“These moves are described as consistency, clarity and accessibility. But, the truth is, they look like the steady removal of Māori identity and Treaty responsibility from the machinery of the state. The pattern is quite disturbing.“… By Sam Hudson #nzpol thisquality.com/the-treaty-p...

The Treaty Principles Bill failed, but the Coalition’s slow removal of Māori identity continues

OPINION: David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill was defeated, but the campaign to weaken the place of Māori in public life did not end with it.

thisquality.com

It has taken decades of work to shift towards something a little more equitable. It‘s rather demoralising that just as progress was starting to really occur, the populism of parties such as NZ First and ACT is seeking to strip back our hard won civil rights #nzpol drbex.substack.com/p/bring-back...

Bring back the 1970s?

Yes to the universal cash supports, No to the racism and bigotry

drbex.substack.com

It has taken decades of work to shift towards something a little more equitable. It‘s rather demoralising that just as progress was starting to really occur, the populism of parties such as NZ First and ACT is seeking to strip back our hard won civil rights #nzpol drbex.substack.com/p/bring-back...

Bring back the 1970s?

Yes to the universal cash supports, No to the racism and bigotry

drbex.substack.com

“For most of the postwar era the future was a promise: progress, modernity, rising incomes, children better off than their parents. Forward meant better and more. Now forward means less and worse.”… By Dr Claire Robinson #nzpol www.clairerobinson.nz/blogs/the-ba...

The back-to-the-future election — Dr Claire Robinson: Unleashing the Power of Political Insight

Why has the comfort of political and media survivors and rose-tinted nostalgia become such a powerful selling point in New Zealand politics right now? Between Winston Peters invoking a 1950s golden er...

clairerobinson.nz

“And just when we thought it was time to go back out into the brutal cold, Jack Tame said “wait, come back, I have something for you”. He sat us by the fire, poured us a glass of pinot, and deftly filleted Paul Henry, tableside, on live TV…” By Tina Ngata #nzpol tinangata.com/2026/07/19/w...

Was That Q+A or MasterChef?

In the homestretch of the coldest of political winters, we gathered. There was a defiance about this Mataariki – more than ever, folks were determined to come together, celebrate, farewell an…

tinangata.com

“Norman Kirk once said people do not ask for much: someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work, and something to hope for. Fifty years later, it remains the most concise statement of what a decent society owes its citizens.”… By Nick Ruane #nzpol thestandard.nz/four-promise...

Four Promises, Fifty Years On

Norman Kirk once said people do not ask for much: someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work, and something to hope for.

thestandard.nz

”Five high energy use data centres could be dotted across the South under plans supported by a government investment agency, the Otago Daily Times can reveal.”… #nzpol Accessible article here: archive.ph/pFOXt

“A little-noticed presidential national security directive is now the legal engine behind a wave of terrorism prosecutions against left-wing protesters. That domestic campaign now has an international dimension.“ #nzpol theconversation.com/the-trump-ad...

The Trump administration’s global campaign against ‘radical left terrorism’ is built on a national security memo without congressional approval

Almost a year after President Trump authorized preemptive law enforcement measures based on political or ideological beliefs, a wave of terrorism prosecutions against left-wing protesters has begun.

theconversation.com

“The same Tuesday ACT unveiled its newest star candidate, the Herald confirmed the party’s own former president had pleaded guilty to further sex offending. Coincidence, or convenient timing?”… By Grant McLachlan #nzpol www.klaut.media/single-post/...

Was Paul Henry ACT's dead cat?

The same Tuesday ACT unveiled its newest star candidate, the Herald confirmed the party’s own former president had pleaded guilty to further sex offending. Coincidence, or convenient timing?

klaut.media

“The bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was moment that shocked our nation, but it also solidified our fierce commitment to peace, independence, and standing up to defend nature. Today, that proud legacy is under threat. The war machine is back.”… #nzpol www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/sto...

41 Years After the Rainbow Warrior: Why Aotearoa Must Continue to Stand Up - Greenpeace Aotearoa

Forty-one years ago today, state-sponsored terrorism shattered the quiet of Auckland Harbour.

greenpeace.org

Same suits, new story - and everything National hopes you've forgotten. National is back on the trail asking voters to forget the record & judge them instead on a new set of promises. In a nutshell: they are asking voters for a political do-over. #nzpol wonderoutloud.substack.com/p/the-nation...

The National do-over

Same suits, new story — and everything National hopes you've forgotten.

wonderoutloud.substack.com

In the decade to 2024, borrowing for course fees rose 31%, borrowing for living costs rose 98%: Young NZers are increasingly borrowing to eat while they study. Next time Seymour warns against burdening our children with debt, enjoy the inversion. #nzpol andrewdicksonnz.substack.com/p/sixteen-bi...

Sixteen Billion Dollars of Nothing

A thought experiment for Labour: move the student loan book from one ledger to another and watch what happens.

andrewdicksonnz.substack.com

“When a man does it to a woman, we know exactly what we are looking at. When the state proposes to do it to the poor, we call it welfare reform and put it in a conference speech.”… Great article and thread. #nzpol

Andrew Dickson@andrewdickson13.bsky.social · last mo.

1/7 Yet again, David Seymour provides an appalling, evidence-free policy. His new welfare reforms are built on a complete fantasy (shock!) and the machinery he’s designed will reliably break real bodies while completely missing the target. 🧵 andrewdicksonnz.substack.com/p/staining-t...

The work we did with kākāpō is now not possible because the govt has said that our funding should go to science that makes money. Members of our current govt have said that if an endangered species is in the way of a mine or a new road then it’s goodbye #nzpol peterkdearden.substack.com/p/on-kakapo

on Kākāpō

and extinction

peterkdearden.substack.com

At the very least, the Greens tax package should frame the way that the other parties address income inequality – if not this, then what? Because as things stand, the current economic settings are doing more to perpetuate the burden of inequality – and child poverty – than alleviate it. #nzpol

The govt… introduced a bill that rewrites the Conservation Act to make commercial exploitation DOC's primary legal purpose - then set a six-week submission window and called it consultation. Five million hectares. The Tararuas. Lewis Pass beech forest. #nzpol keenlens.substack.com/p/the-conser...

The Conservation Amendment Bill is not about funding DOC. It is the corporate-state writing its mandate into law — and five million hectares of ancient forest just became a balance sheet item.

New Zealand · Conservation Amendment Bill · June 2026

keenlens.substack.com

The final #kakapo chick (Pearl-4B) from this year's cohort has fledged the nest (defined as roosting outside the nest for the first time). There are 91 chicks alive. They won't be counted towards the population until they're 150 days old. 📸 Petrus Hedman #conservation #kakapo2026 #parrots #birds

“What and who does this government ‘care about’… It certainly isn’t the poor or those struggling to make ends meet on underpaid jobs… If you examine the actions the government has undertaken ever since they got into power, it’s clear that they only care about the ‘wealthy and sorted.’” #nzpol

Ms Hooper@mshooper.bsky.social · 2mo ago

open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

“Mark Mitchell built a career on the cosy traffic between cops and a political party. Now he is shocked - shocked - that Labour has done the same.”… By Grant McLachlan on Klaut #nzpol www.klaut.media/single-post/...

Who polices the Police Minister?

Mark Mitchell built a career on the cosy traffic between cops and a political party. Now he is shocked — shocked — that Labour has done the same.

klaut.media

“He earns $320,600 a year. He owns six properties. He was offered a free apartment inside Parliament. He said it wasn't comfortable enough. Then he billed you $237,000 to sleep in his own home - and threatened the journalists who found out.”… #nzpol

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern@maorigreenlantern.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"GERRY BROWNLEE - THE TOLLGATE KING" - 7 June 2026 www.themaorigreenlantern.maori.nz/gerry-brownl...

I got some cool gifts for my birthday yesterday. The Green Party tshirt was an awesome surprise. Perfect timing for the election 🥹

Our country is rapidly becoming an oligarchy - a system based on government by and for the super-rich. A key indicator of emergent oligarchy is growing control of the media and the political system by the super-rich. #nzpol elliotcrossan.substack.com/p/wealth-wea...

Wealth, Weather, Winston and Willis

Budget 2026, the rise of oligarchy and the best government money can buy

elliotcrossan.substack.com

As of March 2026, there were 4,537 people held on remand. Each is costing the taxpayer about $414 per day. This means the large share of the remand population that poses no threat to public safety is costing taxpayers nearly $1 million every single day. #nzpol theconversation.com/it-costs-a-m...

It costs a million dollars a day to keep low-risk defendants on remand. More prisons aren’t the answer

Budget 2026 spends $503 million on expanding prisons. But 41% of the prison population are people on remand and more than half are released once their case is heard.

theconversation.com

“Why is it that entitlements won over years via union activism can be challenged by employers who wish to change the goal posts to suit themselves, whilst those of the ruling classes remain largely untouched?”… #nzpol mfriend.substack.com/p/entitlements

Entitlements

And how the poor have been systematically denied them

mfriend.substack.com

Upston is effectively arguing that ordinary people asking for help with rent or housing costs are a burden on taxpayers, while her own taxpayer-funded accommodation support is somehow legitimate and untouchable. That’s the moral contradiction. #nzpol bryanbruce.substack.com/p/minister-o...

Minister Of Me Not You

28 May 2026

bryanbruce.substack.com

“Stuff’s Glenn McConnell asked New Zealand’s biggest political donors why they give. He should have asked what they got.”… #nzpol www.klaut.media/single-post/...

“Over the past year the Bar Association has raised with the Government the way in which the legislative power of Parliament has been used with retrospective effect on existing rights and claims. The trend is disturbing.”… #nzpol www.lawfuel.com/nz-law-news-...

NZ Law News – Bar Association warns of growing risks to rule of law

The New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture is urging the Government to  reconsider proposed legislation by taking a broader view of

lawfuel.com

Willis claims her State rental changes are about “fairness” and ACT’s David Seymour very fond of talking about “equality,” but what we see from this coalition government is the poor having to pay more to make the already well-off even richer. #nzpol bryanbruce.substack.com/p/a-slip-of-...

A Slip Of The Soul

22/5/2026

bryanbruce.substack.com

“Read that again carefully. The Government already knows these reforms are likely to negatively impact the very learners who are currently benefiting from flexible, innovative and responsive approaches. That should be front-page news.” #nzpol aecnz.substack.com/p/new-senior...

New senior secondary qualifications – NZCE (Year 12) and NZACE (Year 13)

Buyer beware.

aecnz.substack.com

This is brilliant. open.substack.com/pub/ifloz/p/...

Nobody Wants To Come To America, Mate

The night an Aussie economics professor told Trump's bagman to grow the fuck up on live telly, and the rest of the planet quietly nodded along

open.substack.com