Geoff Parker: Davina Smolders — When Dissent Becomes A Reason For Removal

The Far North District Council’s decision to remove Councillor Davina Smolders from its Te Kūaka Committee for Māori Strategic Relationships deserves considerably more scrutiny than it is likely to receive.

This is not simply a disagreement between councillors over Māori issues. It raises a much bigger question:

What happens to democracy when an elected councillor’s views become so inconvenient that the majority decides to remove her from a committee?

Mike's Minute: There are no punishments if you work in the public service

For those who don’t work in the public service, if you ever want a lesson into why it's completely different to the way the rest of us work, just look at yesterday's decision by the Privileges Committee when it came to Alison McDonald and Nic Blakeley and their misleading of ministers and an IT project at immigration.

They deliberately misled MPs. That's what the committee found.

JC: Debating the Need for Debates

The Media Insider in the Weekend Herald contained a list of the election debates, when they would be held and who of the left-wing media (Newstalk ZB being the exception) stars would be hosting them. I will reference them in the latter part of the article so those with a masochistic streak can diarise them. I question whether we even need them and how many will actually watch them. If you are after a dose of fiction there are plenty of good books on offer. That to me is a preferable and more relaxing pastime.

Pee Kay: A race to the bottom?

This is from Sky News Australia in April this year. The news is a bit old but the stupidity has not aged!

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Australia’s Labour government is shutting down the 2,210-megawatt Loy Yang coal-fired power station, which was recently refurbished at a cost of AU$92million and sits on a 500-year supply of fuel!

Nicole Foss: Modern warfare has left the US behind

Drones have been a major game-changer in modern warfare. There’s been an arms race in the Ukraine war, and drones have been at the centre of it, with electromic jamming, then fibre-optic drones, then netting over roads used for logistics, and vehicles with cages to protect them from drone attack. Tanks with no anti-drone protection, such as those used by the US, are now obsolete. Both Russia and Ukraine are now setting up separate branches of their militaries to focus on drone warfare. Russia aims to have 210,000 drone operators over 1000 units embedded with each other branch of the military in the not too distant future.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: New Zealand needs asset recycling to fund its infrastructure future

A fortnight ago, the government agreed a sale worth $702 million. Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop sold the loans the Crown made to Chorus to help build the ultrafast broadband network, for $60 million above book value.

The money, we were told, will go to the Cambridge to Piarere expressway, hospital upgrades and new classrooms.

Bob Edlin: Game theory, conspiracies and the puzzle....

....of the way the media got a whiff of Penk’s plot

Sacked from the Luxon Cabinet for his role in the National caucus leadership challenge, the hapless Chris Penk – we are supposed to believe – was the sole plotter.

New Zealand first learned of this one-man conspiracy on August 12, after an emergency National Party caucus meeting and a secret confidence vote called by Prime Minister Christophe Luxon to address the speculation.

Reynold Macpherson: Rotorua Needs Democratic Reform, Not More Power

When I served on Rotorua Lakes Council from 2019 to 2022, I discovered how far local government could depart from the democratic processes I had expected.

Policy development was too often controlled upstream by the mayor and senior officials. Councillors formally voted, but officials largely controlled the information, framing, recommendations and implementation surrounding those votes.

David Lillis: Are Public Service Whistleblowers Safe from Retribution?

Punishment for Speaking Out

The Hāpai Public Newsletter of 25 August discusses the very real dangers of whistleblowing in New Zealand’s public service (Hāpai Public, 2026). The newsletter quotes research from the Office of the Ombudsman, showing that of public servants who made a protected disclosure, 40% claimed to have been bullied or harassed, 29% claimed that they had lost their job, and about 20% claimed to have been demoted (Office of the Ombudsman, 2026).

David Farrar: MBIE in contempt

Stuff reports:

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has expressed support for MBIE’s chief executive, hours after he was found to have deliberately misled a select committee.

Kerre Woodham: A rates cap won't suddenly balance council books

The Government has decided it will cap annual council rate increases at 4%. We've been talking about it for more than a year now, but the cap will take effect in 2029 – councils will need to consider the cap from next year. Local Government Minister Simon Watts told Mike Hosking the reason for it was to ease pressure on households, and although the national average will be savings of just $34 a week, Simon Watts said for many ratepayers the cap will be meaningful.

Thursday August 27, 2026 

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Breaking Views Update: Week of 23.8.26

Thursday August 27, 2026 

News:
Upper Hutt Weighs Māori Wards For Next Two Local Elections
Upper Hutt's council is revisiting Māori wards for the 2028 and 2031 elections while its own future remains up in the air.

Mike's Minute: Rate caps – not a moment too soon

So the Government has moved on rates.

The cap is 4%, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Of all the price pressures that are out of control, rates would have to be the worst.

Kelli Ballard: New Poll Shows Shocking Result - People Like China More Than the US

Some may find it hard to believe, but according to a new Pew Research poll, China is seen more favorably than America. Of course, there’s a good deal of politics at play, but there may also be more behind the scenes – the power of Hollywood.

America vs China

The July survey consisted of more than 42,000 people in 36 countries, and for the first time in 20 years since Pew started polling this topic, China came out on top. The US is viewed more positively than China in only six countries: India, Israel, Japan, Philippines, Poland, and South Korea. Even America’s closest neighbors, Mexico and Canada, favor China.

Bob Edlin: After ruling out new taxes, the Nats say voters’ choice is simple....

....but there’s support, too, for more spending on state services

Google threw the Facebook messaging of National MP Matt Doocey into considerations when PoO asked Google for a steer on political polls and public support for parties which have ruled out tax increases.

Doocey was crowing:

Ryan Bridge: Parliament's backlog is becoming a problem

This past week is proof a four-year Parliamentary term is probably a good idea.

Elections disrupt the housing market. People get scared off buying for fear of the unknown. Who knows what government will get in and what they'll do to price of a house.

Rodney Hide: National's Online Safety Bill is a Trojan Horse

In 1990 I travelled the country warning landowners about the Resource Management Bill. It was sold as a simpler, more permissive system. Farmers welcomed it. The old regime of overlapping statutes would be replaced by a single, principles-based framework that would make life easier.

One night, in frustration, I told a meeting that the bill would eventually mean the government dictating the colour of your woolshed and requiring you to pay local Māori for the spirits to go away. The room went quiet. I left thinking I had overreached. The farmers clearly thought I was unhinged. None of us imagined those specific outcomes would arrive.

JC: ACT Is in Tune With the Right

The release of party policy by David Seymour at the weekend showed ACT completely understands the wants, needs and desires of those on the right of politics. Not only was the policy itself impressive but David was too. Of all the party leaders, David is the best at enunciating clearly what the purpose of the policy is and why it is needed. There is no ambiguity about where the party stands on any given issue. Clear direction and choice is given to voters, especially those who might be still undecided when it comes to casting their vote.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Tories launch firm power plans

UK

Tories back plan to prioritise firm power

The Conservatives have said that households could save about £540 a year after 2030 if net zero regulations are scrapped with a commitment to make energy as cheap as possible. A report published by centre-right think tank Onward and backed by the Tories said the cost of net zero came to an extra £540 per household a year between 2030 and 2050.