David Farrar: Prebble on Labour and TPM

Richard Prebble writes:

Claims standards of parliamentary behaviour have fallen are nonsense. Except for Te Pāti Māori, this is a well-behaved House.

The Speaker’s referral of the floor protest to the Privileges Committee was not discretionary. It was required by Standing Orders.

Ani O'Brien: Pro-choice and confronting when life begins

I am pro-choice. That means exactly what you think it does: I support women’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy should she not want to go through with it. But it also means a whole lot more than just that.

There is a false binary that I want to challenge in this opinion piece and I suspect both sides will resist me. That is the binary of pro-life versus pro-choice.

Kerre Woodham: What do we do with children of overstayers?

What on Earth do we do with young people who were born in New Zealand, who have lived in New Zealand all of their lives, but who aren't New Zealanders? They've never known any other home, but they can't get healthcare, they can't get a driver's licence, they can't get a job, they can't pay taxes.

Chris Lynch: Christchurch City Council accused of sabotaging free hospital parking trial

Christchurch City Council staff have been accused of misleading elected members and the public by claiming a night-time parking trial outside Christchurch Hospital is not being used, despite failing to install signs indicating the free parking is available.

The six month trial, which began in April, was introduced at the request of Harewood Councillor Aaron Keown and Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger to help hospital visitors and staff struggling to find free parking in the area.

Tim Donner: Vaccine Cover-Up - The Greatest Biden Scandal of All

It is an undeniable scandal of mammoth proportions, but one that is – surprise, surprise – still being ignored by major media. It all began in February of 2021, shortly after Joe Biden took the oath of office with the pandemic still raging. Health officials in Israel sent a dire warning to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) detailing “large reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people” who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Many doctors and vaccinated individuals witnessed the same phenomenon here in the US.

Dr Benno Blaschke: Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion Omnibus Bill

The government has viewed stronger retail grocery competition as a national priority. But zoning, consenting, and overseas investment approval processes make new entry far too difficult.

The New Zealand Initiative today showed how to open New Zealand’s markets to more competition. It released drafting instructions for a Fast-track Supermarket Entry and Expansion Omnibus Bill, which would rapidly approve retail grocery developments at scale and cut through complex barriers that are preventing new supermarket chains from entering the New Zealand market.

Bruce Cotterill: Low standards in Parliament mirror societal decline

The C-word is now in Hansard.

For those of you who are unaware, Hansard is the official record of the New Zealand Parliament. It records a transcript of all debates, and is essentially a near-verbatim written record of everything said by Members of Parliament (MPs) during proceedings in the House of Representatives.

And it now records the C-Word in its commentary.

David Farrar: Imagine if it wasn’t the NZ flag?

The Herald reports:

Amid public debate over a controversial art installation that encourages people to walk on a New Zealand flag, a woman has pledged to pick the flag up from the floor each day in protest.

This comes after the Nelson installation, with the words “please walk on me” written on a New Zealand flag, sparked a feud between local leaders this week.

Thursday May 29, 2025 

                    ⇩

Mike's Minute: Here's my advice for Hipkins and Labour

I am here to help the ol' Chipster.

The Chipster, aka Chris Hipkins, was in the building this week. I said hello to him.

He asked me when I was dropping the blacklist I have on him appearing on this show.

Matua Kahurangi: Controversial art, cultural pride and the legacy of protest

A recent controversy surrounding an art installation at The Suter Art Gallery in Nelson has sparked national conversation and strong reactions across social media. At the centre of the debate is a flag featuring the words "please walk on me", which many saw as a provocative invitation to dishonour a national symbol. One woman, Ruth Tipu, decided to take a stand by removing the flag from the exhibition floor. Her actions were filmed and posted to her Facebook page. I reposted the video to X where the video gained over 1,300 likes in just 15 hours, along with hundreds of supportive comments and reposts.

Matua Kahurangi: ‘Support based on race is racism’

On Wednesday, ACT Party MP Dr. Parmjeet Parmar posted on X, highlighting what she described as a "divisive and unfair" practice at Victoria University of Wellington. She shared a screenshot of an email sent to students enrolled in the LAWS121: Introduction to New Zealand Legal System course, announcing a practice exam session restricted to Māori and Pasifika (MPI) students.

Bob Edlin: RMA breach - The curious case of the council which slapped itself with an abatement notice over river work

Southland farmers are familiar with the environmental regulations heaped on them under the Resource Management Act and the penalties imposed for breaching the rules.

A headline in Farmers’ Weekly last November told a typical story:

Farmer cops huge fine for ignoring abatement notices

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: There's a gloomy note in the Reserve Bank decision

I don't really want to have to start on a bum note, but if there is a thing that we do on the show, it's honesty. So let's be honest about it.

What the Reserve Bank decision told you today is how much trouble our economy is in. If you're in business, you already know this and you don't need me to tell you this.

Brendan O'Neill: Israel’s latest crime? Feeding the people of Gaza

The hysterical response to Israel’s aid initiative in Gaza has exposed the lunacy of Israelophobia.

Israel is behaving criminally again. It has once more turned its nose up at ‘humanitarian principles’. It is trampling even harder than usual all over international law. What inhuman act has the pariah state committed now? Brace yourselves: it is seeking to feed the people of Gaza.

David Farrar: It’s a tax delay, not a tax break

Newsroom reports:

It’s audacious. It’s astounding. We’re doing the time warp again.

Even ministers struggled to comprehend the scale of the tax incentive scheme they’d signed off in the Budget. Shane Jones left his own noisy beer-and-crayfish Budget night party, upstairs in Parliament Buildings, to return to the House to check with other ministers whether there really was no cap on the size of an asset that could receive the 20 percent tax deduction.

Dr Michael Bassett: Te Partly Maori vs Commensense

These days, when reading statements from Te Partly Maori it’s often hard to trust one’s eyesight. A few days ago, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke who faces suspension from the House for participating in the haka against David Seymour in opposition to his Treaty Principles Bill, was reported to be proposing legislation that would require MPs to learn about the Treaty and uphold its principles. What’s that again? Uphold its principles? She had a chance earlier in the year, but she ripped up her fellow Maori Seymour’s Bill rather than contribute to the debate, or make submissions on it. But TPM dances to its own music, and only its own, it seems. Why won’t she tell us what she has been reading that led her to disagree with Seymour? And, why won’t she and her colleagues engage in activities that really could improve Maori lives?

Dr Oliver Harwich: Trump’s retreat in Europe shocking but not surprising

Was it really an “excellent” phone call with Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin? Did it signify, as President Donald Trump declared last week, an imminent breakthrough for peace in Ukraine?

The President’s public pronouncements certainly suggested so. Yet behind closed doors, a starkly different mood prevailed.

Simon O'Connor: Dead or alive? MOH has no idea

It's nearly impossible to say New Zealand's euthanasia regime is safe when the Ministry of Health can't even add up the numbers correctly (again).

A friend got in touch last night with some significant news that the Ministry of Health (MOH) had once again botched it’s euthanasia numbers.

JC: Shane Jones Hammers in the Nails

Following the presentation of the budget I put myself through the agony of listening to the speeches from the party leaders in reply. The best, unsurprisingly, was delivered by Matua Shane Jones. This man never fails to impress. He is parliament’s top orator and always manages to include some humour while lambasting all and sundry. He wore a light blue jacket to illustrate where he belonged and a red tie to show the Labour Party what might have been. I will get to him but first a cursory glance at the other speeches.