Articles in ‘Opinion’

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon delivered one of the most significant speeches of his political career this week. For the first time in plain language, a sitting New Zealand Prime Minister openly acknowledged what many ordinary Kiwis have already sensed for years: · the global rules-based order is fracturing geopolitical instability is accelerating energy security matters supply chains are vulnerable debt is dangerous and social cohesion…

Looking at the latest interim fuel distribution charts for May 2026, the system still appears to be operating relatively normally on the surface. But the numbers also continue highlighting just how tight New Zealand’s imported fuel network has become since the closure of Marsden Point refinery. Interim Fuel Charts May 2026 · !Fuel Distribution May 2026 · Fuel Distribution May 2026 – Current distribution as of 13/05/2026 · !Fuel Distribution…

The OECD says New Zealand has “no future in gas.” · That may sound visionary inside policy circles and international climate forums. · But there is a major problem. · Modern New Zealand still runs on carbon fuels. · Not hypothetically. Not ideologically. Physically. · Every single day New Zealand consumes approximately 23 million litres of liquid fuels across transport, freight, aviation, shipping, agriculture, heavy machinery, construction…

Radio New Zealand recently published a piece expressing concern over coalition politicians increasingly criticising mainstream media institutions. The framing was predictable. · Politicians attacking the media, readers were told, risk undermining “independent journalism” and democratic accountability. · But buried inside that argument lies the contradiction now driving one of the biggest collapses in public trust across the Western world: ·…

New Zealand’s fuel distribution network is continuing to show signs of increasing operational strain as tanker movements become more concentrated around key ports while several regional terminals remain without confirmed incoming shipments. Exclusive report for elocal by Dave Trotter · The latest NZ Fuel Watch interim shipping charts, updated Friday May 8, reveal only five new fuel vessels currently entering the national distribution cycle this…

A German economist writing satire about New Zealand sounds like the opening line of a bad joke. · The joke gets longer when you learn the plot: two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa expecting humanity at its best, are promptly fined for parking without consent, and proceed on a reluctant tiki tour of the country in the company of a Wellington bureaucrat named Ben, who has quietly decided his career is over and he may as well help them. What…

The Free Speech Union is today writing to Police asking why an Auckland woman was telephoned at home, with Police calling her mother first, and then called into a station to be told a Facebook post was "unkind" and "unwelcoming to the Indian community". No offence has been alleged. No threat of violence has been alleged. According to public reporting over the past 48 hours, Renee-Rose Schwenke posted a photo captioned "Welcome to New India…

Overview · New Zealand’s fuel distribution network is entering a tightening phase, with limited vessel activity and widening gaps across several ports. · So far this month: · Total moorings: 6 Total vessels: 4 · Two vessels have already completed single-port discharges: · STI Opera → Marsden Point Hafnell Bay Trail → Tauranga · The remaining activity is being carried by: · Grand Winner 3 Esteem Endeavour · These two vessels are currently…

Last week, elocal published Kiwibank’s latest economic update. On paper, the outlook suggested a fragile but emerging recovery. But for many New Zealanders reading it, that assessment landed very differently. · The reaction was immediate and, in many cases, blunt. “Fragile? It’s fked… I don’t know where they get recovery underway with all the closures and job losses. It’s horrendous.” · That response, while raw, reflects something increasingly…

It is hard to convince anyone they need to change when they think nothing is broken. The story of the emperor’s new clothes captures it. The whole court agreed the emperor was splendidly dressed. A child had to say he was naked. New Zealand’s public service has the same problem. My recent report Who runs the country? argues that ministers should appoint their chief executives, with statutory protections for the career service below. · The…