Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

Many expected fireworks at Waitangi this year. In an election year, with the Government’s record on Treaty issues still fresh and raw, the annual commemorations looked set to be a battleground. Instead, the week turned out to be remarkably calm on the surface. And deeply fractured underneath. The real story of Waitangi 2026 wasn’t about Māori versus the Crown. It was about Māori versus Māori, and an opposition that seems incapable of getting…

History teaches us that wars are not always fought with bombs, troops, or formal declarations. Some are waged quietly — through systems, policies, and narratives that reshape societies from within. So let us pose a hypothetical, not an accusation ### If an adversary wanted to weaken Western democracies without firing a shot, what outcomes would signal success? They might aim to: normalise emergency rule, centralise decision-making beyond…

New Zealand likes to see itself as a principled nation — small, independent, and willing to stand up for public safety even when powerful interests object. We banned nuclear weapons when others told us it would be economically reckless. We rejected certain trade pressures when they conflicted with national values. We pride ourselves on sovereignty. Yet when it comes to COVID-19 and the unprecedented deployment of mRNA technology, New Zealand…

Next week, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, convicted for the Christchurch mosque attacks, will appear before the Court of Appeal. He will argue that his guilty pleas were extracted through coercion and abuse rather than entered freely. *Summarised by Centrist* Tarrant was sentenced in August 2020 to life imprisonment without parole after admitting to murdering 51 people, attempting to murder 40 others, and committing a terrorist act during the 15…

New Zealanders are badly ripped off by profit-gouging companies in some of the country’s most important sectors. The Big Four banking oligopolies make super profits totalling about 3% of GDP. The supermarket duopoly makes excess profits of $1 million a day. The lack of competition in energy, building materials, and other sectors is also gouging consumers. These are all “broken markets” contributing to the “broken New Zealand” we are currently…

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is challenging Mayor Wayne Brown’s misleading claim that a rates cap would only save Auckland households the equivalent of a can of baked beans a month. Josh Van Veen, spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, says: *“The numbers simply do not lie. In Auckland, average residential rates went up 20.9 percent between 2022 and 2025, from $2,992 to $3,617.33. A 2-4 percent rates cap would have saved the…

Who says getting older means slowing down? At Acacia Cove Retirement Village, retirement is about rediscovering freedom, connection, and enjoyment. With everyday tasks like maintenance and gardening taken care of, your time is truly your own — giving you the space to focus on what matters most to you. Whether it’s joining a social group, enjoying a swim, or simply unwinding in tranquil surroundings, life here is relaxed, fulfilling, and…

The Government is negotiating with the US to provide access to our critical minerals, while a memo before the Waitangi Tribunal says a backdoor deal violates obligations to Māori Resources minister Shane Jones has adopted a Trumpian slogan, and hopes New Zealand's mining industry can benefit from Trump's desire for critical minerals. Photo: Facebook New Zealand has been holding closed-door discussions with the United States on the supply of…

The bodies are being recovered. The memorial services are being held. The inquiries are being announced. But as New Zealand moves from the immediate horror of the Mount Maunganui tragedy into the familiar ritual of official review, a harder set of questions is emerging. Not just *“what went wrong at 9.30am on January 22?” but “why does this keep happening?” and “what, exactly, is the plan?”* The answer to that last question, as far as anyone…

For ordinary households, the “energy crisis” is no longer a headline—it’s a permanent line item. The price shock that began during the COVID era and intensified after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not cleanly reversed. In many Western countries, energy costs have settled into a new, higher plateau—one that acts like a stealth tax on families, small businesses, and national competitiveness. Some will argue this is merely the unavoidable price…

When Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today that Judith Collins would become the next President of the Law Commission, he reached for familiar talking points about her “astute legal knowledge” and her service to the country. What he didn’t mention was far more significant: this marks the first time in the Law Commission’s 40-year history that a current serving politician has been appointed to lead this supposedly independent…

Wellington — Winston Peters has used the first sitting of Parliament in the 2026 election year to deliver a wide-ranging and combative address, sharply criticising the former Labour-Green Government’s economic record while positioning New Zealand First as a party of experience, delivery, and “real-world” governance. Speaking after opposition leaders’ contributions, Peters said the moment called for vision, credibility and confidence, but…

History leaves patterns. When money creation is examined not as an abstract theory but as a mechanism of power, a consistent record emerges — one rarely discussed in mainstream economics. Nations that attempt to reclaim monetary sovereignty, restrain debt-based banking, or challenge reserve-currency privilege tend not to be debated on their merits. They are pressured, isolated, destabilised, or destroyed. Neo-Piracy Preface — Part 3: When…

Auckland, New Zealand — After a challenging 2025, Kiwibank economists are forecasting a marked economic turnaround next year (2026), with signs of recovery emerging across key sectors and confidence rising among households and businesses. **2025: A Difficult Year, But Momentum Building** Economists at Kiwi Bank describe 2025 as a year where the New Zealand economy struggled to gain sustained momentum. Throughout the year, higher interest rates…

Erin Gourley left New Zealand in 2024 for Europe, and says there's a 'huge risk' of New Zealanders forgetting to vote even if they're politically minded. Former local government reporter Erin Gourley forgot to vote in last year’s council elections. She was living in Sweden, where she moved to study law in 2024. Now registered as an overseas voter, Gourley says she won’t be making that mistake again. “It’s crazy, because I used to be a local…

Despite talk of cross-party cooperation, polling suggests Te Pāti Māori may not be needed to form the next government, leaving the party pitching flexibility from a position of diminished leverage ahead of the 2026 election. *Summarised by Centrist* Speaking at Rātana, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she could work with Winston Peters and New Zealand First, floating the idea of cooperation across ideological lines. The comments come as…

The picture is firming up, and it’s devastating. Six people are dead at the foot of Mount Maunganui because, over four critical hours on the morning of 22 January, New Zealand’s emergency management system failed. Not just failed, but failed repeatedly, in ways that now look systemic. And what’s becoming clearer with each new revelation is that this wasn’t just bad luck or an unforeseeable tragedy. This was a disaster waiting to happen, built…

Inflation has moved back above the Reserve Bank’s target range, driven less by discretionary spending than by unavoidable household bills. Council rates and electricity costs are now biting hardest, pushing inflation higher even as families cut back elsewhere. *Summarised by Centrist* Statistics New Zealand figures show the consumer price index rose 0.6 per cent in the December quarter. This has lifted annual inflation to 3.1 per cent. That…

This week Chris Hipkins gave us the clearest picture yet of how Labour plans to fight the 2026 election. His speech at the party’s caucus retreat in West Auckland, and then a rally-style address to party activists, revealed a strategy that combines class-based attack lines, relentless positivity, and a narrowed focus on kitchen-table concerns. But can this rebranded Labour convince voters it’s genuinely different from the party they rejected so…

President Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the United States has staged a rapid economic turnaround since his return to office, claiming falling inflation, accelerating growth, surging investment, and a sharply tightened border. He credited tariffs, deregulation, tax cuts, and expanded domestic energy production for the shift, while criticising Europe’s energy and migration policies. He also raised Greenland, NATO…