Articles in ‘Opinion’

Trade agreements are easy to announce but much harder to measure. If New Zealand has committed itself to a long-term partnership with India, shouldn't taxpayers also be told whether that partnership is actually delivering what was promised? The signing ceremony is over. · The speeches have been made. Hands have been shaken, photographs taken and another chapter added to New Zealand's long history of free trade agreements. · Now comes the…

New Zealand's fuel supply chain has settled into one of its quieter periods, but the vessels already scheduled tell an interesting story. While the number of arrivals has slowed, global refining trends and changing trade routes continue to shape what eventually reaches our shores. Anyone who follows the daily updates will have noticed this past week has been relatively quiet. That's not unusual for this time of the month, but it does give us an…

New Zealand has made remarkable progress in areas such as road safety, health and life expectancy over the past five decades. But according to economist Dr Oliver Hartwich, the country's biggest economic challenges now require bold structural reform rather than incremental change. Report by elocal · Progress built over decades · New Zealand has achieved significant long-term improvements across many aspects of national life. · Writing in the…

Another week of vessel movements shows New Zealand's fuel distribution network quietly doing what it was designed to do. While several ports remain unusually quiet, fresh imports and regular coastal deliveries continue to keep product flowing nationwide. Hello everyone, · Welcome to this week's Fuel Watch. · At first glance it looked like another fairly quiet week, but once you start following the ships, you can see there's been plenty…

The Free Speech Union says renewed calls for hate speech laws represent a return to a debate New Zealand has already had and one where the evidence, experience, and the public ultimately rejected censorship as the answer. “Chief Executive Jillaine Heather says there is no denying that words can be cruel, hateful or simply offensive. People can be insulted, humiliated, intimidated, and hurt by what others say. · “But acknowledging that reality…

Every year, millions of Americans celebrate Independence Day with pride, ceremony and a shared sense of national identity. New Zealand has no equivalent. While our constitutional journey followed a very different path, the absence of a widely recognised day celebrating our nationhood raises an important question: have we forgotten the story that unites us as New Zealanders? A Question Worth Asking · Every year on the Fourth of July, the United…

On the 25th January 2026, two men stepped off an arriving plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport en route from the Congo carrying a black case. At the border they declared that the case contained instruments, but customs officials found it contained vials of Monkeypox virus and human DNA in violation of federal law. Both men worked at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Rocky Mountain Laboratory where one of them was Chief of the Virus…

The Brian Tamaki firearms case raises questions that reach far beyond one individual, challenging New Zealanders to consider whether expanding preventative police powers are altering the long-standing balance between public safety, due process and individual rights. As Parliament grants broader authority under the Arms Act 1983, the debate is no longer simply about firearms—it is about whether New Zealand is gradually shifting from the…

Fuel continues moving steadily around New Zealand despite a relatively quiet week for international arrivals. Coastal tankers remain busy distributing product between regional ports while the next wave of imports is already scheduled to arrive. · The latest shipping movements suggest the fuel supply chain remains stable, with inventories continuing to flow through the national distribution network as New Zealand enters July. Hi everyone, David…

The Free Speech Union has criticised the decision by New Zealand Police and the Firearms Safety Authority to revoke Brian Tamaki's firearms licence following recent public comments. While reiterating its opposition to those comments, the organisation argues that if criminal laws have been broken, the matter should be determined by the courts rather than through administrative action. The Free Speech Union condemns the actions of the NZ Police…