Monday, August 17, 2026
Geoff Parker: The Littlewood Treaty - The Missing English Draft? Or A Back-translation?
Labels: Dr Barrie Davis, Geoff Parker, Littlewood treaty, Ned Fletcher, Treaty of Waitangi, Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, Treaty PrinciplesA response to Barrie Davis's interpretation of the Littlewood document
Barrie Davis has recently written about the Littlewood document. His argument is difficult to pin down, but he ultimately appears to regard it not as the original final English draft prepared for translation into Māori, but as an English back-translation produced in connection with the Māori translation on 4 February 1840.
It is an interesting argument, but I am left with several questions.
But first what is not disputed?
Bruce Cotterill: Christopher Luxon leadership - National caucus coup attempt overshadows election issues
Labels: Bruce Cotterill, Christopher Luxon, Coalition achievementsChristopher Luxon must really like his job. If he didn’t, I’m not sure why he would spend his time working in the environment he has had to endure over the past couple of weeks.
This week’s National Party shenanigans were as close to a political suicide mission as we have seen in this country. I’m not sure what the agitators in the National Party caucus were thinking, but they certainly weren’t thinking about the best interests of their party, the coalition, or, most importantly, the country.
David Seymour: Implementing ONE LAW for ALL in the public service
Labels: Cultural concepts, David Seymour, Health and safety, Karakia, Need before race, One Law for All, Prayer, Spiritual practice, WorldviewsBelow is a video of ACT's One Law for All in the Public Service policy announcement - and following questions from the media - it is well worth watching and listening to. Also a text summary of the speech.
Ashley Church: Has New Zealand permanently moved to the left?
Labels: Ashley Church, Dystopia, NZ moved to the Left?, Political ideologiesPassing the point of no return
We’re all familiar with the mental image of a man, alone in the middle of the ocean, his ship gone beneath him, clinging desperately to a piece of wreckage and convincing himself that if he can just hold on a little longer, rescue will come.
I’m starting to wonder whether that’s me – hanging on to the belief that New Zealand had decisively rejected the direction of the previous Labour government and that the political drift since then was temporary, accidental, or simply the result of National failing to deliver what people thought they had voted for.
David Lillis: Holding Free and Fair Elections
Labels: Dr David Lillis, Elections, Professor Zlatko KovacicYou can download the book here:
https://bit.ly/election-forensics
Nathan Smith: Why the Boomers love NZ First
Labels: Boomers, Kiwi Kids Grant, Nathan Smith, NZ FirstThis week, the party of Winston Peters (Boomer) announced the Kiwi Kids Grant. The policy would offer tax-free payments of $5000 a year for the first three years of a child’s life, for up to three children. Peters said the goal was to reverse what he called a “population precipice” of declining birth rates in New Zealand and argued $400 million a year would ultimately be much cheaper than relying on increased immigration.
Nick Clark: Bigger councils are no bargain for business
Labels: Government’s Head Start programme, Merging councils, Nick Clark, RMA ReformSuppose a business is deciding where to expand around Christchurch. It can compare rates and building consent performance in Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.
If one council becomes too slow or expensive, investment can cross the boundary without leaving the local economy. That nearby choice is one of the few checks businesses have on council performance. The Government’s Head Start programme could weaken it.
Dr Oliver Hartwich: The umlaut premium
Labels: Dr Oliver Hartwich, German breadBürgen is leaving New Zealand. After decades on our supermarket shelves, the grainy loaves with the German name will soon be gone.
Except the name was never German. Master baker Doug Leighton invented Bürgen in the 1980s. Its owner, George Weston Foods, is as Australian as Vegemite.
The recipe leaned on Europe, and the umlaut (ü) did the rest.
Roger Partridge: Who makes the law? The Attorney-General answers
Labels: Attorney General, Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill, Hon Chris Bishop, Roger PartridgeOutside Chris Bishop’s office in the Beehive hangs a framed copy of a court judgment. Last week, in a speech to the Law Association, the Attorney-General explained why he keeps it there.
The case is Fitzgerald v Muldoon, a judgment now fifty years old. Prime Minister Robert Muldoon had announced, without asking Parliament, that New Zealanders could stop paying into the previous Labour government’s compulsory superannuation scheme. A man named Fitzgerald took Muldoon to court and won. Chief Justice Wild ruled that a Prime Minister cannot switch off a law by announcing it. Only Parliament can do that.
David Farrar: Ruth calls it straight
Labels: David Farrar, Hon Ruth Richardson, inflation, Reserve BankRuth Richardson writes:
As inflation rears its ugly head again, New Zealand First proposes stripping the Reserve Bank of its sole mission to fight inflation. In an exercise in virtue signalling, employment is bolted on as a second mission. Labour’s Barbara Edmonds wants the same.
This is sheer monetary policy vandalism, flying in the face of all the evidence that there is no trade-off between price stability and employment. That monetary policy can permanently deliver employment growth is nothing more than a cruel hoax.
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Barrie Davis: The Littlewood Document – Draft or Back-translation?
Labels: Dr Barrie Davis, Littlewood treaty, Treaty of WaitangiDoug Fraser: A Model for Southland Local Government Reform
Labels: Doug Fraser, Local Government Reform, SouthlandThis proposal has been developed in response to the current local government reform discussions in Southland and is intended as a constructive contribution to the Government’s wider reform programme.
Major General John G. Howard: Nobody is planning to invade us
Labels: Major General John G. Howard, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)If nobody is planning to invade New Zealand, why would we need a defence force? So runs the logic of those questioning the decision to increase defence spending.
The awkward part: the first half is true. Nobody is planning to invade us.
Repelling invasion has never been the job. The NZDF does other work that defends our national interests.
Roger Partridge: Harmed by harm - How a word is swallowing freedom
Labels: Brian Tamaki, Firearms license, Free speech, Harm, Hate Speech Laws, Roger PartridgeLast month, ten organisations representing New Zealand’s ethnic, faith and multicultural communities delivered what they called an election message to the political parties: commit to new hate speech laws before New Zealanders vote. The Green Party committed to implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, including extending the incitement provisions and the prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act to cover religion. Labour said it was considering “legislative settings” and would announce its position “in due course.” ACT, the smaller party in the governing coalition, said the existing law was adequate. National, the senior party in that coalition, said it did not support legislating against hate speech, pointing instead to its Peace and Harmony Accord with community leaders.
John Denton: Think Big 2
Labels: John Denton, Mining natural resourcesBuilt on the wealth from its twin endowments of agricultural and pastoral space dozens of times larger than that of NZ, and a mineral/energy abundance where one year’s exports exceed NZ’s total GDP from all sources, how can New Zealand ever compete?
Dr Oliver Hartwich: Germany silent on suspected Russian drone attack to avoid boosting far right
Labels: Dr Oliver Hartwich, Drone attack, Germany, RussiaDrones near airports, at least in New Zealand, are usually a nuisance rather than a threat. They are often flown by careless amateurs who have not read the rules.
What happened at Leipzig airport last Tuesday night was different. A bus driver at the East German airport noticed something hovering just above the southern runway, beside a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. He kicked it out of the air. Then he called security, and the federal police sent a robot. It found a tin can fixed to the drone with a detonator seated in its base.
Kerre Woodham: Is ACT's bed tax alternative a good option?
Labels: Kerre Woodham, Tourist bed taxThere's a reason that people live in cities and towns that others love to visit. Beautiful beachside resorts down south, the gorgeous, gorgeous little villages nestled under incredible mountains and natural beauty, or vibrant hotspots where there's a million things to do and a melting pot of cultures and all the places of great historical relevance as well as great beauty. Of course people are going to flock to visit them. But it does cost to provide the amenities that serve the visitors and for small cities and towns, it's a heavy, heavy burden for the ratepayer.
Bob Edlin: Mayor Brown enthuses about project to restore “mauri” to the Manukau Harbour.....
Labels: Bob Edlin, Mātauranga Māori, mauri, Ministry for the Environmen, Waitemata Harbour, Wayne BrownMayor Brown enthuses about project to restore “mauri” to the Manukau Harbour – but how will he measure progress?
PoO was drawn to an article in The Post headed You can’t manage what you haven’t measured: the execution test for water reform starts now
Written by Jason Perera, APAC commercial director for Gentrack Group, the article discussed New Zealand’s water reforms as they cross from policy to practice.
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