons unrelated to their beliefs

PoO has noted this news from Stuff:

Two real estate agents committed unsatisfactory conduct by assuring buyers all earthquake damage was repaired and failing to investigate red flags that would have revealed an uncompleted retaining wall claim and a $37,350 Earthquake Commission payout.