John Porter: National and Co-Governance

How many of us, on the evening of Saturday, 14 October 2023, exuberantly thought that co-governance was, if not quite dead and buried, was definitely being readied for a trip to the graveyard?

It hasn’t turned out that way, has it?

Ian Bradford: Anthropogenic carbon dioxide does not cause global warming or climate change - here's the reason

A meteor- the Chelyabinsk meteor was a super bolide that entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on the 15^th February 2013. The meteor was approximately 18 m in diameter and weighed about 9,100 tonnes. Its speed on passing through the Earth’s atmosphere was 54,000 km/hr. The light from the meteor was briefly brighter than the sun. The object exploded in an air burst at a height of about 30km. The explosion generated a bright flash, producing a hot cloud of dust and ash that penetrated up to 26km above the Earth.

Clive Bibby: We reap what we sow



It is no surprise to me that Government, in its campaign to cut waste from the budget, is looking at items introduced by previous administrations who believed the state should be involved in all aspects of welfare including areas that have until recently been the responsibility of the number one family “bread winner”.

Geoff Parker: Waitangi National Sick Day a huge success.

Yesterday’s first protest against the Waitangi Day annual charade, which called for people sick and tired of the aggression and lies to take a ‘sick day’ on Friday, was a magnificent success.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 2.2.25

Saturday February 8, 2025 

News:
Luxon urged to deal with division over Māori rights
He [Justin Tipa] had a tangible example of how Māori wanted to exercise their rangatiratanga (self-determination), with the High Court due to start hearings next week on a case that could allow Ngāi Tahu to jointly manage freshwater in its area after what it says is mismanagement by successive governments.

Bob Edlin: Waitangi........

Waitangi – where a welcoming ceremony can involve being spat at and silenced (depending on your Treaty politics)

The several reports which seemed to rejoice in attempts to silence ACT’s leader at Waitangi this week included this article in The Spinoff headed David Seymour and the half-heard speech.

Politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith said:

Jefferey Jaxen: The Real Purpose of Net Zero

The recent Telegraph headline rang out of England recently with unsettling tones: Tenth of farmland to be axed for net zero

More than 10 per cent of farmland in England is set to be diverted towards helping to achieve net zero and protecting wildlife by 2050, the Environment Secretary will reveal on Friday.

Roger Partridge: The sovereign reality and our path to nationhood

Waitangi day debates about New Zealand’s sovereignty often fixate on a single moment: the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. This focus is understandable, given the Treaty’s significance to both Māori and the Crown.

But is this the full story of how New Zealand’s sovereignty was established? And if not, is there a way for the country to move beyond the endless arguments about sovereignty and the Treaty?

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Should NZ's secular stagnation be due to working-from-home....

Should NZ's secular stagnation be due to working-from-home, lack-of-meritocracy & endless Treaty debates, then we can forget economic growth.

The country does not appear to be in a cyclical down-turn. Of course, the PM and his Finance Minister are desperately praying that all we have been experiencing is just a typical "business cycle", and once interest rates come down things will turn. However, the evidence points more to a long-lasting slow-down, which attracts the name "secular stagnation" in economics.

Mike's Minute: Our race relations prevent progress

The TJ Perenara performance and the reaction to David Seymour are both indicative of all that is wrong with this country in terms of race relations.

It is not harmonious, it is not well debated, it is not cordial, and it is not better than it has been.

Friday February 7, 2025 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 7/2/25

Health NZ looks for a new head while Matt Doocey tells how he got a $10m thrill

It’s the resignation that surprised nobody.

As RNZ tells it,

DTNZ: Argentina withdraws from WHO

President Javier Milei has accused the global health agency of mismanaging the Covid-19 pandemic.

Argentina has announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), citing fundamental policy disagreements, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The move mirrors a decision made last month by US President Donald Trump.

Centrist: Is the Herald abandoning its role as a newspaper of record in favour of clickbait?

David Harvey of The Halfling’s View notes that NZME’s restructuring of the New Zealand Herald will prioritise engagement metrics over traditional journalistic values.

Editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness confirmed that the newsroom will publish fewer stories, cutting those that fail to “resonate” with audiences. According to Harvey, this means newsworthiness will take a backseat to digital metrics such as page views and video engagement.

Professor John Raine: Unintended Consequences, or is this just City Council Greenwashing?

Few would argue against taking better care of the environment, becoming more efficient in our use of natural resources, avoiding wasteful consumerism, and recycling where it makes sense to do so.

Well, out walking recently I was keeping pace with an Auckland Council food scraps collection truck, which stopped at every fourth or fifth property, the driver climbed out and emptied the small bespoke, plastic, lidded food scraps bin, then accelerated away to then stop at the next bin. One would hope that most of the remaining 75-80% of the dwellings are composting at home – the optimal low environmental impact solution.

Reynold Macpherson: Letter to Minister of Local Government 4 Feb 2025

Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers

4 February 2025 

The Hon. Simon Watts

Minister of Local Government

Request for Ministerial Advice on Rotorua Lakes Council’s Co-Governance Initiatives

Good morning, Minister.

Mark Angelides: Trump Brings the Art of the Deal to Gaza

“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” President Donald Trump announced yesterday, February 4. While meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president shocked the world by declaring the war-torn territory could soon fall under the control of the United States and that it would become “the Riviera of the Middle East.” Naturally, the Fourth Estate and politicos worldwide were apoplectic and quick to dismiss his overtures. However, that is often their default state when dealing with Trump, and it seems they may be failing to analyze his statement on differing levels.

Natasha Hamilton-Hart: Fear and Loathing in the National Library

Why do professionals lose their minds?

As cancelations go, it didn’t make waves. It was covered by the Free Speech Union, some nonmainstream websites and Britain’s Daily Mail. An eminent professor of history withdraws from his proposed talk at the National Library because the Library requested a change to the description of the talk on the event’s publicity. The offending phrase? A quote from a nineteenth century historian that the British Empire appeared to have been acquired ‘in a fit of absence of mind.’ It’s a well-used quote that captures the haphazard processes of imperial expansion from ancient Rome to the United States.

Bob Edlin: Hipkins’ stance on an all-powerful Treaty Commissioner

It’s comforting to hear Hipkins’ stance on an all-powerful Treaty Commissioner – but what might change his mind?

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told RNZ’s Morning Report the Labour Party will not support the Māori Party’s outrageous call for the establishment of a parliamentary commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi with the extraordinary power to veto parliamentary decisions.

Peter Dunne: Corporate Tax Rates

From the Prime Minister’s state of the nation speech onwards National has made it very clear that its unrelenting focus this year will be on catching the economic growth wave. It clearly hopes that this, along with Reserve Bank-engineered falling interest rates and, unless Donald Trump gets too much in the way, steadily falling inflation, will both help it to overcome stubbornly high unemployment rates and give the “squeezed middle” sufficient incentive to vote National once again at next year’s election.

Dr Michael John Schmidt: Good riddance to USAID.

A comment from my circle of TDS sufferers criticised Trump and Musk’s decision to defund USAID, claiming it ‘proves’ Trump is a heartless thug. However, this isn’t entirely accurate. The defunding has not occurred, though Trump has proposed significant changes to USAID, including a 90-day freeze on foreign aid and consolidating USAID under the State Department.1

Thursday February 6, 2025 

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Dave Patterson: Netanyahu Visits Trump.....

Netanyahu Visits Trump: Level Setting the Relationship

After four years of a tense partnership with the Biden administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down with President Donald Trump. At the top of the agenda was level setting the relationship to where both countries are on the same page regarding the future of Gaza and Israel’s place in a perilous region. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, became the centerpiece negotiator for the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release and had a pre-summit meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister to discuss the fragile pause in the conflict with Hamas.

NZCPR Newsletter: Waitangi Day 2025

“We should not think of ourselves as Maoris or pakehas, but rather as one people.” 
– Labour Prime Minister Walter Nash, Waitangi Day 1960.

Waitangi Day was first officially commemorated in 1934, two years after the Treaty grounds were gifted to the nation by the Governor-General Lord Bledisloe.

During the 1940 centennial celebration of the signing of the Treaty, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage emphasised national unity and pride.

Rhoda Wilson: Echoes of Zimbabwe’s land grab....

Echoes of Zimbabwe’s land grab: South Africa’s President signs law that will enable seizure of white commercial farmers’ land

President Trump has threatened to cut off all future funding to South Africa due to the country's new land expropriation law, which will lead to the confiscation of land from white farmers. Trump says it is a “massive” human rights violation against white people.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Merkel’s legacy still haunts German politics

If you believe last week’s hysterical headlines from Germany, you might think the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is about to take power in Europe’s largest economy. The reality is more complicated.

Last Wednesday, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz allowed a parliamentary statement on migration controls to pass with AfD support. The move broke a long-standing taboo in German politics against any cooperation with the far right. Merz’s predecessor and former Chancellor Angela Merkel promptly condemned his tactics.

Geoff Parker: Waitangi National Sick Day

If you are sick of the theatrical BS that surrounds Waitangi Day, then why not support a ‘National Sick Day’ on Friday 7th February 2025.

Join the thousands of New Zealanders who are taking a “sick” day on Friday to rest and recover from the insults and lies that have been spewing forth from the raucous Maori activists and their woke sycophants.

Roger Childs: The One Treaty of Waitangi - Te Tiriti

He iwi tahi tatou – We are now one nation. Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson to each chief after he had signed the Treaty of Waitangi

What it meant at the time

It was 6 February 1840 and the location was an elevated area above the Bay of Islands known as Waitangi. The British government’s envoy, Captain William Hobson, represented the British Crown, and he had called local tribal and settler leaders together to sign a treaty.

Michael Laws: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and the myth of fairness

The Platform’s Michael Laws critiques TVNZ and RNZ for what he calls the indoctrination of DEI principles. He argues that state-funded media actively promotes identity-based hiring and policy decisions under the guise of fairness.

Laws takes issue with TVNZ’s extensive coverage defending DEI policies and linking them to the Treaty of Waitangi. He points to a 13-page article criticising Donald Trump’s rollback of DEI initiatives in the US while advocating their expansion in New Zealand.

Centrist: Hobson’s Pledge backs Treaty Principles Bill, rejects race-based laws

Hobson’s Pledge representatives Elliott Ikilei and Thomas Newman defended the ACT Party’s Treaty Principles Bill before the Parliamentary Justice Committee, arguing for a single sovereign Parliament and equal laws for all New Zealanders.

Jonathan Ayling: Problems we need to talk about

I believe there are some serious issues we need to deal with as a nation. Together, we’ll be able to figure out the right solutions, I’m sure, but there’s a step before we get to that.

First, we need to know what the problems are; and in order to do that, we need the right to speak freely.

Dr Guy Hatchard: How Biotechnology Threatens to Distort Human Behaviour and Undermine Well Being

We have arrived at the crossroads of our lifetime

There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that we are at a crossroads. New Zealand legislation is in progress to deregulate biotechnology experimentation. If passed, the general public will become guinea pigs in a raft of diverse projects. Unlabelled gene edited foods will fill our plates and affect our gut unannounced.

Centrist: Real estate agent loses legal battle over mandatory Māori tikanga course

A real estate agent who refused to undertake a Māori tikanga course has lost her legal fight to retain her licence.

The High Court ruled against Janet Dickson, dismissing her challenge to the Real Estate Authority’s (REA) requirement that all agents complete a Treaty-focused cultural competency course called Te Kākano (The Seed).

David Farrar: Te Pāti Māori says ending democracy is non-negotiable

Te Pāti Māori arrived at Waitangi with a new campaign pledge, and a bold ultimatum. Co-leader Rawiri Waititi announced Tuesday a bottom line for any potential coalition partner, saying there must be a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

That commissioner would have an extraordinary power, giving it the ability to audit bills and issue a “Tiriti veto” if policy and bills did not comply with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

TPM are at least honest about their intentions. They wish to end parliamentary democracy in New Zealand. Their non-negotiable demand is that an appointed Commissioner will have the ability to veto any law that in their sole discretion they decide is not compliant with the Treaty of Waitangi.

Wednesday February 5, 2025 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 5/2/25

Millions beings spent on Waitangi mollifiers? That’s what it looks like, but Shane Jones threatens to take some back

Somewhat like the three wise men bringing gifts to the Baby Jesus, government ministers have been dishing out good news to please – and/or appease – the pilgrims who have flocked to the birthplace of The Treaty to commemorate Waitangi Day.

One point of difference: it took several ministers to bring the glad tidings.

Chris Lynch: New Zealand unemployment rises to 5.1 percent, highest since 2020

New Zealand unemployment continued to rise, reaching 5.1 percent in the December 2024 quarter, according to new data from Stats NZ. This marks the highest unemployment rate since the September 2020 quarter, when it was 5.2 percent.

Stats NZ’s Household Labour Force Survey showed that unemployment increased by 33,000 over the past year, bringing the total number of unemployed people to 156,000.

Sir Bob Jones: Maori nonsense

Recently The Herald reported the recovery at Massey University’s Wildbase Hospital, of a kiwi that had been hit by a car.

What got to me was the advice from the DOC biodiversity officer that the kiwi’s name “Tairei”, had been gifted to it by a maori outfit.

That’s world-class bullshit and a frequent occurrence. To gift something one must own it. No-one owns language.

Eliora: We Are Only a Number to Luxon

National ought to realise there was more than enough dehumanisation under Ardern’s Labour Government.

In Aotearoa (the new name for New Zealand being imposed on Kiwis by Ardern and others), it’s ironical: a mountain becomes a human being at the same time National voters are dehumanised and their rights are ignored. National ought to realise there was more than enough dehumanisation under Ardern’s Labour Government. But they don’t care.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Nicola Willis, as the New Minister of Economic Growth....

Nicola Willis, as the New Minister of Economic Growth, may as well be Monty Python's Minister of Silly Walks

The article below of mine was published in the NZ Herald yesterday. Finance Minister Nicola Willis immediately complained, saying that although she is the "Minister of Economic Growth", there is no "Ministry of Economic Growth", to which the Herald article referred. Her complaint makes the article's argument stronger. Namely that her new title is a marketing-PR-comms gimmick designed to mislead the NZ public, with nothing behind it:

Mike's Minute: You won't believe it - the union is right

Buckle up, it looks like I might agree with a trade union.

CTU policy director Craig Renney is worried about the same thing I am, and I think he is right to be worried.

What he is worried about is the possibility that we will become a net exporter of population.

John Robertson: New Zealand’s Dirty Little Secret - Apartheid In The 21st Century

New Zealand has a dirty little secret, and it’s time we stop pretending otherwise. We have apartheid. Plain and simple. One racial group—out of 260-plus ethnicities in this country—is handed a separate set of laws, privileges, and political power while the rest of us are expected to shut up and pay for it.

DTNZ: Mexico deploys 10,000 troops to U.S. border in exchange for tariff delay

Mexico has agreed to send 10,000 troops to its northern border in exchange for a one-month pause on tariffs threatened by former U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced.

Brendan O'Neill: How Western governments are funding the persecution of Jews

We know UNRWA has intimate links with Hamas, so why are we giving it money?

The British government helped to fund the persecution of a British Jew. That’s the takeaway from Emily Damari’s revelation that she was held in an UNRWA facility for some of the hellish time she spent in Hamas captivity. Keir Starmer’s Labour government pumps millions of pounds into UNRWA.

Kerre Woodham: Taxation is a finely balanced thing

We know times are tough. We know that we're in a period of rebuilding, we know that there are green shoots starting to come through. We're looking towards the end of 2025 as a time when things will turn around, when things will start to improve, and things will start to get better on a micro level in our own households, and on a macro level when it comes to the government.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: You can't have investment without savings.

NZ's National Income Accounts Prove the PM's Maths Does not Add up and his economic "strategy" will fail. You can't have investment without savings.

PM Luxon has made "economic growth" his sole objective in 2025, having spent his first year in office arguing about how he supports, and at the same time doesn't support, ACT's Treaty Principle's Bill. How is he going to increase economic growth?

Mike's Minute: Is it time we pull out of Paris?

We adjusted our climate target, or one of our climate targets last week.

Which in and of itself is part of the whole climate debate malaise. There are so many targets involving Paris, or not involving Paris, or timelines.

Tuesday February 4, 2025 

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Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive 4/2/25

Climate change minister froze out farm leaders – but (is he a closet greenie?) warmed to Greenpeace and WWF lobbyists

Your monitors of the Beehive website can tell you what ministers are up to so long as they post a press statement. They can’t tell you what ministers have been doing which they shouldn’t have been doing, if they keep quiet about it. And they can’t tell you what minister haven’t been doing that they should have been doing.

Sandra Goudie Destroys Biased and Racist Committee MPs

Sandra in her TPB oral submission presents significant supporting evidence. She is one of the most factually correct, and informative submitters to date.

The subsequent behaviour of Green MP Tamatha Paul, and Te Pāti Māori MP Rawiri Waititi, is racist and disgraceful.

Click to view

DTNZ: DIA blows nearly $1 million on ‘change agent’ workshops

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has uncovered another case of government waste, revealing that the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) spent close to $950,000 on workshops designed to turn public servants into “change agents” by “connecting through indigenous wisdom.”

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: Property, liberty, transparency - the principled basis for the Regulatory Standards Bill

If you believe some of its critics, the pending Regulatory Standards Bill is a demonic measure to end New Zealand society as we know it. This is beyond false; it is ridiculous.

In fact, it is a modest transparency measure. It will better inform the public about laws and regulations likely to make New Zealanders worse off. It will not otherwise stop anything.

Geoff Parker: Are you giving up on our country?

The biggest advantage Māori separatists and the collusive New Zealand Government have is the apathy, ignorance, and tolerance of New Zealanders. The absurdity is that we taxpayers are actually footing the bill for the overthrow of our own country.

A small but determined group of elite Māori leaders are quietly winning the battle for control of New Zealand. Their success has been driven by:

Ian Bradford: 50 Years of Settlements Using a Fake Treaty

Captain William Hobson was sent to NZ to form a treaty with the natives. The Maori requested it because they were sick of the killing of each other, slavery and cannibalism. They were also afraid of the French. 

The Treaty was prepared with the co-operation of James Busby, J.R. Clendon and two missionaries, Henry Williams and A Brown.  Brown did not seem to have any input. 

Clive Bibby: Opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill is motivated by a false sense of entitlement - little to do with historical fact

There was a dramatic difference in presentation at the first round of Committee hearings into submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill.

What appeared most obvious to even casual observers was the number of critics with nothing more to offer than outdated emotional rhetoric slamming the perceived quashing of indigenous rights that had been obtained simply by nature of their ancestry - ie: being amongst the first immigrants to settle in this land.