Roger Partridge: Everything is not relative - The world votes with its feet

If there’s one thing every humanities student learns, it’s that everything is relative. Morality is culturally constructed. Truth is a matter of perspective. Values are power dressed in philosophy. To claim that one political system or way of life is better than another is naïve at best, imperialist at worst.

Except, of course, for that claim itself – which is treated as unquestionable.

This self-refuting orthodoxy has become the West’s intellectual auto-immune disease. In seminar rooms from Auckland to New York, students learn that to judge another culture is to oppress it.

Dr Eric Crampton: Legislative fail-safes

No straight thing can be built of our crooked timber. We can and will err, even with best efforts and intentions.

In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature that, when something goes wrong, forces the system toward a safer state.

Getting everything right in a new resource management system, and all the national direction that follows from it, seems impossible. The job is too big.

Dr Michael Johnston: A question of priorities

It is more than two weeks since the catastrophic failure of Wellington’s sewage treatment plant at Moa Point. Massive quantities of raw sewage continue to flow into Cook Strait. Many of Wellington’s beaches will likely be closed for months.

The immediate cause of the failure appears to have been a blocked pipe. The inside of the facility was flooded, badly damaging the plant.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Happy Social Justice Day

If this is the first you have heard of ‘social justice day,’ do not feel bad. Few people have heard of it, despite it having featured on the United Nations’ calendar for nearly two decades.

The day exists to promote social justice at national, regional and international levels. It sounds splendid – until you try to work out what it actually means.

Dr Eric Crampton: Problems with visa settings not solved by targeting foreign students

The furore over immigration settings in the trade deal with India provides an excellent reminder about a basic policy principle. You’ll have a hard time getting a policy right if you’ve misdiagnosed the problem.

Last week Newsroom’s Sam Sachdeva covered the political ruckus.

Matua Kahurangi: Rockpool ban is a start, but New Zealand says the problem is everywhere

After I posted my piece on NZ First implementing a rockpool ban around the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, the response was immediate and loud. People came forward from well beyond Auckland, including as far south as Banks Peninsula, saying the same thing is happening there too. Rockpools being stripped bare, intertidal life disappearing, and locals left staring at empty rocks where there used to be movement, colour, and abundance.

David Farrar: An interesting Treaty poll

An interesting poll from Radio NZ.

Reid Resarch asked:

Do you think the Treaty of Waitangi has too much, about the right amount, or too little influence over government decision making?

Mike's Minute: The job story is more than just a headline

2500 job applications. That’s got clickbait written all over it, doesn’t it?

One job supposedly had 2500 applications. One headline added that the company boss was shocked.

Oppo is your company and in the story of their job they are looking to fill is some good news. Mainly, that the job is here and not long ago it wasn’t.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: The Cult

WATCH OUR NEW FILM: THE CULT

Colin Brazier returns for our second short film on the cult of Net Zero and how it protects 'green' policies from being questioned by stifling debate and cracking down on free speech.

Sunday February 22, 2026 

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Clive Bibby: The canary in the coal mine

Much has been said about the government’s response to the Pike River tragedy, including the findings of the enquiry after the event which unfortunately left so many unanswered questions - especially when apportioning blame for the loss of life. And unfortunately Pike River is just another example of what happens wihen poor or even irresponsible Government oversight is allowed to affect outcomes that were avoidable.

Breaking Views Update: Week of 22.2.26

Sunday February 22, 2026 

News:
Govt to use funds from Visitor Levy to restore fire-damaged parts of Tongariro National Park

The government will use $3.5 million from the International Visitor Levy to help restore fire-damaged parts of Tongariro National Park.

Conservation minister Tama Potaka said Tongariro was a taonga, and restoring its mauri was essential.

Geoff Parker: The Sacred Grove, a Fallen Tree, and a $560,000 Question

What began as a fallen pōhutukawa at the Sands Apartments in Takapuna has quietly grown into something far larger: a dispute over culture, control, transparency — and money.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time: 21 February 2026

No four‑year term (for now)

The Government has parked its plan for a 4 year parliamentary term. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said:

“Both the National-Act and National-New Zealand First coalition agreements include supporting to select committee a bill that would enact a binding referendum on a four-year term of parliament.

We’ve fulfilled those commitments. However, we won’t be progressing with a referendum on a 4 year term at this election.”

Stephen Moore: Was climate change the greatest financial scam in history?

Environmental scholar Bjorn Lomborg recently calculated that across the globe, governments have spent at least $16 trillion feeding the climate change industrial complex.

And for what?

DTNZ: Trump wants Russia and China on ‘Board of Peace’

Moscow has said it is open to the idea, while Beijing has declined to join, citing commitment to the UN-centered international system.

US President Donald Trump has said he would “love” to see Russia and China join his ‘Board of Peace’, established to guide the stabilization of Gaza following the Israel-Hamas war. Moscow earlier signaled that it was contemplating the idea, while China has declined, citing commitments to the UN.

Colinxy: The Rise of Treaty Theology - How a Historical Agreement Became a Sacred Doctrine

Introduction

Over the past four decades, the Treaty of Waitangi has undergone a remarkable transformation. What began in 1840 as a brief political agreement, a pragmatic compact between the British Crown and various Māori rangatira (chiefs), has evolved into something far more expansive: a quasi-religious doctrine that shapes public policy, academic discourse, and constitutional interpretation.

This phenomenon can be called Treaty Theology.

Matua Kahurangi: If a man did this to an 11-year-old girl, he’d be locked up for years

This is absolutely sickening. A 35-year-old Auckland primary school teacher, Tamlyn Estee May, groomed an 11-year-old boy: sent him multiple nude and explicit photos of herself (”Don’t tell anyone, this is just for you”), told him they’d “make a good couple,” kissed him after wrestling, held his hand on “dates,” and spent the night sleeping in the same bed with him at his father’s house. She pleaded guilty to grooming for sexual conduct and indecency with a boy under 12 - offences that carry up to 3 and 10 years in prison.

Kerre Woodham: Did the intensification announcement allay your fears?

We thought we'd start with the housing densification or de-densification that was announced yesterday. We didn't really get a chance to talk about it despite the fact that yesterday when the Prime Minister was in for an hour, he gave us a bit of an announcement of an announcement.

Bob Edlin: Peters brings Soviet chandeliers into the case for making English an official language ....

Peters brings Soviet chandeliers into the case for making English an official language – and te reo shrouds the Maori Party’s stance

The PoO team – keen to learn who said what during the first reading of the English Language Bill and not tuned into the broadcast of proceedings at the time – turned to Hansard.