New Zealand Centre for Political Research

After decades of rampant migration across Europe, governments are finally confronting a problem they have ignored for far too long: the rise of “parallel societies”. These are enclaves of immigrant communities living under alternative cultural and authority structures that undermine social norms, weaken national cohesion, and challenge the ability of the State to govern.

Who knew that as we all went about our daily lives the government was quietly taking our rights, freedoms and democracy apart through Treaty Settlements. Some people did know, but for many, probably not the extent of the enforcement of co-governance. Parliament betrayed its own people to introduce tribalism, force culture and spiritualism upon the people, and undermine freedoms and democracy in the process. Each Treaty Settlement has a separate maori authority, which is a co-governance entity.

For decades, New Zealand has been undergoing a quiet constitutional revolution. What was once largely unnoticed is now becoming increasingly visible – so much so that the Coalition Government can no longer ignore it if it hopes to remain in office. Recent events highlight the growing influence of iwi leaders and the increasingly assertive – some say greedy – way in which they are exercising their new powers. Examples are numerous, but the following four provide a snapshot of what’s going on.

When Governor Hobson on the 6th of February 1840 at the signing of the document between the Crown and some Maori Chiefs uttered the words “now we are one” he  was embarking New Zealand on a journey which was without precedent in the history of colonialism. The background is well known. These islands and their peoples had been discovered by Able Tasman on the 13th of December 1642.

“People Power” has forced the Government to change the law to strengthen local government democracy. This is a major win for everyone who raised the alarm about the tribal takeover of local government that’s now underway all around New Zealand. From individuals, to media, think tanks, lobby groups, councillors, and politicians – each person who spoke out strongly against the violation of democracy that’s been going on helped ensure the powers that be could no longer turn a blind eye.

Government Ministers Simon Watts and Chris Bishop have given councils just two more months to propose mergers or face imposed restructuring, which they say will simplify and strengthen “local voices”. But it would pay to be sceptical of their motivation. “Local voices” doesn’t mean local democracy. Bigger Councils, Less Accountability Auckland’s imposed amalgamation in 2010 should serve as a warning, not as a blueprint.

“This is a budget that should have been delivered in year one of the Coalition’s term”, according to Economist Cameron Bagrie. He says the if the fiscal discipline shown in Budget 2026 had been applied back then, the outcome would have been paying dividends in the lead up to this year’s election. Without a doubt, election year budgets can make or break the chances of re-election for governing parties that are struggling in the polls. And that’s the situation National now finds itself in.

New Zealand’s serious superannuation problems began in 1976 when the Muldoon Government replaced Labour’s compulsory super savings scheme with a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) system. That single decision changed everything. PAYGO allowed politicians to make generous promises without having to fund them properly. It created massive unfunded liabilities — IOUs that future generations would have to pay. Today those unfunded liabilities stand at around $2 trillion. The burden falls squarely on the young.

Breaking News: The extreme climate scenarios, used by the expert United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to forecast catastrophic climate change have been withdrawn. The IPCC now says the modelling assumptions are implausible.

EXRACT: The most significant development in climate research in decades… “[T]he high-emissions RCP8.5 scenario has long been described as a “business-as-usual” pathway with a continued emphasis on energy from fossil fuels with no climate policies in place. This remains 100% accurate . .