The New Zealand First English Language Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking an early legislative milestone for the party’s policy agenda this term. Party leader Winston Peters described the vote as a victory for “common sense,” saying the legislation would provide clarity around the status of English in New Zealand law. · “This bill provides clarity and certainty in legislation of the official status of the English language…

On the heels of a significant rise in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll—which now places the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party (NZOFP) at 1.7%, the party has officially unveiled a cornerstone of its 2026 General Election platform: the ACC Justice & Accountability Statement. Launched today by NZOFP List Candidate and policy development lead Aly Cook, the two-pronged strategy is designed to fundamentally dismantle the "adversarial culture"…

Let Kids Be Kids is welcoming a quiet but significant change to national school policy templates after challenging the legal accuracy of SchoolDocs’ “Inclusive School Culture” policy. SchoolDocs – a private company supplying policies to 80-85% of New Zealand schools – has been writing into school policy that discrimination could be based on “sex, … sexual orientation or gender identity, … listed in the Human Rights Act 1993 (s 27)”. This…

Stuff’s Quarantine Nation podcast sells itself as sober reflection on the Covid years. Read through the lens of Edward Bernays, it looks more like a second wave of propaganda: regret without reversal, fear and heroism without accountability, and a tightly controlled story about what we’re allowed to question. Quarantine Nation presents itself as a reflective oral history of New Zealand’s Covid years. It’s marketed as “a mostly serious history,”…

Sun, Sails, and Steel Guitars: Your Ultimate Guide to the 2026 Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival - If you’re planning a trip to the "Winterless North," there is no better way to see it than when the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival is in full swing. The term "winterless" is a bit of a local secret, while the rest of New Zealand is starting to feel the first real bite of May , Northland stays famously mild. In May, you’re looking at…

For years, Jacinda Ardern was sold to the world as the face of “kindness.” A crisis leader. A moral compass in turbulent times. · But back home, the gloss has long since worn off. · Strip away the international applause and carefully curated documentaries, and what remains is a country carrying record debt, a fractured social fabric, and a lingering distrust of institutions that may take a generation to repair. · That is the legacy New Zealand…

Corporate lobbyists have become central to decision-making in the New Zealand political system. But we know remarkably little about how they work, who they work for, or what they charge. In my ongoing research on influence behind the scenes of government, one lobbyist told me that the standard pitch of lobbying firms to business is that they can normally change a government decision for a $250,000 fee. That kind of money gets you into the room…

Something has to give with New Zealand’s electricity market. And this week, the numbers arrived to prove it. The Big Four gentailers (Contact, Genesis, Meridian and Mercury) have just reported combined operating earnings of $1.86 billion for the six months to December 2025. That’s a jump of roughly 45% on the same period last year. Their combined dividend payouts rose 10% to $551 million. Meanwhile, the amount they actually invested in new…

The United States has carried out what is clearly an illegal bombing of Iran, a brutal theocracy with a long record of repression at home and proxy warfare abroad. So how should New Zealand respond? The Luxon-Peters Government put out a joint statement on Sunday that has been variously described as “balanced,” “careful,” and “a disgrace.” It is relatively positive towards the US actions and condemnatory towards Iran, but it doesn’t fully…

It has been one of those days in politics when everything accelerates. This morning I published a briefing warning that Christopher Luxon and National were in serious trouble after leaks of a dire Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll. By lunchtime the numbers were official: National on 28.4 percent. By mid-afternoon the conversation had shifted from “if” Luxon might leave to “when and how”. I don’t normally publish two columns in a day. But when the…

Who said getting older means slowing down? · At Acacia Cove Village, retirement isn’t about winding down — it’s about opening up a new chapter filled with freedom, friendship, and fun. · With practically everything taken care of, residents enjoy more time to focus on what really matters: engaging in activities, socialising with neighbours, relaxing in beautifully maintained surroundings, and living life with a genuine resort-style feel. · …

It happens in a split second. · A crunch. · A scrape. · That sinking “Uh ohh…” feeling in your stomach. · Whether it’s a car park mishap or a serious collision, the stress can be overwhelming. But in Pukekohe, there’s one simple piece of advice: · Keep calm and call the experts. · For more than 30 years, Classic Auto Body Panel & Paint Ltd has been the trusted name in collision repair across Pukekohe and the greater Franklin region. What began…

The sex-trafficker and financier who killed himself in prison is widely suspected of enabling criminal depravity for global elites · The funeral of children killed in an airstrike on a school in Minab, Iran, amid a US-Israeli attack, March 3, 2026. ©  Stringer / Anadolu via Getty Images · The strike on an Iranian school that killed at least 160 pre-teen students and teachers on the first day of the US-Israeli regime-change…

Andrew Korybko · He just ordered that some of Russia’s LNG exports to the EU be redirected to Asia, and if the EU doesn’t coerce Zelensky into giving him giving him more of what he wants in Ukraine, then there’d be no reason for him to not cut off Russia’s exports to them entirely for catalyzing a full-blown crisis. · The EU agreed late last year to end Russian LNG imports by 31 December 2026 and pipeline gas imports by 30 September 2027,…

Frank Bergman · The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing to release another explosive batch of 47,635 additional documents connected to convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein, adding to the millions of records already made public. · Officials say the new batch of files is expected to be released by the end of the week, raising expectations that more bombshell revelations about Epstein’s network could soon surface. · The…

Update (1440ET):Moments ago President Trump announced that the United States will provide insurance for "ALL Maritime Trade"via the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and will provide Navy escorts, "if necessary." · Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade,…

Trump called Britain "uncooperative," dismantled Lloyd's three-century grip on the Strait of Hormuz, and inherited a united Gulf alliance — all in 72 hours. This is what the end of empire looks like. · Susan Kokinda · In this Wednesday update, Susan Kokinda argues that President Trump has openly ruptured with the UK over Iran, base access, and broader British policies on energy and immigration, while treating Germany under…

Gold is being sold to meet margin calls, but a tweak to margin requirements is being seen by some as a signal for gold to be the pressure valve By Henry Johnston, a Moscow-based writer who worked in finance for over a decade https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/henry-johnston/ · ©  Getty Images/Oselote · [RT] The moment we all wondered about has come. Oil has surged past $100 per barrel and markets are coming under serious…

The US president has expelled the conservative commentator over his criticism of the Iran war · Donald Trump shakes hands with Tucker Carlson on October 31, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. ©  Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images · US President Donald Trump has expelled prominent conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, saying Carlson has “lost his way.” · The breaking point between…

Clandestine · The “Deep State” is not just corrupt US politicians. It’s a transnational criminal organization that has embedded itself within governments around the globe, and leveraged entire nations to do their bidding. · Or as JFK called it, a “secret society” and a “monolithic and ruthless conspiracy”. · “It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources, in the building of a highly knit, highly efficient…

An exclusive interview on RT’s Sanchez Effect. · Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, joins us from Tehran under the missile barrage – with the sound of drones audible throughout the conversation. He describes the assassination of the Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a “heinous crime.” He said it’s not just a tragedy for Iran, but also for millions of Muslims around…

The evidence shows that shedding from the COVID jab isn’t just real. It’s “very common,” Dr. Pierre Kory says. · The Vigilant Fox · The following information is based on a report originally published by A Midwestern Doctor. Key details have been streamlined and editorialized for clarity and impact. Read the original report here. · They mocked this as a “conspiracy theory.” · Now the evidence shows that shedding from the COVID jab isn’t just…

What was the godless imperial power in John's Revelation of the end of the world? · John Leake · John of Patmos, the author of the Book of Revelation, was a Jewish Christian who was probably from Galilee. Long identified as John the Apostle, modern scholars now believe he was a different man. Aramaic was his native language. but like John the Apostle, he wrote his contribution to the New Testament in Greek. · The Gospel of John is…

Key Markets report for Monday, 9 March 2026 · Alex Krainer · President Trump’s war of choice against Iran has focused the world’s attention on the strategic importance of the region, like nobody’s ever seen before. · Even casual consumers of the news flow knew that a large chunk of the global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz and that any disruption to maritime traffic there would send the oil price soaring well into…

The Israeli army says it will target Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successors amid the ongoing war in the Middle East · FILE PHOTO. ©  Global Look Press / David Silverman · [RT] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has threatened to assassinate anyone who replaces the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader. · Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials were killed in the first wave of US‑Israeli airstrikes…

The Commission chief has used the Middle East escalation to question the global order and push for a more militarized security doctrine · European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. © Getty Images / Thierry Monasse · [RT] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has failed to condemn the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying “there should be no tears shed for” Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who…

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, · Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has condemned remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Budapest says amounted to a threat against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. · Responding to comments made during a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Szijjártó said the statement was “beyond every limit” and reflected what he described as “the kind of ‘culture’ coming from Kyiv.” · “This is the…

Zelensky remains recalcitrant towards Russia, is worried that a long war in Iran could give Russia an edge, and is therefore anxious to have EU aid replace US aid. · Andrew Korybko · Zelensky recently gave an interview to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in which he spoke about the Third Gulf War, the Ukrainian Conflict, and his latest thoughts about security guarantees. Regarding the first, he shared his worries that a long war…

The Russian president’s comment comes as Kiev has halted oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, jeopardizing energy security in the bloc · ©  Sputnik/Kristina Solovyova · Russian President Vladimir Putin has likened the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union to “the tail wagging the dog,” saying that despite the aggressive behavior of the government in Kiev, Brussels keeps supporting it. · The Ukrainian…

Instead of challenging male power, the high-ranking ladies attach themselves to it like tradwives By Rachel Marsden, a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English. https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/rachel-marsden/rachelmarsden.com · Women marching in St. Louis as part of women's liberation demonstration on 26 August, 1970 ©  Getty Images/Bettmann · International Women’s…

Doing so is a “legitimate tool” to make Kiev resume oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, the Slovak prime minister has said · FILE PHOTO: Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. ©  Global Look Press / IMAGO · [RT] Bratislava is ready to block a planned EU loan for Ukraine if Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is voted out of office in the upcoming election, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. It would be a…

The 1979 oil shock wasn't a market event — it was engineered by the same imperial establishment now trying to pin an economic crisis on Trump. Barbara Boyd exposes the playbook and explains why unconditional surrender is the cure, not the cause. · Barbara Boyd argues that warnings of a 1979-style oil shock after President Trump’s call for Iran’s unconditional surrender are a manufactured panic pushed by the City of London’s…