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…

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…

If Part 1 described a New Zealand that was structurally sovereign — controlled capital flows, manageable external debt, production-led prosperity — Part 2 describes something subtler. Not conquest. Repositioning. The hollowing out did not begin in 1984. It began when the global monetary ground shifted — and New Zealand was manoeuvred, step by step, into a new financial architecture. Part I here... · Bretton Woods Ends — And the Anchor…

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…

Is Prime Minister Christopher Luxon finally on the way out? A Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll out today reportedly puts the National Party on only 28% support. And rightwing commentator Matthew Hooton says today in the Herald that the senior leadership of the party “need to set up a conference call amongst themselves this weekend” to start the process of replacing him. Hooton says that after Luxon’s extremely poor performance over the US-Iran War,…

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…

New Zealand’s media-politics-lobbying revolving door keeps spinning. The latest turn is the most brazen yet. · On Monday, NZME announced that Hamish Rutherford would chair its Editorial Advisory Board. The news was first reported by Shayne Currie in the NZ Herald’s Media Insider column, which described the appointment alongside other editorial changes as a “real coup” for the company. The Herald announcement itself was revealing for what it…

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…

We have been indoctrinated with the lie that CO2 is bad for the environment and that we need to reduce our emissions down to zero if we want to save the planet from burning up. This is the biggest lie of all and if by some chance we were ever able to get the emissions down to zero that would be the day that life on earth would stop. · Achieving zero emissions of CO2 would be the equivalent of finding a Unicorn. · Impossible; particularly in…

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…

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…

Reporters and medical community present aggressive cancers in young people oblivious to the oncogenic exposure of the pandemic Spike protein and genetic vaccines · Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH · I have always thought in some way that the cover of Time Magazine marks prominent inflection points in modern history. No surprise, it caught my eye that post-pandemic turbo cancer was presented as the feature article in the February 13, 2025…

Iranian state TV confirms the Supreme Leader's death... as well as the deaths of his daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and daughter-in-law. · What comes the day after? This US-Israeli regime change action may have just opened pandora's box. · !Image Text · - US official confirms to Fox that US believes Khamenei and 5-10 top Iranian leaders killed in initial Israeli strike on compound; agree with Israel’s intelligence assessment. · - No U.S.…

The UK and France are unlikely to follow up on the alleged plan to supply nuclear weapons to Ukraine, the co-host of the Decline and Fall show believes · ©  Getty Images / IG\_Royal · [RT] The alleged British and French plan to supply Kiev with a nuclear device is primarily aimed at derailing the ongoing peace negotiations and prolonging the Ukraine conflict, Alexander McKay, co-host of the Decline and Fall show,…

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has long fought to publicize the files related to the late pedophile · Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) at a House Committee on the Judiciary hearing, Washington, DC, February 11, 2026. © Getty Images / Nathan Posner/Anadolu · [RT] A Republican lawmaker has accused US President Donald Trump of attempting to distract the public from the Epstein scandal by embroiling the country in a…

Oil prices have jumped more than 15%, topping $84, while European gas prices have surged over 30% after Iranian strikes on Qatari LNG facilities · ©  Getty Images/curraheeshutter · [RT] Global energy markets have come under pressure as the Middle East conflict escalates, with fears mounting over potential disruptions to oil and gas supplies. · US and Israeli strikes on Iran have prompted Tehran to retaliate with…

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…

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been “martyred,” state news agencies have announced · ©  Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images · [RT] Iranian state media have confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the ongoing joint US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. · Multiple news agencies, including Tasnim, Mehr, and Press TV, announced early on Sunday that the 86-year-old leader had been…

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…

David Lindfield · Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has introduced legislation that would authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for convicted child predators. · If passed, the bill would allow individuals convicted of sexually abusing children to face execution. · The bill, titled the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act,” would amend federal law to allow capital punishment for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, and…

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…

Never mind reserving its sole right to declare war, Congress is now too scared to pass even a wishy-washy Authorization for Use of Military Force. · John Leake · In 27 BC, four years after Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, he made a gesture to the Roman Senate of surrendering his emergency, wartime power. All the Senators perceived his gesture to be pure show, and they believed he had every…

If Turkiye launches a military intervention in Iran along the lines of its earlier ones in Iraq and Syria to stop what it considers to be Kurdish terrorists, then its Azerbaijani ally might make a move on what it considers to be “South Azerbaijan”, and then the Gulf Arabs and Pakistan might be emboldened to join the fray too. · Andrew Korybko · CNN reported that “CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say”, …

The stroke the Soviet leader suffered in 1953 coincided with a Purim ceremony at a New York synagogue, Moshe Reuven Azman has claimed · Ukraine’s chief rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman. ©  Oleksii Chumachenko / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images · Jews caused the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1953 by chanting special prayers during Purim celebrations at a New York synagogue, Ukraine’s chief rabbi, Moshe Reuven…

The Ukrainian leader has taken aim at the Hungarian PM over his refusal to lift a veto on billions in EU loans for Kiev · ©  Ruptly · [RT] Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has issued an apparent military threat to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the ongoing refusal by Budapest to lift a veto on billions in loans underwritten by EU members for Kiev. · Orban last month blocked a planned €90 billion ($106 billion)…

Before the Iron Curtain: The centuries-old roots of the Russia–Europe rift · In 1946, Winston Churchill’s Fulton Speech symbolically marked the beginning of the Cold War between the Western world and the Soviet Union. Since then, relations between Russia and the West have been fraught with tension. In recent years, this culminated in a strong and almost existential antagonism.  · Surprisingly, just a while ago, Russia viewed Europe…

Winston Churchill’s Fulton address was a signal for the Iron Curtain to drop, and for nukes to almost drop as well ByTarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/tarik-cyril-amar/@tarikcyrilamartarikcyrilamar.substack.comtarikcyrilamar.com · © Legion-Media /…

Moscow is considering a withdrawal without waiting for a blanket EU ban on Russian resources, the president has said · Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow. © Sputnik / Gavriil Grigorov · [RT] Russia may withdraw from the European gas market and redirect its supplies elsewhere without waiting for the EU to ban its imports, President…

Slovakia has been locked in a bitter row with Kiev over Russian oil deliveries · FILE PHOTO. Power lines in Low Tatras, Slovakia. ©  Getty Images / NurPhoto / Oleksandr Rupeta · [RT] Slovakia will terminate an emergency electricity supply contract with Ukraine, state-owned energy operator SEPS has announced. · The move comes amid the continuing row between Kiev and Bratislava over the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which…

The Russian-Polish security dilemma will likely serve as the impetus for fully unleashing and properly managing the capabilities of European NATO as a whole per the US’ National Defense Strategy. · Andrew Korybko · RT drew attention in late January to a report by Izvestia about the West’s alleged plans to launch a “Defense, Security, and Resilience Bank” (DSRB) by 2027. Their article relies on in-depth research by the Atlantic Council, …

Iran perceives the Gulf States to be easy targets, the Turkish Armed Forces have thus far deterred Iran through their proven formidableness, and Iran doesn’t want to risk Turkiye requesting the intervention of its NATO and/or Azerbaijani allies in the war. · Andrew Korybko · Iran has attacked US bases in the Gulf States on the pretext that they were used to some extent by the US in its joint campaign with Israel against Iran. By that…