MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Dr Michael John Schmidt: Christmas in the Colonies

Dear all,

Thanks for reading the columns I have written in 2025 and for the helpful comments. In celebration of Christmas and the New Year, I am sending you an interesting and entertaining poem.

This poem was written by Thomas Bracken (1841–1898) – the Irish-born New Zealand poet, journalist and politician. He is best known for writing “God Defend New Zealand”, which was adopted as the country’s national anthem. He published several volumes of poetry celebrating the New Zealand landscape and identity and also served as a member of parliament.

John McLean: Axeable agencies of state

The Government and main stream media outlets have been doing their best to paint a picture of an economic upswing, just in time for Christmas. But the portrayed rosy economic future is a vision through rose tinted glasses. Inflation is at 3%, the highest it’s been since mid-2024 and unemployment, at 5.3%, is the highest since 2016.

More particularly, New Zealand’s core national debt had risen from $81 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2023 (the last quarter of the departed Labour Government’s term in office), to $170 billion at the end of Q3 2024, to $182 billion at the end of Q3 2025. The annual interest cost of NZ’s debt is about $10 billion. New Zealand’s debt will top $200 billion within the next few years (that’s $40,000 for every single man, woman and child in New Zealand). Nothing’s really changed, economically, since my Substack exactly two years ago:

Ani O'Brien: Brian Tamaki and the Sikh parade confrontation

Facts, fears, and the kimits of protest

The confrontation that occurred during a Sikh religious procession in South Auckland a few days ago has ignited condemnation and raised questions about protest, imported political conflicts, and national identity. While the incident itself was brief and not violent, it has alarmed many who do not want to see the cultural and religious disharmony that is rife overseas playing out in New Zealand. Anxiety over immigration levels and the challenges of multiculturalism have become more pronounced globally and this is creating tensions over public expressions of culture and belief.

Bob Edlin: Losing candidate has cause to rue spending $6426 on litigation rather than on her election campaign

We are wondering, here at PoO, what might have transpired in Porirua had a candidate who lost by just nine votes taken a different tack.

She should have done much better – we calculate – by spending more on campaigning and by taking advantage of Policy.nz’s efforts to broadcast policies to voters. See above to learn what it can tell us about the candidate in question, Jess Te Huia.

Matua Kahurangi: Free trade, open borders - The India deal New Zealanders never voted for

Even though I am on annual holidays, I thought it was right to write something on this topic, because in my opinion we really are losing our Kiwi way of life in some ways. If there is one thing New Zealanders should be alert to right now, it is the quiet habit of governments giving too much away in the name of “progress”, while ordinary people are left to deal with the consequences.

That is why New Zealand First is right to be deeply sceptical about the so called free trade deal with India. Not because trade is bad in principle, but because this deal looks neither free nor fair, and it once again treats immigration concessions as a bargaining chip rather than a national interest issue.

JC: Leftist Bias Is Here To Stay

The two public broadcasters in this country, Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand, both had a chance to redeem themselves recently and, unsurprisingly, neither of them took it. These two organisations, that we the taxpayers have the privilege of funding are forced to fund, appear reluctant to change their ways: they are hotbeds for left-wing journalist activism and seem happy to keep it that way.

Tuesday December 23, 2025 

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Breaking Views Update: Week of 21.12.25

Tuesday December 23, 2025 

News:
Hipkins targets clean sweep of Māori seats, says Government driving a wedge with Māori
Upon reflecting on 2025, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he is concerned about how the Government has operated over the past year, warning it is driving a wedge between Māori and non-Māori as the election draws closer.

David Farrar: NZ and India agree an FTA

I was sceptical when Christopher Luxon said prior to the election that he thought they could do a free trade agreement with India within three years. India has been a notoriously challenging country to do FTAs with, and the relationship between governments was quite poor under Labour. The thought of a comprehensive FTA so quickly was somewhere between ambitious and unlikely.

But Todd McClay, and no doubt many MFAT staff, have delivered and an agreement has been reached – in just two years. I have little doubt that the PM’s personal commitment to the FTA, alongside his trips to India, made a critical difference also.

Key aspects are:

Ramesh Thakur: Appeasement 0, Jew Hatred 15

As, slowly and painfully, we come to terms with what happened on Bondi Beach on Sunday, I divide my reactions into four parts: one question each addressed to the Prime Minister and the virulent anti-Israeli protestors, a comment on the Prime Minister’s leadership failings, and an anticipatory reaction to charges of Islamophobia.

Dave Patterson: The Greatest Threat in Western Hemisphere? Transnational Terrorists

The single largest threat to the US in the Western Hemisphere is transnational terrorist criminal organizations, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This point of view is consistent with the US National Security Strategy that places the Western Hemisphere, America’s backyard, as a priority for geostrategic emphasis. To that end, the Trump administration has adopted a robust and many-faceted set of actions to address the threat.

David Farrar: Its very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori

The Post reports:

Indeed, she says in her sworn affidavit that Tamihere had been chairing the weekly caucus meetings of MPs in Parliament since September. And it was he who sent Kapa-Kingi an ‘ultimatum’ on her overspending that sent the simmering issue into overdrive.

To have the party president chair caucus instead of the leader or a co-leader is unprecedented. Chairing caucus is a major part of the role of the leader.

Kerre Woodham: Ask not what your country can do for you

New Zealand Inc. is in trouble and it's on us —you and me— to fix it. Not politicians, not economists, not even our blessed farmers who've got us out of trouble time and time again – it is on us, New Zealand voters.

It doesn't matter whether we vote left or right, red, blue, green, yellow, or black. We all have to give our political parties the cojones they need to enact the policies that will save this country. Treasury's been warning us for years now, decades. Current government policies —whichever government has been in— are not sustainable.

Kevin: Thoughts for the Year

As it’s the end of the year I’d thought I’d do a ‘thoughts of the year’ post – a list of things and events that were important to me. So, in no particular order:

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Here, it’s not so much his murder, which was a tragedy, but the reaction of his detractors: from outright mocking to lying and taking what he said out context. I really have no words for the staggering level of vitriol, although I’m not sure if even vitriol is the right word.

Monday December 22, 2025 

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Damien Grant: New Zealand deserves better than Nicola Willis’ plan

It is four sleeps to Christmas. A time of make believe where we embrace the wonder of Santa Claus to delight children and ourselves.

Make believe is a powerful element of the human condition. The willingness to embrace an illusion is a pre-requisite to enjoy a movie, magic show or a marriage.

Insights From Social Media: Dame Anne Salmond.....

Dame Anne Salmond - Leading the Charge of New Zealand Romantic Thinking - by Colinxy

The Romantic Cloak

Few figures embody the Romantic impulse in New Zealand’s intellectual life more vividly than Dame Anne Salmond. Her writings, media appearances, and social media engagements reveal a deep commitment to cultural relativism and poststructuralist thought. She venerates the theorists of fragmentation and ambiguity, and in doing so, positions herself as a defender of what is known as the “Noble Savage.” Within this framework, behaviours that might otherwise be condemned are excused if they emerge from her preferred cultural narrative, while anything associated with European ancestry is treated with suspicion—except, of course, when it comes to herself and her academic circle.

David Farrar: Quite a few green shoots!

Business NZ says:

After a prolonged period of stagnation and negative per capita growth, the New Zealand economy is now expected to expand at just under 3% per annum through to 2027.

Both official and forward-looking indicators point to a steady improvement in the economic outlook as we enter 2026. Key indicators of growth include:

Graham Adams: Maori nationalism takes a hammering in 2025

At the end of 2024, Māori nationalists were riding high in their quest to assert a special place in the nation’s laws and policy.

In November, the video of Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clark leading a haka in Parliament and ripping up a copy of David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill racked up hundreds of millions of views worldwide.