Category: Weekly Column
The bureaucratic architecture driving New Zealand’s climate compliance is, in effect, “gold plated” because government institutions were directed by the Ardern administration to embed extreme modelling assumptions into every level of decision-making.
In this country, the pressure for parallel authority is being driven by iwi leaders, who, thanks to the appeasement policies of successive governments and generous taxpayer funded Treaty settlements, now preside over vast tax‑free business empires. Not only are they replacing “Kiwi culture” with iwi culture - enriching themselves in the process - but they are now attempting to gain constitutional control of New Zealand.
For decades, New Zealand has been undergoing a quiet constitutional revolution. What was once largely unnoticed is now becoming increasingly visible - so much so that the Coalition Government can no longer ignore it if it hopes to remain in office.
The battle for local democracy is not over. If the Coalition fails to act decisively, the tribal capture of local government will continue — not because the public wants it, but because too many councils have already been captured by iwi interests. The Coalition has the opportunity to stop it – can People Power convince it to do so?
While Budget 2026 shows prudent short-term management, it falls short of the more ambitious structural reform needed to put New Zealand’s finances on a truly sustainable long-term footing. While the direction is positive, the trajectory is tediously and unnecessarily slow.
What is very clear is that New Zealand can no longer justify basing major national policies on a scenario that has now been formally rejected by the very international body whose advice underpinned our entire climate agenda. A full and immediate political reset is essential - one that removes these flawed “implausible” assumptions RCP 8.5 and SSP5-8.5 before they inflict even more damage on New Zealand households and businesses.
These recent attempts by iwi leaders to control local government show just how serious this tribal takeover has become. Just because the government changed, it doesn’t mean New Zealand is safe. Quite the opposite. With the framework for tribal rule already in place, iwi are now hunting for every opportunity to impose their controls onto an unsuspecting public.
With hundreds of thousands of voters still undecided, the 2026 election remains fluid. In an environment of ongoing global uncertainty, questions over economic security, political stability, and constitutional integrity are likely to dominate voter decisions.
Last month’s Roy Morgan poll delivered a warning to National - and its Coalition supporters. It showed support for National had dropped 4.5 points to 26.5 percent - its lowest level since the last election. National’s representation in Parliament would fall from 49 seats to just 33. That loss of 16 seats, would take out all five list MPs - Nicola Willis, Paul Goldsmith...
The Middle East crisis has not only disrupted global shipping routes and fuel flows; it has revealed just how dangerously exposed New Zealand has become. Unlike many countries, we entered this crisis having deliberately dismantled our refining capacity, constrained our gas supply, and imposed ideologically driven climate policies that deliberately increased energy costs throughout the economy. The end result is a country acutely vulnerable to global shocks.
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