Hamilton
light rain
13.9
°
C
13.9
°
13.9
°
91 %
2.4kmh
100 %
Fri
15
°
Sat
16
°
Sun
16
°
Mon
13
°
Tue
14
°
NZD - New Zealand Dollar
USD
1.6778
EUR
1.9538
AUD
1.2076
CAD
1.2111
GBP
2.2795
JPY
0.0105
CNY
0.2497
INR
0.0176
Be a part of this community
Support YSB to keep bringing you valuable content! Your generous donations help us grow and share more inspiring stories with the world.
Nothing could be worse than the situation the National Party finds itself in right now.
They have suffered damage with nothing to show for it.
No new leader. No new leadership team.
If they’d had the courage to roll Christopher Luxon, yes there would still have been damage, but at least there would’ve been a shiny new thing to talk about.
Instead, they blew the arms and legs off their leader, left him alive and asked him to try again.
They wheeled him out – for the second time in four months – to tell the cameras and the country that caucus was united behind him. He looked more dejected than last time. There was less defiance, more bruising.
That’s what happens to a man when he’s been publicly humiliated for a second time.
He asked the country to believe the charade of his ministers standing behind him when he knew the one directly behind him wanted his job. He knew it because we all knew it, because Erica Stanford was the only named contender who wouldn’t express confidence in him as she arrived in Wellington for the caucus vote. And because she’d positioned herself for a week publicly. And because the rumours in Wellington for months foretold she would make her play in August.
History is littered with people who looked like they’d be good party leaders until they became party leaders and then sucked at it. Andrew Little. Todd Muller. Bill English the first time around. Judith Collins. Sir Keir Starmer. Hillary Clinton. Christopher Luxon.
Really, the only person to have read the room is the demonised coup-instigator Chris Penk. He realised the leadership needed to change. He was apparently the only person with the guts to actually try to make that happen and then to admit to it. And when he failed because ego or lack of courage got in the way of every single one of his colleagues, he fell on his sword and gave up his job.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/national-has-made-their-chances-of-re-election-much-worse-heather-du-plessis-allan/premium/EXE7LCNJ5FA6BPVII4ZMMHD7SM/
Spot on.
It may need changing. But Erica or Bishop wouldn’t have inspired me to vote for them. I want someone to stand up against net zero and the Maori push. I want our own Trump figure.
That’s it exactly Pinky. NZ needs a leader with “bigly” balls and that isn’t Bishop or Stanford. It may have been Penk but we’ll never know now.
Woman to woman. I don’t really align with Women politicians. They usually have a chip on their shoulder and think men are all misogynistic. I don’t align with that crap. There are revolting people in both sexes.
Me neither. Best person for the job, competent and good skills with the added bonus of being an alpha-male to give the country confidence.
Speaking of Trump. He’s off to the Supreme Court to get his fabulous donor funded ballroom back from being cancelled by a lower court democrat dudge.
done
Its a security issue now, out of the courts hands.
Smart buggers up there.
Which ever party dumps their Chris first gets the bump in the polls, will it be enough to run thru to the election?
Yep spot on. Gutless wonders. I feel for Penk. We need more like him, not less.
Damien Grant has a really good summation of it too, here:
Ex-Navy officer Chris Penk can see the iceberg ahead, yet National threw him overboard | Stuff
Bring Back Penk!
He’s got bigger balls than the rest!
Here’s naaska dream tenant.
Ōtara tenancy terminated after Kāinga Ora finds flat uninhabitableKāinga Ora staff who donned full protective equipment and picked a lock to gain entry to a state house were hit by a strong smell of animal excrement, rotting food and general uncleanliness.
The squalid conditions that greeted Scott Tuapola, a senior housing manager, inside the Ōtara flat during an “ad hoc visit” in March were outlined in a recent Tenancy Tribunal decision.
It described the floors at the flat, tenanted by Shalin Shalvina Sharma, as caked with “dirt, filth and faeces”.
The decision did not explain the reason for the visit or why it was necessary to pick the lock.
Rubbish was stacked against the walls, inside wardrobes and throughout the kitchen and bathroom.
The back door had been broken and wouldn’t lock, while a broken window frame and rubbish made entry into the kitchen difficult.
The following month, Kāinga Ora sought to terminate the tenancy. Figures released by the agency show it ended 38 tenancies in the year to June because of a property’s poor condition.
Despite ignoring three previous notices for failing to keep the property in a reasonably clean and tidy condition, Sharma avoided eviction after the tribunal found a fourth notice had not yet expired, leaving time to remedy the breaches.
The case was adjourned, and in June, Sharma wrote to the tribunal seeking a three-month adjournment, saying she was in hospital and unable to attend a hearing.
The tribunal asked for medical evidence to support the request, but none was forthcoming.
Last month, Kāinga Ora staff visited again, this time with Sharma’s tenancy support worker, again wearing full protective equipment when entering the property.
They found the carpet and floors heavily soiled with dirt, animal excrement, food and pet food.
Photographs showed cardboard, clothing and towels spread across the floor and covered with food, spoiled food, animal feed and pet excrement.
Rubbish was strewn across the floors, stacked around rooms and against walls, and piled up in the garden.
The bathroom was dirty, and both the toilet and walls were stained.
According to the decision, the kitchen was filthy with food stains covering the oven, benchtop and cupboards. The sink was full of dishes. The floor was covered in rubbish, spoiled food, pet excrement, empty food packets and household waste.
The laundry window was broken, and the lawns were overgrown. Cats were seen at the property, although it was unclear from the decision whether pets were allowed.
The offensive odour remained, and the flat was deemed unsuitable for habitation.
In a statement, Kāinga Ora said it could not comment on individual tenants or their properties.
Claire Baldwin, acting regional manager for Counties Manukau, said its role was to provide people with a stable, healthy, and safe home.
Baldwin said the agency expected tenants to meet their responsibilities in return by looking after their home, managing their rubbish appropriately and being considerate neighbours.
Baldwin acknowledged that there were times when tenants faced circumstances that made it difficult to look after their homes.
In these instances, the agency worked with tenants and connected them with support agencies, she said.
If a tenant refused to engage with them or the issues remained unresolved, Baldwin said the agency took steps under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Last month, adjudicator Melanie Feist ordered that Sharma’s tenancy be terminated and returned to Kāinga Ora immediately.
The decision noted Sharma had failed to remedy four breach notices and that the property’s condition was deteriorating.
The filthy head wobblers. They really are pigs. I’ve travelled India. It’s an open sewer full of dodgy curry munchers.
That is sad – for the cats.
Indian (Hindu, particularly associated with Brahmin communities), most likely of North Indian or broader South Asian ancestry.
They bring so much!
I worked with a guy who used to be in some kind of property management position with Housing NZ. He told me about one (imported) family who converted the kitchen cupboards to chicken coops and cut a hole through the floor to use as a toilet.
I have no doubt the family were all doctors and engineers.
You can laugh; a few years back had a neighbouring house full of locals. Did just hat Cut a hole in the lounge floor for a fire. The couch caught fire so they tossed it into the hole. The rest became a bonfire.
In my Coober Pedy days, they were building brand new homes for their natives. Ended up abandoning the idea, Ovens were used as fire pits. They ended up sleeping in wreaked cars in the local dump.
In my Aussie days, were told they were giving them metal carports.
She would fit in much better back home in India. Failing that a stall in a barn with straw for bedding. Much easier to muck out
Ex-Navy officer Chris Penk can see the iceberg ahead, yet National threw him overboardLast Wednesday I was presenting to the Construction Industry Council. An excellent organisation, despite their lapse in judgement regarding the calibre of their guest speakers.
As I waited my turn, between checking my phone for the revelation on who would emerge as this week’s Prime Minister and silently checking X, a senior executive from the construction division of MBIE was addressing the conference on upcoming and ongoing reforms.
Let’s take a closer look at the Honourable Christopher Aidan Penk.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361020261/ex-navy-officer-chris-penk-can-see-iceberg-ahead-yet-national-threw-him-overboard
Well worth the read if you still think the Nats are worth praying for.
Chris Hipkins: NZ’s poster child for failing upwards.
Colin, with Hipkins, it is failing downwards. Failing upwards is a term used to describe people or process where failures and mistakes are learnt from, positive changes are made, and mistakes are never repeated.
Hipkins is spiraling downwards in a vortex of unawareness, including self unawareness, created by his own lies. It is sometimes called “descent into madness”, as they become more and more detached from reality.
Really? Starving Artist has already described what is considered failing upwards. That is my understanding also.
Sorry Colin. My Bad. Remember my definition from times before, when men were men, women didn’t have cocks, and politicians actually listened.
Wow, I didn’t realise how old you were given that last criterion! How many hundreds of years ago was the last time a politician actually listened?
……”and politicians actually listened.”…..
You must haver gone to school with Methuselah. 🙂
His predecessor was a master at that descent into madness. It used to be a liarbour only trait. The inaction in the Nats caucus this week has shown it is infectious. Has their go to big pharma got a vaccination for that? If not I am sure Gun City will surfice.
Failing upwards means getting promoted in spite of incompetence and a record of failures and blunders.
With any luck, Shitkins will self destruct before the election. As one of the unvaccinated who he vowed to hunt down, I would rejoice if he committed suicide.
I don’t generally endorse calls for people to committ suicide. Its a terrible thing. However if some bunch accidentally crucified him, well that’s another matter.
As long as he’s dead, I’m not fussy. Lethal injection has a certain poetic justice….
Over 900,000 managed to avoid the jab. We are not alone.
Is Chris Hipkins a DEI hire?
Yep, him and the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz have the same disability
Kristofferson had a song about climbing the stairway to the bottom.
:How are we expected to live & survive in New Zealand, when seconds count, and the police are much more than many minutes if not hours away?
….. one victim fled on foot to seek help at a nearby property and was followed there by the offender.
It is alleged that an occupant there fired a gun, but caused no injury.
The police said the arrested man would face charges, ……
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/1009443/hamilton-knife-attack-puts-four-people-in-hospital
So which one did they arrest? the man who discharged a gun, & did not hit any one or the one brandishing & chasing people with a knife?
Was there any delay in allowing the St.Johns paramedics. 1st responders in to get them to hospital, or did they get out enough & or self drive to hospital?
A family dispute?
That article didn’t say who got arrested. Do you have additional information?
From a comment somewhere they mentioned ” full of Kainga ora houses.”
Still do not know, which one was arrrested but lets play out one guess,
Who would be the easiest?
Why only one arrest?
….. want to reassure people they didn’t believe there was an ongoing threat, …..
Is that because the targets, victims are now safely in hospital?
…. said there were scene guards, cordons and an increased police presence in the area as they work to understand the circumstances. ….
Perhaps it was not a gun
…. alleged that an occupant there fired a gun ….
Would have been a decent size fire cracker?
After all, who would have claimed to have seen the gun?
So far; no report of armed police at those cordons..
Bet it was the one who fired the warning shot and lost his gun and got arrested! Bet it wasn’t the one waving the knife and put four in the hospital, cos the police would give him a good citizen award and gone a haka.
Act’s electioneering message:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F1SslnoKjo
I watched Jack Tame interview Qiulae Wong of the Opportunity Party. I thought he would give her a soft ride, as she is far left and a climate change alarmist. I was wrong. He did give her a hard time. It will hopefully help reduce their votes.
Here is an article around the interview showing how many people will worse off under their tax plans.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2026-kiwis-left-17000-worse-off-by-opportunity-tax-plan-should-look-at-the-bigger-picture-qiulae-wong-says/H7UQTOMAJRB2BG6LBLP3LWAWEU/
I hope I am right in suggesting OP are going to be leg tripped by their strategy of coming out of the blocks in the polls so soon. Lets hope some of those young voters know how to read and think.
The one thing that will get these young voters attention, will be if it is pointed out to them that their parents biggest asset that they hope will be available for them to inherit, will under the TOP policy, might not be there.
Nothing gets a person attention like money issues.
“How much is it?” Elon looking to buy the UK to reinstate free speech 🤣. The UK communists will be freaking out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5qlONvbpAg
Elon Musk Becomes Every Anti British Muslims Worst Nightmare!
The growing gap between MPs and everyday Kiwis: Kirsten WiseKirsten Wise is a former mayor of Napier
Like many New Zealanders I cringed when I heard Stuart Nash describe Katie Nimon as “lazy”.
The comment was unfair, unnecessary and rightly attracted criticism. However, with the dust now largely settled on that controversy, it is worth asking whether the public debate missed a far more significant issue.
The real question was never whether Katie Nimon was entitled to take leave. She was. The more important question is why Members of Parliament enjoy employment conditions, leave arrangements, remuneration packages and privileges that are often significantly more generous than those available to the taxpayers who fund them.
In the weeks following Nash’s remarks, public attention shifted entirely to the language he used and what it said about attitudes towards women and working mothers. Those discussions were important and necessary. But they also had the effect of diverting attention away from a wider issue that deserves scrutiny: the growing disparity between the conditions enjoyed by elected representatives and the realities faced by ordinary New Zealanders.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/the-growing-gap-between-mps-and-everyday-kiwis-kirsten-wise/premium/W5UPPIKXNFHPJDXBTAMW6XYRTQ/
Wise, Is correct except she tries to conflate the two as well.
It would be interesting if Penk reviewed his position, just resigned from National and ran in his electorate as an independent or for Act or NZF (if they do not already have candidates lined up). I am not sure that Goldsmith is that popular or seen as that effective.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/16/goldsmith-weighing-a-run-in-sacked-challengers-beautiful-seat/
Goldsmith is likely gone for all money as a list mp , suddenly his mate luxo can give him a safe seat , hmmm its starting to get a bit smelly .
ya giunna love this.
Gareth Morgan
Who’s the Fiscal Blowhard then?
Interesting that Christopher Luxon is saying Opportunity is all about higher tax. Let’s check his bona fides.
In 2023 on the election trail Nicola Willis promised to turn the budget deficit from $9.5bn to a surplus of $2.9bn for this 26/27 year. She’s come up a bit short – it’s going to be a $14.1bn deficit according to Treasury. Is a $17bn forecast error trivial enough for National’s management of the government’s books to still be defensible?
Why have they patently failed in terms of fiscal management – and how do they gather the gall to suggest every other party is worse than them? Financial credibility is not the strongest suit for Christopher Luxon’s government.
Prior to Covid the government ran a surplus of 2.1% of GDP (core spending 28%, core revenue 30.1%). Today it has a deficit of 2.2% (spending 32.6%, revenue 30.4%). The problem is clearly spending. At the time of taking office in 2023, the handover figures from Labour was a deficit of 1% (spending 32.2%, revenue 31%).
Covid blew the lid off spending as we all remember. But the story here is why, once that spend was over, hasn’t it come down. Labour didn’t manage to get it back down (ran out of time probably), National over its three years has managed no progress either – in fact it’s up a bit. So the nonsense of politicians screaming that it’s all the other party’s fault is just that, nonsense.
Neither Establishment party has managed to make progress from the one-off covid spending spree of 2019/2020.
Why not, the government’s not still paying the emergency wages and all the rest of the covid era big spend? The table shows what’s taken its place.
Health, interest, welfare and superannuation are the main culprits. In other words, the general items of government spending. Despite all the noise they make about their fiscal discipline, National has not delivered. This is why Nicola Willis has so much egg on her face when trying to defend the $17bn forecast error of her budget deficit projection.
National’s dumbed-down election billboards claiming the high ground on tax should be balanced by advertising how bad they’ve been on controlling spending. Ironically they’ve achieved no more on tax than previous governments have – it’s been steady between 29-31% of GDP since 2016 at least – but they certainly get the prize for not getting spending back down. Fiscal blowhards for sure.
And by the way, Opportunity’s tax and welfare reform is fiscally neutral, so the Nats are proving they still mouth off before doing their homework.
Typical morgan using a straw man argument , the horrible little man.
”Opportunity’s tax and welfare reform is fiscally neutral,”
Fuck off Gareth. The Opportunist party is all about Marxist destruction of private wealth.
It might be to the govt. But no to any individuals. He is as mad as they are.
Be warned Liarbor will give TOP it’s land tax if it means regaining power.
https://centrist.nz/who-knows-willie-jackson-opens-door-to-smaller-land-tax-deal-with-opportunity-1786792276258?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=16-8-2026&ulk=none&_kx=WNrRUJg8t2IvjFSvYQ9JTRu5EsgRC8p1LofPkctpajIxVZS3pwzWqllkOy3Xlvc6.VYfxNg
Tim Beverage will be on ZB at 3 pm talking politics and taking calls. I believe that Qiulae Wong will be a guest. I think I will call. Maybe others might like to.
And???? FFS do tell!
What politicians say & what they really mean……..
“Unemployment will be a thing of the past.”
For me, if I am elected.
“There will be no new taxes. ”
Just more of the old ones.
“Education will be my top priority.”
Since I’ve got a lot to learn.
“I’ll stop the spread of drugs.”
By cutting the budget for chemists.
“I honour the public servants who risk their lives every day.”
So I don’t have to.
“I demand a thorough independent review.”
While we scramble to cover up all incriminating evidence.
“It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Since only my base supports it.
“For me, this issue is personal.”
Because I remember when I used to be just like you.
“All options are on the table.”
Even though we’ve already made our decision.
Thought I could feel a chill in the air. Looks a bit cold down South.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfQLdg4XnOE
BREAKING NEWS: Snow Chaos on NZ’s Mountain Passes
Lovely fine day here on the coast today WG, but a really cold easterly wind off the snow covered Divide.
I see Westport is prospering with mining employment. Has a new library etc.
That’ll piss off the greenies.
Europe’s new tunnel. Massive project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xWmpdh0zgQ
That’ll help the “refugees” get to the UK quicker.
Vatican to Austria to grow the nazis.
Defence experts issue warning after undersea internet cables cut off WA coast as ‘suspicious’ vessel lurkedDefence experts warn the suspicious severing of two vital undersea cables off the WA coast over the weekend highlights the country’s high vulnerability to being cut off from global internet communication.
https://7news.com.au/news/defence-experts-issue-warning-after-undersea-internet-cables-cut-off-wa-coast-as-suspicious-vessel-lurked-c-22703825?fbclid=IwY2xjawTuRi1wZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXFDU2VpR1pTR2lScVVWZHlzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEePb29CLezI_WQz6d1Vu3yBzvnwx52Ql_2VwjfcULXiuNFBOV6P1fXWc53Y9o_aem_x5yt-W91VqRf9vXQcMF7TA
V2 still remembers the first time he had sex. He was scared. He was alone.
nasska remembers too… he still has a deep hatred of religion and priests.
And a Presbyterian upbringing.
Strange. Very strange.
Yes my child, you called?
It seems that IAASB has stumbled upon a clique of boy botherering Calvinists. Given the vast experience of the Holy Catholic See do you think you could negotiate an interdenominational task force to sort them out?
Thanx.
Hey Wellington hows it going.. Cherr Bro you precious woke leftard
whats it feel like to be fucked up the arse via woke tribal ownership of “””YOUR fucken water””” ?
..lets do the math shall we… eh…
“” rates + mafia-bro-water + modellic-bullshit-artist-$$$$$$ + woke ===
= YOUR FUCKED UP THE ARSE WITH FENCE POST “”
$700 000 bucks a year ( + perks) for the big chief bro !!!!!… bro
and all the other useless bureaucratic parasites $$$$$$$ feeding off your fucken woke stupidity
“” $ 500 000 000 000 000 000 000 000.. ( and gizz your fucken house eh “”
don’t know if my definition is CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU ?!
perhaps you want the te-bro version
” te “‘don’t ask me why'” Wellington you fucken idiot “