Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - The Electricity rip-off that politicians won’t fix

Something has to give with New Zealand’s electricity market. And this week, the numbers arrived to prove it.

The Big Four gentailers (Contact, Genesis, Meridian and Mercury) have just reported combined operating earnings of $1.86 billion for the six months to December 2025. That’s a jump of roughly 45% on the same period last year. Their combined dividend payouts rose 10% to $551 million. Meanwhile, the amount they actually invested in new generation was flat.

Barrie Saunders: Engineers – your country needs you

The essence of the 226 page Infrastructure Commission report is that NZ spends enough on infrastructure, but the value we get is poor compared with like countries. No doubt the terrain and small population thinly spread, will partly explain our underperformance, but I think there is a critical extra element.

This is the paucity of qualified engineers in key decision making roles. Cabinet and Councils are constantly making big decisions having to rely on consultants etc rather than by using their practical real world experience. Excessive reliance on consultants is foolish and expensive.

Pee Kay: We’ve Been Shunned!

Oh, the unbearable betrayal! We’ve been officially ghosted, discarded like a lukewarm flat white!

Apparently, we’ve been given the Ardern elbow for Albo!

Colinxy: Medical Council of New Zealand Pushing for Neo-Marxist Praxis.........

Medical Council of New Zealand Pushing for Neo-Marxist Praxis: A Lysenkoist Drift in Professional Regulation

The Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) has released draft statements on cultural competence, cultural safety, and Hauora Māori. These documents are presented as neutral professional guidance, but their structure, language, and underlying assumptions reveal a clear ideological lineage. They embed Critical Theory, Critical Race Theory, Critical Indigeneity, and decolonisation ideology into the regulatory framework governing medical practice.

Robert Bradley Jnr: Nuclear Power Needs Realism, Freedom

What US industry is the most subsidized and regulated by the federal government? If you answered nuclear power, you are correct.

As a result, the 70-year “Atoms for Peace” program represents the most expensive failure (malinvestment) in US business with a history of uncompleted projects and massive cost overruns, as well as future decommissioning liabilities.

Corey Smith: When Indoctrination Masquerades as Education

New Hampshire Republicans recently pushed a bill through the state House to prohibit public schools from teaching curricula such as critical race theory, LGBTQ, and gender ideology. The bill, titled the CHARLIE Act (Countering Hate and Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education), is named after the late conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk. It was partly inspired by the discovery of race-based training materials in handouts and in recommended reading found in three NH cities, including Manchester, the largest city north of Boston. The measure has predictably caused arguments between both parties in the Granite State.

Melanie Phillips: Chickens coming home to roost

The Greens' by-election victory signifies a cultural and political emergency for Britain

Britain has woken up to a victory by the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election. The Greens’ Hannah Spencer, a 34 year-old plumber, now becomes the Member of Parliament for the constituency which has been Labour since 1931. Labour was pushed into third place with Reform coming second.

Mike's Minute: Air NZ has issues and the turnaround is a way off

There is no doubt that Air New Zealand has issues.

In a week of company reports, the vast majority contained good news. Air New Zealand was a glaring exception.

A national airline losing money in an industry that is booming doesn’t make sense.

Saturday February 28, 2026 

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