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NZCPR CAMPAIGNS
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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?
It is so disappointing that National-led governments have failed to deliver legislation that adequately protects democratic accountability. We can expect unelected individuals or groups to continue to ‘sit at the table’ to vote, influence or intimidate elected councillors, and win all sorts of race-based entitlements, including outright control.
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.
The Government’s latest Budget continues the pattern of short-term political management rather than the deep structural change New Zealand now desperately needs. While some restraint is being shown in public service numbers, the hard decisions on superannuation, welfare dependency, and genuine incentives for self-reliance are once again being avoided.
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.
The international committee responsible for the official scenarios that feed into climate modeling has just published the next generation of climate scenarios. Big news: The new framework has eliminated the most extreme scenarios that have dominated climate research over much of the past several decades — specifically RCP8.5. This is an absolutely huge development which will have lasting impacts across research and policy.
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.
FNDC is subverting the fundamental tenets of local government. It is deliberate defiance of legislative requirements sacrificing democracy and the rule of law in the advancement of an ideological cause. The Minister should demonstrate his commitment to democracy and the rule of law by taking action without further hesitation.
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.
Those in charge of the neotribal corporations have grandiose ambitions. Not content with righting historical wrongs, their ambitions extend to acquiring both vast amounts of capital and the political power.
