Breaking Views Update: Week of 29.3.26

Wednesday April 1, 2026 

News:
Fuel crisis the priority, not style guides, Judith Collins tells ACT
Public Service Minister Judith Collins has shrugged off pressure from coalition partner ACT over the government's English-first policy, suggesting the matter is not a key priority.

"To be frank, right at the moment, my concern is fuel," she told RNZ. "That's my big focus. I'm not too worried about everything else."

Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - The Energy insurance that NZ never bought

Arguments about the current energy crisis have shifted. It is no longer just about what ministers are doing now. It is also about what they chose not to do when they had the chance.

This morning brought the clearest accountability journalism to this debate. Kate MacNamara in the Herald and Edward Miller in The Post both zero in on the same issue: New Zealand was left more exposed than it needed to be, and ministers were warned about the country’s lack of fuel reserves.

John McLean: Woke Entrenchment

Mechanisms of ideological Identitarian societal capture…complete with a case study

I’ve written screeds on how Woke/Critical Social Justice/Identitarianism/Neo-Marxism/Post-Modernism – call “it” what you will - has been entrenched in New Zealand society.

Bruce Cotterill: AI revolution is coming for service jobs....

AI revolution is coming for service jobs: How work will change by 2030

There are plenty of things distracting us at the moment. With an election looming, another war in the Middle East, swollen oil prices and concerns about supply, and the risk of a return to recession as a result.

Amidst the madness we’ve stopped talking about the fact that we are about to experience the biggest change to our way of life, probably in our lifetimes.

Simon O'Connor: Of fuel and fury

How can a government ministry blatantly fund political and 'furious' activism, yet there be so little media scrutiny? And why the fuel crisis should have been anticipated.

One of the striking aspects around modern media is not so much the bias that various outlets pursue, but deliberate ignoring of stories and perspectives of importance.

Bob Edlin: Another costly Code of Conduct inquiry....

Another costly Code of Conduct inquiry – but captious councillor contends he had to lodge yet another official complaint

Exactly what was said seems to be uncertain.

According to the Southland Tribune, Invercargill deputy Mayor Grant Dermody is alleged to have directed some vituperative words at a council officer, whereas Dermody claims he said something else to someone else.

Ryan Bridge: The CRL has to hit the ground running and forget its transitional timetable

As far as conditions go ahead of a grand opening, you couldn’t do much better than a petrol price spike for the City Rail Link.

Construction and testing will be finished within three months.

Then it’s handed over to operators, who need another three months.

Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - A Country losing faith

New Zealand’s annual trust survey is out. The trust figures are not good. But this year, the most alarming finding in the 2026 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer isn’t really about trust at all. It’s about hope.

Only 17% of New Zealanders believe the next generation will be better off than today. That’s a nine-point drop from last year, a sharp collapse in optimism, and it puts us among the most pessimistic countries in the developed world. Lower than Australia, lower than the US, lower even than the United Kingdom.

David Farrar: The biggest enemies of renewable energy are … environmentalists

Radio NZ reports:

A plan to fast-track a controversial West Coast hydro scheme has been given an initial go-ahead.

The West Coast lines company, Westpower, has applied to fast-track its controversial plans to build a run-of-river hydro scheme on the Waitaha River, and in its draft decision the fast-track expert panel has given it approval.

Mike's Minute: How awesome is Christchurch?

Christchurch is so awesome.

I told the room that on Friday. It was a fun hour with a bunch of Christchurch businesses and a panel of local experts and, basically, we just chatted about what an amazing story Christchurch is.

It's not perfect and a few issues remain. I note on the same day I was there Winston Peters was there promising money for the cathedral, which as I drove through the square is a shame beyond shame that it remains in the state it's in.

Tuesday March 31, 2026 

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