David Farrar: Winston rules out Hipkins

The Herald reports:

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters wants to make it very clear: he won’t be working with Labour after the election if the party is still led by Chris Hipkins. …

“When I ruled out Hipkins in 2023, I ruled him out permanently,” Peters said (he actually ruled out Labour in November 2022, three months before Hipkins became leader).

 Wednesday May 28, 2025 

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Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Winston's rejection of Chippy is more significant than we realise

I think Winston Peters ruling out ever going into coalition with Chippy after the next election is actually more significant than many people will realize.

Because Winnie was actually Chippy's only credible path back to being prime minister again. Without Winnie, Chippy is completely stuffed, because the alternatives are not real options.

Peter Hemmingson: Sanctioning Te Pati Māori

The ongoing disrespect for our Parliament shown by Te Pati Māori puts the finger squarely on the underlying issue: whether New Zealand will be governed by democratic norms or tribal grievance politics enforced through cultural intimidation.

We’re watching tikanga being expressed not as custom or courtesy, but as confrontation, posturing, aggression, bullying, and thinly veiled threats of violence.

Barrie Davis: Helmut Modlik’s Democracy

In a 27 May article in The Post, “Representative democracy is failing us - we can lead the search for a new way” (here), Helmut Modlik, the CEO of the Ngati Toa iwi authority, claims that “our representative democracy is a bust”.

Mr Modlik points to problems with our health system, education system, housing, food prices, pollution, failing infrastructure, and “deepening poverty, trauma, addiction, mental health issues and a host of crises — without adequate support. The list goes on and on.”

Clive Bibby: Good teachers are born, not made

Arguably the most honourable profession on the planet is and always has been the teaching of future generations about the basics of peaceful co-existence with their neighbours.

And it is the limited success of those who daily try to instil in their charge a sense of responsibility for what happens to their neighbour that keeps us all from being in a constant state of war with each other.

Insights From Social Media

Steven Mark Gaskell: Whanau owned welfare inc. misses the gravy train

Oh no, the accountability monster has arrived and it doesn’t speak fluent bureaucracy fluff. Apparently, since the dissolution of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority), some providers are finding life a little less... profitable. Gone are the golden days when identity tick boxes opened the funding floodgates. Now, it’s all back to the big, bad world of open market tendering you know, that pesky thing where competence might actually matter.

Ani O'Brien: Ministry of Health leaving X for a dying platform full of furries and CSAM

The New Zealand public service is a law unto itself. As someone remarked on X today, the Coalition might be in Government, but they are not in power.

One small, but significant way our ministries, departments, and agencies are registering their defiance and hatred of people outside of their echo chamber is by shutting down (or reducing) their X accounts in favour of alternatives like BlueSky.

Centrist: ‘Colonialism didn’t murder this child’.......

Colonialism didn’t murder this child’: Te Pāti Māori slammed over silence in toddler murder case

Broadcaster Michael Laws has accused Te Pāti Māori of moral cowardice and political negligence following the alleged murder of three-year-old Catalya Remana Tangimetua Pepene.

DTNZ: India surpasses Japan as fourth-largest global economy

The South Asian nation’s economy has grown to $4 trillion, surpassed only by the US, China, and Germany.

India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, government-backed policy think tank NITI Aayog has said. The Indian economy has grown to $4 trillion, behind only the US, China, and Germany, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stated in a press briefing on Saturday.

Matua Kahurangi: Greens cry foul over parody billboards

The Green Party, architects of the Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill, have found themselves in the unusual and frankly ironic position of complaining about being parodied.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has partly upheld eight complaints about six parody billboards lampooning Green MPs Tamatha Paul and Chlöe Swarbrick. The billboards, funded by the Sensible Sentencing Trust, featured slogans such as “Defund the Police” and the more pointed “Woop Woop! Defund da Police”, the latter a cheeky nod to Paul’s on-stage DJ performance earlier this year where she played Sound of da Police by rapper KRS-One.

Roger Partridge: Donald Trump, a Man of Many Gifts

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a $400 million Boeing 747 from a foreign monarchy — accepted by the US Department of Defense for presidential use, then slated for retirement on the tarmac in full flight readiness at the future former president’s pleasure. Perfectly normal democratic procedure.

Kerre Woodham: The shoplifting directive is not a good look

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. You cannot go into an election promising to get tough on crime, win the election and vow to draw a line in the sand, declare war on the crims, and then issue a directive that police won't turn up to minor crime. To paraphrase supermodel Linda Evangelista, who famously said she wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000, it appears our coppers won't get out of their Skodas for less than $500.

Bob Edlin: Some honey producers are bitter at the effects of “manuka” rules....

Some honey producers are bitter at the effects of “manuka” rules – but might some be non-Māori?

Race seemed to be a critical consideration in a OneNews report headed Māori honey producer stung by mānuka rules, fights for future.

The first paragraph said:

David Farrar: Different budget approaches

Thomas Coughlan writes:

Much of the commentary has focused on how small this Budget is – its $1.3 billion allowance of “new” operating money being the smallest in decades. While correct, that misses the fact that the package of new spending decisions, the line-upon-line of budget decisions (the tax credit change, the learning support funding, etc) actually totalled $6.7b a year – a vast sum, which might be larger than some of Labour’s last budgets.

Mike's Minute: The pressure is on Christian Hawkesby

The pressure is on the new Reserve Bank fill-in Governor today.

Although given it’s a committee, in theory he is more of a messenger.

It's reported that we have increased calls for a 50 basis point cut.

Why? Because things aren't flash.

Tuesday May 27, 2025 

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Erica Stanford: Supporting More Tamariki Māori To Flourish

An additional $60m of ring-fenced funding for Mori Medium and Kaupapa Mori Education property, which will deliver up to 50 new classrooms to support the network, providing access to immersion schooling for approximately an additional 1,100 konga.

The Government is delivering over $100 million in investment through Budget 2025 to ensure more tamariki Māori thrive at school.

Ele Ludemann: More transparency

Finance Minister Nicola WIllis has announced an amendment to the Public Finance Act to prevent future governments concealing the extent of fiscal risks in their accounts.

The change is included in legislation introduced to Parliament on Saturday evening to enhance the transparency and accountability of the public finance system.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The Government needs to get out of the retailers' way

I totally understand that retailers want an urgent meeting with the Police Minister.

This is over the revelation that police aren't bothering to investigate shoplifting below $500 bucks anymore.

They're clearly worried, because what's happened is there's been a revelation from a memo that was sent to police staff a couple of months ago, saying that from now on, across all districts, cops will no longer investigate theft and fraud below a certain value.