USAID has funneled nearly half a billion dollars into a global media network, Internews, which critics argue serves as a vehicle for US government-funded propaganda and censorship under the guise of protecting democracy. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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Briefing for 10 February 2025

NZ media linked to USAID funds global media network promoting state propaganda

A newly released WikiLeaks report exposes how the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has quietly pumped nearly USD $500 million (NZD $883 million) into a global media network, including links to New Zealand.

Critics say that this amounts to little more than the creation of state-funded propaganda and censorship under the guise of “saving democracy.”

Māori communities pioneer new housing finance model

Traditional banks require land as collateral for mortgages, but Māori freehold land cannot be sold or seized, making it ineligible for standard lending. This has long been a barrier to homeownership for Māori families.

Hikurangi Enterprises, a community-led social enterprise in Te Tairāwhiti (the Gisborne district), builds affordable, transportable homes. Kaenga Hou, a trust focused on innovative financing,

enables families to access these homes through a rent-to-buy programme that gradually transfers ownership while reducing financial risk.

NZ alarmed over Cook Islands-China agreements

The government is raising the alarm over Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown’s plans to sign agreements with China—without consulting Wellington.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand repeatedly requested details on the proposed Comprehensive Strategic Partnership but received no response before Brown departed for China.

“The time for consultation has now passed,” a spokesperson for Peters said, calling the lack of transparency a “significant concern.”

Government to lower investor threshold to attract wealthy foreigners

New Zealand is slashing the minimum investment threshold and scrapping English language requirements for the investor visa for wealthy foreign investors.

Investment levels plummeted from $2.2 billion pre-pandemic to just $70 million since Labour’s 2022 reforms.

Calling the previous Labour-era visa settings too restrictive, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, “We need to say a lot more yes and a lot less no.”

Wills: Silver Fern Farms’ emissions agenda is a ‘Trojan horse for compliance’

Sheep and dairy farmer Paige Wills argues that the farmer-owned cooperative Silver Fern Farms’ (SFF) push for Scope 3 emissions targets is a dangerous concession to global greenwashing, undermining New Zealand farmers and threatening their independence.

Scope 3 emissions targets require businesses to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of their entire supply chain—essentially holding farmers responsible for emissions from their livestock, feed, and farm operations.

Wills calls the emissions agenda a ‘Trojan horse for compliance.’

New Zealand should embrace crypto trading, says Minister

New Zealand should position itself as a global trading hub for cryptocurrencies, according to Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Andrew Bayly.

Speaking at the Financial Services Council’s Outlook 2025 conference, Bayly said crypto is “obviously here to stay” and pointed to the United Arab Emirates as a model for how New Zealand could benefit commercially.

Geoff Neal of The Facts delivers data showing public division over the Treaty debate

New Zealand’s ongoing debate over the Treaty of Waitangi has exposed deep divisions, with polling suggesting strong public support for ACT’s Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, despite opposition from political parties and media coverage.

Data presented by market researcher Geoff Neal of The Facts to Parliament’s Justice Committee showed that most Kiwis feel the country is becoming more divided.