The $89 billion Greens’ alternative budget plan includes a 33% inheritance tax, a 2.5% annual wealth tax on assets over $2 million, new taxes on private jets, trusts and higher income brackets, and a pledge to nearly double net Crown debt.
Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming obtained a rare “superinjunction” last Friday night, blocking media from reporting on the nature of allegedly objectionable material found on his police-issued computer, or even mentioning the injunction itself.
That gag order expired at 2:15 pm on Monday, and has now been partially lifted.
National MP Hamish Campbell has rejected suggestions that Te Pāti Māori are victims of political oppression following their three-week suspension from Parliament, calling the punishment a reasonable response to serious breaches of democratic norms.
“We don’t do pistols at dawn,” Campbell said on Chris Lynch Media. “It’s a careful, controlled debate where ideas should be debated. No one should be intimidated,” he said.
Regulation Minister David Seymour has introduced the Regulatory Standards Bill to Parliament, aiming to improve the quality and transparency of lawmaking in New Zealand. Seymour argues that poor regulation has contributed to low productivity and wage stagnation.
The bill is a part of the ACT-National Coalition Agreement and is targeted for enactment by early 2026.
The Ministry for Primary Industries is proposing to raise the allowable glyphosate residue in wheat, oats and barley from 0.1mg to 10mg per kilogram – a 100-fold increase. The change would bring New Zealand above Australia’s limit of 5mg/kg.
Glyphosate is a commonly used herbicide, also sold under the Roundup brand, and frequently applied to genetically modified crops overseas.
A new combat sport called Run It Straight is debuting in Auckland this week, drawing criticism from brain injury experts, rugby officials, and health advocates over its format and safety.
Known formally as the RUNIT Championship League, the sport involves two competitors running full-speed at each other in a 20m-long corridor in one-on-one tackling clashes.
