David Lillis: Holding Chief Executives and Boards to Account

An Article in Stuff

An article in Stuff of 4 September makes compelling reading (Penfold, 2026). So, one Chief Executive has gone, following a suspension. I will refrain from comment here, as I know former and/or current staff at the relevant place of work and I must be discreet. Simply, the public should note that an investigation will examine allegations of bullying, sexual and other harassment and retaliation; a culture of fear and retribution that suppressed staff from raising concerns; the handling of complaints; confidentiality and privacy practices; the use of non-disclosure agreements; and the adequacy of oversight of board and management.

David Lillis: Are Public Service Whistleblowers Safe from Retribution?

Punishment for Speaking Out

The Hāpai Public Newsletter of 25 August discusses the very real dangers of whistleblowing in New Zealand’s public service (Hāpai Public, 2026). The newsletter quotes research from the Office of the Ombudsman, showing that of public servants who made a protected disclosure, 40% claimed to have been bullied or harassed, 29% claimed that they had lost their job, and about 20% claimed to have been demoted (Office of the Ombudsman, 2026).

Bob Edlin: Cops can move fast when armed with radar gear......

Cops can move fast when armed with radar gear, but become plods when it comes to bullying allegations

If the cops have been tardy responding to your complaint about an assault, a burglary, or what-have-you, perhaps it’s because they are busy investigating allegations against fellow cops.

David Lillis: Banning Social Media to Younger Teenagers?

New Zealand has a Problem

Recently, Peter Williams has commented on Australia's social media ban for under-16s (Williams, 2025) and Joanna Grey has expressed her own views on the problem in New Zealand (Grey, 2026). Unfortunately, the results of online harassment of young people can be extreme; for example, see Leask (2024). The comments posted on a related website to Leask’s article provide very disturbing but compelling reading (Reddit, 2024), and here I reproduce several of those comments. Please read them in full.

Cam Slater: Willie Jackson Accused of Bullying, Union-Busting and Cronyism....

Exclusive: Willie Jackson Accused of Bullying, Union-Busting and Cronyism to Protect His Missus

Matt McCarten, once one of Labour’s closest allies, has laid a formal complaint with Speaker Gerry Brownlee alleging that Willie Jackson MP used his political muscle to:

Bob Edlin: Why an academic won’t tender an opinion on the Free Speech Union.....

Why an academic won’t tender an opinion on the Free Speech Union – it’s to avoid bullying (but how are our MPs protected?)

PoO was occasioned to check out the meaning of bullying today on reading of an academic who feared being bullied by the Free Speech Union,

We suspect the academic in question (unnamed) has confused bullying with debate.

But maybe we are wrong.

David Lillis - Managerialism: A Failed Experiment?

Variable Management across the Board

Hearing of continual problems in New Zealand’s workplaces has prompted this article as a comment on management and leadership. Perhaps the environments where I have worked were not typical of New Zealand’s workplaces, but unfortunately my own observations of management in the Public Service and at one Non-Government Organisation have been extremely disappointing, and I hear numerous accounts of poor decision-making, dysfunctional workplaces and bullying across the country. My belief, or rather my hope, is that most workplaces in New Zealand function reasonably well and that, in general, leadership and management in both the public and private sectors are tolerably good. On that basis, accepting that in most workplaces leadership and management are of a reasonable standard, in this article I focus on those situations where I feel that matters are in need of improvement. 

David Lillis: Further Concerns about the Public Service

Misuse of Census Information?

In the light of recent allegations of wrongdoing at the Manurewa Marae (retention and photocopying of Census forms from the 2023 Census, and possible misuse of confidential information), surely we must refrain from judgement until a thorough investigation determines whether or not the photocopied Census information was in fact misused. Until then, apart from a recent admission that Census forms were indeed photocopied and not otherwise afforded the necessary protections, misuse of Census information is hearsay as far as the general public is concerned.

Rodney Hide: Trump 2.0 Kicking Over the Swamp

President Trump promised to drain the swamp. He has turned it upside down, kicked it around, and is jumping on it.

His opponents are left defending fraud, waste and corruption, paper straws and deranged men hellbent on destroying female sports.

Dr Ursula Edgington: Bullying in New Zealand: an Educationalist’s Perspective

In a Breaking Views article Jan 21^st 2025, “Bullying at New Zealand Universities?” David Lillis raises legitimate concerns about academia’s toxic workplace environment. 

In this short article, I argue that bullying isn’t unique to New Zealand, nor to our Higher Education sector. Furthermore, bullying is only a symptom; it’s the root cause of bullying that needs our urgent attention. I end with a practical suggestion for how each of us can help enact positive change.

Dr David Lillis: Bullying at New Zealand Universities?

More Bullying at Our Universities?

Elsewhere in Breaking Views I have written extensively on workplace bullying generally, especially in New Zealand’s public service (Lillis, 2024a), and bullying at our universities specifically (Lillis, 2024b and 2024c). It appears that bullying has been exposed many times in the New Zealand media, but the message does not seem to get home to employers - or are they choosing to turn a blind eye?

John MacDonald: Come Monday, the bullies will be back on the job

If you talk to anyone who has been a manager and you ask them what’s the best thing about being a manager and what’s the worst, the answer will be the same for both. The people.

I know, because I’ve been a manager before, and I know exactly how brilliant it can be when things are going great with your people. But, when they’re not, it can be a nightmare.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 10/11/23

Ginny Andersen is copping questions on two fronts – her treatment of campaign volunteers and her Paris travel bill

Police Minister Ginny Andersen has not posted a statement on the government’s official website since 3 October – but she’s winning media attention, regardless.

The official statement – issued jointly with Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis – was about a youth justice programme branded “Circuit Breaker being launched in two new locations.

It wasn’t a huge vote winner and both ministers lost their seats at the general election, although they are back in Parliament on Labour’s list.

NZCPR Newsletter: The Biggest Bully

A week that started well for National with a good TVNZ poll result and positive coverage from their annual conference, quickly deteriorated, as the media spotlight descended onto their new Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. 

The Labour Party, which had been alerted to his expulsion from school as a 16-year-old for bullying more than a week before the by-election, would no doubt have welcomed National’s difficulties. But any hope they might have harboured that Christopher Luxon would be exposed as knowingly supporting the election of a bully, quickly faded as the facts emerged.

Garrick Tremain: Uffindell

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on the bad news....and the good news! 

Dr Gaurav Sharma: Govt MP blows whistle on 'rampant' Parliament bullying, takes aim at official

Much has been said this week about bullying and the abysmal culture of our political parties who, in my opinion, continue to betray the trust of our voters. Over the last few years and under the outgoing Speaker Trevor Mallard there have been a lot of press releases to indicate that the broader work culture in the halls of Parliament is being changed for the better.

While this does sound like the right thing to do, it is - in my experience - a PR exercise to placate some of the backlash from the public in recent years. If there was any serious intent or effort to make a genuine change in Parliamentary culture, the current Speaker and the powers to be would have included Member-to-Member bullying in its terms of reference, if not initially then at least in response to the Francis Report which flagged this as a serious issue after interviewing MPs who spend upwards of 30-35 hours on the Parliamentary precinct over the three or more days we are based in Parliament on sitting weeks.

John MacDonald: Attention Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - this is how you deal with a bully

If we gave out medals for dealing with bullies, I think the National Party would win gold and the Labour Party would probably crash and burn in the semi-finals.

No, it wouldn't even get that far. It probably wouldn't even qualify.

Because what we've seen from Christopher Luxon in relation to the Sam Uffindell situation shows just how shameful Labour has been in failing to deal with one of its own MPs who - currently - is the most powerful person in Parliament.

Bob Edlin: The Farce of Cultural Appropriation

Yes, you can win IPONZ approval for your branding but it’s back to the drawing board if some Māori mount an offensive against you

The makers of the gin once branded “indiginous”  announced early in June they were back in business and their product – now known as “imagination” – was available again, in stores and online.

Since then their Facebook page has recorded that whatever it’s called, the hand-crafted gin they make in the Reikorangi Valley, near Waikanae, has gone down a treat with the experts. They were awarded a silver medal and the highest score for a New Zealand gin at the London Spirits Competition; a gold, a silver and two bronze medals at the New Zealand Spirits Awards; and a bronze medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the UK.

The most recent post, on August 18, advised:   

“A very satisfying way to end the medal season! We won our very first medal with our very first gin at the 2019 SIP Awards in the USA, and we’ve gone back to back with another Gold medal for our Triple Distilled Dry Gin for 2020.”

Another of their gins picked up Silver. 

But it has been a harrowing year.

Their “indiginous” gin had been on sale for more than a year when – early in March – they were  targeted in a social media campaign of abuse and threats by people professing to have been offended by a Māori tattoo-inspired label, by the brand name, and by “cultural appropriation”.  

Matt Ridley from the UK: The coerced consensus

Lennart Bengtsson is about as distinguished as climate scientists get. His decision two weeks ago to join the academic advisory board (on which I also sit, unremunerated) of Nigel Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation was greeted with fury by many fellow climate scientists. Now in a McCarthyite move — his analogy — they have bullied him into resigning by refusing to collaborate with him unless he leaves.

The GWPF aims to ensure that the climate-change debate is more balanced. Its members are not “deniers”, yet as Lord Lawson said in a recent speech: “I have never in my life experienced the extremes of personal hostility, vituperation and vilification that I, along with other dissenters, of course, have received for my views on global warming and global-warming policies.”