For years, residents living near the Tutaenui Stream have warned the Auckland Council of a growing and entirely preventable problem: a choked, neglected waterway that has become a repeat flooding hazard. The solution is neither complex nor controversial — the stream simply needs proper clearing and ongoing maintenance. Contractors themselves have confirmed it. A similar clearance in 2003 kept the area safe for eight years. Yet today, instead of…

With the release of its new National Security Strategy (NSS), the United States — the world’s most powerful nation — has officially abandoned the global-hegemony doctrine that defined the post-Cold War order. For the first time since 1945, Washington is no longer claiming the mantle of global policeman, architect of the “rules-based international order,” or moral crusader for universal liberal democracy. Instead, the U.S. has accepted —…

A Market Gently Waking Up - For the first time in a long while, the signals coming from the economy, the banks and everyday buyers are starting to all line up at the same time. It is not a boom. It is not even a surge. But it is a clear shift away from the uncertainty that has weighed on the property market for the past three years. The latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey sums it up neatly: buyers now see conditions as the most favourable in…

Stats NZ has delivered a run of unexpectedly positive data across housing, exports and retail, a sign the economy may finally be stabilising after two years of strain. New home consents rose 6.2 percent in the year to October, driven almost entirely by townhouses, flats and apartments. Higher-density homes accounted for nearly 18,000 consents, with Auckland producing half the national lift. **October alone saw a 23.5 percent jump in consents…

Andrew Coster’s interview on Q+A has blown the police integrity scandal wide open again. It’s now obvious the public has been left with a mess of clashing accounts, shifting explanations, and gaps that the existing investigation was never designed to resolve. If the Government wants any hope of restoring confidence in the Police, it needs to authorise an independent inquiry with proper powers. Coster went on television insisting he’d “acted…

The discovery of multiple Asian yellow-legged hornet queens and nests across Glenfield has triggered warnings that New Zealand is running out of time to stop the pest from becoming permanent. Experts say MPI’s current containment zone is far too small for a species known overseas to spread tens of kilometres a year, and early signs suggest the Auckland incursion is already larger than first thought. **Hornets devastate honey bees, crops, and…

For years, governments insisted they were “following the science.” But science does not stand still, and it certainly does not bow to political pressure. Now, as new studies challenge the assumptions that drove the global COVID-19 response, the world is being forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: many of the policies that reshaped economies, societies, and democracies were based on data that is no longer standing up to scrutiny. What was…

It is too hard and costly to get things built in New Zealand, and the Resource Management Act is a big reason why. So, we are scrapping it and replacing it with a new planning system built on the idea of private property rights. **The new planning system will save ratepayers and taxpayers $13.3b by only regulating what is necessary and reducing the number of consents by up to 46% every year.** The economic benefits of this new system are…

Who said getting older means slowing down? At Acacia Cove Retirement Village, life is about rediscovering freedom, connection, and fun. With nearly everything taken care of for you — from maintenance to gardening — your days are yours to fill with what you truly enjoy. Join a club, take a swim, or simply relax and soak in the peaceful surroundings. Life here is resort-style living at its best. For over 25 years, General Manager Bruce Cullington…

In my honest opinion New Zealand is gradually becoming a more racist country as time goes by, with the modern day so-called “Maori Elite” as the main proponents, ably assisted by the mainstream media. You may well ask why I hold that opinion and what is my reason for saying this. The answer to that question would have to be that the main reason for this opinion is due to the Treaty of Waitangi. Before you start to send out search and destroy…

New Zealand today stands in the jaws of a recession deeper and more structural than anything we have seen in decades. Businesses are folding. Workers are fleeing. Families are giving up hope. And yet, somehow, among all the noise, one catastrophic act of economic vandalism continues to escape the national reckoning it deserves: **The deliberate destruction of New Zealand’s only oil refinery at Marsden Point.** Not downgraded. Not mothballed.…

New documents released by Cam Slater of The Good Oil have intensified scrutiny of Willie Jackson’s handling of staff disputes inside the Manukau Urban Māori Authority, where his wife serves as CEO. The materials, which appear to support key parts of Matt McCarten’s complaint to Parliament, emerged after several days of silence from major news outlets. Slater, who first published the documents, said he released them because the public…

It may not be generally known that, immediately after WWII, as many as 48,000 volunteers, both Jews and non-Jews, from 59 nations arrived in Israel to fight for its independence. About 90% of Israel's fledging Air Force pilots were new arrivals – the often-overlooked heroes of their time. In many Western countries, the present cohort of military-age young people generally seems to display an ignorance of integrity, the indispensable value of…

Dear Director Sometimes information helps us to understand puzzling situations. Business models can be very informative. It won’t have escaped your notice that the public health sector has no clear business incentive to understand what is making more people more sick more often with more serious conditions as we reported this week. The opposite is the case with health insurance companies like yours. You have an absolute need to understand…

For nearly her entire life, Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, kept a diary detailing royal life, world affairs, political intrigue and even her passion for her husband, Prince Albert. Starting in 1832 when she was 13, Victoria wrote nearly every day for nearly 69 years—sometimes jotting thousands of words at a time and occasionally studding the pages with her own drawings and watercolors.…

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has insisted her electorate overspend was authorised, saying her office had an agreement to provide support to Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp (who passed away in June) while Kemp was unwell. Party president John Tamihere flatly rejects that such an agreement ever existed. In High Court filings, the party states there was no approval from Kemp for Kapa-Kingi to draw on Tāmaki Makaurau resources,…

The RMA is important. It is New Zealand's biggest regulatory tax and the most significant handbrake on our country's economic prosperity and living standards. Yesterday 100 journalists and analysts worked through the Government’s just-released replacement to the RMA. Planning law is inherently difficult, detailed, and technical. Having only had the material for a few hours, we don’t pretend to have our head around all the detail – but I…

The government has launched its new Govt.nz app, marketed as a convenient place to find information, bookmark services, and receive emergency alerts. However, the real transformation arrives next year. Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins told RNZ’s Morning Report that digital driver’s licences and other identity credentials will be added once legislation passes early in 2026. The identity functions cannot go live until then. …

After a difficult 2025 marked by recession and slow activity, New Zealand’s economy is showing broad signs of stabilisation and budding recovery — not just in isolated sectors, but across the board, according to KiwiBank’s latest economic outlook. 📉 KiwiBank Economic Commentary — 13 November 2025 Interest Rates Have Reached Supportive Levels ### Economists at KiwiBank highlight that interest rates are now much lower than they were this…

The government has formally rejected every recommendation from the Climate Change Commission to toughen New Zealand’s long-term emissions targets. Climate Minister Simon Watts confirmed the decision, despite the Commission warning climate impacts are arriving “sooner and more severely than expected” and that New Zealand “can and should be doing more.” The coalition had already signalled it would soften the methane target. The government has…

In an exclusive interview with Rick on the latest episode of Sanchez Effect, Hungary's top diplomat pulls back the curtain on the liberal mainstream’s tight grip, where anything short of extreme liberalism meets swift intolerance in the EU. Step out of line and prepare for a barrage of being “cornered, accused, lectured, judged, and pushed away.” But Hungary stands firm: “Our national interest is our compass.” He shares his thoughts on the…