Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The fun outweighed the controversies at the World Cup

Well, I think we can probably call it: in the end, no one cared enough about the controversies at the Football World Cup. We all just had a really good time watching it.

Anyone hoping, and there were definitely people hoping, that this would be the World Cup where the corruption would finally be too much, the controversies would finally be too much, and something would be done about it, will be horribly disappointed.

Chris Bishop, Simon Court: Better planning for growth and environment

"Alongside the Committee's recommendations, the Government has agreed further amendments to the legislation.

"One of those changes relates to Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements.

“The Bills as introduced provide that Mana Whakahono ā Rohe that existed or had been initiated prior to the Bills being enacted would transfer into the new system, but that there would be no provision for new ones.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 19.7.26

Tuesday July 21, 2026 

News:
Iwi-council agreements 'narrowly scoped' in late change to new RMA system
Local authorities would instead be able to sign new "narrowly scoped" iwi participation agreements, setting out how iwi authorities take part in statutory planning processes and in the processes that give effect to Treaty settlement redress.

Pee Kay: National… the Enemy Within? (Part Three)

PART THREE: The Luxon Years, The Future, the Battle for New Zealand’s Democracy

On reflection, what made us think Christopher Luxon would be any different from the long line of previous National Prime Ministers who simply failed to hold our democracy dear?

The answer is simple, desperation.

Following six horrific years of the Ardern/Hipkins Labour governments, we were desperate for change. When Luxon looked us in the eye and stated, “We are one country, we deliver our public services to people on the basis of need, not ethnicity,” and “We are all equal under the law,” we believed him!

Kerre Woodham: Will we see the return from NZ First's proposal?

New Zealand First had its own little party on the weekend. It's going to campaign on funding a $1 billion survey of offshore oil and gas reserves that it says would lead to the country owning its own supply and reducing power prices. Hello, 1972!

However, it is unclear how many years it would take for Kiwis to feel the benefits, if any, as Winston said it was expected it could take six years just to establish a pathway forward.

Bruce Cotterill: Why Paul Henry’s Act leap is good for politics

I never thought I would say this. But Paul Henry’s right.

I used to be a fan of Paul Henry, the broadcaster. He’s bright, articulate and entertaining. But then he got a bit silly, and I moved on. This week he restored my interest.

JC: A Lesson Luxon Has To Learn

Christopher Luxon is not your consummate politician. Not by a long shot. And politics is nothing like running a business. The National Party, or indeed the coalition, is not Unilever. The MPs representing ACT and NZ First are not Luxon’s staff. They are more like suppliers adding products (ideas) to help sustain his business (government) and keep it profitable (in power). Unlike business, which vies with competitors for market share, in politics it can be an accommodation with competitors (ACT and NZ First) that attains and keeps the market share (percentage of votes). Luxon has failed to discern the difference.

Rodney Hide: New Zealand First’s Epic U-Turn on Oil and Gas

Winston Peters and Shane Jones have executed one of the most shameless policy pirouettes in modern New Zealand politics. From enforced supporters of Jacinda Ardern’s offshore oil and gas exploration ban to self-appointed champions promising a $1 billion taxpayer-funded drill-baby-drill bonanza, NZ First has shown once again that principle is negotiable when the baubles of office are on the table.

Ryan Bridge: A billion-dollar Gamble on oil

New Zealand First wants to spend a billion bucks looking for oil and gas fields to make our country rich again.

Well, richer.

A bit more like the place our kids go to earn a living, Australia, who've pulled in $430 billion in mining royalties over the past decade alone.

Colinxy: What Have the Left Ever Done for Us?

A Guided Tour Through a Meme, a Myth, and a Manufactured History

A meme has been making the rounds on social media — a Left‑wing riff on Life of Brian’s famous “What have the Romans ever done for us?” sketch. The structure is familiar:

Mike Grimshaw: Getting MMP to work

While MMP was meant to provide more diversity of parties and peoples represented in parliament, the question is whether it has really succeeded in breaking the old two-party bloc faction as it promised to do?

Was the last time when MMP acted as it could when the John Key National Party invited the Māori party to effectively cross the floor and join the government?

But would any party consider doing so today…in either political direction?

David Farrar: End of Life law working well

The annual report of the Assisted Dying Registrar is here. Some key aspects:

Monday July 20, 2026 

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Geoff Parker: Waerenga-a-Hika - The History RNZ Left Out

This article is not intended to deny Māori suffering, but to argue that historical events must be examined in their full context.

RNZ's recent article, The Deadly Battle New Zealand Forgot, is a moving account of the Battle of Waerenga-a-Hika and the suffering endured by many Māori communities. No fair-minded New Zealander would deny that lives were lost, families were torn apart, prisoners were exiled, and communities experienced hardship whose effects continued for generations.

But history deserves more than sympathy alone. It also deserves context.

Damien Grant: Inside the Cerberus coalition....

Inside the Cerberus coalition: The deep ideological divides behind the political growls

As you approach Hades, treading into eternity, you traverse the River Styx. The toxic stream that Achilles was dipped in by the ankle. Upon entering the underworld, you will be confronted by a monstrous three-headed dog on his eternal patrol.

Mythology does not explain how Cerberus coordinates his duties. Three minds. One body. Does it bite itself or act with a hive mind? The questions that challenged the ancients remain unresolved.

Let us examine our own Cerberus. National. Act. New Zealand First.

David Farrar: Ngâ Tauira Mâori

I received the following e-mail (names redacted by me) a couple of months ago:

This report summarises a series of serious allegations and concerns raised regarding conduct associated with the University of Auckland Māori Students Association (Ngā Tauira Māori) and activities connected to the “KatchaMāori” event held for first-year tauira [student].

Colinxy: The Industrial Revolution and the Myth of Capitalist Child Labour

How Prosperity, Not Poverty, Ended the Drudgery of Childhood

One of the more curious accusations routinely hurled at the Industrial Revolution, and by extension at capitalism itself, is the charge of child labour. The argument is delivered with theatrical indignation, as though the moment steam engines appeared, Victorian factory owners spontaneously invented the idea of putting children to work.

This is historically illiterate. Child labour did not begin with capitalism. It predates the Industrial Revolution by millennia.

Ryan Bridge: Is swearing really that bad?

Swearing. Most of us do it.

Unless you're a Bishop (or maybe they do it in private, too?).

Especially in New Zealand.

Insights From Social Media: Now It Gets Interestinger?

Gravedodger writes > Followers of T W Ratana a Maori Prophet who began a sect near Wanganui at what is referred to as the Ratana Pa destination for socialists who have been joined at the Hip for Labour and Ratana.

The “Pa” is the must go to celebration of T W “s birthday January 25th that sees the socialist faithfull and wannabees like Luxon trooping up to the Twin tower Ratana Church to seek to be recognised.

Dave Patterson: Are the Baltic States Ripe for a Russian Invasion?

Poland and the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia believe they are the targets of Russian hybrid warfare. Russia is, in fact, at war with these countries, each of which has an eastern border ripe for an invasion similar to that which took place in April 2014 in the Ukrainian Donbas region and Crimea. Prior to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Kremlin troops in February 2022, Russia carried out a campaign of disinformation, sabotaging Ukrainian infrastructure and cyberattack operations.

Brendan O'Neill: It is not ‘Islamophobic’ to stand up for Jews and Western civilisation

A new report accuses me and other Spectator writers of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’. It is a grotesque lie.

I’ve had a lot of flak in my career. But I never imagined I’d be condemned for expressing horror at the parading of an emaciated Jew through the streets by a mob of anti-Semites. I never thought I would get it in the neck for using the word ‘medieval’ to describe a swarm of men who surrounded and jeered at a terrified half-starved Jewish woman. And yet here we are.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Everyone is a winner with TOP

The Opportunity Party wants to be known as the party of ideas. Now polling near five percent, I decided to test one.

The party’s website offers a calculator. You enter your income and land value, and it reveals how much better off you will be under its radical tax proposal. Their so-called ‘Tax Reset’ promises a cash payment of $19,400 a year to every adult, the ‘Citizen’s Income’, funded by a 1.75 percent annual tax on land.

I tried to invent someone who would pay more net tax under the scheme. I failed.

Major General John G. Howard: China missile test highlights New Zealand’s fragile trade lifeline

On July 5, the Prime Minister announced plans for free trade agreements with seven more countries, on top of the deal with India he signed in April.

The next day, a Chinese submarine fired a missile from the South China Sea into the Pacific. It splashed down between Nauru and Tonga, in our own neighbourhood. The warhead was a dummy. The message needed no explosives.

The two stories ran a day apart; one filed under trade and the other under defence. They are the same story.

Dr Eric Crampton: Legalising groceries

The Commerce Commission’s retail grocery competition inquiries always had the wrong focus.

If there are enormous profits to be made in groceries, why is nobody else trying to steal them away? The world has many supermarket chains. Kiwis can also build new ones. If there are $100 notes on the sidewalk, why is nobody picking them up?

Zoning rules seemed to be the underlying problem. We argued that large-scale entry was de facto impossible.

Sunday July 19, 2026 

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Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 18 July 2026

Note: apologies this isn’t my best wrap up. I got home from an event at 10.30pm last night and hadn’t even started writing it. I kept falling asleep writing so excuse typos etc.

Mike's Minute: Is this why the National vote is soft?

Federated Farmers have quite rightly raised what you would loosely call "the alarm" around a rush of new deals between councils and local Māori.

The rush is on because of the Government's new Natural Environment and Planning bills.

They were released late last year, saying you can't do local Māori deals under it. It's passed its first reading and is sitting at committee level and due back soon.

Bryan Leyland: A solution to our electricity problems

The proposal to subsidise plug-in solar — small solar panel units that households can hang off the balcony and plug straight into a wall socket – indicates how far the debate over our power system has drifted from its fundamental objective: to provide a reliable and economic supply of electricity

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Trump's stolen election claim reflects a nervous outlook for midterms

Question for you: was Donald Trump's speech to the American people a classic case of muddying the waters?

For Trump, it was a relatively short speech, about 40 minutes, in which he claimed there had been Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election, that there were extreme vulnerabilities in the election system that need to be closed and that China obtained more than 200 million American voter registration records. He then released a trove of documents that he claims back up these allegations.

John MacDonald: Bird-flipping ECan needs its wings clipped

I know the real reason why Federated Farmers is so brassed-off with Environment Canterbury. Nevertheless, I agree with them.

They’re saying that ECan is showing “flagrant disregard” for the community, with this push it’s making for Ngāi Tahu to have a permanent role in the region’s resource management after ECan disappears.

Because, with the Government’s local government reforms, ECan is toast.

Melanie Phillips: Scapegoating the Jews

The demonisation of Israel has become a key driver of Western politics

Astonishingly, in America and Britain, the vilification and scapegoating of Israel through an agenda of malice and mendacity — and with undertones of something even darker — has become a key driver of political life.

US Vice President JD Vance has ramped up his attacks on Israel by channelling anti-Jewish tropes of covert manipulation and warmongering.

Roger Partridge: The corruption of privilege (and why it matters)

The exercise has many names – privilege walk, power line, power walk – and a well-documented lineage. It originated in North American social-justice education in the 1990s, drawing on Peggy McIntosh‘s 1988 working paper on the “invisible knapsack” of white privilege, and is run at school retreats, university orientations and workplace training sessions across the English-speaking world. The format is standard. A facilitator reads a list of statements, and participants step forward or back according to their answers. Step forward if you were raised by both your parents. Step forward if there were more than fifty books in your house. Step forward if your parents took you to galleries or plays. Step forward if you came from a supportive family environment.

Clive Bibby: Common Sense, Trust and Vision

Leadership that actually benefits the people of any country is almost always the result of a visionary approach to the problems faced - either those that are self-inflicted by previous governments or ones that are the result of extreme climatic variations over which there is little control.

David Farrar: RIP Bill Birch

Was sad to see today that Bill Birch has died. I knew him quite well, and he was one of the most competent Ministers of any Government.

His worth ethic was legendary. For the 1998 Budget I was in charge of producing the information sheets (propaganda) for the Government about them. This meant having each iteration signed off by the Finance Minister. They were taking me longer than I expected so I popped in to see him at 10 pm to say I didn’t think I’d get them finished tonight, but could show them to him tomorrow. He asked when I thought I’d finish them, and I said around 1.00 am to 1.30 am. He said that he would still be there, so just come through then.

David Farrar: Who is behind Maori Roll Call?

My kids were watching You Tube and an advertisement came up urging Māori to enrol on the Māori roll. It linked to this website. Tama Iti tells people the more people who go on the Maori roll, the more seats in Parliament. They do not mention that in fact the number of seats is now fixed for the next six years, so changing rolls before the election will have zero impact on the number of seats. What will count is which roll people are on in 2031.

At the bottom of the page it says that the campaign was made possible by a collective of 120+ Whanau Ora providers. That means it is funded by NGOs that are funded by taxpayers to provide support to Māori.

Saturday July 18, 2026 

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Seymour vows to scrap iwi agreements after ECan backdown

Chris Lynch chats to David Seymour about Environment Canterbury, Resource Management Act, Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement and more.


Click to view

Breaking Views Update: Week of 12.7.26

Saturday July 18, 2026 

News:
Environment Canterbury mulls protecting Ngāi Tahu interests ahead of local government reform
Environment Canterbury (ECan) wants to ensure Ngāi Tahu has a permanent, statutory role in governing the region’s resource management after the regional council is abolished.

The proposal is that ECan, Ngāi Tahu and eight of the 10 Canterbury rūnanga would sign a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement that would give those organisations mandatory and permanent participation in plan making, resource consent processes, monitoring and reporting.

Mike's Minute: Why is the NZ Super debate back?

Like so many debates in this country, another one has restarted, this time around Superannuation.

Some economists have taken to their calculators and looked at who earns what in retirement.

Graham Adams: India’s view of ‘indigenous’ rattles Māori advisers

A month before 2023’s election, Winston Peters ignited a brush fire in the media after he told a campaign meeting in Nelson that Māori were not indigenous to New Zealand.

His reasoning was simple: “We come from Hawai-iki. Where's our Hawai-iki? We think it is in the Cook Islands. We think it’s in Rarotonga... but we’re not from here.”

He noted that his tribe Ngāti Wai “came to Aotearoa about 900 years ago or longer”.

Matt Ridley: We’re using the wrong pronouns for AI

Editor’s Note: Matt Ridley spoke about AI’s “pronoun issue” at a London conference last week. Our friends at Quantum Zeitgeist attended the speech and kindly let us republish their thoughts for you.

Most people who talk about artificial intelligence reach, sooner or later, for the singular. There is the AI, the machine, the mind we are about to build, and the only argument left is whether it saves us or finishes us off. Matt Ridley thinks that whole habit of speech is a category error, and at ARC in London this week, the annual gathering of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, the science writer offered something cheerier and more curious instead: stop saying it, and start saying them.

Maurice Williamson: Move to Māori names “madness”

Imagine you’d decided to leave the car at home and make the shift to public transport.

After all, if you live around the Pakuranga part of town, you’ve been the subject of construction fatigue for years and years, and you finally thought “I might give the Eastern Busway a go”.

Mary Hobbs: Our beloved country – illusions laid bare

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall… think of it, always. — Mahatma Gandhi

In earlier decades New Zealanders seemed far more relaxed as they cruised through life. It was a time of no internet – yes, the ancient times! – and less government and local council interference. Overall, we revelled in celebrating what it was to be Kiwi.

John McLean: “OPERATIONAL”

Diametrically disparate attitudes towards political interference in New Zealand’s public sector

In late June 2026, it was revealed that the Independent Police Complaints Authority and the Police’s National Integrity Unit are investigating two historical complaints against current Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. Reports are that the complaints involve allegations of untoward sexual conduct on Chambers’ part, towards women. I’ve no idea about the merits of the complaints.

Ryan Bridge: Should we just ban kids' cell phones altogether?

Is banning smart phones for kids a dumb idea?

That would leave them with dumb phones, sans apps and the internet, just texts and phone calls.

Remember the old Nokia? Or Alcatels? They came in that weird light orangey-peachy colour and a purpley-blue.

Jemma Geoghegan, Nigel French: Bird flu has reached New Zealand...

Bird flu has reached New Zealand – what this means and what comes next

The first detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in New Zealand marks an important milestone, but not an unexpected one.

Since the virus reached Australia last month, and as it continued its global spread, scientists and government agencies have been preparing for the possibility that it would eventually arrive here.

Centrist: No charges laid – 1000 days since Baby Ru’s death

Ruthless-Empire Ahipene-Wall, known publicly as Baby Ru, died on 22 October 2023, just days before his second birthday.

Police said post-mortem results confirmed his cause of death was blunt-force trauma and that they believed the injuries were not accidental.

1000 days since, three adults remain persons of interest, but no one has been charged.

Kerre Woodham: Is it better to ban smartphones or police social media?

The ACT Party's not really a “ban” sort of a party. I've always thought they supported the idea of letting people go to hell in their own way. If you want to make your own decisions, fill your boots – if they're bad ones, live with the consequences. And perhaps they do still support the idea of adults going to hell in their own way, but not when it comes to kids.

Leader David Seymour did not support the National Party ban getting kids off social media. They've said that's a dumb idea, there's no way you can police the internet. But what David Seymour has proposed is a total ban on smartphones for under 16-year-olds.

Friday July 17, 2026 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Government needs to prove what it said about co-governance wasn't just hot air

If anyone on a council at the moment can't understand why so many of us ratepayers are so hostile towards them, sometimes bordering on hatred, can I just suggest they take a look at what's going on with these agreements with iwi? That might actually give them a bit of an idea.

If you haven't followed this, Chris Bishop is planning to replace the Resource Management Act shortly and his replacement law will not allow councils to sign any more of these agreements.

Ryan Bridge: How much are political parties willing to borrow after a disaster?

Welcome to New Zealand... land of earthquakes, stormy weather and absolute natural beauty.

Another reminder overnight of how shaky these isles can be.

Hope everyone's alright this morning. It's always a bit hard to get back to sleep after a decent jolt and it sounds like you had one.

Mike's Minute: The beat-up of the week

The beltway beat-up of the week goes to the seemingly ongoing fascination over the missing paperwork and the Prime Minister's office when it came to a meeting between Z Energy and their concerns over Mike Smith's court case involving polluters and climate cost.

Ian Miller: The lockdown disaster must not be forgiven

We’re now rapidly approaching the six-year anniversary of “15 Days to Slow the Spread.”

That policy has to have been one of the most disastrous in world history, created by “experts” who took all established pre-pandemic planning documents and tossed them out the window at the first opportunity.

Peter Dunne: The Kiwi Political Paradox

New Zealanders have an often-contradictory view about what they expect in their politicians.

At one level, they are frequently dismissive of those they regard as "career" politicians with no real life-experience. They barely tolerate the way they do things because they are just the "games politicians play." They deride all politicians for their perceived caution and tendency to see most situations through their own particular political prisms.

Nathan Smith: In Defence Of AI Cheating

Good news everybody! Another piece of the tired 20th century may finally be on its deathbed. The university system is in terminal decline and I couldn’t be happier.

The news comes from a family member who teaches about artificial intelligence at one of the universities. In perhaps the juiciest of ironies, professors have given up trying to detect if the students are using AI to write essays and pass tests. You would think that professors of AI would be able to outrun their students, but you would be wrong. It’s over. The students have defeated the teachers.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Drowning in €3.5 trillion of debt, France faces a new revolution

When France celebrates its national holiday today, it will look much the same as always. There will be the usual aircraft flyover and the cavalry parading past the president.

The only visible difference will be the absence of fireworks. Paris held them last night instead, leaving July 14 for commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the Nice terrorist attack.

Kerre Woodham: Do celebrities and self-made millionaires make for good parliamentarians?

Stop the press, the media has a new darling. Chlöe Swarbrick and the Opportunity Party can have a breather this week, a bit of downtime, because there's only one show in town and it's Paul Henry. The self-made millionaire, the former broadcaster, has thrown his hat into the political ring again. He wants to become a polly, and not just any old polly. He has no interest in sitting on the back benches, cooling his heels, learning the ropes. He is not there to shag spiders.