Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: What real employer would do what the Ministry of Justice did?

If you haven't yet caught up on the drama involving the former Lotto presenter and the gold-bar smuggling operation, you need to hear this because it basically involves your taxpayer money.

The chap's name is Russell Harrison. You might remember him from the Lotto draws. He went on to a job at the Ministry of Justice as a Kaiārahi, a Family Court navigator.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 28.6.26

Saturday July 4, 2026 

News:
Papakura High School unveil new waharoa, paying tribute to kaumātua
Papakura High School has unveiled a new waharoa at the entrance to the kura, marking its ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and kaupapa Māori while honouring respected kaumātua whose legacy continues within the school.

Students, staff, whānau and guests gathered at the school early on Friday morning for the blessing of the newly established waharoa, Te Rangimārie.

Mike's Minute: Where are the rules protecting us from legal menaces?

 I've got a couple of questions around Mike Smith. 

Mike is back in the news because of his court case against big polluters. His case got upended by the recent Government move to block what they call "tort-based litigation" over climate change.

Dr OIiver Hartwich: What NZ must learn from Germany’s sudden €20 billion military meltdown

We have a new colleague at The New Zealand Initiative. Our latest senior fellow is Major General John Howard, retired. He built this country’s defence intelligence and is the only New Zealander ever given an executive role inside the United States’ Defense Intelligence Agency.

John is currently finalising a paper on New Zealand’s frigate replacement. I was reading a draft last week when I heard news from Berlin.

Ani O'Brien: Politicising a Tragedy - PSA takes the gloves off

New Zealand's largest public sector union increasingly sounds like an opposition party.

The death of a man in the waiting room toilets at Waikato Hospital’s emergency department is a tragedy. He went to hospital needing help and died before he could be treated. His family, and the community, deserve to know what happened, whether it was preventable, and what needs to change so it does not happen again. That is the serious version of this conversation. But unfortunately, we are in an election year and serious conversations are not what some of New Zealand’s unions appear to be interested in when a tragedy can be turned into a political opportunity.

Andy Oakley: For Social Cohesion, Should We Scrap the Terms Pākehā and Māori in New Zealand?

In today’s opinion piece, the question is a big one: Should New Zealand ban the words Māori and Pākehā?

Not just discourage them — I mean remove them from legislation, from government documents, from schools, and from official use entirely. For the sake of actual social cohesion, these two words have become more harmful than helpful.

Dr Michael Johnston: Psychology journal controversy shows why professional bodies must stay out of politics

As a former academic, I know how onerous research publication can be. Before being published in a professional journal, an article must undergo peer review. Many articles don’t survive this process. Most require revision before both the reviewers and journal editors are satisfied.

Once an article has been published it becomes part of the permanent research record. Only when there is clear evidence of data fabrication or plagiarism should an article be retracted. Even then, both the article and the reasons for its retraction should remain on the public record.

Kerre Woodham: The school lunch programme's become more trouble than it's worth

From Michelin stars to school lunches, sublime, ridiculous. I think it's safe to say none of the school lunches on offer will be getting Michelin stars. Then the last lot probably wouldn't have either. A scathing report has been issued by the Auditor General, which says only 50% percent of the meals delivered by the new school lunch programme in 2025 complied with the Ministry of Education's nutrition standards. We haven't talked about the school lunches for a hot minute, have we?

Bob Edlin: Luxon is coy about which reports on homelessness he has read.....

Luxon is coy about which reports on homelessness he has read but gushes about how Michelin stars are shining on tourism

Our PM knows and reveals things which – so far as PoO can find – are not recorded in official statistics.

On the other hand, he won’t reveal some things which (PoO is sure) he does or should know.

David Farrar: Tamaki crossed the line

Brian Tamaki was reported as saying:

In a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the Destiny Church founder accuses Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of purging Christians in the South Asian nation.

“He [Modi] is currently purging India of all Christians and burning church buildings down,” Tamaki said.

Friday July 3, 2026 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Michael Laws won't be a good get for NZ First

Let me hit you with absolutely the weirdest political news of the day. Michael Laws, it's being reported, is going to announce he's running for New Zealand First.

The '90s called and want their man back.

Ryan Bridge: Only hungry children should be feed by the state

The government's looking to 'move on' from free school lunches for every kid in a poor school.

David Seymour told me this week they're looking at making changes, potentially tightening things up.

The Leighton Smith Podcast: Dr Muriel Newman on this year's hugely consequential general election

Leighton Smith and Dr Muriel Newman discuss the ongoing constitutional shift toward iwi influence, co-governance and race-based policies. In this election year, New Zealand is arguably facing its biggest challenge to date.

Click to listen - Audio

Peter Williams: Selling food and tyres on the news

Is the cheerleading of expensive eating an appropriate use of TV news time?

Sometimes you just cringe at the content of the television news.

Saturday night was a classic. The New Zealand football team lost, predictably, to Belgium by 5 goals to 1 so ending their World Cup campaign.

Roger Partridge: Britain's Labour government can be a party of growth – but not like this

This column was first published by CapX, the online newspaper of London’s Centre for Policy Studies. It was written for a British audience, but its central argument comes from this side of the world. New Zealand's Fourth Labour Government and Australia's Hawke-Keating Labor government showed that centre-left parties can use market reform to achieve progressive ends. This piece suggests Britain's Labour Party should borrow that tradition.

“It is time for Whitehall to accept that growth cannot be ordered from the top down,” Andy Burnham said in his first major speech since returning to Parliament. “Instead, it can only be nurtured from the bottom up.”

He is right. The man about to enter Downing Street has seen what much of his party denies: prosperity is grown, not decreed, and the hand that tries to direct it from the centre usually throttles it instead. But the premise has a second half Burnham flinches from.

Richard Prebble: Should We Be Forced to Invest in SpaceX?

Christopher Luxon has announced that National will campaign this election to require New Zealanders to invest perhaps $12 billion a year overseas, with around $8 billion ending up on Wall Street.

That is not how he put it.

He announced that employee and employer KiwiSaver contributions will rise to 4 percent each and that KiwiSaver will be compulsory.

Yet that is the practical effect.

David Harvey: Skynet on the Brain

How an Old Literary Fear and a 1984 Blockbuster Are Quietly Writing Our AI Policy

When a senator warns that artificial intelligence could “end humanity,” when a tech executive testifies that we are “building a god we can’t control,” or when a newspaper runs a stock image of a chrome skull with glowing red eyes above a sober article about model evaluation standards, something curious is happening.

Bob Edlin: Maipi-Clarke - "Wording Error"......

Oops – Maipi-Clarke corrects what she boasted about her interest in corrections and blames a “wording error”

Māori Party firebrand Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, responsible for “The Haka Heard Around The World”, perhaps finds it challenging to communicate when she is not shouting her displeasure at the Government in the House of Representatives.

Centrist reports she has deleted a social media post “after appearing to claim that ‘65%’ of her work involved visiting rangatahi in ‘juvenile centres, correction centres or OT’.”

JD: Let Us First Establish the Basic Facts

Guest post on The Good Oil by JD

Time to stop fawning over TOP as the bright young things of New Zealand politics and take a look at how much of a threat they pose to the peace of mind, financial wellbeing and, by extension, the health of every Kiwi pensioner.

TOP makes several claims including: