Breaking Views Update: Week of 30.8.26

Wednesday September 2, 2026 

News:
Whakatōhea leader presents evidence to Waitangi Tribunal
Te Whakatōhea leader, Te Kahautu Maxwell, opened with a haka before presenting evidence on the histories, grievances and aspirations of Ngāti Ngahere before the Waitangi Tribunal in Ōpōtiki this week.

Terere Marae hosted the tenth hearing week of the North-Eastern Bay of Plenty District Inquiry, Wai 1750, where the Tribunal is examining the impacts of Crown actions on hapū and iwi throughout the region.

Dame Elizabeth Rata: History of New Zealand Education Promo

Why did New Zealand have one of the best education systems in the world from the 19th century to the 1970s.

Why was that remarkable legacy deliberately dismantled? What can be done to restore quality education?

I’m making thirty-nine narrated podcast episodes using historical documents and photos to try and answer this question.

Pee Kay: “…we’re in bad company…”says Chris Luxon

We could be on the hook for up to $5 billion in carbon credits but Chris Luxon has made a pronouncement from on high that “remaining in the Paris climate agreement is a bottom line in any coalition negotiations…”

Is this another of Chris’s “big time outbursts” that just might end up inflicting pain on his posterior like the July decree might when he stated during a post-Cabinet press conference that National “ain’t doing business” with parties that want to spend, borrow, and increase taxes, pointing to TOP’s proposed land value tax.

Gravedodger: Why Allow Travel When Money Is Owed?

National are tinkering with student loan money recovery?

It is currently four and a half Billion outstanding and reports often state much of it will never be repaid.

How difficult to prevent anyone owing money to the State to leave the country and the debt behind.

Ryan Bridge: We can't afford a credit downgrade

You know how New Zealanders love it when foreign countries, or media or even tourists talk about us?

There always the most read stories on news sites. It's like a national past time.

Oh look! Brad Pitt says New Zealand is beautiful! Oh look... Jason Mamoa did a bungy and Queenstown is beautiful!

Dr Oliver Hartwich: The New Mandarinate

In November 2018, officials at Immigration New Zealand began work on replacing the ageing biometric systems that verify identities and manage immigration risk. Seven years later it was dead, having delivered no measurable benefit. Nobody can yet say what it cost.

Kerre Woodham: It's about time the Government cracked down on debt dodgers

Over the weekend too, Nicola Willis announced policy around student loans. And finally, finally, finally, we have a government that's going to get tough on overseas student loan defaulters.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said yesterday that National will introduce harsher penalties on Kiwis who move overseas and simply refuse to pay back the New Zealand taxpayer.

Bob Edlin: Good health news for Hutt....

....but we didn’t see a picture of Simeon Brown among patients in the Wellington ED queue

It’s a great publicity shot, for two cabinet ministers keen to persuade voters that they should be re-elected at the General Election just a few weeks hence.

Health Minister Simeon Brown is shown wielding a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon at a new medical centre in Lower Hutt.

David Farrar: A huge One Nation swing

Voters in the Western Australian state electorate of Secret Harbour just delivered a huge swing. Here’s the results.

Mike's Minute: "Why risk choking off what little we currently have?"

To the Reserve Bank, the cash rate and the state of NZ Inc.

It's assumed by most that the cash rate will be increased 25 points to 2.75%.

It's also assumed there will be another one by the end of the year. What happens after that has a “who knows” feel about it.

Tuesday September 1, 2026 

                   ⇩

Centre Left will Entrench Te Tiriti & Co-Governance will be the start.

Michael Laws on The Platform says forget co-governance - the Centre Left will entrench Te Tiriti and co-governance will and it will only be the start.

Click to view

NZCPR Newsletter: Gaming the Election

The election is on a knife edge.

On one side is a coalition that wants to encourage people to get ahead through lower taxes, less regulation, stronger economic growth, and more freedom. On the other side are parties that want to penalise success.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is National's new student debt policy really going to stop our brain drain?

Jeez, I'm not going to lie, I love the punitive part of National's student debt policy.

In case you missed it, it is essentially this: go easier on people with student loans who still live in New Zealand and crack down harder on those with loans who live overseas. National says it's a bid to keep our brightest graduates here.

Ryan Bridge: Have we found the next leaky building saga?

Two questions for you this morning if you're buying or have bought a property recently.

1. Did you get a pre-purchase inspection done?

2. And did that person have a qualification?

Remember leaky buildings? Well, there are a builders and surveyors out there who reckon we're sitting on another leaky building saga.

Yvonne Van Dongen: Introducing The Clap-O-Meter

An unscientific gauge of public opinion at campaign meetings

After Quilae Wong was enthusiastically clapped at the Opportunity Party gathering for dismissing my concerns about women’s sex-based rights, I realised that spontaneous clapping was as good a gauge as any of audience sentiment - although in my case, it was the equivalent of being booed. Rude.

Since I plan to attend more random political party campaign meetings I decided to largely ignore what the aspirants say (it’s all hot air until they’re in power anyway) and listen for the claps. If nothing else, it would tell me something about the audience and their concerns.

Colinxy: Davina Smolders and the Price of Dissent

When “participation” means silence, and “consultation” means obedience

Every so often, a local‑government story breaks through the noise and reveals something deeper — not just a dispute over process, but a clash of political worldviews. The case of Davina Smolders, councillor for the Far North District Council, is one of those moments.

Pee Kay: The Sovereignty Machine

How Corporate Iwi Outmanoeuvre the Fragmented Right

New Zealand is witnessing the formidable operations of a highly sophisticated, unified political force, the Maori sovereignty machine.

Or is it more a case of what too many in New Zealand are not witnessing? We are sleepwalking into a constitutional crisis.

Lindsay Mitchell: Hipkins' play for the Maori seats

Yesterday Labour promised to reinstate the Maori Trades and Training Fund (MTTF) at a cost of $21 million annually. The fund was initially set up as part of the post COVID recovery spend. National later cut it to economise.

It's part of the by Maori, for Maori kaupapa so is run by maraes and iwi for mostly Maori participants. Reinstated, it will be exclusively for Maori. An evaluation of the scheme was generally positive.

Melanie Phillips: Britain’s moral depravity

The campaign against the Israeli “settlers” amounts to racist ethnic cleansing

Astoundingly, the British government is not only demanding that Israel ethnically cleanse its own people from their ancestral homeland but is proposing to punish it for refusing to do so.

The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is poised to announce “robust” sanctions targeting trade with Israeli “settlements” in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, as well as the sanctioning of Israelis linked to businesses there.