This Is Not Good Enough
We are becoming numb to child abuse. This was not just a violent outburst. It was a near-death experience for an infant and the system has once again allowed the offender to walk free.
NZ Politics
Gifts, Graft and a $12bn Defence Spend-up
The government’s headlong rush into big defence contracts, with minimal public oversight, risks compounding the problem by entrenching a military-industrial elite operating with impunity.
Why Do Māori Have to Rely on Deceased Kidney Donors?
Systemic racism or an inconveniently multifaceted set of problems requiring uncomfortable conversations.
What Happened to Personal Responsibility?
What is it that academics and public servants are afraid of? That the consequences of enforced personal responsibility would drive worse outcomes?
News Briefing: 8 July 2025
Republished with Permission Author: Bryce Edwards PARLIAMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR Peter Adams (Newsroom): Alcohol lobbying is a wild west of influence Kate MacNamara (Herald): Lease termination for unused Three Waters Auckland office costs taxpayers $2.2m (paywalled) NataliIS THATa Albert: Winston Peters and the Myth of MMP’s Stability Good Ideas:
The Good Oil Podcast – Episode 10 – Lee Taituha
In episode ten of The Good Oil Podcast, Cam sits down with Unite NZ leader Lee Taituha.
They Could Make Up Our Future Parliament
An insight into the little monsters who will one day run the country.
I Hear Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
Many New Zealanders resent being told what to think. That was the lesson of 1975 and I don’t think much has changed.
Te Tiriti, Not Te Mandate
A school board affirms its right to apply Treaty obligations lawfully – supporting Māori students without mandating cultural content for all.
Apartheid Funded by the Taxpayer, Run Like a Family Business
Whānau Ora should be dismantled. This isn’t empowerment: it is exploitation of the system by those lucky enough to sit at the top. The people it was meant to help never see the benefit. The insiders make sure of that.
So They Set Brushfires
What chance do the “progressive forces” have of prevailing in the battle for the future if they are forced to admit, if only to themselves, that the left is losing to the right in a fair fight?
Who Relies Most on Welfare?
Chinese people had the lowest dependency rate at 2.4 per cent. The highest rate is for Māori at 23 per cent.
The Local Electoral Act Hole
The possibilities are endless, provided you have the money and the intestinal fortitude to tell the truth about some ratbag local government candidate.
News Briefing: 7 July 2025
Republished with Permission Author: Bryce Edwards PARLIAMENT Andrea Vance (Sunday Star Times): There are no rules any more. The political pendulum is now a wrecking ball (paywalled) Catherine McGregor (Spinoff): Is NZ politics having a MAGA moment? Peter Dunne: When symbolism trumps substance Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour offers National a