JC: Dumb (TVNZ) and Dumber (RNZ)

Their failure to discern what their problem is tells you a lot about their overall capabilities or lack thereof.

Today’s broadcasters, Newstalk ZB excepted, appear to be a bunch of lost souls. Those at TVNZ and RNZ seem to have no idea why the viewers and listeners are deserting them in droves. The minister of broadcasting, if he had the answers, is apparently unable to pass them on as that would be deemed political interference. So Paul Goldsmith, who owns these entities on our behalf, is powerless and just has to sit back and let them bumble on, costing the taxpayers plenty.

 Monday July 28, 2025 

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Ryan Bridge: cone overkill must stop

Chris Bishop says we're sick of over-the-top cone use and expensive traffic management plans.

And he'd be right. They are so annoying and often, to the untrained eye at least, completely pointless.

They take a $100 job and make it a $1000 job.

So why is this till happening?

Pee Kay: Civil Wars Tend to Happen Gradually, Then Suddenly!

In his 1926 novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” Ernest Hemingway’s main character described bankruptcy happening “gradually, then suddenly” in response to a question about how bankruptcy happened.

This concept can easily apply to, not only bankruptcy, but to civil war.

The phrase highlights that the build-up to a crisis can be subtle and prolonged, making it easy to underestimate the potential for a sudden and dramatic collapse or conflagration.

Clive Bibby: Coverups and Culpability

No doubt this article will bring howls of indignant defence from those who should be held to account for the destruction that has taken place during the most recent Marlborough and the North Island East Coast floods in January of 2023.

Some will say it is easy to point the finger at those who had responsibilities for public safety after the event and they are right to do so but, unless we learn from the mistakes that could and should have been avoided, we will not be better prepared for the next one and our losses from these and similar events will just be compounded in the future.

Matua Kahurangi: New Zealand: The backdoor to Australia that no one wants to talk about

Nearly half of the people applying for Australian citizenship as “New Zealanders” were not born in this country. That is according to newly released data from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, and it is raising serious questions about whether New Zealand is being used as a backdoor into Australia’s booming economy.

David Farrar: Hutt City Council backs down

The FSU announced:

Following a legal battle between Hutt City Council and the Free Speech Union over the Council’s censorship of inserts on Council sites, the parties have agreed to settle. The Council will make several public statements affirming its commitment to free speech, and its role as a gateway for information, not a gatekeeper, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union.

DTNZ: Immigration is ‘killing’ Europe – Trump

The US president has called on European leaders to stop the “horrible” invasion of migrants that has gone on for over a decade.

US President Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric on immigration, claiming it is “killing” Europe and warning that European leaders must act immediately or risk losing control. The warning comes as the continent continues to grapple with a protracted migration crisis that has spanned more than a decade.

Dr Bryce Wilkinson: Attracting overseas investment - A step forward, but not far enough

The government’s Overseas Investment (Amendment) Bill is more good than bad. It is more welcoming of incoming overseas investment.

That is good for several reasons. First, billions of dollars need to be invested in infrastructure. Second, New Zealanders need higher wage rates, but that requires higher labour productivity. Productivity could be higher if it were easier for firms to invest more capital per worker. Third, overseas investment can bring know-how, access to overseas markets and proprietary technologies

Dr Eric Crampton: Buttering up a slippery slope

You might not remember 2025, even though it’s only two decades ago. AI was only just getting started. Looking back, it is easy to tell where the path back to price setting boards started.

This was before synthetic fermentation, when New Zealand still exported a lot of butter and global markets set the price. Whenever butter prices dropped, consumers barely noticed. Whenever they rose, people screamed.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Bridging divides through shared purpose

When our New Zealand Initiative delegation visited Amsterdam last month, officials from the Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden shared something striking. Before talking to us, this government agency had researched New Zealand’s approach – and they were astonished.

In the Netherlands, reducing administrative burdens has been an uncontroversial project for two decades. In New Zealand, meanwhile, aiming for better regulation has become distinctly political. Both creating the Ministry of Regulation and proposing a Regulatory Standards Bill sparked fierce debates.

Roger Partridge: When transparency becomes a threat

Imagine asking your accountant to explain their calculations – and they respond by demanding triple their fee and warning you will be embarrassed by what they find.

That is roughly what happened when New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was asked about new transparency requirements.

 Sunday July 27, 2025 

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Melanie Phillips: The worldwide frenzy against Israel

An obsession with the Jewish state has replaced rationality by lethal propaganda.

Over the past few days, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling has been ratcheted up into an absolute frenzy. Every few hours seems to bring a fresh outrage.

In London, a prominent Jewish broadcaster was chased down the street by a man screaming “fascist Zionist scum”. A woman dining at a Jewish restaurant in the city was asked if she was a Jew and then had food thrown over her.

Net Zero Samizdat: Miliband’s green energy gamble sparks cross-party backlash

UK

Miliband hikes subsidies for AR7

The UK has raised the maximum price it will guarantee wind developers to revive interest after last year’s failed auction. Labour’s 2030 targets are under fire, with critics warning higher subsidies risk pushing up household bills rather than cutting them.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time - 26 July 2025

Winston’s Week: saving women’s sport

Despite all of his travel as Foreign Minister, Winston Peter’s manages to pack a political punch every week. This week, his coalition agreement policy of booting the boys out of women’s sport was finally seen through with Sports Minister Mark Mitchell instructing a very salty Raelene Castle to delete the transgender guidelines for community sport. Without Winston this would never have happened. National are too weak and ACT are too weird about trans stuff.

Dr Will Jones: Covid Vaccines Saved Far Fewer Lives Than Claimed by WHO, Major New Study Finds

Covid vaccines saved far fewer lives than first thought, a major new analysis from Stanford’s Professor John Ioannidis and team has concluded – closer to 2.5 million than the 14 million claimed by the WHO in 2022. The Telegraph has more.

Kelli Ballard: Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Journalism?

The dangers of incorporating AI into the news product.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the way of the world now. It is gaining use and popularity in just about every aspect of our lives. From medical advancements to entertainment, it is reshaping society even as it battles controversy and skepticism. For one thing, this emerging technology does not have enough oversight, and no one knows for sure what the long-term repercussions might be. For another, AI makes it easy to spread disinformation, further eroding the trust people have in the news. So, why are so many news outlets turning to artificial intelligence to deliver their information?

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Getting things done without the double Dutch

Before our Netherlands delegation in June, I wrote in this publication about the political chaos we might encounter (When populists cannot be tamed, Newsroom 10 June 2024). Geert Wilders had just brought down the government he helped create. I wondered whether the Dutch “polder model” of consensus democracy could survive 21st-century populism.

But Dutch politics was the least interesting thing about the Netherlands.

David Farrar: Free speech problems.......

Academics who argue there is no free speech problems, are like whites who argue there is no racism against blacks


Radio NZ reports: