Breaking Views Update: Week of 1.3.26

Wednesday March 4, 2026 

News:
The meaning behind the new stadium - Matamata - Piako DC.
As we celebrate the opening of the new stadium, there is a deeper story to be told that's woven into the heart of the building - its te reo Māori name, Te Whare Hui Ora. This name was gifted by Iwi as part of the cultural narrative for the facility and reflects both its purpose and the values that will guide those who use it.

Ryan Bridge: AI can't master all the jobs

There’s been a lot of chat about AI replacing jobs lately.

And I get it, there are signs it’s happening. For certain roles, especially more junior ones, the threat is real.

But there are some things a computer will never know and never be able to do.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Why doesn't Luxon want to take a position on the Iran strikes?

All right, we need to talk about Chris Luxon and that performance yesterday.

“Oh, I mean… we obviously understand… we’re not saying that… what we’re saying is… we… we… we understand this… I don’t know how to be any clearer, guys…”

You know what’s going wrong here, eh? The Prime Minister doesn’t want to say what he actually thinks. He doesn’t want to take a position on the air strikes on Iran.

Eliora: The Number of Parties Was Insane

Will NZ right-wing patriots fracture like in the last general election?

At the last NZ election there were, deep breath… 19 registered political parties contesting the general election. On 16 September 2023, the Electoral Commission stated:

JC: Left Leadership Blows the Mind

And not, in this case, in a good way. In fact, if you think about it, practically never in a good way. My thinking has always been we were all born with the same amount of grey matter but there are occasions when one starts to wonder.

I’m talking about our political leaders’ reactions to the war with Iran. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see the necessity for the military action that has been taken. Even our prime minister has removed his woke glasses and donned ones showing realism. He saw there was no other choice.

Ani O'Brien: What it actually costs to live "green" like Chris Hipkins

Forget "let them eat cake", now it's "let them have solar"

It’s election year so we are getting served up a whole load of political storytelling. The parties have their narratives, but our political leaders are also shaping the way they want to be seen by the New Zealand public. Chris Hipkins’ strategy hasn’t changed. He is still running as the “relatable leader,” the “practical dad.” He is also trying to balance his image as pro-environment, proactive on climate change, without being seen as a fruitloop. The hardcore environmentalists will vote Green, he just needs to demonstrate that he is on board with the kaupapa, so to speak.

Colinxy: Gloriavale Christian Community - New Zealand’s Most Famous Active Cult

Gloriavale is one of those topics I’ve largely avoided over the years—not because it isn’t important, but because it is unusually difficult to write about responsibly. Neutral sources are scarce. Sensationalist sources are plentiful. And the official narrative tends to oscillate between “idyllic Christian commune” and “totalitarian nightmare,” with very little sober analysis in between.

Mike's Minute: What did the unions achieve?

I watched a woman from one of the unions explain how much work had been done to settle their claim.

The allied health workers have signed off their deal. That’s 12,000 physios, social workers, etc. There was more work to do, she said.

Matua Kahurangi: Hey Australia, can we have Pauline Hanson? We’ll gladly give you Jacinda Ardern.

Politics makes for strange envy.

Across the Tasman, Australia has the blunt, unapologetic force of Pauline Hanson. Here in New Zealand, we had the polished, globally adored Jacinda Ardern. If you judge by overseas headlines alone, you would think we were the lucky ones.

Many Kiwis would disagree.

Bob Edlin: Pork producers – perturbed by cheaper imports.....

Pork producers – perturbed by cheaper imports – press for a level playing field, but others struggle against imports, too

The Otago Times reports:

Farmers are renewing calls for the government to enforce the same animal welfare standards that local pig farmers face on imported pork.

David Farrar: Unconvinced by KiwiSaver changes

The Government announced:

Since 2010, Kiwis have been able to withdraw from their KiwiSaver accounts to assist with the purchase of a first home so long as they live in the homes they buy.

“However, workers in service tenancies, such as farm workers, rural teachers, country cops, and defence personnel, have effectively been locked out of first home withdrawal because their jobs require them to live in employer-provided housing,” Nicola Willis says.

David Farrar: Race based leave?

Matua Kahurangi writes:

A clause quietly embedded in a collective agreement at Oranga Tamariki should alarm anyone who still believes the public service is meant to operate on neutral ground.

Revealed this week by Duncan Garner, the provision grants Māori staff discretionary paid cultural leave that is self-defined, open-ended, and explicitly protected from managerial scrutiny. Attendance at land court hearings, iwi or hapū meetings, cultural performances such as Te Matatini, and other obligations determined by the individual qualify. The list is deliberately non-exhaustive.

The crucial detail is simple. The entitlement applies to Māori staff only.

Tuesday March 3, 2026 

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Ryan Bridge: The issues we care about

We have a new issues poll out this morning.

It's from IPSOS. 1000 people. Was taken after Waitangi weekend.

The numbers are bad for National, because they should be winning on more issues.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Should we really be condemning the strikes on Iran?

Okay, let's talk about the debate Helen Clark has sparked on whether New Zealand should be condemning the US air strikes on Iran.

As you’ll have noticed, New Zealand hasn’t condemned the strikes. In fact, in a radio interview this morning, the Prime Minister said that our position aligns with Australia’s - and Australia has openly supported the strikes.

Geoff Parker: Special Māori Privilege? Minister Overrides Law To Grant Citizenship To Overseas-born Children

A lengthy fight for recognition has ended in relief for one Māori family, after New Zealand’s citizenship system left three overseas-born children in legal limbo.

John Bryers Ruddock, a Ngāpuhi father, has secured full citizenship for his three children following intervention by Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden, but the case exposes the strict limits of the Citizenship Act 1977 — and raises questions about the scope of special treatment for Māori under New Zealand law.

Kerre Woodham: The world is in an uneasy place

When it comes to telling stories about what I did in my weekend, I thought I had a pretty good one, but Donald Trump takes the cake. Bombing the hell out of Iran and taking out the Ayatollah Khamenei and other key members of the ruling theocracy surely trumps what most of us did.

As you will know by now, the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran beginning Saturday. There were talks going on between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear programme, or what remains of it. But the US and Israel decided the talk was going nowhere, and so on Saturday the strikes began.

David Farrar: Homosexuality linked to older siblings

Until recent years there has been no real idea why 5% or so of the population are attracted to their own sex, rather than the opposite sex. It clearly isn’t a choice, but what was unknown is whether it has a genetic link, or an environmental link or both – and how much.

I have blogged previously on how some studies have shown that there is a link to having older brothers. A new study of nine million people in the Netherlands has been of much higher quality than previous studies, and confirms them. They note:

Mike's Minute: What's the answer to our child poverty issue?

To the so-called poverty issue.

The report actually uses the word "hardship".

Kids in hardship, roughly, is flat. About 14% of kids allegedly live in some form of hardship.

Pee Kay: Inverse Acculturation - The Subsumption of a Culture

For hundreds of years it has been possible for humans to travel across continents but it was not until recently that cheap long-distance air travel, greater affluence in developing countries and information becoming easily accessible, that modern humans are able to migrate on the massive scale we see today.

Google Maps and Google Street View allows us to easily familiarise ourselves with every street of a foreign city through before we even start packing our bags!