Tory Whanau leaves Wellington mayoral race for Māori ward
Written By:
- Date published:
8:54 am, April 29th, 2025 - 59 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, local body elections, local government, uncategorized -
Tags: Tory Whanau
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has announced she won’t run for mayor again at this year’s local body elections. She names two reasons: one is former Labour Party leader Andrew Little stepping into the race, and her desire to continue working for Wellington as a Māori ward councillor.
Good interview snip her on Stuff with her explaining the why.
Longer read from RNZ.
This is great news for the left, and smart. Andrew Little is a strong contender and has the backing of the Labour Party. Whanau stepping aside will stop the vote from being split* while keeping Whanau as a Green candidate potentially in council and focused on Māori representation. Win/win for the green and the left.
Whanau also spoke in the Stuff piece about the personal difficulties she has had in her term as mayor, and how her generation tends to be more open about those. She makes the very good point that more support is needed for people going through diagnoses of ADHD. Neurodiverse people bring important perspectives and processes that enhance governance, and having people supported well in order to do those jobs matters as a disability access principle as well.
Whanau as whahine Māori will have faced abuse far beyond what is acceptable in politics. Again, we need a diverse range of people in positions of power, or we just end up with a monoculture with limited understanding of the world and approaches. That abuse culture is now an entrenched part of the political landscape and one of the most pressing issues we have.
I have mixed feelings about the whole Millennials wearing it all on their sleeve thing. As a society we need to be more open about personal difficulties instead of people being shamed or ostracised. But there is a limit on that once one is running a city, in part because of perceptions of competency. I can’t imagine the difficulty of finding that balance for Whanau given being neurodivergent in a still largely ableist system, and on the receiving end of serious political and personalised abuse on top of the ordinary pressures of the job.
I hope she is able to find a better path in her next endeavours and that people step up with support and protection so she can use her skills in serving the community to the best of her ability.
update: * Belladonna has pointed out in comments that under the STV voting system that Wellington uses, vote splitting is unlikely.
59 comments on “Tory Whanau leaves Wellington mayoral race for Māori ward ”
Leave a Comment
CommentsOpinions
Recent Comments
FeedsPartyGovtMedia
- Trump’s science cuts threaten public research data
US President Donald Trump’s cuts to scientific research create anxieties about the accessibility of research data. Scientists worldwide fear websites and data sets hosted in the United States will be deleted or decommissioned. While private ...4 hours ago - Government Shouldn’t Ignore Courts Over Voting Rights
Under Chris Luxon’s "leadership", the coalition of chaos government is doubling down on policies that undermine democratic principles, particularly on prisoner voting rights and the voting age. The kicker here is that these issues should have already been settled.Two landmark cases that have already gone through the courts expose the ...5 hours ago - We’re all for change as long as it doesn’t change anything
My favourite bit of Gough Whitlam rhetoric is a three word retort he gave in a rowdy parliamentary debate.After all, declared Sir Winton Turnbull pompously, I am a country member.Yes, Whitlam called out, We remember.Gough, ages ago, with Bob HawkeOf all our four letter words, the C one packs the ...5 hours ago - Stress-testing US soft power
The father of soft power and smart power has died, just as the United States has been giving those concepts a deathly stress test. Whereas US President Donald Trump thinks hard power is all he ...6 hours ago
- Copy of Budget 2025: delivering for whom?
On 22 May, the coalition government will release its budget for 2025, which it says will focus on "boosting economic growth, improving social outcomes, controlling government spending, and investing in long-term infrastructure.” But who, really, is this budget designed to serve? What values and visions for Aotearoa New Zealand lie ...6 hours ago - One year on: no agreement for New Caledonia despite serious negotiations
It’s been a year since massive riots shook New Caledonia, but progress towards a long-term agreement on the territory’s status has been slow. Last week, intense closed-door talks failed to reach concensus. The discussions centred ...11 hours ago
- Pay Equity Changes Bad For The Economy
The Coalition of Chaos has done it again, proving their knack for prioritising the wealthy over the workers. The Pay Equity Amendment Bill, rammed through Parliament under urgency, is a kick in the guts for low-waged women, and obliterating decades of progress on pay equity reform in New Zealand.Workplace Relations ...11 hours ago
- Luxon’s Ladies.
Sisters are doin' it for themselvesStandin' on their own two feetAnd ringin' on their own bellsSaid, sisters are doin' it for themselvesSongwriters: Annie Lennox / Dave Stewart.Did you ever fancy the idea of protesting? Of taking to the streets with your fellows and standing up to the system? Is there ...12 hours ago - Electricity inflation fears growing as Z Energy shuts Flick
Briefly in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, May 13:Monopoly nation just struck again. Flick Electric is shutting, making the electricity market even more dominated by the big four gentailers: the 51% state-owned Meridian, Genesis and Mercury, and the privately owned Contact.Consumers increasingly fear another winter ...13 hours ago - Taiwan lacks clarity on energy security
Anyone would think that Taiwan, faced with a risk of blockade from China, would be doing all it could to ensure self-sufficiency or at least long endurance without supplies. But in energy security, it is going ...14 hours ago
- How to deny climate change using the IPCC report
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The new Department of Energy secretary, Chris Wright, until recently was the CEO of Liberty Energy, the nation’s second-largest fracking firm. In 2024, the firm published a manifesto called “Bettering Human Lives,” in which Wright makes a provocative statement that would ...15 hours ago - Gordon Campbell On The Parental Panic Over Young Kids Online
Creating a policy group to investigate a R16 ban on social media provides the government with a perfectly designed soapbox. The findings don’t have to end up suggesting anything useful, let alone a practical course of action. Yet in the meantime, the issue enables the government to connect with anxious ...23 hours ago - Beyond the percentage: Australia’s defence debate needs a smarter metric
The global strategic landscape is undeniably shifting. Great power competition is reasserting itself, technological disruption is accelerating, and the familiar certainties of decades past are eroding. For a trading nation such as Australia, deeply connected ...1 day ago
- Far from responsible and anything but gutsy
Back home to the seaside village, back home to a waterlogged and gobsmacked New Zealand.Waterlogged by the most April rain in April for half a century.Gobsmacked by this dismal government managing to set a new low in its disregard for anyone who isn’t white, wealthy or a man.Fair-minded and right-thinking ...1 day ago - Albanese’s visit shows Indonesia is still a foreign policy priority
As Anthony Albanese prepares to travel to Jakarta for his first state visit in his second term, the symbolism is clear: Indonesia remains a cornerstone of Australia’s foreign policy. Since taking office, the Albanese government ...1 day ago
- Monday 12 May
Opposition to the Government’s attacks on pay equity are gathering steam, with protests around the country and more than 65,000 people already signed on to a petition calling on the Government to reverse the changes. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says Cabinet will consider a social media ban on under-16s, despite ...1 day ago - Naked corruption
When National passed its corrupt, Muldoonist fast-track law, they were criticised for accepting donations from fast-track applicants. You'd think that after such criticism, and the consequent effect on the reputation of our state, they might have ceased the practice - but of course not. Instead, they're still taking money from ...1 day ago - Nicola Willis Calls Pay Equity “A Grievance Industry”
Nicola Willis pulled the sympathy and sexism card this morning in an opinion piece for Stuff/The Post.In it, claimed she had been much maligned by, well, everyone, on pay equity, and “mainstream” journalists were guilty of “sexist slurs” and misinformation against her.The offending piece was Andrea Vance’s “The girl-math budget ...1 day ago
- Rhys Williams – Arsehole of the Week
It’s time to shine the spotlight on a particularly vile specimen slithering through New Zealand’s political underbelly: Rhys Williams, this week’s Arsehole Award winner. Williams is a NZ First party activist (who didn’t renew his membership), and has carved out a niche as a homophobic, defamatory troll, hiding behind the ...1 day ago
- Bookshelf: Australia in a fragmenting and deglobalising world
Elisabeth Braw’s insightful 2024 book, Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World, has proven remarkably prescient in understanding the turbulent global landscape of 2025. While the era of globalisation promised unprecedented interconnectedness and prosperity, ...1 day ago
- Announcing Law & Order
Poets, priests and politiciansHave words to thank for their positionsWords that scream for your submissionAnd no one's jamming their transmissionAnd when their eloquence escapes youTheir logic ties you up and rapes you!Songwriter: Sting. Read more ...2 days ago - A counter to drone swarms: high-power microwave weapons
Military forces must prioritise a counter to drone swarming tactics with which inexpensive, mass-produced drones can overwhelm defences. What is needed is a layered defensive system that includes systems that can neutralise many threats within ...2 days ago
- Pay equity shock to have unintended consequences
Briefly in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, May 12:The gutting of pay equity laws may force hospices to close, pushing extra patients and extra cost into hospitals, the sector says at the start of Hospice Awareness Week. Barnados’ CEO says the law change will hit ...2 days ago - The Death of a Deer
Edit: This stuff is fascinating - and for the record you are definitely OK to disagree with me on any of this in the comments. This community rules, and you’re respectful and great even when disagreeing.With that said — this email just landed in my inbox from a Webworm subscriber ...2 days ago - 2025 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
A listing of 27 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 4, 2025 thru Sat, May 10, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...2 days ago
- India-Pakistan crisis: military operations intensify before ceasefire
The past 36 hours on the India-Pakistan front have been tumultuous. Where the confrontation is headed is unclear. Although things seemed to be calming down early on Friday, May 9, intense developments followed. A series ...2 days ago
- NZ First Resorts To Dirty Politics 2.0
2 days ago
- Mother’s Day
My mama saidThat it's good to be fruitfulBut my mama saidDon't take more than a mouthfulAnd my mama saidThat it's good to be naturalAnd my mama saidThat it's good to be factualAlways on the Run, by Lenny Kravitz & Slash.Morena folks, let me begin by acknowledging that Mother’s Day can ...2 days ago - Dunedin Mayor Calls On Government To Help Homeless
Last week, a fire tore through a homeless camp at Dunedin’s Oval, destroying tents and makeshift shelters in a stark reminder of New Zealand’s soul-destroying housing crisis. This isn’t just a tragedy, it’s a predictable outcome of the Coalition of Chaos’s reckless policies, which have gutted funding for emergency accommodation ...2 days ago
- Bernard’s Soliloquy for the week to May 11
Brooke van Velden says she had proposed the repeal of the Pay Equity Act in a letter to PM Christopher Luxon as soon as she became Workplace Relations and Safety Minister in late 2023. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesBriefly in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to Sunday, May 11:PM Christopher ...3 days ago - Mothers’ Day
In honour of those who have come, those who are, and those who will come to be.Kate SheppardKate Sheppard is famous for leading the successful campaign that made New Zealand the first self-governing nation to grant women the right to vote in 1893. CorrespondenceMarilyn WaringDame Marilyn Joy Waring DNZM is ...3 days ago - Fact brief – Is the climate as unpredictable as the weather?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is the climate as unpredictable as the weather? Climate predictions are more reliable than weather forecasts because they model long-term trends driven by ...3 days ago
- Fact brief – Is the climate as unpredictable as the weather?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is the climate as unpredictable as the weather? Climate predictions are more reliable than weather forecasts because they model long-term trends driven by ...3 days ago
- Watch Ozzy Man Destroy Some White Supremacist
Gather round, you bloody legends, and let’s talk about a true Aussie icon who’s taken a wild detour from his usual topics. Ethan Marrell, better known as Ozzy Man, has been a YouTube juggernaut since 2014, dishing out side-splitting commentary with that larrikin charm and a voice that could make ...3 days ago
- Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Saturday, May 10
Briefly in Aotearoa’s political economy on Saturday, May 10: Protests have erupted over the Government’s pay equity betrayal this week. Abuse in care survivors are shocked the Government ignored the Royal Commission’s main recommendation.The Government has launched a review of the Waitangi Tribunal’s ‘activism,’ late on a Friday afternoon.Food poverty ...4 days ago - Cold as Ice
I've seen it before; it happens all the timeYou're closing the door, you leave the world behindYou're digging for gold, you're throwing awayA fortune in feelings, but someday you'll payYou know that you are(Cold as ice) As cold as ice to me(Cold as ice)Songwriters: Mick Jones / Lou Gramm.“My suffragette ...4 days ago - Seeking Fiscal Balance
Should we pursue a ‘Golden Rule’ where any public borrowing for consumption is temporary?This columnist is a fiscal conservative who is cautious about government borrowing for public consumption. I was not originally. The Keynesian model I first studied said borrow as much as is necessary to sustain demand. But the ...4 days ago - Taiwan’s polarised politics risks undermining its resilience and security
Taiwan’s opposition parties—including the once-dominant Kuomintang (KMT)—now wield real power in the legislature for the first time since 2012. But their recent actions have cast serious doubt on their commitment to Taiwan’s long-term security and ...4 days ago
- US Defense Secretary cancels Women, Peace and Security programs
Last week, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the cancellation of his department’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program. In doing so, he ignored the well-established overlap of insecurity and gender inequality. When announcing ...4 days ago
- PHOTOS: NZ Protests – Again
Kiwis around the country protest: RNZ reports more than 1000 descended on Brooke Van Velden’s officeNote:The government started this pay equity process in April 2024.That’s over a year ago.Cabinet signed it off two months ago.There was no reason for urgency - and never was.The Minister for Woman was left with ...4 days ago - More constitutional vandalism
Since the national government embarked on its racist campaign against Māori, the Waitangi Tribunal has emerged as one of its chief adversaries, putting the impacts of its racist policies formally on the record so they can not be denied. National has responded by sabotaging it, replacing almost the entire membership ...4 days ago
- Nicola Grigg’s Video A Tale Of Two Women
Nicola Grigg1 was given one of the safest blue seats in the country - Selwyn, Christchurch.She holds multiple ministerial portfolios including Trade & Investment, Women, Agriculture, and ACC. Not a bad role.Last year, Grigg said she entered Parliament with Luxon and developed a strong friendship with him.This week she affirmed ...4 days ago
- Are New Zealanders Really Living Beyond Our Means?
The National-led government has been banging the drum of fiscal restraint again, claiming New Zealanders have been “living beyond our means” in another Luxon hates "wet and whiny New Zealanders" standup that is likely to tank his approval rating even further. Yet, the Coalition of Chaos' actions tell a different ...4 days ago
- Drawing Parallels.
The April 22 attacks by Kashmir Resistance (KR), a (at least tacitly) Pakistani-backed irredentist group in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in which 26 people were murdered, has some unfortunate parallels with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. Although many more Israelis died in the latter (nearly 2000) and the costs ...4 days ago - It’s a wrap: NT Defence Week 2025
Australia’s future security will be decided as much in Darwin as in Canberra. NT Defence Week 2025 made that reality unmistakably clear, showcasing the Northern Territory not as a remote outpost, but as the operational ...4 days ago
- Huge Increase In Part Time Workers Earning Nothing
New Zealand’s part-time workers are caught in a vicious cycle, ground down by a system that punishes ambition and rewards poverty. Work and Income’s draconian deductions regime ensure that every extra dollar earned by part time workers is clawed back, leaving many with nothing to show for their efforts. Add ...4 days ago
- Media Bias Over Erica Stanford’s Security Breaches
The Coalition Of Chaos’ Pay Equity Amendment Bill, rammed through under urgency, has predictably hogged the headlines. But while the mainstream media fixates on this gut-punch to women’s economic justice, Education Minister Erica Stanford’s reckless use of her personal Gmail account for sensitive government business is being swept under the ...5 days ago
- Indonesia is more important than ever: Australia must nurture the relationship
For more than decade, there have been signs that Australia is losing diplomatic access and influence in Indonesia. This is cause for concern, given Indonesia’s size and influence in the Indo-Pacific, and because of the ...5 days ago
- The Hoon around the week to May 9
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on news about climate change’s role in spreading birdflu in the United States and elsewhere, research showing marine heatwaves gathering ...5 days ago
- Government hid pay equity plans for months
If the decision to disenfranchise tens of thousands of women and men in many of New Zealand’s most important professions seemed hasty or rushed to you at all, don’t worry — it wasn’t! The government just didn’t think it was important for you to know about it.As far back as ...5 days ago - On The New Pope, And The Israeli Attack On Peter Davis
The election of any Pope tends to be retro-fitted in ways that make the choice seem inevitable. God’s will, no less. If the new Pope had been Italian (“Time for the papacy to return home!”) or a staunch conservative (“Time for a balance to the liberalism of Francis!”) then much ...5 days ago - A calculated policy of deceit
This week the government rammed through legislation under urgency to cancel all outstanding pay equity deals and make them impossible to get in future, balancing their books by stealing $17 billion from New Zealand women. It was an outrageous abuse of the democratic process, and since it passed, we've learned ...5 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #19 2025
Open access notables The post-truth era and how science education keeps ignoring it, Erduran, Science: Conventional educational strategies in combatting post-truth seem to emphasize merits of truth, evidence, and reason. Such focus misses key elements of the post-truth era. It ignores the political dynamics that engulf science as well as ...5 days ago
- Huawei drives and dominates Thailand’s digital ascent
Thailand’s rapid ascent as a 5G leader in Southeast Asia has, in part, been powered by Huawei. While many Western nations excluded Huawei from their 5G rollout over security concerns, Thailand—like several regional neighbours—embraced the ...5 days ago
- The threat spectrum
Planet A China has secured a five-year agreement with Cook Islands to explore seabed minerals. The deal, signed alongside broader economic cooperation agreements, consolidates China’s growing presence in Pacific island countries. It follows recent Chinese ...5 days ago
- Pay Equity Events
The Government using Pay Equity settlements as a way to fund their Budget is a new low. Join in rallies across the motu to speak truth to power. Below is a list of all the event’s we are aware of. If you have any other events you’d like to ...5 days ago
- The Right-Wing’s Unemployment Victory Lap
Will you look at that. The National-led coalition and their media cheerleaders, popping champagne because New Zealand’s unemployment rate (currently languishing at a grim 5.1%) hasn’t quite fully spiralled into the abyss they’ve been digging. Bravo, you absolute legends of mediocrity! The mainstream media, ever the loyal lapdogs, are fawning over ...5 days ago
- How Safe Is Student Job Search?
Note: the name of the student in this story has been changed, indicated by an asterisk.Webworm is a reader-supported publication. If you appreciate the journalism I do here, consider becoming subscriber.Hi,Logging into Student Job Search (SJS) is a right of passage for any conscientious university student in New Zealand who’s ...5 days ago - Fat Bottom Girls
Are you gonna take me home tonight?Oh, down beside that red firelightAre you gonna let it all hang out?Fat bottomed girlsYou make the rockin' world go 'roundSongwriter: Brian May.Bottom. What does that word make you think of? For the last few years, it’s been part of a familiar phrase our ...5 days ago - Sri Lanka holds its own amid economic uncertainty
In recent months, Colombo has faced two sharp blows from its Western partners. First was the surprise cut to USAID funding, amounting to approximately US$53 million. Then came a 44 percent tariff on apparel exports ...5 days ago
- Carers, teachers & nurses lose up to $17b, to fund $14b of tax cuts
The planned $14 billion of tax cuts going mostly to landlords and high earners will effectively be paid for by wage cuts for the poorest workers, almost all of whom are women. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāBriefly, in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Thursday, May ...5 days ago - A British carrier group is coming to the Pacific—with doubts looming over it
Operation Highmast got underway in late April, as the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and supporting warships embarked on an eight-month deployment, also known as Carrier Strike Group 25, to the Pacific and ...6 days ago
- World’s cargo ships to pay more for dirty fuel under new rules
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson Alandmark policy crafted in April by members of the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization, or IMO, will tax international shippers based on the carbon content of their fuels. The draft policy is due to be finalized in late 2025. The agreement ...6 days ago
- Pay equity passing is an attack on the working class
6 days ago - It’s Time — To Fight
6 days ago - India and Pakistan must manage escalation after Pahalgam attack
India has launched a retaliatory strike against the Pakistan-based groups responsible for a terrorist attack in Indian Kashmir two weeks ago. The Indian government released a press statement announcing that the armed forces had launched ...6 days ago
- Mapping a decade’s worth of hybrid threats targeting Australia
Hybrid threats, enabled by digital technologies and fuelled by geostrategic competition, are reshaping international security and global norms. Most often, states (commonly working through non-state proxies) are exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities and engaging in economic coercion, ...6 days ago
- Government of the 0.3%
A couple of months ago, the government held a public "consultation" on their proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. People responded en masse, and made it crystal clear what they thought of it: The Ministry received approximately 23,000 submissions and worked with a specialist consultancy to quantitatively assess support and opposition ...6 days ago
- Trump’s Tariff Tantrum Has Backfired
Donald Trump's tariff tirade, sold as a patriotic push to “Make America Great Again,” is backfiring spectacularly, driving iconic US manufacturers like Boeing and John Deere to pack their bags and head for the exits. Far from reviving the heartland, Trump’s trade war is gutting it, and the numbers paint ...6 days ago
- Unions launch petition to protect pay equity
Major Aotearoa unions have launched a new petition calling on the Government to reverse their proposed amendments to the Equal Pay Act and restore existing pay equity claims. Unions behind the petition are home to tens of thousands of working people who’ve experienced the life-changing impact of pay equity – ...6 days ago
- Still 34,000 unemployed under National
The March labour market statistics are out, showing unemployment unchanged at 5.1%. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. While better than expected, there's been a shift from full-time to part-time work, and total weekly paid hours has dropped - meaning people are working ...6 days ago
- Without logistics, northern defence is going nowhere
Australia must develop a national logistics plan to support combat operations in its primary theatre. Defence’s primary strategic guidance, the National Defence Strategy, has chapters on people, innovation, acquisition and partnerships. It does not talk ...6 days ago
- Luxon Isn’t Focused On The Cost Of Living Crisis
When the National Party came to power in 2023, they promised to have a laser-like focus on New Zealand’s cost of living crisis. Their pledge was seductive: tax cuts, streamlined spending, and relief for the “squeezed middle.” Yet, two years into their coalition with ACT and NZ First (the coalition ...6 days ago
- Disagree where we must: little room for military diplomacy with China
Australia’s military relationship with China is now defined by strategic competition and opposing objectives. The days of friendly port visits, personnel exchanges and survival exercises are over. As tensions grow, even dialogue with China’s military ...7 days ago
- Moment to Arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of nightTake these broken wings and learn to flyAll your lifeYou were only waiting for this moment to ariseSong by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.Brooke cancels fair pay.It’s deja vu on top of deja vu with these guys. Just when you think they might take ...7 days ago
- Chris Hipkins: Pre-Budget speech
Tēnā koutou katoa. Good morning. I read recently that one of the keys to success in life is to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. ...11 hours ago - Release; Budget should not be paid for by working women
The Government must do three things in Budget 2025 if it is genuinely going to turn things around for New Zealanders. ...11 hours ago
- Release: Peeni Henare takes over foreign affairs
Labour’s Peeni Henare will pick up the foreign affairs portfolio, following David Parker’s departure from Parliament. ...1 day ago
- Release: Govt better at crushing women’s rights than cars
Rehashing old laws around boy racers is not going to make our communities safer, or distract New Zealanders from the appalling decision to cut women’s pay. ...1 day ago
- No Justice for State Abuse Survivors- Kapa-Kingi
Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau calls out the government’s decision to keep funding state abuse, turning their backs on justice and real change for abuse in care survivors. “The government has committed to throwing $744 million down the drain, reinforcing a violent regime of disrespect against the ...3 days ago
- Govt’s War on Te Tiriti Continues as Review of Treaty Act Announced
Te Pāti Māori is absolutely disgusted by the Government’s announcement to review the Waitangi Tribunal- a deliberate and dangerous escalation in its ongoing campaign to undermine Te Tiriti o Waitangi and silence tangata whenua. “The Government’s onslaught against Te Tiriti continues with this latest move to review the Treaty of ...4 days ago
- Tribunal review an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Government’s plans to limit the powers and scope of the Waitangi Tribunal is a disgrace. ...4 days ago - Tribunal review an attack on Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Government’s plans to limit the powers and scope of the Waitangi Tribunal is a disgrace. ...4 days ago
- Release: Labour asks why Govt is silent on Gaza
Labour is asking the Government why it is silent on Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, saying New Zealand should be speaking out. ...4 days ago
- Release: Govt ignores the voices of survivors
Survivors of abuse in state care have a right to feel disappointed and sidelined by the Government. ...4 days ago
- Redress announcement leaves little justice for survivors
The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s decision to severely underfund financial compensation for survivors of abuse in state care. ...4 days ago
- Release: Bill launched to stop tobacco industry lobbying
Labour is launching a members’ bill to stop the Government from putting tobacco industry interests ahead of public health. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour fights for firefighters
The Labour Party backs volunteer firefighters who are currently not covered by ACC for workplace disease and mental injury and is drafting policy to put this right when the party wins the election in 2026. ...5 days ago
- Wildlife law change a deep betrayal of public trust
The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s use of urgency to rewrite the Wildlife Act–without consultation, without an impact statement, and in direct response to a court ruling in favour of protecting wildlife. ...5 days ago
- Release: National cuts women’s pay
National has forced through a law change that will take money out of women’s pockets. ...6 days ago
- ‘Govt’s Pay Bill Entrenches Discrimination Against Women’ – Kemp
Te Pāti Māori stands in staunch and emotional opposition to the Government’s so-called Equal Pay Amendment Bill, calling it a calculated attack on working women and a cruel betrayal of the generations who have fought for pay equity in Aotearoa. “This bill doesn’t just undermine equal pay — it completely ...6 days ago
- Release: Fewer jobs and opportunities for Māori, again
In the last 12 months life has only got worse for Māori under Christopher Luxon’s Government. ...6 days ago
- Release: More than one in 10 Pacific people unemployed under National
There are more Pacific people unemployed as the rate increases to a staggering 10.8% under National. ...6 days ago
- Release: Unemployment remains high under National
Job losses remain stubbornly high under National, as their attack on jobs, wages, and women rages on. ...6 days ago
- Govt for the rich is failing the unemployed
The latest job market statistics show that unemployed people are being failed by a Government more focused on punishing the poor than creating jobs. ...6 days ago
- RSE Draft Erases Rainbow and Takatāpui Youth
Te Pāti Māori is demanding urgent changes to the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, calling it a dangerous step backwards for Takatāpui, trans, and rainbow rangatahi. “This draft erases Takatāpui voices, ignores whānau diversity, and delays consent education. It’s not just inadequate, it’s unbelievably unsafe” said Te Pāti ...1 week ago
- RSE Draft Erases Rainbow and Takatāpui Youth
Te Pāti Māori is demanding urgent changes to the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, calling it a dangerous step backwards for Takatāpui, trans, and rainbow rangatahi. “This draft erases Takatāpui voices, ignores whānau diversity, and delays consent education. It’s not just inadequate, it’s unbelievably unsafe” said Te Pāti ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour welcomes inquiry into school lunches
Labour welcomes the Auditor-General’s inquiry into the Government’s school lunches programme. ...1 week ago
- Release: Women will keep being paid less under National
This Government is taking the women’s movement backwards, ensuring women will continue to be paid less into the future. ...1 week ago
- Govt takes workplace equity efforts backwards
The Green Party has called out the Government’s latest attack on workers with the announcement that it is halting all pay equity claims. ...1 week ago
- Release: Questions over Erica Stanford’s personal email use
Erica Stanford has been misusing her personal email address to manage sensitive information relating to Budget and visa changes prior to their public release. ...1 week ago
- Greens launch Member’s Bill to close loophole allowing animal cruelty in imports
Today, Green Party MP Steve Abel has added a new Member’s Bill to the biscuit tin to ensure any product sold in New Zealand meets New Zealand’s animal welfare standards, even if it’s produced overseas. ...1 week ago
- Iwi Rights Under Attack in Government Treaty Clause Purge
Te Pāti Māori warns that the Government’s Treaty Clause Review represents the most severe erosion of iwi rights in modern legal history. “Luxon's Government is doing what the Treaty Principles Bill failed to do. They are removing every legal reference to Te Tiriti across health, housing, conservation, and child wellbeing ...1 week ago
- Release: Cuts to beds for seniors at Dunedin Hospital
After failing to be upfront about cuts to intensive care beds, it’s now becoming clear that other downgrades to Dunedin Hospital are being concealed by the Minister of Health. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour backs workers while Govt cuts jobs and protections
This May Day Labour is standing with workers to defend decent jobs and fair pay. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Still no ferries as first of old fleet retire
Two old and ageing ferries are going to have to work double time because of this Government’s failure to get a ferry deal. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens mark May Day with Green Jobs Guarantee
The Green Party has marked May Day with a pre-budget announcement in Tokoroa, detailing the party’s plan for a Green Jobs Guarantee. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori: Keep the Window Open- UCOL Must Stay
Te Pāti Māori stands firmly against any moves to downsize or close UCOL Whanganui. With over 30% of students identifying as Māori, the campus is a vital lifeline for education, upskilling, and community transformation in Te Tai Hauāuru. “Matapihi ki te Ao is more than a name, it’s a promise. ...2 weeks ago
- Twice the Impact, Half the Budget: Budget 25 Must Invest in Whakaata Māori
Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Broadcasting, Tākuta Ferris, and MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, are demanding the Government significantly increase its investment in Whakaata Māori in Budget 2025. The call comes following the release of the network’s 2025 Social Value Report at an event today, attended by MP ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori: Denying the Right to Vote is a Breach of Te Tiriti and Human Rights
The National Party’s announcement to reinstate a total ban on prisoner voting is a shameful step backwards. Denying the right to vote does not strengthen society — it weakens our democracy and breaches Te Tiriti o Waitangi. “Voting is not a privilege to be taken away — it is a ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Closure of North Shore Women’s Centre a huge loss
Today’s confirmed closure of the North Shore Women’s Centre after losing government funding is a huge loss for women in Auckland. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Simeon Brown hid Dunedin Hospital downgrade
Simeon Brown needs to come clean to the people of Dunedin about why he hid plans to downgrade their new hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt cuts will cost jobs, health, and homes
Nicola Willis announced that funding for almost every Government department will be frozen in this year’s budget, costing jobs, making access to public services harder, and fuelling an exodus of nurses, teachers, and other public servants. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt’s austerity Budget to cause real harm in communities
The Government’s Budget looks set to usher in a new age of austerity. This morning, Minister of Finance Nicola Willis said new spending would be limited to $1.4 billion, cut back from the original intended $2.4 billion, which itself was already $100 million below what Treasury said was needed to ...2 weeks ago
- Right-Wing Government Strips Māori Health Safeguards and Pretends Colonisation Never Happened
Right‑wing ministers are waging a campaign to erase Māori health equity by tearing out its very foundations. ACT’s Todd Stephenson dismisses Treaty‑based nursing standards as “off‑track distractions” and insists nurses only need “skill and a kind heart,” despite clear evidence that cultural competence saves lives. Health Minister Simeon Brown’s funding cuts, hiring ...2 weeks ago
- Stepping up in a changing global environment
Good evening. Thank you to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs for organising this event, and for your efforts to foster New Zealand’s understanding of international affairs. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak here today. As keen observers and practitioners of international relations, you will all ...1 week ago - New High Commissioner to Kiribati announced
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Pati Gagau as New Zealand’s next High Commissioner to Kiribati. “Our diplomats play a critical role in advancing New Zealand’s interests overseas,” Mr Peters says. “Nowhere is this truer than in the Pacific, where we strive to work with our Pacific partners to forge a more ...1 week ago
- Changes to improve pay equity process
The Government is amending the Equal Pay Act [the Act] to make the process of raising and resolving pay equity claims more robust, workable and sustainable, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced today. Pay equity is achieved when women and men are paid the same for work ...1 week ago
- Proposals to strengthen biodiversity released
Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to better protect our precious biodiversity and its economic benefits for future generations, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is releasing two discussion documents for public consultation, and I ...1 week ago
- Trade negotiations with India commence
Following significant engagement over the last month, the first in-person round of negotiations towards a comprehensive India New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will take place in India this week. This follows the highly successful visit to India last year by Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters and the formal launch ...1 week ago
- NZ-EU trade deal delivers export growth
The early entry into force of the New Zealand–European Union Trade Agreement (FTA) is paying off, with Kiwi goods exports to the EU surging by 28 per cent during the first year. “In the last 12 months our goods exports to the EU surged from $3.8 billion to over $4.8 ...1 week ago
- Celebrating New Zealand Sign Language
Now is the time for Kiwis to give New Zealand Sign Language a go as we take a week to celebrate the language, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) week. The theme is that “anyone can sign anywhere”. “NZSL is an official ...1 week ago
- Boosting high-tech exports with advanced technology
New investment in advanced technology research will boost high-tech exports, strengthen connections between research and industry and generate high value jobs, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “Advanced technology research leads to life-changing innovation,” says Dr Reti. “The breakthroughs that can be achieved through areas like ...1 week ago
- Post-Cabinet Press Conference: Monday 5 May 2025
POST-CABINET PRESS CONFERENCE: Monday, 5 May 2025 EPIQ TRANSCRIPT PM: Well, look, good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be joined this afternoon by our awesome Trade Minister, Todd McClay, who’s doing some incredible work. As you know, it’s a big sitting block with the Budget at the end of ...1 week ago
- Parent Portal launched to empower parents
Every parent wants to see their child thrive at school — to feel confident, supported, and capable. Today, the Government is taking a major step toward making that aspiration a reality with the launch of a new Parent Portal: an online resource designed to enable families to play their part ...1 week ago
- New helicopters a commitment to global security
The Defence Force’s ageing maritime helicopters will be replaced to increase the defensive and offensive capability and surveillance range of New Zealand’s frigates, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. “The replacement of the Seasprite helicopters will also extend the Navy’s ability to support non-combat tasks such as humanitarian assistance and ...1 week ago
- Prime Minister congratulates Albanese and Wong
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has congratulated Anthony Albanese on winning the Australian Federal Election, and Lawrence Wong on winning the Singaporean election. “I have been in touch with both Mr Albanese and Mr Wong to offer my congratulations on retaining office,” Mr Luxon says. “When we spoke, Mr Albanese and ...1 week ago
- Hunting and Fishing Minister joins game bird season opening hunt
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager has joined the thousands of New Zealanders taking part in the annual game bird hunting season opening. He spent the morning at Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau / Sinclair Wetlands, a 315-hectare portion of the Lakes Waihola-Waipori wetland south of Dunedin, hosted by Fish & ...1 week ago
- Attendance dashboard shows early insights into term 2
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that new up-to-date attendance data is helping provide fresh insights into student attendance. For example, data for the first week of term 2 shows the effect of wild weather and which regions were standouts. The average attendance across week 1 is 87.1 per cent. ...1 week ago
- New air ambulance helicopter for Auckland and Northland
A new air ambulance helicopter commissioned today will significantly enhance emergency medical response capabilities across Auckland and Northland, Associate Health Minister Hon Casey Costello and ACC Minister Scott Simpson announced today. “This state-of-the-art helicopter represents a major advancement in aeromedical service delivery, and we are pleased to see it become ...2 weeks ago
- Oranga Tamariki showing clear progress on key performance targets
Public reporting on key performance indicators for Oranga Tamariki show the Ministry is making strong progress on its most important goals. In its second public reporting on key performance indicators, Oranga Tamariki has made progress across all four key priority areas emphasised by Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “In 2024, ...2 weeks ago
- New Member appointed to Waitangi Tribunal
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka today confirmed the appointment of Gerrard Albert of Whanganui, Ngā Paerangi, to the Waitangi Tribunal for a three-year term to fill a vacancy. Mr. Albert is the former Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement governance body for Te Awa Tupua. He has ...2 weeks ago
- Raising achievement & closing the equity gap at school
The Government is continuing to raise achievement and close the equity gap in schools across the country, so all Kiwi kids have the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to reach their full potential, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. The Governments’ ambitious changes reflect the responsibility we have to these ...2 weeks ago
- Developing a new Action Plan for unpaid carers
The Government is taking action to better support unpaid and informal carers, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Penny Simmonds says. Every morning across New Zealand, unpaid carers are helping loved ones get ready for the day — preparing meals, arranging medication, assisting with transport, and offering vital support, ...2 weeks ago
- Deputy PM concludes constructive visit to New Caledonia
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has concluded a constructive and positive visit to New Caledonia - New Zealand’s closest geographical neighbour. Mr Peters met the French Minister for Overseas Territories, Manuel Valls, and the President of the Government of New Caledonia, Alcide Ponga. “We came to listen and ...2 weeks ago
- Third procedure room to expand endoscopy capacity in Hawke’s Bay
Endoscopy services at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital are set to expand, with the addition of a third procedure room, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Improving New Zealand’s health infrastructure is a top priority for the Government, to ensure all Kiwis can access timely, high-quality healthcare,” Mr Brown says. ...2 weeks ago
- Government remains on track to ban full Farm-to-Forest conversions
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has confirmed that restrictions on full farm-to-forest conversions on LUC 1-6 farmland will be in place this year, and reaffirmed that they will take effect from 4 December 2024 - the date of the original announcement. Enabling legislation will be introduced to Parliament during ...2 weeks ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 participants announced
The 123 Youth Members of Parliament and 20 Youth Press Gallery members officially announced for 2025 represent the best of New Zealand, Youth Minister James Meager says. “Our Youth MPs come from a wide range of backgrounds, and each have their own unique story, bringing diverse points of view to ...2 weeks ago
- Saudi Ministerial visit sends strong signal for NZ Trade and Investment growth
Trade, Investment and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has wrapped up a successful programme hosting Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, His Excellency Eng Abdulrahman A. AlFadley, in Auckland this week for the 9th New Zealand–Saudi Arabia Joint Ministerial Commission. “This visit builds on growing momentum in our trade ...2 weeks ago
- New data highlights progress in childhood immunisation rates
New data released today shows steady improvements in childhood immunisation rates across the country, highlighting the Government’s commitment to ensuring every child gets the best start in life, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving childhood immunisation rates is a priority for our Government. The latest quarterly figures show immunisation coverage ...2 weeks ago
- Better banking competition one step closer for Kiwis
The Government is moving swiftly to ensure Kiwis will be able to benefit from open banking by Christmas this year, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson. “Recently our Government passed the Customer and Product Data Act – one of the items in our Quarter 1 Action Plan to ...2 weeks ago
- Rural Health Roadshow coming to Wairoa
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey is pleased to be in Wairoa today as part of the Rural Health Roadshow across the country. “I was pleased to begin the roadshow in Levin recently where I had the opportunity to hear from ...2 weeks ago
- Advancing Antarctic research on climate change impacts
The Government is investing in Antarctic research to better understand changes on the icy continent and how they could affect New Zealand, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “What happens in Antarctica matters to us here in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “For example, as Antarctic ...2 weeks ago
- New tools to help women navigate online harm
A new toolkit to support women and their employers address online harm has been launched by Minister for Women, Nicola Grigg, at the Local Government New Zealand conference today. “The prevalence of online harm has become a serious issue, disproportionately impacting women who are in the public eye. The growing ...2 weeks ago
- View from The Hill: Ley says Liberals must ‘meet the people where they are’, but how can a divid...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Cynics point out that when a party turns to a woman leader, it is often handing her a hot mess. That’s certainly so with the federal Liberals, now choosing their first female leader in eight ...1 hour ago - Waitangi Tribunal already doing exactly what it was originally intended to do, Treaty law experts sa...
A government review announced last week the Tribunal will be refocused back to its 'original intent', but Treaty law experts say it's already doing that. ...2 hours ago - Ngāti Hāua Treaty Settlement Begins Journey Through Parliament
A small delegation of tribal members will travel to Wellington on behalf of Ngāti Hāua to attend the first reading of the Bill on Thursday. ...3 hours ago - It’s a hard job being environment minister. Here’s an insider’s view of the key challenges fac...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Australia’s new environment minister, Murray Watt, is reported to be a fixer. That’s good, because there’s a lot to fix. Being environment minister is a hard gig. It often ...3 hours ago
- AWPA calls on Albanese to raise West Papuan human rights with Prabowo
Asia Pacific Report An Australian solidarity group for West Papuan self-determination has called on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise the human rights crisis in the Melanesian region with the Indonesian president this week. Albanese is visiting Indonesia for two days from tomorrow. AWPA has written a letter to ...3 hours ago
- The US and China have reached a temporary truce in the trade wars, but more turbulence lies ahead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Draper, Professor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Jean Monnet Chair of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide Defying expectations, the United States and China have announced an important agreement to de-escalate bilateral trade tensions after talks in Geneva, ...4 hours ago
- Any military help to US space activities must not aid nuclear systems – NZ officials
The US Space Force is in talks with New Zealand and other countries about launching more satellites from them. ...4 hours ago
- Public Service Work From Home Policies Dispute Heading To Employment Relations Authority
Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said they were dismayed to have not settled the matter quickly for public sector workers. ...4 hours ago
- Firearms registry is keeping NZers safe – external review
The ACT Party insists review was not strong enough, even though it was commissioned under ACT minister Nicole McKee. ...5 hours ago
- Anti Bases Campaign Congratulates Methodists For Divesting From Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab no longer pretends to be anything other than an increasingly vital part of that war machine. Recent headlines trumpet that it is ready to "serve the Pentagon" and that it is going to help the US and UK develop hypersonic missiles. ...6 hours ago
- Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider turned lead into gold – by accident
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ulrik Egede, Professor of Physics, Monash University Sunny Young / Unsplash Medieval alchemists dreamed of transmuting lead into gold. Today, we know that lead and gold are different elements, and no amount of chemistry can turn one into the other. ...6 hours ago
- Pay equity claims: What they are and how they’re changing
What exactly is a pay equity claim? How do they work, what are the rules, and where did it all start? ...6 hours ago
- New Caledonia riots one year on: ‘Like the country was at war’
SPECIAL REPORT: By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific presenter/bulletin editor Stuck in a state of disbelief for months, journalist Coralie Cochin was one of many media personnel who inadvertently put their lives on the line as New Caledonia burned. “It was very shocking. I don’t know the word in English, you ...6 hours ago
- From nuclear to nature laws, here’s where new Liberal leader Sussan Ley stands on 4 energy and env...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland Sussan Ley has been elected Liberal leader after defeating rival Angus Taylor in a party room vote on Tuesday. Now the leadership question is settled, the hard work of rebuilding ...6 hours ago
- Winston Peters concedes government will be late to hitting police recruitment targets
In their coalition deal, National and NZ First agreed that by November they would increased the number of police officers by 500. ...7 hours ago
- The ‘extroverted’ north and ‘introverted’ south: how climate and culture influence Iranian a...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mahsa Khanpoor Siahdarka, PhD Candidate in Built Environment, RMIT University Shutterstock The architecture of northern Iran exhibits an extroverted quality. Buildings are designed to let in the sounds of rain, birds and rustling trees, as well as scents of nature. ...7 hours ago
- ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 13, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 13, 2025. The dreaded beep test: outdated or still a valid assessment of your fitness?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University For many, the beep ...7 hours ago
- The dreaded beep test: outdated or still a valid assessment of your fitness?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joel Garrett, Lecturer in Exercise Science and Physiology, Griffith University For many, the beep test is seared into memory. And not just the test itself, but the wave of dread that came before hearing that first beep in school physical education ...7 hours ago
- Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival: A firm favourite for writers
A round-up of responses to the 2025 Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival – the 10th birthday edition of the festival – from writers who appeared in it. The sun shines Autumn-crisp as we wind up the Remutakas. That giant range so dense with forest, and so steep, it both awes and ...8 hours ago - Liberals elect first woman leader, with Ley defeating Taylor 29-25
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal Liberal party has elected its first female leader, with Sussan Ley narrowly defeating Angus Taylor, 29-25. Ley, 63, who was deputy leader to Peter Dutton during the last term, had the support ...8 hours ago
- Unions Barred From Budget 2025 Lock-Up
Workers will be significantly impacted by the decisions made by government at Budget 2025, and it is important that the NZCTU can accurately report on Budget decisions to ensure working people are properly briefed. ...8 hours ago
- NZ Government Blocks “Pay Equity” Claims For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Workers
The amendment was announced on May 6 by Workplace Relations Minister Brooke Van Velden, from the far-right ACT Party. It was rushed through parliament the next day under anti-democratic “urgency” provisions to limit public discussion and scrutiny. ...8 hours ago
- Don’t click without thinking – and 4 other ways to keep yourself safe from scams
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meena Jha, Head Technology and Pedagogy Cluster CML-NET, CQUniversity Australia tete_escape/Shutterstock Think about how many things you have done online today. Paid a bill? Logged into your bank account? Used social media or spent time answering emails? Maybe you have used ...8 hours ago
- Community-run food co-ops can reduce food insecurity and boost healthy diets, research shows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Kent, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Wollongong alicja neumiler/Shutterstock As grocery prices continue to rise, many Australians are struggling to afford healthy food and are looking for alternatives to the big supermarket chains. The recent supermarkets ...8 hours ago
- Indigenous Kanaks support New Caledonia’s 50-year ban on seabed mining
By Andrew Mathieson New Caledonia has imposed a 50-year ban on deep-sea mining across its entire maritime zone in a rare and sweeping move that places the French Pacific territory among the most restricted exploration areas on the planet’s waters. The law blocks commercial exploration, prospecting and mining of mineral ...8 hours ago
- National, Labour clash over who’s lying about pay equity changes
Labour's been calling the move a pay cut, but National says that's a lie. ...8 hours ago
- How would banning teenagers from social media work?
The government is proposing a ban on those under 16 using social media. ...9 hours ago
- Minister Mark Mitchell defends police amidst Jevon McSkimming’s pornography scandal
Jevon McSkimming has resigned from deputy police commissioner. ...9 hours ago
- As insurance gets harder to buy, NZ has 3 choices for disaster recovery – and we keep choosing the...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The number of climate change-related extreme weather events) is on the rise, making it harder for many people to buy affordable home insurance. ...9 hours ago
- Pope Leo XIV expresses solidarity for ‘persecuted’ journalists seeking truth, calls for their fr...
By Devin Watkins of Vatican News Only four days have passed since his election to the papacy, and Pope Leo XIV has made it a point to hold an audience with the men and women who were in Rome to report on the death of Pope Francis, the conclave, and ...9 hours ago
- Government Borrowing $100 Million For High-Risk Gambling
Corporate welfare might make for a good photo op, but $100 million of taxpayers’ cash is a steep price for a splash in the papers, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James Ross said. ...9 hours ago
- Waipiro Bay is not your marina
A proposed fast-tracked marina at Waipiro Bay in the Bay of Islands overlooks Māori-led solutions for economic development — and risks repeating the extractive mistakes of the past, argues Te Rina Ruka-Triponel. Not only is it unethical to build a 250-berth marina in Waipiro Bay, but the proposal also ...10 hours ago
- $100m boost to government’s venture capital fund announced
Finance Minister Nicola Willis says about two thirds will come from this year's contribution to the Superannuation Fund. ...10 hours ago
- ‘Soul-destroying’: A survivor’s response to the latest in abuse in care redress
The lack of a new redress system for survivors proves the royal commission of inquiry’s recommendations were pointless, argues Steve Goodlass. It is a cruel irony that on the very day a US cardinal – implicated in covering up abuse – was elevated to Pope, the New Zealand state chose ...11 hours ago
- Watch live: Finance Minister Nicola Willis gives pre-Budget speech
The Finance Minister is expected to reveal more details about next week's Budget. ...11 hours ago
- Gentailers increase dominance with $70m Flick Electric takeover
Analysis: Z Energy has sold its electricity retail arm and its customers to Meridian, in a $70m deal that will further consolidate the market dominance of the big gentailers. Flick Electric is expected to be shut down.It’s disappointing news for small business and residential and power consumers, less than a ...12 hours ago - Move to protect Fiordland elk draws ire of Forest and Bird
Forest and Bird has accusing the government of "changing the law to let a North American deer species use the national park as a glorified vege patch". ...12 hours ago
- Move to protect Fiordlank elk draws ire of Forest and Bird
Forest and Bird has accusing the government of "changing the law to let a North American deer species use the national park as a glorified vege patch". ...12 hours ago
- Free food and beer are common perks for hospitality workers – but are they masking unfairness?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olivier Oren, Associate lecturer, hospitality management, Griffith University G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock For cafe and restaurant workers, getting a free drink or meal at the end of a long shift might feel like a well-deserved reward. But could such perks – common across ...12 hours ago
- The cost of being: A mum taking extended maternity leave
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a new mum shares her mortgage anxiety as her paid maternity leave period comes to an end. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 30. Ethnicity: ...13 hours ago
Little saying that contracts for the Golden Mile project (one funded by the Labour government) would be honoured made it easier.
Thus despite opposition from Ministers in the Coalition of Chaos government and also within council some legacy.
I'd be inclined to agree with the core of your analysis, Weka.
It's been clear for some time that, irrespective of her leadership qualities, integrity, and intelligence, Whanau’s mayoralty had become politically untenable in an increasingly toxic and fractious environment. The combination of being a young wāhine Māori, openly neurodiverse, and aligned with progressive values made her an irresistible target for reactionaries desperate to reassert traditional hierarchies.
The electorate has been whipped into a frenzy over the past few years — not just locally but nationally — by a narrative that casts any challenge to the status quo as a form of betrayal. Localism was loudly espoused in 2023 as a weapon against central government reforms, yet the same voices calling for "local democracy" balked when that democracy elected someone they didn't like. They were never seeking genuine community leadership; they were seeking control.
In that, Tory Whanau has been an unfairly public and publicised victim.
I also hope that the struggles and public difficulties Whanau faced don’t end up unfairly damaging the broader progressive brand. It would be a tragedy if the political risks she took by being authentic, visible, and vulnerable were weaponised not just against her, but against the next generation of progressive candidates coming through.
Whanau has a great deal to offer, and her choice here shows exactly the kind of principled leadership that should be valued, not vilified.
I hope she gets the time and support she deserves to continue contributing meaningfully to Wellington’s future.
Yes – very well said. If I had one niggle, it's that Whanau and others on the left don't appear to realise just what targets they are. Maybe they take too benign a view of their opponents. But the Right despise any sign of personal weakness, of emotional fragility and of not being, or appearing to be, in control. They attack relentlessly when they see any of these things.
I suspect they understand themselves as targets well enough (given how common this is now), but lack strategy for dealing with it differently.
I made a very similar comment on the Open Mike thread. Great minds think alike!
I might have also flirted with submitting a guest post along those lines a little while ago.
did I miss an email?
oh, I did! So sorry, my gmail is a shambles. If you email me, let me know on TS (or twitter if you are there), esp if it's time sensitive.
Well, it probably did just become relevant again 😀
I think so! Just writing a reply.
The right don't despise weakness. They love to see it in their opponents, and attack it mercilessly.
They are quite capable of being compassionate when it suits them (i.e. when it is one of them) – remember Muller's problems when he got compassion from both sides.
OMG it's the media's fault.
Like she didn't try to sell a major asset, lose control of the budget, smash her car and evade Police, lie, not apologize, screw the unions, screw council staff, leave Wellington Water to the Select Committee and let its Board burn, screw the Wellington Greens…
… and leave like it was a beautiful graceful plan.
Please explain who this was about.
Are you mimicking people who appear on the Platform and lie about the Mayor?
How?
Etc.
Better than doing all that, then clinging to your position for dear life while everyone else takes the heat from you torching the political brand on your way out.
There’s something to be said for falling on your sword: a certain class and self-awareness wholly absent from other Green or Green-aligned politicians who’ve managed to shoot themselves in both feet and still tried to limp around pretending it didn’t happen.
Green trait … OK
I’m not convinced it’s a uniquely Green failing. Every party has had its share of elected officials who tried to zig when they should have zagged.
But it’s hard to argue that the fallout from Elizabeth Kerekere, Golriz Gharahman, and Darleen Tana wouldn’t have been much smaller if they’d had the good political sense and moral courage to do what Tory Whanau has done and step down, rather than clinging on and forcing the party to bleed out slowly around them.
I guess it wouldn’t be quite so noticeable if it hadn’t happened three times in the last couple of years. That’s a full 20% of caucus.
Except that's exactly what Gharahman did. Left Parliament when the issue blew up.
I suppose that you could argue that the GP 'should' have been aware of the pressure and the effects on Gharahman earlier. Or that she should have resigned pre-emptively once the problem became evident (both to herself and the GP).
But that's hair splitting.
Her actions were pretty principled, in putting the GP before herself.
Kerekere, Tana and Doyle, however all put themselves ahead of their party.
A fair point.
I think the public outside of the talkback/NZ Herald outrage mob is more or less understanding of the situation Golriz was in. And she did take eventually do the right thing and took accountability for her actions.
But the political management from the party was still incredibly piss-poor.
Yikes Ad, all brown women in politics look the same to you, huh?
more like green women all look the same.
But your comment is a lazy form of argument, and specious. I see nothing in what Ad has said to suggest he has a problem with Māori or Pasifika women. If you do you should point it out.
Are you also confusing Tory Whanau (Green) with Kiritapu Allan (former Labour)?
me? no.
Then what do you mean by this: more like green women all look the same.
Ad doesn't like the Greens much and frequently criticises them.
I mean, I get now you made an oblique point about Allan and Whanau, but it wasn't clear to me at the time and I seem to remember you throwing out that kind of argument before.
I really wish people would just use a few more words instead of trying to be clever.
You didn't get my initial point and called my argument lazy and specious, of which it is neither, and now you say
I don't think this is a particularly effective approach to moderation.
I'm not moderating you. If I was moderating, I'd make that clear.
Initially I thought your comment was lazy and specious. Now that I know what you are talking about I think it's lazy and lazy. I can't spell it out any more clearly, if people (not just you) prefer clever over communicating well, it will have an impact. Ad does it too btw.
You're critiquing how my comment is written including your judgements on the validity of my phrasing. This may not be official moderation but as a commentor this is an uncomfortable level of scrutiny that's not applied evenly.
whereas from my perspective I'm feeling grumpy fairly evenly with a number of people across a number of spaces today.
I commented on TS commenting culture for a long before I became a moderator or author. It's just what I think about something I think about a lot.
He lied about the Mayor end of.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/507575/former-labour-minister-kiri-allan-on-her-night-of-shame-after-wellington-car-crash-ended-her-political-career
I thought he might have mistook Whanau for Allen, I doubt he is lying though, more that he just forgot.
Politics is a performance art, so we ought to give credit for the quality of the performance. What better way to illustrate the point than floundering around for a while then exiting stage left? You know, as if she were an authentic leftist.
So I'm inclined to see your side of her whilst agreeing with how Weka framed her. One could call that ambidextry or two-faced, but I tend to go with being born when the midpoint of Libra was rising. I also agree with you that it's the media's fault, as usual. They haven't explained that she's symptomatic of general social trends, have they? To err is human, and each new generation popularises new forms of error.
Yet we must try for compassion toward news media pros. The market has whacked them around substantially this century, so they're all running scared. "Merchants of Truth: inside the news revolution", by top insider Jill Abramson, was a revelation. As for Tory, best to learn the art of the comeback, although Trump as exemplar is doing his share of floundering as performance art too…
settle down Donald.
Agree Ad-she stuffed up badly on the airport issue.
There was no need to sell this core asset to pay for earthquake insurance-that was a smokescreen she somehow bought into.
But overall she was eloquent and motivated and has achieved as much as any mayor could hope to achieve given she is only one vote around the table.
It was not to pay for earthquake insurance.
It was to have assets held outside of Wellington property and a minority ownership share of a business located there. It is called risk management.
Payback for Andy – the Great Enabler of '17 has now himself been enabled (we hope).
Open mike thread starter.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29-04-2025/#comment-2032428
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/tory-whanau-bows-out-of-wellington-mayoral-race/TP2UM5F7XVFK7PABDVSBPPFG5M/
Good. I have ADHD too, I'm also a millennial (I'm in that weird in-between gen y and Gen z, a 90s gen y) and from a mixed race family, I get her struggles and the abuse she's experienced
However, sheesh she's been a terrible mayor.
She's refused to consult with unions over her councils plans for privatization of assets, nearly every time she does an interview she says something that's not true (the selling her car to pay her mortgage lie will never not be funny) the drunken fights it's all way too messy.
Refusing to meet with unions because her and her staff thought unions saying they wanted to "hold her feet to the fire" about air port privatization was "violent"
She behaves like a gen y character written by a hacky boomer Hollywood screenwriter.
Her behavior gives older generations a reason not to vote for gen y or gen z politicians even though the majority of gen y and Gen z politicians aren't as dramatic as her, Jacinda Ardern and Chloe Swarbrick, Kieren Mcanulty for example.
I wish her well but running around town drunkenly shouting "I'm the f**king mayor" while funny at first is unbecoming of the office.
Presumably you mean Unions Wellington – the local affiliate of the NZCTU.
A true watermelon politician in short.
Too red to be Green, is that a criticism from the left, or one borrowed from the right?
hard skin, soft centre? Who the fuck knows.
I understand it to mean green on the outside, red on the inside…
I know, it just wasn’t clear how that applied to Whanau or Corey’s comment.
Just a blanket kicking of the present Greens. As SPC suggests no-one uses the term watermelon kindly. It's a pejorative used by teals and other soft National voters to implore the Greens to stay in their lane, as they see it.
Once in a restaurant …
Vote splitting is a red herring for local Wellington elections. They have STV (single transferrable vote) – so you rank your candidates in order of preference. When your top preference drops out of contention, your vote automatically switches to the next person in your preference list who is still in contention.
The order is bottom up: lowest scoring candidate is eliminated and their votes distributed, and so on up the list.
https://wellington.govt.nz/your-council/elections/electoral-systems
It seems likely that left voters would have ranked Little, Whanau, or Whanau, Little. Meaning that if/when one dropped out of contention (not in the top two), 'their' votes would have transferred to the other candidate.
I guess that there is a risk that Green voters would only have selected Whanau (i.e. not completing the rest of the preferences) – so there was no preference to be transferred if/when she dropped out of contention. But there is also a risk that Green voters will now not bother to vote at all.
thanks!
I edited the post.
There are a number of Green councillors/candidates.
Yes, I was discussing the mayoralty, specifically. And whether vote splitting was a real risk in Wellington.
NZ's political economy is that Wellington Mayors will get carpet bombed by Ministers – because Ministers live there.
Whanau was weak on her own accounting, so she got a Crown Observer.
Little can handle that scrutiny fine.
Lordy the moist excuses are sickening. It's not about her. Council leadership is about the lives of 180,000 people.
So try hard and dry.
They were required to manage the insurance risk to the council in an earthquake, as all their financial assets were all in the capital, including the airport shares.
The 4 right wing councillors accepted the Mayor's (and some of the Greens) approach to sell off those shares and diversify their assets out of Wellington property/local business activity.
They turned with the change in government and so the budget had to be re-done and the Minister used it as an excuse to infer the council was not working well. This was after they ended funding for Wellington’s Plan (the only part fully funded by the previous Labour government, the Golden Mile).
Couldn't care less about her skin colour.
Care rather more about privatisation. The excuses people round here make for neoliberalism in ostensibly left-wing parties is just disgusting. Are we still reliving the 1980s here?
You are aware it is a minority holding?
Stop excusing it.
A cocktail of gross incompetence and economic neoliberalism is not something I particularly want in the political Left. The notion that attacks on her are just evil racist misogynists is practically a stereotype of Identity Politics ("she's godawful at her job, and thoroughly neoliberal, but she belongs to a particular demographic so we'll excuse her").
I'm reminded of Alamein Kopu. She used to accuse her critics of racism, and absolutely no-one bought it. Clearly Kopu was a woman ahead of her time – we are in a state of utter regression.
You have given no reason why I should.
Your claim it was an attempt at a privatisation was and is untrue.
You are the one, conflating transfer of council held assets from a minority holding in an airport to other assets held out of the earthquake area for financial risk management reasons, as a "neo-liberal privatisation".
It is not. And that is simply a fact.
Your aside, about identity politics is irrelevant to the issue of decision-making competence.
At last! Someone on the left (Whanau) who thinks strategically.The left will not win while they compete against each other. I dislike the National – Act dodgy &,dishonest arrangement in Epsom but what is the answer?.
STV election in Wellington, not MMP or FPP.
Which means that there is little, if any, risk of the left 'competing against itself'
One possible answer is to do away with electorate seats altogether. Strengthen local government and let Parliament/Government focus on law-making and governing the country.
I did wonder what the current Maori Ward councillor in Wellington, Nīkau Wi Neera, thought about Whanau's proposal to parachute herself into that role.
But see, today (posted yesterday) that he is not standing.
https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=169971