ACT leader David Seymour defended his Treaty Principles Bill at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, facing protestors who turned their backs and took his microphone.
“You can take away my microphone, but you can’t take away an idea,” he said.
Te Pāti Māori wants a new Te Tiriti o Waitangi commissioner with the power to veto parliamentary decisions. Co-leader Rawiri Waititi says the policy is a non-negotiable demand in any post-2026 coalition talks.
He claims such a commissioner would have blocked ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill, currently in committee.
ACT leader David Seymour says the proposal would “break democracy,” while Labour and the Greens remain open to discussions on constitutional checks and balances.
Veteran journalist Karl du Fresne argues that mainstream media has abandoned fact-based reporting in favour of ideological narratives.
He points to two examples: the BBC’s refusal to acknowledge that disgraced US senator Bob Menendez is a Democrat and the Associated Press injecting opinion into a supposedly neutral report on Meta and Donald Trump.
David Harvey of The Halfling’s View notes that NZME’s restructuring of the New Zealand Herald will prioritise engagement metrics over traditional journalistic values.
Editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness confirmed that the newsroom will publish fewer stories, cutting those that fail to “resonate” with audiences.
According to Harvey, this means newsworthiness will take a backseat to digital metrics such as page views and video engagement.
Farmers and industry leaders have written an open letter to Science Minister Shane Reti, warning that cuts to AgResearch’s science teams could have serious consequences for farm productivity and animal welfare.
The state-owned research institute, focused on scientific research to support the agricultural sector, is axing 40 positions.
Its entire parasitology team is being shut down—despite its globally recognised work on drench resistance (hard-to-control pests that survive deworming) in livestock.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order banning transgender women from competing in female sports, citing fairness and Title IX protections for women.
The order will direct federal agencies to ensure compliance in schools and review visa applications to prevent biological males from entering the US to compete as women.
It also calls for pressure on the International Olympic Committee to bar transgender athletes from women’s events, especially ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Politico has been propped up by millions of dollars in US government funding, according to a White House confirmation that raises serious concerns about media independence.
During a Wednesday press briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt advised that millions in taxpayer money had been used to subsidise Politico, a left-leaning mainstream publication.
