The lack of systems thinking and understanding of epistemology in NZ leadership really biting in at the moment.

in 2023 anna mowbray stepped back the zuru empire that had made her filthy rich & set to work on "zeil", which she proudly pitched as "tinder for jobs". webworm reports that the website does what zuru sometimes likes to do... scrape other content to make it their own: www.webworm.co/zuruverseofs...

At #SCANZ26 @bmhayward.bsky.social pointing out NZ has least regulated lobbying frameworks in the whole OECD.

Auckland slump has been particularly dramatic. Grim.

David is the GOAT of subscription publishers in NZ. Well worth subscribing to Webworm!

Just over a year ago I subscribed to webworm, having seen and appreciated @davidfarrier bravely/rashly putting himself on the frontline of covering what's happening in the US. If you're privileged enough to be able to support financially, please consider doing so!

Winston Peters says the new health and safety law will "create accidents and deaths” - but it isn't worth bringing the Government down over, which is what will happen if votes against it. www.thepost.co.nz/business/361...

Found the vandal!

Parks and Reich

Is anyone really surprised that Trump was outsmarted by a single-cell organism?

"I have accepted Keir Starmer's resignation as my chief servant and have invited Andy Burnham to lay out details for how many meals a day he'll give me"

Cheaper than a tiny house. And even tinier.

📢 Our largest mortgage lender has reversed its early June home loan rate hikes - and cut a wider range of term deposit rates at the same time

Europe is melting! The size, intensity, and longevity of this #heatwave is enormous. Peak temperatures will reach 45°C / 100-115°F this week in #France. You are looking at temperature anomalies in the cloud layer over the next 2 weeks, which peak at +20°C… 1/

The reflecting pool is being sabotaged by paid protistas

"I hear you're sending me a seventh prime minister"

Early Bird post for paying subscribers to The Kākā with My Picks 'n Mixes, Front Pages & Cartoons. FYI: Greens tighten wealth tax plan; National hardens KiwiSaver policy, but ACT opposed; Strait of Hormuz closed again; Warnings of rent hikes due to AI use #nzpol thekaka.substack.com/p/mondays-ea...

Housing-market-with-bits-tacked-on in chart form.

Here's this morning's Early Bird post for paying subscribers to The Kākā: Minister relaxed about $600m of tax tech giants not paying in NZ; Officials fear no extra funding for 80 new abuse-in-care claims per year; OT staff not showing up for key meetings. #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...

Thanks to @bernardchickey.bsky.social and @connorsharp.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/grea...

6/19/2026- Memorandum of Understanding www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/ju...

Is he trying to lose the election?

Winston Peters is defending the $63,000 trip taken by Shane Jones to Canada, saying it came down to flawed costings and he could not believe the original budget was so low.

Maps reveal where conservation land could be sold off after government reforms

Arhgggh

Here's The Kākā's Early Bird post for paying subscribers. FYI: Survey shows consumers cutting spending by most since 1991; Job ads grow at slowest rate in a year & applications per job rising again; Shane Jones spent $63k on Canada trip with personal limo - Stuff thekaka.substack.com/p/thursdays-...

In today’s NZ Herald

It’s a concept of a capitulation.

Genius

The Kākā’s Early Bird out for paying subscribers: Govt begins review to replace fuel levies & RUCs with congestion pricing & fleetwide RUCs; Councils propose up to $2.4b of climate change land buyouts for South Dunedin, although funding unclear. #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...

The haberdashery and craft retailer has been facing mounting pressure from “low-cost international online competitors”.

How to create an $18bn fiscal hole - tank the economy with your ridiculous cut to grow strategy.

4.4 standard deviations?! To put into perspective how strong this El Niño has the “potential” to be, I plotted it on the Bell Curve/ distribution of all El Nino, La Niña, & neutral months since 1850 (over 2K). The dynamical model ensemble median forecast peak anomaly is +3.3°C in Dec 2026 1/

Traffic Management!!

Thread: I am extremely proud to have been part of the Backbone Collective's team which carried out the research which inspired Paula's in-depth and excellent reporting. Huge gratitude & admiration for the victim-survivors who took part in our survey. It was a privilege to read your insights. 1/n

Fun with maps.

#nzpol Bookmark this excellent explanation @bernardchickey.bsky.social gave as to why Aotearoa does not have a debt problem. It will become useful in the coming months as Willis will keep on screeching about the debt Labour left us. www.instagram.com/reel/DZEC8bc...

Not on my bingo card. www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

Dawn Chorus out for paying subscribers: Willis attack on $18.2b 'fiscal black hole' reminiscent of Joyce's last-minute misfiring in 2017; Edmonds point back to $56b funding hole for RONS; Budget fails to help National in Freshwater poll #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...

Early Bird out for paying subscribers: Willis launches $18.2b 'fiscal black hole' attack on Labour; Labour points to National's $56b funding hole for RONS; Budget fails to help National in Freshwater poll; Swiss vote against population cap #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...

39th Claim Avenue, New York @theageaustralia.bsky.social

When Govt spend money into the economy, they create the money to pay taxes and they create the special bank reserve money that *has* to be used to buy Govt bonds. The spending comes first. The real constraint on what we can do is *what we can do*. It's not about the money. Never has been. [Ends]

One of the dirtiest and most painful secrets of our publics finances. Sitting there in plain sight in the RBNZ’s accounts.

#NZpol So, someone had a wee chat the other day... Why should the average person listen to it? "Learn more how the economy actually works". And business...? "Hopefully this will help you understand why things aren't the way you're told they should be." Great listen @bernardchickey.bsky.social

Budget no biggie in polls for Nats, but normal service resumes for Greens and Act. TOP on 3.2 also tantalising. Seats - Govt 62 - Opp 58 Latest TPU/Curia poll: Labour 32.2 (+0.3) National 31.1 (+ 0.1) Greens 11.5 (+1.8) Act 7.8 (+1.3) NZF 11.4 (-0.3) TPM 3.1 (-1) TOP 3.2 (+0.4)

NEW: A WIRED investigation found Grok hosting nonconsensual and explicit sexualized images of, among others, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a number of celebrities on the eve of SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO. @mattburgess1.bsky.social reports:

Hey, during my sabbatical I made a podcast! It’s a one-shot miniseries about what happened after the world’s most ambitious upzoning campaign won. Here’s the trailer; episodes coming weekly all through June & July. You can subscribe on Apple/Spotify/etc. rss.com/podcasts/yim...