DTNZ: Trump raises global tariff to 15%

The US Supreme Court has struck down most of the president’s earlier tariffs.

US President Donald Trump has announced an increase in his new global import tariff from 10% to 15%. The move came a day after the US Supreme Court struck down most of the tariffs he had imposed earlier.

David R. Henderson: Why Economic Freedom Matters

A global status report on the elements of broad well-being.

Each year the Economic Freedom of the World report does something important: it measures whether ordinary people are allowed to make economic choices—work, save, start a business, trade, invest, and keep what they earn—without being pushed around by the government. The newest edition, published in 2025 by the Fraser Institute’s global network, compiles data through 2023 and ranks 165 jurisdictions.

Matua Kahurangi: A brand new home for unemployed immigrants while Kiwis rot on the waiting list

Over the weekend, AppleBear on X shared an RNZ story meant to showcase compassion in action. Instead, it ended up highlighting exactly why so many New Zealanders see the system as completely broken.

The article tells the story of the Tuiletufuga family, who “moved here from Samoa a year ago”, struggled to find housing, and for a period “lived in a van” before entering transitional accommodation. Now, after working with the Salvation Army, they have moved into a “new four-bedroom home” in Flat Bush, settling in just three weeks ago.

David Farrar: Who wants a world Parliament?

An interesting poll of 117,000 people in 101 countries on whether they support or oppose their being a World Parliament. They say 40% support it, 27% oppose and 33% undecided.

The question design is very important. The question was:

Monday February 23, 2026 

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Joanne Nova: China goes gangbusters building 52 big coal plants in 2025

It’s almost like China doesn’t give a toss about climate change, eh?

Just quietly, while everyone was gushing tears over a two year extension to a fifty year old Australian plant, China added a gargantuan number of brand new coal plants.

Australia’s total coal fleet stands at 26 gigawatts in capacity. Yet China added three times that capacity in a single year.

Roger Partridge: Everything is not relative - The world votes with its feet

If there’s one thing every humanities student learns, it’s that everything is relative. Morality is culturally constructed. Truth is a matter of perspective. Values are power dressed in philosophy. To claim that one political system or way of life is better than another is naïve at best, imperialist at worst.

Except, of course, for that claim itself – which is treated as unquestionable.

This self-refuting orthodoxy has become the West’s intellectual auto-immune disease. In seminar rooms from Auckland to New York, students learn that to judge another culture is to oppress it.

Dr Eric Crampton: Legislative fail-safes

No straight thing can be built of our crooked timber. We can and will err, even with best efforts and intentions.

In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature that, when something goes wrong, forces the system toward a safer state.

Getting everything right in a new resource management system, and all the national direction that follows from it, seems impossible. The job is too big.

Dr Michael Johnston: A question of priorities

It is more than two weeks since the catastrophic failure of Wellington’s sewage treatment plant at Moa Point. Massive quantities of raw sewage continue to flow into Cook Strait. Many of Wellington’s beaches will likely be closed for months.

The immediate cause of the failure appears to have been a blocked pipe. The inside of the facility was flooded, badly damaging the plant.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: Happy Social Justice Day

If this is the first you have heard of ‘social justice day,’ do not feel bad. Few people have heard of it, despite it having featured on the United Nations’ calendar for nearly two decades.

The day exists to promote social justice at national, regional and international levels. It sounds splendid – until you try to work out what it actually means.

Dr Eric Crampton: Problems with visa settings not solved by targeting foreign students

The furore over immigration settings in the trade deal with India provides an excellent reminder about a basic policy principle. You’ll have a hard time getting a policy right if you’ve misdiagnosed the problem.

Last week Newsroom’s Sam Sachdeva covered the political ruckus.

Matua Kahurangi: Rockpool ban is a start, but New Zealand says the problem is everywhere

After I posted my piece on NZ First implementing a rockpool ban around the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, the response was immediate and loud. People came forward from well beyond Auckland, including as far south as Banks Peninsula, saying the same thing is happening there too. Rockpools being stripped bare, intertidal life disappearing, and locals left staring at empty rocks where there used to be movement, colour, and abundance.

David Farrar: An interesting Treaty poll

An interesting poll from Radio NZ.

Reid Resarch asked:

Do you think the Treaty of Waitangi has too much, about the right amount, or too little influence over government decision making?

Mike's Minute: The job story is more than just a headline

2500 job applications. That’s got clickbait written all over it, doesn’t it?

One job supposedly had 2500 applications. One headline added that the company boss was shocked.

Oppo is your company and in the story of their job they are looking to fill is some good news. Mainly, that the job is here and not long ago it wasn’t.

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: The Cult

WATCH OUR NEW FILM: THE CULT

Colin Brazier returns for our second short film on the cult of Net Zero and how it protects 'green' policies from being questioned by stifling debate and cracking down on free speech.

Sunday February 22, 2026 

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Clive Bibby: The canary in the coal mine

Much has been said about the government’s response to the Pike River tragedy, including the findings of the enquiry after the event which unfortunately left so many unanswered questions - especially when apportioning blame for the loss of life. And unfortunately Pike River is just another example of what happens wihen poor or even irresponsible Government oversight is allowed to affect outcomes that were avoidable.

Geoff Parker: The Sacred Grove, a Fallen Tree, and a $560,000 Question

What began as a fallen pōhutukawa at the Sands Apartments in Takapuna has quietly grown into something far larger: a dispute over culture, control, transparency — and money.

Ani O'Brien: A week is a long time: 21 February 2026

No four‑year term (for now)

The Government has parked its plan for a 4 year parliamentary term. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said:

“Both the National-Act and National-New Zealand First coalition agreements include supporting to select committee a bill that would enact a binding referendum on a four-year term of parliament.

We’ve fulfilled those commitments. However, we won’t be progressing with a referendum on a 4 year term at this election.”

Stephen Moore: Was climate change the greatest financial scam in history?

Environmental scholar Bjorn Lomborg recently calculated that across the globe, governments have spent at least $16 trillion feeding the climate change industrial complex.

And for what?