Bob Edlin: Lawyer’s concerns about the Waitangi Tribunal’s future....

.....raises good questions about who should govern

The PoO team, busily digesting news reports and opinions each day, inevitably encounters headlines that raise great questions about the way we are and should be governed.

That, in turn, raises questions about which party we should vote for.

An example pops up in The Post today –

If the Waitangi Tribunal is scrapped, who will do its job?

Richard Prebble: Supermarket Policy at Warp Speed

On 19 April, New Zealand First announced that it was campaigning to separate PAK’nSAVE from New World.

National was unenthusiastic, but commissioned consultants to report on the proposal.

The report arrived in June. The consultants found there could be a price advantage but conceded their calculations could be wrong.

Rodney Hide: Who gets beaten up?

The crime debate starts with the offender.

Always.

We hear the Māori incarceration rate. Then the explanations: institutional racism. Intergenerational trauma. Colonial hangover. The courts are the problem. The cops are the problem. Society is the problem.

Saturday September 19, 2026 

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Breaking Views Update: Week of 13.9.26

Saturday September 19, 2026 

News:
Tribunal releases report on the reform of the national curriculum
The Tribunal found that the Crown, through its actions related to developing a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’ informed by the ‘science of learning’, breached a number of Treaty principles. Specifically, it found that the Crown:.....

The Tribunal found that the claimants have suffered prejudice as a result of these breaches. This prejudice included damage to the Māori–Crown relationship; the clear signal to Māori students and whānau that Māori knowledge is somehow less important; a reduction in the Crown’s commitment to supporting the transmission of mātauranga Māori; the diminishment of mana for iwi and hapū that have contributed much effort to working in partnership with schools; and the undermining of the mana motuhake of Ngā Kura ā Iwi.

JC: I Know What’s Best for You

So, by his public utterances, says Christopher Luxon.

Well, no, you don’t. This article attempts to explain why he [Christopher Luxon] and a minority of his liberal henchmen and women are leading National to a poor election result and why the trajectory these people have put the party on must change. When I use the term ‘the party’ or ‘National’, I’m excluding those conservative MPs in the party who themselves are clearly not happy with the direction of National.

Don’t Let The Left Rewrite NZ History

Michael Laws on The Platform says Don’t let the Left rewrite NZ history - the now-hidden story of the killing and cannibalism of French explorer Marion du Fresne.


Click to view

DTNZ: NZ-India FTA clears Parliament

New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India has cleared its final hurdle in Parliament, passing its third reading by 93 votes to 29. Trade Minister Todd McClay said Parliament has “overwhelmingly backed” the deal which the Government argued would deliver major gains for Kiwi exporters.

Gina Rinehart: AO Keynote Address to the 2026 National Bush Summit, Dubbo

Fellow Australians,

I have always wanted to believe that the Australian people, when told the truth, will meet it with the courage that has never yet failed our nation.

I have looked to inspiration from great leaders I admire – Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan – leaders who not only did so much for their own countries, but the free world. Their battles through very difficult times, I hope can continue to inspire us today.

Major General John G. Howard: $12 billion defence rebuild needs future governments behind it, new report warns

New Zealand's prosperity depends on open sea lanes and a stable Pacific, and a new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues the country cannot secure either without a defence force able to contribute alongside its partners.

In Worth Defending: Freedom, prosperity and the case for a stronger New Zealand Defence Force, Major General (Retired) John G Howard, MNZM, a Senior Fellow of the Initiative and the inaugural Chief of Defence Intelligence, argues that a credible, combat-capable Defence Force is not discretionary spending but the foundation on which the country's security, sovereignty and economic prosperity rest.

Kerre Woodham: I am perplexed by National's supermarket plan

Well, I don't know. I've listened to all the commentary; I've listened to Nicola Willis. I'm absolutely perplexed. Stumped. I thought after all this time and having taken a lifelong interest in politics that I understood a wee bit about it. Turns out I know absolutely nothing, because if I was a National Party advisor, and let's face it, a lot of you think I am, but if I was a National Party advisor, I would not be saying to National, "look, you're languishing in the polls. You might have done some good work, you're not selling it well. We need a little something, something, something, something.

Bob Edlin: Todd McClay can see a difference between Air NZ and supermarkets....

....but Luxon ducked the question

Gerry Brownlee – who has ordered three MPs from the House of Representatives this week – seems to have lost the sense of humour that has been a feature of his term as Speaker.

David Farrar: The Janet Dickson case must lead to a law change

Radio NZ reports:

A real estate agent on the verge of losing her licence after being denied an exemption from a compulsory Māori tikanga course said if she had her time again, she would still refuse to do it.

“It’s totally irrelevant to the everyday work of real estate,” Janet Dickson told NZME.

Rodney Hide: Clapping in heaven

Jim Anderton must be in heaven clapping his hands.

Labour promises to outlaw "price gouging" at the checkout. National promises to carve up Foodstuffs. Both say they will finally sort the supermarkets.

Both sound like him.

Mike's Minute: Supermarket and price gouging policies are fanciful

So the battle of the supermarket beat-down unfolded for us lucky voters.

Labour and National have gone head-to-head over how much head kicking they can do to, mainly, supermarkets. But seemingly in Labour's case it could be the financial sector i.e. banks, or air travel i.e. Air NZ, as well.

Both party's ideas, let the record state, are fanciful.

Friday September 18, 2026 

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Ryan Bridge: Nicola's supermarket bust up isn't serious

Nicola's supermarket smash-up is not serious.

She's playing a very risky political game and she knows it.

Cost of living is the only game in town this election – win on the cost-of-living battle and you win the war.

Richard Prebble Slams The Waitangi Tribunal

On The Platform in his chat with Michael Laws, Richard Prebble slams the Waitangi Tribunal and recounts his brief experience as a member. 

 

Click to view

Geoff Parker: One Law For All Is Not An Attack On Maori

A response to Sir Douglas Graham

Sir Douglas Graham warns that ACT’s “one law for all” agenda is foolish and likely to provoke protest.

But there is a rather revealing assumption behind his argument: that seeking equality before the law is somehow an attack on Māori.

It isn't.

The real question is whether New Zealand should continue developing a legal and political framework in which some rights, powers and forms of political participation depend on ancestry — or whether citizenship should ultimately mean equal rights and responsibilities under one law.

Michael Reddell: Make believe

Yesterday the Prime Minister and leader of the National Party made some rather preposterous claims in his post-Cabinet press conference (as reported here by The Post)