Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Miliband’s humiliation

UK

Gas prices up

Gas prices rose by nearly 20% after Israel and Iran started bombing each others’ territories. Some observers wondered about the wisdom of Ed Miliband’s efforts to close down UK oil and gas production.

Ross Meurant: Spot the Difference - or the Similarity

Drug Cartels in Central & South America, have massive influence on who stays alive and who dies. Anyone who stands against or interferes in the commercial operations of suppling drugs to the major market i.e. America, is in serious danger of death. Such is the power of fear imposed on populations where these parasitic elements operate with virtual impunity.

The latest example being Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, a 39-year-old senator who remains in intensive care after he was shot three times - twice in the head - at a campaign event in the capital, Bogotá.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 15.6.25

Saturday June 21, 2025 

News:
New classrooms for Kura Kaupapa announced
The government has announced $28 million will be spent on building more "safe, warm and dry classrooms" for tamakari in Māori full immersion schools.

Twenty new classrooms will be built across four providers, and work will begin on the first stage of a new school north of Auckland.

John Robertson: Matariki the spiritual spearhead of a broader ideological movement

Now, cue the inevitable deflection: “But what about Christmas and Easter?”

It’s the go-to rebuttal. As if raising questions about one tax-funded spiritual holiday demands you condemn all the others. But let’s get something straight — this isn’t about whether a holiday has religious roots. It’s about how that holiday functions today.

Graeme Spencer: The South Canterbury Museum promotes matariki as a special day.

 Special day - what a joke - it wasn't, still isn't, it was relatively unknown until comrade Jacinda promoted it in an effort to bestow Maori wonderfulness on an unsuspecting public. It didn't bother her that it costs NZ businesses around $450 million per year.

Matariki was never a maori "thing". The so called maori new year is just a woke cultural appropriation of something that never was. Do people not wonder why it's never been celebrated before and all of a sudden it appears on the scene and nobody questions it?

So what are we celebrating here ?

Chris Lynch: Government launches major overhaul of transport rules to lift productivity

The Government has announced a sweeping reform of New Zealand’s land transport rules, aiming to cut red tape, reduce costs, and boost productivity across the country’s transport system.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the current rules framework was out of date and burdened everyday road users and businesses with unnecessary compliance costs.

Brendan O'Neill: Israel’s clash with Iran is nothing like the Iraq War

Remember when Saddam Hussein sponsored an army of fascists that invaded the United States and raped and murdered thousands of Americans? And when he funded a gang of religious fanatics to fire thousands of rockets at people in Leeds and Manchester here in the UK? And when he himself pressed the button on ballistic missiles that landed on New York City and London? No, me neither. Which makes it perplexing that Israel’s push against Iran is being compared to the Iraq War of 2003 – for Iran has done all of that to the Jewish nation, and it dreams of doing more.

Roger Partridge: Parliament is asking tough questions about whether taxpayers are getting value for money

This year, the Government will spend nearly $190 billion. Yet we know remarkably little about whether those billions represent value-for-money.

The centrepiece of public sector performance is the Budget – a 700-page ledger of planned spending by department and programme. But it is not a performance report. It tells us how much government is doing, not what it is accomplishing. It measures dollars appropriated, not lives improved. That focus on inputs and activity – not outcomes – has shaped the way government manages itself for more than a century.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: What happens when good governance becomes the enemy

Something odd is happening in New Zealand. The government wants to pass a law that would require ministers to explain their regulatory decisions. That is it. Ministers would simply need to show how new rules stack up against basic principles like clarity and fairness.

Yet somehow, 88 per cent of public submissions on this modest ‘Regulatory Standards Bill’ – nearly nine out of every ten – have condemned it.

Ele Ludemann: No ute tax

An email from the Rural Nats clears up the issue of a fringe benefit tax on utes:

Nobody backs Kiwi farmers more than National.

We want to make that crystal clear, because there’s been a couple of misinformed stories floating around about new taxes coming for utes.

This is absolutely not true.

Friday June 20, 2025 

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Elizabeth Rata exposes the Treaty sabotage being proposed for the education system.

Elizabeth Rata chats to Michael Laws on The Platform about the sneaky clause in the 'Education and Training Amendment Bill number two'.

Click to view

Mike's Minute: The move of the week from the Govt

I think this was the move of the week.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop dropped the bombshell on local body operators that the Government has decided to give him the power to intervene around housing in local body decision making.

John McLean: Woe betide us when parliament's words no longer matter

As a child, I believed my grandmother simply started knitting, without an end in mind, and on each occasion an unforeseen woolen item would magically take shape.

I felt much the same when I began reading tracts of Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s screeds of words. He seemed to me to be aimlessly banging away at his keyboard, invested with nothing but inchoate hope for a useful result.

But what’s Sir Geoffrey really been up to?

Dr Eric Crampton: This land is your land to make the best use of

Imagine that you owned a vacant piece of land. You were trying to decide whether to put solar panels on it to generate electricity or to plant trees on it to sequester carbon and earn carbon credits.

It would be strange to also have to weigh how good that land might be for horticulture or for raising sheep, if you had already ruled both out.

Peter Williams: Do we need Matariki propaganda?

Happy Matariki.

Despite the best efforts of government funded media initiatives, you really have to wonder just how common that greeting will be in the next few days.

Peter Dunne: Postcode healthcare lottery

Health Minister Simeon Brown's desire to make greater use of private hospital capacity to bring down elective surgical waiting lists makes sense. So too does his plan to increase the period for which private hospitals can be contracted to the public sector from three years to ten years. That will provide more certainty to both sectors about future capacity requirements and should allow for better long-term planning. Not to mention better service to the public.

Eliora: Gen Z Men Are More Conservative

Young peopl6 traditionally vote for Democrats in elections, but a conservative shift among Gen Z voters helped President Donald Trump secure the keys to the White House in November 2024. If this trend is sustained, partisan realignment could hamper the Democrat's chance of success in future elections and bolster the Republicans instead, reshaping American politics.

JC: Where Are the Real World Leaders?

If World War III were to break out, then God help the planet. You wouldn’t need to worry about climate change because there wouldn’t be much left to worry about.

Most of the world leaders today are wimps who spout the nonsense of de-escalation. Tell me what that is going to achieve…nothing – apart from putting off the inevitable day of reckoning. That day will come, if not now, then at some point in the future. Anyone who thinks otherwise is naïve.

Ele Ludemann: Cap rates now

Local body rate increases several times several times higher than the rate of inflation are fuelling inflation and are one of the biggest drag on the economy.

Year after year councils show they are incapable of restraining their spending voluntarily, it’s more than time New Zealand joined Australia and the UK in imposing rate caps on them.

David Farrar: A clear line

The Herald reports:

Ngāti Hine leader Pita Tipene is ruling out a settlement under this Government after remarks made by Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith.

Goldsmith said on Tuesday the Government would not agree to Treaty settlements that disputed whether the Crown is now sovereign.

Mike's Minute: The real world is catching up to Radio New Zealand

Now, perhaps the most startling thing of the news yesterday that our old mates at the state radio broadcaster have opened a voluntary redundancy programme, is that they've never done that before.

100 years they've been doing the business at Radio New Zealand. 100 years, never had a voluntary redundancy. Tells you something about how insulated the real world from the real world they are.

Thursday June 19, 2025 

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Michael Laws: On Treaty Rules That Will Destroy New Zealand's Education System

Michael Laws > "This is very possibly the most important interview in the history of The Platform because the exposure of the sabotage or intended sabotage of the government's educational objectives by senior public servants within the Ministry of Education, as contained in the 'Education and Training Amendment Bill number two'....."

Matua Kahurangi: Luxon just blew tens of thousands on a haka holiday

You know you're stuffed when Labour is ahead of you in the polls. That's exactly what's happening under Christopher Luxon’s so-called leadership. Labour has gained 7 points since the election. Chris Hipkins is now the preferred Prime Minister. The sasuage eater who still “doesn’t know what a woman is" is the better option.

While Luxon prances around in China playing cultural dress-up with Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue and a handful of senior ministers, Hipkins, the same bloke who cheated on his wife and wrecked his marriage, is overtaking him in popularity. Honestly, I’m not surprised. Luxon is a damn sellout.

NZCPR Newsletter: A Question of Sovereignty

Who’s running our country?

It seems like a simple enough question.

In New Zealand, our Parliament is sovereign. With National, ACT, and New Zealand First commanding a majority of votes in the House, the elected Coalition holds the reins.

But is it that straightforward?

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Scrapping the census was long overdue

You know what I’m not going to miss? The census.

If there anything that showed how bad Governments can be at embracing technology, it was the census. At a time when Governments collect huge amounts of electronic data about us, it seemed ridiculous that they were also asking us to fill out a paper form and send it in.

Dr Will Jones: Trump Demands “Nothing Less than Complete Surrender”.....

Trump Demands “Nothing Less than Complete Surrender” and Vows a “Real End” to Iran’s Nuclear Programme

President Donald Trump has demanded a “complete give-up” by Iran and a “real end” to its nuclear programme, as speculation mounts that the US will join the conflict despite resistance from some senior officials. The Mail has more.

Chris Lynch: Peters outlines foreign policy priorities, rejects claims of radical shift

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has defended the Coalition Government’s approach to foreign affairs, saying New Zealand must engage with “more energy, more urgency and a sharper focus” amid what he described as a sharply deteriorating global environment.

Professor Robert G Patman: As Luxon heads to China, his government’s pivot toward the US is a stumbling block

Ahead of his first visit to China, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been at pains to present meetings with Chinese premier Xi Jinping and other leaders as advancing New Zealand’s best interests.

But there is arguably a degree of cognitive dissonance involved, given the government’s increasing strategic entanglement with the United States – specifically, the administration of President Donald Trump.

Olivia Pierson: The Iranian Regime - A 46-Year Reign of Terror Could End

Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear sites and military leaders over the weekend has been a long time coming. I say this because, during the unpopular Iraq War to overthrow Saddam Hussein, I remember a multitude of commentators saying that “all roads lead to Tehran.”
We knew at that time how committed the Iranian regime was to fomenting terrorism all over the Middle East, which extended significantly into the West. Like mad Saddam, the regime was always highly vocal about its commitment to acquiring nuclear weapons.

Dr Eric Crampton: The obstacles in place for any new supermarket player

There are already too many reasons for international supermarket chains to decide our small set of islands far from everywhere are not worth bothering about.

Adding one more seems bad if government has prioritised retail grocery competition.

Bob Edlin: Govt favours farming over forestry....

Govt favours farming over forestry – but is it giving a greater priority to growing cities than growing crops?

Just a few days ago, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay was braying about the introduction “of long awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale farm-to-forestry conversions”.

This would deliver on a key election promise to protect the future of New Zealand food production.

Ele Ludemann: Sovereignty line in sand

The government has drawn a line in the sand on sovereignty:

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Government will not agree to Treaty settlements that dispute whether the Crown is now sovereign.

Goldsmith made the comments to the Māori Affairs select committee this morning amid ongoing negotiations with East Coast iwi Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and hopes a settlement can be reached with the country’s largest iwi, Ngāpuhi.

Mike's Minute: Our economy is an increasingly large hole

Right, let's deal to the economy.

There were two interesting things yesterday.

The first was the food price inflation number showed it is not contained.

Why it is increasing beyond broad inflation is a many and varied thing, and the upside of these numbers is we can control them to a degree.

Wednesday June 18, 2025 

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John Robertson: New Zealand’s Holy Empire of Make-Believe

New Zealand was supposed to be a secular democracy. But blink, and suddenly we’re living in a tax-funded theocracy built on ghost stories and cosmic real estate claims.

Let’s say it flat-out: this country is being governed, influenced, and guilt-tripped by a belief system that no one’s allowed to call a religion — because it’s labeled “culture.”

Chris Lynch: Government scraps traditional census, sharpens focus on faster, smarter data

The Government will scrap the traditional paper-based census from 2030 and shift to a modern, data-driven model, Statistics Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced.

The overhaul will see the nationwide five-yearly census replaced with a new approach based on administrative data already collected by government agencies, supplemented by annual surveys and targeted data collection to ensure accuracy.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: I don't agree with ACT's new employment bill

I'll tell you what I'm gonna be watching with some interest in the next few weeks -  that employment bill that ACT has just introduced to Parliament that would make it a lot easier for employers to fire staff who earn more than $180,000 because those high earning staff would not be able to take personal grievance cases for justified dismissal.

Professor Ananish Chaudhuri: Ian Taylor is entitled to his opinion but not his facts

Recently Ian Taylor wrote a column in Stuff taking issue with David Seymour’s rise to Deputy Prime Minister. According to Taylor, Seymour’s rise to the second seat is far beyond Seymour’s mandate.

It is not clear whether Taylor was similarly outraged, when Winston Peters became Deputy Prime Minister since NZ First’s vote share in 2023 was similar to ACT’s; or when Winston Peter crowned Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister in 2017 even though Labour received a much smaller share of votes compared to National in that election.

Chris Lynch: Government and Labour clash over worsening homelessness claims

The Government is under fire for “worsening New Zealand’s homelessness crisis” with Labour accusing Ministers of ignoring warnings from frontline housing providers and relying on flawed data to justify their policies.

Labour’s housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said the Government had been repeatedly told by those on the ground that more people were sleeping rough because of changes to emergency housing policy.

David Farrar: Tania vs Rawiri

The Rotorua Daily Post reports:

Waititi said the removal of the homeless people was “callous attacks” on “vulnerable whānau”.

He said they were woken by police, trespassed like criminals and had their belongings “tipped out, broken, or hauled away like trash”, with some also arrested “for being distressed at the violent way they were being treated under cold, heartless council bylaws”.

Simon O'Connor: China blindness

What is it with former Prime Ministers and others when it comes to China?

Many former leaders of New Zealand have made much of New Zealand’s independent foreign policy, our commitment to the international rules based order, and human rights, and yet appear to throw such principles to then wind when it comes to appeasing Communist China.

Peter Williams: What the Royal Commission has been told

Will Ardern and Bloomfield be summonsed?

So far there’ve been no public hearings for Phase 2 of the Royal Commission into Covid-19 Lessons Learned, although some are due in the next couple of months.

But that hasn’t prevented submitters from telling us what they told the commissioners. This is information we should bear in mind when the Royal Commission reports in February next year.

Matua Kahurangi: A nation of tiny graves

A brutal list of Kiwi children murdered since 2006

I've compiled a list of children killed in New Zealand from 2006 to the present. This is not a complete record, as many child homicide cases have name suppression. As you read through the names of the victims, and in some cases the offenders, you may begin to notice a pattern. The level of violence inflicted on children in this country is appalling.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s response to Israeli strikes against Iran

Israel’s strikes against Iran will form the backdrop to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s upcoming trip to China.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the strikes at a scheduled press conference on Friday, Luxon characterised the strikes by Israel as ‘potentially catastrophic for the Middle East’, observing ‘the last thing this region needs is more instability’.

Bob Edlin: Govt has lopped millions of dollars from research funding....

Govt has lopped millions of dollars from research funding and – guess what? – Māori research projects have not been immune

PoO was puzzled by a headline which said Govt cuts Māori research projects that don’t fit with ‘growth agenda’. Was this intended to dismay, perturb or outrage Newsroom’s audience?

It drew attention to a report which said:

JC: Polls Are Not Kind to National – Why?

If National doesn’t start listening to its voter base then the damage it is inflicting on itself will only get worse.

Another round of polls came out last week. None were particularly positive for National. At a time when the opposition appears more of a rabble on the fringe than a serious political force, National is failing to take advantage. At least, if the polls are to be believed, that is the public perception.

Polls this far out from an election are largely meaningless as they show no more than a moment in time. For National, however, the trend has been in evidence for more than a ‘moment in time’. Even with the farming sector currently doing well, the polls continue to show the majority of the electorate is yet to be convinced that National is the party to solve our current problems.

Tuesday June 17, 2025 

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Kerre Woodham: Outsourcing surgeries has to be a win for patients

Simeon Brown took the words right out of my mouth. I was just saying this very morning, that people living with bone-on-bone pain don't really care where their hip replacement is done or whether their knee is replaced in a private hospital or a public one. And there in the statement released from the Health Minister's Office is Simeon saying patients don't care who's delivering their surgery – they care about getting their hip, knee and cataract operations done. I think it's a common sentiment. I think most of us would feel this way.

David Farrar: A small trim

The PSA would have you think that the Government has culled a huge proportion of the public service, as they hysterically oppose even the most minor reductions in staff numbers. Of course they have a self interest – fewer public servants means fewer PSA membership fees.

Tui Vaeau: Fluency for the Few, Cost for the Many

Why You’re Paying for a Language Almost No One Uses - or Understands

“We’re all forced to echo small words that make big noise and mean nothing to most of us.”

Indeed. Small words, big noise. That, in essence, is what te reo Māori has become in modern New Zealand: a disproportionately celebrated state hobby enforced by bureaucrats, virtue-signallers, and treaty-industrialists under the pretext of national identity. Te reo is not our national language. It is not widely spoken, understood, or requested. It is being rammed down our collective throat by Wellington’s bureaucratic caste and the Māori elite, a partnership more obsessed with symbolism than with service.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: This Government's all talk, bugger all action

This morning, the Prime Minister was asked about the 2000 public servants that had lost their jobs. 2000 are out but 64,000 remain.

Chris Luxon saw nothing wrong with that.  

That right there is part of the reason why this Government is polling so poorly, because it's all talk, isn't it, bugger all action.

Bonner R Cohen: Deep-sea mining next arena for U.S. – China global rivalry

Vowing to “counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources,” the Trump administration is opening a new front against America’s chief geopolitical rival.

“Vast offshore seabed areas hold critical minerals and energy resources,” an April 24 presidential executive order states. “These resources are key to strengthening our economy, securing our energy future, and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals.”

Mike's Minute: Manufacturing is our big economic red flag

As much as we tried to celebrate last week's excellent economic numbers regarding the food and fibre, the bullishness of Fieldays, the boost in elective surgery and the boom in teacher numbers, what you can't ignore is the manufacturing read for April.

It hit a brick wall.