< April 2025 newsletter


Further news, views, commentaries

Please see more posted on the Democracy Action Facebook page

Fear and loathing grips the left over NZME shake-up

Journalist and commentator, Graham Adams, fires back at politicians and media commentators who have their knickers in a twist about Jim Grenon’s proposed NZME board takeover. Graham writes: “It’s very hard to see how that is a threat to democracy, as some media commentators have claimed. Rather than a blow to democracy, it could be more accurately seen as promoting diversity of thought and opinion in a media landscape heavily dominated by left-leaning journalists”.

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NZME’s Future: Fresh Governance, Shareholder Value, and Balanced News

A nominee to a refreshed NZME Editorial Board to guide editorial strategy and ensure decisions to uphold a commitment to balanced and trusted journalism, Philip Crump, writes that it’s about ensuring that NZME’s journalism is robust, balanced, and trusted by New Zealanders. “My motivation is to deliver balanced, diverse journalism (including a range of political views) that bolsters New Zealand’s democracy”.

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Integrity Briefing: Te Pāti Māori’s ongoing financial accountability failures

Dr Bryce Edwards, Director of The Integrity Institute, comments on Te Pāti Māori’s continued failure to abide by electoral laws. “Te Pāti Māori has fought for the mantra that Māori voices be heard and respected in New Zealand – a goal many of us applaud. But along with that goes a responsibility to honour the laws and principles that uphold our democracy”.

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Te Pāti Māori’s Defiance

Satirical blogger, Matua Kahurangi, comments that Te Pāti Māori’s refusal to appear before the Privileges Committee over their disruptive haka in Parliament is a brazen display of arrogance and entitlement. “Their decision to ignore a formal summons demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the rules of democratic governance and the very institution they are elected to serve”. 

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A Broken Nation – complete tribal disunity

First published July 3, 2024, research scientist Dr John Robinson outlines how he sees the political situation in NZ today. He believes we are a divided, racist, apartheid state which has had its unity, democracy and sovereignty ripped away, with the final step under preparation of two separate race-based parliaments passing different laws, with the dominant ‘indigenous’ authority following the culture of tikanga. John asks how we can turn this around.

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Supreme Court matters: statutory interpretation and constitutional balance

Roger Partridge, the Chair of The NZ Initiative, is urging the restoration of proper constitutional balance while protecting both judicial independence and the rule of law. “When courts adopt an ambulatory approach to statutory interpretation, they introduce profound uncertainty into the law. Voters cannot reliably determine their legal obligations by reading Parliament’s words. Instead, they must try to anticipate how judges might reinterpret those words based on the particular judges’ perceptions of evolving social values. This uncertainty undermines the rule of law’s fundamental requirement that laws be clear and predictable. It also threatens democratic accountability by transferring effective lawmaking power from elected representatives to unaccountable judges”. 

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Other recent items of interest in the media

RNZ: 'Watch this space': Seymour on if voted down Treaty Principles Bill will return | RNZ News

CHRIS LYNCH MEDIA: Free speech row erupts over teacher’s Facebook post on Treaty bill - Chris Lynch Media

NZ LAWYER: Treaty Principles Bill shot down at second reading in Parliament | NZ Lawyer

ACT MEDIA RELEASE: Over 300,000 Treaty Principles Submissions, and not a glove laid on Equal Rights

YouTube: Act leader David Seymour speaks to media on the Treaty Principles Bill - YouTube

BASSET, BRASH & HIDE: Seymour unbowed by hostile Treaty bill submissions

MATUA KAHURANGI: Eru Kapa-Kingi Defends Toitū te Tiriti Movement in Interview with Jack Tame

THE PLATFORM: David Seymour On What’s Next For The Treaty Principles Bill

DOWN TO EARTH KIWI: The PM Abrogates Leadership of NZ: Today he hid from Parliament whilst the Most Vital (Treaty) Issue Affecting our Economic Future was Debated.

NEWSROOM: The Treaty principles bill is gone; now Govt's real Treaty agenda picks up pace - Newsroom

THE CENTRIST: Media, MPs out of step with voters on Treaty Principles Bill – data deep dive | CENTRIST

NZ HERALD: Treaty Principles Bill: PM Christopher Luxon rules out including policy in future coalition agreements - NZ Herald

RNZ: 'Step backwards': Uffindell's equal voting rights bill challenged

KIWIBLOG: Equality of suffrage seen as bad by Radio NZ | Kiwiblog

BASSETT, BRASH & HIDE: ANANISH CHAUDHURI: Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand

MURIEL NEWMAN @ NZCPR: Eliminating Woke

ANI O’BRIEN @ BASSETT, BRASH & HIDE: Richard Prebble is not an extremist

BAY OF PLENTY TIMES: Tauranga City Council reinstates iwi representatives with voting rights - NZ Herald

SCOOP: Commission Finds In Favour Of Ōpōtiki Council Wards | Scoop News

NZ HERALD: Local leaders push for voting booths to replace postal voting by 2028

BUSINESS NZ: Business groups call for publication of council voting records | BusinessNZ

DAVID ROUND @ NZCPR: The Decline of Conservation | NZCPR Site

ELE LUDEMAN @ HOMEPADDOCK: Stiffer penalties needed for OIA delays | Homepaddock

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