Duncan Garner: Horizons Regional Council - 14 Iwi Agreements Rushed Through in Secret?

Local councils across New Zealand are quietly locking ratepayers into long-term co-governance arrangements without any honest conversation about the final bill. This week at Horizons Regional Council, councillors are being asked to progress 14 separate Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements under the Resource Management Act. These deals require staff, lawyers, consultants, and ongoing administration potentially forever, yet councils are treating basic financial questions from elected members as a problem.

We look at the growing culture of information overload inside local government, where massive agenda papers are dumped on councillors right before a vote. With major central government reforms coming to replace the RMA framework, rushing these commitments through on the hoof makes no sense. Ratepayers deserve to know where their money is going, especially when every dollar spent on bureaucracy is a dollar not spent on fixing roads and upgrading infrastructure.

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Duncan Garner: "$450 Million For One Hapu?" - Port of Tauranga dispute

New Zealand has officially entered dangerous territory with an extraordinary compensation demand linked to one of our most critical export hubs. In this episode of Duncan Garner, Editor-in-Chief, we look into the shocking legal submissions connected to the Port of Tauranga expansion. Representatives for Ngāti Kuku are demanding between 335 million and 475 million dollars over 35 years for cultural impacts and revenue sharing. Duncan labels it a total standover and looks at how these massive financial demands threaten national productivity and scare off foreign investment.

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Duncan Garner: The Panel - More Pressure on Luxon, As Winston Continues to Rise

Christopher Luxon, National Party leadership, Winston Peters, polling trends, co-governance and tax reform all come under the microscope on today’s Editor in Chief panel. 

Joined by Maurice Williamson and Ashley Church, we unpack whether Luxon can survive mounting pressure as another poor poll is released. 

Is there actually a viable alternative, or is National stuck with the leader it has? We also explore why polls drive political decision-making more than anyone admits, and how Winston Peters’ rise could reshape the election. 

There’s also a deep dive into co-governance, including unelected representation in council decision-making, and why this issue is firing up voters.

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Duncan Garner: Voting And Speaking Rights Given To Unelected Iwi Up North

Duncan dives into a major shift happening right now in the Far North District Council. They have held an extraordinary meeting to give full voting and speaking rights to unelected iwi and hapu members. We look at what this means for local democracy and whether shared governance works when there is no shared electoral accountability to the ratepayers.

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Duncan Garner: 'No Accountability’ - Far North Councillor On Co-Governance Power Shift

In this episode, Duncan Garner investigates the rapid shift toward unelected governance in the Far North District Council. Councillor Davina Smolders joins the show to blow the whistle on a committee structure where six elected members are sitting alongside 15 unelected iwi and hapu representatives—all with full voting rights on multimillion-dollar decisions.

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Centrist: ‘Better for Māori than Labour’ - Duncan Garner praises coalition government record

In a wide-ranging podcast discussing Waitangi week, Duncan Garner argues for the coalition government’s record on Māori-related issues.

“The record says they are better for Māori than Labour,” he remarks, “but nobody wants to talk about it.”

Matua Kahurangi: The shocking truth about John Tamihere and Waipareira Trust

John Tamihere has spent decades selling himself as a champion of the underdog, a tireless advocate for Māori and community empowerment. He parades on stage, dominates media debates, and paints himself as the voice of the marginalised. As Duncan Garner lays bare in his recent podcast, the reality is far uglier.

Bob Edlin: Cultural caveat to planning consent.....

Cultural caveat to planning consent: trees can’t be toppled for solar power farm without local iwi coming in to pray

Kiwiblog has steered us to some fascinating Treaty-influenced how’s-your-father and regulatory nonsense in Hawke’s Bay .

Dr Muriel Newman On Taupō Council’s Co-Governance Deal With Iwi

Duncan Garner talks to Dr Muriel Newman on The Platform about Taupō Council’s co-governance deal with iwi.


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Duncan Garner: Kiwi youtubers shut down by local iwi

Taupo district council is upgrading its joint agreement with locally iwi Ngāti Tūwharetoa to give them even more powers, more rights and more influence. It's been kept from the public until yesterday.

Iwi are extorting people already and using their links with Council to ban certain activities, and to charge them through the nose for access to certain rivers.

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Duncan Garner: $20b a year invested in education and our kids can’t read, write or count

I have a challenge for you. It won't take long and depending on your subsequent reaction, it may be life-changing, for you and your family.

So here goes: Do you know how well your kids are doing in primary school?

Can they read, write and do maths at or even above their curriculum level?

Graham Adams: Co-governance debate descends into a slugfest

Act leader David Seymour certainly thrust the cat among the pigeons a fortnight ago by announcing that if a National-Act government is elected next year, he would want it to pass a law defining the principles of the Treaty.

Like the End of Life Choice Act, the law would come into effect only once a referendum had ratified it, with Seymour suggesting that take place at the 2026 general election.

Seymour says the “Treaty Principles Act” would be “short but decisive”:

Bryce Edwards: Labour needs to rediscover its political soul

In the last few days the Labour Government has come in for criticism for its panicked pandering to opinion polls. Last week it announced petrol tax cuts and reduced public transport fares. This was in response to pressure from opponents and the public who alleged the Government was out of touch on the cost of living crisis, and following a poll showing Labour behind National.

Likewise, the Government has decided to fast-forward the dismantling of the Covid protections framework – expect to see Covid passes and mandates being phased out. This all has the appearance of Labour choosing pragmatism over principle.

TVNZ’s Jack Tame has been scathing, telling his Newstalk ZB audience on Saturday that the recent petrol tax cuts were a kneejerk reaction: “The truth is, petrol taxes would never have been cut if Labour had been well ahead in last week’s poll. They saw the poll numbers. They freaked out. They dropped almost $400m to try and win back some popularity.” Tame argued that there are more targeted ways to relieve the cost of living crisis.

Mike Butler: Green plan to cut home values

Co-leader Metiria Turei said the Green Party wants to make sure house prices fall so young families could afford to buy a home but appears unaware of the impact of a house-price decline on young families who have already bought a home. When asked by presenter Duncan Garner in a debate on housing aired on TV3’s The Vote on Wednesday night whether she would like to see house prices fall, Turei said:

“Yes, actually we would like to make sure that they fall . . oh shocked looks on their faces . . oh dear, how terrible that young families could actually afford to buy a home.”

When Garner followed up by saying: “You want house prices to fall. That means some families would have negative equity which would be an economic disaster for New Zealand”, Turei said “that’s right”, adding:

“that means that those holding onto the wealth now will have to be prepared to let some of it go”

This is the latest in a series of Green Party policy gaffes:

Mike Butler: Moon twists Urewera history again

Historian Paul Moon’s claims on TV3’s Third Degree show on Wednesday and in his New Zealand Herald column “The past must be remembered for us all” on Friday, that Tuhoe underwent “ethnic cleansing”, fails to remember key facts of our history. When questioned by Guyon Espiner for the Third Degree current affairs show about Tuhoe history, Moon said: