Karl du Fresne: What privilege sounds like in 2025

We hear a lot about privilege these days. We’re told it’s an economic and political weapon that an affluent, selfish, male-dominated white capitalist society uses to keep disadvantaged minority groups in their place.

Wrong. Privilege in New Zealand in 2025 is the phenomenon that enables a small, effete and highly politicised media elite, cushioned by public funding, to capture and monopolise a crucial organ of public opinion and seek to influence the course of public debate.

Fiona MacKenzie: The “Land Back” Pogrom — Most Kiwis Don’t See It Coming

(Note: To reduce word count and aid understanding, Māori words have been omitted where possible.)

New Zealanders who pay attention to the slow creep of our political and legal institutions have every reason to feel uneasy. Many believed the 2023 election would halt the advance of racial division and restore a government committed to equal citizenship. Instead, the Coalition—particularly the National Party —seems schizophrenically determined to avoid offending those who demand ever-expanding tribal privilege. Far from dismantling race-based policy, it is still normalising it in much legislation and policy.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 16.11.25

Wednesday November 19, 2025 

News:
Local board chair apologises after leaving meeting due to karakia
The chair of a local community board has apologised for the “offence” caused after he walked out of the first meeting of the new term due to the pre-meeting karakia.

Mark Drury and fellow Whangamatā Community Board member, Deputy Chair Neil Evans, left the room where the meeting was being held while the karakia was being recited.

NZCPR Newsletter: A Media Crisis

Dr Julie Posetti, a Professor of Journalism at the City University of London, described the growing scandal over editorial bias at the BBC as an “existential crisis”.

She warned: “You cannot have democracy without credible public interest media.”

David Round: Thoughts for our Time - Article 14

Prediction is hard ~ especially, as Yogi Berra is alleged to have said, about the future. Harold MacMillan, when asked what politicians fear the most, replied ~ ‘Events, dear boy, events’. Who has a crystal ball? International events ~ war, the interruption of overseas trade, financial calamity ~ even something a simple as the breakdown of the internet, or the actions of Artificial Intelligence ~ could fundamentally alter everything tomorrow. We might be flooded with refugees, or we might be the only people left in the world. We might all pull together in an emergency, or we might all tear ourselves apart. There might be a new pandemic, or climate catastrophes. A decent earthquake could destroy us overnight ~ without electricity for any length of time, without vital roads and bridges and the electronic systems we all rely on all the time ~ not to mention cooked meals and electric light and hot water ~ we would be plunged back into the dark ages. They say that only nine meals, three days, stand between civilisation and violence. A serious widespread drought would take only a bit longer.

Matua Kahurangi: Time for New Zealand to grow some balls on criminal deportations

New Zealand has always prided itself on being welcoming and fair, but fairness cuts both ways. If people choose to come here and build a life, they also choose to respect our laws and the social contract that holds this country together. When they break that contract in a serious way, our current immigration rules are far too soft. It is time for New Zealand to grow some balls and start treating this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

Mike's Minute: Can the Opportunity Party succeed?

Well, welcome back Opportunity. I think I have that right.

Opportunity is the former "The Opportunities Party". Now it's just "The Opportunity Party".

It has a new leader and a new tax policy. They have been looking for a leader for ages and they even advertised.

None of this is a good sign.

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: National's strategy is looking riskier by the day

These polls that keep showing Labour ahead of National are a sign of how crap the economy is.

Up until a few weeks ago, I was ignoring polls because Labour didn't have any policy. Labour was ahead, but it didn't have any policy.

Andrew Dickens: If we don't want congestion charges, give us alternatives

On the front page of the New Zealand Herald today there was a poll, and it shows that we're split as a nation on the issue of capital gains tax. So, the question for us here in this room and you in your room and all of us together is, should we have another discussion on the CGT?

And my answer to that is, of course not. And why?

Professor Paul Spoonley: Latest numbers show NZ now at risk of population stagnation...

Growing, going, gone: latest numbers show NZ now at risk of population stagnation

A year after the 2023 census, changes were already taking place in New Zealand’s population that meant the data was in danger of being superseded.

Fertility was continuing to decline, the number of immigrants arriving was beginning to climb, there was an exodus of New Zealand citizens, Māori made up more of the population and Asian communities were continuing to grow.

Chris Lynch: Government announces major cut to vehicle importing charges to keep car prices down

A reduction in the cost of importing new and used vehicles has been announced, with the Government introducing changes it says will help prevent higher prices being passed on to New Zealand buyers.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the update to the Clean Vehicle Standard aims to ease pressure on importers at a time when families are already struggling with rising costs.

Lindsay Mitchell: Latest benefit data - Three observations

The latest monthly benefit data was released yesterday.

Here are three observations.

There are more Cook Islanders on benefits in New Zealand than the Cook Island's entire working-age population

Cook Island's resident population doesn't fluctuate much.

Matua Kahurangi: Justice by tikanga? Not for Kapa-Kingi, she prefers the colonial courts

It is pretty funny to watch Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, the ousted Te Pāti Māori MP, trot off to the courts to challenge her expulsion from the party. The very courts she now seeks help from are the colonial structures that most Māori politicians today seem to despise. We are constantly told that Māori want to settle matters through tikanga, that uniquely Māori approach to justice, that we should deal with things in a way that reflects our values and customs.

So where is that approach here? Nowhere.

Tuesday November 18, 2025 

                    ⇩

Geoff Parker: Kiwis need to be more forthright - Silence is Surrender

For too long, New Zealanders have watched in silence as governments of all stripes have chipped away at the principle that every citizen should stand equal before the law. The steady advance of race-based governance, special rights, parallel systems, and political power granted on the basis of ancestry has gone virtually unchallenged by the everyday New Zealander. That era has to end. This country won’t fix itself, and it certainly won’t return to democratic equality if the public continues to whisper their frustrations privately while remaining silent publicly.

Ryan Bridge: What Kiwis think of a CGT

Couple of things from this morning's poll on CGT.

Basically, we're evenly split.

As many of us are in favour of Labour's plan as are against it.

The results are interesting, though. The details.

Chris Lynch: New poll shows cost of living remains top concern and government performance sinks to record low

A new Ipsos Issues Monitor poll has revealed that New Zealanders are most concerned about the cost of living, with public confidence in the government falling to its lowest level since tracking began.

The October 2025 report, based on responses from 1004 people between 21 October and 30 October, has shown that 61 percent of New Zealanders see inflation and the cost of living as the most important issue facing the country.

Matua Kahurangi: Jacinda Ardern - New Zealand’s most hated export - live in London, because she can’t show her face at home

Picture this: a cozy Sunday afternoon in late November 2025, the kind where London’s fog clings to the Thames like a bad hangover. At some upscale venue, details fuzzy because who needs transparency when you’re selling inspiration, Jacinda Ardern will grace the stage for a How To Academy event titled A Different Kind of Power. There, in a fireside chat hosted by comedian Bill Bailey, she’ll regale a fawning audience with tales of empathetic leadership, her “compassionate” response to the Christchurch mosque attacks, her pandemic “heroics”, and the trials of being a mum in the spotlight. Tickets start at what feels like a small fortune, with premium ones tossing in a copy of her shiny new memoir. Subscribers get a discount because nothing says “people power” like paywalls and perks for the elite.

David Farrar: Labour’s record of terrible Police appointments

Unlike other public service entities who are appointed by the Public Service Commissioner, the Commissioner and statutory Deputy Commissioners of Police are selected by the Prime Minister. There are usually multiple qualified candidates, and they get to pick the one that they think will do the best job.

And Labour’s record is almost beyond belief – they managed to pick four “duds” in a row. Not one, not two, not. three but all four of their appointments turned out to be seriously flawed.

Mike's Minute: Tariff backdown is a big win for NZ Inc.

Big win for NZ Inc. and a lesson for everyone who doesn’t understand tariffs.

Donald Trump has cut tariffs on beef and the beneficiaries are largely New Zealand, Australia and Brazil.

Brazil has had a 50% tariff so they will be thrilled.

Pee Kay: He Was….

…Ardern’s personal choice!

The New Zealand Police Commissioner is appointed by the Governor- General based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

He was…according to Ardern, “Going to lead a team of 13,000 people across the country with positivity, inclusion and integrity” WRONG!!! AGAIN!!!

Ian Wishart: How is Jacinda Ardern so sure about the impending climate disaster?

Ardern – tipped as a probable candidate for the UN’s top job in the new unauthorised biography, Jacinda: The Untold Stories – was being interviewed by BBC’s Ione Wells at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, when she was asked about how to get urgency across as a leader in the face of public backlash:

Ani O'Brien: Rot Part 3 - Coster's legacy and the political fallout

Part Three: What the McSkimming scandal means for politics in New Zealand

When corruption takes root in our institutions, it doesn’t stay contained. It spreads quietly, politically, sometimes strategically, and sometimes like a weed growing uncontrolled and putting down roots. The scandal now engulfing the Police isn’t just about bad cops or weak leadership. It’s about the decisions, alliances, and cowardice that allowed that culture to fester for years right under the noses of ministers, journalists, and senior bureaucrats who should have stopped it.

DTNZ: U.S. removes extra tariffs on key NZ agricultural exports

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has cautiously welcomed the United States’ decision to remove additional reciprocal tariffs on several major Kiwi agricultural exports, including beef, offal and kiwifruit — goods that make up roughly a quarter of New Zealand’s US-bound exports and are worth about NZ$2.21 billion a year.

Damien Grant: Are we in the process of a new post-industrial tech revolution or is AI a massive hype-driven bubble?

Are we in the process of a new post-industrial technological revolution or is the Artificial Intelligence a massive hype-driven bubble that is going to collapse in dramatic style, carrying away billions, or perhaps trillions, of value with it?

If you were hoping I had the answer, well, I’d lose a stock-picking contest with a dart-throwing monkey so best not take investment advice from me. But someone who might know is Michael Burry.

Monday November 17, 2025 

                    ⇩

Barrie Davis: Maori Myths - Colonial Realities

Ani Mikaere published He Rukuruku Whakaaro in 2011 which considers the effect of Maori customs, obligations and practice (tikanga) on European law, legal processes and teaching in New Zealand.

Mikaere’s book has had indirect influence on legal and policy developments through academic, judicial, and iwi-led channels. Her critique of Crown Law and advocacy for tikanga as a legal framework has contributed to acceptance of tikanga Maori in New Zealand’s legal system. Her writings have influenced iwi negotiators and Waitangi Tribunal members and are used in law schools, public sector education, and public service cultural competency programs.

David Round: Thoughts for our Time - Article 13

Although it may be a slight digression from the main direction of these columns ~ and I risk being accused of being part of a ‘white feeding frenzy’, in the words of the head honcho of one of the growing number of Maori Parties ~ it may be of interest to consider several recent ‘reports’ about what a dreadful country we are.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Asset recycling needs governance, not ideology

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this week opened the door to asset recycling. He suggested that the government could sell state-owned enterprises and commercial assets it no longer has any reason to own, to fund new infrastructure. He mentioned Kiwibank as one possibility, arguing that government ownership of a bank might not be the best use of public capital.

Dr Benno Blaschke: Grocery reform or procedural tweak

The Government deserves credit for wanting to make it easier for new supermarkets and other large projects to get off the ground. The Government’s broad approach is sound. There are currently too many unreasonable barriers, and more competition benefits consumers.

Last week’s amendment to the Fast-track Approvals Act, now before Parliament, intends to enable greater competition. It will also allow ministers to issue policy statements to guide decision-makers. One of these will focus on grocery competition.

Dr Michael Johnston: How to solve New Zealand’s population problem

The population of South Korea is about 51 million. In a hundred years, it will likely be about 11 million – a reduction of about 80%. Maintaining a steady population without immigration requires a fertility rate of about 2.1 – an average of slightly more than two children per woman. South Korea’s current fertility rate is about 0.75.

By the end of this century, China is likely to have a population of roughly half its present 1.4 billion. In part, this is a legacy of its one-child policy, implemented in 1979. Despite the cessation of the policy in 2015, though, China’s fertility rate continues to languish at about 1.1.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: EU mistaking paperwork for power, acronyms for armies

Last month, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented her plans for 2026 to the European Parliament. She promised the continent would become the “master of its own destiny”, build its own armies, control key technologies and lead the green transformation without depending on America or China.

Kerre Woodham: Charging Ms Z would be a gross miscarriage of justice

How is it that the woman, who's at the centre of a cover-up by top brass within the Police, still has to go to court to defend two charges of causing harm by posting a digital communication? She's charged with harassing a police officer who was apparently investigating her accusations against that pervert McSkimming and with harassing the investigating police officer's wife.

Bob Edlin: How Trump put a rocket up US air traffic controllers to badger them back to work

PoO spotted this headline earlier in the week, before the US Senate did whatever was needed legislatively to have the government re-opened.

Sunday November 16, 2025 

                    ⇩

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Are blackouts inevitable?

UK

Are blackouts inevitable?

Energy expert Kathryn Porter warned that the UK faces a very real risk of blackouts. There appears to be little interest in the subject in Westminster.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 15 November 2025

A week is a long time in politics. Welcome to my weekly wrap up of the week that was in New Zealand politics with a sprinkling of international news.

The McSkimming Scandal: a system rotting from the top

The bombshell IPCA report into former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming has unearthed a culture problem in the NZ Police that goes far beyond just one creepy bad apple. One of the country’s most senior officers was shielded for years while a young woman was prosecuted under the Harmful Digital Communications Act for daring to report allegations against him.

Kerre Woodham: The problem with our retirement system

As you'll have heard in the news this morning, the Retirement Commissioner has called for a 10-year roadmap and cross-party agreement, following the release of its review of New Zealand's retirement system.

More Kiwis are living longer, working differently, and facing pressures around housing and care. We're facing a huge rise in the number of older people. At the same time, we're facing fewer working Kiwis who can pay for the associated costs of aged care. Current data shows that right now, for every 100 people of working age, we have 28 retirees. Those numbers are changing quickly. By 2050, just 25 years away, we're looking at 38 retirees per 100 workers. By 2060, we'll have twice as many retirees compared to workers.

Bob Edlin: The flight of 72,000 Kiwis.....

The flight of 72,000 Kiwis – they must be blind, because they can’t see that NZ is “the best place to be”

The Government’s gurgling about fiscal discipline and growth is countered by an increasing public debt, the rising cost of living and significant job losses.

An aging population is putting increasing pressure on New Zealand Superannuation and healthcare costs, which threatens to result in higher taxes or increased debt in the future.

Mike's Minute: Labour talks tough, but it rings hollow

It’s a slightly odd message from Labour over the Māori Party as they try and work out how to deal with them.

The truth is they will need them to form a government if they get their own numbers to a point of victory.

Ani O'Brien: Rot Part 2 - Corrupt top cops destroy trust in NZ Police

This is Part Two. I don’t know how many parts it will take, but it continues here. We left off Part One with Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura deciding that an investigation into the allegations about Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming was appropriate after all…

Still no one had talked to Ms Z about the allegations or attempted to get a full report from her. Strangely, the initial terms of reference for Kura’s investigation do refer to the consideration as to “whether there is a need to speak with Ms Z’s parents.” By 2024, Ms Z was in her late 20s. Perhaps this is an admission that she was a particularly vulnerable person, but that would make arresting and charging her more outrageous.

Matua Kahurangi: Free speech under fire

Former judge David Harvey forecasts fresh online regulation push

Broadcaster Alastair Harding was joined by former Judge David Harvey (
A Halfling’s View ), broadcasting legend Peter Allan Williams and RCR’s co-founder Claire Deeks to unpack the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s (BSA) latest push to extend its powers into the world of online radio. What unfolded was a stark warning about where free speech and online regulation in New Zealand could be heading.

JC: Richard Chambers Is a ‘Top Cop’

I can justify my headline by revealing that I have known Richard Chambers and his family for nigh on 50 years. When Richard joined the New Zealand Police I was in no doubt he had a promising career ahead of him. The fact that he is now the ‘Top Cop’ is of no surprise to me. This man is as ‘honest as the day is long’. He has had a long and distinguished career in the police and he obviously caught the eye of the current Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

Scott Kennedy: Refocusing Education On Education

In early November, the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) released a media statement criticising the Government’s plan to remove Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities from school boards. The Federation described the move as “extreme” and “far right,” urging boards to continue giving effect to the Treaty in their governance.

It’s hard to overstate how disconnected this concern is from the real challenges facing education in New Zealand. It raises serious questions about whether the Federation is primarily interested in education itself or in promoting a programme of left-wing social engineering.

 Saturday November 15, 2025 

                    ⇩

Steven Gaskell: Back to Basics: When Education Finally Means Education Again

For the first time in a long time, it feels like the Government has finally stood up, cleared its throat, and reminded everyone that the purpose of a school is to teach children not drag them through constitutional re-education camps or daily ideological rituals masquerading as “civics.” The long-running experiment of forcing every school board in New Zealand to “give effect to the Treaty” a phrase so elastic it might as well have been drafted on a bungee cord has finally reached the end of its political shelf life. And thank goodness. Expecting part time volunteers juggling budgets, property maintenance, staffing pressures, and attendance crises to also act as legal historians and cultural negotiators was absurd from the start. A school board is not the Waitangi Tribunal, and classrooms are not political marae.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Who is Labour's climate spokesperson?

OK, quick quiz for you.

Think of the Labour Party.

Who is the climate spokesperson?

Yeah, no, you didn't get it right because it's Deborah Russell.

Ryan Bridge: Another dodgy story from Corrections

This prison escape story is fishy as hell.

And in the week of cover ups and ass-covering, this walks, talks, and quacks like another one.

On Friday last week at 9am, an inmate escapes Mt Eden prison.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 9.11.25

Saturday November 15, 2025 

News:
Kaipara council’s swearing in ceremony opens with karakia
Karakia featured at the start and finish of Kaipara District Council’s (KDC) first official 2025 meeting as nine incoming politicians were sworn in.

Two hundred people packed the Matakohe War Memorial Hall on Wednesday where new Mayor Jonathan Larsen said the district faced a bright future.

Mike's Minute: It's been an excellent economic week

Once again we find ourselves in the midst of an excellent economic week.

It's excellent, if you wish to see it that way.

100% of hotels will be full this coming Wednesday in Auckland. Broadly speaking, you can't get a room.

Auckland hasn’t been full in years.

Ani O'Brien: Rot - corrupt top cops destroy trust in NZ Police

Part One: How the highest level of New Zealand Police protected their own and prosecuted the victim

This horrifying saga is too long to fit into one Substack. This is Part One. I don’t know how many parts it will take, but it starts here.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s bombshell report into the Jevon McSkimming saga has torn the mask off a police culture that protects its own, punishes the vulnerable, and quietly strangles accountability.

Bruce Cotterill: Why some Kiwis seem to have lost their work ethic

In a week where our unemployment rate hit a post-Covid peak of 5.3%, I’m starting to wonder if Kiwis want to work any more.

In a recessionary, low-growth environment, we’re seeing well-paid government servants, people earning more than $100,000 per year, protesting and striking for higher pay and better conditions.

Simon O'Connor: Policing the police

Recent revelations around how some senior police officers acted is shining a spotlight on much needed reform and changes, including the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

My father was a police officer, and my uncle. A number of my friends are police officers, or once served. I have huge admiration for the work they did and for the police as a whole.

But without doubt, the latest revelations of how some senior police officers ran interference to protect a now disgraced ex-colleague, is appalling. This impacts many people, but it will be a huge kick in the guts to serving officers and their families.

Matua Kahurangi: Another refugee comes to New Zealand, breaks our laws, and we pay the price

Abdul Ahmadi came to New Zealand as a refugee. He was given safety, opportunity, and a fresh start. Instead of building an honest life, this Afgan scumbag built an $800,000 stolen-car operation that ripped off hard-working New Zealanders and drove up insurance costs for everyone else.

This was not a moment of weakness or desperation. It was calculated, premeditated crime. For nine months, Ahmadi ran a network of chop shops through Christchurch and Wellington, trading in other people’s property for profit until police finally caught up with him.