David Farrar: Trump’s 20 point plan to end the Gaza War

The plan is here. In summary it is:

1. Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat . to its neighbours.

2. Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza.

Brian Gill: New Zealand museums need neutral organisational viewpoints and stronger science

Publicly-owned museums enjoy public support—tax-payer (or rate-payer) funding and high visitation—only while they are trusted and respected. To preserve trust, museums must be politically neutral. Institutions such as museums and universities can maintain a degree of political neutrality by being a forum for ideas and discussion, rather than a protagonist in debates.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Winston Peters made the brave choice this weekend

Can I just come to the defence of Winston Peters for a minute?

Winston has been labelled a coward for the position that he took on Palestine on Saturday, which I do not think is fair because it appears to me that what he's done is actually the opposite of cowardice.

John Robertson: New Zealand’s Laws Are Enforcing Spiritual Privilege...

New Zealand’s Laws Are Enforcing Spiritual Privilege — And Nobody’s Talking About It 

Open a law, a bill, or a policy in this country, and one thing jumps out: Māori spiritual beliefs, wrapped in the language of culture, are written directly into legislation. Tikanga. Karakia. Haka. Hongi. All mandatory. All elevated above skepticism. And the public is supposed to act like it’s normal. It’s not normal. It’s state-sanctioned ritual.

Matua Kahurangi: Priests chain themselves to Erica Stanfords office in political stunt

Three Anglican priests have chained themselves to the electorate office of Immigration Minister Erica Stanford in Browns Bay today, demanding New Zealand recognise Palestinian statehood.

The clerics described the action as an act of “Christian witness” and claimed they were standing in solidarity with the people of Gaza. They cited Jesus’s teachings on feeding the hungry and healing the sick as justification for their protest.

Toby Young: Why the Right Must Take the High Ground When it Comes to Free Speech

This is the text of the annual oration I gave at the Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday, September 24th.

I’d like to thank the Robert Menzies Institute for inviting me to speak to you tonight and for giving my wife and me an opportunity to spend a few days in this wonderful city – and thanks to Angie Scanlon for letting us stay in her house.

Several British people we’ve bumped into have said Australia is like a version of England in which everything works, and that’s particularly true of Melbourne. Many of our cities look a bit like Melbourne might after a nuclear apocalypse. In fact, if anyone knows George Miller, tell him he could save a lot of money by setting the next Mad Max movie in Middlesbrough. He won’t have to spend a penny on set design.

Chris Lynch: Deputy Prime Minister launches scathing attack on Environment Canterbury.....

“They’re just pissing off everybody” Deputy Prime Minister launches scathing attack on Environment Canterbury

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has launched a fierce attack on Environment Canterbury, describing the regional council as “dictatorial” and calling for urgent change.

Seymour said after recent visits to Canterbury he became convinced reform of ECAN was unavoidable.

Bruce Cotterill: GDP slump exposes deeper cracks in economy and government response

When the latest quarterly GDP result came out last week, many of the accompanying commentaries expressed surprise that it could be so bad.

The June quarter result came in with a negative result of 0.9%. That means that the economy shrank during the quarter. Most economists had predicted 0.4%. The result was double the most pessimistic projections.

Make no mistake. Shrinkage of 0.9% in three months is a disaster. Especially for a small economy with a growing population whose No 1 export is currently enjoying a booming market and a weak dollar.

JC: Winston’s Home Truths at the United Nations

Winston Peters’ address to the United Nations is to be applauded. Following on from President Trump’s home truths, he delivered a few of his own. His speech, of course, has not gone down well with the homeland fantasists on the left. Labour’s Peeni Henare called it “embarrassing” while the Green’s co-leader, Marama Davidson, said it was “cowardly”; Typical for those on the left who refuse to recognise or can’t cope with the realities of today’s world.

Kerre Woodham: What will come from our decision not to recognise Palestine?

The state of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 157 UN member states, and that represents 81% of members. New Zealand is not one of them. Not yet. Like Singapore, like Japan, Germany, South Korea, most Pacific states. New Zealand says, oh, sure, we support recognition, just not yet.

David Farrar: Monetary policy needs mates

The NZ Initiative has a research note out on how fiscal policy needs to work with monetary policy. They comment:

This analysis does not dispute that the RBNZ’s high interest rates were the proximate cause of the downturn. However, it argues the Bank had little choice. It was confronted with the insidious threat of inflation expectations breaking free from their anchor, a development that would risk a return to the deficit-spending stagflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. After all, following December 2023 changes, the Monetary Policy Committee’s single operational objective is price stability – 1-3 percent, with a focus on the 2 percent midpoint.

Mike's minute: NZ's Palestine call was logical and sensible

If you watched Winston Peters speech in New York late Saturday morning you can see why he did so well last week in the Herald's boardroom feedback.

For the bloke who has been the epitome of aggro and grumpiness, in his better moments he is as good a foreign minister as this country has ever had.

 Monday September 29, 2025 

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Ryan Bridge: Putin's game of chicken

Putin’s playing a game of chicken with the Europeans and Europeans are the chickens.

NATO’s so far done nothing but talk about these fighter jets and drones.

Take your pick of experts and former military bosses chiming on the why over the weekend, and you’ll get 10 different answers.

Damien Grant: Corporate New Zealand has written off this administration

“If no policy action is taken, the fiscal position would become increasingly unsustainable and net core Crown debt would rise to around 200% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2065” declares the Treasury in their September Long-Term Fiscal Statement.

They soften the blow marginally with some wistful optimism, “however, the Treasury expects that governments will make adjustments to fiscal policy that will flatten the debt trajectory”.

Pee Kay: Have you heard of these 3 people?

> Brendan J Duffy ONZM, JP
> Bonita Bigham
> Dr. Sue Bidrose

Rire Norman - The UN, Israel, and the Genocide Narrative: What Do the Facts Say?

The United Nations has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. But before we accept such a grave charge, we must ask: what do the facts actually say?

The UN, once envisioned as a body for justice and peace, has too often become an arena for self-interest and impunity. From child sex abuse scandals to corruption via lobbyists, its record of accountability is appalling. In fact, the UN frequently shields perpetrators rather than exposing them.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: SW1 opens the door to energy realism

UK

Jenrick backs CfD overhaul

Robert Jenrick blasted Net Zero as a "complete disaster" last night, going on to say we should “look at those subsidies and get rid of some of them” in relation to the Contracts for Difference scheme. Industry sources have said his comments add to the uncertainty for UK renewables. Watch Jenrick’s comments in full here. 

Melanie Phillips: The fantasy state of "Palestine"

Time for the US and the Jewish world to start holding their supposed champions’ feet to the fire

In his barnstorming speech this week at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he lobbed one uncomfortable home truth after another at member states, US President Donald Trump told the world body itself that it was useless. Instead of stopping wars and saving lives, he said, it produced only empty words.

The problem with the UN is rather more acute than that. Supposedly the guardian of peace and justice in the world, it has become instead an avatar of evil.

Dr Eric Crampton: Not-so-killer acquisitions

A lot of changes are coming in competition policy. Last week, the government announced a package of reforms that, overall, set the Commerce Commission on a more activist tack.

One proposed reform will align New Zealand more closely with Australia’s regime, guarding against so-called ‘killer acquisitions’.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: When central banks get the blame for doing their job

Australians watching the economic drama unfold across the Tasman might find the plot familiar: An economy shrinks far faster than anyone forecast. Manufacturing slumps. As the gloom deepens, the blame game begins.

Yet what is happening in New Zealand is more than the usual grumbling. It is an extraordinary pile-on. A powerful and highly unusual coalition has formed with a single, unified demand for the Reserve Bank: deep cuts, now.

Dr Benno Blaschke: When the clowns look sane

New Zealand has always tolerated a bit of theatre in local politics. This year, in Wellington though, it is more like the theatre tolerating the politics. The city’s mayoral race reads like a casting call, not just because an actual clown is on the ballot.

Pennywize the Rewilding Clown promises moa-mounted commuters and wants to turn the Basin Reserve back into a swamp. The Silly Hat candidate suggests lazy rivers down Courtenay Place. They will also improve the weather by redirecting the wind to Upper Hutt. He is running because “the clowns currently running this country lack what it takes to deliver.” Fine. It is part of Wellington’s political lore.

David Farrar: The answer is to promote citizenship

Stuff reports:

Senior ministers are emphatically rejecting claims from Māori, including actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, that Māori should be eligible for citizenship to Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Waitangi Tribunal held an urgent hearing into the issue of citizenship, with many overseas-born Māori saying it is unfair and unconstitutional that Māori are being denied citizenship to the country they whakapapa to.

 Sunday September 28, 2025 

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Ian Bradford: The Importance of Carbon Dioxide

The US Clean Air Act of 1970 defined six Criteria Air Contaminants subject to regulation. They are: particulate matter, ground level ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, and carbon monoxide. In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that “greenhouse gases” were also pollutants. Among them of course was carbon dioxide. So the court ruled that carbon dioxide was a pollutant.

Steven Gaskell: TVNZ’s Biased Report

TVNZ Investigates Itself and, Surprise, Declares Itself Saintly

So TVNZ has commissioned an “independent” review to check whether TVNZ is biased. And guess what? After a whole seven days of peeking at their own material, they’ve come back and announced—drum roll, please “No systemic bias here, folks!” You couldn’t make it up. This is the broadcasting equivalent of marking your own exam and giving yourself an A+.

John Raine, Michael Kelly, Bryan Leyland & David Lillis: A Response to Dame Anne Salmond on Climate Change

Climate Change Alarmism Versus Moderation

Dame Anne Salmond (Newsroom, 11th September 2025) [1], argues that New Zealand must ignore the recommendations from David Seymour (Act) and Shane Jones (NZ First) that New Zealand should re-negotiate its commitments under the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. She draws attention to the risk to international trade agreements if New Zealand departs from existing obligations. However, Professor Salmond appears to be guided only by the mainstream politicised narrative on climate change.

Frank Newman: Different views on Māori Wards

With local body elections looming, Frank Newman of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research argues strongly against Māori wards, saying councils are not Treaty partners and that Māori are already well represented in governance.

He believes Māori have multiple avenues for influence without needing separate wards and points to low turnout in Māori ward elections as evidence that most do not want them.

Newman warns that Māori wards risk deepening social divisions in an already fractured society, arguing unity should be the priority. Voting papers are due back by 11 October, and he stresses that the most important thing is to participate and have a say.


Click to view

Dr James Allan: In Defence of Cancelling the Left

This past fortnight has seen an explosion of interest in free speech in the United States. First there was the political assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. Then there was the decision by Disney (owner of the ABC TV broadcasting network in the US) to remove late night host Jimmy Kimmel from the air. A lot is going on in the name of ‘free speech’ so let me start with some facts.

Mike's Minute: More bluster, or real change for the electricity sector?

We are apparently going to hear about major electricity sector reform from the Minister this coming week.

The final touches are being sorted.

Simon Watts calls them fundamental. He refers to the last time it was this major as being in the 90's.

So are they going to split the gentailers?

Ani O'Brien: On the ground: has London fallen?

I’ve just spent the better part of a month in London, and many of you have asked what it’s “really like” on the ground. From a distance, the headlines are relentless: illegal immigration, spiralling crime, a migrant crisis that feels out of control. While I was here, Tommy Robinson led a massive protest march through central London and many asked me if I would attend. I would have done if it were not on the same day as my sister’s wedding. So instead I was in Kent, done up to the nines and highly intoxicated.

DTNZ: Fed Farmers urges government to scrap “unworkable” Te Mana o te Wai rules

Federated Farmers has launched a strong call for the Government to abandon the controversial Te Mana o te Wai framework, describing it as vague, impractical, and unworkable.

Mark Hooper, speaking on behalf of the organisation in its weekly email newsletter, said the rules place the health of water ahead of people, requiring councils to regulate not only measurable aspects such as clarity, fish life, and E. coli levels, but also spiritual concepts like the “mauri” or “life force” of water.

Brendan O'Neill: Greta’s flotilla has exposed the suicidal stupidity of Islamo-leftism

Remember when leftists chanted, ‘Yemen, Yemen, make us proud / Turn another ship around!’, goading the medieval anti-Semites of the Houthi movement to bomb merchant ships in the Red Sea? Well, now those same people are blubbing like babies because Israel allegedly pumped some ABBA on to their flotilla of boats heading to Gaza. So it’s fine for a racist militia to rain missiles on the hard-grafting men of merchant ships, but heaven forbid that the Jewish State subject the lily-handed activist class to a bit of ‘Dancing Queen’. Bombing commercial ships is resistance – making the West’s privileged, preening haters of Israel listen to some Seventies bangers is a war crime.

Kerre Woodham: What are the impacts of falling rents?

If you're a renter, it's jolly good news. At least a third of people taking out new tenancies this year are paying less rent than the tenants who lived there before them.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, for new tenancies since January 1, 30% were paying weekly rent lower than the initial weekly rent for the previous tenancy at that address. The data used a 500-day limit between the start of the last tenancy and the start of the newest tenancy, which gave a sample of around 33,000 homes, so, you know, a fairly sizable sample.

Bob Edlin: Willis says she has no ambition to be PM

Willis says she has no ambition to be PM – but why not put the question to others with better Mood of the Boardroom rankings?

Herald editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness obviously went fishing for a headline-grabbing declaration from the Minister of Finance that she wants Christopher’s Luxon’s job.

Nicola Willis was too fly for that.

But when you ask questions like those asked by Kirkness, there will be a story – even if it’s a denial.

Saturday September 27, 2025 

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Chris Lynch: New Zealand rules out recognising Palestine for now, commits $10m Gaza aid

New Zealand will not recognise Palestine at this time, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced at the UN General Assembly in New York today.

Peters said with the war ongoing, Hamas remaining the de facto government of Gaza, and no clarity on next steps, it was not prudent for New Zealand to move ahead with recognition.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 21.9.25

Saturday September 27, 2025 

News:
Justice Minister warns government will legislate ‘over the top’ of court decisions to create clarity and certainty
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has warned the judiciary that the government will legislate “over the top” of decisions involving concepts such as tikanga and treaty obligations if action is needed to retain legal clarity in New Zealand.

Gary Judd KC: Politicised lawyers

Who become politicised judges

David McGrogan says

I am a legal scholar and writer.

I was born and raised on Merseyside, and lived for the better part of a decade in Kanagawa Prefecture, in Japan, where I was a legal translator. I have a PhD in Law from the University of Liverpool, and I am currently Associate Professor of Law at Northumbria Law School.

Centrist: Draft code tells councils to share power with iwi

“Open to working with mana whenua partners in the design and delivery of their work programmes.”

A new draft Code of Conduct would require every councillor in New Zealand to respect Treaty principles, including a duty to work with mana whenua “in the design and delivery” of council programmes.

Critics say it quietly forces co-governance through the back door.

Dave Patterson: China Is Testing the US Indo-Pacific Defense

First and second island chain defense against China is taking shape.

As the US attempts to formulate an Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China, heeding concerns of leaders of island nations in the second island chain would be a good start. Worrying Beijing’s bullying its neighbors is a sentiment also expressed by the leadership of first island chain countries, which include Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Kerre Woodham: Ask not what your country can do for you

New Zealand Inc. is in trouble and it's on us —you and me— to fix it. Not politicians, not economists, not even our blessed farmers who've got us out of trouble time and time again – it is on us, New Zealand voters.

It doesn't matter whether we vote left or right, red, blue, green, yellow, or black. We all have to give our political parties the cojones they need to enact the policies that will save this country. Treasury's been warning us for years now, decades. Current government policies —whichever government has been in— are not sustainable.

Bob Edin: Brown announces $75m to hasten diagnostic procedures....

Brown announces $75m to hasten diagnostic procedures – but for ageing patients already diagnosed, “life’s a bitch”

Health Minister Simeon Brown – ranked sixth in the Mood of the Boardroom survey of the performance of our politicians – trumpeted good news today.

RNZ dutifully reported these glad tidings to its audience, then turned to Rob Campbell for comment.

JC: Trump’s Home Truths at the United Nations

Donald Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly surprised the members present who were probably expecting a speech of the type most leaders give. Those speeches, full of platitudes, banality and hoary old chestnuts, have more of an ‘over the teacups’ feel about them especially when the subject matter is deserving of a stronger approach. They are filled with warm fuzzies and politically correct speak that reflect the talkfest that the United Nations has become. And we are paying for it.

Dark Jester: The End of Civil Dialogue?

The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk is definitely a turning point (no pun intended) for the state of politics today. It seems that polarisation has now come to a point where civil and respectful debate and dialogue are now no longer possible.

David Farrar: NZ has one of the highest minimum wages in the world

The Post reports:

New Zealand has the ninth-highest minimum wage in the world when the pay rates are adjusted for their purchasing power, according to an international study.

Yet people insist it is too low. The more useful measure is the ratio of the minimum wage to the median wage, and this is what the current data is:

Friday September 26, 2025 

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NZCPR Newsletter: Dr Muriel Newman - Reinstating Democracy

The ‘Maorification’ of New Zealand is not by accident. For decades tribal leaders have been plotting and scheming how to get their hands on the levers of power. Their objective is full control of our country.

It is now obvious that they are a long way down the path to achieving their goal. If there’s no counter-movement, they will succeed.

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Aren't children allowed their own political views?

So the teacher's union is warning about a rising tide of extremism in our schools.

I've read the story - what's the actual problem? That's what I'm trying to figure out here today.

Apparently, some kids say they're 'Trump Boys' - i.e. like a majority of Americans, a few kids here support the Republican party or MAGA movement.

Mike's Minute: We hope Anna Breman is a rockstar

The Reserve Bank Governor appointment is not to be underestimated.

We have never had a foreigner. Well, we have (the first was British) but that was in 1934 and that’s the sort of thing you would have expected given colonialism.

Dr Will Jones: Trump’s UN Rallying Cry for the Defence of Western Civilisation

End open borders. Stop importing criminals. Defend your sovereignty. Fight Islamist extremism. Stand up for Christianity. End vastly expensive Net Zero climate policies. Because otherwise Europe is “going to Hell”. Trump’s hard-hitting message to the United Nations this week was music to Nile Gardner’s ears, as he writes in the Mail.

John McLean: Peak Maori radicalism?

Has maximum Māori separatism been reached?

The 50th Rainbow-tongued Māori Language Week is over.

Peter Dunne: Bolstering the ego of the Foreign Minister

While Ireland's President Michael D Higgins calls for Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations for what he describes as its "lies" over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, New Zealand continues to dither over joining the 157 (out of 193) United Nations members that have already given diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state.

Roger Partridge: When “Forfeited to the Crown” Means “Returned to the Defendant”

When Parliament says gang insignia “is forfeited to the Crown,” citizens are entitled to assume those words mean what they say. Yet on 11 August the District Court ruled otherwise. Judge Lance Rowe directed that a Mongrel Mob vest, seized under the Government’s new Gangs Act 2024 and forfeited following a guilty plea, should nevertheless be returned to its owner, Andrew “Andy” Leef.